New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-02-06


classes of England, he says. have as good as aod-
Gated. They are no longer capable OF governing
1--WE are governed, very infalibly, by the sham
hero' whose name is Quack. whose goyernance 10
PausibiIityn The remedy is to be found in an arls
tocracy of talent but this presupp0ses the true eye
for talent and this in turn calls upon every man ="
reform and correct his own aims and ideals Inc
book is full of loud complaints respecting the decay
of human nObleness 4" All Virtue and Belet ana
Couragep he SAYS "seem to have run TO TONGUE
and he is the wisest man aud the most
valiant who is the greatest Ialker' Inc
world has Transformed itself into far-
lament with little more wisdom IN 1t than Ill the
cackling of geese. l am certainly afraid that the
verdict of the jury that shall sit upon the corpse OF
orr civilization will be: Suicide by an overdose
of Oratory'D Men, he says. have lost their souls
and have taken as n substitute tleir stOmachs. The
aim of life is mere material success. and the terror
which most besets men Is the infinite dread OF not
succeeding" An eloquent announcement Is made or
the approaching supremacy of industry. OF the
high worth and dignity OF labor. there
is perennial nObleness and even sa-
credncss in work; in idleness alone is there per-
petual despair The proper epic of our times is not
arms and The man.; still less is it "shirt-frills
and the man -; it is " tools and the man" There
can be little doubt that the general effect of this
book was stir up the thoughtful minds OF England
and give an impulse and tOne Of earnestness to the
efforts at reform which followed. About the same
time Carlyle contributed TO Eraser's and The For
egn Quarterly Rerieu OF his best papers. nota-
bly, those on Cagliostro" and THE Diamond
Necklace" both of which take rank with
his b. st. In 1915 he published The Let
ters and Speeches of Oliver Crom-
we'll" which has done more than any other
work to place in its true light the character of the
great Lord Protector. This vindlcatIOn was most
complete and triumphant. After 1t was published
men began seriously to AJAX themselves whether
statue OF Cromwell should not have a place IN the
new Houses OF Parliament. The question was once
asked Carlyle. whereupOn he answered cromwell
side by side with Il sacred Charles H. sacred George
", and the other sacred Charleses. Jameses,
Georges and Defenders of the Faith 7 | am afraid
During the succeeding five years Carlyle wrote
little. In thar period was the memorable revOlu-
tIonary wear 1913. CARLYLE derived from it new
sources of facts 10 strengthen his conviction of the
sad state to which the world had come. In 1850 he
put forth his Latter-Day Pamphlets" In one of
these papers he says: The European explosion IL
boundless and uncomfortable; all kings are con-
scIOus that they but pay-actOrs. In France
there Is u weterng mob. presided over by NJ de
IamaTtine. the first stump-Orator or the world
Democracy Is inevitable fact of the day we live
in. But mere democracy forever Is Impossible,
slncc the universe itself monarchy, hierarchy,
and 1t is the everlasting privilege OF the foolish to
he governed BY the wise" Another paper was on
" he Niger Question: which did little credit to
CIlINlrS love OF justice anu OI
and truth. 10 have en!ancpated the West Indies"
he SAYS, INTO a Black lreand-iree, indeed. but an
Ireland and black "a negro Ireland with pumpkins
Themselves fallen like potatoes" In one OF
the pamphlets he speaks If the rise of LOUIS NapO-
leon, saying fair->pOk"n LamartInc had TO descend
from his lofty stump when was cut down. ana unOh
us site was raised the Second Empire. But
CARLYLE almost the only man III Europe. always be-
licved and declared the Empire sham. AT the
height OF Napol power. he said ." certainly
suspect that the day will come when the blue
suiphurOu5 flames will dart from behind the
scenes and consume the pile with all that are IN NJ
or that the rdilce Will give way III crash OF ruins.
In 1851 CARLYLE published his Life of SterlIag" a
book of intense fascination for young men. In
addition to It's many alln~ions to literary charac-
as containing che only references Carlyle has made
IN his writings to his own habits of life and manner
of Thought. II j. quite free from the twisted style
which marks the other books OF this period in his
Iic aud reminds the reader of the early simplicity
shown III the " L,te OF Schiller"
TIE FRIEDRICH HE GREAT
Carlyle now began to write his History OF Fred
crck H.. commonly called FredercG the Great
the longest of his works and IN some respects the
ablest. He was fifteen years in writing it.
and read all immense mass Of mate
rial az preparation. lie appears to have
noted every book, pamphlet aud dispatch published
m relation to that IN march, and have examined
any number of mlPs IN order To make himself mas
ter of Topography and local cccnrry His descrip-
tions of campa gnS and battles surpassed b. moth
ing In historical literature. Frederick is one of
Carlyl,s heroes tnough he nor without his iauts
of ambition and uuscrupulousness. Bat he
Lad the virtues of force and Thrift; he
was born King and ruler OF men
without the trappngs of Kings. He found
Prussia occupying doubtful place among the
smaller European powers. When he died it was un-
questionable of the five great Nations. and al
though small IN population and revenue it
Inrt in art mi piN #
las; volume OF " Frederick was published IL 1861.
Carlyle was then nearly seventy years of age. What
he has published since Is of less value
Among the articles those which APP
peared at various times treating of the Am rcan
civil War He openly nvOwed his belief in the final
ovrrurnlng OF the Republic. In May, 1853. two
months before the battle of Gettysburg he wrote
sqnib called " ilias AmTicdna in NUce" 1ho Amer
can find IN a kutsncll " hcIl was "A III r-parapraph
culloguy between " Peter of the North aud Paul
of the SOUTH Peter calls his nelghbOr an " unac-
countable Scout drcl because he hires his servants
" tor he" instead OF by the month" as Peter does
himself. Paul replies that It Is matter of his own
business, and he Is willing TO take the risk of gong
to He'll, rs Peter charges that he WILL Peter there
upon declares that lie will blow Paus brains out
" and Is Try ing dreadiuly hand ever since but can
not yet managelt" lw0and halfyears after the war
had cnucd CARLYLE could See no other significance IN
II than II bloody fight over the manner Of hiring
servants Carlyle wrote pamphlet called shoot
ing Niagara. amt Alter which was called out by
question. Other papers were published later. and i'll
one of them he introduced the " Had" with COM
ments on the folly and vain results of the Civil War.
ne paper the Reform bill. however, was not
without some redeemlng points, CONTAINING, rs 1t
did, certain excellent Ideas on education III It's
broadcast significance. Nor did the Unied States
appear to him wholly bad. He once spoke OF Eng
land and America ny the two finest nations III the
world" For Benjamin Franklin he conceived
liking, aud SAID OF hIm: - tie taught the American
people how by frugalty and labor man may buffet
the waves of fortune aud swim on to prosperity and
success" Some years later he wrote two or three
letters to Ihe London Times on The Franco-Prussan
war, in which hr took decided grounds IN iavOr OF
the German cause. The siege of Paris was then in
progress and public opinion largely OH the side of
France LII 1875. he published several sketches of
tho Ear KINGS al NorW1Vr and n nanpr IN he