Part 12 (2/2)

I have introduced in the _Vicar of Bullhairl whom I will call,--for want of a truer word that shall not in its truth be offensive,--a castaway I have endeavoured to endow her with qualities that ht her back at last froradation, at least to decency I have not married her to a wealthy lover, and I have endeavoured to explain that though there was possible to her a way out of perdition, still things could not be with her as they would have been had she not fallen

There arises, of course, the question whether a novelist, who professes to write for the a of both sexes, should allow hie a character such as that of Carry Brattle It is not long since,--it is ithin the memory of the author,--that the very existence of such a condition of life as was hers, was supposed to be unknown to our sisters and daughters, and was, in truth, unknown to ood er is beyond question Then arises the further question,--how far the conditions of such unfortunates should behearts of those whose delicacy and cleanliness of thought is a ood, pity the sufferings of the vicious, and do soate and shorten them without contamination from the vice? It will be adht upon the subject that no fault aht in itself but so terrible in its consequences to the less faulty of the two offenders, by which a woainst her, and all those of the other sex in whose veins runs the blood which she is thought to have contaminated, and who, of nature, would befriend her, were her trouble any other than it is

She is what she is, and she remains in her abject, pitiless, unutterable misery, because this sentence of the world has placed her beyond the helping hand of Love and Friendshi+p It , as all known punishments do deter, from vice But this punishment, which is horrible beyond the conception of those who have not regarded it closely, is not known beforehand Instead of the punishlitter which is damnably false,--and which, alas! has beencolours, for the injury of young girls, than have those horrors which ought to deter, with the dark shadowings which belong to them

To write in fiction of one so fallen as the noblest of her sex, as one to be rewarded because of her weakness, as one whose life is happy, bright, and glorious, is certainly to allure to vice and misery But it may perhaps be possible that if the irl, ould have been thoughtless, htful, or some parent's heart may be softened

Those wereI described the characters of Carry Brattle and of her family I have not introduced her lover on the scene, nor have I presented her to the reader in the temporary enjoy for which is sometimes more seductive to evil than love itself She is introduced as a poor abased creature, who hardly kno false were her dreah there dalenes they are not often found--but with an intense horror of the sufferings of her position Such being her condition, will they who naturally are her friends protect her? The vicar who has taken her by the hand endeavours to excite them to charity; but father, and brother, and sister are alike hard-hearted It had been my purpose at first that the hand of every Brattle should be against her; but my own heart was too soft to enable me to make the mother cruel,--or the unmarried sister who had been the early coards all the Brattles, the story is, I think, well told The characters are true, and the scenes at thewith human nature For the rest of the book I have little to say It is not very bad, and it certainly is not very good As I have otten what the heroine does and says--except that she tumbles into a ditch--I cannot expect that any one else should re that was done or said by any of the Brattles

The question brought in argument is one of fearful importance As to the view to be taken first, there can, I think, be no doubt In regard to a sin common to the two sexes, alrace is heaped upon the one who in nine cases out of ten has been the least sinful And the punishment inflicted is of such a nature that it hardly allows room for repentance How is the woman to return to decency to whom no decent door is opened? Then comes the answer: It is to the severity of the punish Such is the argu practice, and such the excuse given for their severity by wo of their harshness But in truth the severity of the punishment is not known beforehand; it is not in the least understood by woaudy dirt, the squalid plenty, the contuood things, the banish colare of fictitious revelry, the weary pavement, the horrid slavery to some horrid tyrant,--and then the quick depreciation of that one ware of beauty, the substituted paint, garht without but foul within like painted sepulchres, hunger, thirst, and strong drink, life without a hope, without the certainty even of a morrow's breakfast, utterly friendless, disease, starvation, and a quivering fear of that co hell which still can hardly be worse than all that is suffered here! This is the life to which we doohters, when because of their error we close our door upon theh

Of course there are houses of refuge, fro pleasant, as though the only repentance to which we can afford to give a place must necessarily be one of sackcloth and ashes It is hardly thus that we can hope to recall those to decency who, if they are to be recalled at all, must be induced to obey the sue of that misery which I have attempted to describe To me the irl who has gone astray is put out of sight, out of h she had never existed, and that this ferocity comes not only from hatred of the sin, but in part also fros with it Very low as is the degradation to which a girl is brought when she falls through love or vanity, or perhaps fro for luxurious ease, still much lower is that to which she h the hardness of the world around her, she converts that sin into a trade

Mothers and sisters, when thetheir number, should rely as did Carry Brattle's ht out three books,--or rather of the latter of the three Ito do with it except to write it These were _Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite_, _An Editors Tales_, and a little volume on Julius Caesar _Sir Harry Hotspur_ ritten on the same plan as _Nina Balatka_ and _Linda Tressel_, and had for its object the telling of some pathetic incident in life rather than the portraiture of a nus _Nina_ and _Linda Tressel_ and _The Golden Lion_ had been placed in foreign countries, and this was an English story In other respects it is of the same nature, and was not, I think, by any irl, and of paternal dignity and affection in the father

It was published first in _Macent proprietor of which I have since been told that it did not azine I am sorry that it should have been so; but I fear that the saood azine, the subsequent use of it was sold to other publishers by Mr Macht out by them as a novel in two volumes Now it had been sold by me as a novel in one volume, and hence there arose a correspondence

