The Portland daily press., 1871-10-28
DAILY PRESS.
PORTLAND,
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2S, 1871.
Eirene, or N woman's Right.
MRS. AMEs's NEW BOOK.

Ames, one of the brilliant and celebrated
writers OF the Independent. Her "Woman's
Letters from Washington" have for years been
one Oh the great attractions of that paper.
Ihey are read all over the Ian and quoted in
all tne newspapers. Mrs. Ames occasionally
atIempts poetry and shows in her verses high
poetic ferVor; sometimes, even, her rhymes
have the truefavor of inspiration. In the
ABOVE tale she has gone into the field of fic-
ton. 1t was venture and dare. She had
a high and enviable rank as a sketchist. or
an essayest and was recognized as one who
did well in song. Why, then, should she
attempt more! We do not know. She is
a woman, and of course follows her own
mind or whim.
This tale was begun in Putndna's Monthly
when that much esteemed pea-green covered
magazine was revived with so many good
hopes' 1t was continued serially in its pages
anu was one OF the best attractions of the
magazine in its second and spasmodic life
since then Mrs. Ames has added numerous
chapters and now sends out The whole in fra
present form. The reader will inyoluntar;lv
divide this book into three parts: viz. those
chapters that were published in Putnam
next, the chapters on the war; and third.
The sketches about woman's rights or her no.
sition in society. OF course the book is ad-
mirably written so far as mere STYLE. The
tirst division constitutes the story proper.
though the remaining chapters are in a form
strung upon the efigies of the characters
who live and act in this part. The story,
then, is fan admirable picture Of New England
country and village life; capital delineation
OF The women who live there, of the sceenry.
the cAangeful seasons, the customs, the talk,
the plainness and matter of-fact, and the ro-
nance and poetry underlying all. The hero
inc, Eirene Vale, is nurtured in the pictur-
esque and dingy homestead on the mountain
side in Hilltop. Her parents are of gentle
blood and she is tenderly educated at home
as becomes one of good degree. The family
affairs getting very much straitened she
goes to work in the factory of Mr.. Mullane
in the near town of Busyville. She boards
at his house. His son Paul, a Harvard law
student, smart, scholarly, elegant, known
among his acquaintances as "Prince," falls in
love with her. She is in consequence driven
from this house by the mother. She boards
with Tilda Stade, at Brother Goodlove's Just
over the way, and the secret engagement is
kept up year. Paul flirts meantime with
the elegant and remarkable Boston women
who live at or visit marlboro HILL" the
home OF the great Prescott family. But at
the years end Miss p visiting his mother at
Busyville for the sole purpose of putting to
fight, the "shop girP' and revensing Paups
sights on berself, so manages as to drive
Eirene into "fts." This results in breaking
of the engagement and finally Paul is brought
to Miss P.'s feet who loftily says "No:" Here
the story ends.
1t is one of the best because it is one of the
simplest stories that has been written in
long time. The characters are well preserv-
ed, and act always in good part. The con-
versation in the dialogue is sometimes trife
stiff, and is somewhat scant, but we do not
find here or in the remaining chapters any
sense that the actors are lay figures on which
is strung story or an essay.
The characters are very we'll drawn, and
we recognize in Lowell Vale, the well descend
ed but unforclble farmer, an old acquaintance;
his scholarly ways and his unthrift are admi-
rably portrayed. Mrs. Vale, too, in her un-
repining but unrejoicing life has been familiar
these generations in New England homes.
Mr.. Mullane and his busy wife are old friends
in many of our villages. The good, honest
industrious man attends to business. and
wisely allows Madame to rule in her province.
She sends Paul to college. She dotes or Paul
who, in her opinion, is to rule in the affairs
of men. The "Boston" women, Miss Helena
Maynard and Belle Prescott, are admirable
types of the girls we raise in our best society.
The one is the profound, scientific, obstruse
thinkist and talkist, who knows Kant like
brother, and quotes Goethe in the original
chapter and verse, so, too, Plato and Cousin.
The other is rich, dressy, and sufficiently well
up in books to entertain Boston and Harvard
men. Her brother, Paurs classmate, is also
rich; he goes through Cambridge because
Boston men must. He takes the other actors
off on summer voyage in his yacht 10 the
coast of Maine (exactly where, the story does
not say-but we fear to a very unpleasant
point, because they all have most doleful
time oft. This happens, fortunately, after
the real story, or the first part, as we have
above divided the book.) There are also
a Spaniard and his sister among the charac-
tiers.
But in Tilda Stade, the fair Methodist who
has certainly 'got religion" and is so anxious
to bring Eirene into the kingdom;n who
knows about her shope", and can plainly tell
all the steps that led her from sin to grace;
who takes Eirene to the Camp meeting and
uses every influence and every power she
possesses to induce her friend to partake the
same spiritual joy she SO abundantIy possess
es; whose zeal is constant and faints not, we
have one of the best characters given to our
American fiction.
But we pause in expressing our adm iraton
OF the plain, the earnest, the pious, the good
Tilda for her rival in excellence and reality of
portraiture stands before us too. Moses Loplol-
ly, the country boy of Hill top,the youthfulllov-
er who adored Eirene, the young man who
addressed her, the peddler who made money
for her, the rustic, practical, selfish, ardent,
constant swain, who was always devoted, al
ways respectful and never, in peace or in war,
gave up his love till her marriage to another,
is fresh and living likeness, uraisemblance,
of the clod born, rough nurtured, half .educa-
ted, tough men who gather wealth and sub.
stance in our towns and whose matter of fact -,
sSse and economical habits and utter unsen-
tiuentality, in time clothe them with great
reputation for wisdom.
Ii Se other cnarAeters do sometimes act
feebly, or not in part, if they are now and
then stih Or poky, Noses and Tilda are al
ways in speech, in word, in dress, in manners
true to themselves aud to nature. Some
painter must catch the inspiration and give
them to us on canvass. Goldsmith's Moses
shall then be no more OF an existence, than
this, his namesake. \ book that gives
us such creations fully s,stains all that we
have said in its praise. 1 must swim and
Tilda VIII be quoted with oher heroes for her
plain and yet quaint talk AM Moses will walk
forth in counterfeit presenhent when the
real, essential, country borI farm Yankee
needs typical representative.
As to what Mrs. Ames says about the war
there is but little to praise or eridcise. or
some good part of the scenes she was in
sense an eye witness. Her familiar visiting
to the hospital enables her to describe .he lifs
very well.
The chapters on Woman's Rights give n a