Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-11-15
LITERARY.
''My ROses,'' by L. Virginia French
What is Thought of the Book.
From the New Orleans Sunday Times.


What is Thought of the Book.
From the New Orleans Sunday Times.
ANorthern critic says in speaking of this
work, at is an exceptional book" So it
is-an exceptional book upon an exception
al subject, almost a forbidden subject to
women by the taboo Of society. But it is a
brave book, a true book, noble book, and
we thank God that it was a possible book;
that there lives a woman pure, and brave,
and true, and noble enough to dare to write
it. Men may laugh and jeer as they choose,
but every true hearted woman viii reach
out hand to grasp that of Virginia French
and say, "Nobly done, my sister. You
dare to speak out bravely one word for the
debased and most unfortunate Of our
sex. You lift the banner of woman
hood with the spirit of Peter the
Hermit, and call upon all women who love
God to march upon this crusade for the re
demptiOn not of lost holy sepulchres, but of
debased and profaned living temples of
Gods holy spirit. We, too, win put the
cross upon our breasts and Join this order.
not of 'Sorosis,' but of Sorores Veritati, of
true sisters. That by any means, as the
Apostle says-we, too, may win some.''
The book is eminently woman's book,
and writtenfOr women. Virginia French is
right. Women only can aid in the redemp-
tion of lost women. Men who have aided
in the development and evolution of the evil
in the wOman's nature cannot help her in
her despair. This divine work is ours
ours only. \ woman, any woman, can 90
out in this holy work, and lift in her pure
arms, with grace and impunity, the lowest
of her sex, who lies groveling in the mud
and mire of the streets, trampled below
beaSthood under the iron hoOfS of mankind.
So, we repeat, this is a brave book The
intention of the book is most noble and most
pure and most Christian.
The work is well done. Mrs. French
has always a good style in her writing
there is no effort at fine writing. She rests
her work solely upon its intrinsic value-in
the necessity and the truth of its teaching.
The story is an improbable one, and yet told
with a wonderful vraisemblance. The de-
scrptive portions are full of color and
warmth. The book is sensational in its
story and full of spirit. But it is the theme,
the intention, which glorifes the work
The proclamation of this eyangel-wOmen
only can save sinful women.
We do not think it probable that to do
every pure woman, it will be essential or
necessary to assume male attire, or visit
sEMaisOns de Biioux." But the spirit which
made Henriette de Hauterive do these
things-the crusading spirit against
sin, death and the devil in be-
half Of our own sex, in behalf
of those unfortunate sisters of
ours fallen, stripped, bleeding and torpid
from the effects of our universal natures
weakness, betrayed by what should have
made the joy and the glory of woman's
life-her affections, her selfabnegatiOn, her
munifcence, which withheld nothing from
the one beloved, and who woke up from her
brief dream of her intOxication to find her
self Pariah in the eyes of man-an out
cast, as she falsely thinks. from the kingdom
Of God. And as she plunged down deeper
and deeper, drugged and drunken, till she
lies a divine creature degraded lower than
any beast. We say, the crusading spirit
which animated the heart of Henriette de
Hauteriye against the sin, while she extend
ed her arms to the sinner with a Christlike
lOve-that is noble teaching, and right
teaching.
In this age of clamor for women's rights
we are glad one woman claims the right to
save and aid other women to the extreme
even unto death.
The question is, how shall we aid our un-
fortunate sisters? We cannot all go as Hen
riette, and pluck brand out of the burning.
Would God it were possible! Still, if we
admit the rightfulness of this crusading
spirit, we shall probably, in the course of
our lives, find opportunity to do something.
The first step is to admit the responsibility
to take the cross and sew it openly upon
our bOsoms, to watch and pray and keep
ourselves pure as did the holy knights of
God III times Of Old-that we may
be fitted for our work when the
hour of trial comes. Remembering always
the oneness of humanity-not forgetting at
any time, thatit is by the grace of God, by
the pruning of education, by the constraint
of circumstances, that the instincts, which
we all receive as women, have not been
forced into a morbid and worthless growth
never forgetting that in every woman ex-
lists the probability of sin and despair.
That in every wOman's, aye, even in the
lowest and worst, there remains the posi-
bility fperfection-in the universe of God.
Human love is not all of human life-nor is
human sin the utter death of any human
SOll3 Nll1C blllc l1C ldolos
We thank Virginia French for her book.
FILA.
LAKE ST. JOSEPH, TenSas Parish, Oct.
3, 1871.
Mrs. Catharine A. Warfeld, in a letter
dated Sept. %, says:
Il have received your Roses and am
refreshed if, indeed, such word can be
applied to the passionate sort of pleasure
your fiery draught affords the thirsting
spirit.
"The book is, indeed, at fever heat from
first to last. l feared that you would never
be able to sustain the impassiOned onset;
but you haze done so as none but poet
could have doneEas few of these could do.
''The book ought truly to have been
written in blank versa sort of narrated
drama like Aurora Leigh-because the
motif is one worthy of high tragic move
ment, such as the field of poetry best af-
fords. had fears, at first, that having
leaped so daringly the barriers set for Je-
male soritersP ooh! term Of exquisite ollie