iVild Hyacinth. By Mrs. Randolph. 3 vole. (Hurst and Blackett.)
—When we had read to the end of the first of these three volumes, we could hardly conceive what there remained of the story to occupy the remaining two. Wild Hyacinth was comfortably engaged to be married to the man of her choice, the wicked had been discomfited, and nothing remained, one would say, but to be happy ever afterwards. But we had not gauged the extent of Mrs. Randolph's resources ; those are considerable, both in the way of match-making and mischief-making. In the second volume wo have the great questions of Woman's Rights and of agricultural distress, and tho Ritualistic controversy is discussed in the third. Then, and not till then, are we permitted to see everybody- blessed and the tale ended happily. With a little more art and con- centration, Wild Hyacinth might have been made a charming char- acter. As it is, she does not take tho hold upon us that her sister Christian does, and this in spite of the author's depreciation and occa- sional ridicule of her. We shall certainly not here discuss the wisdom of what Mrs. Randolph calls the " emancipation of women," but we put it to her whether it might not have been the occupation of Christian Ettriok's mind with certain social problems that braced and fortified it, and developed a really far superior character to that of her sister.
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