THE LITERATURE OF THE VICTORIAN AGE.

IBY J. D. Davis.]

jBCOND PAPBR.-<concludbd) HISTORY, of the name of Macaulay ?Teß„ three modes iv which history has JS», viz., the Dryasdust, the Slue, and the Scientific. We will gSS the length of asserting that !n,o_. " Bistory of Europe " belongs to a1 first class, but it scarcely finds a place ■ either of the other two. The best taows exponent of the third method, the Jnttific, is Mr E. A. Freeman, whose tk , W e aball have to notice in their turn. I |fthe' second, Macaulay was the founder, _t. f ar the most brilliant example. He *^,rl at making bis historical writings -nrieffith the last fashionable novel, 'jril the world knows that he was com _S_v auccessful. His opponents of the Kduat order were loud with their Sated strictures, but another genera- Ska emphatically endorsed the verdict ftta preceding. When a satisfactory •Ljr is returned to the question, why tllaßot history be made interesting and rXjible, it will be time to examine into Say's culpability on this head, a H more to the point is that f. .fiiggism biassed his judgment; and S_t he showed his partiality, if not ii_ in describing Cranmer the martyr, _s»bop Laud, William Perm the jHjL and a few other characters. None inveitare to deny that in these and other i tohcea Macaulay failed to hold the scales rSee with an oven hand; but whoa fnll ¥ wince h*s f- oa malle > the brilliant Xnsting "History," fragmentary though v iT remains a great aod enduring work, s_d an imposing ra"fi»uie_t to tha genius of the iffliili Why Macaulay should have EH talents" conceded to bim but not, rule "genius, it is difficult to say. plna' little b:yond mere custom Tthe prevailing habit of plagiarism « be advanced in support of the i Unction Gsniua has been allowed rZn who have accomplished far less solid Sortaut labours than Macaulay, but iKppening by some lucky accident to !T about them an '"atmosphere" (as Lw Pag^hot called it), have ever eioce Jn«l the position and honours denied to STmw. I" describing Macaulay. «BMory "» a belonging to the pictureaque .hawe do not mean t» imply that his Liliod of treatment was not also scientific; toto indu>try in looking up authoritiea, _j_making full use of the whole ol the Sritore, MS. and priuted.pertainingto his 21 was indefatigable, and in excess of „ of any other of his predecessors. (ttnreaauenesß, however, is the prevailing S most evident quality of his writings, _dfonce the reason ol the present clnssifi- JLj . The world knew of Macauloy's Sag memory, his fascinating conversa b_T_- rapid omnivorous reading, during y,'lifetime; but until Mr Trevelyan's torsphy appeared in 1876 the outside mbliiswaa-in ignorance as to his charity, £ Mielfishness, his kindline.ss of disposi- Bd, his amiability and loveobleness in all family and domestic relations, Most men -illiaw be disposed to agree with the j^taiol a recent reviewer, that "there i! no1 Macaulay but Macaulay, and Tre velyta ia his prophet." Tkaiaentific mode of writing history is Another, outcome of the spirit of enquiry which W described in our lir.st paper as penaoisg the literature of the present day. Itii ihelmethod of the future : all others mastgiiaLWay to it. No narrative, bow ever piei-esque and lucidly told, will have sc__e»_ enduring, unless it is the result ,„ the most careful aod minute investiga-; jfoaiatoallpossiole sources, even the moat' trivial aod apparently despicable, Macanlay's use of old ballads, broadsides, ud pamphlets has been often quoted. Their literary value was commonly nil, their dis tortion ol facts obvious, yet he thought.-it worth his while, as many another writers has snee, tn rake over the musty refuse-heap in flahope of finding a trifling something to repay the trouble spent. Many sources of _tory are now available which the old istiors had no access to. The State Paper OSes has for many- years been sending jt_ parcels of its treasures, each carefully stated and edited by some competent Kioto. The contents of these volumes _remany times over proved the inaccuracy cit_ generally received story, and indeed tee is scarcely a period in the history of Great Britain which, it is found, does not require more or less completely to be re rotten; and hardly a character of any „ie about whom no fresh information has lea afforded. In the same direction ptittte enterprise bas not been backward. By inch useful societies as the Camden md Harleian numbers of documents of. iloolcbaracter throwing light on particular ero-t and periods hove been mode leeodble at small cost. They are ill continuing the good work of publishing it intervals parish registers, market ac count*, rent-rolls, college and school lists »mS riailar records, which would otherwise 111 into decny or elae be destroyed as worth- Its lumber, without yielding up their quota to the general store of historical in iotmitioD. -iforemoatliving English historian is Mi_ a. Freeman, than whom no author bit more diligently ' searched and more wc-Hely estimated the worth of the mate rials obt of which he has woven his story, 41 lirious times during twenty years prior to 18G7 he had been engaged on lis wjjaxlm opus, "The Norman Con qsat* In that year the first volume, ei-jlypreliminary in character, was Elk-bed, Twelve years later tbe fifth ml completing volume issued from the Fa The narrative is of the fullest des cription; none but a hardened reader would ■itempt to go through it steadily from the Wußpter to the last. Volume I. brings tiestory up to the accession ot Edward the CofcMor; No. 11, narrates his reign of 24 jara; while the third is wholly devoted to tie, momorable year 1.066. Mr Freeman has live (It not only to complete his first in- Won, but also to tell tbe story of the ■Willi William Rufns, as he has recently jjr*. Besides the "Norman Conquest" Hi Freeman has written several other Wb, together with many lectures and Ksys, all, of them of a learned ft, and has found time to take an active nfeiest in politics. His controversial letters mile Eastern Question, in which he op- W«l;Earl Beaconsfield'a policy with great teaadaome bitterness, will be in the re »U*ctioa of most. Oi the same class aa Mr Freeman there Mother historians of note, of whom we jjjj mention three. Professor Stubbs, of Word, completed in 1873 his " Constitu ™WHistory," which is justly regarded as ' itadard authority. Hallam's famoos »mkgoe3bsck no farther than the reign of way VII,; Professor Stubbs goes back to j* -ginning of things, aod traces the his ■W ol:'the British constitution from its ""nhtioa in Teutonic times. It is pleasant "Kid tbe eulogium which Mr Freeman : "J 1 generously passed on the work of his mi, He has characterised it "anun |ot knowledge," and to

