No More Learning

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


## p. 260 (#296) ############################################

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.
the whole property has been bought by
an American millionaire. He is about
In accomplishing this purpose, Professor
Sloane has had the great advantage of
to sit down to his frugal dinner in com-
adding to his abilities as a historian
pany with his godson Lieutenant Jean
the invaluable factor of an impartial
Renaud, the orphaned son of the good vil-
mind. He has drawn the most prom-
lage doctor, when his vicarage is invaded
by two ladies who have just arrived by
inent figure of the French revolutionary
train from Paris. On their arrival the
times with an American perspective,
entirely free from the prejudices and
plot hinges; simple as it is, it has a
passions that still survive in Europe.
great charm, and the style is delightful.
For English readers this is the most
It sparkles with light and graceful epi-
important book yet written about Na-
grams: «The Frenchman has only one
poleon. The author spent many years
real luxury- his revolutions. » «In order
in preparation for it, in the libraries
to make money the first thing is to have
no need of it. ” “It is only the kings of
of this country, of Paris, and of Lon-
France who no longer live in France. ”
don, and visited the scenes of the hero's
The
military activity. most original
«The heart is very little, but it is also
portion of this monumental work is the
very large. »
«Love and tranquillity sel-
study of Napoleon in his Corsican
dom dwell at peace in the same heart. ”
home, and the demonstration that the
First published in 1882, it has had more
than one hundred and fifty editions and
man was already prefigured in the un-
still enjoys uninterrupted popularity both
ruly boy. This careful study of the
in France and in English-speaking coun-
youth of this military genius does more
tries.
to illuminate his subsequent career than
any other investigation that has been | Ab bbé Daniel, The, by André Theuriet.
made. The boy was literally the father The chief characters of this novel
of the man. The author gives a strik- are but four. The priest himself, having
ing summary of his character as he graduated from the Seminary, returns to
was at the age of twenty-three: «Finally his little domain of Les Bruasseries with
there was a citizen of the world, a man the hope of marrying the beautiful De-
without a country: his birthright was
nise, his cousin, the heiress of Les Tem-
gone, for Corsica repelled him; France pliers. He is disappointed in his hope,


