Scott and his I rifluence on Dutch Literaturéli
H. VlSSINR












SCOTT and HIS INFLUENCE on DUTCH LITERATURE
ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT
TER VERKRIJGING VAN DEN GRAAD VAN DOCTOR in de LETTEREN en WIJSBEGEERTE AAN DE UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM, OP GEZAG VAN DEN RECTOR-MAGNIFICUS Dr P. ZEEMAN, HOOG* LEERAARIN DE FACULTEIT der WIS* en NATUURKUNDE, IN HET OPENBAAR TE VERDEDIGEN IN DE AULA DER UNIVERSITEIT OP DINSDAG, 21 NOVEMBER 1922, DES NAMIDDAGS TE 5 UUR DOOR HENDRIK VISSINK
geboren te bolsward
directeur van de christelijke hoogere burgerschool te zwolle
Zwolle w. J. Berenos J.Jzn.






SCOTT AND HIS INFLUENCE ON DUTCH LITERATURE






It is my pleasant duty to take this opportwnity of expressing my heartiest thanks to Dr. A. E. H. Swaen, Professor of English Philology in the University of Amsterdam, for Ais kind advice and valuable remarks, which have been of great service to me in the preparation of this work.
Further I wish to acknowledge the unfailing kindness of the officials of many libraries in lending me the books I desired to consult.
H. VISSINK.
Zwolle, November IQ22.



Gedrukt bij H. G. VAN DORSSEN — Amitckdam.



Aan mijn Vrouw
en Kinderen






PREFACE.
In the world of literature there is a constant interchange of influence. In this respect Europe has rightly been compared to "a set of parishes of the same country".1) For the works of a genius, in whatever language they may be written, belong to every people and also to all time. The so-called classics, whether in Latin or in Greek or in any other language, are proofs of this. They are common property and their thoughts have a moulding and directing force not only in the literature of the country of their origin, but beyond its frontiers as well.
This literary influence exercised by the leading spirits of the time seems to be ever on the increase, now that moral and social progress, prosperity, improvements in the art of printing, and the increased freedom of the press combine to promote literary activity, and the continued studyoflanguages almost removes the barriers to intercourse found in the multitude of tongues.
Holland, surrounded as it is by France, England, and Germany, has also undergone the influence of its neighbours, though maintaining its language against German and French. And this perhaps in no century more than in the nineteenth, especially in its first half. The ebb of literary and national life, brought ahout by the Revolution, must in some measure account for this. One of the consequences of the French Revolution had been to make the Netherlands part of the French Empire. It is true that the year 1813 brought freedom, and that in 1815 Holland and Belgium
') Thomas Carlyle's CoUected Works (London, 1869), Vol. V, p. 254.
"—Curious: how all Europe is but like a set of parishes of the same country; participant of the sel&same influences,' ever since the Crusades, and earlier; — and these glorious wars of ours are but like parish«brawls, which begin in mutual ignorance, intoxication and boastful speech; which end in broken windows, damage, waste and bloody wars; and which one hopes the general good sense is now in the way towards putting down, in some measure I"
1



were united in the kingdom of the Netherlands, but both freedom and kingdom were the work of others more than of the people themselves. Hence there followed a time of stagnation in every respect, and it was not before 1830, the year of the independence of Belgium, that the Dutch nationality manifested itself; it is from about this time that we can date a literary revival.
In Germany, England and France, where Romanticism was fighting its great battles against classicism, literary life, however, was active and strong already. So no wonder that people looked abroad to find matter to translate, to imitate, and to follow. English literature more than any other was congenial to the Dutch mind and predominant was the influence of Scott, the subject of this book.
In our own days, now that the value of the comparative study of literature is generally acknowledged, such a subject may, perhaps, not be altogether without interest.1)
The influence exercised by Scott on Dutch literature was very considerable. Great however as it was, in Hólland as in England, Scott found Byron his rival in poetry, while there were other writers as well who left their mark on Dutch literature. The influence of English literature in general, though, even if we restricted it to the nineteenth century, lies outside the limits of this work and will only be mentioned in so far as it relates to Scott. *)
') The Boekman. Iüustrated History of English Literature by Seccombe and Nicoll (London, 1906), Vol. II, p. 408, says about Sir Walter Scott: 'The text of the novels as a whole and the large question of Scott's European influence requires to be worked at."
Le Roman Historique a VEpoque Romantique. Essai sur l'Influence de Walter Scott par L. Maigron (Paris, 1898), treats of Scott's influence on French literature.
Kurt Gaebel in Beitrage zur Technik der Erzahlung in den Romanen Walter Scotts (Marburg, 1901), also treats of Scott's influence in general and writes p. 71: "Scott hat auf dem Gebiete des historischen Romans nicht nur in England Schule gemacht; man denke an Manzonis „Verlobte". Eine Untersuchung des Einflusses unseres Dichters auf seine Nachfolger in der inneren und ausseren Form der Darstellung ware zweifellos eine reizvolle Aufgabe; vorliegende Arbeit hat ihren Zwerk erfüllt, wenn sie einige materialien dazu liefern kann."
Of the many writers of historical and other novels bejonging to Scott's followers_we mention only a few such as James, Lyttón, Ainsworth, Thackeray, KingsleyT Cooper, de Vigny, Hugo. Mérimée, Dumas, Zschokke, Freytag, Manzoni, Caballero, Tolstoi. N.&. . t
3) Those interested in the reciprocal influence of Dutch and English languge and literature we may refer to: Studiën over de Nededandsche en Engelsche Taal en Letterkunde en haar wederzijdschen invloed door W. de Hoog Wz.



CONTENTS.
Pa«e
Preface • •= i
BOOK I. — SCOTT. Chapter I. Scott and the new elements he introduced into literature.
Scott's preparation, the storyteller and the historian — Scott's predecessors — The new romance and novel — Relation between historical and novelistic elements — The historie and representative characters — Local colour — Scott, the creator of the historical novel 13
Chapter II. Scott's romanticism.
Scott's success and influence — The romantic revival and Scott — The style of the new poetry and prose — Scott's imagination — The picturesque characters in poems and novels — The action of the story and the dramatic dialogue — The picturesque descriptions 54
BOOK II. — SCOTT'S INFLUENCE. chapter I. Scott's early influence.
Scott and the romantic revival — Literature in Holland in the beginning of the nineterathcentury — The dawn of romanticism — The introduction of Scott's works_jnto .Halland — D. J. van Lennep's "Dissertation" — Miss de Neufville's "Squire" — Drost, his "Hermingard" and "Pestilence at Katwijk" 119
Chapter II. Jacob van Lennep, the Dutch Scott.
Van Lennep's classic education — His plagiarism and_ turn for romanticism — His first poetic tales — "Edward of Guelders" — The historie and picturesque poet — "The Adopted Son" and "The Rose of Dekama"
— The imitator — The romantic writer of the past — "Ferdinand Huyck," Van Lennep's masterpiece — "Our Dutch Ancestors", tales of the past
— Scott's direct and indirect influence — Van Lennep's adaptations of Scott — His importance and position 151
Chapter III. The poetic romance continued in Holland.
The elder and the younger English romantics — Van der Hoop's •William Teil" — Meijer's "Buccaneer" and "Heemskerk" — Scott's influence on Beets — "Kuser" and "Ada of Holland" — Hofdijk, his first romances and "Younker of Brederode" — The death of the poetic tale. 219
Chapter IV. Oltmans and Scott.
Oltmans's one talent — "The Castle of Loevestein in 1570" — "The Shepherd" — The tales of the past 238



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Page
CHAPTER V. Mrs. Bosboom-Toussaint and the new prose. Miss Toussainf s first tales — "The Earl of Devonshire" — Miss Toussaint's novel in the past and Scott's novel of the past — "The House of Lauernesse" — Historie and psychologie novels — The new prose 252
Chapter VI. Schimmel and the historical novel.
The dramatic character of the historical novel — Schimmel's rhymed romances — His tales of the past — "The First Day of a New Life" and
"A Woman of the Hague" — "Mary Hollis" and "Lady Carlisle"
"Sinjeur Semeyns" and "The Lifeguardsman" — The end of Scott's direct influence 26&
Conclusion 3_g



Of more importance than Scott's place among the English or other foreign authors who influenced the literature of the Netherlands in the last century is his position with respect to the Romantic Revival. Here it must be borne in mind that Scott is one of the leading figures of that great movement of the beginning of the nineteenth century. His is not an isolated place, but with others he laboured to bring about the great victory of Romanticism. What he contributed to it was his tales in poetry and prose, his rhymed romance and his historical novel. They were strong auxiliaries in the fight of Romanticism against Classicism, but they would not have been written had there been no' Romantic Revival, and however active Scott's agency was in helping Romanticism to gain the victory in England and in Holland as well as elsewhere, this victory would have been won even without Scott.
Yet, though we shall have to point out Scott's position in the Romantic Revival, especially with regard to Holland, a study of Romanticism in Dutch literature is again outside the scope of our subject.
After we have thus partially determined the limits of the present work, we shall do well, perhaps, to indicate what the reader may expect to find in it.
In broad outline, then, the changes undergone by Dutch literature under the influence exercised by Scott. must be indicated. These' changes are seen in the poetry and prose of his disciples, and are found in the new literature when compared to that before Scott. To account for them we shall have to examine those characteristics of his work which others were drawn to imitate.
Scott's European influence is due to his historical novel; in Holland, where his supremacy was perhaps greater than anywhere else, he was also followed as a writer of rhymed narrative. So both in his poetry and ih his prose we may expect to find the new elements introduced by him into literature. And indeed, both his romances in verse and his historical novels have one thing in common, their historical element, and the way in which this is brought out. Scott
(Dordrecht, 1902). The "studies" are more remarkable for their variety and multitude than for their depth of knowledge.
— 3 —



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was the first to find that true union of history and fiction which is the essential character of the historical novel, and as such he may be called its creator. Where he succeeded, all former attempts had miscarried, because the author had given either history under the name of a novel or an ordinary novel with historie names. Scott knew how to give his reader the illusion of the past, while his works never lost the character of thè novel. We shall have to point out both the historical element and the local colour in his work. It must be explained why his predecessors were doomed to failure, while the right of existence of the historical novel may be demonstrated.
That Scott took his subjects from the history of his own country, at all events not from that of Greece and Rome, will likewise have to be accounted for. Herein he shows himself to belong to the Romantic Revival. This further appears in his freedom from the restraint of rules, sometimes even his contempt of them, especially in his metrical tales. , 51 ic
The stir and action of the romances and novels, their comedies and tragedies also characterize the romantic writer. There is a peculiarly picturesque element in Scott's work. It is seen in the story as well as in the characters, in the dialogue as well as in the description. What the local colour is to the time and the scène of the story, this picturesque element is to the novel and tale as a whole.
So by the side of what is new in Scott, we must point out the old truths in their new form.
We shall see, moreover, how Scott succeeded not only in giving us the historical novel, but at the same time, gave us one bearing the stamp of his own character and genius. It will be a matter of investigation whether the author illustrated history in his novels, or used history to make his novels interesting. Other questions will also have to be discussed.
'ing given the characteristics of Scott's work we shall look for them in the work of those who underwent his influence, thus showing how Dutch literature was affected by this great writer.
Scott's tales and novels themselves will help us to point out and illustrate their characteristics. Further, introductions,



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dedicatory epistles, prefaces, and other appendices are of use, as well as the criticism of his own and later times. Nor must comparison with his predecessors be forgotten. On us in the twentieth century Scott makes a different impression from that made on his first readers. For us, the , choice of novels is almost unlimited and master spirits have provided us with every variety of novel. Scott was to the , readers of his day the first to achieve success in the historical novel and it was he who made this department of literature equal to any other. Hence the stir his work made when it appeared, the admiration it excited, the revolution it created.
The impression made by Scott on his Dutch readers in the beginning of the last century was no less than that made «on his fellow-countrymen. Yet with a difference. In England Scott was the compatriot who celebrated the glory of his country. In Holland he was the foreign author and his work could not but give rise to a comparison between English and Dutch literature. Itwasasked why the Netherlands were or should remain behind Scotland. Had not Holland her glorious past, her antiquities, and her beautiful scenery? But a Scott, she had not, nor could have.
We shall have to explain how it was that Dutch literature was at such a low ebb at the time, by indicating the relation between national conditions and literature. It was some time before Scott became known in Holland. Though the Waverley novels were published between 1814 and 1832, most of the tales appearing even before the novels, we can hardly speak of the influence of Scott before^
In this year D. J. van Lennep gave his "Essay on the importance of Hollands soil and antiquities for feelingand imagination".1) About this lecture we shall have to write at some length. Not only because it gives a good idea of the impression made by Scott on his Dutch readers, but also and especially because it gave rise to the first Dutch historical novels. These "The Page"8) (1829) and "Hermingard of the Oak-mounds" ») (1832), were rather original in their kind but not a great succes?. They can bear com-
■) Verhandeling over het belangrijke van Hollands grond en oudheden voor gevoel en verbeelding. *) De Schildknaap. ') Hermingard van de Eikenterpen.



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parison with whatever so-called historical novel preceded them in Holland, but not with Scott's work. The development of the Dutch historical novel was to be different and more lengthy.
Scott's influence was of' long duration and not easily discarded. In 1828 the first metricartales in themannerof Sir Walter Scott were published, and in 1888 "The Captain of the Life-guards" x) by Schimmel appeared, so it may be said to'extend over a period of sixty years. It will be our task to show how it may be found in poetry and prose. Sometimes the tale or novel is no better than an adaptation of the Englishman's work to Dutch conditions, full of plagiarism, at other times it is more of an imitation. But the touch of genius is not lacking in many an historical novel, where the author is quite national, like,Scott himself, and even surpasses him in other respects. To the work of the first kind Van Lennep's "Dutch Legends" 3) (1828— 1831) may be said to belong, his Ferdinand Huyck (1840) again is a good imitation, and "The House of Lauernesse" 3) (1840) by Bosboom-Toussaint or "The Captain of the Lifeguards" 4) (1888) by Schimmel are indeed not inferior to Scott's best novels.
It is not our intention to give all the works or even to treat fully of all the authors influenced by Scott. There are too many; moreover the value of such a lengthy and detailed handling of a subject is doubtful. The principal works will be reviewed, those of less or no importance passed over in silence. In so far as literary products show the development of their writers themselves we shall have to speak about both the work and the author, the more so as each writer has his own characteristics.
So in Van Lennep we shall find an imitator of Scott. He wrote rhymed tales such as "Dutch Legends" 6) (1828— 1831), as well as novels such as "The Adopted Son"«) (1833). "The Rose of Dekama" ?) (1836), Ferdinand Huyck
') De Kaptein van de Lijfgarde.
s) Nederlandsche Legenden.
Het Huis Lauernesse.
4) De Kaptein van de Lijfgarde.
6) Nederlandsche Legenden.
") De Pleegzoon.
') De Roos van Dekama.



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(1840), and prose tales such as "Our Ancestors" l) (1838— 1844). Only too often his work will betray the happy-golucky plagiarist, yet it popularized the historical novel, and its influence on other authors is not to be underrated. In some sense he even founded a school, which also speaks in favour of his tales* and novels, whatever a later generation may condemn in them.
In the romances of Van der Hoop, Meijer, JJeets, Hofdijk, and others» we see this influence of Scott's by proxy; in the better of them, .however, it is more direct and original.
A somewhat isolated position is that of "The Castle of Loevestein"') (1834) and "The Shepher-d"8) (1838), two historical novels by Oltmans. In the archaeological and historical knowledge displayed in his work the author shows himself. Scott's disciple. We shall have to indicate in what respects Oltmans differs from his master.
But most originality and genius is found in the work of Mrs. Bosboom-Toussaint and Schimmel, two of the greatest novelists Holland has ever produced.
Such masterpieces as "The Earl of Devonshire"*) (1839), "English people in Rome"6) (1839), "The House ofLauernesse"6)(i84o), "The Lady of Mauléon"7) (1847), "Count Pepoli"8) (1860), "The jielft Miraculous Doctor"») (1870) show the many-sided talent of Mrs. Bosboom-Toussaint. In some of these novels Scott's influence may be seen, though the author's views regarding the character of the historical novel differ from those of Scott, for she aims at being a novelist before an historian. Yet we shall also see that she is sometimes more of an historian than the writer of the Waverley novels ever was. Early in her literary career she is the psychologist. So we shall have to indicate the influence exercised by Scott on her work as well as the development of her own genius as seen in her historical novel.
') Onze Vooronders.
') Het Slot Loevestein.
*) De Schaapherder.
4) De Graaf van Devonshire.
*) Engelschen te Rome.
") Het Huis Lauernesse.
7) De Jonkvrouwe de Mauléon.
8) Graaf Pepoli.
s) De Delftsche Wonderdokter.



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Schimmel wrote not only novels but also tales in rhyme and prose. He, again, shows a stronger approval of Scott's practice of the historical novel. His masterpieces such as Mary Hollis (1860), Mylady Carlisle (1864), Sinjeur Semeyns (1875), "The Captain of the Lifeguards"1) (1888) prove this. There is imitation, too, in his work, but his best novels may be placed side by side with those by Scott. In the dramatic interest of story and dialogue he even surpasses his master. Other qualities of his work also show his individual geaius.
&^us>cfm^ifferent tales and novels it will be our task to tracé S* :'s influence. We shall have to point out whatever is imita d or followed; it may be of more importance still to see 1 )w all this leads to national and original work. So starting from Scott's historical tales and novels and their characteristics, /e must compare the relation between the historical and ovelistic elements in his work and in the Dutch writers, > well as examine the development of local colour and the picturesque on Dutch soil, and see if any new element be evolved in the transition. Nor must the share due to Dr :h critics in the nationalking of the new literature, and nsequently in the modifying of Scott's influence, be fc otten.
Coming to the results of Scott's influence on Dutch literature we shall see how the cultivation of.metrical tales did not lead to work of great literary importance. Some of Scott's disciples forsook the rhymed romance for the historical novel, others lacked genius, and broadly speaking Byron replaced his great rival in Holland as he did in England. The tale in rhyme, however, continued to be cultivated, and though after some time Byron was no longer followed, poetry had become romantic, but was of small consequence up to the time of the new generation of 1880, whose leaders were Shelley and Keats.
With respect to the novel it is different. Here we find work which bears the stamp of genius and is for all time. Moreover the lesser novels also had a wide circulation, and it is owing to Scott and his followers that the novel has attained such a place of honour as never before. The
') De Kaptein van de Lijfgarde.



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novel again was a mighty auxiliary in the Romantic movement, and that the victory was won about 1850 may in a great measure be ascribed to Scott. The historical novel at that time had asserted its place among other varieties, and so strong was its position that it held its own in the following prosaic period by the side of realistic and theologic-phifosophic novels. The novel in the manner of Scott, though affected by the drama, continued even into the new movement at the end of the nineteenth century.
Thus the influence of Scott on Dutch literature was of singular signiflcance. May our attempt to desertie it fcvt be disproportionate to its importance.






BOOK I
SCOTT






CHAPTER I.
SCOTT AND THE NEW ELEMENTS HE INTRODUCED INTO LITERATURE.
Scott's preparation, the storytuller and the historian — Scott's predecessors — the new romance and novel — relation between historical and novelistic elements — the historic and representative characters— local colour— scott, the cre ator of the historical novel.
Never perhaps was a man better qualified for the place he was to take in literature than Scott.
The eighteenth century, which saw his birth, had created the novel, had shaped the general form of prose, and had foreshown in poetry and prose the Romantic Revival of the coming age.
Scott1) passed the first thirty years of his life preparing himself for his task of helping the new movementin literature by verse and prose romances. The novel in particular is greatly indebted to him. By his historical novel, and by new lines of fiction, either followed or indicated, he gave to it its place of honour in the nineteenth century.
Born in 1771, Scott did not publish his first work of real importance: The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border before 1792. An illness in early childhood had caused a lameness which disabled him for a time. Thus for him ballad and legend took the place of hoop and racket. Later he outgrew his disease to some extent, but he remained true to his first love. At the High School and University of Edinburgh he also followed his romantic tastes more than was good for his studies. Nor when called to the bar
J) For the biography of Scott the reader is referred to Lockhart's Memoirs of the life of Sir Walter Scott, Bart. (Edinburgh), a work of seven volumes in the first edition of 1837—38, the second edition of 1839 is in ten volumes.
Toits considerable progeny belongs* Charles Duke Yonge's Life and Writings of Sir Walter Scott (London), which contains an almost complete bibliography up to the year 1888.
Chapter I of Lockhart's work is a memoir of the early life of Sir Walter Scott, written by himself.



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did he become a great lawyer, but as soon as circumstances allowed he gave up the law for literature. Yet, though he steadily refused to learn Greek, he extended his unacademical knowledge by the acquisition of Italian, and his legal studies were mingled with an amusing variety of reading on whatever subject struck his curiosity and excited his interest.
In this way Scott acquired in the first thirty years of his life, before he seriously took to writing, a wonderful amount of knowledge of every kind. In this he was helped by his memory1), which at once assimilated all that was of the nature of legend or romance, military exploit or Border song. Add to this his studies of customs and modes of life, his antiquarian researches especially in medieval lore, as well as his knowledge of history in general, and it will be easy to understand how Scott became in his way an historian of no mean value.8) Moreover he was a born storyteller with a flow of ready imagination and an artist with an eye for nature and its beauties. So Scott had the necessary qualifications for the combined use of history and fiction. Both in verse and prose he was the first to find the true union between knowledge and imagination, and to revive the past in the present, and his lasting glory is that "he created the historical novel, after some thousand years of unsuccessful attempt." s)
The first germs of Scott's romances in verse and prose, his metrical tales and historical novels may be found in the medieval English verse romances. Though French in origin these lack the simplicity of 'les chansons de geste' of the eleventh century. Dealing, in general, with the legends of Arthur, Charlemagne, Alexander and Troy, their central themes are the love adventures and marvel-
J) Cf. Canning, History in Scott's novels, a literary sketch (London, 1905).
3) Of his memory Scott writes: — ". . . . it seldom failed to preserve most tenaciously a favourite passage of poetry, a playhouse ditty, or, above all, a Bordewaid ballad; but names,' dates, and the other technicalities of history, escaped me in a most melan. choly degree. The philosophy of history, a much more important subject, was also a sealed book at this period of my life; but I gra'dually assembled much of what was striking and picturesque in historical narrative; and when, in riper years, I attended more to the deduction of general principles, I was furnished with a powerful host of examples in illustration of them."
Lockhart's Life of Scott (1837/8), Vol I, p. 37.
") A short History of English Literature by Saintsbury (London, 1908), p. 681.



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lous exploits of their heroes. Malory, Caxton and Berners were among the first to give us the Arthur and Charlemagne romances in prose. But whether in verse or in prose all these romances have in common their inextricable entanglement of history and fable. Yet, though about the sixteenth century history became more of a science and literature began to proclaim itself as an art, and in spiteofthe hostility of the classicists of the New Learning to all medieval themes, the romances maintained their popularity.
The heroic romances of La Calprenède and Mademoiselle de Scudéry in the seventeenth century, to which the pastoral school of Sidney and d'Urfé led, also enjoyed an immense vogue. The most popular of them were Cassandra, Le Grand Cyrus, and Clèlie. An imitation by the side of the translations from the French is Roger Boyle's Parthenissa. In them all we find the decadence of the romances of chivalry. Not only are the deeds of valour more than superhuman, not only is love the pivot on which the whole story with its endless intrigues turns, and conventionality the basis of word and thought, but every new character is also equipped with a story of his own, which lengthens the book into volumes. The historical element is again not wanting. In reading the prefaces, notes, and other appendices of the heroic romances one might even suppose that now the day of the historical novel had dawned. The legends are done away with and different historians are often given as authorities. History, however, is in reality used only as a pretext to cover all the follies ot the work. As soon as the story is fairly started and the historie characters have found their names and places, the same parts are acted and all for love, whether by Alexander or Cyrus, Spartacus or Hannibal, Cassandra or Clélie. Sometimes even the romance is no better than a roman a clef of its own age.1) The writer never enters into the spirit of the time to which the reader is transported.
So, notwithstanding their historie outfit, the her|Ac romances are no more historical than the earlier romances in their legendary dress. Just as the poem of Beowulf, before its present form in manuscript had undergone divers changes in shape and dialect, so the legendary romances in their
l) Cf, Le Roman pat Léon Levrauli (Paris, 3e édition), p. 30 sqq.



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development grew with the ages, and the heroic romances, |again, give rather an adaptation of history than history itself. Their writers did not understand the period in which their scènes were laid. There is generally no description of customs and manners, no attempt at expressing the age by speech and thought, no painting of dress and houses, in one word the picturesque element is sorely wanting. Nor was it the intention of the authors to use the historical element in order to teach history by means of a novel or to write a novel and transport the reader to the past, but history is the source from which they draw their subject. Their knowledge of it was in reality not broad enough, and certainly not deep enough, to permit them to do more than give names and facts.
Yet though the writers of the heroic romances did not give us the historical novel, their works have at least one of its essential elements, and so brought it nearer. The jpoetic charm of the past is in their work. Moreover the mysterious element of the strange and exotic lies like dusk or twilight over it. Romanticism in its revival will feel the fascinating influence of this haze, and history in its fuller development will yet help to create the historical novel by the genius of Walter Scott.
Some hundqrd and fifty years, however, had still to pass before this could be. In the mean time the novel developed into a new art and was the death of the heroic romance.1) The eighteenth-century novelists did away with the unreality of scenery and hero, and gave a representation of real life, adapting the method of the dramatist. Up to Richardson and Fielding the novel had been the mere Cinderella of literature, but now that it had found its real vocation of being the mirror of reality and not the vehicle of the unreal; the beautiful Princess was there, though as yet unknown and unacknowledged.=) And when in the nineteenth century
0 The heroic romance had a much stronger position in France, whence it was introduced into England. The age of Louis XIV was a time of grandeur and elevation, and its moral and social condition was expressed by its demand for demisgods and heroes also in literature.
Cf. L. Maigron, Le Roman Historique a TEpoque Romanüque, p. 7 sqq.
3) For the history of the novel see: Raleigh, The English Novel (London, 1907).
Raleigh treats of the chief English novelists before Scott.
Other works about the novel are: Wilbur L. Cross, The Development of



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Scott based his work on the same fundamental principle 1 of the dramatic interest of life, the novel came into its own, L and became at least the equal in honour, of poetry and / the drama, even surpassing them in popularity.
Yet. whatever Scott may owe to Fielding and his art, his work is not a continuation of that of the eighteenthcentury novelists. It is more closely connected with the reaction towards romance in the latter part of the eighteenth century, which itself is part of the Romantic Revival. Walpole's Castle of Otranto (1764) was characteristic of tKïs nëw movement. The influence of the old romance is seen in the supernatural element, but if this is put aside it appears at once to how large an extent the description of the characters, their deportment and conversation is natural. Nor is the dramatic interest wanting.1) The historical element of the story is, however, rather poor. It is placed in the time of the Crusades in Italy, but the reader does not gather much information about time and place. The only thing evident is that the scène is laid in the Middle Ages, for the rest the writer is very chary of digressions or even descriptions. Yet in its way The Castle of Otranto may be looked upon as an attempt to modernize the ancient romance and at all events it is indicative of its revival. Scott himself at one time "nourished the ambitious desire of composing a tale of chivalry, which was to be in the style of the Castle of Otranto, with plenty of Border characters and supernatural incident,"2) but the intended work though begun was never finished. The influence of the School of Tenor on Scott was but brief, his work was to be better than a mere following of lines laid down by others.
The romance, however, had again its many writers and readers by the side of the novel and its votaries, aud every
the English Novel; S. Lanier, The English Novel; Stoddard, The Evolution of the English Novel; Jusserand, The English Novel in the Time of Shakespeare; Warren, The History of the English Novel previous to the Seventeenth Century; Masson, British Noveüsts and their Styles ; Simonds, An Introduction to the Study of English Fiction; Hamilton, The Materials and Methods of Fiction; Perry, A Study of Prose Fiction.
') The author of The Castle of Otranto, Horace Walpole, says himself in the Preface to the first edition: "The rules of the drama are' almost observed throughout the conduct of the piece."
3) See General Preface to the Waverley Novels.
2



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thing now tends towards Scott. In him, as it were, the different lines of romance and novel come together. In so far he is indebted to the writers who preceded him.1) He owes more to his own day, in which Macpherson's Ossian and Percy's Reliques are permeated with the spirit of interest in the~past and that of the Romantic Revival. But on the whole Scott may be said to have made himself.*)
His first work of literary importance was The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. This is a collection of historical and romantic1 ballads, most of them ancient with some modern imitations added. Of greater importance, however, than the collector's poetic contribution is his introduction and commentary. Here we find the future poet of metrical romances, still more the writer of historical novels.3) Nowhere is this better illustrated than in Scott's own words, when he says: "In these hasty sketches of Border history, I have endeavoured to select such incidents as may introducé to the reader the charafter of the marchmen, more briefly and better than a formal essay upon their manners. If I have been successful in the attempt, he is already acquainted with the mixture of courage and rapacity by which they
') How Miss Edgeworth and Mr. Joseph Strutt were acknowledged by Scott himself as godfather and godmother respectively to Waverley may be read in General Preface to Waverley.
Jane Porter in the preface of the edition of 1831 of Thaddeus of Warsaw (1807) claims to be the inventor of the historical novel and calls Scott her imitator.
Scott, however, was the first genius who brought to the writing of historical romances an adequate knowledge and an instinct for the picturesque.
J) About Scott's rambles in Liddesdale, where he collected much of the materials of his Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, we read: " 'He was makin' himself a' the time', said Mr. Shortreed; 'but he didnaken maybe what be was about till years had passed. At first he thought o' little, I dare say, but the queerness and the fun.'"
Lockhart's Life of Scott, I, pp. 195, 196.
l) See Lockhart's Life of Scott, Vol. I, p. 381:
"I well remember, when Waverley was a new book, and all the world was puzzling themselves about its authorsship, to have heard the Poet of "the Isle of Palms" exclaim impatiently: 'I wonder what all these people are perplexing themselves with: have they forgotten the prose of theMinstrelsy?'" and "It is not to be denied, however, that The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border has derived a very large accession of interest from the subsequent career of its Editor. One of the critics of that day said that the book contained "the elements of a hundred historical romances", — and this critic was a prophetic one."



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were distinguished; and has reviewed some of the scènes in which they acted a principal part. It is therefore, only necessary to notice, more minutely, some of their peculiar customs and modes of life".1) What up to this time had been unsuccessful because abortive is now possible. For Scott understood what history should be when combined with fiction. The past is to him not a mere chronicle of facts and names, rulers and statesmen are not the only persons that count. Of more interest to him is the multitude and how they are moved, as well as customs and manners, houses and dress.
Thus the metrical romances and the novels were written giving a picture of the past as if it were present. The main difference between them is that of verse and prose and the qualities belonging to either of these.2) For in the poems too the chief interest lies in the great social and historical features of their time. Scott's genius, however, did not rise to its highest in his- poetry, it found its full development in the historical novels.8)
') Scott's Minstrelsy, Vol. I, Introduction, p. 111.
») Cf. Sir Walter Scott by Hutton (London, 1909), Chapter V, Scott's Maturer Poems.
On pp. 52, 53 it says: "Scott's poems have sometimes been depreciated as mere novelettes in verse, and I think that some of them may be more or less liable to this criticism."
Of course it remains a question whether Scott did not intend his poems to be what they are, namely poetic tales of the past. Scott himself says in his General Preface to the Waverley Novels: "It makes no part of the present story to detail how the success of a few ballads had the effect of changing all the purpose and tenor of my life, and of converting a pains>taking lawyer of some years' standing into a follower of literature. It is enough to say, that I had assumed the latter character for several years before I seriously thought of attempting a work of imagination in prose, although one or two of my poetical attempts did not differ from romances otherwise than by being written in verse."
r) Though it is quite true that Scott's novels are not all historical in so far that they are not all works of which the interest chiefly turns on the introduction of some historical personages or events, yet with but a single exception they are all of the past and most of them even historical in the strict sense. Moreover the historical element in the novels is of so much importance that on this account too, they may be called historical. Such a work as St. Ronan's Well, dealing with the present, lies outside the general class of Scott's novels.
It may also be said here that Scott does not distinguish a romance with supernatural agencies from a novel with natural agencies. Ivanhoe he calls both a novel and a romance.



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In Scott's work then for the first time the true union between history and fiction is found. What before him was but a poor attempt, is now a splendid succes. This must be ascribed to his insight into history. For Scott was acquainted not only with the highroad of the past, but with its bypaths as well. From his youth he had been familiar with history, and his knowledge of legend and anecdote was not less than of fact and date. He had lived so much in the past, that the past had revealed to him its life, and he understood its spirit, its customs and manners. It was as real to him as the present. In this his knowledge of antiquities and folklore was helped by the fertility of his imagination, so that history was an art as well as a science to him. And all this Scott knew how to put before his reader, in a manner perhaps more dramatic than scientific, more pleasant than majestic, but always so that the reader saw what the author had seen and rejoiced in the sight The new romance and the new novel for the first time give a picture of the past as it was or at least might have been. There is no unreality, and though the writer in some small detail may sometimes be at fault, the picture as a whole is right.J)
') For the author's opinion and method of the novel of the past see the Dedicatory Epistle to Ivanhoe and the Introductory Epistle to The Fortunes of Nigel.
Criticism of the historical novel and tale is found in the different works on Scott.
Curious is in this respect the conversation between George Brown and the Hungarian in The Romany Rye, Chapter XL, where the writer asks about the gypsies in Hungary and is answered:
" 'I know little of them, but enough to say that one horsedoad of nonsense has been written about them, there is one Walter Scott...'
'Mind what you say about him', said I; 'he is our grand authority in marters of philolpgy and history.'
'A pretty philologist,' said the Hungarian, 'who makes ' the gypsies speak RotiVWelsch, the dialect of thieves; a pretty historian, who couples together Thor and Tzernebock.'
'Where does he do that?' said I.
'In his conceited romance of Ivanhoe, he couples Thor and Tzernebock. together, and calls them gods of the heathen Saxons.'"
According to the Hungarian Tzernebock was one of the gods of the Sclaves. The conversation takes place about the time when Scott was writing his life of Napoleon Buonaparte.
We may also notice here what Ruskin says about Scott in Modern Painters, Vol. III, p. 317. "Scott was entirely incapable of entering into the spirit of any classical scène. He was strictly a Goth and a Scot."
Scott was indeed romantic as much as Shakespeare and in smaller details



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So The Lay of the Last Minstrel displays a rare knowledge of Border archaeology and gives a good idea of the endless fighting and marauding on either side of the boundary between Scotland and England. Marmion in its six cantos gives as many social chapters representing the castle, the convent, the hostel or inn, the camp, the court, and the battle at the beginning of the sixteenth century. In The Lady of the Lake the court of James V, the Commons' King, is contrasted with the Highlanders of Roderick Dhu, and the quarrel between James and the Douglas is described. And so in the different romances the poet turns to the past not only using it as a picturesque reliëf for his tales, but also sketching the age and its life, and depicting history.1) Scott's full development as an historical writer, however, is found in his novels. In Waverley the author delineates Scottish manners and feelings and describes the gallant attempt of Charles Edward to replace on his father's head the crown of James II. Ivanhoe gives a picture of England in the days of King Richard, when Saxons and Normans were still at strife. In Quentin Durward the writer turns to the continent and deals with the reign of Louis XI and of Charles the Bold. The crafty policy of the French King and the passionate character of the Duke of Burgundy are contrasted with each other. The Heart of Midlothian has its origin in the historical episode of the breaking open of the Tolbooth jail in Edinburgh in the Porteous riots. It gives a description of the religious life of Scotland at the time, as well as of the state of England and of Scotland and of the result of the Union. Thus novel after novel is an historical picture, the time of which sometimes carries the reader back as far as the twelfth century. But the private
sometimes lost his way, moreover he was an historian and by no means classic.
0 Cf. New and Old Letters to Dead Authors by Andrew Lang (London, 1886), p. 118, in which to Sir Walter Scott, Bart. the author says: —
"All the spirits of the river and the hill, all the dying refrains of ballad and the fading echoes of story, all the memory of the wild past, each legend of burn and loch, seem to have combined to inform your spirit, and to secure themselves an immortal life in your story."
It is however not to be denied that Scott had an eye for the pageantry of the past rather than an ear for its spiritual voice. The mystic, religious character of the Middle Ages was not understood by him, or at least, does not find its full expression in his work.



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interest is not wanting, any more than it was in the poems.
As to the relation between private and public interests and passions in Scott's work, it may be said that on the whole the historical element takes precedence. So Scott says himself about his first great romance in verse The Lay of Last Minstrel: "The Poem, now offered to the Public, is intended to illustrate the customs and manners which anciently prevailed on the Border of England and Scotland. The inhabitants, living in a state partly pastoral and partly
warlike, and combining nabits ot constant depradauon wttn the influence of a rude spirit of chivalry, were often engaged in scènes highly susceptible of poetical ornament. As the description of scenery and manners was more the object of the Author than the combined and regular narrative, the plan of the Ancient Metrical Romance was adopted, which allows greater latitude, in this respect, than would be consistent with the dignity of a regular Poem".1) Again the historical novel Ivanhoe is designated by its author as "a work desiened to illustrate the domestic antiquities of
(England and particularly of our Saxon forefathers".8) In
the Lreneral rretace to tne waverley iNovels öcott wntes about the tale of Waverley and says: "And here I must frankly confess, that the mode in which I conducted the story scarcely deserved the success which the Romance afterwards attained. The tale of Waverley was put together with so little care, that I cannot boast of having sketched any distinct plan of the work. The whole adventures of Waverley, in his movements up and down the country with the Highland cateran Bean Lean, are managed without much skill. It suited best, however, the road I wanted to travel, and permitted me to introducé some descriptions of scenery and manners, to which the reality gave an interest which the powers of the author might have otherwise failed to attain for them. And though I have been in other instances a sinner in this sort, I do not recollect any of these novels in which I have transgressed so widely as in the first of the series."8) The poetic tales and the novels, however, are sufficiënt in themselves to teil us that Scott did not want
') Preface to the first edition of The Lay of the Last Minstrel.
J) Dedicatory epistle to the rev. Dr. Dryasdust, Ivanhoe.
*) Waverley by Sir Walter Scott, Everyman's Library, p. 11, sq.



