The action is continuous, the
opens with a description of Easthorpe,
characters are striking, and the interest
the market town of the English Eastern
of the reader is held.
opens with a description of Easthorpe,
characters are striking, and the interest
the market town of the English Eastern
of the reader is held.
Warner - World's Best Literature - v30 - Guide to Systematic Readings
The
story of his reception there and the diffi-
## p. 231 (#267) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
231
culties encountered, arising out of old himself deceived, seeks out Carroll de
prejudices upon the one hand and his own Lancy, the other party in the affair,
training and convictions upon the other, and from him learns that, when he was
is told with great detail and strong local too ill to travel, his sister had masquer-
coloring. The author with great fairness aded in his West Point uniform, taken
considers the questions of reconstruction, Miss Rivers as companion, and reached
while some thrilling chapters deal with the death-bed of an uncle in time to
the outrages of the Ku-Klux. A love secure the favorable disposition of his
episode is introduced, which proceeds as property. The scene of reconciliation
a simple narrative with no complications follows immediately. The story is well
of plot.
told, and the dramatic possibilities of
the unconventional adventure lend color
Floyd Grandon's Honor, by Amanda
M. Douglas. The scenes of the story
to an otherwise commonplace narrative.
are laid in a New York suburb.
Floxid ,
Grandon, a young widower, returning Miss F. F. Montrésor (1895) is a plea
from England with his motherless child, for the ideal in daily life. To Margaret
Cecil, to wind up his deceased father's Deane, the beautiful imaginative young
affairs, promises over the death-bed of heroine, life becomes intolerable under
one of the partners, Mr. Percival, to
the guardianship of her uncongenial and
marry his daughter, Violet, a seventeen-
worldly aunt, Mrs. Russelthorpe. Her
year-old girl; a promise made and after-
spiritually sensitive nature is touched
ward redeemed through pity for her by the preaching of Barnabas Thorpe, an
defenseless position, fear of the avowed earnest revivalist; and by conforming to
designs of another partner, Jasper Wil- his teaching, she incurs her aunt's con-
marth, and gratitude for her rescue of
temptuous persecution. An unfortunate
his own
child from a terrible death. chance throws the two together late at
This marriage, contracted without the night; and to protect her from insult,
usual conditions of courtship or even Barnabas marries her. He is poor, un-
previous acquaintance, is the theme of
couth in manner, barely able to read
the story. Transplanted exotics require
and write; while Margaret is refined and
special treatment before they become ac- book-loving, and accustomed to all ad-
climated; and marriages à la française, vantages of wealth and position. In
amid prosaic American surroundings, af- picturing the results of this hazardous
ford ample opportunity for the imagina- | marriage, the author emphasizes a con-
tion of a novelist, an opportunity of which tempt for moral makeshifts. Barnabas
the author has made the most.
and Margaret desire at any cost to live
sincerely. Her friends regard her as a
Reverend Idol, A, by Lucretia Noble
(1882). The Reverend Idol is Rev.
disgrace to them, and blot her name
Kenyon Leigh, a popular New York
from the family Bible; but her new life
clergyman, who, pursued by the unwel-
teaches her to disregard rank, wealth,
come attentions of his feminine parish-
and popular esteem. She knows poverty,
ioners, fees to a quiet boarding-house
sorrow, humiliation, danger, yet feels
richer than in her days of ease. There
on Cape Cod for summer outing:
There he meets Monny Rivers, a charm-
are striking pictures of prison life at
ing Boston girl and an artist of
Newgate, and many dramatic incidents;
but the interest lies above all in the
ability. Commencing with
slight feeling of hostility, they drift
analysis of emotional life based upon a
first into toleration, then companionship,
conviction of human instinct for what is
and finally to love. The course of this
true and noble.
affection does
smooth. Mrs. Jerome, by Mary E. Wilkins. Jerome
Van Cortlandt, who has marked the is the vignette of a New England
Reverend Idol for her own, invades the youth, relieved against a background
solitude of sand and
of provincial types. When hardly out
nizes in her young and beautiful rival of his teens, he is called upon by the
a participant in an adventure, which, sudden disappearance of his father to
though harmless in reality, in appear- take upon his shoulders the burden of
scandalous in the extreme. the family. His course is a pathway of
She imparts only the semblance of the misfortune, sacrifice, and hardship, lead-
truth to Kenyon Leigh, who, believing | ing by rugged steps to a summit of
a
no
mean
a
not
run
sea.
She recog.
ance
was
## p. 232 (#268) ############################################
232
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
acter.
are
a
well-earned prosperity. A great sacri- Spanish blood, he has a fearless and hon-
fice to a high ideal is the turning-point est soul. The novel comes to a climax
of the story. Like Miss Wilkins's other in a piot made against him by his ene-
works, Jerome) is a careful and truth- mies in Gloria. Besides the hero, “The
ful study of New England village char- Dictator) introduces two or three other
characters of especial interest: Captain
Sarrasin, who has traveled and fought in
Agnes of Sorrento, a romance by Har-
The scene is
many countries, and whose wife on oc-
casion can don men's garments and handle
laid in central Italy during the time of
a gun; Dolores Paulo; and the Duchess
the infamous Pope Alexander VI. (from
of Deptford, of American birth, a cari-
1492 to 1503). Agnes is the daughter of
cature rather than a true type. The plot
a Roman prince who secretly marries,
involves the use of dynamite, and much
and then deserts, a girl of humble par-
mining and countermining; in spite of
entage. The young mother dies of grief,
which the book remains an entertaining
and Elsie, the grandmother, takes Agnes
domestic story.
to Sorrento, where she lives by selling
oranges in the streets. Her beauty and The
The Life and Adventures of Jack of
her purity attract to her many lovers, the Mill, commonly called Lord
worthy and unworthy, and involve her in Othmill, created for his eminent services
many romantic and dramatic incidents. Baron Waldeck and Knight of Kitcottie.
The story is delightfully told, the Italian A fireside story, by William Howitt. The
atmosphere is well suggested, and the scenes of these adventures lie partly in
book, though not Mrs. Stowe's best, takes England during the reign of Henry V. ,
good literary rank.
partly in Bohemia and Germany. They
succession of bloodthirsty and
Cºlon
olonel Enderby's Wife, by Lucas
thrilling conflicts, in which Jack, the
Malet » (Charles Kingsley's daugh-
hero, with scarcely an effort, overcomes
ter, now Mrs. Harrison). The scene of
robbers and gipsies, fights the opponents
this story, published in 1886, is laid in
of the Lollards and the Hussites with equal
England and Italy during the seventies.
vigor, and obtains honors, preferment,
Colonel Enderby is a disinherited Eng-
and a lovely wife. From the moment
lishman of middle age, whose life has
when, a runa
inaway boy, he fills his pockets
been shadowed by his father's neglect
with fish-hooks to trap the hands of
and injury. At the age of forty-eight
thieving companions, to the time when,
he marries in Italy a glittering young with a single companion, he overcomes
creature of wonderful beauty. The tra-
the robber-baron Hans von Stein, with
gedy which follows is that which always
his train,-a semi-historical character
comes when a crass and brutal selfish-
whose castle, honeycombed with dun-
ness arrays itself against the generosity
geons, is still visited by tourists in Ger-
of a higher nature, if two people are so
many,-- his wit and success never fail;
bound together that they cannot escape and as valor as well as virtue has its
each other. The ending, though sad, is
due reward, Jack, the vagrant frequenter
that which the logic of the situation
of the old mill, becomes in turn John
makes inevitable. The book has been
Othmill, respected and feared by society,
very widely read and praised.
and finally the great Lord Warbeck.
The author allows himself considerable
Dictator, The. by Justin McCarthy,
When Justin McCarthy published
latitude of imagination and plot, and the
result is aptly named in the quaint term
(The Dictator,' in 1893, he had been
known to the novel-reading public for
of apology he uses in the preface, a
«hatch-up. ”
twenty-six years, and had written a score
of books. (The Dictator,' a story of con- Cudjo's Cave, by J. T. Trowbridge, an
temporary life in England, gives scope anti-slavery novel, first published in
to its author for the display of his knowl- 1863, was, like its predecessor Neighbor
edge of politics.
Jackwood,' very widely read. The scene
The Dictator of the story, Ericson, when of the story is eastern Tennessee, at the
first introduced to the reader, has just outbreak of the rebellion. The State,
been ejected by a revolution from his though seceding, contained many Union-
position as chief of the South American ists; and their struggles against the per-
Republic, Gloria. Of mixed English and secution of their Confederate neighbors,
## p. 233 (#269) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
233
slave-holders, and poor whites, form the and picturesque descriptions of the Rivi-
plot of the book. The ostensible hero is era, where the author passed the last
Penn Hapgood, a young Quaker school- months of her life. Published in 1879, it
teacher, whose abolitionist doctrines get was left unfinished, the last chapters be-
him into constant trouble; but the really ing written by Mrs. Macquoid. The story
heroic figure of the book is a gigantic principally concerns itself with the love
full-blooded negro, Pomp, a
runaway
affairs of two cousins, Emmie West and
slave, living in the woods in a great Alma Rivers; and the moral of it is that
cave with another runaway, Cudjo. Cudjo tribulation worketh patience, and patience
is dwarfish and utterly ignorant, a mix- godliness. Lady Rivers, Sir Francis, and
ture of stupidity and craft; but Pomp is charming Madame de Florimel, are clev-
one of nature's noblemen. Cudjo's cave erly sketched characters.