## p. 262 (#298) ############################################

262
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
but lives to see his adopted son and
namesake marry the daughter of Denise.
The story is an idyl of French labor and
love, written in a graceful and charming
way, and containing delightful pictures
of rustic life.
Abbé Tigrane, The, a story of dissension
in the Catholic priesthood of France,
appeared in 1873; its author, Ferdinand
Fabre, having studied for the ministry.
The scene is laid in the neighborhood of
the Cathedral and Diocesan Grand Semi-
nary of Lormières, about 1865. The Abbé
Capdepont, nicknamed «Tigrane » (tiger-
ish), for his ferocity, is an ambitious priest
of peasant birth, whose primitive passiors
are continually breaking through the crust
of education and discipline. He has risen
to the place of Father Superior, and aspir-
ing to the bishopric, cannot forgive Mon-
seigneur de Roquebrun who receives it.
The bishop, good and sincere, but of a
fiery temper, tries in vain to conciliate
Tigrane. This story, extremely dramatic,
well wrought out, and dealing with ob-
vious passions and interests, was very
popular, and won Fabre the sobriquet of
the “Balzac of the clergy. ”
>>
as
does not lie in its historical accuracy,
nor in its scholarship; but rather in the
fervent spirit which inspired its compo-
sition.
He writes, in conclusion, of the un-
known martyrs: “Ah, ye unknown band,
your tears, your sighs, your faith, your
agonies, your blood, your deaths, have
helped to consecrate this sinful earth, and
to add to its solemn originality as the
battle-field of good and evil of Christ and
Belial. »
Cºverdale's Bible. (1535. ) The first
complete English Bible, being the
earliest translation of the whole Bible into
English. The Psalms of this translation
are still used in the Book of Common
Prayer, and much of the rare quality of
our most familiar version is due to Cov.
erdale. Born in Yorkshire in 1488, and
educated at Cambridge, Miles Coverdale
was able to contribute to English popular
literature a version of the Bible (trans-
lated out of Dutch and Latin,” before a
translation from the original tongues
had been attempted. He superintended
also the bringing out in 1539 of the first
(Great Bible); and the next year edited
the second (Great Bible,' known also
(Cranmer's Bible. ) He is supposed to
have assisted in the preparation of the
(Geneva Bible,' (1560), which was the
favorite Puritan Bible, both in England
and in New England.
merican Sacred Song, The Treasury
of, by W. Garret Horder (1897).
An Oxford University Press publication,
to accompany Palgrave's Treasury of
Song. ' It is a classic in the choice char-
acter of the religious verse gathered into
its pages, and in the full and careful
presentation which it makes of American
work in this interesting field.
Conventional Lies of Our Civiliza-
tion, by Max Nordau.
Max Nordau
was twenty-nine years old, when in 1878
he began to publish the results of his ex-
tensive travels and his observations of
life. (Conventional Lies,' his first real
study of social pathology, was issued in
1883, and in ten years passed through
fifteen editions, in spite of the fact that
by imperial mandate it was suppressed
in Austria on its first appearance, and
later in Prussia. The author, in his pref-
ace to the sixth edition, warns people not
to buy his book in the belief that from
its suppression it contains scandalous
Book of Martyrs, The, by John Foxe,
sometimes known as the History of
the Acts and Monuments of the Church,
was first published in Latin in 1554,
when the author was in exile in Holland.
The first English edition appeared in 1563.
By order of the Anglican Convocation
meeting in 1571, the book was placed in
the hall of every episcopal palace in Eng-
land. Before Foxe's death in 1587 it had
gone through four editions.
This strange work kept its popularity
for many years. The children of suc-
ceeding generations found it a fascinating
story-book. Older persons read it for its
noble English, and its quaint and inter-
esting narrative.
The scope of the Book of Martyrs)
is tremendous. The author calls the roll
of the noble army from St. Stephen to
John Rogers. From the persecutions of
the early Church, he passes to those
of the Waldenses and Albigenses, from
these to the Inquisition, and from the
Inquisition to the persecutions under
English Mary. Foxe, as a low-church-
man, was strongly prejudiced against
everything that savored of Catholicism.
His accounts are at times overdrawn and
false. The value of the work, however,
A"


