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. j' ^A-Tty reyi;ew of the…

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j' ^A-Tty reyi;ew of the WEEK,g LITERATURE. eabendary Harry Jones is a man -who has deal of 1 ire, both clerical and lay, of are almost of necessity V while there is a quiet humour i 4 much. of the book that is very 6 foi "lnorl? the earliest of the matters that ar° the *^eir way into his 'Dead Leaves" r>ter'a 0irenmstanoes of hi? ordination one aT>el • at Archbishop Tenieone ?• C>nf -street, before a congregation ^itii at. 0r ^0,Ir pew-cpeners, who suspended ^•ioii nnt impatience the dusting of JWk JlU this eight o'clook interruption of noss was over. The bishop came cerb!rl"Y minutes late, and when the hurried e^es « Was ended, Mr. Jones and his asso- C,:i"Cie«ert' AUrned loose to find their respective Wlthnut wbrd of encouragement or ■t yja.s or otherwise. His first curacy ?*PoJom ^ssex' n°t far from Stock, where 1*' tTn-nr °^V^)er' nn a y°unf? friend ^strW- 111 • fathered material for his amusing 9 Peon?0 a ^ie dinner. Mr. Jones found he L,0 Gallewood Common less uncouth, I?>0llec5r'aS °n ^le whole a kindly and grateful ^lal-00 ^hem. n(rt excepting the Chartist ^Pp^rerfr+ W'l° was a local oracle, and who I thp ^Joy "sticking his verbal awl" ?° far Parson at their first interview. im cherishing any ill-will against this *§ a, o-i^ 6 Person for turning him 'inside out, ^ry jL^e' Mr. Jones expresses the wish that 3 tQ only t snch a permanent ofBoial, if it 1101-0 ex ii ^ach conceited voiuig ministers a way of joining issue with a f^esgi-p nau'ded to be to rash) than that of laooiirer ^Proselytism. There was also a field old enough to be the new curate's aNi-ruil-led with the daily toil of *10 k°ok if of shrewd wisdom, learned from ^Wj/'rhe could not read) but unpleasantly t what Mr. Jcne.-i calls "newly- advice." Here is one of Mr. ''Of *ying experiences — e.^or*J> however, that of preaching in i Tv^sseH 18 t^le most embarrassing. I have I KI 1(1 l?Joil of lunatics—in an asylum, v/ki-d °}lapla:n remarked, 'You must not be Cf.11 lia.ve a 1 orgsui breaking out the moment tl Vr'p thp60 i y.our sermon. ft is to stop or 'trl' }r W|l's^'n" which sometimes begins t, *HvtV 6 previously begged me not to 1 h '^citing.' Now, I had a store t 0t sermons (though I have burned ,'°Ser hem at a time), and thus, having t (K,.e which I thought would meet his itK ^Pl'Cd with studied monotony. But of ^a^n tSUTltid"' a m ^ar aF!)r°priate to the 0|,To my surprise, therefore, in*rtead K chani'■ ra^^ru? voluntary which 1 expected, yi«n Eg(.ai^ followed it up by changing the ( "°wn, and giving out—• ^ead, kindly Light, -A-micl the encircling jrloom, ^ay Lead Thou me on." have fitted tlie sermcn, but it wr- congregation, with pathetic and +i erstoa-i Propriety. The choir was, I v. y satipT' .eompo.sed of lunatics, too; and rFeak <>f w'th energy, but there was no out- ti^culate criticism. I shall never • h soi the impenetrable gaze with jj)„ 6 who sat nc«?.r the pulpit stared a?Ur8e- 8 was preaching. I have, of /^iitio,, ,n' not caused, congregational in- Inhere, but I felt as if this air of «ul abstraction would not have been aif \oi 11 1 had announced that I would give r er ser^ assemhlage a firc-imund note each r The °e' or S1JJdenly shouted 'Fire! a't('/l0r 8 first- cure was the parish of St. opOO crowded in all London, with yards sq A s^xict'' rouo^lj" "praking, of at^lt.8 i\a<^ htcome distingnis.hed (while S* en^p Mark's, North Audlev-street) by a^Ury with which my old friend, tilled (|0 'head, along with Dr. Snow, faiunn n (Jlie souroe of choltra mischief to to I S ^roachstreet Pump, and showed v*ral ) chief vehicle of its contagion, rvf'+i re<^ l*op!e then died within 150 i ai^es n e I 'have a list of their j,°w- The Broad-street was a popular Water being cool, and sparkling witii ""as at Ras. Years afterwards, when I &eorge\s-in-the-Ea.st, and rumours J.