CHAPTER X.
CONCLUSION.
Linger not, O novel-writer, at the helm when the ship sails into the harbour, or your readers will escape you. When the end is known, and the facts and fancies pieced together, remarks are wearisome. The lovers have made it up, and good fortune awaits them; _bon voyage!_--what's the next story, who writes it, and is the heroine fair or dark, ugly or handsome? The readers are off to fresh leaves and pastures new, in much the same hurry as playhouse folk, who scent the conclusion and the tag, are scrambling over their seats whilst paterfamilias is giving his blessing to the young couple, who haven't agreed very well till the last two minutes.
Who would care at this late stage for Mr. Wesden's surprise at his daughter's companion, or for his delight at things "coming comfortably round?" The end is known; there is no room for fresh disasters--Sidney Hinchford marries Harriet Wesden, and there's an end of _that_ book!
And yet there is another scene with which we would fain conclude--those readers who are in no hurry will be tolerant of our prolixity. It is a fair picture, and we will very briefly sketch it whilst our guests retire.
A scene on shipboard--the ship outward-bound--the new minister and his daughter standing on the deck, exchanging farewell greetings with visitors that have surprised them by their presence there; Ann Packet, with her money sewed in her stays, in the background. Two months have passed since the events related in our last chapter--the partnership has been dissolved, the business sold, friends taken leave of in a very quiet manner by Mattie, who knows that it is for ever, and yet would deceive them all by an equable demeanour, and a talk of going away for a little while.
The task is beyond her strength, and she betrays herself a little, and suggests doubts, which resolve themselves to certainties, and lead to this.
She is glad now that they have found out the truth; she would have spared herself a little pain, but lost a bright reminiscence--it is as well to say "Good-bye" honestly and fairly, and not steal away from them in the dark, and leave her name finally associated with a regret.
They are all there who have ever cared for Mattie, or been indebted to her. Sidney Hinchford and Harriet, and Harriet's father, very feeble now, and more inclined to stare over people's heads than ever. They are gently upbraiding Mattie for her vain deception, and speaking of the sorrow they feel at losing her. The tears are in Mattie's eyes, and she trembles and clings to the stout arm of her father, whilst she offers her excuses.
"I had not the courage to look you all steadily in the face and say that I was going away for ever--I preferred to see you all one by one, as though nothing was about to happen to separate us, and to leave to the letters, which are already in the post-office, the last news which you have thus forestalled."
"You speaking of want of courage! said Harriet.
"I am stronger now--I am glad now to see you all--I can bear to say good-bye to you."
She says it well and stoutly, too, when the time comes, and friends are warned to let the ship proceed upon its course, and not delay it by their presence there. With Sidney, facing him with her hands in his, she gives way somewhat; she lets him stoop and kiss her--for the second time in life--the last!
"God bless you, Mattie!--best of women!" he murmurs.
"God bless you, Sidney!--with this dear girl!"
She flings herself into Harriet's arms, and cries there for a little while--there is no jealousy now--Harriet is the little girl of old, old days, the first of all these friends she has learned to love, and is learning now to part with.
"To lose _you_, Mattie--the friend, sister, counsellor, whose good words and strong love have kept me from sinking more than once--it _is_ hard!"
"In a few months, a wiser, better, and more natural counsellor than I--trust in each other, and have no secrets--don't forget me!"
Thus they parted--thus hoping for the best, and believing that the best had come for all, Mattie is borne away to the new world, wherein her father had prophesied would come new friends, new happiness. And they came; for Mattie made no enemies in life, and won much love, and was rewarded for much labour in God's service, by that good return, even on earth, which renders labour sweet and profitable.
THE END.
MESSRS. HURST AND BLACKETT'S LIST OF NEW WORKS.
COURT AND SOCIETY FROM ELIZABETH TO ANNE, Edited from the Papers at Kimbolton, by the Duke of Manchester. Second Edition, Revised.
Opinions of the Press.
