New-York tribune., 1908-11-14
IN VICTORIAN TIMES.
Some Glimpses of Literary
Celebrities.
Literary
Some

MEMORIALS OF TWO sIsTERs susanna . and
Catherine WLnkworth Edited by Their NIECE st
Margaret j. shaen With two portraits. SVo'
PIP. 34l- Lorgmans Green & Co
The two sisters revealed in this volume be-
Ionged to an admirable English type. They we're
women of acute and cultivated intelligence, OF
deep religious feeling, and of a benevolence as
wise as il was instructive. They went through
life helpful unselfish and warm hearted pair,
broad in their sy1npathies and sane and whole
some in their outlook on life. They had intel
iectual tastes, and though they did little orig
nal work their translations from the German
viii long render their names familiar Susannas
abors included, among other things, the three
bulky volumes of THE Life and Letters of
Niebuhr; and GATHERINGS collections of hymns,
published under the title of ''Lyra Germanica.'
are known TO most Englsh-s speaking communi-
ties. The larger number of letters in this vol
ume concern religious questions. The pages
which particularly appeal to the general reader
those in which Susanna and Catherine and
a third sister. Emily. set down their impressions
of the celebrities encountered in their many
visits to London.
Emily made no contributions TO literature,
but her letters quite readable as are
those of her two elders. She had neat little
gift of description. Barry Cornwall. the poet,
she found 10 be oldish, small, bald and pink
faced She thought it nice face. so
good and kind and full of feeling; little timid
look about it, and Mr.. s. GaskelI says he has it
in his character, too Samuel Rogers at eighty
seven Emily thought very interesting looking
the icbitest head and face 1 ever saw, and
must have been very handsome when young!
And then he young such very long time
agO-that is the greatest interest; remembers
having had his hand DR. Johnson's knocker
and going away after all without daring to
knock from shyness of seeing the great man;
being in Edinburgh, too. at the same time
Burns, and hearing of him as a rough, odd per
son whom il hardly worth while to take
the trouble to know Rogers showed his guest
some of Byrons letters-one beginning, in
swer 10 some joke of his friends: NO, / have
not yet taken TO wife the Adriatic but wish
the Adriatic would take my wife, and then I
should etc, There another OF the poets
letters about his wife of very different sort.
really beautiful says Emily, 'remorsefuI and
sympa thizing." Carlyle talked to her IN strain
exactly like his writings which disappointed
her He was not hard and wiry looking
she expected-''a redder face and more kindness
and softness in it-rather underhung
and he lolls and fdgets about in his chair all
the time in the most disiointed way" There
is a lively story of the sage at a dinner where
he was in high feather and went on against
him. spending their lives trying to whitewash
what God Almighty had made black and meant
to be black, instead of doing good to unfortu-
nate honest people" etc. Miss Eliot was not a
philanthropist of the submissive sort. She
looked from Carlyle TO Froude. sitting at the
other end of the table. and pleasantly remarked
TO Dean Milman at her right, Pretty we'll to
talk about making black white when we are
sitting between the whitewashers of Henry VIII
and Frederick H. compared to whom our ragged
children white already It is added that
both Froude and Carlyle were immensely
amused.
Concerning the author OF ''Esmond" there is d
characteristic little anecdote: You know how
very tall Thackeray is-six feet three or four?
A Mr.. Hisgins-Jacob Omnium in the Timcs-is
a great friend of his and fun seven feet one.
When the Spanish giant WAS exhibiting in the
Strand the two vent together to see him. and
walking up to the man at the door said: of
course you admit free.-two Of the profession
you sec which he accordingly did" Emily met
Mazzini. and told her sisters he was simply the
most wonderful looking she ever saw. He
was little man, with mouth and chin covered
with black hair: Forehead high and clifflike
with cayerns underneath for his eyes: great
round temples, with little scanty black hair
straying them. Altogether a perfectly
straight face, straight nose; straight lines
across strong chin, erect set head looks like the
sort of man that everybody round him can't help
obeying: strange color over his face, sort of
graz. ashy halo. not like the white or yellow
paIeness one sees always Then his eyes YOU
know about; the only ones I ever saw that
looked like flames. / certain before
that / had seen finer faces than his and vet /
couldn't help feeling If / had never seen
genius before" In of GATHERINGS letters
there is an account of curious interview with
Charlotte Bronte just before her marriage to
Mr.. Nichols:
Lilly Mrs. Gaskelll drew me In directly to the
Tfs room sn whispering % Say something about her mar
began; .! was very glad 10 hear something Mrs
That you are not going to be alone an. more
;o7 She leant her head on her hand and said very
1T viii be great happiness for YOU 10 have
and it is a great thing 10 be the first object with
any one :; She stopped and then went on:
to this You viii have to care for his things.
instead Of his caring for yours & is that H.? Yes
together so long already that you know what
his things are very well. He is very devoted to
his duties IS he not?-and you can and would like
help him In those?' 81 have always been used
to those. and IT is one great pleasure 10 me that
PARISH there is quite a rejoicing his return.
ceai from myself that he is not Intellectual there
are many places into which he could not follow
Consoled by her friend with the reflection that
Mr.. Nichols was reliable person. and that a
man OF firm. constant, affectonate. reliable nat
uTe. with ioierable practical sense. was good
thing i'm home. the bride-eect acouiesced
still" she said-and one can almost hear Jane
Eyre talking about her cousin St John--still
such a character would be far less amusing
and interesting than a more inpUlsive and
nckle one: it might be duIli" Miss Bront4 went
on to say that her future husband WAS Pusey-
ite and very stiff. and she added Il fear it VIII