No More Learning

” Its object the author states to
be, to give a general idea of the part
which Florence has played in the intel-
lectual history of modern times; its novel
feature being the chapter on Illustrious
Florentines. The work professes to pre-
sent, not Florence in her entirety, but
merely her essence.
Yet no one
rise from a perusal of its well-written
and comprehensive pages without feeling
new admiration for the City of Flowers;
while on the memory of those who have
strayed within her borders the history
are
a
a
can


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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
495
course
umes.
will lay an almost magical touch. The
introduction contains general considera-
tions and a sketch of the plan of the
work; then follow chapters on History,
(The Medici, (The Renaissance,) (Il-
lustrious Florentines, Etruscan Art,'
(Christian Art,) (Architecture, (Sculpt-
ure, Painting. This work and the
author's (Venice) may be regarded as
companion books.
People of the United States, A His-
TORY OF THE, by John Bach McMas-
ter. An important work in six volumes:
Vol. i. , 1883; Vol. ii. , 1885; Vol. iii. , 1892;
Vol. iv. , 1895. It is, as the title declares,
a history of the people. It describes the
dress, amusements, customs, and literary
canons, of every period of United States
history, from the close of the Revolution
to the Civil War. Politics and institu-
tions are considered only as they affected
the daily life of the people. The great
developments in industrial affairs, the
changes in manners and morals, the rise
and progress of mechanical inventions,
the gradual growth of a more humane
spirit, especially in the treatment of
criminals and of the insane, are all
treated at length. It is a social history:
it aims to give a picture of the life of
the American people as it would seem
to an intelligent traveler at the time,
and to trace the growth of the influences
which built up out of the narrow fringe
of coast settlements the great nation of
the Civil War.
The book is always entertaining, and
is a perfect mine of interesting facts
collected in no other history; but the
author shows much love of
tithesis, and no doubt will reconsider
some of his conclusions.
The
he Winning of the West, by Theo-
dore Roosevelt. Four volumes, each
complete in itself, and together consti-
tuting a study of early American devel-
opments; to be placed by the side of
Parkman's France and England in
North America. It treats what may be
called the sequel to the Revolution; a
period of American advance, the interest
and significance of which are very little
understood. Washington himself prophe-
sied, and almost planned, the future
of the great region beyond the Ohio.
When, at the close of the war, there
was no money to pay the army on its
disbandment, he advised his soldiers to
have an eye to the lands beyond the
Ohio, which would belong not to any
one State but to the Union; and to look
to grants of land for their pay. Out
of this came the New England scheme
for settlement on the other side of the
Ohio. The promoters of this scheme
secured the passage of the Ordinance of
1787, which made the Ohio the dividing
line between lands in which slaves
might be held to labor, and those in
which there should be no slavery, and
which broadly planned for the education
of all children on a basis of equality
and free schools. To an extent without
parallel these actions of a moment fixed
future destiny. How the
of
events from 1769 brought about those
actions, and the progress forward for
twenty years from that moment, is the
subject of Mr. Roosevelt's carefully
planned and admirably executed vol-
The mass of original material to
which Mr. Roosevelt has had access,
casts a flood of new light upon the field
over which he has gone, with the result.
that much of the early history has had
to be entirely rewritten. It is in many
ways a fascinating narrative, and in
every way a most instructive history.
Wide, Wide World, The, by “Eliza-
beth Wetherell» (Susan Warner:
1851). It is a study of girl life, which
reached a sale of over 300,000 copies.
The life of the heroine, Ellen Mont-
gomery, is followed from early childhood
to her marriage, with a fullness of par-
ticulars which leaves nothing to the
reader's imagination. Her parents go-
ing to Europe, she is placed in the
care of Miss Fortune Emerson, a sharp-
tempered relative of her father's. Amid
the sordid surroundings of her
home, her childish nature would have
been entirely dwarfed and blighted had
it not been for the good offices of Alice
Humphreys, a sweet and lovable girl,
who with wise and tender patience de-
velops the germs of Ellen's really excel-
lent character.
At length both Mrs. Montgomery and
Alice Humphreys die; and after some
years, Ellen comes to take up a daugh-
ter's duties in the home of her kind
friend. The scenes and episodes are
those of a homely every-day existence,
which is described with a close fidelity
to detail. Ellen's spiritual life is mi-
nutely unfolded, and the book was long
regarded as one of those which
too
an-
new
are


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496
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
a
“good for the young. ” The criticism alana, an ineffective, dreamy, silence-
of later generation, however, pro- loving soul; and her child, Tempe, an
nounces it mawkish in sentiment and elf of a girl who marries John Drake, a
unreal in conduct. It stands among the neighbor, almost before she is out of
fading fancies of an earlier and less short dresses. He dies soon after, the
exacting literary taste.
young widow going back to Temple
House. By a shipwreck another unusual
Lady of the Aroostook, The, a novel character, Sebastian Ford, is added to
of the present day, by W. D. How-
the Temple House circle. The Spanish
ells, was published in 1879. In its hero-
blood in his veins tinges his least act
ine, Lydia Blood, is drawn the portrait
with romance. He proves his devotion
of a lady of nature's own making. She
to his rescuer, Argus Gates, by defend-
is a New England school-teacher, young,
ing the honor of the woman he loves,
beautiful, and fragile. For the benefit
Virginia Brande, the daughter of a
of the sea voyage she leaves her grand-
wealthy neighbor. The book closes upon
parents on a remote New England farm,
the happiness of Virginia and Argus, a
to visit an aunt and an uncle in Ven-
kind of subdued happiness in accordance
ice. Two of her fellow-passengers on
with the autumnal atmosphere of the
the Aroostook are a Mr. Dunham and
story. The slumberous haze lifts only
a Mr. Staniford, young gentlemen not
to reveal two or three spirited scenes
at first attracted by a girl who says
connected with Virginia's love-story.
