No More Learning

Hous
ouse by the Medlar Tree, The, by
On being released, he encounters a young Giovanni Verga, is a realistic and
English girl, Gemma Warren, whom he touching story of lower-class life in an
loves, and who taunts him with his treach- Italian fishing village. The fortunes of
ery and strikes him on the cheek. The the Malavoglia, a title of ill luck which
same night his uncle's wife, who hates seems to have attached itself by heredity
him, makes the terrible revelation that to the family so called, are connected
although he is the reputed son of an Eng- with the old homestead, the house un-
lish gentleman, his real father is a priest der the medlar-tree; and these fortunes
who has expiated the sin of his youth are affected by the changes in the an-
by exile as a missionary in China, and chovy trade, the coming of steam pack-
who is no other than his beloved teacher, ets and railroads, increased taxes, and
Montanelli. In despair under these re- the general breaking-up of old ways
doubled blows, Arthur flees in disguise in the decade before 1870. The good-
to South America. Thirteen years later, hearted and thrifty grandfather, Padron
a club of revolutionists in Florence elects 'Ntoni, sees his big family of grand-
a new member to write its incendiary children grow up to disappoint, one after
pamphlets. This member is a South- another, all his brave wishes and hopes
American, called for his wit and power for the prosperity both of his sturdy little
to sting, the Gadly. Gemma, now the fishing-sloop, the Provvidenza, and his
widow of a revolutionary leader, begins ample old house. The story is full of
by detesting the Gadfly for his vin- action and of unsophisticated human
dictiveness, which is shown especially feeling. To read its pages is to live in
towards the good bishop Montanelli; but the little village of Aci Trezza and know
becomes interested in his cleverness and personally every one of its forty or more
his underlying melancholy, and ends by vividly drawn characters. Nothing is
loving him, without suspecting that he concealed, nothing is indoors. It is all


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108
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
1
in the full glare of the southern sun, the Persian's experiences on a visit as
and the forms of light and shade stand ambassador to the court of St. James.
out with pitiless distinctness.
Sir Walter Scott reviewed the original
Li
iterature of Southern Europe, His.
(Hajji Baba) in the London Quarterly,
in terms of the highest praise, calling
tory of the, by Jean Charles Léo-
nard Sismondi. L. L. de Loménie, in
it the Oriental (Gil Blas. It was pub-
the (Galerie des Contemporains Illustres,'
lished by Blackwood in 1824, and is still
calls Sismondi “the most eminent histo-
popular both in England and America.
rian of the nineteenth century in every- Intruder, The (L'Intruse”), by Maurice
thing relating to the science of facts); Maeterlinck, is a play by which the
and George Ticknor says his brilliant writer achieved an international reputa-
Literature of Southern Europe) will tion. It is a one-act piece of few char-
always be read for the beauty of its acters and little action, simple in con-
style, and the richness and wisdom of its struction, rich in suggestion, potent in
reflections. He was a man of enormous its realism. A family sit in the gloomy
erudition (published sixty-nine volumes), room of an old château and talk in the
and made truth his idol, he says. He most natural, matter-of-fact way, while
lived eighteen months in England and one member, a young wife, lies very
five or six years in Italy, accompanying ill in childbirth in the adjacent room.
Madame de Staël or two Italian tours. Through the commonplace speech one
His portrait shows a face strikingly like can feel the tension of their nerves; the
that of our Washington Irving. He was effect is heightened by the skillful use
born in Geneva in 1773, and in 1811 of details by the dramatist. All is indi-
gave there the lectures out of which the
rect, symbolic, pregnant with innuendo.
books we are considering grew. The It is as if Death, the Intruder, we
lectures were published in four volumes knocking at each door and window. At
(Paris), in 1813. The work is a little fee-
length a sister of charity enters, and by
ble in parts, but as a whole strikingly the sign of the cross makes known that
original. He begins with a full account the wife is no more.
of the Troubadour literature and of the
Trouvères, with copious illustrative cita- Greet
reen Book, The, by Maurice Jókai.
tions; and discusses with ample learning
The author of this novel of Russian
the work of Dante, Boccaccio, Tasso, Pe-
life is a Hungarian, who has achieved
trarch, and Alfieri. Then he gives rich
prominence as a politician, success as a
tableaux of Spanish and Portuguese liter-
journalist, and wide repute as a novelist.
ature, — (The Cid, Cervantes, Camoens,
Nearly all the action of "The Green Book)
and others. In his treatment of Spanish
passes in St. Petersburg. Pushkin, the
literature, he did not have access to all
poet, is deeply in love with Zeneida Ilmar-
the original authors, but depended largely
inen, the favorite opera singer, and in-
deed the favorite subject, of both the Tsar
on his predecessor, Bouterwek. But Tick-
Nicholas and the Tsaritsa. She is a splen-
nor gives him very high praise for wide
research and breadth of view.
