No More Learning

studious inquirer it is to be placed by
the side of Faraday's Experimental Re-
Inductive Sciences, History of the, by searches in Electricity. "
William Whewell. (1837. Final edi-
tion, 1857). The story of the progress of Israel, History of, by Ernest Renan.
the physical sciences, from the earliest
Vie de '
Greek beginnings, and from the groping of Jesus, of the most accomplished of
physical science of the Middle Ages, recent authors, the charm of which has
down to a time now sixty years since. carried its sale in France alone to over
Although the book is relatively out of 300,000 copies, came out in 1863; and
date, through the immense progress which was the first of a series of seven vol-
science has made since 1837, and the umes devoted to a review of the origins
greater accuracy and thoroughness with and early development of Christianity,
which parts of the history are known, down to the date in Roman history
yet the ample learning and great ability marked by the death of the Emperor
of Whewell, and the conception which he Marcus Aurelius. Upon the completion
had of the progress of science, gives his of this work M. Renan set himself the
work a permanent interest and value. task of adding, by way of introduction to


## p. 248 (#284) ############################################

248
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
his history of Christian origins, a history The book is powerful, but possesses iittle
of the Jews; and on October 24th, 1891, interest for those readers who do not
he was able to write, at the close of a care for the ethical and ethnical ques-
fifth volume, that the task was finished. tions it discusses.
There are two books ) in each of his
five volumes, and the successive stages
Majesty, by Louis Marie Anne Cou-
perus. This is one of the great
of the history are these: (1) the Israel-
works of modern Dutch fiction, said to
ites in their nomad state, until their
be based on the life of the present Tsar
establishment in the land of Canaan;
of Russia, Nicholas II. Othomar, Crown
(2) the Israelites as settled tribes, until
prince of Liparia, is the son of the
the establishment of the Kingdom of
Emperor Oscar and his wife Elizabeth.
David; (3) the Single Kingdom; (4) the
He is a delicate, nervous, morbid, over-
two kingdoms; (5) the Kingdom of
conscientious boy, who loves his people,
Judah alone; (6) the Captivity in Baby-
but dreads the responsibility one day to
lon; (7) Judæa under Persian Domina-
be his. Oscar, on the contrary, is con-
tion; (8) the Jews under Greek Domina-
tion; (9) Jewish Autonomy; (10) the
fident that majesty is infallible; while
Elizabeth lives in constant terror of an
Jewish People under Greek Domination.
As a philologist of distinction, an ex-
anarchist's bomb, not for herself, but for
her husband and children. Othomar is
pert in the whole field of Semitic stud-
led into a love affair by the Duchess of
ies, a traveler and archæologist familiar
with the scenes and the surviving monu-
Yemena, a beautiful coquette, much older
than himself. He falls ill, is sent away
ments of Palestine, Renan brought ex-
with his cousin Hermann, visits his
ceptional knowledge to the work of
restoring the past of the Israelite race.
grandfather (King of Denmark) Sieg-
fried of Gothland, and is betrothed for
The freedom of his opinions led him
state reasons to the Archduchess Valérie.
away from traditional paths; while the
He wishes to abdicate in favor of his
warmth of his sentiment, often ardently
Jewish, and the richness of his imagina-
younger brother, who however dies, and
tion, gave to the more significant pages
he is forced to take up his burden. Soon
of Hebrew story an illumination rarely
after his marriage, his father is assassi-
nated and he is crowned. The story of
found in sober history.
his noble deeds (a romantic forecast) as
Emperor is told in a second volume,
Jew, The, by Joseph Ignatius Kraszew-
called "The Peace of the World. ) Cou-
ski, is a story of the soil, simply
perus is the leader of the Dutch «sens-
told by one of Poland's best-known writ-
itivists) who within the last fifteen or
When Jean Huba, a Polish exile,
twenty years have revolutionized Dutch
enters a tavern and swoons at the feet
taste. He is still a young man, having
of the guests, Signor Firpo the landlord
been born in 1863. Majesty) was pub-
wishes to send him elsewhere to die;
lished in 1894, and may be regarded
but the stranger regains consciousness,
and finds himself surrounded by a motley
rather as a prose poem than as a novel.
society of Russians, Italians, Poles, Jews, aptain's Daughter, The, by Alexan-
, ,
Danes, and Tsigane (Gipsies), gathered der Pushkin. This story, published
at little tables enjoying themselves. A in 1832, narrates the adventures of a
strange friendship is set on foot be- young officer and his sweetheart, during
tween Jacob Harmon, an educated Jew, Pugachéf's rebellion, in the reign of
and the exile Jean Huba, familiarly Catherine II. Piotr Andreyevich Grinef,
known as Ivas. Their conversation serves son of a wealthy Russian noble, joins the
to put the reader in possession of many army, and is sent to the small fortress of
facts in Jewish history. Jacob under- Byělogorsk. Savelich, an old family serv-
takes to convert Ivas to Judaism; and ant, accompanies him thither, and with
argues well, using politics and philoso- wonderful love and devotion acts the
phy as well as religion for illustrations. part of guardian angel. Captain Mironof,
They agree to return to Poland to im- the commandant, a kindly old soldier,
prove the intellectual condition of the receives him with much affection and
Jews, become involved in political in- offers him the hospitality of his house;
trigues there, and are forced to quit the where Vasilisa his wife, good-hearted but
country. One or two love affairs give inquisitive, oversees the affairs of the
a slight tinge of romance to the story. whole fortress. Piotr and the sweet-faced
ers.


