He
named Palmerin de Oliva, from the
place where he was found.
named Palmerin de Oliva, from the
place where he was found.
Warner - World's Best Literature - v30 - Guide to Systematic Readings
) This vol- opinions and speculations on life and
ume resumes its author's history at the philosophy are freely expressed. Her
point where (Records of a Girlhood anecdotes of Dr. Channing, Grisi, Lord
leaves it — namely, at her marriage and Lady Lansdowne, Sydney Smith,
with Mr. Pierce Butler in 1834; and Lady Holland, Rogers, Wordsworth,
ends with her return to America in Mrs. Somerville, Follen, Taglioni, Liszt,
1848, and her success in earning by pub- Mendelssohn, Fanny Elssler, Mrs. Grote,
lic readings a home at Lenox, Massachu- Jenny Lind, Moore, Macaulay, Dickens,
setts. With the exception of two visits to Dr. Arnold, Bunsen, Thackeray, etc. ,
Europe, the first two-thirds of the book are always entertaining and often most
are given to her life in America; the illuminating
last third, to her stay in Europe (1845-
48). The record begins by describing Philistines. The, by Arlo Bates, a
, ,
some of the points at which her Eng- story of fashionable Boston society,
lish ideas disagree with American ones. takes its title from Matthew Arnold's
It is full of amusing comments on our
for the rich and self-satisfied
life,- its crudeness, unhealthiness, lack classes of the community to whom
of leisure, and extravagance, and the m ney, and the good of life expressible
discomforts of travel. She speaks with in money, are all. Arthur Fenton, a
name
## p. 430 (#466) ############################################
430
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
ence.
mean
was
painter of great promise, gives up ori-
ginal work to paint the portraits of rich
men, and marries the niece of Boston's
greatest art patron, a high-minded but
somewhat narrow girl, with whom he is
totally out of sympathy. The story
traces his gradual deterioration; and his
outlook on life becomes more and more
worldly. In short, the motive of the
book is the illustration of that dry-rot
of character which is certain to seize on
its victim when wealth, or ease, or any
external good, is made the end of exist-
It shows the remorselessness of
nature in insisting on her penalties
when her laws of development are dis-
regarded. Yet the story never degener-
ates into an argument, nor is it loaded
with a moral. Several of the person-
ages
have epigrammatic tendencies,
which make their society entertaining.
«People who
well are always
worse than those who don't mean any-
thing. » «He one of those men
who have the power of making their
disapproval felt, from the simple fact
that they feel it so strongly themselves. )
“Modern business is simply the art of
transposing one's debts. » «A broad
man is one who can appreciate his own
wife. ” A woman may believe that she
herself has accomplished the impossible,
but she knows no one of her sisters
has. ” «Conventionality is the consensus
of the taste of mankind. » << The object
of life is to endure life, as the object of
time is to kill time. ” Society matrons,
maids, and men, are delineated with the
sure touch of one who knows them; and
receptions, Browning Clubs, art
mittees, business schemes, and politics,
form a lively background for the story.
Mºdern Instance, A, by William D.
Howells. (1881. ) The scene of the
story is first laid in a country town in
Maine, where Bartley Hubbard, a vain,
selfish, unprincipled young man, is ed-
iting the local paper. He marries Marcia
Gaylord, a handsome, passionate, inex-
perienced young country girl, and takes
her to Boston, where he continues his
journalistic career. As time goes on,
the incompatibility of the young couple
becomes manifest; Marcia's extreme
jealousy, and Bartley's selfishness and
dissipation, causing much unhappiness
and contention. The climax is finally
reached, when, after a passionate scene,
Bartley leaves his wife and child, and
is not heard from again for the space
of two years. His next appearance is
in an Indiana law-court, where he is
endeavoring to procure a divorce from
Marcia; but his attempt is frustrated
through the intervention of her father,
Judge Gaylord, who goes to the West-
ern town and succeeds in obtaining a
decree in his daughter's favor. At the
end of the story Bartley is shot and
killed in a Western brawl, and Marcia
is left with her child, dragging out
her existence in her native town. Ben
Halleck, who is in love with Marcia,
figures prominently throughout the book,
and the reader is left with the impres-
sion that their marriage eventually takes
place. If the novel can hardly be called
agreeable, it proves Mr. Howells has
penetrated very deeply into certain un-
attractive but characteristic phases of
contemporary American life; and the
story is told with brilliancy and vigor.
