• paw resides Daught er . By D u tt on c oo k . Th um v o l ume ,. Loudon:
Hurd of the theatrical world; and he has made good use of his oppor-
and Blackett. tunities. His account of Miss Vane's domestic establishment in
reason, are bound to exalt royal songs to the utmost of their power, facility to the purposes of the novelist than that which, to borrow the ud especially the one that is crowned by assent of the Companions name given to it by its original and most brilliant chronicler, may be upon the day of the great feast of the Pai." Wherefore it is here designated as la vie de Bohbie. The entire absence of conventional provided, as concerning such songs, that " each new Prince, the day forms and the frequent and startling vicissitudes of fortune which are, that he shall wear the crown, and shall govern the feast of the Pui, in a great degree, the special characteristics of this phase of exist. and so soon as he shall have had the blazon of his arms hung in the ence, render it a peculiarly favourable subject for effective treatment, room where the feast of the Pui shall be held, shall forthwith cause alike from a humorous, a pathetic, or a melodramatic point of view. to be set up beneath his blazon the song that was crowned on the Bohemianism is, we need hardly observe, a plant which can only day that he was chosen as the new Prince, plainly and correctly flourish in large towns, the less composite atmosphere of the country' written, without default. For no singer, by right, ought to sing. any being altogether unsuited to its somewhat peculiar requirements. royal song, or to proffer the same at the feast of the Pui, until he Although it can scarcely be met with in fall perfection anywhere but shall have seen the song that was last crowned in the year just past, in its native soil of Paris, still it thrives very respectably in London: honoured, according to its right, in the manner aforesaid." For and, as might be expected, the brilliant and spirituel: works of the deciding on the merits of the songs, two or three Companions are to late Henri Miirger, its principal historian, have had many counter. be selected " who understand singing and music, for the purpose of parts, more or less closely resembling the original, in English fiction. trying and examining the notes and the points of the song, as well as It is to this class of novels that the story now before us most properly the nature of the words composed thereto. For," continues this belongs. In making this assertion, however, we do not mean to sententious code, "without singing no one ought to call a composi- imply that in Mr. Cook's novel, as is the case with those of M. tion of words a song, nor ought any royal song to be crowned with- Miirger, the interest eentres exclusively in the Bohemian element;
out the sweet sounds of melody and song." but, as most of the characters of the story belong more or less corn.
All ladies are excluded from being present at this great festival of letely to that fraternity, it becomes necessary, in more out their
the Pui, and the reason given is a curious one. " Although the Fastory, to introduce the reader into some, at least, of the arcane of becoming pleasaunce of virtuous ladies is a rightful theme and prin. Bohemian life. It is no part of our duty on the present occasion to cipal occasion for royal singing, and for composing and furnishing inquire into the origin of Boliemianism, to discuss the necessity of royal songs," the Companions of the Pui are " to take example an its existence, or to endeavour to arrive at an exact appreciation of rightful warning, to honour, cherish, and commend all ladies, at all the moral or social status of the members of that brotherhood ; nor times, in all places, as much in their absence as in their presence" ! are we called upon to enter into the question of how far it may be There is, surely, a little touch of sarcasm in this. regarded as a fit and proper subject for a novel. In connexion with