did creature, the really great character of
the book. The Princess Ghedimin, a for-
Baba of Ispahan, by James mer favorite of the Tsar, is depicted as
a fiend. «The Green Book” is the name
Entertainments) gives the truest of all of a large volume in which are recorded
pictures of Oriental life, so (Hajji Baba) the names and the doings of the chief
describes life in Persia. The book pur- band of conspirators against the life of
ports to be a translation of the auto- the Tsar. This is kept in a secret room
biography of a Persian, but was really in Zeneida's palace, where the conspira-
written by J. J. Morier, who was born tors meet. By an ingenious mechanism,
in England in 1780. Being sent as Brit- when any one opens the outer door the
ish envoy to the court of Persia, he table containing the book disappears,
became thoroughly familiar with the and a roulette-board in active operation
language and customs of the country. takes its place. Thus the authorities are
The book is written in an easy strain, deceived into thinking that she is trying
and is extremely entertaining, even to merely to conceal from the police the
the reader of to-day. It was so success- evidences of gambling. Zeneida’s noble
ful that Morier followed it up by Hajji and self-sacrificing behavior during the
Baba in England, which represented flood of the Neva results in bringing
Hajj. Morier
. As the Arabian Nights


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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
109
ya
:
together Pushkin, Sophie Narishkin,- 1889, is a story of family life in Nor-
the illegitimate daughter of the Tsar by way, characterized by unerring analy-
the Princess Ghedimin,- and Bethsaba, a sis and a convincing truthfulness. The
beautiful young girl. Sophie falls deeply novel, though somewhat pessimistic and
in love with Pushkin, as her mother has sad in its drift, is relieved by satiric humor
already done, and the Tsar favors the and charm of description. The Commo-
marriage. But the child falls ill, and dore is elderly, amiable, henpecked; his
on her death-bed makes Bethsa ba and wife ambitious and ill-tempered, with a
Pushkin promise to be married before foolish fondness for her son Karsten,
her funeral. The Tsar dies at the a lazy young naval officer who marries
hands of The Man with the Green for money to find himself duped. The
Eyes; Zeneida's affection keeps Pushkin daughters Cicely and Martha, girls of high
out of a conspiracy which promises to spirits, good looks, and fresh, unspoiled
free Russia, but ends in failure; the con- natures, suffer in their love affairs through
spirators are put to death; and Zeneida the narrow conventionality which sur-
and Prince Ghedimin fee to Tobolsk, rounds them, and the marplot interfer-
where they spend the rest of their lives. ences of mother and brother. Cicely is
There are many romantic episodes.
parted from a fine young officer who
is deeply in love with her; and poor
Fisher Maiden, The, by Björnstjerne
Martha dies broken-hearted
Björnson, the Norwegian novelist,
because
dramatist, poet, and statesman, appeared
through an intrigue of her ambitio
in 1868, and has been translated into
mother, her devoted lover boy is sent off
to sea to get rid of him, and is drowned
many tongues. It is an early work, writ-
ten in his first flush of power, and is
on the eve of her intended marriage.
The plot is a mere thread; but the fret-
a characteristic story of Norwegian life
among the common people. Several of
ful social atmosphere of the household,
with its jarring personalities constantly
the poems in the novel express fervently
the author's optimistic patriotism. The
misunderstanding each other to their
mutual harm, is delineated with fine,
early part of the tale is laid in a fishing
village on the coast, where lives the
subtle sta $ of character-drawing : it
fisher maiden, a strong-natured, hand-
would seerns to be the author's intention
to give an idea of the petty, stifling
some, imaginative girl, whose mother
keeps a sailors' inn.
social bonds in a small Norwegian town
Her development
of to-day.
is traced in her love affairs, by which
she gains a bad reputation, so that her
mother sends her away from her native Li iza-Dvoryanskoe Gnyezdo (Nest of
place; in her experience in Bergen, with
Nobles), by Ivan Sergéevich Tur-
its self-revelation of her own artist-nature
geneff. (1858; English translation 1869. )
by her first sight of a play; in her life
The story of this gloomy novel is not
in the family of a priest, with its chance
easily analyzed, but a bare statement of
for cultivation and training of her dra-
the plot would run thus: Maria Dmi-
matic powers; and in the final adoption
trievna Kalitine, a rich widow living in
of the stage as a profession: the novel
a Russian provincial town, has a beauti-
closing, rather tantalizingly, just as the
ful daughter Liza, who is deeply reli-
curtain rises on her début.
gious.
Petra, the
Vladimir Nikolaevich Panshin,
fisher maiden, has the instincts, gifts,
who pays court to her, is a young man
and ambitions of the artist, and her
with charming manners and an easy flow
of egotistical talk. Presently appears
earlier love episodes are but ebullitions
of this chief motor-power. She is por-
Fedor Ivanovich Lavretsky, a distant
trayed sympathetically; for as Björnson
cousin of Maria Dmitrievna, who is known
stated to a friend, she is, in many of
to live unhappily with his wife. Between
her traits, an embodiment of himself.
his father, a despotic, narrow-minded ego-
The story is full of accurate yet charm-
tist, and his aunt Glafira, a harsh, fierce
ingly idealized studies of native types
old woman, Lavretsky's bringing-up has
and scenes, and is regarded as among
been a strange and solitary one; and at
the novelist's freshest, finest creations.
the age of twenty-three he naturally falls
in love with the first pretty girl he sees,
Com
Commodore's Daughters, The (Kom- - Varvara Pavlovna Korobine, — whom
mandorens Dottre)), by the Nor- he marries. As she detests Russia, they
wegian novelist Jonas Lie, published in finally settle in Paris, where he discovers


## p. 110 (#146) ############################################

IIO
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
her faithlessness and leaves her. Maria is by nature generouswarm-hearted,
Dmitrievna receives him cordially, and and high-spirited; but when his body is
he becomes a frequent visitor to the weakened and his mind depressed, the
house. Little by little he and Liza fall morbid desire takes possession of him
in love; and upon the complications that to kill the greasy and repellent old
thus arise, the interest of the story is woman, whose wealth seems as lawfully
founded. The difficult situations are his as hers. From this desire he cannot
skillfully managed, and the reader can- escape. It terrifies yet fascinates him.