From The Athanaeum.--"The Duke of Manchester has done a welcome service to the lover of gossip and secret history by publishing these family papers. Persons who like to see greatness without the plumes and mail in which history presents it, will accept these volumes with hearty thanks to their noble editor. In them will be found something new about many men and women in whom the reader can never cease to feel an interest--much about the divorce of Henry the Eighth and Catherine of Arragon--a great deal about the love affairs of Queen Elizabeth--something about Bacon and (indirectly) about Shakspeare--more about Lord Essex and Lady Rich--the very strange story of Walter Montagu, poet, profigate, courtier, pervert, secret agent, abbot--many details of the Civil War and Cromwell's Government, and of the Restoration--much that is new about the Revolution and the Settlement, the exiled Court of St Germains, the wars of William of Orange, the campaigns of Marlborough, the intrigues of Duchess Sarah, and the town life of fine ladies and gentlemen during the days of Anne. With all this is mingled a good deal of gossip about the loves of great poets, the frailties of great beauties, the rivalries of great wits, the quarrels of great peers."
From The Times.--"These volumes are sure to excite curiosity. A great deal of interesting matter is here collected, from sources which are not within everybody's reach."
From The Morning Post.--"The public are indebted to the noble author for contributing, from the archives of his ancestral seat, many important documents otherwise inaccessible to the historical inquirer, as well as for the lively, picturesque, and piquant sketches of Court and Society, which render his work powerfully attractive to the general reader. The work contains varied information relating to secret Court intrigues, numerous narratives of an exciting nature, and valuable materials for authentic history. Scarcely any personage whose name figured before the world during the long period embraced by the volumes is passed over in silence."
From The Morning Herald.--"In commending these volumes to our readers, we can assure them that they will find a great deal of very delightful and very instructive reading."
From The Daily News,--"The merits of the Duke of Manchester's work are numerous. The substance of the book is new; it ranges over by far the most interesting and important period of our history; it combines in its notice of men and things infinite variety; and the author has command of a good style, graceful, free, and graphic."
From The Star.--"The reading public are indebted to the Duke of Manchester for two very interesting and highly valuable volumes. The Duke has turned to good account the historical treasures of Kimbolton. We learn a good deal in these volumes about Queen Elizabeth and her love affairs, which many grave historical students may have ignored. A chapter full of interest is given to Penelope Devereux, the clever, charming, and disreputable sister of the Earl of Essex. The Montagu or Manchester family and their fortunes are traced out in the volumes, and there are anecdotes, disclosures, reminiscences, or letters, telling us something of James and Charles I., of Oliver Cromwell, of Buckingham, of 'Sacharissa,' of Prior, Peterborough, and Boling-broke, of Swift, Addison, and Harley, of Marlborough and Shovel, of Vanbrugh and Congreve, of Court lords and fine ladies, of Jacobites and Williamites, of statesmen and singers, of the Council Chamber and the Opera House. Indeed, it would not be easy to find a work of our day which contains so much to be read and so little to be passed over."
From The Observer.--"These valuable volumes will be eagerly read by all classes, who will obtain from them not only pleasant reading and amusement, but instruction given in an agreeable form. The Duke of Manchester has done good service to the literary world, and merits the highest praise for the admirable manner in which he has carried out his plan."
THE LIFE OF THE REV. EDWARD IRVING, Minister of the National Scotch Church, London. Illustrated by his Journal and Correspondence. By Mrs. Oliphant. Third and Cheaper Edition.