## p. 263 (#299) ############################################

SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
263
>
things. “I do not attack persons, either to let Maisie know; but Torpenhow
high or low, but ideas. ) The book, he fetches her, and she shows the essential
had asserted in an earlier edition, is a weakness of her nature by not standing
faithful presentation of the views of the by him when he is down in the world.
majority of educated, cultivated people of Heart-broken, he returns to the British
the present day. Cowardice, he thinks, army in the East, and is killed as he sits
prevents them from bringing their out- on a camel fully exposed to the enemy's
ward lives into harmony with their inward fire, as he desired to be. The sketch of
convictions, and they believe it to be the early friendship and love of Dick
worldly policy to cling to relics of former and Maisie, the vivid scenes in the
ages when at heart they are completely Soudan, the bohemian studio life in
severed from them. The Lie of Religion, London, and the pathetic incidents of
of Monarchy and Aristocracy, the Politi- Heldar's misfortune, are portrayed with
cal, Economic, and Matrimonial Lies, are swift movement, sympathetic insight, and
those which Nordau chiefly attacks.
dramatic force. The relation between
It is form, however, not substance, Dick and Torpenhow runs through the
which he usually criticizes; as in the case tale like a golden strand. The dénoue-
of religion, where he says that by religion ment here described is that of the first
he does not mean the belief in supernat- version, and preferred by Kipling; in
ural abstract powers, which is usually sin- another version Maisie remains true to
cere, but the slavery to forms, which is Dick, and the novel ends happily.
a physical relic of the childhood of the
human race.
Emilia Wyndham, by Mrs. Marsh, 1846,
“Very seldom,” he says, in discussing
is a story of fashionable London life,
about 1820. Colonel Lennox, a brilliant
monarchy, do we find a prince who is
what would be called in every-day life a
young officer, loves Emilia Wyndham, a
capable man; and only once in centuries
country gentleman's daughter; but neither
does a dynasty produce a man of com-
of them having money, he goes on a cam-
The
manding genius. In the case of matri- paign without offering his hand.
mony his plea is directed not against the
father becomes a bankrupt, and for his
institution, but in favor of love in mar-
sake she consents to marry his solicitor,
riage, as distinguished from the marriage
Matthew Danby, a cold man, much her
of convenience. Nordau's judgments are
senior, who does not express to her the
often based on insufficient foundation; and
affection he really feels. Colonel Len-
he is inclined to be too dogmatic. Yet he
nox, coming into money, returns to Eng-
is not wholly an iconoclast; and he be-
land, and hearing of Emilia's marriage,
lieves that out of the existing egotism and
marries a beautiful young girl, her friend,
insincerity, humanity will develop an altru-
and sets up a large establishment in Lon-
ism built on perpetual good-fellowship.
don. Mrs. Lennox finds her old friend
Emilia living in great retirement with
her middle-aged husband, and drags her
Light that Failed, The, by Rudyard
Kipling, appeared in 1890, and was
into the gay world. Danby becomes so
his first novel. It is a story of the love
wildly jealous of his young wife, that he
of Dick Heldar, a
is on the brink of suicide; but explana-
young artist, for
Maisie, a pretty, piquant, but shallow
tions ensue, and the story ends happily.
girl, brought up with him as an orphan.
The book is chiefly interesting as a study
of manners when the century was young,
Dick goes to the Soudan during the
Gordon relief expedition, does illustra-
and for the evidence it affords of the
tions for the English papers, gains a
changed ideals of woman, her ambitions,
true friend in Torpenhow, a war corre-
and her opportunities. To the reader of
spondent; and winning success, returns
to-day, the story is tediously sentimental;
to London to enjoy it.
to the reader of 1840 it was full of emo-
But a sword-cut
tional interest.
on his head, received in the East, gradu-
ally brings on blindness; and he tries Mi Oficial Wife, byr Colonel Richard
to finish masterpiece
Henry Savage. clever
figure of Melancolia, before the darkness permeated by a Russian atmosphere, in
shuts down,- the scene in which he thus which visions of the secret police, the
works against the physical disability Nihilists, and social life in St. Peters-
wh means ruin, being very effective. burg, are
like the vague fancies
When blindness comes, he is too proud of a troubled dream.
8


