The Savannah morning news., 1901-05-27
BOOK NOTICES.

Henry Bourland; The Passing Of the
Cavalier" by Albert Elmer Hancock
The Macmillan Company, New York.
Cloth, $3.50. This novel, though purely
work of fiction, contains a great deal that
is as close to truth as most history is.
The author, a Northern man, has evil
IDENTIFY made close study of the people
and of the institutions and political and
social conditions of the times and locali-
ties of which he writes
What he. aims to show is the civilization
that existed in Virginia prior to the Civil
War, and the measures that were EN-
ployed to bring about its destruction. The
impression that is made upon the reader is
that to the drastic character of these
measures was due most of the bitterness
that existed so long after the close of the
war between the North and the South
in fact, that the bitterness was due more
to the harshness with which the work of
reconstructing the South was conducted
than 10 the war itself And now and
then the thought comes into the mind of
the reader that If Lincoln had lived there
would not have been long years of sec
tional bitterness.
Henry Bourland was the son of Vir-
ginia planter, a member of one of the
oldest and most distinguished families Of
the state. The planter was an aristocrat
as his ancestors for generations had been
and his wealth was considerable. The
story opens just at the beginning of the
war. The planter was attached to the
Union, but felt 1t his duty to follow his
state. He was too old to go into the
army, but his son, Henry enlisted, and
won fame in the famous Pickett charge
at Gettysburg. Henry was badly wounded
in that battle, and was carried to near
by hospital where he met the daughter of
the surgeon in charge, Northern GIRL
who, in the course of a few years became
his wife. Almost Immediately after the
close Of the war Henry Bourland came
into possession of the plantation, and The
story of his efforts and of the white people
generally to prevent the carpetbaggers
scalawags and negroes from running the
state by means of corrupt legislation, and
from robbing the planters and farmers OF
the old regime by means of oppressive
taxation is graphically told. The levelling
process the effort of white dema gogues
to put the negroes on a level with the
whites, is pictured so strongly that 1t is
apparent why there was so much bitter
feeling in the South against the North.
The REIMBURSEMENT movement, which
played so important a part in Virginia
politics, is dealt with at considerable
length Those who remember that phase
Of the politics of that state will recognize
the fiction as being pretty close to the
facts.
The chief interest in the story is, of
course, in the career of Henry Bourland.
He was a genuine type of the aristocratic
Virginia planter and It was repugnant to
him to take part in the kind of politics
with which Virginia was cursed In recon-
struction times He proved himself a true
man, however, under all circumstances,
and made a brave fight for his traditions,
his ideals and his home. He attained con-
siderable prominence in fact became a
leader of his party, but finally went down
In defeat I'm the REIMBURSEMENT movement.
His lands went by piecemeal, and finally.
his home passed into the possession of
carpetbagger, a bitter enemy, who had
plotted his ruin for years. Henry Bour-
land is a strong character, with weak
points, but from the beginning to the end
Of the story he holds the respect and adj
miration OF the reader
The love scenes, OF which there are
several. show the skill Of a true artist No
one who had not a fine insight into hui
man nature could have written them.
He could not have made them satisfying.
The author must have made a very
thorough study Of the political and social
conditions that prevailed in the South dur
ing the Reconstruction period, as we'll as
Of the purposes OF political parties at
that time. Otherwise he could not have
produced a novel that would come any
where near meeting the approval Of those
who were actors in the Reconstruction
drama. The fact that the truth is APP
preached so closely adds greatly to the
interest and value Of the book.
The author has q superb command OF
the English language, which he uses with
fine effect when there Is a chance for the
display OF eloquence or call for deBcrip-
tive writing or moralizing. There are
number Of dramatic incidents, and they