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to write a romance with an historical background, but that his aim was to give an instructive picture of the past, for which the writer did not think it beneath him to make use of a story. It may be true that this purpose was not always equally clear to the author, but it is found in his work.1)
So Scott's work is not in the first place a tale of love or of any private interest of hero or heroine. Not that the soft passion is neglected or that the story does not display all that moves the human heart in grief or joy, but all this takes but a secondary or even lower rank. Public interest with Scott goes before private interest.
In The Lady of the Lake Ellen is more than beautiful and in describing her graceful form and lovely face, the poet also speaks about the goodness of her heart and tells us how she knows the passion of love. Her lover is Malcolm Graeme, one of the lew who dare befriend her father, the banished Douglas. Malcolm, however, is not the only one to love Ellen. The Knight ofSnowdown, James Fitz-James, having lost his way when hunting, has also seen her and wants to win her. Moreover Roderick Dhu, who affords refuge to father and daughter, asks Ellen in marriage. Thus there is love enough in the tale and many a.fair reader of the old-fashioned type might feel tempted, in reading in the opening of the story of the handsome stranger with his bold visage, stately form, and ready speech, and of the lovely maid, to turn to the last page of the romance to see if they get married- or not. She might feel disappointed in finding that Malcolm Graeme, who has hardly any share in the adventures of the tale, receives the blushing beauty from the hands of Scotland's King, the Knight of Snowdown. Still greater the disappointment might be in reading how comparatively calmly the two rejected lovers behave. Roderick Dhu and Fitz-James fight indeed, not, however, be-
') Cf. Thomas Carlyle's CoUected Works, Vol. V, p. 249 (Sir Walter Scott): ". . . . surely since Shakespeare's time there has been no great speaker so unconscious of an aim in speaking as Walter Scott."
Yet on p. 244 the essay says: —
"The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border proved to be a well from which flowed one of the broadest rivers. Metrical Romances (which in due time pass into Prose Romances); the old life of men resuscitated for us: it is a mighty word! Not a dead tradition, but a palpable presence, the past stood before us."



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cause they love the same lady, but because one of them is Gael, the other Saxon. And here we get the pivot on which the interest of the story turns. The romance is not -a love-story but a tale of the past, in which also the mutual relations of Highlanders and Lowlanders are described. The king, in disguise, traversing the Highlands, loses his way and meets with Ellen. More important than this meeting and the passing love it gives birth to, is that the chase takes us to the island where Douglas is under the protection of Roderick Dhu. For now we learn the ancient manners of the early inhabitants of the Highlands of Scotland. We hear the Boat Song in praise of the Chief of Clan-Alpine, we see how the Fiery Cross is sent to summon the clansmen to fight for him, and we are informed how the Hermit, more Druid than Christian, prophesies the issue of the coming battle. Roderick wishes to drown his love in the roar of battle. And indeed more than love or pride is to him the honour of his clan and the truth of his word, while he dies happy in hearing the Minstrel sing how well the Gaels fought the Saxons. The romance also tells us about the Commons' King, who rejoices in the sports of his burghers, but who is hated by his nobles whom he restrained in their pride. The banished Douglas, knowing his friends to be in danger, returns to sacrifice himself for them; he also appeases the changeling crowd who rise for his sake against the law. Thus the court is described, the feud between King James and the Douglas, and the relation between King and people. With James his love is but a passing fancy, he is depicted to us as the king of the people, who knows their fickle character but who nevertheless does what he thinks right for his kingdom. So the historical element of the Highlanders and Lowlanders in their mutual relation, and of James as the king who protects the peasantry from the tyranny of the barons and who keeps order in the Highlands, is predominant over the romance of the love-story. In the smaller details of the romance too, it is clear that to the author public interest is of more importance than private. Douglas and his child love each other with a wonderful love beautifully described, but more and better lines are devoted to the patriarchal relation between Clan-Alpine and their chieftain. And so through the whole poem Scott



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seems to give but a bird's eye view of the story. He sees as from. a distance. The general interest stands out clearly, and about it in due proportion the private concerns are grouped.
This is not only the case in The Lady of the Lake but in the other metrical tales as well. There may be some difference in degree, but in general it is the same method. In The Lay of the Last Minstrel the love of Margaret of Branksome and Henry of Cranstown is the romantic interest, the supernatural element was left confused by Scott, but the panorama of the old Border life is vivid and clear. No historical persons of moment or note are given, yet as a poetic picture of the past on the Borders of England and Scotland the poem is unsurpassed. After having perused the romance the reader may or may not rejoice in the betrothal of Cranstown and fair Margaret, the part played by Michael Scott, his book, and the elvish Dwarf may be vague to him, but he must have gained an insight into the conditions prevailing on the borders of England and Scotland in "th*e sixteenth century. The poet tells him about clans and the discordoêtween them, about feudal strife and moonlight raid, about moss-troopers and southern ravage, about stubborn barons and bold yeomen, about marchtreason and Border-beacon, till the endless fighting and marauding on either side of the shifting boundary has been made vivid and real to him. There sounds a war-note through the poem. Branksome Hall keeps watch "agamst England and its force and guile; three thousand Englishmen march into Scotland. Then there is the feud of Cranstown and Branksome. But little prominence can be given to fair Margaret's love.
The minstrel excuses himself for this to the ladies who might expect more:
"'Alasl fair dames, your hopes are vainl My harp has lost the enchanting stram;
lts lightness would my age reprove: My hairs are gray, my limbs are old, My heart is dead, my veins are cold; I may not, must not, sing of love!'"1)
') The Lay of the Last Minstrel, Canto Second, XXX.
When Scott began to write novels he, too, had outgrown the sentimental



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Through he soon recants these words:
"'And said I that my limbs were old, And said I that my blood was cold, And that my kindly fire was fled, And my poor wither'd heart was dead,
And that I might not sing of love? — How could I to the dearest theme, That ever warm'd a minstrel's dream, So foul, so false a recreant prove! How could I name love's very name, Nor wake my heart to notes of flamel In peace, Love tunes the shepherd's reed; In war, he mounts the warrior's steed; In halls, in gay attire is seen; In hamiets, dances on the green. Love rules the court, the camp, the grove And men below, and saints above; For, love is heaven, and heaven is love'".1) Scott's poems and novels, indeed, show us how great a part love plays in his work. But whatever the interest of sentiment may be, the illustration of the past is the author's first object.
Thus Marmion describes the manners of feudal times and the subtitle of the story A Tale of Flodden Field indicates how the fate of the fictitious hero is connected with that memorable battle in which James IV and the flower of Scotland perished. Constance's love andjealousy, Clare's constancy, Marmion's deceit, De Wilton's honour are but incidental to the romance itself.
The same is true of Edith's or Isabel's love in The Lord of the Isles. But it will be clear by now how in the verse-
period, which, to a certain degree, may explain the fact that in him the romantic element is subservient to the historical element.
Cf. Bagehot, Literary Studies (London, 1879), Vol II, p. 176 sq.
"It was rather late, according to his biographer, before Scott set up for a 'squire of dames'; he was a 'lame young man, very enthusiastic about ballad poetry'; he was deeply in love with a young lady, supposed to be imagina* tively represented by Flora Macivor, but he was unsuccessful. It would be overdngenious to argue, from his failing in a single Iove*affair, that he had no peculiar interest in young ladies in general; but the whole description of his youth shows that young ladies exercised over him a rather more divided influence than is usual."
See Scott A. The Story of Walter Scott's First Love (Edinburgh, 1896).
') The Lay of the Last Minstrel, Canto Third, I, II.



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romances in general the interest of the past comes first.1) Yet with a difference. For while the poet may say about Marmion, that "any Historical Narrative, far more an attempt at Epic composition, exceeded his plan of a Romantic Tale",*) in The Lord of the Isles "many of the personages and incidents are of historical celebrity".8)
Nor is there much difference between Scott's treatment, of the historical element in his novels, and in his poems. But the extraordinary greatness of the writers genius is seen to the full in his novels, and in them, too, he has freer scope for the display of his talents as an historian. The historian, however, is also a novelist, is even a better | novelist than a poet. Hence the immense popularity of the j Waverley novels. But the historical element keeps its first place, becomes of even more importance in so far that 1 historical personages and events are found in the greater I number of the prose romances.*)
The most popular romance, and at the same time one of the most meritorious of the novels, is perhaps Ivanhoe. It transports its reader to the England of the twelfth century. Scott, however, knew full well that the human heart remains the same in all countries and ages, as well as in all ranks and conditions. It may change its mapner of utterance in-
') An exception is perhaps Rokeby, whose plot indeed belongs to the time of the civil war, but which seems romantic rather than historical. But then Rokeby deals with "manners founded upon these peculiar habits of thinking or acting, which are produced by the progress of society" (see Introduction to edition 1830).
J) Maradon, Advertisement to the first edition.
') The Lord of the Isles, Advertisement to the first edition.
4) Bagehot thinks Scott's novels a transition beween the large instructive novels of Fielding and the love»novels of later times. Yet he says of the Waverley novels: "They describe great events, singular chararters, strange accidents, strange states of society; they dweil with a peculiar interest — and as if for their own sake — on antiquarian details relating to a past society. Singular customs, social practices, even political institutions which existed once in Scotland, and even elsewhere, during the middle ages, are explained with a careful minuteness."
See Bagehot, Literary Studies, Vol. II, p. 149.
Dibelius, Englische Romankunst (Berlin, 1910), Vol. II, p. 202 sq., calls Scott's novels didactic and thinks this a fault. "Der Roman soll wieder etwas leisten, er soll Kenntnisse vermitteln." Yet on p. 226 sq. he praises Scott's historie insight: "Dass er ein Künstler war mit dem grossen historisch en Bliek, das macht seine Persördichkeit zu einer Figur nicht nur der englischen Literatur» geschichte, sondern der modernen Kulturgeschichte überhaupt."



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fluenced by the state of society, but it does not change its nature. Nor is a picture of the past complete, if it does not give men and women with their personal interests. Hence we have what is common to all time in Scott's tale of Ivanhoe,where the hero of the story loves Rowena, his father's ward, and is loved by her. Then there is Athelstane, who may care for the Lady Rowena, but who cares more for a good table. There, too, is Rebecca, the fair Jewess, who is thankful to Wilfred of Ivanhoe, because he helped her father, but who finds her gratitude change into love. Rebecca in her turn is loved by the haughty Templar, who wishes to forsake greatness, fame, and power for her sake. There is also Isaac the Jew, loving his money-bags but loving his daughter better. Urfried again only thinks of revenge on her tyrant. And so in character after character private passions and sentiments are revealed. Ivanhoe's love-story even plays a prominent part. Its unravelling, however, was not what all had expected. "The character of the fair Jewess found so much favour in the eyes of some fair readers, that the writer was censured because, when arranging the fates of the characters of the drama, he had not assigned the hand of Wilfred to Rebecca,' rather than to the less interesting Rowena".i) Scott excused' \ J himself by remarking "that the prejudices of the age ren- \ dered such a union almost impossible".*) Here we see the ^ writer bound by the time of his novel. In Ivanhoe's father too, Cedric the Saxon, public and private interest meet, and the former carries the day. Ivanhoe may love Rowena,' his father banishes him, through an only son, for this very reason. For Cedric is first the Saxon, and then a father, and dreams of a marriage between Athelstane and Rowena to execute his project for a union between two of his own race and for the restoration of a Saxon dynasty. The historical spirit pervades the whole narrative, and even the private actions and thoughts of the characters feel its influence. It is seen in Rebecca as well as in the Templar, and even in Athelstane before a three days' fast had somewhat mortified his ambition. Scott's purpose in writing the
') Introduction to Ivanhoe.
Cf. Rebecca and Rowena by Thackeray.
') Introduction to Ivanhoe.



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novel was not to give some private adventures of some private personages, but it was to give a picture of the Saxons and the Normans and their mutual relations in the reign of Richard I. "It seemed to the Author that the existence of the two races in the Saxon country, the vanquished distinguished by their plain, homely, blunt manners, and the free spirit infused by their ancient institutions and laws; the victors, by the high spirit of military fame, personal adventure, and whatever could distinguish them as the flower of chivalry, might, intermixed with other characters belonging to the same time and country, interest the reader by the contrast, if the Author should not fail on his part".1) The author did not fail and not only are the Saxons and Normans of the twelfth century portrayed, but the whole of the England of that time is depicted for us.*) Historical characters are Richard and his brother John, semihistorical Robin Hood and Friar Tuck. By their side we see Jew and Christian, lord and slave, Templar and Free Companion. They all act their part in the representation of the two races fighting for their place in the country.
Waverley: or 't is Sixty Years Since, Scott's first novel, is also an historical picture. The time of the action is the year 1785 and thus much nearer than that of Ivanhoe. The many changes, however, undergone by the kingdom of Scotland since this date, explain its character.3) The novel tells us about Charles Edward and his bold attempt to assert his father's claims. It gives a fine description of the battle of» Preston, the march into England, the return northward, and of the skirmish at Clifton, whereas it merely mentions the retreat of the Chevalier into Scotland, the fields of Falkirk and Culloden, and Charles Edward's escape. Yet as a whole it is a vivid and correct historical picture of the insurrection of 1745. Moreover, Waverley gives us old Scotland with her Highland chiefs and their patriarchal power, her
') Introduction to Ivanhoe.
') Scott, however, idealises the Middle Ages. Bagehot in his Literary Studies, Vol. II, p. 108, says of Ivanhoe:" It describes the middle ages as we should have wished them to have been."
8) Cf. Introduction to Waverley in Everyman's Library, p. viii.
"So some parts of this book are not only historical romance, they are history itself, and deserve to be considered as genuine documents, although presented in an informal fashion, or as evidence heard out of court."



— 3o —
Lowland barons, her Jacobite party, and her ancient manners and customs. Compared with all this the love of Rose Bradwardine and Edward Waverley is but of secondary importance, however much it was to them. As to Flora, her mind is bent exclusively on the restoration of the Stewarts.
Nor is the relation between public and private interest different in Quentin Durward. The reader may follow with attentive anxiety the many adventures of the brave Scot, whom circumstances bring to the continent in the latter part of the fifteenth century, the novel was not written in the first place to narrate these. Nor is the love intrigue of Quentin and Isabelle the pivot on which the story turns. But the crafty suzerain, Louis of France, as opposedto his arrogant vassal, Charles of Burgundy, is the subject of the book. The other elements of the narrative are only contributary to the portrayal of the struggle between these two, from the first attention, paid by the king to the young Scot, up to the insurrection of Liege and the death of De La Marck. By the side of the policy of Louis XI, one of the first to do away with the feudal system and the spirit of chivalry, only to secure his own ends by his own means, the question of the marriage of the Countess Isabelle is only of small account.
Again The Heart of Midlothian is a description of the Porteous Mob and of Scotland and England in their social, religious, and political conditions about the year 1736, more •than it is a tale of sisterly affection.
Nor was The Abbot written to paint the love of Roland Graeme and Catherine Seyton or Kenüworth to picture the unhappy fate of Amy Robsart, the Earl of Leicesters wife. But Mary, Queen of Scots, appears before us in The Abbot and Elisabeth's reign is the subject of Kenüworth. | Thus novel after novel gives us a view of the past. Not bil the novels, however, do this in the same degree. In Jsome of them, treating of a time rather near, almost a modern note may be found. In St. Ronan's Well the writer makes an exception himself.1) Nor is the historical element
') Cf. Introduction to Si. Roman's Well,
"The novel which follows is upon a plan different from any other the writer has ever written, although it is perhaps the most legitimate which relates to this kind of light literature."



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always equally pronounced. Some of the novels give more historical personages and events than others.
The general principle, however, of Scott's romances, whether in prose or verse, remains the same. They give us a picture of the past, and as such they are historical before romantic, public interest takes the lead of private, the element of the past predominates. Scott did not write a novel proper and make it interesting by using an historical background, but he gave us history in the guise of a novel.1) His view of the past is from the standpoint of the present, and it is seen, as it were, in perspective, hence the minor interests are vague and indeterminate, but what characterizes or influences the time stands out in bold outline.
This principle of emphasizing the historical element cannot but, in its general influence, also affect the dramatis personae of poetic tale and novel. Scott's personages are no longer mere individuals but act their part in an historical representation and as such they are representative of their age with its public strifes and social divisions. They are often types, personating a group or a class, a sect or a race, an idea or a party, and not simply characters.2) Ifof a higher standing their performance of their official, historical parts is more important than what they do as private individuals, whilst the multitude helps to represent the time.
In The Lady of the Lake King James is first seen hunting and in disguise. He calls himself James Fitz-James and loses his heart to Ellen Douglas. Many are his adventures, culminating in a duel with Roderic Dhu, the rebellious Gael. In the park of Stirling Castle James is found again, making himself popular and ever choosing the fairest city
It is intended, in a word — celebrare domestica facta — to give an imitation of the shifting manners of our own time, and paint scènes, the originals of which are daily passing round us, so that a minute's observation may compare the copies with the originals."
!) In some of the Dutch novels written in imitation of Scott we shall find the novel with the historical background; the author then transports himself to the past and writes his narrative there.
2) Scott, when discussing his novel Waverley, says: "The lowland Scottish gentleman, and the subordinate characters, are not given as individual por» traits, but are drawn from the general habits of the period, of which I have witnessed some remnants in my younger days, and partly gathered from tradition."
Chapter LXXII of Waverley: A Fostcript, which should have been a Preface,



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dame for his kind greeting. Here he experiences how the crowd disclaims him and shouts in favour of Douglas, the banished baron. But always James is first of all king. Even when his anger burns high, because his enemy is being cheered, he thinks of the vulgar crowd and takes care that they shall not be punished for the crimes of their leaders. To the Commons' King the cause of his kingdom stands before everything, and though he wishes to break the tyranny of the barons and to keep order in the Highlands, he can forgive the personal wrong done to him and waive his private desires. He makes the Douglas the friend of his throne again, would give an earldom to have Roderick Dhu live, and unites Ellen and her lover. Even of his wanderings in disguise he says:
"'Thus watch I o'er insulted laws, Thus learn to right the injured cause'".1) So Scott in his picture of James V, though he did not forget the private sides of the king's character, yet paints him in the first place as the king he was, and as he is known in history.
Marmion, the hero of the romance of the same name, is not an historical character but fictitious. He is described as the ambassador of Henry to the Scottish Court, sent in order to avert a conflict between Scotland and England. He, however, finds King James preparing for war and dies in the battle of Flodden Field. So though not a person known in history, Marmion acts his part in an historical event. His adventures are indeed private, as well his loveaffair with Constance and with Clara, as is his false charge of De Wilton and its consequences. The hero, however, is painted as a person belonging to the past, and his public life, though imaginary, is emphasized. Marmion himself knows that the orders of his King go before his personal wishes. For when twice he wanted to look after Constance, once loved by him and later betrayed and put in a convent, his Sovereign's mandate twice prevented him from doing so. Nor does ^e care about his enemy De Wilton, when heard of again, but speeds on to the battle. In this way Scott gives a portrait of a public man and secures the opportunity
') The Lady of the Lake, Canto Sixth, XXVIII.



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of making his romance a picture of James IV, a tale of Flodden Field, and a representation of the manners of the feudal times.
William of Deloraine in The Lay of the Last Minstrel'is a very different character from James V or Marmion. He is described as knowing every path and every ford in the Border district. Heat or cold makes no more difference to him than day or night, when he is out on a raid. Nor does he care for the King of England or the Queen of Scotland, by whom he had been five times outlawed. But in the service of the Lady of Branksome he is always ready to do whatever she orders, and to fight the enemies of her clan. So he is seen fetching Michael Scott's Mighty Book and meeting Cranstown. Of Deloraine's inmost being, however, not much is said. Yet the poet tells us how in the fight with Cranstown, Deloraine did not call saint or lady to aid, and that when his deadly enemy is slain, killed by another hand than his, he wishes him alive again to decide the issue of his own quarrel. How different in many respects is Deloraine from Cranstown or any other in the poetic tales! It might be said that his character is almost all outside, and this might be called a defect.1) Yet here Scott did not want to give us anything else. Deloraine is meant to be the type of a moss-trooper or borderer and as such he is described. It is of the greatest importance that he shall appear to the reader as an illustrative figure of the past and his individuality is but secondary matter.
What part is played by the multitude in Scott's poems is seen in The Lay of the Last Minstrel when the glare of the bale-fires warns against the English foe, and the people either flee or gather to withstand him, as also when the Fiery Cross in The Lady of the Lake takes its road and the whole clan rises in arms and when in Marmion
0 To Scott's types perhaps in some degree Carlyle's words might be applied, when he says: —
"We might say in a short word, which means a long matter, that your Shakspeare fashions his characters from the heart outwards; your Scott fashions them from the skin inwards, never getting near the heart of them! The one set become living men and women; the other amount to httle more than mechanical cases, deceptively painted automatons."
Thomas Carlyle's Collected Works, Vol. V, p. 272.
See later Book I, Ch. II.
3



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the Scottish warriors are described in their camp near Edinburgh. What Scott offers to his readers is not simply a sketch of the crowd, but an historical picture of the multitude, their manners and customs. Peasant and yeoman, knight and warrior, fisherman and smith, falconer and hunter, they all act so as to help in the representation of the past.
In the novels, however, Scott has a much larger scope for the painting of his historical panoramas partly by means of his personages.
In general Scott's portrayal of historical characters is as true to history as possible, and at all events they are public personages to him and drawn as such. It may be that the historical basis of his novel is sometimes wrong, the relation between his dramatis personae and his narrative is right. Further, the manipulations of history which the writer now and then allows himself, do not influence the general principle of his manner of treating his historical personages.1) JHis principle is that his personages are first of all repreIsented in their public quality, and that their private or
■ personal interest comes second. The way in which his ;. personalities make history is to Scott of most importance,
■ and how they act as characters in the novel is made ^subservient to this.
\ One of Scott's finest historical portraits is perhaps that of ^ Louis XI in Quentin Durward. It is true that the novel itself is full of anachronisms, but the king is admirably drawn. He is the hypocritical tyrant in pressing on the match between the deformed princess, his daughter, and the Duke of Orleans, whose branch was next in succession to the crown. Louis knows that though his daughter loves the duke, the latter does not care for her but for another,
') Woodstock might be taken as an instance of the way in which Scott sometimes deviates from history or refuses to be fettered by accuracy of historical detail:
Cf. Life and Writings of Sir Walter Scott by Yonge, p. 150 sqq.; Sir Walter Scott by Richard H. Hutton, p. 114.
An investigation into this point lies outside the present work.
For an explanation read Bagehot, The Waverley Novels, p. 154. "The strongest unsensible feeling in Scott was perhaps his Jacobitism, which crept out even in small incidents and was so to say, the emotional aspect of his habitual Toryism."
See also Canning, History in Scott's novels.



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but he insists on their union in the hope and expectation that their marriage might be childless. His abject superstition is even stronger than his thirst for revenge. When both king and astrologer are prisoners, the latter escapes hanging by foretelling that his death will be twenty-four hours before that of his master, though the latter's condition is sufficiënt proof that the Italian is either an imposter or a traitor. Again, his shameless meanness is seen when he submits almost gladly to the accusation of the Countess of Croye that his conduct towards her and her aunt had been less than might have been expected from a king, a knight, and a gentleman, if he had indeed invited them into France. For this acquiescence, he thought, might perhaps propitiate Charles of Burgundy. Yet, hypocritical, mean, superstitious, or whatever else he may be, Louis is King of France and his bad qualities, too, are in the service of his country. Scott paints us the entire man, who may sometimes indulge his private, bad instincts, but who knows that in time of need the interests of his kingdom always take precedence of his own. The picture of Louis XI,; however, chiefly represents the king, whose sinister policy was often cruel, but who did much to develop the resources of his country and advance the cause of good government. In a word,; Scott gives usan historical portrait. And nowhere, perhaps, is the politic king better depicted than in that memorable scène where the Count of Crèvecoeur demands an audience and gets it, or when at Peronne Louis is faced with Charles of Burgundy. These are situations in which the public character comes to the foreground and the private individual almost disappears. And whether Louis had to do with Charles of Burgundy's insolent ambassador or with the duke himself, here we have the historie character.
If Louis XI is the true hero of the novel called Quentin Durward, the place of Elizabeth in Kenüworth is of somewhat less importance. Yet again Queen Elizabeth is described in her historical capacity. It is well known how wisely she reigned and how her wisdom was manifest in her choice of counsellors and leaders. But she was also a woman and had her love-romance with the Earl of Leicester. Though Elizabeth appears in the novel both as queen and as woman, the writer, makes the individual character subor-



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dinate to the royal function. His object is that the queen shall stand out clearly before the reader's eye and as such she may feel for a moment the soft influence of love, but her actions must be guided by her royal instinct. So it is the queen who summons the rival statesmen, Sussex and Leicester, into her presence that she may bring about their reconcilement. It is also the daughter of Henry VIII who turns on Leicester for his threat against the usher. But after she has asserted the dignity of the queen, the woman begins to feel for the mortification of her favourite. Nor is it the queen's policy to give Sussex and his party a decisive triumph, and she also turns against the Lord of Sussex. After the two lords have joined hands at the imperious order of the queen, the woman again is moved when she sees Leicester's confusion at the discussion about his wife, to whom he is secretly married. And now concern, jealousy, vanity, and pride succeed each other, till the queen peremptorily concludes "this celebrated audience, in which, as throughout her life, Elizabeth united the occasional caprices of her sex, with that sense and sound policy, in which neither man nor woman excelled her".1) In this manner Scott paints the queen before the woman, not only in this scène but throughout the novel and before everything she stands out an historical figure.
Indeed all Scott's pictures of persons known in history are historical pictures. Even René, Count of Provence, and King of the Troubadours, who, whatever his other qualities might have been, was most decidedly unfit to govern a country, is painted by him not in his private quality but as a king. In Anne of Geierstein it is King René, who is a fooi, and not the fooi, who is a king. The old king, however careless he may be, yet feels for his subjects, when he hesitates to acquiesce in his daughter Margaret's schemes of resigning his rights to Charles of Burgundy, and speaks of the ties of a king and his people.8)
J) Kenilworth, Chapter XVI.
9) .... "the picture of 'le bon roi René' and his court has the reality and minute effect of a description by some old chronicler."
Thompson, A History of English Literature (London, 1906), p. 567.
Scott is apt to idealize the Middle Ages but among his heroines and princes René is at least an exception in this respect.
Cf. Lockhart's Life of Sir Walter Scott, Vol. VII, p. 147.



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Thus Scott gives us his gallery of historical portraits. We might add other names, such as Saladin, Richard, Mary Stuart, Queen Caroline, Buckingham, Claverhouse, and many others, but they are drawn on the same principle; whether false or true, the picture is meant to be historical. Consequently Scott's characters are not afraid to think, to speak, and to act in their public quality, at the same time remaining human beings with their personal characteristics.
Most of Scott's characters, however, are not historical, nor are there in all novels historical personages. It even seems to be a rule with Scott to find his heroes in the common walks of life. But the principle remains that all the dramatis personae act their part in a representation of Jthe past and are painted as part of such. Their main interest for the reader is not romantic but derived from their time.
In his heroes Scott also shows that he is the historiannovelist. For as a true historian he wishes to be impartial and makes them the neutral ground of his tale.1) For this reason they are not historical, and this also makes it possible for him to keep to the general lines of the novel
So in Old Mortality Scott gives us a complete historical picture of the confusing period of the Covenanters and Royalists in Scotland, but neither Claverhouse nor John
"Richard and other princes — their defects are disregarded, better in this respect is Charles the Bold 's picture and René's."
J) In the Editor's Introduction to The Fortunes of Nigel in Everyman's Library, p. xii, we read: —
"As for the hero, Nigel, who is in fact no hero, whose vhtue is expediency, whose lot in marrying David Ramsay's spirited daughter is much too good for him — if his part is relatively the weakest in the book, it is only what might be expected from a knowledge of Scott's other heroes, who are so often either prigs, or mere clothes*pegs, or walking»gentiemen."
Cf. Sketches and Essays by William Hazlitt (London, 1839), where, in Why the Heroes of Romances are Insipid, p. 271, we find the following about the heroes of the Author of Waverley: —
"In fact, the hero of the work is not so properly the chief object in it, as a sort of blank left open to the imagination, or a lay figure on which the reader disposes whatever drapery he pleasesl"
Kurt Gaebel in Beitrage zur Technik der Erz'ahlung in den Romanen Walter Scotts, p. 26, also says about the hero: —
"Er darf das Weltbild, das der Dichter entwirft, nicht decken noch trüben: und so kommt es, dasz der Hauptcharakterzug des typischen Romanhelden, heisse er nun Gil Bias, Wilhelm Meister, Tom Jones, Waverley oder Anton Wohlfart, in einer reinen Empfanglichkeit für fremde Einflüsse besteht."



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Balfour, called Burley, who both act a prominent part in the novel, is the hero. In choosing between them, the author would have had to choose between the two parties, and the insight into both sides of the public quarrel would have suffered in the choice. Moreover the historical element of the novel would have become one-sided and too important. It is never Scott's intention to rival history in describing soldiers and their battles, or kings and the events of their reigns. He aims at giving a picture of the past, at painting the people and how they live, at reviving jdays long gone by with all their various interests, and at s being a novelist. For this he creates his neutral heroes. In Old Mortality the hero is Morton. Undecided between the pros and cons of the struggle of his time, he is determined to be a good Christian as well as a peaceful subject, as far and as long as possible. Certain accidents, however, place him in the power of the Royalists, whose harsh and violent measures, and want of consideration for human life make him side with the Covenanters after his escape. But with them he finds like qualities, so that he despairs of even justice from either party, and he is glad to leave a country where such things are carried on, only to return when more moderate counsels prevail. It is easy to see how much such a hero facilitates the writer's task in painting his historie picture, while at the same time full scope can be given to the romantic element. The hero is free to love with or without a rival, and see his wishes fulfilled, whereas it would have been difficult to ascribe a love-affair to Burley or even to Claverhouse and make it end well. Yet the public interest remains foremost, even in the hero. It is impossible not to consider Morton a public person, involved as he is with both parties, owing to his position. In him, as it were, the past is reflected as in a mirror. His love of Edith Bellenden is, indeed, of but small importance compared with his interest in the development of the struggle. Further, it is only at the end of the story that those circumstances cease to exist which stood in the way of their union.
Another colourless hero is Edward Waverley in the novel Waverley. He is to play a part in Scott's description of the insurrection of Scotland in 1745, and forms the link



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beween the English and the Highlanders. The novel tells us how he wavers in his political sentiments as well as in the affairs of his heart. First an English officer, he later becomes a volunteer in Charles Edward's army, and afterwards makes his peace with the government. So Scott's picture is again in the first place one of the public person.
The hero of Quentin Durward is the Scottish archer of this name. Hesitating whom to serve, necessity makes him one of King Louis's Guards, and in this qualityhe acts his part in the novel and follows his prudent course. Round him the historical figures and others group themselves. Scott uses him to make these stand out in bold reliëf, and more especially the King of France. The young life-guardsman moreover has his love intrigue, which, however, is but of minor interest.
In Jeanie Deans too, in The Heart of Midlothian, a novel of the past rather than an historical one, we see the same neutral qualities.l) The heroine takes her own honest way in the midst of the troubles caused by her sister and by the Porteous Mob. It is seen not only in Effie's trial, when Jeanie confesses that her sister never breathed a word to her about her ailment, but also when Jeanie pleads for her sister's pardon with Queen Caroline, and doubts how far she might be called upon to avenge the blood of Porteous, though she would have done anything to save his life.
So the character of Scott's historical persons is revealedi
') In a criticism of The Heart of Midlothian in The Quarterly Review (London, 1822), Vol. XXVI, p. 120, we read about Jeanie: "We must not close our remarks without taking a more formal leave of Jeannie. She is a perfect model of sober heroism; of the woman of good sense with strong affections, firm principles and perfect disinterestedness; and of the calm superiority to misfortune, danger and difficulty, which such a union must create. A hero so characterized generally spoils the interest of a novel, both because the reader knows him to be protected, among all his dangers, by the strong arm of poetical justice, and because his conduct, upon every occasion, is anticipated. The first of these inconveniences is skilfully obviated, by making another person the object of the danger on which the interest of the story depends, and using Jeannie only as the means of averting them; the second, by placing her in humble life, and then exposing her to situations in which no good sense could supply the want of experience. As it is, she is a splendid exception to the insipidity of perfect characters, and excites and retains the reader's deepest interest, without possessing the advantage of a single fault."



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in the part they play in history, and his heroes are rather indefinite; this makes the writer the freer in the handling of the other personages of his novels. The result, however, may be said to be the same, which is that everything tends towards stressing the historical element.
Scott's other characters are generally types, representative of one-sided feeling, of party-life, of class distinctions. The author in his novels wants to paint the past on as large a canvas and as vividly as possible. Now he cannot crowd his pages with hundreds of personages or write a dozen books upon one period, to enable the reader to form his own opinion on party, group, sect, or anything else, from the multitude of characters. Therefore the writer focuses each of these, as it were, in individuals and gives his representative types.
Such a type is Sir Piercie Shafton in The Monastery. He is the gallant and gay courtier of the sixteenth century and talks Euphuism. Having been obliged to leave the royal court of England to seek Scotland as a place of refuge, he opens his conversation with Mary Avenal: —
" 'Credit me, fairest lady,' said the Knight, 'that such is the cunning of our English courtiers of the hodiernal strain, that, as they have infinitely refined upon the plain and rustical discourse of our fathers, which, as I may say, more beseemed the tnouths of country roisterers in a May-game than that of courtly gallants in a galliard, so I hold it ineffably and unutterably impossible, that those who may succeed us in that garden of wit and courtesy shall alter or amend it. Venus delighteth but in the language of Mercury, Bucephalus will stoop to no one but Alexander, none can sound Appollo's pipe but Orpheus.' "
Many are the knight's complaints about having exchanged heaven for purgatory, but he remains true to his quaint style, his stock of similitudes, and his fine suits. He also thinks it his duty to make pretty speeches to Mary Avenel, because she is of gentle blood, though the miller's daughter,' Mysie, is much more attactive to him. The spirit of gallantry of his age, however, is law to Sir Piercie. And fate is indeed hard upon him. It not only obliges him to waste his wit upon country wenches, but also necessitates the
') The Monastery, Chapter XIV.



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squandering his valour upon hobnailed clowns. Yet even in his duel with Halbert Glendenning he remains true to type, and judges that young Audacity must not think the loss of his life too dear a price for the honour conferred upon him in the admittance of his defiance. The affected manner of the knight is so much second nature to him that when accused of murder by Mary Avenel, he yet addresses her by the name of his most fair Discretion and speaks of himself as her most devoted Affability. And when he flees for his life with the help of Mysie, the Euphuist at once raises the miller's daughter to the rank of his fair Molinara. That his chivalrous courtesy may mean more to her than to him never enters the mind of the courtier, till her full black eye, ruddy cheeks, red lips, and pearly teeth are too much for him. But the fashion pf the time coincides with Sir Piercie's generosity in prohibiting his abuse of the maiden's confidence, when they travel together. Mysie, as his page, rides along with him, while the knight feels fiattered by the romance of the situation and thinks himself in the position of one of those heroes whose histories he has read. He dilates to her on his dresses and only regrets that she does not know Euphues. And though he condescends to marry Mysie, and also makes her known as his wife, when he has been proved to be the grandson of a tailor, she is still the lovely Mysinda to him.
Thus Sir Piercie Shafton is not so much a private character as he is a representative of the gallants of his day, the age of Queen Elizabeth, who themselves found their prototype in Euphues and his England. Since they were extravagant and unnatural to a degree, the knight cannot but share their reputation of being unnatural and absurd, especially as he is the typical Euphuist. Sir Piercie is indeed a fine historie portrait of the fashionable follies of his time.1)
Not the representative of the humour of a definite period, J
]) "In ihe Monastery the White Lady of Avenel, 'whose supernatural appearances have very little decent mystery and outrage the probability of the story, is a drawback to an admirable book, which is always memorable on account of the Euphuist Sir Piercie Shafton."
A History of English Literature by Thompson, p. 563.
Cf. Scott's Introduction to The Monastery.



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but the type of a more general character is Cedric in Ivanhoe. He is the English patriot of the end of the twelfth 'century. The Norman-French might have conquered Britain and have reduced the native population to the condition of hewers of wood and drawers of water, but the English still existed as a nation. England in his time was inhabited by two peoples, the Normans and the Saxons, each with their own language and customs. Ivanhoe is the picture of the two hostile nations already beginning to coalesce but not yet one, and Cedric represents the native population.
He is called Cedric the Saxon, which at once qualifies the whole man. For he is the defender of the privileges of his race, an opponent of the nobility, a proud descendant of Hereward, and is thus the embodiment of the Saxon spirit. Cedric's whole life is bent upon remaining true to his people; he even dreams of the restoration of the independence of his race. All this is seen in word and action. And the portrait Scott puts before his reader's eyes is not in the first place that of Cedric but of The Saxon. In his mansion the franklin piqués himself upon maintaining the rude simplicity of the Saxon period. He chafes at the mention of French words, and though his hospitable doors are open to the Normans, he only goes to meet those who share the blood of Saxon royalty, and in his house Rowena, his ward, the descendant of Alfred, still reigns a princess. When he hears about the tournament ofSt.Johnde-Acre or is a witness of that of Ashby-de-la-Zouche, his only thought is whether the knights are English or not, and an advantage gained by the Normans is feit by none so keenly as by Cedric. He holds Athelstane in profound respect on account of his royal blood, and banishes his son because he is an obstacle to his project of a marriage betwixt Rowena and Athelstane, which might promote the Saxon cause. Even more keenly than his own distress does Cedric feel that of his country, and the Saxon Ulrica, degenerate as she is, is more odious to him than the Norman Front-de-Bceuf, his personal enemy. Nor does he reconcile himself to the new dynasty and approve of the nuptials of his son and Rowena, before Athelstane has renounced his claims, and then only owing to the personal attention of King Richard. Cedric is indeed the type of the Saxon.



