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If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Archibald Marshall, a Realistic Novelist - -Author: William Lyon Phelps - -Release Date: November 14, 2019 [EBook #60686] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARCHIBALD MARSHALL *** - - - - -Produced by Carlos Colon, the University of Toronto and -the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian -Libraries) - - - - - - - - - - -[Illustration: ARCHIBALD MARSHALL] - - - - - ARCHIBALD MARSHALL - - _A Realistic Novelist_ - - - BY - - WILLIAM LYON PHELPS - - Lampson Professor of English Literature at Yale - - - WITH FRONTISPIECE - - - [Illustration] - - - NEW YORK - DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY - 1919 - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1918, BY - DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY, INC. - - - - - TO - THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH - OF - THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO - - NOTABLE FOR SCHOLARS AND TEACHERS AND - TWO CREATIVE ARTISTS - - THE NOVELIST ROBERT HERRICK - THE POET WILLIAM VAUGHN MOODY - - - - -PREFACE - - -The original form of this book was a lecture on the William Vaughn -Moody foundation at the University of Chicago, delivered on the sixth -of February, 1918. A portion of it was subsequently printed in the -_North American Review_. It now appears considerably revised and -enlarged. - - W. L. P. - - _Yale University, - Tuesday, 21 May, 1918._ - - - - -ARCHIBALD MARSHALL - - -On a mellow day in the early autumn of the year 1900, I sat on an old -wooden bench in the open air with an English gentleman, and listened -to his conversation with a mixture of curiosity and reverence. The -place was one of the fairest counties of England, the town on the other -side of a screen of trees was Dorchester, and my seat-mate was Thomas -Hardy. I remember his saying without any additional emphasis than the -weight of the words, that the basis of every novel should be a story. -In considering this remark, which came, not from a doctrinaire, but -from a master of long and triumphant experience, I could not help -thinking that what seems axiomatic is often belied by a majority of -instances. Thus, we church-members would agree that religion must take -the first place in our lives; yet a disinterested observer, who should -begin at the other end of the proposition and examine our lives merely -to discover what actually did take the first place therein, might -conceivably miss the element of religion altogether. In the same way, -while it would theoretically seem that every novel must be a story, an -honest critic who should examine the total product of prose fiction for -any given year in the twentieth century, might, in a large number of -cases, easily fail to find any story at all. - -As we look back over the history of the English novel, it would appear -that every permanent work of fiction has been a great story. _Robinson -Crusoe_, _Clarissa_, _Tom Jones_, _Humphry Clinker_, _The Bride of -Lammermoor_, _Pride and Prejudice_, _Esmond_, _David Copperfield_, _The -Mill on the Floss_, _Richard Feverel_, _The Return of the Native_, -_Treasure Island_, _The Last of the Mohicans_, _The Scarlet Letter_, -_Huckleberry Finn_, although they represent various shades of realism -and romanticism, have all been primarily stories, in which we follow -the fortunes of the chief actors with steady interest. These books owe -their supremacy in fiction--at least, most of them do--to a combination -of narrative, character, and style; every one of them, if given in -colloquial paraphrase to a group of men around a camp-fire, would be -rewarded with attention. - -Sometimes the very thing that gives a drama or a novel immediate -currency makes it smell of mortality; by taking advantage of some -hotly-discussed social question, general interest is awakened; but when -the question is obsolete, what becomes of the work of art? I shall not -venture to make a prediction; but I think it is at least possible that -some of the earlier plays of Ibsen, like _The Pretenders_, may outlast -some of the later ones, like _Ghosts_; the later ones blaze with the -flames of public debate, the earlier reflect the light of the stars. - -Of all forms of literature, the novel has suffered most by its -desertion of art for propaganda. It has been debased by its popularity. -It lends itself so easily as a channel for political, social or -religious oratory. Every theorist uses it as a megaphone. Although -novels are as common as grasshoppers, good stories are scarce. Now -this desertion of art for propaganda is founded on the fallacy that -a work of pure fiction cannot stand or ought not to stand by itself, -but should lean on politics, social reform, science, or theology for -support. We do not insist on a thesis in sculpture or music or painting -or poetry. There have been, indeed, many attempts to turn Pegasus into -a cart-horse; and unfortunately the attempt is almost invariably -successful. - -I prefer novels that express the opinions of the characters in the -story to those that express the opinions of the author. I do not mean -that all novels ought to be impersonal; such a result, even when most -ardently desired by the novelist, is impossible of achievement. The -work of every true artist reflects his personality, and is, in a sense, -subjective. Even the coldest novels betray their makers' sympathies, -and the standpoint from which they regard the world. But there is a -difference between having ideas and arguing a case. Women who have -ideas are always more interesting than those who have only opinions. - -Why is it that so many novelists write their best books early in their -careers? Is it not sometimes because the original impelling artistic -impulse becomes dulled in contact with society, and thoughts take the -place of thought? The thorns of this world spring up and choke them. It -is by no accident that _The Mill on the Floss_ is a greater novel than -_Daniel Deronda_. - -The most enduring novels come from the silent depths in a writer's -soul, not from the turbulent shallows. To live deeply is easier in a -country where deep living has been done for centuries than in a country -whose human history is brief. If we should really feel chagrined -by America's native contribution to literature in comparison with -that of Europe, we might justifiably console ourselves by comparing -America with Australia. Surely one reason why the British today write -novels rather better than the Americans, is because their roots go -down deeper into the rich soil of the past. Men of genius are scarce -in any locality, and I am not at this moment thinking of them; but I -am constantly surprised at the large number of contemporary novels -produced in Great Britain whose literary style bears the unmistakable -stamp of distinction. There are leaders, whose names are known -everywhere; there are men and women who might conceivably be leaders if -they lived out of Europe. The best reason why many admirable twentieth -century works of prose fiction in England fail to attract general -attention is because the level of excellence is so high. - - - - -II - - -H. G. Wells is not the hero of this book. I am holding my roses for a -figure that has not yet appeared upon my little stage. But the career -of Mr. Wells, whose novels have almost every quality except charm, is -interesting to contemplate. That he is a born novelist was clear to me -so early as the year 1895, when one of his best stories appeared--_The -Wheels of Chance_. Not long after came the novels of science and -socialism that carried his name around the world; he was discussed -in the salons of Paris and in the prisons of Siberia. His books were -all busy, noisy, talkative, restless; they reflected in their almost -truculent mental aggressiveness the mass of undigested and indigestible -quasi-scientific fodder that perhaps disturbs more than it nourishes -the twentieth century stomach; they made many readers fondly believe -they were living the intellectual life. I mistakenly supposed he would -keep up this squirrel-cage activity to the end of his days; for I -mistakenly supposed in all this clatter he was incapable of hearing the -voice of the spirit. I used to