No More Learning

in his religious life. For this rea-
Narrated
light in connection with the Political,
upon the religious England of the first Ecclesiastical, and Literary History of
half of the century; and especially upon his Time. By David Masson. (7 vols. ,
its concentrated expression, the Oxford 1858-94. Revised and enlarged edition of
movement. Its supreme value, however, Vol. i. , 1881. ) A thorough and minute
is its intimate revelation of a luminous (Life of Milton,' with a new political,
spirituality, of a personality of lofty refine- ecclesiastical, and literary history of Mil-
ment and beauty.
ton's whole time, 1608-74. The work em-
braces not only the history of England,
Apology for his Life. Colley Cibber's but the connections of England with
autobiography was published in 1740, Scotland and Ireland, and with foreign
when the author, poet-laureate, actor, and countries, through the civil wars, the
man-about-town was in his seventieth Commonwealth, the Protectorates of Ol-
year. In the annals of the stage this curi- iver and Richard Cromwell, the period
ous volume holds an important place, as following of anarchy, and the first four-
throwing light upon dramatic conditions teen years of the Restoration. It claims
in London after the Restoration, when the to be, and unquestionably is, the faithful
theatre began to assume its modern as- fulfillment of a large design to make a
pect. Cibber, born in 1671, had become history of England's most interesting
a member of a London company when and most momentous period, from ori-
only eighteen years of age.
ginal and independent studies;
Cibber gives a very full account of fa- mere setting for the biography of Mil-
mous contemporary actors and actresses: ton, but a work of independent search
son the
Apologia "casts remarkable's in Milton, John, the Life of.
not a
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## p. 82 (#118) #############################################

82
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
and largely too of broad Pilgrim charac Goeth
and method from first to last, to which during the period of his own service. The
the inquirer can turn for accurate infor- descriptions of battles are technical, not
mation in regard to any important fact sensational; the effort being to give the
of the entire Milton period.
facts, not to paint pictures, while the
The Pilgrim Fathers took refuge in outlines of campaigns and policies afford
Holland the very year of Milton's birth; valuable historical material. Maps and
the age was the age of Puritanism; Mil- indices add to the usefulness of the work.
ton was the very genius of Puritanism,
oethe, Autobiography of, with a sub-
ter and mind; the Westminster Assembly,
title, “Truth and Poetry (Wahrheit
by which Scotch Calvinism
und Dichtung) from My Own Life,' has
was made
dominant in England, was a notable
appeared in various forms since its first
publication.
fact, side by side with the Long Parlia-
To the translation of John
ment, from July ist, 1643, to February 22d,
Oxenford is subjoined Goethe's Annals,
1649; Presbyterianism found advantage
or Day and Year Papers) (1749–1822),
from this Assembly to plant its organ-
which supplement the Autobiography
ization on English soil; the less vigor-
The Autobiography' begins with the
ous and more truly English system of
author's birth, ends some time after his
independency, conspicuously represented
important Italian journey in 1786, and
by the Pilgrims to New England, won
belongs in construction to the didactic
a place in the history; and
period of his career, not having been
over all
rose that Commonwealth, which runs in
completed as late as 1816. Indeed, it
the name of Cromwell, and to the gov-
ends quite abruptly, as though the pur-
erning body of which — the great Coun-
pose to add the later chapters of his life
cil of State – Milton was secretary from
had been formed, but never realized.
To characterize this human document
March 15th, 1649, to December 26th, 1659.
To all these large and significant mat-
would be to characterize Goethe, for into
ters Professor Masson addressed himself
it he has poured his whole mind at its
with masterly research; and in due con-
earliest and at its ripest. From his wealth
of material he selects with boldness and
nection brings upon the scene all the
insight. Not only does he record bis
great figures of the time. He uses the
utmost pains also to tell the story of
estimates of men and places, but he lets
Milton's powerful prose writings, his
the reader into the inner places of his
vigorous and independent thinking in
being, disclosing his friendships, his
those great works which are one of the
methods of creation, and the operations
richest mines of interest and inspiration
of his regal mind. Poet, thinker, critic,
in the whole of English literature.
and original observer - all appear.
Not
only has Professor Masson given every-
Many important personages are intro-
duced, and such matters are discussed as
thing knowable about Milton, but he has
shown the truest appreciation of the
usually occupy the autobiographer. It
mind and character of the great poet,
is, however, because it reveals Goethe
and of the varied aspects of the great
the man as do none of his other works,
in which he played so conspicuous
that the book is so profoundly interest-
age
ing.
a part.
Frederick the Great, History of, by
Grant, U. S. , Personal Memoirs of;
Thomas Carlyle. (1858–65. ) A work
1885, has had an enormous sale. It of grand proportions and masterly execu-
is one of the most simple and effective tion, a monument at once of the lofty
of the many memoirs by soldiers. Tracing genius of Carlyle and of the kingly great-
his own career from childhood, through- ness of Frederick II. of Prussia. It was
out his student days, his business life, the founded on the most thorough examina.
Mexican War, and his civilian period in tion of all available materials, and with
the West, and outlining his conduct of the Carlyle's ardent faith in kingship was
Federal forces during the Civil War, he made as laudatory as the most zealous
closes the account with the end of the of Prussians could desire. The graphic
strife. Among the most valuable features power and humor of the work occasioned
of a work which takes first rank as a Emerson's declaration that it was the
military autobiography, are the author's wittiest book ever written. ) The scenes
estimates of the leaders who had to do of Frederick's battle-fields were visited
with the affairs of the armies and nation by Carlyle; and from his fidelity and
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## p. 83 (#119) #############################################

SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
83
wonderful power of description, the mili-
tary student can see the battles as they
were fought almost as if he were an eye-
witness. Both England and Germany
recognized the extraordinary merits of
Carlyle's work. On the first two volumes
of the six the author received within a
few months nearly $15,000.