## p. 249 (#285) ############################################

SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
249
one.
daughter Maria soon fall in love; but the strength and beauty of her spiritual
Schvabrin, the girl's rejected lover, causes She loves him, but feels that her
the devoted pair to undergo many trials. duty lies with her aged grandparents;
In time, Emilian Pugachéf, a Cossack, and despite his violent love-making, re-
assuming the title Peter III. , arrives at mains firm in refusing him. At the risk
the fortress with a band of insurgents, of his life, Bruno saves his mother by
among them the traitor Schvabrin; and stopping her runaway horses, and a rec-
overpowering the garrison, captures the onciliation is brought about at last. Bruno
town. Captain Mironof and his wife are next saves Serena's life, and they become
murdered, and Schvabrin, the traitor and engaged. Hagar, a Hebrew woman, who
deserter, is left in charge. Pugachef, loves Bruno and has followed him to
with unexpected gratitude, remember- Ramm, is jealous of Serena and attempts
ing a former kindness of Piotr, pardons to kill her. Failing in this she tries to
him and permits him to leave the town, take her own life, and dies confessing
although Piotr will not swear allegiance. her sin and clearing Bruno's character.
He goes to Orenburg with his servant; Serena and Bruno marry, and the letters
and while there receives a letter from again continue in a pleasant domestic
Maria, who prays for help from Schva- vein. There are many interesting situa-
brin's persecutions. Piotr rescues her, tions in the book, much poetry of thought
and she goes to his parents, who gladly and feeling, besides an atmosphere of
welcome her, while Piotr joins a detach- country life that is most refreshing.
ment of the army under Jurin. Here Miss Bremer has been called the Jane
Schvabrin gives information that leads Austen of Sweden.
to his arrest as a spy and his sentence
as an exile to Siberia. From this fate
Ar
round the World in Eighty Days,
he is saved by Maria, who obtains his by Jules Verne.
Phileas Fogg, a
pardon from the Empress, and he is re- respectable English gentleman of phleg-
leased in time to see Pugachéf hanged matic temperament and methodical hab-
as a traitor. The author, who also wrote its, maintains, during a discussion at his
a serious history of the Pugachéf rebel- club in London, that a man can travel
lion, gives in this delightful romance a around the world in eighty days; and to
very true account of that remarkable up- prove it, he makes a wager of half his
rising.
fortune that he can do it himself in that
time. The bet is accepted, and he starts
Neighbors, The, by Frederika Bremer. the same night, taking his French serv-
The scene of this every-day romance ant Passepartout with him. He wins his
is laid in Sweden, and the descriptions wager, after a series of adventures in
give a delightful glimpse into the domes- which nature, man, accident, and the
tic life of that country.
Franziska Wer- novelist combine to defeat him, but are
ner tells the story by a series of letters all baffled by his unfailing resource, iron
to a distant friend. She has lately mar- will, invincible coolness, and Napoleonic
ried Bear,” a country doctor; and the readiness to sacrifice everything else to
first letters describe her impressions of the one essential point; - everything ex-
her new home, her neighbors, and her cept humanity, in whose behalf he twice
stepmother-in-law. Ma chère mère, as risks defeat, first to save from suttee the
she is called, is an eccentric woman pos- beautiful young Hindoo widow Aouda,
sessed of great ability and an iron will. and second to save Passepartout from
Years before she and her own son Bruno murder by a Chinese mob. His virtue
had quarreled, his fiery temper had is rewarded by success and Aouda.
clashed with hers, and he ran from
home with his mother's curse ringing in Kate Beaumont, by W. De Forest;
his After fifteen years of dissipa- is society in South
tion, he returns under an assumed name Carolina, in the prosperous, chivalrous,
and settles at Ramm, as a new neigh- slaveholding, hard-drinking, quick-shoot-
bor, hoping to win his mother's forgive- ing days before the war. The Beaumonts
ness. He is discovered by Franziska and and McAllisters, each a powerful family,
her husband; and at their house he re- with many ramifications, have been at
news his love for Serena, his childhood's feud with each other for years, till at
friend. She is pure and good, and his last young Frank McAllister comes back
passionate, stormy nature is quieted by from Europe to fall in love with Kate


