Mother's Idol. 3 vols. By Lydia Hope. (Tinsley Brothers.) —At
wearisome length, Miss Hope relates the love-trials of Muriel Sterling, a young lady of good family, who was obliged to earn her living as a governess. She is engaged by a Mrs. Davenel to teach her grand-daughter, and unhappily inspires Captain Horace Davenel (his mother's idol) with relentless love, much to the disgust of his lady mother, who behaves in a most unladylike manner. How Muriel encounters burglars, saves Horace Davenel's life by promis- ing to marry him, how she loves some one else, and how a timely storm sets her free, is described in twice the number of pages need- ful. With the exception of the burglary chapter, which is well managed, Miss Hope's incidents are familiar ; her characters are dummies, except the egotistic Muriel, who is a minx; and the scenery suggests "Murray." Following a common and injudicious practice, the author indulges in many pious reflections and allusions which are strongly out of harmony with her ordinarily affected tone. A Mother's Idol is so manifestly the result of reading bad novels, that it is difficult to say whether the writer has any talent at all, though at times she shows faint traces of ability. When Miss Hope learns to keep " pendent " and " hanging " out of the same sentence, she may be able to write concisely ; when she relies on her own powers she may draw lifelike characters, and when she knows better she will not write in the first person.
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