The Sun. — 1841-02-10 (London, England)

THE SCHOOLFELLOWS. Bentley, London, 1841. The idea of this story is a good one, and it has been skilfully worked out. The two schoolfellows, who are its heroes, and from whom it derives its title, are—the one, a rich, well-connected youth, son and heir of a country Baronet, of ancient descent, and great local influence; and the other, the only child of a lady who has been seduced, through the means of a sham marriage, by a scoundrel, who afterwards is tried and convicted of forgery, but, escaping from confinement, persecutes the innocent victim of his intrigues and her illegitimate son, for years, until he is finally removed to the colonies by the Government for whom he had consented to act as a spy. Painfully conscious of the stigma attached to himselfand his helplessmotherby this conection, young Manning—such is the name of the Spy's son—becomes even in his boyish days, the unresisting slave of his rich, high-born schoolfellow, Mandeville, who has accidentally discovered the secret of his birth, and threatens to expose him, unless he will consent to be his drudge—that is to say, write all his school exercises for him, assist him in the annual scholastic examinations, and allow him to carry off the prize. To this Manning, though not without a sore struggle, consents ; and at Cambridge, \whither in clue time the schoolfellows are sent, the same system is pursued, Mandeville so working on Manning's sensitive apprehensions, that the poor youth, instead of trying to secure college honours for himself, is compelled to assist his task-master in securing them. When they afterwards meet in London, Mandeville still exerts his despotic influence, and is mean and unprincipled enough to take credit for the authorship of certain popular works which Manning has written, but which he dare not acknowledge. This constant sense of slavish dependence on a man whom lie fears and despises, produces a mostblig,hting effect on the unfriended and obscure youth's mind ; he toils, and toils in vain, to procure a competence for hhnself,and throw off his tyrant's iron yoke ; but, at length when he has become almost desperate, his luck takes a turn ; Mandeville commits suicide ; Manning's prospects begin to brighten ; the competence he so long coveted, he obtains; and ultimately he is enabled to marry the girl to whom he had for years been attached. Such is a brief abstract of a tale which possesses much of the gloomy power of Godwin, and in its contrasts of character exhibits more than ordinary tact and  ingenuity. Mr. Johns, the author, proves by his forcible delineation of Manning, that he understands the subtle workings of the human heart, and can trace its hidden springs of action. Some of his chapters, however, seem to have been thrown off in a great hurry, for in one place we find Manning called " Henry," and in another " Charles ;" and his mother, now answering to the name of " Margaret," and now to that of " Edith." These are ncgligences which a little patient attention would have rectified ; and we point them out, by way of a friendly hint to the author, who should bear in mind that if a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing correctly. Verbum sap.