## p. 264 (#300) ############################################

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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
ensue.
Colonel Arthur Lenox, with passports ive, straightforward Western girl, un-
made out for himself and wife, meets at sophisticated and unspoiled; the hero is
the Russian frontier a strikingly beauti- a lazy, cynical, clever man of thirty-five,
ful woman whom he is induced to pass convinced that he is incapable of the
over the border as his own wife, who foolishness of falling in love. The minor
has remained in Paris.
personages are all amusing enough: Eng-
At St. Petersburg, Hélène, the official lish squire, Irish captain, American ar-
wife, receives mail addressed to Mrs. chæologist, etc. , all talking exactly alike
Lenos, shares the Colonel's apartments, with point and fluency, on any subject
and is introduced everywhere as his that may be started. Though there is
wife. But he has learned that she is a good deal of «scenery,” it is never
a prominent and dangerous Nihilist, and obtrusive, and never interferes with the
is in daily fear of discovery and punish- flow of the narrative, which tells the
ment.
course of a simple love-affair. The story
Lenox frustrates her design to assassi- is very readable, and at times even
nate the Emperor; after which Hélène witty; and is fairly to be reckoned among
escapes by the aid of a Russian officer
the best specimens of American minor
whom she has beguiled. Meantime the fiction.
real wife has come on from Paris, and
endless complications with the police
Mr. Midshipman Easy, by, Captain
James Marryat, is one of the many
The Colonel secures his wife's
rollicking tales by this author, who so
release by threatening the chief of police
well knows the ocean, and the seaports
that otherwise he will inform the Tsar
with their eccentric characters, and is
of the inefficiency of the police depart-
only at home in dealing with low life
ment, in not unearthing the scheme for
and the lower middle class. In this case
his assassination.
we have the adventures of a spoiled lad
Crust
rust and the Cake, The, by Ed- Jack, the son of a so-called philosopher,
ward Garrett" (Mrs. Isabella Mayo). who cruises about the world, falls in
(The Crust and the Cake) is a story
love, has misfortunes and at last good
with no distinctive plot, dealing with luck and a happy life. The incidents
every-day lives and every-day fortunes. themselves are nothing, but the book is
John Torres, who has bravely met pov- entertaining for its character » talk, and
erty, hard work, the humiliation of his because the author has the gift of spin-
convict father's return, and the grief of ning a yarn.
his mother's sudden death, is made a
Jacob
member of the great firm of Slack & Pitt,
Faithful; or, The ADVENTURES
OF A WATERMAN, a novel, by Cap-
and marries Amy, his first and only love.
(The Crust and the Cake) is an exem-
tain Marryat, describes the career of a
young man who is born on a Thames
plification of the belief that virtue will
be rewarded and vice punished, in obe-
«lighter,” and up to the age of eleven
dience to natural laws from which there is
has never set foot on land. The lighter »
is manned by his father, his mother, and
no appeal; and that the crust and cake
himself. His father is a round-bellied,
of life are wisely divided. In the words
phlegmatic little man, addicted to his
of one of the characters, “If one has the
crust in one's youth, it keeps up one's
pipe, and indulging in but few words:
three apothegms, “It's no use crying;
appetite for the cake when one gets it at
last. ” The book is highly moral in tone;
what's done can't be helped »; «Take it
coolly”; “Better luck next time, serving
the benefit of church-going, of self-sacri-
fice, early training, honor to parents, etc. ,
him on every occasion. These Jacob in-
herits, and makes frequent use of in
being strongly emphasized. Its scene is
after life. His mother indulges in strong
laid in London; and its interest is purely
drink, and comes to a terrible end. One
domestic.
of his first acts on beginning a life on
Kis
ismet, by (George Fleming » (Julia shore is to sell his mother's asses for
Fletcher), is a tale which describes twenty pounds,- the earliest bargain he
the fortunes of a party of traveling
After spending several years
Americans and English who loiter up at school, where his adventures are in-
the Nile in dahabeabs, and make excurs- teresting, and some of them laughable,
ions to the tombs of the Pharaohs. he is bound apprentice, at the age of
The heroine, Bell Hamlyn, is an impuls- fourteen, to a waterman. Now fairly
ever made.
c
>)