Morgesons, The, Elizabeth Barstow
Stoddard's first novel. (1862. ) The
plot is concerned with the fortunes of
the Morgeson family, long resident in a
sea-coast town in New England. Two
members of it, Cassandra, by whom
the story is told, and her sister Veron-
ica, are girls of strange, unconventional
nature, wholly undisciplined, who live
out their restless lives against the back-
ground of a narrow New England house-
hold, composed of a gentle, fading mother,
a father wholly absorbed in business
and affairs, and a dominant female serv-
ant, Temperance. When Cassandra re-
turns home from boarding school, she
finds Veronica grown into a pale, reti-
cent girl, with unearthly little ways.
Veronica's own love-story begins when
she meets Ben Somers, a friend of her
sister. Both girls are born to tragedy,
through their passionate, irreconcilable
temperament; and the story follows their
lives with a strange, detached impartial-
ity, which holds the interest of the reader
more closely than any visible advocacy
of the cause of either heroine could do.
(The Morgesons) is rich in delineation
of unusual aspects of character, in a
grim New England humor, in those pict-
ures of the sea that are never absent
from Mrs. Stoddard's novels. Suffusing
the book is a bleak atmosphere of what
might be called passionate mentality,
bracing, but calling for a sober power
of resistance in the reader.
com-
## p. 431 (#467) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
431
com-
Red Badge of Courage, The, by Ste- brought up by a worthy English duchess,
phen Crane, was published in 1895. who has instilled into her mind the
It attracted a great deal of attention noblest traditions of aristocracy, and has
both in England and America, by reason developed a character unworldly, high-
of the nature of the subject, and of the spirited, and idealistic. The plot turns
author's extreme youth. It is a study of on her tragic conflict with a false and
a man's feeling in battle, written by one base social order. Like Ouida's other
who was never in a battle, but who novels of high life, it unites realism
seeks to give color to his story by lurid with romance, or with a kind of sump-
language. Henry Fleming, an unsophis- tuous exaggeration of the qualities and
ticated country boy, enthusiastic to serve attributes of aristocracy, which, to the
his country, enlists at the beginning of average reader, is full of fascinaivn.
the Civil War. Young, raw, intense, he
longs to show his patriotism, to prove Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, is the
a . the
name by which a certain huge and
he is fretting for an opportunity, his particularly ferocious whale was known.
regiment apparently being nowhere near This whale has been attacked many
a scene of action. His mental states are times, and has fought valiantly. Captain
described as he waits and chafes; the Ahab, of the whaler Pequod, has lost a
calculations as to what it would all be leg in a conflict with this monster, and
like when it did come, the swagger to has vowed to kill him. The story tells
keep up the spirits, the resentments of how the captain kept his vow; and it
the possible superiority of his
serves not only for the relation of some
panions, the hot frenzy to be in the exciting adventures in the pursuit of
thick of it with the intolerable delays whales, but as a complete text-book of
over, and sore doubts of courage. Sud- the whaling industry. Every species of
denly, pell-mell, the boy is thrown into whale is described, with its habits, tem-
battle, gets frightened to death in the perament, and commercial value. Every
thick of it, and runs; after the fun is item in the process of whale capture and
over, crawls back to his regiment fairly preparation for the market is minutely
vicious with unbearable shame. The described. Besides all this, the charac-
heroic visions fade; but the boy makes ters of the owners, officers, and crew of
one step towards manhood through his the whaling ship are drawn with truth
wholesome lesson. In his next battle and vigor; and there is a good sketch of
courage links itself to him like a brother- a New Bedford sailors' boarding-house.
in-arms. He tests and is tested, goes The scene is laid first at New Bedford
into the thick of the fight like a howling and Nantucket, and afterwards on those
demon, goes indeed to hell, and comes portions of the ocean frequented by
back again, steadied and quiet.
