New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-11-12
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
MccARruYs FOUR GEORGES.

M ypi Harper lfothcrS. 49,.
rhe erst volume of Mr.. McCarthysne new h's ,..
- oxhibits the same excellent qualities
To- ,,, familiarity for his "llis,ory of Our own
,r,,os lie has great skill in telling story. Ills
,a,ro,ive il ccar easy and rapid. His pefsohases
.,,, alive lila Judgment In the seieo'lon Nv" VI
,onrctnent OF incidents is rarely ~ iani' "o %
an artists eye for effect. His style a'nous"
oitcn lacks dignity aud precision. ana ien'"os w
n, times of the hasty aud ephemeral "i'"hs V, W.,
i,,,,a,ist rather than the deliberate work vi the
historian, ~ bright and cntcrtann9' hueh' WIN
out much rrolixitv. and Hight without 'uI'"i"l VI
false utnsmcnL lie maishnls and posee 'h' "V'o,
IA the story with adiuithes7, nuu mae'N W.
nn,saniati,n If their surroundings ~ wei IA W
choir characters. theft purposes ana th'' "''".'
Thus ha pages. II neither brilliant ho' P'"i""""
ara aimost jnynrnhl, readable rhtt o' tue
married. covered hy thls hfHt volume ~ WV
nuanfees" a. hnttcn 1T important eNehiR' nut 'h','
IA yey little which the most deanllofS ichdrf WIN
be tempted to skip, Aud tho book Is NOT "'N WAY
a. read u II also easy Ia fomomheh -
mo historians estimates at men aud oi measures
are positiye but his temperament Is mou''"''' w.
the ius,ice of his intentions ~ uhniisiaA"p''' ~
iudqes the men of the Georgian CT" "o' w VIZ
higher standards and ampler knowledge OF our
time but by the habits and circumstances "n" ''''
i,cI information of their own day ana YET WIN
IN ,ho allowance, which an equitable disposition
n
ohliges HIM to make, IT is but sorry company VI
xe,aI statesmen and iagitious patriots which ITO
exuoses to our regard. The display OF personal cn
scier is The more minute because ms methou VI ms
torcal composition is the dramatic ra'her Via" 'e
nb,losophcal. He touches but briefly the eio"'
of nopular ideas the development OF cohsti'"..o""
,r,nciples and the relations Of the various Euho-
mean States to one another he exhipts inc HIS
tory of England rather in the rise and fai' inc am
b;tons and intrigues. of her famous pnolic "e''
and her royal favorites Undoubtedly there arc
o,ols &C history which cannot be properly treated
!, this manner: but England at the beginning OF
+he e,yhteenth century, when fortune seemed 10
bas;ta,e be ween the house of Stuart and the houso
os Hanover Nlr Mccarthy believes that majority
of the Nation if a plcblscite could nave oeeli
taken would have voted for the the RESTORATION y,
Tho Stuarts IN preference 10 the Importation VI
George I)-Englanl at this time was VIVA. nei
,ol;,;c;ans made her. and the national destnhes
were controlled TO a remarkable degree 10y .ne pr
vate ,mpuses of individuals. In MI MCCARTHY
nares the actors in the great drama move De'ofc US
with all their splendors and their 1aui's' 'ne'I n'su
schemes and their selfish desires, nearly as they
appeared 10 their contemporaries; ana III many
cases the representation is notab life-ike. mus
xv,tbout any special attempt at portralt-paln'ihs'
bo cots before H. striking ngurcs of Marlborough
NJ Ro,inghroke of Oxford the Harley so aDsuruiy
overpraisea by Pope, of Townshead OF Stanhope
of Attcrhnrv of Carterct. of Pulteney. hoDert
Walpoe is perhaps the most elaborate ana the mo''
successful of these fgure-peces:
Walpole was not a great man. lie wah'e eN.o aue
,,o,o, nualitcs which are indispensable 10 great
mnss }Jc was almost as much wanting in them as
Uonrbrokc himself. But If hisg genius was laI iess
brilliant than that of BolngpfokH nc VII al npii
furnished with patience and steadlncsS, lie coulo
,,n,, lilo did not devise half a dozen plans Tor one
narticnlar object. aud Nv from one to the o'her
whom the moment for action was Approaching anu
cnd hv rejecting them all when the moment for nc
,ion had arrived lie made up ms hlln 70 "a c ,.
