5 JULY 1851, Page 19

--LoAD wrtLi4.31-.LENNOICti PBBX -11,4.MILTON.• Faa a good part of two

volumes the subject of this novel is akin to that of the juvenile tale, though not at all treated in the " re- spectable" didactic style which is wont to characterize those fre- quently real awl substantial productions. The sports, "larks," and general " adventures" of a well-connected " Westminster Boy" with a good deal of wild blood in his veins, some forty years ago, form a large portion of the schoolboy days ; the remainder being passed under the tutorship of a clergyman of the Church of Eng- land, who receives under his roof the "sons of gentlemen." When Percy Hamilton quits his tutor, he joins the army under Wellington in the South of France, and is afterwards present at Waterloo : the scenes of service are varied by sketches of so- ciety, and the tale is ended at last with a stop rather than a con- clusion.

The truth of the merely real is the characteristic of the book. There is none of the refinement or comprehension. of art in the ma- nagement of the subjects ; and the style, though not altogether heavy in its literalness, has neither the vivacity nor the brilliancy which sometimes animates commonplace matter. But Percy Ha- milton has an internal kind of verity about it, -which makes it read like a biography. We see "the naked truth without disguise " : the system of fagging and fighting at Westminster; the boyish breaking bounds, and stuffing of trash there and everywhere ; the youthful confidence of a public school and aristocratic breeding ; the strange company in which a taste for horses and field-sports carries the young ; and the singular mixture of trick and openness, evasion and boldness, blackguardism and courtesy, low and high life, in the traininc, of an English gentleman, and which no doubt adapts him better than a more rigid rule for the bar, the barracks, the hustings, " the House," diplomacy, or office, where " it is as much as a man can do to keep the terms of his honour precise." The private education plan at the Reverend Mr. Knollys's, with its mild stringency up to a certain point and its laxity beyond, are also clearly brought out, from the perfect unconsciousness of the writer.

There is some interest, too, in the time. Boy and man together, Percy Hamilton has mixed in scenes and with persons that have become traditional or historical. He saw Lord Yarmouth, the Regent, and the Duke of York ; he dined with Ministers and pub- lic men at the time of the war ; he was acquainted with Byron, Theodore Hook, and some other celebrities ; he was present at Pa- ris after the battle of Waterloo, and saw much of what was going on during the army of occupation. It is true that the author's powers of observation and description are not exactly equal to such themes •, still, they have the same reality or veracity that dis- tinguishes the other parts.

At Westminster, Percy Hamilton is smitten with a taste for private theatricals ; and in pursuit of them falls violently in love with a dancer, whom he believes to be the daughter of a noble Trench refugee. He sees her again when he is under the tutor- ship of the Reverend Mr. Knollys ; and, though Theodore Hook tells him her story, and her position is unequivocal enough, poor Percy cannot get over his boyish passion. "Sleep was out of the question ; so at an early hour I arose, and, after remaining absorbed in thought for some thee, during which I reviewed the circumstances of the past, I came to the determination of writing to Celine to seek an interview, and claim a candid explanation of all that I had heard detrimental to her fame. No sooner was this idea conceived, than it was executed ; and, after stealthily seeking the 'odd man' in the garden, I easily got over his scruples, by (I feel ashamed to say) falsely assuring him that the note was merely one connected with some tickets we were about to take for the actress's benefit. ' You may as well,' I continued, ask at Mayo's whether he has yet received • Walton's Angler'; and if so, bring it to me. Here's half-a-crown for your trouble.' My trusty messenger was all ' i .grati- tude and ran off, without disturbing the house, to execute his commission. The

biting air soon cooled my feverish temples, and I rambled in the shrub- bery until the stable clock warned me that it was time to attend my morn- ing studies. These completed, I ran to the stable, where my Mercury was employed in grooming the tutor's horse.

" The book is not yet come down from London, Mr. Percy,' at the same time placing a note before sue. It was written upon a small piece of faded pink paper; the characters were evidently traced by a female hand, and a large seal of coloured wax bore the following impressson-

Pin: TENT: TENIIL .

171.: : sear: UN.

" What could this mean ? I turned over my Boyer's dictionary, but could find no clue to the labyrinth. I then sought the assistance of the French master, Genouillae, who soon explained the charade : Ern sou-pir, suit sots- vent un son-venie ; or in var good Inglish, V'one sigh often follows a re- membrance of the loved one.' Can this sentiment be from Celine ? thought I, as I pressed the precious document to my lips, and hastily tore open the three-cornered billet. It ran as follows-

" 'Judge me not by appearances. Time will explain all. I shall leave this hateful town in a day or two. In the mean time, pray keep from the Theatre. You propose a clandestine step; you ask for sus interview—Jemmy! lir. Hamilton.'

"'Jemmy! What can this mean ?' I exclaimed. When, after a time, the truth flashed across me that the poor girl's orthography in the French language had been sadly neglected, and that the fatal word—doubly under- lined, to call my special attention to it—meant jamais !—never. The post- script, as usual in all female epistolary productions, contained the pith of the whole matter.

" P.S.—I shall be in town next month. Madame Tourville will know my address and in her presence I will grant the interview you seek. In the mean time, think kindly of the unhappy, half broken-hearted Celine. " • P.S.—Lizzy et brooly.' "Again was I obliged to admit that the poor girrs spelling was rather faulty. The mandate, too, was one I could not obey ; for, though I had read

the precious epistle over and over again,-to burn it was impossible. Th baPe of again seeing my beloved, the rapture of hearing from her lips a re- futation of all the calumnies propagated against her, the thought that I was • Percy Hamilton; or the Adventures of a Westminster Boy. By Lord William Lennox. In three volumes. Pahlisbed by ShaberL not forgotten, all tended to ma:zo mo aluic deitious with joys a chord bad been touehed that vibrated through nay whole nature. I breathed again, the heavy weight was removed from my heart, and I entered the breakfast-roem with a countenance beaming with pleasure—far, far different from the elon- gated visage my young companions had witnessed the evening before, after my recognition of the fair danseuse."

This is well told, though with a touch of Hook's manner ; and the denouement which dissipates the romance is quite as naively done. Riding-drill may be taken as another sample of Lord Wil- liam Lennox.

" Every morning at six o'clock, Harry Beaufort and myself were ordered to the riding-house, where for an hour and shall we were doomed to listen to the instructions of the master. Toes well Imp and in Yeels well down and pout: small of the body well furrard ! wristesses well rounded ! arms and legs kept steady . Take your 'oases well into the corners and well out again ; make your circles rouna ; halt! sit at ease ! attention ! draw swords! as you was ! When I says Draw ! I doesn't mean draw ; but when I says Swords ! let me see them there swords fly out of the scabbard in a I risk and soldier-like manner. By the right, march! trot ! canter ! steady ! Let's have none of your wild h'Irish gallops here. Halt ! dress! make much of your 'oases. No talking in the ranks : a good soldier ought never to open his mouth except to bite off the nib of his cartridge, and answer his name at roll-call. Eyes right ! return swords ! prepare to dismount—dismount ! stand to your 'oases. Prepare to mount! mount! Now let use see them there paces done in the barrack-field in a clear and distinct manner ; walk steady and h'easy; trot strong and h'active; canter light and h'airy ; charge h'anirnated, wigorous, but not violent. Private Smith, arn't two hands enough for you? you seems to want a third to hold your 'oss : you can't ride no more nor an old woman. Lieutenant Hamilton and Cornet Bew- fort, you are dismissed.' "