think that if all the world suddenly -became religious except one man, that man would be H. G. Wells. - -The war, which diverted the energies of so many quiet thinkers to -matters of immediate and practical efficiency, produced a rather -different effect upon this interesting man. He began to regard things -that are temporal in relation to those of eternal import. He became -converted--I have no hesitation in using the good old word--and while -I can see no evidence of conviction of sin, for humility is not his -most salient characteristic, he did come to believe and believes now, -that religion ought to be the motive power of man. What direction -his ideas may take in the future I cannot divine; but I am thankful -for his conversion, if only for the reason that it inspired him to -produce a masterpiece, _Mr. Britling Sees It Through_. This novel is -not only far and away his best book, it is the ablest work of fiction -about the war that I have read. But it owes its eminence not to its -accurate reporting of the course of social history during the war, for -after all, the much admired hockey-game is not much higher than major -journalism, but rather to the profound sense of spiritual values which -is the core of the book. - -I regard it as unfortunate that Mr. Wells felt it necessary to follow -up the triumph of this tale with a treatise on theology called _God -the Invisible King_, and with a propagandist novel, called _The Soul -of a Bishop_. For the last-named book illustrates all the faults of -its species, as well as the cardinal sin against art. _Mr. Britling -Sees It Through_ is religious; _The Soul of a Bishop_ is sectarian. And -_God the Invisible King_, while it should be read with sympathy for its -author's sincerity and newly-found idealism, has all the arrogance and -cock-sureness of an old-fashioned theologian without the preliminary -years of devoted learning that gave the old-fashioned one some right -to a hearing, provided of course he could induce any one to listen to -him. No orthodox evangelist has ever been more sure of God than Mr. -Wells. The novel was properly named _Mr. Britling Sees It Through_; and -we might with equal propriety name the treatise, _Mr. Britling Sees -Through It_. - -Strange and unfortunate that Mr. Wells should think that the religious -element in Mr. Britling needed additional emphasis. A work of art -founded on eternal verities will accomplish more for the cause -of religion than any tract. Solely from the moral point of view, -_Anna Karenina_ is a more impressive book than most of its author's -subsequent exhortations. - -_The Soul of a Bishop_ is not a realistic novel, for there is no -real character in it. It is already on its way to limbo, along with -_Robert Elsmere_ and _The Inside of the Cup_. But it is an excellent -illustration of the fate that awaits an artist when he sacrifices the -truth of art for the enforcement of personal opinion. There was a time -when the excitement over the question of trades-unions produced by -_Put Yourself in His Place_ was at fever heat; but that novel today is -almost forgotten, while _The Cloister and the Hearth_ will be read by -generation after generation, simply because it is a great story. - - - - -III - - -In order to illustrate what I mean by a realistic novelist whose -happiest effects are gained by writing good stories with real -characters, I know of no better choice among contemporaries than -Archibald Marshall. He is an artist of such dignity and refinement -that only twice in his career has he written a novel that had for its -main purpose something other than truth to life; in each of these two -attempts the result was a failure. - -I know how difficult it is to "recommend" novels to hungry readers, -for I have written prescriptions to alleviate many kinds of mental -trouble, yes, and physical ailments too; but how can I be sure that -the remedy will in every "case" be effective? I know that _Treasure -Island_ cured me of an attack of tonsillitis and that _Queed_ cured me -of acute indigestion; a United States naval officer informed me that -he recovered from jaundice simply by reading _Pride and Prejudice_. -These are facts; but what assurance have I that other sufferers can try -these prescriptions with reasonable hope? Yet I have no hesitancy in -recommending Archibald Marshall to any group of men or women or to any -individual of mature growth. One scholar of sixty years of age told -me that these novels had given him a quite new zest in life; and I -myself, who came upon them on one of the luckiest days of my existence, -confidently affirm the same judgment. Of the numerous persons that I -have induced to read these books, I have met with only one sceptic; -this was a shrewd, sharp-minded woman of eighty, who declared with -a hearty laugh that she found them insupportably tame. I understand -this hostility, for when girls reach the age of eighty, they demand -excitement. - -Those who are familiar with Mr. Marshall's work and life will easily -discover therein echoes of his own experience. He is an Englishman by -birth and descent, familiar with both town and country. He was born -on the sixth of September, 1866, and received in his home life and -preliminary training plenty of material which appeared later in the -novels. His father came from the city, like the father in _Abington -Abbey_; he himself was graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, like -the son of _Peter Binney_; it was intended but not destined that he -should follow his father's business career, and he worked in a city -office like the son of Armitage Brown; he went to Australia like -the hero's sister in _Many Junes_; he made three visits to America, -but fortunately has not yet written an American novel; he studied -theology with the intention of becoming a clergyman in the Church of -England, like so many young men in his stories; in despair at finding a -publisher for his work, he became a publisher himself, and issued his -second novel, _The House of Merrilees_, which had as much success as -it deserved; he tried journalism before and during the war; he lived -in two small Sussex towns with literary associations, Winchelsea and -Rye, in the latter from 1908 to 1913; then until 1917 his home was in -Switzerland; he has now gone back to the scene of his university days, -Cambridge. - -In 1902 he was married and lived for some time in Beaulieu (pronounced -Bewly) in the New Forest, faithfully portrayed in _Exton Manor_. He -spent three happy years there planning and making a garden, like the -young man in _The Old Order Changeth_. Although his novels are filled -with hunting and shooting, he is not much of a sportsman himself, -being content only to observe. He loves the atmosphere of sport rather -than sport. His favourite recreations are walking, reading, painting, -and piano-playing, and the outdoor flavour of his books may in part be -accounted for by the fact that much of his writing is done in the open -air. - -Like many another successful man of letters, his first step was a -false start; for in 1899 he produced a novel called _Peter Binney, -Undergraduate_, which has never been republished in America, and -perhaps never will be. This is a topsy-turvy book, where an ignorant -father insists on entering Cambridge with his son; and after many weary -months of coaching, succeeds in getting his name on the books. The son -is a steady-headed, unassuming boy, immensely popular with his mates; -the father, determined to recapture his lost youth, disgraces his son -and the college by riotous living, and is finally expelled. The only -good things in the book are the excellent pictures of May Week and -some snap-shots at college customs; but the object of the author is so -evident and he has twisted reality so harshly in order to accomplish -it, that we have merely a work of distortion. - -For six years our novelist remained silent; and he never returned to -the method of reversed dynamics until the year 1915, when he published -_Upsidonia_, another failure. Once again his purpose is all too -clear; possibly irritated by the exaltation of slum stories and the -depreciation of the characters of the well-to-do often insisted upon in -such works, he wrote a satire in the manner of _Erewhon_, and called -it a novel. Here