The Hermits of Crizebeck. By Henry Cresswell. 3 vols. (Hurst
and Blackett.)—Of its kind, The Hermits of Crizebeck is undoubtedly powerful writing, but within how email a compass ! Intrigue, flirtation, all the meanness and pettiness of life, the writer describes lovingly and in detail,—a page barely suffices for the description of how two people were found in a compromising posi- tion. So exact and true to life is all this, that the fascination of following the multitude of incidents and their corollaries almost balances the disgust of reading such a continuous tissue of worldli- ness. We say disgust, because there is not a noble thought or an elevating sentiment in the whole three volumes, and no one could rise from a perusal of The Hermits of Crizebeck without a distinctly worse opinion of his fellow-creatures. To use a powerful gift for such a purpose is a cause for shame rather than con- gratulation. The writer's object may be, and probably is, a sarcasm on the amount of love-making for which church festivals, decorations, and parish work generally, give opportunities. The revival of a monastery, and the attempts of the monks to perform the part of missionary and preaching fathers in the neighbouring parishes, is the plot, and their intrigues and Jesuitical behaviour supply ample incident for the three volumes. The sarcasm, we allow, is pointed, at the end, with telling effect. We can hardly imagine any one being proud of having written the book, nor any one glad of having read it, and certainly no one mustering up sufficient interest to read it again.
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