No More Learning

The book has but a
shadowy plot. It is, as the sub-title de-
him; he is honest, uninteresting, and
adores her. Reared in a convent, her ro-
clares, a record of the hero's (sensations
manticism leads her to dream of a lover.
and ideas, a history of a spiritual jour-
She finds one, then another; spends
ney. Marius is a young Roman noble,
of the time of Marcus Aurelius. Like
money after the
manner of a light
woman; and when she has involved her
the philosophic emperor himself, he is
the embodiment of the finer forces of
husband in financial ruin, kills herself
and leaves him to face a sea of troubles.
his day; his temperament being at once
The time is the first half of this cen-
a repository of the true Roman great-
ness of the past, and a prophecy of the
tury; the action takes place in provin-
Christian disposition of the New Rome.
cial French towns. The merit of the
novel lies in its truth in depicting the
He seeks satisfaction for the needs of
his soul in philosophy, the finer sort of
stages of this moral declension, the won-
epicureanism, that teaches him to enjoy
derful accuracy of detail, the subtle an-
what this world has to offer, but to
alysis of the passionate human heart.
enjoy with a certain aloofness of spirit,
Technically, in point of style, it_ranks
a kind of divine indifference.
with the few great productions of French
In his
earliest manhood he goes to Rome, meets
fiction. It is sternly moral in the sense
there the philosophic emperor, mingles
that it shows with unflinching touch the
in the highly colored life of the time,
logic of the inevitable misery that fol.
studies, observes, reflects. His closest
lows the breaking of moral law. Ma-
friend is Cornelius of the imperial guard,
dame Bovary) is the masterpiece of a
a Christian who loves Marius as one in
great artist whose creed is pessimism.
spirit a brother Christian. Through as- Pastor Fido, II, by Giovanni Battista
sociation with Cornelius, and by the law
This pastoral drama,
of his own character, Marius is drawn which was first produced in 1585, is the
into sympathy with the new religion; masterpiece of the author, and its influ-
yet, as becomes one who shares the ence can be seen in all subsequent liter-,
indifference of the gods, he makes no ature of this class. It is a most highly
open profession: but at a critical moment finished work, after the style of Tasso's
he lays down his life for his friend. (Aminta, but lacks its simplicity and
Marius, the Epicurean,' is a remark- charm. It is said to be rather a picture
able story of spiritual development, as of the author's time than of pastoral
well as of the strange, luxurious, decay-
life, and that to this it owed its great
ing Rome of the second century of the popularity; it having run through forty
Christian era. Pater has drawn this
pan- editions during the author's life, and
oramic background with the accuracy of having been translated into almost all
the scholar and the sympathy of the modern languages. The scene is laid in
(
>
XXX-28


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434
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
1
an
was
Arcadia, where a young maiden is sacri- | Waverley, by Sir Walter Scott, the
ficed annually to the goddess Diana.
first of
The people can be freed from this trib- romances to which it gives the title, was
ute only when two mortals, descendants published in 1814. The author withheld
of the gods, are united by love, and the his name at first, from doubt as to the
great virtue of a faithful shepherd shall success of the venture. The continuance
atone for the sins of unfaithful of the concealment with subsequent is-
woman. To fulfill this condition, Ama- sues followed perhaps naturally; Scott
rilli, who is descended from the god himself could give no better reason af-
Pan, is betrothed to Silvio, the son of terwards than that such was his hu-
Montano, the priest of Diana, and a mor. » Although the authorship of the
descendant of Hercules. Silvio's only series was generally credited to him, it
passion is for hunting; and he flees from never formally acknowledged until
Amarilli, who is beloved by Mirtillo, the avowal was extorted by his business
the supposed son of Carino, who for a complications in 1826. (Waverley) is a
long time has lived away from Arcadia. tale of the rebellion of the Chevalier
Amarilli reciprocates the love of Mir- Prince Charles Edward, in Scotland in
tillo, but fears to acknowledge it, as 1745. Edward Waverley, an English
falseness to her vow to Silvio would captain of dragoons, obtains a leave of
entail death. Corisca, also in love with absence from his regiment for the pur-
Mirtillo, learns of it, and by a trick poses of rest and travel. His uncle, Sir
brings them together and denounces Everard, whose heir he is, gives him
them. Amarilli is condemned to death; letters to a Scotch friend, Baron Brad-
and Mirtillo, availing himself of a cus- wardine of Tully-Veolan, Perthshire, who
tom allowed, is to be sacrificed in her is a quaint mixture of scholar and sol-
place, when Carino arrives, and Mirtillo dier, and a strong Jacobite. He has a
is found to be the son of Montano. In beautiful and blooming daughter Rose.
his infancy he was carried away in his During Waverley's visit, a
party of
cradle by a flood, and had been adopted Highlanders drive off the Baron's cattle;
by Carino. As his name is also Silvio, and Waverley offers to assist in their re-
it is decided that Amarilli in marrying demption from Fergus Mac Ivor, «Vich
him will not break the vow which she Ian Vohr,” the chief of the clan. Wa-
had made to Silvio, and by this mar- verley accompanies Fergus's messenger
riage the decree of the oracle will be first to the island cave of Donald Bean
fulfilled.
Lean, the actual robber, and thence to
Fergus's home, where he meets the chief
Poe, Edgar Allan, by George E. Wood- himself and his brilliant and accom-
berry. (1897. ) In preparing this
.
plished sister Flora. Waverley falls in
latest biography of Poe, the author care- love and offers himself to Flora, who dis-
fully reviewed all previous biographies courages his addresses.
Joining a hunt-
and essays bearing upon his subject, re- ing party, he is wounded by a stag and
jecting all statements not fully authenti- detained beyond his intended time.
cated. He also had recourse to recently Meanwhile the rising of the Chevalier
furnished documents from the U. S. War takes place; and Donald Bean, assuming
Department, and also to personal letters Waverley to be a sympathizer and desir-
from friends and relatives of Poe.
ing to precipitate his action, intercepts
Woodberry dwells upon Poe's brill- Waverley's letters from home, and uses
iancy, originality, and ability as a critic his seal (stolen from him at the cave)
as well as an author. He admits Poe's to foment a mutiny in Waverley's troop.
inexcusable habit of passing off his own This and his unfortunate delay have the
old productions as new articles, often double effect of causing Waverley to be
with little or no revision, but defends dishonorably discharged from his regi-
him against the charge of plagiarism. ment for desertion and treason, and of
In fact, he notes that Poe's lack of con- inducing him in return to join the rebel-
tinuous application and absolute want of lion in his indignation at this unjust
mental and moral balance alone prevent treatment. He first, however, attempts
him from being the peer of the ablest to return home to justify himself; but is
authors of his time. It is the best life of arrested for treason, and rescued by the
Poe extant, and may be considered Highlanders when on his way to the
final.
dungeons of Stirling Castle.
He serves


