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    382 THE INFIiTJEKCE OF THE. HSfPIYIBUAI;...

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    « Op All Tlie Various Kinds Of Books Tha...

    itself its tive attractiveness as to a our novel admiring , " to has the 1 stud indeed boldness y , but in of it .. our the undoub author day tedl at y in last owes venturing presented much in of

    this particular further than had previously been looked on as allowableand to its thus taking unto itself something of the

    nature of , the novel . Where no licence of this kind has been taken by the historianand the only information afforded us is

    , a recital of bare facts , the events of the past—even if they draw attention- —rarely excite much emotionunless imagination have

    , stepped in to supply the lacking charm , and in the exercise of her powerful authority used such facts as the mere foundation for her

    erections . We should have known , for instance , that the Macbeth of Scottish annals murdered the royal Duncan and

    usurped his throne , being himself afterwards defeated and slain by MacdufF . We should , moreover , have been aware that while he

    did hold the kingdom he ruled it well and wisely ; yet would either the red-handed murderer or the wise-headed monarch of

    mere history Lave had a second thought , or aroused a single feeling , after this account of him had been perused , had he offered

    no further claiin on our attention ? But when the great dramatist ; unfolds to us how the fell purpose arose in his mind , and reveals the

    ¦ working of the * temptation and the results of the crime upon the spirits of the perpetrators , the Macbeth of Shakespeare becomes

    one who can rouse our deepest emotions , and of the recital of " whose life we never tire . And the interest extends itself to all

    connected with the tale , so that he who should stand on the spot , whereaccording * to the Bard of AvonBirnam wood once came to >

    Dunsinane , , might vainly be told that , in stern truth it wasnot there that the fatal spell was broke by one " not of woman

    born ; " and the actual scene of historical conflict with Macdufiy which took lace in a valley in Aberdeenshire , would be viewed

    with cold feelings p compared to what must waken on the spot where , tinder the poet ' s guidance , imagination can realize

    thefearless daring of the beguiled witch-believer , and his sudden despair when the infatuation of his credulity is revealed : for the

    one only speaks to us of what he did , the other tells us what he was , and thus truly reveals his life .

    The taste for delineations of this kind in preference to the other , istooassuredly a mental advancefor we find that children delight

    in , the , narration of incidents long , before they are capable of appreciating the tracing of character : and , among readers of larger

    growth , how thoroughly , with the spread of knowledge and refinementhave portrayals of character in works of amusement

    superseded , the old romances of adventure , where every hero performed the most marvellous achievementsbut a Sir Lancelot differed from

    , a Sir Amadis in little save the colour of his armour or the bearings .

    on his shield ! . And as regards the memoirs of real personages _,.

    382 The Infiitjekce Of The. Hsfpiyibuai;...

    382 THE _INFIiTJEKCE OF THE . HSfPIYIBUAI _; LIFE .

• Citation
  • English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Aug. 1, 1863, page 382, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01081863/page/22/