New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-04-10
BOSTON LITERARY NOTES.
4 THEOLOGICAL NOVEL.


10 BIZ FREE'-A SINGERS SONG" oAhRipuh'
AN oLD-FAsHIoNED STORY. . ....
frRoM A REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE rR'h,Nh.
BosToN. April 9.-"Victor La Iourette
,Roherts Brothers tells us upon the titlepage that
a novel and il written by q Broad Churchmah' ine
latter fact would be apparent TO any reader ho' 70 %
former One would hardly know that u was ne,e,'
uness one had been told The thread OF story Oil "nc"
,hese rnanv chapters OF theological argument arc
strung is very slender Indeed Inc lhtroone'or!
chapsers are the hest specimens OF the stofS-'ei-
ey,s art which the book contains. In them the
rcone goes back his childhood, and paints, in the
tender half lights of memory, a picture sweet anu pa
theuo OF simple and happy home, on the ohtsRr's Vi
the civilization OF that time. Indian neighbos come
and 30 across the threshold OF this honfe-not the
Indians OF the Peace Commissioners, nor the Redpath
show bnt The noble savage poerysiser than CIVIL
1zation ana rurer than religion. These Indians nave
htteto de with the main portion OF the DOCK OUT 'S
come In gain at the end, In the midst Oh DANGER anu
death On your first introduction 10 them however,
you expect them to be important figures III the e; anu
when presently you lose sight of them you are somewhat
disappointed; for really they quite the most at
tractive characters in the book.
As for the hero ". La Tourctte, he was TOO inSthc
lively preacher TO be altogether agreeable One mn
eies him arguing with his nurse, and talking theo"gy "
his rfayfellows He born in France and ednc''eo
for the priesthood: he presently became convinced
that the Roman Catholic Church WAS not the uue'
Catholic allemlracng Church of the early ChIlsuahs
40 nc turned his back upon 1T, aud set foith 10 lou
trueCathoc Church In America II was just AT Tue VI
ginning OF this century and voyage across tDe A'l
tic was slow performance In those days NJ ht iou
rette found time during his voyage, 10 accomplish
good DEAL both in the way OF love and Of religion
The captain Of the ship highly intelligent anc
respectable skerc doubt he would he called Free
Regionist to-day. Among his passengers were MT
pescanps. Detroit lawyer, and his daughter Louise;
a Harvard Professor named Winslow WHO was ohta-
risn hut still called himself COngregatonalist, and the
WIFE SON. and daughter of this Prof Ninsow who were
Eniseopalians Then there Roman Catholic priest
"a very poor specimen 81 his class; young man named
Smith who was an evlminded, illnaturcd bigot, ana
about as unchrsan he well could he though he had
been graduated at Yale and attached IA some capacity 20
the French legation and was now about 10 study for
the orthodox ministry. There was, too coarse, dis
gushing nquor-seng hypocritical pctis also OF the
orthodox persuasion who talked dialect like no fash
ion OF speech have heard, and whose creation ana
Introduction into the book is artistic blundcI and an
unnec essary annoy ance to the reader
You will observe the striking untarness OF TINS pre-
eentton of characters The orthodox people not the
stern honorable Purtans the sweet. sanity souls we
all have known within the pale Of orthodox churches
They are coarse, Aatant, hypocrtica The Unitarian
professor is worldly and selfish, and has no ellgOus
earnestness whatever, and the skoptcal captain ana
lawyer TO have been allowed 10 lie as nany ana
"a
have all the glory in them as his converts The
LAWYERS daughter Louise Deschamps, is a fascinating
little saint the beginning; and NJ La Tourettc
shows himself possessed Of extremely susceptible
heart in spite II his missionary zeal for he has seen her
scarcely twice when he whispers Lonise" TO her
through the darkness and is almost Immediately en-
gagged 10 her But energetic he that besides WOO
tpr his sweetheart he found time the voyage to
silence Roman Catholic priest TO put down the Ortho
dox divinity student and tO convert 10 his own notions OF
theology captain the Mr. Dcschamps and several
of the other passengers You have only TO wind him up
at any moment and he starts off at full galop into ser
He explains the Trinity; election does not puzzle
him. nor predestnation appa he shows just how the
Creator may known everything, and yet not have
fOrenown the fall of man because don't you see, an
event isn't event till it has happenedi He spoke of
God as "tire Original Mana somewhat daring form of
expression-but the mystery of the incarnation which
ne strives TO make clear he to me to leave more
than ever shrouded in darkness stE should do him
Injustice not 10 say that he maintains many OF his
peculiar notions with good deal OF ability
He left France in doubt what sect he should on
and with half FLEA that any Of them would he too mar
row for him; hat before the voyage over he had
well nj sh concluded with the Episcopal Church
Yot would not marvel at this had he encountered and
come under the influence of some Churchman ripe In
culture LOFTY in character, stcadfast in faith and iu OF
"Reminiscences ana personal magnetism like of the
Episcopal eergymen of our own day; but You are sur
those two SHY women, Mrs. Wlnslow and her daugh-
ter Perhaps hsweuer his inclination toward the Epis
copsl Church grew rather from familiarity with its lit
urgy which these ladies lent hun, than from the I'M
wisdom of their Gong conversations. AT any rate, he
concaed last that the only Church in which ana by
means Of which true CathOcity was possible was the
Episcopal Church if enc may only accept the Apostles
Crcoi ard take flying leap the Thrtynine Arti-
Cles
on his arrival in Boston he Is introduced by. the
winslows 70 their fashionable wcNbred young rector,
and aztec yard 10 siHgulary contentious, narrow
minded, 'diGagreeahle and tme-ser1dn Bishop some
difficulties attended his getting into the Church with bis
band Of eC2verts and the manner in which he sur
mounted them 20 have been hardly ingenious
as wOnlA belt the prophet OF new dispensatiOn. 1t
sOrt Of "the-t pdj nEtites-theDeans fashion at
the best then it necessary somehow TO get the
Catholic lelyen INTO The only Church nwhich 1t had
a reasonable chance OF working
The EJGscopas Church fares not mUeh II tier at the
authors bends than itsOribod0X and Unitarian rivals
One of the best passages il the book IL the discussion
between La Touiette and the Bishop in which the one
represents ID spirit of tbe tue Catholic Aur and tie
other of Elis cOpacl as II Is
With more or lev difficulty la ToureAte got himself
admitted TO holy nd rs and, having previously married
Louise took cbrse ter some years of cch near Bos-
ton. us success parish priest demonstrated the
souilneFs OF lis theories OF tine C1thOhCitE; but lac met
with violent opposition both within his church and
out ade cf it, Aftsr time he removed to htr0t and
these again. he established eoHoh. II tilpe Of
Indian hos iity AID 50 sluch dd his intimacy with the
noble IL meatJoned in the beginning Of tue book
enrage spirits the baser sort that his house
inobbed and he him elf fatally nSIed He died. Az ais
Louise soon followed hun.
Yeu perceive that Of the ordinary elements OF the
novslxre hee 1t is theological treatise ia the farm Of
tale; device which aderf unntereted IA Theological
discussion will be likely resent AZ story it has great
defects among them poverty OF imagination ard a
tendency introduce characters both sagreeable and
unnecessary is not Sowevey, a story tlat II can