“I want to know. ) Before the voyage is
over, however, Mr. Staniford falls in
love with Lydia, whose high-bred nature Lord Ormont and his Aminta, by
George Meredith. (1894. ) In this
cannot be concealed by her village rus-
novel the author's enigmatical laughter
ticity. In Venice, among fashionable so-
sounds louder than usual; possessing at
phisticated people, she shows in little
the same time a quality which leaves the
nameless ways that she is a lady in the
reader in doubt whether the mirth is at
true sense. The book closes with her
his expense, or at the expense of the
marriage to Staniford.
characters.
(The Lady of the Aroostook) is in
Lord Ormont, a distinguished general,
Howells's earlier manner, its genial real-
is the object of the hero-worship of
ism imparting to it an atmosphere of
two children: Aminta Farrell, called
delicate comedy.
«Browny, and Matey Weyburn. When
Aminta is become a young lady, she
Unclassed, The, by George Gissing,
published in 1896, is a study of the
marries Ormont, no longer a hero, but
mere civilian dismissed from his
lower London life, written with moder-
ation and sincere sympathy with the
country's service, and soured by public
sinful and the poor.
There is no shirk-
neglect. To show the world how he
ing of unpleasant details, but the author
despises its opinion, he refuses openly to
does not throw any glamour over the
acknowledge his marriage to Aminta.
lowest life of the streets. It is rather a
She, of course, is the chief sufferer from
study of conditions than of character,
this perversity of humor. Weyburn
although the personages of the story are
meantime becomes Lord Ormont's secre-
distinctly drawn. In the dénouement it tary, falls in love with his old playmate,
and does not conceal his love. The en-
appears that the unfortunates »
may
climb back to a decent life if social
suing scandal is less tragic than humor-
conditions favor.
Matey and Browny betake them-
selves to the Continent; and contrary to
Temple House, the third and last novel all precepts of morality and decency,
of Elizabeth Barstow Stoddard, was “live happily ever afterwards. ” The
published in 1867. The scene is laid in novel is at once sprightly and judiciously
a forgotten, decaying seaport town of sober. It is remarkable for one or two
New England. The plot follows the for- magnificent scenes, scarcely surpassed in
tunes of one family, the inmates of the whole range of fiction.
Nothing
Temple House - a homestead of dignity could be more beautiful and effective as
in the prosperous days of the town, but a study of sky and sea, of light and
now tarnished and forlorn. It shelters air and out-door glory, than the scene
Argus Gates, a retired sea-captain, a where Aminta and Weyburn swim in
lover of solitude; his sister-in-law Rox- the ocean together, creatures for the
a
ous.


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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
497
time being of nature, of love, and of
joy.
Taras Bulba, by Nikolai F. Gogol
.
(1839. ) This is a grewsome story
of Cossack life in the fifteenth century.
Ostap and Andrii, the sons of Taras
Bulba, a Cossack leader, return from
school; and he takes them at once to
the Setch (a large Cossack village) to
present them to his brothers in arms.
There they drink, carouse, and quarrel,
until a new ataman is elected and an
expedition is sent against Kief. Andrii
is taken into the city by the maid of
the Voivod's beautiful daughter, his
sweetheart in student days. The city is
given over to famine; he feeds his love,
and for the sake of her beauty turns
traitor and joins her party. The Voivod
goes out to attack the Cossacks; and
Taras Bulba, in his righteous wrath,
slays his son. His other son, Ostap, is
captured, and he himself is wounded.
On recovering, he bribes a Jew to take
him in disguise to Warsaw, where he
sees Ostap tortured to death. He raises
an army, fights, and spares none, shout-
ing as he burns and slays, “This is a
mass for the soul of Ostap. ) Finally he
is captured, however, thirty men falling
upon him at once. He is bound to a
tree; fagots are placed at the foot of it,
and preparations are made to roast him.
He sees that his Cossacks are lured into
a trap, and shouts a warning; they fly
over the precipice on their horses, and
plunge into the river, across which they
swim and escape. Taras perishes, but
his Cossacks live- to talk of their lost
leader.
Li
ife on the Lagoons, by Horatio F.
Brown. (1890. ) Beginning where
Nature began to hint at Venice, Mr.
Brown describes the peculiar topogra-
phy of the region: the deltaed rivers
flowing into the broad lagoon; the Lidi,
or sandy islands, that separate the la-
goon from the Adriatic, and guard the
city for seven miles inland, from attack
by war-fleet or storm; and the Porti, or
five channels that lead from the lagoon
to the sea. When the reader knows the
natural geography of Venice as if he
had seen it, he may pass on and behold
what man has done with the site, since
six miles of shoals and mud-banks and
intricate winding channels. The de-
scendants of these fugitives were the
earliest Venetians, a hardy, independent
race of fishermen, frugal and hard-work-
ing, little dreaming that their children's
children would be merchant princes,
rulers of the commercial world, or that
the queen
city of the Middle Ages
should rise from their mud-banks. Mr.