bia writings generally be has applied the line. " Non viget quidquid simileaut tecundum," Mr S. R. Gardioer has at various times published instalments of his history of tbe .Puritan Revolution, Many labourers hod worked in the some mine before him, bnt he has not only by diligent research been able to discover something new on the sub ject, but to tell the atory in a manner i singularly free from party bias. Isaac Disraeli, for example, had told it from the Tory point of view ; John ..refer from the Whig standpoint Mr J. R. Green, whose lamented death at an early age was recorded the other day, had long been asso ciated with, and shared, the studies of, Mr Freeman and Professor Stubbs. His popular "Short History " is too well known to oil classes of readers to need description ; while his later book, "The Making of -ngland," possesses the soma qualities of picturesqucness, vigour, and accuracy of statement. These three friend* have en tirely re-written the early history of England, a subject on which all kinds of ignoraat error were formerly prevalent, and which was to most people, even the well-educated, what it was to Milton, the mere record of battles between kites and crows. About no living historian, probably, are there such diversified opinions as about Mr J. a. Froude. He is the laughing-stock of some; the idol to swear by of others. Mr Freeman has dealt him some hard knocks, over St. Thomas of Canterbury for example, bat professional jealousy may not unchari tably be suspected to have some influence in this particular case. There is no doubt, however, in respect to one thing, viz,, that Mr Froude has been a most industrious writer. His first appearance as an author was duiing the time of the Tractarian com motion, when he contributed to the " Lives of the Saints." He did not continue long a follower of Dr. Newman, for in 1859, he put forth a book of doubts aud denials, entitled, "The nemesis of Faith," After that he seems to have settled down to write the story of the English Reformation, with a fullness never before attempted. Hia voluminous work is to be found in every library, and few would I deny its right to endure. The immense reseat eh embodied therein, for it-is a very storehouse of facts, together with the graceful style, obounding as it does with apt and almost poetic illustrations, must ensure for it a host of readers. Mr Froude has unfortunately tbe habit of taking one side to tho neglect of the other. He says all that can be put forward in behalf of the view he takes, but, if he does not neglect the opposite one, he at least falls to exhibit it to fall advantage. No book of his shows this propensity more clearly than "Ctesar: a Sketch" s singularly fascinating atory, but one which exalts the hero, and debases Cicero in a manner hardly justified by the facts. [It is worth noting that Macaulay enter-, tamed opinions respecting the character of Csesar, and also his literaay style, not dis- ! similar to those expressed by Mr Froude. In August 1835 Macaulay wrote, "As to other Latin writers Ctesar has risen wonderfaUy. I think him fully en titled to Cicero's praise." (Cicero in "De Ularis Oratoribus " pronounces Cies'ar . Latin to be tbe moßt elegant that had ever been heard in the Senate onthe Forum.) Again in the same month Macaulay characterised Cesar as " the finest gentleman, the moat humano conqueror, and the most popular politician that Rome ever produced,"! Since Carlyle's death Mr Froude has edited the " Remincscence?," about which there was so much discussion, and pub_sbed the firstportion of a biography of the Chelsea Sage. Mr Froude's latest publication is another aeries of " Short Studies," and among them are included the papers on Thomas ii Beckett which provoked many adverse comments on their first ap pearance some years ago in the '• Contem porary Review." Mr Lecky has mado a reputation by good work in directions different from those we have been enumerating, Hia first book is philosophic as well as historic in character, " The History of Rationalism in Europe," (1865); the second was similar, " History of European Morals from Augustus to