If the Prince die during his year of office, the Companions are all this latter point it is sufficient to observe that, if the old saying that to be summoned to attend his funeral, and while the mass is being a good horse is never of a bad colour may be extended to novels and sung for the repose of his soul, and before his body is interred, his their subjects, Paul Foster': Daughter goes far towards removing any successor is to be chosen by those there present. From another pro- objections that may possibly have been entertained against Bohe- vision, it appears that each Prince had endeavoured to outdo his pre- mianism as a material for fiction. Mr. Cook depicts the various decessor in the magnificence of the feast, the extraordinary expenses phases of Bohemian life with perfect truthfulness, entire freedom of which he defrayed out of his own pocket, and that the fear of from exaggeration, and considerable humour ; and, at the same time, incurring this increased pecuniary responsibility had had the effect of with a consistent delicacy of touch which can scarcely fail to remove deterring persons from entering the Society. The Companions, there- the scruples and conciliate the good-will even of the most susceptible fore, resolved, very wisely, to set limits to the expenditure at the and conventional reader. feast. This is to fall on all the Companions in common, with the ex- The three forms of Bohemianism which are most prominently ception of the Prince's costume, which he is to defray himself. He brought forward in Paul Foster's Daughter are the artistic, the is to be costumed " with coat and surcoat, without sleeves, and literary, and the theatrical, with the peculiarities of each of which mantle of one suit, with whatever arms he may please"—the mantle Mr. Cook has evidently a close and intimate acquaintance. A. con• and crown to go to the new Prince who shall succeed him. After fleeting link between them is provided in the person of the hero of the feast there is to be a procession on horseback through the city, the story, Edwin Gabriel Erie, who, although the son of a wealthy be who is crowned for his song riding between the old and new solicitor hi Lincoln's Inn-fields, and destined to follow his father's Prince. All hangings of cloth of gold, or silk and tapestry, are to be profession, has an uncontrollable propensity for painting pictures henceforth prohibited in the banqueting-room ; " save that the seat and writing verses, and, being of a romantic turn of mind, cherishes where the singers shall sing the royal songs shall be covered with a for a time a sentimental attachment to a popular actress. Mr. Cook cloth of gold." The room is to be " fairly dressed with leaves, appears to be thoroughly cognizant, by personal experience, of the strewed with rushes, and dressed out with bankers," i.e. coverings nature and results of the two first, at least, of these tendencies; or cushions for the benches, " in such manner as pertains unto while the development of the third affords him an opportunity of such a royal feast." The crown of the Pai is to be found at displaying an intimate familiarity with some of the less generally the common cost, at the price of one mark, and not less. All known, bat not the least amusing, aspects of theatrical life. But, the Companions, rich and poor alike, are to be served, first, with of the three forms of Bohemianism which he undertakes to describe, "good bread, good ale, and good wine;" then, "with pottage and it is in the artistic phase that Mr. Cook is, to our thinking, most with one course of solid meat ;" and then, "after that, with double completely at home. The foremost figure in this department of the roast in a dish, and cheese, without more." After all have eaten, story is that of Paul Foster himself, a conscientious, if not a distin- neither the old nor new Prince is to give a supper that day, or a din- gnished, professor of the classical and anatomical school of painting, ner the next. As soon as the song is crowned, the procession who finds, much to his disgust, that works of this class are less through the city is to take place, and then they are to escort their popular with the picture-buying public than with the adjudicators of new Prince to his house, "and there they shall all alight, and shall the Royal Academy medal, and whose worldly circumstances are, in have a dance there by way of hearty good-by ; and they shall take consequence, far from being so prosperous as he could wish. There one drink and depart, each to his own house, all on foot." The is much vigour and no little real humour in Mr. Cook's delineation residue of the feast is to be kept safely till the morrow, and then to of this large, loud, tender-hearted painter, whose principal source of be distributed among the prisoners at "Newegate, the poor hospitals, inspiration was Lempriere's dictionary, and whose manner of perform.