Brown gives a concise sketch of the his-
tory of Venice, from its early beginnings
to the end of the Republic in 1797,
when Napoleon was making his new
map of Europe. These preliminaries
gone through (but not to the reader's
relief, for they are very interesting), he
is free to play in the Venice of to-day,
to see all its wonderful sights, and read
its wonderful past as this is written in
the ancient buildings and long-descended
customs. He may behold it all, from the
palace of the Doges to the painted sails
of the bragozzi. The fishing boats, the
gondolas, the ferries, the churches, the
fisheries, the floods, the islands across
the lagoon, the pictures, the palaces, the
processions and regattas, and saints'
days, all have their chapters in this
spirited and happy book," as Stevenson
called it. All the beauty and fascination
of the city, which is like no other city
in the world, have been imprisoned in
its pages; and the fortunate reader,
though he may never have set foot in a
gondola, is privileged to know and love
it all.
Greek Poets, Studies in the, by J. A.
Symonds. (2 vols. , 1873–76. ) One
of the most admirable expositions ever
made for English readers of the finer
elements of Greek culture, the thoughts
and beauties of utterance of the Greek
poets, from Homer and Hesiod, through
the lyrics of various types, to the drama,
Æschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Ar-
istophanes. Not only has Mr. Symonds
a quick sense of poetic beauties in verse
and expression, but he gleans with rare
insight the notes of thought, of faith, of
sentiment and worship, which are the
indications of culture in the grand story
of Greek song.
In Homer, Hesiod, Pin-
dar, and the four great dramatists, espe-
cially, the field of study is very rich.
>
the Year 45. when the incinhabitantsiof Triumphant Democrachis by Andrew
mainland, fleeing before
the Hun, the scourge of God, took ref-
uge on the unattractive islands, amid
Carnegie. (1886. ) book is an
(attempt to give Americans a better
idea of the great work their country has
XXX-32


## p. 498 (#534) ############################################

498
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
man SO
but an unmixed blessing Two chapters The True Relation, by Captain John
done and is still doing in the world. ” inclines to the philosophy of Descartes;
Mr. Carnegie says that «in population, he is not given to credulity, but in no
in wealth, in annual savings, and in case yields up his loyalty to the faith of
public credit, in freedom from debt, in Islam. He keeps himself in hiding from
agriculture, and in manufactures, Amer- the detectives of Cardinal Richelieu in
ica already leads the world »; and this Paris from 1641 to 1682; and employs
statement he proceeds to prove by an his time in writing lengthy epistles to
overwhelming array of statistics. The the Sultan, to friends in Vienna, to
book is a glorification of democracy; Mahomet, a eunuch exiled in Egypt, and
and admitting frankly the many evils others. Among the personages and
and corruptions in America, asserts that topies commented on are Charles II. of
in no country is the common
England, Philip II. of Spain, the Re-
free, so able to make his way. The ligious War in Germany, «Gustavus,
growth of the West and its enormous King of Swedeland, and in France the
food-producing capacity are treated at course of affairs during the reign of
length. Manufactures, mining, agricul- the house of the Medici. His resources
ture, pauperism and crime, railways and in classical lore are extensive. Alex-
waterways, are all considered in detail, ander the Great comes under his review
with a wealth of statistics to support with sovereigns of later times. To his
every statement. There is a tendency friend the eunuch in Egypt he writes in
to make the American eagle scream a friendly confidence; towards the close of
little louder than is usual nowadays; the long record admitting that he has
but on the whole, most Americans would loved a woman for thirty years, only at
agree heartily with Mr. Carnegie's pride last to be deceived in her and to learn
in American institutions. Mr. Carnegie the folly of earthly love. “Let us there-
is so optimistic that he will not admit fore,” he counsels his friend, «reserve
that even the horde of immigrants pour- our love for the daughters of Paradise ! »
ing in on us from Europe is anything
.
to and , but it
pub-
is evident that the material prosperity lished in London, in 1608. The full title
of the country is the main idea of the is, (A True Relation of such occurrences
book.
and accidents of noate as has hapned in
Virginia since the first planting of that
The Turkish Spy (L'Espion Turc)
"
Collony, which is now resident in the
(Letters Written by one Mahmut, South part thereof, till the last returne
who lived Five-and. Forty Years undis- from thence. Written by Captain Smith,
covered at Paris. Giving an Impartial Coronell of the said Collony, to a wor-
Account to the Divan at Constantinople shipfull friend of his in England. The
of the most Remarkable Transactions of account was also called Newes from
Europe, and covering several Intrigues Virginia. It relates the founding of
and Secrets of the Christian Courts Jamestown, from January ist, 1607, when
(especially that of France) from the three ships sailed from England for Vir-
year 1637 to the year 1683. Written ginia, to May 20th, 1608. Dealings with
originally in Arabic. Translated in Ital- the Indians, especially with the great
ian and from thence into English, by emperour Powhatan,” occupy the greater
John Paul Marana. In 8 vols. London: part of the pamphlet. The style is
1801. )
straightforward, and the whole tone ex-
The contents of this remarkable work ceedingly naive. Captain John Smith
are quite fully described by the above has always been one of the few pictur-
lengthy inscription on the title-page. A esque figures in early colonial history,
romance, really written by Giovanni and the writers of school histories have
Paolo Marana, but pretending to be the always made the most of him; his vera-
confidential communications of a refugee city was unquestioned, until Mr. Charles
Turk, to his friends, – this performance Deane, in the preface to an edition of
is an ingenious and witty comment on (The True Relation,' published in 1880,
the political and social conduct of pointed out that the story of the rescue
Christian Europe during the
of Captain Smith by Pocahontas makes
teenth century,
as viewed by a pre- its first appearance in Smith's (General
tended outsider. The writer himself Historie,' published in 1624, and no such
seven-


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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
499
re-
»
9
romantic incident is hinted at in The In 1843, Past and Present) was
True Relation. ' Mr. Deane charges Cap-garded as forceful, rousing, but not
tain Smith with having magnified his practical. It had, however, a great effect
own share in the doings of the colony; on the young and enthusiastic; and is
and it cannot be denied that all through now looked on as one of the best of Car-
(The True Relation, Captain John lyle's books, and as the expression of a
Smith is the central figure. But making political philosophy which, however vio-
all reasonable allowances for self-conceit lently expressed, was at bottom sensible
and self-glorification, there is no doubt and practical
that the settlers would have starved the
first winter, if John Smith had not had Master Beggars, The, by L. Cope
Cornford (1897), is a romance of
his own energy and all they lacked into
(old heroical days in the latter half
the bargain.
