24 FEBRUARY 1866, Page 20

Treason at Home. A Novel. In 3 vols. By Mrs.

Greenhough. (Newby.)—The key to this novel is to be found in the following ex- tract from a dialogue, p. 81, VoL III.:—" But there is something in the- idea of undetected crime around us too horrible to be borne. Does it seem so to you? 'accept it as a matter of course. I have known wills destroyed, codicils forged, dec.; twice I have known the wrong medicine given by model wives to brutes of husbands, and all this by highly respectable people. Crime lies all around us. We have a Lady

Audley, not mad, but an educated red Indian, with the savage propen- sities ready at the 'scratch,' victim and avenge; beautiful, but with the blood-chilling beauty of a Medusa." Here she is comporting herself after the manner of her kind in modern novels :—"She threw herself upon her knees beside the spot [our readers will guess what the spot consisted of !) she laid her cheek on it, she pressed her lips to it, utter-

ing the while low inarticulate moans, like those of some wounded wild creature. Then she replaced the carpet and rose to her feet. A hor- rible smile passed slowly over her features." Those who like this sort of thing will find beside this extraordinary creature the usual number of ordinary persons leading the common life of the century, fashionable

or otherwise, and discoursing in an easy and not nnpleasing way, un- conscious of course of the bluelights that the imagination of the reader may conjure up at any time playing horribly upon their common-place countenances.