19 AUGUST 1876, Page 20

Nicolas Marriage ; a Pict we of Danish Family Life.

By Henry Scharling, author of" Noddebo Parsonage." 2 vols. (Bentley.)—This is a very pretty book, the real power of which is best shown by the interest which, though without any kind of plot, and almost without in- cident, it rouses in the reader. Nicolai, a personage whom those who know the charming story of "Noddebo Parsonage" will remember, tells the story of his courtship and early days of marriage. He starts with a grand idea that Art must be the artist's bride, a belief which is summarily dispelled when he makes the acquaintance of the beautiful Estrid. The course of love runs smoothly enough. The married life is a little more chequered, but its sorrows and trials are of the gentlest kind, and such as move laughter rather than pity. The well-worn in- cident of a long-lost brother returning, and being mistaken for a lover by a jealous husband, is introduced, and does not improve what is, on the whole, a very pleasant tale.