No More Learning

There is no lack of sympathy in
the writer, yet he frankly says that
(modern Israel would seem to be mor-
ally, as well as physically, a dying
race. »
Conscience, he says, “has be-
come contracted and obscured »); and "as
to honor, where could the Jew possibly
have learnt its meaning ?
beaten, re-
viled, scorned, abused by everybody. "
Jerusalem, The History of, by Sir
Walter Besant and Professor E. H.
Palmer. (1871, 1888. ) A history pub-
lished under the auspices of the society
known as “The Palestine Exploration
Fund. ” It covers a period and is com-
piled from materials not included in any
IN
»
Golde
olden Bough, The: A Study
COMPARATIVE RELIGION, by James
George Fraser. (2 vols. , 1890. ) A special
part from a general work on primitive
superstition and religion (not yet pub-
lished), in which an eminent scholar in
this field has attempted, by a study of
popular customs and superstitions in
modern Europe, - the living superstitions
of the peasantry, and especially those
connected with trees and plants,— to find
out the origin of certain features of the
worship of Diana at the little woodland
lake of Nemi. The idea seems to have
been that a god was incarnate in plant
life, and that a bough plucked from the
oak of the divinity would convey this
life. Mr. Fraser's study is a very elab-
orate one, and only by following his
learned pages is it possible to go fully
into the primitive notions to which he
refers. The priest of the temple at Nemi
was expected to obtain the post by slay-
ing its occupant, and to be himself slain
by his successor. He was considered the
incarnation of the divinity, and bound
to be killed while in full vigor. The


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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
343
other work. It begins with the siege by southwest, and again by the Hittites
Titus, 70 A. D. , and continues to the from the north, prepared the way for
fourteenth century; including the early Israelite invasion and settlement; upon
Christian period, the Moslem invasion, which followed the rise and domination
the mediæval pilgrimages, the pilgrim- of Assyria, under which Israel was des-
ages by Mohammedans, the Crusades, tined to be blotted out. The story of all
the Latin Kingdom from 1099 A. D. to this, including the earliest rise, and the
1291, the victorious career of Saladin, development for many centuries, of He-
the Crusade of the Children, and other brew power and culture, gives M. Mas-
episodes in the history of the city and pero's pages very great interest. The
of the country. The use of Crusading wealth of illustration, all of it strictly
and Arabic sources for the preparation instructive, showing scenes in nature and
of the work, and the auspices under ancient objects from photographs, adds
which it has been published, give this very much to the reader's interest and to
history a value universally recognized. the value of the work. The two superb
volumes are virtually the story of the
ancient Eastern world for 3,000 years, or
Esypt and Chaldæa: The Dawn of
Civilization, by G. Maspero. Re- from 3850 B. C. to 850 B. C. And the
vised edition. Translated by M. L. latest discoveries indicate that a record
McClure. Introduction by A. H. Sayce. may be made out going back through an
With' map and over 470 illustrations. A earlier 3,000 years to about 7000 B. C.
work devoted to the earlier history of
Egypt and Babylonia; especially full and Genius of Christianity, The, by Fran-
valuable for the early history of Egypt, çois Auguste de Châteaubriand.
which Maspero puts before that of Bab- This favorite book was begun by Châ-
ylonia. “Chaldæa” is a comparatively late teaubriand during his period of exile in
name for Babylonia; and since Maspero England; though it was first published
wrote, new discoveries have carried the in France at the moment when Bona-
«dawn” very far back in Babylonia, to parte, then First Consul, was endeavor.
a date much earlier than that of the ear- ing to restore Catholicism as the official
liest known records of origins in Egypt. religion of the country. The object of
In a later volume, Egypt, Syria, and the "Genius) was to illustrate and prove
Assyria: The Struggle of the Nations,' the triumph of religious sentiment, or
M. Maspero has carried on the story of more exactly, of the Roman Catholic
the early Oriental world, its remarkable cult. The framework upon which all is
civilization, its religious developments, constructed is a sentence found near the
and its wars of conquest and empire, beginning of the work, to the effect that
down to a time in the last half of the of all religions that have ever existed,
ninth century B. C. , when Ahab was the the Christian religion is the most poetic,
King of Israel in northern Palestine. the most humane, the most favorable to
Babylon had risen and extended her in- liberty, to literature, and to the arts.
fluence westward as early as 2250 B. C. ; The book is divided into four parts, the
and even this was 1,500 years later than first of which treats of the mysteries, the
Sargon I. , who had carried his arms from moralities, the truth of the Scriptures,
the Euphrates to the peninsula of Sinai the existence of God, and the immor-
on the confines of Egypt. As early at tality of the soul. The second and third
least as this, Asiatic conquerors had parts bear upon the poetics of Christ-
founded a “Hyksos” dominion in Egypt, | ianity, and upon the fine arts and letters.
which lasted more than six and a half The fourth is devoted to a minute study
centuries (661 years, to about 1600 B. C. ). of the < Christian cult. » However pious
At this last date a remarkable civilization the feeling which prompted the composi-
filled the region between the Euphrates tion of the (Genius,' it by no means en-
and the Mediterranean; and to this, M. titles its author to a position among
Maspero devotes an elaborate chapter, religious writers. Critics have shown us
including a most interesting account of that, at most, he was devoted only to
the Canaanites and their kindred the the rude Christianity of the Dark Ages,
Phænicians, whose commerce westward to vague and almost inexplicable.
