The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1883-04-01

| John Oxenford. Tho nrst book notice writ
| ten for the Westminster by Miss Evans was
a briof review OF Carlyle's Life OF Stor-
| ling" This was followed during tho next
| ak years by sorles Of striking essays. which
| ought to DO collected and reprinted. both be-
cause Of substantive worth and because Of the
| light they would throw on the authors literary
| canons and predictions Among them may
no specified Woman in France Madame de
sablj:" "corman wit: Heinrich Iicino'
silly Novels by Lady Novelsts: = The Nat
| ursl History OF German l. ife." and "W0rldli-
ness and Other orldliness." Miss Evans's
| main employment on the Wesfnirsbp' Reriem
| was editorial. Botween 1851 and 1853 she
wrote q considerable part Of tho summary OF
contemporary literature at tho end OF each
| number.
The reader OF this biography will DO grateful
for the extracts from tho essays. which are
| now no. easily accessible. We can repro
| duco but u single excerpt from the article
| ON SILLY Novels by Lady Novclists." in
which George Eliot had occasion to point
! out tho ignorance OF English country life.
IA 1t really is. evinccd in the sterootyped
! figures Of tho dyic ploughman and haymaker.
who AFRO almost invariably depicted as merry
and gueless. Tho conventional ountrymnn
of tho stage" says George Eliot In tho essay
named. who picks up pockctbooks and never
looks into them. and who Is too simple even
| to know TINT honesty has its opposite.
represents tho still-lingering mistake that
an unintelligiblo dialect Is guaran-
toe for ingenuousness. and Tint SLOUGH
ing shoulders indicate An upright dispo-
| sition. It IL quite sure that y thresher Ia likely
to be innocent OF any adroit nrithmetica cheat
Ing bu. he ID not the loss likely to carry home
| his masters corn in his shoes and pocket.
reaper IL not given to writing begging letters.
| but he 10 quito capable Of caoln9 the dniry
| maid into filling his small beer bottle with alo
Tho selfish instincts are not subdued by the
| sight OF buttercups nor Ia integrity in the lenst
established by that classic rural occupation.
sheep washing. To mako men moral some
thing more Is requisite than to turn them out
to grass"
It WAS during tho first year OF hor residence
in DR. Chnpninn's house in London that Miss
Evans made an acquaintance destined to affect
tho whole future tenor OF her life that namely
| OF Mr.. George Henry I.ewes. then. like her a
contributor to the Westminster. Rerienr Mr.
Lewes. who was two years hor senior had for
some time been widely known AS one OF tho
most prolific among the press writer's and mon
Of letters In the British metropolis SO remark
ubo WAS his versatility that it WAS once said OF
him: "Lewcs can do everything in tho world
but paint; and he could do that too after a
weeks study" 1t Is probable that as tho
author Of this biography suggests. the Life OF
Goethe" could not have been made tho rich
comprehensive many sided work it is had Mr..
Lewes not tried his hand on such n variety OF
subjects In this discursiycnoss OF intellect no
more resembed the French oncyc,oppdists
OF the eighteenth century than English
men Of his own time. We arc told too that
his personal appearance temperament. man
ncrs. and general tone OF thought seemed
! rather TO be those OF a highly ACCOMPLISHED
foreigner than those Of IN Engishmnn. He
wa, II lightly built fragile man. with bushy
curly hair and a general shagginoss of beard
and eyebrow which reminded you OF scotch
terrier. His mouth was prominent; his eyes
were gray and deeply set under an ample
finely proportional forehead. His talk was
somewhat Wild and lawless, by turns delight
ing and shocking his friends by its gayety.
rocklessness. and genial abandon. What
doubtless rendered him specially attractive to
Mis3 Evans, whose mind seems to have de-
mnndcI the friction OF vigorous co n versation.
was the singularly stimulating effect Of his
companionship. the commonest topic serving
mont Of some pot philosophical theory:
gives US full and satisfactory account Of all
helped to mould Georgo Eiot's lie. She offers
US however. only An outline OF the events which
brought about her quusi-conjugal relation with
Iewos. At this crisis Miss Evans made her pri-
,.,a;,,,,,,n,a,,, ha,.,.,, ,,, sh.,,n,ma.
'el"''sh'e"' u''m UNIV net
standard OF her country. but in harmony with
hor own convctions q, riyht md wrong II
appears that from girlhood she had held inde
pendent views about marriage strongly atyo-
-. ~, ~ -. -. - nc ..
eating tho German divorce laws On tho ap-
poarnnce OF Jane Eyre" when everyone was
praising the exemplary conduct of the heroine
III hsr FAMOUS ihler'ie" WIN hochos'er'
Miss Evans, then only four-and- twenty,
rawort,d 70 frInnd lint in III,
~
position she consluoreh lSochester )ustilnblo
in contracting u fresh union although 1t could
not h, +, ,,.rriav. in thu ava n, tina law Inst
nv. w - 'ne vi ". W." "" 'uS'
such union as that into which Rochester I'm
plored Jane Eyre to enter was contracted by
Nav Ann Evans and q " Iawes Isoa, mar.
'h'''y Al" Evans MI" W. H. Lo""S. iek"' mar
race there could be mono. for though separ-
,t., !; ia 7