not resent the sadness of the tale as His state of mind in this crisis is de-
needless, because it results inevitably picted with admirable skill. The murder
from the conditions. Like all Turge- accomplished, he gains nothing by it: in
neft's books, the chief interest of Liza' the sudden awful confusion of mind that
lies in its study of character.
immediately follows the committal of the
deed, he can form no definite idea of rob-
Fathers and Sons, a novel by Ivan
S. Turgenef, appeared first in 1861
bery, and escapes with no booty but the
in the Russian Messenger, a Moscow
memory of one terrific scene which throws
him into a delirious fever. At this junct-
review. As the name implies, it is an
embodiment in fiction of the conflicting city. His excited state is perceptible,
ure his mother and sister come to the
old and new forces at work in modern
society; forces peculiarly active and
but they can make nothing of it. By a
singular chain of incidents he makes the
noticeable in Russia, where iron-bound
authority exists side by side with intel-
acquaintance of a girl, Sonia, who has
been driven to an evil life that she may
lectual license. This novel brought into
Be-
general use the term “nihilist,” applied
save her family from starvation.
by the author to the chief character of
lieving that her nature is intrinsically
noble, Raskolnikoff compels her to read
the story, Bazarof, a young man of icon-
oclastic temperament, whose code of life
aloud to him the story of the raising of
Lazarus. This she does in a manner
was rebellion against all authority. His
which confirms his belief in her. His
short, vivid career is depicted with re-
markable strength and realism. Another
regeneration then begins. As he was
(son) is his friend Arcadi Kirsanof, at
impelled to murder, he is now impelled
to confess the murder. His sentence is
whose paternal estate he is a guest.
Kirsanof's father and uncle, representing
seven years' exile to Siberia; but he ac-
the older generation, are brought into
cepts it with joy, for at its expiration
he will begin with Sonia, the woman he
sharp contact and contrast with Bazarof.
It is difficult to determine whether (fa-
loves, a life of purity and nobility. They
thers) or (sons » suffer most in the delin-
will progress together, out of the old
order into the new.
eation of their peculiarities. The novel
divided reading Russia into two camps, –
those who sided with the fathers, and
ſermann Agha, by William Gifford
those who sided with the (sons. ) The
Palgrave, 1872, is a tale of life in
Syria at the close of the eighteenth
government seized on the word “nihil-
ist » as
a designation of political re-
century. It is based upon historical re-
search and personal knowledge of the
proach,-a sense in which it has ever
land and people, and shows a poetic ap-
since been employed. With its terrible
preciation of the color and charm of the
sincerity, its atmosphere of menacing
calm presaging a storm, the book re-
Hermann Agha is a
glowing Orient.
mains one of the most noted in the
Saxon by birth, who, captured by the
Turks in war, is sold to a Kurdish beg
category of Russian fiction.
at the slave market of Constantinople.
Crime and Punishment, a Russian
,
After he has recovered his freedom, and
realistic novel by Féodor M. Dos- while sailing down the Nile with his
toévsky, 1866, is a subtle and powerful friend and patron, the Arab Tantawee,
psychological study, revolving about one he confides to him the exciting story of
incident, — the murder of an old woman, his adventures. There is much Eastern
a money-lender, and her sister, by a stu- intrigue, fiery skirmishes of war, and
dent in St. Petersburg, Raskolnikoff. The bloody, treacherous
Again
circumstances leading to the murder are and again Hermann encounters appar-
extreme poverty, and the resultant phys- ently inevitable dangers, but friends
ical and mental depletion. Raskolnikoff always spring up to rescue him. He
Her
-
-
massacres.


## p. 111 (#147) ############################################

SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
III
learns to understand Koord and Arab, readers can take an interest; and a hand-
Bagdadee and Circassian, better than book of full information, from an author-
his own people; and to love the land ity so high as Mr. Keane, contributes
of his servitude. He meets a beautiful much to the knowledge necessary for
Arabian maiden in her father's shady dealing with them.
garden, and the two love each other
with an exalted passion eager for self-
Africa, by A. H. Keane: Vol. . .
, North
sacrifice. They are soon forced apart, Africa; Vol. ii. , South Africa. With
and in all his subsequent difficulties his Maps and Illustrations. A thorough and
most absorbing interest is the hope comprehensive account of the Africa of
of finding her. Hermann is a poet, recent discoveries, explorations, and oc-
and writes lyrics to his love; and his cupation by different European powers;
Saxon nature is shown as vitalized and with sketch histories of every part, full
strengthened by the intensity of the information in regard to African races,
East.
and an exact account of the now almost
complete partition of the whole continent
Ar
rabia, Central and Eastern: A Per- among the great powers of Europe.