The story,
becomes a refuge for the persecuted aboli- which is very simple, is so natural and
tionists of the neighborhood, a basis of homely, and its psychology is so faithful,
operations for the Union sympathizers, that it became at once a favorite, and
and finally the seat of war in the region. is still one of the most popular domestic
The novel, though written with a strong novels.
ethical purpose, is interesting and effect-
ive simply as a story, containing much Newport, by George Parsons Lathrop.
incident
(1884. ) Newport) is a story of soci-
some capital character-
ety,- the intrigues, adventures, and su-
studies.
perficialities of one summer affording
9
, (the author
a
tale of Aquitaine, during the Eng- grammatic remarks, vivid descriptions of
lish occupation, in the early fifteenth the principal places of local interest, and
century. The country was in a state of photographs of men and women of the
civil war; and free companies, nominally leisure class. The love affair of a charm-
fighting for French or English, but in ing widow, Mrs. Gifford, and a widower,
reality for their own pockets, mere plun- Eugene Oliphant, incidently engages the
derers and bandits, fourished mightily. reader's attention; a love affair which,
The most dreaded freebooter in the after a slight estrangement and separa-
valley of the Dordogne was Le Gros tion, is ended by a sudden and incredi-
Guillem, who from his stronghold at ble catastrophe, an unexpected finale
Domme sweeps
down
upon the farms
strangely out of harmony with the pref-
and hamlets below; till at length the ace of elopements, Casino dances, polo
timid peasants, finding a leader in games, Airtations of titled heiress-hunters,
Ogier del Peyra, a petty sieur of the and other trivialities of social existence.
neighborhood, rise
up against their The characters are well chosen and very
scourge, destroy his rocky fastness, and well managed, the individual being never
put his men to death or flight. Guil- sacrificed to the type, though the reader
lem's daughter, Noémi, a madcap beauty, is made to feel that the figures are
joins her father's band of ruffians; but really typical. In no other piece of fic-
soon sickens of their deeds, and risks tion has the flamboyant and aggressive
her life to save Ogier from the oubli- life of Newport — that life wherein amuse-
ette, because she loves his son. The ment is a business, and frivolity an occu-
book is filled with thrilling and bloody pation — been more vividly painted.
incident, culminating in the storming
of L'Eglise Guillem, as the freebooter's Phroso, by Anthony Hope (Hawkins),
den is ironically called, and the strange
is the story of one Lord Charles
death of the robber chieftain. The de-
Wheatley — told by himself — and his ex-
scriptions of the wild valley of the Dor-
periences in taking possession of the
dogne, and the life of the outlaws, are
small Greek island, Neopalia, which he
striking; and the pretty love story, set
has purchased from Lord Stefanopoulos.
against this background, very attractive.
Denny Swinton, his cousin, Hogoardt,
a factotum, and Watkins, his servant,
As a picture of a fierce and horrible
period, it hardly less vivid than the
accompany him. The natives, under Con-
(White Company) of Conan Doyle.
stantine, Lord Stefanopoulos's nephew,
violently oppose them and threaten their
Doubting Heart, A, by Annie Keary. lives. They all escape from the island
The scene of the story is laid in Eng- by a secret passage to the sea, except
land, although there are some charming / Wheatley, who is imprisoned. He is
## p. 234 (#270) ############################################
234
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
scenes
Own
WOOS
to
cesca
-
about to be stricken to death before the society girl, Bessie Lynde, who Airts
populace, when Phroso, the Lady of with Jeff for the sake of a new sensa-
the Island,” leaps to his aid, declaring
tion. The
are laid partly in
that she loves him better than life. Boston, partly in the mountains. The
Wheatley shows the people that Con- vulgarity of certain aspects of both city
stantine has lately assassinated his uncle and country life is mildly satirized. The
and is now plotting the murder of his novel is supremely American.
(secret) wife, Francesca, that he
may be free to marry Phroso, heiress to Jude the Obscure, a novel by Thomas
the island. Constantine becomes the
Hardy, was published in 1896. The
bar sinister which crosses many of his
prisoner and Wheatley the Neopalians'
favorite, since Phroso, their dear lady,
books is most prominent in Jude. '
loves him. His joy, however, is not
It is the story of a young man of the
unmixed,- he is betrothed to Beatrice
people, ambitious to go to Oxford and
to become a scholar.
Hipgrave in England. Nowraki, a Turk-
He is prevented
ish Pasha, arrives and
Phroso,
from rising in the social scale by him-
greatly complicating matters and nearly
self, by his environment, by a vulgar
demolishing Wheatley's plans. After
natural woman who loves him, and by
a refined morbid woman whom he loves.
many exciting exigencies, the brave
Wheatley weds the lovely Phroso; but
Arabella first drags him in the mud;
Sue then seeks to soar with him
not till Constantine, Mouraki, and Fran-
the stars. Between Arabella's earthiness
are slain, and Miss Hipgrave is
found to be already consoled. Plot is
and Sue's heavenly code of love, poor
rapidly succeeded by counterplot through-
Jude has not a shred of morals left.
He is pushed farther and farther from
out the story, which is written in the
Oxford as the story goes on.
The novel
characteristic romantic style of the author.
becomes at last a hopeless jumble of
Las
andlord at Lion's Head, The, by
illegitimate children, other men's wives,
W. D. Howells, published in 1897, is
misery, more misery, revolt, and death.
It is a remarkable work, but not a
a subtle study of types of character es-
cheerful nor edifying one.
sentially the product of present-day con-
ditions of life in New England. It is
a masterpiece in the sense of its hav- Barry Lyndon, the best of Thackeray's
shorter novels, originally written as
ing been written with the strong and
a serial for Fraser's Magazine, was pub-
sure hand of the finished artist. The
lished in book form in 1844. It is cast
author assumes complete responsibility
in the form of an autobiography. The
for his work, and the reader is at ease.
hero is an Irish gambler and fortune-
The story is concerned chiefly with the
hunter, a braggart and a blackleg, but
fortunes of the Durgin family, New
of audacious courage and of picturesque
England farm-people, who
own little
versatility. He tells his story in a plain
but a magnificent view of Lion's Head
matter-of-fact way, without concealment
Mountain. By the chance visit of an
or sophistication, glorying in episodes
artist, Westover, they are made to real-
which would seem shameful to the most
ize its mercantile value. Mrs. Durgin's
rudimentary conscience, and holding him-
ambitions, aroused by the success of her
self to be the best and greatest but most
(hotel,are centred in her son, Jeff ill-used of men. The irony is as fine as
Durgin. The portrait of this country
that of Fielding in Jonathan Wild the
boy swaggering through Harvard, stand-
Great,' a prototype obviously in Thack-
ing, but with a certain impudence, al-
eray's mind.
ways on the edge of things, is drawn
with wonderful clarity. Another admir- Adventures in Criticism, by A. T.
able creation is Whitwell, a neighbor Quiller-Couch, is a collection of brief
of the Durgins, a sort of rural philoso- critical essays, including a handful of
pher, with a mind reaching helplessly graceful commentaries on some of the
out to the pseudo-occult, and the Elizabethans, two or three eighteenth-
banalities of planchette. His daughter century studies, an examination of Zola,
Cynthia, the most hopeful figure in the some excellent appreciations of Ibsen,
book, is a sweet, strong mountain girl, Björnson, and the Scandinavian cult, and
«capable in the full sense of the word. twenty or more estimates of modern Eng-
In strong contrast to her is the Boston lish writers from Scott to Caine. The
to
((
## p. 235 (#271) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
235
TOWARDS
critic has a large view of literature, entire political troubles there being made the
sincerity, a charming style. simple and source of the story's action. The chief
direct as Thackeray's, fine scholarship, characters are Sir John Davenne, an Eng-
and absolute independence of judgment. lishman traveling in Italy, his daughter
His book, therefore, surrounds old sub- Lucy, and Doctor Antonio, a Sicilian
jects with a new atmosphere, and gives exile. The personality of the Doctor is
the reader the agreeable sense of being one of singular charm, and holds inter-
made a co-discoverer of profitable places est throughout the book.
When pub-
in well-known territory; so that his essays lished this novel became a universal
have become almost as much liked as his favorite, and it is still read with pleasure.
stirring romances.
Agatha Page, by Isaac Henderson, gives
Dante, A Shadow of: Being an Essay an artistic picture of Italian life.
STUDYING HIMSELF, HIS The heroine, from whom the book takes
WORLD, AND His PILGRIMAGE; by Maria its name, is first seen as she stands upon
Francesca Rossetti. (4th ed. 1884. ) A the turf under the trees playing her vio-
volume of criticism and selections, de- lin to an old priest; and here the Marquis
signed to enable the reader to comprehend Filippo Loreno catches his first glimpse
the poet and his great poem. The study of her. Charmed by the music and the
begins with Dante's conception of the beauty of the musician, he recognizes in
universe, and what autobiography and Agatha his ideal woman. She returns
history show his life experience to have his love, and they are happily united.
been. It then proceeds to expound the Agatha's influence develops all that is
physical and moral theories on which the best in Filippo; but an element of dis-
poet constructed his three worlds, and cord presently appears in the presence
narrates the course of his pilgrimage of Agatha's cousin Mercede, a beautiful,
through them. In this narration the main clever, but selfish young sculptor. She
object is to read Dante's autobiography returns Agatha's kindness by exerting all
in the poem, to make out his character her powers of fascination upon Filippo,
as self-revealed, and to enter into his in- who, admiring her vivacity and not in-
spiration or spiritual life. The extracts,
sensible to her flatteries, drifts more and
of which there are many, are made with more into her society. Though neglected,
this view, many of the episodes being Agatha's sweetness and faith never fal-
passed over.
ter; her loving patience being at last re-
warded by Filippo's reawakened devotion,
B"
occaccio, Giovanni, As MAN AND Av- when he is forced to contrast the real
THOR, by John Addington Symonds. characters of the two women. Learning
(1895. ) A monograph in a hundred pages that while he is flirting with Mercede,
of fine learning and rare criticism, on one his wife is exposing her life by nursing
of the three founders of modern liter- the cholera patients on his estates, he
ature. ) Dante, first of the three, stood realizes, now that it may be lost to him,
within the shadow of mediæval theol- what Agatha's love has been. The book
ogy; Petrarch, comiirg next, initiated the ends with Filippo's abrupt departure to
Revival of Learning, - humanism, scholar- join her. Among the other leading char-
ship, the modern intellectual ideal. Boc- acters are Count Ricci, Mercede's father,
caccio was the founder of Greek studies, who is a fine old soldier, proud and pos-
and Petrarch's ablest lieutenant in the sessed of an iron will, coupled with much
pioneering work of the Revival of Learn- sweetness and gentleness; and Mr. Peter
ing. He created the novel; and though a Dow, who is a practical and lively Amer-
second only to Petrarch, as Petrarch was ican. This novel, published in 1888, has
a second only to Dante, in force of char- since been successfully dramatized by Mr.
acter and quality of genius, he ruled the Henderson.
course of Italian literature, and its far-
reaching influences, for three centuries.
was published in 1881. The story
Mr. Symonds devotes his monograph. turns on the well-worn incident of the
changing of two children in their cradles.
Doctor Antonio, by Giovanni Ruffini, The plot follows their development, the
is a novel of modern life, the scene gradual manifestation through charac-
of which is laid mainly in Italy, the ter of their true origin. Don John is
Such in outline is the story to which Dºn John, a novel by Jean Ingelow,
## p. 236 (#272) ############################################
236
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
(
ness.
admirably written, bearing about it the observation and deep feeling, and the
same atmosphere of simplicity and nobil- exciting history of the rebellion led by
ity that surrounds this author's poems. O'Brien, make it very interesting. The
Though a mere mention of the chief in- Irish nature is typified in the golden-
cident implies a poverty of invention, the haired heroine, Ellen, daughter of Squire
book is really one of unusual freshness Daly; in Connor, her brother, who joins
of imagination. The delineation of char- the “Young Irelanders”; and in Cousin
acter is delightfully delicate and exact; Anne of “Good Peoples' Hollow," who,
and the skill with which the puzzle of heedless of the precepts of political econ-
identity is treated leaves the reader in omy, rules her tenants with lavish kind-
the desired mood of doubt to the end of
On the other hand, the careful
the excellent story.
foresight of the Saxon race is well por-
trayed in John Thornely, and in Pelham,
Duchess Emilia, The, is a romantic
the eldest son of Squire Daly, who in-
story of modern Italian life; the
herits English characteristics from his
plot, which turns upon a love affair, be-
mother.
ing complicated with certain religious
considerations, and with the problems of
re-incarnation. All the actors are Italian
Catharine Furze, " by Mark Ruther-
ford; edited by his friend Reuben
except one New-Englander, of a mysti-
Shapcott. ” Published in 1893, this book
cal turn.