It was
Cyprus and North Africa and Greece was but the external, the picturesque, the
a notable fact of the time. The con- sensuous side of religion that impressed
quest of the region by Egypt from the him. He loved the vast and gloomy
>>


## p. 344 (#380) ############################################

344
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
cathedral, dimly lighted and sweet with a scientific demonstration of this hope.
incense, the low chanting of the priests, Yet he asks with earnestness, why, when
the silent movements of the acolytes, all living in harmony with eternal truths,
the pomp, magnificence, and mystery we should ever despair, or be troubled
of the holy rites. It was this only that overmuch. «Have we not eternity in
gave him pleasure, and through his ar- our thought, infinitude in our view, and
tistic sensibilities alone. In short, he God for our guide ? ” The book is one
regarded religion much as he did some of enormous labor and research, several
old Gothic ruin by moonlight, - a some- thousand books having been consulted in
thing majestic, grand, romantic, a fit sub- the twelve years given to its production.
ject to be treated by a man of letters. An appendix which is a masterpiece of
bibliography, compiled by Ezra Abbot,
Future Life, A Critical History of Jr. , contains the titles of more than fifty-
the Doctrine of a, by Wm. R. Al- three hundred distinct works chronologi-
ger, with a complete bibliography of the cally arranged.
subject by Ezra Abbot, Jr. , 1860. The
aim of this book is to exhibit, without Foundations of Belief, The, Being
NOTES INTRODUCTORY TO THE STUDY
prejudice or special pleading, the thoughts
of THEOLOGY, by Arthur James Balfour.
and imaginations of mankind concerning
the eternal destiny of the human soul, –
A work answering to its title, as the au-
thor states, in only the narrowest sense
as these thoughts and imaginations have
of the word “theology”; the writer's pur-
spontaneously arisen in the consciousness
of the race. The volume is divided into
pose being, not immediate aid to theo-
five parts. Part First treats of the the-
logical study, but attention to certain
ories of the soul's origin, the history of
preliminaries to be settled before com-
death, the grounds of the belief in a fu-
ing to that study. “My object,”
says
Mr. Balfour, «is to recommend a par-
ture life, and theories of the soul's desti-
nation. Part Second, devoted to ethnic
ticular way of looking at the world-
problems which we are all compelled to
thoughts concerning a future life, sets
face. ” He also states that he has de-
forth the barbarian notions, the Druidic
doctrine, the Scandinavian doctrine, the
signed his work for the general reader.
Etruscan, Egyptian, Brahmanic
It is a study calculated to assist thought-
and
Buddhist, Persian, Hebrew, Rabbinical,
ful inquirers to adjust the relations of
belief to doubt, and to maintain a healthy
Greek and Roman, and Mohammedan
balance of the mind in presence of gen-
doctrine of immortality, with an explan-
eral unsettlement of traditional beliefs.
atory survey of the whole field and its
myths. Part Third contains the New
Its specific question addressed to the
Testament teachings, with the theories
doubter is whether belief in «a living
God » is not required even by science,
of Jesus, of Peter, Paul, John, and the
authors of the various gospels.
and still more by ethics, æsthetics, and
Part
theology.
Fourth explains the Christian doctrines,
Near the close of his book
Mr. Balfour says:
(( What I have so far
- the patriotic, the mediæval, and the
tried to establish is this,—that the great
modern. Part Fifth presents historical
body of our beliefs, scientific, ethical,
and critical dissertations, the ancient
mysteries, metempsychosis, the resurrec-
æsthetic, theological, form a more coher-
ent and satisfactory whole if we consider
tion of the flesh, the idea of a hell, the
five theoretic modes of salvation, recog-
them in a Theistic setting, than if we
consider them in a Naturalistic setting. ”
nition of friends in a future life, the
local fate of man, a chapter on the crit-
In a few concluding pages the further
ical history of disbelief in the life after
question is raised whether this Theistic
setting is not found in its best form in
death, and one on the morality of the
doctrine of a future life. Purposely set-
Christianity as a Doctrine of Incarna-
tion and Supernatural Revelation.
ting aside any argument from revelation,
but comparing the beliefs of all peoples
Freedom of the Will, on the, by Jona-
in all times; reasoning from analogy; than Edwards, D. D. , 1754. A book
and philosophically regarding the vast of American origin, made famous by the
scale of being revealed to us in this closeness of its reasoning, the boldness of
world, the essayist regards the existence its doctrine of necessity, and its bearing
of a future life as a scientific probability. upon the religious questions raised con-
But he admits that we are yet far from cerning Calvinism of the old type by the


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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
345
are
rise of more liberal ideas. Its author had it was lasting; and it was translated into
been a preacher and pastor of intellectual Greek Hebrew, German, French, and
distinction and of intense piety for twenty- Anglo-Saxon, at an early period. The
four years at Northampton, Massachu- Anglo-Saxon version was by Alfred the
setts, when his objection to permitting Great; and is the oldest monument of any
persons not full church-members to re- importance in Anglo-Saxon literature. It
ceive the communion and have their child- has been imitated by Chaucer in the
ren baptized, led to his retirement, and (Testament of Love,' by James I. of Scot-
acceptance of a missionary position at land in the Kinges Quhair, and by many
Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Near the other distinguished writers. In some sort,
middle of his seven years thus spent, he it connects the period of classic literature
wrote his book 'On the Freedom of the with that of the Middle Ages, of which
Will, not so much with reference to the Boëthius was one of the favorite authors;
philosophical question, as with reference and in classic purity of style and elevation
to the question between Calvinism of the of thought, is fully equal to the works of
extreme type and more liberal views. the philosophers of Greece and Rome,
The philosophical doctrine set forth in the while, at the same time, it shows the influ-
book, that the law of causality extends to ence of Christian ideals.