## p. 250 (#286) ############################################

SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
sence.
was
250
Beaumont. From this point the compli-
But a handsome knight, disguised
cations and perversities of the story begin. as a beggar-woman, manages to gain an
There is much incident, all throwing entrance, and pays court in succes-
light on character, and helping in its sion to Nonchalante and Babillarde, who
evolution, and the book is extremely en- allow themselves to be deceived by his
tertaining: while as a vivid picture of a flattering tongue. Then he attempts to
fading civilization a society in modern woo Finette; but she is not a bird to
America as purely feudal as that of the be caught with such chaff, and she finds
Middle Ages — it is unsurpassed.
an opportunity of dropping him into a
trench, and so gets rid of him. In this
April Hopes, a novel of two young
graceful story, the author endeavors to
people, by W. D. Howells,
prove that distrust is the mother of
published in 1887. In the heroine, Alice
safety, just as idleness is the mother of
Pasmer, he has portrayed the high-bred
all the vices.
New England girl with the Puritan con-
science. The hero, Dan Mavering, a
Harvard graduate of good family, has
Adolphe, a romance by Benjamin Con-
stant. The story has very little
this conscience to contend with in his
incident or action. The whole plot may
wooing of Alice and during his engage-
be summed up in a few words: Adolphe
ment with her. Their most serious mis-
loves Eléonore, and can be happy neither
understandings arise from the girl's iron-
with her nor without her. The beauty
clad code, which makes no allowance
of the author's style and the keenness
for human nature. ” The book is well
and delicacy with which he analyzes cer-
written, exhibiting the author's character-
tain morbid moods of the soul, have
istic realism of style and treatment.
placed this work among the masterpieces
of French literature. The romance is
Dame Care (Frau Sorge), a novel by
Hermann Sudermann, was issued
almost universally believed to be an au-
in 1888. The story follows the life of tobiography, in which Constant narrates
Paul Meyerhofer, a boy at whose cradle
a portion of the adventures of his own
Care seemed to preside. He was born
youth.
on the day his father's estate was sold at
auction. His childhood was spent in pov- Aro a Spring (Autour d'une
erty, his boyhood and youth in hard work.
Source'), by Gustave Droz, is a
He had always before him the spectacle
French idyl of country life in this cen-
of a cowed, suffering mother; of an over-
tury, charming in its truthful presenta-
bearing, shiftless father, whose schemes
tion of a village community. It was
for making money only plunged his family
published in 1869. The hero is the Abbé
in deeper misfortune. His younger sis-
Roche, a middle-aged priest in a mount-
ters, when they grow up, bring disgrace
ain town. He is a man of noble, vigor-
upon him. To save their honor he makes ous nature, and fine presence, with no
enormous sacrifices; in short, his whole
experience of the outside world. To the
career is one of misfortune.
The one
long-untenanted château of Manteigney
brightness of his life is his love for Elsbeth
comes its count, with his pretty young
Douglas, the daughter of his godmother.
wife, a rather light fashionable Parisian,
At the close of the novel it is intimated
whose money has enabled her husband to
that he will marry her, and that «Dame
rehabilitate his ancestral possessions. She
Care," his foster-mother, will not trouble
is a strange, alluring apparition to the
him again. The story, written with
priest, and he loves her, to his sorrow.
much pathos and beauty, is a peculiar
She is a somewhat cynical study
blending of realism and romanticism.
social butterfly. The attraction of the
tale lies in the romantic nobility of
Adven
dventures of Finette, The ("L'A- the Abbé, the poetry with which the coun-
droite Princesse; ou, Les Aventures try scenes are depicted,- the fact that
de Finette'), a novel, by Perrault. This Droz was originally a painter comes out
is the story of the three daughters of a in his picturesque descriptions, and the
European king, who are surnamed, on light touch with which the frivolous folk
account of their characters, Babillarde, of the château are portrayed. The title
Nonchalante, and Finette. The king of the story refers to a medicinal spring
travels to a distant country, and all three that is discovered on the Manteigney es-
are shut up in a tower during his ab- tate.
round
a


## p. 251 (#287) ############################################

SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
251
Crime of the
Boulevard, The, a novel,
by Jules Claretie, is the history of
a crime which occurred in Paris, on the
Boulevard de Clichy, in 1896. Pierre de
Rovère is found murdered in his apart-
ment. Bernadet, the police agent, who
has a passion for photography, takes a
picture of the retina of the dead man's
eyes, and finds the image of a man whom
he recognizes at the funeral. He arrests
this person, who proves to be Rovère's
dearest friend, Jacques Dantin. He is,
however, not the real murderer. The
mixture of pseudo-science and sensational
detail in this novel is thoroughly French.
Captain Fracasse, by Théophile Gau-
The scene is laid in France
during the reign of Louis XIII. ; the man-
ners, morals, and language of that age
being carefully depicted. The Château
de la Misère, situated in Gascony, is the
home of the young Baron de Sicognac,
where he lives alone in poverty, with
his faithful Pierre, and his four-footed
friends Bayard, Miraut, and Beëlzebub.
To a troop of strolling players he offers
shelter, they in turn sharing with him
their supper. Falling under the charms
of Isabella, the pretty ingénue of the
troop, he accepts their kindly offer to
continue with them to Paris, where good
fortune may await him. Martamoro, one
of the actors, perishes in the snow; and
Sicognac, ashamed of being a burden to
his companions, takes his place, assuming
the name of Captain Fracasse, and pass-
ing through many adventures on the road.
Isabella returns the love of Captain Fra-
casse, but will not allow him to commit
a mésalliance by making her his wife.
(Captain Fracasse,' although announced
in 1840, was not published until 1863,
when it met with most brilliant success.
Much of the story is borrowed from the
(Roman Comique) of Scarron.
Disciple, The (ʻle Disciple”), by Paul
Bourget, in its eloquent preface,
which is the best part of the book, calls
upon the young men of the present to
shake off the apathy that overcame the
author's own generation after the dis-
heartening siege of 1870. Without this
preface, the reader would be likely to
set the book down as unwholesome, and
not grasp the idea that the character of
the disciple is intended as warning
against the habit of analyzing and ex-
perimenting with the emotions.
The
boy's imagination, drawn out by the
brilliant but often enervating literature
that comes in the way of all university
students, is further stimulated by the
works of an agnostic philosopher, who
treats exhaustively of the passions. The
young man becomes his devoted follower,
and makes a practical application of his
teachings. In a family where he be-
comes a tutor he experiments with the
affection he inspires in a young girl, and
is the direct cause of her death. The
philosopher, recognizing the logical out-
come of his theory that the scientific
spirit demands impartial investigation,
even in the things of the mind and
heart, feels no small remorse. His dis-
ciple escapes the vengeance of the law,
only to fall in a duel with the dead girl's
brother. The recluse, who according to
the journals was the original of the char-
acter of the philosopher, died in Paris in
1896. Unlike the philosopher, he was a
lifelong botanist, devoting all his ener-
gies to that science, so that the points
of resemblance between the real and the
fictitious professor are mostly external.
Both lived near the Jardin des Plantes,
their sole recreation consisting in looking
at the animals. Both held aloof from so-
ciety, never marrying, and practicing the
severest economy.
When an officer of
the Legion of Honor sought the botanist
to confer the red ribbon upon him, he
found that member of the Institute on
the point of cooking his dinner, and un-
willing to admit him to his garret. In
the story, the mice that overrun the gar-
ret, the caprices of Ferdinand, and a pet
rooster kept by the concierge, are the
only enlivening elements. But the holes
and corners in the region of the Jardin
des Plantes, and the exquisite vistas of
the Observatory and Luxembourg Gar-
den, have never been better described.
House of Penarvan, The, by Jules
Sandeau. The scene of this semi-
historical romance is laid in Brittany,
and the story opens in the year VI. of
the Republic. Mademoiselle René de
Penarvan is living in an old château near
Nantes, her only companion being the
Abbé Pyrmil. They are both devoted to
the glories of the ancient house; and
Pyrmil is writing its history, the chap-
ters of which René illuminates with
Gothic tracery and emblazonment. She
is the last of her race and will not
marry. But an unexpected incident al-
ters her resolve. The Abbé has discov-
a