The action is continuous, the
opens with a description of Easthorpe,
characters are striking, and the interest
the market town of the English Eastern
of the reader is held.
Midlands, in 1840. The two inns are
patronized by landlords, farmers, tenants,
Chaplain of the Fleet, The, by Wal-
ter Besant and James Rice. (1881. )
and commercial travelers; especially on
election days. The story centres about
This story opens on the last day of the
the life of Mr. and Mrs. Furze, and their
year 1750, and gives a detailed account
of the famous Liberties or Rules of the
daughter Catharine aged about nineteen.
old Fleet prison in London, and of the
Mike Catchpole, by an accident in the
Fleet marriages. These «Rules) were
factory of Mr. Furze, loses his eyesight.
houses in certain streets near the Fleet
Catharine, with a sense of justice, insists
Market, where prisoners for debt were
that he shall be made an apprentice in the
allowed to live, outside the prison, on
business. The girl is sent to school to
payment of fees. Among these prisoners
the Misses Ponsonby, who are very strict
were clergymen, who performed clandes-
in their religious habits and manner of
tine marriages. A regular trade sprang
instruction, and whose pupils are ques-
up, touters were employed to bring cli-
tioned upon the weekly sermon by the
ents, and every species of enormity was
preacher, Mr. Cardew. He has not learned
practiced. Gregory Shovel was
one of
the art of being happy with his wife; and
these clergy, and so plumed himself on
when he meets Catharine they discuss
his success in this iniquitous traffic that
Milton, Satan, and the divine eternal plan.
he took the name of “Chaplain of the
Cardew's presence is inspiriting to her.
Fleet, which gives the book its title,
Tom Catchpole, a clerk in her father's
- the whole plot turning upon one of
store, worships Catharine from afar. At
these Fleet marriages. This novel is
last he confesses his love, and she refuses
considered one of the best of those writ-
him. After her return from school she
ten under the firm-name of Besant 'and
finds life utterly uninteresting, having no
Rice.
scope for her powers. When she falls ill
and fades away, Cardew is sent for :
Castle Daly, by Annie Keary. Castle she tells him that he has saved her. «By
Daly, the most popular of Annie their love for each other they were both
Keary's stories, was published in 1875. saved. ” She takes up her life once more,
It relates the fortunes of an English and and the book ends without a climax
an Irish family. The scene is laid in almost without incident. Written with
Connemara, Ireland, during the famine an almost heartless impersonality, it is a
of 1846 and the formation and insurrec- | striking portraiture of that English lower
tion of the party of “Young Irelanders » middle-class life which Matthew Arnold
in 1846-49. The impartial delineation pronounced so deadly for mind and soul.
of the strong and weak points of Cel- It might be called a tragedy of the un-
tic character, the combination of acute fulfilled.
## p. 237 (#273) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
237
on
Day of Doom, The, by Michael Wiggles-
worth. When this poem was pub-
lished in 1662, Michael Wigglesworth
was only thirty-one,- young enough to
have had greater compassion on the un-
baptized infants and others whom he
condemned to eternal punishment. The
Day of Doom: or, A Poetical Descrip-
tion of the Great and Last Judgment,
with a short Discourse about Eternity,'
was the full title of this grim poem.
The taste of our ancestors was strangely
shown by their quickly buying up nine
editions of this work in America, and two
in England. Its narrow theology and
severity of style gave it a charm for those
inflexible Puritans, to find which, we of
to-day look in vain. It is said to have
been the most widely read book in Amer-
ica before the Revolution. The modern
reader finds the verse mere sing-song, the
metaphors forced, and the general tone
decidedly unpleasant. Some of the pass-
ages meant to be most impressive have
become merely ludicrous, and it seems
incredible that it could ever have been
taken seriously. It is merely a rhymed
catalogue of the punishments to be vis-
ited on those whose ways of life, or whose
theology, differed from the theology or
ways of life of the bard.
Epistle to Posterity, An, by Mrs. M.
E. W. Sherwood, (1897,) is a series
of pleasant reminiscences of one who has
found life an enjoyable experiment,”
and who has had unusual facilities for
meeting interesting people. The author
explains that she greeted with joy the
first green books which emanated from
Boz and the yellow-colored Thackerays. ”
When she had finished her studies at Mr.
Emerson's private school in Boston, her
father took her with him upon a business
trip across the Wisconsin prairies, dur-
ing which she met Martin Van Buren.
Among the interesting homes which she
visited were Marshfield, where she paid
girlish homage to her great host, Daniel
Webster; and the home in Watertown,
Massachusetts, where she learned to love
Maria White, the gracious first wife of
James Russell Lowell. She saw much
of Boston society in the days of its great-
est literary fame, and had a glimpse of
the Brook Farm Community. When her
father was sent to Congress, she made her
début in Washington society; and was a
frequent attendant at the levees of Pres-
ident Polk and President Taylor. In
Washington she renewed her friendship
with Webster, and met Henry Clay, and
“many of the young heroes destined later
to be world-renowned,” — Farragut,
Lee, Zachary Taylor, “and a quiet little
man who shrank out of sight,” known
later on as U. S. Grant. The conclusion
of the volume, the narration of her wed-
ding trip to the West Indies in the early
fifties; of her different trips to Europe,
including her presentation at the English
and the Italian courts; and of contem-
porary New York society,—though ani-
mated and anecdotal, is less interesting
than her pictures of social life in the Bos-
ton, Washington, and New York of forty
years ago.
Friend Olivia, by Amelia E. Barr. Mrs.
Barr possesses the rare talent of pro-
ducing in her stories that elusive quality
called «atmosphere. Whether reading of
Knickerbocker days, of the times of Bor-
der warfare, or, as in the present case, of
Roundhead and Cavalier, of Charles Stu-
art in Paris and Cromwell at Hampton
Court, one loses touch with the present,
to become for the time thoroughly imbued
with the charm of ancient story. ” (Friend
Olivia) deals with the last months of the
Protector's Commonwealth; with the op-
pression of the Quakers under the leader-
ship of the eloquent George Fox; with the
tragedies produced by unrest and suspi-
cion when religious intolerance flourished,
and political differences separated fam-
ily and friend: a dark background for a
charming love story — that of the modest
Quakeress, Olivia Prideaux, and her chival-
rous neighbor Nathaniel, only son of Baron
and Lady Kelder, strong advocates of
Cromwell and bitter enemies of the “cant-
ing » Quakers with their so-called affecta-
tions of dress and manner. The story is
laid in the coast village of Kelderby. In
those quiet streets pass the participants
in tragic scenes: the pirate and outlaw
John de Burg, his beautiful sister Anasta-
tia, and her hated husband; Roger Pri-
deaux on his way to prison, and others
no less noteworthy; and there, finally, as
on a miniature stage, are witnessed all
the scenes of humiliation, of hopes crushed
and expectations realized, when Cromwell
dies and King Charles returns to his own.
Donovan, a novel of modern English
life, by Edna Lyall, has for its sub-
ject a man's spiritual struggles from doubt
to faith. The hero, Donovan Farrant,
is well drawn, if somewhat conventional
2
>
## p. 238 (#274) ############################################
238
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
sons
sons.
means
in character. The book obtained great
popularity and still enjoys it, especially
in England. "We Two) is a sequel to
(Donovan. )
Patronage, by Maria Edgeworth. (1814. )
This novel was written for a pur-
pose; and the moral is apparent through-
out, and amply illustrated in almost every
character in the book.
Mr. Percy, a sensible English gentle-
man of the present time, brings up his
and daughters to depend upon
themselves for syccess in life, and not
upon the patronage of influential per-
The result is most gratifying: the
sons all succeed in their different pro-
fessions by their own efforts, and the
daughters marry well through no efforts
of their own, but according to their
merits. Mr. Falconer, Mr. Percy's am-
bitious cousin, also has a large family;
but he seeks the patronage of Lord Old-
borough to further the advancement of
his sons, and uses various diplomatic
to establish his daughters well
in the social world. In spite of the
unceasing efforts of Mr. Falconer, and
the decidedly questionable proceedings
of his wife, none of their children do
them credit; and patronage without ear-
nestness of purpose and high ideals
proves a failure.
The story is rather tedious, and there
is no hero or heroine in whom the in-
terest centres. Occasional incidents, and
the love affairs of the young members
of both families, enliven the narrative;
but for the rest, the story is justly con-
sidered inferior to her other works.
Master of Ballantrae, The, by Robert
Louis Stevenson, published 1889,
is a Scotch romance of the eighteenth
century, beginning with the Stuart up-
rising of 1745. It is a sombre tragedy
of the enmity of two brothers, of whom
the elder, James Durrie the Master, takes
the side of King Charlie; the younger,
Henry, that of King George. Alison
Graeme, a kinswoman with a fortune, is
intended for the wife of the Master; but
on his going to join the Stuart and being
believed dead, she is married to Henry,
without loving him. The tale is narrated
mostly by the steward of Ballantrae, John
MacKellar, who is devoted to the house
and to Henry Durrie, whose nobility, set
beside the wickedness of his brother, he
realizes to the full. After the marriage
appears Chevalier Burke, a companion of
the Master, to say that he is not dead;
Burke narrates their wanderings, which
include an episode on a pirate ship and
adventures among Indians in the wilds
of New York. MacKellar then takes up
the tale, describing the persecutions suf-
fered by Mr. Henry, whose brother first
writes to demand a large sum of money;
then returns, impoverished and disgraced,
to his paternal home, where he foments
trouble between Henry and his wife.
Finally, goaded by the Master's insults,
Henry fights a duel with him and leaves
him for dead; but he is carried off to
sea by smugglers and recovers, remain-
ing away for some time, and traveling
in India, as is communicated by Burke.
Then the Master reappears with Secun-
dra Dass, an East-Indian, whom he has
made his creature; whereupon Henry and
his wife and children betake themselves
secretly to New York, where Mrs. Dur-
rie owns an estate, leaving the Master at
Ballantrae in the charge of MacKellar.
James soon finds out his brother's where-
abouts and pursues him, keeping to his
tactics of persecution. Arrived there, he
does all he can to harm Henry, who is
installed in a position befitting his rank.
