L.ECKY. THE HISTORIAN, WHITES OF THE

QUEEN as A MORAL FORCE.

From The Pall Mall Magazine.

She was a great ruler, but she was also to thelast a Use, kindly, simple minded woman, re-taining with undiminlshed intensity all thev.armth of a most affectionate nature, all thesoundness of a most excellent judgment.[brought up from childhood in the artificial at-mosphere of a court; calk d. while still a girl, totli'i isolation of a throne; deprived, when herreitm had yet forty years to run of the sup-port and counsel of her husband, she might wellhave beon pardoned ifshe often found herselfout of touch with large sections of her people,and had viewed life through a false medium or.•i partial aspects. Vet Lord Salisbury probablyin no decree exaggerated when he said that ifh<> irtsbed to ascertain the feelings and opinions>: the English people, and especially of theEnglish mi Idle classes, he knew no truer ormore enlightening judgment than that of theQueen. She thought with them and she feltwith them; she shared their ambitions; sheknew by a kind of intuitive instinct the courseof their judgments; she sympathized deeply withtheir trials and their sorrows.

She could hardly be called a brilliant woman.I- is difficult indeed to fudge the full socialcapacities of any one v. ho lives under the con-stant restraints of a royal position, but Ido notthiiik that inany sphere of life ihe Queen wouldhave been regarded as a woman of striking wit,or originality, or even commanding power. Thequalities that made her so successful in her highcalling were of another kind— supreme goodsense; a tact in dealing with men and circum-stances so unfailing: that it almost amountedto Renius; an indefatigable industry which neverflapped from early youth till extreme old ape;a sense of duty so steady and so strong thatit governed all her actions and pleasures, andsaved her not only fro"i the grosser and morecommon temptations ofan exalted position, butalso in a most unusual degree from the subtleand often half concealed deflecting; influencesthat spring from ambition or resentment, frompersonal predilections and personal dislikes. Itw.is these qualities, combined with her un-rivalk-d experience of affairs, and strengthenedby long"arid constant Intercourse with the fore-n.ost -English statesmen at two generations,that made her what, she undoubtedly was—a per-fect model of a constitutional sovereign. . . .

There ¦.ere. however, occasions when she tookIndependent str-ps, and some of these had a con-siderable influence on politics. Louis Napoleon

was one of the few great sovereigns who weren«,t related to her. and to few persona could thecoup d'etat which brought him to th- thronebay« been more repugnant; but the cordial per-povai relations she established with him un-doubtedly contributed considerably to the goodrelations v>:ii.h for many years subsisted be-

tween England and France. Bismarck detestedEnsUsta Court Influence, and was greatly preju-diced trainst h.i. but he has left a striking tes-timony to the favorable impression which heri:ift and rood msk mad-- upon him when befirst -came in contact with her. She possessedto,u high degree the power of choosing the right:moment and striking the true chord, and she ja;.^ars to have been an excellent Judge not joj.iy of the feelings of large bodies of men, but;ilso of the individual characters of those with jwhom she dealt. She had a style of writingi

which was eminently characteristic and cmi- jneatly feminine, and it is easy to trace the let-i.rs which were entirely her own. Her lettersof congratulation, or sympathy, or encourage-

ment on public occasions scarcely ever failed ¦

in their effect, and never contained an Injuui-

clous word The same thing may be said of her ,many beautiful letters to those who were suf- |f. r;:¦• from some grievous calamity. \\ hetnerehe was writing to a great public character,

like the widow of an American President, orexpressing her sorrow for obscure sufferers,

there was the same note of true womanly sym-

pathy, so manifestly sj>ontanc..us and so mani-festly heartfelt lhat it found Its way to the

hearth of thousands. The tact for which shewa« <o justly celebrated, like all true tact

rvrang largely from character, from the quick

bnd lively sympathies of an eminently affee- |

Donate nature. No one could have been less

theatrical or less lik.ly in any unworthy wasto seek for popularity: but she knew admirably

Iheoocadons <>r the methods by which she cull jstrike i»ie Imagination and appeal most favora- ;i,!> to the felines of the people. She showed |i!.:s in the very beginning of hcT-relgn. v.!-n,vhe insisted. In defiance of th oplni-m of the ,

Duke nt Wellington, on riding herself through

tb'- ranks of her troops at hr first tvvl<*w.

