SIR. TROLLOPE'S DR. THORNE. * IN Mr. Trollope's first novel of

" The 'Warden " his satire took a wider yet a closer range than he has since attempted, embracing the law, the church, the press, especially the " Thunderer " under the title of the "Jupiter," and several of what the author deemed the Reforming cants of the day. His story, however, was bald and purposeless, and constructed without regard to the com- monest requirements of art, if, indeed, it could be said to have a structure. In " Barchester Towers," his satire was more limited; being mainly confined to Tractarianism, and High and Low Church ; the Evangelicals, in their representative Mr. Slope, receiving no mercy at his hands. In "The Three Clerks" the civil service and competitive examinations were the aim of the satire, while the late misappropriations of other people's money through ill-regulated ambition, or a mere wish to shine beyond one's sphere, were also exhibited. Upon the whole, however, contemporary weaknesses and passing events were scarcely han- dled with so much pith and pungency as in the two earlier fic- tions; but there was a completer story, and a greater novel-inte- rest. In the book before us, Dr. Thorne, the satire or the hits at passing events are not perhaps so fully obvious, as in " The Three Clerks" ; though some may think they recognize traits in the great Whig noble the Duke of Omnium, and the great heiress Miss Dunstable ; there is also the old subject of a contested election very well done, especially in the dinners and gatherings. The satire, however, is mainly directed against a rather worn matter—the formalities and jealousies of the me- dical profession ; and one main source of the trouble consists in the pecuniary embarrassments of a country squire, caused by elec- tions, hounds, and the expenses of a high-bred wife. There is a story, however, with characters not merely serving as vehicles for the author's fun or comments, but really interested in the events, and what is more to the purpose, interesting the reader. It may be true that the object of the author as it appears in his work is of a questionable kind, and that the main elements of the tale—family trouble arising from pecuniary embarrassment, love crossed by social ambition, and, as Mr. Trollope would say, social prejudice—have been exhibited before. The elements, h.owever, are well but together, and the story is narrated with that close observation of human manners, and of human nature as modified by human manners in this middle of the nineteenth century, which form the author's distinguishing characteristic ; while the writing has the smartness, point, and pungency that always im- part an interest to Mr. Trollope's pages, not by mere style, but by the matter which that style displays.

Dr. Thorne, a principal person in the tale, is a country physician of rather brusque manners, and what many people think singular opinions ; but honourable, conscientious, and kindhearted ; some- what proud of his ancient and of himself generally, although never showing his pride. Connected with him in a sort of friend... ship, but the connexion is hardly probable according to common ideas, is Sir Roger Scatcherd. The baronet has originally been a working stonemason, but has acquired great wealth as a railway contractor. His early habits, however, have stuck to him, espe- cially a love of brandy ; and it seems evident that Mr. Trollops " suo more" had iu his eye as the original of his picture, a once well known contractor, but before the era of railways. Sir Roger

• Dr. horse; a Novel. By Anthony Trollope, Author of "The Three Clerks." "Barchester Towers," licc. In three volumes. Published by Chapman and Hall. like Dr. Thorne influences the story though neither of them are engaged in the love affairs. Being very ill, with brandy, Sir Roger has a passinr, cluarrel with his friend, and in a moment of caprice sends for Dr. tillgrave. He and Dr. Thorne are enemies ; indeed Dr. Thorne is professionally unpopular as taking seven- and-sixpenny fees, and conducting himself infra dig. for the be- nefit of his patients. Between him and Dr. Fillgrave there is particular war to the extent of having written against each other in medical journals. Dr. F. is therefore delighted to receive a summons to the great contractor ; but when he gets to his house, Sir Roger will not see him ; and upon his wife, an excellent but homely person, whom he married in the days of obscurity, de- volves the task of so informing the great medico, and that when he has got angry with having been kept waiting. "As the door opened, Dr. Fillgrave dropped the bell-rope which was in his hand, and bowed low to the lady. Those who knew the doctor well, would have known from his brow that he was not well pleased ; it was as much as though he said, Lady Scatcherd, I am your most obedient humble servant ; at any rate it appears that it is your pleasure to treat me as such.'

" Lady Scatcherd did not understand all this ; but she perceived at once that the man was angry.

" ' I hope Sir Roger does not find himself worse,' said the doctor. ' The morning is getting on ; shall I step up and Bee him ?'

" Hem ! ha! oh ! Why, you see, Dr. Fillgrave, Sir Roger finds him- self vastly better this morning, vastly so.' " I'm very glad to hear it, very ; but as the morning is getting on, shall step up to see Sir Roger ?'

" Why, Dr. Fillgrave ; sir, you see, he finds hisself so much hisself this morning, that he a'most thinks it would be a shame to trouble you.' " A shame to trouble me!' This was a sort of shame which Dr. Fill- grave did not at all comprehend: A shame to trouble me! Why, Lady 8catcherd—' " Lady Scatcherd saw that she had nothing for it but to make the whole matter intelligible. Moreover, seeing that she appreciated more thoroughly the smallness of Dr. Fillgrave's person than she did the peculiar greatness of his demeanour, she began to be a shade less afraid of him than she had thought she should have been. " Yes, Dr. Fillgrave ; you see, when a man like he gets well, ho can't abide the idea of doctors ; now yesterday, he was all for sending for you ; but today he's come to hisself, and don't seem to want no doctor at all.'