False news from Scotland to the effect
that the Master, though a rebel, is to
have his title restored, which will cut off
Henry's son from the succession, leads
the younger brother to concoct a plan
whereby James, who intends going to
the northern wilderness to regain pirate
treasure he has buried there, shall be
led to his death. The Master for a time
outwits the party of adventurers who at-
tend him, with the purpose of first get-
ting the treasure, then making away with
their nominal leader. Finally, to escape
them, he feigns death and is buried by
Secundra Dass, who puts him in a state
of suspended animation.
When Henry
and his party seek the grave, they find
the Indian digging up the buried Master,
who lives long enough to open his eyes,
at which vital sign his brother falls dead.
Thus the fraternal enemies lie at last in
one grave in the western wilderness.
David Balfour; Being Memoirs of His
ADVENTURES AT HOME AND ABROAD),
by Robert Louis Stevenson, was published
in 1893. A sequel to Kidnapped, this
novel follows the further fortunes of
David Balfour. When the story opens
David is about to attempt the escape of
his friend, Alan Breck Stewart, from
1
1
## p. 239 (#275) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
239
Scotland; and to aid Stewart's brother,
Expansion of England, The, by J. R.
unjustly imprisoned on a charge of mur- Seeley. (1883. ) In this volume Pro-
der. At this critical juncture he falls fessor Seeley attempts, in effect, to shift
in love with Catriona Drummond, whose the point of view of his countrymen as
father, James More Drummond, is a to the boundaries of the history of Eng-
plausible scoundrel. David's efforts to land. It is not a single island that they
help Alan and his brother bring about should contemplate, but a world empire,
his own imprisonment, but not until he which can be compared with, and meas-
has seen Alan safely into France. After ured by, only the two great powers of
his release he goes to Holland, where he the future, Russia and the United States.
lives with Catriona without marriage. Part first deals with the history of Eng-
Her father interfering, the two are sepa- land with relation to its colonies and the
rated; but by the intervention of Alan United States. The writer complains
Stewart they meet again in Paris, where that an arbitrary arrangement of reigns
they are married.
is apt to confuse our sense of the con-
The novel throughout is in the roman- tinuity of events. Let us, he says, get
tic vein; written with Stevenson's sim- rid of such useless headings as Reign of
plicity and clearness, and artistic in Queen Anne, Reign of George III. , and
construction.
make divisions founded on some real
stage of progress in the national life;
Albion's England, by William Warner looking onward, not from king to king,
(1586): a collection of poetical nar- but from great event to great event. If
ratives or ballads, many of them legend- we study its causes, every event puts on
ary rather than authoritative, relating to the character of a development; and this
the history of England from the origi- | development is a chapter in the national
nals of the first inhabitants thereof unto history. From 1688 to 1815, Mr. Seeley
the Raigne of Queen Elizabeth. ” So finds the formative events to have been
runs the sub-title. In reality the narra- foreign wars, beneath whose stormy sur-
tive begins with the Deluge. The poem face he looks for the quiet current of
was promptly suppressed by the Star
progress. He finds the clue he wants in
Chamber, presumably on the score of the fact that almost all these wars in-
indelicacy; but it has been repeatedly re- volved French interests; and that “The
printed, the last edition being Crawford's whole period stands out as an age of
in 1854. During the sixteenth and seven- gigantic rivalry between England and
'teenth centuries it enjoyed great popular- France; the expansion of England in
ity. Though Meres tells us that he has the New World and Asia is the formula
heard Warner termed «by ye best wits
which sums up for England the history
of both our universities (our English of the eighteenth century,- the great
Homer,) » his master work is tedious and decisive duel between the two nations
turgid at best, and frequently lapses into for the possession of the New World. ”
doggerel. The episode of Argentile and Her colonies having been planted at a
Curan is the most famous in the book. tremendous sacrifice of money, energy,
The princess Argentile succeeds to the and life, he would have them held as
throne of Northumberland, on the death a vital part of the parent State, not as
of her father Adelbright, under the ward- | “possessions. ” “We must cease to think
ship of Edel. The latter seeks to win her that emigrants, when they go to colo-
hand. But she has another lover in a nies, leave England, or are lost to Eng-
servant of her household, who is in real- land.
When we have accustomed
ity the Danish Prince Curan. He has ad- ourselves to contemplate the whole em-
opted this subterfuge to woo her. Edel, pire together, and call it all England,
discovering the mutual love of the young we shall see that here too is a United
people, forces Curan to quit her service; States; here too is a great homogeneous
and he becomes a neatherd. Argentile, to people
but dispersed over
escape her guardian's importunities, flees
boundless space.
If we are dis-
from the palace and becomes a neatherd's posed to doubt whether any system can
maid. Curan wooes and wins her, and be devised capable of holding together
leads a revolt against the wicked Edel, communities so distant from each other,
who is vanquished and put to death. then is the time to recollect the history
Curan and Argentile then become king of the United States. They have solved
and queen of Northumberland.
this problem. ”
a
## p. 240 (#276) ############################################
240
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
-a
ever
as
as
The second half of the book contains
eight lectures, chiefly given to the
Indian empire, explaining the necessity
of the conquest; the manner of the
English governance of that empire,
study in which he affirms boldly that if
a universal feeling of nationality
arises there, England cannot and should
not preserve her dominancy; the mutual
influence of England and India; the suc-
ceeding phases in the conquest; the in-
ternal dangers that threaten the stability
of British control in the East; and
finally, the condition of public opinion
concerning the modern British empire.
In a delightful manner, and with large
resources of scholarship, Professor Seeley
shows the continuity of the development
of England, the orderly sequence and
significance of her failures as well as
her successes, and the way in which the
story of her past should be made in-
structive for her future. And in con-
clusion he has this admirable deliverance,
which every reader may lay to heart:
«I am often told by those who, like
myself, study the question how history
should be taught, "Oh, you must, before
all things, make it interesting. "
But the word interesting does not prop-
erly mean romantic. That is interest-
ing, in the proper sense, which affects
interests, which closely concerns
us, and is deeply important to us. I
have tried to show you that the his-
tory of modern England from the be-
ginning of the eighteenth century is
interesting in this sense, because it is
pregnant with great results, which will
affect the lives of ourselves and
children and the future greatness of our
country. Make history interesting, in-
deed! I cannot make history more
interesting than it is! . . . And there-
fore when I meet a person who does
not find history interesting, it does not
occur to me to alter history, -I try to
alter him. ”
or
laid in 1768, by a John Murray, who
retired from service as a lieutenant of
marines, and bought out a bookselling
business at No. 32 Fleet Street. The
second and the great Murray was a boy
of fifteen at his father's death in 1793,
but two years later he began his pub-
lishing career, at first with his father's
shop man a partner; but a drone
of a partner was not to his mind, and
from March 23d, 1803, he was alone.
His first attempt to deal with an author
gave the key note to a career of un-
exampled distinction, when he wrote :
“I am honestly ambitious that my first
appearance should at
once stamp my
character and respectability;
and I am not covetous of gold. )) The
tradition thus started, of weighing the
character of a work and the credit of
publishing it, and letting the chance of
making money by the publication pass
of secondary importance, was for
forty years the glory of the name of
Murray. « The business of a publishing
bookseller,” he said, “is not in his shop,
even in his connections, but in his
brains. » A man of fine taste and broad
culture, possessing moreover innate gen-
erosity and magnanimity, his dealings
with authors were frequently munificent;
and in notable instances he counted the
honor before the profit. He started the
Quarterly Review, in February 1809, as
a Tory organ, and carried it at a loss
for two or three years. Nothing char-
acterized him more than his steady con-
fidence in the success of the best litera-
ture; and in proportion as a publication
was of high character, he was deter-
mined and lavish in pushing it to suc-
Nor was he for this any the less
a consummate man of business, achiev-
ing extraordinary success as a merchant
prince at the head of the London book
trade. To a large extent he depended
on his own judgment in accepting books
for publication. His most famous en-
gagements were with Scott, Southey,
Byron, Moore, Lockhart, and the Disrae-
lis. To the younger Disraeli, then only
twenty, he owed the one wholly dama-
ging venture of his career,-an attempt
in daily journalism which ignominiously
failed at the end of six months, with a
loss to Murray of £26,000.
our
our
cess.
•
Murray, John, Memoir and Corre-
spondence of. With an Account
of the Origin and Progress of the
House, 1768-1843. By Samuel Smiles.
(2 vols. , 1891. ) The history of as great a
publisher as literature has ever known,
and a most notable example of devotion
to the production of books of character
and value, irrespective of mere merce-
nary considerations. The foundation of
the great London house of Murray was
New, Republic, The, by William H.
Mallock. This satirical work (pub-
lished in England in 1876) attracted
## p. 241 (#277) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
241
soon
was
much attention for a time. Its sub-title, of the sublime with a great deal of the
(Culture, Faith, and Philosophy in a commonplace; and only lend themselves
Country House,' gives an idea of its to admiration if we are prepared to
scope. The author, a nephew of the make the best of conceits and oddities
historian Froude, introduced to his read- along with some
elevated thoughts.
ers the principal literary characters of They have come into favor of late as
the day under very transparent masks. antique and curious, rather than upon
The scene is laid in an English villa; any original merit in respect either of
and the chapters are made up of con- poetry or of picture. The engravings,
versations between the guests, who are however, were by Marshall.
spending a quiet Sunday with their
host, Mr. Laurence.
While arranging Hyperion, by, H. -W. Longfellow, 1839,
the menu cards, it occurs to him to lay
The
out a series of topics to be discussed -- is a fitting title for this, the most
at his table; for, said he, It seems
romantic of Longfellow's works. It
absurd to me to be so careful about frankly declares itself (A Romance,' on
what we put into our mouths, and to
the title-page.
leave to chance to arrange what comes
It is the tale of
a young man in
out of them. ” More things in heaven deepest sorrow, wandering from land to
and earth than are usually discussed at land in search of occupation for his
such times are thus brought forward by mind, and forgetfulness of grief. This
the author, whose skill in parody is motive forms the thread of story which
manifest. It was
an open secret connects a series of philosophical dis-
that « Luke"
Matthew
Arnold;
courses, and romantic legends and poems.