Charlemagne" (1869), Mr Lecky's magnum opus is a "History of the Eighteenth Century," on which he has been for a number of years engaged. The slan5 lan of the work is not chronological, he author bas not told tbe story of each year in orderly sequence ; but has preferred to describe the growth and development of institutions and tendencies, the origin and results of movements. For example, he has a Chapter on the national taates and manners of the last century; anot her on the great re ligious revival, which is by the by, a narra tive of the labours of Jobn Wesley and his co-workers, characterised by great fair ness and impartiality. There ore a few histories ia our language written once aod for all, they will not r. quire to be written agaj_ ; and Air < eoky's latest book deserves to rank among theee. Alexander William Kinglake, born in 1809, appeared before tbe public in IS 14 with a book of Eastern travel, called '• Eothen," one of the freshest, most spark ling aud graphic records ot wanderings wa i have. It may almost be considered a classic, Bat Mr Kinglake's principal under taking is of a different kind, in which bow ever be has found hia knowledge of the East of tbe greatest service. The firit volume of hia " History of the Crimean War "came out in 1863, and though a number of goodly-sized tomes have since been added, the woik ia notjet complete, Whether or not tho "Invasion of the Crimea " injl 554-55 merits by its importance so voluminous a description, military men are beat oble to judge; though the ordinary reader cannot fail to be struck with the in terest, the outspokenness, tho candour, and the abundant knowledge everywhere dis played. There arc many other names required to make the list anything like complete ; but of them we oan only mention two. Sir Arthur Helps occupied himself in much the same historical field as Prescott the American author, viz, the Spanish con quests of Ame-ica. But Sir Arthur is boat known as a graceful e-sayiet, and as the writer of tho.e dialogues lull of cultured quiet wisdom called " Friends in Council," and "Companions of my Solitude." Mr David Masson has investigated with great core and patient minuteue-s the life aod times ot Milton, by far the best account of tho great poet yet written. It was begun so long ago as tbe year 1858. Mr Masson is the author also of numerous essays and contri butions to the principal citicul journals. (To be Continued.)

A Mining "Call."

The Secretary of a gold mine hayiDg sent ah imperative demand to a certain share holder for the payment of a " call," received the following reply :— "Dear frir,—l have your letter of this date, and note that your directors propose to proceed against mo. Your prospectus stated that one of tbe objects of your company was to 'seek, win, and work gold in India and elsewhere' Thinus not turniog out well in India, your directors apparently consider it their duty to seek, wio, and wortr. gold ' elsewhere'— i.c , out of me. I can assure you, however, that I am not in an auriferous vein ; the only lode I possess ia a load of debt, and as a gold mine I hhull be a failure. Your prospectus estimated a yield of loz of gold per ton on 30,000 tons of quartz crushed par annum—£lo,soo sterl ing per annum. You may ' cru-h ' me, but you will find that I will not yield nearly so much. My person (which for purposes of this calculation may be con sidered quartz) weighs, roughly speakiog, 10at, and, if crushed immediately, I esti mate that it would yield as under :— Bold Nil Mlvor.. _ 3s I'd Copper .. _ -. •• o_ii! 3s HH Dfduet cost of crushing, say £5 5?. " Yours faithfully, —,"

A Londoner one day by accident saw the sun. '"Eavena," said he, " 'ow thoy 'avo himproved that there 'lectric light." After a moment's pause, during which ho gazed on the novel sight, he added reflectively, " But 'ow in thunder did they get 'm up so •ighl".

Extraordinary Abduction by Persians.