Forty. one Years in India, by Lord
Roberts of Kandahar, was published
in 1897, and became immediately popular;
passing through sixteen editions within
three months. The work is a volumi-
nous autobiography, tracing the life of the
author from his days as a subaltern until
his promotion to the position of com-
mander-in-chief of the British forces in
India, and written with the candor of an
observer whose experiences have trained
him to make broad generalizations in
varied fields. With no attempt at melo-
dramatic presentation, the account of the
highly colored life of India during the
critical period covered is both vivid and
striking Valuable notes are given upon
governmental policies, international com-
plications, and the affairs with the many
Indian peoples; while religious, educa-
tional, commercial, and sanitary matters
are treated with sufficient fullness. Lord
Roberts came into close touch with all
the leading minds who have shaped In-
dian affairs during the last half-century.
and perhaps the most valuable pages of
his book are those which describe these
great men. A full appendix and index
increase the availability of the work.
Fox, Charles James, The Early His-
tory of, by G. O. Trevelyan, ap-
peared in 1880. Following the method of
his admirable Life and Letters of Lord
Macaulay, the author makes a profound
study of the social and political environ-
ment of the youthful Fox as he entered
upon his brilliant career. The loose
morals of the times, and the prevalent
political corruption, are reviewed with
dispassionate candor. With charm of
language, and the fascination of a ro-
mance, are presented the great but too
often venal minds which shaped the
course of public action during the Geor-
gian era; and a review of the Parlia-
mentary measures which made or marred
the careers of men, the success of cabi-
nets, and the fate of issues of national
moment.
Altogether, Fox is presented as a young
man of remarkable astuteness and vigor
of intellect, a born orator and leader, and,
considering his corrupt environment, a
force making for political probity.
Faraday as a Discoverer, by John Tyn-
dall, appeared in 1868, less than a
year after Faraday's death. The volume
is not a «life» in the ordinary sense,
but rather a calm estimate of the scien-
tist's work, with incidental views of the
spirit in which it was done, and intro-
ducing such personal traits as serve to
complete the picture of the philosopher,
if inadequate fully to present the idea
of the man. The study, which reveals
the author as at once a graceful writer
and an accomplished savant, is approached
from the point of view of an intimate
coadjutor and friend. In Faraday's nota-
ble career, his achievements in mag-
netism and electricity are presented as
being among the most remarkable; while
his connection with the Royal Institution
proved distinguished no less for the dis-
coveries which he there made than for
his lucid discussions of scientific ques-
tions. Of his own relation to Faraday,
Tyndall says, with modesty, beauty, and
feeling: “It was my wish to play the
part of Schiller to this Goethe. ) And
again: «You might not credit me were
I to tell you how lightly I value the
honor of being Faraday's successor com-
pared with the honor of having been
Faraday's friend.
His friendship was
energy and inspiration; his (mantle) is
a burden almost too heavy to be borne. »
France and England in North Amer.
ica: A SERIES OF HISTORICAL NAR-
RATIVES (7, in 9 volumes), by Francis
Parkman. A magnificent frontispiece to
the history of the United States; in con-
ception and execution a performance of
the highest character, interest, and value;
for genius and fidelity in research per-
haps never surpassed; graphic narrative
bringing back the continental stretches
of untrodden forest, the stealthy savage,
the scheming soldier, the mission planted
in the wilderness, the pioneers of settle-
ment and the heroes of conquest, colonies
founded upon the ideas of opposed Eu-
ropean powers, the struggles of policy or
of arms to widen control and make pos-
session more secure, and the movements
of world-destiny which turned and over-
turned to decide under what flag and
along what paths empire should take
her westward course . from sea to sea, or
broaden down from the lakes to the gulf.


## p. 84 (#120) #############################################

84
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
books ever added to the libraries of the
world.
In his volume of sketches entitled
(The Oregon Trail, which first appeared
in 1847 in the Knickerbocker Magazine,
and in a definitive edition in 1872 (and
the same illustrated in 1892), Parkman
told the story of forms and conditions of
life in the Far West which have passed
away, and of which his story is a most
interesting and valuable record. Four
years later the young author gave to the
world his first historical work, (The Con-
spiracy of Pontiac); in which, hardly less
than in his latest pages, the genius of
the writer for research and for fasci-
nating story was made brilliantly mani-
fest. A revised and much enlarged
edition was published in 1870, and the
volumes form a proper sequel to his
(France and England in North America. "
was
It had been the dream of the author's
youth, and the inspiration of his genius,
to spend himself effectually in recovering
the almost lost history of New France in
America; to found upon original docu-
ments a continuous narrative of French
efforts to occupy and control the conti-
nent: and at the date of his last preface,
March 26th, 1892, he was able to refer to
a collection of manuscript materials be-
gun forty-five years before, and carried
to completion in seventy volumes.
Part First of the great work, dating
from January 1st, 1865, was a story of
«France in the New World; the attempt
of Feudalism, Monarchy, and Rome to
master a continent; a memorable but
half-forgotten chapter in the book of
human life. ” It included an account
of The Huguenots in Florida,' and of
(Champlain and his Associates,' to the
death of Champlain, December 25th,
1635. Part Second was occupied with
(The Jesuits in North America in the
seventeenth century); «their efforts to
convert the Indians. » Its date
March ist, 1867. Part Third, “The Dis-
covery of the Great West,' the valley's
of the Mississippi and the Lakes, «a
series of daring enterprises very little
known,” came out dated September 16th,
1869. Part Fourth, dated July ist, 1874,
gave the story of The Old Régime in
Canada”; “the political and social ma-
chine set up by Louis XIV. ) Part Fifth,
January 1st, 1877, was (Count Frontenac
and New France under Louis XIV. ,) the
story of the battle for the continent.
