544 
young lady, of distinguished attractions, 
whom accidentally, and knowing nothing 
of her character, Delmaine had a few days 
before rescued from some imminent peril. 
The scheme of the marquis was to detach 
Delmaine from Miss Stanley, by involving 
him in the seductions of the salons, and 
himself to lay siege to her, in the hope of 
carrying her and her fortune. 
The insidicus marquis commences opera- 
tions by persuading Delmaine to’break an 
engagement for the theatre with Miss Stan- 
ley, and go to Madame Costello’s, on the 
assurance that the beautiful being to whom 
he had been of such essential service, would 
be present, and was actually longing to 
make her personal acknowledgments to him. 
The lady, in fact, fascinates him—he spends 
the evening with her—dances—plays at 
Ecarté, and accompanies her to the door of 
her apartments, under an engagement to 
meet her next day. His morning’s reflec- 
tions annoy him, and expecting a cool 
reception from his friends, he stiffens—is 
stifly received—withdraws in disgust, and 
rushes to the charmer of the previous eyen- 
ing. They dine together at an hotel, and 
go to the theatre; and at both these places, 
by the contrivance of the marquis, they are 
seen by Miss Stanley and her friends. This, 
with some expostulation on the part of his 
old college friend, completes his alienation, 
and he gives himself up to his new con- 
nexions. The liaison is of the most inti- 
mate and absorbing, but not of the common 
sordid kind; for the lady—she is very 
young—is deeply attached, and does all she 
can to detach him from play. But the arts 
of the marquis baffle her, and he pursues 
his career till his purse is exhausted, which 
he replenishes by borrowing 20,000 francs 
for six months, at fifty per cent. The money 
is obtained from a common usuter, through 
the agency of the marquis, who himself 
pockets at once one-half of the premium. 
This very accomplished scoundrel has 
now an infallible plan for breaking the 
HWearté bank, and he urges Delmaine to jcein 
him in the execution of his scheme; but 
the significant glances of the lady check the 
rising inclination, and he consents only to 
go and watch the effect of the new plan, 
refusing, at the same time, to take any 
money with him. He is, however, soon 
convinced of the success of the plan, and 
now begins to wish that he had brought his 
purse withhim. The marquis contrives to 
engage him with a lady, and to get himself 
deputed to go to Delmaine’s apartments, 
and fetch it; and finding Delmaine’s lovely 
mistress alone, is tempted to avail himself 
of the opportunity, urges his passion, and 
finally is just resorting to force, when Del- 
maine, who had his suspicions of the mar- 
quis, rushes in—inflicts summary vengeance 
on the marquis, and in despite of assurances 
and protestations, renounces the lady. Ex- 
pecting the next day to receive a hostile’ 
message from the marquis, he is surprised 
Monthly Review of Literature, 
[LMay, 
by an arrest on the part of the usurer, on the 
plea of Delmaine’s quitting the country. In 
prison he is visited by his unofiending mis- 
tress, with an offer of money, which she had 
raised by pawning her jewels; he repulses 
her roughly and sternly, till, in the agony 
of her distress, she falls and bursts a blood- 
vessel. Scarcely was the miserable girl re- 
moved, when his old friend arrives, com- 
missioned by Miss Stanley, who had acci- 
dentally learnt his imprisonment, and who 
had also pawned he diamonds, to release 
him. The debt is thus paid—Delmaine is 
released—his unhappy mistress dies, and is 
thus put out of the way. A reconciliation 
follows, with Miss Stanley and his friends— 
the salons are forsworn, &c. 
Diversions of Holycott ; 1829.—This is 
one of the best conceived and best executed 
little books, we have seen, of the Edgeworth 
cast. Utility, improvement of intellect, and 
correction of feeling, are constantly in the 
writer’s eye, and her measures and methods 
are blended with as little nonsense—as little, 
we mean, beyond the reach of the age she 
writes for—as any thing can well be ima- 
gined. The family of Holycott consists of 
two boys and two girls, and an occasional 
cousin or two, of different ages, from seven 
or eight to fourteen or fifteen—the eldest 
girl has some lurking conceit and vanity— 
the youngest already a little Minerva; the 
eldest boy a sage lad, and quite a protector 
and example for the rest, and the youngest, . 
a fine bold and generous little fellow, des- 
tined for the navy, and ready to fight for his 
friends, right or wrong—while the cousin is 
comparatively incorrigible — corrupted by 
the vices of a public school. The tares that 
spring up occasionally, are carefully weeded 
by the skilful husbandry of a model of . 
mothers—cool, steady, and enlightened. 
To secure attention in reading, she con- 
trives little narratives, with omissions of 
words, which the reader must supply as he 
goes, to make an intelligible meaning—a 
scheme suggested originally, we believe, by 
Gilchrist, who, though a bit of an enthusiast, 
is a very shrewd and active person, and only 
wants ballast to make him a very useful 
one. The book is a valuable addition to 
the nursery library. 
Visits to the Religious World; 1829.— 
There exist among us—every neighbour- 
hood discovering to its great annoyance—a 
set of persons styling themselves “ professing 
Christians,’? whose chief characteristic is a 
meddling, inquisitorial, intolerant spirit— 
the leaders of bible societies—schools—mis- 
sions—bazaar-works—a class of persons, 
who entertain no doubts at all of their own 
immeasurable superiority to those about 
them, and in virtue of this assumed supe- 
riority, take upon them to canvass the con- 
duct of all with whom they come in contact, 
censure those who shun their society, and 
domineer over all who are unhappy enough 
to share the services they ostentatiously con- 
