Won in a Canter. By Old Calabar. 3 vols. (Bentley.)—Our
author is of the old school of novelists who delight to label their char- acters with such names as "Sir Tarbit Turtlefat," "Lord Verriefasc, and "Mr. Shirkington Duffer." This last is the hero. What must be the fate of a wretch to whom the destinies have given such a name ? He is one of the meanest of men, and no small scamp at the same time;
but "Old Calabar," who is one of the kindest of men to his own literary offspring, however vile they may be, does not visit him with due punish- ment, but lets him marry a nice and pretty young woman, to whom, by the way, he has behaved abominably, endows him with her fortune, and settles the beast in a comfortable home, which would be too good for many of his betters. These three volumes are full of sporting sketches, descriptions of race-meetings, runs with the fox-hounds, dm. Many of them would read well enough alone, and we do not know that the slender thread of story which joins them together does much to im- prove them. Doubtless they will be very much enjoyed by the readers for whom they are intended. These readers do not commonly look for their amusement in literature, and they are accordingly not difficult to satisfy, just as, on the other hand, a literary man will be highly de- lighted with a moderate day's sport in shooting or fishing, and enjoy his ride without caring much whether the hounds find or no.
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