A COKRRSPOND.NT writes:—"An outrage has been committed at Baku which bids f.. ir to become the subject of lively diplomatic correspondence between Russia and Persia. Tbe following are the particulars of the oc currence so far as I have been able to learn :- In the month of January last tbe wife of a Finnish captain In the employ of Nobel, the great petroleum firm, weut to visit some friends living on the outskirts of the town. As she had not returned home by midnight, her husband started out to escort her home, but found on reaching the friend's house that his wife had left some two hours pre viously. On the following morning the husband, having vainly searched all night tor his missing wife, gave notioe to the police, and every means were used to dis cover what had become of the poor woman so mysteriously spirited away. Two months passed, and no trace of tbe missing woman was discovered,-) the sorrow of the husband, who'spent the whole of his time in institu ting inquiries in the hope of at last finding hia wife Quite recently, however, by some chance the mystery was discovered and the woman i raced. It wonld appear that as the woman'was passing through a lonely part of the road home she was suddenly seized by four meo, wbo threw a shawl over her head and carried her off, as she afterwards discovered, toe? fersian craft lying at anchor in the harbour. Her cantors, who were Pertiaos, at once eet sail for the Pessian shore, and the woman was carried oft to Tehoran, where she was lodged, it is said, in a royal harem, and where it is supposed she still remains. I undet stand that this ease of abduction has formed the subject of a strong representatation on the part of the Russian Minister at Teheran, and the immediate surrender of the woman, who is of course a Russian subject, bas been demanded. The woman, who v a Swede by birth, possesses considerable personal attractions, which no doubt were the canse of ber abduction by the agents of tbe £ hah. The whole matter has hitherto been kept quiet; but it must in a short time become tbe subject of dis cussion both in Russian society and in the Press, the more so thot the relations between the Government of the Shah and thot of bis Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Ruisia have not been marked for some time post by any extreme cordiality."

A Vindictive Woman.

A VINDICTIVE woman is rarely at a loss to find ways and means for being a thorn ia the side of her husband if she has any real or imaginary cause of complaint against him. a matron who departed this life re cently at Flushing, alter a conjugal exist ence ot almost unbroken quatrelling, could not bring herself to eign a truce, even in her last moments. Placidly she beckoned to her spouse to approach, in order to make known her last wishes. "We have lived togethor un happily," said she, " but I am now going. Promise to let me be buried in the gar ments I am now wearing." Tho request was one easily complied with; the promise was made and kept, tho deceased being interred in the garments she had on at her death. It was only a week or so afterwards the widower discovered that his late partner had contrived to do him a bad turn in quitting him for ever. She it was who kept the business accounts, and the money, in bank notes or shares. When he looked for his property in its accustomed pjuce he found nothing left; it then dawned upon him that his better half had, during her illnea?, secreted both bank notes mid hares about her peison, and consequently that she had carried his fortune with her to the grave. At the present moment tho widower is endeavouring to obtain tho per mission of the authorities to have the body exhumed, in order that he may recover possesion of the property, whicb be is tirmly persuaded is concealed in the coffin. He finds, it is stated, Borne difficulty in con vincing peoplo tbat he is not labouring under a mistake; but he himsolf, thoroughly acquainted with tho nmiablo character of his defunct wife, is so sure that hi» hypothesis is the correct ono that ho ia determined to persevere in his efforts until the authorisation is accorded,

The Reminiscence of An American Detective.