“It is,” says
every action; that there is in the mind no Gibbon, “a golden volume, not unworthy
power of willing without a motive; that of the leisure of Plato or Tully. ”
the will always follows the greatest seem-
ing good; that what this may be to any Golden Lotus, The, and Other Le-
mind depends upon the character of the
gends of Japan, by Edward Greey,
person, or, in the religious phraseology legends of the bouzu (priest) and hana-
1883. This book is filled in part with
of the book, upon the state of the person's
soul; and that liberty only extends to a*
shika (professional story-teller), and in
power of doing not of willing,— had been
part with descriptions of the life of the
modern Japanese.
the Greek doctrine in Aristotle and his
The legends
predecessors. The book on human free-
gracefully introduced by informal narra-
tion of the circumstances which invite
dom reflected its author, both in its doc-
trine and in its thoroughly benevolent and
their recital. They have been chosen to
show their native charm, and to illustrate
pious intent.
phases of national character; some of
Consolations of Philosophy, The, by
them coming down from a long obliter-
, ,
This work - called in
ated past, and losing, in the journey,
Latin De Consolatione Philosophica)-
nothing of their native attractiveness.
was written in prison just before the au-
Colloquialisms and idiomatic expressions
thor was put to death in 525 by Theodoric,
are allowed their place as philological
whose favorite minister he had been be-
forms of great significance. Mr. Greey's
fore his incarceration. It is divided into
original descriptions are characterized by
five books; and has for its object to prove
buoyancy, humor, and grace.
from reason, the existence of Providence Faery mucen, Thea metrical i comance
of to the
Edmund Spenser, dedicated to
prisoner, and tells him she is his guardian, Queen Elizabeth, was published in 1590.
Philosophy, come to console him in his
The poet was already known by his (Shep-
misfortunes and point out their remedy. herd's Calendar,' but the appearance of
Then ensues a dialogue in which are dis- the first three books of the Faery Queen)
cussed all the questions that have troubled brought him fame. The last three books
humanity: the origin of evil, God's om- appeared in 1595-96, and celebrated many
niscience, man's free will, etc. The (Con- people of Spenser's day. For instance,
solations) are alternately in prose and Queen Elizabeth is Mercilla; Mary Stuart,
verse; a method afterwards adopted by Duessa; Henry IV. of France, Burbon;
many authors in imitation of Boëthius, Charles IX. of France, Pollente; and Sir
who was himself influenced by a work of Walter Raleigh, Timias.
Marcianus Capella entitled De Nuptiis an allegory, founded on the manners and
Philologiæ et Mercurii. ? Most of the customs of chivalry, with the aim of por-
verses are suggested by passages in Sen- traying a perfect knight. Spenser planned
eca, then the greatest moral authority in twelve books, treating of the twelve moral
the West, outside of Christianity. The virtues; but only six are now in existence.
success of the work was as immense as These are: The Legend of the Red Cross
The poem is


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346
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
. .
Knight, typifying holiness; The Legend as the best are sketches on the romances
of Sir Guyon, temperance; The Legend of of chivalry and the Italian novelists. His
Britomartis, chastity; The Legend of Cam- facts are massed in a workmanlike man-
bel and Friamond, friendship; The Legend ner, and presented in a clear style, de-
of Artegall, justice; and The Legend of void of ornament, but used with vigor
Sir Calidore, courtesy. To these is some- and effectiveness.
times added a fragment on Mutability.
“In the Faery Queen, Spenser says, “I
'ssays, Modern and Classical, by
mean Glory in my general intention; but,
These studies reveal a pure literary taste,
in my particular, I conceive the most ex-
cellent and glorious person of our Sov-
refined and strengthened by sound schol-
ereign the Queen and her Kingdom in
arship. Every essay is enriched with re-
Faery Land. ” He supposes that the Fa-
sources of knowledge outside its own
immediate scope. The spiritual in poetry
ery Queen held a superb feast, lasting
twelve days, on each of which a complaint
or in art appeals strongly to the author.
His essay on V'irgil, full of acute ob-
was presented. To redress these twelve
injuries twelve knights sally forth; and
servations as it is, dwells most fondly on
during his adventures, each knight proves
the poet's supreme elegance, tenderness,
and stateliness, and on the haunting music
himself the hero of some particular virtue.
Besides these twelve knights there is one
with which his verse is surcharged. Much
general hero, Prince Arthur, who repre-
of Rossetti's art,” he says, “in speech and
color, spends itself in the effort to com-
sents magnificence. In every book he
municate the incommunicable, ) -- and it
appears; and his aim is to discover and
win Gloriana, or glory. The characters
is his own love for, and comprehension of,
the incommunicable that leads the essay-
are numerous, being drawn from classic
mythology, mediæval romance, and the
ist to choose many of his subjects: Marcus
poet's fancy. The scene is usually the
Aurelius, The Greek Oracles, George Sand,
wood where dragons are killed, where
Victor Hugo, The Religion of Beauty,
knights wander and meet with advent-
George Eliot, and Renan — «that subtlest
ures of all kinds, where magicians attempt
of seekers after God. ) Penetrative, lumi-
their evil spells, and where all wrongs are
nous, and fascinating, the essays of Mr.
vanquished. Each canto is filled with
Myers show also an exquisite apprecia-
incidents and short narratives; among
tion of beauty and the balance of a rare
the most beautiful of which are Una with
scholar.
the Lion; and Britomartis's vision of the Dickens. The Life of Charles, by
, ,
Forster.