sonal Narrative of a Year's Journey Twenty excellent maps and one hundred
through (1862–63), by William Gifford and sixty-nine illustrations add greatly to
Palgrave: 2 vols. , 1865. One of the best
the instructiveness and completeness of the
reports of travel ever made. The author work. It is altogether a masterpiece of
was a brilliant Englishman, who, after geographical story, and extremely inter-
graduating at Oxford with great distinc-esting. It reports all the famous explora-
tion, and a very short connection with tions, and is the best available digest of
military service in India, became a priest African facts of every kind. In regard to
in the Society of Jesus, and was sent as the various races of Africa, the most im-
a missionary to Syria. Here he perfectly portant of which are not negro, Mr. Keane
mastered the Arabic language, and the can speak with the highest ethnological
Syrian and Arab customs. Napoleon III. authority. His judgment of the hopelessly
called him to France in 1860 to report inferior character of the full negro races
on the Syrian massacres; and upon this is especially important.
he undertook to make, at the Emperor's
expense, an expedition through Arabia,
Equatorial Africa, Explorations and
where no Christian could safely risk his Adventures in, by Paul Belloni Du
life. He assumed the guise of a Syrian Chaillu. (1861; revised edition, 1871. ) A
physician and a Mohammedan, and suc- story of African travels, 1855-59, from
ceeded in going through the kingdom the coast of West Africa inland, over the
under fanatical Wahabee rule, making region on the equator to two degrees on
observations of the greatest value.
each side. The intrepid explorer trav-
eled 8,000 miles on foot and with no
sia, by A. H. Keane. Vol. i. , Northern white companion. The observations which
and Eastern Asia; Vol. ii. , Southern he made are important contributions to
and Western Asia. Fourteen maps and geographical, ethnological, and zoologi-
one hundred and eighty illustrations. cal science. The game which he shot
These volumes deal with Japan, the Chi- numbered 2,000 birds, (of which 60 were
nese Empire, India, Siberia, Persia, Ara- new to science,) and over 1,000 quadru-
bia, and all the other parts of the vast peds. The new knowledge of the gorilla
Eastern continent, on the thorough plan and of other remarkable apes was a story
of a full account of each country, its races, savoring almost of invention, and the first
history to some extent, and political con- impression of some critics was one of
dition. The more conspicuous topics, skepticism; but Murchison and Owen, and
such as India, China, and Japan, are ex- other authorities of eminence, upheld Du
tremely rich in interest, not only from the Chaillu's credit, and the substantial accu-
strangeness of the culture of these lands racy of his statements was confirmed by
in the past, but from the changes which a French expedition in 1862, and by Du
are rapidly taking place, and the still Chaillu's second exploration of the same
greater changes which are likely to occur region, 1863–65, an account of which he
in the near future. The problems of gave in A Journey to Ashango-Land,
many of the lands of Asia are among the 1867. He was also the first to discover
most important in which students and the «Pigmies," rediscovered by Stanley.
Asia


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II2
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
Eöthen; or, Traces of TRAVEL BROUGHT from 6,000 to 20,000 feet high, over paths
HOME FROM THE EAst, by Alexander often almost impassable, and among a
William Kinglake. (1844. )
Eöthen - a population who consider ferocity the chief
title meaning From the Dawn — is a qualification of good form)); the arduous
lively and acute narrative of travel in journey towards Kashmir, through the
the East, at a time when that region Western Himalayas, at a usual height of
was comparatively new ground to Eng- 12,000 feet, in an awful sublimity of scen-
lish tourists. The author, starting from ery; the Shigri glaciers, the most vast,
Constantinople, visits the Troad, Cyprus, desolate, and beautiful in the world; Zan-
the Holy Land, Cairo, the Pyramids, and skar, with its primitive Tartar manners
the Sphinx; thence by the way of Suez and customs, its sculptured tumuli, its
he proceeds to Gaza, and returns by the Lama monuments and prayer-mills, its se-
way of Nablous and Damascus, He clusion and unchangeableness; and finally,
apologizes for his frankness of style, and his stay in the remote, inaccessible, and
gives his impressions with refreshing di- most enchanting vale of Kashmir, after a
rectness, modified as little as possible by journey of incredible hardship and danger.
conventional opinion. For this reason he It is to be remembered that this expe-
provoked some criticism from conservative dition involved long months of tent life;
reviewers, who regarded his comments the carrying of all necessary supplies; the
on the manners and morals of Moham- command of a small army of servants,
medan countries as too liberal to be guides, guards, and packmen: and in-
encouraged in Christian circles. He con- volved also an extraordinary equipment
fesses his inability to overcome a very
of good-nature, good sense, and force of
worldly mood even in Jerusalem, and his will, on the part of the traveler - which,
failure to see things always in that light with an admirable literary gift, are de-
of romance that the reader might prefer; voted to the entertainment of the fortu-
and he is unwilling that his own moral nate reader.
judgment shall stand in the way of a per-
fectly truthful narrative.
rctic Boat Journey, in the autumn of
Arc
Instances of
1854, by Isaac Israel Hayes, M. D. :
his engaging style are the interview with
1860. Enlarged edition, 1867. The record
the Pasha through the dragoman at
of a boat journey of nearly four months,
the start, and his description of the Otto-
amid perils of ice and storm and extreme
man lady,- (a coffin-shaped bundle of
cold, the object of which was to carry in-
white linen. The incident of Mariam, a
telligence to Upernavik, in North Green-
Christian bride converted to Islam, is full
land, of the peril in which Dr. Kane's
of humor, and contains a dash of that
second Grinnell expedition found itself,
liberalism which roused the fears of the
with their vessel hopelessly fast in the ice.
Christian critics.