## p. 252 (#288) ############################################

252
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
woman.
ered that a male heir exists, - a plain, for Poëri, a young Jew who is steward
simple-hearted youth, living on the pro- of Pharaoh. He is in love with Ra'hel,
duce of his farm and about to marry a and escapes across the Nile every night
miller's daughter. To prevent such a to meet his beloved, who lives in one of
horrible disgrace René marries him her- the mud huts where the Jews, reduced
self, somewhat against his will. She then to slavery, are baking bricks in the sun
puts a sword into his reluctant hand and for the building of the Great Pyramids,
sends him to La Vendeé to fight for his Tahoser disguises herself as a servant,
legitimate king. He returns wounded, and enters the service of Poëri. She
and she is prouder of him than ever. swims the Nile one night, following him,
But he dies, not without telling her that and finds him with Ra'hel. Falling ill
he no longer loves her, for she does not with a fever, she is cared for by Ra'hel,
really love him. She is a heroine, not a and upon her recovery is to be married
She was in love with a hero, a to Poëri; but Pharaoh learns of her
paladin, not with the artless country hiding-place and takes her to his palace.
boy, who only desired to live at peace. After his death she reigns, and is buried
Their child, whom René cannot forgive in his tomb. The papyrus, which the
for being a girl, grows up. Her timidity, novelist says was found with her body,
gentleness, and simple tastes, are hate- discloses the story of her life.
ful to the proud châtelaine; and when
she falls in love with a bourgeois
, the M". Poirier's Son-in-Law, by Émile
is
Augier and Sandeau.
daughter conceals a firm will under her charming little French comedy, sparkling
modest exterior, and ultimately marries with wit, has already become what Fran-
the man of her choice. René is forced cisque Sarcey says it will always con-
to yield, and finally admits that she has tinue to be – a classic, but not a dry
not fulfilled her duties as a wife and a classic. It describes the old struggle
mother. This is the best known of San- between the «bourgeoisie ” and the aris-
deau's works outside France. It contains tocracy, pointing out the weaknesses of
one of his most skillfully constructed each. Monsieur Poirier, a rich trades-
plots. The contrasted characters of man, with the ambition of ultimately en-
René, her husband, and her daughter, tering the peerage, has bought a ruined
show great psychological knowledge and Marquis for his daughter. The Marquis,
skill. The portrait of the Abbé Pyrmil Gaston de Presles, finds himself at first
is not unworthy to rank beside that of in a most comfortable position. He lives
Dominie Sampson.
in great luxury at the expense of his
father-in-law, whom he continually holds
Romance of a Mummy, The, by The- up to ridicule. At the same time he re-
ophile Gautier. In this remarkable sumes his old way of life; pays scant
novel, first published in 1856, is con- attention to his wife, supposing that she
tained almost all then known of the life must be uninteresting; and devotes him-
and customs of the ancient Egyptians. self to Madame de Montjoy, about whom
It will probably never be popular with he cares nothing. Things do not con-
the general reader, because of its too tinue to go so pleasantly however. Mon-
local color; and few can appreciate the sieur Poirier tries to force him into a
amount of study necessary to write such political career, which he flatly refuses.
a book. There is an exuberance of Antoinette his wife begins to appear in
minute details about the architecture a new light. She twice saves his honor,
and inside decorations and furnishings of once by signing herself for a debt of
the palaces, founded on accurate studies. which her father refuses to pay the usur-
The author has chosen for the date of ious interest, a second time by destroy-
his story the time when, according to ing a letter from Madame de Montjoy,
the Bible, Moses led the Israelites out of which her father had got possession.
of bondage; and from the same source Gaston de Presles is astonished to find
and without any help from Egyptian himself desperately in love with his own
records, he gives an account of the wife. She however, having discovered
events that lead to the drowning of the his intrigues with Madame de Montjoy,
host of Pharaoh in the Red Sea. The declares herself a widow, but relents
story treats of the love of Tahoser, when for her sake he promises to give
daughter of the Theban High Priest, up fighting a duel. The reconciliation is