"Then did Dr. Fillgrave seem to grow out of his boots, so suddenly did he take upon himself sundry modes of expansive altitude ; to grow out of his boots and to swell upwards, till his angry eyes almost looked down on Lady Scatcherd, and each erect hair bristled up towards the heavens.

" This is very singular, very singular, Lady Scatcherd ; very singular indeed ; very singular quite unusual. I have come here from Barchester, at some considerable inconvenience, at some very considerable inconve- nience, I may say, to my regular patients ; and—and—and—I don't know that anything so very singular ever occurred to me before.' And then Dr. Fillgrave, with a compression of his lips which almost made the poor wo- man sink into the ground, moved towards the door.

" Then Lady Scatcherd bethought her of her great panacea. It isn't about the money, you know, doctor,' said she ; of course Sir Roger don't expect you to come here with post-horses for nothing.' In this, by-the-by, Lady Scatcherd did not stick quite close to veracity, for Sir Roger, had he known it, would by no means have assented to any payment ; and the note which her ladyship held in her hand was taken from her own private purse. " It ain't all about the money, doctor' ; and then she tendered the bank- note which she thought would immediately make all things smooth.

"Now Dr. Fillgrave dearly loved a five-pound fee. What physician is so unnatural as not to love it .5 He dearly loved a five-pound fee ; but he loved his dignity better. He was angry also ; and like all angry men, he loved his grievance. He felt that he had been badly treated ; but if he took the money he would throw away his right to indulge any such feeling. At that moment his outraged dignity and his cherished anger were worth more to him than a five-pound note. He looked at it with wishful but dill averted eyes, and then sternly refused the tender.

" No, madam,' said he ; no, no' ; and with his right hand raised, with his eye-glasses in it, he motioned away the tempting paper. No; I should have been happy to have given Sir Roger the benefit of any medi- cal skill I may have, seeing that I was specially called in—' " ' But, doctor ; if the man's well, vou know—'

Oh, of course ; if he's well, and doesnot choose to see me, there's an end of it. Should he have any relapse, as my time is valuable, he will perhaps oblige me by sending elsewhere. Madam, good morning. I Swill, if you will allow me, ring for my carriage, that is, post-chaise. "'But, doctor, you'llstake the money • you must take the money ; in- deed you'll take the money,' said Lady geatcherd, who had now become really unhappy at the idea that her husband's unpardonable whim had brought this man with post-horses all the way from Barchester, and that he was to be paid nothing for his time nor costs.

" No, madam ; no. I could not think of it. Sir Roger, I have no doubt, will know better another time. It is not a question of money ; not at all.'

" But it is a question of money, doctor ; and you really shall, you must.' And poor Lady Scatcherd, in her anxiety to acquit herself at any rate of any pecuniary debt to the doctor, came to personal close quarters with him, with the view of forcing the note into his hands.

" ' Quite impossible, quite impossible,' said the doctor, still cherishing

his grievance, and valiantly rejecting the root of all evil. I shall not do anything of the kind, Lady-Scatcherd.'

" ' Now doctor, do'ee ; to oblige me.'

" Quite out of the question.' And so, with his hands and hat behind his back, in token of his utter refusal to accept anypesuniary accommodation of his injury, he made his way backwards to the door her Ladyship perse- veringly pressing him in front. So eager had been the attack on him, that he had not waited to give his order about the post-chaise but made his way at once towards the hall.

" Now, do'ee take it, do'ee,' pressed Lady Scatcherd.

" Utterly out of the question,' said Dr. Fillgrave, with great delibera- tion, as be backed his way into the hall. As he did so, of course he turned round, and he found himself almost in the arms of Dr. Thome."

The romantic trouble of the story in a measure turns upon ille- gitimate birth. The idea is not new to fiction, but it was more common in a less reserved generation than ours. The difficulty was generally got over by the false marriage turning out to be real, and thus formally satisfying objectors. Mr. Trollope has too sensible a logic to proceed in this wise ; for he knows that it is not the simple fact of illegitimacy which really constitutes the va- lidity of the objection ; but the evil influences to which a natural child is almost inevitably exposed ; and which almost as inevitably tell injuriously upon the character. Mr. Trollope proceeds less conventionally ; but he is quite as exceptional though in a less ob- viously formal and fallacious way, inspiring interest by a heroine with a favourable training that could but rarely happen. He also appears to attach too little weight to the moral of example. It may seem hard that children should suffer for the faults of their parents, but they continually do so in all ways ; in health, edu- cation, property, and worldly advantages of every kind. Neither is the parental the only relation in which a few are sacrificed for the benefit of the many.