I. is rather, however, by the example of >

fife than by any public act* that a conrtltur ,tlorial Bowrelsn can impress her personality on

th« affections of her people, Of the reisn of

Qoccn Victoria it nay be truly said thai very ,f.-u in English history bay* been s-> blameless ,:.s this, which was the longest ••'- all.

"<r,

r*,Urt was ¦model of quiet dignity and <I"<"-\rum. singularly fi«e from all th- atmosphere .of intrigue, and f,..t.. all suspicion of injudicious (< r unworthy favoritism. She managed It," s!;e

(

manaevd her family.- with a happy mixture of

tact and aff<-cti<.n. and. though she gave her con-.i.d. !i.e to many, she cave it to such persons and |in such a way thai it seemed never to be abused.

Xo domestic lit- could In all its relationsl.e,n more perfect, and her Sow oi children ,amounted to a paw* Among the greattfe-

ma> ruJers it would 1. difficult to I.nd one less |

like Queen Victoria than th- Empress Catherinenf Itnoda: but they bad 'bis common trait oran intend for children and a great power)« f winning their affection. There Is a charming

FICTION.

XEW-YORK TRIBUNE ILLUSTRATED SUPPLEMENT.way to fuinimr-nt. In "Crucial Instances," acollection of seven stories, the author gives hernatural talent more scope. The earlier defectssurvive here and there, as in "The Angf 1 at theGrave," which, aside from tricks of Style, is adelicate, sympathetic piece of work, and one re-grets them too, as one regrets the echo of r.al-zac, to which we have previously referred, in"The Duchess at Prayer," a tale so good thatwe wish it had greater originality. In 'TheConfessional,'' which closes the hook, a very in-teresting excursion into the domain of mo.i.-mItalian history Is hurt by the author's limita-tions In the art of characterization. Don Bgl-

rcush frescos, whereupon the vergers ex-pressed great astonishment, seeing that he. ofcourse; could not be a Christian! Even thewearing of a large Abyssinian cross to which heresorted could not convince these incredulousorthodox that such a man from foreign partscould possibly be of their own faith.

As to the future of Abyssinia, Mr. Viviansays •hat what Menelik most desires is to be leftalone; he would meet a menace to his throneor to his dominions, but he has no id.a of en-larging them. "So long as he lives there is likelyto be a profound calm unless by any chance thereach complete their railway from Jiboutl and

klve way to a sudden impulse of aggression."

W^s for the interests of the English, Mr. VivianKan see little reason for any ultimate occjpa-

poa of Abyssinia: -the labour is worthy of hishire, and many do not see where our rewardwould come for the gnat effort which ••.ii.iL- ini

VICTORIA.

totter of Oath. -i-ino to Orlmm, describing herlife among her prandchiidren, which might al-most have been written by the English Queen"¦ r nut family, spread through many coun-tries, was her abiding interest and delight, andalthough she had to pay in fuil measure thenatural penalty of many bereavements, she at• never knew- the dreary loneliness that'"'"''¦'i "ie last days of her gnat predecessorElizabeth.

The transparent simplicity and unselfishnessof her character w.r.- not generally appreci-ated, and her own books contributed greatly tomake h--r people understand h-r. It is in gen-eral far from a wise thing for royal personagesto descend Into the arena of literature, unlessth | possess some special aptitude for it. Theyexpose themselves to a kind of criticism whollydifferent from that which follows them in theirpublic lives—a criticism more minute and oftenmore deliberate !y malevolent than that to whichan ordinary writer Is subject. The Quren wrotepure and e\,-.!;,.nt Knglish. and she had a goodliterary taste. lut she certainly could neverhave become a gr.-U writer; and the completefrankness and nnreai rye of her journals, as wellas their curious homeliness of thought and feel-itiir, were not viewed with favor in some sec-tions of the fashionable and of the literaryWorld. There were circles in which the word"bourgeois." and there were others in which theword "commonplace" was often pronounced.Y.-t in this, as on nearly all nrrsirtnns whenthe Queen acted on her own Impulse, she acted

A ROMANCE OP HUSH LIFE IN THE TIME

OF THK GREAT FAMINE.THE WIZARD'S KNOT. By William Barry. I2mo,

pp. 400. The Century Company.

CRUCIAL INSTANCES. By Edith Wharton.li'mo, pp. lit. Charles Scribner's Sons.

THE LOVE LETTERS OF THE KINO: or. TheLife Romantic. By Richard I.c Gallienne, 12mo,pp. 281. Boston: Little, Brown & Co.

