New-York tribune., 1873-04-14
BOSTON.
LITERARY NOTES.

VENUS AND PSYCHE.
npon A REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF rHB TRIBUEE.l
BOSTON April 10--An English reviewer has
.crtiy remarked that of his rules of criticism
psver 10 speak well OF novel which he hnds 1t hard to
Rad II this were absolute canon, should accord
.nan praise 70 johannes Olaf" novel which Eliza
beth de VILE wrote ia German; which f. E. Burnett
rendered into the Queens English, in London; and
which Roberts Brothers about laying before Amer
can readers II cannot be denied that to road JohaA
mes Olaf" is TASK requiring much time and small
degree Of pauence but the patience and time thus
pended win receive generous reward. 1t 10
pevel hardly better afford to neglect
shan ne coud afford to overlook "Middemarch." Its
soection of character sketches is truly wonderfu and
beyond all else il is human, and alive with human emo
tsns. In regard il is not artistic. The plot is no
plot at ALL rather 1t is plot only in the that
every life Of strong and adventurous character is
Ssmance. II dehes the unities boldly as real life
does. best gifts brought, the susenance
of the prophet by unexpected ravens" Nor its
philosophy the creed Of it's author be easily disen-
tangled from tho conflicting specuatons the contradic
tory moralte which confuse the most jealous reader.
only at the very hest that you how inexorabe
the law of eternal justice, the author coneeives it
lew sure, she believes, is any infractlon of
Coristian morality TO invoke upon itself its
ewn punishment. Meantime she is Just TO
Che characters which she creates. powerfully
Impressed with their mental and moral diosyncrases,
that able write of them with absolute Obiectiv
nv 10 keep herself her belief and inelinatons
thoroughly apart tom their development If she
writing OF Greeks who fell during the Pelopennesan
war This Is great and high sense, to be artist
n s 70 create, and TO endov ones creatures with
free win which the creator afterward respects-a
nghtier excellence than implicitly to preserve the
snies, hurry the movement of story so that he
who runs may read. Decidedly, he who runs may not
read Johannes"
The hero man strangely born. and living strange
Hie There something of dissection in the wonderful
power with which the auhoress not only reveals his ex
peRenees, but lays bare his emotions Ii goes deeper
than analysis and suggests scape He is Of nature
cuTiOusIy retcent, yet curiousy frank with Keen
perceptions in some directions but with hopelessly
blinded eyes IN others. Thus, when he was poor
scholar in Hamburg. and FraDzska poved him, he
scarcely knew muoh less dscerned that the one pearl
Of great price which might enrich his whole life was
lying at his feet Few things IN fiction are more power
fu than the contrast nowhere paTaded yet everywhere
marked and felt between the two women who exercise
a controlling influence ON the life OF Johannes Fran
xiska is his Psyche but Maria is his Venus. 1t would
be hard 10 find anywhere character more noby lovely
than Franzskas. She Is gentle, generous, highcour
aged sefforgetul and altogether noble. Her love is
worthy OF her nature. She asks nothing but the happ
sess of the she loves. She even bear that
another should make him happy, If Fate wills it
so-let him be glad and she can live IN
Ie knowledge OF his gsdness. Perhaps it is only nat
Its not usually in mans spnngtime that he lays his
sacrifices the altar Of the true divinity He bunders
into sueCess sometmes bnt more often he makes mis-
take which ess fatal according to its perma
nence Johannes had been very quietly fond OF Fran
uka In time she might have become necessary to him
and he would found himself in love, perhaps before
ne knew it, had not his Venus crossed his path like
fate Franziskas goodness and nobility do not make
her 40 remarkable discovery in character as was
Maria without thom. / can scarcely recall such
creation in any novel She was beautiful, with
wonderful unconscious beauty, like some spen-
did flower. She had. good principles,
and equally she had no bad She neither pure
nor impure. She seemed souliess creature-not Un-
dine for Undine would hardly have been tempted by
amOnds-but utterly without conscience or sense Of
moral responsibility as fairy. There was singular
sDmssiveness about her, winch seemed TO hold men in
Ghrali more absolutely than the royalty OF queener
women first sight of her johannes loved
her madly. She woman 10 be loved at first sight
Hnd Inadly He found house for her and then he
would have married her; but 10 marry IN Hamburg
would be both expensive and difficult since both were
strangers and they not rich SO Maria said
did not matter and they began TO live together in the
suiet little which Johannes made pretty as he
could. To him this was quite the same as If he had
made her his wife. He secure, happy, sat
isned OF Franziska he never thought. Now
rsme his second great mistake. He mad allied
himself TO this human butterfly, and he expeeed OF her
nonstaney and the domestic virtues At first they had
begnn live too extravagantly. Johannes had small
sum which his grandfather had given him, and with
that Mara's bought abundant household penish-
ings and fine clothes the young beauty. Johannes
threw the money away without regarding it, SO that
Maria smiled and pleased cared for nothing else.
He would have given away world for her sake just as
mdiferently had he had One He soon saw, however,
that his little fortune almost melted away and then
ne sat himself work with energy. He sent away the
Eunt-who was a repulsve female Mephistopheles-be-
cause she was constantly pityng Maria that her lot
DOT a brighter one now that there more money
10 be lavished. He proposed writinga book; he CON-
peed for position as teacher he wrote for journals But
he made his second mistake now as said. Maria was
butterhy-beautul, fantastic. with wings swift for
ght-he should not have expected from her selfdenal
and fortude attributes which belong to creatures with
souls. She became and moro lovely. She was
scarcely eighteen years Of age and with her refined pal
r and soft noble features she looked like foreign
apparihou:
"Her dark ewes cleaned in their wonderful depth
a touch OF sweet sadness resting on her eye
hds and the slightly arched completed the noble
,Ontour her shining black hair lay her smooth
ops She was slender q pam-tree, gentle and slow In
her movements; and there lay mysterious charm IN
10 penetrate into her nature. Occasionally something
that almost like wildness flashed through her
breamy eyes, passed away before it could be said
Il there. Generally she soft TO weakness allow
iDg others to do with her what they wond' as II she
Knew nothing OF her power and great beauty
Beautiful and terrible as the sphinx How did the
idea occur TO him when ne one day attempted poetlcsly
70 sing song Of songs IN those early days, when his
heart seemed TO in the full enjoyment OF his happ
ness F
To him this NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. yet not sensual silently
,ubmissiye secretive-was a beautiful mystery. If he
had understood her. he would have knownthat butter
hes must needs live among and sunshine and low
ing her with mad doatry he did he would have put
aside ali his emotions for the future and spent every
snerRy OF his being In just making her present bright
But instead be expected her to sympathze in his hopes
N..