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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
265
by
nun-
launched in life, his real adventures (supposes he is as well able to bumbast
begin. Some of the curious experiences out a blank verse as the best of you; and
that may befall a waterman form the being an absolute Johannes factotum, is,
staple of the book. It is written in a in his own conceit, the only Shake-scene
lively style, and is thought to be one of in the countrie. ”
Marryat's best books.
Harold, by Sir Edward Bulwer-Lyt-
ton, is the dramatic recital of the
Scott, is an old-fashioned narrative
last
of a sailor's life, of the Marryat type,
of Edward the Confessor's
years
reign,- light being thrown upon those
which enjoyed considerable popularity in
events which shaped the fortunes of Earl
its day. The story is long and compli-
Godwin's son Harold. As in all Lord
cated, with equal and liberal allowances
Lytton's works, vivid pictures are pre-
of slave-ships, pirates, storms, engage-
sented, sharp contrasts are employed to
ments, and hair-breadth escapes. The
heighten dramatic situations, and inex-
hero is a young Englishman on board
orable fate plays an important rôle.
the frigate Midge, which is fighting slav-
Earl Harold loved Edith the Fair,
ers and Spaniards in West-Indian waters.
grandchild of Hilda the Saxon proph-
Though too long and too diffuse in style
to detain readers of the present day, its
etess, and goddaughter to Harold's sis-
ter, the English queen. Hilda prophesied
pictures of sea-life in the days of Nelson
the union of Harold and Edith, though
and his successors are vivid and faithful.
it was forbidden by the Church, they be-
Groatsworth of Wit Bought with ing members of the same family through
Million of Repentance, A, by Githa, Harold's mother.
Robert Greene. This piece was first To remove all doubts Queen Edith de-
published in 1592 by Greene; and is his sired her goddaughter to enter a
last work. In it the author tells the nery,- but Harold had his betrothed's
story of his own life. Govinius, an old promise to the contrary.
usurer, has two sons, Lucanio and Ro- Duke William of Normandy had spent
berto. Dying, he leaves to Lucanio all some time in England visiting King Ed-
his wealth, and to Roberto “an olde ward; and he coveted the English realm.
Groate (being the stock I first began He had demanded and received as host-
with), wherewith I wish him to buy a ages Earl Godwin's youngest son, and
groatsworth of wit: for he, in my life, his grandson Haco also; and when, after
hath reproved my manner of gaine. ” the old Earl's death, Harold crossed the
Lucanio follows in his father's footsteps, sea to Normandy to demand back his
until Roberto introduces him to a beau- father's hostages, William surrounded
tiful harpy who first despoils him of his him with snares, and finally extorted
wealth, and then refuses to share with from him a pledge to help forward Will-
Roberto, as had been planned. Roberto, iam's claims in England at Edward's
meeting some actors, begins to write death. Then Harold returned home.
plays. His successes obtain for him the The English theyns, in council assem-
friendship of an old gentleman, whose bled, having chosen Harold as Edward's
daughter he marries, but whom he abuses successor, the dying king confirmed their
shamefully. Not until he is dying does he choice, and Harold became king. Now
cry out, looking at his father's present, for State reasons, Harold had to marry
«Oh, now it is too late » – «Here (gen- Aldyth, the widowed sister of two pow-
tlemen), breake I
Roberto's speech; erful allies, and Edith demanded that
whose life, in most parts agreeing with he do so for his country's good; and so
my own, found one selfe punishment as they parted, - he to do his country's be-
I have doone. ) Greene says that his ob- hest, she to enter a convent to pray for
ject in writing is to persuade all young him.
men to profit by his errors, and change Tostig, Harold's traitor brother, having
their mode of life. This work is re- stirred up strife against him, Harold
membered only because it contains one defeated and slew both Tostig and his
of the very few contemporary notices of ally, Hadrad the sea-king. Then came
Shakespeare. Greene, calling upon Mar- William and his Norman array, whom
lowe, Nash, and Peele, to leave off writ- Harold met at Hastings in the autumn
ing for the stage, speaks «an upstart
of 1066. History tell us, as the novel-
crow, beautified with our feathers, who ist does, how Harold and all his army