The
whaling vessels, and the time is the year
book closes his and manly
1775. Probably no more thrilling de-
serenity.
scription of a whale hunt has been writ-
“He had rid himself of the red sick- ten than that of the three days' conflict
ness of battle. The sultry nightmare with Moby-Dick, with which the story
was in the past. He had been an ani- closes, and in which the whale is killed,
mal, blistered and sweating in the heat though not until he has demolished the
and pain of war. He now turned with boats and sunk the ship. Moby-Dick
a lover's thirst to images of tranquil is of increasing value in literature from
skies. )
the fact that it is a most comprehensive
hand-book of the whaling industry at a
Louise de la Ramée time when individual courage and skill
(“Quida"). (1880. ) This novel de- were prime factors, when the whale had
picts the corruption (springing from idle- to be approached in small boats to within
ness and luxury) of modern European almost touching distance, and before
society, especially of the women of rank, bomb-lances, steam, and other modern
who are compared to moths «fretting a improvements had reduced whaling to
garment. ” The first chapter presents the dead-level of a mere «business. »
such a woman, Lady Dolly, a fashionable (It was published in 1851. ) It contains
butterfly with an ignoble nature. Her also the best rendering into words of the
daughter by a first marriage, Vera, joins true seaman's feeling about the ocean as
her at Trouville. The girl has been his home which has ever been written.
on
new
Moths, by
## p. 432 (#468) ############################################
432
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
were
Magnalia Christi
Americana, by Jahan, 1628-58; and of Aurangzeb, 1658–
Cotton Mather. This Ecclesias- 1707. There is an additional chapter of
tical History of New England, from the foremost historical and literary value
1620 to 1628,' treats more extensively by Sir W. W. Hunter, on « The Ruin of
of the early history of the country Aurangzeb; or, The History of a Reac-
than its title seems to indicate, unless tion, and a sketch of the conquests of
it is borne in mind that at this time India from
that by
Alexander the
the Church and State were so closely Great, 327 B. C. , to that of Baber, who
connected that the history of one must was in reality the second founder of the
necessarily be that of the other. It Mogul empire at Delhi. The purpose
was first published in London, in 1702, of Mr. Holden, suggested by his pos-
and is a standard work with American session of a series of very interesting
historians. It is divided into seven portraits, which he reproduces, was that
books: the first treating of the early of giving a sketch of personages only,
discoveries of America and the voyage not a history, and to some extent of the
to New England; the second is Lives ideas and literature which represent
of the Governors ); the third, Lives of them. Both Baber and Akbar
many Reverend, Learned, and Holy men of intellectual distinction and of
Divines); the fourth, (Of Harvard Uni- noble character. The empire under Ak-
versity); the fifth, (The Faith and the bar will bear close comparison, Mr.
Order in the Church of New England'; Holden justly says, with the States of
the sixth, Discoveries and Demonstra- Europe at the same epoch. Baber wrote
tions of the Divine Providence in Re. Memoirs, which show high ideals of
markable Mercies and Judgments on culture held by the chief men of his
Many Particular Persons); the seventh, time. Akbar brought about an inter-
(Disturbances Given to the Churches of mixture of races and religions which
New England. In the sixth book, the caused great freedom and liberality in
author gives accounts of the wonders culture of every kind. Every famous
of the invisible world, of worthy people book known to him was in Akbar's li-
succored when in dire distress, of the brary, and as early as 1578 he had set
sad ending of many wicked ones, and the example of a parliament of religions
of the cases of witchcraft at Salem and in which Sufis, Sunnis, and Shiahs, of
other places. Of the last he says: “I
his own
faith, with Brahmans, Bud-
will content myself with the transcrib- dhists, Zoroastrians, Christians, and Jews,
ing of a most unexceptionable account amicably reasoned together as men and
thereof, written by Mr. John Hales. ” brethren; while he for himself gathered
The situation and character of the from all of them a simple faith, theistic
author afforded him the most favorable and humane, in place of the Islamism
opportunities to secure the documents
of his race.
necessary for his undertaking, and the
large portion of it devoted to biography.