## p. 435 (#471) ############################################

SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
435
published in Salamanca in 1511. It has
generally been considered to be of
Portuguese origin; but Ticknor, in his
(History of Spanish Literature, asserts
that the author of it was a carpenter's
daughter in Burgos. This is one of
the books against which Cervantes in-
veighs as responsible for the mental
condition of Don Quixote; and in the
famous scene of the burning of the
books of chivalry, he says: “This Oliva,
let it be hewn in pieces and burnt, and
let not the very ashes be left. » The
hero was the grandson of a Greek em-
peror in Constantinople; but on account
of his illegitimacy, was deserted by his
mother and left on a mountain, where
he was found in an osier cradle, among
the olive and palm trees. He
named Palmerin de Oliva, from the
place where he was found.
He soon
gives tokens of his high birth, and
makes himself famous by his prowess
against the heathen, enchanters, etc. , in
Germany, England, and the East. He
at last reaches Constantinople, where he
is recognized by his mother, and mar-
ries the daughter of the Emperor of
was
at Preston Pans, where he saves and
captures Colonel Talbot, who proves to
be a family friend who had come north
to help him. He procures Colonel Tal-
bot's release and sends him home; after
which events march rapidly. The Chev-
alier is defeated at Clifton, and Fergus
is captured. Waverley escapes, conceals
himself for a while, and later makes his
way to London; where Colonel Talbot
shelters him, clears his name from the
false charges, and obtains his pardon,
and that of Baron Bradwardine who had
also joined the rebellion. Fergus is exe-
cuted, and Flora retires to the Benedic-
tine convent at Paris. Waverley wooes
and marries Rose Bradwardine, and re-
builds Tully-Veolan, which had been de-
stroyed in the campaign.
The Princess Casamassima, by Henry
James, a novel of modern life, and
a study in fiction of socialistic questions,
was published in 1886. A motley collec-
tion of persons are brought together in
it, united by their common interest in
socialism. The scenes are laid for the
most part in the east side of London.
The majority of the characters are of
the working-classes. Two, the Princess
Casamassima and Lady Aurora,
women of rank and wealth. Both classes
are represented in the hero, Hyacinth
Robinson, the child of a certain immoral
Lord Frederick, and his mistress, an
ignorant Frenchwoman. Hyacinth, in
whom the aristocratic nature predomi-
nates, is reared by a poor dressmaker,
among forlorn east-side people. His
sympathy for their condition makes him
an easy prey of certain workingmen with
strong socialistic tendencies. In a mo-
ment of blind enthusiasm he gives his
word that he will perform, when called
upon, an act which may cost him his
life. About this time he meets the
beautiful Princess Casamassima, sepa-
rated from her husband, living in Lon-
don that she may study the lower classes.
The novel has a rambling and di-
versified plot, concerned with other peo-
ple besides the Princess and Hyacinth,
clearly defined and cleverly drawn char-
acters. A certain satirical element in the
treatment of the theme imparts an at-
mosphere of comedy to the book, despite
its tragic ending.
Palmerin de Oliva is a romance of
chivalry, feeble imitation of
(Amadis of Gaul, which
first
are
story. A continuation by the same au-
thor, called "The Second Book of Pal-
merin,' which treats of the adventures
of his sons, Primaleon and Polendos, ap-
peared later.
Palmerin of England. This is a ro-
mance of chivalry, after the style
of Amadis of Gaul,' and in this class
of literature regarded as second only to
it in point of merit. This is the book,
which, with Amadis,' Cervantes saves
from the holocaust in Don Quixote, as
he says, for two reasons: first, because
it is a right good book in itself; and the
other, because the report is that a wise
King of Portugal composed it. All the
adventures of the castle of Miraguarda
are excellent, and managed with great
skill; the discourses are clear, observing
with much propriety the judgment and
decorum of the speaker. ” It was long
supposed to be the work of Francisco
Moraes, a Portuguese, who published it
in 1567 as a translation from the French.
In 1807 Southey published an English
translation, attributing the original to
Moraes, and credited him with mod-
esty in not claiming the authorship. It
ce been found to have been the
work of Leon Hurtado, and to have
a
was


