Some Books of the Month. 



231 



failure in religion so preyed upon her mind, how- 

 ever, that when her boy was about six years old sne 

 resolved to' return to the convent, and there make- 

 expiation for her sin. Her husband said he would 

 |)ermit it if ih<- Carmelites would give him the dowry 

 wiiich had iiassed to the convent ujwn her first 

 novitiate, and the institution gave the money back 

 :ind received the penitent. 



At a militar\ sch<X)l at which the toy was edu- 

 cated this stor\ came out, and was the cause of a 

 duel iKtween liim and a sch<Kjl fellow, the result of 

 which was that the other youth was maimed for life, 

 and had to give up his career. .As De Moulny was 

 recovering, the two l)oys had a long conversation, and 

 Dunoisse promised that he would never touch the 

 iiionev which had come to his father in so unholy a 

 maniu-r. .And this vow he kf\n for many years, 

 giving lessons after school hours in order to get his 

 l>ocket monev -in fact, living the life of one of the 

 lH)orest of the inmates, although his father was a 

 rich man. 1 rained in this severe fashion, and 

 hel|)ed b\ the earlv teaching of a little old lady 

 who hail b<-en his Knglish governess, mentally and 

 morallv Dunoisse l)ecame a .strong man. Hearing 

 hv chance that the little old governess had fallen 

 ui)on verv evil times, he travelled to England to 

 ^ee her. and this brought him in contact with Ada 

 \lerling, who had just succeeded in establishing a 

 home for invalid gentlewomen, which is still in 

 . .\i^tence in I.isson Grove. The two were mutually 

 .iitracted. In a little interlude later on we learn 

 that .\da Merling's mother, seeing that her daugh- 

 ter was so attracted, and fearing that a marriage 

 might take place between her and Dunoisse. com- 

 pelli-d .Ada to promise that she would never marry a 

 liireigner, or a Catholic. Meanwhile, unhappily. 

 Dunoisse has fallen under the fascinations of Hen- 

 riette de Roux. and is in consequence ruined toth in 

 character and purse. 



LOUIS NAPOLEON, " PRINCE OK PRETENDERS." 



.Ada Merling has come in contract with Louis. 

 Najtoleon ; thenceforward he is the bugaboo of her 

 • xisteiK-e. .As we have never learned that Florence 

 Nightingale conceived so terrible a hatred for the 

 third Nai>oleon. we mu.st su])i)ose that it is Miss 

 Graves who thinks of him as. the cunning, shame- 

 less. imiH-cunious, greedy wretch he is represented 

 here ; the " Prince of Pretenders who became by 

 fraud aii<l craft and Ire.ichery and murder Emi)eTOr 

 of Frarw-e." To his shameful policy she attributes 

 the Crimean War and its ensuing disasters. Through 

 him D\iiK)isse is cast into prisf)n, and so tortured 

 that when he comes out it i^ as an old ami decrepit 

 man. During his imprisotiment he had time to think 

 nf his own i-rinics. ffir at the bidding of Madame 

 de Ron.x he hail sf»-nt upon her tlw money taken 

 from his mother's convent, and which had been 

 pi. iced bv his f.ither in a bank to his credit. 



A HORROR PICTURE OF THE CRIMEA. 



Dunoisse and Ada meet again during the Crimean 

 W ar, where toth are giving themselves up wholly to 

 helping the sufferings of others. Though the plot 

 may be hction, the facts of the horrors, mi.series and 

 siia'me of that war are true enough, and Miss Graves 

 dofs not .spare our sensibilities. Here is another of 

 her forcible, if too wordy, descriptions: — 



\ii<i swathed in clotted rags i>f l).>nd.ige8, or nakedly 

 exi)ose<l to the shuddering sight of men. were laces muti- 

 lated by loss of Jioses or lips; and blind faces, showing 

 red eni|)lv eve-wxketa; or mere tragments of liitcs. shal- 

 terwl and split, and mutilated by grape, and shrapnel, 

 and sliell-splinters: or il.)ven with great sword-strokes 

 from the forehead to the chLu. 



It would not to fair to the writer to give further 

 details from a book to which .so much care and 

 thought have toen given. It may be asked why the 

 tale of our incapacity, our wretched commissariat, 

 anil the shameful trickery that went on then should 

 be revived ; but forewarned is forearmed ; and 

 though it is to to hoped we are unlikely to to so 

 unprepared again, yet the moral to to learned from 

 sncii a history should never to forgotten, as the past 

 so often is. 



A VISION OF THE LADY OF THE LAMP. 



The liook closes with the death of Dunois.se. De 

 Moulny, become a cardinal, comes from a distance 

 to receive his own pardon from and to give absolu- 

 tion to the dying man. .A letter from Ada Merling, 

 which was only to to delivered after her death, 

 conn . too late for Dunoisse to hear while living. 

 Hut. believing that the soul often remains a prisoner 

 for hours after th.- sp.irk of life has toen e.\tin- 

 guished. the Cardinal read the letter aloud in the 

 death-chamtor. Dunoisse heard, and to him was 

 given a vi.sion of the Lady with the Lamp. Then : — 



The vision faded, l.ul llie Jight of those eyes remained. 

 He whom their iuedabk' mi' ■\azc had turned ""■ ^'^j'l^y.J^ 



■raze 

 r.t-Ml( 



l.v his own new grave iifTT.'-Mleii Cemetery, understood 

 .It last. He lompiehendei;' . H Jhe breadth and height oi 



„ '\eloveil. apijoin.^.. .-• -- ;. 



out the great work by whuli hie, own had been Proo'l'ten 

 and inspired. He reaped his h.J,rve»t hountifnliy. Aim 

 what had been a treinbling h |?,„e in life bwame now 

 after death a glorious lertaiiily lof work not n<^"l '" \ ," 

 by any labourer, however humble; or unskillecl. whose aim 

 .'iiiil end are llie honour and glor.v.i ,.f li^Ml. 



THK KAST— HrMA>'X; AND Ol'llKH- 

 WISE.. • 

 Morn in Cairo, life had r'L complexities for this 

 il.nighter of a great dancer, ^^uho is the heroine of 

 this iKKik. Ariha was left, | ,vhen her mother died. 

 to the brutal ill treatm.-nt »h her father, a man o! 

 I'.astern extmction, and proba, hly of mixedjiarentage. 



•fh.' .S'oiil 0/ the Ihinrer. By 'Theodore Pl»tau. (K»eloi«h 



N i«ti fn 1 " - 



1 1 



