196 



Monthly Review of Literature, 



[AUG. 



were nearly overturned by the violence of 

 the impetus with which he scoured along 

 the street, 



We have no space left, or we should 

 quote the author's account of Old Platoff. 

 He has been dead some time. Of the two 

 ladies who left England with him nothing 

 could be learnt. His family seem to be 

 neither opulent nor powerful. The old 

 man himself lost much of his popularity 

 before his death owing chiefly to his 

 subserviency to the emperor's wishes, and 

 to his attempt to abandon the old capital 

 on the Don, and form a new one. *The 

 author's accounts of the Crimea are by 

 far the best of the book; and those of 

 Oviodopol and Odessa are not without 

 interest. 



The volumes conclude with a review 

 of the systems adopted by the different 

 powers of Europe for manning the navy, 

 compared with that of England. The 

 necessity of impressment at home is stre- 

 nuously insisted on truly as if the case 

 were not perfectly plain better pay, and 

 more liberal treatment would bring sailors 

 enough. 



The Aylmers. 3 vols. I2mo; 1827 

 The production of a well-cultivated and 

 well-disposed mind, of a serious and mo- 

 ral cast of one who has certain pru- 

 dential warnings to enforce, among others, 

 the guilt of taking young people out of 

 their station, and not providing for them ; 

 but more especially the woes and perils 

 attending the contempt of appearances, 

 and on the other hand the folly of sacri- 

 ficing comfort to appearances. Notwith- 

 standing the apparent opposition of these 

 latter objects, they do not in the least 

 jostle with each other; the appearances, 

 which the writer would have us despise, 

 are such as are incompatible with our for- 

 tunes and position in society ; and those 

 which are to be observed are moral ones, 

 the avoidance in short not only of evil, 

 but of the " appearance of evil." Instead 

 of conveying these very useful, though 

 not very novel lessons, in sermons, or 

 lectures, the writer embodies them in a 

 story, and where he cannot incorporate, 

 he appends, for the construction of a story 

 is manifestly not his forte. He will mend 

 however ; and in the meanwhile, the one 

 before us is far from being an unreadable 

 one. 



A college friendship between two Ox- 

 oniansone the son of a wealthy 'squire, 

 the other of a country clergyman brings 

 about something like a family intercourse. 

 The clergyman's wife and eldest daughter 

 are of the vulgarest description, but a 

 younger daughter is of a different and 

 softer mould brought up by a lady of 

 rank, well educated and well introduced, 

 but finally forgotten in the will, and re- 

 turned on her parents 1 hands comfort- 



less, uncongenial like a fish out of water. 

 The whole family, rough and smooth , 

 come up to the Commemoration, which 

 gives an opportunity for exhibiting a col- 

 lege scene or two, of no great novelty or 

 efficiency. Young Aylmer, the son of 

 wealth, is introduced, and a mutual liking 

 takes place between him and the parson's 

 beautiful and accomplished daughter. A 

 visit to the parsonage follows 5 the youth 

 offers marriage ; the young lady refuses 

 to enter a family which will probably 

 treat her with insolence; and he under- 

 takes to overcome the probable hostility 

 of his parents. 



But in the meanwhile reports reach his 

 ears of his mother's improper conduct; 

 She had been for some time indeed flirt- 

 ing in a very extraordinary manner with 

 a young officer of the guards. Her son 

 feels it necessary to expostulate with her ; 

 she resents the expostulation charges 

 him with his plebeian attachments mis- 

 represents him to his father; and he is 

 suddenly driven from his paternal roof. 

 Luckily he has one poor 500 a year, in- 

 dependent of his family. With this pro- 

 vision, he persuades the vicar's charming 

 daughter and she is charming we are 

 ourselves more than half in love with her 

 to accept him ; and they pass over to 

 the continent to live cheap. The 500 

 does not spin out well; they have soon a 

 considerable family; he grows dissatis- 

 fied ; the restraints imposed by his pitiful 

 income become intolerable ; but the lovely 

 girl is patient, soothing, and conciliating. 

 They come to England and reside at 

 Bath, where Aylmer shuns company, be- 

 cause he cannot entertain on equal terms, 

 and gets fretful again ; but by degrees 

 the admirable management of his wife 

 reconciles him to his condition ; they cut 

 dinners, and content themselves with 

 evening parties ; till at last he learns to 

 despise the luxuries that are beyond his 

 reach, and no longer to sacrifice comfort 

 to appearances. 



By the time he is thus regenerated, and 

 fitted to live upon 500 a year, circum- 

 stances are paving the way for reconcilia- 

 tion with his father. That father had 

 been long deserted. His mother's cava- 

 lier the young guardsman as soon as 

 Aylmer was driven from home, changed 

 his tactics. He turned from the mother 

 to the daughter with the view of marry- 

 ing her, and securing the old man's pro- 

 perty. The matron lady is of course en- 

 raged ; but not thinking the case a despe- 

 rate one, she resolves to draw him back, 

 and endeavours to pique his jealousy by 

 giving her smiles and attentions to -ano- 

 ther, and is unluckily caught in her own 

 trap. This new flirtation terminates fa- 

 tally; she commits herself elopes is 

 deserted, and finally sinks into deeper 