lain cour e. and he held to II II ITS channr qlu no,
come to-day II might come to morrow. lie nag 3 no
hclicf in men siuccrity-or women cithcr Ineic
src ma reason to believe that the famous say ing as
,,ihed io HIM about every man having MS price,
ves uot nscd hv HIM in chat unlimited sense tnat
hc only spoke of "thcsc men OF certain mcn-.
rnd said that every one oi lrm hau nis p,'r ., nuS
"ur Il, men might safely hc cVicnd.d TO- All ncn
he had coarsc hccntcns ul'Hio, 'T vn9"n'u io
,o,uplrV nf loose women. lie loNcu op'c'uV '"'N
,n, ,,r,rly dld hr love IL, but hc induged ~ nnd
encouraged II Tor practical purposes ~ ms owni ne
thnne D, 1t useful 90 mems dinner poueN nrnDhV II
t,iJ gnj snircihina tn say. tne could not cNl
Nninnie n pni int IN the hipher sense he wanted
nil, g.tnrr that fine hbte in BIZ nature, ,hhl eN-
nitrI half-puetic iceng, that faculty ~ ih9gino-
ti5n whel uuckcns practical aud prosaic ohicrls
With Tie spiri Of the IDEAL Gnl which are needed
,n ,nate man u itupt ~ the nohle'i meanine ~
,be wmj nn, he loved his couutry ~ his own
heavy. practical, mattei-oi-iart s9r ol way anu
ban,.urd tn he most useful tp Ineland Let II I've
saiJ 100 ~ ia tirp in Nalrrp. that the must 70
cite and ltrilnl nature yon'u hale lounH NV
tnhart iut rni hnsiasn ~ the lhalanu ~ Nalpoe
.otlipt ii,iipal taippn " was nut exactly tie are
Jos Putin Sidney 80 iot Miiloh' tnr Iiaii,,,
homo cad tieisn p9liry had ~ tna7 been ilish,,
itfiv i4u1Dia, AZ hnpia 4 bad heap pohlict ~
moan mtnanesi ahfead, rrli,' ~ salhs ellia',rh9
AZ n,iii,.T, asnns of Marlborough eei, ahehe
n did a. Il 10 uW lhin more rihp lAhi tue ~
falnY ut tho iuniehps ahA tu'S !" Whlth y Waa
often sacTic,d, 30 man p4hd 10 enihNaiastip
aheut (yleon Anne OF Goarge the INST The states
men ~ Ia nTofessed the utmost aid"i Ion lhe STUART
cause were ready To aell AZ m"'n, "f tIose
VIVA groyelled before King George were known to
have been III treaty. up TO inc lasl' WIN his iva"
We may excuse Walpole H. under sueh coniliohs
he Iook n pIosaio view of the state OF things
aud mad, his patriotism very pIac.ifal sort 81
serv ice 10 his country, ~ Wa, a. INV; w1 to,
most M need of. WalpOle applied himself to secure
for his country peace aud Tetrenc Iinent. lie ala
not indeed maintain sacred principle o. peace
h. lad no sacred principle about any thing, We
shall see more lately that he dld not sciupe, ior
party reasons 10 lend himself to wahton ana use
less war; well knowing IT was Wahton ana Useless;
bu his general policy one OF peace, ana so long
as he had his own way there would nave been no
waste of Enganfs resources on iorelgn battle
fields lie dcspised war. and the trade of war, in
his heart. To him war showed only III us vulgar,
practical, and rcpulsve features me solder MS
man who got paid for the trade of killing. wal
pole might be lkened to shrewd and sensible
steward who is sincerely auxlous to manage his
masters estate with order and economy, and who,
for that very reason is willing to indulge his mas
ter's vices and 10 sanction his prodigallIes to a
certain extent knowing that If he attempts to
draw the purse-strings too closely an open rupture
Will he the result and then some steward Will come
in who has no taste for saving and who VIII let
everything 20 to rack and rum. lie was the hrst
of the long line of English ministers who protested
10 regard economy IS one of the great objects OF
craftsmanship. He established securely the prin.
ciple that to make the two ends meet was one OF
the first dutics of patriotism. He founded. if we
NAV use such an expression the dynasty OF states
mcn 10 which Pitt aud Peei aud Gladstone belong.
The change in our constitutional ways which set
up that new dynasty was oi infinitely greater I'M
p0rtancc 10 England than the change winch settled
the Brunswicks IN the place oil the Stuarts.