Part Sixth, vols. vi. and vii. , dated March
29th, 1892, told the story of A Half-
Century of Conflict, to the Peace of Aix-
la-Chapelle,' of which the news reached
America in July 1748. Part Seventh,
Vols. viii. and is. , which had appeared
earlier than Part Sixth, dated Septem-
ber 16th, 1884, was the story of Montcalm
and Wolfe, not the least thrilling pass-
age of the whole history.
Not only had the author read and col-
lated with extreme care every fragment
of evidence, published or unpublished, to
secure the utmost accuracy of statement,
but he had visited and examined every
spot where events of any importance had
taken place, that his words might recover
the very scenes of the story. On his
finished task he could look with a satis-
faction rarely granted to human achieve-
ment in any field. In those nine vol-
umes, he had made one of the best
1
France, History of, by Jules Michelet.
(Final edition, 1867, 16 vols. ) The
author of this story of France, from the
earliest period down to the nineteenth
century, ranks among great historical
writers for ardor of research into origins
and original materials, for power of im-
agination in restoring the past, and for
passionate zeal in humanitarian interest
of every kind. He cannot be read for
exact, judicious, comprehensive narrative
of the facts of French history, but rather
as a great advocate at the bar of letters
and learning, telling in his own way the
things which most enlist his sympathy or
arouse his indignation; perhaps rash in
generalization, too lyrical and fiery for
sober truth, in matters ecclesiastical es-
pecially giving way to violent wrath, but
always commanding, by his scholarship
and his genius, the interest of the reader,
and always rewarding that interest. His
work exists, both in French and in an
English one-volume translation, as a his-
tory of France down to the close of the
reign of Louis XI. It was due to the fact
that he broke off at this point in 1843, and
devoted eight years (1845-53) to writing,
almost in the form of an impassioned epic,
the story of the French Revolution. Later
he resumed the suspended work, and made
the whole reach to the nineteenth century.
The French people was the idol of his
enthusiasm, and human rights the gospel
eternally set in the nature of things.
Humanity, revealing divine ideas, and
history, an ever-broadening combat for
freedom, were the principles to which he
1
1


## p. 85 (#121) #############################################

SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
85
He is specially Chronicles of Froissart, The.
a
continually recurred.
The
interesting moreover as the complete em-
Chronicles of the French poet and
bodiment of one type of French charac- historian Jean Froissart embrace the
teristics.
events occurring from 1325 to 1400 in
England, Scotland, France, Spain, Brit-
France, History of: From The Most tany, and the Low Countries. They are
REMOTE TIMES TO 1789. (Final re- of great value in illustrating the man-
written edition (3d) 1837, 19 vols. ) By ners and character of the fourteenth cen-
Henri Martin. A masterpiece of histori- tury. Froissart began his work on them
cal writing, and of importance for the when but twenty years old, in 1357; they
complete history of the French race, from were not completed until 1400. They
its origins, earlier than any other of the present a vivid and interesting picture
European nations, down to the great of the long-continued wars of the times,
Revolution which, with the creation in setting forth in detail not only the fight-
America of the United States, initiated ing, but the feasts, spectacles, and all
the triumph of democratic principles in the pageantry, of feudal times; and they
the modern world.
are enlivened throughout by Froissart's
Drawing from original sources, M. Mar- shrewd comments and observations,
tin pictures the development of France Among the many interesting historic
within itself and its influence in Europe, personages are King Edward III. of
the growth of national unity, strength, England, Queen Philippa, Robert Bruce
and culture, and the great part played of Scotland, and Lord James Douglas
by the French mind in European civili- who fought so valiantly for the heart
zation. He sees France serving as of Bruce. Froissart depicts the invasion
bond holding in one course the European of France by the English, the battle of
group of peoples; initiating advances in
Crécy, the great siege of Calais, and
development; the comprehensive embodi- the famous battle of Poitiers; describes
ment of European characteristics, and a the brilliant court of the great Béarnese,
leader in European activities; saving the Lord Gaston Phæbus, Count de Foix,
West from Mohammedan conquest; mak- whom he used to visit; and portrays
ing and unmaking political greatness for among other events the coronation of
the papacy; recovering Greek and Roman Charles VI. of France, the heroic strug-
culture; now the seat of Catholicism and gle of Philip van Artevelde to recover
now the cradle of philosophy; and to the rights of Flanders, and the insurrec-
crown all, planting the standard of equal- tion of Wat Tyler. There is also a
ity above the wreck of the feudal world. valuable description of the Crusade of
The genius, the characteristics, the ac- 1390. Froissart obtained his material by
complishments, the graces and gifts, of journeying about and plying with ques.
the French people, the twofold direction tions the knights and squires whom he
of French interest to religion and to hero- met, lodging at the castles of the great,
ism, M. Martin notes with loyal ardor; and jotting down all that he learned
with prophetic confidence that in know- of stirring events and brave deeds. He
ing herself, France can only proceed was much in England, being at different
steadily onward and upward from that times attached to the households of Ed-
great new departure which she made in ward III. of England and of King John
1789.
of France, and becoming an especial
The pages which M. Martin has de- favorite with Queen Philippa, who made
voted to the story of thought and science him clerk of her chamber. The Chron.
in France, from the time that Locke's icles) first appeared in Paris about the
ideas set in motion the developments end of the fifteenth century. In the Li-
which ended with the celebrated (Ency- brary at Breslau is a beautiful MS. of
clopédie); the story of Voltaire, Con- them, executed in 1468.
