Endymion.

happy gracefulness of "Lothair . " It is far more serious in tone ancl chiaro-oscuro . It handles serious subjects , that is to say , subjects serious to the writer ( in this all his works show him to be consistent ) , ancl he treats them accordingly . The only fault we see in the book , is that it is a little too given to " disquisitions " here and there ; that there is a tendency to enlarge on a favourite topicor dilate upon a cherished idea . But yeton the other hand

, , , how very remarkable a book it is . How subtle , and yet how striking , is the character of Lady Montfort ; how admirably conceived , how calmly and gracefully developed . We almost seem to hear her ringing words , to greet her pleasant presence , to admire her winning smiles . Imogen is a charming portrait , ancl so are Aclriana ancl Myra . Zenobia some of us almost think we knew ancl spoke to in glad hours of old , ancl those clays , alas , " that are no more ; "

while , on the other hand , how very remarkable are the portraitures on portraitures of Sidney Wilton , Lord Montfort , Lord Roehampton , Mr . Ferrars , Mr . Neufchatel , St . Barbe , " aim multis aliis . " A question comes in here , how far these wondrous representations are " personal . " We apprehend that they are compound creations , and with a skill which is almost marvellousand with a fidelity whicli is unequalledthe

, , writer has invested distinct idealities ancl personalities in one ancl the same person , so rendering the likeness all but impossible to trace , the reality all but hopeless to master , because , while the lineaments are there , or the idiosyncracies , or the similitude itself is apparent , if the " hands are Jacob ' s hands " the " voice is the voice of Esau . "

As an illustration of what we mean , the history of the Neufchatel famil y is really the history of the Thelluson famil y , though it has been said to represent the Rothschilds , and both may be represented , or one , or neither . Indeed , though we may ourselves fancy we trace a likeness here ancl there , on the whole we incline to the view that the writer has deliberately mystified his readers , ancl that he leaves us in that charming doubt which adds pregnancy to the descri ptionancl point to his happy and littering sentences .

, g One fallacy seems common just now , which we feel bound to deprecate ancl protest against . We have seen it frequently said that if it had not been written by Lord Beaconsfield it would not have been read , and that its fame is passing ancl will not endure . We doubt both impositions , which we think unfair to the writer , and still more so to the book . It is a very wonderful book in itself , in that it has succeeded in investing a dead past within our

own recollection with all the reality of life , excitement , and interest with which some of us took part in those scenes , or spoke to those very persons thus admirably pourtrayed . This is contrary to the way of the world , ancl we can all remember how one of the most gifted writers of the clay , Anthony Trollope is even held to have failed ( though we always thought unjustly ) in Phineas Finn and the Prime Minister , We apprehend , on' the contrary ,

that the book will "live , " -in that it perhaps represents some of the clearest ancl most effective representations of normal society which it has over been our lot to jieruse . Ancl here for us is its great charm . It is real , emphatically real ; true to the characters it represents , the life it represents , the hopes , the plans , the longings , the struggles it so buoyantly and genially limns with such a gentle

colouring , yet with " cunning craft . " As we muse over those candid and animated pages , as we listen , or wonder , or smile , or are sad , we see how true to his vocation , how skilled in his art , the painter is , and we are all but melancholy when the curtain fails , for we have learnt to sympathize with these pleasant shadows , to smile approvingly , to listen contentedly , as one by one they seem to pass before us and bid us adieu ; ancl we admire deeplthe painter

y who has led us on through stirring years with graceful words , of which we nevertire , ancl with a " realism " which is all but wondrous to us in its clearness , its calmness , its happy audacity , and its enduring truth . ¦