THE LINWOODS.

IN despite of a story not well knit together in some or its parts, and of a disposition in the writer occasionally to sacrifice consist-

ency to what she deems effect, as well as to render her pathos

heavy by too great a minuteness of detail, the Linwoods is a novel of considerable interest. The manners and habits of life have the gloss of novelty, the incidents are sufficiently probable, the characters are natural and generally consistent, and the his- torical personages introduced in the progress of the story give it contrast and variety, yet without withdrawing the attention of the reader from the persons of the novel. The tone of the book, too, is temperate ; which, considering that Miss SEDGWICE is an American treating of the Revolutionary war, is saying not a little for her judgment.

The object of the Linwoods (though we luckily do not find out the arifthl we are told it in the closing pages), is to excite the reader

to " apreciate more highly the responsibilities of marriage, and to estimate its effects not only on the happiness of life but of that portion of our nature which is destined to immortality." The examples by which these precepts are sought to be inculcated are the families t;.f* the Linwoods, the Lees, and the Merediths. The head of the first is an American Tory—kind-hearted, gentle- manly, and fanatically 1eyal ; and what is better than either for the novel reader, well-conwived and admirably developed. Mrs. Linwood is a good-natured, submissive housewife, by no means so prominent a character as her husband, yet equally well done, so far as she goes : their son Herbert, (who is a backslider from his father's politics, and is driven from home into the Republican ranks by an accidental explosion of opinion), is well and skilfully re- deemed from being a very commonplace personage by the buoyancy of his animal spirits, his courage, and the warmth of his affections : his sister, IsabellaLinwood, is the high-spirited heroine of the tale —at first Tory, like her ancestors, but gradually weaned from her chivalrous opinions by experience and the love of Eliot Lee. Eliot himself is the descendant of one of the pilgrim fathers, and is

intended for the beau ideal of the American Whig of the Revo- lution : he is brave, devoted, and self-relying, making duty his

mainspring of action, and wanting nothing save the lighter ac- complishments to be a " veray parfit gentel knight." Bessie Lee is a person upon whom the author has lavished much pains, but

her success has not equalled her labour. She is intended to be a peculiar character—a kind of Ophelia—whose individuality is created by her temperament, her education, the circumstances in which she is placed, and even by the effects of a fortune-teller's prediction ; and so far criticism can only require consistency, which is perhaps observed ; but the other qualities of metaphysical skill and surpassina.b excellence of execution, which are essential to the perfect exhibition of such characters, are wanting: Mrs. Meredith is an English woman of fashion, who only appears in the last volume, when she brings over her niece and ward, Lady Anne Seton, to marry her son. Young Meredith, when read with the key we have already quoted, is evidently in- tended to point the moral which Eliot Lee may be said to adorn. He is handsome, accomplished, and good-natured, when it costs him nothing ; but selfish, heartless, and of course without fixed principles of any kind. His English connexions, his tastes, and his prejudices, render him favourable to the Tories ; but he takes no part with them till they appear likely to succeed, and his decision is even then assisted by an appointment on Sir HENRY CLINTON'S staff. Yet except in one instance—his inter- view with Bessie Lee in her state of madness—there is nothing exaggerated or caricatured about him. He is the inconstant of life, not of the romance.

These are the leading characters of that portion of the tale which is to illustrate the morals of matrimony. The story is too extensively ramified to follow ; but we may say that, besides the usual loves and difficulties of the novel, and some additional ones which arise from the susceptibility of Bessie Lee and the insin- cerity of Meredith, the majority of the persons we have mentioned are mixed up with the public events of the Revolution, and figure in the camp and campaigns of WASHINGTON, in the house of Sir HENRY CLINTON at New York, or in the prison of that city. In addition to the rival Commanders-in-Chief, some of the more con- spicuous characters of the war are introduced,—as LAFAYETTE, General PUTNAM, and LIZZY BENGIN. There are also in the conduct of the story, glimpses of the insecure state to which the colonies were reduced, from the bands of ruffians who prowled about the thinly-settled country, robbing and murdering both sides with the utmost impartiality ; and the reader is made to feel the pomestic privations that were endured when the natural protectors of a family were called away by duty and the disruption of the social ties which took place in this " unnatural war." The judg- ment with which this part is done has been told already, and many of the single scenes descriptive of daily life are painted with truth and beauty. Had Miss SEDGWICK possessed a higher degree of constructive skill, and not been led astray by the ambi- tion of combining Gonwisr and SHAKSPEARE, the Linwood,: would have taken the highest place amongst the fictions of its class.

• We will select our extracts from the lighter scenes, in which Miss SEDGWICK is more successful than in those of passion or deep feeling. Here is the incident already alluded to which drives Herbert Linwood from home. It is told by Isabella in a letter to Bessie Lee.