"We who read these memoirs must own to the nobility of Irving's character, the grandeur of his aims, and the extent of his powers. His friend Carlyle bears this testimony to his worth:--'I call him, on the whole, the best man I have ever, after trial enough, found in this world, or hope to find.' A character such as this is deserving of study, and his life ought to be written. Mrs. Oliphant has undertaken the work, and has produced a biography of considerable merit. The author fully understands her hero, and sets forth the incidents of his career with the skill of a practised hand. The book is a good book on a most interesting theme."--_Times._
"Mrs. Oliphant's 'Life of Edward Irving' supplies a long-felt desideratum. It is copious, earnest, and eloquent. On every page there is the impress of a large and masterly comprehension, and of a bold, fluent, and poetic skill of portraiture. Irving as a man and as a pastor is not only fully sketched, but exhibited with many broad, powerful, and life-like touches, which leave a strong impression."--_Edinburgh Review._
"We thank Mrs. Oliphant for her beautiful and pathetic narrative. Hers is a book which few of any creed can read without some profit, and still fewer will close without regret. It is saying much, in this case, to say that the biographer is worthy of the man. * * * The journal which Irving kept is one of the most remarkable records that was ever given to the public, and must be read by any who would form a just appreciation of his noble and simple character."--_Blackwood's Magazine._
"A truly interesting and most affecting memoir. Irving's life ought to have a niche in every gallery of religious biography. There are few lives that will be fuller of instruction, interest, and consolation."--_Saturday Review._
"A highly instructive and profoundly interesting life of Edward Irving."--_Scotsman._
CHEAP EDITION of LES MISERABLES. By VICTOR HUGO. THE AUTHORIZED COPYRIGHT ENGLISH TRANSLATION, Illustrated by Millais, forming a Volume of Hurst and Blackett's Standard Library of Cheap Editions of Popular Modern Works.
"We think it will be seen on the whole that this work has something more than the beauties of an exquisite style or the word-compelling power of a literary Zeus to recommend it to the tender care of a distant posterity; that in dealing with all the emotions, passions, doubts, fears, which go to make up our common humanity, M. Victor Hugo has stamped upon every page the hall mark of genius and the loving patience and conscientious labour of a true artist. But the merits of 'Les Miserables' do not merely consist in the conception of it as a whole, it abounds page after page with details of unequalled beauty."--_Quarterly Review._
"'Les Miserables' is one of those rare works which have a strong personal interest in addition to their intrinsic importance. It is not merely the work of a truly great man, but it is his great and favourite work--the fruit of years of thought and labour. Victor Hugo is almost the only French imaginative writer of the present century who is entitled to be considered as a man of genius. He has wonderful poetical power, and he has the faculty which hardly any other French novelist possesses, of drawing beautiful as well as striking pictures. Another feature for which Victor Hugo's book deserves high praise is its perfect purity. Anyone who reads the Bible and Shakspeare may read 'Les Miserables.' The story is admirable, and is put together with unsurpassable art, care, life, and simplicity. Some of the characters are drawn with consummate skill."--_Daily News._
A YOUNG ARTIST'S LIFE.
"This very charming story is a perfect poem in prose. Lovingly and tenderly is the career of the young artist depicted by one who apparently knew and appreciated him well. Many will recognise in the biographer a writer who has on more than one occasion found favour with the public, but never has he written more freshly, more charmingly, than in the pages of this pathetic romance of real life."--_Sun._
A PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF THIRTEEN YEARS' SERVICE AMONGST THE WILD TRIBES OF KHONDISTAN, FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF HUMAN SACRIFICE. By Major-General John Campbell, with Illustrations.
"Major-General Campbell's book is one of thrilling interest, and must be pronounced the most remarkable narrative of the present season."--_Athenaeum._
THE DESTINY OF NATIONS, as indicated in Prophecy. By the Rev. John Cumming.
"Among the subjects expounded by Dr. Cumming in this interesting volume are The Little Horn, or, The Papacy; The Waning Crescent, Turkey; The Lost Ten Tribes; and the Future of the Jews and Judea, Africa, France, Russia, America, Great Britain, &c."--_Observer._ "One of the most able of Dr. Cumming's works."--_Messenger._
MEMOIRS OF JANE CAMERON, FEMALE CONVICT. By a Prison Matron, Author of "Female Life in Prison."