Anne
nnals of Rural Bengal (1868, 5th
gives the reader a very faithful view of ed. 1872), and its sequel Orissa (2
the leading characters of the times. vols. , 1872), by Sir William Wilson
Hunter. In these volumes one of the
Mogul Emperors of Hindustan, The, most admirable civilians that England
A. D. 1398 — A. D. 1707. By Ed- ever sent to India displays his finest
ward S. Holden. (1895. ) A volume of qualities: not alone his immense schol-
biographical sketches; -of Tamerlane, or arship and his literary charm, but his
Timur, whose conquest of India in 1398 practical ability, his broad humanity and
founded at Delhi the Mogul empire of interest in the «dim common popula-
Baber, sixth in descent from Timur, tions sunk in labor and pain, and his
who was emperor from 1526 to 1529; of sympathy with religious aspiration. The
his unimportant son and successor Hu- first volume is a series of essays on the
mayun, 1530-56; of Akbar the Great, life of the peasant cultivator in Bengal
1556-1605, contemporary of Queen after the English ascendency: his trou-
Elizabeth and of Shakespeare; of Jahan- bles over the land, the currency, the
gir, 1605–27, “a contribution towards courts, the village and general govern-
a natural history of tyrants »; of Nur- ments, the religious customs, and the
Mahal (the Light of the Palace) Em- other institutions, all bearing directly on
press of Hindustan, 1611-27; of Shah his prosperity. A valuable chapter is on
a
## p. 433 (#469) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
a
433
the rebellion of the Santal tribes and its artist. «The air of the work, the atmo-
causes. It is interesting to know that sphere through which we see the pictures
he ranks Warren Hastings very high as pass and succeed each other, is chill and
a sagacious and disinterested statesman, clear, like some silver dawn of summer
and says that no other name is so cher- breaking on secular olive-gardens, cold
ished by the masses in India as their distant hills, and cities built of ancient
benefactor. (Orissa) is a detailed ac- marbles. ”
count of all elements of life and of his-
tory in a selected Indian province; a
Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert,
study in small of what the government
appeared in 1856, when the author
has to do, not on great theatrical occas-
was thirty-five. It was his first novel, and
is regarded as the book which founded
ions but as the beneficial routine of its
the realistic school in modern French
daily work. Incidentally, it contains the
fiction, — the school of Zola and Maupas-
best account anywhere to be found of
sant.
the pilgrimages of Juggernaut (Jaga-
The novel is a powerful, unpleas-
nath); and an excellent summary of the
ant study of the steps by which a mar-
ried woman descends to sin, bankruptcy,
origins of Indian history and religions.
and suicide. It is fatalistic in its teach-
Marius, the Epicurean,
ing, Flaubert's theory of life being that
philo-
evil inheres in the constitution of things.
sophical romance by Walter Pater,
and his first important work, was pub-
Madame Bovary, a doctor's wife, has
been linked to him without really loving
lished in 1885. 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
## p. 434 (#470) ############################################
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.
## p. 440 (#476) ############################################
440
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
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.
ume resumes its author's history at the philosophy are freely expressed. Her
point where (Records of a Girlhood anecdotes of Dr. Channing, Grisi, Lord
leaves it — namely, at her marriage and Lady Lansdowne, Sydney Smith,
with Mr. Pierce Butler in 1834; and Lady Holland, Rogers, Wordsworth,
ends with her return to America in Mrs. Somerville, Follen, Taglioni, Liszt,
1848, and her success in earning by pub- Mendelssohn, Fanny Elssler, Mrs. Grote,
lic readings a home at Lenox, Massachu- Jenny Lind, Moore, Macaulay, Dickens,
setts. With the exception of two visits to Dr. Arnold, Bunsen, Thackeray, etc. ,
Europe, the first two-thirds of the book are always entertaining and often most
are given to her life in America; the illuminating
last third, to her stay in Europe (1845-
48). The record begins by describing Philistines. The, by Arlo Bates, a
, ,
some of the points at which her Eng- story of fashionable Boston society,
lish ideas disagree with American ones. takes its title from Matthew Arnold's
It is full of amusing comments on our
for the rich and self-satisfied
life,- its crudeness, unhealthiness, lack classes of the community to whom
of leisure, and extravagance, and the m ney, and the good of life expressible
discomforts of travel. She speaks with in money, are all. Arthur Fenton, a
name
## p. 430 (#466) ############################################
430
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
ence.
mean
was
painter of great promise, gives up ori-
ginal work to paint the portraits of rich
men, and marries the niece of Boston's
greatest art patron, a high-minded but
somewhat narrow girl, with whom he is
totally out of sympathy. The story
traces his gradual deterioration; and his
outlook on life becomes more and more
worldly. In short, the motive of the
book is the illustration of that dry-rot
of character which is certain to seize on
its victim when wealth, or ease, or any
external good, is made the end of exist-
It shows the remorselessness of
nature in insisting on her penalties
when her laws of development are dis-
regarded. Yet the story never degener-
ates into an argument, nor is it loaded
with a moral. Several of the person-
ages
have epigrammatic tendencies,
which make their society entertaining.