"But to come down from my heroics; we are in a desperate condition—suck

.ee just passed through ! Judge Ellis was dining with us, June; Meredith IlecElired6itash wItelib'qk 'ken of. In the name of heaven, Ellis,' said my father, why nephew to remain among the rebel' crew in that ilfeetca do you suffer y05 nephew

the judge, glancing at Herbert, that any region is

?d'e• not find,'

free from infection.'

' True, true?' said try 1-,ther ; but the air of the Yankee states is satu- s

rated with it. I would not let an infant breathe it, lest rebellion should break out when he came to man's estate. I am sorry to say it, dear Bessie, but my father traces Herbert's delinquency to his sojourn at Westbrook. I saw a tern. pest was brewing, and thinking to make for a quiet harbour, I put in my oar, and repeated the story you told me in your last letter of our non-combatant, Mr. Jasper. The judge was charmed. ‘Ah, he's a prudent fellow !' he said; 'he'll not commit himself ! '

" Not commit himself! ' exclaimed my father; by Jupiter, if he belonged to me he should commit himself. I would rather lie should jump the wrong way than sit squat like a toad under a hedge, till he was sure which side it was most prudent to jump.' You see, Bessie, my father's words iniplicd some- thing like a commendation of Herbert. I ventured to look up ; their eyes met, I saw a beam of pleasure flashing from them and passing, like an electric spark, from one heart to another. Oh, why should this unholy quarrei tear asunder such true hearts!

" The judge's pride was touched—he is a mean wretch. Ah, my dear Sir,' he said, 'it is very •ell for you, who can; do it with impunity, to disregard prudential considerations ' • for instance, you remain true to the king, the royal power is maintained, and your property is protected. Your son—I suppose s case—your son joins the rebels, the country is revolutionized, and your property is secured as the reward of Mr. Herbert's patriotism.' " My father hardly heard him out. Now by the Lord that made me !' he exclaimed, setting down the decanter with a force that broke it in a thousand pieces ' I would die of starvation before I would taste a crumb of bread that was the reward of rebellion.'

'6 It was a frightful moment ; but my father's passion, you know, is like a whirlwind—one gust and it is over ' • and mamma is like those short-stemmed floweis that lie on the earth, no wind moves her. So, though the judge was almost as much disconcerted as the decanter, it seemed all to have blown over, while mamma, as in case of any ordinary accident, was directing Jupe to remove the fragments, change the cloth, Sce. But alas! the evil genius of our house triumphed ; for even a bottle of our oldest Madeira, which is usually to my father like oil to the waves, failed to preserve tranquillity. The glasses were filled, and my father, according to his usual custom, gave the King--God bless him !'

" Now you must know, though be would not confess he made any sacrifice to prudence, lie has for sonic weeks omitted to drink wine at all, on sonic pretext or other,—such as lie bad a headach, or he had dined out the day before, or ex- pected to the day after ; and thus Herbert has escaped the test. But now the toast was given, and Herbert's glass remained untouched, while lie sat, not biting, Ina literally devouring his nails. I saw the judge cast a sinister look at hint, and then a glance at my father. The storm was gatheiiiim on my father's brow. ' Herbeit, my son, said mamma, 'you will be too late fo"r your appoint- ment.' Herbert moved his chair to rise, when my father railed out, Stop, Sir; no slinking away under your mother's shield: hear me, No man who refuses to drink that toast at my table shall eat of iny bread or drink of my wine.' " ' Then God forgive me ; for I never will drink it, so help me heaven !' " Herbert left the room by one door, my father by another, mamma stayed calmly talking to that fixture of a judge, and I ran to my room, where, as soon as I had got through with a comfortable fit of crying, I sat down to write you (who are on the enemy's side) an account of the matter. What will come of it, heaven only knOws !"

The following passage occurs long afterwards, and is almost the only direct allusion to the rationale of marriage in the work. Mr. Linwood is confined with the gout, and his daughter has just given him rhubarb instead of his dinner-drops.

" A thousand pardons, papa ; take this water—now rest a little, and !hen your drops." " Never mind, my dear ; set down the glass, and come and kneel down by me, Belle. There's something the matter with you, my child ; I urn sure of it. You cannot deceive me, Belle; you are as transparent as that glass. Twice since you came from the parlour you have blundered, first with the cushion, and now the drops. It's an uncommon thing for you, my dear, to look one way and row t'other. Jasper was with eau, Belle; has he offered himself? Dou't hesitate—I aria in no condition to be trifled with ; has Jasper done it ?"

" Yes, Sir." " Have you accepted or rejected him?" " Neither."

" Do you love him, Belle?"

