ABSTRACT
Novels continue to be written, and the luxurious world still looks for its ordinary amusement, although taxes increase, the war lingers, and the Emperor of Russia is not yet beaten to his knees.1 Hide and Seek, the first that presents itself on our well-replenished table, is from the pen of an author who has previously won favour with the public by Antonina and Basil. Both his former works have been liberally praised, but we consider this, by several degrees, the best of the three. It has more power of conception, greater distinctness, and a sustained purpose, wrought out with superior effect. The opening chapter, descriptive of the childhood and early training of young Zachariah Thorpe, reminds us of Dickens, whom Mr. Wilkie Collins emulates rather than imitates, and with good success. Mrs. Peckover, the spouse of the strolling clown, Valentine Blyth, the eccentric, but kind-hearted painter, his invalid wife, and their adopted Madonna, or Mary, the little deaf and dumb heroine, are well-drawn portraits. The idea of the latter is conceived with skill, and has several traits of originality, though she cannot play a very prominent part, from her position and physical deficiencies. The account of her infancy, childhood, and the accident which occasioned her loss of hearing and consequent inability to speak, is the most touching and attractive portion of the book. Few characters are introduced, whether principal or subordinate; but they are ingeniously contrasted, and each seems necessary to the progress of the story. Mr. Mathew Marksman (or rather, Grice), reminds us of some old acquaintances, with his features and dress considerably changed. He is not altogether agreeable, and, from the nature of his life and adventures, his perceptions of moral propriety are neither very rigid nor delicate, but he acts an important part throughout, and makes his final exit in perfect keeping. ‘Zach,’ the hero of the tale, is a high-spirited youth, wilful from a mistaken plan of education, and driven into irregularities by the obstinate, ill-planned discipline of the paternal roof; not viciously inclined, but easily led astray, and yielding to impulse from lack of judgment rather than absence of principle. There is a want of refinement in his thoughts and actions, perfectly natural under the circumstances in which he is placed, and suited to the scenes in which he is engaged. The story might have been more condensed, and is somewhat elaborated towards the end, but the interest and mystery are well preserved, and we are really grateful to Mr. Collins for sparing us the usual wind-up of a happy marriage. This he renders impossible, as the hero and heroine are discovered at last to be brother and sister, and no other parties are introduced with whom they can be respectively joined in the bands of holy wedlock. Thorpe senior, the bad man of the tale, and the originator of all the mischief, is treated more indulgently than he deserves, allowed to die in the course of nature, with time for penitence, and an affectionate wife to attend him in his seclusion from the world. Zach returns home from travelling in the wilds of America (on hearing of his father’s death), a wiser and steadier man than he was when he departed, and the curtain drops on the family group, re-united in the painter’s drawing-room. These scenes and incidents which are confined to every-day life and homely position, are rendered extremely exciting by the artistic skill of the author, who borders on romance without sacrificing probability.
