The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1858-12-31
NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS

THE New PRIEST IN CONCEPTION BAY. In two vols.
II no., PIP. &c., $780, Boston: Phillips Sampson
Co., 1858: For sale by Cushngs & Bailey.
There are two ways of destroying mans repu-
tation-one by disappearing his conversation,
the other by slandering his life. Novels, in which
religious controversies conducted in the form of
dialogues between champions of opposite doctrines
resemble the former, while those in which creed
is assailed by we'll wrought story, imputing all
manner of wicked deeds to its followers belongs to
the latter class of evil speaking The controversial
form, of which there are many examples is gener-
ly silly to be harmless. The shallow trick of
setting up just such of your adversaries arguments
as you without difficulty knock over, is easily
seen through. 1t is the old story of the artist,
trying to convince the lion of mans superiority by
showing picture of lion, subdued by a man.
The other form is more insidous well told tale
although pure fiction, for the time at least has and
is intended to have all the effect of statement of
facts. If the story be capable of exciting any inte
rest it is only because its incidents have so nearly
the form of truth as temporarily to deceive
the judgment. This, though perfectly allowable
when it is merely intended to excite the imagi-
nation, to amuse, interest, or even convey some
sound moral in the form of fiction, becomes when
it is made the vehicle of assault upon a faith bv
representing its priests guilty of indctable often
ces, and its people as invariably ignorant and
ruffianly,-to speak plainly, very much like mali
cious lying. "The new Priest in Conception Bay,"
is work of this class. 1t is story of Newfound-
land, the object of which seems to be to exalt the
Church of England by villifying the Church of
Rome. The plot is briefly as follows: A married
man with a lovely wife and several children be-
comes priest in the Catholic Church, and of
course parts with his family. All this occurs prior
to the beginning of the tale which opens at Peter
port, small fishing village on the coast of New
toundland, where the wife appears in the character
of beautiful, mourning widow, with one child.
the others having died. and the husband in the per-
son of the "new Priest" There were two other
priests, Fathers Terrence and Nicholas, the one
a good matured and simple Irshman, the other the
villain of the story. There is moreover good old
fisherman with lovely daughter. who is so unhap-
Ply as to get into bad odor with the Catholics. be-
cause young designed for the priesthood
falls in love with her. declining holy orders in con-
sequence. The isherman's daughter, becomes gre
viously SICK and when, after lingering long at the
very gates of death, she begins to come round. in a
moment of delerium, during the absence
OF her nurse, escapes from the house
and is not seen again at Peterport for long time.
1t afterwards appears that she, naturally enough
took the direction of the home of her lover-whose
family were Catholics-and there BY combination
between an old Irish bag and father Nicholas and
some nuns-she was carried off-in punt to a nun
merry. From this place she makes her escape after
a few days, and mysteriously gets aboard of the
"Spring Bird a brig which has just left Peter
port for Madeira and market. Appearing here in
the MIDST OF fog, she is taken for ghost and has
hand spike thrown at her head by saor-but is
soon, however, recognized and made much Of
In the mean time, the seeming widow and the
new Priest have frequent interviews, which she
presses on him and he at first declines but he soon
becomes violently excited by an aspersion uttered
against the fair fame of his wife by father Nicholas
who had met her, before her arrival on the island
After this he slackens in his zeal and finally makes
up his mind to abandon the priesthood, Join the
church of England, and resume his marital duties.
He accomplishes all but the last, which he is pre-
vented from by losing his way and his life in
snow storm. Father Nicholas is indicted and
tried for the murder of the fsherman's daughter.
and is acquitted by failure of evidence Then he
disappears and other naughty things of his doing
are discovered. Then the fshermans daughter re-
turns from her voyage very much improved
IN flesh, is received with distinction and in
time marries the young gentleman aforesaid
who has like the new Priest, Joined
"The Church." and become a minister therein.
In fact all the decent people, who are not men,
bers at the start, join The Church" before we are
done with them-while all the knaves and fools are
left to Rome. There is another nice Young lady
Miss Fanny Dare, whose principle office seems to
be to uphold the widowed wife-she is rewarded
for her constancy-by being happily married to a
gentleman described "as one between whom and
herself an engagement had been formed several
years BEFORE" which is all we know about him.
Notwithstanding the absurdity of the story-and
the unwarrantabe mode of attacking religion to
which the author is opposed, the book is worth
reading for its apparently faithful de neaions of
the scenes and manners of very strange corner of
the globe 1t shows such powers of description,
such command of good Engsh-and such happy
faculty representing the pecuarities of dialect of
MS characters, including very good specimen of
Iankee-that we are inclined to suspect it to be
the production of the distinguished author of 'he
life and adventures of a clock pedlar."
FUTURE LIFE, OR SCENES IN ANOTHER WORLD By
GEORGE WooD. New York: Derby & jackson,
1858.
The author of this book, whose very clever work
entitled "Peter Schlemihl in America" has already
established his claim to the consideration of general
readers, has endeavored here, in the form of an
ideal picture of future life, to paint in striking
colors the familiar of the life around u.s.
The production is by means a caricature and the
deneation of the fashions and the foies of the are
conveys to the mind, we think, very faithful
though perhaps not very fattering impression
For sale by Armstrong & Berry.