of the sixteenth century. The title is
the nickname applied to the troops of
Past
and Present, by Thomas Carlyle.
men, nobles and outlaws, who wandered
This treatise was published in Eng-
through the Netherlands in rebellion
land in April 1843; in May it was
against the rule of Philip II. , and crying
published in America, prefaced by an
for the suppression of the Inquisition.
appealing notice to publishers, written
Often engaged in heroic or chivalric
by Ralph Waldo Emerson, to the effect
deeds, the Beggars were too frequently
that the book was printed from a manu-
guilty of excesses: rifled churches, burned
script copy sent by the author to his
monasteries, and tortured priests; and
friends, and was published for the bene-
fit of the author. Mr. Emerson some-
by no means confined their outrages to
the clerical profession. The story is a
what optimistically hoped that this fact
vivid presentment of their reckless, vehe-
would incline publishers to respect Mr.
ment life, and their readiness to face
Carlyle's property in his own book. ”
danger or death for a cause, a leader, or
(Past and Present) was written in
a fair lady.
seven weeks, as a respite from the har-
Young Brother Hilarion, dedicated to
assing labor of writing (Cromwell. ? In
God by his noble father, in hope that
1842, the Camden Society had published
the "Chronicles of the Abbey of St. Ed-
his prayers may expiate the sins of
his ancestors, detests monastic life. His
mund's Bury,' written by Joceline de
Brakelonde, at the close of the twelfth
longing for the world is intensified by
meeting the beautiful Jacqueline, the
century. This account of a mediæval
monastery had taken Carlyle's fancy; and
young Countess of Durbuy. She is be-
trayed into the hands of the Beggars,
in Past and Present) he contrasted the
who plan to extort a large ransom for
England of his own day with the Eng-
her return. Hilarion joins her captors,
land of Joceline de Brakelonde. Eng-
swears allegiance to the chief, the fam-
lishmen of his own day he divided into
ous Wild Cat, and resumes his proper
three classes: the laborers, the devotees
name of Seigneur Philip d’Orchimont.
of Mammon, and the disciples of dilet-
tanteism. Between these three classes, he
He proves abundantly both his heroism
said, there was no tie of human brother-
and his love for his lady, in a succession
hood. In the old days the noble was
of startling Dumas-like chances which
the man who fought for the safety of
culminate in a terrible catastrophe; from
society. For the dilettantes and the
which, however, both Jacqueline and
d'Orchimont are saved, with the neces-
Mammonites he preached the “Gospel
of Work. For the uplifting of the class
sary, if improbable, good fortune of
lovers in fiction.
of laborers, for the strengthening of the
Social Classes Owe to Each
what seemed chimerical schemes in 1843 ;
Other, by William Graham Sum-
but before his death some of his schemes ner. This work, published in 1883, was
had been realized. He attacked the written by the professor of political
(laissez faire principle most fiercely; economy in Yale University, and was
he advocated legislative interference in intended to explode the fallacy of re-
labor, sanitary and educational legisla- garding the State as something more
tion, an organized emigration service, than the people of which it is composed.
some system of profit-sharing, and the Every attempt to make the Sta
organization of labor.
a social ill, Mr. Sumner says, is an
tie of human brotherhood, he proposed. What
cure


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500
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
men
we
(
In the pros-
attempt to make some people take Europe for so many ages. There is
care of others. It is not at all the nothing in these tales of the heroic
function of the State to make
doings of Odin and Thor, of Volsungs
happy; to say that those who by their and Vikings, that associate with
own labor and industry have acquired Norse stories. The only supernatural
or augmented a fortune shall support beings are the Trolls, a dark, ugly race,
the shiftless and negligent, is to strike ill-disposed to mankind. The favorite
at the liberty of the industrious. Evils story seems to be the adventures of
due to the folly and wickedness of man- some poor youth, who starts out to seek
kind bear their own bitter fruit; State his fortune, and meets with many strange
interference in such cases means simply happenings, but usually ends by win-
making the sober, industrious, and pru- ning a princess and half a kingdom.
dent pay the penalty which should be There are many old friends under dif-
borne by the offender. The type and ferent names: (Cinderella, (The Sleep-
formula of most philanthropic schemes ing Beauty, Tom Thumb); and one
is this: A and B put their heads to- story, East o' the Sun and West o' the
gether to decide what C shall do for D. Moon,' is a combination of the old tale
Poor C, the “forgotten man,” has to of Cupid and Psyche) and Beauty and
pay for the scheme, without having any the Beast. ) The old pagan customs and
voice in the matter. «Class distinc- legends show through the veneer of
tions simply result from the different Christianity, as in "The Master-Smith,'
degrees of success with which men have where the blacksmith, who has angered
availed themselves of the chances which the Devil, goes to make his peace with
were presented to them.