dillac, and Helvétius; of Buffon, the
prophet, of Naturalism, and of Diderot France under Louis XV; by James
and D'Alembert, Turgot, and other polit-
Perkinspublished
ical economists,- are pages singularly volumes in 1897. The method of treat-
lucid, instructive, and fascinating; an ment is chronological, each briefer or
admirable narrative of a great passage longer term of years within the life of
in the history of modern intellectual de- Louis being designated by some import-
velopment.
ant event and treated more or less closely


## p. 86 (#122) #############################################

86
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
were
in relation thereto. Delving beneath the
surface for chains of causes, and widely
tracing the course of effects, the author
has made a profound, scholarly, and im-
partial study of the times. International
affairs are given large attention, and
some new data presented as material
for the formation of modern judgment of
a period now so remote as to make an
unprejudiced estimate possible. But the
work is most valuable as embodying keen
analytical studies of the men whose lives
were then most potential. Not only the
French monarch, but his contemporary
sovereigns, littérateurs, leaders in the
arts, statesmen, and others, are set forth
with lifelike vividness. The chapters
thus afford a complete picture of the
times.
which succeeded the rule of the revolu-
tionists, and that concerning the current
forms of French thought, are among the
most striking in the book. Of these
habits of thought Taine says: “Never
finer barracks constructed, more
symmetrical and more decorative in as.
pect,
more satisfactory to superficial
view, more acceptable to vulgar good-
sense, more suited to narrow egoism,
better kept and cleaner, better adapted
to the discipline of the average and low
elements of human nature, and better
adapted to etiolating or perverting the
superior elements of human nature. In
this philosophical barracks we have lived
for eighty years. ”
French Revolution, The, by Hippolyte
Adolphe Taine. (1878. ) This forms
the second part of that elaborate work
on (The Origins of Contemporary France)
on which Taine spent the last years of
his life (from 1876 to 1893), and which
obtained for him his seat in the French
Academy. Taine's famous formula of
Race, time, and circumstance, as ac-
counting for all things and everybody,
which underlay all his other work, lies
at the basis of this also. The book dif-
fers, therefore, diametrically from Car-
lyle's history of the same epoch; Carlyle's
theory, as is well known, being that his-
tory is shaped by the exertion of heroic
human wills. If the two works be read
together, a stereoscopic view of the period
may be obtained; and if Laurence Grön-
lund's (Ça Ira) be added to the list, a
newer, and possibly a more philosophical
opinion still, will be the result. From
the opening argument in favor of his
theory of «spontaneous anarchy,” through
the chapters on the Assembly, the Appli-
cation of the Constitution, the Jacobites,
and those on the overthrow of the Revo-
lutionists' government, the pages hold
the reader with an irresistible fascina-
tion. The essay on the psychology of
the Jacobin leaders, – which characterizes
Marat as partially a maniac, Danton as
(an original, spontaneous genius » pos-
sessing “political aptitudes to an eminent
degree, but furthering social ferment
for his own ends, Robespierre as both
obtuse and a charlatan "on the last
bench of the eighteenth century, the most
abortive and driest offshoot of the clas-
sical spirit,” – that on the government
French Revolution, The: A History,
by Thomas Carlyle. (1837. ) One of
the monumental books of all literature,
On its appearance John Stuart Mill took
pains to review it in the Westminster;
and Carlyle's name was securely placed
on the roll of great English authors. Mr.
R. H. Hutton pronounced it quite pos-
sible that it will be as the author of the
(French Revolution,' a unique book of
the century, that Carlyle will be chiefly re-
membered. ” Carlyle himself said, “You
have not had for a hundred years any
book that comes more direct and flam-
ingly from the heart of a living man. ”
With almost unequaled power of pictur-
ing incidents and portraying characters
and scenes, Carlyle flung upon his pages
a series of pictures such as the pen has
rarely executed. He deals less with
causes and effects, but for the immediate
scenes of the story his power is almost
perfect; and his book can never lose its
living interest for readers, or its value in
many ways to students, though it is often
called a prose poem rather than a history.
French Revolution, The History of,
by H. Morse Stephens. (Vol. i. , 1886;
Vol. ii. , 1891; Vol. iii. not yet published. )
An important definitive work consider-
ably in advance of previous works, either
French or English, in consequence of the
wealth of materials now available, and
the spirit of impartial examination of all
evidence which Mr. Stephens has used.
Taine and Michelet displayed great gen-
ius in their treatment of the subject; but
could not, from French predisposition,
weigh impartially the characters of the
story. Martin's "continuation » of his
great history was a poor work of his old
>


## p. 87 (#123) #############################################

SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
87
a
new
age.
Thiers is often inaccurate and un- esying of present times, he reviews the
fair; Louis Blanc and Quinet were alike last quarter of a century, and carefully
influenced by their political opinions. notes the steps of change and the stage
Mignet stands almost alone for a work of progress which has been reached.
which is still a most useful manual, and
which is certain to retain its position.
A"
ncient Régime, The, by H. A. Taine.
