Michael Tresidder : a Cornish Tale. 2 vols. (Bentley.)—We cannot
see anything especially "Cornish " about Michael Tresidder, except it be a few lines here and there descriptive of Cornish scenery and the dis- tinguishing prefix of the hero's name. It is an ordinary enough story of a disputed inheritance,—ordinary, that is to say, in the world of fiction, though very seldom indeed occurring in the world of fact. A proud old Cornish squire disinherits, or rather turns out of doors, his only son, on account of a marriage which he has made. A cousin succeeds to the estates, and after a while the son of the disowned, who has taken another name and died without making any sign, claims them. The son, it mast be understood, had been really entitled to the property at his father's death, had been advertised for, but had resolutely persisted in keeping himself unknown. That, to begin with, is a somewhat improbable incident. His son's claim seems, of course, a very good one, and as this son is an intolerable rascal, whereas the cousin in question is a worthy fellow in whose marriage the reader is interested, something has to be discovered that will set things right. We cannot congratulate the author on the ingenuity of his device. The original marriage which had so displeased Squire Tresidder turns out to have been no marriage. The humble bride to whose love the disowned had been so loyally faithful had been married before to a sailor supposed to be dead, but who turns up at the right time. Surely it produces a painful impression, hardly in accord with the principles of art, to find that the brave man had given up everything for what was really a sham.
Previous page
