, 1874-02-15

f{3-
cent work Of Bain proves; and that we, aa yot
know but little upon this subject makes it ali
the moro desirable that men like DR.. Hopkins
should undertake to increase the sum OF oul
| knowledge
AOuitla.s,
BEBEE: or, Two LITTLE WOODEN 8HoEs. By
"ou1DA-" Philadelphia !. 3. Lppincott Co.
When We take up one OF "Ouidas books, NE
are sure TINT We havo . masterpiece in hand
glowing with splendid and captivating attributes
and ne are quite as sure that it will hare some
giant wrong between man and woman for ite
subject. and depict it in 30 harsh and ruthless q
manner AZ to hurt our moral sense and irritate
! ua against the work and the author. There is q
| sad history written on 'Ouida's" Z" heart. Ehe
has suffered come grieyous fate which has
poisoned the fountain Of her life; aud sho
aveuges herself by infusing it's venom into
everything size writes. She presents the sorrow
| fm spectacle OF woman endowed with unco.n-
mon talents. using them, with spiteful delight,
| to defame and degrade both man and vomnt-
kind. The sentence which Ruakin pronounces
upon the pictures OF Doree: 's Bad, with ali
| awful power !" nvoluntarily rises up against the
books OF ouida," although, applied to them,
it may be charged with exaggeration.
! There is 4 lkencss between the genius, and
| most probably the career, OF this unique En-
glishwoman and the greatest writer Of the PRES
I
have been coupled before; but, had "Ouida" been
| OF the same nationality as George Sand her
| works would have been held in much higher cs-
| teem. As it is, their origin creates q strong
| prejudice agninst them. We canno. accord to
| WOMAN trained amid English customs OF pro-
priety the license which ne allow to one who has
| been nurtured in the Lax morality Of tho Trench
| school. " Ou,da should have had her home in
Paris. Her cynicism, her biting sarcasrns, her
] disbelief in goodness her mockery Of the
nff1f1f N$ fsr1h hgfu ord
have been in keeping there, and applauded as
| plquant adjuuct5 to her brilliaucy.
| ''..Bebee il fair sample Of ''Ouidn's" +"
ability, with fewer caustic jeers and taunts than
usual III her books, but with current OF bitter
ness saturating every page. The language is
wonderful The choicest words tit into tho
| smoothea: sentences that flow ono after the
other in MI unbroken succession. with tho
rhythm and euphony OF poetry. Only measure
is wanting to transform them into heroic verae.
There is great chain in such elegant diction,
and - Ouida is complete mistress OF it. She
also has the art OF exciting breathless interest
in her story, OF peopling it with Ife-like char-
acters and Of leading them on to an intensely
pathetic catastrophe.
The sceue OF tBebec is located in Flanders;
and the life, the manners. the features Of the
country arc described with graphic and exact
fidelity. Bebee, the girlish heroine OF the story,
Is an exquisite character, stainless and stead
fast IN purity. She falls in the way OF human
devil ,-one OF " Ouida's" favorte inetruments Of
action,-and for cruel period hovers like
dove under tho sorpentB spoil We witness her
prolonged trial and torture, but mercifully not
her fall. Bcbeo is not vitiated, but releutlessly
killed, aud the painful drama c1oses on an in
direct but absolute murder OF unmitigated
atrocity.
There is an improvement in tho morality OF
"Ouida's tato novels, Objectionable as many OF
their traits still remain. Readars who admire
her gifts, but deplore their evil direction, may
cherish hope Tat eventually she will sec the
mischief OF her course, and devote herself to tho
elevation OF virtue with as much spirit as she
has in the past to ita degradation.
Iceland.
SIX WEEKS IN THE SADDLE: A PA1s7En's Jour-
NAL IN ICELAND. by i. z. WALLER London:
Macmillan Co.
lr. Wallor hsd read the Icelandic saga, 'Burnt
NAL" and w5s fred with . desire to visit
the scenes OF the tragedy, and bring back in his
portfolio sketches OF what WAS most wild and
picturesque. straightway he took passage in
little Danish steamer that plies regularly be-
tween Copenhagen and Keykjavih, and, after .
weeks rough voyage, was landed ut the Capital
Of the 1emoto Arctic island. Hiring guide and
buying aaddle-horses,-the is not wheeled
vehicle Of any sort in Iceland,-he imme-
diately started for the point Of his desti-
nation. His traveling-kit embraced little
moro than his painting materials,
a 1ask OF whisky, and the regulation tooth
brush and pocket-comb. He relied upon the
hospitality Of the natives for sustenance for
himself and train, and during his journey OF 500
miles aud back, was supplied with tho best the
land Afforded, and not q farthing of recompense
accepted. This was noble hospitality, SO far as
intent WAS concerned but it kept him on q ]
The most sumptnous fare thai |
could generally be provided WIS Gsh dried to \ |
parchment, black bread needing to be split with !
! hatchet rancid butter or tallow, cheese. and
milk. Churches, which aze invariably used as
barns wheu not in requisition for religious ser
rices were often his shelter at night, and boards
and blanket his uneasy bed.
Not much incident varied his travel. It Was
daily ride over bogs or laTa-beds, through
bleak aud barren country, now tame aud now
bold and wild. Once in his entire course, be
saw an ash-tree which had reached an altitude |
Of 80 feet. With this single exception, the
foliage of the island WAS limited to sparse
3rowths OF willow and birch, not exceeding or
feet in height. The herbage consists Of rare
md scant patches Of grass, which the inhabi-
;ants guard with vigilant care. cutting 1t, where
IN sufficient Quantities, for the use Of their
:attlo in winter. Horses are turned loose to
ind nourishment grazing dry stubb1e, or to
,eIish.
Yet this desolste and destitute island is u fre-
1uent resort for English sportsmen. Fish and
Fild fowl abound, and these. with strange and
Exceptional scenery, attract the adventurer.
)ur tourist met numerous parties encamped,
md equipped with every appliance for sport aud
essential for comfort, pursuing amusement in
his out-of-the-way plnce,-s volcanic desert in
he Frigid Zone.
Mr. Waller is good traveller, enduring every
ort OF discomfort with inpersurbable good
.umor. He has omitted description OF the
3eysera and lit. Hecln, with which the intelli-
;ent reader is supposed to be familiar, and given
readable account Of that which was peculiar to
lis experience.
Sake KnolnsA Stortess
AXE HOLMs STORIES. Now York: scribner,
Armstrong l. Co.
It is SAFE to say tho half-dozen stories COM
rised in the above volume arc amons the most
riginal and powerful that havebeen contributed
y m American writer 70 their department Of
ction. "Esther Wynn's Love-Letters," which
pened the series as they appeared III Sc''i1mer's
Magazine, instantly arrested attention by its
iyid, poetic imagination, it's 1no, delicate
ouches of feeling, aud its passionate fro. It
'as followed by "Dro1y A1illor's Dowry,"