- ^'a,s [a Were in T'li(- air, I found how hard T •? Pe°P^p appreciate the expe- f PUtim Sained at St. Luke's. There was j}?1". all Tn eastern churchyard at which, ittJr Pails eo'1'(^. RaV. they insi.-ted on filling ffn^ith «,-a iu^LS- till I hung a placard on J "^inscription, 'Dead Men's Broth.' t?1 s> Tvlir. CSfL the arrival of disobedient ^*1 'witi, ^>auf",f'd to read my notice, and re- ?e\v 0r emPty buckets." cpj?8 °f m! P^ap?, liave realised the hard- Ki ^ry ra, i sniall section of our clergy—the r a,rrie fr_ aPhii)is whom one is so apt to |ir the df>c>1iTPV?raTlce if they read the office a,p c°ffin hut scant pnth.os, or meet fastening their surplice or f ff! for th^r sto'<l there is some ex- Wo 0f .i as Mr. Jones points out: — f interact 4rawVacks to a London chrgy- of a J ln ^is work i* felt after the ,,ftltecl thrr>iir,fI11^>er °f his flock whom he has ''arried °';vIx'rliaps, a long illness, but is c.ernetery nnri to be buried in a suburban tiflti!' 'l'rn bv aS ^le last solemn words said rn. n £ Of tlu, a %Vear5r cliaplain who knows ese mo,irners among whom lie stands. fefel> wi are' indfed- deadly. 'What can rvj, 1<?I1 von 0T1e °f these clerics to me once, j. aPter twerfaJ6,-to na<l tl'O solemn burial nt. e never times in a day to people you th ° thesis ^ef°re?' Lately I officiated at Tn™ chapiain.lntefments. and, of course, asked Vol?' to 0n dut>' {<* l^ve to do so. Poor ax°VV novel1 in a ve.stn', reading a •n. 6 Sot J j I^avf*, indeed?' he said- 'I hef11. On tl °times moTe this after- J,f ,re a W(p 'a samo occasion, as I walked ti& Sexton Pj,ng Proces^i<>n bv the side of the me to guess how many t>ied. Tl ^o^fid into a crave. I erruffly ^rietl an (.,)(■ „Ui clUcst'on was put as if it had 'Ar^red if ri ail;unR' mortuarv riddle—and ht Juf^yof ^llrlufmEelf: "Towards of 30.000. S-oo^lied 'T if inquired. 'Not one,' all ^nd'bron^? in this place for }joJ^°ing w„j] 11P eight children, who are here/ h y W(lre' everyone of them, in ^li-k.io-,0 0 tteTe'l on as if the words tho ^Pect tr> 1,^ ser'tence had been transposed Ofv> ^ist nf ,i 18 own household, and ran, 'In f.}. ^'on, u,],'31;1 we are in life-' On another CeTr? in> I f6U t l'atl l>een a.sked to help a Pr~ cln^1!11? seven coffins waiting in the uti^'i-'6 read have the first portion of the I to i,Ve5i them together, and was visit ?'n> sir >ai' ITIU} fiexton whisper to me, 'All T +i lat an astonishing fraternal Jn^r61" of o„ ?uSht to myself. And what a w [aTici(S;i remain to the family! 1 h 's bui"stino.le moment that my informant Kt.„Wa;s onlv Si- strange intelligence, whereas me know that those then 5,. ?t- Gp0ro.. erment were all 'males.' 6 for the East appears to be remark- ,°n,0 imrnag-es. 1>rriHcrl,fUlman' followed by a criticising *'Xf'(;li(J|l? t, an English bride to the altar, th rieri(I and colleague, Vacher (who xL? bpn, J-?11? ^t- Lukfo's, and'hae now built W1' St °f modern churches in Lan- c^ted in .^P Stexmey), ever keenly in- Bi^wated tli't r"lases of Eastern ex.perience, XVs?6 'Ah *a*S s.°^newhat perplexing ceremonj7', <*to°f>»Kideiv!]iTHi. ac<luaintance with Epglisli Savtfeion tu f ruflimentarv. On anotlier at that +1 rieilfls of the lady came to me bi<; i 0 la=st r,, 0 3i»arriago would be forbidden 1^ onient, and warned ma against the •j; hkej a notorious pugilist, who would W r,,J iiu- v, (professionally) any lieatta- Oi:iJ^rMe<Oi He was of middle age, while (lin ^fe, a simple girl, had numbered ? Purtv -Vears, So, when the agit-ateel wed- tii i i^to +,* entered the ohurch, I sent for ha, • UetxJr6 v^stry, and (keeping a broad a. lr>f? arran". l] tol'-l 