=The Carlyles.= By Mrs. Burton Harrison. D. Appleton & Co., New
York.
In “The Carlyles” Mrs. Burton Harrison relinquishes the modern field
which she has occupied for so long and with such marked success, and goes
back to Civil War times for the scenes of her story. The Reconstruction
period has been covered by innumerable writers. Indeed, it has been so
frequently used by novelists and proven so fruitful a field, that one is
apt to be overcome at the courage of an author who selects it now as the
background for a tale; but Mrs. Harrison brings a certain freshness and
charm to a subject that, it would seem, could inspire none. The opening
chapter, which describes the impoverished condition of the _Carlyles_,
brought on by the ravages of war, reveals the author at her best, and
shows her intimate knowledge of life in Richmond in the ’60’s. The
splendid fortitude of old _Mr. Carlyle_ in the face of his calamity and
financial ruin, and the pride of the aristocratic Southerner are depicted
with faultless art.
The story itself is the old one of a girl who is unable to choose between
two lovers, one of whom, of course, is a Yankee soldier and the other
a Southerner fighting as a lieutenant-colonel under Lee. The usual
complications occur. _Lancelot Carlyle_, a cousin and lover of _Mona_,
the heroine, is imprisoned at Fort Delaware, and of the long period of
his confinement Mrs. Harrison writes graphically, describing minutely the
terrible ordeal of prison life. Fine as this portion of the novel is,
however, it is in the chapters dealing with quiet domestic scenes that
Mrs. Harrison writes with most force and distinction. The incident of the
Christmas dinner-party, with the unheralded return of _Lancelot_ and the
sudden death of old _Alexius Carlyle_, is handled with consummate skill.
The author has written no finer passage in any of her previous novels,
nor one more certain to move her readers to tears.