## p. 436 (#472) ############################################

436
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
or
was
1.
been published originally in Spanish, in 1 Treatise on Painting, by Leonardo
Toledo, in 1547. In it are recounted Di Vinci. This famous treatise was
the exploits of the son of Don Duarde, probably written before the year 1498.
Edward, King of England, and It has survived in two editions, of which
Flerida, a daughter of Palmerin de the first is in an abridged form, and
Oliva; consisting of jousts in tourna. contains only three hundred and sixty-
ments, battles with giants and Saracens, five chapters; while the other is a de-
and adventures in the Castle of Mira- tailed one, and is comprised in nine
guarda. This story is in some respects hundred and twelve chapters. The early
a continuation of Palmerin de Oliva. and abridged edition issued in
France in 1651, about one hundred and
Peter Schlemihl, by Adelbert von Cha- thirty years after Leonardo's death, and
This tale, written in 1814, an English edition appeared the same
has attained world-wide fame. The year; since when, it has been published
theme is the old popular superstition in most of the languages of Europe.
that the Devil can take a man's shadow Knowledge of the more exhaustive ver-
without being able to control the man sion of the treatise is owing to Manzi's
himself. The setting, however, is mod- discovery in 1817 of a transcript of the
ern, and the extravagant plot is de- original in the Vatican library. Accord-
veloped with straightforward simplicity. ing to this manuscript, the (Trattato
Peter Schlemihl, being in reduced cir. della Pittura) is divided into eight
cumstances, encounters a mysterious gray books, which are designated : -
man, to whom he surrenders his shadow The Nature of Painting, Poetry,
in return for Fortunatus's purse.
His Music, and Sculpture.
boundless wealth, however, brings him 2. Precepts for a Painter.
little satisfaction, as people regard his 3. Of Positions and Movements of
shadowless estate with aversion and hor- the Human Frame.
ror. He is constrained to shun even the 4.
Of Drapery.
moonlight, and passes most of his time 5. Light and Shade and Perspective.
in forced seclusion. Finally his unpopu- 6. Of Trees and Foliage.
larity drives him from the town, and he 7.
Of Clouds.
takes up his residence in a remote spot.
8. Of the Horizon.
Here, by means of the greatest caution, This «Treatise) may be termed an en-
his secret remains for a time unguessed; cyclopædia of art: it is clear and con-
and on account of his wealth and liber-
cise, and is to this day of great value to
ality he is regarded as a nobleman. He those studying art, although there is a
finds his greatest satisfaction in the so- lack of coherence between its sections.
ciety of the innocent and affectionate Rubens wrote a commentary
on this
Mina, a forester's daughter; and is about (Treatise); Annibale Caracci used to
to marry her when his misfortune is be-
say that if during his youth he had read
trayed by a faithless servant, and Mina's the golden book of Leonardo's precepts,
father bids him begone. The gray man
he would have been spared twenty years
then reappears, and offers to restore the of useless labor; while Algarotti declared
shadow at the price of Peter's soul. The that he should not desire any better ele-
broken-hearted man has the strength of mentary work on the art of painting.
will to refuse, and relinquishes all hopes Among the subjects treated in the
of earthly happiness rather than en- abridged edition of the Treatise) are:
danger his eternal welfare. He throws (What the young student in painting
the purse into a fathomless cavern, and ought in the first place to learn); How
wanders about in poverty till by chance to discern a young man's disposition for
he gains possession of the Seven-League painting;' (That a painter should take
Boots. He is thus enabled to travel pleasure in the opinions of everybody';
over all the surface of the earth, except, The brilliancy of the landscape;
for some mysterious reason, Australia (Painters are not to imitate one
and the neighboring islands. He makes other. There are many pungent epi-
his headquarters at ancient Thebes, and grams and clever philosophical sayings
enters upon the career of a scientific scattered throughout the (Treatise,
explorer, taking refuge in the world of which are frequently quoted. No other
nature, since the world of men is for- old master left behind so many valuable
ever closed to him.
manuscripts as did Leonardo; but owing
an-