Carlyle wrote with marvelous power 1875. A study of the France which,
indeed, and fidelity to his sources; but after twelve hundred years of develop-
these were few compared with those now ment, existed in 1789; the part which
available. It is for thorough, impartial, clergy, nobles, and king played in it; the
and comprehensive use of the immense organization of politics, society, religion,
mass of new as well as old resources and the church; the state of industry,
that Mr. Stephens undertakes a new his- education, science, and letters; and the
tory; and the two volumes already pub- condition of the people: with reference
lished justify his ambition. He traces especially to the causes which produced
the story of these sources, from the con- the French Revolution, and through that
temporary histories, the memoirs of a
catastrophic upheaval created
following age, and the more complete France. Not only the more general facts
histories from Mignet to Taine, and leav- are brought to view, but the particulars
ing all these behind, proposes to use for of industrial, domestic, and social life are
his work the labors of a new school of abundantly revealed. First the structure
specialists created since the influence of of society is examined; then the habits
Ranke and of German methods began to and manifestations of character which
be operative in France. This new school were most notably French; then the ele-
has produced a great number of pro- ments of a dawning revolution, the rep-
vincial histories of extraordinary excel- resentative figures of a new departure,
lence; it has brought out many valuable master minds devoted to new knowledge;
biographies, a large number of works on
philosophers, scientists, economists, seek-
the foreign relations of France, and a ing a remedy for existing evils; then the
rich succession of special papers in the working of the new ideas in the public
reviews and magazines. There are avail- mind; and finally the state of suffering
able, also, a variety of publications of and struggle in which the mass of the
proceedings, which bring many early rec- people were. A masterly study of great
ords to light. The great story, with its value for the history of France and for
terrible lights and not less terrible dark- judgment of the future of the French
ness, begins therefore to be clearly open Republic. Taine's phenomenal brilliancy
to unprejudiced investigation, and Mr.
of style and picturesqueness of manner,
Stephens's volumes are an attempt to give his philosophical contemplation of data,
the results of such investigation. He and his keen reasoning, have never been
leaves upon his readers a clear impres- more strikingly exhibited than in these
sion of his success.
volumes, which are as absorbing as fiction
and as informing as science.
France, Evolution of, under the Third
Republic, by Baron Pierre de Cou-
French Literature, A Short History of,
bertin. (Translated by Isabel F. Hap- by George Saintsbury, 1897. Among
good, 1897. ) An excellent study of re- Professor Saintsbury's works, which have
cent developments in France, including been mostly on literature, few have been
not merely politics and matters of State, more serviceable than this handbook. It
but ideas, habits, social relations, literary covers a broad field, and one especially
tendencies, and whatever shows what attractive to English readers, as well as
France is becoming, or has become, un- not too accessible to them. Accurate in
der the order of things since September its statements of fact, short, simply and
4th, 1870. The story of the Franco-Ger- directly written, and yet comprehensive,
man War is not attempted, but only that it considers all departments of literature,
of the developments which began with including history, theology, philosophy,
the close of that war. For the origin of and science. It starts with origins,
the evolution, the full accomplishment of and ends with writers of the present
which is found in the Third Republic, day; treating respectively of Mediæval
Coubertin looks back to 1792; and with a Literature,! . (The Renaissance,) (The
general view of the Revolution as proph- Seventeenth Century,' The Eighteenth


## p. 88 (#124) #############################################

88
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
Century,) (The Nineteenth Century,' and Queen of Navarre. The (Nouvelles) also
offering a sufficient though necessarily show us that the Middle Ages are past.
brief description of the various men and Instead of gallant knights performing
works “whereof knowledge is desirable impossible feats to win a smile from
to enable the reader to perceive the main romantic châtelaines, we have a crowd
outlines of the course of French litera- of princes and peasants, nobles and
ture. ” In the interchapters, inserted at tradesmen; all, with their wives and mis-
the ends of the books, are summed up the tresses, jostling and duping one another
general phenomena of the periods as dis- on a footing of perfect equality. Another
tinguished from particular accomplish- sign that a new era has come is the
ment.
mixed social condition of the thirty-two
story-tellers; for among them, obscure
Cent
ent Nouvelles Nouvelles. This col- and untitled men, probably domestics of
lection of facetious tales was first the Duke of Burgundy, figure side by
published at Paris in 1486. They were side with some of the greatest names in
told at the table of the dauphin, after- French history.
ward Louis XI. , in the Castle of Genappe
during his exile. Their arrangement in Caractéres on Meurs de ce Siecle, by
their present form has been attributed La Bruyère. The first edition ap-
to the Count of Croi, to Louis himself, peared in 1688. The eight editions that
and to Antoine de La Salle. The latter, followed during the author's lifetime con-
however, seems to have been the editor. tained so many additional portraits, max-
In spite of the difference in character ims, and paragraphs, that they were really
and position of the narrators, the Nou. new works.
Each (Caractère ) is the por-
velles) are uniform in tone and style, trait of some individual type studied by
and have the same elegance and clear- La Bruyère in the world around him.
ness of diction that distinguished La His position in the family of Condé, and
Salle’s ‘Quinze Joyes de Mariage. ' Be- consequent opportunities for character-
sides, the number actually related was study, afforded him all the materials he
far in excess of a hundred. A practiced needed; and so he has given us a whole
writer therefore must have selected and gallery of dukes, marquises, court prelates,
revised the best. The work is one of court chamberlains, court ladies, pedants,
the most curious monuments of a kind financiers, and in fact representatives of
of literature distinctively French, and every department of court, professional,
which, since its revival by Voltaire in literary, or civic life. He gets at them
the last century, has always been suc- in the different situations in which they
cessfully cultivated: the literature that are most likely to reveal their personal
considers elegant mockery and perfection and mental characteristics, and then
of form adequate compensation for the
makes them tell him their several se-
lack of morality and lofty ideals. Al- crets. Unlike Montaigne and La Roche-
though several of the stories are traceable foucauld, he does not
much care
to
to Boccaccio, Poggio, and other Italian meddle with the man and woman of all
novellieri, most of them are original. times and places. His victim is this or
The historical importance of the collec- that man woman belonging to the
tion arises from its giving details re-
second half of the seventeenth century.