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His whole life is one struggle against the oppressors for the rights of the vanqüished. In him all the hatred feit by the Saxons, and all their wrongs are combined. The historical picture is completed by showing the beginning of the union betwixt the two races.
A typical Presbyterian Scotchman of the eighteenth century} in its first half is Deans in The Heart of Midlothian. He» has as wholesome a terror of Independents and the English as of papists and malignants, and strictly adheres to what he conceives to be the only possible straight line between right-hand heats and extremes, and left-hand defections. He is described as a farmer, later a cowfeeder of considerable shrewdness and sense, but he represents the Presbyterian of his day whose religion stands before everything. Thus he is fond of controversy, looks down somewhat on learning, and is much given to the use of scriptural language. How his religion upholds him is seen at his wife's death, and even more so when his daughter Effie brings disgrace to his house. David Deans looks upon his life as dedicated to the task of bearing testimony in behalf of the suffering and deserted cause of true religion. Thus he cannot bid his daughter Jeanie give evidence before the court of judicature on the day of her sisters trial, because he does not acknowledge its authority as the government has not ratified the Covenant, yet the father cannot forbid her to do what she feels allowable. Another matter of speculation to Deans is whether Reuben Butler ought to accept of his pref erment in the Kirk of Scotland, subject as that establishment is to the encroachments of the civil power. And so in the Presbyterian Deans the writer describes the suffering party of Scotland and makes him the depository of their good and bad qualities.
By the side of the historical characters and the heroes, the Waverley novels, indeed, give a large number of types. To whatever period the reader is carried back, he finds the past depicted with its different phases and currents, and each of them has its representative. Thus in The Fortunes of Nigél the state of society in the reign of James I is painted. We have the old school of nobility in Lord Huntinglen, the newer fashion of life in his rascally son Dalgarno, Moniplies is the Scottish serving-man with all his bad and



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good qualities, the noble Captain Colepepper the bully of his day, while many another class or rank of society also acts its part in the novel. And in Scott's other novels it is the same thing. In Anne of Geierstein the writer depicts in the downright and simple Arnold Biederman the old conservative Switzer, in Rudolph of Donnerhagel the younger generation with its lust of conquest and love of foreign luxuries, the Black Priest of Saint Paul's represents the Vehmique court, Sir Archibald de Hagenbach the robberchivalry upon the Rhine, Annette Veilchen is the Swiss domestic who is a friend as well as a dependent. Again in Peveril of the Peak Scott describes the Cavalier and the Puritan after Charles I's accession to the throne, as he portrays the Cameronian in Old Mortality.
All these representative characters are drawn in the same way. They do not act for themselves, but they know their responsibility and play their part in an historie performance. In this way Scott's novels are indeed novels of the past, if not historical.
Moreover their universal character makes them general pictures of the past. Still more so are they on account of their universal character. For the writer does not restrict himself to the higher classes of society in choosing his personages, the lowest also appear in his novels. By the side of kings and queens, statesmen and courtiers, nobles and generals, magistrates and lawyers, farmers and peasants, preachers and schoolmasters, he also paints mercenary soldiers and wandering fiddlers, beggars and gypsies, warlocks andsibyls. Scott even seems to have a predilection for these characters of lower rank1). How fine a picture is that of Meg Merrilies, the gipsy in Guy Mannering, and how well does the author describe her and her tribe! By her side we may put Dirk Hatteraick, the smuggler, in the same novel. In Redgauntlet is found Wandering W'illie, the blind fiddler, not only a musician but also a tale-teller, travelling about the country. Gurth, the swineherd, and Wamba, the Jjester, in Ivanhoe, are the thralls of Cedric. And these and.«.
') Cf. Lockhart's Life of Sir Walter Scott, Vol. III, p. 131, where Scott says: ~* "I am a bad hand at depicting a hero properly so called, and have an unfortunate propensity for the dubious characters of borderers, buccaneers, Highland robbers, and all others of a RobhvHood description."



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other characters as well, however low their social positions, all play their part in the tales, sometimes even a rather important one. Especially in depicting the spirit of a time or its manners and customs the multitude is of great use. Whereas civilization tends to modify and lessen the peculiarities and characteristics of the different classes of society, lack of culture makes the lowest classes most conservative in retaining such. In their ranks, too, we may expect to find a truer expression of social and religious opinions, and in this respect Scott's novels are indeed democratie. Thus the general quality of the Waverley novels also helps the writer to draw a genuine picture of the past.
We see how broad the canvas is upon which Scott paints, and how many and various his characters are.1) One thing however, is not often found in the Waverley novels: the small details and peculiarities of ordinary life. They escaped Scott's grasp or suffered from his pre-occupation with broad outlines. The writer ackowledges this himself, when saying of his work, "The Big Bow-wow strain I can do myself like any now going; but the exquisite touch, which renders ordinary commonplace things and characters interesting, from the truth of the description and the sentiment, is denied to me."5)
Scott, however, is pre-eminently the writer of the past and of public life. History is the subject of his poetic tales and novels. It is this which characterizes his work. His pictures are of a life in which class distinctions are strongly marked, of times of strife and emotion, of political and religious divisions. For this he wants his boldly drawn types, the out-of-door atmosphere of his books, his multifarious characters. And in these general stories not only do rulers and statesmen make history, but also religion and party, not only wars and battles, but also the multitude and its spirit. This is the true conception of history, worked by Scott into his romances, for their general character is historical. The
') Even in his novel of the present, St. Ronan's Well, Scott chose a •wateringsplace as the scène of his narrative, because this afforded him every variety of character, without a breach of probability. His characters he de* scribes as ridiculous, dangerous, and hateful, or eccentric; in a word they are as various as would be the characters of those we should meet in such places.
See Introduction to St. Ronan's Well.
>) Lockhart's Life of Sir Walter Scott, Vol. VI, p. 264.



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spirit of the past is not found in the names of persons belonging to history, in the number of dates, or in the chronology of facts, but it pervades the narrative as a whole. Hence no historical but neutral heroes, hence imaginative characters, types rather than individuals, hence the public interest of story and dramatis personae, but for this very reason also the necessity of local colour.
This, which is an integral part of the historical character of Scott's work, must be found in tale and novel itself. The narrSËy.e must evoke the idea of time and place. There is no historie hero or event hung up as a placard to indicate where and when the scène is laid, but the scenery is of the past as well as the personages and whatever belongs to them. The characters themselves and their surroundings suggest the time in which they live and the place where they are. They live the sort of life which they may be expected to live under their conditions and in their circumstances, and they act, too, in accordance with these. It is true that Scott sometimes manipulates history for the purpose of his romances, but his characters are always in keeping with their time, and his historie persons remain as true to history as possible, while the conditions of time and place are not only found in the personages themselves and their man-^^p ners and dress, but are also expressed in dwelling'and landscape. The suggestion of age and country is indeed an essentiel element of the tale and novel. pf®tvk.U-K #*#
The author, however, is always very careful with his local colour. His personages never spon their knowledge, and never by wonderful coincidence do historie characters who might have met in real life yet never do meet, come together in such numbers and places as to make the narrative almost absurd. It is the atmosphere which gives the impression of time and place, and to get the right atmosphere Scott uses his talents as a picturesque writer. And whenever the persons and their dialogue fail in naturally suggesting the idea of local colour, the author himself describes the scène where they act, but he always tries to do so unobtrusively. flftcrücAt\tv,acA*A
James IV in Marmion is described as the romantic knight whose love of gaiety borders on wantonness, and who invades England at the solicitation of the French queen



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against the advice of his nobles, but who is at the same time touched with devotion and remorse. His unhlial conduct has filled him with contrition and to atone for his guilt and remember it, he wears an iron belt. In his sins and in the way in which he does penance for them the king shows himself a true child of his time. Also when in The Lord of the Isles the chiefs rise in strife round the Bruce, some to seek revenge, others to defend the guests, Scott gives a picture thoroughly representative of time and place. The stout knight of Dunvegan at once carries us to the Scotland of 1307, when he says,
" 'By Woden wild, (my grandsire's oath,) Let Rome and England do their worst, Howe'er attainted or accursed, If Bruce shall e'er find friends again, Once more to brave a battle-plain, If Douglas couch again his lance, Or Randolph dare another chance, Old Torquil will not be to lack With twice a thousand at his back.' " l) As old Torquil swears by Woden, so Elizabeth in Kenilworlh1) is sometimes heard to speak Euphuism as well as her courtiers. When the queen wishes to visit the Earl of Sussex, she asks the opinion of her retinue.
"'Your Grace', said the Bishop of Lincoln, 'is the breath of our nostrils.' The men of war averred that the face of the sovereign was a whetstone to the soldier's sword; while the men of state were not less of opinion that the light of the queen's countenance was a lamp to the paths of her councillors; and the ladies agreed with one voice, that no noble in England so well deserved the regard of England's royal mistress as the Earl of Sussex — the Earl of Leicester's right being reserved entire; so some of the more politic worded their assent — an exception to which Elizabeth paid no apparent attention." 3)
Raleigh too in the same novel but follows the exaggerated notions of chivalry of his age, when he lays his cloak on the mud in the queen's passage to insure her stepping over it dryshod. James the First in The For-
0 The Lord of the Mes, Canto Second, XXVII.
*) The introduction of Shakespeare's plays in Kenilwoith. may suit the romance, but is an anachronism. See Hutton's Sir Walter Scott, p. 114. ') Kenüworth, Chapter XV.



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tunes of Nigel, though transplanted to London and the successor of Elizabeth, speaks the same Scotch as Richie Momplies. The king can no more help boasting of his Scottish Latinity than Scotch Jockey standing up for what he calls his country's credit, and both in this are true Scots of their time. Nor can we imagine El Hakim the Moonsh physician in The Talisman, without his Eastern metaphors and similes; Saladin, too, observes and enforces the laws of the Prophet with respect to the drinking of wine, and could not injure the hair of a man, even if he had murdered his father, when he had afterwards partaken of his food and his bowl.
More characters might be alleged to show how Scott makes his personages conform with the manners and sentiment of their time and place, but itisnot only in them we find local colour, it is also seen in the description of houses and I dresses and any outward circumstance.
In Marmion Scott gives us, in bold sweeping lines his picture of medieval society, as also of the building and costumes of the Middle Ages. The narrative belonjs to a world quite different from the modern. A castle nses before the readers eyes with its high walls, towers and turrets, its donjon and banner, its gates, portcullis,' palisade, and drawbridge, its court and hall. Gunpowder has already been invented, a salvo-shot is fired for the honoured guest, the knight, who, however, is still dressed from head to heel in his defensive armour. He is followed by his squtres, men-at-arms, and yeomen, who are all described at length, as well as the soldiers of the guard and the pursuiyants mustered to welcome Lord Marmion. Then the P;uest is ™rshalled to the hall, there to meet the captain, and to be led by mm to the dais. Scott, however, does not restrict himself to the castle, he also paints an abbey with its mmates, an mn, a camp, a court with all the various bands of men-at-arms gathered there, and a battle. And always with a few simple touches he enhances the illusion of the past often intimating rather than explaining. Thus we have the description of the inn, lighted by the fire in the chimney place and with rafters full of winter store, as the ancient custom was.



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"Soon, by the chimney's merry blaze, Through the rude hostel might you gaze, Might see, where, in dark nook aloof, The rafters of the sooty roof
Bore wealth of winter cheer; Of sea-fowl dried, and solands store, And gammons of the tusky boar,
And savoury haunch of deer. Above, around it, and beside,
Were tools for housewives' hand, Nor wanted, in that martial day, The implements of Scottish fray, The buckler, lance, and brand." l) For a picture of a town in the Middle Ages we take the following description of the city ofLiège in Quentin Durward:
. "The lofty houses, — the stately, though narrow and gloomy streets, — the splendid display of the richest goods and most gorgeous armour in the warehouses and shops around, — the walks crowded by busy citizens of every description, passing' and repassing with faces of careful importance and eager bustle, — the huge wains, which transported to and fro the subjects of export and import, the former consisting of broad cloths and serge, arms of all kinds, nails and iron work, while the latter comprehended every article of use or luxury, intended either for the consumption of an opulent city, or received in barter, and destined to be transported elsewhere, — all these objects combined to form an engrossing picture of wealth, bustle, and splendour, to which Quentin had hitherto been a stranger. He admired also the various streams and canals, drawn from and communicating with the Maes, which, traversing the city in various directions, offered to every quarter the commercial facilities of watercarriage, and he failed not to hear a mass in the venerable old church of Saint Lambert, said to have been built in the eighth century."8) In this town, then one of the richest in Flanders, and consequently, in the world, we may expect to find the finest and the most untamable men in Europe. Always at strife with their sovereign the Saint Andrew's cross and fleur-de-lys on Quentin's bonnet is sufficiënt to stir them again to uproar. The Scottish Archer, in visiting Liège, is soon the centre of a crowd. There Scott shows us two
') Marmion, Canto Third, III.
') Quentin Durward, Chapter XIX.
4



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syndics, magistrates and burghers of éminence in velvet cloaks and gold chains, the chief of the butcher's incorporation, summoned from his office in the shambles, and brandishing his axe, the president of the mystery of the workers in iron, and thousands of artisans of every degree and calling. The Middle Ages are not an idle name to Scott, and he revives them in all the splendour of antiquity.
Ivanhoe goes even further back than the end of the Middle Ages, the time of Marmion and Quentin Durward, and adopts as the period of its narrative the reign of Richard I. Its scène is laid in England, chiefiy in the district between Sheffield and Doncaster, which was then still covered by an extensive wood. After a general historical introduction the author transports his reader to this primeval forest, and completes his description of the landscape with the figures of a swineherd and a jester, both of Saxon origin, whose appearance and dress are fully given, up to their collars with an inscription signifying that they are thralls of Cedric of Rotherwood. In singular contrast with these are the Normans, the Prior and the Templar with their retinue, lay brothers, squires, and Saracen attendants, to whom Scott adds a palmer, just returned from the Holy Land. But not only do the forest and the personages introducé the period of the narrative, Cedric the Saxon's mansion is also described with its hall and roof, dais and chairs, table and repast. The dress of Cedric is given as well as that of the Lady Rowena, his ward, and of the Jew, who is among his guests. The passage of arms at Ashby affords Scott a new field of description in the picture of the lists with the pavilions and galleries, and in Prince John, the knights and their attendants, and the spectators. And outside the village the outlaws are found, Locksley or Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest and his men. The reader is also introduced to the hermitage of Friar Tuck, the Holy Clerk of Copmanhurst, and becomes acquainted with his dress, fare, and life. Then the narrative moves on to Torquilstone, the castle of Front-de-Boeuf, a Norman knight and tells us about this building and its various apartments. The siege of this fortress by the Black Knight, Cedric, Locksley and his outlaws is also described. York castle, too, is painted,



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where Prince John feasts with his party. But the story leads on to the preceptory of Tempelstone, an establishment of the Templars. Here the reader hears about the knights and esquires in their white and the inferior orders in their black dress and about the unobserved statutes. He witnesses an assembly of the tribunal of the Templars under their Grand Master. Then Coningsburgh is described, an ancient Saxon fortress, and the funeral feast in honour of Athelstane, who himself appears to relate his adventures when buried in the church of St. Edmund's. Later on Scott depicts the combat over the doom of Rebecca, the Jewess accused of sorcery, while the story winds up with the nuptials of Ivanhoe in the noble minster of York. Thus Ivanhoe is full of local colour, also found in the spirit of the time as expressed in the different characters and manners, all which makes this novel one of the finest of Scott's historie pictures.
But whenever and wherever the author places his scène, he never forgets the peculiarities of the place and time of story or action. In The Pirate Scott turns to the Orkney and Zetland Islands, the Ultima Thule of England, in the first half of the eighteenth century. In the course of the narrative the manners of these sequestered islands are described, and whatever local knowledge and informations the author had, both of people and scenery, is embodied in the novel. The author paints for his reader the mainland of Zetland with its Norse and Scottish inhabitants and ancient customs. He tells us how the rafters of deserted buildings are taken down for firewood or for other purposes as no shrub or tree grows there on account of the seablast. Yet the Norman boasts of his Zetland beef, and bonny voes and locks, and looks down upon the Scots, whilst a newly arrived Scotchman sets himself up as an agriculturist. We hear the clanging and screaming of scarts, sheerwaters, and seagulls, and the Udaller tells us how once he heard the skylark in Caithness, and has read of the nightingale.
Again in The Talisman, in the first pages already, Scott takes his reader to Palestine in the days of the Crusades. But in all the tales and novels do we find this local colour. The scenery is always in accordance with the narrative and { with a few simple touches the author adheres to and J



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' intensifies this indispensable characteristic of his romance.
When in Rob Roy Miss Vernon speaks with Francis Osbaldistone at the dinner in Osdaldistone Hall, the time is the beginning of the eighteenth century. She says,
" 'You think me a strange bold girl, half coquette, half romp; desirous of attracting attention by the freedom of her manners and loudness of her conversation, because she is ignorant of what the Spectator calls the softer graces of the sex; and perhaps you think I have some particular plan of storming you into admiration.' 'n)
In this way Scott creates the correct atmosphere at once.
Yet Scott is careful not to overdo the thing. He may sometimes make use of obsolete words or phrases, but never to such an extent that he becomes unintelligible, and in the use of dialect too he takes care to explain himself if necessary. Nor is his display of antiquarian, historie, or local knowledge so liberal as to frighten away the reader.*)
In this way then by emphasizing the historical element and by the necessary attribute of local colour, Scott makes his work of the past. And he stands out especially as the creator of the historical novels) on which not only his fame as an author but also his literary influence chiefly rests.
Before Scott, prose fiction had been only the reproduction of contemporary or general life. Up till then writers had not even attempted to give their readers anything more. People were too well content with the presentment of their own concerns and thoughts to wish to see anything different from these. So during the Middle Ages there was an
') Rob Roy, Chapter VI.
J) Scott, speaking about his publication of Strutt's Queen-Hoo-HaU, which work, in his opinion, evinced "considerable powers of imagination", says: — "QueensHoo«Hall was not, however, very successful. I thought I was aware of the reason, and supposed that, by rendering his language too ancient, and displaying his antiquarian knowledge too liberally, the ingenious author had raised up an obstacle to his own success. Every work designed for mere amusement must be expresed in language easily comprehended; and when, as is sometimes the case in Queen*Hoo«Hall, the author addresses himself exclusively to the Antiquary, he must be content to be dismissed by the general reader with the eriticism of Mungo, in the Padlock, on the Mauritanian music, 'what signifies me hear, if me no understand ?'"
General Preface to Waverley. Everyman's Library, p. 11.
') "He (Scott) particularly created the historical novel; and, what is more, he elaborated it to such an extent that no really important additions to his scheme have been made since."
A History of Nineteenth Century LiteraturebySaintsbvuy (London, 1912), p. 153.



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adoptation of everything to the medieval point of view. The Renaissance brought along with it the neo-classic period which looked down with contempt upon foregoing ages, and considered them if not barbarous at least childish. Nor could more have been given if the wish had been there. For history was in its beginning either a chronicle of external events, or so mixed with legendary knowledge that it hardly deserved its name. Only gradually did history begin to be seriously studied, till at last it became a reproduction of past life. And then with the development of the historie sense, and under the influence of the demand for fiction the historical novel was created.
The man who was the first to succeed in this union of history and fiction is Scott.*)
H JanePgrter, in the preface of 1831 to The ScoTtish Chiefs (1810) claims to be the inventor of the historical romance and claims Scott as her imitator. In the General Preface to the Waverley novels Scott, however, though acknowledging his small debts to Miss_Edgewprth and Strutt, never mentions Miss Porter. Moreover her novel Ërils in local verisimilitude. No better is the work of Sophia andjflarriet Leg, and others. Yet all these writers have their qualities as forerunners.
Cf. The English Novel by Raleigh, p. 279 sqq.
See also A History of Nineteenth Century Literature by Saintsbury, p. 132. "when, at the end of the eighteenth century, writers, of secondary power at best, engaging in a new and unengineered way, endeavoured to write historical novels, they all, from Godwin and Mrs. Radiliffe to Miss Reeye and the Misses Lee, made the merestgaTïrmanfries of inaccurate history, questionable fiction, manners heedlessly jumbled, and above all dialogue destitute of the slightest semblance of verisimilitude, and drawn chiefly from that of the decadent tragic and comic drama of the time."
It was Scott's genius that enabled him to succeed where others failed.



CHAPTER II.
SCOTT'S ROMANTICISM.
Scott's success and influence — The Romantic Revival and Scott — The style of the new poetry and prose — Scott's imagination — The picturesque characters in poems and novels — The action of
the story and the dramatic dialogue — the picturesque descriptions.
From the very beginning almost, Scott's literary career may be said to have been successful. *) It was the first VU&ftot outburst of universal applause at the publication of The Lay of the Last Minstrel which stimulated his poetical ambition, and made him continue his literary career at the expense of his legal profession.
At first Scott wrote poetry, but when he became aware of the decline in his popularity and recognized in Byron a superior in the metrical tale, he transferred his talents from this to the prose romance. Here no monotony could weary his reader, nor could any competitor hope to overshadow his genius. To the splendid series of the Waverly novels the poems are, as it were, the appropriate overture.
So Scott by his work traced out new paths in the field of literature some of which he followed himself with astonishing success. He was the first popular writer of the new poetry, but was more especially the promoter of the novel.2) The novel by laying hold on the principle of the dramatic | interest of life had asserted its place by the side of the \drama in the work of Richardson, Fielding, and others. Its full development it did not attain before Scott. In him
0 The reader is again referred to Lockhart's Memoirs of the life of Sir Walter Scott, and to the many other Lives.
2) "In this generation there was no literary man with such a popularity m any country, there have ónly been a few with such taking in all generations and all countries. Nay, it is farther to be admitted that Sir Walter Scott's popularity was of a select sort rather; not a popularity of the populace His admirers were at one time almost all the intelligent of civilized countriesand to the last included, and do still include, a great portion of that sort''
Thomas Carlyle's Cottected Works, Vol. V, p. 216.



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verse and prose had fought for precedency in the appropriation of romantic subjects, till prose remained the victor, thanks partly to the larger scope it offered for the display of his talents. Then in his hands the novel became the equal of any literary department, and a form of art of surpassing popularity.
! The success of Scott's work is seen in the influence it jexercised, even as its originality is testified by the multitude of imitators. But neither popularity nor influence is perhaps in the first place due to the new elements introduced by Scott into literature, in so far as he made history an essential part of fiction, in bringing one period vividly before the eyes of readers living in another.
There is another quality to be found in Scott's romances which not only enabled him to create his tales and novels of the past, but also to give fiction a new start and direction. This quality is a gift less obvious but more powerful, vaguer but higher than any other found in his work. It is the life he knew how to impart to his romance either in prose i or in verse. Scott never would have been the popular writer he was if his books had not been read for their own interest, nor would his influence have been feit everywhere but for this underlying quality.
In this again Scott is the child of his time. For if it is the development of the historical sense as well as the demand for fiction which found its outcome in the historical novel, it is also the Romantic Revival acting upon tale and novel which communicated life to these. And for Scott both as historical and as romantic writer the first thirty years of his life were a most excellent preparation.
Of great importance for the development of Scott's romantic enthusiasm was Percy's Reliques of'Ancient English Poetry}) His first serious attempt in verse is a translation i
*) When thirteen years old Scott first became acquainted with Bishop Eercy's Reliques of Ancient Poetry. Of this he says: —
"As I had been from infancy devoted to legendary lore of this nature, and only reluctantiy withdrew my attention, from the scarcity of materials and the rudeness of those which I possessed, it may be imagined, but cannot be described, with what delight I saw pieces of the same kind which had amused my childhood, and still continued in secret the Delilahs of my imagination, considered as the subject of sober research, grave commentary,



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of Burgers Leonora, and a more important work is a version of Goethe's G'ótz von Berlichingen. So we see how in Scott the English and German romantic movements meet. Both were a revolt against French classicism which had reigned suprème in Germany and to a lesser degree in England. The German movement found its inspiration in national products such as the poetry of the 'Minnesingers' and the Nibelungen Lied, but also owes much toPercyandMacpherson and especially to Shakespeare. It was a revulsion from the spirit of Voltaire to that of Rousseau, and found its expression in the Storm-and-Stress Period. In England romanticism had always been stronger, and in general free from foreign influence. One source of the romantic revival in the end of the eighteenth century, however, may be found in the literature of Germany. Thus we see it acquired a fresh impulse after the influence of Boileau and his school was in decline.1)
Among the causes of the romantic revival in England we merely mention by the side of the influence of German literature the study of other than classic or neo-classic letters, especially of medieval literature. These are rather external influences, whilst we may classify as internal the revolt against the rules and conventions of the classical school, and the renewed importance and meaning of imagination and of feeling, with the return to nature. The Age of Reason was at an end, its literary effect was the Romantic Revival, its political issue the French Revolution.
j Scott is a part of the romantic movement. In some sense he was at first under the influence of German literature as seen by his translations and imitations, but he is more indebted to his extensive knowledge of medieval legend and romance. For though like Shakespeare he had small Latin
I and less Greek, he was steeped, in the lore of the Middle
and apt Ulustration, by an editor who showed his poetical genius was capable of emulating the best qualities of what his pious labour reserved."
Lockhart's Life of Sir Walter Scott, VoL I, p. 38.
') For the history of the Romantic Revival see:
Eastlake, A History of the Gothk Revival in England (London. 1871)
Phelps, The Beginnings of the English Romantic Movement (Boston 1893)
V ^Jif"7 * EngUsh Romanticism * *« Eighteenth Century (New. York, 1910).
Beets,HistoryofEngUshRomanticismin the Nineteenth Century (London, 1902).



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Ages, and feit the beauty of the old romances, however' unclassic their form, while the mysteries of Christianity replaced with him pagan mythology. His imagination also drew its inspiration from the past; action, however, he prefers to feeling. As to the love of nature, already in his youth it seized hold of him and never deserted him after.1)
So Scott belongs to romanticism, and his place in it is a very important one, for he was the first to win the public ear for the new poetry and by virtue of his novels he was a romantic writer of the most powerful influence both in England and abroad.*)
') See Lockhart's Life of Sir Walter Scott, Vol. I, p. 40, where Scott says, speaking about the period when he was thirteen years of age: —
"From this time the love of natural beauty, more especially when combined with ancient ruins, or remains of our father's piety or splendour, became with me an insatiable passion, which, if circumstances had permitted, I would willingly have gratified by travelling over half the globe."
a) .... "Scott and the romantic movement are almost synonymous terms."
A History of English Literature by Thompson, p. 550.
Saintsbury in A History of Nineteenth Century Literature, p. 69, also calls Scott "the poet, who, though, according to the canons of poetical criticism most in favour during this century, he ranks lower than either Wordsworth or Coleridge, did far more to popularize the general theory of Romantic poetry than either."
Again we read in Saintsbury, A Short History of English Literature, p. 665: "From the historie point of view, hardly the greatest poets exceed Scott in importance. Without him it is extremely improbable that Byron would have done anything more than the Giffordian satires, which were most congenial to him, and which, though clever enough, are of no real moment. And without his influence, reinforced as it was a decade later by his own novels and Byron's poems, the complete conversion of the public taste could not, so far as we can see, have by any possibility been effected."
Speaking of the novel Saintsbury says of Scott, p. 681: "He found the class still hal&despised, very scantily explored, popular, but with a sort of underground and illicit popularity. He left it the equal of any literary department in repute, pront, possibility; and (which must be said, though it is travelling out of our usual record) he infused into it, as Fielding had begun to do before him, a tradition of moral and intellectual health, of manliness, of truth and honour, freedom and courtesy, which has distinguished the best days of the English novel as it distinguishes those of any other literary kind."
The change in the appreciation of the novel had come about 1820.
Cf. "The times seem to be past when an apology was requisite from reviewers for condescending to notice a novel; when they feit themselves bound in dignity to deprecate the suspicion of paying much regard to such trifles, and pleaded the necessity of occasionally stooping to humour the taste of their fair readers. The delights of fiction, if not more keenly or more generally relished, are at least more readily acknowledged by men of



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There is here a close connection between the past and romanticism. For there is nothing like the study of history to excite imagination, which again is the essentiel element of romanticism. But then the past must be studied in the right manner, in all its general aspects. It should be a study not only of chronicles and histories, but also of monuments and relics, of ancient observances and customs, of notions and beliefs, of traditions and superstitions, of whatever is in any way related to times gone by. By' the side of the merely historie, the political, social, and intellectual aspects of the past must be examined. Imagination touching this material changes old ruins into strong castles, knights and ladies, lords and serfs move about them again, burghers throng the streets of the ancient towns, and the past is no longer an idle word, but a world in which each person lives his own life and has his own story to teil.
Both the past and imagination are found in Scott. We Ihave already seen how he applied the historical element to jiiterature. His extraordinary accomplishments as an historian stood him in good stead here. "For Scott brings to his work and puts at the disposal of his readers the attributes not only of a learned antiquary, folklorist and balladmonger, poet and historian, but also those of a sagacious statesman, ecclesiologist, soldier, sportsman, literary critic, topographer, bon vivant, genealogist, raconteur, and trained lawyer."1) This knowledge and sagacity act as ballast to the ready flight of his imagination.s)
sense and taste; and we have lived to hear the merits of the best of this class of writings discussed by some of the ablest scholars and soundest reasoners of the present day." From an article in The Quarterlv Review No. XLVIII, p. 352.
That Scott nevertheless owes something to his predecessors we see in Dibelius, Englische Romankunst, Vol. II, p. 227: "Auf allen Gebieten seiner Kunst fanden wir die Spuren von Fielding, Smollett, Richardson, Mrs. Radcliffe und anderen."
The Bookman. Ilhistrated History of English Literature by Seccombe and Nicoll, Vol. II, p. 406.
*) Cf. Saintsbury'S History of Nineteenth Century Literature, p. 137.
"Scott had done in prose fiction what the poets and the dramatist had sometimes done likewise. Ostensibly going to the past, and to some extent really borrowing its circumstances, he had in reality gone straight to man as man; he had varied the particular trapping only to exhibit the universal substance."
I



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The spirit of the past is the first dominant quality in> Scott's work, his romanticism is the second, and is at the same time the great cause of his popularity.*) In this respect Scott's imagination is the strength and the weakness of the romances. For it expresses itself in action at the expense of feeling, and influences Scott's method of writing, making it objective. Hence there is no minute analysis in his poems and novels, nor are there shades and distinctions of passion. We see this clearly in the characters which are painted more from the outside than from the inside. Now this lack of feeling, of a generally subjective elements) is especially injurious to poetry, and we need not wonder that after his first success Scott gave up verse for prose, •) escaping from the competition of Byron. Yet it was through the medium of Scott's writings that the eyes of the public were opened to the beauties of the poetry of the Lake school, and of Byron, of Shelley and of Keats. His romances in verse appealed to popular taste and trained the literary judgment of their readers. More than this, he was even a teacher through his novels, for these influenced a far larger number of persons than his poems, and his triumph in the field of prose is indeed unparalleled. By his Waverley novels Scott taught his people, and, by proxy, other nations as well, how to read. It is true that his rornances in prose
l) "Scott saw the incompatibility of the aims of history and fiction, and satisfied himself with seeking verisimilitude rather than antiquarian accuracy. The difficulty is a real one; to this day it is hard, if not impossible, for a novelist who lays his scène in the fourteenth century to convince or gratify a student who has enjoyed the writings of Chaucer and Froissart. Such a novel can be rescued from triviality only by genius, which knows how to touch lightly on transitory fashion, and to rest the interest of the story on the unchanging fashions of the human heart. Quod semper et ubique et ab omnibus is the saving creed of a novelist."
Raleigh, The English Novel, p. 282.
3) Scott is in so far subjective as he sees the world with the eyes of his own generous, chivalrous nature, but his pictures have little shadow.
*) Nor must it be forgotten that Scott was a talesteller before a poet.
"Although possessed of a poetic faculty always real, often great, and sometimes quite consummate, there is no doubt that he was in the first place, and by natural kind, even more of a talesteller than of a poet in the modern sense, that he was a 'maker' first of all."
Saintbury, A Short History of English Literature, p. 666.
Thompson in A History of English Literature, p. 556, calls Scott's poem ■"each a novel in verse".



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were not perfect either, but such as they were, they were unsurpassed in his own life-time.
Thus Scott was the first to introducé romanticism tothe nineteenth century.1) For this he chose his own vehicle, the one best suited to the action found in his work.*)
For his poems he made use of the octo-syllabic verse of the Norman-French romances, as did Milton, Butler, Gay, and others, and modified this metre after a chance hearing of Coleridge's Christabel, read from a manuscript. The monotony which seemed inherent in it is avoided by the introduction of short lines and occasional irregularities. Lines of four and six syllables are interchanged at times with those of eight, and sometimes the verse contains as many as twelve syllables. And though the foot is iambic, we find other measures as well. The rhyme is in general connected and only occasionally alternates as in the old ballad stanza, or is diversified by other modes. In this way Scott refined the iambic tetrameter to an attractive form for his romantic tales, and was able to express their sustained life and motion.3) His lines have a music of their own, which makes us think in reading them that we hear the charging knight, the clanging blows, the tramping of
• horses, the beating of drums. Scott is especially the writer
lof action. *)
0 "An interest in past history, a desire to revive in fiction the picturesque element of bygone institutions and customs, was of the essence of the Romantic revival."
Raleigh, The English Novel, p. 278.
*) In the Introduction to Canto Third of Marmion the author, portraying his own life and character, asks his friend Erskine:
"For me, thus nurtured, dost thou ask The classic poefs wel»conn'd task?" And begs him to spare the friend in the minstrel:
"Though wild as cloud, as stream, as gale, Flow forth, flow unrestrain'd, my Tale!" ») Whenever Scott forsook his octosyllabic verse, as in The Vision of Don Roderick, where he used the heroic verse, or in Harold the Dauntless with its mixed metres, he seems to be out of his element.
4) "No poet ever equaUed Scott in the description of wild and simple scènes and the expression of wild and simple feelings. But I have said «nough now of his poetry, in which, good as it is, Scott's genius did not reach its highest point The hurried tramp of his somewhat monotonous metre, is apt to weary the ear of men who do not find their sufficiënt happiness, as he did, in dreaming of the wild and daring enterprises of his loved Borderdand. The very quality in his verse which makes it seize so



— 6i —
To express this animation of action he chose the novel, when he was beaten out of the field of poetry by greater men1), after having performed his task in the interest of romanticism in this domain.
For he wanted to remain free from the rules and conventions of classicism as he had been when he wrote his poems in the old ballad-metre. And there was no better method for representing human life in its full activity than the novel. The form of the drama and the epic had been defined, and going back to the days of the Romans and Greeks was bound by rules, which classicism and neo-classicism are and always were ready to assert. Moreover comedy is intended to give rise to laughter rather than tears and to reflect external ordinary life rather than exceptional incidents, and tragedy implies some fault on the part of the principal character in the drama, bringing about an unhappy ending and awes the spectator in its development. The epic again should have but a single main subject, a definite hero, orderly arrangement and grave and dignified treatment. All these departments of literature are limited not only in form and character but also in length. That romantic upstart, however, the novel may be called free and may yet possess all the qualities of its classic rivals.s) Thus, when in the beginning of the nine-
powerfully on the imaginations of plain, bold, adventurous men, often makes it hammer fatiguingly against the brain of those who need the reliëf of a wider horizon and a richer world." Hutton's Sir Walter Scott, p. 59.
!) Concerning the poet Scott and his relation to Byron, to whom he abandoned poetry, see Saintsbury's Nineteenth Century Literature. On p. 75 it says: "It appears to me at least, that on no sound theory of poetical criticism can Scott be ranked as a poet below Byron, who was his imitator in narrative and his inferior in lyric."
2) In this respect the prefatory chapters to the several books of Fielding's Tom Jones may be of interest. The great novelist here states some of his views on literature and in one chapter, speaking about the place due to extraordinary scènes and to marters of no consequence he says: —
"My reader, then, is not to be surprised, if, in the course of this work, he shall find some chapters very short, and others altogether as long; some that contain only the time of a single day, and others that comprise years; in a word, if 2ty history sometimes seems to stand still, and sometimes to fly. For all which I shall not look on myself as accountable to any court of critical jurisdiction whatever; for as I am, in reality, the founder of a new province of writing, so I am at liberty to make what laws I please therein. And these laws, my readers, whom I consider as my subjects, are bound to



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teenth century all literature was at an ebb, and only the new poetry began to find its followers and adherents, Scott took for his new prose the novel as the fit method of expression. And owing to him, this despised and but scantily explored class of literature became the equal of poetry and the drama, in popularity even excelled them. So the novel proved to be for Scott the right instrument for painting human nature in action, much more so than the romance in verse.
As to Scott's method of telling his story, he sometimes [ puts it into the mouth of the principal character as in Rob Roy, or employs the means of letters and narrative as in Redgauntlet. As a general rule, however, he tells his tale directly. He himself remains invisible and cannot be questioned about causes and events, but he knows and sees everything. For Scott's stories with their many incidents and large perspective this is the right method. It is also dramatic, and whenever the writer likes he can put off his ring of Gyges and be his own chorus.
The romantic writer of action thus already appears in the external form and method of his romances. But the character of his work is much more clearly pronounced in its internal qualities. And here, as already pointed out, imagination predominates. For the full expression of passion we must look to the work of other romantic writers not to that of Scott. In him fiction scores its triumphs, not feeling.1)
believe in and to obey; with which, that they may readily and cheerfully comply, I do hereby assure them, that I shall principally regard their ease and advantage in all such institutions; for I do not, like a jure divino tyrant, imagine that they are my slaves, or my commodity. I am, indeed, set over them for their own good only, and was created for their use, and not they for mine. Nor do I doubt, while I make their interest the great rule of my writings, they will unanimously concur in supporting my dignity, and in rendering me all the honour I shall deserve or desire."
The History of Tom Jones by Henry Fielding, Book II, Chapter I.
Cf. Kurt Gaebel, BeitrSge zur Technik der ErzShhmg in den Romanen Walter Scotts, Kapitel IV, where the author writes about Scott's dramatic and picturesque tendencies.
0 Speaking of Scott as a poet, Saintsbury says: -
„He is a poet of description, of action, of narration, rather than of intense feeling or thought." Nineteenth Century Literature, p. 75. Of the novelist the same might be said.