"This narrative, as we can well believe, is truthful in every important particular--a faithful chronicle of a woman's fall and rescue. It is a book that ought to be widely read."--_Examiner._ "There can be no doubt as to the interest of the book, which, moreover, is very well written."--_Athenaeum._
"Once or twice a-year one rises from reading a book with a sense of real gratitude to the author, and this book is one of these. There are many ways in which it has a rare value. The artistic touches in this book are worthy of De Foe."--_Reader._
TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES OF AN OFFICER'S WIFE IN INDIA, CHINA, AND NEW ZEALAND. By Mrs. Muter, Wife of Lieut-Colonel D. D. Muter, 13th (Prince Albert's) Light Infantry.
"Mrs. Muter's travels deserve to be recommended, as combining instruction and amusement in a more than ordinary degree. The work has the interest of a romance added to that of history."--_Athenaeum._
TRAVELS ON HORSEBACK IN MANTCHU TARTARY: being a Summer's Ride beyond the Great Wall of China, By George Fleming, Military Train. With Map and 50 Illustrations.
"Mr. Fleming's narrative is a most charming one. He has an untrodden region to tell of, and he photographs it and its people and their ways. Life-like descriptions are interspersed with personal anecdotes, local legends, and stories of adventure, some of them revealing no common artistic power."--_Spectator._
"Mr. Fleming has many of the best qualities of the traveller--good spirits, an excellent temper, sound sense, the faculty of observation, and a literary culture which has enlarged his sympathies with men and things. He has rendered us his debtor for much instruction and amusement. The value of his book is greatly enhanced by the illustrations, as graphic as copious and well executed, which is saying much."--_Reader._
ADVENTURES AND RESEARCHES among the ANDAMAN ISLANDERS. By Dr. Mouat, F.R.G.S., &c. with Illustrations.
"Dr. Mouat's book, whilst forming a most important and valuable contribution to ethnology, will be read with interest by the general reader."--_Athenaeum._
MEMOIRS OF QUEEN HORTENSE, MOTHER OF NAPOLEON III. Cheaper Edition, in one vol.
"A biography of the beautiful and unhappy Queen, more satisfactory than any we have yet met with."--_Daily News._
A LADY'S VISIT TO MANILLA & JAPAN. By Anna D'A, with Illustration.
"This book is written in a lively, agreeable, natural style, and we cordially recommend it as containing a fund of varied information connected with the Far East, not to be found recorded in so agreeable a manner in any other volume with which we are acquainted."--_Press._
THE WANDERER IN WESTERN FRANCE. By G. T. Lowth. Esq., Author of "The Wanderer in Arabia." Illustrated by the Hon. Eliot Yorke.
"Mr. Lowth reminds us agreeably of Washington Irving."--_Athenaeum._
"If Mr. Lowth's conversation is only half as good as his book, he must be a very charming acquaintance. The art of gossiping in his style, never wearying the listener, yet perpetually conveying to him valuable information, is a very rare one, and he possesses it in perfection. No one will quit his volume without feeling that he understands Brittany and La Vendee."--_Spectator._
THE LAST DECADE of a GLORIOUS REIGN; completing "THE HISTORY of HENRY IV., King of France and Navarre," from Original and Authentic Sources. By M. W. Freer, with Portraits.
"The best and most comprehensive work on the reign of Henry IV. available to English readers."--_Examiner._
A WINTER IN UPPER AND LOWER EGYPT. By G. A. Hoskins, Esq., F.R.G.S., with Illustrations.
"An eminently interesting and attractive book, containing much valuable information. Intending Nile travellers, whether for science, health, or recreation, could not have a better companion. Mr. Hoskins's descriptions are vigorous and graphic, and have the further merit of being fresh and recent, and of presenting many striking pictures of Egypt and its people in our own days."--_Herald._
GREECE AND THE GREEKS. Being the Narrative of a Winter Residence and Summer Travel in Greece and its Islands. By Fredrika Bremer. Translated by Mary Howitt. 2 vols.
