The Second Wife. From the German of E. Marlitt. By
Annie Wood. (Bentley.)—This is a bright, spirited novel, much more interesting than most German works of fiction, which indeed are generally distasteful to us, with their mixture of sickly sentiment and commonness of life and manners, and their resemblance to the lordly-baron and faithful-retainer school which vanished from among ourselves long ago. In the present instance, though there are a 'reigning' Duchess and a Hof-Marischal, though titled people abound, and the flavour of Pumper- nickel is everywhere, still there is strong human interest iu the story, and at least one striking character, that of Frau Lam. The Second Wife is introduced in the position of a victim, but she makes hor exit with flying colours, having conquered her enemies, routed her rival, the Duchess, and won the true love and respect of her husband with a woman's noblest weapons, love, patience, gentleness, and self-sacrifice; his motive for marrying her is so unworthy, that Baron Mainau in- spires us with anything but esteem and interest. A scene in which the Baron presents his wife to the Duchess,—who has a pleasing conviction that he is about to desert the Baroness for her sake,—and utterly dis- concerts the royal coquette by the announcement that his contemplated journey is to bo made it deux—is very effective indeed. The translator has done her part admirably ; her rendering of the story has no hitches, no blunders, no rawness in it. It reads as easily as an original, and this time Miss Wood has chosen happily, or had a fortunate task assigned her. The Second IVtje lends itself to translation, and has enough breadth and generality of interest to render it worthy of being turned into the fluent and graceful English in which Madame Marlitt's story is presented to us.
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