poverty and dirt are regarded as the highest virtues, -and the possession of wealth looked upon as the sure and swift road -to social ostracism. There is not a gleam of the author's true skill -in this book, mainly because he is so bent on arguing his case that -exaggeration triumphs rather too grossly over verisimilitude. He is, -of course, trying to write nonsense; a mark that some authors have hit -with deliberate aim, while perhaps more have attained the same result -with less conscious intention. Now Mr. Marshall cannot write nonsense -even when he tries; and failure in such an effort is particularly -depressing. He is at his best when his art is restrained and delicate; -in _Upsidonia_ he drops the engraving-tool and wields a meat-axe. Let -us do with _Peter Binney_ and with _Upsidonia_ what every other reader -has done; let us try to forget them, remembering only that two failures -in fifteen books is not a high proportion. - -Of the remaining thirteen novels, two attained only a partial success; -and the reason is interesting. These two are _The House of Merrilees_ -and _Many Junes_ (1908). The former was written in 1901 but publishers -would none of it, and it did not wear a print dress until 1905. -Meanwhile the author was trying his hand at short stories, for which -his method of work is not particularly fitted, his skill being in the -development of character rather than in the manufacture of incident. -He did, however, publish a collection of these tales in one volume, -called _The Terrors_, which appeared in 1913, their previous separate -publication covering a period of sixteen years. They are amazingly -unequal in value; some are excellent, and others trivial. This volume -is out of print, and whether any of the contents may be rescued from -oblivion is at present problematical. It is interesting, however, -that he, at the outset of his career, supposed that invention, rather -than observation, was his trump card. The realism of _The House of -Merrilees_ is mixed with melodrama and mystery; these are, in the -work of a dignified artist, dangerous allies, greater liabilities than -assets. In a personal letter he confesses that this artificial plot -hampered him; but he goes on to say, "the range of scene and character -in that book is something that I have never been able to catch since." -He has since--with only one relapse--happily forsaken artificially -constructed mysteries for the deepest mystery of all--the human heart. -In _Many Junes_, a story that will be reprinted in America in 1919, -we have pictures of English country life of surpassing loveliness; -we have an episode as warm and as fleeting as June itself; we have a -faithful analysis of the soul of a strange and solitary man, damned -from his birth by lack of decision. But the crisis in the tale is -brought about by an accident so improbable that the reader refuses to -believe it. The moment our author forsakes reality he is lost; it is as -necessary for him to keep the truth as it was for Samson to keep his -hair. Furthermore, this is the only one of Mr. Marshall's books that -has a tragic close--and his art cannot flourish in tragedy, any more -than a native of the tropics can live in Lapland. The bleak air of lost -illusion and frustrated hope, in which the foremost living novelist, -appropriately named, finds his soul's best climate, is not favourable -to Archibald Marshall. - -The "relapse" mentioned in the preceding paragraph occurred in the year -1912, when he published a long and wildly exciting novel, called _The -Mystery of Redmarsh Farm_. This has all the marks of a "best-seller" -and went through several editions in England, though it has not yet -been reprinted in America. I regard the writing of this book as the -most dangerous moment in Mr. Marshall's career, for its immediate -commercial success might easily have tempted him to continue in the -same vein, and if he had, he would have sunk to the level of a popular -entertainer, and lost his position among British novelists of the past -and present. Curiously enough, it came between two of his best works -in the Clinton series, _The Eldest Son_ (1911) and _The Honour of the -Clintons_ (1913). Maybe the chilling reception given to his finest -stories drove him to a cheaper style of composition. Maybe his long -second visit to Australia, where he saw and shared experiences quite -unlike his English environment, made him try his hand at mystery and -crime. In 1911 he had published _Sunny Australia_, the result of a -sojourn on that continent, whither he had gone as special commissioner -for the _Daily Mail_. There is a good deal of superficial cleverness in -_The Mystery of Redmarsh Farm_; its plot is elaborate, with a flavour -of _Lohengrin_; the beautiful lonely maiden's young brother is stolen -by a villain and rescued by a young hero who is appropriately named -Knightly; a misunderstanding separates the girl and her lover, who -sails away to Australia. Unlike Lohengrin, however, he returns, and -all is well. There is a conventional detective, and a murder trial and -a shipwreck and a recognition scene--I kept looking back to the title -page to see if the author really was Archibald Marshall. It is as -though Joseph Conrad should write like Marie Corelli. Yet although some -of the characters are unreal and the plot artificial and the villain -theatrical, the environment, whether in England or in Australia, is as -accurately painted as in Mr. Marshall's best stories. He will not write -of places that he has not seen. When the gypsies are found, they are -found in the New Forest; and any one who reads this yarn immediately -after _Sunny Australia_, will see that these distant scenes are -correctly described. - - - - -IV - - -It was in the year 1906, and in the novel _Richard Baldock_, that he -revealed his power. This book, which will make its first American -appearance in the autumn of 1918, contains a story so absorbing that -it is only in the retrospect that one realizes the vitality of its -characters and the delicacy of its art. There are no heroes and no -villains. Every person has the taint that we all inherited from Adam, -and every person has some reflection of the grace of God. There is no -one who does not say something foolish or ill-considered; and there -is no one who does not say something wise. In other words there are -no types, like "heavies," "juveniles," and "ingenues." As is the case -in nearly all the novels by its author, we are constantly revising -our opinions of the characters; and we revise them, not because the -characters are untrue, but because we learn to know them better. Human -nature is consistent only in its inconsistency. It is forever fluid and -dynamic; and although no individual has ever understood another, and -least of all himself, increasing knowledge helps to make us certain of -our uncertainty. No man will play the part his friends have written -for him. One reason why Shakespeare was a first-rate and Jonson a -second-rate dramatist is because Jonson created humours and Shakespeare -created individuals. Among all Shakespeare's personages, Hamlet is the -most interesting to readers and the most baffling to commentators; -because the latter try to adjust him to a theory of madness, weak will, -or what not. Is not the fact that he has never been understood by any -one and never will be, the strongest proof of his reality? Some think -he lacked backbone; others insist he was all backbone; some think he -was mad; others that he only pretended to be mad; while America's -greatest Shakespearean scholar said he was neither mad nor pretended -to be. A young gentleman of Hamlet's copious temperament, placed as he -was amid natural and supernatural forces, might easily at times seem to -illustrate any one of the above appraisals. Indeed I suppose the sanest -and most resolute among us seem at times to lack either resolution or -sanity or both. - -The more complex a character, the less dependable he is. And everybody -has some complexity. Even quiet Horatio, beloved of Hamlet for his -steady self-control, tried to commit suicide. - -Every fine novel and every fine drama must of course illustrate the law -of causation--the principle of sufficient reason. But characters that -run in grooves are not human. In _Richard Baldock_, we have, as