THE CLINTONS. * THE persons and conduct of upper life are

applied to a moral and religious purpose in this novel; which gives it some distinctiveness. An amiable spirit, a spice of dramatic power, a touch of satire, and a nice perception of character, especially among the gravely rich religious classes, impart literary freshness. There is however, a want of strength in the writer, with a too great predominance of the daily occurrences of common life in the story, as well as a pau- city of incident, which render the narrative rather unexciting, or in ?act "slow."

The story gathers round the fortunes of the two Misses Clinton. Lilian the elder, a beautiful and impulsive coquette, points the most important moral. Her Cousin Wilfred Lynne is attached to her from childhood; she sees his passion and, in spite of her sister's remonstrances tacitly allows it, till Wilfred offers—to be rejected. The blow to remonstrances, pure, affectionate, poetical nature, becomes a blessing. He might have worshiped an earthly idol ; in affliction he devotes his entire soul to his duty, and becomes the pattern clergyman of the writer.

In the mean time, Lilian has accepted Lord Rossendale' a sober- minded, respectable, but selfish young nobleman ; and the mar- riage, not based upon high moral or religious grounds, tarns out a rather unhappy one. Lord Rossendale is struck by lightning after a matrimoniffl quarreL Wilfred, who had been appointed to a family living by the young nobleman is the stay of Lilian in her dis- tress. A knowledge of his virtues and high character creates, per- haps revives, affection. Wilfred, however, is too impassive to be again excited by earthly love ; and his death, remotely produced by the discharge of his duties, is the means of hereafter turning Lilian's attention to religious thoughts, the want of which was the main defect of her character and the source of her troubles.

Her sister Alice is by nature a self-sustained and self-sacrificing person. She rejects Sir Aubrey Howard, a young man who has many good qualities, and to whom she is attached, but he has no care for religion himself though admiring the " feeling " in others. She has to struggle with a sense of loneliness, from want of tho- rough sympathy with either her mother or sister; and she has to bear crushed hopes from her mother's rejection of a favoured suitor.

• The Clintone; or Deeps and Shallows of Life. In three volumes. Published by Bentley. At last, after trials patiently undergone and turned to mount, Hrs. Clinton relents, and the future of Alice gleams happily.

Collateral incidents or episodes are connected with the main story, and many characters introduced into it. The best perhaps are the Lynnes, especially Mr. and Mrs. Lynne, and their daughter Barbara ; but they are all types. Mrs. Lynne, indeed, is merely the goodnatured, unintelleetual woman, dependent for her opinions upon the last word uttered by whomsoever she likes, and re- deemed from the reader's disregard only by the truth of her af- fections,—a commoner person in life than in novels. Barbara and Mr. Lynne are also rarer in books than in reality. They each repre- sent, with the differences arising from age and sex, the hard, rea- soning, unlovely sense of duty and religion, necessary in public life, but not attractive in the domestic circle ; Mr. Lynne, more- over, having a concealed though unconscious worldliness at bot- tom. He is in principle and doctrine an Evangelical Dissenter, but he clings to the Church as a more respectable thing, and as furnishing the chance of greater prizes for his sons. The follow- ing scene exhibits the three on a visit to Wilfred at his parsonage. It is the first day of their arrival, and family prayers are just con- cluded.

"The service over, Mr. Lynne immediately said, 'Is this the way in which you always conduct your evening prayers, Wilfred ? ' "'Not exactly,' he replied. 'I read different collects, and we often sing the 'Magnificat,' or other hymns, instead of the ' Nunc Dimittis." "'That's no variety,' said Barbara ; 'and I cannot say I like that mo- notonous, drawling, monkish chanting—a tune with only three notes in it !' "'Nothing can be simpler than the melody,' said Wilfred, and that is its great advantage ; every one can sing it, and yet it is a sublime strain.' 'Sublime ! ' cried Barbara, scornfully, that old tune, without begin- ning, middle, or end!' 'Very true, my dear,' interposed Mrs. Lynne. 'It does not come to a finish, somehow.'