## p. 253 (#289) ############################################

SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
253
hundred years ago, believed that every
man should be free to read the Script-
ures and to seek a personal interpreta-
tion of them. The story deals with the
grievous punishments for heresy that
were decreed against them by the Arch-
bishop of Lyons. Pierre Waldo, the
leader of the sect, is forced to flee the
country; and his cousin Jean, a rich
weaver, denies his kinship and despises
his followers. But when Jean's only
daughter, the apple of his eye, Félice,
falls ill, it is found that only Father
John of Lugio, one of the proscribed Wal-
denses, in hiding among the hills, has
the medical skill which may save her.
Jean Waldo's prejudices melt away, and
he sends to entreat Father John, «for
the love of Christ,” to
to his
stricken house. This phrase is the pass-
word of the secretly wide-spread sect, in
answer to which gates fly open, and aid
comes from all sides. Félice is saved,
through the ardent service of those who
labor «in His name.
Round this slight
framework are ouped the touching and
often dramatic incidents of the story.
The tone of the time is sympathetically
caught, and the book is steeped in a
tender and helpful religious feeling. All
Mr. Hale's charm of narration charac-
terizes it; and without didacticism, he
never forgets present problems.
come
complete. Verdelet, an old friend of
Poirier, and Hector de Montmeyran, are
the other important characters. The
rôle of Poirier is now taken at the Théâ-
tre Francais by Coquelin Cadet.
Amour, L:. by the noted French histo-
rian Michelet, was published in 1859,
when he was sixty-one years old. In the
Introduction he writes: — «The title which
would fully express the design of this book,
its signification, and its import, would be
Moral Enfranchisement Effected by True
Love. ) » Judged by the standards of the
present day, L'Amour) seems old-fash-
ioned; its ideals of women obvious. At
the time of its publication, however, it ap-
peared revolutionary and daring. Yet it
was merely an attempt to establish rever-
ence for the physical life of woman. Her
intellectual life was considered only as a
kind of appendage to the physical. Miche.
let apparently had no other conception of
woman and her destiny than as maiden,
wife, mother, housekeeper. Of the end-of-
the-century woman he had no foreknowl-
edge. The conception of his work rested
en a sentimental basis. It was the fruit
of a philanthropic motive. He saw about
him not a nation of families, but of indi-
viduals. He wished to hold before his
countrymen an ideal of family life. This
ideal was noble but narrow'. Woman was
to him a fragile plant to be cared for and
cherished by man.
One muscular girl
playing golf would have destroyed his
pretty conception, but the athletic college
woman did not belong to the fifties. The
work however served its purpose. As far
as it went it was good. Its conception of
love, though one-sided, was sufficiently in
advance of contemporary thought on the
subject to render the book remarkable.
Cripps the Carrier, by R. D. Black-
With a single exception, this
is the most sensational and the least prob-
able of Blackmore's stories. The scene
is laid in Kent, and the plot hinges on
the disappearance of a young heiress, and
her very strange experiences. Through
an agreeable way of telling it, the book
is much less startling and more attractive
than a bare synopsis of the plan would
make it sound. The interest is sustained,
and the situations are ingeniously planned.
Published in 1876.
His Name, by Edward Everett Hale,
(1873,) is a story of the Waldenses,
that radical religious body, which, seven
а
more.
AS
s It was Written: A Jewish Musi-
cian's Story, by Sidney Luska (Henry
Harland). This story is as fatalistic as
the Rubáiyát, though the scene is laid in
modern New York. Ernest Neumann, a
young violinist of great promise, but of
painfully sensitive temperament, falls in
love with a beautiful girl of his own
race, Veronika Pathzuol, living with her
uncle Tibulski, a kindly old dreamer
and an unsuccessful musician, whom she
supports by singing and teaching. Er-
nest and Veronika are shortly to be mar-
ried, when she, in the absence of her
uncle, is murdered in her bed. The mys-
tery of this murder is the motive of the
ensuing plot. Sombre and tragic though
it is, the romance shows unusual vigor
of conception and execution, and extraor-
dinary intuitive knowledge of the psy-
chology of an alien race.
Barabbas; 4 Dream of the World's
Tragedy, by Marie Corelli, is briefly
the story of the last days of Christ, his
betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection.


