New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-06-13
NEW PUBLICATIONS.


GEORGE FIJOTs THEOPHRASTUS sUCh.
,>,pprssIoSs OF TIIEoPHRAsTUs SUCH. BY
GroRGE ELIOT. l2mo pp ga. Harper * bio'"o'
The rosition OF George Eliot as the most eminent
living writer OF English fiction challenges atteh"on
"a everv production Of her pen and VIII cali Ior'n
an eager curiosity to the contents OF the present
xolpme II II had been published Without ,no
prcs 90 of her brilliant reputation, the claim oi VIC
work 10 the possession of remarkable quah''e'
might not have been admitted without question
the form Of essay is not favorable 10 the iusra
a., 90 her oenins as the invention Of an original
Mo, but wherever she places her touch. she leaves
tbe immersion Of the profound insight. the serene
,,sdom the fine observation, and the subtle hunor
which 80 eraciously signalizc her nature
Theophrastus Such, IN whose name the sSetches
Of character which compose the volume are pre-
scented. u bachelor with no domestic ties OF any
h;nd n mere looker-on in the gliding panorama OF
ociety and rather too much addicted 10 inc sluuS
NJ his own personal consciousness he cherishes no
uplndly OF soornful feeling toward the foioies oi
his feow-men, aud if lie describes their weaknesses
with a smile on his lips, IT is not that he s'andS
aloof from the kindred crowd but is bunderer like
the rest He does not conceal the fact that ne 700
Is liable TO rdicule and if he falls into tempest
aud whirlwind of anger he includes himself III his
own Indignation. If the human race has bad
renutaton he knows hat be cannot escape the col'-
mon disgrace lie Will not indulge the barbafous
laughter which arises from gratihed sense OF su-
per,ority but only tue loving laughter when recoe
nizos no superiority except that Of the ideal SELL
boIding the mirror and the scourge for our own
pettiness as well our Deighbors'.
Tbeophrastus is a staunch believer in the influence
Of hereditary descent. His father was country par
son. born about the same time as Scott and WORDS
worth. The mental furniture which he derived
& l. ii. l.. lrn
attained deep sense of the cOmmonlot anda living
sympathy with the wants Of humanity. His rev
erend ancestor no aristocratic snob, who would
have scorned TO dine except at one OF the great
houses in the parish but familiar with all the
ranks of his neighbors, with no weakness for an
earl or a marquis. He knew very well what could
be expected from the miners, the weavers, the hed
laborers ard the farmers of his own tlme ana from
tho aristocIacy ALSO for he had been brought MP IN
close contact with Them though he might iind hinl-
self at loss among mixed rural population OF the
present day. The sight Of him was not unwelcome
at any door, and he was remarkable among the
clergy of his district for having no feud with either
rich or moor in his parish Theophrastus profted by
This popularity. For months after his mothers
death when little fellow Of nine, he was taken care
If first at one homestead and then at another, and
forscvera wears afterward was his fathers constant
comnanion In his outdoor business, riding by MS
side on little pony and listening to his long dia-
loucs with some rustic Darby or Joan on the road
side or at the cottage door. The recollection OF
this experience calls forth some rather prosac re-
marks from the good TheOphrastus who 1t must be
confessed, occasionally INDUCES III little common
nlace A chief misfortune of high birth, he tells us,
is that il shuts man out from the sympathetic
knowledge of human experience which comes from
contact with various classes on their own level.
Z tfgl1t hot n
most fortunate Brtons are those whose experience
has given them practical share IN many aspects OF
the national lot, who have lived long among the
mixed commonalty, roughing 1t with them under
difficulties knowing how their food tastes to them,
md getting acquainted with their notions and mo-
tives not by inference from traditional types III lit
,erature or from philosophical theories, but from
daily fellowship and observation" Some of the
juvenile images of his early days are embodied by
Theophrastus IN admirable bits of description like
the following -
Sometimes when am in q crowded London drawing
room Tor am tOwu-bird now acquainted with smoky
caves and tasting Nature in the parks quick aIghs of
memory take me bnck among my Iatlers pallshon @
same evening uniform ne myself ana presently pegn
wonder what varieties OF history lie mdGen uhqef
this mOnot0ny Of aspect Some OF theln, peIhaps' Pc
long to families win many dgeTee Contact Se
with their fellow country men enter INTO tneir
qualifications 10 be parliamentary leaders, professors OF
mind Not that feel myself person made competent
by experience; the contrary, argue that since an
caiIv door creature. what must be the condition of
those who object read about the lie OF Oter
neiSbbors with their crush hats usually imagine that
The most distinguished among them have probably had
far more instructive Journey INTO manhood than NIUE
Here, perhaps is thOugt-wOlD pbysiognomy, seeming
the greent moment to be cassed as mere species Oh
white crayat and swallOw-tail, which may once like
Faradays have sIOwn itself in ourlOusy dubious en-
bryonic form leaning against cottage intel IN small
nd Inn tgrilV eaiiu Of
and bacon there Is pair OF eyes, nov t3 70 muon
perhaps learned to read their native England through
The same alphabet mine-not within the boundaries
of an ancestral park never even being driven through
lie county town FIVE miles on but-Imong the midland
villages and markets, along by the tree-sudded hedge
rnT and where he heavy barges seem in the distance
TO float mysteriousy among the PUSHES and the
fealhered grass Our vision. both real and IDEAL has
since then been filled with far other scenes among
eternal SHOWS and stupendous sunscorohed monuments
OF departed empires within the scent OF the long
groves and Nuer5 the temple OF Neptune looks
out over the sifen-haunted But eyes ut least
have kept their cary nfiectlonate joy III our native
laudcape. which is one deep root OF our national NE
and language.
The permanent features of the glorious English
landscape, to which the hearts of the American
travellers warm with no less tender sympathy than
that of the daily spectator of their Incompatible
loneliness, are the object of almost passionate af
lection ON the part of the writer. No country. it is
remarked, shows at once so much stability and so
much susceptibility to change. The midland plains
have lost none of their familiar expression and con-
servative spirit. Yet at almost every mile some
sign of worldwide change has wrought itself into
what one may call the speech of the landscape. in
contrast with the grander regions of the earth
which keep indifferent aspect in the presence of
mems devices. The English woodlands and pas
lures the hedge parted cornfelds and meadows, the
quiet little rivers here aud there fit to turn mill
wheel, the villages along the old oosch-rOads, are
changeable lneaments that seem TO make the face
of the motherland sympathetic with the laborious
lives of her children -
She Goes not take their plouehs and wagons