Satan after he has lost his chance of
ecution of these chances, we all owe to heaven, because he does not want to be
each other good-will, mutual respect, houseless after death: he would prefer to
and mutual guarantees of liberty and go to heaven; but as he cannot, he
security. Beyond this nothing can be would prefer hell to a homeless fate.
affirmed as a duty of one group to an- The stories are prefaced by an essay
other in a free State. )
written by Mr. Dasent, in which he
Professor Sumner's book is a useful traces many of them from their San-
antidote to many of the futile and skrit originals through Greek to German
dreamy socialistic schemes now afloat. mythology
A process warranted to regenerate the
world in a day always has its attrac- Men and Letters, by Horace E. Scud-
tions. Professor Sumner, however, is
der. To attempt a critical review,
a more thorough-going supporter of the it is not only necessary to have a knowl.
(laissez faire » doctrine than most econ- edge of a man's work, the mere details
omists of the present day. Besides, of what he has done, and the manner of
he disregards the very dishonest means its performance, but to put oneself en rap-
by which wealth is often attained. His | port with his mental attitude, in sympa-
defense of the capitalist class is not thy with his moral aims, and in harmony
quite reasonable: not all capitalists, we with his intellectual perceptions; in or-
know, the despicable villains de- der that he may be presented in the
scribed by the extreme socialists; but best light to those who either fail to
neither could all of them be regarded grasp the full meaning or comprehens-
as men who have simply made legiti- iveness of his words or to those who
mate use of the chances presented to wait on the threshold for an invitation
them. ” However, Professor Sumner's to enter and enjoy. All this Mr. Scud-
protest against the insidious attacks on der has
has accomplished. The carping
the liberty of the majority, under the note is absent; the faint praise that
specious guise of legislative aid for the damns, superseded by a quiet force of
weak, is straightforward and convincing. convincing eloquence, which is inspired
by a thorough knowledge of the subjects
Popular Tales from
the Norse. he reviews. Whether he is describing
(1858. ) This is a collection of (Emerson's Self); (The Art of Long-
Norse folk-tales, translated by George fellow'; 'Landor as a Classic); or the
Webbe Dasent. The stories in this com- faith in works of Elisha Mulford, Annie
pilation are the Norse versions of the Gilchrist, or Dr. Muhlenberg,-a trio
stories which have been floating all over less well known to the general reader, -
are


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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
501
we
>
we
>
one feels his intense sympathy with lofty
purpose, his suppression of self, his com-
prehension of mental attitudes and sub-
tleties. He seems to have the faculty of
obtaining the true perspective of action,
and of expressing character in a telling
phrase. When he writes of a subject
we have studied or reflected upon, we
are conscious of new methods of illu-
mination; when follow him into
untrodden paths, a magnetism of leader-
ship which induces to further research.
In his essay on (The Shaping of Excel-
sior,'' he describes the methods by which
a poet, even when he has seized upon
the central thought of a poem, has some-
times to drudge painstakingly over its
final form; in American History on the
Stage, the popular awakening to the
dramatic elements of American history,
its limitations and its possibilities; in
(The Future of Shakespeare,' the most
forceful of all, the belief that the future
of art is inextricably bound to the
world's final fiat on the works of the im-
mortal dramatist, – that he is the meas-
uring rod by which shall judge
proportions. ”
Spirit of Laws, The (Esprit des
Lois), by Montesquieu. (1748. )
The work of a French baron, born just
100 years before the French Revolution
of 1789, has the double interest of a sin-
gularly impressive manifestation of mind
and character in the author, and a very
able study of the conditions, political
and social, in France, which were des-
tined to bring the overthrow of the old
order. In 1728, after an election to the
Academy, Montesquieu had entered upon
prolonged European travel, to gratify
his strong interest in the manners,
customs, religion, and government to be
seen in different lands. Meeting with
Lord Chesterfield, he went with him to
England, and spent nearly two years
amid experiences which made him an
ardent admirer of the British Constitu-
tion, monarchy without despotism.
Returning thence to his native La Brède,
near Bordeaux, he gave the next twenty
years to study, the chief fruit of which
was to be the Esprit des Lois. As
early as 1734 he gave some indication
of what he had in view by his (Consid-
erations) upon Roman greatness and
Roman decline. The Esprit des Lois)
appeared in 1748, to become in critical
estimation the most important literary
production of the eighteenth century,
before the Encyclopédie. ' Its purpose
was research of the origin of laws, the
principles on which laws rest, and how
they grow out of these principles. It
was designed to awaken desire for free-
dom, condemnation of despotism, and
hope of political progress; and this effect
it had, modifying the thought of the
century very materially, and raising up
a school of statesmen and political econ-
omists at once intelligent and upright in
the interest of the governed.
The Woodman is a translation by Mrs.
John Simpson of Le Forestier,' a
rustic sketch by M. Quesnay de Beaure-
paire, known as a writer under the pseu-
donym of Jules de Glouvet. ) M. de
Beaurepaire, it will be remembered, is a
statesman of wide reputation. It was
due to his fearless and disinterested ac-
tion while procureur général of France,
that the dangerous Boulanger conspiracy
of 1888 was so successfully handled.