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I So imagination is the moving power of Scott's romances.t By it the writer communicates life to the persons, the story, the dialogue. It is also found in the picturesque descriptions. This may be at the expense of depth, but not of action.
That imagination takes a foremost place in Scott's work we see, first of all, in the characters.1) Before him in the days of classicism, convention reigned suprème and poetic diction called every young man a swain, every young woman a nymph. Nor was there much more diversity in the painting of characters in the drama. The eighteenth-century novel, nothwithstanding its dramatic nature, was also prosaic and at the same time realistic. From the romantic past With its impossible heroes of accomplished knights and ladies the novelist had turned to the commonplace present.
Yet there was a turn for the better about the beginning of the nineteenth century both in poetry and prose. We must, however, go back to Shakespeare to find a romantic writer like Scott. The novelist also has in common with the great dramatist, the representation of human nature in action, and consequently the variety and multitude of his personages. But he ranks below him in the delineations of passion and feeling, in the grasp of the complexity of human character.2) Scott's dramatis personae are carried along in the strong tide of their own lives, the interest of which never flags for lack of adventures and incidents;s) the writer also paints the picturesque stage on which they •
') "As in the imagination of Shakespeare, so in that of Scott the principal form and object were the structure — that is a hard word — the undulation and diversified composition of human society; the picture of this stood in the centre, and everything else was accessory and secondary to it."
Literary Studies by Walter Bagehot, The Waverley Novels, p. 157.
3) "We might say in a short word, which means a long matter, that your Shakspeare fashions his characters from the heart outwards; your Scott fashions them from the skin inwards, never getting near the heart of them!"
Carlyle's MisceUaneous Essays, Vol. V, p. 272.
BUt see also Hutton's criticism of Carlyle's judgment in Sir Walter Scott by Richard H. Hutton, p. 106 sqq.
3) The Author of Waverley speaking about the method of his works in the Introductory Epistle to The Fortunes of Nigel says, p. xxx: —
"When I light on such a character as Bailie Jarvie, or Dalgetty, my imagination brightens, and my conception becomes clearer at every step which I take in his company, although it leads me many a weary mile away from the regular road, and forces me leap hedge and ditch to get back into the route again."



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move. and all this at the expense of psychology. It is with the charactes as with the tales, they work themselves out. Hence no elaborate descriptions, but instead of these a portrayal by.means of incidents, comments, slight touches. Scott's personages have no time for introspection and for this reason good and evil meeting in the same person seem to exist separately without coalescing as in real life. In general, however, the characters are either good or bad, though of the internal life of their souls not much is seen; we must judge them by their words and actions more than by their thoughts. Minute analysis is foreign to Scott's genius. His is not the philosophic mind that separates substance and form and lays bare the soul to reveal its inmost workings. He possesses other qualities. He is the imaginative writer who cannot construct a plot except to L^*«*-deviate from it, and who suffers no control, but whose mind embodies in concrete form what his fanc^oonjures up and in this he misses no picturesque details.
How he paints his characters may be seen in the portrait of the wandering harper in Scott's first romance in verse:
"When kindness had his wants supplied And the old man was gratified, Began to rise his minstrel pride: And he began to talk anon, Of good Earl FranciS, dead and gone, And of Earl Walter, rest him, God 1 A braver ne'er to battle rode; And how full many a tale he knew, Of the old warriors of Buccleuch: And, would the noble Duchess deign To listen to an old man's strain, Though stiff his hand, his voice though weak, He thought even yet, the sooth to speak, That, if she loved the harp to hear, He could make music to her ear.
The humble boon was soon obtain'd; The aged Minstrel audience gain'd. But, when he reach'd the room of state, Where she, with all her ladies, sate, Perchance he wished his boon denied: For when to tune his harp he tried, His trembling hand had lost the ease.



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Which marks security to please;
And scènes, long past, of joy and pain,
Came wildering o'er his aged brain —
He tried to tune his harp in vainl
The pitying Duchess praised its chime,
And gave him heart and gave him time,
Till every string's according glee
Was blended into harmony.
And then, he said, he would full fain
He could recall an ancient strain,
He never thought to sing again.
It was not framed for village churls,
But for high dames and mighty earls:
He had play'd it to King Charles the Good,
When he kept court in Holyrood;
And much he wish'd, yet fear'd to try
The long-forgotten melody.
Amid the strings his fingers stray'd,
And an uncertain warbling made,
And oft he shook his hoary head.
But when he caught the measure wild,
The old man raised his face, and smiled;
And lighten'd up his faded eye,
With all a poet's ecstasy 1
In varying cadence, soft or strong,
He swept the sounding chords along;
The present scène, the future lot,
His toils, his wants, were all forgot:
Cold diffidence, and age's frost,
In the full tide of song were lost;
Each blank in faithless memory void,
The poet's glowing thought supplied;
And, while his harp responsive rung,
'T was thus the Latest Minstrel sung 1" *) The romantic writer shows himself here in the incompleteness of the picture which leaves to the reader's imagination something indicated by a few suggestive words. He is also found in the wonderful simplicity which speaks to the heart. But Scott's special way of writing is seen in the manner in which he depiots the harper's mood. He comes here perhaps as near to analysing the mind of a character as he does any where. But it done by describing action. The
0 The Lay of the Last Minstrel, Introduction.
5



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minstrel after being tended well /eels his strength revive, and with returning comfort his pride rises. He wishes to requite the hospitality shown to him, for does henotknow "full many a tale" "of the old warriors of Buccleuch" ? But when he enters "the room of state", where the duchess, "with all her ladies", sits, his self-reliance gives place to diffidence. The recollections of the past are too much for him, and only tactful encouragement prevents his breaking down altogether. When, however, the harp has been tuned, he again feels confident and wants to give his best. And so, hesitating and tentatively, the harper recalls "the long-forgotten melody" and then loses himself, his troubles, and his age "in the full tide of song." Thus with more vagueness than precision, with more energy than method, but with wonderful imaginative picturesqueness, the aged minstrel is drawn.1) In the harper, however, we have but a character found in the framework of the poem, and the above abstract is given here on account of its being, all the same, a beautiful and distinct picture, and because it displays the way in which Scott describes feelings though such description is somewhat rare with him. 'XAA'- 'JL<&. »ww Another instance of Scott's picturesque art of writing is the character of Squire Inglewood in Rob Roy. Miss Vernon introducés him to the reader by drawing a ludicrous picture of the magistrate and his clerk to Francis Osbaldistone, who, accompanied by her, is on his way to Inglewood Place to exculpate himself. Inglewood has sacrificed his scruples
') Cf. Pitt's opinion of the lines describing the old harper's embarrassment: "This is a sort of thing which I might have expected in painting, but could never have fancied capable of being given in poetry."
Lockhart's Life of Sir Walter Scott, Vol II, p. 34.
A more general statement is that of The Quarterly Review, Vol. III, p. 512: "Never, we think, has the analogy between poetry and painting been more strikingly exemplified than in the writings of Mr. Scott. He sees everything with a painter's eye. Whatever he represents has a character of individuality, and is drawn with an accuracy and minute» ness of discrimination which we are not accustomed to expect from verbal description."
The Monthly Review (London, 1806), Vol. XLIX, p. 297, though disapproving of the looseness and extravagance of the narrative, says: "Yet if such defects can be redeemed by much faithful and lively painting, and by the beauty of many detached passages, the Lay of the Last Minstrel will stand absolved before the tribunal of criticism," and transcribes the Introduction at length.



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of Jacobitical loyalty and become a justice in order to be able to enforce the game-laws. His clerk, Jobson, is azealous Protestant, and a friend to the existing government.
" 'Now his principal, retaining a sort of instinctive attachment to the opinions which he professed openly, until he relaxed his political creed with the patriotic view of enforcing the law against unauthorised destroyers of black-game, grouse, partridges, and hares, is particularly embarrassed when the zeal of his assistant involves him in judicial proceedings connected with his earlier faith; and, instead of seconding his zeal, he seldom fails to oppose to it a doublé dose of indolence and lack of exertion. And this inactivity does not by any means arise from actual stupidity. On the contrary, for one whose principal delight is in eating and drinking, he is an alert, joyous, and lively old soul, which makes his assumed dulness the more diverting. So you may see Jobson on such occasions, like a bit of broken-down blood-tit condemned to drag an overloaded cart, puffing, strutting, and spluttering, to get the Justice put in motion, while, though the wheels groan, creak, and revolve slowly, the great and preponderating weight of the vehicle fairly frustrates the efforts of the willing quadruped, and prevents its being brought into a state of actual progression. Nay more, the unfortunate pony, I understand, has been heard to complain, that this same car of justice, which he finds it so hard to put in motion on some occasions, can on others run fast enough down hill of its own accord, dragging his reluctant self backwards along with it, when any thing can be done of service to Squire Inglewood's quondam friends. And then Mr. Jobson talks big about reporting his principal to the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if it were not for his particular regard and friendship for Mr. Inglewood and his family.' "
To give a description even by the words of another may be somewhat out of Scott's line, but the writer is all himself when he paints his character in the meeting between the accused and the justice. Osbaldistone finds Inglewood taking his leisure after dinner in the company of his clerk and the accuser, Morris, over a bottle of sack. The justice has just chanted an old ditty and is having his revenge upon the man who has troubled him with declarations by threatening him into singing, when Osbaldistone appears on the scène and creates a new
>) Rob Roy, Chapter VII.



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disturbance. Telling his story in the first person, the latter says: —
"I broke the silence of surprise occasioneel by my abrupt entrance. — 'My name, Mr. Inglewood, is Francis Osbaldistone; I understand that some scoundrel has brought a complaint before you, charging me with being concerned in a loss which he says he has sustained.'
'Sir,' said the Justice, somewhat peevishly, 'these are marters I never enter upon after dinner — there is a time for everything, and a justice of peace must eat as well as other folks.'
The goodly person of Mr. Inglewood, by the way, seemed by no means to have suffered by any fasts, whether in the service of the law or of religion.
'I beg pardon for an ill-timed visit, sir; but as my reputation is concerned, and as the dinner appears to be concluded —'
'It is not concluded, sir,' replied the magistrate; 'man requires digestion as well as food, and I protest I cannot have benefit from my victuals, unless I am allowed two hours of quiet leisure, intermixed with harmiess mirth, and a moderate circulation of the bottle.'
'If your honour will forgive me,' said Mr. Jobson, who had produced and arranged his writing implements in the brief space that our conversation afforded; 'as this is a case of felony, and the gentleman seems something impatient, the charge is contrapacent dotnini regis —'
'D—n dominie regis!' said the impatient Justice — 'I hope it's no treason to say so; — but it's enough to make one mad to be worried in this way. Have I a moment of my life quiet, for warrants, orders, directions, acts, bails, bonds, and recognisances? I pronounce to you, Mr. Jobson, that I shall send you and the justiceship to the devil one of these days.'
'Your honour will consider the dignity of the office — one of the quorum and custos rotulorum, an office of which Sir Edward Coke wisely saith, The whole Christian world hath not the like of it, so it be duly executed.'
'Well,' said the justice, partly reconciled by this eulogium on the dignity of his situation, and gulping down the rest of his dissatisfaction in a huge bumper of claret, 'let us to this gear then, and get rid of it as fast as we can. — Here you, sir — you, Morris — you, knight of the sorrowful countenance — is this Mr. Francis Osbaldistone the gentleman whom you charge with being act and part of felony?'
'I, sir?' replied Morris, whose scattered wits had hardly yet re-assembled themselves — 'I charge nothing — I say nothing against the gentleman.'



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'Then we dismiss your complaint, sir, that's all, and a good riddance — Push about the bottle — Mr. Osbaldistone, help yourself.' "*)
Jobson here interferes and keeps Morris to his declaration, when Diana Vernon appears. She is heartily welcomed by the justice, who old bachelor though he is, knows what is due to beauty. When she complains that there was nobody to answer her call, he excuses his servants because they reckoned themselves secure from him for a couple of hours and invites her to his table. But Osbaldistone and the clerk recall the magistrate from his jests to duty, though the latter himself is quite satisfied with the explanation given. The accusation is now at last heard and a violent altercation follows between the accused and the clerk. Jobson, however, is called away and though he wants to make out the warrant for committal before he goes, the magistrate, afraid of any more judicial business wishes to wait till his return. Then in the absence of the clerk the justice feels as happy as a schoolboy in the holidays and wants to settle the matter in his own way by making Osbaldistone give back the portmanteau and hush up the thing. A stranger, however, appears upon business notwithstanding the justice's protestation, and exculpates the accused. The declarations now find their way to the fire and Morris under the escort of the stranger, Campbell, leaves the mansion of Justice Inglewood.
"The joy which that worthy magistrate received at this easy conclusion of a matter which threatened him with some trouble in his judicial capacity, was somewhat damped by reflection on what his clerk's view of the transaction might be at his return. 'Now, I shall have Jobson on my shoulders about these d—d papers — I doubt I should not have destroyed them, after all — But, hang it, it is only paying his fees, and that will make all smooth — And now, Miss Die Vernon, though I have liberated all the others, I intend to sign a writ for committing you to the custody of Mother Blakes, my old housekeeper, for the evening, and we will send for my neighbour Mrs. Musgrave, and the Miss Dawkins, and your cousins, and have old Cobs the fiddler, and be as merry as the maids; and Frank Osbaldistone and I will have a carouse that will make us fit company for you in half an hour,'"s)
0 Rob Roy, 'Chapter VIII. 0 Rob Roy, Chapter IX.



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Miss Vernon and Mr. Frank, however, have to go, but not without the necessary admonitions from the honest magistrate. His last words are: —
" 'And now, get ye both gone, and leave me to my pipe of tobacco, and my meditations, for what says the song
"The Indian leaf doth briefly burn;
So doth man's strength to weakness turn; —
The fire of youth extinguish'd quite,
Comes age, like embers, dry and white.
Think of this as you take tobacco. " ' " Such is the manner in which Scott paints his characters, and in all of them we must admire the vividness and brilliancy of the pictures. It is true that he does not analyse the human heart, and that the student of human character does not gain much knowledge from his work, but imagination has won its triumphs here. While later writers, too, profiting by what he has indicated may improve upon his method, his greatness as a picturesque writer remains unchallenged.
As such Scott draws his characters in bold outline, gaining in breadth what he loses in depth. Nor does he restrict himself in the multitude of his personages. His wealth of fancy, stimulated by knowledge, may be seen in the gallery of portraits found in the tales and novels. And in all these characters we find the same picturesque touch. Scott paints kings and queens, courtiers and statesmen, preachers and schoolmasters, peasants and farmers, beggars and gipsies, matrons and maidens, dairy-women and maids, and many more figures, but all are living personages whatever they may be, whether Christian or infidel, high or low, free or bond, rich or poor. His pictures are always real and lifelike. *)
This is equally true of the writers historie characters, which to a certain extent are bound by history, and are therefore most apt either to degenerate into caricatures or to become mere props for the display of the writers knowledge. Scott's historie insight, however, was keen enough to prevent the one, while his imagination guarded him from the other.
») Rob Roy, Chapter IX.
a) We may make an exception for The Black Dwarf, an unsuccessful work, which we may regard as a sacrifice offered up by Scott on the altar of the tale of terror.



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Not that the historical basis on which his conception of such personages rests is always trustworthy or that the minuter details of history are paid much attention to in painting them, but as a whole the pictures are generally right and always vivid.
Already in the poems we may admire the genius with which Scott draws such pictures as that of Robert Bruce, King of Scotland, in The Lord of the Isles, of James IV in Marmion, and of his son James V in The Lady of the Lake.
Take for instance the figure of the reckless warrior who defied the might of England on Flodden Field. At Holyrood he is feasting his chiefs before they march southward. ''Well loved that splendid monarch aye
The banquet and the song, By day the tourney, and by night The merry dance, traced fast and light, The maskers quaint, the pageant bright,
The revel loud and long. This feast outshone his banquets past, It was his blithest — and his last".1) When Marmion, the English ambassador, enters the palace-halls, the king comes to greet him and Scott paints his manly form and noble mien, nor does he forget his royal garb. But then he turns again to the pleasure-loving monarch himself, whose heart, however, knows one sharp pang. "Lightly from fair to fair he flew, And loved to plead, lament, and sue; — Suit lightly won, and short-lived pain, For monarchs seldom sigh in vain.
I said he joy'd in banquet bower; But, 'mid his mirth, 'twas often strange How suddenly his cheer would change,
His look o'ercast and lower, If, in a sudden turn, he feit The pressure of his iron belt, That bound his breast in penance pain, In memory of his father slain. Even so 'twas strange how, evermore, Soon as the passing pang was o'er Forward he rush'd, with doublé glee, Into the stream of revelry;
0 Marmion, Canto Fifth, VII.



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Thus, dim-seen object of affright Startles the courser in his flight, And half he halts, half springs aside; But feels the quickening spur applied, And, straining on the tighten'd rein, Scours doubly swift o'er hill and plain." ï) The king is then painted as under the influence of the French queen and Sir Hugh the Heron's wife, for whose sakes he had planned an invasion into England. "And yet, the sooth to teil, Nor England's fair, nor France's Queen, Were worth one pearl-drop, bright and sheen,
From Margaret's eyes that feil, — His own Queen Margaret, who, in Lithgow's bower, All lonely sat, and wept the weary hour."*) Lady Heron sings of young Lochinvar and a look exchanged between her and Marmion displeases James, who turns to the ambassador to announce to him his defiance of Henry of England. Even the Douglas opposes the war in vam. But when the king upbraids his noble, remorse again seizes him at the mention of the slaughtered favourite Cochran's name and he asks Douglas to forgive him, when he sees a tear in his eye. At Marmion's words in favour of peace, however, the headstrong prince again breaks out.
"Displeased was James, that stranger view'd And tamper'd with his changing mood. 'Laugh those that can, weep those that may,' Thus did the fiery Monarch say, 'S.outhward I march by break of day; And if within Tantallon strong, The good Lord Marmion tarries long, Perchance our meeting next may fail At Tamworth, in his castle-hall.' "3) And at the last words of warning by Marmion, "The Monarch lightly turn'd away,
And to his nobles loud did call,
'Lords, to the dance, — a hall! a hall I' Himself his cloak and sword flung by, And led Dame Heron gallantly;
0 Marmion, Canto Fifth, IX. ') Marmion, Canto Fifth, X. *) Marmion, Canto Fifth, XVII.



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And minstrels, at the royal order,
Rung out — 'Blue Bonnets o'er the Border.'"1)
This is indeed a picture full of life and animation. The novels, however, offer an even better opportunity to Scott for displaying his genius as a picturesque writer, and the number of historical portraits in them is also much larger than in the poems. In The Talisman Richard Cceur de Lion and his chivalrous enemy Saladin occur, in Ivanhoe Richard appears again with his mean brother John, the two mighty rivals Louis XI and Charles the Bold are painted in Quentin Durward, by the side of Charles of Burgundy in Anne of Geierstein we see Margaret of Anjou and René of Provence, in The Monastery and The Abbot Mary, Queen of Scots, and Murray are found, Kenüworth gives us Elizabeth Tudor as well as Sussex and Leicester, in The Fortunes oj Nigel James I is depicted, Charles I and Cromwell appear in Woodstock, Charles II in Peveril of the Peak, while Old Mortality describes Claverhouse and Monmouth, and an important character in Waverley is the Young Pretender, Charles Edward. All of these are well-known persons in Scottish, English, or continental history. Many more historie portraits might easily be added to these, orthe nam es of other great figures who play their part in the novels.
As another illustration of Scott's picturesque characters we take the portrait of Queen Mary in The Abbot, after she has escaped from prison and is once more among her friends.
"Mary's first feeling when she awoke was the doubt of her freedom; and the impulse prompted her to start from bed, and hast ily throwing her mantle over her shoulders, to look out at the casement of her apartment. O sight of joy! instead of the crystal sheet of Lochleven, unaltered save by the influence of the wind, a landscape of wood and moorland lay before her, and the park around the castle was occupied by the troops of her most faithful and most favourite nobles.
'Rise, rise, Catherine', cried the enraptured Princess; 'arise and come hither 1 — here are swords and spears is true hands, and glittering armour on loyal hearts. Here are banners, my girl, floating in the wind, as lightly as summer clouds — Great Godl what pleasure to my weary eyes to tracé their devices — thine own brave father's — the princely Hamilton's — the faithful
0 Marmion, Canto Fifth, XVII.



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Fleming's — See — see — they have caught a glimpse of me, and throng toward the windowT
She flung the casement open, and with her bare head from which the tresses flew back loose and dishevelled, her fair arms slenderly veiled by her mantle, returned by motion and sign the exulting shouts of the warriors, which echoed for many a furlong around. When the first burst of ecstatic joy was over, she recollected how hghtly she was dressed, and, putting her hands to her face, which was covered with blushes at the recollection, withdrew abruptly from the window. The cause of her retreat was easily conjectured, and increased the general enthusiasm for a Princess who had forgotten her rank in her haste to acknowledge the services of her subjects. The unadorned beauties of the lovely woman, too, moved military spectators more than the highest display of her regal state might; and what might have seemed too free in her mode of appearing before them, was more than atoned for by the enthusiasm of the moment, and by the delicacy evinced in her hasty retreat. Often as the shouts died away as often were they renewed till wood and hill rung again; and many a deep oath was made that morning on the cross of the sword, that the hand should not part with the weapon, till Mary Stewart was restored to her rights. But what are promises, what the hopes of mortals? In ten days these gallant and devoted votanes were slain, were captives, or had fled.
Mary flung herself into the nearest seat, and still blushing yet half smiling, exclaimed, 'Ma mignonne, what will they think of me? — to show myself to them with my bare feet hastily thrust into the slippers — only this loose mantle about me — my hair loose on my shoulders — my arms and neck sobare — O, the best they can suppose is, that her abode in yonder dungeon has turned their Queen's brainl But my rebel subjects saw me exposed when I was in the depth of affliction, why should Ihold colder ceremony with these faithful and loyal men ? — Call Fleming however - I trust she has not forgotten the little mail with my apparel — We must be as brave as we can, mignonne:
'Nay, madam, our good Lady Fleming was in no case to remember anything,'
'You jest, Catherine', said the Queen, somewhat offended; 'it is not m her nature, surely, to forget her duty so far as to 'leave us without a change of apparel?'
'Roland Grame, madam, took care of that', answered Catherine • for he threw the mail, with your highness's clothes and jewels' into the boat, ere he ran back to lock the gate-I never sawsó awkward a page as that youth-the packet wellnigh feil on my head '



— 75 —
'He shall make thy heart amends, my girl,' said Queen Mary, langhing, 'for that and all other offences given. But call Fleming, and let us put ourselves into apparel to meet our faithful lords.'
Such had been the preparations, and such was the skill of Lady Fleming, that the Queen appeared before her assembled nobles in such attire as became, though it could not enhance, her natural dignity. With the most winning courtesy, she expressed to each individual her grateful thanks, and djgnified not only every noble, but many of the lesser barons, by her particular attention.
'And whither now, my Lords?' she said; 'what way do your counsels determine for us?'
'To Draphane Castle,' replied Lord Arbroath, 'if your Majesty is so pleased; and thence to Dunbarton, to place your Grace's person in safety, after which we long to prove if these traitors will abide us in the field.'
'And when do we journey?'
'We propose,' said Lord Seyton, 'if your Grace's fatigue will permit, to take horse after the morning's meal.'
'Your pleasure, my Lords, is mine,' replied the Queen; 'we will rule our journey by your wisdom now, and hope hereafter to have the advantage of governing by it our kingdom. — You will permit my ladies and me, my good lords, to break our fast along with you — We must be half soldiers ourselves, and set state apart.' "x)
In this picture of Mary Stuart we see how well Scott paints not only the queen but also the woman. His masculine figures are in general perhaps better drawn; this is because the auther prefers action to feeling and does not venture to investigate the little weaknesses and intricacies of female character. But when Scott's imagination is directed by historie knowledge, his portraits are always good, and in his public characters he is never unsuccessful.
It is especially in the pictures of the historie persons that we notice the excellence of Scott's work compared with that of his predecessors. Before him kings and queens were impossible beings, with him they become creatures offlesh and blood.
But it is also in his characters of less elevated rank or not taken from history that we see Scott's picturesque talents,
') The Abbot, Chapter XXXVI.



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and even more than elsewhere the inventive originality of his imagination. They are taken from every rank and class of society, and are all different. Scott even seems to have a predilection for those of lower degree, andlovesto dweil upon them, while he looks down upon his heroes. *) Whatever stood out from the common attracted his attention and was drawn with special care.
The poems, however, give many portraits of knights and ladies. So Scott pictures the stern Lady of Branksome and her daughter, fair Margaret, and the knights William of Deloraine and Lord Cranstoun in The Lay of the Last Minstrel; Marmion and De Wilton, Constance and Clara in Marmion; Malcolm Gramme and Ellen Douglas in The Lady of the Lake; dark Wycliffe and bold Risingham, Matilda, good Redmond, and noble Wilfrid in Rokeby; thé brave De Vaux in The Bridal of Trierman; Edith'and Isabel, rivals in love and nobleness, in The Lord of the Isles; Eivir, the^Danish maid, in Harold the Dauntlessand many morCpersons of rank and quality.
As an illustration we cannot do better than give the picture of the Lady of Branksome and her daughter when the chief of Branksome had fallen in the Border war.
"In sorrow o'er Lord Walter's bier The warlike foresters had bent,
And many a flower, and many a tear, Old Teviot's maids and matrons lent:
But o'er her warrior's bloody bier
The Ladye dropp'd nor flower nor tear!
Vengeance, deep-brooding o'er the slain, Had lock'd the source of softer woe;
And burning pride, and high disdain, Forbade the rising tear to flow;
Until, amid his sorrowing clan,
') Scott wriring about the heroes of Waverley says: — "The hero is a sneaking piece of imbecility; and if he had married Flora, she would have set him up upon the chimney=piece, as Count Borowlaski's wife used to do with him. I am a bad hand at depicting a hero properly so called, and have an unfortunate propensity for the dubious characters of borderers, buccaneers, Highland robbers, and all others of a Robin*Hood description. I do not know why it should be, as I am myself, like Hamlet, indifferent honest; but I suppose the blood of the old cattle«drivers of Teviotdale continues to stir in my veins.".
Lockhart's Life of Sir Walter Scott, Vol. III, p. 131.



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Her son lisp'd from the nurse's knee —
'And if I live to be a man,
My father's death revenged shall bel'
Then fast the mother's tears did seek
To dew the infant's kindling cheek.
All loose her negligent attire,
All loose her golden hair, Hung Margaret o'er her slaughter'd sire,
And wept in wild despair: But not alone the bitter tear
Had filial grief supplied; For hopeless love, and anxious fear,
Had lent their mingled tide;
Nor in her mother's alter'd eye
Dared she to look for sympathy.
Her lover, 'gainst her father's clan,
With Carr in arms had stood, * ■
When Mathouse-burn to Melrose ran, All purple with their blood;
And well she knew, her mother dread,
Before Lord Cranstoun she should wed,
Would see her on her dying bed."1) The picture of the two ladies standing by the bier each lost in grief at the chief's death, yet each thinking her own thoughts, is highly characteristic of Scott's manner.
It is in the novels that we find the greatest variety of objects and ranks, and here the picturesque talents of the writer even seem to expand with their freer scope. From among the multitude of characters we call attention to the pedantic but gallant Baron of Bradwardine, and to the Jacobite Flora Mac Ivor in Waverley. In Guy Manneriug, too, we have Dominie Sampson, the simple scholar, Dirk Hatteraick, the Dutch smuggler, Meg Merrilies, the gipsy, the advocate Paulus Pleydell, and the farmer Dandie Dinmont. The Antiquary contains Jonathan Oldbuck, the humoristic antiquary and womanhater, and Edie Ochiltree, the king's beadsman. Sergeant Bothwell, the covenanter Old Mause, and her son, Cuddie Headrigg, appear in Old Mortality. In Rob Roy we become acquainted with the conceited but kind-hearted Bailie Nicol Jarvie, the villain Rashleigh Osbaldistone, and
J) The Lay of the Last Minste!, Canto First, IX, X.



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the Scotch gardener, Andrew Fairservice; Diana Vernon and Helen Mac Gregor also occur here. The Heart of Midlothian describes the sensible Jeanie Deans, her lighthearted sister Effïe, and Madge Wildfire, the insane but beautiful daughter of Meg Murdochson, the gipsy thief. Caleb Balderston, a lying but faithful servant, occurs in The Bride of Lammermoor. Another well-drawn servant, is the self-willed but honest Richie Moniplies in The Fortunes of Nigel. Meg Dods is an innkeeper in St. Ronan's Well.l) And thus we might augment our list at will, if the rich fertility of Scott's imagination were not known to every reader of the Waverley novels.
Of his skill in the embodiment of his conceptions one more instance may be given in the picture of Cuddie Headrigg and his wife in Old Mortality. Cuddie had been the servant of Henry Morton in the rising of the Covenanters, but after the battle of Bothwell Bridge had been pardoned and had married his sweetheart Jenny, formerly the waiting woman of Edith Bellenden. Master and mistress also love each other but Morton had been obliged to go abroad and has returned after the Revolution to hear*hat his love thinks him dead and is about to be married to Lord Evandale. Cuddie and his wife are in the service of the family of Bellenden and only Jenny has recognized the stranger who has asked them for a bed for the night.
"Having wished the stranger better health and good rest, Jenny descended as speedily as she could to her own mansion.
'O Cuddie I' she exclaimed to her helpmate as she entered, 'I doubt w're ruined folkP
'How can that be? Whafs the matter wi'ye?' returned the imperturbed Cuddie, whe was one of those persons who do not easily take alarm at anything.
'Who d'ye think yon gentleman is? — O, that ever ye suld hae asked him to light here!' exclaimed Jenny.
'Why, who the muckle deil d'ye say he is? There's nae law
) In the multitude of Scott's characters there is a natural variety of manner m the painting of them; the writer also developed his gifts and had his period of decay, but through all the general method is the same Andl it is this which may even account for Scott's mastership in the novel ot the past and his relative failure in such a work as St. Ronan's Well Yet a character, sketched in bold outline without any attempt at psychological or other detail, such as Meg Dods, is again a success.



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against harbouring and intercommunicating now,' said Cuddie; 'sae, whig or tory, what need we care wha he be?'
'Ay, but it's ane will ding Lord Evandale's marriage ajee yet if it's no the better looked to', said Jenny; 'it's Miss Edith's first joe, your ain auld maister, Cuddie.'
'The deil, woman I' exclaimed Cuddie, starting up, 'trow ye that I am blind? I wad hae kend Mr. Harry Morton among a hunder.'
'Ay, but, Cuddie lad,' replied Jenny, 'though ye are no blind, ye are no sae notice-taking as I am.'
'Weel, what for needs ye cast that up to me just now ? or what did ye see about the man that was like our Maister Harry?'
'I will teil ye,' said Jenny; 'I jaloused his keeping his face frae us, and speaking wi' a made-like voice, sae I e'en tried him wi' some tales o' lang syne, and when I spake o' the brose, ye ken, he didna just laugh — he's ower grave for that nowadays — but he gae a gledge wi' his ee that I kend he took up what I said. And a' his distress is about Miss Edith's marriage, and I ne'er saw a man mair taen down wi' true love in my days — I might say man or woman — only I mind how ill Miss Edith was when she first gat word that him and you (ye muckle graceless loon) were coming against Tillietudlem wi' the rebels. — But what's the matter wi' the man now?'
'What's the matter wi' me, infleed 1' said Cuddie, who was again hastily putting on some of the garments he had stripped himself of, 'am I no gaun up this instant to see my maister?'
'Atweel, Cuddie, ye are gaun nae sic gate,' said Jenny, coolly and resolutely.
'The deii's in the wifel' said Cuddie; 'd'ye think I am to be John Tamson's man, and maistered by women a' the days of my life?' "
Jenny, however, has more arguments than one to dissuade Cuddie from speaking to his former master. She thinks that the young gentleman purposes to go away quietly when he finds that Miss Edith is going to be married. But if the young lady knew that he was living she would say no instead of yes, even when standing with Lord Evandale before the minister. Cuddie thinks this no objection, but Jenny points out to her husband that Morton cannot provide for a wife in his present condition. Cuddie is already half convinced.
" 'And then, Cuddie,' continued his helpmate, who had reserved her strongest argument to the last, 'if this marriage wi' Lord Evandale is broken off, what comes o' our ain bit free house, and



— 8o —
the kale-yard, and the cow's grass? — I trow that baith us and thae bonny bairns will be turned on the wide warldl'
Here Jenny began to whimper — Cuddie writhed himself this way and that way, the very picture of indecision. At length he broke out, 'Weel, woman, canna ye teil us what we suld do, without a' this din about it?'"
Jenny advises him to do nothing, not even to speak to his poor master. She had told him because she feared that he 'would recognize Morton in the morning, and Cuddie resolves to plough the outfield then to be out of danger.
"'Very right, my dear hinny', replied Jenny; 'naebody has better sense than you when ye crack a bit wi" me over your affairs, but ye suld ne'er do onything aff hand out o' your ain head.'
'Ane wad think it's true,' quoth Cuddie; 'for I hae aye had some carline or quean or another, to gar me gang their gate instead o' my ain. There was first my mither,' he continued, as he undressed and tumbled himself into bed — 'then there was Leddy Margaret didna let me ca' my soul my ain — then my mither and her quarrelled, and pu'ed me two ways at anes, as if ilk ane had an end o'me, like Punch and the Deevil rugging about the Baker at the fair —and now I hae gorten a wife,' he murmured in continuation, as he stowed the blankets around his person, 'and she's like to tak the guiding o' me a' thegither.'
'And amna I the best guide ye ever had in a' your life?* said Jenny, as she closed the conversation by assuming her place beside her husband, and extinguishing the candle." ■ In this illustration again we see Scott's manner of painting. The author may appear for a moment to reflect on his characters, as a rule he describes them by their own words and actions.
So Scott always paints from nature. One reservation to ibe made, however, is that the author is romantic before Irealistic, though he does not ignore the unromantic side I of life.8) We also notice the writer's sense of humour, which,
') Old Mortality, Chapter XXXVIII.
*) Cf. Bagehot, Literary Studies, Vol. II, pp. 161, 162.
"Almost alone among novelists Scott has given a thorough, minute, lifelike description of poor persons, which is at the same time genial and pleasing. The reason seems to be that the firm sagacity of his genius comprehended the industrial aspect of poor people's life thoroughly and comprehensively, his experience brought it before him easily and naturally, and his artist's mind and genial disposition enabled him to dweil on those features which would be most pleasing to the world in general."



— 8i —
heavy as it sometimes is, pervades the whole of his work, but especially his novels.1) Yet though the illustrations we have chosen may in some measure give an idea of Scott's characterization, a due appreciation can only be gained by reading the poems and novels themselves. In them too, the principal quality of the characters will stand out clearly and fully, which is that they live. They act and they speak as living men and women.
Scott, however, communicates life not only to his personages but also to the story and the dialogue. Nor could it be otherwise, since his characters are alive.
For the heroes and heroines have their adventures in the strong tide of which they are carried along, and the story naoves on with them. The novel of the past especially, connected as it is with the history of the time, cannot but be dramatic, and this is even truerof the historical novel. The action, found in Scott's poems and novels, however, is a general quality of all his work. It is typical of romance and somewhat out of place in the domestic novel. Yet it is expressive of Scott's influence on the development of romanticism. For the new poetry and prose have travelled far from the strict conventionalism of classicism. Imagination now leads, and the story is no longer bound by rules of order or proportion. Scott merely narrates, and this he does with wonderful facility,2) sometimes more or less digressively, but always picturesquely. And it is this picturesque quality of the story which atones for many superficial defects and which also accounts for the writer's influence.
The plot seems to be with Scott a thing more or less beyond his control.8) It works itself out. Yet though the
') See about Scott's humour Yonge's Life and Writings of Sir Walter Scott, p. 83 and p. 194 sqq.
5) Already young Scott was an excellent narrator. He himself writes about his days at the Grammar School of Edinburgh: —
. . . "in the winter play hours, when hard exercise was impossible, my tales used to assemble an admiring audience round Lucide Brown's fireside, and happy was he that could sit next to the inexhaustible narrator."
Lockhart's Life of Sir Walter Scott, Vol. I, p. 29.
') The Author of Waverley in the Introductory Epistle to The Fortunes
of Nigel says: —
"I have repeatedly laid down my future work to scale, divided it into volumes and chapters, and endeavoured to construct a story which I meant should evolve itself gradually and strikingly, maintain suspense, and stimulate
6



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writer is often led astray by whatever strikes his fancy, his natural good sense prevented his allowing his story to become too disproportionate in its episodes or too intricate.J) This, as well as 'the voice of the public' kept him from indulging in the horrors and ghosts of the tale of terrjjjj) So Scott remained free from the excesses of romanticism, guided by his genius. His influence was all the stronger for this moderation.
But though Scott's romances are not so many regular and connected stories, there is ample compensation for this defect, if such it be. We find it in their intense reality. They are alive and this being so, while they may perhaps have carried the author along with them too much, the reader is also fascinated by their animated action. They are like streams coming down from the mountains, sometimes shallow, sometimes deep, then broad, then narrow, now running straight on, then again deviating from their courses, forming cataracts as well as lakes, having tributaries and dividing, but always in motion. So every poem and every novel becomes a living
curiosity; and which, finally, should terminate in a striking catastrophe. But I think there is a demon who seats himself on the feather of my pen when I begin to write, and leads it astray from the purpose. Characters expand under my hand; incidents are multiplied; the story lingers, while the materials increase; my regular mansion turns out a Gothic anomaly, and the work is closed long before I have attained the point I proposed."
0 How Scott corrected himself may be seen in his account of The Lay of the Last Minstrel: —
"I began a few verses, to be called the Goblin Page; and they lay long by me, till the applause of some friends whose judgment I valued induced me to resumé the poem; so on I wrote, knowing no more than the man in the moon how I was to end. At length the story appeared so uncouth, that I was fain to put it into the mouth of my old minstrel — lest the nature of it should be misunderstood, and I should be suspected of setting up a new school of poetry, instead of a feeble attempt to imitate the old. In the process of the romance the page, intended to be a principal person in the work, contrived (from the baseness ot his natural propensities I suppose) to stink downstairs into the kitchen, and now he must e'en abide there."
Lockhart's Life of Sir Walter Scott, Vol. II, p. 28.
') When attacked about the white Lady of Avenel in The Monastery Scott said: —
"I care not who knows it — I write for general amusement; and, though I never will aim at popularity by what I think unworthy means, I will not, on the other hand, be pertinacious in the defence of my ownerrors against the voice of the public."
Introductory Epistle to The Fortunes of Nigel.
The Black Dwarf might be called a concession to the school of Monk and a failure.



