27 JULY 1878, Page 23

Corr*. By the Author of "Marley Castle." 2 vols. (Tinsley

Brothers.)—There is a mixture of farce and tragedy in these volumes, but we cannot say that ono pleases us more than the other. The " green " young subaltern, whose weakness makes him the butt of all kinds of jokes and impostures, is a personage with whom we are already familiar, and who must be presented with a good deal of force and freshness, if ho is to entertain us again. We do not perceive such a presentation in Mr. Medge, who moves us neither to pity nor to laughter. If we turn for relief to the serious part of the story, we get nothing better. But what can we expect, when sarcasm or irony has to be pointed with a query,—" She favoured (?) the company w ith a song." The art which requires this kind of aid is too elementary for print.