«Rose,) Walter Pater; “Lord Allen, Many of these last are Longfellow's
Lord Rosebery;
«Herbert, Ruskin;
translations of German poems; and they
«Storks,) Huxley; «Stockton, Tyndall; have found a place in his collected
« Jenkinson, Professor Jowett; «Saun- poems. The adventures and wanderings
ders,” Professor Clifford; Mrs. Sin- of the hero portray the experiences and
clair,” Mrs. Singleton (« Violet Fane,) to travels of the author on his second trip
whom the book is inscribed); «Lady through Germany and Switzerland after
Grace,” Mrs. Mark Pattison; and “Miss the death of his wife. Immediately after
Merton, Miss Froude.
story of his reception there and the diffi-
## p. 231 (#267) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
231
culties encountered, arising out of old himself deceived, seeks out Carroll de
prejudices upon the one hand and his own Lancy, the other party in the affair,
training and convictions upon the other, and from him learns that, when he was
is told with great detail and strong local too ill to travel, his sister had masquer-
coloring. The author with great fairness aded in his West Point uniform, taken
considers the questions of reconstruction, Miss Rivers as companion, and reached
while some thrilling chapters deal with the death-bed of an uncle in time to
the outrages of the Ku-Klux. A love secure the favorable disposition of his
episode is introduced, which proceeds as property. The scene of reconciliation
a simple narrative with no complications follows immediately. The story is well
of plot.
told, and the dramatic possibilities of
the unconventional adventure lend color
Floyd Grandon's Honor, by Amanda
M. Douglas. The scenes of the story
to an otherwise commonplace narrative.
are laid in a New York suburb.
Floxid ,
Grandon, a young widower, returning Miss F. F. Montrésor (1895) is a plea
from England with his motherless child, for the ideal in daily life. To Margaret
Cecil, to wind up his deceased father's Deane, the beautiful imaginative young
affairs, promises over the death-bed of heroine, life becomes intolerable under
one of the partners, Mr. Percival, to
the guardianship of her uncongenial and
marry his daughter, Violet, a seventeen-
worldly aunt, Mrs. Russelthorpe. Her
year-old girl; a promise made and after-
spiritually sensitive nature is touched
ward redeemed through pity for her by the preaching of Barnabas Thorpe, an
defenseless position, fear of the avowed earnest revivalist; and by conforming to
designs of another partner, Jasper Wil- his teaching, she incurs her aunt's con-
marth, and gratitude for her rescue of
temptuous persecution. An unfortunate
his own
child from a terrible death. chance throws the two together late at
This marriage, contracted without the night; and to protect her from insult,
usual conditions of courtship or even Barnabas marries her. He is poor, un-
previous acquaintance, is the theme of
couth in manner, barely able to read
the story. Transplanted exotics require
and write; while Margaret is refined and
special treatment before they become ac- book-loving, and accustomed to all ad-
climated; and marriages à la française, vantages of wealth and position. In
amid prosaic American surroundings, af- picturing the results of this hazardous
ford ample opportunity for the imagina- | marriage, the author emphasizes a con-
tion of a novelist, an opportunity of which tempt for moral makeshifts. Barnabas
the author has made the most.
and Margaret desire at any cost to live
sincerely. Her friends regard her as a
Reverend Idol, A, by Lucretia Noble
(1882). The Reverend Idol is Rev.
disgrace to them, and blot her name
Kenyon Leigh, a popular New York
from the family Bible; but her new life
clergyman, who, pursued by the unwel-
teaches her to disregard rank, wealth,
come attentions of his feminine parish-
and popular esteem. She knows poverty,
ioners, fees to a quiet boarding-house
sorrow, humiliation, danger, yet feels
richer than in her days of ease. There
on Cape Cod for summer outing:
There he meets Monny Rivers, a charm-
are striking pictures of prison life at
ing Boston girl and an artist of
Newgate, and many dramatic incidents;
but the interest lies above all in the
ability. Commencing with
slight feeling of hostility, they drift
analysis of emotional life based upon a
first into toleration, then companionship,
conviction of human instinct for what is
and finally to love. The course of this
true and noble.
affection does
smooth. Mrs. Jerome, by Mary E. Wilkins. Jerome
Van Cortlandt, who has marked the is the vignette of a New England
Reverend Idol for her own, invades the youth, relieved against a background
solitude of sand and
of provincial types. When hardly out
nizes in her young and beautiful rival of his teens, he is called upon by the
a participant in an adventure, which, sudden disappearance of his father to
though harmless in reality, in appear- take upon his shoulders the burden of
scandalous in the extreme. the family. His course is a pathway of
She imparts only the semblance of the misfortune, sacrifice, and hardship, lead-
truth to Kenyon Leigh, who, believing | ing by rugged steps to a summit of
a
no
mean
a
not
run
sea.
She recog.
ance
was
## p. 232 (#268) ############################################
232
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
acter.
are
a
well-earned prosperity. A great sacri- Spanish blood, he has a fearless and hon-
fice to a high ideal is the turning-point est soul. The novel comes to a climax
of the story. Like Miss Wilkins's other in a piot made against him by his ene-
works, Jerome) is a careful and truth- mies in Gloria. Besides the hero, “The
ful study of New England village char- Dictator) introduces two or three other
characters of especial interest: Captain
Sarrasin, who has traveled and fought in
Agnes of Sorrento, a romance by Har-
The scene is
many countries, and whose wife on oc-
casion can don men's garments and handle
laid in central Italy during the time of
a gun; Dolores Paulo; and the Duchess
the infamous Pope Alexander VI. (from
of Deptford, of American birth, a cari-
1492 to 1503). Agnes is the daughter of
cature rather than a true type. The plot
a Roman prince who secretly marries,
involves the use of dynamite, and much
and then deserts, a girl of humble par-
mining and countermining; in spite of
entage. The young mother dies of grief,
which the book remains an entertaining
and Elsie, the grandmother, takes Agnes
domestic story.
to Sorrento, where she lives by selling
oranges in the streets. Her beauty and The
The Life and Adventures of Jack of
her purity attract to her many lovers, the Mill, commonly called Lord
worthy and unworthy, and involve her in Othmill, created for his eminent services
many romantic and dramatic incidents. Baron Waldeck and Knight of Kitcottie.
The story is delightfully told, the Italian A fireside story, by William Howitt. The
atmosphere is well suggested, and the scenes of these adventures lie partly in
book, though not Mrs. Stowe's best, takes England during the reign of Henry V. ,
good literary rank.
partly in Bohemia and Germany. They
succession of bloodthirsty and
Cºlon
olonel Enderby's Wife, by Lucas
thrilling conflicts, in which Jack, the
Malet » (Charles Kingsley's daugh-
hero, with scarcely an effort, overcomes
ter, now Mrs. Harrison). The scene of
robbers and gipsies, fights the opponents
this story, published in 1886, is laid in
of the Lollards and the Hussites with equal
England and Italy during the seventies.
vigor, and obtains honors, preferment,
Colonel Enderby is a disinherited Eng-
and a lovely wife. From the moment
lishman of middle age, whose life has
when, a runa
inaway boy, he fills his pockets
been shadowed by his father's neglect
with fish-hooks to trap the hands of
and injury. At the age of forty-eight
thieving companions, to the time when,
he marries in Italy a glittering young with a single companion, he overcomes
creature of wonderful beauty. The tra-
the robber-baron Hans von Stein, with
gedy which follows is that which always
his train,-a semi-historical character
comes when a crass and brutal selfish-
whose castle, honeycombed with dun-
ness arrays itself against the generosity
geons, is still visited by tourists in Ger-
of a higher nature, if two people are so
many,-- his wit and success never fail;
bound together that they cannot escape and as valor as well as virtue has its
each other. The ending, though sad, is
due reward, Jack, the vagrant frequenter
that which the logic of the situation
of the old mill, becomes in turn John
makes inevitable. The book has been
Othmill, respected and feared by society,
very widely read and praised.
and finally the great Lord Warbeck.
The author allows himself considerable
Dictator, The. by Justin McCarthy,
When Justin McCarthy published
latitude of imagination and plot, and the
result is aptly named in the quaint term
(The Dictator,' in 1893, he had been
known to the novel-reading public for
of apology he uses in the preface, a
«hatch-up. ”
twenty-six years, and had written a score
of books. (The Dictator,' a story of con- Cudjo's Cave, by J. T. Trowbridge, an
temporary life in England, gives scope anti-slavery novel, first published in
to its author for the display of his knowl- 1863, was, like its predecessor Neighbor
edge of politics.
Jackwood,' very widely read. The scene
The Dictator of the story, Ericson, when of the story is eastern Tennessee, at the
first introduced to the reader, has just outbreak of the rebellion. The State,
been ejected by a revolution from his though seceding, contained many Union-
position as chief of the South American ists; and their struggles against the per-
Republic, Gloria. Of mixed English and secution of their Confederate neighbors,
## p. 233 (#269) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
233
slave-holders, and poor whites, form the and picturesque descriptions of the Rivi-
plot of the book. The ostensible hero is era, where the author passed the last
Penn Hapgood, a young Quaker school- months of her life. Published in 1879, it
teacher, whose abolitionist doctrines get was left unfinished, the last chapters be-
him into constant trouble; but the really ing written by Mrs. Macquoid. The story
heroic figure of the book is a gigantic principally concerns itself with the love
full-blooded negro, Pomp, a
runaway
affairs of two cousins, Emmie West and
slave, living in the woods in a great Alma Rivers; and the moral of it is that
cave with another runaway, Cudjo. Cudjo tribulation worketh patience, and patience
is dwarfish and utterly ignorant, a mix- godliness. Lady Rivers, Sir Francis, and
ture of stupidity and craft; but Pomp is charming Madame de Florimel, are clev-
one of nature's noblemen. Cudjo's cave erly sketched characters.
The story,
becomes a refuge for the persecuted aboli- which is very simple, is so natural and
tionists of the neighborhood, a basis of homely, and its psychology is so faithful,
operations for the Union sympathizers, that it became at once a favorite, and
and finally the seat of war in the region. is still one of the most popular domestic
The novel, though written with a strong novels.
ethical purpose, is interesting and effect-
ive simply as a story, containing much Newport, by George Parsons Lathrop.
incident
(1884. ) Newport) is a story of soci-
some capital character-
ety,- the intrigues, adventures, and su-
studies.
perficialities of one summer affording
9
, (the author
a
tale of Aquitaine, during the Eng- grammatic remarks, vivid descriptions of
lish occupation, in the early fifteenth the principal places of local interest, and
century. The country was in a state of photographs of men and women of the
civil war; and free companies, nominally leisure class. The love affair of a charm-
fighting for French or English, but in ing widow, Mrs. Gifford, and a widower,
reality for their own pockets, mere plun- Eugene Oliphant, incidently engages the
derers and bandits, fourished mightily. reader's attention; a love affair which,
The most dreaded freebooter in the after a slight estrangement and separa-
valley of the Dordogne was Le Gros tion, is ended by a sudden and incredi-
Guillem, who from his stronghold at ble catastrophe, an unexpected finale
Domme sweeps
down
upon the farms
strangely out of harmony with the pref-
and hamlets below; till at length the ace of elopements, Casino dances, polo
timid peasants, finding a leader in games, Airtations of titled heiress-hunters,
Ogier del Peyra, a petty sieur of the and other trivialities of social existence.
neighborhood, rise
up against their The characters are well chosen and very
scourge, destroy his rocky fastness, and well managed, the individual being never
put his men to death or flight. Guil- sacrificed to the type, though the reader
lem's daughter, Noémi, a madcap beauty, is made to feel that the figures are
joins her father's band of ruffians; but really typical. In no other piece of fic-
soon sickens of their deeds, and risks tion has the flamboyant and aggressive
her life to save Ogier from the oubli- life of Newport — that life wherein amuse-
ette, because she loves his son. The ment is a business, and frivolity an occu-
book is filled with thrilling and bloody pation — been more vividly painted.
incident, culminating in the storming
of L'Eglise Guillem, as the freebooter's Phroso, by Anthony Hope (Hawkins),
den is ironically called, and the strange
is the story of one Lord Charles
death of the robber chieftain. The de-
Wheatley — told by himself — and his ex-
scriptions of the wild valley of the Dor-
periences in taking possession of the
dogne, and the life of the outlaws, are
small Greek island, Neopalia, which he
striking; and the pretty love story, set
has purchased from Lord Stefanopoulos.
against this background, very attractive.
