The New York herald., 1871-01-14
LlTERATURE.
Criticisms Of New Books.

LITERATURE. n 1ea
M Criticisms Of New Books.
"FRoM THlsrLEs-GRArEsy'' BY Mrs Eilyart,
author 0f "The Ourates Discipline" 'sSt BedeS.H
&c. Harper & Brothers, New York, publishers. Z
The novel reading public are already acquainted
with several OF Mrs. Eilyart's works, and The
Curate's Discipline" especially has received favora
bic criticisms Her latest book Is Q capital 0nef
showing both talent and culture. It appears too
to have been written with purpose, and noble
One which. II we except the works Of O few OF thes
more celebrated WRITER'S, cannot De said OF many
novels OF the present day. Dickens, whose pens
guided by Charity herself, did so much toward exJ
posing and alleviating the wrongs OF the people,
and Tnackeray. who, armed with his favorite wea-
-satire-trled, but tried in vain, to cleanse
the fashionable world OF some OF its vanii
ties and follies. were, Of course notable.
exceptions; but, as rule, nOvenstS
OF late years have been content to amusc without
striving to reform abuses or benefit mankind. The
characters in the book are well drawn and
thoroughly indivdualIzed, and the story, which I'D
full OF interest," clearly held. The descriptions ara
all excellent. st. Ewalfs, the town which Is tnes
scene OF the story-poor, dull little st. Ewald's,
which "did not rest but rusted, lay torpid in .
never-endng sleep, unbrokea by single dreama&
and which oppressed and Denumbed any hapless'
strictly before Us. AS to the draneatts persoaOe.
we feel as though they were living men and women
rather than fictitious characters, osprings Of the
writer's brain. Mrs. Horton, who was SO "tho-
roughly nice' Letttia Ltsdale. whose girlh0od had
been passed in an old cathedral tower, and who.
'looked as though the cathedral chants and songs
had entered into her soul, ana left their beauty
visible in her face;' Charles Rosslyn whom cans
not help but love. Notwithstanding few faults aads
weaknesses;" Grace, passionate, noble, Inflated
Grace; Ann Cundlegn, with ner sad story OF beauty
sacrificed and love betrayed; DR.. Langton, rich,
respectable" and unscrupulous and DICK Giring-
poor, Ignorant vagabond Dick Glring-one ana all;
are most vividly described. And Hartley Rosslyn d
How our heart bleeds for him when, after twentE
years Of Punishment, he returns "a beggar for love-
ana Kindness pity and forgiveness and all are de-
MED him '.No word Of welcoms breathed--n0i
hand held forthu
But the great moral Of the story points to Dick
Glrlng. A child Of chance, forsaken by his father
and early bereft Of hts mother untaught, neglected.
hts fate was but the natural sequence to mis- life
'Had the face OF nature ever been more to him
than to the sheep who browsed In the meadows on
the cattle who drank Of the streamsfn What was
he in his british ignorance, better than the
dumb beast1s Had ne committed the murder Of
which he VS. accused, that the only murder on
KaI
with his soul slain within him from the very frsts
more, II he only knew it, to complain Off He was
so wronged that he had no sense Of wrong; so en-
slaved that he had no wish for freedom. Was not
this the dlrest murder OF al-thls which left the
dead soul IN the living iramef" He was "as q deaf
mute; II he had sinned he had done 1t In the dark
ness which no man had tried to clear away.u
Should he be condemned to death, would not thia
very death be the kindest and most merciful thing
for him9 Would anything but the dissolution OF the
gross material frame, In which 1t seemed inpedded
in tomb, rouse the soul within 10 llfeY No hu-
man voice would ever reach 1t. 1t would
need something loud as the archange's trump ia
wake that to life which, alter all, had never truly
lived.n ale had had no chance In this
world" From thistles, grapesP
sGINx's BABYr-"IIis Birth and Other Mlsrortunes,
Satire. George Routledge Sons, New York,
publishers.
The authors short but pertinent preface shows
tnat he foresees the critics. first objection to his
book--viz., the utter improbabty OF some portions
OF it. The second is that it is somewhat too pro-.
longed for a work of the kind.
1t Is the title page informs us, ga SATIRE" and
is certainly full OF humor The author has aimed al
some of the fundamental Ills or society; he has adj
miraDy satiriZed firstly, the hatred and wrangling
between those OF opposite sects who dare to claim
the holy title OF CnriStlalS anc secondly, ne endea
vors to show the necessity OF some practical method
or bettering the condition and forwarding the edu.
cation of the working classes. He clearly dcmon-
srates through this history OF the representative
childr-"Glnx's Bahy''-that while philosophers,
phanthropists, politicians Papists and Protestants
(he properly and carefully avoids the use OF
the word "Chrlstlans'' here) are occupied IN
discussions and dssensions as to the best
mode OF amelioratng the condition OF the poor,
these arc pershing OF want or perhaps committing
crimes for which, In their utter ignorance and want
OF moral culture they scarcely to be held respon-
siblc.
The position of the famous child or sacred history
which Solomon was about to divide into two, as
nothing compared to that OF "Gnxs Baby,n threat
ened as he was with being torn into sufficient frag-
ments to supply each religious denomination and
every so-called "Charltabe Society' text for ex-
pounding their favorite theories.
"Ginx's Baby" is unhapply one Of a large family,
''whose pedigree goes back three hundred years;
got by Misery out O. Starvashun." "When you,
good matron" says the author .looK at your littl4
pinkcheeked daughter, clean and so cosey IN her
pretty cot waking to see the well-faced nurse, or
you, still sweeter to her eyes, watching above her
dreams perhaps you ought to stop q moment 70
contrast the scene with the sad tableaux you may
get sight Of not far away" t
Aside from the useful thoughts which the writer
has, through mucn humor and some exaggeration.
endeavored to awaken ."GinX's Baby'' Is most
amusing book, and one that no one could read With
out entertainments.
NEWARK FINANCES.