New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-02-15

little rhvthmic suuibs or distributing "a nd~seam
the familiar Partisan lollipop. ltuS' t ponIs ean
fourth estate has much TO answer tOI Feople Toau
SO much now, and reflect so little. E'hpiTlclen Vi
all sorts is ENCOURAGED and te hTer r d }Sero
few old fashioned people, much reseDiiIle lhS oiu
fashioned people Who sigh for the "pailny days
the times of good old literary Conservatism, when
u book was a solemn matter when wiltere nau III
such need to reckon with popular ignorance anu
whom readers were mt, thongh low.
MORAL INFLUENCE OF GEORGE ELIOT.
From The Contemporary Rerten
There was no faint OF lhtellec1uai ailstuviaC9 ~
her sympathies. She once said Ill rdlertihe 70
Mcndelssohns visit to England, that the musician
power to move tho crowd with visible thllii Oh
osn;ration had she been allowed her choice of the
form her genus NIGH. have taken. Inc yellhlnhg
seemed an expression of that respectinlness 1or
oTIimarv mankind which embodied itself in por-
traiture that all could appreciate N3thhs tecuIs
more enIphatically to the memory when s!ehs W
Gather uu it's records OF her than her veneneEt
rerol from that spirit which Identifies what IS eN-
csllent with what il exceptional. The sacredhess
OF hudrun work was one OF Tue ss Inns
evnressed and it must have been large dednc-
ton from the happiness of her fame that IL 80 Uten
i,rposed on her Tin common, we presume WIN all
persons of cenus the duty OF checking inc asplra-
tions OF that large mass OF average lnanKlnu 'nat
seeks an escape from the vocation wen Sle ael,
i'm her works believe, than IN those OF any other
great writer of fiction. - -. 49,,
Almost
,urn and women who wonld not, in actual life, be
marked of from the crowd by any commanding
gifts OF intellect or character She seems 10 us
either never to have attempted 10 portray sucn an
eyceptiOnal being or 10 have failed III GOING So
No sketch of hers seems to US 50 s'adowX SO nhe-
mc,nherallc. as that of the ideal jew VINO - sup
posed To he the most impressive person III Tue ctIoh
sSnere lac figures and next i'll dimneSs ana Hteiess-
ness We should place that portrait which ought 10
have occupied tho very focus OF her artistlc power
-Sayonaroa The world, perhaps, has not lost SO
much 10y her failure TO carry out plan once e9 t
TO the Wrter-to give the world al ideal portrait OF
an actual character ia history, whom she dld not
name bnt to whom she alluded as an object u pos
sible rev erence unDngled with dlsapp omtlleneIas
nv SOC possible successor of Mrs. PVyser or Caleb
Garth The sketch OF Zarca seems To u.s. III Is true
Que of her very finest creations and unQuestonably
IL is that of au exceptional and aspiring oelng
Still her brightest cOlOrDg, on the whole, is Kept
for the simple hOuelJ beings who seek 70 get nom
rstiy through the days work and make thoso tney
love happV Her genius Is always most CHARACTER,
isticalIy exercised in discovering tie path0s ana
yrnndcIr that lie hid i'll average humanity. Inc
writer once felt vvdy how even annI nvi Ho,nd
with average humanity. on hearing her say OF one
@: heI lew contemporaries whose genius WAS Gquai
10 her own: d" always think OF hlln as the husoaha
Of the dead Wife, The distinction OF enllnent
puvcrs paleG in her eyes before tnat OF Ialtnlul
jose-profouDd. indeed, ana deafness, p1U no. III
hind the curtain inter dulEbneas, or oven Oh tlte
words and huuldrum reflections III many ways
tLu stecch recurs as especially cEaracteriStlc OF
her but most of all for the precedence Which u
gives The ordinary human bonds beyond all that IS
given to the eh1 OF mankind; we can recall 40
otcr writer Who with the necdfui power, has taken
30 little pains to depict the life OF genius. IL. .