## p. 437 (#473) ############################################

SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
437
were
to the difficulty of deciphering his hand-
writing, very little is yet known of many
of the most important ones.
Painter's Palace of Pleasure. This
famous collection of tales was first
published in 1566; and its great popu-
larity is proved by the fact that six
editions
issued within twenty
years after its first appearance. (The
Palace of Pleasure ) was the first Eng-
lish story-book that had for its object
purely the amusement of readers, and it
aroused to life imaginations which had
been starved on theological discussions.
The stories are translated, some from
Livy's Latin or Plutarch's Greek, others
from French translations of the original
tongues; still others from the Italian
collections of Boccaccio, Bandello, and
Marguerite of Valois. They are admir-
ably selected to represent the higher
class of stories current at the time of
the Italian Renaissance. They are sim-
ply told, without much of the morbid-
ness of the Italian originals, and with
all their beauty. There is no attempt
at the conciseness which is now
sidered essential in a short story, but
rather a tendency to dwell on details,-
to make the sweetness long drawn out.
The style has delicate prettiness
which does not take away from it
sincerity and clearness.
Despite the great charm of the tales
in themselves, the chief interest in
them lies in the fact that the collec-
tion was used as a storehouse of plots
by the Elizabethan dramatists. Shakes-
peare took
from it the stories of
(Timon of Athens, Romeo and Jul-
iet, (The Rape of Lucrece,' and Gi-
letta of Narbonne) (from which he
gained the main plot of All's Well That
Ends Well»). Webster found here the
plot of "The Duchess of Malfi); and
Marston, Shirley, and Peele, all took
plots from these tales. Painter is re-
sponsible for
the Italian
scenes and names that fill the early
plays, and for many of the fantastic
situations. For these two reasons, then,
Painter's book is interesting: for itself,
as the first English story-book, and for
its influence on others, as the source
of many plots.
Social Life of the Chinese: With
SOME ACCOUNT OF THEIR RELIGIONS,
GOVERNMENTAL, EDUCATIONAL, AND Busi-
NESS CUSTOMS AND OPINIONS, by Justus
Doolittle. (2 vols. , illustrated. 1865. )
The author of this valuable work was
for fourteen years a member of the Foo-
chow mission of the American Board,
during which time he had abundant op-
portunity of studying the Chinese. The
work is somewhat loosely written, most
of it being in the form in which it was
originally published as a series of letters
in the China Mail of Hong Kong; but it
is one of the best of the few authorities
on «the inner life of the most ancient
and populous, but least understood and
appreciated, of nations. Though it has
special reference to Foochow and its
vicinity, the description of many of the
social and superstitious customs is ap-
plicable to other parts of the empire,
though sometimes customs vary greatly
in the different Chinese provinces. It
treats of agriculture and domestic mat-
ters, betrothal and marriage, married
life and children, treatment of disease,
death, mourning and burial, ancestral tab-
lets and ancestral halls, priests, popu-
lar gods and goddesses, mandarins and
their subordinates, competitive literary
examinations, established annual customs
and
festivals, superstitions, charitable
practices, social customs, charms and
omens, fortune-telling, opium-smoking,
Altogether it is a treasury of infor-
mation about Chinese life, and may be
considered trustworthy in its statements.
con-
a
etc.
Yone, Santo: A CHILD OF JAPAN, by
H. House. (1888. )
pathetic little story of life in Tokio ap-
peared first in the Atlantic Monthly, and
met with much favor. Its author was
an American journalist and critic long
resident in Japan.
Yone Santo is a
lovely Japanese girl, with a thirst for
knowledge, and a genius for self-sacri-
fice rare in any country. The victim of
cruel tyranny in her own home, she
wins the compassionate interest of Dr.
Charwell, who helps her to get an edu-
cation, and tries to shield her from the
misdirected zeal of certain women mis-
sionaries. Brought up to accept without
question the authority of her older rela-
tives, the gentle Yone had been married
to a coarse, ignorant old boat-builder;
and afterwards she meets the handsome
young Bostonian, Arthur Milton, who
wins her love for his own careless pleas-
Her childlike confidence in the
good doctor saves her from trusting her-
self to Milton's treacherous schemes, and
many of
ure.