1'™ plainly my mind, OQifV. }r„ meanwhile to send the bride of i, s so surprised at this) unexpected -18 Project tji^t lie adopted oniv » (slicrht) verbal remonstrance, and departed (happily for me) with his fists in his pockets. I saw him no more. Two or three times I married an infatuated sailor to one of the notorious street-girls of the neighbourhood, when Ra/tcliff Highway emptied itself into the ohurch. Then I would drop the appointed address at the end of the service, and substitute for it a very plain-spoken extempore sermon." Mr. Jones has had the satisfaction of seeing these unpromi&ing marriages turn out satis- factorily. The Despotic Lady. By this time Mr. W. E. Norris must have produced as many novels as any man writing, and, considering the fecundity of his output, it is remarkable that he should have produced nothing which is actually dull and ineffectual. For his method is always of the simplest, his stories are compact of the least heroic elements, and his toying with the tender passions never strengthens—never, indeed, is meant to strengthen—into anything of vital interest or import. He is the story-teller of an idle afternoon, and fulfils his function with ease and grace. His latest volume—"The Despotic Lady" (Methuen and Co.)—shows, indeed, how far it is possible to carry the dainty method without a serious failure, for never was a book that skimmed so near the thin ice of monotony and yet evaded a catastrophe. "The Despotic Lady" is a col- lection of short stories, and in them the fashion of Mr. Norris's art is carried to its logical conclusion; the beaten gold is reduced to the flimsiest leaf imaginable. The story which gfives its name to the book. and which fills almost half the volume,' deals with the intrigue by which a young and penniless minor poet was enabled to wed the daughter of a purse-proud and puritanic matron, and it is scarcely possible for an atom of interest to be spread more ingeniously over a, broad sheet of matter. In another tale, which is mere farce, the interchange and confusion of various bottles, containing red lotion, curacoa, and hair-dye, are made to work havoc in a country house party—a trival motive tr;via]ly treated. And yet, in a certain fashion, the stories have their interest. They triumph by the superiority of manner over matter, and are an admirable example of the power of style. Ill-written, they would be impos- sible^ treated with Mr. Norris's playful cynicism thf,y become effective. A New Novel. It is quite refreshing to find a new novel which is really worth leading, and there are at least two points about "LPs Egyptian Wife" (Digby Long), by Mr. Hilton Hill, which ought to ensure it a, considerable amount of popularity. One is that the book is full cf movement and episode, the scenes being- con- stantly shifted and the attention never allowed to flag; while the second point is the intro- duction of an extremely funny female Ameri- can journalist. Miss Nelly Shy by name, whose curiosity is insatiable and who.=e enter- prise is all-conquering. It is her determina- tion at all costs to s,ee the inside of a harem thait produces the most racy and adventurous chapters in a thoroughly readable volume. Probabilities need not be: asked for in such a book. That an Egyptian pasha should in years gone by have married and been divorced from an Englishwoman, who Bubsecraently be- comes Lady Brattle, wife of an eminent Q.O., and that later on the isamie lady should, in company with, the American journalist, get Kurreptitiously into the harem of her former husband and be caught by him. is in itself a little unlikely; but. that iust when the two ladies should be visiting the pasha's palace for observation purposes Sir Richard Brattle and two gay