A hotel we may call the Roscoo House was more like a boarding house than a hotel; it was without a bar, or even cigar stand, and was the resort of a number of tbe elite J of yonng men and families who preferred it quiet, home-like attractions, and who had money to pay handsomely for tho very best of service, cuisine, and attention. It was "toney" in the extreme. But the pro prietor of the Roscoe Honse was nearly at his wits' end—a black sheep had somehow slipped in among bis flock, and was prey, ing upon the valuables of bis guests. Watches, rings, chains, and bracelets were missing, and latterly even money wa. spirited away in a most mysterious manner. It was a terrible plight, and all tbe boarders were assailing him with complaints, and demanding that " something must be done." Aside from the loss, the idea that a dis reputable being was among them was terrible. There waa no clue, and what set the pro. prietor nearly distracted was the imminent danger he ran in pouncing upon some inno cent person. It is bad enough ordinarily to arrest the wrong person, bnt in this case it would be doubly so, from the character ot the guests in the establishment. The rascal was shrewd above his class, and would most certainly "spot" any ordinary detective. Detective Gairn was detailed tor the inves tigation, and took np bis head-quarters at. the Koscoe House. For some time after hia arrival no depredations were committed. During this interim, a yonng man named Harry Evcrmond, an English man of great wealth and exceeding style, put up at Roscoe House, bearing a letter to the host from well-known notables. Of course this was bruited among the guests, and as Mr Evermond was handsome, wealthy, and of good family, he was much sought after, especially by mammas with marriageable daughters. He was surely the lion of the hour, aod "mine host" heard no farther threats of a stampede among the guests, Evcrmond had not been ten days in the bouse before there was another robbery. Young Mr Brinton was despoiled of a vain* able gold watch and a diamond stud, which he affirmed he left aecuroly locked in hia trunk. The excitement broke out anew, and the landlord, under the pressure of tbe complaints from his patrons for not having employed detectives, confessed, as a dead secret, that Gairn waa a detective. It was in view of this very contingency that the superintendent of the detectives devised a plan which will be dis closed later—a plan whicb, had it not been adopted, might have occasioned great delay, and additional losses, Tt is a fact which often militates against success, tbat llioso who employ secret agents do much to shelter tbe rascals by their inability to .keep the matter a secret. They will point out the agent to friends, who, in turn, do the same to others. It was thus that Gairn waa " uncovered "to all the inmates of the house, nod his usefulness materially injured, if not entirely destroyed. The landlord cautioned young k vermond, who seemed to be rather careless about his valuables, and very liberal with "tips" to tbe waicr-, The yonng men of tbe bouse found him a capital com panion, and were eager to show him around, and he, in turn, was just ns coger to be show around. Tbe most stylish person in the house was Mr August Leonard. As a gentleman considerably older, and of vastly more experience, the young Englishman seemed drawn toward him, ana as the days went by the intimacy increased. ■ Again tho Roscoe was excited by another theft. A certain broker and Mr Leonard were the unlucky ones—the former losing • quantity of his deceased wife's jewellery, and the latter a considerable nam of money, mostly in gold. The landlorel rushed to the detective's head-quarters, fumed and stormed, and insisted upou the performance of a miracle in bis case. It was only after the repetition of emphatic .issuances that the investigation was nearly completed, and t hat tho thief would coon be brought to the front, that the excited man could b« paci« fied. He wanted to koow a great deal that the chief would not tell him, and was, therefore, obliged to rest content with the geueral statement that the thief would be •* turned np " soon. When the landlord re turned to tne hotel, Evermond asked, as a favour, to be assigned to a room adjoining hia new-found friend Leonard, and the re quest was granted. In the courae of the day, Evermond, somewhat alarmed by the thieving, asked his friend's nelvico as to certain valuables, and mentioned in. cidentally that be had somewhere about two hundred pounds in his desk. They went out tbat evening togother, the young Englishman inviting Leonard to hove a seat in his box at tbe theatre. Before the performance was ever Leonard was summoned by a messen ger boy and excused himself. He was baldly out of the theatre when Evermond left also, and, taking a cab, was driven to the hotel at a futions rate. He stole up to his room and placed himself under the bed to await developments. It was not long before ho heard the lock turned, and a figure entered and began to n.alcc free with various articles in the room. Tho figure left as stealthily as it cime, locking the door. Passing dewn atairs, this figure, which was none other than Leonard, met Gairn. He called Gairn aside, and sold:

"1 am well aware of your business here, my dear air, aod have been awaiting a favourable opportunity of asking your special attention for the valuables of my young friend Kvermond, who has an unusual amount ot property, and is, I must say, very careless." " Arrest him, Gairn, he has tho swag on his person." This was spoken by Evermond, who bad quietly followed bis false friend down ataira. Leonard's room was searched, but nothing recovered ; he was far too shrewd for that, tveys to nearly all of the rcoms were found on his person. By the aid of these ho gained nccess to the rooms at favourable times, and was a' le to live very luxuriantly upon his stealings The land lord of the Roscoe could i ardly believe that his whilom guest waa alio a detective, who had been at work right under his nose all the time, Leonard, who had in stalled himself at tho Roscoe House with the intention of making a raise in an al together different way, but had been obliged to await the recovery of his "pal " from a sudden attack of sickness, observed tho op. portunity for lifting valuacles. and could not allow itto pass. Gairn, from several little trifles, selected Leonard at the rascal, and when Kvermond made his entree it was to play into Leonard's bands, A door between the rooms, now nailed up, suggested the idea of watching Leonard's private acts, AVheo, therefore, Evermond succeeded (in establishing himself in that room, he made a small orifice in Die wood, and soon saw enough to establish Leonard's guilt. He saw Leonard tako impressions of keys in wax, and that is enough lormiy de tective to base operations upou. Tho patrons of the Roscoe wete at Inst freed from their black sheep, but tome of them felt a little touchy over the young Euglish gentleman who had cut such a daah for th Q 1 time being.

STAR SATURDAY SUPPLEMENT, JUNE 9, I 88&

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