86 



Monthly Review of Literature* 



[JAN. 



eighty thousand pounds and a beautiful girl 

 are not to be sacrificed to romance. He re- 

 solves to cut through all impediments. 



The first stroke is levelled at the father, 

 who, unhappily, by living a little too fast, as 

 people of fortune will, as well as those of 

 none, is involved in difficulties. Sackville 

 discovers this, and makes his use of it by 

 means of a very useful instrument which he 

 has at command an attorney, or surveyor, 

 or some sort of a man of business, who had 

 once committed forgery, the evidence of 

 which Sackville holds in his own hands. This 

 miserable wretch he wields at will, by holding 

 the forgery in terrorem. By his means he 

 buys up Morton's debts, and uses the power 

 thus obtained in forcing Morton to bind his 

 daughter to his purpose, on (the peril of im- 

 mediate exposure and ruin. This Sackville 

 is a complete master of finesse and subtlety 

 at all times able to make the worse appear the 

 better reason. To save her father, poor Agnes 

 is driven to give a pledge of marriage at the 

 end of a twelvemonth. The lady and her 

 father thus far secured, he stirs up a little 

 piece of calumny against his friend's father, 

 and makes Morton the circulator the conse- 

 quence of which is a duel between Lacy and 

 Agnes's father all to keep Herbert and Ag- 

 nes asunder. Divers other pieces of rascality 

 are set in motion ; and, at an election, in 

 which Herbert and Morton are made oppos- 

 ing candidates, Morton is arrested, and a 

 complete break-up of his affairs follows all 

 done again by the underworking of Sackville, 

 through his miserable agent, the surveyor, 

 and Herbert made to appear the impelling 

 cause. 



Morton and his family are now obliged to 

 retire to London, and hide their poverty and 

 their heads in one of the Alpha cottages 

 places, we have no doubt, abounding in this 

 species of misery; where Agnes conducts 

 herself with admirable propriety and filial 

 duty the whole family being, indeed, sup- 

 ported by her allowance, which she is pre- 

 vented from augmenting by the artifices of 

 her precious guardian, who is of course 



anxious her property shall not be squandered. 

 Things being thus brought up to a point 

 villany having used up its resources 

 the scene begins to change, and the master- 

 agent must now fall himself into the pit 

 which he had dug for others. The surveyor, 

 who had been so mercilessly ridden by Sack- 

 ville, on some new command rebels, and will 

 no farther concur, unless he is allowed a sight 

 of the fatal document which gives the tyrant 

 his hold upon him. Sackville suspects his 

 purpose, but resolves to indulge him first, 

 however, loading a pistol in his presence, and 

 clapping it to his breast, and then presenting 

 the paper for the unhappy's man's contem- 

 plation, whose purpose had been to attempt 

 its destruction ; but the resolute air of his 

 employer deters him, and the paper is re- 

 turned, and deposited again in a drawer. 

 The surveyor marks the spot, and soon after 

 contrives to get into the house, and abstracts 

 the paper and proofs. Thus freed from his 

 chains, he sets Sackville at defiance ; and a 

 complete exposure follows. Agnes releases 

 herself from her engagement, and she and 

 Herbert, with the concurrence of all parties, 

 eventually, even of Sackville himself, tie the 

 nuptial knot. 



The tale is a very appropriate one for 

 young people inculcating, as it does in their 

 full extent, the execution of filial duties 

 neglected as those duties must necessarily be, 

 where boys and girls are made men and wo- 

 men before their time ; and the author, in 

 accordance with the lesson he reads, himself 

 dedicates, like a very good child, these his 

 labours to his own papa. Again, we repeat, 

 the tale is very well told with taste and ele- 

 gance qualities which we are sure he must 

 estimate at a much higher rate than higher 

 endowments. It only wants the essentials of 

 pith and vigour; the sentiments are every 

 where liberal, and full of good feeling ; but 

 the stock and fund of the whole spring from 

 other novels. If the writer expects to^make 

 a name, he must find something of his own 

 all of other people's will not do. 



MONTHLY THEATRICAL REPORT. 



THERE are some theatrical customs, which, 

 like the laws of the Medes and Persians, are 

 so unchangeable, that the idea of change 

 never enters into the heads of managers. One 

 of these is never to bring forward any[ thing 

 likely to be attractive from its novelty, for 

 the month before Christmas. The theatres 

 generally open in October, and will probably 

 continue to do so until the Lord Chamberlain 

 alters his mind, which he may do next 

 month ; or ceases to be Lord Chamberlain, 

 which unhappy event may occur within any 

 twenty-four hours. However, this must be 

 said for the Duke of Devonshirethat he 



spells quite as well as his predecessor, is more 

 reluctant to trespass against the decorums of 

 grammar, and has infinitely less confidence 

 in the honour, conscience, and morality of 

 Mr. George Colman, jun. 



His Grace has certainly found office no 

 sinecure, between his perpetual reversal of the 

 decrees in the courts below, held by the de- 

 puty-licenser his arbitration of the rest- 

 less quarrels of the theatres, and his volumi- 

 nous correspondence on thesubject of licensing 

 a French company at the Lyceum. 



This last, we understand, his Grace has 

 done ; and ratified his permission, by taking 