Englishmen, one being a lord, should alpo gain entrance into the same place for reasons of flirtation, demands a very active credulitv indeed. However, as we have paid nrobability must not be too closely considered in the perusal of cuoh a tale. which is full of amorous intrigues of all kinds, and has gome amufiingly-oontrrve d situations, aB. for in. stance, wit en the 0,0. iF, made to give an un- IT) conscious lejral opinion that the pasha has a right to rob him of his own wife. Books Received. I have to acknowledge receipt of the "Young Ladies' Journal" and "Hearth and Home," both, as usual. excellent productions. The chief novelty this week, however, is the "Golden Penny," which is a. new weekly issued from the "Graphic. I have received an early copy of the first number (which will be published on Tuesday next), and a big sale is certain. The chief feature of the paper will be the fiction, consisting of short complete storks and short serial stories, all illustrated by some of the best artists of the day. Considerable promi-' nence is also triven to puzzle and drawing com- petitions. With the first number is presented a quaint double-page coloured supplement, of which 500,000 copies have been printed. It had been intended by the proprietors that the first edition should be limited to 250,000 copies, but the orders camei in in such large numbers that over 400,000 were demanded, and it was decided to print 500,000. I have also to acknow- ledge receipt of the "New Budget," the "West- minster Budget." the "Musical Times," "Book- selling," the "Idler," and a batch of summer holiday railway guides which I must leave till next week. "Fifty Years; or, Dead Leaves and Living Seeds." By the Rev. Harry Jones. M.A., Pre- bendary of St. Paul's, &c. (Smith, Elder, and Co.) NOVEL APPLICATION. At Littledean Police-court on Friday the justices (Messrs. J. Kerr, senior, and R. J. Kerr, junior) were asked to deal with a very novel and remarkable proposal. — A married woman named Wood, living at Cinderford, en- tered the witness-box, and reminded the justices that an order was made, on her daughter's ap- plication, upon a young collier, named David Hopkins, to contribute 3s. per week towards the support of her illegitimate child. Following the order, Hopkins had got married to another wenan, and they two had agreed that they would like to have the child to bring up if the magistrates would rescind the order. The bride (who was also present) expressed her readiness to accept the responsibility of the bab", and was. in fact, anxious to begin housekeeping with her husband's baby. The grandmother, on her part, and on behalf of the mother, who was anxious to go to .service, was not le«s desirous that the compact, should be executed.and urged the court to allow the father to take tho child as he desired.—Mr. Carter, magistrates' clerk, s:id if it were desirable to accede to such an application, in any case, he was afraid this was the last case where it could be recommended. If the order were rescinded there was nothing L to compel the father Ito keep the child, and in a few weeks it might b3 sent back again. At the same time. if all the parties were agreed, the order could remain without being enforced, and if anything happened they would have the order to fall back vjnc>n—The Chairman said the tact was that the justices on the l&ngh were not at the last court, and could not, therefore, annul tiie order, but, of course, they muld make ther own arrangements.—1The parties retired, the new mother -pomillg to he somewhat disap- pointed that the order was not quashed.

WOMEN'S CYCLING DRESS.,

FINDING THE LOCH MAREE. I

SUICIDE OF A CROYDON MAN.

A BOLD VENTURE IN EXPLORATION.

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