"The best book of travels which this charming authoress has given to the public."--_Athenaeum._
POINTS OF CONTACT BETWEEN SCIENCE AND ART. By His Eminence Cardinal Wiseman.
"Cardinal Wiseman's interesting work contains suggestions of real value. It is divided into three heads, treating respectively of painting, sculpture, and architecture. The cardinal handles his subject in a most agreeable manner."--_Art Journal._
HEROES, PHILOSOPHERS, AND COURTIERS of the TIME of LOUIS XVI. 2 vols.
"This work is full of amusing and interesting anecdote, and supplies many links in the great chain of events of a most remarkable period."--_Examiner._
MEMOIRS OF CHRISTINA, QUEEN OF SWEDEN. By Henry Woodhead. 2 vols, with Portrait.
"An impartial history of the life of Queen Christina and portraiture of her character are placed before the public in these valuable and interesting volumes."--_Press._
LIFE AMONG CONVICTS. By the Rev. C. B. Gibson, M.R.I.A., Chaplain in the Convict Service. 2 vols.
"All concerned in that momentous question--the treatment of our convicts--may peruse with interest and benefit the very valuable information laid before them by Mr. Gibson in the most pleasant and lucid manner possible."--_Sun._
ENGLISH WOMEN OF LETTERS. By Julia Kavanagh, Author of "Nathalie," "Adele," "French Women of Letters," "Queen Mab," &c. 2 vols.
HISTORY OF ENGLAND, FROM THE ACCESSION OF JAMES I. TO THE DISGRACE OF CHIEF JUSTICE COKE. By Samuel Rawson Gardiner, late Student of Christchurch. 2 vols.
ITALY UNDER VICTOR EMMANUEL. A Personal Narrative. By Count Charles Arrivabene.
"Whoever wishes to gain an insight into the Italy of the present moment, and to know what she is, what she has done, and what she has to do, should consult Count Arrivabene's ample volumes, which are written in a style singularly vivid and dramatic."--_Dicken's All the Year Round._
THE PRIVATE DIARY OF RICHARD, DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM AND CHANDOS, K.G. 3 vols.
MAN; or, THE OLD AND NEW PHILOSOPHY: Being Notes and Facts for the Curious, with especial reference to recent writers on the subject of the Antiquity of Man. By the Rev. B. W. Savile, M.A., 1 vol.
DRIFTWOOD, SEAWEED, AND FALLEN LEAVES. By the Rev. John Cumming, D.D. 2 vols.
THE LIFE OF J. M. W. TURNER, R.A., from Original Letters and Papers furnished by his Friends, and Fellow Academicians. By Walter Thornbury. 2 vols. with Portraits and other Illustrations.
TRAVELS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA; with the Narrative of a Yacht Voyage round Vancouver's Island. By Captain C. E. Barrett Lennard. 1 vol.
THE CHURCH AND THE CHURCHES; or, THE PAPACY AND THE TEMPORAL POWER. By Dr. Doellinger. Translated, by W. B. Mac Cabe.
THE OKAVANGO RIVER; A NARRATIVE OF TRAVEL, EXPLORATION, AND ADVENTURE. By Charles John Andersson, Author of "Lake Ngami." 1 vol., with Portrait and numerous Illustrations.
TRAVELS IN THE REGIONS OF THE AMOOR, and the Russian Acquisitions on the Confines of India and China. By T. W. Atkinson, F.G.S., F.R.G.S., Author of "Oriental and Western Siberia." Dedicated, by permission, to Her Majesty. Second Edition. With Map and 88 Illustrations.
THIRTY YEARS' MUSICAL RECOLLECTIONS. By Henry F. Chorley. 2 vols., with Portraits.
LOST AND SAVED. By The Hon. Mrs. Norton. Cheap Edition. Illustrated by Millais.
Under The Especial Patronage of her Majesty.