"'It does not conclude on the key-note,' said Wilfred. 'Very old music seldom does ; and I cannot tell you how much my ear is pleased by this ending on the third. It is so suited to sacred or rather devotional music; it symbolizes, I think, the infinitude of its subject, the continuance of the act of worship in our own souls, the truth that there is no final note to the harmonies in which our spirits should ever bear a part; besides, I fancy that the strain lingers on the ear with a strange, haunting, mysterious sweetness, when the note with which we expect it to conclude remains unuttered.' "'Oh Wilfred, what nonsense ! ' exclaimed Barbara. Why, there is scarcely an Irish jig or Scotch reel that has not the same sublime peculiarity.' "'Very true, my dear,' said Mrs. Lynne.

"'So they have, Barbara,' replied Wilfred ; and it gives them a sort of wild beauty : but I only spoke of the principle as applied to devotional music ; its being applicable to jigs and reels does not alter the truth of a word I have said.'

"Truth!' groaned Mr. Lynne. 'Do you apply the name of truth to these musical technicalities, to which you seem to attach such unaccountable importance, and which to me are simply incomprehensible! Oh Wilfred ! there is something shocking in thus mixing religion with such frivolities, to say that infinitude is symbolized by a note of music. Let me see more vital piety, and less of this unmeaning formalism ! Wilfred, do you think your evening prayers ought to have been such as to suggest such a conversation as I have just heard ? ' " ' My dear father, I do not see why a few words aboutsacred music should not follow our evening devotions.'

"Mrs. Lynne looked in bewildered despair, alternately at her husband and her son.

"'Wilfred must be in the wrong,' she thought, with sorrow. " grieve to see these Tractarian delusions extending themselves into my family,' said Mr. Lynne. There can be no vital piety where they exist.' "'Oh James ! ' murmured his wife.

"'Then I suppose,' interposed Barbara, in her most sarcastic accents, 'tomorrow we shall hear you intone the service, and chant everything that can be chanted ; after which you will preach in a surplice, taking your text from the writings of the Fathers, and inculcating in your discourse the ne- cessity of holding correct opinions on the subjects of music and painting; to be followed by—I think you call it—the Offertory Service, by candlelight.

" Oh Barbara!' said Mrs. Lynne.

" ' I trust I shall behold no such lamentable exhibition,' Mr. Lynne re- marked.

"'No,' said Wilfred. Barbara misjudges me, I think : I do not intone the service ; the daily psalms are not chanted in my church ; I do not wear the surplice in the pulpit, nor thence deliver lectures on the arts ; and though the Offertory Service succeeds the sermon, I do not read it by candle- light. I assure you, my dear father, I am no Tractarian.'

" I wish I could look upon you as a truly settled and experienced Chris- tian,' said Mr. Lynne. 'I trust your sermon tomorrow may give some evi- dence of vital religion ; at present I cannot understand your doctrines. You tell me you are no Tractarian, yet I cannot but see Romanizing tendencies in the importance you seem to attach to certain forms.'

" ' If you mean my applying the hymns and prayers of the Church to my domestic services,' Wilfred replied, I do so because I know of none better suited to the purpose. I can think of no request, no thanksgiving, which we can wish daily and nightly to utter, that is not expressed in the Prayer-book, in language the most beautiful and full of meaning of which our English tongue is capable. And the hymns we sing are the very words of Scripture.'

" ' Ali! but I should like one or two of the Olney Hymns sometimes, for a change,' said Mrs. Lynne; but no one noticed her remark.

" That blind adherence to the Prayer-book is Romanizing,' Mr. Lynne said. 'I conclude you do not allow your parishioners to exercise their private judgment on the Bible, which you probably make second to the Prayer-book. You refer them, of course, to the Church.' " In this matter,' Wilfred replied, 'my principles are as far removed from those of ultra-Tractarians as you could wish. I do not refer any one to the Church for an interpretation of the Bible ; the Church has never as- sumed the office of interpreter. She has authorized no notes or comments on Holy Writ. I leave the Bible to each man's private judgment; and I urge upon all the duty of reading and studying it, as freely and as strongly as you could desire.'

"'That is satisfactory,' said Mr. Lynne. I am pleased to hear this from you.' "