392 Novels by the Author of Headlong Hall. [Aprit, 
Cattle, wine, furniture, another man’s wife, whatever he took a fancy to, he 
pounced upon and appropriated. He was intolerant of resistance; and, as the 
shortest way of getting rid of it, and not from any blood-thirstiness of disposi- - 
tion, or, as the phrenologists have it, development of the organ of destructive- 
ness, he always cut through the resisting body, longitudinally, horizontally, or 
diagonally, as he found most convenient. He was the arch-marauder of West 
Britain. The Abbey of Avallon shared largely in the spoil, and they made up 
together a most harmonious church and state. He had some respect for King 
Arthur ; wished him success against the Saxons ; knew the superiority of his 
power to his own: but he had heard that Queen Gwenyvar was the most 
beautiful woman in Britain; was, therefore, satisfied of his own title to her, 
and, as she was hunting in the forest, while King Arthur was absent from 
Caer Lleon, he seized her, and carried her off.” 
From the extracts that we have given from these delightful fictions, it 
will be seen that they possess strong claims on public attention. They 
are, indeed, in their own particular line, “ gems of the first water :” but 
clever—humorous—satirical—thoughtful—learned as they are, we are 
firmly convinced that they are mere trifles, compared with what their 
author has it yet in his power to achieve. We are convinced that he has 
it in his power to build up for himself a splendid and durable reputation ; 
splendid, because founded upon principle, and durable, because cemented 
with thought, learning, and morality. Anxiously do we look for some- 
thing from his pen that may justify these our confident prognostications. 
THE DRUGGIST OF FIFE. 
WHETHER, in consequence of an epidemic prevailing, or of the season, 
which was Christmas, and the consequent repletion attendant on it, had 
caused such an unusual influx of customers to the shop of Andrew, 
Chemist and Druggist in the town of Fife, or no, certain it is he and his 
boy had been more than usually employed in compounding aperients 
and emetics for the inhabitants of the good city ; never before had such 
a demand on his gallipots and bottles been made—never before had 
blue pill and jalap been used in such profusion, and never before had 
Andrew felt more sincere pleasure than he derived that evening, from 
the market-house clock striking eleven, his signal for closing ; with 
alacrity his boy obeyed, and in a few minutes departed, leaving him to 
enjoy solitude for the first time during the day, and to calculate the 
quantity of drugs made use of during it; this was not small—l4! oz. 
blue pill, 4]b. jalap, besides colecynth, senna, and rhubarb, at the lowest 
computation, had he prepared for the good townfolk of Fife ; innumer- 
able had been the cases of cholera morbus, and plum-pudding surfeits, 
he had relieved that day, and the recollection of the proportion of evil 
he had been the means of alleviating, gave him the most pleasing sensa- 
tions ; the profit also accruing from his day’s labour, contributed no 
small share of pleasing thoughts, and one half hour more had passed, 
ere it entered his mind the time for closing had more than arrived; he ~ 
had, however, just arisen for the purpose, when a stranger entered. 
Now Andrew, though an industrious man, would willingly have dis- — 
pensed with any other call for his services for that evening, and not 
altogether so obligingly as usual did he welcome his customer, but 
awaited his commands without deigning a question. The stranger was 