_Published annually in One Vol._
LODGE'S PEERAGE AND BARONETAGE, CORRECTED BY THE NOBILITY, THE THIRTY-THIRD EDITION FOR 1864 IS NOW READY.
Lodge's Peerage and Baronetage is acknowledged to be the most complete, as well as the most elegant, work of the kind. As an established and authentic authority on all questions respecting the family histories, honours, and connections of the titled aristocracy, no work has ever stood so high. It is published under the especial patronage of Her Majesty, and is annually corrected throughout, from the personal communications of the Nobility. It is the only work of its class in which, _the type being kept constantly standing_, every correction is made in its proper place to the date of publication, an advantage which gives it supremacy over all its competitors. Independently of its full and authentic information respecting the existing Peers and Baronets of the realm, the most sedulous attention is given in its pages to the collateral branches of the various noble families, and the names of many thousand individuals are introduced, which do not appear in other records of the titled classes. For its authority, correctness, and facility of arrangement, and the beauty of its typography and binding, the work is justly entitled to the place it occupies on the tables of Her Majesty and the Nobility.
LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL CONTENTS
Historical View of the Peerage. Parliamentary Roll of the House of Lords.
English, Scotch, and Irish Peers, in their orders of Precedence.
Alphabetical List of Peers of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, holding superior rank in the Scotch or Irish Peerage.
Alphabetical List of Scotch and Irish Peers, holding superior titles in the Peerage of Great Britain and the United Kingdom.
A Collective List of Peers, in their order of Precedence.
Table of Precedency among Men.
Table of Precedency among Women.
The Queen and the Royal Family.
Peers of the Blood Royal.
The Peerage, alphabetically arranged.
Families of such Extinct Peers as have left Widows or Issue.
Alphabetical List of the Surnames of all the Peers.
The Archbishops and Bishops of England, Ireland, and the Colonies.
The Baronetage, alphabetically arranged.
Alphabetical List of Surnames assumed by members of Noble Families.
Alphabetical List of the Second Titles of Peers, usually borne by their Eldest Sons.
Alphabetical Index to the Daughters of Dukes, Marquises, and Earls, who, having married Commoners, retain the title of Lady before their own Christian and their Husbands' Surnames,
Alphabetical Index to the Daughters of Viscounts and Barons, who, having married Commoners, are styled Honourable Mrs.; and, in case of the husband being a Baronet or Knight, Honourable Lady.
Mottoes alphabetically arranged and translated.
"Lodge's Peerage must supersede all other works of the kind, for two reasons: first, it is on a better plan; and secondly, it is better executed. We can safely pronounce it to be the readiest, the most useful, and exactest of modern works on the subject."--_Spectator._
"A work which corrects all errors of former works. It is a most useful publication."--_Times._
"As perfect a Peerage as we are ever likely to see published."--_Herald._
MESSRS. HURST AND BLACKETT'S LIST OF NEW WORKS
_In Preparation._
THE LIFE OF JOSIAH WEDGWOOD; from his Private Correspondence and Family Papers, in the possession of Joseph Mayer, Esq., F.S.A., and other Authentic Sources. By Eliza Meteyard. With fine Portraits and numerous Illustrations.
WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE. By Victor Hugo. Authorized English Translation. 1 vol. (Now Ready.)
A JOURNEY FROM LONDON TO PERSEPOLIS--INCLUDING A SUMMER'S WANDERINGS IN THE CAUCASUS, THROUGH GEORGIA AND THE MOUNTAINS OF DAGHESTAN; with the Narrative of a Ride through Armenia and Babylonia to the Persian Gulf, returning through Persia and Asia Minor to the shores of the Black Sea. By J. Ussher, Esq., F.R.G.S., with numerous beautiful Illustrations.
REMINISCENCES OF THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF SIR GEORGE BURDETT L'ESTRANGE: a Westminster Boy, an Officer in the Peninsula, a Guardsman, Sportsman, Man of Business, and Chamberlain to Seven Viceroys of Ireland. Written by Himself. Dedicated, by permission, to His Excellency the Earl of Carlisle, K.G., Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. 2 vols., with fine Portraits.
