Dark : a Tale of the Down, Country. 2 vols.
(Smith, Elder, and Co.)—Dark is one of the most true and living descriptions we have ever seen of life on the Berkshire Downs,—the life of the labourer and the round of village life. The habits, the ways of thinking, the dialect, the reality of their poverty, the necessarily circumscribed views of life,—all these are written down in the pages of Dark with care and finish, and the attention paid to de- tails will impress the picture even upon those who cannot them- selves appreciate the accuracy of the author. This very accu- racy, it must be admitted, has its drawbacks ; it tends to narrow the qualities of a picture, such qualities as breadth and imagination, and, indeed, to place the life described on too low a plane. Perhaps it is not so much this, as the conviction the author evidently has that the dark side of agricultural life pre- ponderates over the bright, which robs the story of Dark and its pictures of village life of so much light. The plot and romance of the story are admirably balanced with the background of manners, though the latter again and again overpowers the figures of the hero and heroine. The plot is simple, indeed a variation of the old story. A refined girl falls in love with the rector's son, and he himself, at first only amused, comes to love her. The commotion, the shame, all have no effect on the loyalty of Dorcas Bailey ; and Walter Evans, by this time thoroughly repentant—he had never been but weak and pleasure- loving, had intended to emigrate with his wife, and possessed, as we are allowed to see, some promise of a nobler life—is revealed as the man in question. Walter's father is a touching character, and the son's affection for him is one of the finest studies in the book. The interest of the last chapters, indeed, is centred on the father and son and their thorough understanding of each other. We will not disclose more of the plot, in fairness to the author, but will add that Walter is a skilful study, Dorcas a fine character, though wanting in self-control, and the rector a lovable one. The authoress of Dark says some plain things regarding the evils of country life, that wore they not sincere, true, and uttered with an absolute conviction of the fact, as well as with the truest delicacy, would offend many.
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