## p. 254 (#290) ############################################

254
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
a
tures,
as
The scene opens in a Syrian prison where
Ar rius the Libyan, by Nathan Chapman
Barabbas, convicted murderer and Kouns, is an idyl of the primitive
thief, is awaiting sentence. It being the church” in the third and fourth centuries.
feast of the Passover, according to the In his native Cyrene, Arius is reared a
Law the Jews can demand the release devout Christian. Thoroughly educated
of a prisoner. Fearful that Christ will in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, he early
be given up, they ask the freedom of turns to the critical study of the Scrip-
Barabbas. Leaving his cell, he joins the
When he is sixteen, he and his
crowd in the Hall of Judgment, is pres- father, Ammonius, rescue from drowning
ent on the journey to Calvary, at the an Egyptian lady, Hatasa, and her daugh-
crucifixion, and at its tragic ending. The ter Theckla, who eventually become con-
crimes of Barabbas had been instigated verts; and there is a love affair, but as
by the wiles of Judith Iscariot, a beauti- | Theckla disappears wholly at the end of
ful wanton, who also prompts her brother the first book, it has no structural im-
to the betrayal of his Lord. Judas Is- portance to the story. The real subject
cariot is described a weak-minded is the struggle for supremacy between
youth, a willing tool in his sister's hands. the Eastern and Western Empires, under
His self-destruction and her ruin by Caia- the emperors Licinius and Constantine
phas unite in driving her insane. Dur- and the conflict in the Church over the
ing her madness she attempts to kill the differing views of the Trinity. Arius is
High Priest; who however escapes, and the protagonist on one side; and Atha-
hating Barabbas for his rivalry in Ju-nasius, a brilliant young archdeacon, is
dith's affections, has him imprisoned on secretly employed by Constantine to crush
the false charges of attempted murder him. After Constantine has vanquished
and the theft of Christ's body from the Licinius (thus establishing the supremacy
tomb. Barabbas dies in prison, after of the Western Empire), and founded
being converted to Christianity. He is Constantinople, the council of Nice is
depicted as a type of Human Doubt called to overthrow Arius. Arius, re-
aspiring unto Truth. ”
fusing to subscribe to the Nicene creed,
The story is dramatically told, but gives ' is banished to Illyricum. Finally Con-
the author's imaginary conception of per- / stantine recalls him, but too late. Many
sons and events rather than historic por- pages are devoted to theological ques-
traits. It shows, however, a certain tions, the historical characters serving to
amount of study of Jewish manners and explain them. The book shows accurate
customs. The style is florid and mere- knowledge, both historical and theologi.
tricious, appealing more to the emotions cal, and is well written; but its value is
than to the reason.
that of an accurate treatise on certain dis-
puted dogmas, with correct antiquarian
illustrations, rather than that of a historic
Ardath, by Marie Corelli, narrates the
experiences of a world-worn and
skeptical poet, Theos Alwyn. In a mon-
Ana
nastasius; or, MEMOIRS OF A MODERN
astery in the Caucasus he meets Heliobas GREEK, WRITTEN AT THE CLOSE OF
- who appears also in A Romance of THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, by Thomas
Two Worlds. ) Here Alwyn is permitted to Hope: 1819. The author of this romance,
hold brief conversation with his spiritual a rich retired merchant, woke one morn-
affinity, «God's maiden, Edris. ” On the ing, like Byron, to find himself famous.
field of Ardath near Babylon, whither he He was known to have written some
goes at the suggestion of Heliobas, to learned books on furnishing and costume;
enter upon a strange novitiate, he sees but Anastasius) gave him rank as an
himself in a vision, in Al-Kyris the Mag- , accomplished painter of scenery and de-
nificent, a glorious ancient metropolis, lineator of manners. The hero, a young
where his adventures are many and | Greek ruined by injudicious indulgence,
varied. Retaining only an intermittent is an apostate, a robber, and a murderer.
consciousness of his former personality, To avoid the consequences of a disgrace-
he takes up his abode with Sah-lûma, ful love affair, he runs away from Chios,
the imperious, egotistic poet-laureate, and his birthplace, and seeks safety on
shares his epicurean pleasures. The story Venetian ship. This is captured by the
is a study in re-incarnation, written in Turks, and Anastasius is haled before a
the style characteristic of the author. Turkish magistrate. Discharged, he fights
romance.
a


