Middlesbrough & Stockton Gazette and General Advertiser. — 1874-08-06 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

BELGRAVIA. Cou3octed by M. P. Brothlon. Lou  don: Warwick House, Paternoster-tow. THROUGHOUT the entire course of the tale "Lost for Love," there has been a dark side to nearly all Dr. 011ivaut's movoneats. He is painted so like too many men ef the world—clever, ambitions, unscrupulous. .c of the most attractive features in all the talente-, author's productions, is the ease with which, the different characters are made to fit into their places, and play their respective parts. The plot has only to be diverted a little from its present bourse, and Dr. 011ivant might be made a second Shylock. Ho has been made the evil genius of the tale. From the first interview between the doctor and his old friend, it was made apparent that the young lady who ultimately became his ard and afterwards his wife, had aroused a feeling within him to which he had hithei to been an entire stranger. In spite of the great disparity between them in years, his was love as first sight, and he did not attempt to conceal his objection to the visits ok young Leyburn the painter, who, as Jetrard said, "painted pictures that didn't sell." Nor did Flora try to conceal her ardent admiration of his genius and his noble nature. The mysterious disappearance of the young painter, was a source unfeigned sorrow to Flora, and when she gave her hand, and as much of her affection as was left to her guardian, she little imagined that his life was sacrificed to gratify 011ivant's love and admiration for her. It does not yet appear that he had any selfish motive in marrying his ward, because his position as a rising  ihrkian gave him 'entree. to g't society, and he might have chosen a partner with as much wealth, and one more like himself as to age, than the simple-hearted Elora. YOis love for her seems to have boort real, ardent, ruiselllsh—and therefore unquenchable. But no exemse or palliatim can he found for deliberately murdering a rival, and using many subterfuges to conceal his knowledge of his victim's fate. Hitt " murder will out," and 011ivant was not left long num/tills/led. His crime became known to the lazy unscrupulous lout who earned" his living as he said by "cleanjug other people's pictures." ,-Perhaps he would have been nearer the truth if be bad said he "darkened" pictures to make them look like the work of the old masters. 011ivant failed to seal Jerrard's mouth with hard cash and he took au early opportunity to apprise elora that the husband she adored was the murd,rer eider Bret lover, • and a systematic deceiver. '/Wr shock to Flora was a deep and desperate wound lwhich nothing could heal. The love she che ristied for him was at once turned into hate by the discovery cif his vileness, auct she banished him from her sight for ever. It may be noted and pointed out as a defect in "Lost for Love." that while the authoress makes 011ivant and Jerrard little better than fiends, those who "belong to the other sex" are made pare and upright. It looks rather one-sided, and some of the natural evil which undoubtedly must lurk in the breast of either Flora, her mother-in-law, or even Jerrard's mother, might have been allowed to show itself, if only in a small degree, to divest the tale of the charge of partiality, and an attempt to extol the virtues of the gentler sex at the ex./Anse of their sterner brethren. There ia yet plenty of time, however, for making amends on this point.— George Augusta Bala appears before the public in quite a new character—namely, that of a prophet. When he heard that De Groof Was gOiug tn.," fly" from Cremorne Gardens, Mr Sala said, "this man will be killed." And* he was killed. We haste no means of ascertaining how far Mr Bala's prophecy ended to bring about De Grout's death, or i it in any way affected the action of the air on the wonderful contrivance by which De Groot was to fly. Mr Sala, it seems, based his eabuilai tions, on personal experience. He, too, had been flying, having gone aloft in a balloon, which reminded him of a monster sausage. In consequence of neglecting a very necessary precaution, the balloon burst, and the aeronauts came down rather quicker than was desirable or •pleasant.—" That Eventful Night" is becoming quite exciting ; and the other contributions are all worth a careful perusa