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thing, in which again every character and scène is instinct with life.
Scott's characteristic as a narrator may be seen in Marmion, a romance in verse full of life and action. Its hero is Lord Marmion, ambassador from Henry VIII of England to James II of Scotland. The story opens with his arrival at Norham, where he is welcomed by Sir Hugh de Heron. Then he rides through Scotland, guided by a palmer and by Sir David Lindesay, on his way even fights a duel in the night, and arrivés at the court after passing through the camp, to find his embassy in vain. For the armies are preparing and the king gives his last feast before he goes to war. Marmion has to stay with the Douglas, but hearing of the coming battle, he cannot remain idle, leaves his host, and falls, fighting bravely. Thus the hero, ever on his way, is active even in his rest, while the story moves on with him. And from the very beginning, the reception at Norham Castle, Scott's painting is full of vigour, reaching its climax in the battle of Flodden Field,1) the conclusion of the romance. There is also the secondary plot of Marmion and De Wilton, rivals in the love of Clara, and of Constance, betrayed by Marmion for the sake of Clara and her broad lands, but the story would be as full of action without the love interest. De Wilton passing himself off as a palmer guides Marmion, and masquerading as an elfin warrior fights a duel with him, while Clara is introduced to the reader on board a bark which carries the Abbess of Saint Hilda from Whitby to Saint Cuthbert, there to judge Constance. On her return Clara becomes a prisoner and shares the adventures of Marmion and De Wilton.
In the other poems, Sir Walter is the same picturesque story-teller. The different episodes of the tales, too, display Scott's talents as a narrator. In the descriptions of battles, especially, such as Flodden Field in Marmion, Beal' an Duine in The Lady of the Lake, and Bannockburn in The
') "The battle of Flodden Field touches his highest point in its expression of stern patriotic feeling, in its passionate love of daring, and in the force and swiftness of its movement, no less than in the brilliancy of its romantic interests, the charm of its picturesque detail, and the glovr of its scenic colouring."
Sir Walter Scott by Hutton, p. 59.



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Lord of the Isles we admire the writer s enfergy and love of action. This is also seen in Deloraine's night-ride to Melrose in The Lay of the Last Minstrel, in the mission of the Fiery Cross in The Lady of the Lake, in De Vaux's quest in The Bridal of Triermain, or in the sweeping-by óf Lord Ronald's fleet in The Lord of the Isles.
For an illüstration we must restrict ourselves to the picture of Fitz-James's ride to Stirling in The Lady of the Lake. The king is accompanied by two squires.
" 'Stand, Bayard, stand! — the steed obey'd,
With archïng neck and bending head,
And glancing eye and quivering ear,
As if he loved his lord to hear.
No foot Fitz-James in stirrup staid,
No grasp upon the saddle laid.
But wreath'd his left hand in the mane,
And lightly bounded from the plain,
Turn'd on the horse his armed heel,
And stirr'd his courage with the steel.
Bounded the fiery stèed in air,
The rider sate erect and fair,
Then like a bolt from steel örossbow
Forth launch'd, along the plain they go.
They dash'd that rapid torrent through,
And up Carhonie's hill they flew,
Still at the gallop prick'd the Knight,
His merry-men follow'd as they might.
Along thy banks, swift Teithl they ride,
And in the race they mock'd thytide;
Torry and Lendrick now are past,
And Deanstown lies behind them cast:
They rise, the banner'd towers of Doune,
They sink in distant woodland soon;
Blair-Drummotad sees the hoof strike fire,
They sweep like breeze through Ochtertyre
They mark just glance and disappear
The lofty brow of ancient Kier;
They bathe their courser's sweltering sides,
Dark Forth 1 amid thy sluggish tides,
And on the opposing shore take ground,
With plash, with scramble, and with bound.
Right-hand they leave thy cliffs, Craig-Forth I
And soon the bulwark of the North,



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Gray Stirling, with her towers and town, Upon their fieet career look'd down."
The hurried tramp of the metre adapts itself well to the force and swiftness of the movement, and as in this incident so in many more in all the poems, Scott shows himself the painter of life and action.
The novels, however, offered wider scope to Scott for the display of his talent as a picturesque narrator. Here the variety of plots alone would proclaim the master,2) but it is also seen in the fact that amongst the multitudinous incidents scarcely any two resemble each other. Both in the poems and in the novels the same energy and liveliness is seen, to which now may be added a certain pathos and an all-pervading humour which in the romances in verse could find less expression.
The plots in themselves are simple enough. Thus in The Talisman, one of Scott's historical novels, the writer gives us the story of Sir Kenneth, the poor Knight of the Leopard, and of the high-born Edith Plantagenet, who love each other. Many, however, are the adventures of Kenneth of the Couching Leopard before he may call his lady and his love his own. For though he is the Prince Royal of Scotland, he has joined the army of Richard of England as a Scottish knight, and it is in this quality that he wins Edith's heart. The story opens with Kenneth in the vicinity of the Dead Sea, fighting a Saracen. But the Christian knight and the Moslem become friends, and together they visit Theodorick of Engaddi, the mad hermit, where the Knight of the Leopard sees Edith in the chapel. Then the scène shifts from the mountain wilderness of Jordan to the camp of King Richard, stationed behind Jean d'Acre and Ascalon where Kenneth saves Richard's life by bringing him a Moorish physician, who cures him. Sir Kenneth enticed away by his love of Edith now almost finds death by forsaking England's banner, which had been entrusted to his care. He leaves the camp to return as a Nubian, and again saves the English
0 The Lady of the Lake, Canto Fifth, XVIII.
*) A History of Nineteenth Century Literature by Saintsbury speaks on p. 134 of "the extraordinary variety of Scott's scène, character, and — so far as the term is applicable to his very effective but rather loose fashion of story*telling — plot."



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king when he is about to fail by the hand of a murderer. The Knight of the Leopard also finds out the thief of the banner and later in a single combat in the camp of Saladin overcomes him. Then, recognized as the Prince of Scotland he soon marries Edith Plantagenet. We see that the life of the hero is one of movement and action, nor does his story ever lack interest. By his side there are many other figures whose stories are full of adventure. Moreover there is the historie interest interwoven with the subject-matter of the novel. And so we get a picture of the third crusade, and of the parts played in it by Richard of England and Saladin, the Master of the Templars and Conrade of Montserrat, Philip of France and the Archduke of Austria. Different intrigues develop and even dwarf and dog help on the historie and private stories. An important part is played by Saladin, and his röle is very picturesque. Now he is Sheerkohf, the Lion of the Mountain, then El Hakim, the Arabian physician, owner of the talisman, and again Emir Ilderim, or the Soldan. Indeed we cannot but notice how full of life the novel is, and perhaps the finest and most picturesque scène in the book is that in which queen, princess, hermit, and physician each appears in the lists (as Richard calls it) as soon as the other is defeated to ask Sir Kenneth's life of the king.x) When the author pauses for a moment in the hasty succession of events to explain the relation between Edith and Kenneth he thinks it necessary to apologize: —
"This narrative, tedious perhaps, but which the story renders necessary, may serve to explain the state of intelligence, if it deserves so strong a name, betwixt the lovers, when Edith's unexpected appearance in the chapel produced so powerful an effect on the feelings of her knight." *)
Even if we take a novel with a far less pronounced historical character such as Guy Mannering, we find the same picturesqueness of narrative. Here Mannering travels in Scotland, after leaving the University of Oxford, is hospitably received by Bertram, the Laird of Ellangowan, and calculates the nativity of the young heir. The latter disappears when five years old. Many years later Mannering returns as a colonel, and we hear about his life in India,
J) Chapters XVII, XVIII. ') The Talisman, Chapter IV.



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his jealousy, his wife's death, and his daughter Julia. The story is in full swing now, for Julia is of a romantic turn and in love with Captain Brown, while her companion and friend, Lucy Bertram, a guest in the colonel's house since the death of her father, the laird, in poverty, loves Charles Hazlewood. Mannering has hired a mansion in Scotland and here Brown, who has followed Julia, accidentally wounds Hazlewood, moreover Mannering is no friend of Brown, and Glossin, who is in possession of the estate of Ellangowan, is his enemy, as he suspects him to be the long-lost heir. But in good time all difficulties are solved and the novel ends with the prospect of a doublé marriage.
The vicissitudes of fortune of young Bertram, kidnapped by a Dutch smuggler, betrayed by his father's agent, and assisted with unfaltering loyalty by Meg Merrilies, the gipsy, at the cost of her own life — these are related with especial vivacity. Dinmont, too, the hardy borderer, who treats his friend Brown to a fox-hunt, a salmon-hunting, an otter-hunt, and a badger-baiting is a life-like portrait; while the part played by Dominie Sampson in the story is painted with infinite humour. How Scott paints a scène is also seen in the expulsion of the gipsies from the estate of Ellangowan, or in the Saturday evenings of Mr. Counseller Pleydell. The whole novel, however, as well as its incidents, prove that Scott is always the picturesque writer.
The absence of dulness in the Waverley novels is also in great part due to the many wandering characters found in them. Thus Waverley, in the novel of the same name, is always on the road, as is the Knight of Ivanhoe in the romance of Ivanhoe, and Quentin Durward, the fictitious hero in Quentin Durward. Jeanie Deans in The Heart of Midlothian also takes to the road and meets with travelling adventures. Other examples are Tressilian in Kenüworth, Darsie Latimer in Redgauntlet, Philipson in Anne of Geierstein, to mention only a few. All these wandering figures contribute largely to the action and animation of the story.
A right impression of the life Scott communicates to his story, however, can only be obtained by reading any one of his novels, and comparing it with others written by his contemporaries.
Of the many lively scènes in the Waverley novels we



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mention the battle of Preston1) and the skirmish of Clifton») in Waverley, the passage of arms at Ashby-de-laZouche») and the siege of Front-de-Bceufs castle*) in Ivanhoe, the Baptist's festival in the house of the old Udaller of Burgh-Westra6) and St. Olla's Fair at Kirkwall •) in The Pirate, or the rescue of Julian out of the hands of Bridgenorth7) and Charles holding his court in the queen's apartment8) in Peveril oj the Peak.
In these and many more scènes it strikes the reader how the author paints as if he had been himself a witness of the scène. Scott's imagination was of such a kind that his conceptions were endowed with vitality and he represents them as alive.
As an illustration of Scott's manner of painting his scènes we may take the arrest of Malvoisin in Ivanhoe. Wilfred of Ivanhoe has just fought in the lists as the champion of Rebecca with Bois-Guilbert and the latter has fallen.
"When the first moments of surprise were over, Wilfred of Ivanhoe demanded of the Grand Master, as judge of the field, if he had manfully and rightfully done his duty in the combat.
'Manfully and rightfully hath it been done', said the Grand Master;'I pronounce the raaiden free and guiltless. The arms and the body of the deceased knight are at the will of the victor.'
'I will not despoil him of his weapons,' said the Knight of Ivanhoe, 'nor condemn his corpse to shame: he hath fought for Christendom. God's arm, no human hand, hath this day struck him down. But let his obsequies be private, as becomes those of a man who died in an unjust quarrel. And for the maiden '
He was interrupted by a clattering of horses' feet, advancing in such numbers, and so rapidly, as to shake the ground before them, and the Black Knight galloped into the lists. He was followed by a numerous band of men-at-arms, and several knights in complete arm our.
'I am too late,' he said, looking around him. 'I had doomed Bois-Guilbert for mine own property. Ivanhoe, was this well, to
]) Chapter XLVII.
') Chapter LIX.
») Chapter XII.
*) Chapter XXIX sqq.
s) Chapter XII sqq.
") Chapter XXI sqq.
0 Chapter XXV.
8) Chapter XLV sqq.



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take on thee such a venture, and thou scarce able to keep thy saddle?'
'Heaven, my Liege', answered Ivanhoe, 'hath taken this proud man for its victim. He was not to be honoured in dying as your will had designed-'
'Peace be with him,' said Richard, looking steadfastly on the corpse, 'if it may be so; he was a gallant knight, and has died in his steel harness full knightly. But we must waste no time. Bohun, do thine office 1'
A knight stepped forward from the King's attendants, and, laying his hand on the shoulder of Albert de Malvoisin, said, 'I arrest thee of high treason.'
The Grand Master had hitherto stood astonished at the appearance of so many warriors. He now spoke.
'Who dares to arrest a knight of the Temple of Zion, within the girth of his own preceptory, and in the presence of the Grand Master? and by whose authority is this bold outrage offered?'
'I make the arrest', replied the knight — 'I, Henry Bohun, Earl of Essex, Lord High Constable of England.'
'And he arrests Malvoisin,' said the King, raising his visor, 'by the order of Richard Plantagenet, here present. Conrade MontFitchet, it is well for thee thou art bom no subject of mine. But for thee, Malvoisin, thou diest with thy brother Philip ere the world be a week older.'
'I will resist thy doom', said the Grand Master.
'Proud Templar', said the King, 'thou canst not: look up, and behold the royal Standard of England floats over thy towers instead of thy Temple bannerl Be wise, Beaumanoir, and make no bootless opposition. Thy hand is in the lion's mouth.'
'I will appeal to Rome against thee,' said the Grand Master, 'for usurpation on the immunities and privileges of our order.'
'Be it so,' said the King; 'but for thine own sake tax me not with usurpation now. Dissolve thy chapter, and depart with thy followers to thy next preceptory, if thou canst find one which has not been made the scène of treasonable conspiracy against the King of England. Or, if thou wilt, remain, to share our hospitality and behold our justice.'
'To be a guest in the house where I should command?' said the Templar; "'never 1 Chaplains, raise the Psalm, Quare fremuerunt gentesf Knights, squires, and followers of the Holy Temple, prepare to follow the banner of Beau-seantf
The Grand Master spoke with a dignity which confronted even that of England's king himself, and inspired courage into his surprised and dismayed followers. They gathered around him like



— QO —
the sheep around the watch-dog, when they hear the baying of the wolf. But they evinced not the timidity of the scaredflock: there were brows dark of defïance, and looks which menaced the hostility they dared not to proffer in words. They drew together in a dark line of spears, from which the white cloaks of the knights were visible among the dusky garments of their retainers, like the lighter-coloured edges of a sable cloud. The multitude, who had raised a clamorous shout of reprobation, paused and gazed in silence on the formidable and experienced body to which they had unwarily bade defiance, and shrunk back from their front."
The Earl of Essex now arrays his followers in opposition to a band so formidable. Richard alone challenges the Templars to break a lance with him. The Grand Master, however, forbids his knights to fight and gives them the signal of departure, which they obey in such a way that the king is moved to admiration.
"'By the splendour of our Lady's brow!' said King Richard, 'it is pity of their lives that these Templars are not so trusty as they are disciplined and valiant.'
The multitude, like a timid cur which waits to bark till the object of its challenge has turned his back, raised a feeble shout as the rear of the squadron left the ground." J)
By this quotation we can somewhat judge 'of Scott's skill in imparting life and colour to his story. We see the images he uses, the comparisons he makes, which, taken from daily life, are clear and effective. The sense of motion is also well expressed. Moreover there is the charm of truth in Scott's work, for the writer is never guilty of exaggeration. And altogether we get a life-like picture full of animation, such as was rarely met with in fiction in those days.
No wonder that the reader, comparing the new poetry and prose with what preceded, was struck by the difference and admiring the author's ready imagination and verve became his adherent. Scott's success was sure, and many an aspirant hurried to try his fortune in the wake of Sir Walter.
| It is not only the story that is picturesque, but also the I dialogue.
J Scott's personages indeed talk much, but this, instead of J being a drawback, which it might be in the work of a lesser
') Ivanhoe, Chapter XLIV.



— QI —
writer, becomes the reverse through the author's genius,! which imparts life and truth to his conversations. It is in I these, even, that the picturesque author gains his great\ triumphs, owing to the naturalness of his dialogue, a thing still more difficult to attain than naturalness of story. We must go back to Shakespeare to find anything like the way in which Scott's characters speak. This is already seen in» the romances in verse, where the occasional songs also have their own picturesque beauty.
For an illustration we give the meeting of Fitz-James and his treacherous guide Murdoch of Roderick's clan with a poor maniac in The Lady of the Lake. She is heard singing. " 'They bid me sleep, they bid me pray, They say my brain is warp'd and wrung —
I cannot sleep on Highland brae, I cannot pray in Highland tongue.
But were I now where Allan glides,
Or heard my native Devan's tides,
So sweetly would I rest, and pray
That Heaven would close my wintry dayl
'Twas thus my hair they bade me braid,
They made me to the church repair; It was my bridal mom they said,
And my true love would meet me there. But woe betide the cruel guile, That drown'd in blood the morning smilel And woe betide the fairy dream 1 I only waked to sob and scream.'
'Who is this maid? What means her lay? She hovers o'er the hollow way, And flutters wide her mantle gray, As the lone heron spreads his wing, By twilight, o'er a haunted spring.' —
' 'Tis Blanche of Devan.' Murdoch said,
'A crazed and captive Lowland maid, Ta'en on the mom she was a bride, When Roderick foray'd Devan-side. The gay bridegroom resistance made, And feit our Chiefs unconquer'd blade. I marvel she is now at large, But oft she 'scapes from Maudlin's charge. — Hence, brain-sick fooll' — He raised his bow: —



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'Now, if thou strikest her but one blow, Pil pitch thee from the cliff as far As ever peasant pitch'd a bar!'
'Thanks, champion, thanks!' the Maniac cried, And press'd her to Fitz James's side.
'See the gray pennons I prepare, To seek my true-love through the air; I will not lend that savage groom, To break his fail, one downy plumei No! — deep amid disjointed stones, The wolves shall batten on his bones, And then shall his detested plaid, By bush and briar in mid air staid, Wave forth a banner fair and free. Meet signal for their revelry.'
'Hush thee, poor maiden, and be still!'
'O! thou look'st kindly, and I will.
Mine eye has dried and wasted been,
But still it loves the Lincoln green;
And, though mine ear is all unstrung,
Still, still it loves the Lowland tongue.
'For O my sweet William was forester true, He stole poor Blanche's heart awayl His coat it was all of the greenwood hue, And so blithely he trill'd the Lowland lay!
'It was not that I meant to teil,
But thou art wise and guessest well.'
Then, in a low and brokeu tone,
And hurried note, the song went on.
Still on the Clansman, fearfully,
She fix'd her apprehensive eye;
Then turn'd it on the knight, and then
Her look glanced wildly o'er the glen.
'The toils are pitch'd, and the stakes are set,
Ever sing merrily, merrily; The bows they bend, and the knives they whet,
Hunters live so cheerily.
'It was a stag, a stag of ten,
Bearing its branches sturdily; He came stately down the glen,
Ever sing hardily, hardily.
'It was there he met with a wounded doe,



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She was bleeding death fully; She warn'd him of the toils below, O, so faithfully, faithfully!
'He had an eye, and he could heed, Ever sing warily, warily; He had a foot, and he could speed — Hunters watch so narrowly.' " *)
We notice here the maniac's song, the simile of the hunter, the clansman's boast of his chief and the rude man's brutal insolence, the compassion of the high-bred king, and the fool's thanks, thirst for revenge, and warning, all expressed in appropriate form.
The true conversationalist, however, is found not in the poems, but in the novels. Here the dialogue has a free flow, it even seems as if the characters, each of whom has his word to say, talk for the mere pleasure of talking.2) But all this adds to the naturalness and consequently the picturesqueness of the conversation. For Scott's personages always talk well, however loquacious they may be, and however unimportant sometimes the subject of their gossip. They are vivacious and humorous and not given to artificiality and stiffness. With the utmost ease the clear, sparkling dialogue flows on and enhances the life of the novels.
Yet, however easy and flowing Scott's conversation may be, it varies with character and subject, time and place. But not in such a manner as to make kings and queens forget that they are men and women, or to make beggars and thieves indulge in scurrility of language. All excessesl
9 The Lady of the Lake, Canto Fourth, XXII-XXV.
') Cf. Introduction to 'Lhe Bride of Lammermoor, where Tinto criticizes Pattieson's composition: —
" 'Your characters', he said 'my dear Pattieson, make too much use of the goh box; they patter too much' — (an elegant phraseology, which Dick had learned while painting the scènes of an itinerant company of players) — 'there is nothing in whole pages but chat and dialogue.'"
The answer is also characteristic of Scott: —
'"The ancient philosopher,' said I in reply, 'was wont to say, "speak, that I may know thee;" and how is it possible for an author to introducé his person* dramatis to his readers in a more interesting and effectual manner, than by the dialogue in which each is represented as supporting his own appropriate character?'"
See Dibelius, Englische Romankunst, Vol. II, p. 190.
"Ganz besonders glücklich is Scott darin, die Diktion dem Charakter des Sprechenden anzupassen."



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I are avoided and naturalness is the first principle with the I writer. So Scott's persons of high degree do not talk in the finest strain of impossible dialogue, but express their sentiments in the language such people would naturally use in the circumstances described. Again the gossip of the tavern is given us in such language as we might expect, though the writer does not aim at being more realistic than is necessary for the truthfulness of the picture. In this way the dialogue is a picturesque representation of the characters taking into account all conditions of time, place, and parentage.
How universally picturesque Scott is in his conversation, is seen not only in expressions and similes, but also in words, though he is also careful not to overdo the thing. Now and then an obsolete word or form may be found, if the story belongs to some past age, yet he is always intelligible. Scott freely makes use of dialect and slang, or of Latin or an occasional word of French or German, or any other language. But whenever he thinks it necessary a note or translation helps the reader on, though this is only rarely the case. It is, however, more especially in the Standard and the style of the dialogue that he indicates the condition and rank of the speakers.
The way in which princes talk in Scott's novels may be seen in the conversation in The Talisman between the physician El Hakim or Saladin in disguise and Richard of England about the life of Sir Kenneth. Several persons have already interceded for the condemned knight only to make the king the angrier, till at last the physician also pleads for his life. Then Richard breaks out laughing as the ridiculous side of this succession of intercessors strikes his fancy.
"At length, the sage addressed the King, when he saw him more composed.
'A doom of death should not issue from laughing lips. Let
thy servant hope that thou hast granted him this man's life.'
'Take the freedom of a thousand captives instead,' said Richard, 'restore so many of thy countrymen to their tents and families, and I will give the warrant instantly. This man's life can avail thee nothing, and it is forfeited.'
'All our lives are forfeited,' said the Hakim, putting his hand to his cap. 'But the great Creditor is merciful, and exacts not the pledge rigorously nor untimely.'



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'Thou canst show me,' said Richard, 'no special interest thou hast to become intercessor betwixt me and the execution of justice, to which I am sworn as a crowned king'.
'Thou art sworn to the dealing forth mercy as well as justice,' said El Hakim; 'but what thou seekest, great King, is the execution of thine own will. And for the concern I have in this request, know that many a man's life depends upon thygranting this boon.'
'Explain thy words,' said Richard; 'but think not to impose upon me by false pretexts.'
•Be it far from thy servant I' said Adonbec. 'Know, then, that the medicine to which thou, Sir King, and many one beside, owe their recovery, is a talisman, composed under certain aspects of the heavens, when the Divine Intelligences are most propitious. I am but the poor administrator of its virtues. I dip it in a cup of water, observe the fitting hour to administer it to the patiënt, and the potency of the draught works the cure.' "
The king ridicules the rare commodity of the medicine, but the Hakim praises its virtue, and requires the life of the criminai. Richard, however, is not to be warned and hardens himself, which angers the physician.
"'And is it thus the most renowned Prince of Frangistan repays benefit done to his royal person?' said El Hakim, exchanging the humble and stooping posture, in which he had hitherto solicited the King, for an attitude lofty and commanding. Know, then,' he said, 'that through every court of Europe and Asia — to Moslem and Nazarene — to knight and lady — wherever harp is heard and sword worn — wherever honour is loved and infamy detested, every quarter of the world will I denounce thee, Melech Ric, as thankless and ungenerous; and even the lands — if there be any such — that never heard of thy renown, shall yet be acquainted with thy shamel'
'Are these terms to me, vile infidel', said Richard, striding up to him in fury. 'Art weary of thy life?'
'StrikeI' said El Hakim; 'thine own deed shall then paintthee more worthless than could my words, though each had a hornet's sting.'
Richard turned fiercely from him, folded his arms, traversed the tent as before, and then exclaimed,'Thankless and ungenerous? — as well be termed coward and infidel 1 — Hakim, thou hast chosen thy boon; and though I had rather thou hadst asked my crownjewels, yet I may not, king-like, refuse thee. Take this Scot, therefore, to thy keeping; the provost will deliver him to thee on this warrant.
He hastily traced one or two lines, and gave them to the phy-



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sician. Use him as thy bond-slave, to be disposed of as thou wilt — only, let him beware how he comes before the eyes of Richard. Hark thee, thou art wise; he hath been over bold among those in whose fair looks and weak judgments we trust our honour, as you of the East lodge your treasures in caskets of silver wire, as fine and as frail as the web of a gossamer.
Thy servant understands the words of the King, said the sage, at once resuming the reverent style of address in which he had commenced. 'When the rich carpet is soiled, the fooi pointeth to the stain, the wise man covers it with his mantle. I have heard my lord's pleasure, and to hear is to obey.'
'It is well,' said the King; 'let him consult his own safety, and never appear in my presence more. — Is there aught else in which I may do thee pleasure?'
'The bounty of the King hath filled my cup to the brim,' said the sage; yea, it hath been abundant as the fountain which sprung up amid the camps of the descendants of Israël, when the rock was stricken by the rod of Moussa Ben Amran.'
'Ay, but,' said the King, smiling, 'it required, as in the desert, a hard blow on the rock ere it yielded its treasures. I would that I knew something to pleasure thee, which I might yield as freely as the natural fountain sends forth its waters.'
'Let me touch that victorious hand,' said the sage, 'in token, that if Adonbec el Hakim should hereafter demand a boon of Richard of England, he may do so, yet plead his command.'
'Thou hast hand and glove upon it, man,' replied Richard; 'only, if thou couldst consistently make up thy tale of patients without craving me to deli ver from punishment those who have deserved it, I would more willingly discharge my debt in some other form.'
'May thy days be multipliedl' answered the Hakim, and withdrew from the apartment after the usual deep obeisance." *)
In this passage we can fully appreciate how picturesque and natural Scott's dialogue is. The difference between him and his predecessors in the art of novel-writing is indeed great. His princes, even when more or less romantic, as in the instance given above, speak in a natural way?s) In
0 The Talisman, Chapter XVIII.
O "The conversations and speeches of kings and heroes which classic historians and artists have so often attempted, from Thucydides and Livy, to Delaroche, Landor and Browning, and so rarely achieved — this most difficult of tasks Sir Walter essayed! ^Xlth what success, let the reader turn to the interview of Mary and Lindesay, James I and Heriot, Richard and Saladin, Louis XI and Charles the Bold, Elizabeth and Burleigh; let him turn to these and to Scott's delineations of Cromwell, Montrose, the Young



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Louis XI in Quentin Durward and in James I in The Fortunes of Nigel we have kings of quite a different stamp, and their conversation is in accordance with their characters. The picturesque writer delights in the peculiarities of his personages. Hence James with his broad Scotch, and his Latin learning is drawn with genius; so is the mean and hypocritic, yet crafty and calculating Louis.
And how many of Scott's characters lead lives the very opposite of hum-drum or commonplace, a circumstance which is reflected in their talk. There are statesmen and magistrates, preachers and pedagogues, lawyers and peasants, but also soldiers and pirates, fiddlers and beggars, and each has his individual way of talking. The insinuating tone of the courtier is heard, as well as the overbearing bluster of the bully, and we might enumerate many more varieties, each characteristic of the rank and standing of the speaker.
It will perhaps not be out of place here to draw attention to the fashionable gallant's conversation in Peveril of the Peah1) or to the Duke of Buckingham conversing with Christian, the colonel, and Jerningham, each in their turn, in the same novel.s) The bully we hear in the noble Captain Colepepper, come to visit Master Grahame, in The Fortunes of Nigel.s) In the audience of Jeanie Deans with the queen in The Heart of Midlothian we hear the Scottish Puritan woman in her serious talk. *) Lighter is the conversation of the Countess of Leicester with the pedlar in Kenüworth.s) Gipsies and sailors are heard conversing in Guy Mannering, when Meg Merrilies protects Brown.6) Thus there is the greatest variety of dialogue, but always the same vividness.
How easily the dialogue flows in Scott's works is seen in numerous scènes in inns and households.7)
Pretender in youth and decline, Queen Caroline, Claverhouse — and then decide for himself."
The Bookman by Seccombe and Nicoll, Vol. II, p. 406 sq. Chapter XXVII.
») Chapter XXXVIII.
Ó Chapter XXIII.
4) Chapter XXXVII.
s) Chapter XX.
| Chapter XXVIII.
*) Cf. The Bookman by Seccombe and Nicoll, Vol. II, p. 406. "The excellence of the dramatic talk of what Malvolio would call 'the lighter people' in Scott's novels is generally accepted."
7



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As one more illustration of the writer's skill in picturesque dialogue we give the scène in The Bride of Lammermoor, in which Mr. Girder, the cooper, returns with the minister to have his child christened and finds the wild-fowl gone. His wife and mother-in-law, preparing the feast, have had a visit from Caleb Balderston, who took part of the good things with him. A violent altercation is expected.
"Both hoped to protract the discovery of what had happened — the mother, by interposing her bustling person betwixt Mr. Girder and the fire, and the daughter by the extreme cordiality with which she received the minister and her husband, and the anxïous fears which she expressed lest they should have 'gotten cauld '
'Cauld?' quoth the husband surlily - for he was not of that class of lords and masters whose wives are viceroys over them — 'we'11 be cauld eneuch, I think, if ye dinna let us in to the fire'
And so saying, he burst his way through both lines of defence; and, as he had a careful eye over his property of every kind he perceived at one glance the absence of the spit with its savoury burden. 'What the deil, woman.' —
'Fie for shame I' exclaimed both the women; 'and before Mr. Bidethe-Bentl'
'I stand reproved,' said the cooper; but'
'The taking in our mouths the name of the great enemy of our souls,' said Mr. Bide-the-Bent —
— 'I stand reproved', said the cooper.
- «Is an exposing oursel's to his temptations', continued the reverend minister, 'and an inviting, or in some sorta compelling, of him to lay aside his other trafficking with unhappy persons and wait upon those in whose speech his name is frequent.'
'Weel, weel, Mr. Bide-the-Bent, can a man do mair than stand reproved?' said the cooper; but just let me ask the women what for they hae dished the wild-fowl before we came'
'They arena dished, Gilbert,' said his wife; 'but - but an accident' —
«What accident?' said Girder, with flashing eyes — 'Nae ill • come ower them, I trust? Uh?'
His wife, who stood in awe of him, durst not reply; but her mother bustled up to her support, with arms disposed as if they were about to be a-kimbo at the next reply, _ 'I gied them to an acquamtance of mine, Gibbie Girder; and what about it now?'
Her excess of assurance struck Girder mute for an instant. 'And ye gied the wild-fowl, the best end of our christening dinner, to a friend of yours, ye auld rudasl And what might hts name be, I pray ye?'



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'Just worthy Mr. Caleb Balderston frae Wolfs Crag', answered Marion, prompt and prepared for battle.
Girder's wrath foamed over all restraint. If there was a circumstance which could have added to the resentment he feit, itwas, that this extravagant donation had been made in favour of our friend Caleb, towards whom, for reasons to which the reader is no stranger, he nourished a decided resentment.1) He raised his riding-wand against the elder matron, but she stood firm, collected in herself, and undauntedly brandished the iron ladle with which she had just been flambing {Anglicé, basting) the roast of mutton. Her weapon was certainly the better, and her arm not the weakest of the two; so that Gilbert thought it safest to turn short off upon his wife, who had by this time hatched a sort ofhysterical whine, which greatly moved the minister, who was in fact as simple and kind-hearted a creature as ever breathed. — 'And you, ye thowless jaud, to sit still and see my substance disponed upon to an idle, drunken, reprobate, worm-eaten serving-man, just because he kittles the lugs o' a silly auld wife wi' useless clavers, and every twa words a lee? — 1'U gar you as gude' —
Here the minister interposed, both by voice and action, while Dame Lightbody threw herself in front of her daughter and nourished her ladle.
'Am I no to chastise my ain wife ?' exclaimed the cooper, very
indignantly.
'Ye may chastise your ain wife if ye like', answered Dame Lightbody; 'but ye shall never lay finger on my daughter, and that ye may found upon.'
'For shame, Mr. Girder 1' said the clergyman; 'this is what I little expected to have seen of you, that you suld give rein to your sinful passion against your nearest and your dearest; and this night, too, when ye are called to the most solemn duty of a Christian parent — and a'for what f for a redundancy of creaturecomforts, as worthless as they are unneedful.'
'Worthlessl' exclaimed the cooper; 'a better guse never walkit on stubble; twa finer, dentier wild-ducks never wat a feather.'
'Be it sae, neighbour,' rejoined the minister; 'but see what superfluities are yet revolving before your fire. I have seen the day when ten of the bannocks which stand upon that board would have been an acceptable dainty to as many men, that were starving on hills and bogs, and in caves of the earth, for the gospel's sake.
'And that's what vexes me maist of a',' 'said the cooper, anxious
') Caleb had called him a Johnny Newcome in the town.



— IOO —
to get some one to sympathise with his not altogether causeless anger; 'an the quean had gien it to ony suffering saunt, or to onybody ava but that reiving, lying, oppressing Tory villain, that rade in the wicked troop of militia when it was commanded out against the saunts at Bothwell Brig by the auld tyrant Allan Ravenswood, that is gane to his place, I wad the less hae minded
it. But to gie the principal part o' the feastto the like o' him V
'Aweel, Gilbert,' said the minister, 'and dinna ye see a high judgment in this? — The seed of the righteous are not seen begging their bread — think of the son of a powerful oppressor being brought to the pass of supporting his household from your fulness.' "
The wife now drops a word about the lord keeper, who is up yonder at Wolfs Crag, and the mother-in-law tells them of the death of Peter Puncheon, cooper to the queen's stores and whose place is to fill. When all this is confirmed by the foreman. Girder gives private instructions to this servant. This makes the mother-in-law fear that the innocent man has been sent after an armed man and causes the minister also to put in a warning word. Girder vouchsafes no explanation, but orders the dinner to be served up.
The foreman, however, had been sent to offer Caleb a few more presents for the guests at the castle, with the words: —
" 'If onything about Peter Puncheon's place could be airted their way, Gilbert Girder wad mak it better to the Master of Ravenswood than a pair of new gloves; and that he wad be blithe to speak wi' Maister Balderston on that head, and he wad find him as pliant as a hoop-willow in a* that he could wish of him.'"J) We can see here how Scott's dialogue is indeed a picture. Mother-in-law and minister, foreman and cooper speak as such people would have spoken in real life and as with all Scott's characters, they are not only natural as types of a class, but also as individuals. Their talk helps to make them living men and women to the reader, but also reveals their characters and their position in life. j The dialogue with Scott is always vivid, and the many jfigures taken from daily life add to its picturesque effect, jln its natural and dramatic character, too, it marks Scott jas the romantic writer. Yet the author does not aim at fgiving an accurate picture of life, he is neither realistic nor 0 The Bride of Lammermoor, Chapter XII.



— IOI —
prosaic. Guided by his genius, and his imagination stimulated by his knowledge, he belongs entirely to the romantic school. And so even his dialogue in its picturesque qualities is an advance upon that of the eighteenth century novelists.
The romantic writer is also seen in the picturesque descriptions.x) The classical writers of the Age of Reason were descriptive in their own way. They spoke of man and woman, of beast and flower, of mountain and valley, but their phrases were merely cold and conventional, and had no feeling in them. They also lacked imagination. And only too often a laboured periphrasis was used instead of the name of an object, even by the first poets of natural description. *) Fielding and Richardson both brought about a change for the better in the novel, but it is with Scott that we get the picturesque description. He had all the necessary qualifications for this. As a romantic writer he was imaginative and synthetic. Moreover he possessed the art of the narrator in an unusual degree. Hence the beautiful descriptions in which we must not look for the analytic spirit of the classic writer, but which for this very reason, are so many vivid pictures.
Scott is an author who takes a personal interest in what he writes about. His men and women are the children of his imagination; he knows them and describes them in such a manner that the reader also becomes acquainted with them, and recognizes them at once when he meets them again in the same story. For it is a peculiarity of Scott's that his characters are so well individualized that we never meet with the same again under another name. It is the same with the descriptive writer who paints natural scenery. He describes a place, not in general terms but so that the reader has a mental picture of it as a particular spot difïering from any other. And so whenever Scott describes,
') Cf. Saintsbury, A Short History of Enghsh Literature, p. 681, where he says about Scott: —
"He added to the gallery of imaginary personages more and greater figures than had been added by any one except Shakespeare. He did what even Shakespeare had been prevented by his medium of communication from doing with equal fulness - he provided a companion gallery of landscape and 'interior' such as had never been known before."
3) Thomson speaks of "the household feathery people" for pouHry, and Cowper of "the feathered tribe domestic."