garding the manners and customs of the Naturally, a mind-reader of this sort, who
fifteenth century that can be found no- was also a master of the most polished
where else. Its very licentiousness is sarcasm, clothed in the most classical
commentary enough on the private life French ever written save that of Racine
of the men and women of the time. In and Massillon, would make many ene-
spite of its title, however, there is nothing mies; for under the disguise of Elmire,
novel in the incidents upon which the Clitiphon, and other names borrowed from
(Nouvelles) are based. Their novelty the plays and romances of the age, many
consists in their high-bred brightness great personages of the literary and fash-
and vivacity, their delicately shaded and ionable world recognized themselves. La
refined but cruel sarcasm. With a slight Bruyère protested his innocence, and no
modernization of the language, they might doubt in most cases several individuals
have been told at one of the Regent's sat for a single portrait; but it is also
suppers, and they are far superior to pretty certain that he painted the great
those related in the Heptameron of the Condé in Émile,' and Fonteneile in
or
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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
89
men
(Cydias,' and that many others had
cause for complaint. While it is admitted
that the picture he presents of the society
of his time is almost complete, it does
not appear that the Caractères) were
composed after any particular plan. Still,
although there may not be a very close
connection between the chapters, there is
a certain order in their succession. The
first, which paints society in its general
features, is a sort of introduction to the
nine following, which paint it in its dif-
ferent castes. Universal ethics are the
subject of the eleventh and twelfth, while
the eccentricities and abuses of the age
are dealt with in the thirteenth and four-
teenth, and in the fifteenth we have the
Christian solution. Some critics hold
La Bruyère a democrat and a precur-
sor of the French Revolution. The Ca-
ractères, however, teem with passages
that prove he accepted all the essential
ideas of his time in politics and religion.
A large number of manuscript “keys »
to the Caractères) appeared after their
publication. Quite a literature has grown
up around these keys. The Comédie de
La Bruyère) of Édouard Fournier deals
with the key question, both exhaustively
and amusingly. The "Édition Servois)
(1867) of the Caractères) is considered
by French critics unrivaled; but English
readers will find that of Chassary (1876)
more useful, as it contains everything of
interest that had appeared in the preced-
ing editions.
Ruins, byn Constantin François Vol-
ney.
These meditations upon the
revolutions of empires were published in
Paris in 1791, and have for their theme
the thought that all the ills of man are
traceable to his abandonment of Natural
Religion. The author, who was an ex-
tensive traveler, represents himself as
sitting on the ruins of Palmyra, dream-
ing of the past, and wondering why the
curse of God rests on this land. He
hears a voice (the Genius of the Tombs),
complaining of the injustice of men, in
attributing to God's vengeance that which
is due to their own folly. Love of self,
desire of well-being, and aversion to
pain, are the primordial laws of nature.
By these laws men were driven to asso-
ciate. Ignorance and cupidity raised the
strong against the weak. The feeble
joined forces, obliging the strong to do
likewise. To prevent strife, equitable
laws were passed. Paternal despotism
was the foundation of that of the State.
Tiring of the abuses of many petty
rulers, the nation gave itself one head.
Cupidity engendered tyranny, and all
the revenues of the nation were used for
the private expenses of the monarch.
Under pretext of religion, millions of
were employed in useless works.
Luxury became a source of corruption.
Excessive taxation obliged the small
landholder to abandon his field, and the
riches and lands were concentrated in
few hands. The ignorant and poor at-
tributed their calamities to some superior
power, while the priests attributed them
to wicked gods. To appease them, man
sacrificed his pleasures. Mista king bis
pleasures for crimes, and suffering for
expiation, he abjured love of self and
detested life; but as nature has endowed
the heart of man with hope, he formed,
in his imagination, another country.
For chimerical hopes he neglected the
reality. Life was but a fatiguing voy-
age, a painful dream, the body a prison.
Then a sacred laziness established itself
in the world. The fields were deserted,
empires depopulated, monuments neg-
lected; and ignorance, superstition, and
fanaticism, joining their forces, multi-
plied the devastation and ruins. The
Genius shows him a revolution, where
Liberty, Justice, and Equality are recog-
nized as the foundation of society. Be-
fore accepting a religion, all are invited
to present their claims for recognition.
The result is not only dissensions among
the different religions, but between the
different branches of the same religion,
each one claiming that his is the only
revealed religion and that all the others
are impositions.
Ninety-three (Quatre-vingt-Treize'),
by Victor Hugo, bears the sub-title:
(Premier Recit. La Guerre Civile, and
was intended to form the first part of a
trilogy. It was published in 1874. The
edition of 1882 contains several remarka-
ble designs signed by the author. The
story deals with an episode of the Ven-
dean and Breton insurrection; the scene
opening in a wood in Bretagne where a
woman, driven distracted by the war
raging around herself and her three
children, encounters a body of republican
soldiers. During this time, a band of
émigrés are preparing to land under
the command of a Breton nobleman,
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90
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
government, though it has furnished them
1829 a young man, in despair because of
with a ship, informs the French authori- failure to succeed in his chosen career,
ties of their design, and a fotilla bars tries the gaming table. He meets an
their passage. The émigrés, after secur- old man, who revives his interest in life
ing the escape of Lantenac, who is com- by showing him a piece of skin, bearing
missioned to raise Bretagne, blow up the in Arabic an inscription promising to
vessel. After landing he learns that a the owner the gratification of every wish.
price is set on his head. A number of But with each request granted the skin
men come towards him, and he believes becomes smaller. The life of the pos-
he is lost, but bravely tells his name. sessor is lessened as the enchanted skin
They are Bretons, and recognize him as diminishes. The unknown young man
their leader. Then ensues a conflict in seizes the skin, crying “A short life but
which the marquis is victorious, and in a merry one! ) Scenes in Paris pass
which no quarter is given except to the before us, taken from lives of artists,
three children, whom the Bretons carry jou alists, politicians. We meet again
to La Tourgue as hostages. La Tourgue Canalis, a chief character in Modest
is besieged by the republican troops Mignon. One chapter is entitled "The
under Gauvain, the marquis's nephew, Heartless Woman. ) Raphael by virtue of
assisted by the ex-priest Cimourdain, a the talismanic skin becomes rich. Paul-
rigid and inflexible republican who has ine loves him. Life smiles on them,
trained Gauvain in his own opinions. Yet the fatal skin is brought to his
The besieged are determined to blow up eyes, casting a gloom over everything –
the tower and all it contains, if they are scientific work, salons of painting and
conquered.