In world where restless vanity Is so acuve, anu
where we are all more or less, tempted INTO the
scramble for preeminence, We owe much to one
who taught us III unforgettabe words. 10 prize inc
lowly path of obscure duty: III Mo . we arc
Lon of what looks like claim either 10 eHccptoidi
Immunity from The laws that bind Ordinary human
beings, or else to an exceptional rYht 10 lornl
;u6p,ment on their scope. forces itself on the
Tu"soTy. But no Flooding mOrast could have
more abho;rod such clam than eiie uoi vi On. oio
occasion she expressed, almost Win lnHighaIon'
her sc.se CT the evil OF doctrine which com
poundcd for moral deficiency III consideration OF H.
fcllcctual wealth. and her nearer faiieu 10 MAKE
her conrcde even that amount of truth III it which
surely 10 Deliberate view OF human 1lhcutlcs anu
Limitations could ultimately wlthnoin ahG when
seems f. US illustrated by her own life. she was
u, doubt responsible for the fact that .Eh4lSh
pablc opinion iu its idOatry OF her, lett IN aDey-
some of its most cherished pLlncpeS; no n,
reverence for human bonds and her aonoTrence , oi
4 self pleasing choice as against Gutlfui l0Eaity
have been set forth with such eloquent conVictioi
aud varied force of illustration III hcr DOORS tDat
we believe the testimony has cutwcghed even inc
c,utsractiou of what was adverse to il i'll her own
career. She was one OF tue It" "hoSc "o'"9 "A'
and how much in her demeanor, her personal
aspect repeated the lesson of her books! Not quite
ul but almost all that one III, mory, ut oil events:
can gather up from the past From one polnt OF
view she appeared as the humblest OF human be,
ngs do not Pray tK 5a5 " Sad G With
questionable carneStncss, mentioning an author
whom most people would consider as lnhnitely mel
inferior. Aid the slow caTelui aitG'at,on amI
low voice suggested ut times, something almost
like difGencc. Nevertheless, mingIeu WIN tni;
lidence was great CONSCIOUSNESS o. poMol, nilI ~
one sometimes f.lt with her rs II III tne presence W
ROYALTY while of course there were moments Whcr
one felt that exalted genius has some temptations ~
common with exalted rank. But they we're Only
q moIncnts How strong was the current oi her syn
patty in the direction OF all humbie eHort no"
Reluctantly she checked presumption!
The wish To console aud cheer WAS lnueeu IoOteu
in the most vital part of her nature Ihe Writer re-
members her asking person whose society gave
her no Measure, and who was not unlikely 10 nave
abused the position thus accorded to come 10 heI
mt any time that her society might he 1eit as con-
solstoIy, at u time of trouble. 1t was about the
same time that she spoke OF tho sense Oh ioad ol
possbe ACHE ement threatened by the shortening
span of life with deep sadness which, Ill 1ecallng
the conversation, seems like a prophecy. Anyone
who knows the wonderful 9nselhshness IN inc onei
ing example of her strong impulse toward bindine
Ed the broken in heart" Aud yet none Of these
rscolectOus recurs to the present writer with such
have spoken, describing what she felt IN dlsre-
0ardinp nm appeal for aims In the street, She was
much distressed, and III the writer may Judge from
very slight indicatiOns) much surprised to hear her
we believe avoided reading any notices of them
but her rule could not have been quite lnVariaDle
for We recall quaint and pathetic nttle ontnurSt OF
disappointment that the result OF perusipg neI
works should produce on some critic OF otner a
tendency toward black despair" Tor some such OK;
presson which, II our memory serves, she quoted
With touch Of humorous exaRgeratlohl. tet1dtRs
we shall appear merely to echo the Judgment OF Idle
orito when we give 1t as record OF the impression
she produced that one Of the greatest duties 81 le
Iss 4hat Of resignation. Nothing In the inter-
course here recalled was more Impressive as exnio
thong which gave them birth. than the earnestnesS
with which she dwelt this as the great and real
remedy for all the ils OF Ito: one instance IN