Denny Swinton, his cousin, Hogoardt,
a factotum, and Watkins, his servant,
As a picture of a fierce and horrible
period, it hardly less vivid than the
accompany him. The natives, under Con-
(White Company) of Conan Doyle.
stantine, Lord Stefanopoulos's nephew,
violently oppose them and threaten their
Doubting Heart, A, by Annie Keary. lives. They all escape from the island
The scene of the story is laid in Eng- by a secret passage to the sea, except
land, although there are some charming / Wheatley, who is imprisoned. He is
## p. 234 (#270) ############################################
234
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
scenes
Own
WOOS
to
cesca
-
about to be stricken to death before the society girl, Bessie Lynde, who Airts
populace, when Phroso, the Lady of with Jeff for the sake of a new sensa-
the Island,” leaps to his aid, declaring
tion. The
are laid partly in
that she loves him better than life. Boston, partly in the mountains. The
Wheatley shows the people that Con- vulgarity of certain aspects of both city
stantine has lately assassinated his uncle and country life is mildly satirized. The
and is now plotting the murder of his novel is supremely American.
(secret) wife, Francesca, that he
may be free to marry Phroso, heiress to Jude the Obscure, a novel by Thomas
the island. Constantine becomes the
Hardy, was published in 1896. The
bar sinister which crosses many of his
prisoner and Wheatley the Neopalians'
favorite, since Phroso, their dear lady,
books is most prominent in Jude. '
loves him. His joy, however, is not
It is the story of a young man of the
unmixed,- he is betrothed to Beatrice
people, ambitious to go to Oxford and
to become a scholar.
Hipgrave in England. Nowraki, a Turk-
He is prevented
ish Pasha, arrives and
Phroso,
from rising in the social scale by him-
greatly complicating matters and nearly
self, by his environment, by a vulgar
demolishing Wheatley's plans. After
natural woman who loves him, and by
a refined morbid woman whom he loves.
many exciting exigencies, the brave
Wheatley weds the lovely Phroso; but
Arabella first drags him in the mud;
Sue then seeks to soar with him
not till Constantine, Mouraki, and Fran-
the stars. Between Arabella's earthiness
are slain, and Miss Hipgrave is
found to be already consoled. Plot is
and Sue's heavenly code of love, poor
rapidly succeeded by counterplot through-
Jude has not a shred of morals left.
He is pushed farther and farther from
out the story, which is written in the
Oxford as the story goes on.
The novel
characteristic romantic style of the author.
becomes at last a hopeless jumble of
Las
andlord at Lion's Head, The, by
illegitimate children, other men's wives,
W. D. Howells, published in 1897, is
misery, more misery, revolt, and death.
It is a remarkable work, but not a
a subtle study of types of character es-
cheerful nor edifying one.
sentially the product of present-day con-
ditions of life in New England. It is
a masterpiece in the sense of its hav- Barry Lyndon, the best of Thackeray's
shorter novels, originally written as
ing been written with the strong and
a serial for Fraser's Magazine, was pub-
sure hand of the finished artist. The
lished in book form in 1844. It is cast
author assumes complete responsibility
in the form of an autobiography. The
for his work, and the reader is at ease.
hero is an Irish gambler and fortune-
The story is concerned chiefly with the
hunter, a braggart and a blackleg, but
fortunes of the Durgin family, New
of audacious courage and of picturesque
England farm-people, who
own little
versatility. He tells his story in a plain
but a magnificent view of Lion's Head
matter-of-fact way, without concealment
Mountain. By the chance visit of an
or sophistication, glorying in episodes
artist, Westover, they are made to real-
which would seem shameful to the most
ize its mercantile value. Mrs. Durgin's
rudimentary conscience, and holding him-
ambitions, aroused by the success of her
self to be the best and greatest but most
(hotel,are centred in her son, Jeff ill-used of men. The irony is as fine as
Durgin. The portrait of this country
that of Fielding in Jonathan Wild the
boy swaggering through Harvard, stand-
Great,' a prototype obviously in Thack-
ing, but with a certain impudence, al-
eray's mind.
ways on the edge of things, is drawn
with wonderful clarity. Another admir- Adventures in Criticism, by A. T.
able creation is Whitwell, a neighbor Quiller-Couch, is a collection of brief
of the Durgins, a sort of rural philoso- critical essays, including a handful of
pher, with a mind reaching helplessly graceful commentaries on some of the
out to the pseudo-occult, and the Elizabethans, two or three eighteenth-
banalities of planchette. His daughter century studies, an examination of Zola,
Cynthia, the most hopeful figure in the some excellent appreciations of Ibsen,
book, is a sweet, strong mountain girl, Björnson, and the Scandinavian cult, and
«capable in the full sense of the word. twenty or more estimates of modern Eng-
In strong contrast to her is the Boston lish writers from Scott to Caine. The
to
((
## p. 235 (#271) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
235
TOWARDS
critic has a large view of literature, entire political troubles there being made the
sincerity, a charming style. simple and source of the story's action. The chief
direct as Thackeray's, fine scholarship, characters are Sir John Davenne, an Eng-
and absolute independence of judgment. lishman traveling in Italy, his daughter
His book, therefore, surrounds old sub- Lucy, and Doctor Antonio, a Sicilian
jects with a new atmosphere, and gives exile. The personality of the Doctor is
the reader the agreeable sense of being one of singular charm, and holds inter-
made a co-discoverer of profitable places est throughout the book.
When pub-
in well-known territory; so that his essays lished this novel became a universal
have become almost as much liked as his favorite, and it is still read with pleasure.
stirring romances.
Agatha Page, by Isaac Henderson, gives
Dante, A Shadow of: Being an Essay an artistic picture of Italian life.
STUDYING HIMSELF, HIS The heroine, from whom the book takes
WORLD, AND His PILGRIMAGE; by Maria its name, is first seen as she stands upon
Francesca Rossetti. (4th ed. 1884. ) A the turf under the trees playing her vio-
volume of criticism and selections, de- lin to an old priest; and here the Marquis
signed to enable the reader to comprehend Filippo Loreno catches his first glimpse
the poet and his great poem. The study of her. Charmed by the music and the
begins with Dante's conception of the beauty of the musician, he recognizes in
universe, and what autobiography and Agatha his ideal woman. She returns
history show his life experience to have his love, and they are happily united.
been. It then proceeds to expound the Agatha's influence develops all that is
physical and moral theories on which the best in Filippo; but an element of dis-
poet constructed his three worlds, and cord presently appears in the presence
narrates the course of his pilgrimage of Agatha's cousin Mercede, a beautiful,
through them. In this narration the main clever, but selfish young sculptor. She
object is to read Dante's autobiography returns Agatha's kindness by exerting all
in the poem, to make out his character her powers of fascination upon Filippo,
as self-revealed, and to enter into his in- who, admiring her vivacity and not in-
spiration or spiritual life. The extracts,
sensible to her flatteries, drifts more and
of which there are many, are made with more into her society. Though neglected,
this view, many of the episodes being Agatha's sweetness and faith never fal-
passed over.
ter; her loving patience being at last re-
warded by Filippo's reawakened devotion,
B"
occaccio, Giovanni, As MAN AND Av- when he is forced to contrast the real
THOR, by John Addington Symonds. characters of the two women. Learning
(1895. ) A monograph in a hundred pages that while he is flirting with Mercede,
of fine learning and rare criticism, on one his wife is exposing her life by nursing
of the three founders of modern liter- the cholera patients on his estates, he
ature. ) Dante, first of the three, stood realizes, now that it may be lost to him,
within the shadow of mediæval theol- what Agatha's love has been. The book
ogy; Petrarch, comiirg next, initiated the ends with Filippo's abrupt departure to
Revival of Learning, - humanism, scholar- join her. Among the other leading char-
ship, the modern intellectual ideal. Boc- acters are Count Ricci, Mercede's father,
caccio was the founder of Greek studies, who is a fine old soldier, proud and pos-
and Petrarch's ablest lieutenant in the sessed of an iron will, coupled with much
pioneering work of the Revival of Learn- sweetness and gentleness; and Mr. Peter
ing. He created the novel; and though a Dow, who is a practical and lively Amer-
second only to Petrarch, as Petrarch was ican. This novel, published in 1888, has
a second only to Dante, in force of char- since been successfully dramatized by Mr.
acter and quality of genius, he ruled the Henderson.
course of Italian literature, and its far-
reaching influences, for three centuries.
was published in 1881. The story
Mr. Symonds devotes his monograph. turns on the well-worn incident of the
changing of two children in their cradles.
Doctor Antonio, by Giovanni Ruffini, The plot follows their development, the
is a novel of modern life, the scene gradual manifestation through charac-
of which is laid mainly in Italy, the ter of their true origin. Don John is
Such in outline is the story to which Dºn John, a novel by Jean Ingelow,
## p. 236 (#272) ############################################
236
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
(
ness.
admirably written, bearing about it the observation and deep feeling, and the
same atmosphere of simplicity and nobil- exciting history of the rebellion led by
ity that surrounds this author's poems. O'Brien, make it very interesting. The
Though a mere mention of the chief in- Irish nature is typified in the golden-
cident implies a poverty of invention, the haired heroine, Ellen, daughter of Squire
book is really one of unusual freshness Daly; in Connor, her brother, who joins
of imagination. The delineation of char- the “Young Irelanders”; and in Cousin
acter is delightfully delicate and exact; Anne of “Good Peoples' Hollow," who,
and the skill with which the puzzle of heedless of the precepts of political econ-
identity is treated leaves the reader in omy, rules her tenants with lavish kind-
the desired mood of doubt to the end of
On the other hand, the careful
the excellent story.
foresight of the Saxon race is well por-
trayed in John Thornely, and in Pelham,
Duchess Emilia, The, is a romantic
the eldest son of Squire Daly, who in-
story of modern Italian life; the
herits English characteristics from his
plot, which turns upon a love affair, be-
mother.
ing complicated with certain religious
considerations, and with the problems of
re-incarnation. All the actors are Italian
Catharine Furze, " by Mark Ruther-
ford; edited by his friend Reuben
except one New-Englander, of a mysti-
Shapcott. ” Published in 1893, this book
cal turn.
