New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-11-25

teenih century divines who saw the finger Of the
| Deity in every happening Of life. The frankness
with which he spoke of such matters is In strong
contrast to the reticencc Of the professedly sec
u,ar writer's who exclude religious phrases
from their works What the difference was be-
tween such men Addison and Steele on the
one hand and Defoe on the other hand can easily
be ascertaned by comparison between Robinson
Crusoe" and the Spectator" 1t is to be remen-
bcred of course. that Defoe's parents intended
him for the ministry and that he remained all
his life a Presby terian Of the sort which Butler
describes as true blue" With lurking remi-
4 niscence perhaps Of the Scriptural censure on
those who look back after putting their hands
TO the plough he expressed regret in after life
that he drew near the clerical calling ana
then turned away. 1T was my disaster ne
wrote. first to be set apart for, and then TO be
set apart from the honor Of that sacred employ.
Imagination easily pictures him In gown ana
bands writing sermons and books not unlike
those which distinguished the earliest times IN
New England Like Mr.. Stevensons John
Silver" says Mr. Wright. "he was always a KIND
Of chapling.' and was quite as capable of preach
ing a sermon as those who wore a Geneva gown
It is obvious that Mr. Wrights method of in
terpreting such anecdotes in Defoe's writings az
that of Mrs Veal affects the whole range Of this
!
Defoe's word for It, how We TO know
whether he was in Jest or earnest with any
given piece that he wrote? If he had not been
put in the pillory reviei by those whom ne
meant TO befrend the word would never have
ascertaned that The Shortest Way with DIS
senters' was more thoroughgoing In lis irony
than Swft's demoniac essay on the propriety 81
picking ba bes in Ireland. There never was any
uncertainty about the meaning Of Swifts dow
Of the cruel Indifference of the English 10 the
miseries Of the Irish people; but one might read
Defoe's parody of the Tory Intolerance Of his
times without suspicion thai the author was
anything else than a skilful partisan OF eH-
IRENE Churchmen Ike Atterbury and Sa h
everel. Not the tenor OF the essay itself, but the
discovery of its authorship, fixed It's ironiaa.
purpose Il was not merely the fact that Defoe
was a Dissenter, but the popular conception of
him as a man who delighted in the graves' fool
ing that gained for this famous skit which
reused all England Ike earthquake the APP
p.ause Of the Wings and drew upon lis auth"r
the fierce vengeance Of the Tories. rms char-
acteristic was noteworthy in him even whef" the
matter was only a trihins practical joke. When
ne was youth i'm the midst OF the insane popu-
lar rage over the pretended disclosures Of Pop'sh
plots by Titus Oates. n could not refrain from
lending hand to fellow who assured gaping
/
off the Monument II the watch had not made
them bring It back. they would certainly have
taken IT to France. IF you have any doubts.
exclaimed Defoe. his face grave but his eyes
twinkling you can 60 yourselves and Sc" the
workbench making all fast again" The same
amused feeling over the Popish scare was eX-
hib!ted many years afcrward In pamphlet OF
"Advice to All Parties on the eve Of general
election In 1905 Peace was then the burden 81
Defoe's song. The country was in ~ "anger
from slavery nor from Popery. As TO the latter,
the very name OF Il set the whole Nation In an
unroar "Those who do not understand H." add
ed Defoe. hate II by tradition. and believe
! there are a hundred thousand plain country i"i-
/ lows in England who would spend their piood
against Popery that d. not know whether it be
a man or a horse" He not only dearly loved a
Joke but he also took pains to envelop himself
in mystery. 1t was not always easy 10 pin MN
down to plain faci. He preferred t. gather
round IL all the details which h. could discover
or invent The simplest affairs took on In this
way the hue Of romance. yet without losing their
familiarity He dd this not only in his writings.
but IN his own lie. Among the novelu's IN TINS
volume is a group # letters rcatng 10 the court
ship and marriage Of Dcfoe's daught"f Sophla
Her lover Henry Baker who subsequently won
fame as a naturalist. found his syeethearts
father hard 10 manage. The older man. was
especially sccrctiyc in respoct 10 money matters
He would neither give nor refuse the dowry OF
his daughter and h. delayed the marrag" unill
the young man wrote t. Sophia. What your
father now designs 20 DO with us I cont pre-
tend to guess. for his purposes are alt'ys dark
and hideOus': and again a stroke a. the most
acute criticism. applicable not only 10 IN" man.
but 10 his literary works. Your father loves 10
hide himself in msts.
These peculiarities Of Defoe. partly ingraincd
and partly the result Of life which alternaicd
between poverty and splendor. between the
debtors prison and confidence NJ royalty be-
tween obloouy and popular idoIairy lead Mr.
Wright to make a curious analysis ~ Robin
son Crusoe" not as a story Of adventure but as
an alleeorv Of the author career II II
needless 10 tell anew what everybody knows
that the romance was suggested by the eN-
periences Of Alexander Selkirk on the Island 81
Juan Fernandez The devices by which this
lonely sailor kept himself alive and retained the
memory Of his native language were enough 10
give Defoe the hint for his narrative. He heard
SeIk!rk's story from his own lips But much
more was needed to create the character or
Robinson Crusoc. This Mr.. Wright hnds In De
foes own eccentrcities. His misfortunes as
tradesman. and his long. improbable apprentice
snip as an author may have led to unpleasant
/ ouarrels In his family. At all events Defoe
himself tells Of a whom he knew that
vowed never to speak at home. owing to the
angry outbreaks which he was guilty Of when
provoked by the taunts Of his wife and children
1t was habit he had to conceal illusions to his
own experience under references to a third per-
son and Mr. Wright. following the lead Of 9TH
ers holds that this anecdote of domestic unhap-
piness was a bit Of self-confession. The un-
known man. whether Defoe or another main
tanned his VOW Of silence for more than twenty
eight years Mr. Wright believes. but OF course