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t^.,sPecializes but never generalizes._That he is rugged and bare rather than pretty and rich is a more personal quality.l) As a romantic poet Scott did away with classical poetic diction. Not every young man is a swain with him, or every young woman a nymph. His persons are no longer abstract beings but living men and women. As such they are drawn with the most picturesque distinctiveness and with richest variety. Deloraine and Cranstoun in The Lay of the Last Minstrel, Marmion and Douglas in Marmion, De Argentine and Roland in The Lord of the Isles are all knights, but not one resembles another. Similarly Ellen in The Lady of the Lake, Matilda in Rokeby, Eivir in Harold the Dauntless have all strongly marked and different characteristics. Scott in describing his ladies and maidens does not speak in general terms of their beauty and dress, but he specializes, giving every garment's colour and style as well as material, nor does he forget anything that may add to the picturesque description of form and face. Every reader of The Lady of the Lake knows the beautiful picture of Ellen, in which even step and accent are given. The men, whether kings or knights, pages or thralls, are depicted in the same way, and here, too, the poet describes the lines in the face, the colour of the hair, the articles of dress, and anything distinctive and individualizing. One illustration may suffice to show Scott's manner of describing his men and women, for which we take the picture of Marmion: —
"Along the bridge Lord Marmion rode,
Proudly his red-roan charger trode,
His helm hung at the saddlebow;
') It is also characteristic of the historical novelist that the impression picturesque scenery made on him was very different from that made by an old castle or a field of battle.
Cf. Lockhart's Life of Sir Walter Scott, Vol. I, p. 51.
"My principal object in these excursions was the pleasure of seeing romantic scenery, or what aflörded me at least equal pleasure, the places which had been distinguished by remarkable historical events. The delight with which I regarded the former of course had general approbation, but I often found it difficult to procure sympathy with the interest I feit in the latter. Yet to me the wandering over the field of Bannockburn was the source of more exquisite pleasure than gazing upon the celebrated landscape from the battiements of Stirling castle."
By study, however, Scott added to a natural sense of the picturesque in action proficiency in the tracing of the picturesque in nature.



— io3 —
Well by his visage you might know He was a stalworth knight, and keen, And had in many a battle been; The scar on his brown cheek reveal'd A token true of Bosworth field ; His eyebrow dark, and eye of fire, Show'd spirit proud, and prompt to ire, Yet lines of thought upon his cheek Did deep design and counsel speak. His forehead, by his casque worn bare, His thick moustache, and curly hair, Coal-black, and grizzled here and there,
But more through toil than age; His square-turn'd joints, and strength of limb, Showed him no carpet knight so trim, But in close fight a champion grim,
In camps a leader sage.
Well was he arm'd from head to heel,
In mail and plate of Milan steel;
But his strong helm of mighty cost,
Was all with burnish'd gold emboss'd:
Amid the plumage of the crest,
A falcon hover'd on her nest,
With wings outspread, and forward breast;
E'en such a falcon, on his shield,
Soar'd sable in an azure field:
The golden legend bore aright,
SB&o checff at ine, to beau) if btgfit.
Blue was the charger's broider'd rein;
Blue ribbons deck'd his arching mane;
The knightly housing's ample fold
Was velvet blue, and trapp'd with gold."1) The forcefulness with which Scott portrays his knight is really grand. We almost see Marmion in the flesh and the same firm touch is found in many another portrait.
The picturesque writer, however, also paints the lives of his personages, their manners and customs, as well as their feasts and battles. He gives a complete picture of his characters.
Moreover the stage on which the characters act is described. The author depicts castles and abbeys, both inside and outside, camps and whatever belongs to the scenery.
l) Marmion, Canto First, V, VI.



— io4 —
. And in all this, too, Scott is always the picturesque writer, jwho reconstructs buildings from ruined rem ai ns, paints what lus imagination has seen, or describes what his historical Imsight has taught him. In this way we get the impression of a picture of some real scène with a sense of local colour pervading the whole. As a few instances of Scott's painting we may mention the description of the abbey of Melrose m The Lay of the Last Minstrel, of the Scottish camp in Marmton,*) and of the sports in the castle-yard in The Lady of the Lake.*)
Scott is also the painter of battlefields, and ruins, and \ of natural scenery. He had an open eye for the beauties | of nature and his work shows that he knew how to paint them. He especially delights in romantic scenery and in places distinguished as the scènes of historie events. The romances ia verse, in which, for the greater part, the scènes are laid in Scotland, offered him ample scope for the display of hls talents. The scène of The Lay of the Last Minstrel, with the beautiful description of the ruins of Melrose,*) and that of Marmion is Tweedside, while the latter poem also contains a splendid picture of the landscape round Edinburgh as seen from Blackford Hill.») Loch Katrine and the Trossachs are depicted in The Lady of the Lake, Rokeby describes the scenery of Yorkshire, and The Lord of the Isles takes the reader to the Western Highlands. And in all these descriptions the author does not lose himself in meaningless words, but vividly paints a definite locality.«) How much the writer loves his own country is heard in the splendid apostrophe to Caledonia, forming part of the song ofpatriotism found in The Lay of the Last Minstrel.7)
') Canto Second, II sqq. D Canto Fifth, I sqq. ') Canto Fifth, XX sqq. ■*) Canto Second, I. ') Canto Fourfh, XXX.
«) See Yonge, Life and Writings of Sir Walter Scott, pp 74 75 "The sldll with which, in all the poems, the perfect consistency of «ach character is throughout preserved, may not be passed over, nor the rare picturesqueness of painting with which the beauties of every variety of scenery, rock, wood, meadow, or torrent, separately or mingled, are brought
£S h ^ uWhh 3 ^ fiddity' Whkh' if ««bsequently equalled *i Chdde Harold, has never, I think, been surpassed." ') Canto Sixth, I, II.



— io5 —
The following may serve as an illustration of Scott's scenery. The picture is of Coriskin, the dark lake, and Coslin, the high ridge, in The Lord oj the Isles. Bruce and Ronald are wandering in their neighbourhood and the scène makes the king exclaim: —
" 'St. Mary I what a scène is here I — I've traversed many a mountain-strand,
Abroad and in my native land. And it has been my lot to tread Where safety more than pleasure led; Thus, many a waste I've wander'd o'er, Clombe many a crag, cross'd many a moor,
But, by my halidame, A scène so rude, so wild as this, Yet so sublime in barrenness, Ne'er did my wandering footsteps press, Where'er I happ'd to roam.'
No marvel thus the Monarch spake;
For rarely human eye has known A scène so stern as that dread lake,
With its dark ledge of barren stone. Seems that primeval earthquake's sway Hath rent a strange and shatter'd way
Through the rude bosom of the hill, And that each naked precipice, Sable ravine, and dark abyss,
Tells of the outrage still. The wildest glen, but this, can show Some touch of Nature's genial glow; On high Benmore green mosses grow, And heath-bells bud in deep Glencroe,
And copse on Cruchan-Ben; But here, — above, around, below,
On mountain or in glen, Nor tree, nor shrub, nor plant, nor flower, Nor aught of vegetative power,
The weary eye may ken. For all is rocks at random thrown, Black waves, bare crags, and banks of stone;
As if were here denied The summer sun, the spring's sweet dew, That clothe with many a varied hue



— io6 —
The bleakest mountain-side.
And wilder, forward as they wound, Were the proud cliffs and lake profound. Huge terraces of granite black Afforded rude and cumber'd track;
For from the mountain hoar, Hurl'd headlong in some night of fear, When yell'd the wolf and fled the deer,
Loose crags had toppled o'er; And some, chance-poised and balanced, lay, So that a stripling arm might sway
A mass no host could raise, In Nature's rage at random thrown, Yet trembling like the Druid's stone
On its precarious base. The evening mists, with ceaseless change, Now clothed the mountains' lofty range,
Now left their foreheads bare, And round the skirts their mantle furl'd, Or on the sable waters curl'd, Or on the eddying breezes whirl'd,
Dispersed in middle air. And oft, condensed, at once they lower, When, brief and fierce, the mountain shower
Pours like a torrent down, And when return the sun's glad beams, Whiten'd with foam a thousand streams Leap from the mountain's crown." J) Rugged and bare as the description is, it is full of its own beauties and characteristic of Scott's manner.
In passing on to the novels, we find description of the same kind. The writer, however, expands his night here His personages are no longer limited to brave knights and ladies fair, nor is the choice of place restricted to Scotland or to England.
The picturesque writer remains, with wonderful vividness and fidehty painting his many and various personages. And always Scott is careful to emphasize what is most prominent in dress or appearance in order to make his portraits as
9 The Lord of the Mes, Canto Third, XIII-XV.



— ÏOJ —
lifelike as possible. He does not speak of regular features, of beautiful hair, or of a picturesque costume, nor does he overwhelm his reader with so many details of description that no general effect is made, but his pictures are drawn in bold outlines with all the necessary touches. So the portraits are full-length, giving the same impression as the persons themselves would have made, nothing characteristic having been forgotten.
It is especially in the portraits of kings and queens that we can admire the picturesque writer of the new prose. Any attempt to paint royal personages in novels before Scott's time had miscarried owing to utter lack of naturalness. The romantic writer, however, left the impossible heights of the heroic romance and turned to nature. In many another picture the work of Fielding was continued, but here, too, there was an improvement; moreover the gallery of Scott's portraits is larger by far.
Scott takes his figures from every rank and class of society and they are all painted with the same truth to nature. It is owing to the author's talent for the picturesque that notwithstanding the great number of personages in the Waverley novels we scarcely find two alike. And when, in some one point we do find a resemblance between two persons, the fulness of the description causes this to be lost among the many rjoints of difference.
As an example of the manner in which Scott describes a woman and a queen we may take the portrait of Queen Mary in The Abbot.x) Face and form are painted with picturesque distinctness, while the writer dwells with love and care upon her appearance contrasting it with that of Lord Lindesay in his travel-stained and disordered dress. Another beautiful picture in the same novel is that of Catherine Seyton.2) The Fortunes of Nigel contains the portrait of King James I, remarkable for the description of his dress.8) Sir Mungo Malagrowther with his grotesque physiognomy, emaciated form, and faded embroidery*) also shows us the powers of
>) Chapter XXI sqq. 5) Chapter X sqq. ») Chapter V sqq. 4) Chapter VI sqq.



— io8 —
the artist at their best, as well as Vincent and Jenkin, both apprentices of David Ramsay's.J) In Guy Mannering we have the tall, ungainly figure of Dominie Sampson with his long, sallow visage, goggle eyes, huge underjaw, and threadbare black coat. *) Meg Merrilies, six feet high in her man's greatcoat and provided with a sloe-thorn cudgel8) is another striking portrait in the novel. We might draw attention to Louis XI, Durward, Le Balafré, and William de la Marck in Quentin Durward, and to many more pictures in the Waverley novels. But to fully illustrate Scott's skill in picturesque description, we give here the portraits of Gurth and Wamba in Ivanhoe set in the frame of the medieval landscape.
"The sun was setting upon one of the rich grassy glades of that forest which we have mentioned in the beginning of the chapter.4) Hundreds of broad-headed, short-stemmed, wide-branched oaks, which had witnessed perhaps the stately march of the Roman soldiery, flung their gnaried arms over a thick carpet 01 the most delicious green sward; in some places they were intermingled with beeches, hollies, and copsewood of various descriptions, so closely as totally to intercept the level beams of the sinking sun ; in others they receded from each other, forming those long sweeping vistas in the intricacy of which the eye delights to lose itself, while imagination considers them as the paths to yet wilder scènes of silvan solitude. Here the red rays of the sun shot a broken and discoloured light, that partially hung upon the shattered bougfas and mossy trunks of the trees, and there they illuminated in brilliant patches the portions of turf to which they made their way. A considerable open space, in the midst of this glade, seemed formerly to have been dedicated to the rites of Druidical superstitions; for, on the summit af a hillock, so regular as to seem artificial, there still remained part of a circle of rough, unhew» stones, of large dimensions. Seven stood upright; the rest had been dislodged from their places, probably by the zeal of some convert to Christianity, and lay, some prostrate near their former site, and others on the side of the hill. One large stone only had found its way to the bottom, and, in stopping the course of a small brook which glided smoothly round the foot of the éminence,
') Chapter II sqq. ') Chapter II sqq. ") Chapter III sqq.
A) The forest between Sheffield and Doncaster.



— IOQ —
gave, by its opposition, a feeble voice of murmur to the placid and elsewhere silent streamlets.
The human figures which completed this landscape were in number two, partaking in their dress and appearance, of that wild and rustic character which belonged to the woodlands of the West-Riding of Yorkshire at that early period. The eldest of these men had a stern, savage, and wild aspect. His garment was of the simplest form imaginable, being a close jacket with sleeves, composed of the tanned skin of some animal, on which the hair had been originally left, but which had worn off in so many places that it would have been difficult to disting'uish, from the patches that remained, to what creature the fur had belonged. This primeval vestment reached from the throat to the knees, and served at once all the usual purposes of body-clothing; there was no wider opening at the collar than was necessary to admit the passage of the head, from which it may be inferred that it was put on by slipping it over the head and shoulders, in the manner of a modern shirt, or ancient hauberk. Sandals, bound with thongs made of boar's hide protected the feet, and a roll of thin leather was turned artificially round the legs, and, ascending above the calf, left the knees bare, like those of a Scottish Highlander. To .make the jacket sit yet more close to the body, it was gathered at the middle by a, broad leathern belt, secured by a brass buckle; to one side of which was attached a sort of scrip, and to the other a ram's hom, accoutred with a mouthpiece, for the purpose of blowing. In the same belt was stuck one of those long, broad, sharp-pointed, and two-edged knives, with a buck'shorn handle, which were fabricated in the neighbourhood, and bore even at this early period the name of a Sheffield whittle. The man had no covering upon his head, which was only defended by his own thick hair, matted and twisted together, and scorched by the influence of the sun into a rusty dark-red colour, forming a contrast with the overgrown beard upon his cheeks. which was rather of a yellow or amber hue. One part of his dress only remains, but it is too remarkable to be suppressed; it was a brass ring, resembling a dog's collar, but without any opening, and soldered fast round his neck, so loose as too form no impediment to his breathing, yet so tight as to be incapable of being removed, excepting by the use of the file. On this singular gorget was engraved, in Saxon characters, an inscription of the following purport; — 'Gurth, the son of Beowulph, is the born thrall of Cedric of Rotherwood.'
Beside the swineherd, for such was Gurth's occupation, was seated, upon one of the fallen Druidical monuments, a person



— IIO —
about ten years younger in appearance, and whose dress, though resembling his companion's in form, was of better materials, and of a more fantastic description. His jacket had been stained of a bright purple hue, upon which there had been some attempt to paint grotesque ornaments in different colours. To the jacket he added a short cloak, which scarcely reached half-way down his thighs; it was of crimson cloth, though a good deal soiled, lined with bright yellow; and as he could transfer it from one shoulder to the other, or at his pleasure draw it all around him, its width, contrasted with its want of longitude, formed a fantastic piece of drapery. He had thin silver bracelets upon his arms, and on his neck a collar of the same metal, bearing the incription, 'Wamba, the son of Witless, is the thrall of Cedric of Rotherwood.' This personage had the same sort of sandals with his companion, but instead of the roll of leather thong, his legs were cased in a sort of gaiters, of which one was red and the other yellow. He was provided also with a cap, having around it more than one bell, about the size of those attached to hawks, which jingled as he turned his head to one side or other; and as he seldom remained a minute in the same posture, the sound might be considered as incessant. Around the edge of this cap was a stiff bandeau of leather, cut at the top into open work, resembling a coronet, while a prolonged bag arose from within it, and feil down on one shoulder like an old-fashioned nightcap, or a jelly-bag, or the head-gear of a modern hussar. It was to this part of the cap that the bells were attached; which circumstance, as well as the shape of his head-dress, and his own half-crazed, half-cunning expression of countenance, sufficiently pointed him out as belonging to the race of domestic clowns or jesters, maintained in the houses of the wealthy, to help away the tedium of those lingering hours which they were obliged to spend within doors. He bore, like his companion, • a scrip attached to his belt, but had neither horn nor knife, being' probably considered as belonging to a class whom it is esteemed dangerous to entrust with edge-tools. In place of these, he was equipped with a sword of Iath, resembling that with which harle<juin operates his wonders upon the modern stage.
The outward appearance of these two men formed scarce a stronger contrast than their look and demeanour. That of the serf, or bondsman, was sad and sullen; his aspect was bent on the ground with an air of deep dejection, which might be almost construed into apathy, had not the fire which occasionally sparkled in his red eye manifested that there slumbered, under the appearance of sullen despondency, a sense of oppression, and a disposition to resistance. The looks of Wamba, on the other hand, indicated,



— III —
as usual with his class, a sort of vacant curiosity, and fidgety impatience of any posture of repose, together with the utmost self-satisfaction respecting his own situation and the appearance which he made."1)
The above description may be somewhat lengthy in its details of outward appearance and rather short in its delineation of the look and demeanour of the two thralls, yet it is characteristic of Scott's manner as is also the sketch of the men's surroundings.
In his novels more than in the metrical romances, Scott found occasion to describe not only the looks and appearance of his personages but also their lives and surroundings. His pictures are complete and lack nothing that could possibly add to their vividness. Thus he describes his characters and their manners and customs, in times of war and peace, in love and in hate, in youth and in old age, as private and as public persons, as individuals and as citizens of the state, while he is always picturesque. He also paint tournaments and fights, duels and battles, scènes in inns and in camps, riots and rebellions, festivals and assemblies of all kinds. Moreover he depicts all kinds of buildings and places of residence, he describes interiors and architecture, and forgets nothing that might be of interest to the reader. Adding to this his description of natural scenery we see how far Scott surpasses his predecessors in the novel. His method is universal and whether the scène of his novel is laid in the past, as it almost exclusively is, or in the present, which is rare with him, he aims at giving a general picture of the time he writes about, and, doing this, he is the first great picturesque writer of romanticism.
Local colour is one of the essential elements of Scott's work. His novels suggest the time and place from which their subject is drawn. That this is so, in itself shows the master of the picturesque.
Selecting a few of Scott's descriptions we may name the tourney in Ivanhoe *) and the competition of archery in the same novel.8) How well he describes both the outward appearance and the different apartments of the dweiling
0 Ivanhoe, Chapter I. ') Chapter VII sqq. *) Chapter XIII.



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of Cedric the Saxon!1) We may compare with itthecastellated building of the Norman Front-de-Bceufs) and the ancient Saxon fortress of Coningsburghs) and also admire the picture of the hut of the Holy Clerk of Copmanhurst. *) Throughout the book the forest landscape of York is found. In Anne of Geierstein there is a picture of the camp of the Duke of Burgundy in all its martial splendour,6) here, too, the battle is described in which Charles's huge army is overthrown at Granson.") A fine picture, too, is the Golden Fleece of John Mengs, a German inn of the Middle Ages,7) while in the picture of the ancient castle of Geierstein with its neighbouring grounds8) Scott paints a part of Switzerland, and in the description of Arnh eim Castle') the scenery of the Rhine Valley.
Thus the picturesque writer has various masterpieces of description in each of the Waverley novels, and in his skill in making his pictures efiectrve Scott stands out head and shoulders above any preceding novelist and proves himself the great master of the Romantic Revival.
One of Scott's finest pictures is the description of the festival at Martindale Castle in honour of his most sacred Majesty, Charles II, in Peveril of the Peah.10) Here we have the contrast between the Puritans feasting in the large parlour and the Cavaliers in the hall. Picturesquely described, too, is the ancient Sanctuaryat Whitefriars in The Fortunes of Nigel11) and the retreat of Burley with its thundering cataract in Old Morlality.13) But Scott's masterpieces of description are so many and so well-known to his readers that it may suffice to give an illustration of his manner in the picture of Norna's apartment in The Pirate: —
*) Chapter II sqq. ') Chapter XXI sqq. ») Chapter XLI. 4) Chapter XVI. ') Chapter XXV. •) Chapter XXXII. ') Chapter XIX.
8) Chapter Hl.
9) Chapter XXI.
10) Chapter IV.
1') Chapter XVII. ») Chapter XLIH.



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" 'This should be the stair', said the Udaller, blundering in the dark against some steps of irregular ascent — 'This should be the stair, unless my memory greatly fail me; ay, and there she sits', he added, pausing at a half-open door, 'with all her tackle about her as usual, and as busy, doubtless, as the devil in a gale of wind.'
As he made this irreverent comparison, he entered, followed by his daughters, the darkened apartment in which Norna was seated, amidst a confused collection of books of various languages, parchment scrolls, tabiets, and stones inscribed with the straight and angular characters of the Runic alphabet, and similar articles which the vulgar might have connected with the exercise of the forbidden arts. There was also lying in the chamber, or hung over the rude and ill-contrived chimney, an old shirt of mail, with the headpiece, battle-axe, and lance, which had once belonged to it: and on a shelf were disposed, in great order, several of those curious stone-axes, formed of green granite, which are often found in these islands, where they are called thunderbolts by the common people, who usually preserve them as a charm of security against the effects of lightning. There was, moreover, to be seen amid the strange collection, a stone sacrificial knife, used perhaps for immolating human victims, and one or two of the brazen implements called Celts, the purpose of which has troubled the repose of many antiquaries. A variety of other articles, some of which had neither name nor were capable of description, lay in confusion about the apartment; and in one corner, on a quantity of withered sea-weed, reposed what seemed, at first view, to be a large unshapely dog, but, when seen more closely, proved to be a tame seal, which it had been Norna's amusement to domesticate.
This uncouth favourite bristled up in its corner, upon the arrival of so many strangers, with an alertness similar to that which a terrestrial dog would have displayed on a similar occasion; but Norna remained motionless, seated behind a table of rough granite, propped up by misshapen feet of the same material, which, besides the old book with which she seemed to be busied, sustained a cake of the coarse unleavened bread, three parts oatmeal, and one the sawdust of fir, which is used by the poor peasants of Norway, beside which stood a jar of water." J)
Quite in keeping with the description of the apartment is that of the dweiling itself. *)
0 The Pirate, Chapter XXVIII. ') Chapter XXVII.
As to the scène of Norna and her prophecies, it has, undeniably, a certain
8



— ii4 —
As an instance of Scott's nature painting the following illustration may serve from The Antiquary, where the king's beadsman waits in the night for Dousterdivel to look along with him for a hidden treasure.
"The night set in stormy, with wind and occasional showers of rain. 'Eh, sirs,' said the old mendicant, as he took his place on the sheltered side of the large oak-tree to wait for his associate — 'Eh, sirs, but human nature's a wilful and wilyard thingl Is it not an unco lucre o' gain wad bring this Dousterdivel out in a blast o'wind like this, at twal o'clock at night, to thir wild gousty wa's? — and amna I a bigger fule than himself to bide here waiting for him ?'
Having made these sage reflections, he wrapped himself close in his cloak, and fixed his eye on the moon as she waded amid the stormy and dusky clouds, which the wind from time to time drove across her surface. The melancholy and uncertain gleams that she shot from between the passing shadows feil full upon the rifted arches and shafted windows of the old building, which were. thus for an instant made distinctly visible in their ruinous state, and anon became again a dark, undistinguished and shadowy mass. The little lake had its share of these transient beams of light, and showed its waters broken, whitened, and agitated under the passing storm, which, when the clouds swept over the moon, were also distinguished by their sullen and murmuring plash against the beach. The wooded glen repeated, to every successive gust that hurried through its narrow trough, the deep and various groan with which the trees replied to the whirlwind, and the sound sunk again, as the blast passed away, into a faint and passing murmur, resembling the sighs of an exhausted criminal after the first pangs of his torture are over. In these sounds, superstition might have found ample gratification for that state of excited terror which she fears and yet loves. But such feelings made no part of Ochiltree's composition. His mind wandered back to the scènes of his youth." 1).
Scott's descriptions of nature are, however, somewhat rare, though they show how the picturesque writer seeks to exercise his talents for vivid description on everything.
grotesqueness of character. The supernatural was not Scott's proper element.
Cf. The Quarterly Review, Vol. XXVI, p. 466, where we read the fol* lowing judgment: "The whole of this scène, if it was intended to be serious, is an egregious failure."
Yet, notwitstanding the critic's unfavourable opinion both of this scène, and of the work as a whole, the novel exercised a considerable influence.
') The Antiquary, Chapter XXV.



— H5 —
Thus not only are persons, story, and dialogue, each instinct with life, but owing to the picturesque descriptions, this is equally true of any one of Scott's romances as a whole. This characteristic marks the writer as belonging to the Romantic Movement and continuing the fight against Classicism. Moreover he is the creator of the historical novel, in itself a fruit of Romanticism. And thus as the romantic writer of historical tales and novels Scott stands out a central figure in this movement. It is as such that he wins the earofthe public for the new poetry and prose, and that he incites others to imitation and emulation.
Our task will now be to see what influence he exercised on Dutch literature.






BOOK II
SCOTT'S INFLUENCE






CHAPTER I.
SCOTT'S EARLY INFLUENCE.
Scott and the Romantic Revival — Literature in Holland in the beginning of the nineteenth century — the dawn of romanticism — The introduction of Scott's works into Holland —d.j. van Lennep's
DlSSERTATION — MISS DE NEUFVILLE'S SOUIRE — DROST, HIS HERMINGARD AND PESTILENCE at KATWIJK.
The period between 1805, when Scott's first romance in poetry, The Lay of the Last Minstrel, appeared, and 1832, in which year Castle Dangerous, his last novel, saw the light, is the time of the great English writer's literary activity. During this period, after many fruitless attempts on the part of others, Scott not only created the historical tale and novel, but also established its reputation. The 'chansons de geste' of the Middle Ages assumed a new form and the AsiaticGreek-Roman heroes of the French classic romances made way for the great men and women of medieval or later times, both in England and abroad. Scott found his inspiration in the ages after the fail of the Roman empire, and we must not look in his work for pagan mythology or Greek and Latin antiquity. His imagination turned towards the archaeology of northern Europe, and to the mysteries of Christianity as adopted by the once barbarian hordes who destroyed Rome. He was the great writer of romantic dramas with long descriptions, based on the past with its charms of ancient armouries, castles, tales, legends, arts, and customs. His poetry was of the North as opposed to the South. No longer, either in his tales or novels did he analyse or imitate, but setting aside Greek and Roman examples, he set up his own Standard and built up his own synthetic work with all its picturesque beauties.
Thus Scott stands out as the grandmaster of the Romantic Revival.
His success was indeed great, and that not even so much



120
in his own country as abroad. England had had Shakespeare, and in the time of neo-classicism had but borne a foreign yoke. The rest of western Europe, however, had always been more classic. The greater the change when at last romanticism carried the day.
In Holland, especially, Scott's influence was powerful and did much for the Romantic Movement. Roughly speaking this movement covers the period between 1830 and 1880, while it wasjntroduced between 1813 and 1830. And whatever the influence of Germany and France may have been, that of England was preponderant, as Scott, notwithstanding Byron's short ascendency, was the most influential writer.
Yet though Scott began to write as early as 1805, it is only many years later that we can speak of any imitation of the great master. This is due to the almost complete absence of literary life in Holland in the beginning of the nineteenth century, which again is connected with the political condition of the country at that time. Foruptoi8i3 the Netherlands had been practically part and parcel of France and from 1810 had even acknowledged Napoleon as their emperor. The literary activity of preceding ages had almost come to a standstill, nor did literature directly revive after the declaration of independence, but recovered only slowly.
As to the new element brought into literature by Scott, in Holland as well as in England more than one attempt had been made to do what it was reserved for a genius to accomplish in due time. The past had always haunted authors who aimed at making not a chronicle or a legend of it, but a picture as vivid as one of conternporary life. At first, however, historical knowledge was wanting, and later on, history was only used as a cloak to cover a multitude of sins and shortcomings. So we find in the Netherlands as elsewhere the Carlovingian, Arthurian, Eastern, and classic jromances of the Middle Ages, and the heroic romances with their pseudo-classic names of a newer time, the former in verse, the latter in prose. They are all of French origin and fail especially in giving an impression of the past with local colour.
') Among the works on Dutch literature we mention:
Jonckbloet, Geschiedenis der Nederlandsche Letterkunde (Groningen, 1892).



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The novel, however, had also begun to develop, and from being merely a tale of love or adventure had become, more than before, a tale of life. The pastoral and the picaresque novel had been followed by the novels of Betje Wolff and Aagje Deken, in which we recognize the influence of Richardson,x) but where we also have real Dutch work and may admire the picturesque genius of the writers.
The author who tried hardest to continue the class of novel written by Wolff and Deken, and at the same time to bring into it the element of the past is Adriaan Loosjes. In 1808 appeared his "Life of Maurits Lijnslager. A Dutch family history of the seventeenth century" *) in four volumes. If Loosjes had had Scott's genius he might have given us an historical novel, and been the herald of romanticism in Holland. As it is, however, Maurits Lijnslager falls short in every respect of what a novel of the past should be. The writer did his utmost to revive the seventeenth century, but his talents were not equal to the task. To give us a picture of the past, he introducés a large number of persons and events belonging to history, and crowding the pages of the book. The hero of the novel is connected with these in some way or other and represents the good citizen of his time. Yet in reality he is no other than the writer himself, who inculcates his own enlightened views in the cause of patriotism, looking back from the dark present
Jan ten Brink, Geschiedenis der Nederlandsche Letterkunde (Amsterdam, 1897). Kalff, Geschiedenis der Nederlandsche Letterkunde (Groningen, 1912). Te Winkel, De Ontwikkelingsgang der Nederlandsche Letterkunde (Haarlem, 1908-1921).
Prinsen, Handboek tot de Nederlandsche letterkundige Geschiedenis ('s*Gra= venhage, 1916).
The historical novel is treated of in Prinsen, De oude en de nieuwe HistotU sche Roman in Nederland (Leiden, 1919).
') The reader interested in Richardson's influence on Wolff and Deken is referred to Miss Moquette's dissertation: Over de Romans van Wolff en Deken, beschouwd in verband met de romantische scheppingen van Richardson (Rotterdam, 1898).
') Leven van Maurits Lijnslager. Eene Hollandsche familiegeschiedenis uit de 17e eeuw.
For an extensive study of Maurits Lijnslager see De Beweging (Amsterdam, 1905), Vol. I, p. 210 sqq. and p. 319 sqq.: „Maurits Lijnslager" en zijn Ideaal Burgerschap door J. Koopmans.
Also see Busken Huet, Litterarische Fantasiè'n en Kritieken (Haarlem, 1881-1888), Vol. XXIV, p. 171 sqq.



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into the glorious past. Nor is the novel as a work of art I of a high Standard. The picturesque writer is sorely wanting fand imagination is replaced by didactics. Other novels by Loosjes1) are no better, nor was there anything like Scott's work in Holland before the time that the English writer became known there.
Dutch literature was really at a low ebb in the beginning of the nineteenth century.
It is true that by the end of the preceding century, especially under the influence of English and German writers, romanticism had began to assert itself against classicism, but the Age of Reason had not yet come to an end. The revival, which had begun with the ideas found in Macpherson's Ossian and Percy's Reliques, in the poems of Young and Klopstock, and also in the works of Rousseau, had been hindered in its development.
Holland had at first been under French influence, and had later been annexed by France and this condition was not favourable to literature. When in 1830 the Netherlands had been made free, it was some time before there was any literary activity.2) The luxurious, calm rest of the eighteenth century had been followed by decline and slavery, the Restoration brought with it a time of self-complacency and a spirit of moderate liberalism in church and state. It was only after 1830, in which year Belgium declared itself independent of Holland, that the national soul was roused and a better time dawned.
So it is no wonder that while in the beginning of the
') We metely mention :
Lotgevallen van Reinout Jan van Golstein tot Scherpenzeel (1810).
Het Leven van Hillegonda Buisman (1814).
Het Leven van Robbert Hellemans (1815).
Het Leven van Johannes Wouter Blommesteyn (1816).
!) In 1815 Lulofs became professor of Dutch in the University of Groningen. His inaugural speech was Over de Noodzakelijkheid van de Beoefening der eigene Taal en Letterkunde voor de Zelfstandigheid en den Roem van eene natie (On the Necessity of the Cultivation of a National Language and Literature for the Independence and Glory of a nation).
The first professor of national language and eloquence was Matthys Siegenbeek at Leiden as late as 1797. The Patriots were indeed nationalists, but could not prevent the French rule and its consequences. In many houses French was spoken even after the restoration of 1813, the secession of Belgium, however, brought about a change.



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nineteenth century literary life was strong in western Europe, Dutch literature alone lagged behind. England already had; such writers as Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats; Germany had Hoffmann, Tieck, Uhland;l) France Chateau-j briand, Lamartine, Victor Hugo, all of these with many Others, representing more or less the romantic movement,J whereas in Holland romanticism was still in its very beginning.
The most characterestic representative of Dutch literature in the time before Scott's influence was feit, is perhaps the poet Hendrik Tollens (1780—1856). At first he imitated the sentimentality of the eighteenth century as introduced by Feith, himself a follower of Young and Klopstock and one of the forerunners of romanticism in Holland. Soon, however, Tollens became the poet of domestic felicityand contentedness, with poetry which but too easily degenerated into a strain of self-complacency. He was the typical middleclass poet, which may account for the enormous popularity he enjoyed in his own day as is proved by the multitude of his followers and imitators. A large number of ballads and rhymed tales appeared from his hand, among which the Dutch national hymn2) and "The Wintering in NovaZembla" 8). He also translated German, French, and English writers, but his translations show that he never entered into the spirit of the original poems and only reflected himself. So he stood outside the great struggle of romanticism
') The names of Schiller and Goethe may remind us how, by the side of the international movement of romanticism, the classic writers of Greece and Rome also retained their admirers. Thus England had Savage Landor and France had André Chenier. In Holland this spirit is found in David Jacob van Lennep, who," however, introduced Scott's writings to the Dutch.
3) Wien Neevlandsch Bloed. The poem is translated into English by R. G. Antonisz. of Colombo.
"We in whose veins Dutch blood doth flow,
A warm and swelling stream; Whose hearts with filial ardour glow, Join in this sacred theme." etc.
See Mr. Boelen's articles about Ceylon, where there are still many Dutch Burghers, in De Indische Gids and Neerlandia.
*) De Overwintering op Nova Zembla, translated into English under the title of The Hollanders in Nova-Zembla. An Arctic Poem. From the Dutch of Tollens, by Daniël van Pelt, A. M. (1884). Another translation is The Wintering on Nova Zembla, translated from the Dutch by Anglo*Saxon (Leeuwarden, 1860).
The popularity of the Dutch poem is seen in its eleventh impression as late as 1879.



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against classicism and was neither classic by education nor romantic by inclination. Even his versions of some poems by Scott indicate no tracé of the influence of the great master.x) And the rhymed tale of "The Wintering in NovaZembla," going back though it does to an historie event in the glorious days of Holland's seamanship, shows equally little tracé of the influence of Scott s poetic romances.s)
Much more of a character and a poet though far less popular in his time was Willem Bilderdijk (1756—1831). Well educated, also in the classics, and a man of great intellect, his genius and his knowledge cause him to stand head and shoulders above most of his contemporaries. One of the first to oppose the ideas of the Revolution, he belongs to the European reaction against the Age of Reason. His whole life was one struggle against the spirit of the time, whether it rejoiced in the triumph of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, or reposed in contented liberalism, and so he may be called the father of the Religious Revival, which began during his life-time in Holland and was continued by his disciples. He wished poetry to be the expression of feeling, not of thought. The inspired poet cannot but pour forth his inmost soul. Bilderdijk failed, however, in considering poetry too exclusively as effusion of feeling, and in neglecting the art in it. But Bilderdijk's inclination for romanticism is not only found in his theory concerning poetry, it is also seen in his many translations. Macpherson's Ossian, in particular, atracted and inspired him, nor was he ignorant of the later romantic writers including Scott.JJ In many
0 We mention : Het Weesmeisje (Vol. IV, p. 97 sqq.) - The Orphan Maid (The Legend of Montrose), De Jonker van 't Sticht (Vol. VIII, p. 8 sqq.) (De heer van Lennep, deze Romance, even als ik in een Nederlandsch kleed stekende, heeft haar, even als ik, op Gelderschen grond verplaatst, en ze De Heer van Culemborg getiteld.) — Lochinvar (Marmion), Oene van Sneek (Vol.V III, p. 117 sq.) (In het Schotsch: Jock d'Hazeldean.) — Jock of Hazeldean (Guy Mannering).
H. Tollens Cz., Gezamenlijke Dichtwerken (Leeuwarden, 1870).
s) Tollens and Spandaw may be said to be congenial spirits. The latter published his poem Vooruitgang (Progress) as late as 1848. In this he complains of the materialism of his time, the love of novels, the progress of romanticism. He calls himself a friend of progress, but regrets the small popularity enjoyed by poetry, while "the Aristarchus of the Age prefers the Lay of the Nibelungen to the Iliad". Nieuwe en Verspreide Poëzy van Mr. H. A. Spandow. Met aanteekeningen over den Geest en de strekking van Onzen Tijd (Groningen, 1847), p. 83. j
0 It was Da Costa, Bilderdijk's great disciple, who drew the master's



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of his poems he also turned to the Middle Ages for subject and matter, while classicism was distasteful to him on account of its pagan ideas. Yet he could not entirely free himself from the conventionalities of the eighteenth century and his influence waned as Dutch literature developed. How versatile his genius was is seen in the many kinds of literature which he cultivated. His lyrics and love-poems are among the best. An epic in which he aimed at describing the destruction of the first world remained unfinished. Besides these he wrote ballads, didactic poems, and dramas, but no historical picturesque tales.
Quite an independent position, again, is that of the poet Antonie Christiaan Winand StaringJ1767—1840). He did not share Bilderdijk's opinion as regards feeling in poetry; he was not as many-sided as the other; he did not write as many verses, as Tollens, nor was he as popular as this poet. But his few poems show traces of correction and polishing, though they also often bear the stamp of the finished artist. Staring is a great writer of ballads and tales, his few lyrics are full of melody, and he also wrote good epigrams. He studied the great poets of the seventeenth century, and so we find in him the precursor of a later generation who will look to the master works of former days for help in cultivating a national literature. He also read much English, but remained untouched by Scott's influence.
In the above-mentioned representative poets, as well as in many lesser ones, we see the condition of Dutch poetry in the beginning of the nineteenth century.x) There
attention to English romanticism andlent him Scott's Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border and novels.
Translations from Scott by Bilderdijk are: Sint Albaan - The Fire-King, De vloek van 't Burcfóslof Moy -TheCurseofMoy.See.K6ütvri}iisBilderdffk. Zijn Leven en z$n Werken (Amsterdam, 1891), Vol. II, p. 205 sq.
Bilderdijk writes of "de Sint Alban van Southey".
Novels mentioned are: Waverley, Kenüworth, The Abbot, and Ivanhoe. See Brieven van~MT~Willem Bilderdijk (Rotterdam, 1837), Vol. IV, pp. 37, 48, 49.
O^^ThTspirit^óTself.satisfaction breaffiëcTby poetry in Holland in general in seen in Van Kampens Beknopte Geschiedenis der Letteren en Wetenschappen in de Nederlanden OGravenhage, 1821-26). Here the author States his opinion of literature by the end of the period between 1780 and 1820 and says, vol. II, p. 364: -
"De Nederlandsche Dichtkunst; was uit haar diep verval tot eene hoogte ver» rezen, waarin zij nauwelijks in het schitterendste tijdvak der zeventiende eeuw



I2Ó
was the spirit of enlightenment which marked the end of the renaissance and, opposed to this, the spirit of revival, and of awakening romanticism. On these Scott's influence began to make itself feit, for a short time superseded by Byron's, but stronger than his in the end, till gradually poetry died its natural death, only to revive about 1880, when its character changed, becoming social rather than national.
The prose writer of the nineteenth century, before Scotfc, was Johannes Henricus van der Palm (1763—1841). In the history of his life the many political changes of the time are reflected. After the restoration, when professor of poetry and eloquence at Leiden, he was, like Tollens, one of the most popular Dutchmen of his day. Many are the addresses and sermons this orator delivered. They are all written in a classic style with long flowing sentences, and avoiding every excess, express a happy contentedness. The spirit of romanticism was never really understood by Van der Palm, though he was too prudent aggressively to attack it.l).
But in prose, too, romanticism showed its influence. This is seen in Jacob Geel (1789—1862). His early work was classic, then he turned to the romantic writers, *) and so he came to think about the different principles of the old and new schools. He is more especially the writer of criticisms and lectures in a pithy prose, and one of his best-known essays is "The Discourse on the Drachen-
had gestaan" (Dutch poetry had risen out of its profound decay toaheight at which it had hardly stood in the most brilliant period of the seventeenth century).
Very different is Bowring's opinion in his Sketch of the Language and Literature of Holland (Amsterdam, 1829), p. 126:—
"Holland is suffering Under the visitation of an overflowing mediocrity. Many excellent and amiable men, whose poetry would sound sweetiy by the firesides of their little social circle, have received but too much encouragement to break through it, in order to fascinate the world. And in numerous cases an affection for these persons has interposed between them and their work. Sound and severe criticism is wanting — the criticism which while it smites hard, smites well."
0 See Van der Palm's lecture Over het middelmatige (Leijden, 1822), and Verhandeling over Eenheid en Verscheidenheid (1829) in Verhandelingen, Redevoeringen en Losse Geschriften door J. H. van der Palm (Leeuwarden, 1846), Vol. V, p. 295 sqq.
*) Geel translated two fragments of Walter Scott's Lady of the Lake, which he published with an introduction: Proeve eener navolging van de Lady of The Lake van Walter Scott, door J. Geel. Magazijn voor Wetenschappen, Kunsten en Letteren. Verzameld door H. G. van Kampen (Amsterdam, 1822), Vol. I,p. 441 sqq.