The action is continuous, the
opens with a description of Easthorpe,
characters are striking, and the interest
the market town of the English Eastern
of the reader is held.
Midlands, in 1840. The two inns are
patronized by landlords, farmers, tenants,
Chaplain of the Fleet, The, by Wal-
ter Besant and James Rice. (1881. )
and commercial travelers; especially on
election days. The story centres about
This story opens on the last day of the
the life of Mr. and Mrs. Furze, and their
year 1750, and gives a detailed account
of the famous Liberties or Rules of the
daughter Catharine aged about nineteen.
old Fleet prison in London, and of the
Mike Catchpole, by an accident in the
Fleet marriages. These «Rules) were
factory of Mr. Furze, loses his eyesight.
houses in certain streets near the Fleet
Catharine, with a sense of justice, insists
Market, where prisoners for debt were
that he shall be made an apprentice in the
allowed to live, outside the prison, on
business. The girl is sent to school to
payment of fees. Among these prisoners
the Misses Ponsonby, who are very strict
were clergymen, who performed clandes-
in their religious habits and manner of
tine marriages. A regular trade sprang
instruction, and whose pupils are ques-
up, touters were employed to bring cli-
tioned upon the weekly sermon by the
ents, and every species of enormity was
preacher, Mr. Cardew. He has not learned
practiced. Gregory Shovel was
one of
the art of being happy with his wife; and
these clergy, and so plumed himself on
when he meets Catharine they discuss
his success in this iniquitous traffic that
Milton, Satan, and the divine eternal plan.
he took the name of “Chaplain of the
Cardew's presence is inspiriting to her.
Fleet, which gives the book its title,
Tom Catchpole, a clerk in her father's
- the whole plot turning upon one of
store, worships Catharine from afar. At
these Fleet marriages. This novel is
last he confesses his love, and she refuses
considered one of the best of those writ-
him. After her return from school she
ten under the firm-name of Besant 'and
finds life utterly uninteresting, having no
Rice.
scope for her powers. When she falls ill
and fades away, Cardew is sent for :
Castle Daly, by Annie Keary. Castle she tells him that he has saved her. «By
Daly, the most popular of Annie their love for each other they were both
Keary's stories, was published in 1875. saved. ” She takes up her life once more,
It relates the fortunes of an English and and the book ends without a climax
an Irish family. The scene is laid in almost without incident. Written with
Connemara, Ireland, during the famine an almost heartless impersonality, it is a
of 1846 and the formation and insurrec- | striking portraiture of that English lower
tion of the party of “Young Irelanders » middle-class life which Matthew Arnold
in 1846-49. The impartial delineation pronounced so deadly for mind and soul.
of the strong and weak points of Cel- It might be called a tragedy of the un-
tic character, the combination of acute fulfilled.
## p. 237 (#273) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
237
on
Day of Doom, The, by Michael Wiggles-
worth. When this poem was pub-
lished in 1662, Michael Wigglesworth
was only thirty-one,- young enough to
have had greater compassion on the un-
baptized infants and others whom he
condemned to eternal punishment. The
Day of Doom: or, A Poetical Descrip-
tion of the Great and Last Judgment,
with a short Discourse about Eternity,'
was the full title of this grim poem.
The taste of our ancestors was strangely
shown by their quickly buying up nine
editions of this work in America, and two
in England. Its narrow theology and
severity of style gave it a charm for those
inflexible Puritans, to find which, we of
to-day look in vain. It is said to have
been the most widely read book in Amer-
ica before the Revolution. The modern
reader finds the verse mere sing-song, the
metaphors forced, and the general tone
decidedly unpleasant. Some of the pass-
ages meant to be most impressive have
become merely ludicrous, and it seems
incredible that it could ever have been
taken seriously. It is merely a rhymed
catalogue of the punishments to be vis-
ited on those whose ways of life, or whose
theology, differed from the theology or
ways of life of the bard.
Epistle to Posterity, An, by Mrs. M.
E. W. Sherwood, (1897,) is a series
of pleasant reminiscences of one who has
found life an enjoyable experiment,”
and who has had unusual facilities for
meeting interesting people. The author
explains that she greeted with joy the
first green books which emanated from
Boz and the yellow-colored Thackerays. ”
When she had finished her studies at Mr.
Emerson's private school in Boston, her
father took her with him upon a business
trip across the Wisconsin prairies, dur-
ing which she met Martin Van Buren.
Among the interesting homes which she
visited were Marshfield, where she paid
girlish homage to her great host, Daniel
Webster; and the home in Watertown,
Massachusetts, where she learned to love
Maria White, the gracious first wife of
James Russell Lowell. She saw much
of Boston society in the days of its great-
est literary fame, and had a glimpse of
the Brook Farm Community. When her
father was sent to Congress, she made her
début in Washington society; and was a
frequent attendant at the levees of Pres-
ident Polk and President Taylor. In
Washington she renewed her friendship
with Webster, and met Henry Clay, and
“many of the young heroes destined later
to be world-renowned,” — Farragut,
Lee, Zachary Taylor, “and a quiet little
man who shrank out of sight,” known
later on as U. S. Grant. The conclusion
of the volume, the narration of her wed-
ding trip to the West Indies in the early
fifties; of her different trips to Europe,
including her presentation at the English
and the Italian courts; and of contem-
porary New York society,—though ani-
mated and anecdotal, is less interesting
than her pictures of social life in the Bos-
ton, Washington, and New York of forty
years ago.
Friend Olivia, by Amelia E. Barr. Mrs.
Barr possesses the rare talent of pro-
ducing in her stories that elusive quality
called «atmosphere. Whether reading of
Knickerbocker days, of the times of Bor-
der warfare, or, as in the present case, of
Roundhead and Cavalier, of Charles Stu-
art in Paris and Cromwell at Hampton
Court, one loses touch with the present,
to become for the time thoroughly imbued
with the charm of ancient story. ” (Friend
Olivia) deals with the last months of the
Protector's Commonwealth; with the op-
pression of the Quakers under the leader-
ship of the eloquent George Fox; with the
tragedies produced by unrest and suspi-
cion when religious intolerance flourished,
and political differences separated fam-
ily and friend: a dark background for a
charming love story — that of the modest
Quakeress, Olivia Prideaux, and her chival-
rous neighbor Nathaniel, only son of Baron
and Lady Kelder, strong advocates of
Cromwell and bitter enemies of the “cant-
ing » Quakers with their so-called affecta-
tions of dress and manner. The story is
laid in the coast village of Kelderby. In
those quiet streets pass the participants
in tragic scenes: the pirate and outlaw
John de Burg, his beautiful sister Anasta-
tia, and her hated husband; Roger Pri-
deaux on his way to prison, and others
no less noteworthy; and there, finally, as
on a miniature stage, are witnessed all
the scenes of humiliation, of hopes crushed
and expectations realized, when Cromwell
dies and King Charles returns to his own.
Donovan, a novel of modern English
life, by Edna Lyall, has for its sub-
ject a man's spiritual struggles from doubt
to faith. The hero, Donovan Farrant,
is well drawn, if somewhat conventional
2
>
## p. 238 (#274) ############################################
238
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
sons
sons.
means
in character. The book obtained great
popularity and still enjoys it, especially
in England. "We Two) is a sequel to
(Donovan. )
Patronage, by Maria Edgeworth. (1814. )
This novel was written for a pur-
pose; and the moral is apparent through-
out, and amply illustrated in almost every
character in the book.
Mr. Percy, a sensible English gentle-
man of the present time, brings up his
and daughters to depend upon
themselves for syccess in life, and not
upon the patronage of influential per-
The result is most gratifying: the
sons all succeed in their different pro-
fessions by their own efforts, and the
daughters marry well through no efforts
of their own, but according to their
merits. Mr. Falconer, Mr. Percy's am-
bitious cousin, also has a large family;
but he seeks the patronage of Lord Old-
borough to further the advancement of
his sons, and uses various diplomatic
to establish his daughters well
in the social world. In spite of the
unceasing efforts of Mr. Falconer, and
the decidedly questionable proceedings
of his wife, none of their children do
them credit; and patronage without ear-
nestness of purpose and high ideals
proves a failure.
The story is rather tedious, and there
is no hero or heroine in whom the in-
terest centres. Occasional incidents, and
the love affairs of the young members
of both families, enliven the narrative;
but for the rest, the story is justly con-
sidered inferior to her other works.
Master of Ballantrae, The, by Robert
Louis Stevenson, published 1889,
is a Scotch romance of the eighteenth
century, beginning with the Stuart up-
rising of 1745. It is a sombre tragedy
of the enmity of two brothers, of whom
the elder, James Durrie the Master, takes
the side of King Charlie; the younger,
Henry, that of King George. Alison
Graeme, a kinswoman with a fortune, is
intended for the wife of the Master; but
on his going to join the Stuart and being
believed dead, she is married to Henry,
without loving him. The tale is narrated
mostly by the steward of Ballantrae, John
MacKellar, who is devoted to the house
and to Henry Durrie, whose nobility, set
beside the wickedness of his brother, he
realizes to the full. After the marriage
appears Chevalier Burke, a companion of
the Master, to say that he is not dead;
Burke narrates their wanderings, which
include an episode on a pirate ship and
adventures among Indians in the wilds
of New York. MacKellar then takes up
the tale, describing the persecutions suf-
fered by Mr. Henry, whose brother first
writes to demand a large sum of money;
then returns, impoverished and disgraced,
to his paternal home, where he foments
trouble between Henry and his wife.
Finally, goaded by the Master's insults,
Henry fights a duel with him and leaves
him for dead; but he is carried off to
sea by smugglers and recovers, remain-
ing away for some time, and traveling
in India, as is communicated by Burke.
Then the Master reappears with Secun-
dra Dass, an East-Indian, whom he has
made his creature; whereupon Henry and
his wife and children betake themselves
secretly to New York, where Mrs. Dur-
rie owns an estate, leaving the Master at
Ballantrae in the charge of MacKellar.
James soon finds out his brother's where-
abouts and pursues him, keeping to his
tactics of persecution. Arrived there, he
does all he can to harm Henry, who is
installed in a position befitting his rank.
