694 MONTHLY REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND ART. 



four was directly over me, her cutwater was grinding us into the yeast of 

 waves beneath. ' Watch Will Watch ! for mercy's sake* but, before 

 I could utter another word, some one lifted me in his arms, and, springing 

 on the sinking bulwark of our prison-ship, caught hold of one of the man- 

 of-war's ropes hanging from above, and by this means seated himself upon 

 the protruding muzzle of one of her guns. Frightfully insecure as was 

 such a station, I did indeed feel thankful for attaining even that, and 

 looking round to see who had thus rescued me, found, to my inexpressible 

 joy, that I was again indebted to my old friend Will. Panting from the 

 deadly contest in which he had been so lately engaged, he was only able 

 to point to the scene on the deck of our late tyrants below. I shudder 

 even to recall it. Writhing upon the steerage-wheel, to which his neck 

 was bound by Will's silk handkerchief, and struggling in vain to get free 

 his blackened and distorted face the image of despair and guilt, and his 

 hand uplifted in appeal to those whom he had taught any lesson but 

 that of mercy I beheld Mackay whirled heard downwards by a sudden 

 movement of his ship's rudder, which left no part of him visible, save his 

 feet, struggling in the air. In the next instant the seventy-four, like some 

 vindictive and relentless monster of the deep, seemed to ride over the 

 crushed decks of the slaver with her stern ; and while her crew were 

 starting from their hiding-places, with ghastly looks of horror, she dis- 

 appeared swiftly from our view beneath. A mass of wreck amid the 

 foaming surge a slight perceptible grating of the keel for a second or two 

 over the sinking and dissevered hull, was all that seemed to evidence the 

 fact to our senses ; and the line-of-battle ship sprang on, upon the blue 

 bosom of each succeeding wave, as uninterruptedly as if, within a few 

 brief seconds, she had not dispatched so many human beings to their 

 irrevocable doom ! What that was to be, it was indeed awful to consider !" 



We must not, however, omit to mention the several touches of real pa- 

 thos which the author introduces throughout his work, and in which style 

 we think he excels. The conclusion, too, of the orphan's remarks, on 

 reading the manuscript of the fortunes of his family, immediately after his 

 parent's death, is beautiful, " The world was before me, and busy life 

 teeming around me, but I I was alone, " and will be responded to by 

 every heart of any feeling that shall peruse the work. 



In comparing this work with " Jacob Faithful," we must remark, that, 

 the author, though evidently a younger man, has drawn his knowledge of 

 human nature from a deeper and a purer source. 



From his perception of the workings of the heart, he represents the ac- 

 tions of the man, whilst it is only from the exhibition of outward acts that 

 his competitor informs you of their inward inclination. In conclusion, we 

 should say, that the author of " Will Watch/' has decidedly powers of a 

 much higher description than those exhibited by the author of " Jacob 

 Faithful," and have no doubt, with experience and attention, he will increase 

 the reputation his former works have justly gained him, and which this last 

 is well calculated not only to support, but considerably to advance. 



With these remarks we now dismiss, as a mere literary production, the 

 above novel. In corroboration of our criticisms, we need only refer the im- 

 partial reader to a respective perusal. To Captain Marryat, however, it 

 might not be improper to add a word at parting. Before he again indus- 

 triously thrusts upon the public an invidious claim to superior writing, we 

 would recommend him first to consider what may be the result of an im- 

 partial comparison. 



As an appendix to " Will Watch" are the details of a correspondence 

 which led to the recent collision of these two authors. We cannot but re- 

 gret that these unseemly fracas should take place between gentlemen oc- 

 cupying a station in the literary world ; but there are emergencies when 

 the last .resource of the insulted must be put in operation. The letters of 

 the parties speak for themselves. 