Tho averagre novel of Irish life is compoundedof conventional ingredients; we know Just whatkind of types to expect; we know what the hu-mor willbo likf\ and, of course, there is alwajs

a good deal of tho brogue. Latterly if thesethreadbare properties have been neglected ithas been for the sake of a mystical, "Celtic" at-mosphere, sometimes plausible, but more oftena bore. Dr. Barry gives us In "The WLzard'3

Knot" a novel above the average. It beginspicturesquely, the doors of Ilenmore Castlestanding wide open, while the November windcauses the turf in the huge fireplace to lightwith Its fitful eparks a deserted hall In which

dlo, who recites most of this narrative, talksmore like the author than like an old Italianpriest, born a peasant. But the book as a wholeIs better than either of its predecessors; the

themes have more humanity In them, the tone

Is less self-conscious and so also is the style,

which has gained in simplicity and force.Fewer shallow epigrams are scattered through

the book, which, altogether, in its sincerity and

Increased directness, marks a considerable im-provement. Mrs. Wharton has a clevernesswhich it Is pleasant to see developing withrapidity along auspicious lines. „

Somewhere beneath the surface of "The Love

Letters of the King" Mr. l.c GalUenne appearsto have a purpose of which the reader catches*the briefest glimpse. It seems not unlikely

that he wishes to exhibit the reaction of a silly

young decadent toward a wholesome life,and it

Is not wholly Improbable that a satirical in-

tention underlies the list which the authorgives of the guests gathered by Mr. Pagan

Wasteneys In his country home. This enume-rates "a young Polish musician who played

upon a curious heart-shaped violin of his owninvention, with a bow mad.- from the hair ofthe woman who had loved him, ... anillustrious devil worshipper, on a visit from

Paris; an esoteric dramatist who said he was

greater than Shakespeare, and who found many

to believe him ... a young French painter,

who, finding it impossible to work in day-

light, had made a curious little habitation for

himself in one of the disused sewers of Paris,"

and several others, Including six individualswho are catalogued simply as "beautifulwomen." Unfortunately "The Love Letters of

the King*; is marked from beginning to end by

just the morbid fatuity which is possibly aimed

at in the list we have quoted. Mr. Pagan

Wasteneys is a self-absorbed manikin, who goes

about philandering with women as unreal and

as mawkish as he is himself. The tale of his

!adventures is told In a strain of maudlin senti-

mentality, and makes a sickly, dull book.

.1 GLIMPSE of Hi I\U ft.

From The Morning Post.

An amusing 'Sketch from Memory" of Rulwe»ILytton appears In "Maemillan's Magazine.^ The

Iwriter who lunched with him in Orosvenor!Square round her attention "divided betweenobserving th« dexterity with which his lordshipconveyed the tiny fish (whitebait) to his mouth,

and the bitter, almost ferocious, contempt with

which he spoke of. the author of 'Vanity Fair.'and dismissed Oeorge Eliot with a sneer and awave of the hand to the limbo of puerile writers.

i p.m Thackeray found a champion in the god-mother, who, though as Interested in the white-bait as her h'-st. yet paused in consumption ofthat delectable fish to show fight for Inr favorite'author. She was a woman of middle age, had

i the courage of her •.pinions, and loved Thai k-Icray next to Shakespeare. "So great a scholar

and student of human nature as is your lord-ship.' sir- observed, looking straight at our hostwith her fearless •>¦.-¦ 'will surely allow that the

Iauthor of "Vanity Fair" is a master of his art?*•1 allow thins of the kind.' was the chill re-ply, accompanied by sut-h a sardonic expression

j of countenance as made him positively ugly.

/Nevertheless.' continued th- godmother, whose'temerity in setting up her opinion against that

'of Lord Lytton so struck v with amazement!that for the ;moment Iforgot my whitebait (a[lapse of memory not unobserved by cn< of thecolossal footmen, who promptly whisked away:my plate); 'nevertheless. I<:.n but think that!when the history of the literature <>f the nine-.i teenth century comes to be written the name ofj Thackeray will be found side |.y side with thatlof your lordship.' His lordship bowed at what-Ihe evidently deemed a very iiualitii d compliment,

at d shrugged his shoulders contemptuously atthe prospect of his name ing coupled with thatof Thackeray as planets of equal magnitude."He, however, praised Dickens and Miss Braddon,June Austen and Mrs. Ineb bold.

MK> BDTTB WHAKTOK(from a photograph.)

mIIKN VK"l"u|:i.\.