## p. 266 (#302) ############################################

266
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
1
derby, and to avoid punishment runs
away from England. Thus Louisa's sac-
rifice of herself has been useless. Mr.
Gradgrind's wife, and his other children,
play an unimportant part in the story.
Of more consequence is Sissy (Cecilia)
Jupe, whom the elder Gradgrind has be-
friended in spite of her being the daugh-
ter of a circus clown; and Mrs. Sparsit,
Bounderby's housekeeper, who has seen
better days, and is overpowering with
her relationship to Lady Scadgers.
Then there are Mr. McChoakumchild,
the statistical school-teacher; Bitzer, the
satisfactory pupil; and Mr. Sleary and
his daughter Josephine, as the most con-
spicuous of the minor characters. Mrs.
Pegler, the mother of Josiah Bounderby,
is a curious and amusing figure; while a
touch of pathos is given by the love
of Stephen Blackpool the weaver, for
Rachel, whom he cannot marry because
his erring wife still lives.
Mr. Gradgrind came to see the fallacy
of mere statistics; but Josiah Bounderby,
the self-made man, who loved to belittle
his own origin, never admitted that he
could be wrong. When he died, Louisa
was still young enough to repair her
early mistake by a second and happier
marriage.
ens
career.
were slain; but the romancer does not
stop here. Edith the Fair, he tells us,
came in the night and sought among
the slain until she found the king. Lay-
ing her head upon his breast, she died,
united to him as Hilda had prophesied ;
and Graville, a Norman knight, had both
bodies buried together where the sea
could sing forever their solemn requiem.
The other prophecy was also fulfilled ;
for on Harold's birthday, England was
to be trodden by a conquering army, at
whose head was to be one whose natal
day it was; and by a strange coinci-
dence that day was also the birthday of
the Norman conqueror.
The event in
the novel that preserves it is the battle
of Hastings.
Hard Times, by Charles Dickens.
,
When Hard Times) appeared as a
serial in Household Words in 1854, Dick-
was about midway in his literary
In the same year this novel'ap-
peared in an octavo volume with a dedi-
cation to Thomas Carlyle. Its purpose,
according to Dickens himself, was
satirize «those who see figures and
averages and nothing else — the repre-
sentatives of the wickedest and most
enormous vice of this time, the men
who through long years to come will do
more to damage the really useful facts
of Political Economy than I could do (if
I tried) in my whole life. The satire,
however, like much that Dickens at-
tempted in the same vein, was not very
bitter.
The characters in Hard Times) are
not numerous; and the plot itself is less
intricate than others by the same author.
The chief figures are Mr. Thomas Grad-
grind, “a man of realities, with his un-
bounded faith in statistics; Louisa, his
eldest daughter; and Josiah Bounderby,
as practical as Mr. Gradgrind, but less
kind-hearted. Louisa, though many years
younger than Mr. Bounderby, is per-
suaded by her father to marry him. She
is also influenced in making this mar-
riage by her desire to smooth the path
of her brother Tom, a clerk in Mr.
Bounderby's office. Though not happy,
she resists the blandishments of James
Harthouse, a professed friend of her
husband's. To escape him she has to go
home to her father; and this leads to a
permanent estrangement between hus-
band and wife. In the mean time Tom
Gradgrind has stolen money from Boun-
to
scene
a
Hannah, by Dinah Mulock (Craik),
1871. This story, the
of
which is laid in England, with a short
episode in France, finds its motive in
the vexed question of marriage with a
deceased wife's sister. The Rev. Ber-
nard Rivers, at the death of his young
wife Rosa, invites her sister, Hannah
Thelluson, to take charge of his home
and baby daughter. Hannah, a sweet
and gentle woman of thirty, with
passionate love for children, resigns her
position as governess, and accepts the
offer, that she may bring up her little
niece. The Rivers family, as well as all
the parish, strongly disapprove the new
arrangement; but Hannah, recognizing
the fact that, in the eyes of the law, she
is Bernard's sister, sees no harm in it.
Soon, however, she finds herself in love
with Bernard, who returns her affection.
After passing through much misery and
unhappiness, as well as scandalous no-
toriety, the lovers separate, and Hannah
takes little Rosie to France, whither
they are soon followed by Mr. Rivers.
Here they decide to ma even though
they must henceforth live in exile. The