The simple story of adventures is a thrill-
Abe
bode of Snow, The, by that veteran
ing one, and with it Dr. Hayes gives, in
Scotch traveler Andrew Wilson, is
his final edition, information in regard to
an account of his tour in the summer of
the Open Polar Sea discovered in 1854;
1874 from Chinese Thibet to the Indian
the great Mer de Glace of Northern
Caucasus, through the upper valleys of Greenland, of which he was one of the
discoverers in 1853; and Grinnell Land,
the Himalaya. The title of the book is
the Sanskrit meaning of Himálaya, and
the most northern known land of the
describes the enormous mass of mount-
globe, his own discovery in 1854.
ains which stretches from the China Sea
Aret
retic Explorations, the Second Grin-
to the Volga, and indeed across Europe. nell Expedition in search of Sir John
With a light touch the author describes Franklin, 1853-55, by Elisha Kent Kane.
the gay life of the English settlements, 2 vols. , 1856. Dr.
Kane's first Grinnell
or sanitariums, in the high valleys; the Expedition voyage, which he made as
jungles with their gigantic trees and a surgeon under E. J. DeHaven, 1850–
creepers and their huge animals, survivals 51, was described in his (U. S. Grinnell
from an earlier epoch; the wonderfully Expedition (1854). It was by the sec-
beautiful Simla range; the temples, cer- ond expedition, under his own command,
emonials, and pilgrimages of the people, that his fame as an Arctic explorer was
and their great religious fairs; the peril- made. The incidents of the voyage along
ous horseback ride from Simla to Shipka the coast of Smith Sound to a latitude
in Chinese Thibet, among mountains never before attained, 78° 43' N. ; the


## p. 113 (#149) ############################################

SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
113
winter spent in that far region; the dis- and accurate account extant of the trop-
covery of the Humboldt glacier of Green- ical portion of the great eastern Archipel.
land, and the attempt the next spring ago, the northern part of which is really
to follow its course northward; and the a portion of Asia.
series of adventures following, until the
frozen-in ship had to be abandoned, and Our old Home, a series of English
the party escaped perishing only through
sketches by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Kane's indefatigable exertions, supplied
This volume of charming sketches was
rich materials for the book in which
published in 1863, and (in the words of
Kane told the story of the more than two
the author) presents a few of the ex-
years' voyage. In the additions made to
ternal aspects of English scenery and
geographical knowledge also, and in many
life, especially those that are touched
accurate and valuable scientific observa-
with the antique charm to which our
tions, Kane's work was exceptionally in-
countrymen are more susceptible than
teresting and valuable. It brought him
are the people among whom it is of
both popular applause from delighted read-
native growth. The opening sketch on
ers, and honors from societies, English
(Consular Experiences) gives interesting
and French, representing the scholars of glimpses of Hawthorne's own life as con-
the time.
sul at Liverpool; and among other enter-
taining chapters are those designated
Ar
rctic Service, Three Years of. An Ac- About Warwick, Pilgrimage to Old
count of the Lady Franklin Bay Ex- Boston,' (Some of the Haunts of Burns,'
pedition of 1881-84, and the attainment (Up the Thames,' and (Outside Glimpses
of the Farthest North, by Adolphus W. of English Poverty. In that entitled
Greely: 1886. A popular account, drawn (Recollections of a Gifted Woman,' he
from personal diaries and official reports, recounts his acquaintance with Miss
of one of the most remarkable of the Arc- Delia Bacon, who was then deep in
tic expeditions, and one with scarcely a her Philosophy of the Plays of Shake-
parallel in the terrible sufferings through speare': absurd book, for which
many months from which the party were Hawthorne wrote a humorous preface.
at last rescued. The primary object of These, and other English sketches in-
the expedition was a scientific one; and cluded in Hawthorne's note-books, were
the utmost care was given to physical ob- at first intended by him to be used as a
servations, from July 1st, 1881, at St. John, background for a work of fiction which
Newfoundland, to June 21st, 1884, forty he had partially planned; but what he
hours before the rescue of the survivors. calls (the Present, the Immediate, the
The wealth of interest thus created, with Actual,” proved too potent for him, and
that of the remarkable experiences of the the project was given up and only the
party, and the range of travel achieved, sketches were published. This volume
make the work one of unique and lasting holds its popularity, not simply because
value.
of the incomparable charm of the man-
ner in which it is written, but because
Australasia. Vol. i. : Australia and
New Zealand, by A. R. Wallace;
of its faithful delineation of nature, life,
with 14 Maps and 91 Illustrations. Vol.
and manners in England. There are
ii. : Malaysia and the Pacific Archipela-
clues to English character to be gath-
goes, by F. H. H. Guillemard; with 16
ered from Our Old Home,' which could
Maps and 47 Illustrations. The first of
not otherwise be obtained save by pro-
these volumes, by an eminent English
tracted association with the English peo-
naturalist and traveler, describes from
ple at home.
full information the remote southern re-
an
gions in which the expansion of England Literary Landmarks of London, by
is going on upon a scale very inadequately
understood in America. These regions,
moreover, are of extreme interest, from
their natural features, and from the part
which they have played in the history of
mankind. It would be difficult to have
their story from a hand more competent
than that of Mr. Wallace. The second vol-
ume supplies by far the most interesting
not attempted to make of this either a
text-book or biographical dictionary. It
is a work which appeals to those who
love and are familiar with Pepys and
Johnson and Thackeray, and who wish
to follow them to their homes and
haunts in the metropolis, — not to those
wh need to be told who
ey were and
what they have done. ) The sketches
XXX-8


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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
1
the Netherlands went by marriage to Aus.
tria and ultimately to Spain,– Charles's
daughter Mary being the ancestress of
Charles V. and Philip II. The career of
Charles the Bold is therefore one of the
chief landmarks of European history, the
direct precursor of the Franco-German
War; Granson, Morat, and Nancy are
the forerunners of Sedan. Charles is
most familiarly known through Scott's
Quentin Durward); but Mr. Kirk's his-
tory gives the real man, as well as his
great rival Louis XI. , and much of great
interest and instruction besides.