(The Woodman) is a story of one of
those rude, untaught peasants who, as
“franctireurs » in the war of 1870, gave
so many startling proofs of heroism and
matchless devotion to their country.
Jean Renaud, known as “The Poacher,"
grows up in a state of semi-savagery.
While yet a child he incurs the displeas-
ure of Marcel, the forest-warden, who
unjustly causes his imprisonment. Upon
this incident turns the whole plot of
the story. Although filled with intense
hatred for Marcel, Jean is so touched by
the friendship of his daughter Henriette
for a homeless waif that he has taken
under his protection, that he saves the
life of the warden at the risk of being
burned to death himself. Henriette is
deeply touched by this act of generosity;
Marcel is callous and unmoved. Then
comes the invasion of La Beauce by the
Prussians after the disastrous battle at
Châteaudun. Jean resolutely defends his
cherished forests against the foe, while
Marcel ingloriously surrenders himself
and the arms for the defense of the
town. The enraged Prussians, however,
declare that Marcel shall be shot to
avenge the death of several of their offi-
cers, if the real culprit is not produced;
and Jean, unwilling that even an enemy
should die through fault of his, hastens
to give himself up. They place him be-
fore the stone wall in the lane: Herri.
running 1. p.
Jean,” sha
а
ette
comes
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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
recounts the adventures of Phra through
recurring existences extending from the
earliest Phænician period to the times
of Queen Elizabeth. Through all these
lives Phra retains his individuality,
though adapted to varying times and
places. The story opens with an expedi-
tion of Phra as a Phænician merchant
to the ten islands,” or “Cassiterides. »
He reappears in the early British days,
the slave consort of his Druid wife, and
changes into a centurion in the house
of a noble Roman lady. At his next
appearance Phra is again a Briton,
and serves under King Harold at Hast-
ings; he is successively a Saxon thane,
and an English knight under King Ed-
ward III. , before his final incarnation
during the reign of Queen Elizabeth,
when he writes of his various advent-
From act to act of his existence
Phra is followed by Crecy, a damsel
who renews her life as he does, and con-
stantly seeks his love. She dies to save
one of his numerous lives on a French
battle-field where Phra is serving under
Edward III.
ures.
cries, «farewell, great heart, my only
friend; you may depart in peace. I shall
never marry, - never, I assure you! ”
The sharp report of the needle-guns
follows, and the rural idyl is over.
Fate of Mansfield Humphreys, The, by
Richard Grant White. A few chap-
ters of this work appeared in the Atlantic
Monthly Magazine, and the first three
were published in Edinburgh with the
title, Mr. Washington Adams in Eng-
land. There is the thread of a love-
story involving Mansfield Humphreys,
a young and successful American, and
Margaret Duffield, a beautiful English
girl with small expectations and large
accumulations of titled relatives. It ter-
minates in an international marriage, a
residence in Boston, unfortunate business.
speculations, and the triumphant with-
drawal of Margaret — who achieves great-
ness of income by the timely removal of
an eccentric relative — with her husband
in train, to reside in her beloved England,
according to Mr. White, even the
most cultured drop their final «g's. ” The
story is one, if not with a moral, at least
with a purpose, and certainly with a
grievance. The lingual difficulties of
our trans-oceanic cousins are exploited at
length, as well as our own shortcomings
in the matter of speech. The popular
impression in England of the character-
istic American traits is accentuated in a
humorous scene, where Humphreys, mas-
querading as “Washington Adams, a
“gee-hawking » American with chin
whiskers,» «linen duster,» <watch-chain
which would have held a yacht to its
moorings, and other equally attractive
personal accessories, - appears at the gar-
den party of Lord Toppingham's, and by
his absurdities of speech and action pre-
sents an exaggerated caricature of a resi-
dent of “the States, which is placidly
accepted by the English guests as the
realization of their preconceived ideas.
The book aroused so much diverse com-
ment, public and private, that an explana-
tion of its occasion and original purpose
was given in a lengthy apology of some
seventy pages, concerning which the au-
thor says: “Some apologies aggravate
offense; always those which show the un-
just their injustice, for they will be unjust
still. This apology is one of that kind. ”
The
'he Strange Adventures of Phra the
Phænician, by Edwin Lester Ar-
nold (1890), is a fantastic story that
The Surgeon's Stories, by Zakarias
Topelius. Topelius was a Finn; and
his wonderful series of historical tales,
although written originally in Swedish,
exploit the fortunes of a Finnish fam-
ily for six generations, from 1631 to the
latter part of the last century. The
stories are ostensibly related by Andreas
Bäck, a quack doctor, whose career is
humorously set forth in the introduction,
and whose characteristics are portrayed
in the prelude to each cycle of tales.
He was born on the same day as Na-
poleon. According to his own account he
had saved the Swedish feet, and the lives
of Gustavus III. and Arnfelt (or he would
have done so had they listened to him),
he had been granted an audience with
Bonaparte, and had pulled a tooth for
Suvorof; and he liked to relate his ex-
periences with just a tinge of boastful-
ness, but when he was once started on
his narrations he quite forgot himself,
and was carried away by the exciting
events of the past. It was his pleasure
to gather around him in his dusty attic
a little band of listeners ;
; — we see them
all, the postmaster and the old grand-
mother and the schoolmaster and the
rest.
