Monthly Review of Literature, 



[JAN. 



learns at Athens, gotten a thousand pounds. 

 In this desperate condition, his neighbours, 

 some from one feeling and some from 

 another, are active in excogitating more 

 efficient expedients. The most promising 

 ' one seems to be, to persuade the mortgager 

 to suspend operations. Mr. Rupees has 

 his oddities, and is not thought to he very 

 accessible to the promptings of sympathy. 

 The narrator, a sort of disengaged old gen- 

 tleman, who has nothing to do but to watch 

 his neighbours, makes the first attempt, 

 and is repulsed by a banter. Then follows 

 the minister, who urges and moralizes, and 

 is equally foiled. The last resource is Mrs. 

 Sorrocks, a very busy person, who knows 

 every one's concerns, and knows, moreover, 

 that every thing has two handles. By a 

 little well-timed admiration of fine things 

 and Indian wonders, she gains her point. 

 Mr. Rupees softens,. and the proceedings 

 of the law are suspended. In the mean- 

 while, the Laird's friends have been push- 

 ing their object in another direction, and 

 labouring to bring about a marriage with 

 one of two ancient sisters, with some pro- 

 perty. Reluctantly he accedes having 

 once before, from another cause, been driven 

 into marriage and empowers one of the 

 parties to negociate ; but, on learning their 

 success with the nabob, he retreats. Un- 

 luckily comes a sudden claim upon Mr. 

 Rupees, to the amount of half his fortune, 

 and he is compelled to enforce the fore- 

 closing. The matter of marriage is re- 

 sumed ; and the Laird is at last ' brought 

 to the scratch.' Mr. Rupees takes pos- 

 session ; the Laird and his bride remove to 

 Edinburgh, to finish his life ; and the nar- 

 rator and Mrs. Sorrocks are left to look 

 after the rest of their neighbours. 



The plan of the story is of too contracted 

 a nature, and the characters too unpeculiar 

 or too unattractive for even this very able 

 writer to make any thing of them. There 

 is a good scene or two with Mrs, Sorrocks 

 and the maiden sisters. She is an able re- 

 torter skilful in insinuating what she 

 professes to withhold, and in the war of 

 contentious words handles her weapons 

 with great dexterity. 



PaulJones, a Romance, &?/ Allan Cun- 

 ningham; 3vols. ]2mo., 1826. What was 

 the real history of Paul Jones we know 

 not. The general impression of the times, 

 in which he made himself known, was, that 

 he was a pirate of the West-Indies, and a 

 fellow of uncommon resolution and enter- 

 prize ; that he commanded an American 

 sloop of war ; fought bravely and success- 

 fully Captain Pearson of the Serapis; and 

 threw the coast, pretty generally, into con- 

 fusion and alarm. Lately, by an anony- 

 mous biographer really, there should be 

 no anonymous writers on matters of fact 

 he has been claimed as a son of Scotland, 

 and something of his history has been traced 

 up with what accuracy is more than we 



can tell. The memoirs to which we al- 

 lude, represent him to have been not only 

 a man of extraordinary activity, but of ex- 

 traordinary endowments a gentleman, in 

 manners and acquirements ; no pirate, but 

 regularly commissioned in the States, where 

 he had been legally naturalized ; to have 

 been driven from his country, by the ty- 

 ranny of the magistrates, first into the ser- 

 vice of America, and then by the jealousy 

 of the Americans into that of Russia ; to 

 have distinguished himself under the flag of 

 Russia, and finally to have fallen in the tu- 

 mults of the French Revolution. He had 

 a sister too, who fled, or was carried away 

 from her country ; and taking refuge among 

 the Indians, or back settlers of America, 

 became the chieftainess or princess of the 

 tribe. 



Now, also, we have the life of Paul Jones 

 at full length, professedly in the shape of a 

 romance, but laying claim at the same time 

 to the fidelity of history, as to facts. It is 

 written by Mr. Allan Cunningham, a gen- 

 tleman already favourably known to the 

 world by other publications, and this very 

 able performance will not lessen his reputa- 

 tion. The more active and bustling scenes 

 are described with much truth and vivacity; 

 the sea-fights, and the storming of Ockazow, 

 are scenes of great vigour, well conceived 

 and well executed. He has looked too 

 with a learned eye on human dealings, and 

 keenly developed the feelings of an aspir- 

 ing and unbending spirit. The tale, upon 

 the whole, however, is too elaborately 

 worked up ; the effect of which is, to retard 

 the flow of the narrative. It is hard to find 

 fault with what is in itself an excellence 

 but all is relative ; a man writes to be read. 

 It is mortifying to think that the very finish 

 of the thing will prevent its being fully 

 read The pains spent upon it will not be 

 fairly estimated ; what has cost him most, 

 will be least valued. There is, besides, a 

 good deal of coarseness more than will be 

 tolerated : arid in Paul himself, there is, 

 we think, scarcely relief enough. He might 

 have been made more decidedly in love with 

 an aristocrat. His motives of action are 

 scarcely of sufficient weight. He has but 

 one compelling feeling revenge against his 

 country, because her aristocratic institutions \ 

 shut him (the plebeian) out from distinc- 

 tionwhich is not true to a sufficient ex- 

 tent. We are not disposed to cavil at Mr. 

 Cunningham's performance : he might have 

 chosen better ; but he has made the best of 

 his choice few would have done so well. 



The hero is introduced to us fighting 

 with Lord Ualveen, between whom and 

 himself, from boyhood, there appeal's to 

 have been an extraordinary antipathy. Paul 

 is just returned, still very young, after an 

 absence of some years in the West spent 

 apparently in piratical excursions, in which 

 he gained money and a name. At a village 

 bridal, where Paul, his" sister, and Lord 

 Dulvccn were all present, Lord Dulvcen 