we so -often have in the work of Archibald Marshall, strife between father and -son--a kind of civil war. This war, like many others, is begotten of -misunderstanding. There is not only the inevitable divergence between -the older and the younger generation, there is the divergence between -two powerful individualities. We at first sympathize wholly with the -son. We say to ourselves that if any man is foolish enough to sacrifice -all his joy in life to a narrow creed, why, after all, that is his -affair; it is only when he attempts to impose this cheerless and barren -austerity on others, that we raise the flag of revolt. At the deathbed -of the young mother, one of the most memorable scenes in our author's -books, we are quite certain that we shall never forgive the inflexible -bigot; this hatred for him is nourished when he attempts to crush the -son as he did crush his wife. Yet, as the story develops, and we see -more deeply into the hearts of all the characters, we understand how -the chasm between father and son is finally crossed. It is crossed by -the only durable bridge in the world--the bridge of love, which beareth -all things. - -Tolerance--when based not on indifference, but on sympathy--is tolerant -even of intolerance. - - - - -V - - -In 1907 appeared one of the most characteristic of Mr. Marshall's -novels, _Exton Manor_, which he began to write the day after he -finished _Richard Baldock_. It was naturally impossible for any -well-read reviewer to miss the likeness to Anthony Trollope. If -I believed in the transmigration of souls, I should believe that -Archibald Marshall was a reincarnation of Trollope, and William De -Morgan a reincarnation of Dickens. In an interesting preface written -for the American edition, Mr. Marshall manfully says that he has not -only tried to follow Anthony Trollope, "but the whole body of English -novelists of his date, who introduced you to a large number of people, -and left you with the feeling that you knew them all intimately, and -would have found yourself welcome in their society. That particular -note of intimacy seems to be lacking in the fiction of the present day, -and I should like to have it back." - -This instantly raises the question of Victorianism, to some a -stumbling-block, to some foolishness. For my part, if I did not -believe that the best Victorian fiction was superior to contemporary -work, I should not be so hearty an admirer of Archibald Marshall. -Indeed the best Victorian novels surpass our best twentieth century -novels in the one respect where we chiefly plume ourselves on our -claim to attention--I mean in the matter of sincerity. We talk about -sincerity all the time, but we protest too much; the essence of -sincerity is present perhaps more often in art, as it is in life, -where its profession is least urgent. Henry James, in the fragment -of autobiography called _The Middle Years_, wisely though oracularly -remarked, "Phenomena may be interesting, thank goodness, without being -phenomena of elegant expression or of any other form of restless -smartness, and when once type is strong, when once it plays up from -deep sources, every show of its sincerity delivers us a message and -we hang, to real suspense, on its continuance of energy, on its again -and yet again consistently acquitting itself. So it keeps in tune, -and, as the French adage says, _c'est le ton qui fait la chanson_. The -mid-Victorian London was sincere--that was a vast virtue and a vast -appeal; the contemporary is sceptical, and most so when most plausible." - -On a summer day in 1914, I had the pleasure of a ten-mile drive over -the hills with one of the wisest old men in America--Andrew D. White. -I remember his saying that one of the most fortunate things that could -happen to America would be a general ambition on the part of the more -educated classes to look forward as to a goal in life to making a -permanent home in the country. He said that in America men who make -a little money move into the city as soon as possible; whereas in -England, whenever a man makes a competence in the city he usually -establishes a home in the country. No one can read the novels of Mr. -Marshall without feeling that his books are so to speak based on this -ideal; he repeatedly insists that life in the country is the true life -for thoughtful men and women, and that the most delectable season for -the solid enjoyment of it is the winter. Nay, he takes the position--a -position also occupied by one of our ablest American novelists, Dorothy -Canfield--that the most favourable locality for studying human nature -is the small country village. He says, "Life in such a community as is -depicted in _Exton Manor_ is just as typical of English social habits -as it was in Trollope's day. The tendency of those who have hitherto -worked on the land to drift into the towns is not shared by the more -leisured classes. Their tendency is all the other way--to forsake the -towns for the country--and improved methods of communication keep -them more in touch with the world than they would have been fifty -years ago. But in spite of this increased dependency upon the outside -world, English country life is still intensely local in its personal -interests, and quite legitimately so, for it must be remembered that, -if the man who lives in a fairly populous country village comes across -fewer people than the man who lives in a town, he knows all about those -whom he does come across, and his acquaintances represent a far greater -variety of type and class than is met with where types and classes -tend to stratify. You have, in fact, in a typical country parish, a -microcosm of English social life, and there is, ready to the hand -of the realistic novelist, material from which he can draw as much -interest and variety as he is able to make use of." - -In another important question which concerns the art of the novelist, -I might applaud Mr. Marshall's dictum more unreservedly if I did not -happen to know of a gigantic witness against him. In forestalling -gossipy identification of his leading characters in _Exton Manor_, -he says, "It is not a novelist's business to draw portraits, but to -create living figures, and the nearer he gets to the first the farther -off will he be from the second." This certainly sounds well; but -unfortunately for its universal application, practically all of the -characters in _Anna Karenina_ are accurate portraits. - - - - -VI - - -To all those who have not yet read a single work by our author, I would -counsel them to begin with _The Squire's Daughter_, and then take -up--with particular care to preserve the correct sequence--_The Eldest -Son_, _The Honour of the Clintons_, _The Old Order Changeth_ [English -title, _Rank and Riches_]. These four stories deal with the family and -family affairs of the Clintons, and together with a separate book, -_The Greatest of These_ [English title, _Roding Rectory_], belong to -Mr. Marshall's best period, the years from 1909 to 1915. When I say -the best period, I mean the most fruitful up to the present moment in -1918. He is in the prime of life, and it is to be hoped that he may -yet surpass himself; but since 1915, perhaps owing to the obsession of -the war, he has not done so. _Watermeads_ (1916) is a charming story, -and in _Abington Abbey_ (1917), and its sequel, _The Graftons_ (1918), -he has introduced us to another interesting family; but neither of -these books reaches the level maintained by the Clinton tetralogy, nor -penetrates so deeply into the springs of life and conduct as his most -powerful work, _The Greatest of These_. - -Mr. Marshall began _The Squire's Daughter_ as a long "short story," -starting with what is now Chapter XII, _Food and Raiment_. He fell in -love with his characters, as many a novelist has done, and expanded -the narrative. Then he wrote _The Eldest Son_, which is the best of -the four books. Yet it was not a success in England, and at present -both _The Squire's Daughter_ and _The Eldest Son_ are out of print -in their home country; they are, however, having a daily-increasing -circulation in America, which is bound to resurrect them in Great -Britain. For that matter most of Mr. Marshall's novels are more widely -known and certainly more appreciated in the United States than in the -land