When their case is desper- sculpture, the theatre - embittering all.
ate and the tower is already on fire, an He brings the skin to Lavrille, a savant,
underground passage is discovered, and for examination. It is the skin of an
they can escape.
Lantenac is in safety, ass,” is the decision. Raphael was look-
but he hears the agonizing shrieks of ing for some means to stretch the skin,
the mother, who sees her three children and thus prolong his life. He tries me-
in the midst of the flames. Moved with chanical force, chemistry; but the skin
pity, he returns, saves them, and be- becomes less and still less — till he dies.
comes a prisoner. When he is about to Through all we feel the author's tone of
be executed, Gauvain covers him with irony toward the weakness and sins of
his own cloak, tells him to depart, and society. Some twenty principal person-
remains in his place. A council of war
ages are introduced.
condemns Gauvain; and at the moment
he mounts the scaffold, Cimourdain, who
Jules Sandeau (Paris:
one of his judges, kills himself. 1846). The scene of the story is
Hugo incarnates in his three principal laid in the little village of Saint-Sylvain,
characters the three ages of human so- in the ancient province of La Marche.
ciety.
Lantenac, the monarchic chief, The curé, a priest patterned after the
personifies the past; Cimourdain, the cit- Vicar of Wakefield, who spends most of
izen priest, the present; and Gauvain, his income of 800 francs in relieving his
the ideal of mercy, the future. Although poor, discovers that there is no money
the descriptions and disquisitions are left to buy a soutane for himself and a
sometimes wordy and tedious, and there surplice for his assistant; while the fes-
are many improbabilities in the romance, tival of the patron of the parish is close
the picture of the three little children at hand, and their old vestments are in
tossed about in the revolutionary hurri- rags.
There is consternation in the pres-
cane will always be considered one of bytery, especially when the news arrives
the loftiest achievements of Hugo's gen- that the bishop of Limoges himself is to
ius. The account of the convention of be present. Catharine, the priest's little
1793, and the conversations of Marat, niece, determines to make a collection,
Danton, and Robespierre, also show the and goes to the neighboring château,
hand of a master.
although warned that the Count de Sou-
gères is a wicked and dangerous man.
Magic Skin, The ('La Peau de But Catharine, in her innocence, does not
Chagrin'), by Honoré de Balzac. understand the warning; and besides,
This forms of the Philosophic Claude, her uncle's choir-leader and her
Studies) of the great Frenchman. In friend from childhood, will protect her.
Catharine,
was
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When she reaches the château, she meets,
not the count, but his son Roger, who
gives a liberal donation to the fair col-
lector, and afterward sends hampers of
fowl, silver plate, etc. , to the presbytery,
so that Monseigneur of Limoges and his
suite are received with all due honor.
Universal joy pervades the parish, which
Claude does not share. He is jealous;
and with reason, for Catharine and Roger
quickly fall in love with each other.
(Catharine) ranks as one of the best,
if not the best, of Sandeau's works.
While some of the scenes show intense
dramatic power, and others are of the
most pathetic interest, a spirit of de-
licious humor pervades the whole story,
an unforced and kindly humor that springs
from the situations, and is of a class
seldom found in French literature.
victim of war, this thesis, interpreted by
scenes of daily carnage, is more eloquent
and persuasive than if it borrowed argu-
ments from history or philosophy. The
style is simple, familiar; perhaps at times
even vulgar: but it is never trivial or
commonplace, and is always in harmony
with the speaker. As the work was hos-
tile to the Napoleonic legend, numerous
obstacles were put in the way of its cir-
culation at the time of publication. But
notwithstanding, it was scattered in pro-
fusion throughout France by means of
cheap illustrated editions.
an
1
Loki, by Prosper Mérimée, is one of the
strongest and most skillfully con-
structed of his works. The motive is
the almost universal belief that human
beings may be transformed into animals.
A German professor and minister, com-
missioned to make a new translation
of the Scriptures into the Zhmud lan-
guage, is invited by a Lithuanian no-
bleman (Count Szémioth) to reside at
his castle and use his valuable library
during his labors.
The Count's mother, on the day of
her marriage, had been carried off by a
bear, and when rescued, found to be
hopelessly insane, even the birth of her
son having failed to restore her reason.
The Professor finds the Count
agreeable companion, but observes in
him certain strange and often alarming
characteristics. The Count is in love
with a beautiful, witty, but rather friv-
olous young girl, Miss Julia Ivinska, and
the Professor goes with him several
times to visit her at Doughielly. At
last their engagement is announced, and
the Professor is recalled to the castle to
perform the marriage ceremony.
The next morning the bride is found
dead, and the Count has disappeared.
The whole trend of the story, the inci-
dents and conversations, often seemingly
irrelevant, the hinted peculiarities of the
Count, all serve to point, as it were in-
exorably, at the inevitable conclusion
that the man has at last undergone the
terrible transformation and become
bear, after killing and partially eating
his helpless victim.