«People who
well are always
worse than those who don't mean any-
thing. » «He one of those men
who have the power of making their
disapproval felt, from the simple fact
that they feel it so strongly themselves. )
“Modern business is simply the art of
transposing one's debts. » «A broad
man is one who can appreciate his own
wife. ” A woman may believe that she
herself has accomplished the impossible,
but she knows no one of her sisters
has. ” «Conventionality is the consensus
of the taste of mankind. » << The object
of life is to endure life, as the object of
time is to kill time. ” Society matrons,
maids, and men, are delineated with the
sure touch of one who knows them; and
receptions, Browning Clubs, art
mittees, business schemes, and politics,
form a lively background for the story.
Mºdern Instance, A, by William D.
Howells. (1881. ) The scene of the
story is first laid in a country town in
Maine, where Bartley Hubbard, a vain,
selfish, unprincipled young man, is ed-
iting the local paper. He marries Marcia
Gaylord, a handsome, passionate, inex-
perienced young country girl, and takes
her to Boston, where he continues his
journalistic career. As time goes on,
the incompatibility of the young couple
becomes manifest; Marcia's extreme
jealousy, and Bartley's selfishness and
dissipation, causing much unhappiness
and contention. The climax is finally
reached, when, after a passionate scene,
Bartley leaves his wife and child, and
is not heard from again for the space
of two years. His next appearance is
in an Indiana law-court, where he is
endeavoring to procure a divorce from
Marcia; but his attempt is frustrated
through the intervention of her father,
Judge Gaylord, who goes to the West-
ern town and succeeds in obtaining a
decree in his daughter's favor. At the
end of the story Bartley is shot and
killed in a Western brawl, and Marcia
is left with her child, dragging out
her existence in her native town. Ben
Halleck, who is in love with Marcia,
figures prominently throughout the book,
and the reader is left with the impres-
sion that their marriage eventually takes
place. If the novel can hardly be called
agreeable, it proves Mr. Howells has
penetrated very deeply into certain un-
attractive but characteristic phases of
contemporary American life; and the
story is told with brilliancy and vigor.
Morgesons, The, Elizabeth Barstow
Stoddard's first novel. (1862. ) The
plot is concerned with the fortunes of
the Morgeson family, long resident in a
sea-coast town in New England. Two
members of it, Cassandra, by whom
the story is told, and her sister Veron-
ica, are girls of strange, unconventional
nature, wholly undisciplined, who live
out their restless lives against the back-
ground of a narrow New England house-
hold, composed of a gentle, fading mother,
a father wholly absorbed in business
and affairs, and a dominant female serv-
ant, Temperance. When Cassandra re-
turns home from boarding school, she
finds Veronica grown into a pale, reti-
cent girl, with unearthly little ways.
Veronica's own love-story begins when
she meets Ben Somers, a friend of her
sister. Both girls are born to tragedy,
through their passionate, irreconcilable
temperament; and the story follows their
lives with a strange, detached impartial-
ity, which holds the interest of the reader
more closely than any visible advocacy
of the cause of either heroine could do.
(The Morgesons) is rich in delineation
of unusual aspects of character, in a
grim New England humor, in those pict-
ures of the sea that are never absent
from Mrs. Stoddard's novels. Suffusing
the book is a bleak atmosphere of what
might be called passionate mentality,
bracing, but calling for a sober power
of resistance in the reader.
com-
## p. 431 (#467) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
431
com-
Red Badge of Courage, The, by Ste- brought up by a worthy English duchess,
phen Crane, was published in 1895. who has instilled into her mind the
It attracted a great deal of attention noblest traditions of aristocracy, and has
both in England and America, by reason developed a character unworldly, high-
of the nature of the subject, and of the spirited, and idealistic. The plot turns
author's extreme youth. It is a study of on her tragic conflict with a false and
a man's feeling in battle, written by one base social order. Like Ouida's other
who was never in a battle, but who novels of high life, it unites realism
seeks to give color to his story by lurid with romance, or with a kind of sump-
language. Henry Fleming, an unsophis- tuous exaggeration of the qualities and
ticated country boy, enthusiastic to serve attributes of aristocracy, which, to the
his country, enlists at the beginning of average reader, is full of fascinaivn.
