Page:Sarah Sheppard - L. E. L.pdf/101

 Some most dramatic situations and perfect poetical pictures are here delineated. We might mention, for example, the execution of Francis Evelyn; the midnight worship of the Puritans; its attendant circumstances on the night previous to their emigration; the arrest of Robert Evelyn at the marriage altar by the father of his bride; the subsequent scene at Avonleigh Castle, in which Evelyn and Francesca receive the royal pardon; and the last awful description of the shipwreck. But it is not the merit of the work as a literary composition, nor the detached descriptions and dramatic pictures, that constitute its principal charm. This arises from the deep under-current which bears us along in full yet mournful interest with the fateful histories of the young Italian orphans; especially with that and the character of Francesca da Carrara. A spell seems thrown around us, binding our feelings with their fate from the moment of our first introduction amid the shadows of the purple twilight in the deserted halls of the old palazzo, through every chance and change, till Guido sleeps in his English grave, and the waves of the Atlantic close over the head of Francesca. Never for one moment can we forget that high souled girl, among all the varied scenes through which we are conducted, and characters to whom we are introduced. The whole work seems skilfully constructed for this purpose; wherever we turn, Francesca is the centre of all interest. She is one of those beings of the mind who compel assent to their reality. Never was a lovelier, more womanly creation. Dignity, gentleness, deep and mournful feelings (the only dower inherited from her native land), an unwearied readiness to think, and act, and suffer for others; high, pure principles, generosity,