New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-06-03
THE GOSSIP IN LITERATURE.
,rv NoyEls--THE INGENUE-AT HER MERcY-MR'
swIypuRNgs "BoTHwEIL'

,..hioned s.ory sentimental to the last degree IL
exactly the Of ethereal tale OF love ana youth Una"
you may imagine told by gentle. simp'e-hear'eu wv
maid 10 the accompaniment Of birdcage-iui Vi wv"
farpcs and the purrr OF the cat In her lap in hei ~
ago abe IL sin the Ingtnue of the time when women
fnoased themselves in short waists, sKmPeu '"'
and calashes; when men choked themselves WIN
h,oh .stocks and deliberately swathed oravats' ana
when both men and women in good Enensn so.eS -
manners to match their costumes, dgnhyl ing '"e
with prm and stately courtesy. MISS luna
rho rather cushngly conhdes her experiences W u.s.
- g., Oh. society an artless and very beautiful
o,n. Girl under the eve OF her emneny ponte grahu
s.,her who has an arstocratc pride in her and gen
teel dislike for her mother his sons wife, because
abe was a tradesmans daughter. Ema Is uear !"
his heart, for her nose Is the snaps VI '
and she too is dreadfully polite by nature
The young lady goes through fasnion"oo
.eason IN the ancient city OF Bathwherein Mr. fcK
wick and Sam had so many pleasant adven'ures-anu
experted TO make fine marriage but she ooes IL iV'
abe has grown TO worship her cousin another eAtene
yoIite man OF rdleulously abnormal periectioh anu
tendency TO consumption. This persons affections are
unfortunately buried in the Tomb of Another and pote
"a he H. he lets Elmas little heart waste In silence lie
zoos away to India, his consumption nnishes
him before he can return, and the pauen'
Elma never marries anybody her excehent "o.nor
and she living on together in an atmosphere OF Chrsa
usefulness and doing OF duty. Nobody in the book Is
uoimpressible hero; compared TO "John Halifax the
s,ory IA as eau slerE to good Burgundy But thought
hath suspicion of mid mushness, II Is entertaining
enough for q Summer day, when the bees buzz iazhy
and the roseeayes utter down from the vines; anu an
story in which all the women are gooo anu
am,ahe ana ali the men are grave and ehiyalric is not
story TO be despised.
In James Payn's AT Her Mercv,' the stereotypeu
figure OF the Ignue gives place to the equally stereo
typed figure Of the Beautiful Fiend. who ghdes ma
I,ciously and darky through the volume. veneraole
gentleman with frantic passion for taxing disaereea-
BILE medicines and passion likewise frantic for leaving
them living about casually In his drawng-room and his
dining-room leaves evening bottle OF prussc
scid-whch he takes for Nerves-and his wife AFTER
auarrelng with him wanders around tho house. ana
concludes to quiet her NERVES by dose OF
the same. She takes TOO much and dies lh-
stapy and her husband discovering her cold remains
shory after fears he twill ibe accused OF her murder
and calmly losses her over CHI INTO the sea- 0uVu
natural thing TO do 1t is supposed when she is ounu
that she fallen while walking Dut POOR peau
tu dabocal young protege OF hers mas witnessed
the whole affair and determines to make II prontaoie.
sbe threatens the gentleman with an accusation OF
murder and he, with a weak-mindedness beyond the
widest dreams Of insane asylums, gives up MS en-
tire fortune and the consequent happiness OF
fayorite niece TO silence this pleasant young lady she
scrambes for everything; takes all tho money WINS
and marries the young man whom the fayorite niece
was engaged, and goes behaving like the average
Fiend until she shrown from her horse while hunting
Then che Immediately sends for the favorite niece, re-
penis in whole pages OF rhetoric, and dies or course
the venerable uncle longer at her mercy RECEIVERS
his brains with his money the niece marries the happy
vidower and 1t all ends perfectly unearthly bliss
over the remains the Beautiful Fiend. Beth these
novels Harper reprints.
Pull Of tumult and fame" that is the way Mr..
swnburne describes his new tragedy, Boutwell," IN
Its dedication to Victor Hugo The book has just ap-
in Al auln in nit n
author gives divers critics actually call good deal
Of 1t dull and talk about of the scenes being al
most of his mannerisms and faults One OF
them speaks of long debates, musings, and In
terminable dissertations all distributed among Darnly,
Rzzio, Murray, and the Queen, and declares it's no
wonder that Mary hated land where she was forced to
listen 10 counselors verbose. Here are extracts
holding all Of the swinburnian feeling. The Queen
makes sad confession 10 Bothwell:
My blame il is my weary waste OF breath
My wretched hours and empty bloodless me-
AZ BY se y f xss ire be- fault st to be ''p
More than all men loving, all women true,
To hunger with the noodless heart Of grief
And witbeF with the fearless thirst OF eyes
To wander in weak thought through unsown fields,
Past unreaped sheaves of vision; TO be blind
Weak, SICK and lame of spirit and poor of soul.
And to live loyeIess for loves bitter sake
And have TO food loathiDg and shame for drink,
And or breach IN my long life
Where these nigh, end or ID, e my faS h
Will live TO love no living thing again"
In the concluding Mary .gves this adieu, with
threat in 1t, TO Scotland:
II God pluck not all hope out Of my hand,
II aught Of all mine prosper, that 90.
The wind down, that grows against the wind,
And grssps 1T with great hands, and WINS its way,
And wins it's will, and triumphs: shall
On these that would have quenched it. will make
From to one furnace of the Land
Whereon the wind of war shall beat its wings
III they wax faint with hopees;s, hope OF rest
Extinguish the red embers. will leave
No living soul of their disappearing faith
who war with monarehs God shall see Inc reign
As he shall reign beside me; and his foess
Lie at INV foot with mine Kingdoms and kings
Their souls be kindled to devour for prey
The people that would make its prey OF them,
And leave Gods altar strlpt of sacrament
Bare as their thrones his temples; will set
Those Old things of his holiness on high
That are brought low, aud break beneath my feet
These thines OF mems fashion; will sit
And see tears flow from eyes that saw me weep,
And dust and ashes and the shadow OF death
Cast from the block beneath the AK that falls
On heads that saw NE humbled; will don't
Or bow mine own down 10 no royal end.
Aud give my blood for theirs II Gods will be,
with but the hate of men TO track way,
Aud not the face Of any friend alive"
Three English novests OF real genius, the darlngs OF
their day. are little known that TO write the
names Fielding. Richardson, Austen, is TO give unfa
uiliar motion TO the pen. Those who read Thackerays
grateful Of Indebtedness to Fielding
pf pupil MASTER rarely led thereby in spite OF
curiosity, to acquaintance with the " first great novel
ST. Of England. Miss Austens fine and simple pictures
OF character stay the limbo OF large libraries and the
modern noveeader probably thinks only OF mines when
you speak Of Emma" stfor Richardson's Clarissa
Harlowe"-a book which Macaulay knew almost by
heart and which Doctor johnson dec Jared to be the
FIRST book in the world for the knowledge it
displays OF the human HEARTBEAT has grown
70 be scarcely than the title OF fossil to the pop
ular mind. The fat, ease-pving old gentleman who.
much adoYed by feminine critics. walks through chap
Ter Of Tne virginsns had gone near to be completely
forgotten when happily occurred TO the hrm OF Henry
Holt Co. TO publish al abridged edition OF "Carssa
Harowe." The profuse accumulation detail. chiefly