the Civil War. Young, raw, intense, he
longs to show his patriotism, to prove Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, is the
a . the
name by which a certain huge and
he is fretting for an opportunity, his particularly ferocious whale was known.
regiment apparently being nowhere near This whale has been attacked many
a scene of action. His mental states are times, and has fought valiantly. Captain
described as he waits and chafes; the Ahab, of the whaler Pequod, has lost a
calculations as to what it would all be leg in a conflict with this monster, and
like when it did come, the swagger to has vowed to kill him. The story tells
keep up the spirits, the resentments of how the captain kept his vow; and it
the possible superiority of his
serves not only for the relation of some
panions, the hot frenzy to be in the exciting adventures in the pursuit of
thick of it with the intolerable delays whales, but as a complete text-book of
over, and sore doubts of courage. Sud- the whaling industry. Every species of
denly, pell-mell, the boy is thrown into whale is described, with its habits, tem-
battle, gets frightened to death in the perament, and commercial value. Every
thick of it, and runs; after the fun is item in the process of whale capture and
over, crawls back to his regiment fairly preparation for the market is minutely
vicious with unbearable shame. The described. Besides all this, the charac-
heroic visions fade; but the boy makes ters of the owners, officers, and crew of
one step towards manhood through his the whaling ship are drawn with truth
wholesome lesson. In his next battle and vigor; and there is a good sketch of
courage links itself to him like a brother- a New Bedford sailors' boarding-house.
in-arms. He tests and is tested, goes The scene is laid first at New Bedford
into the thick of the fight like a howling and Nantucket, and afterwards on those
demon, goes indeed to hell, and comes portions of the ocean frequented by
back again, steadied and quiet.
The
whaling vessels, and the time is the year
book closes his and manly
1775. Probably no more thrilling de-
serenity.
scription of a whale hunt has been writ-
“He had rid himself of the red sick- ten than that of the three days' conflict
ness of battle. The sultry nightmare with Moby-Dick, with which the story
was in the past. He had been an ani- closes, and in which the whale is killed,
mal, blistered and sweating in the heat though not until he has demolished the
and pain of war. He now turned with boats and sunk the ship. Moby-Dick
a lover's thirst to images of tranquil is of increasing value in literature from
skies. )
the fact that it is a most comprehensive
hand-book of the whaling industry at a
Louise de la Ramée time when individual courage and skill
(“Quida"). (1880. ) This novel de- were prime factors, when the whale had
picts the corruption (springing from idle- to be approached in small boats to within
ness and luxury) of modern European almost touching distance, and before
society, especially of the women of rank, bomb-lances, steam, and other modern
who are compared to moths «fretting a improvements had reduced whaling to
garment. ” The first chapter presents the dead-level of a mere «business. »
such a woman, Lady Dolly, a fashionable (It was published in 1851. ) It contains
butterfly with an ignoble nature. Her also the best rendering into words of the
daughter by a first marriage, Vera, joins true seaman's feeling about the ocean as
her at Trouville. The girl has been his home which has ever been written.
on
new
Moths, by
## p. 432 (#468) ############################################
432
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
were
Magnalia Christi
Americana, by Jahan, 1628-58; and of Aurangzeb, 1658–
Cotton Mather. This Ecclesias- 1707. There is an additional chapter of
tical History of New England, from the foremost historical and literary value
1620 to 1628,' treats more extensively by Sir W. W. Hunter, on « The Ruin of
of the early history of the country Aurangzeb; or, The History of a Reac-
than its title seems to indicate, unless tion, and a sketch of the conquests of
it is borne in mind that at this time India from
that by
Alexander the
the Church and State were so closely Great, 327 B. C. , to that of Baber, who
connected that the history of one must was in reality the second founder of the
necessarily be that of the other. It Mogul empire at Delhi. The purpose
was first published in London, in 1702, of Mr. Holden, suggested by his pos-
and is a standard work with American session of a series of very interesting
historians. It is divided into seven portraits, which he reproduces, was that
books: the first treating of the early of giving a sketch of personages only,
discoveries of America and the voyage not a history, and to some extent of the
to New England; the second is Lives ideas and literature which represent
of the Governors ); the third, Lives of them. Both Baber and Akbar
many Reverend, Learned, and Holy men of intellectual distinction and of
Divines); the fourth, (Of Harvard Uni- noble character. The empire under Ak-
versity); the fifth, (The Faith and the bar will bear close comparison, Mr.
