Art. XVI. Charles et Marie.—i.e. Charles and Mary.
author: Elizabeth Moody
source date: 1802

Elizabeth Moody Art. XVI. Charles et Marie.—i.e. Charles and Mary. By the Author of Adéle de Senange. 12mo. Paris. 1802. De Boffe, London. [The Monthly Review , second series, vol. 38, Foreign Appendix, 1802, pp. 543-44. Benjamin Nangle identifies Elizabeth Moody as the author of this review from an editor's marked copy of The Monthly Review . See Nangle, The Montly Review, Second Series, 1790-1815: Indexes of Contributors and Articles , Clarendon Press, 1955. The Criticism Archive edition of this article was prepared by Jonathan Pinkerton and Mary A. Waters.]

O ur great dramatist observes that "the web of our life is of a mingled yarn;"[^1] and novelists in general illustrate this maxim, by leading the heroes of their stories through a great variety of adventures, and placing them in situations of the most extravagant contrast. The author of the little volume before us affects none of the sublimities of this art, but contents himself with conducting Charles and Mary along a smooth and easy path, with no other than the ordinary thorns which lovers find in their progress to the Temple of Hymen; such as a little jealousy, or occasionally the transient image of a troubled thought. Cupid plays Charles no tricks; and if the young man's horse had manifested equal gentleness towards his master, there would have been no disaster to interest our compassionate feelings: but that unruly animal throws his rider, and occasions a contusion on the brain, which introduces a delirium, and makes us tremble a moment for the hero's brains. When, however, we find that his mistress would marry him even when he is out of his senses, we pronounce him the most favored of lovers, and bid him farewell.

[^1: William Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well : "The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together: our virtues would be proud, if our faults whipt them not: and our crimes would despair, if they were not cherisht by our virtues" (IV.iii.68-72).]