## p. 438 (#474) ############################################

438
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
she lives out her short though not un-
happy life under the protection of her
Western friends. Her lover, penitent and
remorseful, returns to receive her dying
blessing; and at last this long-suffering,
white-souled little pagan saint found rest.
The story excited resentment for its
bitter arraignment of missionaries:
Wild Irish Girl, The, by Lady Mor-
gan. (1801. ) Sydney Owenson,
afterwards Lady Morgan, was born at
Dublin in 1783. She was still a young
woman when she had earned her rank
as the first patriotic Irish romancer of
modern times. She was quoted with
respect by Byron. ) (The Wild Irish
Girl, one of her earliest tales, instantly
became a favorite. In England it went
through seven editions in less than two
years, and in 1807 it had reached its
fourth American edition.
The story recounts the adventures of
the son of an English nobleman, ban-
ished for a season to his father's estate
in Ireland, in order that he may give
up his frivolous dissipations and begin a
more studious life. Here he meets the
Prince of Inismore, one of the old Irish
nobility, and his daughter Lady Glor-
vina, the wild Irish girl. Her wildness
seems mild to the reader of to-day. She
was clad in a robe of vestal white en-
folded beneath the bosom with a jeweled
girdle. From the shoulder fell a mantle
of scarlet Silk, while the fine-turned
head was enveloped in a veil of point
lace. ) The Englishman has a fall, and
spends some days of convalescence as
the Prince's guest, concealing nis iden-
tity and the fact that he is the heredi-
tary object of hereditary detestation. ”
Glorvina, who plays delightfully upon
the harp, exerts an irresistible fascina-
tion. He has nearly declared himself
her lover when he learns that he has a
rival in a mysterious stranger. Events
prove that the stranger is none other
than the hero's father, to whom Glor-
vina feels herself bound in gratitude if
not in love. The magnanimous parent,
however, gives up his claim in favor of
his repentant and grateful son.
The story is in the form of letters,
and suffers from the consequent limita-
tions; but the sketches of Irish life are
curious and picturesque.
Boots
oots and Saddles; or, LIFE IN DA-
GENERAL Custer, by
Elizabeth B. Custer. (1885. ) The author
says that her object in writing this book,
which records her experiences in garri-
son and camp with her husband, was to
give civilians a glimpse of the real ex-
istence of soldiers in the field. Her
married life was not serene: she was left
in 1864 in a lonely Virginia farmhouse
to finish her honeymoon alone, her hus-
band being summoned to the front; and
at scarcely any time during the next
twelve years was she free from fear of
immediate or threatened peril. General
Custer was ordered to Dakota in the
spring of 1873. Mrs. Custer's book gives
a lively and detailed account of their
life there from 1873 to 1876, the time of
the general's death. All those little de-
tails — the household habits and changes,
the packings and movings, the servants'
remarks, the costumes, the weather, the
frolics, and the feasts -- that are so much
to women, and the absence of which
makes the picture so dim, here appear.
The regimental balls, the pack of
hounds, her husband's habits and looks
and norsemanship, the coyotes, the
sleigh-rides, the carrying of the mail,
the burning of the officers' quarters, the
curious characters and excursionists, the
perplexities and pleasures of army do-
mestic life, the Indians, the gossip, the
ins and outs of army etiquette, the de-
serters, the practical jokes, are duly
described. Her sketch of thirty-six hours
spent in a cabin during a Dakota bliz-
zard, with no fire, the general sick in
bed and requiring her attention, the
wind shrieking outside and at times
bursting in the door, the air out-doors
almost so. id with snow that penetrated
the smallest cracks and collected on the
counterpane, and (to help matters) a
party of bewildered soldiers, some of
them partially frozen, claiming her hos-
pitality and care, -is very graphic.
There is an interesting chapter on
General Custer's literary habits, and an
appendix containing extracts from his
letters. Captain King has described
army life in the West from the mascu-
line side; such a book as this paints it
from the feminine.
Purchas his Pilgrimes. This remark-
able and rare book was published
in 1619. It is a compilation by Samuel
Purchas, a London divine, of the letters
and histories of travel of more than
thirteen hundred tra lers It onsis
of a description of travel in Europe,
KOTA
WITH


