Schooled with Briars : a Story of To-Day. (Tinsley.)—In an
incautious moment we gave this story, not having looked beyond the
title, which seemed to savour of a high morality, to a young lady to read, and wore very properly rebuked for doing so. We make the best amends we can by strongly recommending young ladies, and we should
not be far wrong if we said roaders in general, to avoid it. It relates the adventures of two heroes. One of them is a harmless person enough, who makes a Parliamentary success, for which our previous
notion of his capacity scarcely prepared us, becomes a prosperous
gentleman, and duly marries the lady of his love. The other is a most objectionable young man, an impudent and heartless profligate, for
whom from first to last it is impossible to feel anything but contempt and disgust. Still more objectionable, if possible, is the young woman whom he makes his mistress, and who yields herself to him with the most immodest readiness. She, of course, is deserted, vows vengeance,
and in some sort obtains it, becomes a nun, and dies in the odour of sanctity. He is dismissed by tho lady to whom he is engaged, travels for a year about the world, arrives at the convent just in time to see the
funeral of the new saint, then goes home, and is duly forgiven and married. But as for his being "schooled with briars," we see no trace
of such discipline. In fact, the book is a very foolish, feeble rendering of an old story, which may be told, we do not deny, to good purpose, but which, as we have it hero, without a gleam of ability, does nothing but disgust.
Previous page
