her Irish tales recurs in the earlier
portions of the book, where the scene is laid in the Black Islands, of
which Harry Ormond becomes "prince presumptive." The famous postilion's
letter in the _Absentee_ is hard run by the letter King Corny writes to
Ormond when offering him his hospitality. Admirable, too, is the account
of his reception by the single-hearted, generous, though eccentric
monarch. This reception scene is characteristic of the primitive and
somewhat dissolute manners of the time. Indeed, the whole of Harry
Ormond's residence in the Black Islands affords Miss Edgeworth
opportunities for exercising her peculiar felicity in displaying manners
and customs. She does not present these by merely a few prominent and
striking traits, but with delicate skill she insinuates little touches
here and there that give local color and perfume to the whole. It is
quite true that Miss Edgeworth's books bear reading twice; once for the
general impression, the second time to see how cunningly this
impression is produced.

Miss Edgeworth not having in the case of _Ormond_ weighted herself with
a text, we have hardly any of her "unco' gude" characters, but many of
those mixtures that are truer to poor humanity. The exceptions are Lady
and Miss Annaly, some of her monotonously similar pattern women, and Dr.
Cambray, one of her dull and wooden immaculate men. Happily they appear
but little in the story. The most able character, after King Corny, is
Sir Ulick O'Shane, the political schemer and trimmer. A more vulgar or
common-place writer would have represented him as an offensive
hypocrite. Miss Edgeworth does not paint him in repellent colors, but
lets him reveal his baseness little by little, and rather against his
will, until the final catastrophe presents him in all his native
vileness. His easy and agreeable social manners, his gentlemanly mode of
feeling and acting, due, no doubt, to a long inheritance of gentlemanly
traditions, are shown with profound penetration. It is a part of Miss
Edgeworth's power to evince how "great effects from trivial causes
spring;" she makes us vividly realize all the circumstances under which
her events occur. Thus we witness their development, instead of being
only presented with the final results. This was rather a new departure
in her day, when events finished, cut and dried, were alone considered
worthy of note. In her conversations she shows considerable dramatic
skill: they are enliven