New-York tribune., 1903-04-12

yr,s Of her from a mistress who seemed
. sensible trustworthy woman, L should not be
.. sTl afraid that after a few weeks she would
a. ,l enough IL II were not for Mr.. C-'s fright
-, Tr,T,s:.9T.ce with any new servant unframed
~ az rIs WIS which would drive new woman
- of the house with heE hair on endr III al
,,s o ,o act directly upon her. So that have
e. stand between them. and initiate IN a small.
tT1,hle way the Roman soldier who gathered MS
80 flIl Of the enemies spears ana received
g. ali ,nro his own breast II is this which
-nsres q change of servants, even When 1or the
better a terror to me IN prospect anu aiA as0hS
Ga realizatiOn-for q ulne4
r- Alexander Carlyle is pat with his COM
+ ..T,bis IS Of course, exaggeratve lam
c,,age" be sapientIy remarks If any one, re-
,e-,hering the kind of man that Carlyle was,
C 5isnosed TO murmur that his wife may, after
all have put the thing with no eXaggeratlon
st all the editor is duly on hand to correct
him He appeals TO witnesses. Who are they?
The servants themselves by all that's chival-
roDs and quaint. Some OF the old servants
have fortunately put on record their opinions
% their Master" We offered their names.
I'D We are told what one of them has to say
on tba subject and as though this were not
o-.,sbinr enough. the editor continues: See
,,- Reginald Blunts interesting article, Mrs
,-o-,yle and Her Housemaid,' in The CornhilP
Cor october 1901" The article may be trans
cendently Interesting; it may deserve TO be
snal,e5 with a capital letter, but all we can say
IS ''FaughI"
The tone Of this astounding contribution to
tbe literature of the Carlyles is the tone of Sir
lanes Crichton- Browne and Mr. Alexander
CARLYLE throughout. To them Carlyle was a
..panacea Of all the virtues He was 'su-
prerneIy great and good man the most
rure,y Teutonic and grandly Titanic genius that
has vet arisen, he was a potent dra
matte poet fun Of fire, strength, impetuosity;
sentient to all that is beautiful mysterious or
sublime in the lot and fate of man. A
clear eyed critic and a just, a mighty
rnoralist, scorning cowardice and cant, and in
sisting on righteousness and truth, a
prophet some Of whose predictions are even
now being fulfilled, and an inspiring
preacher, inculcating reverence and godly fear
and kndling enthusiasm" If one asks, with
Froude. why this monster of perfection was
willing 10 absent himself from home while his
ailing wife struggled with house painters, Sir
lanes Crichton-Browne and Mr.. Alexander Car
lyle have an explanation ready to hand Mrs
CARLYLE preferred TO look after the work her
self preferred to have her husband out of the
way-and they are ready 10 prove it by her
letters II does net occur TO them, but it occurs
to US and must have occurred, we believe, to
great many others, that if Carlyle had been
the hero that his latest defenders consider him,
he would have Docketed his irritability, declined
TO fan in with his wife's generous proposal,
snothered all her protests, bundled her out of
the house. and wrestled with the painters 'off
his own bat" only, somehow, are not sure
that even If he had done this thing we would
have called him hero. There is much more
reason. We believe, for calling Mrs. Carlyle, in
the circumstances. q heroine