«His memory,” says his chroni-
cler, (was inexhaustible; and as the old
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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
503
does not let its waves flow by all at Zury (an abbreviation for Usury) Prow-
once, so had the surgeon also a continu- der arrives, while still a child, in the
ally new stock of stories, partly from his wild forests of Illinois, there to grow up
own time, and still more from periods with the country. One by one, his little
that had long since passed. He had not sister, his father, and mother give up
a wide historical knowledge; his tales and die; but still the boy continues to
were desultory character-sketches rather live on, and in the end carves riches
than coherent description: . . what
out of poverty. To do this he has suf-
he had was fidelity, warm feeling, and fered extreme privations, and reduced
above all, a power of vivid delineation. » the science of economy to such a degree
The connection between the fifteen sto- that he has earned the distinction of
ries that make up the six volumes is being the meanest man in the county.
maintained by a wopper ring with runic At the juncture when Zury owns half
inscriptions, which is first seen on the the town, and holds mortgages on the
finger of Gustavus Adolphus, and is pop- other half; when he is the whole munici-
ularly supposed to protect him so long pal government and most of the board
as he wears it, from iron and lead, fire of public education, a young woman
and water. This ring he had received from Boston, Miss Ann Sparrow, appears
from a Finnish maiden; and it is his son upon the scene to take charge of the
by this Finnish maiden who founds the (deestrict » school. Henceforth the in-
family of Bertelskjöld, in whose posses- terest in the two is paramount, and
sion the amulet descends with many through the now humorous, now pathetic
adventures through generation after struggles of the girl, at first for recog-
generation. The titles of the six cycles nition, then for success, we see of what
hint at the chronological development: delightfully superficial nature Zury's
Times of Gustavus Adolphus; Times of meanness was after all; and once more
Battle and Rest (1656-97); Times of find an illustration of the wonders that
Charles XII. ; Times of Frederick I. ; a little of the sweetness and light which
Times of Linnæus; Times of Alchemy. accompany education may accomplish,
These stories, with their vivid descrip- even in the wilderness.
tions, their wonderful pictures of battle
,
. (1872. )
Daudet's exqui-
works of historical fiction. In English site portrayal of mock adventures of the
translation they hold their own in com- boastful Tartarin is a delightfully enter-
parison even with Sir Walter Scott's taining specimen of the finest quality of
(Tales of a Grandfather. )
French humorous writing. Tartarin of
Tarascon, to whom the adulation of his
Zury; The Meanest Man in Spring fellow-townsmen is as necessary as the
County: A Novel of Western Life, breath of life, is animated by the spirit
by Joseph Kirkland. Zury) is a tale of of a big-game hunter and a love of ad-
the life and society, of the struggles, re- venture. On Sundays, accompanied by
verses, and disappointments, of those who, his fellow-sportsmen of Tarascon, he goes
at the period immediately preceding our just outside the town, and in lieu of
Civil War, journeyed in prairie schooners other game, long since fied, tosses his
to the settlement of the great West. cap into the air and riddles it with shot.
The story is almost entirely in the At this noble pastime Tartarin is with-
form of dialogue — the peculiar patois of out a peer. His study walls are thickly
the backwoods — and of such a construc- hung with such trophies of his skill. He
tion that it must be followed word for has long been the absolute king of Ta-
word for the successful unraveling of the rascon sportsmen. To assure this posi-
plot. There are no tiresome descriptions, tion among his townsmen, who are be-
and but little narrative, where one so ginning to doubt his prowess, he starts
usually finds a résumé of what has passed for Algiers on a real lion hunt.
and a brief prospectus of what he may With innumerable trunks filled with
expect; so that the careless reader who arms, ammunition, medicine, and con-
glances at the beginning, takes a peep densed aliments, arrayed in the historic
or two at the middle, and then carefully garb of a Turk, Tartarin arrives at Al-
studies the last two chapters, will cer- giers. An object of much curiosity and
tainly find himself quite nonplussed. speculation, he at once sets out for lions,
of romance, take rank among the cables Tartarin. of Tarascon, by Alphonse
a


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504
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
but returns daily, disheartened by his freedom, and has succeeded in impart-
fruitless quest. He is himself bagged by ing to his work their antique air and
a pretty woman, Baya, in Moorish dress. flavor.
One day he meets Barbasson, a native
of Tarascon, captain of the Zouave, ply: Swiss Family Robinson, The, or Ad-
ventures in a Desert Island, by
ing from Marseilles to Algiers. Barbas-
son tells him of the anxiety and eager-
J. R. Wyss. This book was originally
written in German, was translated into
ness for news of him at Tarascon.