of their nativity. In _The Honour of the Clintons_, the author's -intention was to "take up the old Squire, see what all his generations -of gentility and honour, and all his conviction that he is of superior -clay, amount to when he is touched with personal disgrace." He -discovered, as Dickens must have discovered in writing the _Pickwick -Papers_, that his hero turned out rather better than he thought he -would. This third book in the series was written under inspiration, -completed in six weeks, and at the time came almost as near satisfying -the author as it always has satisfied me. But a friend, with true -English candour, said to him, "All the ingredients of the cake are -there, but the cake hasn't risen." Anyhow, the Squire rose, whether the -cake did or not. - -The final novel in the Clinton family, _The Old Order Changeth_, shows -the effect produced on both Rank and Riches by the Great War. Mr. -Marshall began this story with many misgivings, and it is still not one -of his favourites, chiefly because "there are so many beastly people in -it." But so long as I live it will hold a secure place in my heart, for -this is the first work of the author's that I saw. Indeed I had never -heard of him until I picked up _The Old Order Changeth_. I started -to read it with no conception of the keen delight in store; after -finishing it, I wrote to the publishers, "Who on earth is Archibald -Marshall? There is no one like him in the world. Send me everything he -has written." Since that moment of exaltation, I have read and reread -the Clinton books, and each time they seem better. - -To read the Clinton stories is to be a welcome guest in a noble old -English country house, to meet and to associate on terms of happy -intimacy with delightful, well-bred, clear-minded men and women; -to share the outdoor life of healthful sport, and the pleasant -conversation around the open fire; to sharpen one's observation of -natural scenery in summer and in winter, and in this way to make a -permanent addition to one's mental resources; to learn the significance -of good manners, tact, modesty, kindly consideration, purity of -heart--not by wearisome precepts, but by their flower and fruit in -human action. To read these books is not to dodge life, it is to have -it more abundantly. - -If, as Bacon said, a man dies as often as he loses his friends, then -he gains vitality by every additional friendship. To know the Clinton -family and their acquaintances is not merely to be let into the inner -circle of English country life, to discover for ourselves exactly what -sort of people English country folk are, to understand what family -tradition and ownership of the land mean to them--it is to enlarge -our own range of experience and to increase our own stock of genuine -happiness, by adding to our mental life true friends--and friends that -are always available. For often the friends of flesh and blood cannot -be reached when we need them most; perhaps they are asleep, or away on -a journey; but the staunch old friends introduced to us by novelists -never deny themselves. Is not this a fairly good reason why, among -all the novels we read, some at all events should be selected for the -immanent charm of their characters? I know how uncritical it is to -admire any work of art that possesses the element of cheerfulness; but -suppose our reading of novels were entirely confined to the works of -Maxim Gorki? - -Why should we always select acquaintances in fiction that we always -avoid in real life? Is it the same instinct that makes so many persons -love to go slumming? - -There is perhaps rather too strong a flavour of tea in these stories, -but that no doubt is a legitimate part of their realism. The sacred -rite of afternoon tea plays fully as big a part in English fiction -as it plays in English life. Tea--which would be an intolerable -interruption to business or to golf among normal Americans--is never -superfluous to the British. Among the hundreds of English novels that -you have read, can you recall a single instance where any character -_declined_ a cup of tea? And, in terrible crises or trivial vexations, -is not the following exclamation familiar--"I am dying for my tea!" I -sometimes think that if the house should be destroyed by fire at three -o'clock, half-past four would find the family taking tea on the lawn. -I remember, on a voyage to Alaska, a vigorous old English woman who -appeared on deck every day between four and five, and when she saw the -circulation of the china, a look of holy rapture dawned in her eyes, -and from her lips came an ecstatic cry, "Ah, is there tea going?" It -must be wonderful to love anything on earth so much as the English love -their tea. - -Two months after writing the above paragraph, I received testimony -which delightfully supports the view expressed. An Englishman informs -me, that after the big sea-fight of Jutland, he had the privilege of -conversing with an English blue-jacket who was perched aloft during the -whole of that terrific experience. There he remained under orders, in -the thick of the battle, with the bolts of death flying all about him. -On being asked how he felt, the young man exclaimed with a tone of -regret, "Well, of course, I had to miss my tea." - -Not since Fielding's Squire Western has there been a more vivid English -country squire than Mr. Marshall's Squire Clinton. The difference -between them is the difference between the eighteenth and the twentieth -centuries. He is the man of the house, the head of the family, and it -is not until we have read all four of the stories that we can obtain -a complete view of his character. He is a living, breathing man, and -we see the expression on his face, and hear the tones of his voice, -which his daughters imitate so irresistibly. With all his pride and -prejudice, with all his childish irritableness, he is the idol of the -household. His skull is as thick as English oak, but he has a heart -of gold. He is stupid, but never contemptible. And when the war with -Germany breaks out in 1914, he rises to a magnificent climax in the -altercation with Armitage Brown. We hear in his torrent of angry -eloquence not merely the voice of one man, but the combined voices of -all the generations that have developed him. - -Yet while Mr. Marshall has made an outstanding and unforgettable figure -of the fox-hunting Squire, it is in the portrayal of the women of the -family that he shows his most delicate art. This is possibly because -his skill as an artist is reinforced by profound sympathy. The Squire -is so obtuse that it has never dawned upon his mind that his wife is a -thousand times cleverer than he, or that her daily repression has in -it anything savouring of tragedy. In the third book, _The Honour of -the Clintons_, intense and prolonged suffering begins to sharpen his -dull sight; and the scenes between the old pair are unspeakably tender -and beautiful. Mr. Marshall never preaches, never tries to adorn the -tale by pointing a moral. But the wild escapade of the daughter in the -first of these stories, and the insistence of the mother on a superior -education for the twins exhibit more clearly than any letter to the -_Times_ could do, what the author thinks about the difference between -the position women have held in English country homes and the position -they ought to have. - -Of all his characters, perhaps those that the reader will remember -with the highest flood of happy recollection are the twins, Joan and -Nancy. In the first novel, this wonderful pair are aged thirteen; in -the second, they are fifteen; in the third, they are twenty-one. Mr. -Marshall is particularly skilful in the drawing of young girls; and -after one has read _Ann Veronica_, I can think of no better antidote -than these Clinton books. Whatever may be woman's place in the future, -whatever she may drink or smoke or wear or say or do, there is one -kind of girl that can never become unattractive; and the Clinton -twins illustrate that kind. They are healthy, modest, quick-witted, -affectionate, high-spirited; when they come in laughing and glowing -from a game of tennis, and take their places at the family tea-table, -they bring the breath of life into the room. - -In _The Eldest Son_, which of the four delightful books dealing with -the Clinton family, I find most delightful, there is a suggestion of -the author's attitude toward humanity in the procession of candidates -for governess that passes before the penetrating eyes of Mrs. Clinton. -Her love for the old Starling--one of the most original of Mr. -Marshall's creations--has not blinded Mrs. Clinton to the latter's -incompetence for the task of training so alert a pair as the twins. -Of the women who present themselves for this difficult position, not -one is wholly desirable; and it is plain that Mrs. Clinton knows in -advance that this will be the case. She is not looking for an ideal -teacher, for such curiosities are not to be found on our planet; -the main requisite is brains, and she selects finally the candidate -whom many society women would immediately dismiss as impossible, -the uncompromising, hard-headed, sexless Miss Phipps, who has about -as much amenity as a steamroller. Miss Phipps bristles with faults; -but they are the faults that spring from excess of energy, from -a devotion to scholarship so exclusive that the minor graces and -minor pleasures of life have received in her daily scheme even less -than their due. But the twins already possess everything lacking in -the composition of their teacher; what they need is not a sweet, -sympathetic companion, what they need is what nearly every one needs, -mental discipline, mental training, and an increase in knowledge and -ideas. In this dress-parade of candidates we have a miniature parade -of humanity in the large; no one is faultless; but those who have an -honest mind and an honest character have something essential. And who -knows but what the shrewd and deep-hearted Mrs. Clinton did not also -see that in the association of this mirthless expert with two young -incarnations of vitality and vivacity, both parties to the contract -might learn something of value? Miss Phipps is about to discover that -the country-side in winter has resources entirely unguessed at by her -bookish soul; that there are many of her countrymen and country-women -who find in outdoor sport a secret of health and happiness. - - Her bedroom was in the front of the house, and she had - heard, without much heeding them, the wheels and the - beat of horse-hoofs and the voices outside. Now she - began to be a little curious as to what was going on, - and rose and drew up her blind and looked out. - - The scene was quite new to her, and in spite of herself - she exclaimed at it. Immediately beyond the wide gravel - sweep in front of the house was the grass of the park, - where the whole brave show of the South Meadshire Hunt - was collected. It is doubtful if she had ever seen a - pack of hounds in her life, and she watched them as if - fascinated. Presently, at some signal which she had - not discerned, the huntsman and the whips turned and - trotted off with them, and behind them streamed all the - horsemen and horsewomen, the carriages and carts, and - the people on foot, until the whole scene which had - been so full of life and colour was entirely empty of - all human occupation, and there was only the damp grass - of the park and the big bare trees under the pearly - grey of the winter sky. She saw the Squire ride off - on his powerful horse, and admired his sturdy erect - carriage, and she saw Dick and Virginia, side by side, - Humphrey, the pink of sartorial hunting perfection, - Mrs. Clinton in her carriage, with Miss Dexter by - her side and the twins opposite to her, and for a - moment wished she had accepted her invitation to make - one of the party, although she did not in the least - understand where they were going to, or what they were - going to do when they got there. All this concourse of - apparently well-to-do and completely leisured people - going seriously about a business so remote from any of - the interests in life that she had known struck her as - entirely strange and inexplicable. She might have been - in the midst of some odd rites in an unexplored land. - The very look of the country in its winter dress was - strange to her, for she was a lifelong Londoner and - the country to her only meant a place where one spent - summer holidays. - - - - -VII - - -The novel _Watermeads_ (1916), particularly welcome to me because the -friend who wore a grotesque mask in _Upsidonia_ showed his healthy, -agreeable, English face again, opens characteristically with the entire -family gathered around the tea-table in a sunlit room in an old manor -house. This story is mainly concerned with the waxing and waning of a -marriage-engagement; the rich fiancée seems well enough among her own -people and in her own environment; her lack of breeding appears with -steadily increasing emphasis when she is brought into the circle of the -squire's household. The restraint shown by Mr. Marshall in contrasting -her with the people among whom she is expected to live is worthy of the -highest praise. There is nothing exaggerated, not a trace of burlesque; -little touches, shades of speech and conduct, the expression at the -corners of the girl's mouth when she is displeased or unsatisfied, all -combine to lower the temperature in her lover's heart. Nor is there -anything snobbish in this increasing coldness. No matter how important -may be a difference in manners or social breeding, love could make a -happy fusion; it is, however, not in one act of villainy, but in many -trifles light as air that the young woman is finally, even to the -myopic eyes of passion, revealed as wholly selfish. - -Two accidents--youth and cash--give to this girl an assurance that -finally makes her odious; but women who have neither can be equally -offensive. Her prospective mother-in-law, the squire's wife, parades -the decline in the family's finances so obtrusively that she becomes -as tiresome as a flapping curtain. When Lord Kirby is shown by her -through the ancestral home, he escapes with a sense of enormous relief, -saying to his wife, "That's an awful woman. You hear about people being -purse-proud, but she seems to be empty-purse-proud, and I don't know -that that isn't worse. If people are as hard up as that they ought to -hide it." - -In _Abington Abbey_ (1917) and _The Graftons_ (1918) we have really one -book, and the last page of the sequel makes me hope that the history of -this charming family may be continued--I don't care through how many -volumes. Mr. Grafton is a gentleman, and the way in which he settles -the various problems of family discipline and the affairs of the -estate springs from his unerring good sense. His daughters adore their -widower-father, but each in her own manner. And though they are all -attractive, I know which one I like the best. - -Mr. Marshall published with _The Graftons_ an exceedingly interesting -Introduction, containing a defense of his methods which is not -needed by intelligent readers, but which may enlighten those who -do not understand what he is about. In a personal letter, however, -he expressed himself in words that I like better than his printed -apologia. "The Grafton family isn't so rich in varied interest as the -Clinton family, but I hope they will make their friends. I think they -are as 'nice' a family as any I've drawn. I set out simply to show -them in their country home, and make their country neighbours display -themselves in the light of their critical humour, without much idea of -a story. It turned into something rather different, and I'm not quite -sure about it yet. And it has taken two books to work it out." - -Now the reason why I like this ink-epistle better than the formal -preface is because in the latter Mr. Marshall seemed to think it -necessary to reply to those critics who said he ought to discuss in -his novels the economic questions concerned with the tenure of the -land. If he should by some evil temptation make economic questions -the basis of his stories of English country life, he would commit the -cardinal sin that has corrupted so much of contemporary fiction, the -sin that I condemned at the outset of this essay. The most conspicuous -element in his art is Charm. If some one should persuade him that he -ought to become more "serious," his novels would lose their atmosphere; -and he might find himself writing like that earnest student of modern -movements, Mrs. Humphry Ward. - -I