## p. 255 (#291) ############################################

SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
255
a
on the side of the Crescent, and goes to asking if she may return to him.
He
Constantinople, where he resorts to all replies with the announcement that he
sorts of shifts for a livelihood,- jugglery, is coming to her, a happy reunion en-
peddling, nostrum-making; becomes sues, and the pair take up a new career
Mussulman, visits Egypt, Arabia, Sicily, in Colorado, where Balfour is offered
and Italy. His adventures «dizzy the the stewardship of the Van Rosen ranch.
arithmetic of memory »: he goes through
The action of the last half of the story
plague and famine, battle and accident, is delayed by a description of the Amer-
and finally dies young, a worn-out and ican tour, as is the first half from being
worthless adventurer. He is a man of largely given over to accounts of polit-
the world, and through his eyes the reader ical wire-pulling. But the descriptions of
is made to see the world that he lives in. nature are delightful, and few readers
The book has passages of great power,
object to the leisurely pace of the story.
often of brilliancy and wit; but it belongs It was published in 1877.
to the fashion dofma remare leisurely day, Autobiography of a Slander is Toen biry
Daughter of Heth, A, a novel, by Will-
>
.
Edna Lyall. born in
a small, dull English country town, called
iam Black, was published in 1871. It
Muddleton, in the summer of 1886. It is
is the story of a child of sunny France,
introduced to the world by an old lady.
transplanted into the bleak uncongenial Mrs. O'Reilly, a pleasant, talkative woman,
atmosphere of Scotland. Catherine Cas- who imagines it and puts it into words
silis, familiarly called Coquette, is the over the teacups to her young friend Lena
daughter of a Scotch father and French Houghton. "I assure you, my dear,”
mother. On the death of her parents she says, “Mr. Zaluski is nothing less
she is intrusted to her uncle, the minis- than a Nihilist. ” Sigismund Zaluski, a
ter of Airlie. There her unselfishness young Polish merchant of irreproachable
and eagerness to harmonize herself with character, has recently come to Muddle-
her new surroundings win her universal ton, achieved an instant popularity in its
love. Her story has, however, a tragic society, and won the affections and prom-
ending From beginning to end the ised hand of Gertrude Morley, one of the
«dour” atmosphere of a Scotch hamlet is village belles. Miss Houghton repeats
seen to darken the sunshine of Coquette's this slander to the young curate, who,
sunny disposition, and to prophesy a fu- jealous of the Pole's success, tells it to Mrs.
ture of shadow.
Milton Cleave, his gossipy hostess, who
writes it to a friend in London. It makes
Green Pastures and Piccadilly, by
.
its next appearance at a dinner party,
in England, and ends in America, the
where, with the additions it has gained, it
time being about the year 1875. Hugh
is related to a popular novelist. Struck
with its dramatic possibilities, he repeats
Balfour, M. P. , a young reformer, busies
it to a friend at the Club, where it is
himself with politics to the neglect of his
London business and his newly wedded
overheard by an uncle of Gertrude, who
writes to St. Petersburg to find out the
wife (whom he really loves); until the lat-
truth. By this time, in addition to being
ter, thinking their marriage has been a
mistake, asks for a separation. «Your
a Nihilist, the young Pole is an atheist, an
unprincipled man, besides being instru-
life is in your work,” Sylvia says: “I am
mental in the assassination of the Czar.
only an incumbrance to you. ” He is
The letter is found by the police; and
stunned at first by her unexpected de-
mand, but finally proposes that the sep-
Zaluski, returning to St. Petersburg on
aration be only experimental and tem-
business, is arrested, and dies in a dun-
porary. Accordingly she goes away to
geon. The story is strongly told, its prob-
America for a tour with a party among
abilities seeming often actual facts. It
which are the Van Rosens, friends of the
needs no commentary; its truth is epito-
Balfours, who have inherited a large
mized in the apt quotation of the author:
property in Colorado.
While traveling
«Of thy words unspoken thou art master:
in the United States, Sylvia hears through
thy spoken word is master of thee. »
the newspapers that her husband's busi: Head of a Hundred, The, by Maude
ness gone
Wilder Goodwin, narrates the ad-
his political prospects are blasted. All ventures of Humphrey Huntoon, a young,
her love reasserts itself, and she cables, physician, who goes to Virginia in 1019


## p. 256 (#292) ############################################

256
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
soon
mediation a better relation is established
between Tressady and his wife, who is
to become a mother. But Tres-
sady's career is brought to an untimely
and tragic close. During the labor trou-
bles in his mines, he descends a shaft
and is killed in an explosion. Burning
questions of politics and political econ-
omy are ably handled in the story, which
also, as a chief motive, deals with wo-
man's relation to politics and public
place. On the whole, it is of a more
sombre cast than Marcella); but it is
very interesting, and strong in its grasp
of modern life and its presentation of
modern problems. The portrayal of the
relation of Marcella and Lord Raeburn,
as husband and wife, is nobly ideal.
to seek his fortune. Captain Chester, mas-
ter of the ship on which he sails, is an
old friend; and to him Huntoon tells the
story of his love for Elizabeth Romney,
a high-born beauty in Devonshire, and
of her scornful rejection of his suit.
Huntoon settles at Jamestown and there
meets John Porey, Secretary to Governor
Yerely, who informs him of the coming
of twenty maids sent out by the Virginia
Company to make wives for the settlers.
Among them is Elizabeth Romney, who
has left home to avoid entering into an
uncongenial marriage. Huntoon is called
to tend her broken arm, and they meet
with mutual surprise. At this point in
the story, Huntoon and Porey are sent to
visit the King of Accomac; and after
exciting adventures, return to Jamestown
in triumph. Here they find a number
of blacks, the first slaves imported into
America; Huntoon learns with resent-
ment that a wild fellow, Henry Spelman,
has bought one of the blacks and sent
him as an offering to Elizabeth. Hun-
toon and Spelman quarrel and a duel is
the result. Elizabeth meanwhile is cold
and friendly by turns; but just as the
lovers are on the point of an explanation,
Huntoon is appointed Head of Flower
da Hundred, and leaves Jamestown. He
does not see Elizabeth for three years,
until the famous Indian massacre of 1622
drives her with other refugees to seek
shelter in Flower da Hundred. Here
her shrewd device foils the savages; she
and Huntoon meet, all is explained, and
the story ends happily.
Sir
George Tressady, by Mrs. Hum-
phrey Ward, is in some sense a sequel
to Marcella,' since that heroine's life
after marriage is traced in it, and she
is the central character of the story. It
was published in 1896, two years after the
earlier book. Its hero, however, is Tres-
sady, a young baronet and owner of an
iron mine. He becomes engaged to a
pretty, light chit of a girl, and marries
her, without any deep feeling of love
or serious consideration of the bond. He
then falls under the influence of Marcella,
now Lady Raeburn, who likes him and
hopes to win his political support for her
husband, Aldous Raeburn, a prominent
statesman. The feeling deepens to love
on Tressady's side; but he is saved
from himself by the nobility of Mar-
cella, who gently rebukes her lover and
is steadily loyal to Aldous. Through her
Fool of Quality, The, a curious novel
by Henry Brooke, published origi-
nally in five volumes (1760-77), was con-
sidered of such spiritual value by John
Wesley', the founder of Methodism, that
he prepared a special edition of it for
the use of his followers. Its author, an
Irishman, had been a courtier and man
of the world before he became a recluse.
He had known Pope and Sheridan and
Swift, who had prophesied for him a
brilliant career. He had been a favor-
ite of the Prince of Wales, and had
mingled intimately with the statesmen
of the day. His life, extending from
1706 to 1783, coincided with what was
most peculiarly of the essence of the
eighteenth century.
(The Fool of Quality) is a novel with-
out a plot, or rather with no definite
scheme of action. It is concerned in the
main with the boyhood and youth of
Harry, second son of the Earl of More-
land, dubbed by his parents the “fool,
because he appeared to be of less prom-
ise than his elder brother. He is brought
up by a foster-mother. After some years
his parents discover that so far from
lacking intellect, he is a child of unus-
ual precocity and promise. The novel
relates how this promise was fulfilled.
There are, however, many digressions
from the main line of the tale. The au-
thor moralizes, puts long moral anec-
dotes in the lips of his characters, and
holds imaginary conversations with the
reader. These anecdotes and conversa-
tions are chiefly on the power and wis-
dom and goodness of the Creator.
Towards the close of the book its mys-
ticism becomes exceedingly exalted and


