The Sun.
London, England, 1842-02-18 00:00:00

HENRY DE POMERO Y —3 Vols. Bentley,

London, 1842.

Mrs. Bray, to whom we are indebted for this tale,
is one of the most prolific novelists of the day ; we can-
not add, one cdtifeindit successful, for the framework of
her stories is Ori"eilatly somewhat loosely put together,
and there is a., wan. t, „of rigour in her delineation of
character, whichndifinses an air of langour over much
of what she; writes. -,- Perhaps, " Henry de Pomeroy "
taken as d'WhOl6,'Without reference to particular pas-
sages, is about the best tale she has yet put forth. It
is a legend 'of Cornwall and Devon, and professes to
have been suggested, by a visit which the authoress
paid in the summer of 1838 to the ruins of the Castle
of Berry Pomeroy---a fine "relic of the feudal awl
situated near
the
in Devonshire. The period
treated of, is the latter part of the twelfth century,
when Richard the First was, a captive in the hands of
his enemies, and his treacherous and dastardly
brother' John was intriguing for' the throne of
Englanl Among those who were opposed to the
lawful rights of the lion-hearted King, was Sir Henry
de Pomeroy, the hero of the narrative, who by
way of assisting John's intrigues, entered into secret
consultations with Baldwin, the mitred head of
Tavistock Abbey —a sworn foe to Richard, in conse-
quence of that monarch having refused to appoint him
to the Archbishopric of Canterbury, to which he
imagined he had the strongest claims. In the first
volume we have a spirited conference between these
two malcontents, in the course of which the Abbot,
by way of binding De Pomeroy still closer to the in-
terests of his faction, offers to exert his influence to
obtain for the young man the hand of the beautiful
Adela, an heiress of considerable possessions, and of
ancient Norman lineage. De Pomeroy, accord-
ingly, is introduced to the young lady, on
whom he makes a favourable impression, and
eventually succeeds in gaining a promise from
her that she will become his wife ; but before
the marriage ceremony can be completed, it is inter-
rupted by a stranger, who makes known to the ai.-
tonished bridegroom that Adela is no other than his
own sister, of whose existence he had never heard till
then. The scene in which:: this discovery is made, is
the most spirited in the narrative, - and is wrought up
in all its details with far more than Mrs. Bray:s_ordi-
nary skill. Immediately after- the interruption Of the
marriage ceremony, Adela is obiii'eyed away on horse-
back to St. Michael's Mount, but is drowfled Qll the
passage ; and incinthe tubtequently, on the Dee of St,

John, Henry de Pomeroy, in a paroxysm of madness,
flings himself from the terrace of Berry Pomeroy
Castle, and is found dashed to atoms at the
base of the precipice. The story is interest-
ing ; but .it flags terribly during a great por-
tion of the first volume, which is taken up with dry,
minute details of the Abbey of Tavistock, in which
none but some old musty antiquary can take interest;
and with sketches of some of the inferior retainers
of the Abbey, who are pourtrayed at far too great a
length, considering that they make little or
.no figure
in the narrative—indeed, very soon drop out of it
altogether. We could have dispensed with much of
the description of the red-nosed Cellarer of the Abbey,
and should not have been sorry if our authoress had
unsparingly curtailed the early conversations of Patch,
the jester. The sketch of the merry, rustic beauty,
Grace Bolt, the pet of all the monks and retainers of
the Abbey, is, to our thinking, the most pleasing, be-
cause the most natural portrait, in the story.

THE YEAR-BOOK OF FACTS IN SCIENCE

AND ART.

Science and Art, in this annual volume, meet with
a helpful handmaid. The purpose of the work itself
is best understood from the exemplificative motto at-
tached to its frontispiece, which explains its intent to
be "to catch the drops of science as they fall, and
apply them to the common purposes of life, whereby
science becomes not merely a luxury to the rich, but
bread to the poor." In pursuance of this plan, the
editor, on the same systematized method as beforetime
carried out by him in his valuable " Arcana of Science,"
has compressed into the compass of three hundred duo-
decimo pages a body of scientific data and experi-
mental deduction which forms a minute archive of
sound knowledge. Though no startling novelty ap-
pears this year in discovery or theory, yet the ad-
vances in steam, some peculiar organisms in Natural
Philosophy, and many new processes in Chemistry,
challenge especial attention. A frontispiece-portrait
of the late Dr. Birkbeck is a well executed plate, and
accurate as a likeness.

EDINBURGH CABINET LIBRARY.-110..32

Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, 1842.
The subjects treated of in this number are Meso-
potamia and Assyria from the earliest ages to the
present time. 'lhe work is in a great measure a
compilation ; but it is compiled from the best authori-
ties, and evidently with great care, by Mr. Bailey
Fraser, whose clever historical and descriptive ac-
count of Persia is' well-known and justly appre-
ciated. The volume contains a map of Mesopotamia
and Assyria, and is further embellished with an en-
graving of that curious relic of antiquity the Birs
Nimrod, which has given rise to so many conjec-
tures. In the chapter entitled " Modern Babylonia,"
there are several interesting particulars respecting
Bagdad, as it exists in the present day.

JOURNEY-BOOK OF ENGLAND.
Knight, London, 1842.
This little duodecimo contains a minute and accu-
rate description of the county of Kent, and is em-
bellished with twenty-eight engravings on wood, and
an illuminated map of the county.

ODE ON THE CHRISTENING OF THE
PRINCE OF WALES. Sctnts, London, 1842.
We have been much pleased with this Ode on the
the Royal Christening, which is unquestionably more
.graceful and poetical, both in sentiment and expres-
sion, than any that has yet appeared on the subject.
The author is a gentleman named Archer, who has
had the good taste to steer clear of all such congratu-
latory and conventional common-places as are most
usual on the occasion, and to trust for effect to the
spontaneous promfitings of his own fancy. We quote
a passage descriptive of the act of baptism, and regret
that our restricted limits will not allow us to quote at
greater length :
Lo !—I-lim that shall be King 1—
Lo !—Where the Monarch-boy they bring !
Hail, Royal Albert ! Hail the brightest flower,
That-ever blossom'd in the nuptial bower !
Bring water from the new-born founts, that erst,
From Eden's happy gardens burst,
Primeval, pure, and sweet,
To sprinkle' on his brow, and lave his infant feet !
Bring water from that river famed,
Choaspes named.
Sacred to Persic
Or from the lucid springs,
Of Abbana and Pharphar. io bless him ever,
Bring From Chrysorrhoas—amber river,
The charm'd libation. From golden amphora fling
The holy watering,
Drawn from the crystal streams of Kedron's palmy
mountains,
•
Or from the sacred fountains,
Of sweet Siloe. Fill the baptismal cup,
With incense dews of Carmel :
Pour in the charm from Jordan's floods drawn up,
To consecrate the spell,—
Whilst heavenly hierarchies tell,
All that a mother's love lath dome,
This day, for England's Son,
And Heaven and Earth proclaim,
Immortal Albert's name !