Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-03-07

Rarely has a great novelist developed
so tardily as George Eliot. AS RUE,
the imaginative faculty, like the poetic
aspiration is a gift of nature. Great
novelists. like great poets, are born, not
made. But at thirty-five years OF age
this one was translating Spinoza's 'Trac-
tatus Theologico Politicus," and believing
that in that sort of grubbing lay her lfe's
work Two years later all England was
reading Amos Barton and other stories
from the Scenes of Clerical Life and
wondering who was hiding behind the
pseudonym George Eliot 1t is curious
that among all who entered this literary
guessing contest Charles Dickens was the
only one who tenaciously insisted that
the writer must be a woman.
Mary Ann Evans-she ultimately COM
bined the first two names into Marian :
was born in Warwickshire. England OF
parents in comfortable circumstances.
Her father was agent for large estate,
and many of the scenes and characters
in her novels were. drawn from the places
and playfellows of her youth. Particu-
Iarly to her<early environment was due
her accurate knowledge of the character,
habits and dialect of the English peasant.
Her parents means were sumclent 10
secure Tor lef a luOTOuSH SuuSoe.oh, pe.i
ticularly in modern languages, Wmcn she
supplemented by omniverous reading
The first literary work of Miss Evans
was the translation into Engi1sh OF Inc
Life of Christ by David strauss. ms
task took three years. and We are IN
formed that it was "a remarkable sue
cess AS we further learn that for the
work she received 800 and twenty-five
copies of the book, we are moved TO won,
der at the elastic meaning of that word
Sl1c For nearly five wears she seems
to have done no literary work. but In 1891
she was invited to become ASSISTANT eui-
tor of the Westminster Review. Though
she wrote but little for the Review, her
work being editorial chiefly. she was
brought into contact with the most emil
nent literary figures of the day Inc
article of hers on woman hoNehsts 10
readable today. 1t predicted great sue
cess for woman writer's of fiction, though
at the moment she would hardly nave
dreamed that she herself would be one of
the most successful; and she declared
that while women might excel III the 1T
tie domestic lovelorn and patneuc novels;
they were unequal to such an effort OF
imaginative history as 'Ivanhoe or Oid
Morality The latter judgment failS
rather flat i'm view of her own magnlf1cent
historical presentment of the life of Flor
ence in "Romola.'
Shelley says that men
Are Graded into poetry by wrong:
They learn in suffering what they teach IN Song.
Marian Evans had to learn romance to
write romance. The divine fire OF love
came to her in the person or george
Henry Lewes, an editor, critic, anu liter
airy worker of high intellect and wide
culture. But he was already married.
Because of his wife's notorious miscon-
duet he had long ceased to live with her.
but the English law of that time made
divorce possible only to people of large
means. For time the clash between
man-made morals and an affection which
later proved to be as pure and stimuiat-
ing as the world ever knew seemed IRE
irresistible. In the end the pair quietly
ended the difficulty by pronouncing vows
to each other and holding themselves as