We are glad to learn, from seeing it before us,
that the histo- rical novel, Geraldine of Desmond, has come to a second edition ; for the general circulation of such a work indicates a taste for historical knowledge, which we did not expect to find so decided —in Ireland at least. The merit of this novel is by no means the ordinary merit of a romance : it is a laborious and faithful reduc- tion of the story of the Earl of Desmond, and the contemporapy history of Ireland under the reign of Elizabeth, within the frame and according to the rules of fiction, but with scarcely a single attempt to divert a fact from its true occasion, or to change it in its circumstances.
The notes, consisting chiefly of historical documents, including even rare autographs, are the result of no every-day research, and put the industry of the lady-author in a.very strong and favourable point of view. In truth, the work bears but few marks of a feminine pen ; and, excepting the traits of the heroine's character, which clearly flow from a female mind, we might easily have fallen into the error of attributing the Geraldine of Desmond- to the hand of man.
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