## p. 257 (#293) ############################################

SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
257
are
a
a
visionary, suggesting the author's ac- of character are well indicated. Resolved
quaintance with the teachings of the to lead a better life, Dick leaves home
German mystic, Jacob Boehme. The for the gold fields. Here he is entrapped
work as a whole is hardly capable of by his old pals, and a false charge of
holding a modern reader's interest. It murder is raised against him, which
had, however, no mean place in the pop- Alice and Grif disprove. Nothing can
ular fiction of the eighteenth century, be more touching than the untaught self-
and so modern a thinker as Charles sacrifice of Grif, who, when dying from
Kingsley thought it a book well worthy a wound received from one of the gang,
of a new edition, to which he contributed bears false witness in order to save Dick
a laudatory preface in 1859.
from the charge of murder, which Grif
knows to be unfounded, yet from which
Hurrish : A Study, by Emily Lawless.
he fears Dick cannot otherwise be freed.
This is a picture of life on the west
coast of Ireland, wild and sad as is that
And thus brighter days dawn for all.
The characters drawn with
barren iron land itself. Horatio, or
Hurrish O'Brien, the big, kindly, simple
knowledge of human nature, and a nice
farmer, gives poor, pretty Ally a home,
appreciation of the social forces that
constrain many lives to squalor and sin,
and is a father to weak, vain Maurice
which under happier conditions might
Brady; but he becomes the victim of
have been virtuous. In sentiment, the
fate. His fierce old mother is an ardent
author is a disciple of Dickens.
patriot. They live in the midst of Fen-
ians, but he will not strike blow
for rebellion.
Maurice Brady's brutish Carlingford.
Carlingford. The general title of
(Chronicles of Carlingford' covers
brother Mat, hated by all, shoots at
a number of tales and novels by Mrs.
Hurrish from his hiding-place; Hurrish
strikes one blow in self-defense, kills
Margaret Oliphant, which have no direct
him, and is betrayed to the police by
sequence or continuous plot, but which
Maurice. Hurrish is tried and acquitted,
have more or less connection through the
but Maurice murders him in spite of
reappearance of some of the same char-
acters. These novels - which can hardly
Ally's warnings. Ally, though betrothed
be called a series, but rather a group-
to Maurice, loves Hurrish without know-
ing it. Hurrish, in his devotion to Mau-
include Salem Chapel, (The Rector,'
(The Doctor's Family,' (The Perpetual
rice, acquits him on his death-bed. Ally
Curate,' Miss Marjoribanks,' and 'Phæbe
becomes a nun; Maurice goes to Amer-
ica, where he makes a fortune, but is
Junior. ' The earliest to appear was (Sa-
lem Chapel, which was published anony-
shunned by his countrymen as
former and a traitor. Hurrish's memory
mously in 1863, but was readily attributed
is cherished in his native village. This
to Mrs. Oliphant, who had then been for
capital picture of Irish character, with
fourteen years before the public as a
all its weaknesses, inconsistencies, and
writer, and whose style was recognizable.
superstitions, was published in 1886,— the
(Salem Chapel holds perhaps the fore-
writer's first book, and giving her high
most place among the Chronicles, having
a strong dramatic interest in addition to
rank among Irish novelists.
that which it possesses as a tale of English
Grif, by B. L. Farjeon, published in middle-class life. Carlingford is a country
1870, is a vivid study in plebeian town; and its chronicles are for the most
Australian life. A homeless waif, wan- part those of ordinary persons, set apart
dering about the streets of Melbourne, by no unusual qualities or circumstances.
Grif is led by Alice Handfield to honesty The portraits of these people are vividly
and a noble, though always struggling, drawn, with humor and delicacy as well
life of self-sacrifice. Alice is the brave as strength. The vicissitudes in the
young wife of Dick Handfield, whose ministry of Arthur Vincent, preacher in
failures have brought them to miserable the Dissenting Salem Chapel, form the
poverty. Disowned by her wealthy framework of the tale. The hopeless in-
father, Matthew Nuttall, so long as she fatuation of Vincent for Lady Western,
clings to her weak husband, now fallen and the temptation of Mildmay, Lady
into the clutches of a gang of criminal Western's brother, constitute the romance
bush-rangers, Alice makes her sorrowful and tragedy of the story. Mr: Tozer, the
way, ever befriending and befriended by rich dealer in butter, who is the financial
the faithful Grif, whose rough beauties pillar of the Dissenting chapel; his pretty
an in-
XXX-17


## p.