No More Learning

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


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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


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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.


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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


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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


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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


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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


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258
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
but vulgar daughter Phæbe, who is more the country at large, he contributed to
than half in love with the handsome the press various articles, both technical
young minister; Dr. Marjoribanks, the and popular. Among the latter was this
old country doctor; Dr. Rider, his younger realistic and matter-of-fact account of
successor, and in some sense his rival; an imaginary invasion of England by a
Mr. Wentworth, the curate of St. Roques; foreign power. The fleet and army are
the Wodehouse family,—all the many scattered when war is declared, but the
dwellers in Carlingford who appear and government has a sublime confidence that
reappear through these tales, — become British luck and pluck will save the coun-
familiar acquaintances of the reader. A try now as hitherto. To universal sur-
great charm of these novels is the dis- prise and consternation, the hostile fleet
tinctness with which each character is annihilates the available British squad-
portrayed, and the individuality which is ron, and the enemy lands on the south
preserved for each among the large num- coast. Volunteers are called out, and re-
ber introduced in the action.
spond readily; but ammunition is lacking,
the commissariat is unorganized, and the
Agn
gnes Surriage, by Edwin Lassetter
men, though brave, have neither disci-
Bynner. A historical novel of colonial pline nor endurance. The decisive battle
times; the action at first is in and about is fought at Dorking, and the British are
Boston, afterwards in Europe. Henry routed in confusion. Woolwich and Lon-
Frankland, newly appointed royal collec- don are in the hands of the enemy, and
tor of customs, arrives at Boston, and is England is compelled to submit to the
cordially received. Officially visiting Mar- humiliating terms of the conqueror. She
blehead, he encounters Agnes Surriage, is stripped of her colonies, and pays a
a barefooted young inn servant, and is heavy war indemnity, all because power
struck by her beauty and the richness of has come into the hands of the rabble,
her voice in singing. A chance refer- who have neither foresight nor patriot-
ence in a letter from Sir Horace Walpole | ism to preserve the liberties of their coun-
inspires him with the idea of rescuing try. The book was widely read and
Agnes, and educating her for the opera quoted in its day, though hardly remem-
stage. Attending a supper party at Gov- bered now.
ernor Shirley's, he enlists Mrs. Shirley's
sympathies, and she consents to receive Beauchamps Career, one of George
and educate his protégée. This is the
.
)
beginning of Agnes's love for Frank- story presents a complex network of so-
land, a dramatic incident of which is cial and political problems, in which the
connected with the great earthquake of chief figures are enmeshed. Nevil Beau-
Lisbon. Among the dramatis persona champ, the hero, is a young English naval
are Governor and Mrs. Shirley, the Hutch- officer, of distinguished lineage and aris-
insons, the Vassalles, the artists Smybert tocratic environment and traditions. But
and Copley, Sir Horace Walpole, George he takes little pride in these accidents of
Selwyn, and others. The main events fortune. With the temper and ambition
and personages are strictly historical; the of a martyr, he is prepared to sacrifice
scenes and surroundings are accurately himself or his caste to the interests of his
studied, especially Marblehead with its country. In Venice he meets a French
quaint dialect and curious characteristics. girl, Renée de Croisnel, whose father has
Published in Boston, 1886.
betrothed her to the middle-aged Marquis
de Rouaillat. Nevil and Renée fall in
Battle of Dorking, The, by Charles love. Beauchamp, with characteristic im-
Cornwallis Chesney. This little skit petuosity and lack of humor, urges that
appeared first in Blackwood's Magazine the larg r interests of humanity condemn
in 1871, and has since been reprinted the proposed marriage as a sin against
under the title (The Fall of England. ) nature, and that it is her sacred duty to
After the ignominious defeat of the French accept him. Renée remains unmoved in
at Sedan, Colonel Chesney, professor of the conviction that her duty to her father
military history at Sandhurst, foresaw a is paramount. The passionate lover de-
similar fate for his own country unless scends by an entirely natural process into
it should reorganize its army. He urged the fanatical politician. On his return to
vigorous measures of reform; and as the England he falls under the influence of
necessity for these was not perceived by the radical, Dr. Shrapnel (an enthusiastic


