SIUART-HALL.—Sept. 3, at Madeira-place, Newbury, Mary, eldest surviving daughter of the late James Stuart-Hall, Capt. R N., aged 44

REV. LA BARTE'S TESTIMONIAL.

To the Editor of the Newbury Weekly News.

SIR.-Will you, for the sake of the subscribers who did not see "The La Barte Testimonial," kindly correct an error concerning it; it was not a " Pocket," which as its name suggests is necessarily a very small service, but a Private Communion Service. We gave our late and much esteemed pastor of our best, and I should be sorry that any one of those who so joyfully subscribed should be misinformed as to the nature of the testimonial presented. Trusting to your well-known courtesy for this correction,

believe me, Faithfully yours, M. STUART HALL.

POPULAR LITERATURE.

Blanche's Wanderings.—By Miss Stuart Hall, of Newbury.

—(Published J. and C. Brown, London.)

—There is something very new and pleasing in this young lady's volume—beautiful descriptions of nature, and sketches of character. Rarely do we see more exquisite gradations of light and shade, than are here thrown around the bright and dark personages that figure in these pleasant pages; they are characters that one can walk round and look at on every side, the flesh and blood creations of every day life. Nor is this all: the story never flags, never becomes wearisome, but from the first page to the last an unbroken interest is sustained. There are some vivid descriptions of Devonshire scenery, " smelling of Flora and the country green," which Lina, gentle Lina, moves among like "dainty Ariel." The way in which the " holy-married rites" are broken between Inez and Hubert is in the highest degree dramatic, and has scarcely been excelled even Bulwer himself, to whom the little volume is, with permission, dedicated. Such a first work has not made its appearance for many years, and needs no prophet to foretel that the fair Authoress will occupy a high station our English Literature. To all who love the beautiful and the true, we recommend the perusal of "Blanche's Wanderings." We subjoin an extract from its pages:—

The Child Mother and her Bairn.—Let us glance again at the bridal chamber we pictured few pages back. Softly the sunlight still fell on those satin hangings, waking full delicately that flushing gold. Onwhat else do the sunbeams fall, since the bridesmaids' tiny feet pressed the silver flowers and their golden leaves—since last their hands wandered admiringly over the blossoms enwreathing the Naiads' brows? The silver cord with the sweeping tassels had been unlooped and the curtains fell from the hand of the Venus more closely around the couch, as they enshrouded in their folds of waking gold the child-mother and her baby pressed closely to her cold bosom --still, as in life, so in that sleep—pressed closely to her bosom. Another heart! another heart:

Another heart, man's base passion had sent on to death! Those who looked on her, the gentle and the kind, may have thought of the poet's words-

Aye, and he who took her up, and laid her so gently on that gorgeous bed—the old man who had lost a sister in those byegone years —did he not follow out the spirit of him who further wrote—

And so the falling curtains gently shrouded that little face, whose beautiful hair still dripping with water, fell on her turban's folds  There was a faint shaddow of coral on the lips, and the long eyelashes swept the cheek as though she slept-for with a gentle touch a stranger hand had closed them.  But there was a heart-broken expression there- the feeling of the soul as she sped to death; for " We mamma, na, we mamma see his face only mair, ye ken."  A portion of a water lily was entangled among the golden hair, and a bud fell low upon the baby-brow of her child.  One little hand was tightly grasping its mother's plaid, as though it had feared the water into which they had plunged together.  Another form the falling folds enshrouded!  It was the Donna Inez —the dancing fires still gleammg richly, the bridal veil thrown back, but encircling her in its amplitude. A knock at the door startled her from her reverie, and from that gaze so prolonged and terrible. She passed out from the curtains the gold flush deepening and dancing as they fell again around the dead alone!

Now Ready, Price 10s. 6d.,

Dedicated, by permission, to Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton Bart

BLANCHE'S WANDERINGS," AND THE GUIDING HAND,"

Mary Stuart Hall of Newbury.

Contents of the Volume.— College Life and College Temptations. Test of Principle. The Old Orange and the Parsonage. London,—its Lights and Shadows. The Scott' Mountains. The Cottage by the Loch. The Child Mother and her Bairn. Passing away. The Recognition. The last Sleep. The Wanderer's Return.

May be had of

F. S. ADNAMS, BOOKSELLER, etc. POST OFFICE, NEWBURY;

AND GEORGE LOVEJOY, READING

Miss Stuart Hall, a magazine writer and authoress of *Sybil Gray," " Blanche's Wanderings," and some other works of a similar kind, died few days ago at a village in Berkshire. She was comparatively young.

Mary Stuart Hall's death was reported in a number of papers as far afield as the Central Glamorgan Gazette and the Birmingham mail

Blanche's Wanderings ; or the Guiding Hand.

By Mary Stuart Hall.

J. C. Brown, Ave Maria-lane.

—Lady Bianche Hamilton’s wanderings are twofold. She wanders from the path of virtue without much provocation, and she wanders from her seducer and about the world until she comes home to her injured husband and dies in his arms. It is a very sad and dreary tale—not much worth the telling, and we cannot think of any class of readers to whom it would be interesting. The language is Rosa Matildaish—it is all about very fine folks, and is dedicated to Sir E. B. Lytton ; who certainly is not responsible for the wanderings of Blanche or of her biographer.

"Blanche's Wanderings" is an affecting bit of romance, taken from Scottish life, aud embodying several noble and familiar names. As the first production of a lady — for so it is described to be — it possesses no little merit, but its attractions have been very much lessened by the want of some judicious compression. The author has unquestionable ability as a writer of fiction, and one can only regret she has not displayed her powers to the best advantage.

Blanche's Wanderings; or, The Guiding hand

By MARY STUART HALL. J. C. Brown.

WEewould allow this novel to pass unnoticed, did we not think that by so doing we should be omitting a duty we owe to our readers. The authoress, in her preface, commends this highly improper production to our "gentleness ' " with all the hopes and fears that are the natural attendants of a first work ; yet for the very reasons that it is a first work, and that the writer is a woman, we feel called upon to animadvert rather severely on Blanche's Wanderings.

There is something revolting in Miss Hall's choice of incidents; for, although we allow great latitude to our modern female writers, we expect them to keep within the bounds of decency. Miss Hall, in her endeavour to write with masculine force, has however touched upon subjects from which male writers would naturally shrink, and her " first work" narrowly escapes falling under the ban of Lord Campbell's Act for the suppression of obscene publications. We do not mean to assert that there is arything particularly indelicate in the language of the writer, but we feel bound to say that the tendency of the novel is most decidedly immoral.

Adultery is made the possible climax to the adventures of most of the characters in the book, while it is the great aim in life of one or two prominent persons. We are introduced to a gentleman who passes his time in reading immoral books, and acting up to their precepts. We read of elopements, seductions, cases of affiliation, and, indeed, of all those ugly suects that give to the novels of M. Dumas fils such a repulsive an dunhealthy tone.

That such a book should be the work of ii woman is a fact to be lamented, as it is completely fatal to any future success. The most unfortunate feature of the case is, that the authoress evidently thought that she was producing a highly moral story, as her frequent scriptural quotations, and her violent attacks upon Volney, Voltaire, and Paine will prove. The work is dedicated to Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, with permission; but we cannot believe that Sir Edward had previously perused it, or that he will allow the authoress to dedicate a second work to him.