(3 vols.
The Faery Queen' has always been ad- This book of many defects has the ex-
mired by poets; and it was on the advice cellence of being entertaining. It fol-
of a poet, Sir Walter Raleigh, that Spen- lows the life of its subject from his
ser published the great work.
birth in poverty and obscurity in 1812,
to his death in riches and fame in 1870.
Fiction, History of the, by John Dunlop. It extenuates nothing, because the bio-
(1814. ) This familiar work, the fruit grapher was incapable of seeing a foible,
of many years' accumulation of materials, much more a fault, in the character and
broke ground in a new field. It was the conduct of the friend whom he admired
first attempt made in England to trace
more than he loved him. The
the development of the novel from its poverty and sensitiveness of the lad, his
earliest beginnings in Greece to the posi- menial work and his sense of responsi-
tion it held early in this century. Con- bility for his elders, his thirst for knowl.
sidering the difficulties of the pioneer, the edge and for the graces of life, his
work is remarkably comprehensive and training to be a reporter, his experience
exact. Though later writers have dis-
a newspaper, his early sketches, his
proved certain of the author's theories, first success in Pickwick,' his sudden
as for instance his idea of the rise of the reputation and prosperity, his first visit
Greek novel, or the connection of the to America and his disillusionment,
Gesta Romanorum with subsequent out- the history of his novels, of his read-
growths of popular tales, his book still re- ings, of his friendships, of his home
mains a good introduction for the student life, of his second triumphant journey in
of fiction. The sections upon Oriental the United States, - this time to read
and modern fiction are least satisfactory, from his own books, - his whimsical and
even
on


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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
347
fun-loving nature, his agreeableness as a
Elizabeth
Gold Elsie, by E. Marlitt.
father, a comrade, and a host, his gen-
Faber, the Gold Elsie of the story,
erosity, his respect for his profession, so called from her sunny hair, is the
the sum of the qualities that made him daughter of a forest clerk, whose ances-
both by temperament and performance try is at first wrapped in doubt, but who,
a great actor, — all these things are fully in the course of the story, is explained
set forth in the elaborate tribute which to be a lineal descendant of the noble
the biographer pays to his friend. The family of Von Greswits. Leaving Berlin
books are interesting because the mass on account of poverty, the family retire
of material is interesting. But it must to a ruined castle called Nordeck, in the
be admitted that they give an exagger- Thuringian Mountains, an inheritance left
ated impression of one side of the char- to Gold Elsie's mother by its late owner,
acter of Dickens,— his energetic, restless, a distant relative whose hand she had
insatiable activity,- and fail to do justice refused. Through her wonderful musical
to his less self-conscious and more lov- talent, Elsie becomes acquainted with
able qualities. They are, however, to be the family at Castle Lindhof, the aristoc-
reckoned among the important literary racy of the neighborhood; and there is
biographies of the time.
played out the usual love story, with its
misunderstandings, reconciliations, and
Cesa
esar Birotteau, The Greatness and final happy ending. The hero is Rudolph
Decline of, by Honoré de Balzac. von Walde, the owner of the castle, while
This novel pictures in a striking and ac- the villain is Émile Hollfeid. The no-
curate manner the bourgeois life of Paris bility of virtue and the nobility of birth
at the time of the Restoration. César are strongly contrasted in this story;
Birotteau, a native of the provinces, while the «simple faith” which is more
comes to the city in his youth, works than “Norman blood » is given its due
his way up until he becomes the propri- meed of praise.
etor of a perfumery establishment, and
amasses a considerable fortune. He is
a Girl, by Wilhelmine von Hil-
decorated with the Cross of the Legion
lern. (1865. ) This book is the
of Honor, in consequence of having been romance of a soul; the agonies, the sick-
an ardent Loyalist; and this mark of ness unto death, and the recovery, of a
distinction, coupled with his financial suc- noble mind. Ernestine von Hartwich,
cess, causes him to become more and embittered by the fact that she is only
more ambitious. He grows extravagant, a girl," a shortcoming which has caused
indulges in speculation, and loses every- her father's hate and mother's death,
thing. This stroke of misfortune brings determines to equal a man in achieve-
out the strength of character which, dur- ment,- in scientific attainments and in
ing his prosperity, had remained con- mental usefulness, – that her sex shall no
cealed beneath many petty foibles. In longer be made to her a reproach and
this story the life of the French shop- even a crime. This desire is taken ad-
keeper who values his credit as his vantage of by an unscrupulous uncle
dearest possession, and his failure as who will profit by her death. Secluding
practically death, is faithfully portrayed. her from the world, he attempts to
The other characters in the book are undermine her health by feeding her
lifelike portraits. Constance, the faith- feverish ambitions.