(
are arranged in alphabetical order, be-
ginning with Addison and ending with
Young; and the rank of the poet or
writer is not determined by amount of
space. For instance, Wordsworth and
Herrick have assigned to them but a
few lines, for they were not poets of
brick and mortar; while whole pages
are given to half-forgotten authors of one
immortal song, who spent all their days
in London. Full indices, local as well
as personal, enable the reader to find
what appeals to him most in whatever
part of the town he may be. He can
walk with Johnson and Boswell from
the Club in Gerard Street, and call on
the way on Dryden, Waller, Lamb, or
Evelyn; stop for refreshments at «Will's >>
or « Tom's ) with Steele, or, in the church
of St. Paul, Covent Garden, pray for
the repose of the souls of Butler, Wych-
erley and «Peter Pindar,” who sleep
within its gates.
London has no
sociations more interesting than those
connected with its literary men, and
nothing of moment connected with their
careers in the city has been omitted.
It is plainly evident that the author's
chief aim has been completeness and
exactness.
as-
»
This great
Cæsar's Commentaries.
work contains the narrative of
Cæsar's military operations in Gaul, Ger-
many, and Britain. It was given to the
world in the year 51 B. C. Every vic-
tory won by Cæsar had only served to
increase the alarm and hostility of his
enemies at Rome, and doubt and suspi.
cion were beginning to spread among the
plebeians, on whom he chiefly relied for
help in carrying out his designs. When
public opinion was evidently taking the
side of the Gauls and Germans, the time
had come for Cæsar to act on public opin-
ion. Hence the Commentaries,' a hasty
compilation made from notes jotted down
in his tent or during a journey. «They
form,” says Mommsen, «a sort of mili-
tary memoir, addressed by a democratic
general to the people from whom he
derived his power. ” To prove in an
indirect way, he himself keeping in the
background, that he has done his best
for the honor and advantage of Rome,
is his main object. He proceeds, then,
to demonstrate the following propositions:
A Germanic invasion threatened Gaul.
With Gaul in the hands of the Germans,
the Romans knew from experience that
Italy herself was not safe from invas-
ion. Cæsar's first achievement was
drive the Germans back
the
Rhine. Every event that followed was
the necessary consequence of this victory.
The Belgæ, sympathizers with their Teu-
tonic kinsmen, revolted after the defeat
of Ariovistus. To convince them that
west of the Rhine, Rome was supreme,
was the reason of Cæsar's campaigns in
the north and east. But how long would
the Belgæ, Nervii, and other warlike
tribes continue submissive, if the clans
in the west remained independent ? It
must be plain, therefore, to any patri-
otic Roman, that the naval and military
Char
harles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy,
History of. By John Foster Kirk.
(3 vols. , 1863-68. ) An excellent special
book on a most interesting and signifi-
cant figure in the history of France and
of Europe (1433-77). He was the last in
the long line of princes who for centu-
ries, almost since Charlemagne's time,
had endeavored to build up a “middle )
or “buffer) kingdom along the Rhine
and the Rhone, between the exclusively
French and the exclusively German pow-
the old kingdom of Lotharingia,
later Lorraine, the medieval kingdom of
Arles, the ever-varying duchy of Bur-
gundy, all represented this most promis-
ing, most determined, and most futile of
political efforts. With the crushing de-
feat and death of Charles, — in his prime
the most powerful potentate of the age,
his dominion stretching like a gigantic
bow almost from Savoy to the German
Ocean, around the entire east and north
of France, - the unnatural ribbon-State
of unrelated parts without common in-
terests went to pieces, and with it the
dream of a buffer kingdom perished for-
The Burgundian duchy and Pic-
ardy were seized by Louis XI. of France,
ers:
to
across
ever.


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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
115
name
operations of Cæsar and his lieutenants Prigcheese, but his joy is not of long
against the Veneti, the Armoricans, and duration. A water-snake rears its awful
the Aquitanians, were inevitable. Per- head above the waters. Chubbycheek,
haps, too, the patriotic Roman will con. wild with terror, plunges to the bottom;
clude, although Cæsar is silent on the and Prigcheese, after heroic struggles,
matter, that these brilliant campaigns re- perishes in the waves, but not before he
dound as much to the glory of the Roman has devoted Chubbycheek to the wrath of
as to that of Cæsar. Although the avenging gods. A mouse who hap-
Gaul, protected by Rome, was now in- pens to be sauntering along the shore
vincible, it was very desirable that the hastens to announce to the mouse nation
Germans and Britons should have tangi- the sad fate of their fellow-citizen. A
ble evidence of the fact, and so Cæsar general assembly is convoked; and on the
crossed the Rhine and the Channel. But motion of Nibbleloaf, the father of the
unfortunately, the Gauls were not wise victim, war is declared against the frogs,
enough to accept the situation. They and the herald Lickthepot is charged
revolted. Cæsar suppressed the insur- with the duty of entering the enemy's
rection with a vigor and sternness they territories and proclaiming hostilities.