(Prom 'N- i''Hi.lit i.y '.Vim. ii.i!nii

wisely. Her books had at once an enormouscirculation, ami there can be no doubt that theycontributed very widely to her popularity. Mul-titudes to whom she had before been little morethan a name now realized that she was onewith whom they had very much in common.Her evident longing for sympathy produced animmediate response. Her deep domestic affectlion, her constant interest In her servants. herhigh si.nits, her love of scenery, her love of ani-mals, her power of taking delight in little things,appeared vividly in her pages, and came hometo the largest classes of her people.

Inboom respects the Queen was an eminentlydemocratic sovereign. While maintaining thedimiity of h-r position, rank and wealth werein her eyes always subordinate to the greatrealities of life and to true human affections.In no one was the touch of nature that makesthe whole world kin more constantly visible.She was never more in her place than in visit-ing some poor tenant on the morrow of a greatbereavement, or uttering words of comfort by

the sickbed of some bumble dependant. Menof all ranks who came in contact with her werestruck with her thoughtful kindness, and herroyal sift of an excellent memory never showedItself more frequently than in the manner inv. hi. she remembered .md inquired after the

fortunes and happiness of obscure persons re-lated to those with whom she spoke.

Her religious opinions were brought very little

before the public. Beyond a deep sense of Provi-

dential guidance and of the comforting power

\u0084l religion little is'"

! '• gathered from her pub-

lished tutterances; but she seemed equally at

home in the Scotch Presbyterian and the Angli-

can i'niscopal Church, and her marked admira-tion for such men as Dean Stanley and NormanMacleod and for the preaching of Principal

Calrd gives son..- dew to the bias of her opin-

ions'ii. mind n:.s not speculative, but emi-

nently practical, and while she patronized good

works of the m.s. varied kinds, there is rea-Bon to i..;,, that those which most appealed

to her personal • lings were those which direct^Iiv contributed to alleviate the Fufferings^r pro-1mote the material welfare of the poor. She de-

!voted the greater part of her Jubilee present to

|institutions for providing nurses for the "Irkpoor, and this is said to have b.en one of hecharities in which she took the warmest and

most constant inter* st.— *

The wife of Mr. Henry Norman (formerly

Ifenie Muriel Dowie. the "girl In the Carpa-

thian*"), has written a story of war and of1 society, winch she calls "The General.

th- gtoom of Impending trouble is somehowvaguely suggested. Sir Philip Liscarrol, th.-owner of the ancient and Impoverished estate,enters dazed by a fall from his hone. Hiscousin Edmund adds bad news to liis burdenand while they are talking about it the cause,

,In the shape of the Baronet's long abs-ntmother, Joins the worried pair. She is promptlyImprisoned *ln the <;ray T< **er From this i»>intdown to the close <>r the i.ook there is little Joy

: for any one in Dr. Barry*8 group of Irish ladies,gentleim n and peasants.

Tin- great famine comes t<> deepen th- misery

In which ;ill and sundry are enveloped; LadyLiscarrol, having brought Philip*B father to thenra\«- through h«r misconduct, returns t<> Ren-

|more only i<> mak.- matte rs worse there and In

the neighborh I. At the end Bhe «.\mis her-i s-!f a mischief maki r nnd withdraws from the

seem after a tragic fashion. Two of the char-acters emerge upon a brighter horizon, but "The

i (Vizard's Knot" hum in.-- .¦ sorrowful story. ItIis also a very ;-in"'l one, not onlj in its construc-

tion, hi its dramatic episodes, and in its In-teresting portrayal «'f interesting ti^ui'-s. Ipiii inits tactful handling of tho divers motives sup-plied by the liish character. The melancholy

and the humor in 11-at character are given; fresh aspects; the vein of mysticism ;;nd super-stition running through the race is exploited

1 w ith sympathy an I skill, never with t h>- pedan-tic and affected touch so common among ourlatter day "Coltli

'hierophants. The whole

scheme is lifelike and :¦>:¦•¦ him. human naturetakes always the first place. The grim, poeticglamour which bangs around the book, givingiia decidedly unconventional tone is character-ized, like I'i. Barry's reproduction of the speechof bis personages, by spontaneity.

The hope expressed in th< ¦ columns wheuMrs. Wharton published her first book! "TheGreater Inclination,*' and again when "The

Touchstone" appeared, that she would abandon,or at least modify, the mannerisms which" sug-gested a complete enslavement to the Influence

of Air. Henry James, Menu at last lo be uu the

It