Her mind is de-
ful and sensible wife of Birotteau, and veloped at the expense of every human
his gentle daughter Césarine, are in feelingevery womanly instinct, and
pleasing contrast to many of the women every religious emotion. She is shunned
Balzac has painted. Du Tillet, the un- by women, envied and humiliated by
scrupulous clerk, who repays his master's men, regarded by her servants and the
kindness by hatred and dishonesty; Ro- neighboring peasantry as a witch. It is
quin the notary; Vauquelin the great through the door of love, opened for her
chemist; and Pillerault, uncle of Con- by Johannes Mollner, that she finally
stance,- are all striking individualities. leaves the wilderness of false aims, un-
The book is free from any objectionable natural ambitions, and unsatisfactory
atmosphere, and is exceedingly realistic results, to enjoy for the first time the
to manners and customs. It has charm of womanhood, human compan-
been admirably translated into English ionship, and belief in God. The story is
by Katharine Prescott Wormeley.
overloaded with didacticism; its logic
Only
as


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348
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
fails, inasmuch as the poor girl is an in-
voluntary martyr; and its exaggeration
and sentimentality do not appeal to the
English reader. But the book is a great
favorite in Germany, where it has been
considered a powerful argument against
what is called the higher education of
women,
most impenetrable disguises for the pur-
suit of his inquiries.
The dénouement, gradually unfolded
toward the close of the story, shows Pros-
per to have been the innocent victim of
a plot. Madame Fauvel has had, before
her marriage to the banker, an illegiti-
mate son by the Marquis de Clameran,
an arrant rogue who poses throughout as
the benefactor of the Fauvels. De Clam-
eran has caused Raoul de Lagors to per-
sonate this son (who is really dead).
Raoul is introduced in Fauvel's home as
Madame's nephew, though she believes
him to be her son.
After frightening her into revealing the
secrets of the bank-safe, Raoul commits
the robbery. Her lips are sealed by her
fear that her early life will become known
to her husband. De Clameran plays upon
these fears to force Madame Fauvel to
induce Madeleine, her niece, to marry
him. Madeleine consents in order to
save her aunt, though she is really in
love with Prosper.
The plot is at last discovered; Raoul
escapes, De Clameran becomes insane,
Madame Fauvel is forgiven, and Prosper
marries Madeleine.
a
Friend Fritz ('L’Ami Fritz'), by the
collaborating French authors Erck-
mann-Chatrian, was published in 1876.
It is a charming Alsatian story of the
middle nineteenth century, in which the
hero is Fritz, a comfortable burgher with
money enough to indulge his liking for
good eating and drinking, and a stout
defender of bachelorhood. He is a kindly,
jovial, simple-natured fellow, with
broad, merry face and a big laugh. His
dear friend David, an old rabbi, is al-
ways urging him to marry; but the rich
widows of the town set their caps for
him in vain. At dinner one day Fritz
wagers David his favorite vineyard that
he will never take a wife. David wins,
for the invulnerable bachelor succumbs
to the charms of Suzel, the pretty sixteen-
year-old daughter of his farm-manager.
Fritz learns that he that loveth not
knoweth not God, for God is love. ) Old
David deeds the vineyard he has won
to Suzel for her dowry, and dances at
her wedding. The tale is a sweet idyl
of provincial and country life, full of pleas-
ing folk and pleasant scenes, described
with loving fidelity. Friend Fritz) was
dramatized and was very successful as a
play.
File No. 113, by Emile Gaboriau, a
French novel, introducing the au-
thor's favorite detective, M. Lecoq, ap-
peared in 1867. The scene is laid in the
Paris of the day; and the title indicates
the case file number in the records of the
detective bureau.
The story opens with the public details
of a daring robbery which has been
committed in the banking-house of M.
Fauvel. Suspicion points to Prosper
Bertomy, the head cashier.
The deep
mysteries of the case are fathomed by
Fanferlot, a shrewd detective, and Le-
coq. his superior in both skill and posi-
tion. Lecoq figures as a French Sherlock
Holmes, though his methods are essen-
tially different. He is pictured as possess-
ing surpassing insight, intelligence, and
patient determination; employing the
reason
French Humorists, The, by Walter
Besant. (1873. ) Succeeding the au-
thor's admirable work on early French
poetry, the present volume is for that
somewhat incomplete, omitting
even Clément Marot; and Voltaire, for
other reasons no less valid.
After introducing the trouvère and
chanson of mediæval times, the author
takes up representative humorists (the
designation is a broad one) from each
century from the twelfth to our own.
The studies present admirable pictures
of the authors' life-conditions and the
literary atmosphere they breathed. Ac-
companying these discriminating and
delightfully original studies are trans-
lations of pieces to show the character
and genius of the authors treated. There
are in all about twenty-five writers to
whom large treatment is given, promi-
nent among them Rabelais, Montaigne,
Scarron, La Fontaine, Boileau, Molière,
Beaumarchais, and Béranger. There fol-
low a number of exhaustive and learned
inquiries into such famous productions
as the Romance of the Rose) and (La
Satyre Ménippée, not to mention the
historical, critical, and interpretative no-
tices of the authors' famous books. Rich


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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
349
in anecdote, historical allusion, and con-
densed learning, the volume becomes in
some sense a history of the rise of liter-
ature in France, contributing the while
to our own tongue a distinctly valuable
treatise, - exhaustive but not tedious;
erudite, but not heavy; sparkling, but
not effervescent.
