76 



Monthly Review of Literature, 



[JULY; 



work. Her mind was completely withdrawn 

 from sober views. The stolen meetings 

 the gentlemanly air of her admirer the 

 notoriety (unfavourable as it was) which 

 he had gained in the village the floating 

 prospect of an unknown and beautiful 

 world, free for their feet to wander over, 

 free from parents' controul, and unaccom- 

 panied by dull needle-work, or house- 

 work, or the confinement of regular hours 

 the dresses the compliments the 

 lights the poetic fascinations of a thea- 

 tre, these were altogether far more than 

 sufficient to bring the enthusiastic girl to 

 his arms. 



There is a good deal of very pleasing 

 naivete in the account of this connexion, 

 and in the tender but light-hearted affec- 

 tion which he bore to this young woman 

 from first to last going about with her 

 as a kind brother till they should be able 

 to muster money enough to be married 

 with. This, however, they could never 

 accomplish ; but, followed by the unre- 

 lenting law of poverty, which ever pur- 

 sues a wandering life, were reduced to 

 straits innumerable thrown sometimes 

 among gypsies, sometimes among thieves, 

 and occasionally exposed to damp, and 

 cold, and want. The delicate village lass 

 was unequal to the sustainment of these 

 hardships, and soon died leaving an 

 agreeable impression of her beauty and 

 simplicity, unspoiled even by the very 

 scum of human society among whom she 

 had herded. 



Our hero stands alone again. He leaves 

 the stage, and goes a gypsying for a while, 

 and engages that grave and respectable 

 fraternity in a few rather dull pranks, 

 quite at variance with gypsy dignity. 

 Their society, however, turned out uncon- 

 genial notwithstanding the- vagabond life 

 and reckless habits, which were quite in 

 his way. His sphere of activity was not 

 expansive enough. His spirit ga?ped to 

 try its powers among all ranks of society ; 

 but what door was open for one whoss 

 days had been spent as his had been t One 

 there was and the master-key was with 

 in his reach to lay open to his ken draw- 

 ing-rooms, theatres, routs, courts, closets, 

 studies, kitchens, boudoirs aye, even the 

 penetralia of human bosoms of all ages, 

 ranks, sexes, and principles. The honest 

 and the vile, the murderer, forger, child- 

 stcaler lords and ladies men and maids 

 might all be made in turn to spread cut 

 their hearts, and expose the secret springs 

 of action and courses of conduct for his 

 peculiar gaze and study. He had only to 

 become a Bow-street Officer, and prove 

 himself able and zealous in his vocation. 

 The requisites for such a post are not 

 dissimilar to those of the statesman. A 

 thorough knowledge of human nature, and 

 of the worst part or parts of it is equally 



in demand for both. And probable it is", 

 that an inaptitude for any specific branch 

 of study, engross) ve of the faculties, may 

 be characteristic of each, while, at the 

 same time, each must be gifted wilh a 

 prompt acuteness of perception a power 

 of rapid and practical deduction a ta- 

 lent for drawing out others a seeming 

 facility and pliability, and a real unre- 

 lentingness of purpose. The statesman's 

 plans, however, stretch out to the end of 

 life, while the catchpole looks only to 

 bringing up his man before the magis- 

 trate j and is ready again to plunge into 

 the thickets of a new entanglement to 

 unravel its details, and apply his acquired 

 and native treasures of wisdom to new 

 objects which objects are extensive con- 

 sidered collectively, while separately 

 viewed, their bearings are few, and the 

 ultimate aim much more bounded. 



So far as these volumes exhibit the 

 habits, modes of thought, and ways of pro- 

 ceeding incident to the kind of life which 

 the writer professes to depict, the whole 

 possesses an air of probability ; and the 

 style of composition is for the most part 

 in happy correspondence with the hero's 

 life and character as he describes it. There 

 is a smattering of learning exhibited of 

 fashionable slang of worn-out plays of 

 vulgar songs of mawkish romance, with 

 some just but rather heavy remarks upon 

 the various classes of society, as they are 

 beheld from his peculiar point of view 

 bearing a resemblance to Harriette Wil- 

 son's pert but pertinent observations, scat- 

 tered up and down her book. Through a 

 good deal of clumsiness, stupidity, and 

 vulgarity, there is, however, enough of 

 the romantic and vagabond-spirit infused 

 into the story to render it decidedly agree- 

 able, and sketches of character, we sus- 

 pect, true enough to make it worth the 

 reading. 



Personal Sketches of his own 

 by Sir Jonah Barrinylon, Judge of the 

 Court of Admiralty, Dublin, 2 rofo. Sro.; 

 1827. Sir Jonah Bavriagton is a gentle- 

 man of a good Irish family. He was born 

 about 1760: educated at Dublin and the 

 Temple; called to the Irish bar; early and 

 and well introduced to common- law prac- 

 tice, and the leading business of a circuit ; 

 made king's counsel, with a fair prospect 

 of professional honours, which honours 

 were nipped in the budding by his kick- 

 ing at the Union; and finally sunk into 

 insignificance and the Admiralty judge- 

 ship. 



This gentleman's name has been fre- 

 quently mentioned as engaged in the writ- 

 iugofa History oftheTJnion; and the long 

 delay, nerer till now publicly accounted 

 for, has given rise to reports, not often 

 started in this country, of its suppression, 