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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
259
advocate of the rights of the democracy), dramatic dialogue, daring humor, and
and of his adopted daughter, Jenny Den- much keenness of perception; but most
ham. He has many sharp and bitter readers have preferred the author's short
conflicts with his own people. They are stories.
ultra-conservative, he is a radical and a
republican. Always ready for sacrifice Ambitious Woman, An, a novel by Ed-
and indifferent to ridicule, often blunder-
gar Fawcett, appeared in 1883. It
ing, his intellect being weaker than his
is a keen yet sympathetic analysis of an
impulses, he yet succeeds in preserving a
American female type whose dominant
certain dash and distinction even in the
trait is social ambition. Claire Twining
midst of his failures. Renée presently
is reared in the ugly poverty of a Brook-
leaves her husband to come to England lyn suburb. She clever, capable, with
and throw herself into his arms; but is
a great desire for the luxuries of life.
foiled by the ready wit of Rosamund Through the good offices of a schoolmate
Culling, the housekeeper of Beauchamp's
she gains a social foothold. If Claire's
uncle. Eventually the young radical
transformation
little sudden,
makes a loveless marriage with Jenny
there is yet much genuine strength in
Denham. Shortly after, he is drowned
the story and much truthful observation
in saving the life of a nameless little
of city life in New York.
seems
a
urchin in the harbor of Southampton. The New Priest of Conception. Bay,
fulfillment is sad; but it represents Mer-
edith's most striking qualities.
Gabriel Conroy, by Bret Harte. (1876. )
In this, the longest of Bret Harte's
novels, the scene is laid in California
during the forties and fifties, and affords
vivid pictures of life at a mining camp.
The story opens in the California Sierras,
where Captain Conroy's party of immi-
grants, lost in the snow, are dying of
starvation and cold. Among them are
Grace Conroy, the heroine; her brother
and sister, Gabriel and “Olly); Arthur
Poinsett, an adventurous young fellow
of high social standing, who is traveling
under the name of Philip Ashley, and
who has fallen in love with Grace; Dr.
Devarges, a famous scientist, who, before
he dies, bestows upon Grace the title to
a silver mine which he has discovered;
and Mr. Peter Dumphy, who spies upon
the dying scientist, and afterwards tries
to profit by his eavesdropping. A few
of the party are rescued, among them
Grace and Philip. Complications arising
out of her inheritance, and other mining
claims, afford an intricate and interest-
ing plot, which a number of vividly con-
ceived characters develop. So exciting
and rapid is the action that the book
would be classed among sensational nov-
els, but for its artistic treatment and
high literary quality. A great many
personages are introduced, among them
Doña Sepulvida, who is one of the au-
thor's best female characters. In this
novel, as in most of Bret Harte's works,
are vivid imagination, strong local color,
by .
(1858. ) The writer was a brother of
James Russell Lowell, and preached for
some years at Bay Roberts, in New-
foundland (Peterport in (The New
Priest'). It tells us of the fishing, the
wrecks, and the feuds between Protest-
ants and Catholics, which make up life
in that bleak region. There are two
stories: that of Mrs. Barrè, and that of
Lucy Barbury, Skipper George's lovely
daughter. Mrs. Barrè's husband has
left her to become a Catholic (the new
priest), but in time sees his error, and
returns to Protestantism and his wife.
Just as they are about to be reunited he
perishes in a snow-storm. Lucy's lover,
studying for the priesthood, abjures his
vows for her sake. She is taken from
her sick-bed by nuns, escapes, hides on
board a vessel bound for Madeira, and
is brought home at last, after priests
and nuns have been tried for her mur-
der. A comic element is supplied by
Bangs, the Yankee, who feigns a desire
to study Catholicism.
Ann
nnie Kilburn, a novel of New Eng-
land life, by W. D. Howells, was
published in 1888.
Its heroine, a woman
in her later youth, returns to her native
New England village after a prolonged
sojourn in Rome, terminated by the death
of her father. Her foreign environment
has unfitted her for sympathetic residence
with the friends of her girlhood, yet it
has not diminished the insistency of her
Puritan conscience. She does good with
malice prepense, and labors to be a power
for well-being in the community. Her