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fels," *) in which he treats of classicism and romanticism in the dialogue form of Plato. Geel's work like that of Staring! leaned towards a national romanticism2); the romantic movement, however, outgrew him.
One of the writers of the novel before Scott was Adriaan Loosjes (1761—i8i8).s) He failed in giving the novel of the past in "The Life of Maurits Lijnslager" and many other prose-works, the scènes of which were laid in former days, but he was characteristic of his time in being a writer of enlightenment and by the didactic and ethic quality of his novels. In Petrus de Wacker van Zon (1758—1818) we | have a man who followed all the developments of the \ Revolution and the Restoration. Well-read and of a philosophic turn he liked to show off his knowledge in his novels. | The dialogue in them, however, is often natural and free, i the different scènes are well described and the character- : ization is good. Still written in the picaresque style, the| novels too often suffer from a copiousness of adventures| which makes one lose sight of the principal characters. A> very different writer is Petrus van Limburg Brouwer (1795—! 1847), a professor of classical languages, who also wrote j novels. Inhis"CharicIesandEuphosion"4)(i83i)and DiophanesX (1838) he tried to give a romantic picture of the ancient! Greeks and so to react against romanticism.5) He, however, thought it necessary to excuse himself for putting his professorial name to a novel, and that one written in Dutch.6)
The days when the classics monopolized literature, however, were over,7) and the novel had already begun its glorious
*) Gesprek op den Drachenfels, medegedeeld door J. Geel (Leiden, 1835).
») Geel's most important work is Onderzoek en Phantasie (Leiden, 1838). In its sixth chapter Nieuwe karakter-verdeeling van den stijl he comes forward as a teacher of style.
His influence is seen in the writers and critics Bakhuizen van den Brink and Potgieter. Scott's romantic art was admired, but general sympathy was as yet with the classics.
3) See p. 121 sq.
4) Charicles en Euphosion.
*) Against the Revival in Religion Brouwer wrote Het Leesgezelschap te Diepenbeek, a novel in its kind. *) See preface to Diophanes.
») Perhaps we may draw attention here to Van Kampen's idea of presenting romantic subjects in classic forms. See Van Kampen, Verhandeling over de vraag: welk is het onderscheidend verschil tusschen de Klassieke poëzg der ouden en de dus genoemde Romantische poèzg der nieuweren (Leijden, 1823).



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career. It is here especially that we notice Scott's influence. For though in poetry for some time Scott had a rival in Byron, in prose he reigned almost suprème. The novel was given an entirely new start by him and reached a wonderful development. And so, while the classic novel remained an impossibility, foreign romanticism led the way to the victory of national romanticism.1) Scott's influence on prose even extended into the period after 1880, when naturalism began to lead in prose, and the historical novel has not even yet finished its career in the twentieth century.
Thus Dutch literature in the days of the Romantic Revival was most influenced by English writers and the most influential among them was Scott. Before him the great romantic authors had been read, and had been partly translated and imitated but romanticism had remained an exotic plant in Holland. German romanticism was too sentimental and idealistic for the practical Dutch, French too revolutionary. and immoral2) for those who still remembered the time of French rule and believed in God and morality. But English romanticism, especially as cultivated by Scott, found a fertile soil in Holland.s) Scott was a patriot and drew his inspiration
It was one of the last defences of classicism. In the same way Harvey wanted Spenser to retain the classic meters.
How httle the new movement was understood by Van Kampen as late as 1832 may be seen from his hectare on the influence of English Literature upon the Literature of the Dutch (Amsterdam, 1832/1836), where he says, pp. 41,43: "As to English prose (which, by the bye, occupies but a subordinate place in the literature of England, in the present day) has not a subscription for a Translation, from a master*hand, of Gibbon's classic work, twice miscarried? Yet the veriest rubbish from French and German writers meets with ready sale 1"
*) For romanticism and classicism see Beknopte Stijlleer door W. H. Hassel* bach (Breda, 1889).
For the study of Romanticism in Holland the reader is referred to:
Wat is Romantiek? door J. H. van den Bosch. Taal en Letteren (Zwolle 1892), Vol. II.
De Romantiek in Nederland door C. H. den Hertog. Noord en Zuid (Culem* borg, 1894), Vol. XVII.
Klassiek en Romantiek door J. Prinsen J. Lz. Noord en Zuid, Vol. XXIV.
For the new poetry of the romantic school see Nederlandsche stemmen over Godsdienst, Staat', Geschied- en Letterkunde (Amsterdam, 1835), Vol. III.
*) Cf. De Recensent ook der Recensenten (Amsterdam, 1834), Vol. XXVII, 2, p. 228, about „het buitensporige, ja zelfs woeste der zoogenaamde Fransche romantieke school."
•) For romanticism in the Netherlands and the influence of England, Germany, and France see: • Geschiedenis der Noord-Nederlandsche Letteren in de XLXe



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from the historie past and the scenery of his own country, and in Holland, too, people turned back to former days of glory and renown and looked for the beautiful in their own landscape.1)
At first Scott was only one of the many foreigners who wrote the new poetry and prose, and who began to influence literature in Holland. As such he shared the general hue and cry raised against romanticism by the conservative and classic Dutchmen. Gradually, however, he began to take his own place, and this was especially owing to the historical and picturesque elements found in his work.2) He had found his imitators and followers as well as his admirers. Then the opposition also changed its ground and was no longer against romanticism in general but against its foreign character, and what the critics wantéd was a national Dutch romanticism.
Yet the first effect of Scott's influence was national rather than foreign, though not strong enough to carry the day.
Before discussing this, however, we have to speak of Scott's becoming known in Holland, a process which began about 1820, some fifteen years after the great writer had begun to win the public ear in his own country.
One of the first to understand the great English poet and novelist was William de Clercq, who in December 1821 sent in his Prize Essay to the Second Class of the Royal Dutch Academy in reply to the Inquiry: What has been the Influence of Foreign Literature, more particularly Italian, Spanish, French and German, on the Language and Literature of the Netherlands, from the fifteenth century to the present time? etc. De Clercq was the only person who wrote an essay, and his work shows him a man of extensive learning,
Eeuw door Dr. Jan ten Brink (Rotterdam). Inleiding.
See also Invloed der Engelsche taal en letterkunde op de Nederlandsche door N. Noord en Zuid, Vol. IX.
0 Pride in the nation's past had already been seen in the work of Loosjes as well as in De Hollandsche Natie (Den Haag, 1812), a patriotic poem by Helmers. This was in the time of the French rule. The secession of Belgium in 1830 gave new life to the northern provinces, and this can also be seen in Dutch literature.
') As an historical and social writer Scott is quite distinct from Byron, in whom revolutionary individualism is found. This may help to explain the difference in the influence they exercised.
9



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who understood the different currents of literature. and was competent to perform his task. So it is no wonder that he was awarded the gold medal and asked to improve and revise his work, the result of which was the "Treatise"1) published in 1824. In it we see how well acquainted the writer is with foreign literature in general, including that of England. De Clerq, however, remarks that by the end of the eighteenth century there was a decline in the literary connections of Holland with England, with an increase of those with France and Germany. This he ascribes to the war of the Dutch with the English, at the time of the jAmerican War of Independence .2) About Scott's influence She cannot yet speak, though he is not unacquainted with Jthe new ideas and writes: "Quite a new school of poets has arisen on the other side of the sea. At its head is Byron, the riddle of his contemporaries, alternately the poet of sensuality and of despair, and Scott, the Ossian of the eighteenth century, the bard of Scottish nature and of Scottish heroic deeds."s) More about Scott is found in the postcript, where we also have the memorable words: "The influence of foreign literature must enlighten national literature, , but never overrule it." *) Here de Clercq points out whatever is good in foreign literature and worthy of imitation and then we read: "Let us learn from the English the art of welding form and substance, of making the life of action share in the fruits of contemplation, and by this to make a fruitful impression on the hearts and intelligence of our contemporaries; a union by which even the novel, in the hands of Scotland's most famous poet has become a treasury of historical knowledge and a masterpiece of eloquence."5) It strikes us how De Clercq characterizes Scott's position
') Verhandeling van den Heer Willem de Clercq, ter beantwoording der vraag: Welken invloed heeft vreemde letterkunde, inzonderheid de Italiaansche, Spaansche, Fransche en Duitsche, gehad op de Nederlandsche taal en letterkunde, sints het begin der vijftiende eeuw tot op onze dagen? Met den Gouden Eerepenning bekroond en uitgegeven door de Tweede Klasse van het Koninklijk^Neder» landsche Instituut van Wetenschappen, Letterkunde en Schoone Kunsten. Te Amsterdam, ter Boek» en KunstplaafcDrukkerij van Pieper en Ipenbuur, 1824.
2) See De Clercq's Verhandeling, p. 294.
*) De Clercq's Verhandeling, p. 319 sq.
4) De Clercq's Verhandeling, p. 326.
6) De Clercq's Verhandeling, p. 331.



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with respect to the new poetry and prose, how he welcomes the rising school, and sees new possibilities for the novel.
But not every man of letters had the same broad views.
Lulofs, speaking about Dutch rhetoric in 1822, thought it necessary to qualify the novel as "a literary fruit which did not even grow in the orchard of the ancients",*) and compared a work by Cicero and Sallust to "a good, strong, delicious joint of beef", but a novel to "dainties, tarts, comfits, and such like sweet-stuff."2) Yet he knew how to advise Palaeophilus, if he wanted to write novels, to take some lessons from the Dutch writers "Wolff and Deken, and abroad from the living writer Walter Scott in Great Britain, or from Göthe, Tieck, De la Motte Fouqué and others in Germany".8) Nor could he but acknowledge the right of the moderns to discard the rules of the ancients and recognized the fault of Dutch poetry and poetic literature in being too prosaic, and unimaginative compared with English, Italian, and German literature.4)
So whether finding expression in sympathy with or aversion from the new movement, there were signs of awakening literary life, and the name of Scott was inseparable from them.
About this time, however, the poet and novelist Scott was only known to the few who possessed general literary information, and his influence was more in theory than in practice.
Though some of Scott's poems were translated, these few sporadic versions we might pass by in silence, as well as the later wholesale translations of the novels, if we had not to make an exception in the case of Geel's work.
J. Geel translated two fragments of The Lady of the Lake and first read them, then had them published in 1822 under the modest title of "Specimens of Imitation of Walter Scott's Lady of the Lake.1'^ They are a description of the stag-hunting in Canto the First and the mission of the Fiery Cross in Canto the Third. In an in-
0 Akademische Voorlezingen door Lulofs (Groningen, 1822), Voorbericht, p. viii. ') Lulofs, Akademische Voorlezingen, Voorbericht, p. ix. ') Lulofs, Akademische Voorlezingen, Voorbericht, p. ix. *) See Lulofs, Akademische Voorlezingen, Voorbericht, p. xi sqq. s) Proeve eener navolging van de Lady of the Lake van Walter Scott door J. Geel. Magazijn voor Wetenschappen, Kunsten en Letteren, Vol. I, p. 441 sqq.



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troduction the translater points out the present separation of philosophy from poetry. Poetry is no longer a vehicle for expressing philosophic ideas, but limits itself more to its own sphere; it reasons less, but it paints and describes. This gift of narrating so as to arouse interest and of painting with truth is the peculiar characteristic of the poetry of his century. Convinced of the charm of this enticing and picturesque quality, he feels encouraged to lecture on a poem which is of considerable importance and gives ample proof of the author's gift of true poetic description and is perhaps unique of its kind in this respect.*)
Of Walter Scott Geel says that he is "not only acquainted with the present manners of Scotland's inhabitants, but also familiar with the records of former times" and that "he_ adds to a profound knowledge of Scottish antiquities a vivid imagination, by which he is, as it were, a witness of the deeds of former generations," while he also speaks in high terms of Scott's talents as a poet. ')
Thus Geel, though only speaking about Scott's poetry, jalso saw in him the picturesque narrator of the past and jwanted him to be better and more widely known.
He even intended, as he said in his preface, to give a complete translation of The Lady of the Lake, should some merit, however slight, be generally acknowledged in his attempt,s) but he never carried out this in tention.
Scott only slowly won his way in Holland, and at length became generally known some years later than Geel s lecture, and that not as a poet but as a novelist. i lt was on the 30Ü1 of January 18274) thatD.J. VanLennep jdelivered his famous "Dissertation on the Importance of {the soil and antiquities of Holland for the Cultivation of [feeling and imagination," published in the same year in Van Kampen's "Magazine." 6)
0 See Magazijn voor Wetenschappen, Kunsten en Letteren, Vol. I, p. 443 sqq.
*) Magazijn voor Wetenschappen, Kunsten en Letteren, Vol. I, p. 444 sq.
*) See Magazijn voor Wetenschappen, Kunsten en Letteren, Vol. I, p. 442.
*) As early as 1817 in his lecture in Felix Meritis D. J. van Lennep had already shown his national spirit when he regretted that the relations between Holland and her former colonies had come to an end.
') Verhandeling over het belangrijke van Hollands grond en oudheden voor gevoel en verbeelding door Mr. D. J. van Lennep. Magazijn voor Wetenschappen, Kunsten en Letteren, Vol. VII, p. 113 sqq.



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In this Van Lennep starts from Scott, few writers, according to him, having gained more general renown than he had done. Scott's historical novels, van Lennep says, are eagerly read not only by all who read for recreation's sake, but also by those who read to extend their knowledge. Broadly speaking they are a kind of complement to history, giving what is usually not found in text books, but is necessary for the understanding of the spirit of the time, namely a faithful description of the manners, ideas, and customs then prevalent and giving this in an interesting forrh. Generally the characters in these novels are not historical, but they are typical of their age, and when^historical their portrait is true to history. So Scott in his novels gives a picture of the time he writes about by means of the persons he puts on his stage, their appearance, actions, and manner of life. But besides this the writer paints the surroundings of his characters, the scènes in which they perform their parts. And the poet-novelist excels in painting the scenery of Scotland, his own country.
Great has been the success of Walter Scott's novels which has caused them to be imitated very often and by many writers, but the combination of wide knowledge and feeling and imagination necessary in writing of the past makes it difficult to imitate the master. Even Scott himself (and here too Van Lennep shows how well-read he is in the Waverley novels) made mistakes, as when in one of his novels an inhabitant of Liège speaks Flemish, and a Fleming broken German. Walter Scott, however, does not err when writing about his own country.
In Holland the author of Ivanhoe has as yet found no imitators, though Loosjes has already written Maurits Lynslager a representation of the manners of the Dutch citizens of the seventeenth century. Yet there is reason for wonder that there are no pictures of former days with the characteristic beauties of Holland's scenery in them. It is true that proficiency in literature and history would be necessary in conjunction with powers of mind and imagination, buta writer would not lack subject matter in Holland's history, or picturesque beauties in her natural scenery. Thus Van Lennep turns to the importance of the soil and antiquities of Holland as sources of feeling and imagination.



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He now draws a comparison between a Swiss on his Alpine heights and a Dutchman on the top of his dunes. Both see a land of freedom and are filled with pride as they reflect that this is the reward of patrio tic virtue and courage. Yet however small the dunes of Holland compared to the Alps, in the beauties of the scenery of their country the Dutch are not behind the Swiss. For the Dutchman has his sea immense in extent and might, yet carrying Holland's flag and subservient to her will. Moreover he sees his land, a joyous picture of wealth and prosperity, almost his own creation, in making which he has overcome the forces of nature.
Soil and history are here in close relation. And the inspired writer paints the beauties of Holland's landscape, where the river meanders though flower-gardens and pleasuregrounds, where the brook murmurs in the downs under the oak-leaves, and the nightingale sings in the blossoming hawthorn.
Entering into particulars he sketches the history of Holland's landscape and makes use of Vondels Palamedes and Leeuwendalers1) for his picture. So nature in wood, flower, and plant is depicted, as well as the animals which lend animation to the scène, and with special interest the writer dwells upon the wild plants and whatever is uncultivated nature,
Then the soil recalls the picturesque past of Holland to Van Lennep, and he surveys its early history, its counts, and noble houses. He speaks about Holland's religious antiquities and her relics of ancient times, and regrets that so much is lost. Imagination, however, helped by history can make good the loss, if only the splendours of the past appeal to the fancy. So he refers to Vondels Gysbrecht*) as a play written in the fourteenth century which revives the beginning of the fourteenth century in Holland.
This again gives the speaker an opportunity of indicating several subjects, both for poet and novelist, found in the history of Holland. It would not even be difficult, he thinks, to write a work of fiction about Charles the Bold, which
') Joost van den Vondel, Dutch poet and dramatist (1587-1679).
Palamedes (1625), a tragedy,
Leeuwendalers (1647), a pastoral.
') Gysbrecht van A.mstel (1637), an epic drama.



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might outshine D'Arlincourt's *) Solitaire, and even Walter Scott's Quentin Durward.
At the end of the lecture the beautiful uSong of Holland's Dunes" is found, giving an example, as it were, of what had been taught by precept.2)
It is this dissertation of which we have tried to give an abstract, proportionate with its importance, which powerfully influenced the development of Dutch literature.
Not only does it show Van Lennep's knowledge of Scott's novels, and his insight into their historical and picturesque] qualities but it also points out whatever in Holland's history and scenery might stimulate to emulation of the great master in national work.
Van Lennep "wanted to suggest ideas and awaken sensations, the repetition of which is always as useful as it is agreeable, because, like all love, so the love of one's country mostly consists in feeling and imagination, and thus, every memory which rouses patriotic feelings and directs the mind to the beautiful in one's country always nourishes and intensifies patriotism too, and stimulates it to a more joyful activity.8)
He wished to encourage national historical work, and his lecture was indeed a great stimulus to activity in this direction.
Among those who heard Van Lennep was Margaretha Jacoba de Neufville (1775—1856). Under the influence of Wolff and Deken she had already written a domestic-social novel with a moral purpose, called "Small Duties".*) Now, incited by Van Lennep's lecture she wrote "The Squire",6) which was published in 1829 and is the first example in
') Charles d'Arlincourt (1789-1856), a French novelist.
3) See Hef belangrijke van Hollands grond en oudheden voor gevoel en ver* beelding. Magazijn voor Wetenschappen, Kunsten en Letteren, Vol. VII, p. 113 sqq.
Hollandsche Duinzang (Dichtstuk) door Mr. D. J. van Lennep. Magazijn voor Wetenschappen, Kunsten en Letteren, Vol. VII, p. 143 sqq.
First pronounced in the session of the 30* of August 1826 of the Second Class of the Academy.
About the impression made upon the hearers see: Het Leven van C. en D. J. van Lennep door J. van Lennep (Amsterdam, 1861-1862), Vol. IV, p. 240.
!) See Magazijn voor Wetenschappen, Kunsten en Letteren, Vol. VII, p. 141 sq.
4) De Kleine Pligten.
') De Schildknaap (iets uit den ouden tijd). Een oorspronkelijk historisch romantisch verhaal.



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Holland of the historical novel as created by Scott. l) In a preface she says: "The work which I now present to my compatriots owes its origin to the Dissertation of the very learned D. J. van Lennep LL. D., on the importance of Holland's soil and antiquities as a stimulus to feeling and imagination, which Dissertation I had the honour of hearing delivered by the lecturer on the 30th of January 1827. I had always been filled with love for my country, so often unjustly reviled and abused, and this love grew in me into enthusiasm under the influence of the eloquent language of the professor, and immediately the desire seized me to try whether it would be possible for me to sketch a romantic picture modelled on those which we possess about the manners and customs of other nations, a thing which (and at this Mr. van Lennep expressed his wonder in the above mentioned Dissertation) no one has as yet tried to do on the subject of our own ancestors." *)
So both Van Lennep and Scott stood godfather to the first historical novel which appeared in Holland. The authoress even found her subject in Van Lennep's "Dissertation" in the person of Count William II of Holland, though following Scott's example she made a fictitious person her hero in order to be less hampered in her story; Her indebtedness in the historie part of her work to Meerman and others is also duly acknowledged, and a number of notes serve for further illustration.
Yet notwithstanding all this, "The Squire" is especially remarkable as the first original historical novel written in Dutch. As a novel of the past it is not altogether a success. The author's knowledge and imagination were too poor to do justice to its subject, rich as it was. For a sketch of the Netherlands in the middle of the thirteenth century might really have been a fine picture of medieval society. The figure of William II, Count of Holland, and King of the Romans, and his place in the war of investiture are also full of interest, whilst his death encountered when fighting against
') As early as 1828 J. C. Appenzeller had written his novel Geertruida van Wart of trouw tot in den dood. Eene ware geschiedenis uit de 14e eeuw.
The number of novelists who soon aimed at imitating or thought of emulating Scott is indeed legio.
') De Schildknaap, Voorbericht, p. iii sq.



— i37 —
the West-Frisians is a tragedy in itself. Miss de Neufville's powers, however, were not equal to her task. And this despite the fact that in the character of Sicco, the count's squire, of unknown origin, found when a child in a crusade against the Stadingers and in reality a Frisian of noble birth as later appears, she had found a hero of some promise.
As to the historical character of the novel, this stands out in too striking contrast to what is fiction. The struggle between Margaret of Flanders and King William is described in the style of a history rather than that of a story.*) The whole life of William from August 1247, when he became King of the Romans, to the 25th of January 1256, when he died fighting against the West-Frisians, is that of an historical person. It is not necessary to find out whether the character was taken from history to serve the purposes of fiction, for the novel is pure history here. In this respect the authorêss" might have learned better from Scott. Far too often she lectures and teaches. Nor does she omit giving dates or explanations whenever she thinks them necessary. This is often to the detriment of the local colour of the novel. For instead of infusing the idea of time and place imperceptibly, she is always ready to show her knowledge without giving a full description. Thus there is a feast3) and a tournaments) in "The Squire", but beyond some general information not much is given us. Characteristic of the novel is such a sentence as this:
"Overwhelmed with benediction, and well pleased with the good which he had here performed, the king now rode back to Haarlem by another road, as only lack of time prevented him from seeing Klaas van Keiten, who even when a child was of an extraordinary height and well-known, and who lived in the village of Sparenwoude, which the king passed."*)
Even as the accentuation of the historical element in "The Squire'' is not a success, so, too, as a novel, the work does not rank high. The picturesqueness so much to be admired in Walter Scott is sorely lacking here. Miss de
') See Hoofdstuk VIII, XVIII, XIX, XXI, XXV.
») See Hoofdstuk VII.
>) See Hoofdstuk XXIII.
4) De Schildknaap, Hoofdstuk X.



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Neufville's imagination was not strong enough to give full life to her story and whatever belongs to it, and so to counteract what was dry and dead in her exposition of history. The matter and the example were there, but the writer failed. This is seen in the characters who are not well described, whether they are historie or not. But still more clearly do we see the writers shortcomings in the story, the action of which is, on the whole, dictated by history. The hero's life, too, is of an even tenor and his love-affairs, whether successful or not, are not described in such a way as to quicken the reader's pulse. Only when Sicco visjts his father, who is old and and dying, and the abbot wants to seize the inheritance, does the story become somewhat more interesting, *) soon, however, to relapse to its usual tameness. That the novel is rather dull is also in no small degree due to the conversations which are often long, tedious, and unnatural. Thus Sicco's voyage to Palestineis related by hinj in more than twelve pages without any interruption, and monopolizes almost a chapter, the person Vto whom he speaks never being heard at all.2) Moreover the different characters generally talk in the same strain. /The novel is also wanting in descriptions, and though various fparts of Europe are mentioned, not one of them is really ipictured. A description somewhat in Scott's manner is perhaps Hhat of the hall in the castle of Sicco's father.3) |' Yet notwithstanding its many shortcomings "The Squire" I had the advantage of being original work. It was a following ïnot an imitating of Scott, however greatly Miss de Neufville |d"ailed in her attempt. Though her talents were not equal to the task, she remained faithful to the historical novel as is seen by her translation of De Vigny's well-known Cinq Mars,4) though she did not try her hand again at an original novel.
Work of a better quality by far and likewise original is fthat of Aernout Drost (1810—1834).6)
l) Hoofdstuk XXIV. ') Hoofdstuk XV. *) Hoofdstuk XXIV. 4) Published in 1830.
') Another author is J. E. Schut, who wrote Galama, of de bevrijding van Vriesland. Te Amsterdam, bij J. C. van Resteren, 1833. In the preface Schut excuses his work. He wrote it because he saw the



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In this writer we have one of D. J. Van Lennep's disciples, who also heard the famous "Dissertation". He, however, not only adopted the professors views on Holland as a fit subject for poetic imagination, but was moreover a good literary and historical scholar. Among other influences brought to bear upon him may be mentioned Loosjes, J. van Lennep's "Dutch Legends", and above all Scott1).
When a child Drost had already been inspired with love for the national novel by the works of Adriaan Loosjes. Then Scott had written his many masterpieces and they had made a profound impression upon his youthful mind. And so both his inclinations and his talents lay in the direction of the novel.
Drost, however, well knew that the novel was by many considered to be an illegitimate upstart. And his first work, "Hermingard of the Oak-mounds",2) the only novel, indeed, he had published himself, did not appear without an introduction in which its sofid claims to existence were defended. In former times the novel might have been a noxious and poisonous weed in the garden of literature, from the days of Richardson it had become a noble flower of excellent qualities. "Only stupid superficiality", Drost said, "continues to condemn everything that is called novel and dares think of trivial work in connection with it." s)
"Hermingard of the Oak-mounds" (1832) is indeed a work to which the epithet of trivial can by no means be given. It is a novel of the past and shows in every respect the extensive historie and antiquarian knowledge of its writer.
transplanting of the foreign productions of Scott, Spindler, etc. to his native soil and the scarcity of original good romantic productions. Yet had it not already been printed, the appearance of two novels of the kind would have condemned it to lifelong imprisonment in the portfolio.
The novel is merely trash, cf. De Recensent, ook der Recensenten, Vol. XXVII, t, p. 374.
The two novels were perhaps Hermingard and De Pleegzoon.
For the novel about 1830 and later see Kruseman's Bouwstoffen voor een' Geschiedenis van den Nederlandschen Boekhandel, gedurende de halve eeuw 1830-1880 (Amsterdam, 1886), Vol. I.
l) Cf. the introduction added by the editors (Bakhuizen van den Brink and Potgieter) to Schetsen en Verhalen door den schrijver van Hermingard van de Eikenterpen, published after Drost's death.
See also J. M. de Waal, Aernout Drost (Utrecht 1918).
*) Hermingard van de Eikenterpen. Een oud vaderlandsch verhaal.
*) Hermingard, p. iv.



I4Ó
lts theme is the struggle between Christianity and paganism. For this it takes its readers to the Netherlands in the year 320.
The heroine of the novel is Hermingard, a niece of Thiedric, the old Duke of the Batavi. She is betrothed to Siegbert, the last son of the Batavian duke. Six brothers have already lost their lives in the insurrections of the Franks against the Romans . and now the youngest goes to war against Constantine I. He gets wounded in battle and is made prisoner and so there is every occasion to make the reader acquainted with the ancient inhabitants of the Low Countries, as well as with the condition of the Roman Empire at the time. Moreover Marcella, the widow of a Roman captain, is, along with her son, a captive of war with Thiedric, and the Christian Caelestius finds a place of refuge near the Oak-mounds.
!The writer, in introducing the historie element of his novel, follows the example given by Scott, and paints the Germans and the Romans not in the first place as making : history, but more as living their ordinary lives eithefln peace or in war. He depicts their manners and customs, their dwellings on the mounds and in the forests, their sacrit ficial services and their battles, and whatever can bring the past before us. There is a description of a tower in the days of Caesar,1) of a battle,2) of a baptism,8) of a subterranean dweiling, *) of a funeral pile,6) of a contest in the arena,6) and of much more of the kind, till the Germans and the Romans of the fourth century are made to live before us. Drost's | pictures, however, are in general less elaborate* tnanw mose : by Scott, and more spÜrseïy scattered throughout the novel. As complement to these we have the atmosphere of local collour, also an essential element of the Waverley novels. An lobsolete word, and, every now and again, some incidental re- n «nark helps to strengthen the idea of the past. The reader
') Hoofdstuk V. J) Hoofdstuk X. f) Hoofdstuk XIV. *) Hoofdstuk XVI. ') Hoofdstuk XX. Ó Hoofdstuk XXIV.



— I4i —
hears about gnomes and elves,x) about the yellow hair of the Celts,2) about Scipio and his heaven,3) aboul Plato and Pythagoras,4) about St. John and Domitian.6) Yet the writer's purpose but rarelyseems to be the introduction of this knowledge, so that the past forms an integral part of the novel.6) In the story itself, too, Drost's first work was of great promise. It is a tale of love with all its bitters and sweets. Siegbert and Hermingard are betrothed 5 before their marriage, however, they meet with many difficulties and on their wedding-day he dies receiving in his breast the spear destined for his bride, who soon follows him; G^sfla loves Paulinus and rescues him from death, they have to part but after many troubleslead a happy married life; in Caelestius love was sin and Welf thirsts for revenge, while White Gertrude, the daughter of shame, fights for her gods against her Christian father.
The characters in Hermingard are fairly well painted. Most of them are private personages, but by the side of these there are also historical portraits of Constantine I and others. In the manner of Scott they are not so muchl described as intended to be built up from action and word. Nor| does the romantic writer aim at completeness. In generalJ however, the dramatis personae live and act their parts well. And it is in the action especially that the picturesque) writer is seen. The story never flagd, there is a plot in the novel with its dramatic interest, and everything has some share in working out the end. That the writer knows how to narrate may be seen in the development of the novel, but also in the description of Welf the Seawolfs expedition7) or of the fight in the arena.8) The dialogue, too, is in> Scott's manner. No long and tedious monologues are found, I
0 Hoofdstuk V. ') Hoofdstuk VIII. ») Hoofdstuk IX. 4) Hoofdstuk XII. ') Hoofdstuk XIX.
<Ó Only here and there does a reference in the text act as a check on the reader s enjoyment. Thus there is an allusion [to Hooft and Vondel in chapter II, to Ossian in chapter IX, to Gessner in chapter XXIII, all personages belonging to a later time.
0 Hoofdstuk XV.
8) Hoofdstuk XXIV.



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Ibut a conversation which aims at naturalness and is often I lifelike and picturesque. When, however, the spirit of religious
, controversy animates the writer he sometimes degenerates in style and becomes prouxT'But it is in the descriptions
1 in the first place that we recognize the follower of Scott. Not so much when the writer paints the appearance and surroundings of the Germans and Romans as when he turns to nature. We see here that Drost was not only an antiquarian and historian, or a novelist, but also an author with an open eye for the beauties of sky and plant and bird.*) The Romantic Revival, when by means of Scott it reached Holland, had in him a ready adherent.
The following abstract may serve as an illustration of Drost's manner of writing. It opens with Marcella's inquiry after her son, who is to be sacrificed to the gods.
"'Where is my son, my Paulinus?' cried Marcella, and gazed with anxious expectation at the girl who now stood in the light of the slanting moonbeams. Gisela did not answer, only shook her head and hid her face in her hands.'Have they seized my Paulinus, and fettered him and carried him away?'asked the Roman matron once again. Again Gisela shook her head. 'Great Gods 1 is it possible that you have saved him!' cried Marcella then. 'Oh, if so, you have a mother's thanks 1' — Gisely did not gainsay it and from that moment she became calmer.
At the request of Hermingard, Gisela lighted a torch and put fresh fuel on the fire; soon a genial heat spread through the dwelling of the Roman widow. Gisela shut out the cold autumn air by closing the wooden folding-shutters in front of the windows, and being skilful in the mixing of herbs after the manner of the Batavian women she soon prepared a decoction which would somewhat relieve the sorrow of the afflicted mother. Marcella yielding to the united prayers of Hermingard and Gisela was persuaded to take it; the mixture had the virtue of inducing rest and seemed to accomplish this purpose; in fact after a short time she feil asleep,
In vain did Gisela try to get her mistress to take some of the potion. The latter firmly persisted in her intention of sitting up for the rest of the night with the unhappy Marcella.
l) Cf. De Recensent ook der Recensenten, VoL XXVI, 1, p. 353.
uGeschied< en oudheidkennis, met trouwe inachtneming van het costuum (local colour), bewonderen wij meermalen in dit geschrift"
Yet Drost's antiquarian details were sometimes wrong. Cf. Vaderlandsche Letteroefeningen (Amsterdam, 1833), 1, p. 47 sq.



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When morning dawned bringing new life to nature, the smali hut became too close for Siegbert's betrothed; she went out into the open air. A dark purple glow was already lightitig the eastern sky, and gently and imperceptibly passed into little golden clouds, which slowly and majestically spread over the canopy of heaven. A fresh breeze sighed through the tall poplars and shook the dew-drops from the brown alders. Here and there the awakening birds struck up the first notes of their morning-song, while in the grassy meadow the horned cattle lowed," 1).
The foregoing passage might have been written by Scott himself. Yet notwithstanding much in which Hermingard resembles Scott's novels, there is a fundamental difference U between them. This is because there is a second influencej at work in Drost's book side by side with that of the; grand master of the historical novel. It is the Revival ofl Religion in Holland in the first part of the nineteenthj century. Its father was Bilderdijk and both his portrait and Scott's were among the saints hanging in Drost's study.*)
With Scott the romance was above all historical and whether in poetry or in prose was intended to be a picture of former time. Drost also painted the past, but with him it is the back ground to his religious and moral teaching. He wished a novel to be food for both heart and head. "For this reason the author was to draw historical pictures, but his main object was not to teach history and antiquities. Hfetory was to be only the stage on which religion and morality should develop; the breath of poetry should animate this picture, and it should be left to fancy to place the persons, to arrange the draperies, and to spread its lustre over the whole."3)
Thus, though in Hermingard, Drost paints the Netherlands in the first part of the fourth century, the Franks fighting against the Roman supremacy. the dawn of Christianity among the Batavi, and the empire under Constantine I, yet all this is only the background to his picture of the Christian religion. Hence the writer's descriptions of nature,
') Hermingard, Hoofdstuk IV.
') Cf. Schetsen en Verhalen door den schrijver van Hermingard van de Eikenterpen, p. xii, where we read in a description of the writer's study: "Aan de wanden hangen de afbeeldingen (mogen we ons dus uitdrukken) zijner Heiligen. Het zijn Van der Palm en Hooft, Scott, Bilderdijk en Lamartine, die u zeggen, wat zijne geliefkoosde schrijvers zijn."
*) Hermingard, p. v.



