The Lost Evidence, lty Miss BURDON, is a novel nf
circumstan- tial excitement, full of nteident and mystery, adorned with sonic lively yassages of desci iption, and spun out with a quantity of characterless and artificial dialogue to a three-volume length. The persons are mere puppets, endowed with certain properties, and clothed in various costumes, but having no individuality ; and so far from imp: essing their spirit on the narrative, they move at the will of the authoress, and follow the intricacies of adventure, till it suits her puryose to conclude the tale by disposing of them. The writer is best in description, both of persons and scenes ; but she never goes deeper than the surface, and has no skill in the development of character, either in action cr speech : the human interest is coin (intently so slight, that it scarcely sustains the curiosity, tantalizemly u ovulted by strange and unexpected occur- rences, to the end of the long and devious chain of encenistance.
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