and to the other needs of the city." ing the commonest operations of life is thus illustrated: "Paul Foster To complete the chapel of the Company, "near the Guildhall," took his tea vigorously, as though he tried to fancy it beer. I think
a contribution is to be levied on each of the richer members of a he regarded it contemptuously as a meal; it was altogether too trivial penny every Saturday, and on the poorer of one halfpenny. The a matter for that historical artist. He looked upon it, probably, as clerk and one or two of the assessors are to collect this money and genre work, and out of his line very much. But he sought to elevate enter it in a roll ; and those who cannot pay on Saturday are to pay the subject by his mode of treatment. He went into strong attitudes some other time. A change is made in the day of the great feast, as over it. He blew upon it noisily ; he dashed it into his saucer, and most of the Companions are "merchants frequenting fairs," and as the swallowed it with gurgling majesty." At the same time, he "ate fair of St. Ives and other fairs fall upon the day formerly appointed. thin bread and butter in a muscular, gladiatorial sort of way." It is henceforth to be held on "the Sunday next after the feast of Doubtless, the reason why Mr. Cook describes artist life so well, and
"Without these statutes here written," concludes this singular faculty very strongly developed. In support of this assertion we Such, then, were the rules and observances of the "gentle Pai of in which the actress looks at things in general, and the romantic describes her as keenly alive to the fact that the legitimate exercise
• paw resides Daughter. By Dutton cook. Thum volume,. Loudon: Hurd of the theatrical world; and he has made good use of his oppor- pimlico is particularly amusing; and the scene in which tale makes (unsuccessfully) her final assault upon Edwin's heart la one of the best and most effective in the book. Of all Mr. Cook's Bohemian portraits, that of Newton Dax, the representative of the literary sec- tion of the fraternity., is, on the whole, the least satisfactory. In pronouncing this verdict, we do not mean to imply that the delinea- tion to which we allude is either unnatural or in any way exaggerated; but simply that it presents a less universally representative type than either of those which Mr. Cook has selected as the respective examples of the artistic and the theatrical world. There are, we fancy, many more Paul Fosters among painters, and Aurelia Vanes amen.*b actresses, than Newton Dazes among men of letters. No one knows better than Mr. Cook that the peculiar class to which Newton Dan belongs constitutes but a small numerical proportion of the literary men of the metropolis; but, as all the writers to whom he introduces us are fashioned upon essentially the same model, it is just possible that the uninitiated reader may, unless warned to the contrary, be led to form an erroneous opinion on this point.
Hitherto we have regarded Mr. Cook's story simply as a delinea- tion of Bohemian life, and have found that, in that capacity, it is faithful and true to nature in no common a When we look at it from a wider point of view, and proceed toexamine its general merits as a work of fiction, the conclusion at which we arrive is not less favourable; for we find that it is without none of those qualifi- cations the combination of which is necessary to constitute a good novel. In the first place, the story is very ingeniously constructed, and the interest is completely and evenly sustained throughout. This desirable consummation is not arrived at, as is too frequently the case, by means of any excessive intricacy or complication in the plot, which is, on the contrary, remarkably simple, the number of characters which may fairly be regarded as essential to the develop- ment of the story scarcely exceeding half a dozen. We do not mean to say that we were long kept in doubt as to what the denouement of the tale was likely to be ; but we freely confess that we were quite in the dark as to the precise means by which this denouement was to be brought about, until we arrived at the very page in which the dis- closure is finally made. In the second place, all the characters are vigorously and consistently drawn, and the part sustained by each in the various conversations is natural and appropriate. Lastly—and this is by no means the least important point—Mr. Cook has been singularly happy in his choice of a heroine. It is long since we have met, in a work of fiction, with a more charming creation than Sylvia Feder. Mr. Cook's artistic perception has enabled him to endow her with a peculiarly attractive style of beauty; and the artless ten- derness of her nature inspires the reader with a positive feeling of personal affection. It is, perhaps, very natural that Edwin should so long remain insensible to the value of the treasure which is within his reach but his want of perception makes us seriously grudge Lim his dual happiness, especially at that charming moment when, "clasping both his hands, and with a child-like smile of innocence lighting up her face, she said to him, 'Tell it me again, Ned ! Say that you love me again! Tell me so six times !—Not too quick, sir —speak more slowly.' " Although Mr. Cook is already well known as a frequent and favourite contributor to more than one popular periodical, this is, we believe, the first time that lie has ventured to present himself to the public in a more individual and substantial form. We can only say that we heartily hope it may not be the last. A little more experience in the art of constructing a long story will enable him for the future to avoid the one or two occasional awkwardnesses in the management of details which, to the severely critical eye, are perceptible in the present work—or, to borrow his own metaphor, "to drive the team of his events curricle.fashion," and to prevent "the nags from getting ahead of each other, in a tandem sort of manner." He has only to fulfil the promise field out by his first attempt, to be fully justified in looking forward to occupying, at no distant date, a place in the foremost rank of the novelists of the present day.
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