New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-07-31
UNHAPPY JEANNE CARLYLE.
Henry Larkin in The QUARTERLY Rerieu

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she mad such a perfect mastery of herself and
such stoical resolution to shut in her own misery
even of her intimate friends ever knew how much
she was actually suffering. 1t not merely the
ieeing OF utter loneliness, arising from .Carlyle's
moody absorption in his own work. All this, | be-
neve, she could have borne without finching In
deed. she had such mistaken faith in his genius
ana such queenly appreciation of her own prerog-
atives as his wife, that am convinced she would
not, even at the worst, have exchanged her owly
position for the highest in the land | cannot for
a moment suppose that their two lives were really
blended into one How, on such terms. could they
pei But she was by no means deficient in that last
iniirmlty of female hearts, jealous of prop
erty" IN her husband, of which all poachers would
do well To beware. She showed also a true feminine
intolerance for anything in her own which she
DID not herself understand especially if it
aimed at an ideal with winch she had no sympathy;
as was indeed almost unpardonaby her case
with regard to Irvings true-hearted and devoted
wife; as Carlyle himself. unconsciously. yet too
TO believe. she would have been much shocked as
anyone at his incredibly bitter fanatical ANTI
fanatic" version of it, Oh those "unspeakabe
men, can fancy her exclaming. almost with hor-
ror how stupidity laundering they are, taking every
silly thing so dreadfny in earnest There had too.
been some superficial love passages between Irving
eve this also may have given piquancy TO her feel
ing OF antagonism. No one who knew her can doubt
That she would fully appreciate the triumph of hav
ing once had the choice between two such men and
with all her almost invincible heroism, she evil
ously forget it, i always think that any woman
who can amnse herself and friends by talking of
atoqetber incanahIe Of some ,tte tanta,asnS ol
picty in bringing them about AT the time knew
and friends and acquaintance IN than album
dance; and she well knew how to hold her own In an
wordy warfare, and give tit for tat all round with
sparkling vivacity. She bad also mischievous de-
light in treadng on the delicate toes of the
audacous things with look of demure unconscious
ness, which would have broken out into the pleas
ATTEST, or sharpest, mocking astonishment, if you
simple enough to profess being shocked. She
sometimes tried these shafts at me- e. whether
would vince, especially with reference TO what she
pleased 10 call my youthful enthusiasms" and
even more serious matters But when saw her
deity aim them, generally allowed them 20 glance
past me, being no match for her with that kind of
swift, sharp-polnted artillery. Once she told me
. il was mostly mad people who came running after
carlyle" leaving me To make my own Application.
IL must have been of these occasions that she
mentioned as a kind of general remark, what a
comfort il was sometimes To have stupid people
about you, il saved so much trouble" All this sort
of thing should say she fully enjoyed while ~ was
alive and on the wing; but when she was again soi-
tary the reaction was proportlonate.
Ii was not, as have said, merely Carlyles absorb
ton in his work which weighed on her spirit she
knew this inevitable, and would have cheer
fully faced it, If only for the vantage ground IL
her with the world. The misery was 20 be shut up
alone with HIM when he himself was struggling
under his burdens in utter wretchedness and gloom
mess of heart. When his dark labor pans were
strong upon him suppose he was the most abso-
lutely wretched man ever saw. Even TO stand
firmly on ones own feet in the presence OF such
impossible. But what she felt most keenly of all
that he never seemed to realize that misery is
the most contagious of all diseases. He saw her
always invincibly devoted 20 him and he thought
her lot peaceful and happy in comparison with bis
He never saw the misery his own misery was
inficing upon her and gradually sapping the very
life out of her. have heard her. many times, speak
of their life at Craigenputtock with absolute shud-
dering and do not wonder when they left at her
gayly proposing to burn our ships" and prevent
the possibility of return once took an opportu-
nifty Of referring TO what Sterling had said about
her skill IN writing. and ventured TO wonder that
she did not still try to find little amusement in
that way. But she shut me up very sharply by say
ing, Oh Mr. Larkin, writer is quite enough in
a house" And yet, ought TO say, never once
heard an angry word pass between themselves.