We confess we do not admire the taste which dictated Mr. C. Lamb's
Widow; it is in every respect unworthy of the plate, and the feelings
created by the two are very discordant. We love a joke, but to call a
widow's sables a perpetual "black joke," disgusts rather than pleases
us. The Funeral of General Crawford, by the author of The Subaltern is
an affecting incident; and Nina St. Morin, by the author of May You Like
It, is of the same character. Catching a Tartar, by Mansie Wauch, and
the Station, an Irish Story, are full of humour; and May Day, by the
editor, abounds with oddities. Thus, "the golden age is not to be
regilt; pastoral is gone out, and Pan extinct--pans will not last for
ever;" "horticultural hose, _pruned_ so often at top to _graft_ at
bottom, that from long stockings they had dwindled into short socks;"
"the contrast of a large marquee in canvass with the long lawn;" "Pan's
sister, Patty, the wags called _Patty Pan_," &c. One of the finest
stories in the _Gem_ is the Rival Dreamers, by Mr. Banim; and curious
enough, this is the third Annual in which we have met with the same
legend. The present version is, however, the best narrative, which such
of our readers as know the O'Hara Family will readily believe. We could
abridge it for our present space; but it would be injustice to the
author to pare down his beautiful descriptions; and we will endeavour to
give place to the tale in a future Number. The Last Embarkation of the
Doge of Venice is interesting; almost every incident connected with that
huge pleasure-house is attractive, but one of the present, the Marriage
of the Sea, is well told. The Shearmen's Miracle Play smacks pleasantly
of "the good old times" of merry England. Miss Mitford has contributed
two of her inimitable sketches--Harry Lewington and his Dog, and Tom
Hopkins--the latter an excellent portrait of "the loudest, if not the
greatest man" in the little town of Cranley. We must give the village
lion, in little:--