The perfect simplicity and naturalness
of the language, the realism of its ro-
mance, the grace and wit of the dia-
logue, and the consistency of the char-
acters, - particularly of the Professor,
who narrates the story with the utmost
Conscrit de 1813, Histoire d'un (His-
tory of a Conscript of 1813), by
Erckmann-Chatrian, was published at
Paris in four volumes (1868–70). Joseph
Bertha, a watchmaker's apprentice, aged
20, is in despair when he learns that in
spite of his lameness, he must shoulder a
gun and march against the allies. Hither-
to his own little affairs have bad much
more concern for him than the quarrels of
kings and powers, and he has an instinct-
ive dislike to the spirit of conquest. Still
his is a loyal heart, and he resists the
temptation to desert. After an affecting
farewell to his betrothed, he marches to
join his regiment, resolved to do his duty.
Of the terrific battles of the period Joseph
relates only what he saw. He does not
pretend to be a hero, but he is always true
to his nature and to human nature in his
alternate fits of faint-heartedness and war-
like fury. He obeys his leaders when
they bid him rush to death or glory; but
he cannot help turning his eyes back, at
the same time, to the poor little cottage
where he has left all his happiness. His
artless soul is a battle-field whereon the
feelings natural to him are in constant
conflict with those of his new condition:
the former prevailing when the miseries
of the soldier's life are brought home to
him; the latter, when he is inflamed by
martial ardor. All the narrative, up to
the time he returns wounded to his family,
turns on the contrast between the perpet-
ual mourning that is going on in families
and the perpetual Te Deums for disas-
trous victories. This is the dominant
note; and in the mouth of this obscure
1
T
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92
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
plausibility,- give it the effect of his- vious with the money of all his clients.
tory. While the supernatural is the most Jeanne thus becomes the ward of her good
dramatic quality of the story, every in- old friend, who later sells his treasured
cident in it might nevertheless be ex- library to secure her a marriage portion,
plained scientifically.
and retires to a cottage in the country,
where his declining days are brightened
Crin
rime of Sylvestre Bonnard, The, by the caresses of Jeanne and her child-
by Anatole France. This charming ren.
story, by a distinguished critic and aca-
demician, not only paints the literary life Numa Roumestan, by Alphonse Dau-
det. The author at first intended
of Paris, but depicts the nobler human
to call his romance (North and South';
emotions with delicate humor and pathos.
a title indicative of his true purpose,
In a short prelude entitled “The Log,'
which is to contrast these two sections
the kindliness and simplicity of nature of
of France, not at all to the advantage
the learned archæologist Sylvestre Bon-
of the one in which he was born. Numa
nard, member of the Institute, are revealed.
Roumestan is a genuine Provençal: a
It relates how he sends a Christmas log
braggart, a politician, a great man, and
to a poor young mother, in the attic
a good fellow to boot. He appears in
above him, on the birth of her boy; how,
the opening pages at a festival at Apt,
like a fairy gift, the log comes back to
where he is the choice of his adoring
him on a later Christmas, hollowed out,
and containing a precious manuscript of
fellow-countrymen for deputy. Congrat-
ulations, embraces, hand-shaking, and
the Golden Legend,' for which he has
requests for offices, are the order of the
journeyed to Sicily in vain; and how the
day. He promises everything to every
Princess Trépof, who is the gracious donor,
one, - crosses, tobacco
turns out to be the poor attic-neighbor,
monopolies, what-
whom he had befriended years before.
ever any one asks,- and if Valmajour,
the tambourine player, come to Paris,
When the story opens, we find Sylvestre
he will make his fortune. A friend re-
Bonnard at the château of a Monsieur
monstrates with him. “Bah! ” he answers,
de Gabry, for whom he is cataloguing old
manuscripts. Here he meets a charming they know these promises are of no con-
they are of the South, like myself:
young girl named Jeanne, and discovers
sequence; talking about them will amuse
her to be the portionless daughter of his
them. ” But some persons take him at
first and only love. He resolves to pro-
his word. The story is intensely amus-
vide for and dower her; but she has
ing, and there is not a chapter which
already a guardian in a crafty notary, Mai-
does not contain some laughable inci-
tre Mouche, who has placed her in a third-
dent. The mixture of irony and sensi-
rate school near Paris. Here the good
bility which pervades it is Daudet's
Bonnard visits her and gradually wins her
distinguishing characteristic, and reminds
filial affection; but unluckily at the same
the reader of Heine. There are some
time arouses in the pretentious school-
scenes of real pathos, such as the death
mistress, Mademoiselle Préfère, the am-
of little Hortense. Daudet describes the
bition of becoming the wife of a member
of the Institute who is reputed wealthy.
early career of Gambetta in the chief
character. Gambetta was his friend, but
The defenseless savant, upon receiving
Daudet never shrank from turning his
a scarcely veiled offer of wedlock from
friends into “copy. ”
the lady, cannot conceal his horror; upon
which she turns him out of the house, Faience Violin, The, by J. F. H. Champ;
and denies him all further intercourse with fleury. A dainty book, wrought with
Jeanne. On the discovery that his pro- the delicacy and care of an artist in
tégée is immured and cruelly treated, he some frail and rare material, truly and
is driven to commit his great crime, the without metaphor a romance of pottery.
abduction of a minor. This deed is ef- There is no love episode in the story
fected by bribing the portress of the school save that passion that consumes the col-
and carrying away the willing victim in lector of antiques, which, if yielded to
a cab to the shelter of Madame de Ga- unreservedly, will surely lead to the moral
bry's house. Here he finds that he has result of turning the feelings into stone. ”
committed a penal offense; but escapes The scene is laid in Nevers, the centre
prosecution owing to Jeanne's unworthy of the fine pottery districts of France; and
guardian's having decamped a week pre- the characters, Gardelanne and Dalegre,
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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
93
at the first warm friends, end in being
rival collectors, consumed with envy and
suspicion.