am aware that the most insulting epithet that can be applied to a -book, or a play, or a human being is the word "Puritan"; and I remember -reading a review somewhere of _Abington Abbey_ which commented rather -satirically on the interview between Grafton and Lassigny, and most -satirically of all on the conclusion of the interview, which left the -stiff, prejudiced, puritanical British parent in possession of the -field. But once more, Mr. Marshall is not trying to prove a thesis; -he is representing the Englishman and the Frenchman in a hot debate, -where neither is right and neither is wrong, but where each is partly -right and partly wrong. Each says in the heat of the contest something -injudicious, even as men do when they are angry. But when Lassigny -literally takes French leave, we do not care who has scored the most -points; the real winner is the one who is not present--the girl -herself. For when two men fight about a woman, as they do somewhere -every day, the truly important question is not, which man wins the -fight? The only real question is, does the woman win? - -It will never do to make generalizations from merely one of Mr. -Marshall's novels. If we had only _Abington Abbey_, we might imagine -that he detested the clergy, for the clergyman in this book is surely -detestable; but in _The Greatest of These_ there are two clergymen who -are admirable characters, and a third who is by no means wholly or -even mainly evil. Like an honest student of life, Mr. Marshall never -considers a man as a representative of a business, but as a human -being. No man is good because he is a clergyman; but it would be well -perhaps if every member of that highest of all professions were a -clergyman because he was good. - - - - -VIII - - -There is an unconscious double meaning in the American name given to -the novel published in 1914, _The Greatest of These_, for it can be -taken not only in the Pauline significance, but as the greatest of -these books we are considering. It is the most ambitious and on the -whole the most effective of its author's productions, containing also -the essence of his religion--charity contrasted with opinions. We -have an illustration of his favourite method of portraying the shade -and shine of human character by placing in opposition two leading -representatives of two large classes of nominal Christians--a clergyman -of the Church of England and a minister of the Dissenters. Mr. Marshall -never wrote a better first chapter. The reader is instantly aware -that he has in his hands a masterpiece. Every leading character is -introduced in the opening chapter either in person or in allusive -conversation, and we know that Mr. Marshall has what most novelists -seek in vain--a real plot. This book, which eventually rises to the -highest spiritual altitude attained thus far by its author, begins on -a note of sordid sex-tragedy, as unusual in the stories of Mr. Marshall -as a picture like the Price household is in the work of Jane Austen; -here it serves to bring forward the forthright and self-satisfied -Anglican, who little dreams of his approaching humiliation; he is -brought into conflict with a kind of Zeal-of-the-land Busy, whose -aggressive self-righteousness is to be softened by the very man who he -hoped would harden it. Here too, as in _Exton Manor_, we come as near -as we ever come in Mr. Marshall's books to meeting a villain--in each -case it is a woman with a serpent's tongue. - -The time-element in _The Greatest of These_ is managed with consummate -skill. So far as the novel has a hero, it is the Rev. Dr. Merrow. He -does not appear in Roding until the one-hundred-and-sixty-third page, -but there is so much talk, for and against him, that the reader awaits -his arrival at the railway station with fully as much eagerness as any -of the village gossips. And then, owing to the Doctor's fatigue from -the journey, the reader is as baffled as the parishioners. It is quite -impossible to discover what manner of man he is. The author refuses -to help us, preferring to let his leading character reveal himself -without any manipulation behind the scenes. This revelation is gradual, -made up of many little details of speech and behaviour, as it would be -in real life. - -But although the personality of the man is not clear until more than -half of the book has passed, the ninth chapter, which shows him in -action in London as a public institution, is one of the most powerful -pieces of prose Mr. Marshall has ever composed. He writes as if -inspired by the theme. Not only is it a magnificent description of a -great occasion, its dramatic power is immensely heightened because -we see it through the eyes of a young ritualist, to whom it is as -strange--and at first as repellent--as some vulgar heathen observance. -But gradually distaste changes to interest, and interest to enthusiasm. -Such passages as the following are entirely unlike the ordinary current -of Mr. Marshall's style, but it is a proof that he can reach the -heights when the occasion calls. - - There came more of these sentences. The spark had - caught; the furnace was beginning to glow. George - gazed at the preacher with his own face alight. His - surroundings were forgotten.... If this was the kind - of preaching that had brought Dr. Merrow his great - reputation, then he understood its appeal, and was - himself moved by it. It came from something beyond - creeds, far beyond differences in methods of worship. - It had been heard in all ages of the Church, amidst the - splendours of mediæval superstition, as in the crude - barrenness of modern revivalism. The spirit moved on - the face of the waters; the stagnancy of mere words was - broken; there was life and healing in them. - - The words came faster. The voice grew stronger, and - took on a different tone, as if on an organ a touch - of reed had been added to diapason. The slightly bent - figure became straighter, the worn face younger. The - preacher began to use his hands--thin, flexible, - nervous hands, which seemed to clutch at deep truths, - and fling them out for the world to take hold of. Soon - the burning words came in a torrent, as of a rushing - mass of water of irresistible force, yet bound within - its directing channel. Every now and then they sank - to a deep calm, but were still infused with the same - concentrative power. Such words had stirred men's - minds and souls in long past ages. Spoken on bare - hillsides underneath the symbol of faith, they had - converted kingdoms. Flung forth over throngs of rough - fighting men, they had turned bloodshed and rapine into - righteous crusades. Their power was older than that - of Christianity itself. In the dim ages of religious - history it had singled out Aaron for the priesthood, - and put him above Moses, the warrior leader. Later, - it had burst the bonds of the priesthood itself, and - winged the utterances of great prophets. - -Every page that we turn in this extraordinary book lessens the distance -not only in time but in sympathy between the Rector and the Pastor. -The orthodox evangelical chapel orator is drawn with just the insight -one would superficially _not_ expect from a man of Mr. Marshall's -birth, breeding, and environment. He is certainly the author's finest -achievement, even finer than Squire Clinton, for he is more difficult -to draw. The Rev. Dr. Merrow must be added to Chaucer's Poore Persoun -and to Goldsmith's Village Preacher as one more permanent clerical -figure in imaginative literature. - -Lesser personages in this story are given with the same care in detail, -until we feel their presence as personal friends. The curate, the -Rev. George Barton, so completely misunderstood by Mrs. Merrow, is an -almost flawless portrait. His healthy, athletic outdoor nature and the -development of his inner life are both presented with subtle, delicate -strokes of the pen possible only to an artist of distinction. - -It is interesting to contemplate side by side in the reader's mind -the wife of the Rector and the wife of the Pastor. Both are good -women--their only similarity. Lady Ruth, a born aristocrat, with a -"temperamental inability to comport herself as the busy wife of a busy -clergyman" is one of the most gracious and lovely figures created by -our novelist, which means