JOHN GRESWOLD. By the Author of "Paul Ferrol," &c. 2 vols. (Now Ready.)
MY LIFE AND RECOLLECTIONS. By the Hon. Grantley F. Berkeley. 2 vols., with Portrait.
NOT DEAD YET. By J. C. Jeaffreson, Author of "Live it Down," &c. 3 vols.
REMINISCENCES OF THE OPERA. By Benjamin Lumley, Twenty Years' Director of Her Majesty's Theatre. 1 vol., with Portrait.
MATTIE: A STRAY. By the Author of "No Church," "Owen: a Waif," &c. 3 vols.
BRIGANDS AND BRIGANDAGE IN SOUTHERN ITALY. By Count Maffei. 2 vols.
A GUARDIAN ANGEL. By the Author of "A Trap to Catch a Sunbeam," &c. 2 vols.
THE NEW AND POPULAR NOVELS, PUBLISHED BY HURST & BLACKETT.
JANITA'S CROSS. By the Author of "St. Olave's." 3 vols.
ADELA CATHCART. By George MacDonald, M.A., Author of "David Elginbrod," &c. 3 vols.
"'Adela Cathcart' is a delightful book. Written in purest English, quaint, sparkling, and graceful, anon delighting us with flashes of humour, or winning us with true and subtle pathos, it may at once take up its position among the masterpieces of modern English fiction."--_Sunday Times._
DR. JACOB. By the Author of "John and I."
"There is much freshness and originality of conception about this book. Fraulein Fink, with her school and her literary tattle, the chaplain and his family, the professors and the thousand and one little touches which make up the picture of every-day easy genial life in Germany, have much of the picturesque force and vivid reality of 'Villette.'"--_Saturday Review._
PECULIAR. A TALE OF THE GREAT TRANSITION. Edited by William Howitt. 3 vols.
"Since Mrs. Stowe's 'Uncle Tom' we have had no tale of a similar nature so true, so life-like, till the present publication of 'Peculiar.'"--_Observer._
BARBARA'S HISTORY. By Amelia B. Edwards. Second Edition.
"It is not often that we light upon a new novel of so much merit and interest as 'Barbara's History.' It is a work conspicuous beyond the average for taste and literary culture, and felicitous in its delineation of some very delicate and refined shades of character. It is a very graceful and charming book, with a well-managed story, clearly-cut characters, and sentiments expressed with an exquisite elocution. The dialogues especially sparkle with repartee. It is a book which the world will like, and which those who commence it will care to finish. This is high praise of a work of art, and so we intend it."--_The Times._
"If Miss Edwards goes on writing such stories as 'Barbara's History,' she will on some bright day of a lucky season wake up and find herself famous. Miss Edwards has qualities superior to mere literary facility; she has humour, insight into character, and an extensive knowledge of books. We give her full credit for having written a thoroughly-readable and deeply-interesting novel."--_Athenaeum._
WILDFIRE. By Walter Thornbury. 3 vols.
"An excellent tale, imbued with the strongest interest."--_Daily News._
RATHLYNN. By the Author of "The Saxon in Ireland." 3 vols.
MY STEPFATHER'S HOME. By Lady Blake. 3 v.
A WOMAN'S RANSOM. By F. W. Robinson, Author of "Grandmother's Money," &c. 3 vols.
ELLA NORMAN; OR, A WOMAN'S PERILS. By Elizabeth A. Murray. Dedicated to the Duchess of Athole.
FOR EVER. By A Clergyman. 3 vols.
QUEEN MAB. By Julia Kavanagh, Author of "Nathalie," "Adele," &c. Second Edition. 3 vols.
THE WIFE'S EVIDENCE. By W. G. Wills.
LIVE IT DOWN. By J. C. Jeaffreson, Third Edition. Revised. 3 vols.