Miss Warner's books
have always a genuine flavor of originality, and an acute, living
appreciation of Yankee character, that give them a right to rank,
unchallenged, as real and valuable novels. In their simplicity, their
freshness, their quiet humor and not less quiet fun, their frequent
narrowness and stiffness, and their deep and true religious
sentiment, they have the real essence of the New England character.
In every novel there are three principal elements,--the Hero, the
Heroine, the Villain,--all three gracefully blending, in the Plot. We
cannot especially congratulate our authors upon their Hero. In a
favorite farce, the slightly bewildered Mr. Lullaby observes
musingly, "Brown? Brown? That name sounds familiar! I must have heard
that name before! I'll swear I've heard that name before!" We have a
dim consciousness of having met "Mr. Linden" before, albeit under a
different name. A certain Mr. Humphreys, whom we remember of old,
strongly resembles him: so does one Mr. Guy Carleton. We were very
well pleased with our old friend Humphreys, (or Carleton,) and would
by no means hint at any reluctance to meet him again; but a new
novel, by its very announcement, implies a new hero,--and if we come
upon a plain family-party, when fondly hoping for an introduction to
some distinguished stranger, we may be excused for thinking ourselves
hardly treated.
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