were never likely to forget; and at Alesia, Chubbycheek asserts her perfect inno-
a year before these Military Memoirs cence, nay her ignorance, of the death
were to be circulated, the finest conquest of Prigcheese. The frogs, fired by her
that Rome ever made was forever com- eloquence, prepare to make a vigorous
pleted. The quality that especially gives resistance. Meanwhile the gods, from
distinction to the work is its simplicity. their Olympian thrones, view with anxi-
«It is as unadorned,” says Cicero, «as ety and fear the agitations that are dis-
an ancient statue; and it owes its beauty turbing the earth. But Minerva is of
its grace to its nudity. ” As to its opinion that for the present it would be
truthfulness, we cannot decide absolutely, rash to interfere, and the lords of heaven
the Gauls not having written their Com- decide to remain simply spectators of the
mentaries. But if Cæsar sinned in this direful event that is drawing near. Soon
respect, it was probably by omission, the conflict rages, furious, terrible, the
not by commission. Things the Ro- chances leaning now to the one side, now
mans might not like he does not men- to the other. At length the mice are
tion: the sole aim of the book is to victorious, and Greedyguts, their leader,
gain their suffrages. There is no allus- announces his determination to wipe out
ion to the enormous fortune Cæsar ac- the entire vile race of their enemies from
quired by plunder. On the other hand, the face of the earth. Jupiter is alarmed,
he speaks of his cruelties — for instanc and resolves to prevent such a disaster.
the killing in cold blood of 20,000 or
He will send Pallas or Mars to assuage
100,000 prisoners — with a calmness that the wrath of the ferocious Greedyguts.
to us is horrible, but which the Romans Mars recoils in terror from the rough
would deem natural and proper.
task. Then the King of Heaven seizes
his thunderbolt, and hurls it among
tle of the Frogs and Mice, The, the conquerors; even the thunderbolt is
(Batrachomyomachia,) a mock- powerless. They are frightened for a
heroic poem written in imitation of the moment, and then renew the work of
Iliad. The authorship has been attrib- destruction with more fury than ever.
uted to Homer, and to Pigres the brother Jupiter thereupon enrolls another army,
of Queen Artemisia, but without any and sends it against these haughty vic-
foundation in either case. It is really tors: it is composed of warriors supplied
a parody on the style of Homer. The by nature with arms defensive and of-
mouse Prigcheese, who has just escaped fensive, who in the twinkling of an eye
the tooth of a hideous monster (a weasel change the issue of the battle. These
perhaps, or it may be a cat), stops on the new antagonists are crabs. The mice fly
border of a marsh to slake his thirst; in confusion, and the conflict ends at
for he has been running fast and long. sunset.
Chubbycheek, Queen of the Frogs, enters
into conversation with him.
She pinxites Homeric Studies: Ox HOMER AND THE
him to come to her palace, and politely
, by W. E. Gladstone.
offers her back as mode of conveyance. (1858. ) work of notable interest in its
The novelty of the journey enchants day, in which Mr. Gladstone endeavored
Battle


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116
1
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
1
1
.
.
ex-
to state the results, in regard to the au- ing to the finding of an ideal of Homeric
thorship and age of Homer, which he translation.
thought justified by the text of the (Successors OF HOMER) (Innes: Lon.
poems ascribed to Homer.
In his Ju- don, 1897) discusses in similar fashion the
ventus Mundi: The Gods and Men of Homeric Hymns, Hesiod, the last Epic
the Heroic Age) (1869), Mr. Gladstone Cycle, and in general the survival of the
went over the same ground again, and hexameter and of the epic spirit down to
embodied his results of research under the Attic period. In this less familiar
a new form, but with considerable modi- field Mr. Lawton has given even more
fications in the ethnological and mytho-copious citations, rendered into English
logical parts of the work. He especially dactyls. These little books appear to be
gave new light on Phænician influence members of what might be called an Ep-
in the formation of the Greek nation. och series on Greek literature. As indis-
To this report of his Homeric studies | pensable for the careful study of Homer,
he added, in 1876, his Homeric Syn- to which his own work is so excellent an
chronism: An Enquiry into the Time introduction, Mr. Lawton names Jebb's
and Place of Homer. )
Introduction, Lang and Myers's Transla-
Mr. Gladstone's literary activity found tion of the Iliad, and Palmer's Translation
early expression in his "Church Princi- of the Odyssey.
ples) (1840), and from that time, in a large
variety of papers, addresses, and articles, Greek, Philosophy, Outlines of the
History of, by Dr. Eduard Zeller.
which were brought together in (Glean-
An
(English Translation, 1885. )
ings of Past Years) (7 vols. , 1880) and
(Later Gleanings) (1897). With these
tremely useful sketch of the whole his-
tory of Greek philosophy, from Thales, a
may be mentioned his "Studies Subsid-
iary to the Works of Bishop Butler)
contemporary of Solon and Cresus in the
first half of the sixth century B. C. , to
(1897), including both an account of But-
the death of Boëthius in the first half of
ler's work and an argument of his own
opinions and beliefs. In 1890-92 there
the sixth century of Christ (525 A. D. ).