## p. 439 (#475) ############################################

SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
439
a kind
a
Asia, Africa, and America; and the later chance shot. His death seems
editions of 1625 and 1626 contain maps, of vicarious atonement for the greed and
which are more diverting than instruct- pride of his race. There are many side
ive. In this work the author allows the issues in the story, which as a whole
travelers to speak for themselves; but in forms a most striking and picturesque
(Purchas his Pilgrimage, published in series of metropolitan scenes. New York
1613, he himself gives the “Relation has seldom been used with more skill as
of the World and the Religions observed a dramatic background. But the novel
in all ages and places discovered, from is something more than a clever drawing
the Creation unto this Present. )
of places and people. Deep ethical and
More accurate and extensive knowl- social questions are involved in it. It is
edge has to-day supplanted these books, a drama of human life in the fullest sense.
and they are rarely consulted except by The style is clear, forcible, and alto-
those curious to know the ideas in re- gether delightful. The book as a whole
gard to the rest of the world, which is absolutely free from the signs of ap-
then obtained in England. The world, prenticeship.
however, is the author's debtor for his
four-years' labors; and it is sad to think
Jane Eyre, the novel which established
that the publication of these books was Charlotte Bronté's reputation as
the cause of his death, if not in a debt- writer of fiction, is in a large degree the
or's prison, at least in want.
record of her own development. In the
character of Jane Eyre, the young au-
Hazard of New Fortunes, A, by W. D. thoress first found an outlet for the
Howells, is perhaps the most realis- storm and stress of her own nature.
tic and the most modern of all his The book is therefore autobiographical
novels, in its grasp upon the conditions in the truest sense.
of metropolitan life, especially as these The story is neither for the very
are illustrated in the extremes of poverty young nor for the inexperienced, though
and wealth. The scope of the story is in contrast to the modern problem novel
unusually large, embracing as it does it is innocuous enough. The heroine,
representatives from almost every promi- Jane Eyre, is an orphan. As a child
nent class of society: the artist, the bo- she is misunderstood and disliked by her
hemian, the business man, the capitalist, protectors. She is sent early to Lowood
the society woman, the socialist, the School, an institution charitable in the
labor agitator, the man of letters. The coldest sense of the term. Its original
plot is, however, centred in one family, was Cowan Bridge, the school attended
as typical of a certain kind of Ameri- by four of the Bronté sisters; from
canism as the Lapham family is of which Maria and Elizabeth were
another. The head of this family is moved in a dying condition. The de-
Dryfoos, a Pennsylvania German who has scription of Jane Eyre's school days
come to New York to spend his newly forms one of the most vivid, and in a
acquired fortune. He is the capitalist sense dramatic, portions of the novel.
of a journal, Every Other Week, edited After leaving Lowood, she becomes gov-
by Basil March, the hero of “Their
to the ward of a certain Mr.
Wedding Journey,' and conducted by Rochester, eccentric man of the
Fulkerson, a pushing Westerner. Dry- | world, whose eccentricity is largely the
foos has two daughters, vulgar by nature fruit of misfortune. He is tied to an
and breeding, who are struggling to get insane wife, her insanity being the re-
«into society. " His son, Conrad, is of sult of vicious living. She is confined at
a different stamp. He has no sympathy Thornwood, the house of Rochester; but
with the gross pride of his father in the the heroine does not know of her exist.
wealth gained by speculation. His sym-
Rochester falls in love with Jane
pathies are with the laboring classes, - Eyre, attracted by her nobility of nature,
with the down-trodden and unfortunate her strength, and her unconventionality;
of the city. This sympathy is put to and finally asks her to marry him. His
the last proof during the strike of the force and his love for her win her con-
street-car drivers and conductors. In sent. They are separated at the altar,
endeavoring to stand by Lindau, an old however, by the revelation of the exist-
German socialist who is openly siding ence of Rochester's first wife. The two
with the strikers, Conrad is killed by a are reunited at last only by a tragedy.
re-
erness
an
ence.


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ex-
Charlotte Bronté invested the character
of Rochester with a fascination that
made him the hero in fiction of half the
women in England. Jane Eyre herself
is no ordinary heroine. Her creator
had the boldness to reject the pink-and-
white Amelia type of woman, that had
reigned in the novel since Richardson,
and to substitute one whose mind, not
her face, was her fortune. Rochester
himself is destitute of gallantry, of all
those qualities belonging to the ideal
lover in fiction. This new departure
made the book famous at once. Its lit-
erary originality was not less striking
than the choice of types.
Madam Merle, she meets Gilbert Os.
mond, a man without rank or fortune,
but of unerring taste, and of an
quisite manner of life. His possessions
are limited to a few faultless works of
art and a little daughter, Pansy, just out
of a convent. The lady in Isabel is at-
tracted by Osmond's detailed perfections.
Against the wishes of her friends she
marries him. With marriage comes dis-
illusionment. Isabel finds that she is
smothered in the airless life of barren
dilettantism; she finds that her gentle-
manly husband is soulless and venomous.
He wishes to force his daughter, Pansy,
into a loveless marriage, and sends her
to a convent until she shall show worldly
wisdom through mere pressure of ennui.
During her exile Isabel discovers that
Pansy is not the child of Osmond's first
wife, but of Madame Merle, his former
mistress. Being summoned at this time
to England, to the death-bed of Ralph
Touchett, she regards her departure from
her husband's house as final. The book
closes with the intimation that she will
take Pansy under her protection, and
will not marry Caspar Goodwood.
(The Portrait of a Lady) is admirable
as a psychological study of the high-bred
American girl in a European environ-
ment. It is one of the most satisfactory
of the author's novels.
Portrait of a Lady, The, a novel by
Henry James, was published in
1882. The heroine, whose portrait is
drawn with remarkable elaboration and
finish, is
an
American girl, Isabel
Archer, beautiful, intellectual, of a clear-
cut character, and her own mistress.
The elements in her nature that make
her a lady are emphasized by her ex-
periences with men. When the story
opens she is a guest in the home of an
aunt, Mrs. Touchett, whose husband, an
American banker, has been settled for
many years in England. They have
one son, Ralph, a semi-invalid.
A neighbor, Lord Warburton, wishes
to marry her, but she refuses him be-
cause she does not love him, and because
she wishes to have more experience of
the world as a single woman. In the
same fortnight she rejects another
suitor, Caspar Goodwood, a young, ear-
nest New-Englander, who has followed
her to England. She misses in him the
romantic element, and will not accept his
virtues in exchange. By the death of
her uncle she finds herself a great heir-
ess; half of Ralph's patrimony being
willed, at his own request, to her. In
the weeks of her uncle's illness, she
forms a friendship with Madam Merle, a
guest of Mrs. Touchett's, a thorough
woman of the world, who finds that she
has uses of her own for Isabel. A far
different friend is a countrywoman, Hen-
rietta Stackpole, a correspondent for a
home paper. She is sincere, democratic,
loval to her national traditions and
desirous that Isabel should be so. She
wishes therefore to bring about a mar-
riage between Goodwood and Isabel.
After her uncle's death, Isabel goes to
Italy. There, through the offices of
The Mill on the Floss, by George
Eliot (1860), one of the masterpieces
of fiction, is like Middlemarch) a tra-
gedy, though a tragedy destitute of the
usual heroic setting and grandiloquent
circumstances. The author found her
tragic material in the commonplace lives
of English working-people; and traced
the workings of fate in the obscure de-
velopment of a young girl, with passions
no less strong than those of a woman
in some ancient Greek tragedy, suffering
in a magnificent environment, under the
gaze of the world. Maggie Tulliver, the
daughter of the miller of Dorlcote Mill,
is from childhood misunderstood and
dominated by the coarse-grained well-
meaning people about her. Her brother
Tom, a hearty young animal, with self-
ish masculine instincts accepts her de-
votion as he would that of a dog. He
teases her because she is a girl. He hates
her when she eludes him by going into
her fairy-land of imagination, whither he
cannot follow her. She loves him de-
votedly; but to her love always brings