False news from Scotland to the effect
that the Master, though a rebel, is to
have his title restored, which will cut off
Henry's son from the succession, leads
the younger brother to concoct a plan
whereby James, who intends going to
the northern wilderness to regain pirate
treasure he has buried there, shall be
led to his death. The Master for a time
outwits the party of adventurers who at-
tend him, with the purpose of first get-
ting the treasure, then making away with
their nominal leader. Finally, to escape
them, he feigns death and is buried by
Secundra Dass, who puts him in a state
of suspended animation.
When Henry
and his party seek the grave, they find
the Indian digging up the buried Master,
who lives long enough to open his eyes,
at which vital sign his brother falls dead.
Thus the fraternal enemies lie at last in
one grave in the western wilderness.
David Balfour; Being Memoirs of His
ADVENTURES AT HOME AND ABROAD),
by Robert Louis Stevenson, was published
in 1893. A sequel to Kidnapped, this
novel follows the further fortunes of
David Balfour. When the story opens
David is about to attempt the escape of
his friend, Alan Breck Stewart, from
1
1
## p. 239 (#275) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
239
Scotland; and to aid Stewart's brother,
Expansion of England, The, by J. R.
unjustly imprisoned on a charge of mur- Seeley. (1883. ) In this volume Pro-
der. At this critical juncture he falls fessor Seeley attempts, in effect, to shift
in love with Catriona Drummond, whose the point of view of his countrymen as
father, James More Drummond, is a to the boundaries of the history of Eng-
plausible scoundrel. David's efforts to land. It is not a single island that they
help Alan and his brother bring about should contemplate, but a world empire,
his own imprisonment, but not until he which can be compared with, and meas-
has seen Alan safely into France. After ured by, only the two great powers of
his release he goes to Holland, where he the future, Russia and the United States.
lives with Catriona without marriage. Part first deals with the history of Eng-
Her father interfering, the two are sepa- land with relation to its colonies and the
rated; but by the intervention of Alan United States. The writer complains
Stewart they meet again in Paris, where that an arbitrary arrangement of reigns
they are married.
is apt to confuse our sense of the con-
The novel throughout is in the roman- tinuity of events. Let us, he says, get
tic vein; written with Stevenson's sim- rid of such useless headings as Reign of
plicity and clearness, and artistic in Queen Anne, Reign of George III. , and
construction.
make divisions founded on some real
stage of progress in the national life;
Albion's England, by William Warner looking onward, not from king to king,
(1586): a collection of poetical nar- but from great event to great event. If
ratives or ballads, many of them legend- we study its causes, every event puts on
ary rather than authoritative, relating to the character of a development; and this
the history of England from the origi- | development is a chapter in the national
nals of the first inhabitants thereof unto history. From 1688 to 1815, Mr. Seeley
the Raigne of Queen Elizabeth. ” So finds the formative events to have been
runs the sub-title. In reality the narra- foreign wars, beneath whose stormy sur-
tive begins with the Deluge. The poem face he looks for the quiet current of
was promptly suppressed by the Star
progress. He finds the clue he wants in
Chamber, presumably on the score of the fact that almost all these wars in-
indelicacy; but it has been repeatedly re- volved French interests; and that “The
printed, the last edition being Crawford's whole period stands out as an age of
in 1854. During the sixteenth and seven- gigantic rivalry between England and
'teenth centuries it enjoyed great popular- France; the expansion of England in
ity. Though Meres tells us that he has the New World and Asia is the formula
heard Warner termed «by ye best wits
which sums up for England the history
of both our universities (our English of the eighteenth century,- the great
Homer,) » his master work is tedious and decisive duel between the two nations
turgid at best, and frequently lapses into for the possession of the New World. ”
doggerel. The episode of Argentile and Her colonies having been planted at a
Curan is the most famous in the book. tremendous sacrifice of money, energy,
The princess Argentile succeeds to the and life, he would have them held as
throne of Northumberland, on the death a vital part of the parent State, not as
of her father Adelbright, under the ward- | “possessions. ” “We must cease to think
ship of Edel. The latter seeks to win her that emigrants, when they go to colo-
hand. But she has another lover in a nies, leave England, or are lost to Eng-
servant of her household, who is in real- land.
When we have accustomed
ity the Danish Prince Curan. He has ad- ourselves to contemplate the whole em-
opted this subterfuge to woo her. Edel, pire together, and call it all England,
discovering the mutual love of the young we shall see that here too is a United
people, forces Curan to quit her service; States; here too is a great homogeneous
and he becomes a neatherd. Argentile, to people
but dispersed over
escape her guardian's importunities, flees
boundless space.
If we are dis-
from the palace and becomes a neatherd's posed to doubt whether any system can
maid. Curan wooes and wins her, and be devised capable of holding together
leads a revolt against the wicked Edel, communities so distant from each other,
who is vanquished and put to death. then is the time to recollect the history
Curan and Argentile then become king of the United States. They have solved
and queen of Northumberland.
this problem. ”
a
## p. 240 (#276) ############################################
240
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
-a
ever
as
as
The second half of the book contains
eight lectures, chiefly given to the
Indian empire, explaining the necessity
of the conquest; the manner of the
English governance of that empire,
study in which he affirms boldly that if
a universal feeling of nationality
arises there, England cannot and should
not preserve her dominancy; the mutual
influence of England and India; the suc-
ceeding phases in the conquest; the in-
ternal dangers that threaten the stability
of British control in the East; and
finally, the condition of public opinion
concerning the modern British empire.
In a delightful manner, and with large
resources of scholarship, Professor Seeley
shows the continuity of the development
of England, the orderly sequence and
significance of her failures as well as
her successes, and the way in which the
story of her past should be made in-
structive for her future. And in con-
clusion he has this admirable deliverance,
which every reader may lay to heart:
«I am often told by those who, like
myself, study the question how history
should be taught, "Oh, you must, before
all things, make it interesting. "
But the word interesting does not prop-
erly mean romantic. That is interest-
ing, in the proper sense, which affects
interests, which closely concerns
us, and is deeply important to us. I
have tried to show you that the his-
tory of modern England from the be-
ginning of the eighteenth century is
interesting in this sense, because it is
pregnant with great results, which will
affect the lives of ourselves and
children and the future greatness of our
country. Make history interesting, in-
deed! I cannot make history more
interesting than it is! . . . And there-
fore when I meet a person who does
not find history interesting, it does not
occur to me to alter history, -I try to
alter him. ”
or
laid in 1768, by a John Murray, who
retired from service as a lieutenant of
marines, and bought out a bookselling
business at No. 32 Fleet Street. The
second and the great Murray was a boy
of fifteen at his father's death in 1793,
but two years later he began his pub-
lishing career, at first with his father's
shop man a partner; but a drone
of a partner was not to his mind, and
from March 23d, 1803, he was alone.
His first attempt to deal with an author
gave the key note to a career of un-
exampled distinction, when he wrote :
“I am honestly ambitious that my first
appearance should at
once stamp my
character and respectability;
and I am not covetous of gold. )) The
tradition thus started, of weighing the
character of a work and the credit of
publishing it, and letting the chance of
making money by the publication pass
of secondary importance, was for
forty years the glory of the name of
Murray. « The business of a publishing
bookseller,” he said, “is not in his shop,
even in his connections, but in his
brains. » A man of fine taste and broad
culture, possessing moreover innate gen-
erosity and magnanimity, his dealings
with authors were frequently munificent;
and in notable instances he counted the
honor before the profit. He started the
Quarterly Review, in February 1809, as
a Tory organ, and carried it at a loss
for two or three years. Nothing char-
acterized him more than his steady con-
fidence in the success of the best litera-
ture; and in proportion as a publication
was of high character, he was deter-
mined and lavish in pushing it to suc-
Nor was he for this any the less
a consummate man of business, achiev-
ing extraordinary success as a merchant
prince at the head of the London book
trade. To a large extent he depended
on his own judgment in accepting books
for publication. His most famous en-
gagements were with Scott, Southey,
Byron, Moore, Lockhart, and the Disrae-
lis. To the younger Disraeli, then only
twenty, he owed the one wholly dama-
ging venture of his career,-an attempt
in daily journalism which ignominiously
failed at the end of six months, with a
loss to Murray of £26,000.
our
our
cess.
•
Murray, John, Memoir and Corre-
spondence of. With an Account
of the Origin and Progress of the
House, 1768-1843. By Samuel Smiles.
(2 vols. , 1891. ) The history of as great a
publisher as literature has ever known,
and a most notable example of devotion
to the production of books of character
and value, irrespective of mere merce-
nary considerations. The foundation of
the great London house of Murray was
New, Republic, The, by William H.
Mallock. This satirical work (pub-
lished in England in 1876) attracted
## p. 241 (#277) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
241
soon
was
much attention for a time. Its sub-title, of the sublime with a great deal of the
(Culture, Faith, and Philosophy in a commonplace; and only lend themselves
Country House,' gives an idea of its to admiration if we are prepared to
scope. The author, a nephew of the make the best of conceits and oddities
historian Froude, introduced to his read- along with some
elevated thoughts.
ers the principal literary characters of They have come into favor of late as
the day under very transparent masks. antique and curious, rather than upon
The scene is laid in an English villa; any original merit in respect either of
and the chapters are made up of con- poetry or of picture. The engravings,
versations between the guests, who are however, were by Marshall.
spending a quiet Sunday with their
host, Mr. Laurence.
While arranging Hyperion, by, H. -W. Longfellow, 1839,
the menu cards, it occurs to him to lay
The
out a series of topics to be discussed -- is a fitting title for this, the most
at his table; for, said he, It seems
romantic of Longfellow's works. It
absurd to me to be so careful about frankly declares itself (A Romance,' on
what we put into our mouths, and to
the title-page.
leave to chance to arrange what comes
It is the tale of
a young man in
out of them. ” More things in heaven deepest sorrow, wandering from land to
and earth than are usually discussed at land in search of occupation for his
such times are thus brought forward by mind, and forgetfulness of grief. This
the author, whose skill in parody is motive forms the thread of story which
manifest. It was
an open secret connects a series of philosophical dis-
that « Luke"
Matthew
Arnold;
courses, and romantic legends and poems.
«Rose,) Walter Pater; “Lord Allen, Many of these last are Longfellow's
Lord Rosebery;
«Herbert, Ruskin;
translations of German poems; and they
«Storks,) Huxley; «Stockton, Tyndall; have found a place in his collected
« Jenkinson, Professor Jowett; «Saun- poems. The adventures and wanderings
ders,” Professor Clifford; Mrs. Sin- of the hero portray the experiences and
clair,” Mrs. Singleton (« Violet Fane,) to travels of the author on his second trip
whom the book is inscribed); «Lady through Germany and Switzerland after
Grace,” Mrs. Mark Pattison; and “Miss the death of his wife. Immediately after
Merton, Miss Froude.