I found it very hard to round for objection to the process What was it to es by in into double the nuument on other occasions When I have pointed out that in this way the public would have to suffer, seeing that they would have to pay Mudie for the use of two voluiven to them in one, I have been assured that the public are pleased with literary short h novels as fast as they can, and that the shorter each volume is the better! Even this, however, did not overcouns _Sir Harry_ was published in one volues, with an average of 220 words to a page,--which I had settled with th of a novel volume I may here mention that on one occasion, and on one occasion only, a publisher got the better of me in athrough a certain azine, and had it printed complete in three volumes before I knehere I was,--before I had seen a sheet of the letterpress I stormed for a while, but I had not the heart to make him break up the type

The _Editor's Tales_ was a voluazine_, and professed to give an editor's experience of his dealings with contributors I do not think that there is a single incident in the book which could bring back to any one concerned the memory of a past event And yet there is not an incident in it the outline of which was not presented to entle that he knew me to be an editor, and pressed his little article onpseudony audacity; hoas appealed to by the dearest of little women whom here I have called Mary Gresley; how in le over an abortive periodical which was intended to be the best thing ever done; how terrible was the tragedy of a poor drunkard, ith infinite learning at his command made one sad final effort to reclai it; and lastly how a poor weak editor was driven nearly to ation fro_, with the struggles of the drunkard scholar, is the best I knoever, that when the things were good they caain much attention;--and so also, luckily, when they were bad

The _Caesar_ was a thing of itself My friend John Blackwood had set on foot a series of slish Readers_, and had placed the editing of the of yman who, from my connection with the series, became a most intimate friend The _Iliad_ and the _Odyssey_ had already coh with John Blackwood, and, onadmiration for those two little volu ladies as thetales they can read,--he asked me whether I would not undertake one et it ready, ht be said to the readers of English on _The Commentaries of Julius Caesar_

I at once went to work, and in three an by reading through the Commentaries twice, which I did without any assistance either by translation or English notes Latin was not so familiar to me then as it has since become,--for from that date I have almost daily spent an hour with some Latin author, and onwhatof what others had written about hilish, and even in French,--for I went through much of that most futile book by the late Emperor of the French I do not know that for a short period I ever worked harder The a Three weeks would have done it easily But I wasout of race racemore

If so, I was disappointed

The book I think to be a good little book It is readable by all, old and young, and it gives, I believe accurately, both an account of Caesar's Commentaries,--which of course was the prireat Roirl who had read it and remembered it would perhaps know as s as she need know Beyond the consolation of thinking as I do about it, I got very little gratification from the work nobody praised it One very old and very learned friend to whom I sent it thanked me for my ”comic Caesar,” but said no er into , I never showed a sign; but still I have suffered occasionally There was, however, probably present tothat a lish novels could not be fit to write about Caesar It was as when an a on the walls of the Academy What business had I there? _Ne sutor ultra crepidam_ In the press it was most faintly da read the book again within the last ood book The series, I believe, has done very well I a aside Caesar, the work has been done with infinite scholarshi+p, and very generally with a light hand With the leave of my sententious and sonorous friend, who had not endured that subjects which had been grave to him should be treated irreverently, I will say that such a work, unless it be light, cannot answer the purpose for which it is intended It was not exactly a school-book that anted, but so that would carry the purposes of the school-roo was ever better suited for such a purpose than the _Iliad_ and the _Odyssey_, as done by Mr Collins The _Virgil_, also done by hiood; and so is the _Aristophanes_ by the same hand

CHAPTER XIX

_RALPH THE HEIR_--_THE EUSTACE DIAMONDS_--_LADY ANNA_--_AUSTRALIA_

In the spring of 1871 we,--I and o to Australia to visit our shepherd son Of course before doing so I made a contract with a publisher for a book about the Colonies For such a work as this I had always been aware that I could not fairly deiven for the same amount of fiction; and as such books have an indoiven than what is sold, and as the cost of travelling is heavy, the writing of them is not reenerally from the ambition of the writer, but from his inability to comprise the different parts in their allotted spaces If you have to deal with a country, a colony, a city, a trade, or a political opinion, it is so es!

I also ement with the editor of a London daily paper to supply him with a series of articles,--which were duly written, duly published, and duly paid for But with all this, travelling with the object of writing is not a good trade If the travelling author can pay his bills, hethere ca to some resolution about our house at Walthaht, primarily because it suited my Post Office avocations To this reason had been added other attractions,--in the shape of hunting, gardening, and suburban hospitalities Altogether the house had been a success, and the scene of much happiness But there arose questions as to expense Would not a house in London be cheaper? There could be no doubt thatI had thrown the Post Office, as it were, away, and the writing of novels could not go on for ever Soht to give up the fabrication of love-stories The hunting, I thought, o, and I would not therefore allow that to keep me in the country And then, why should I live at Waltha that I had fixed on that place in reference to the Post Office? It was therefore deterhteen months, we deter up, with many tears, and consultations as to what should be saved out of the things we loved

As must take place on such an occasion, there was soiven for the letting or sale of the house I may as well say here that it never was let, and that it remained unoccupied for two years before it was sold I lost by the transaction about 800 As I continually hear that otherhouses, I presume I am not well adapted for transactions of that sort I have neverexcept a manuscript In enerally given away horses that I have not wanted

When we started froh the _St Paul's_ This was the novel of which Charles Reade afterwards took the plot and ht it to be one of the worst novels I have written, and almost to have justified that dictum that a novelist after fifty should not write love-stories It was in part a political novel; and that part which appertains to politics, and which recounts the electioneering experiences of the candidates at Percycross, is well enough

Percycross and Beverley were, of course, one and the same place