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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
441
are
suffering. She is ill regulated, and is Paradyse of Daynty Devises, The. This
therefore not a favorite with her aunts, quaint old book is set forth as “con-
Mrs. Glegg and Mrs. Pullet, who can see teyning sundry pithy preceptes, learned
no trace of the resp able Dodson blood counsels, and excellent inventions, right
in her. Maggie's childhood is a series pleasant and profitable for all estates.
of conflicts with respectability. In her It is a collection of sixteenth-century
girlhood the passionate little heart is poetry, by M. Edwardes, W. Hunnis, the
somewhat subdued to her surroundings. Earl of Oxford, R. Hill, Saint Barnarde,
Family troubles are brewing. They cul- Lord Vaux, Jasper Haywood, D. Sand,
minate in the death of Mr. Tulliver, and F. Kindlemarsh, M. Yloop, Thomas
in the sale of Dorlcote Mill. Maggie Churchyard, and various
anonymous
ceases to be a child, becomes a woman. writers. There were editions published
The needs of her nature find satisfaction in 1576, 77, '78, 80, '85, '96, 1600, and
in the companionship of Philip Wakem, 1606. A reprint was made in 1810, by
the crippled son of the lawyer who Sir Egerton Brydges, and again in 1865,
helped to ruin Mr. Tulliver. It is the by J. P. Collier. The last was made
old story of Verona, of the lovers whose from Heber's unique copy of the 1578
families at feud, translated into edition. This collection is especially
homely English life. Maggie must re- interesting, because it contains poems
nounce Philip. Tom hates him and his not in any other impression.
A poem
race with all the strength of his hard- headed (No Pleasure Without Some
and-fast uncompromising nature. Mag- Payn) is assigned to Sir Walter Ra-
gie, starving for beauty, for the joy of leigh, and one by George Whetston
love and life, seeks to satisfy her spirit- occurs in this volume which is nowhere
ual cravings in that classic of renuncia- else to be found. It was very popu-
tion, the Imitation of Christ. ) She lar, and the name has been used for
feeds her rich nature with the thoughts similar but less valuable miscellanies.
of the dead. The next temptation in
her way is Stephen Guest, betrothed to
Paston Letters. This is a most inter-
her cousin Lucy. Stephen represents esting and valuable collection of
to Maggie, although she does not know letters, written in the reigns of Henry
it, the æsthetic element that is lacking VI. , Edward IV. , Richard III. , and
in her barren life. The two are thrown Henry VII. They were handed down
together. Their mutual passion masters in the Paston family, till the male line
them. Maggie almost consents to go became extinct in 1732, and eventually
away with Stephen, finds herself indeed came into the hands of Sir John Ferris,
on the journey; but at the last minute who first published them. He brought
turns back, though she knows that she out two quarto volumes in 1787, two in
has endangered her good name. The 1789, and left material for a fifth, which
worst interpretation is put upon her con- appeared in 1823. He gave the letters
duct. From that time on she faces the in two forms, one an exact copy, retain-
contumely of the little village com- ing the old and variable spelling, the
munity. Death, and death only, can other with the spelling modernized, and
reconcile her to the world and to Tom, obsolete obscure words explained.
who has stood as the embodiment of He also prefixed to the separate letters
the world's harshest judgment. They are valuable historical notices, and subjoined
drowned in the great flood of the Floss: facsimiles of the seals and signatures.
«Brother and sister had gone down These quartos were, however, very ex-
together in an embrace never to be pensive; so in 1840, Ramsay brought
parted; living through again in one su- out a popular edition with some correc-
preme moment the days when they had tions and condensations: more recently
clasped their little hands in love and other editions have appeared.
roamed the daisied fields together. The The letters themselves present very
tragic atmosphere of the novel is re- clearly the manner of life and thought
lieved by passages of quaint, primitive of the middle classes during the Wars
humor, by marvelous descriptions of of the Roses. They incidentally throw
well-to-do rural types. The Dodson light on historical personages and events;
family is hardly surpassed in fiction. but their chief concern is with the every-
The art of George Eliot has its consum- day affairs of the Paston family of Nor-
mate expression in this homely book. folk. They show how exclusively the
or