one
as
an
Sir Richard F. Burton, Life of, by
his wife. One of the most romantic
figures of the nineteenth century was
Sir Richard Burton. He was of mixed
Irish, Scotch, English, French, and pos-
sibly Arabian and Gipsy blood; he
claimed his descent direct from Louis
XIV. of France; he published upwards
of eighty bulky volumes, including
translations of the Arabian Nights) and
the Lusiad' of Camoens; he began the
study of Latin when he was three, and
Greek when he was four, and knew
twenty-nine languages; he was the pio-
neer discoverer of Darkest Africa, and
his adventures took him into all parts of
the world. Out of such lives myths
are made. In 1887, Francis Hitchman,
aided by Isabel, Lady Burton, of whose
character and ability he speaks in the
highest terms, published an account of
Burton's private and public life, includ-
ing his travels and explorations in Asia,
Africa, and both North and South
America. After Sir Richard's death, his
wife published in 1893, also in two Oc-
tavo volumes, with many portraits and
other illustrations, a voluminous Life,'
in which she argues with passionate
insistance that she, and she alone, is
fitted to 'give a truthful and complete
account of his wonderful career and his
unique personality. ( There are three
people in the world,” she says, “who
might possibly be able to write sections
of his life. Most of his intimate friends
are dead, but still there are a few left. »
She insists that she was the one person
who for more than thirty years knew
him best. Daily, for all that time, she
«cheered him in hunger and toil, at-
tended to his comforts, watched his go-
ing out and coming in, had his slippers,
dressing-gown, and pipe ready for him
every evening, copied and worked for
him, rode and walked at his side,
through hunger, thirst, cold, and burning
heat, with hardships and privations and
danger. Why,” she adds, «I was wife
and mother, and comrade and secretary,
and aide-de-camp and agent for him;
and I was proud, happy, and glad to do
it all, and never tired, day or night, for
thirty years.
At the moment of
his death, I had done all I could for the
body, and then I tried to follow his soul.
I am following, and I shall reach it be-
fore long. ” Lady Isabel belonged to a
Roman Catholic family, and her rela-
tives, like his, were opposed to the mar-
riage, which took place by special
dispensation in 1861, At the time of
his death, Lady Burton startled society
by declaring that he had joined the
true Church. ” She says: « One would
describe him as a deist, one as an ag-
nostic, and
atheist and
freethinker, but I can only describe the
Richard that I knew. I, his wife, who
lived with him day and night for thirty
years, believed him to be half-Sufi, half-
Catholic, or I prefer to say, as nearer
the truth, alternately Sufi and Catholic. »
A little later she aroused much indig-
nant criticism by burning Sir Richard's
translation of The Scented Garden,
Men's Hearts to Gladden,' by the Arabic
poet, the Shaykh al Nafzâwi. She justi-
fies her action with elaborate argument;
and declares that two projected volumes,
to be entitled (The Labors and Wisdom
of Richard Burton,' will be a better
monument to his fame than the un-
chaste and improper work that she de-
stroyed.
Her alleged misrepresentations
corrected in a small volume entitled
(The True Life of Captain Sir Richard
F. Burton,' by his niece, Georgiana M.
Stisted, who uses the severest terms in
her portrayal of the character of the
woman whom her uncle married, as she
declares, in haste and secrecy, and with
effects so disastrous to his happiness and
advantage.
Still another contribution to the topic
is found in two thick volumes called
( The Romance of Isabel, Lady Burton,'
which is the story of her life, told in
part by herself and in part by W. H.
Wilkins, whose special mission it is to
correct the slanderous misrepresentations
of the author of (The True Life. )
Whether as romance or reality, the story
of this gifted couple, with all their
faults, is a delightful contribution to the
literature of biography.
Oceana; or, England and her Colo-
nies, by James Anthony Froude.
(1886. ) This is the record of a journey


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350
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
sense -
made by the author via Cape Town to
Australia and New Zealand, and home
by way of Samoa, the Sandwich Is-
lands, San Francisco, Salt Lake, Chi.
cago, and New York, in 1884-85. Of
the places visited he gives historical
sketches, his own observations, personal
experiences, and speculations as to the
future, describes the sights, etc. ; all his
records being interesting, and most of
them valuable. He makes his visit to
Cape Town the occasion of a résumé
of not only its history and condition,
but of his own connection with South-
African affairs in 1874. In Australia
he is struck by the general imitation of
England, and asks, «What is the mean-
ing of uniting the colonies more closely
to ourselves? They are closely united:
they are ourselves; and can separate
only in the sense that parents and child-
ren separate, or brothers and sisters. »
Here too he sees that the fact that
he can take a ticket through to Lon-
don across the American continent, to
proceed direct or to stop en route at
will, means an astonishing concordance
and reciprocity between nations. In the
Sandwich Islands he finds (a varnish
of Yankee civilization which has de-
stroyed the natural vitality without as
yet producing anything better
good. ” He
pronounces the Northern
of the United States equal in
manhood to any on earth; has no ex-
pectation of Canadian annexation; thinks
the Brooklyn Bridge more wonderful
than Niagara, New York almost
genial as San Francisco, and New York
society equal to that of Australia,
though both lack the aristocratic ele-
ment of the English. In conclusion he
states his feeling that as it was Parlia-
ment that lost England the United
States, if her present colonies sever the
connection, it will be through the same
agency; but that, so long as the mother
country is true to herself, her colonies
will be true to her. Mr. Froude, as
is well known, is no believer in the
permanence of a democracy, and
several occasions in this work expresses
his opinion of its provisional character
as a form of political life.
