The sun., 1886-12-05
soAs NEW sOOka


soAB NEW S0OkA
cs-,yss's Hsrss Isttsrs.
YrRsr ARTICLE.
The collection Of Early Letters OF Thomas
CRarlpze. edited By CHARLES ELIOT NoRroN and
publish "a BY Macmillan. will bs cordially vol.
coined even By those who are BY no means In
slined TO swell the torrent Of indignation which
Mr.. Froude's biography has had the III fortune
to provoke. Mr.. Frouds thinks that he has
BEEN abominably treated. and that ho has
some ground for complaint seems evident
enough when We recall that he discha arged to
thsbest Of his ability q task which he did not
Invite and that although neither legally nor
morally bound to make over anr part OF the
compensation earned BY his time and labor to
Oarlyle's collateral relatives he has voluntarily
offered to Carlyle's niece much the larger
portion OF the proceeds accrulng from
the book. The purrort Of what Mr.. Froude's
critics aay Ia that somebody else could have
discharged the biographical function much
better. portraying moro Justly and nttractivey
tho characters OF Carlyle and OF his WIFE, 1t
would be OF course impossible to prove mega
tive. We arc nevertheless OF the opinion that
. man haa right to designate his own BIZ
oRrapher and that II he selects person with
whom he has been long acquainted he knows
what he may expect. Now, CARLYLE hnd eyes.
and chose Fronde. Whatever shortcomings
there may be In Froude's literary methods must
have been plain to Cnrlyle who vet. on the
whole. preferred him above all others. When We
further call to mind that he distinctly badO
his biogrnpher speak OF him as he was. 1t really
seems offlcnus. not to say impcrtine ent. to de-
nounce Mr. Froude for obeyinG the Injunction.
Tho opinions formed OF Cnrlyles personal
character. and especially OF his conduct toward
his wife. will be in no marked degree modified
by the letters here published. which cover tho
period bUtween 1914 aad 1896 the lust-named
year being that OF his marriage to Miss Welsh.
But the material collected BY Mr.. Norton is OF
very great assistance to those who wish to
watch and comprehend tho growth and trend
Of an extraordinary Intellect In the plastic aud
decisive years OF a mans life which intervene
between the ages Of nineteen and thirty-onc.
The first Of those epistles was ponned whom
Carlyle had just Hrudua uated from the University
Of Edinburgh; the last is love letter. written
BY him to Miss Jane Welsh about . week before
their wedding day. The dozen or moro
letters written In 1s14-l5 are the let
tors OF that rawest ana linpest Of Gre.
atsd things. a new-lsdgsd graduate. q
raw lad. who knows next to nothing.
and inA3ines be knows everything a strip
ing who assumes that the world Is all be-
fore him where to choose. but who will pres
emily discover that the world regards him
without confidence or even curiosity. As for
Door Tom Carlyle. the utmost that his father
hoped for him was that he might become
minister and obtain a modest parish. Even
this goal seemed far of. for Carlyle was
too poor. to keep his terms In the Divinity
School at Edinburgh. and had 10 support HIM
sell bv teaching school for bare plttance.
sending up at intervals a thesis on theologi-
eal subject TO tho professors who would pass
upon his fitness for the pulpit. Yet even
the letters written amid the drudgery OF
school teaching. which was hateful to
Carlyle. reveal tho cmnivorous activity Of
his mind. and Its astonishing powers Of
assimilation. Buy books he could not. and
when We consider how meagre were his fscilt-
ties for borrowing the extent. quality. and va
rfety of bis reading seem almost Incredible.
Outside OF HE natural abilities. his equipment
for study at the epoch when these lstters begin
was apparently In nowise remnrkable. He could
read French and he could read Latin as we'll as
the average graduate. but he knew very-little
Greek. asd 1t does not appear that he ever
much increased his knowledge Of that lam
guage. The range and character OF his read
Ing In Latin. French. and English Ito which
German was to be subsequently, added) will be
indicated in the extracts from his letters which
Ws shall lay before the reader. It will also
be noted that for . good many yoars after
graduation he devoted large part Of his time
to mathematics. The solving OF . problem or
the formulating Of a theorem are apparently
counted among his recreations. and he desms
asuocesstul performance OF tho kind a. enter.
tanning subject for familiar correspondence. II
10 indeed we'll known that long after abandon.
ing the plan Of entering the ministry. Carlyle
wished to become . professional astronomer
and triad to procure through Francis jeffrey az
appointment which would have iurthered hii
desire. By tho application OF mathematics te
ASTRONOMY man Of his unwe aried industry and
mental vigor might perhaps haye increased the
sum OF human knowledge. Yet in these sarlI
letters he expresses somo misgiving rs to the
utility. even from an educational point OF view
OF spending much time on tho pure mathe
matics.
Writing In October. 1874 the was then 1!
years old. Carlyle gives correspondent somt
account OF his recent acquisitions. which seen
to havs becn sufficiently heterogeneous
"slnco Isaw you have toiled through man,
Athlck octavo-mnny Of them to little purpose
Byron's and Scott's poems I have read, ant
must al mire. though you recolloct We used Il
give Cam pbell y decided preference. and still
think With Justice. Have you ever ssen Hoole'E
Tasso!' hive. among mnuy othors. road 1t
together with Leonidas.' the 'EplEoniad.
'OSeron' lin an English vorsionl. SAVAGE
poems. Nc. Mies Porters Scottish Chteis
and 'Waverey' have been the princIpa
Of my novels. With regard to Waver
Icy lit had Just been published ant
the author was unknownL I canno
heip rsmnrking that. In my opinion. 1t 10 tn,
best novel that has been published these thtrt!
years." At this time Carlyle was propar
ing one OF the theses which had to be sent VI
to Edinburgh as samples OF his Qualifc
for preaching; bo has begun to doubt his owl
vocation for the ministry but his orthodoxy i
still stalwart. MY sentiments on the clerlca
profession aro Ike yours. mostly OF tho unfa
vOrsble kind. Where would he the harm shoul'
we both stop2 I intended to hayo said some
thing of tho bigoted skeptcism OF Hume; bu
a. I am convinced YOU SEQ through his speciou
sophtsmB and detect his blind prejudice In fsvo
Of inHdelity shall defer It."
In . letter written In 1915 to ono OF his oil
college mates. we hear struck for the lrst time
though tentatively and feebly. ono OF the note