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442
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
were
1
1
an
in 533.
no-
wars involved the nobility and their re- In the Eastern, or Byzantine, Empire,
tainers, and how the commoners carried the Pandects, under the name Basilica,
on their affairs undisturbed by bloody statute authority even down to
battles and subsequent beheadings. We 1453, when Constantinople was captured
learn from the letters of the dress, food, by the Turks.
and social customs of the day, and some In practice, however, it was super-
things appear strange to us, -as the seded in the tenth century by Ezabib-
great formality of address, and the hum- los, which was to a slight degree an
ble deference shown to parents by their epitome of the Basilica. The Ezabiblos
children, and to husbands by their wives; survived even the invasion of the Turks
but we are chiefly impressed by the in some parts of the Empire, and was
fundamental fact that human nature was adopted as the statute law of the king-
then very much what it is now.
dom of Greece in 1835.
Pandects, The, of Justinian. This di-
Scottish Chiefs, The, by Jane Porter.
gest was attempt to form a This spirited historical romance was
complete system of law from the first published in 1809, and has enjoyed
commentaries of the great jurists on the unceasing popularity. It gives many
Roman law. The work was done by a pictures of the true knightly chivalry
committee of seventeen famous lawyers; dear to boyish hearts, and is historic-
it was begun in 530 A. D. and completed ally correct in all important points.
The magnitude of the task The narative opens in 1296 with the
becomes apparent when we hear that murder of Wallace's wife by the Eng-
there are 9,123 extracts in the Pandects lish soldiery, and shows how, fired by
(the word “Pandects » is from the Greek this outrage, he tried to rouse his coun-
Pandecton, which means all-receiving). try against the tyrant Edward. He
The extracts were made from 2,000 treat- gathers about him commons and
ises; one-third of them come from Ul- bles, and gains especial favor with
pian, one-sixth from Paulus, and the venerable Lord Mar. Lady Mar is im-
rest from thirty-six other writers.
pressed by his beauty; and when he
The Pandects, with the Codex Justin-
her dishonorable passion, she
ianus, became the law for the Roman proves his worst enemy, and incites
Empire. When the Lombards invaded the nobles to treason. He also wins
Italy in 568, they overturned almost all the heart of the lovely Helen Mar,
the few remaining Roman institutions, who respects his devotion to his dead
the law-courts among them. In Ra- wife, and does not aspire to be more
venna, however, the Roman law
than his sister. Wallace effects the
still taught; and the Lombards allowed capture of the castles of Dumbarton,
their Roman subjects to be judged ac- Berwick and Stirling, and fights the
cording to the Roman law. The Codex, bloody battles of Stanmore and Fal-
which begins with an invocation to the kirk. But as soon as he becomes promi-
Trinity, and contains a great deal of nent, petty jealousies spring up among
legislation on ecclesiastical matters, was the nobles; and when in spite of his
always held in esteem by the clergy; inferior birth he is appointed regent,
but the Pandects were ignored, as being their rage knows no bounds. He has
the work of pagan jurists.
continually to guard against treachery
In the last part of the eleventh cen- within as well as foes without, but his
tury there was a great revival of the intrepid spirit never fails. He goes in
study of Roman law. There has always the disguise of a harper to the court
been a tradition that this revival was of Edward, and rouses young Bruce to
caused by the discovery at Amalfi of a escape and embrace his country's cause.
copy of the Pandects; but the Pandects Bruce and Wallace go to France to
had never been really forgotten. The rescue the abducted Helen Mar, and
revival of the Roman law was a kind of while there meet Baliol, whom Edward
advance guard of the Renaissance move- had once adjudged king of Scotland.
ment. Irnerius of Bologna, the greatest On returning to his own country Wal-
teacher of his time, revived the study lace finds the English in possession of
of the Pandects, which, together with much of the territory he had wrested
the Codex, became the basis of all from them, and by a series of vigorous
mediæval legislation.
movements regains the mastery. But
scorns
was


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SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
443
were
re-
internal feuds and jealousies are too mystery and of a unique settlement on
strong for him, and on Edward's sec- a South Sea island, written in the pro-
ond invasion Wallace is abandoned by saic style of an official document, amply
his supporters. He fees and long substantiates the old adage, « Truth is
eludes his pursuers, but is finally be- stranger than fiction. » The most vivid
trayed, taken to London, and brutally imagination would fail to conceive the
hanged and quartered. But the fire plot of a tale more varied and more
that he had kindled did not altogether exciting in its details.
die out, and Edward was obliged to In 1789 H. M. S. Bounty, Lieutenant
treat Scotland with respect even after Bligh commanding, while sailing in the
he had murdered her hero.
South Seas was captured by mutineers,
and the commander with eighteen of the
Little
ittle Rivers, by Rev. Henry Van
crew were set adrift in the cutter. The
Dyke, D. D. , breathes the very spirit
ship sailed to Tahiti. There dissensions
of wholesome pleasure.