that her charm is irresistible. The less -admirable, but more energetic wife of Dr. Merrow is so perfect a -representative of the busy city pastor's helpmate that we can only -wonder how it is possible to put on paper any creation so real. There -is not a false touch in this picture. William Allingham wrote in his -diary after reading one of Browning's poems, "Bravo, Browning!" Upon -finishing _The Greatest of These_, which I confidently call a great -novel, I could hardly refrain from a shout of applause. - - - - -IX - - -Mr. Marshall is a twentieth century novelist, because he is happily -yet alive, and because he writes of twentieth century scenes and -characters; but he is apart from the main currents of twentieth -century fiction, standing indeed in the midst of the stream like a -commemorative pillar to Victorian art. He has never written historical -romance, which dominated the novel at the beginning of our century; he -has never written the "life" novel--beginning with the hero's birth and -travelling with plotless chronology, the type most in favour since the -year 1906; he has never written a treatise and called it a novel, as so -many of his contemporaries have done. Every one of his novels, except -the two unfortunate burlesques, is a good story, with a good plot and -living characters; and he has chosen to write about well-bred people, -because those are the people he knows best. - -It is also well to remember, that although his best novels are -parochial, he himself is a citizen of the world. He has seen the North -Cape, he has lived in the Australian bush, in various European cities, -and has traveled extensively in America. One reason why he can describe -English country life so clearly is because he sees it in the proper -perspective. He is at home in any community on earth. - -I call him a realistic novelist, because his realism is of the highest -and most convincing kind--it constantly reminds us of reality. I cannot -see why a well-constructed story, that deals mainly with attractive men -and women, and ends on a note of robust cheerfulness, should have any -less right to the adjective "realistic" than an ill-arranged transcript -of the existence of creatures living amongst poverty, filth, and crime. -And so far as Mr. Marshall's Victorian reticence on questions of sex -is concerned, this strengthens his right to the title Realist. As -Henry James said, the moment you insist that animalism must have its -place in works of art, there almost always seems to be no place for -anything else. If a novelist is to represent real life, he must make -subordinate and incidental what in some novels dominates every page. -If a writer is to describe events as they really happen, to portray -men and women as they really are, to create living characters that -can be recognized in modern society, he ought to emphasize in his art -what life itself emphasizes--the difference between man and the lower -animals. The curious thing is that in many so-called realistic novels -it is impossible to distinguish between human beings and the beasts of -the field; the well-understood likeness is stressed so heavily that not -only the individual, but even the type is lost. One can hardly call so -total an absence of discrimination true art. Even the most elementary -man or woman is less elementary than a beast; and is it not true that -the greater the complexity, the greater the skill required to report it -truly? - -And here is a strange thing. It is only in stories of human beings that -our would-be realists insist that animalism should be most frankly and -most minutely portrayed. When we come to dog-stories--of which there -are many--the element of sex is as a rule wholly omitted. Yet surely -this is more salient in the life of a dog than in the life of a man. - -Archibald Marshall is a realist. He represents cultivated men and -women as we saw them yesterday, and as we shall see them tomorrow. He -seldom disappoints us, for among all living novelists, whilst he is -not the greatest, he is the most reliable. It is difficult to analyse -the extraordinary charm of his stories, for they are simpler than -simplicity. He takes us literally into the bosom of a family, where -each member has a distinct individuality, and the novel progresses -like beautiful voices with orchestral accompaniment--each individual -in turn singing an air, while the family fortunes supply the harmony. -To read his books is to associate with people whom it is highly -important to know--not because of their social standing, but because -of their solid worth. His good characters are fundamentally good. -They are seldom brilliant, and almost never reformers. They are more -altruistic than philanthropic. They possess the fine old virtues of -purity, wholesomeness, generosity, loving-kindness, honesty, loyalty, -tact, consideration; such persons are always lovable in life, which is -why they are lovable in these books. His heroes are not saviours of -society, they are simply good companions, be the weather fair or foul; -and we are never sickened by the diaphanous veneer of sentimentality. -His villains seldom break the law of the land, and do not reek of -melodrama. They are inconsiderate, garrulous, inopportune, stupid, -meddling, officiously helpful, which is sometimes worse than deliberate -hostility. Mrs. Prentice in _Exton Manor_ is his most offensive -specimen, and according to the wisdom of the Book of Proverbs, she is -one of the four things for which the earth is disquieted--"an odious -woman when she is married." These respectable villains, who often cause -more suffering than professional criminals, receive the punishment -of unpopularity. But in most of his characters the elements are more -kindly mixed. We have on every page the delight of recognition--the -figures are so perfectly drawn that we are under the illusion that they -are alive. - -Although these stories are never explicitly didactic, they are -ethically as well as artistically true. Beneath the surface of -light conversation and trivial incident we find an idea that works -for righteousness. This idea is so variously and so frequently -illustrated that I think it must be the foundation of the author's -philosophy of life and conduct. He would have us believe that different -individuals, different social classes, different communities dislike -and distrust each other mainly through ignorance. He would not -say in the old phrase, to understand is to forgive, he would say -something without any taint of condescension, something finer and -more fruitful--to understand is to respect, to admire, to love. The -inefficient aristocrat and the pushing millionaire despise each other, -the haughty Churchman and the pious Dissenter distrust each other's -motives until they are brought by the force of circumstances into an -unescapable daily intimacy; the result of which to both is surprising -and agreeable. Apparently what we all need is more imagination, -more intelligence. These novels make a combined attack on the last -infirmity of both noble and ignoble minds, that last citadel of -stupidity--Prejudice. - - - - -BIBLIOGRAPHY - - - English - publication American - - Peter Binney, Undergraduate 1899 .... - The House of Merrilees 1905 1905 - Richard Baldock 1906 1918 - Exton Manor 1907 1908 - Many Junes 1908 1919 - The Squire's Daughter 1909 1912 - The Eldest Son 1911 1911 - Sunny Australia (_sketches of travel_) 1911 .... - The Mystery of Redmarsh Farm 1912 .... - The Honour of the Clintons 1913 1913 - The Terrors (_short stories_) 1913 .... - The Greatest of These (Roding Rectory) 1914 1914 - The Old Order Changeth (Rank and Riches) 1915 1915 - Upsidonia 1915 1917 - Watermeads 1916 1916 - Abington Abbey 1917 1917 - The Graftons 1918 1918 - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Archibald Marshall, a Realistic -Novelist, by William Lyon Phelps - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARCHIBALD MARSHALL *** - -***** This file should be named 60686-8.txt or 60686-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/6/8/60686/ - -Produced by Carlos Colon, the University of Toronto and -the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian -Libraries) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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