The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-04-16
RECENT PUBLICATIONS.


Oliver p. Morton will always remain a
great figure In Indiana history. He stood
"four-square to all the winds that blow
during the civil war-that time when mems
passions ran higher than before or since
in this ountry-and by very force of will
and character held the State in line with
the Union; supplying troops-an army in
it%self-to the national government on the
one hand, and q~uelling internal dissen-
sions on the other. Eulogistic tributes
were spoken in his honor on Saturday in
the House of Representatives at Washing
ton and members of the party which an
tagonized him when he was Governor
classed him as one of the great men of
the century. Antagonisms are past and
the events of the. war period have gone
into a background sufficiently distant to
afford a perspective that permits a recog-
milton of their dramatic, romantic and
humorous phases.
Miss Caroline Brown" of Crawfords-
vile. is the first writer to perceive the
literary value of this material, and mas
used it with admirable effect in a novel
Just published by the H~oughton-Mifhin
Company. entitled knights in Fustian-"
hat famous organization, the knights
of the Golden Circle" are thus happily
designated, and the doings of temples
of this order in Rifle and Honey Creek
townships, Middle county," form the chief
incidents of the tale. In a brief preface
the author explains that she has drawn
the facts of her narrative from many
sources, and that with the exception of
certain chapters dealing with sentiment
every incident is founded on facts, which
were the actual experiences of her kfth
and kin, or else the observation of eye
witnesses. The most important part or
them were CLEANED from the official record
of the treason trials, from various his
tories and biographies, and from the niles
of the Indianapolis Journal. Such a pref
ace is somewhat unusual in a novel. but
inasmuch as some of the incidents OF the
story may give rise to controversy. she
does well to fortify herself in advance.
The story opens with a quilting at the
home of a certain Mrs. Bowles, who is
described as an Amazonian woman who
had a b~oundless contempt for her own sex,
and was a hater of men because they failed
to make use of their opportunities. The
score of neighborhood women who had
been invited to the quilting wondered what
motive had led her to offer this unac,
later, she was in the confidence OF the
local knights" who wanted to spend the
afternoon in drilling, and wished their
''weemen folks" in whose ability to keep
silence tney Hdu nO ldltns ~ " IA "og
for the time. The immediate cause of the
sudden activity among the conspirators
was an impending draft which they IN
tended to resist. The majority OF these
knights are represented as ignorant
men with no inkling of the Ultimate de-
signs of their leaders, whose tools they
were. The possibility of being drafted into
the Union army was sufficient TO arouse
the fierce opposition of the rank and file.
but the plans of the Grand Council' in
cluded a cooperation with the Confederacy
and the overthrow of the existing govern
ment of State and Nation.
A young Union soldier at home on fur-
Tough Is one of the characters, and he and
his father, a well-to-do farmer OF the
neighborhood, are especial objects or
''copperhead' animosity. At a meeting of
the temple lots are drawn for the burn
ing of this farmers barn, and by design
the fatal slip comes to the possession of a
supplemented old man who considers the
oaths which bind him to the circle as
sacred, and who breads to perform the act
of incendiarism, but fears worse the fate
that threatens him should he refuse. The
chapter in which this barn-burning occurs
is very dramatic. The ~daughter of this in
cendiary is a Unionist and the heroine of
the tale. and her difficult position, both be-
fore and after her fathers tragic death, is
well described. Other characters are a tin
peddler, who worms himself into the con-
fdence of the temples leaders and takes
all the degrees of the order, but proves
finally to be a spy In constant communica-
ton with Governor Morton. Several his
torical personages are introduced. VAL
landigham. supreme commander of the
knights, is mentioned frequently. Mr..
Dodd, grand commander. appears upon the
scene on the occasion of a barbecue and
makes a speech. On this same occasion
is a speaker who is thus described:
1.-The orator came forward to the edge
of the platform, and his tall figure,
crowned by a massive head covered with
tawny hair. that hung long and thick
about it like a lions name, his smooth
shaven chin. brilliant, crafty eyes that
could suffuse with tears at his will. lips
that curled with bitter sarcasm or melted
into a smile as gentle as a childs, made
him a man of remarkable and impressive
presence. There was that in his bearing
which stamped him a leader of men,
d~emagogue though he was"
His name Is not mentioned, but Indiana
readers of the book will recognize the
portrait.
The speeches made aroused the worst
passions of the disloyal men present, and
when the rash young Union soldier at
tempted a reply a furious mob rushed to-
ward him. One man whose ire he had
especially aroused fired at him, but the
bullet missed its aim and killed a deputy
sheriff. The murderer, who, Ii was dis
covered, was a recent conner in the neigh
borhood, and a rebel escaped from Camp
Morton. was captured in a few days and
hanged without the aid of judge or jury.
These tragic incidents are well presented
and leave a vivid impression on the read
er's mind. Throughout there is an appre-
citation on the authors part Of dramatic
values and a sense of literary proportion
seldom found in a first novel. Indeed,
though IL deals with actual events IL Is
far from being a bald narration of facts.
but has that i~ndefinable thing. the genuine
literary quality. This is shown in the
| pleasing diction, bits of character drawing.
the under current of humor, the sympa-
| thetic descriptions of nature. These de-
scriptions betray at once the actual loca-
ton of rifle township and Middle
county to one acquainted with the
topography of Indiana, but nothing is lost
by this touch of realism.
knights in Fustian," considered merely
as a romance, is a book quite out of the
common and a distinct addition to the
| fiction of the day-a story which will hold
close attention for itself apart from its
historical bearings. Because of the side
lights ii throws on the events of a tenn
| pestuous period ii takes its place at once
as a supplementary history of the time
and must be considered i'm that light as
well as i'm it's ostensible class, fiction. His
torical novels are rare which combine both
| these qualities. and in this respect, so far
as recent fiction is concerned, IL is unique.