Middlesbrough & Stockton Gazette and General Advertiser. — 1875-04-08 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE. Edinburgh: 4, George.  street; and 37, Paternoster-row, London. IN this month's number the tale " Alice Lorraine," which has been continued for a very long time, is brought to a very satisfactory conolusion. The 1 author is superior to commonplace ways of handling the hero or the heroine of a novel. In the March number Alice was, to all intents and purposes, drowned--had com.nitted suicide in fart, and, as it was the depth of winter, end a snow of tremendous thickness lying on the ground when she jumped into  the swollen channel of the %V 'e there wee very little prospect that she would ever appear on the stage again, except as the subject of a " crowner'e " inquest. She is, however, safely recovered, and gets over it with a very slight cold, .iiid the evil machiuse tions of her graudmother, to whirl] scores of printed pages had been devoted, are entirely upset by a page or two, and, in the ai proved n, everyler lives happily with everybody else f.r ever titerwards. The magazine is nrut quite h of the literature of fiction, and we ma. now he 0 • 11 hp*. out for a new and good surp'y. " l'he Abode of Snow" is still continued, this inontb's quota being article on " Keshruir." The author describes his descent from the realms of eternal PDOW Jute the valley of Kashmir in very beautiful language. "The air was soft and balmy; but at this transfer from September to October it was agreeably cool, even to a traveller from the abodes and sources of BDOW, we descended, the pine furcate were confined to the moantaia elopes ; but t 0 lofty deodar began to appear in the valley, as afterwards the sycamore, the elm, and the horse chestnut. Round the Picturesque villages, and even forming considerable woods, there were fruit trees—as the walnut, the cheenut, the beech, the apricot, the apple, and the pear. Large qnaniities of timber— said to be cut recklessly—was in course of being &etc,' down the river ; and where the path led across it, there were curious wooden bridges, for which it was not necessary to dismount." In another place, he says--" According to tradition, it was formerly tin Garden of Eden; and one is very well disposed to accept that the,ry when tryinz to get into it from the north or north-west." The Wowing sentence dispels some of Vie r3mance which has for a long time attached to the vale of Kashmir and its fabled beautiful women :—" The beauty of the Kashmir women has loin, been famous in the East, but if you want beautiful -kaehniires o not go to Kashmir to look for them. They have all fine eyes, and ' the eyes of kashmir' have been justly Mee, bratod in Eastern poetry; but that is almost the only geminitip attraction to be found in the country even among the dancing girls and boat girls." Re goes on, however, t 3 explain this by saying that the pretty girls, or all the children thst promise to turn out pretty, are carried off into the Punjsb and India:; and further says : oh, horror! and else, for our fanciful notions —" I don't suppose the most beautiful woman in the world would show t advantage if she were imrerfeetly washed and dressed is the ordinary feminine attire of Kashmir—a dirty, whitish cotton night-gown." The number contains what in common parlance would be called "an interesting and amusing" article entitled " Fashione and tricks of speech." To attempt quotation would be very inadequate to convey any Mee of thie article. It is exceedingly clever end Sprightly, and must be read to be apyreciated. The rgmait,ing articles are " Mr liinglake's Battle of lukermann ;" No. I of a dialogue article "In a Studio ;" and a political article entitled "Politics before Easter."