New-York tribune., 1894-04-08
DIR. HOLLAND.
A BRIEF NARRATIVE OF HIS CAhfhf"


xi 2OS. Charles Scribners Sons
DR. Holland has been dead thirteen years. and
this little book IS the first formal record OF his
life The fact is. perhaps. additional evidence
or the wav in which Dr. Hollands influence
vyIdened throughout his career As n man ana
as an author he presented not salient and eN-
ira ordinary characteristics. but symmetry
which seemed to be that of the average man.
AT all events he described as an average
man. who spoke to other men almost from 'neir
own level. But the average man would ma SUCH
work as Or. Hollands well out or MS reach
I, does not seem far away. but he can no more
co,,uro q and make It his own than he can
clutch ill-O'-the-wisp. In the long run lhlS
individual quality whether the name OF genius
be denied TO it or not has something OF the erect
Of genius 1t preserves the work OF an author
for later generations. 1t keeps his name before
the minds Of the comparatively few who med
do with the rast. and yields but slowly to those
influences which erase all names but one OF
two in \ century from that icy monument which
Chaucer described. Mrs. Plunhett herself raises
the question as to how long Dr. Hollands works
will continue to be read. But she hardly waits
70 answer her own query in full. She observes
that the authors even of ono hundred years AZ"
are read by few. and she satisfies herself WIFI
tho Thought. that tho literature Of an age goes
to the making of the race ana so lives in futur"
Individuals II is not hard to believe that io the
last moment Of his poshumous rcnown thc r''-
sons OF Or Hollands influence among inc people
Of his own age will continue to be- III dispute
Put the day thus anticipated Is sun distant ~
is shown by the testimony Of this book ana ON
the public with whom the writings Of TINS 'har-
actcrstic New highlander beiray no loss o. raF'r'
Dr Holland touched many forms of literature
In his early work Gold Foil" he trenrheu upon
n field which had been pre-empt"d by famous
Snaniard But comparison between Graciah an"
Holland would have TO 60 by contrar'es' Inc
Spanish priest had the breeding ~ jesuit "'
had tho literary skill Of a successful romance
writer and he lived just at the time In th'
eovon,eonth century when style in all Western
Europe had taken on what In England would n'
called tinge Of Euphusm. II was not "A good
etlo FOR telling the truth in but f. was brilliant
when put 10 some other us"s II enabled ''"''""
70 combine a mild cyncism with a seeming can
1r tho qentlerosg Of n dove with the cunning
~ earnont In a way that was quite b"ttCHS
IN his nrofession Put for the rough and ready
necessities ~ real life Gracian's maNms ana
comments were Of no more use than Damascus
blade would BE- for peclinR potatoes. ON 'n'
other hand It was Just TO heal or m i""S' 10
soften the hurts of real lie that lr. h'lhhu
wr,te He chose therefore. the simplest sayings
. ,ho ,oorlo not those worthy = REWARD the
Fox but those suitable 90 honest. rus"phistl'"'''
creatures IL did not aim as Gra'ian han pro-
fessediv done 10 instruct men no." 70 Ee' on
whether hy fair meanG or ny III E'r'- ''' ''-
structei them how - endure ID" ills 81 me- NO"
- eu,oo,cn their own sorrowa. how - l." better
rather than how to bc more succ'Ssiu. I"9''"''
~ cynical distrust, he offers the faith with when
4 g.
balanced epirrammatc sentences. his com
,rontar, on tho proverbs which hc selects is IKE
y Ut,lc sermon He wrote. az MIS-. Ilunk'tl
cave ror The plain workadav people. VINO
pIoueb and sow and reap. who spin ana "''F'
/ and forge. and run engines. ana perform '"'
thousand and one tasks Of tho h'us'h"'' ~ i
neople had no time to daily with cplcuf"ah ic''S'
nvor the uiceties Of n brilliant and p'liSh'd S'|''
yvha. they demanded. consciously Cr Uh'""-
so,o,,elv and what Dr Holland gay" fhrm WIFI
o,,, ,,or,nuch thought a. To form, was To be- in
/ struc,od or at least reminded oi th"ir "W" 81
( roc,s ~ their own temptations ana trl"'S ""''"
heset them I'm the narrow field {" wm'h '"o"
-,.a,.,r y,s confined 'Ic addressed them
all" adds Mrs Plunkctt. "on the ''fi'''""'S'
,,,nos ~ omissions and negccts and as to
rbases of their lives had hc not seen th"n '''
/ -, the vandorings and yicssiudes ana ''p-
,,.,,. would hurry her bread into the oven. ana
,.i,o hor SATURDAYS paper and tear OF the
,,,or saving I must see what Timothy III
..,,h eavs this week before she washed her
Aas or looked at the marriages and deaths
mo may believe that he spoke to real want
~, a,droeeed an audience that was waiting u
be taught" ,,.ua, -,
Whatever form Of literature Or Holland AZ
tenptcd. he was has often h"en Siin'
rreacber The keynote of his Writings was
str,ck in his proverbal discourses Whether !"
- or nrosc fiction. or editorial essay or pub
uc ,ncture ne meant To teach. But curlouSS
orough ne never aimed to teach people anything
which they did not already know. II ne hao
tboughts which President Lincons plain peo-
pc had not. ne kept them for the most part u
himself What he did was to make the Uu'"
,hat law IN peoples minds a matter Of conscience
with them Naturally, though perhaps heeu
,ess,v. Mrs. Plunkett contrasts him with the
proup OF writer's and thinkers whom she calls
tho transcendentalists The contrast is OBJ
vious enough and yet IT Is needless; Tor on thf
nr1nciple that what is one mans meat Is another
! nar,s noison there was room in the world and
,,orge enough for all the workers whether they
,abored for the many or the few. IL Is not II
tho tonper OF all 10 be men and women OF
faith though perhaps faith-ln ones self, In hu
manIty in Dvinity-is characteristic OF the ma
iorty II was Dr. Hollands good fortune t
be in harmony with the largest part OF man
kind here II is hard to take seriously mucf
that Is said about the struggle with doubt %
DR.. Holland In his younger days. Sceptlcsn
could only have rufned the surface OF such
nature as his. The men who are really an
normal in this aspect Of their mental life' wh'
doubt because eft is their nature to-. do no
escape from the Castle OF Old Giant Despair
so easily In most cases. God help them. they
never do escape. but groan forever In the prisoI
OF their own defects. 1t may be Imagined tina
Dr. Holland would hardly have understood sucs
,ooc tIa had no fancy for the petulant dis