Four Georges, The, by William Make-
peace Thackeray. As the sub-title
states, this work consists of sketches of
manners, morals, court and town life dur-
ing the reign of these Kings. The author
shows us “people occupied with their
every-day work or pleasure: my lord and
lady hunting in the forest, or dancing in
the court, or bowing to their Serene
Highnesses, as they pass in to dinner. ”
Of special interest to American readers
is the frank but sympathetic account of
the third George, ending with the famous
description of the last days of the old
King: Low he lies to whom the proudest
used to kneel once, and who was cast
lower than the poorest; dead, whom mill-
ions prayed for in vain. Driven off his
throne; buffeted by rude hands; with his
children in revolt; the darling of his old
age killed before him, untimely,-our Lear
hangs over her breathless lips and cries,
(Cordelia, Cordelia, stay a little ! ) » These
essays do not profess to be history in any
certainly not in that in which
Macaulay understood or McCarthy under-
stands it, still less in that which Mr. Kidd
predicts it will some day assume: they
express the thoughts of the kindly satir-
ist, of the novelist who sees not too
deeply, but whose gaze misses nothing in
the field it scans, Written in much the
manner of Esmond) or Vanity Fair,'
and in the author's inimitable style, they
give delight which their readers never
afterward wholly lose.
Diary of Two Parliaments, by H.
W. Lucy. (2 vols. , 1885–86. ) A very
graphic narrative of events as they passed
in the Disraeli Parliament, 1874-80, and in
the Gladstone Parliament, 1880-85. Mr.
Lucy was the House of Commons reporter
for the London Daily News, and as “Toby,
M. P. ,” he supplied the Parliamentary re-
port published in Punch. His diary es-
pecially undertakes descriptions of the
more remarkable scenes of the successive
sessions of Parliament, and to give in skel-
eton form the story of Parliaments which
are universally recognized as having been
momentous and distinctive in recent Eng-
lish history. It includes full and minute
descriptions of memorable episodes and
notable men.
emocracy in Europe: A History, by
T. Erskine May. (2 vols. , 1877. ) A
thoroughly learned and judicious study
of popular power and political liberty
throughout the history of Europe. Start-
ing from an introduction on the causes
of freedom, especially its close connection
with civilization, the research deals with
the marked absence of freedom in Ori-
ental history, and then reviews the
or
as
men
as
on
,


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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
351
ce
Fifteen
Decisive Battles of the World,
as
an
developments of popular power in Greece and by a remarkably opportune report,
and Rome, and the vicissitudes of pro- which had the fortune of being printed,
gress in the Dark Ages to the Revival that Vespucius came to the front in a way
of Learning It then traces the new to suggest to the editor and publisher of
progress the Italian republics, Switz- his report the use of the word "America »
erland, the Netherlands, France, and as a general New World name not includ-
England. The work shows careful studying Columbus's «West Indies. ” That in-
of the inner life of republics, ancient and clusion came later; and from first to last
modern; of the most memorable revo- Vespucius had no more to do with it than
lutions, and the greatest national strug- Columbus himself.
gles for civil and religious liberty; and
of the various degrees and conditions of
democracy, considered as the sovereignty by E. S. Creasy, describes and dis-
of the whole body of the people. The cusses (in the words of Hallam) «those
author regards popular power
few battles of which a contrary event
essential condition of the social advance- would have essentially varied the drama
ment of nations, and writes as an ardent of the world in all its subsequent scenes. ”
admirer of rational and enlightened po- The obvious and important agencies, and
litical liberty.
not incidents of remote and trifling con-
sequence, are brought out in the discus-
Dise
iscoveries of America to the year sion of the events which led up to each
1525, by Arthur James Weise, 1884. battle, the elements which determined its
A work of importance for its careful re- issue, and the results following the vic-
view and comparison of the various state- tories or defeats. The volume treats, in
ments of historical writers concerning the order: The Battle of Marathon, 413 B. C. ;
voyages of the persons whom they believed Defeat of the Athenians at Syracuse, 413
to have been the discoverers of certain B. C. ; The Battle of Arbela, 331 B. C. ;
parts of the coast of America between The Battle of the Metaurus, 207 B. C. ;
Baffin's Bay and Terra del Fuego. The Victory of Arminius over the Roman Le-
full statements are given, as well as a gions under Varus, A. D. 9; The Battle
judgment upon them. It appears,” says of Châlons, 451; The Battle of Tours,
Mr. Weise, “that Columbus was not the 732; The Battle of Hastings, 1066; Joan
discoverer of the continent, for it was seen of Arc's Victory over the English at
in 1497 not only by Giovanni Caboto [or Orleans, 1429; The Defeat of the Span-
John Cabot, his English name), but by ish Armada, 1588; The Battle of Blen-
the commander of the Spanish fleet with heim, 1704; The Battle of Pultowa, 1709;
whom Amerigo Vespucci sailed to the Victory of the Americans over Burgoyne
New World. ” The entire story of the dis- at Saratoga, 1777; The Battle of Valmy,
coveries of the continental coasts, north 1792; The Battle of Waterloo, 1815.
and south, apart from the islands to which The author concludes: “We have not
Columbus almost wholly confined his at- (and long may we want) the stern ex-
tention, is of very great interest. John citement of the struggles of war; and we
Cabot was first, about June 1497. Colum- see no captive standards of our European
bus saw continental coast land for the neighbors brought in triumph to our
first time fourteen months later, August shrines. But we witness an infinitely
1498. It was wholly in relation to conti-
prouder spectacle. We see the banners
nental lands that the names New World of every civilized nation waving over the
and America were originally given; and arena of our competition with each other
at the time it was not considered as dis- in the arts that minister to our race's
turbing in any way the claims of Colum- support and happiness, and not to its
bus, whose whole ambition was to have the suffering and destruction.
credit of having reached the isles of In-
a Peace hath her victories
dia beyond the Ganges ) - isles which
No less renowned than war. "
were still 7,000 miles distant, but which to
the last he claimed to have found. The
Charles XI! . History of, by Vol-
names «West Indies ) and Indians » (for taire. This history was published
native Americans) are monuments to Co- in 1731. It is divided into eight books,
lumbus, who did not at the time think of which the first sketches briefly the
it worth while to pay attention to the con- history of Sweden before the accession
tinents. It was by paying this attention, of Charles. The last seven deal with his


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352
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
power of
thoroughness with which he managed
his farm. Level-headed and practical,
Washington had organizing genius; and
it was that attribute, with his dauntless
integrity, which lifted him to command.