## p. 267 (#303) ############################################

SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
267
we
story flows on with the limpid clearness
of Miss Muloch's habitual method. If
not exciting, it is refined, vivid, and al-
ways interesting. As a powerful pur-
pose-novel, it aroused much propagandist
spirit in England.
Hannah Thurston, by Bayard Taylor,
The scene is said to be central
New York. The preface especially in-
forms us that an author does not neces-
sarily represent himself: "I am neither
Mr. Woodberry, Mr. Waldo, nor Seth
Wattles. ) Yet many of the hero's dreams
and experiences are those of Bayard
Taylor; and those who know, say that
no one familiar with Pennsylvania could
fail to recognize the life of Chester
County where Taylor was born.
Maxwell Woodberry returns from years
of travel to make a home in the village
where he lived as a child. There he
meets Hannah Thurston, a lovely Qua-
ker girl, and admires her, but is repelled
by her advocacy of woman's rights.
Love finally triumphs, and they are hap-
pily married, each yielding some part
of his or her prejudice. All the fads
and crotchets of a country village find
a place in the chronicle: total absti-
nence, vegetarianism, spiritualism, and
abolition. In Mr. Dyce we have the
villain who advocates free love, acts
the part of medium, and belongs to a
colony of Perfectionists. There are the
Whitlows, who wish their children to
follow their own inclinations, regard-
less of others; Silas Wattles, the tailor;
good Mr. Waldo, the minister, and his
wife who loved all the world; honest Bute,
the farmer; and the coquettish little
seamstress, Carry Dilworthy, who makes
him such a sweet wife. Woodberry's
“poverty party” has had many imita-
tions in later days; and we have also
sewing societies, temperance conventions,
and other of the usual phases of Ameri-
can country life. Begun in America, the
book was finished in 1863, in St. Peters-
burg, where Taylor had been sent as
secretary of legation. It was his first
novel; and is a strangely peaceful book
to be written during the early days of
the Civil War, and in Russia. It had
a large sale, was translated into Russian
and German, and published simultan-
eously in London and New York.
Harry Lorrequer, a novel by Charles
Lever. The story is made up of
a series of ludicrous adventures, very
loosely connected. Of some of these
Lever was himself the hero; others he
gathered from his personal friends.
Harry Lorrequer has scarcely landed in
Cork, after campaigning with Wellington
on the Continent, before he is entangled
in the most tragic-comic perplexities.
His first adventure consists in telling an
inoffensive stranger an elaborate false-
hood, and then shooting him in a duel,
without disclosing any reason why he
should fight at all. The scandalous im-
morality of the affair is forgotten in
the grotesque drollery of it. In fact,
the most characteristic note of the tale is
the irresponsibility of every one.
Drink-
ing, duelling, getting into love and debt,
are represented as an Irish gentleman's
conception of the whole duty of man.
Harry is presently sent in disgrace to
the dull town of Kilrush. But his ban-
ishment is enlivened by every kind of
adventure. The scene shifts to Dublin,
and have more hoaxes, practical
jokes, and blunders. The hero starts
(in a yellow postchaise » after the Kil-
kenny Royal Mail, traveling a hundred
and fifty miles or so, the coach being all
the time quietly in the court-yard of the
Dublin post-office. We find him next in
Germany, where he unconsciously hoaxes
the Bavarian king and all his court.
Lever knew the little German towns
well, and his descriptions of their ludi-
crous aspects are true. Harry then pro-
ceeds to Paris, finds himself in a gam-
bling saloon, and of course, breaks the
bank. Most of the great men of France
are among the gamblers; and Talley.
rand, Marshal Soult, Balzac, and others,
must have been surprised to learn of
the part they took in the Donnybrook
scrimmage with which the affair winds
up. Finally, Harry weds the girl he
has always adored, although his adora-
tion has not hindered him from falling
in love with scores of other ladies, and
proposing marriage to some of them.
This
Hard Cash, by Charles Reade.