REVIEW.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VI, Issue 299, 23 October 1873, Page 7

REVIEW.

IVXli>Wi,m,Endebby. By Vincent Ps,ke. Part* i- I. ami'H., Senior Partner" and " The Widow.* Dunedin : R. T. Wheeler. A novel may come before ua in various guise*, from the simple yarn, to the work of art. Tq. the lajttep olaas Mr. Pyke^ first eflfore promises to belong, for art pre-^ : supposes an exercise of the creative faculty, and in, "W^ild, WiU Encterby * someadditions are nwte to that circle of imaginative intimacies — those dear friends of dream-land, who are none the less dear although never to be known in the flesh, among whom. Squire Allworthy, Uhole Toby, and Colonel Newcorae hold the chiefest rank . It, is only once in a century that a Thackeray 02; a Melding arises, and we honestly do not think Mr. Pyke is at < all likely to rival these great masters. I But we are disposed to think that if . j " Will- Enderby " continues worthy of ' the promises of these first two parts,, the i. most hypercritical will allow Mr. Pyke a very high standing in the second rank. To our perception, there is a natural grace and truth to stature in the^'oonception of Mkibel Gray worthy of the highest praise. The young lady is a thorough colonial in her want of reticence, and yet, althpugh, lacking that calm repose "which stamps- £be caste of Tere de Vere," a. most loveable and beautiful creature. An . English., giifl of the same rank would have devoured her- own heart bafore. she openly upbraided an inconstant lover. But the trait is characteristic of colonial manners, and Mr. Fyke, like a true attisfc,. has seized upon it and r^produped it with vivid power. We shall await the. further development of Mabels Gray's, character ' with anxious interest^ In thfi.sketch of Mr* George Washington, Pratt, Mi\ Pyke has equally displayed the power- o£ %. master Yankees a many, Hoosiera a^ few, kave been depleted is /. modern fiction* but we do not xemember a, more life-like attempt than the present. The shrewdness and 1 thoroughly businesslike habits of thought, combined! with a coolness, that would ainpunt to. impertinence were it not fo^the huniorQus garb it assumes,, ajre a.dt»ir«%bly.' pourjbrjiyed ; while, equal justice .ia. done to the generosity, coti-rage* and romance that so- often underKea the cold outward; cruafc of the American character. Th«h combination of sor many apparently antagonistic qualities .has a bizarre effect „ which afforda an excejlen-t oppouJjunatyfor/Mp. PykeXconsiderable. humourous powers; Uf the j other- principal characters it is too. early to speak at length. MSilii Eiuteri»yi» a »very life-like portrait of a consummate fool, whonXj we expect to. see developed into something better under the stern discipline of adversity.. The* Widow is rath.es- a conventional tyjpe, bat her introdxiction is rather artwtio, forming as she does a perfect foil to the character of the heroine* MabeF G.ray. Ampng>.the minor character* we have/, a targe wifity of portwits,.. sketched Ifl a fern masterly sentences, yet possessed ofcali the- truth and distinctness of- ou&ine,. of' miniature dag«erreo*ypes. For once in. a modern novel, we find qurselwes among living men. and women,, wjio talk and act according to their own impulses, "and not in. a German toyshop, where fantoccini mjmio- the actions orHhe human race. Of the story itself innch cannot; be said at so.,eariy.-a stage.. As yet the interest is well sustained^ and 1 the- plot promises future entanglements,, such; as, dejighfe th.ft habitual' novel reader^ As a whole, the style- ik-clear . and" elegant,. bu,t in places, we- observe ascertain carelessness and % straining after effect — exsreseences almost inseparabl^&ojuaJ&ca^ aj^ejoint a^ au^hpjsj^p^ i Thjesg^aje,. hQ.^

ever, but spots on the sun, and under the judicious use of the pruning knife are sure to disappear altogether in a second edition. We malse no quotations, because every one has or should have, a copy of the work in his possession. To those coming under the latter category we heartily recommend an immediate investment in the best colqnial novel we have enootm« tered in all our experience— =the s.tory of « Wild Will Enderby."