French, and afterwards into English. It
At this, Tartarin deserts Baya, and
is
an entertaining tale written for
starts south for lions. After many ad-
young people, after the style of "Robin-
ventures in the desert, he finally kills
son Crusoe,) from which the author is
the only lion he has seen,- a poor, blind,
supposed to have derived many of his
tame old lion, for which he has to settle
ideas. It deals with the experiences of
to the amount of all his paraphernalia and
a shipwrecked family, a Swiss clergy-
money. The lion's skin is forwarded to
man, his wife and four sons, who, de-
Tarascon, and Tartarin tramps to Al-
serted by the captain and the crew of
giers, accepts passage from Barbasson,
the vessel on which they are passengers,
and at last reaches home, where he is
greeted with frenzied applause. His po-
finally reach land in safety. They ex-
hibit wonderful ingenuity in the use
sition has been made secure by the
arrival of the lion's skin, and he again
they make of everything which comes
to hand, and manage to subsist on what
assumes his place in Tarascon. Even-
articles of food they find on the island,
ings, at his club, amid a breathless
combined with the edibles which they
throng, Tartarin begins: «Once upon an
are able to rescue from the ship. They
evening, you are to imagine that, out in
have various experiences with wild
the depths of the Sahara — »
beasts and reptiles, but emerge from all
encounters in safety. They build a very
Telemachus (or Télémaque), Advent.
remarkable habitation in a large tree,
ures of, by Fénelon, is a French
which is reached by means of a hidden
prose epic in twenty-four books, which
staircase in the trunk; and in this re-
appeared in 1699. Having been ship-
treat they are secure from the attacks of
wrecked upon the island of the god-
ferocious animals. They continue
dess Calypso, Telemachus relates to her
thrive and prosper for several years, un-
his varied and stirring adventures while
til finally a ship touches at the island,
seeking his father Ulysses, who, going
and they are once again enabled to com-
to the Trojan war, has been absent
municate with the mainland. By this
from home for twenty years. In his
search the youth has been guarded
time, however, they are so well pleased
with their primitive life that they refuse
and guided by the goddess Minerva,
to leave the island home.
The story
disguised as the sage Mentor. This
was left in an unfinished condition by
recital occupies the first six books, the
the author, but several sequels to it
remaining eighteen containing the hero's
have been written, all of which vary in
further remarkable experiences, until at
their accounts of the doings of this in-
last he returns to Ithaca, where he
teresting family. The book has long
finds Ulysses already arrived. On the
enjoyed a well-deserved popularity, and
way thither occur his escape from the
in spite of various anachronisms is en-
island of Calypso, whose love for Te-
lemachus prompts her to detain him on
joyable and entertaining reading.
her fair domain, and his visit to the
Story of Bessie Costrell, The, by Mrs.
infernal regions, in search of his father, Humphry Ward. (1895. ) In this
whom he believes to be dead. This
story Mrs.
Ward has depicted life
romance of education, designed at among the working classes under most
once to charm the imagination and to painful and trying conditions. Bessie
inculcate truths of morals, politics, and Costrell is the niece of John Bolderfield,
religion, has always been regarded as an old man who, by dint of scrimping
a French classic. It is still much used and saving for many years, has ac-
in English-speaking schools, as a model cumulated by hard labor enough money
of French composition. The author has to support himself for the remainder of
borrowed from, and imitated, the Greek his life. This wealth, the acquirement
and Latin heroics with undisguised of which had been the one ambition of
to


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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
505
care
his life, has been kept hoarded in an with the sudden complications intro-
old trunk; and this he confides to the duced into her life by a rumor that she
of his niece, before leaving his is playing a false part and is not free.
native town for a period of some months. The story is well told, and full of
Bessie is much delighted to be given grace and color. The character of Mar-
charge of the money, and at first only garet is distinctly portrayed; while the
regards it with honest feelings of pride; dry speeches of Miss Longstaff, the
but eventually the temptation becomes quaintness of little Gladys, and the kind-
too strong for her, and her natural ex- ness of Mr. Bell, Margaret's elderly ad-
travagance asserting itself, she opens mirer, afford interesting passages.
the chest and spends part of the money
in a reckless way, drinking and treating Story of a Country Town, The, by
E. W. Howe, is a tale of the mo-
her friends. At length her free use of
notonous unlovely life of a small, hard-
money begins to arouse suspicion; and
working, unimaginative Western village.
she takes alarm and goes to the chest to
The story is told in the first person by
count the balance, when she is caught
in the act by her husband's profligate
a boy who has never known any other
life, and whose farthest goal of experi-
son, who assaults her and robs her of
ence is the neighboring town. It is a
the remainder, Matters have reached
masterpiece of modern «realism,” the
this crisis when John returns home, and
life and events of the place being de-
to his horror and consternation, finds his
scribed with a marvelous fidelity. Yet
money gone. He is at first prostrated
the test of veracity fails in the unre-
by the terrible discovery; but on recov-
lieved gloom of the story, which is be-
ering consciousness, he accuses Bessie of
reft of all sunshine and joyousness, and
the theft, which she strenuously denies.
even of all sense of relation to happier
John then sends for the constable, who
things. The town of Twin Mounds
succeeds in proving her guilt. Bessie's
husband, Isaac Costrell, a stern, hard
seems as isolated and strange as if it
were in another world. Even nature is
man, who is a leader in the church, is
utterly cheerless, and human life appar-
overcome with horror on learning of his
ently without hope. The narrative itself
wife's dishonesty, agrees that she will
is loose and rambling, centring about
have to go to prison, and tells her that
the domestic troubles of Joe Erring and
he will have nothing more to do with
his wife, and culminating in dreary
her. The wretched woman, overwhelmed
with terror and grief,
tragedy. The book has a grim fascina-
drowns herself
tion; and at least one extraordinary
in a well; and the narrative ends leav-
ing the husband filled with remorse, and
character, Lyth Biggs, whose cynical
philosophizing leaves the reader fairly
John broken-hearted and penniless. The
benumbed by the chill of its candor.
story is told in a realistic manner; and
although many of the situations are un- The
"he Stickit Minister, by S. R. Crock-
pleasant, it bears the mark of a master ett. (1893. ) The short stories, by
hand.
S. R.