"Dear papa," said she, springing to her feet, and walking to the extremity of the room, " do not question me any further." " Come back to me, Belle ; kneel down by me again, and listen to me. I can tell you a love story—yes, little like a lover as I now seem. When I was eight-and-twenty, still in the heyday of life, I loved, with my whole soul, your aunt Archer: don't flinch, child—listen. She was very young, just irom school, twelve years younger than I, eight than your mother; but then she promised all she has since been. She rejected me. In a fit of pique I married your mother : mark the consequences. She has been the poor, subservient, domestic drudge—"

" Oh, papa, pray—"

" I aria telling a plain story, Belle, and you must hear it ; but never mind what she has been. You can't dispute that I have been unreasonable, peevish, passionate, and so we have worn away life together; and now, when the cur- tain is about to fall, I rook back on my useless existence, may wasted talents, nay lost opportunities, and mourn over it all, in vain!" His voice was choked with emotion. " Oh, do not say so, Sir ; you are the dearest, kindest of fathers." " To you, Belle ; and what thanks to me for that? I have been proud of you, I have loved you—there it is if I had loved your mother, I should have been the kindest of husbands. Love makes virtue easy. 'Love,' the Scrip- ture says, ' is the fulfilling of the law.' I say those must be saints who fulfil the law without it. Conscience does not sleep even in such a self-lover as I am; and think you, Belle, I am not often fornicated with the thought that I was created for something better than to make my dinner the chief good of every day, to pamper myself with the bounties of Providence, and fret and fume at every straw in my way ? No, my dear child, you never have felt my petty tyranny ; but you hold the master-key to my heart. Poor Herbert ! sacrificed him to a gust of passion. It was I that drove him into the ranks u the rebels."

"Pray compose yourself, Sir ; do not say any more."

" I must finish what I began upon. I have gone aside from it—Jasper Meredith ! Alt, Belle, that name conjures the blood back to your cheeks ; Jasper Meredith has fortune, which, thanks to this unnatural war, we want enough. He has rank which I honour, and talents which all men honour ; but if be has not your whore heart, child, let him and his fortune, rank and

talents, go to the devil."

We will close with a bit from the closing scene, though, cur- tailed as we must curtail it, it has no connexion with the story. The final departure of the English from the city is not painted with that elaboration which many writers would have been tempted to indulge in; but perhaps the slight incidental sketch is not only better adapted to the tale, but is more effective in itself. The imagination of the reader fills up the truthful outline of the narrative more successfully than the words of the writer could have done.

THE EVACUATION OF NEW YORK.

The last foreign regiment was passing from Broadway, to the battery, in the admirable order and condition of British troops ; the arms of the soldiers glittering, their uniform fresh and unsullied, and that of the officers, who had seen little service to deface and disarrange it, in a state of preservation rather indicating a drawing-room than a battle-field. Mr. Linwood gazed after them, and said, sorrowfully, "We ne'er shall look upon their like again."

"I hope not," muttered Rose to herself, in the background ; " this a'n't to be the land for them that stint in scarlet broadcloth and gold epaulettes, and Jive upon the sweat of working people's brows. No, thank God—and Geueral Washington."

" Ah," said Mrs. Archer, " there is good old General Knvphansen turning the key of his door for the last time. Heaven's blessing will go Ivith bias, thr he never turned it upon a creature that needed his kindness."I'lle good old German crossed the street, grasped Mr. Liamood's hand, kissed the hands of

the ladies, and, without speaking, rejoined his suite and passed on. • * •

Music was now beard from the extremitv of the battery. All had embarked save the band. The band, that had been the pride and delight of the inhabi - tants through winter and summer, now sti tick up, for the last time, " God Save the Kim' , !" Every sound Was hushed, and white handkerchiefs were waved from balconies, windows, and doors. Mr. Linwood uncovered his head, and the tears trickled down his cheeks. As the music ceased, Edward Archer, who stood with his arm over his sister's shoulder, said, " Oh, Lizzv, how we shall miss the band."

" Miss them ! No, Ned ; not when we get back to dear breezy Beech Hill, and hear the birds, and smell the flowers, and have none to hurt us nor make us afraid."

The last boat put off from the wharf; and at the next instant the " star- spangled banner " was unfurled from the flag-staff, and every bell in the city poured forth its peel of welcome to the deliverer of his country, who was seen, at the head of a detachment of his army, approaching the city through the Fields, —then the general designation of all that portion a New York beyond the Bri- tish palisades which traversed Broadway at Chambeis Street.

Those who are familiar with the location of this our noble street of Broadway, the pride of the metropolis, can imagine the thrilling effect of the moment on the spectators. They saw the flag of an independent empire waving on the battery ; beyond, the bay glittering in the meridian sun ; and, floating on the bay, the ships that were to convey their late masters for ever from the land that had rejected them. At the upper extremity of the street appeared General Washington.