The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1854-11-16

wears an aspect cold impressive, almost repel-
liant, and schools herself to the destiny that
! awaits her.
Marstrand is first curious, then piqued, then
lost in love but he, too, understanding the
hard character of her father, and feeling his
own poverty, must strive for selfcontrOl. Paul
Petersen, with no love in his nature, but re-
garding Ida simply speculation, is shrewd
enough to detect what each of these two beings,
so fitted for each other, would conceal; and
this only makes him more anxious to consum.
mate the ruin of Marstrand. BY his devilish
counsels he urges Oh Helgestad who, Just as
Marstrand has invested all his advances in i'm
provementS, that can be turned to good ac-
count with little more outlay, steps in, de-
mands that all the money he had advanced be
refunded, according to law, within twenty-four
hours, granting him but one alternative the
privilege of surrendering, as an equivalent, his
charter and entire grant. Marstrand, thunder
struck at this demand, and opening his eyes
to the conspiracy of which he has been the
victim, delays an answer. He has twenty-four
hours respite, but who will, who can, befriend
him? In the emergency he applies to AFRAJA,
great chieitain among the Lapps, or Lap
landers, prescribed by the Norwegians, as on
unclean race prosecuted and crushed by a
spirit of caste even more terrible than that
which weighs down the free colored people of
this country. The Dane had shown himself
merciful to the despised people, and had himself
lost caste in consequence of it. Afraja is rich
powerful among his people, is grateful, and
withal hates Helgestad and the crafty secre-
tary, and is not sorry to see them bailed. The
silver necessary for the repayment of Mar
strands debt is secretly advanced by him, and
the next day, to the establishment and discOm-
future of the conspirators, it is produced Hell
gestad is compelled to give up the bonds
Marstrand and his property are free.
But rumors are set afloat that the Danish adj
venturer associates with the prescribed race,
is in league with Afraa. Fearful prescription
follows. His men will not work for him, his
old friends cut him, he is all alone; sinister
faces frown upon him. The cOnspirators fos-
ter this feeling, and again plot his ruin
We have no room to notice the progress of
the plot, the new characters introduced, the
wild adventures of the young Dane, the perils
to which he is subjected, the noble selfdevo-
ton of Ida, and the catastrophe in which po-
etical justice is administered to all concerned.
1t is a story of intense interest, exhibiting
with great power every variety of human pas
sion, every attribute of character, and illustra-
ting the scenery, the social life and customs of
n country with which few of us are familiar
and while in tracing the workings of the spirit
of caste in its operations on the wandering
tribes of Lapps, one cannot but be struck with
its identity with that brutal prejudice which
makes outcasts of the colored race in this
country, and almost outlaws of its advocates.
For the spirited and faithful manner in
which this work has been rendered into Eng
lish, the translator is entitled to great credit
IL. MAY: Story of Things Actual and Possible BY
Mary Iangdon. Boston: Phillips, Sampson. q Co. For
sale as above.
This book is another terrible blow at Slavery.
The father Of Ida May, living near AN interior
town in Pennsylvania, has lately lost his wife
Ida, who has scarcely seen eight summers, is
has only earthly solace-the light and the hope
ofhis bercaved home. Rambling one pleasant
day near the roadside she is kidnapped, carried
to den of slave traders in one of the border
States, whipped and frightened till she is so Sc
verely injured that she swoons, and when she
RECEIVERS, has lost for time the recollection of
the past. She is then prepared for the South
ern market, put in slave gang with a number
4
Growing more and more i'll from the effects of
the maltreatment, the trader sells her on the
way to a Stakeholder in North Carolina, who
hands her over to a slave named Venus, to raise
if she can. Venus is gentle and kind; the
poor little girl gradually RECEIVERS, and begins
to grow up tall, graceful and pretty, utterly un-
like slave, in speech, look, and manners. One
day, near branch whittier she had wandered,
she is seen by Walter Varian, young South
Carohnan collegian, on his return from the
North He has stopped at the branch to allow
his horse to drink Charmed with the grace of
the little GIRL he asks her many questions but
cannot believe that she is a slave On leaving
her, he tells her what his name is, and where she
must get her friends to write, should she ever
be in trouble. Time passes. Her master has
more slaves and less money than is convenient;
his wife p6rsuades him to SELL and, rendered
jealous by experience, urges him to sell Ida and
Venus with several others. They are marched
off through South Carolina, where having
camped out, Ida goes to seek water for Venus
(who is suffering from the journey and is unex-
pectodIv rescued from n wild hoo b,, Woltor
Varian and his uncle, Charles Maynard. The
result is, she and Venus are purchased and
carried to the house of Mr.. Wynn, the brother
in-law of Maynard, and uncle of Varian,
wealthy planter of high responsibility, but an
absolute despot in his household and on his
plantation. The discovery is soon made that
Ida was kidnapped, and letters are written to
persons in her native town, to ascertain whether
any of her friends are living. Mr.. May, after
iruitless efforts to find his daughter, had con-
verified all his property into money, and set out
to devote his life TO her recovery. He had
visited every Southern State, gone to New Or
leans, embarked for Cuba, and then for France,
thinking he had found trace Of her. The YES
sci in which he sailed was wrecked in a hurri-
cane, and all aboard persisted. Thus ran the
report.
So Ida grew up in the family of Mr.. Wynn,
and was adopted as daughter by Mr.. Maynard.
Ofthe events that subsequently befellher, we
say nothing, for we would not forestall the in
terest of our readers in the book 1t is sufficient
to know that, out of such materials, the writer
has produced an anti-savery novel; second i'm