Order in the Church of New England'; Holden justly says, with the States of
the sixth, Discoveries and Demonstra- Europe at the same epoch. Baber wrote
tions of the Divine Providence in Re. Memoirs, which show high ideals of
markable Mercies and Judgments on culture held by the chief men of his
Many Particular Persons); the seventh, time. Akbar brought about an inter-
(Disturbances Given to the Churches of mixture of races and religions which
New England. In the sixth book, the caused great freedom and liberality in
author gives accounts of the wonders culture of every kind. Every famous
of the invisible world, of worthy people book known to him was in Akbar's li-
succored when in dire distress, of the brary, and as early as 1578 he had set
sad ending of many wicked ones, and the example of a parliament of religions
of the cases of witchcraft at Salem and in which Sufis, Sunnis, and Shiahs, of
other places. Of the last he says: “I
his own
faith, with Brahmans, Bud-
will content myself with the transcrib- dhists, Zoroastrians, Christians, and Jews,
ing of a most unexceptionable account amicably reasoned together as men and
thereof, written by Mr. John Hales. ” brethren; while he for himself gathered
The situation and character of the from all of them a simple faith, theistic
author afforded him the most favorable and humane, in place of the Islamism
opportunities to secure the documents
of his race.
necessary for his undertaking, and the
large portion of it devoted to biography.
Anne
nnals of Rural Bengal (1868, 5th
gives the reader a very faithful view of ed. 1872), and its sequel Orissa (2
the leading characters of the times. vols. , 1872), by Sir William Wilson
Hunter. In these volumes one of the
Mogul Emperors of Hindustan, The, most admirable civilians that England
A. D. 1398 — A. D. 1707. By Ed- ever sent to India displays his finest
ward S. Holden. (1895. ) A volume of qualities: not alone his immense schol-
biographical sketches; -of Tamerlane, or arship and his literary charm, but his
Timur, whose conquest of India in 1398 practical ability, his broad humanity and
founded at Delhi the Mogul empire of interest in the «dim common popula-
Baber, sixth in descent from Timur, tions sunk in labor and pain, and his
who was emperor from 1526 to 1529; of sympathy with religious aspiration. The
his unimportant son and successor Hu- first volume is a series of essays on the
mayun, 1530-56; of Akbar the Great, life of the peasant cultivator in Bengal
1556-1605, contemporary of Queen after the English ascendency: his trou-
Elizabeth and of Shakespeare; of Jahan- bles over the land, the currency, the
gir, 1605–27, “a contribution towards courts, the village and general govern-
a natural history of tyrants »; of Nur- ments, the religious customs, and the
Mahal (the Light of the Palace) Em- other institutions, all bearing directly on
press of Hindustan, 1611-27; of Shah his prosperity. A valuable chapter is on
a
## p. 433 (#469) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
a
433
the rebellion of the Santal tribes and its artist. «The air of the work, the atmo-
causes. It is interesting to know that sphere through which we see the pictures
he ranks Warren Hastings very high as pass and succeed each other, is chill and
a sagacious and disinterested statesman, clear, like some silver dawn of summer
and says that no other name is so cher- breaking on secular olive-gardens, cold
ished by the masses in India as their distant hills, and cities built of ancient
benefactor. (Orissa) is a detailed ac- marbles. ”
count of all elements of life and of his-
tory in a selected Indian province; a
Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert,
study in small of what the government
appeared in 1856, when the author
has to do, not on great theatrical occas-
was thirty-five. It was his first novel, and
is regarded as the book which founded
ions but as the beneficial routine of its
the realistic school in modern French
daily work. Incidentally, it contains the
fiction, — the school of Zola and Maupas-
best account anywhere to be found of
sant.
the pilgrimages of Juggernaut (Jaga-
The novel is a powerful, unpleas-
nath); and an excellent summary of the
ant study of the steps by which a mar-
ried woman descends to sin, bankruptcy,
origins of Indian history and religions.
and suicide. It is fatalistic in its teach-
Marius, the Epicurean,
ing, Flaubert's theory of life being that
philo-
evil inheres in the constitution of things.
sophical romance by Walter Pater,
and his first important work, was pub-
Madame Bovary, a doctor's wife, has
been linked to him without really loving
lished in 1885. 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
## p. 434 (#470) ############################################
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.
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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.
## p. 440 (#476) ############################################
440
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
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.
