them, and especially on one point, on which
my age renders me a competent witness--the fidelity with which they
represent the opinions and manners of the class of society in which the
author lived early in this century. They do this the more faithfully on
account of the very deficiency with which they have been sometimes
charged--namely, that they make no attempt to raise the standard of human
life, but merely represent it as it was. They certainly were not written
to support any theory or inculcate any particular moral, except indeed
the great moral which is to be equally gathered from an observation of
the course of actual life--namely, the superiority of high over low
principles, and of greatness over littleness of mind. These writings are
like photographs, in which no feature is softened; no ideal expression is
introduced, all is the unadorned reflection of the natural object; and
the value of such a faithful likeness must increase as time gradually
works more and more changes in the face of society itself. A remarkable
instance of this is to be found in her portraiture of the clergy. She
was the daughter and the sister of clergymen, who certainly were not low
specimens of their order: and she has chosen three of her heroes from
that profession; but no one in these days can think that either Edmund
Bertram or Henry Tilney had adequate ideas of the duties of a parish
minister. Such, however, were the opinions and practice then prevalent
among respectable and conscientious clergymen before their minds had been
stirred, first by the Evangelical, and afterwards by the High Church
movement which this century has witnessed. The country may be
congratulated which, on looking back to such a fixed landmark, can find
that it has been advancing instead of receding from it.

The long interval that elapsed between the completion of 'Northanger
Abbey' in 1798, and the commencement of 'Mansfield Park' in 1811, may
sufficiently account for any difference of style which may be perceived
between her three earlier and her three later productions. If the former
showed quite as much originality and genius, they may perhaps be thought
to have less of the faultless finish and high polish which distinguish
the latter. The characters of the John Dashwoods, Mr. Collins, and the
Thorpes stand out from the canvas with a vigour and originality which
cannot be surpassed; but I think that in her last three works are to be
found a greater