21 MARCH 1874, Page 23

Not a Heroine. By Ml ' s. Brookfield. 2 vols. (Smith, Elder,

and Co.)—Mrs. Brookfield speaks, we suppose, of Catherine Irving as being- " not a heroine," on account of the ease with which she transfers her affections ; but it must be allowed that the young lady goes through a course of quite heroic experiences. We hope not to offend the author by giving a sketch of these to our readers. Authors naturally object to having their stories spoilt, but it is sometimes impossible properly to criticise a novel without doing something of the kind. Catherine, then, loses her first lover by an attack of typhus fever. In due time she consoles herself with a young naval officer, to whom, on his promotion to post rank, she is married. He leaves her to join his ship, one affectionate letter is received from him, then nothing more is heard of him till her letters are returned, with a note from some one using the same signature, to the effect that they had been inadvertently opened, as having been clearly intended for some one else. This is a considerable mystery, as the writer dates from the ship to which the husband had been appointed. At last the reader finds out that the captain had been knocked on the head by the fall of a crucifix, and though perfectly rational on every other subject, had totally forgotten the fact of his marriage! We believe there is good medical authority for a precisely similar incident, but it is, of course, one of very rare occurrence, and we doubt the suitability of such bits of extra- ordinary experience for purposes of art. In due time he comes home, sees. his wile, immediately recognises her, and feels again all his old affection, and then falls ill of a fever. Meanwhile she has fallen in love with, somebody else. Tho captain is cleared out of the way by an opportune death, and Catherine marries her third choice, a selfish and shallow sort of man, with whom we leave her not more than moderately happy, though we are assured that " she will bloom and expand in the true daylight at last." Meanwhile two other love affairs have been going on, one of which is abruptly terminated by the drowning of the gentleman, and as abruptly revived by his reappearance. For anything noticeable besides the extraordinary incident of the crucifix we look in vain.