Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-13
BOOK REVIEWS.
LIFE AND LETTERS IF HERBERT
SPENCER. BY David nunca1. LIZ.
With Illustrations In wo Volumes.
New York- n Annie. IN e Co.

SPENCER. BY David nunca1 LID.
With Illustrations In I wo Volumes.
New York: D. Apple: & Co.
The author of this important work has
felt it advisable to set forth the reasons
for the publication of a biography OF Mr..
Herbert Spencer. within few years OF
the publication of his voluminous autooi-
ography. He cites agreement of twen-
weight years ago. by which Mr. Spencer
obtained from him promise to write his
life. In subsequent years. partly owing
to the great philosophers fears that his
own life Nigh, not be prolonged. and
partly because ne thought Mr.. Duncan
absence In India would render it difficult
il not impossible for the latter to fuln'l
his promise. he made other arrangements
When the other arrangements fell through
Spencer renewed his proposition to his
friend. and had a paragraph providing
for the matter inserted I'm his Will
Mr. Spencer, says the author, was
impressed with the truth that ones estl-
mate of himself is sure to err on the
side of excess defeCt-vanity. In one
case, self-depreciation i'll another, VIII
prevent we'll ba anced estimate of ones
self being arrived at. While not trying
TO hide his shortcomings, Mr. Spencer.
like all the finer natures shrank from
paradng the more attractive and lovable
aspects of his charaCtsr-thus permitting
that he was all brains and no heart
1t is true that the revelation of the
great philosophers personality MADE
through the medium of the observation
of friends. contemporary comment. opeh
GERS own correspondence and reported
conversation produce a much more COM
prehensibl2 personality than the average
reader could gain in any other fashion
The holding effects OF haredits ana en-
vironment the inescapable infueYe of
his Dissenter ancestors and of hist faith
er's and unCles tendency toward seen
tific investigation and statement chai-
longing, throw an illumination upon me
mental development of the futur> auth2r
of the evolution theory ard of the syn
thetc philosophy. In this connection the
publication for the first time in the ap-
pendix of the article on The Filia'ion OF
Ideas" which. being an intellec tual lis
tory of himself educidats the natural
evolution of the evolution theory. besides
serving as a sketch pan of tn, synthetic
philosophy. is OF great intere@t. In IT.
self an exceedingly valuable document,
its value is enhanced by the fact that it
was his fina contribution to the theory
OF evolution.
a very sympathetic aspect of Spencers
character is shown in his constant and
anxious care of his father and mother.
The fact that in the one case there was
the greatest intellectual companionShip.
and in the other only the devotion que 10
a gentle and self-sacrifcing personal ~,
appar ently> made no difference in the
philosophers flial affection. Fer the
rest the grouping of the material around
Spencers various intellectual phases and
interests Is the logical order. And there
is significance in the fact that this should
be For the dominant impression ere
ated by Mr.. Duncans book is that. WIN
allowance made for certain lofty and ad-
mirable attributes. Spencer was. pre-eml-
nently a wonderfully contrived thinking
machine His friendships were grouped
around intellectual sympathies. his con-
el%r Cd n
tellectual differences The enc point IN
which he departed from this general rule
was in relation TO children Ihere' IN an
a most pathetic tenderness. WfateE'r oi
the mans emotional nature life had OF
fered no outlet or found vent. With this
exception Mr. Duncan's book is a careful:
balanced portrait CT a brilliant mind and
a somewhat dry and arid personality.
VICTORIA THE WOMAN. Ply Frank
Hird illustrated. New -ork: d.
Appleton & Co.
OF the many books about Queen Vic
toria there are very few that deal with
her in any way except as the ruler OF
Great Britain Mr. Hirds book deals with
her as woman and not at all as queen.
The author has lived for great many
wears with Lord Ronald Cover. who was
great personal friend of Queen Victoria
Through the connections OF Eord Ronalo
Cover, Mr.. Hird has been able TO gather
a great amount of material having 10 90
with the personal, everyday woman ne
of Victoria The book begins with the
story of her father and mother, their dif-
ticulties and Observation-Disclosures. the eN-
traordinary treatment which the! re-
c.ived from King George ~, and the
seeming impossibhity that the I.lle III
should ever become the ruler of England:
together with an inside family account OF
how this came about Then MT Hird
sketches the daily life of the young girl
1tr,1l lott n
her friends The life at Kensington pal
ace is described, her toys, etc. linen FOL
low the surprising days when she nrst
became queen: and afterward her love
story and marriage with letters ano
productions of drawings which she her-
self made. The home life of herself ana
her children and friends. her dairy cccu-
pations and on, are described, snow
Ing her always as a woman ana an lnoi-
vidual.
One feature of the book Is the great
number of personal letters quoted. as wen
as familiar utterances of the queen Max
ing due allowance for naturai tenuehcs
to laudation of the subject. the book pre-
sents really familiar and vivid picture
of personality which possesses. In its
very intensification of British traits ana
virtues, decidedly great interest,". rossi-
bly, the strongest feature of Mr. Hlro
work is the light it throws upon the IN
fiuences which united TO form the charac-
ter Of one of the most benencent ruiers
that England has possessed.
THE STRUGGLE FOR AMERICAN IN
DEPENDENCE. By Si"ne! George
Fisher author of The Making OF
Pennsylvania" etc. illustrated phil
adelphia: j. B. Lippincott Company.
The present work is continuation and
enlargement of The True History OF the
American Revolution, published some
years ago in one volume. That work
while being a brief general account OF
the contest. dwelt more particularly on
certain phases of the struggle which had
been omitted or ignored oy the histor-
ians II soon became obvious that II DID
not go far enough. that the original plan
should be extended and carried out IN
more detail and that the whole mass OF
original evidence in libraries and historical
societies should be made accessible and
revealed TO the public in as complete q
manner as possible. No complete history
of the revolution has ever been written
upon the plan of dealing frankly with
all the contemporary evidence and with
holding nothing of prominence that Is
found in the original records. Many
topics of Importance have been overlook
ed The position of the loyalsts has been
ignored there rs no general history of tht
Outstanding of the navigation and trade
contest: the effect of the revolution Oh
Great Britian's colonial policy has been
sighted These points and many others
\ In fsH,,