The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-01-26
LITERARY.

-
i LITERARY.
ST. ELMO; a Novel by Augusta ]. Evans. New York
Caleton, Publisher 1867. For sale by John Russell,
4 King street.
We have not, in long timo perused work Of
fiction that has interested us as much Us 81, Emo.
We have read, before, books as fascinating,
and, perhaps, books as learned; but have never
found the two united as in the present work. We
have read moral and religious novels, plenty OF
them, and We have also read the sentimental and
the sensational. ST. Elmo belongs to none Of
these It is sati generis-uniting good points from
them all, skifully woven together by the hand of
genius, and endowed by that magic wand with an
air of life few could bestow upon such o cumber-
some mass Of learned material.
Miss EVANS is unquestionable most remark
able woman. When she made her debut, some
eight or nino years ago. by the publication of Beu-
lah, she croated great sensation in literary cir
cles, and the discerning every where OF once pre-
dicted for her a brilliant future. Macaria, pub
lished during the latter part OF the war, disap-
pointed her admirers; it was story deeply t1ngcd
with the sadness OF the times in which it was
written and is perhaps, moro full of the defects to
H&AoAAASo VI -'
either Of her other two books.
Although the autboress deprecates adverse crit
icisrl, and devotes two labored chapters to this
subject. adopting a trick by no means new, of an
ticipat:ng every possible objection to her work,
and refcting the same,-she has really nothing to
complain Of. The first critical journals OF the
country have spoken of st. Elmo in terms Of most
unexpected praise. It should be remembered that
she laid herself open to criticism to remarkable de-
gree even in Beulah It was the first production OF
young and unknown authoress, published with her
name in full, who laid sim to amount OF learn
ing, very unusual in novests, and altogether so
among female writer's. The book, although CIV
ing abundant proof of merit, was not without
many faults, which, however, the considerate
critic felt sure would be corrected in the future
writings Of the authoress.
Beuloh, accordingly, was widely read, and it's
learning" as widely condemned. People talked
unkindly about the authoress, and charged her
with making parade Of her erudition. .MdcaT1a
met with the same fate. When 81. Emo was an
nounced the novel-reading world was on tho q@l
oioe, to see what it WAS like. They knew Miss
EVANS possessed great power in constructing an
interesting narrative, and were perfectly willing to
onter tho golden regions ofcloud.and, with Ter rs
cacerone. The more judicious of her friends and
admirers were naturally curious to SEQ the I'M
provement wrought by years Of study, and by the
experience of several additional years of life We
$50 now read 81. Elmo, and while we place it
above any contemporary work of fiction produced in
America, and read it with the greatest pleasure,
we cannot in candor withhold censure, Nnoic We
think 1t deserved.
Miss EVANS has cultivated her fancy perhaps
over much. A due ad,n;xture of the rerl and IDEAL
is requisite to constitute perfect work of art. In
''St. Elmo" the latter gro2tlS rr3domnates. The
pictures she paints are fine creations, lfe-lke too,
in a certain sense, but not flithful to nature.
They are very attractive indeed, but they are ma
ture idealized. In this she can ind precedent in
DICKENS, the greatest of living writer's Of fiction,
who, invariably in every one Of tho numerous
characters he has given to tho w5rld, improves on
the homeliness Of nature
stEdna Earl" the heroine OF this book, is alto
gether, perhaps, the most remarkable character
known, either in history or fiction Lady JANE
GREY was a tyro, and tho admirable" CR1onToN,
q very ordinary Cl,ricbton, wher compared with
edna" This young lady, daughter Of carpon-
ter, and granddaughter Of blacksmith, born in
the vicinity Of Chattanooga early lost her parents
and at the age Of twelve her grandfather died. the
lastof her kin. She then, young as she is, deter
mines to mako support, in order to educate her
self as O teacher and with this view sets ont for
Columbus, Ga, where she hopes to find employ
ment in certain factory. The car runs off the
track, there is q grand smash-up and little edna"
sniu Horao oa ia f0un6 nv /
Mrs. Murray" IA lady Of wealth, who lived at
most gorgeous palace, along the Georgia State
Road, near Chattanooga. Said palace was known
as lie Bocage, and in reading Miss EVANS descrip-
ton OF it re constantly forget we are not reading
Of the Garden Of thu HEsPERIDEs. Hero Edna pur-
sues her studies under the direction Of tho corgy-
man of the neighborhood, MIR. Hammond. Fro
she reaches eighteen summers she has mastered
the on,at sci5ae The Talmud was familiar to her
as were the writings Of ZoRoAsTER. The Organon
Of Aristotle formed her Light reading. She
wrote brilliant and most learned monograph,
which was published in the leading literary maga-
zine of New York, entitled: "Who struck the Mar
bic Gods of Greece" to prove that Alcibiades was
not the iconoclast he has so long been considered
ALI this before she was nineteen.
Miss EVANS likes not to have her learning found
fault with. But no one can read her books with
out running foul of these learned snags. We will
not say that sho has cleaned it all out Of tho
q charge sho seems specially to
resent. Wo will only remark, III tho first place,
that the greatest of all a is to conceal art.
Learning is no reproach, but an ostentatious dis
play is not to be commended. Any one who has
in his own person climbed the steep hill Of knowl-
edge,-plodding before the break Of day, and
painfully bending over the blurred page by the
dim and feeble glare OF the midnight lamp,-ac-
quires veneration for the ancient treasures, and
speaks not OF them as lightly as docs our au-
thoress. There are plenty Of learned men, and
there have been learned women also, but ladies
do not generally graduate in the abstrusa sciences,
or discuss nico points in Greek history with Grotc,
at the age Of seventeen or eighteen. The acquisi-
ton of learning is the work Of Gfo time, and the
same man is rarely IN adept in classic and scho
lnstic lore, and, at the same time, the writer Of
brilliant romances. Wo know BULwEn will BIO
quoted as an exception. But his learning is in
the back ground, aR compared with ST. ELMO.
WALTER ScorT also knew much of many things,
but seldom obtruded his knowledge OIL his read
ers. Nay, he was himself remarkably humble on
the subject OF his requirements. But we have
said enough, and moro than enough, on this
topic.
ssEdna Earl' is doubtless the beau ideal of Miss
ELS type Of true and perfect womanhood, and the
character ia vol drawn, and fascnates the reader,
as Edna is said to have fascinated all who came in
contact with her. st. Elmo, the hero, is per-
haps still less true to nature than Edna-alto-
gether ideal if not impossible, IS to his vices
and to his virtues, and sudden and radical re-
formation. But such as he is, he will be readily
acknowledged King in every tonder female heart
The aim of the book is noble one,-no less