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260
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
on
acquaintance with a fervid young minister scene is laid in the middle of the eigh-
increases her moral intensity. She makes teenth century. The book was harshly
many mistakes, however, and grieves over criticized, both in England and America,
them with feminine uselessness of emo-
account of its so-called immoral
tion. At last she finds her balance-wheel teachings; but a more sober judgment
in Dr. Morrell, a healthy-minded man. has given it a high place among Reade's
Annie is an excellent portrait of a cer- novels. It was dramatized by Daly in
tain type of woman. Her environment, 1866, and later under the title of Jeal-
the fussy “good society” of a progressing ousy,' by the author himself.
New England village, is drawn with ad-
mirable realism; while the disintegrating Gre
reat Shadow, The, by A. Conan
effect of the new industrial order upon the Doyle. No more thrilling epoch of
older and simpler life of narrow ambitions the world's history could well be chosen
and static energy is skillfully suggested. as the setting and background of a tale
than that here employed by Mr. Doyle.
Grifi
riffith Gaunt, by Charles Reade. Although this is by no means a narrative
Griffith Gaunt, a gentleman with- of Napoleon, yet such is the connotative
out fortune, marries Catharine Peyton,
force of the author's words that we feel
a Cumberland heiress, who is a devout the sinister personality of the Emperor,
Roman Catholic. After living happily reflected in one of his powerful officers,
together for eight years, the couple - darkening even the homes of a little vil-
each of whom has a violent temper, in lage in the Scottish lowlands; for the
the husband combined with insane jeal-
Great Shadow is that which the fear of
ousy-are gradually estranged by Cath- the terrible Frenchman cast over Europe
arine's spiritual adviser, Father Leonard, for twenty awful years. How it came
an eloquent young priest. Griffith dis- about that two unknown Scotch lads as-
covers his wife and Leonard under ap- sisted at the final lifting of that shadow
parently suspicious circumstances; and from off the nations is the theme of Mr.
after a violent scene he rides away, with Doyle's tale; for this is a story of Water-
the intention of never returning.
He loo. When Jack Calder, of West Inch
reaches an inn in an adjoining county,
near Edinburgh, is eighteen years old,
where he is nursed through a fever by his orphan cousin, Edie, comes to make
the innkeeper's daughter, Mercy Vint. her home with his family. As a child
Assuming the name of his illegitimate she has been a strange, wild girl with
brother, Thomas Leicester, to whom he captivating ways. Now, more beautiful,
bears a superficial resemblance, he mar- her conquest of the boy is a matter of
ries Mercy. Returning to his old home days only, and they are engaged to be
to obtain a sum of money belonging to married. At this moment Jack's friend,
him, he is reconciled to Catharine by Jim Horscroft, appears upon the scene,
her earlier adviser, Father Francis. Un- and young Calder finds himself jilted.
der a false pretext he goes back to the But now,- shortly after the battle of
inn to break with Mercy; but finding it Leipsic, — while Horscroft is at Edin-
more difficult than he had anticipated, burgh working for his doctor's degree, a
he defers final action, and returns to Frenchman who calls himself De Lapp
Cumberland. Here he is received by appears. A man of stern and moody
Catharine with furious reproaches and manners, he has a fascinating personal-
threats against his life; his crime having ity, thanks to his mysterious past. Edie
been disclosed to her through the real spends long hours listening to his tales
Leicester, and her maid Caroline Ryder. of war and adventure in foreign lands.
Griffith disappears; a few days after, In short, Jim comes back to find his
a body that is discovered in the mere fiancée fled with the French officer, who
near the house is indentified as his. is hastening to join the Emperor, now
Mrs. Gaunt is indicted for his murder, returned from Elba.
and pleads her own cause. The trial In the thick of the fight at Waterloo,
is going against her, when Mercy ap- Horscroft and his successful rival go
pears and proves that Griffith is alive, down in a mutual death-lock; and Jack,
and that the body is that of Leicester. hurrying on with the Allies to Paris,
Griffith and Catharine are again recon- again sees Edie. She talks to him a
ciled, and Mercy marries Catharin moment in her old familiar way, and
former lover, Sir George Neville. The then leaves him. A month after, he


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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
261
.
as
ness.
.
learns that she has married a certain he hated, for she had never adopted
him. He was almost without a profes-
and restraint of this story, its faithful sion, for he had neglected that of a
study of character, and its constant sug- soldier, and had failed both as an author
gestion of the terror and apprehension and
a politician.
He was
appar-
that for a score of years enveloped Eu- ently, too, without a single guiding
rope like a black atmosphere, give «The principle; the world had been a harsh
Great Shadow) a first place among Co- stepmother, at whose knee he had neither
nan Doyle's stories.
learned the truth nor experienced kind-
He appears consistent in nothing
Napoleon Bonaparte, The Life of, but in making the best of events as
by William Milligan Sloane, pro- they occurred.
He was quite as
fessor of history in the University of unscrupulous as those about him, but
Columbia, appeared serially in the Cen- he was far greater than they in perspi.
tury Magazine in 1894-96, and in four cacity, adroitness, adaptability, and per-
volumes in 1897. While the author be- sistence. ”
gan his task with the consciousness that
“Napoleon's career was a historic force, Abbé Constantin, The, by Ludovic Ha-
and not a meteoric Aash in the dark-
lévy. The great estate of Longueval,
ness of revolution," he has not attempted consisting of the castle and its depend-
to enter into the labyrinth of a general
encies, two splendid farms and a forest,
The
history of the times, except as a neces-
is advertised for sale by auction.
sary background for his portraiture. He
Abbé Constantin, a generous, genial, self-
carries the reader in narrative over the
sacrificing priest, who has been thirty
now well-trodden path from Corsica to
years the curé of the little village, is
St. Helena, with a scholar's precision
disconsolate at the thought that all his
associations must be broken up. His
as well as a lively interest, and in a
way to dissolve the illusions and estab-
distress is increased when he learns that
lish the facts of the Napoleonic period.