He had not the mental
any
one of his ministers. Yet he was the
best administrator of all. John Ad-
ams possessed the qualities of a brill-
iant lawyer, and the large forecast of a
statesman. At the same time he was
extremely impetuous, outspoken, and
high-tempered, and made many enemies.
Jefferson, like Washington, and unlike
Franklin and Adams, was a man of po-
sition and means; and was perhaps the
most cultivated man in America. With
these incitements to aristocratic views,
he was yet the truest democrat of them
all, and did more than any one of the
others to destroy the inherited class dis-
tinctions which were still so strong in
this nominally republican country for
years after the separation from England.
Mr. Parker follows the plan of consid-
ering the life and achievements of each
of his subjects, by periods, and then ex-
amines his mental and moral qualifica-
tions, his emotional impulses, and his
religion. This method, while it detracts
somewhat from the literary grace of the
essays, is admirably adapted to afford a
vivid and incisive presentment of char-
acter.
But apart
expedition into Poland, its consequences,
his invasion of Russia and pursuit of
Peter the Great, his defeat at Pultowa
and retreat into Turkey, his sojourn at
Bender and its results, his departure
thence, his return home, his death at
the siege of Frederickshall in Norway.
Intermingled with the narrative of bat-
tles, marches, and sieges, we have vivid
descriptions of the manners, customs, and
physical features of the countries in which
they took place. It resembles the (Com-
mentaries) of Cæsar in the absence of
idle details, declamation, and ornament.
There is no attempt to explain mutable
and contingent facts by constant under-
lying principles. Men act, and the narra-
tive accounts for their actions. Of course,
Voltaire is not an archivist with a docu-
ment ready at hand to witness for the
truth of every statement; and many of
his contemporaries treated his history as
little better than a romance.
from
inaccuracies, natural to a
writer dealing with events in distant
countries at the time, the History of
Charles XII. ' is a true history. Accord-
ing to Condorcet, it was based on mem-
oirs furnished Voltaire by witnesses of
the events he describes; and King Stan-
islas, the victim as well as the friend
and companion of Charles, declared that
every incident mentioned in the work
actually occurred. This book is consid-
ered the historical masterpiece of Voltaire.
Historic Americans, by Theodore Par-
ker (1878), contains four essays, on
Franklin, Washington, Jefferson, and Ad-
ams, essays originally delivered as lect-
ures, shortly before the author's death in
1860. They were written when the anti-
slavery agitation was at its height; and
the preacher's uncompromising opinions
on the evils of slavery decide their point
of view and influence their conclusions.
Yet in spite of the obsoleteness of that
issue, the vigorous style and wide knowl-
edge displayed in the papers insure
them a permanent interest. Franklin,
the tallow-chandler's son, is in the au-
thor's opinion incomparably the greatest
man America has produced. Inventor,
statesman, and philosopher, he had won-
derful imagination and vitality of intel-
lect, and true originality. In Washing-
ton, on the other hand, Mr. Parker sees
the steady-moving, imperturbable, unim-
aginative country gentleman, directing
the affairs of the nation with the same
some
Chara
haracteristics, by Anthony Ashley
Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury. The
three volumes of Shaftesbury's (Charac-
teristics) appeared anonymously in 1713,
two years before the death of the author
at the age of forty-two. These, with a
volume of letters, and a certain preface
to a sermon, constitute the whole of his
published works. The Characteristics)
immediately attracted wide attention; and
in twenty years had passed through five
editions, at that time a large circulation
for a book of this kind. The first vol-
ume contains three rather desultory and
discursive essays: (A Letter concerning
Enthusiasm); (On Freedom of Wit and
Humor); Soliloquy; or, Advice to an
Author. ) The second volume, with its
(Inquiry con
oncerning Virtue and Merit,'
and the dialogue "The Moralists: A
Philosophical Rhapsody,' forms his most
valuable contribution to the science of
ethics. In the third volume he advances
various Miscellaneous Reflections, in-
cluding certain defenses of his philosopbi-


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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
353
verse.
cal theories, together with some essays the fine power of apt distinction, with
on artistic and literary subjects.
the richness of rhetoric and the play of
From the first appearance of the Char- delicate humor, which those who heard
acteristics,' it was seen that its philo- Mr. Curtis remember, and those who
sophical theories were to have an import- know him only in his published works
ant part in the whole science of ethics. must recognize. To lovers of Emerson
De Mandeville in later years attacked and Hawthorne these chapters will long
him, Hutcheson defended him, and But- be a delight, written as they were while
ler and Berkeley discussed him, — not al- the companionship of which they spoke
ways with a perfect comprehension of was still warm and fresh in the author's
his system. Its leading ideas are of the memory.
relation of parts to a whole. As the Equally interesting and valuable as
beauty of an external object consists in contributions to the biography of Amer-
a certain proportion between its parts, ican letters are the chapters on Oliver
or a certain harmony of coloring, so the Wendell Holmes, Washington Irving,
beauty of a virtuous act lies in its rela- and Longfellow. Perhaps no one has
tion to the virtuous character as a whole.