Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-06-30
CHICAGO LETTER.
Inc Writings Of George ElIot--A
Gifted Woman.
sketches Of Her Early Life aud Ed.
uoation.
Inc Effects Of Her Writings upou Tho
Present Day.

CHICAGO, June 25.-Notwiths,ana
ing the TACT that In these days of warm
discussions about political candidates
ana the very large amount Of time
which is surrendered to affairs Of state
she SUMNER vacation season Is upon Us
ana there lisa good deal Of time for
reading something else besides polit.
zeal ISLANDERS and campaign fabrica.
IONS What shall we read? In th;s
no, weather surely not Draper's In.
,ellectual Development OF Europe or
Emerson, Carlyle or. Bacon's ESSAYS.
they are too deep and reading then,
requires 80 much thought and atten-
ton that 1t Ia more Ike labor than
recreation. Something light and en-
pertaining In desirable during the
summer months. Yet wa
90 not wish to worse than waste Tina
ny selecting brain food such as il fur-
nished by Peck and his bad boy. That
Is very good to be taken In small doses.
by people who only read II for the fun
oil the thing, but there is such a thing
as iinding so-called light reading thai
IL at once entertaining and instructive.
Chi.i among the authors who could
be read with great profit by a much
larger number OF people OF all clas,es
Is George Eliot. The novels of this
gifted woman are generally entertain.
ing TO those who read merely for the
sake OF the story, hut as studies and
faithful pen pictures of life they are
doubly interesting to those who care
TO look below the surface.
10 say nothing whatever about her
work rs novels, there is much that can
be said about her philosophy, about
her way of looking at and solving the
problems Of life.
The philosophy of George Eliot Is
valued for what II is worth by readers
who think seriouslyon the problems of
life; II is appreciated almost uncon-
sciously by others who are impressed
with IL, yet do not recognize IL in is
setting of fiction. There are MARY
people who cannot see sermons i'm
stones and trees and running brooks;
because in those objects they can see
no resemblance to the conventional
sermonizer. AS has been said of q. e.,
s ,le Us 700 ihuch OF an artist TO label
ne, morals, ana nowhere can be found
~ nel wriling any trace Oh asys,em
Vi Pnllosophlc tnought' Ihere Is
still larger number OF readers who
read Adam Bede, Romola, Mill on the
Floss as they would read any other
novel, for the mere thread of the story.
we Usually only associate her
hahe Win nction,.witn story telling,
ou. she Is; IN h,ge uegfee, OF more
vaiue W tne woriu III u scien,ihc way
tnah bain, spencer Huxley aud
otneis, because WINE tney formulated
new anu granu theories ana taught
.heln III terms Vi science anu phlisso.
pny sucn as pnilosoPbeis only couid
ul ue sue Applies .ne Principles
10 me, anu SHOWS tuell praclicai WORK
me IN nuinan eApetience: george
wins Cooke says: Lneir aims, spirit
anu .enue ,1s; nave lounu II, ner u
, ha eln y snr anu seapPeat ~
mel Lag a' VIII. y, sen,as anu a,Sr
clea'ions' mnaa 'meS , a,, w ,nns,.
they ieuu ~ not 30 wen SHOWN IN the,r
own BOOKS as IN hers. ohe was sole
10 see what they couia NOT themselves
discoVer-tne eiisct oi ,neis .eacliings |,
on man ~ an inaivl9uh, anu as = social
Deing. iney M 1heorizeu anu she pun
INTO practlee. 10 iearh wnat tne ag,
nostic ana ev9lu.ioh pniivsopny 9i
Tue times .eaclss a s,s 'no soei I'M.
nlo1ai anu ieiiS,ous nie ~ mani r, IN.
nau uetveI ~ .ne P"s.soi oeo,se i.',o'
1nan 70 .lose y, Spenoe, I tLi,Pe.
Iyndaii ana LeWes. one "aS aiiiihher
in every way tneir equa: ihel tneo-
ries oil lie ana us inaniIoiu prooienis
were expressed oy them III pnnosopn-
zeal ana scientihc terms 80 teciihical avs
TO be ABOVE the comprehension vi any
put Wiling, coinPe.eh. anu ea~e,
learners-lust the ones WIN, leas' VI
all, need 10 be speclaiIy aud,esseu, pc
cause they VIII oVercoG ne an up aaaSoS
and learn anyway. lney p leaouiou
over the neads OF Tue vast coneIega.'oi
so badly In need OF their teachings.
They generated nght' WIsnout being
darkness, save through such
conductors ms Matthew Arnold
and George EiloL, whose
lamps of poetry and hctloh nave
shed their beneficent rays upon tne
minds OF the multitudes., George
Eliot and Matthew Arnold are lne
truest Literary e1ponen.s Oh .ne sc, ,,n,n
OF positivism ana tne LI,eoiy =, e'1, as
ton that the nineteenth century mas
known. Theirs Is termed tne hgn'
Of positivism. a.,
George Eliot not only entertains me
muses., but lnstructs. Her philosophy
is so interviewer with nature, ana hu-
man experience and realistic charac-
tiers, as hardly to be recognizaD'e OF
from what we see anu
hear and feel In our every. day expe