Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1855-09-20
HnlWnI's Novels.

II will be gratifying To the admirers of III
most brilliant aud eloquent of the prose- writer
of our day. to know that standard edition Z
the works of Bulwcr, altered and amended b.
himself, has been published 1t has been n sui
jeet of earnest regret with the better portion
the reading public, that so much genius ane
scholarship as abound in the works of this gifte'
writer should be soiled aud polluted, especial
in his earlier productions, by the Infusion ,
prruient passions and meretriclous morals. :
notublo and noble change is visible in his late
works, which are replete with the rpened fruit
of thought, and redolent with philosophy bui
little lower than religion. It's natural that th,
wisdom which comes with years should bring
with it desire to repair the errors into which
the exuberant and unehastenod imagnaious
youth may have run, and therefore moi
surprised to learn that the author has used the
pruning knife very freely in this new edition.
The New York COMMERCIAL after compliment
ing tho workmanship and style, in which the
twenty volumes are brought out, says:
The various prefaces given in the several pre-
vous editions are all reproduced, with new pre-.
faces written expressly for this edition; aud we
notice that Sir Edward has madea number of al
in the earlier works In ''lhe Dsowned," he
has "lightencd the narrative of certain episodi
cal and irrelevant passages aud relieved the
general style of some boyish extravaganza Of die
ton" In 'Eugeue Aram' lac has made numer-
ous verbal corrections and has made an impor.
tant alteration of the plot.
| ''0n going, with maturer judgment over all
the evidences on which Aram condemned |
have convinced myself that though an accom-
! plicc in the robbery OF Clark, he was iree both
| from the premeditated design and the actual deed
! of murder. The crime, indeed, would still rest
on his conscience, and insure his punishment, u-
necessarily incidental to the robbery in which
he was an accomplish with Houseman; but find
ing my convictions, that in the murder itself b.
! had no share, borne out hy the opinion of many
eminent lawyers, by whom have heard the sub
ject diseussed; have accordingly so shaped his
confession tn Waiter"
Sir Edward appends to this preface an anthem
tic and exceedingly interesting specimen {,
Eugene Aram's composition. Falkland" is de
servedy dropped but Leila" and "Calderon the
/ Courier are both retained The long poem pre-
! fixed TO former editions Of "Fhe PLY i'm Of the
| Rhine" has been almost entirely re written. The
text of ERNEST Maltrrvers" has beeen corrected
some passages oft have been rewritten; and it
sequel ,"Alice, or the Ny sterios," is printed not
separately but as the second part. a note said
TO be from the ''pen of one of our most eminent
living writer's" il affixed 10 "Ianoni,' in
geniously attempting to give an ALI gorieal "N
PLANTATION Of the various characters IN that work
| 'Lucreta, to with so much exception has been
taken, is accompanied by critical essay entitled
! "A Word to the Public" in which the author
maintains, with much spirit that "the delinentior
| of crime has only been employed for the grave
and impressive purpose which brings il within the
! due province of the poets, as an element OF ter.
ror and warning to the heart,
There are probably other additions and amend.
atoms wbieh,--in our rapid glance through the
! whole twenty volumes inclading all the works OF
fiction which Sir Edward is willing to reeeg
nize from pelham to My Novel" have es
capped our observation, bat we have mentioned
| more than enough to convince our readers that
this edition of Bulwer's Novels has peculiar claim,
| upon their attention. The engravings with
which the valumes are embe!ished were mostly
we believe designed b. Robot x. Browne. who
is celebrity in his department of art: N Y
Com.