The story told by Plato of Seven Wise
were brought out ten volumes of Mr.
Gladstone's Speeches and Addresses. )
Men) of early Greece is wholly unhis-
torical. Not less than twenty-two names
rt and Humanity in Homer. By Will-
appear in different versions of the story,
Art
iam Cranston Lawton (1896). A
and only four are found in all of them,
volume of essays designed to introduce
- Thales, Bias, Pittacus, and Solon. To
readers earnestly desirous of culture to
Thales the first place is given. In the
the chief masterpieces of ancient litera-
succession of early Greek philosophers
ture, the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer. It
there follow Anaximander, Anaximenes,
discusses intelligently and thoughtfully
and Diogenes; Pythagoras and his disci.
the art of Homer in the Iliad, that perfect
ples; Xenophanes, Parmenides, and Zeno;
mastery of epic song which so charmed
Heracleitus, Empedocles, Leucippus, De-
the Greek ear; the picture which the
mocritus, and Anaxagoras; and then the
Iliad gives of womanhood; the scenes
greatest names of all, Socrates, Plato,
of pathetic tragedy with which it closes;
and Aristotle. From these onward there
the story which gives the Odyssey its
is a further long development, which Dr.
plot; the conceptions of the future life
Zeller admirably sketches. This volume
which the Homeric epics shadow forth,
of Outlines) is an Introduction to Dr.
including all the important passages al-
Zeller's large special works, such
luding to the condition of the dead; the
(Socrates and the Socratic Schools,
episode of Nausicaa, in which, in a tale
(Plato and the Older Academy,' The
of perfect simplicity, Homeric painting
Stoics, Epicureans, and Sceptics,' and
touched with infinite charm the scenes,
(Aristotle and the Earlier Peripatetics. )
the figures, the events, of an escape of
These works together constitute a com-
Odysseus from shipwreck; and the accre-
plete history of Greek philosophy for
tions to the Troy myth which befell after
more than a thousand years,
Homer. The volume includes a scheme
An nabasis, The (Retreat of the Ten
of aids to the study of Homer;
Thousand, 401-399 B. C. ), by Xeno-
sents a considerable number of examples phon. The word means the going up or
of admirably felicitous use of hexameters expedition,-i. e. , to Babylon, the capital
in the essayist's versions of the poet, look- of the Persian Empire; but most of the
as
i
1
1
and it pre-
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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
117
narrative is occupied with the retreat. an impressive picture of a Persian prince
The occasion of the famous expedition brought in contact with Greek civilization;
was the attempt of Cyrus the Younger Clearchus, the type of an excellent gen-
to unseat his elder brother Artaxerxes eral, upright but harsh; Proxenus, a fine
from the throne of Persia by aid of a gentleman, but too soft and weak; the
Greek army, which he gathered in or unscrupulous Menon, a natural product of
near his satrapy in Asia Minor, and then civil dissension. Xenophon tells the story
moved swiftly across Persia against the in the third person, after the fashion in
miscellaneous barbarian hordes of his the classic times; and if he makes him-
brother with their small centre of disci- self out a most eloquent, courageous, re-
plined Persian guards. The plan suc- sourceful, and self-sacrificing leader, his
ceeded, and Cyrus was about to win the other work makes one willing to accredit
great battle of Cunaxa, when he was him cheerfully.
killed in the fray, and the Ten Thousand
were left leaderless and objectless in the Hermetic Books.
The Greeks desig-
heart of a hostile empire a thousand
nated the lunar god of the Egyp-
miles from their kin. To complete their
tians, Thoth, by the name of Hermes
ruin, all the head officers were decoyed Trismegistus; i. e. , Hermes the Thrice
into a mock negotiation by Artaxerxes
Greatest. The Greeks, and after them
and murdered to a man.
In their de- | the Neo-Platonists and Christians, re-
spair, Xenophon, a volunteer without garded him as an ancient king of Egypt,
command, came forward, heartened them who invented all the sciences, and con-
into holding together and fighting their cealed their secrets in certain mysteri-
way back to the Euxine, and was made ous books. These ancient books, to the
leader of the retreat; which was conducted number of 20,000 according to some,
with such success, through Persia and and of 36,000 according to others, bore
across the snow-clad Armenian mount-
his name.
Clement of Alexandria has
ains, against both Persian forces and described the solemn procession in which
Kurdish savages, that the troops reached they were carried in ceremony. The
Trapezus (Trebizond) with very little loss.
tradition in virtue of which all secret
Even then their dangers were not over: works on magic, astrology, and chem-
Xenophon had now to turn diplomatist; istry were attributed to Hermes, per-
to gain the good graces of the Greek cities sisted for a long time. The Arabians
on the Black Sea, and to negotiate with composed several of them; and the fab-
Seuthes the Thracian king who tried to rication of Hermetic writings in Latin
assassinate him, and with the governors lasted during the entire Middle Ages.
of the different cities subject to Sparta. Some of these writings have come down
At last the adventure was over. Many to us, either in the original Greek or in
of the survivors went back to Greece; Latin and Arabic translations. From a
but the larger number took service under philosophic point of view, the most inter-
Spartan harmosts, and were subsequently esting of them is the (Poimandres) (TOLNÍ
instrumental in freeing several Greek | ávšpāv, the shepherd of men, symbolizing
cities in Asia Minor.
the Divine Intelligence). It has been
Merely as a travel sketch the tale is divided into twenty books by Patricius.