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for it is through nature that a general conception of God is possible to Hermingard, round whom the author builds up his evangelie apology. And this also explains the catechistic discourses of Caelestius, who is less the type of a Roman Christian of his time than a general representative of Christianity. jjj
So Hermingard, notwithstanding Scott's influence, is a Inovel with an idea and plan of its own. Compared with ïDe Neufville's "Squire" it is a great advance, both in the 'historical and the novelistic sense, while many of its defects may be ascribed to its being the first work of a young author without much experrence. When Scott began to write he was not only much older, but also had many years of literary life behind him.
As a general fault of Hermingard we may mention its want of strength and outline. The success that Scott achieved by his sometimes one-sided representation and his types in fixing his images upon the reader's mind is not attained here, because the novel is too vaguely conceived and its characters are too hazy. Yet, though somewhat vague in outline, there is a picture of the past, the genius of the artist has revived the bygone age.
Moreover Hermingard is original romantic work. Drost is Indebted for much to Scott, Ossian, Gessner, Chateaubriand, pnd others, but his novel is his own.l) So for the first time in •Holland under the influence of Scott there is a Dutch 'historical novel. There is even more, for in so far as Drost freed himself from the didactic purpose of the novel, he is carried along by the general stream of romanticism. Ifhe had lived to fulfil the fair promise of Hermingard, Dutch literature might soon have gained the position which it was only destined to attain in a later generation. Before general romanticism, however, carried the day in Holland, we were first to have foreign romanticism. And opposed to this were the writers and critics who wanted a national literature.
Among those nationalists who, though influenced by Scott,
') White Gertrude in Hetmingard and Norna in Scott's Pirate have some faint resemblance, even as one can be traced between their dwarves. So Hermingard and Siegbert resemble Eudore and Cymodocée in Les Martyrs by De Chateaubriand.



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yet wished Dutch literature to take its own course, finding its inspiration in the glorious past of Holland, is Drost. This is seen in some other narratives which he wrote besides Hermingard and which were published in 1835, the year after his death, under the title of "Sketches and Tales by the writer of Hermingard of the Oak-mounds." !) Here we find after a preface, in which the praise of Scott is sung, a short tale about the Flemish painter Van Dijck called "The Altar-Piece", an unfinished novel of the present "The Days of August'', "Meerhuyzen, A Literary Moral Sketch of the beginning of the seventeenth century (1601)," "The Kaninefaat, An Historical Delineation of Character," and "The Pestilence at Katwijk (1625)."*)
The various "Sketches and Tales" show both the diversity of Drost's talents and his knowledge and information, but it is the last as an historical novel which we have to consider here.
"The Pestilence at Katwijk (1625)" takes its reader to the Netherlands in the seventeenth century. The scène of action is Katwijk and other villages near Leyden as well as this town itself, the date the year 1625.3) The historical novel, however, aims at giving a much larger picture. To do this it describes the adventures of a fictitious hero Aelbrecht Jansz. of Katwijk on Sea. For here again, as in Scott's novels, though historical persons occur, none of them is the central figure. Aelbrecht Jansz., when young leaves his native village to join the private Kompaan, later enters the Dutch East-Indian Company, and then returns to Holland after having done good service to his country. So there is to a certain extent description of the private life of those days, but more especially is the writer concerned with the action of the Dutch in the island oTJava and the reader hears about such historical figures as Koen and Van Diemen.4) When the novel opens with the hero's return to Holland we are
>) Schetsen en Verhalen. Door den schrijver van Hermingard van de Eikenterpen.
') Het Altaarstuk; De Augustusdagen; Meerhuyzen, Letterkundig Zeden-Tafereel uit den aanvang der XVn^ eeuw (1601); De Kaninefaat. Geschiedkundige Karakterschets; De Pestilentie te Katwgk (1625).
J) The exact date of the plague was 1624.
*) Hoofdstuk VIII.
10



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told about the loss of Breda,1) about the death of the Stadtholder Maurice of Orange, and about the impression made on the people by Frederic Henry his brother and successor,2) while the continuation of the Spanish war runs through the novel, and the historie Wijts appears upon the scène3). But a larger place is given to religion than to history and war. For this Aelbrecht joins the Reformed Congregation of Remonstrants of Rijnsburg. His baptism and the introduction of the Remonstrant Passchier*) give a good picture of religious conditions in Holland after the Synod of Dort. Literature, art, and science are described in the persons of the poet Camphuizen, the painter Miereveld, the professor Barleus, and in other characters. Nor does the novel lack pictures of the social life of the time. The hero is the adventurous youth of his age, the ruffian Harmen de Doodt, the witch Entje-moêr, and their son Sijmen serve to paint the darker side of life, while the historical sheriff De Bondt is the representative of justice. Then there is the inn at Valkenburg,6) the town of Leyden,a) and many another picture.
Thus, in the manner of Scott, Drost makes the seventeenth century vivid to his reader. But he also follows the English jwriter in making his novel picturesque. This is seen in the hnany characters crowding the pages of "The Pestilence at JCatwijk". They are all lifelike, whether historical or not. And how well the writer can paint may be seen in the picture of Harmen de Doodt, a character typical of the troubled times in which he lived. i) Aelbrecht and Hechtje on the contrary are more general human types. But the story itself is also picturesque and well told. Already in the very beginning when Hechtje's mother has died of the plague and her husband, the rich farmer Orbert, upbraids the daughter with her love for Aelbrecht Jansz. we recognize the hand of the master, who at once places us in the heart of the
>) Hoofdstuk I. Ó Hoofdstuk II. *) Hoofdstuk XVI. 4) Hoofdstuk III, IV. Ó Hoofdstuk II. 6) Hoofdstuk XIV. Ó Hoofdstuk IX.



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tale. Then the hero appears, only to find the object of his affection, for whom he had left Holland, married by her mother to another. Aelbrecht now prevents an attempt on Orbert's life and rescues Hechtje from the grave, but is afterwards imprisoned, accused of the murderous assault he prevented. Here Harmen de Doodt, Sijmen, and Entjemoêr also play their parts. But true love triumphs and Hechtje in her turn helps Aelbrecht, while Orbert dies. So though the story is sometimes rather fantastic, there is a plot, full of action, and independent of the historical basis, as in Scott's best novels. The writer also excels in conversation which is lively and natural. The long periods of Hermingard have entirely disappeared to be replaced by short and pithy dialogue, while every person speaks in accordance with his character. Perhaps the only defect is that j the novel is too picturesque, full as it is of the seventeenth | century. The descriptions, too, show the naturally romantici author. The appearance and the dress of different persons are I painted and the description really calls up an image before I the reader's mind. Thus also dwellings and places are described, not in vague terms without any meaning, but in such a way as to make them real, while the descriptions of nature are equally good.
Drost's style in "The Pestilence at Katwijk" may further be illustrated by the following extract from the meeting at Rijnsburg, where Aelbrecht Jansz. was baptized.
"In a silence full of révérence they stood assembled near the water; nobody spoke; only the breeze was heard sighing through the reeds; then Camphuizen baptized the young believer; the latter rose out of the water and was taken by Adriaan to his dweiling to change his dress. The others again went to the thrashing-floor and now, before anybody could prevent him, Gijsbert took care to make sure of his discourse by reading out a chapter of the prophet Ezekiel. Hardly, however, had he begun his exposition when there was a violent knock at the door. 'The Bailiffl the Bailiff 1' whispered Passchier, 'I pray you, Men and Brethren 1 do not betray me. Extinguish some candles. They want to catch me, I shall try to escape. Lord! help thy servant I' Adriaan mechanically blew out some candles. 'Did I not teil you,' murmured Gijsbert, 'Paschier was sure to bring trouble upon us.'
'Fuge, fugel' cried the Professor; Paschier rushed to the little



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door, looked out and soon returned. 'I see a man standing at a short distance,' he said, 'in that direction flight is impossible; but do not delay, Men 1 as I have entered so I shall go.' There was again a knock at the door.
'One moment more, the wolves are getting suspicious and sly; Adriaan 1 dear comrade 1 try to detain them at the door.'
'No, nol they might recognize my brother's voice. Brother Aelbrecht I go and speak thou with them 1'
The latter complied with the request; while he asked the men standing outside the reason of their coming, it became clear to the anxious and disordered meeting how Passchier de Fijne had entered. He sat under the trap-door, constructed in the roof of the thrashing-floor and before anybody was at the meeting-place he had let himself down through it to be hidden from everybody's eyes; the cord was still hanging down, and now he was going to withdraw himself over the roof in the same manner.
'Hasten, Passchier I do hasten 1' cried the angry Gijsbert, in constant fear of being fined.
'So, then drop the trap-door 1'
'Yes, yes.'
'Has the cord been made fast?' asked Miereveld. 'Never fear, dear Brother! Passchier has seen to it'."1) We might feel inclined to continue our extract, were it not already sufficiënt to show how Drost's manner of writing has changed and improved. The picturesque writer is indeed much nearer to Scott than he was in "Hermingard of the Oak-mounds."
I But the whole character of the novel has changed. Its didactic purpose seems to have disappeared and its historie pnd novelistic elements have developed. Going to the seventeenth century, the golden age of the Dutch Republic, Drost has drawn such a picture of the time of Frederic Henry as shows in every line how much the past is present to him. He even tries to revive the language of the period he writes about. This was not done by Scott, and may perhaps account for the small success of "The Pestilence at Katwijk," for, as the great English writer has it, "every work designed for mere amusement must be expressed in language easily comprehended." *) Yet the novel shows how well Drost had read the Dutch dramatists of the seventeenth
') Schetsen en Verhalen. De Pestilentie te Katwijk, Hoofdstuk IV. ") General Preface to Waverley.



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century.1) As a work of art it also ranks high. Everywhere we find the picturesque writer who enlivens his tale and carries the reader along with him. In limiting itself in the first place to the representation of the past, the novel has gained much.2)
Thus "The Pestilence at Katwijk" written in the manner of Scott is a picture of the period of Frederic Henry, to draw which the writer does not aim at historie truth but at representing the period.8) Nor is there any doctrine or view of the writer's inculcated in the book any more than in the Waverley novels.4) "The story is a tale of the seventeenth century, in which the people speak the language of the seventeenth century, as found in books; and h is clear that the writer wrote it out of love for that past and that he cared very little for the present and the future." 6)
Yet there may have been some influence which made Drost turn to the seventeenth century, the glorious past of the Netherlands. If so it was the secession of Belgium of 1830 and all its consequences which greatly revived the national spirit in Holland.
For "The Pestilence at Katwijk" is indeed national work and original. The writer did not wish to set himself up as a Dutch Walter Scott.8) And if he had continued to live
J) We may pass over here whatever mistakes the writer made in the use of the pronoun of the second person singular and otherwise.
*) As in Hermingard so here the writer refers to living and other authors. But his literary knowledge is perhaps most amply displayed in De Augustusdagen.
') Cf. Albert Verwey's introduction to De Pestilentie te Katwijk (1625), edi» öon Serie van Keurwerken (Amsterdam, 1906). 4) See Carlyle's Collected Works, Vol. V, p. 249.
"But so it was: in this nineteenth century, our highest literary man, who immeasurably beyond all others commanded the world's ear, had, as it were, no message whatever to deliver to the world; wished not the world to elevate itself, to amend itself, to do this or to do that, except simply pay him for the books he kept writing."
We make no further comment on Carlyle's hard judgment, referring to Scott's To the King's Most Gracious Majesty, where he says of his novels "that the perusal has been supposed in some instances to have succeeded in amusing hours of relaxation, or relieving those of languor, pain, or anxiety."
See Waverley. Everyman's Library, p. 1.
Moreover Scott was a teacher of the past.
') See Verwey's introduction to De Pestilentie te Katwijk (1625).
") Cf. Schetsen en Verhalen, p. 132, where one of the dramatis personae of



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and write and his novels had won the ear of the public, the influence of Scott would have ended here and Holland would have been won for a national romanticism. As it is, however, Drost's work in the cause of a romantic and national literature came to an end, to be continued by his friends Bakhuizen van den Brink and Potgieterl). A periodical,*) started by the latter in 1837, worked especially in this direction, and for a long course of years Potgieter was the mentor of many a writer.
Scott's influence, however, continued. Literature in Holland was not yet strong enough to run its own course. Other writers, perhaps of less promise, superseded Drost. But that, in many respects, the author of "Hermingard of the Oak-mounds" and of "The Pestilence at Katwijk" holds a high place may be seen in the honour paid to him by the writers of the 'eighties'. To the authors of this period we owe a revival of Dutch literature in the nineteenth century such as this age had perhaps not before seen; they recognized in Drost romantic elements both general and national, and for this reason tried to make him known again in their day.3)
In the work of Scott's later followers and imitators we' can see that other writers, too, recognized the new possibilities in the novel opened up by DrosL
De Augustusdagen exclaims: "Men vinde in onze letterkundigen, oorspronkelijke, vaderlandsche letterkundigen, geene Hollandsche Walter Scotts, geene Irvings, geene Claudiussen, geene Hugo's".
^Het Christen-leger (1838) by Potgieter, in which the martyr's death of Boni» facius at Dokkum in 755 is described, takes up the thread of Hermingard. See E. J. Potgieter's Werken (Haarlem, 1894-1899). Schetsen en Verhalen.
Other tales by Potgieter in Drost's manner are: De Eerste Schilderij van Rembrandt van Rhijn, Een huiselijk tooneel in 1623; Anna, Schets uit den Spaanschen tijd; Tehuiskomst, Tafereel uit den winter van 1813.
Soon, however, Potgieter became independent and national, and turnedto the seventeenth century.
It is curious that Potgieter translated from the English: Bulwer's Rienzi, Marryafs Midshipman Easy, Hazlitt's Table-Talk, poems by Wordsworth, Coleridge, Hood, |Longfellow, Whittier, etc, but leaves Scott severely alone.
Bakhuizen van den Brink wrote Trudeman en zijn Wijf, Culemborg, and Sivaert Sicke, in which he tried to give a picture of the Middle Ages; later he became an historian.
*) De Gids. Nieuwe Vaderlandsche Letteroefeningen (Amsterdam, 1827). How highly this periodical valued Drost we may see in the first volume, p. 148 sqq.
*) See the Amsterdam edition of 1906 of De Pestilentie te Katwijk (1625) and the abridged reprint of Hermingard van de Eikenterpen in De Beweging Oct 1907 to Jan. 1908.



CHAPTER II.
JACOB VAN LENNEP, THE DUTCH SCOTT. Van Lennep's classic education — His plagiarism and turn for
romanticism — HlS first poetic tales — edward of guelders — the historic and picturesque poet — the adopted son and the rose
of Dekama — The imitator — The romantic writer of the past — \Ferdinand Huyck, Van Lennep's masterpiece — Our Dutch Ancestors, tales of the past —\scott's direct and indirect influence — van Lennep's adaptations of Scott»— His importance and position.t
Notwithetanding the introduction of Scott's works into the t Netherlands and his early influence on Dutch national! literature, and through it on the study of Dutch history, thej English writer's position would never have been as prominents as it was in Holland but for Jacob van Lennep. It was he! who, in his own way, adapted the new poetry and prose to the literature of his country and so popularized romanticism.] While his work cannot perhaps lay claim to the highest literary merits, it was in harmony with the state of literature in the Netherlands at the time.
Jacob van Lennep (1802—1868)was the most popular
l) For Jacob van Lennep's life and work in general the reader is referred to the histories of Dutch literature as well as to:
Ten Brink, Geschiedenis der Noord-Nederlandsche Letteren in de XLXe eeuw, Vol. I, pp. 132-182.
Van Lennep's introduction to Marino Faliero. Dramatische Werken van Mr. J. van Lennep (Amsterdam, 1852-1854), Vol. I, p. 1 sqq.
Beets, Jacob van Lennep. Verscheidenheden meest op Letterkundig Gebied (Haarlem, 1869), Vol. IV, pp. 1-40.
Beets, Ter nagedachtenis van Mr. Jacob van Lennep. De Werken van Vondel door Van Lennep (Amsterdam, 1855-1869), Vol. XII, pp. 3-26.
A. J. de Bull's Levensschets vanMr.J.van Lennep, appended to De Vrouwe van Waardenburg door Van Lennep (Amsterdam, 1869).
A. Beeloo, Levensbericht van Mr. J. van Lennep. Handelingen der Maatschappij van Nederlandsche Letteren te Leiden (1869), pp. 73-122. Jhr. Dr. M. F. van Lennep, Het Leven van Mr. Jacob van Lennep (Amster», dam, 1910).
Many articles in periodicals, as in Noord en Zuid, De Gids, Onze Eeuw, Groot Nederland, De Nieuwe Gids, etc.



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j writer in Holland in the second and third quarters of the nineteenth century,l) as Scott had been in England in the beginning of the same age.
His father was David Jacob van Lennep, the writer of the "Dissertation on the Importance of Holland's soil and \ antiquities for the Cultivation of feeling and imagination." iReviving nationalism and patriotism induced the classic ) professor thus to speak in favour of the Romantic Movement, ? but he wanted Dutch literature to preserve an independent j character. The son was also influenced by this "Dissertation", ; but he was less of a student and more of an amateur than his father. He resembled his dilettantish grandfather Cornelis, who was as much French as Dutch and who in later life only forsook the new ideas which had originated in France, when he was alarmed by the excesses of the Revolution. Jacob van Lennep also belonged to the eighteenth century, though with a difference. With him romanticism had taken the place of rationalism. Moreover he was a true Dutchman, with many of the peculiarities of the inhabitants of Amsterdam, especially a sense of the grotesque. But in his love of the French language again he was a Van Lennep and shared the predilections of the period.
All this modified the influence exercised by Scott on Van Lennep, and, as well as his talents and education, helped to mould the future writer.
A rather precocious child, Jacob, even at an early age, was a voracious reader, remarkable for his extraordinary powers of memory. Perhaps if at that time some bodily defect had acted as a restraint on his buoyant spirits as was the case with Scott,2) Van Lennep too might have prepared himself better for his later work. Now he only read whatever he • could lay his hand on and whatever pleased him, and even when at the grammar-school, devoted his time to rudimentary tragedies, epics, and other poems. He even began to write a novel, but the reading of Scott's Ivanhoe with its magnificent description of the pas d'armes at Ashby-de-la-Zouche
') Beets, Verscheidenheden meest op Letterkundig Gebied, Vol. IV, p. 3.
"Jacob van Lennep is gedurende weinig minder dan een halve eeuw de lust en liefde der Nederlandsche natie geweest. Onder onze letterkundigen, geen populariteit, die de zijne overtrof."
J) Cf. Yonge's Life and Writings of Sir Walter Scott, p. 11 sq.



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made him give up this attempt. This irregular literary education was continued at the University of Leiden, till he was called to the bar in 1824, married, and settled at Amsterdam to devote his life to literature and work.
Meanwhile Van Lennep had become acquainted with the works of many authors and had acquired extensive general information.1) When at Leyden, he had made theacquaintance of Da Costa and of Bilderdijk, and abandoning liberal principles was for some time an adherent of Anti-Revolutionism. But it was not long before he seemed ashamed of the time when he, too, was 'among the prophets'.
Such in short was the condition of the young man of letters who in 1826 heard the lecture on "The Importance of Holland's soil and antiquities for the Cultivation of feeling and imagination." The fame of Walter Scott as a writer of historical novels and a landscape-painter gave the first impulse towards a literature containing beautiful descriptions of the scenery of Holland, with its wealth of historical reminiscences, and incited Dutch writers to emulate the foreigner.
Jacob van Lennep had not yet made any exhaustive study of English literature, though he knew Shakespeare, Fielding, and Ossian, as well as MariasJEdgeworth and Scott, and had translated Byron. *± But now nis admiration for the great English poet and novelist was strengthened, and in imitating him he found the sort of work best suited to his talents. For his genius lay in adopting the thoughts of others, his originality in assimilating them.s)
') Cf. Geschiedenis der Noord-Nederlandsche Leiteren in de XLXe Eeuw door Dr. Jan ten Brink, Vol. I, p. 145 sqq.
') Van Lennep was also one of the first members of the English Literary Society founded at Amsterdan in the Rapenburgsteeg in 1830 by B. S. Nayler, lecturer on elocution and literature. The members met to read English au» thors, such as Shakespeare, Pope, Goldsmith, Sheridan, Percy, Moore, Byron Keats, Sheüey. In 1832 Van Kampen, who in 1823 had written a treatise on. the characteristic differences between the classic poetry of the ancients and the soscalled romantic poetry, here delivered his "Lecture on the influence of English Literature upon the Literature of the Dutch". English romans ticism was indeed making headway. The publication of the treatise was four years later, in 1836, on account of the hatred against England due to political circumstances about 1830.
') "Van Lennep, ook waar hij navolgt, ook waar hij opneemt en zich her* innert, drukt daarbij immer zich zeiven uit."



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The ease with which Van Lennep grasped outward charj acteristics and his retentive memory, *) however, only too 2 readily laid him open to the stigma of plagiarism, while t he too often imitated the outer characteristics of Scott;s romances to the detriment of inner qualities.
• Characteristic are in this respect Van Lennep's own words, when he says: "When I read anything that pleases or amuses me, whatever the subject, I always feel inclined to
• imitate it."*) Even stronger is his admission: "For almost forty years I have principally lived by robbery and theft."s)
I • Like Scott Van Lennep began his literary career as a I poet. *) As such he also had his disciples, though his fame and position as a novelist was much greater, and it is for this reason that we shall first speak of the poet Van Lennep as influenced by Scott. Here especially the writer's plagiarism is brought to light. His excuse might be the opinion expressed in Appollo, a periodical of which during its short existence he was one of the editors, that a translation of poetry is an imitation rather than a translation.6) Later he excused
Beets, Verscheidenheden meest op Letterkundig Gebied, Vol. IV, p. 5.
') Cf. Dramatische Werken van Van Lennep, Vol. I, p. 7.
"Ik heb zoo vroeg zoo veel werken van anderen gekend, dat ik niet durf beslissen of ik wel ooit iets oorspronkelijks geleverd heb, en of zelfs hetgeen ik als zoodanig beschouwde niet meer een arbeid van herinnering zij geweest.
*) Not. Biogr. par Mr. J. v. L. Ms.
"Quand je lis quelque chose, qui me plait ou m'amuse, n'importe le sujet, il me prend toujours fantaisie de 1'imiter."
N. Beets, Ter Nagedachtenis van Mr. Jacob van Lennep. Van Lennep, De Werken van Vondel, Vol. XII, p. 9, n. 1.
s) " 'Sedert bijna veertig jaren heb ik voornamelijk geleefd van roof en dief» stal'. Deze bekentenis in Sept. (1858) door mij op het Kongres over den letterkundigen eigendom te Brussel afgelegd, wil ik gaarne te dezer plaatse herhalen."
Poëtische werken. Vol I, Bericht voor den derden druk [van de Ned. legenden].
A characteristic instance of Van Lennep's plagiarism is the poem Hoe loopt de Dusse langs het hol van Neander? (1840), which is really Southey's Cataract of Lodore. Cf. Braga, 1842 (Winkler Prins, Bra^a (Deventet^ig83),( p. 121 sqq).
Van Lennep's translations of Scott such as De bebloede Hembdrok — The Bloody Vest (The Talisman) and De Sint Jan&nacht — The Eve of St. John we may pass by in silence.
*) See Appollo (Rotterdam, 1827-28), N° . 1 (Dingsdag, 4 December 1827), p. 2 (prospectus).
"Geene beoordeeling van vertaalde werken, willen wij daarin plaats geven, geene vertalingen wenschen wij daarin op te nemen, dan alleen van ge» dichten, omtrent welke het altoos nog onzeker blijft, of zij niet eerder nas volging dan vertaling genoemd mogen worden, en er zullen al zeer bij*



— i55 —
himself by alleging that foreign literature was nowadays generally known, and he borrowed openly and freely, only following the example of almost all his predecessors in poetry, who were read and praised in proportion as they imitated and boldly borrowed.x)
Jacob van Lennep's poetic romances appeared underthej title of "Dutch Legends in rhyme." s) >
Four of them were published between 1828 and 1831J They were metrical tales written in the manner of ScottJ
"Ter Leede House"8) (1828) tells the story of the Lord of Lederdam who after an absence of nine years returns from the Crusades and marries the sister of a knight whose life he had saved in Palestine.*) The devil to whom he has sold himself becomes his guest, though castle and nobleman are safe as long as the pious lady prays for her husband and his house. But the brother comes and takes her away, and they both perish through a horse which had fed in the stable. The castle is found burnt down while the Lord of Ter Leede has disappeared.
The element of the past is found in this tale in that it belongs to the time of the Crusades. The element of mystery,
zondere en gewichtige redenen moeten zijn. om ons van dezen regel som* tijds te doen afwijken."
The editors were Van der Hoop and Van Lennep, !) See NascTmfFto Nederlandsche Legenden (1829), Vol. IV, p. 178. " Bij de hedendaagsche algemeene bekendheid met uitheemsche letterkunde, had ik het noodeloos geoordeeld, bij de uitgave der eerste Deelen mijner Nederlandsche Legenden, den Lezer te berichten, dat ik sommige navolgingen uit buitenlandsche schrijvers, waar zij mij dienen konden, in mijne Zangen had ingeweven. Ik achtte zulks geen pronken met de vederen van anderen, daar de ontleening openlijk en zonder eenige omkleedsel had plaats gehad; ook hield ik mij gerechtvaardigd door het voorbeeld van bijna al mijne voorgangers in het vak der dichtkunst, die te meer gelezen en geprezen worden, naarmate zij stoutmoediger navolgen of overnamen".
3) Nederlandsche Legenden in rijm gebracht door Mr. J. van Lennep (Amsterdam 1828-1847).
*) Het Huis Ter Leede.
4) The return of the Lord of Lederdam puts one in mind of Byron, Van Lennep's-first love, when he sings in Lara: —
"He comes at last in sudden loneliness; And whence they know not, why they need not guess; and when he adds: —
"Not much he loved long questions of the past. Nor told of wondrous wilds, and deserts vast".
lara, Canto the First, IV, V.



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however, in "Ter Leede House" reminds us even more of Sir Walter, recalling to the reader's mind more especially The Lay of the Last Minstrel with Michael Scott's Mighty Book and the Goblin Page, and also Harold the Dauntless. The description of the castle as seen in the moonlight makes us think of fair Melrose, in The Lay of the Last Minstrel.l)
Adegild (1828) tells about the struggle between the heathen Frisians and the Christian Franks. When the Frisian King Radbout is at church to be baptized by Bishop Wollebrand, the monarch at the last moment sends the prelate angrily back to the Frankish King Charles Martel. Radboud now orders his favourite Grimwald and his son Adegild to put to sea to find young men to be sacrificedto Wodan.s) They capture an English prince and princess and some priests, whom Adegild protects against Grimwald. The latter then throws the princess overboard, and in the attempt to save her the Frisian prince disappears. Meanwhile the Frankish ruler sends an army against Friesland while Radbout tries in vain to collect his troops. At the advice of Tjetscke, a priestess of Wodan, the Frisian king goes to sacrifice to his god and Grimwald, who has returned, has to fight the English prince. Adegild, however, saved by Tjetscke, fights and kills Grimwald, while Wodan's temple falls in ruins. The result is that Radbout makes his peace with Charles, tand Adegild and Gertrude, the English princess, are married.
The above-mentioned romance goes back to a still earlier past than "Ter Leede House" and thus also claims to be historical, as do Scott's tales. A translation of the English poet is seen in the "-Magie Song of Tjetscke the Sorceress",3) which is in part Norna's Song of the Reimkennar'm Scott's Pirale.*) Tjetscke's power over the elements6) is also found in Norna of the Fitful Head,6) while like the
') Canto Second, I.
') The Lied der Friesche Zeelieden in the first canto reminds one again of Byron (The Corsair, Canto the First, I). a) Eerste Zang, Toverzang van Tjetscke de Wichlares. <) Chapter VI. ») Vijfde Zang. ") Chapter VI.



— i57 —
Lady of Branksome in The Lay of the Last Minstrel1) the sorceress can command the spirits,8) whose responses remind us of the prophecy in The Lady of the Lake.9) The bale-fires, warning of coming danger and asking for help, *) are again found in Scott's first romance.6) The conversion of Adegild puts one in mind of Harold in Harold the Dauntless, who also became a Christian. Moreover Harold rescues his love from the powers of Odin«) and Adegild enters Wodan's temple and saves Gertrude.7) Nor would it be difficult to find other points of similarity in Van Lennep's romance.8)
"Jacqueline and Bertha"9) (1829) contains the love-story of the fair Jacqueline of Bavaria and the Younker of Arkel. After hef father William's death she has been acknowledged by the Hooks as Countess of Holland, Zeeland, and Hainault, while the Kabbeljaws oppose her. Van Zijl, a nobleman, comes to teil her of the surprise of Gorcum; he loves Bertha, a maid of honour of the countess, but she thinks that Jacqueline loves him and they separate in misunderstanding. The countess, however, wants to marry Arkel, a Kabbeljaw noble, and sets him free. Her noblemen are angry at this, especially Brederode. Van Zijl now saves Arkel's life in a hunting-expedition from two murderers, and Bertha, who is to teil Arkel of Jacqueline's love, speaks to her lover. The younker then, falsely warned against the countess, goes to Gorcum, which town is soon attacked by the Hooks. Van Zijl is wounded and he with Bertha and Arkel explain the mistakes to Jacqueline, but her intervention is too late, and in the defence of Gorcum Arkel meets his death after killing Brederode.
In a postscript Van Lennep, having suffered much from the accusation of plagiarism, pointed out a few thefts,
0 Canto First, XII sqq. ') Vijfde Zang. 8) Canto Fourth. *) Derde Zang. *) Canto Fourth. Ó Canto Sixth. Zesde Zang.
•) Soit is easy totrace some resemblance between the funeral song in honour of Adegild and the coronach in The Lady of the Like, Radboufs hall and that of Cedric in Ivanhoe, the bard at the Frisian banquet and the bhairdh at a Highland feast in Waverley.
') Jacoba en Bertha.



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promising regularly to do so in future, a promise which was rather soon forgotten.x) So the prelude of "Jacqueline and Bertha," in which the poet describes his devotion to romantic poetry, and explains why he does not follow a friend's advice in writing classic rhyme or ancient tragedies is for the greater part a translation of the introduction to Canto the Third of Scott's Marmion. The Lord of Culemburg, Bertha's song,») is Lady Heron's song, also in Marmion}) Moreover the picture of Bertha, Jacqueline's maid of honour,*) is that of Ellen Douglas in The Lady of the Lahe,6) while Brederode's sleep6) resembles the knight of Snowdon's fever in the same romance.?) The boar-hunting8) also reminds us of the chase9) in this poem, where, however, the quarry is a noble stag.
"The War with Flanders10) (1831) depicts the inroad of Guy of Flanders into Zeeland and Holland. Witte of Haemstede, a son of Florence V, and William of Oostervant, a son of John of Hainault, then Count of Holland, defend Zeeland against the Flemings. At Haemstede live Witte's mother and Hadewy, his betrothed. Here a pedlar comes, a nobleman in disguise, who soon leaves to go to Zierikzee to find some document concerning the marriage of Witte's mother. Witte, too, who has been defeated, arrivés with his page at Haemstede, later to flee to Voorne, where
') Cf. Nederlandsche Legenden, Vol. IV, p. 178 sq.
The writer acknowledges his indebtedness for the beginning of his first song to La Chatelaine by M">e. AmablfeTastu; to Sir Walter he owes part of the prelude, the song of CulemburgS Lord, and a few other pieces which he does not remember at the moment.
His promise was given in the following words:
"Voor het overige beloof ik, in het vervolg, ter geruststelling der nauw. gezette gemoederen, mijne letterdieverijen in de aanteekeningen dadelijk aan te wijzen" (For the rest I promise in future directly to point out my literary thefts in the notes, as a reliëf to tender consciences).
J) Eerste Zang.
*) Canto Fifth, XII.
4) Eerste Zang.
') Canto First, XVIII sq.
") Eerste Zang.
Ó Canto First, XXXIII sqq.
8) Vierde Zang.
°) Canto First, I sqq. ") De Strijd met Vlaanderen.



— 159 —
they are received by its lord. The latter loves Hadewy, who as an unknown lady, nursed him when wounded. When the Flemings come to look for Oostervant, Voorne takes his side, when Haemstede's page discloses himself as the count's son. Then Witte defeats the Flemings at Haarlem, and his life is saved by the pedlar. Hadewy, however, is taken prisoner as well as Voorne, who had come to rescue her. But in a naval battle between the Flemish fleet and Oostervant with his French allies they regain their liberty. Now the pedlar proves Witte's legitimate birth and is forgiven for his share in the murder of Florence, and dies, while Haemstede cedes his rights to Oostervant and gives his bride to Voorne.
"The War with Flanders" was written at the right moment, as it appealed to the deepest emotions of the Dutch in their fight against Belgium. For the rest its patriotism is perhaps its best quality, though the poem is not without originality. *) Something new, in the manner of Scott's Marmion, are the introductions to each of the six cantos. Moreover Hadewy, describing the naval battle of Het Gouw to Voorne, when they are both prisoners on board a ship and he cannot see the fight,a) reminds one of Rebecca in Scott's novel Ivanhoe describing the storming of Front-de-Bceuf's castle to the wounded knight, Wilfred of Ivanhoe.8)
Thus "Ter Leede House," Adegild, "Jacqueline and Bertha", and "The War with Flanders" were direct imitations of Scott's muse. These bare outlines are enough to show how the writer intended them to be historical tales, and it has also been pointed out in how far he freely borrowed from Scott. That Van Lennep owed some parts of his poetry to Sir Walter, he acknowledged in his postscript to "Jacqueline and Bertha." Here he thinks that these thefts will be more easily forgiven him when it is considered that he is indebted to the Scottish bard for the idea of writing national and poetic tales, the importance of which is
") The poet himself tells us that he imitated the flight and murder of Selim in Byron's Bride of Abydos (Canto the Second, XXII sqq.). when describing the unsuccessful flight of Hadewy in the sixth canto.
3) Zesde Zang.
») Chapter XXIX.



— ióo —
greater than that of anything else he may have borrowed from Scott. *)
In the imitation of Scott's outward characteristics Van Lennep was not unsuccessful. As an instance of his poetry we give here
The Magic Song
of
Tjetscke the Sorceress.
Eagle of the stern North!
Thou, whose talon bears the thunderbolt I
Who stirrest the foam of the seas And makest it dash over their shoresl
Who, at Father Thor's order, Criest and screamest through black clouds 1
Th^Migh thy voice be as loud and shrill As triumphal shouts of nations;
Though the rushing of thy wings sound as fierce As the roar of a thousand whirlpools;
Thou dost hearken to my rhyme-song.
Eagle, hearl the flower of keels
Sails from here with Friesland's hope;
Favour her in her course, Her, and so many hero-souls;
And, that thy power may spare them, Deign to accept my gift and offering;
Seet this lock of silver hair I present thee with, thou strong one;
Preserve then from danger this keell Let thy broad pinions be folded I
Be favourable to us, O Eagle 1
And thou who, now, Bereft of lustre, Showest thyself in the skyl Who but at night Thy silver splendour Wilt manifest And lead to a dance the host of stars I O Moonl Hearken 1 Ruler of sea and nood, Thou, who makest the vast waste of water
') Cf. Nederlandsche Legenden, Vol. IV, p. 178 sq.



— iói —
Now to sink and now again to rise! O Moon! preserve From inevitable perils of the sea This ship traversing thy sacred billows 1
If the Eagle accepted the offering, Which now restrains his anger, I have also a gift for thee in my hands; For see I I burn this yellow touchwood To do honour to thee. All vapours, O Moon 1 Are drawn up by thy light: Do not then despise these as they rise Which Tjetscke has offered thee: Tjetscke needs thy help.
And thou 1 the enemy's terror 1 Afraid of whose thunderings The mightiest army flies 1 O Wolf of Wodanl help, help in the moment Of warring, robbing, fighting,
The Frisian warriors; Protect them from disasters. Howl, fighting at their side,
Against their enemies: Give them thy blessings, But see, bloodthirstyWolf 1 what gift I offer thee, Thou lustest only after blood: Be this lust satisfied. This sacred magie knife, Whetted by Tjetscke herself Upon the sacrincial stone of Hercules, Has been drawn in thy honour 1 My arm already drips with blood, Which must flow in sacrifice tothee: Accept it thankfully, Wolf of wolvesl And may thy help, over the billows, Guard the Frisian people 1 The gifts are accepted: the song has come to an end; Remember thy duties, Wolf, Eagle, and Moon!"1) The beginning of the poem is a translation of the first stanza of Norna's Song of the Reim-Kennar in Scott's Pirate: — "Stern eagle of the far north-west, Thou that bearest in thy grasp the thunderbolt,
l) Nederlandsche Legenden. Adegild, Eerste Zang.
11



IÓ2
Thou whose rushing pinions stir ocean to madness,
Thou the destroyer of herds, thou the scatterer of navies,
Thou the breaker down of towers,
Amidst the screams of thy rage,
Amidst the rushing of thy onward wings,
Though thy screams be loud as the cry of a perishing nation,
Though the rushing of thy wings be like the roar of ten thousand waves,
Yet hear, in thine ire and thy haste,
Hear thou the voice of the Reim-kennar."1)
But after Scott had once given the impulse to Van Lennep the latter continued in his own way, adapting English poetry to Dutch soil.
Like Scott, Van Lennep wrote his poetic tales in octoIsyllabic, iambic verse with an interchange of male and jfemale rhymes and with occasional shorter or longer lines. |He was an accomplished artist in rhyming, in which practice Jhad made him perfect. In this respect he shows himself Jsuperior to Scott. Songs in different measures, too, enliven {verse and tale.
j The tales themselves are historical in so far that the Itime of action is the past, and some characters belong to jhistory. Yet there is a great difference here between him and Scott.
This is nowhere better seen perhaps than in "Ter Leede House", which is intended as a sketch of Holland towards the end of the twelfth century, and might be called a tale 1 of terror. Notwithstanding the notes with which Van Lennep 'is as liberal as Scott, the past is rather an ornament than an essential element of the romance. We might compare "Ter Leede House" with Marmion, both being first-fruits. But while the English writer gives us, in the first place, a picture of life as conditioned by limits of time and place, the Dutch poem is sorely wanting in local colour. Ifcertain inames of persons and places were not there to help the \ reader, he might even be at a loss where to place the ' romance.
Yet Van Lennep's intention, as pointed out by him in a preface to the "Dutch Legends", was to represent the
0 The Pirate, Chapter VI.



— i63 —
customs and manners of the ancestors of the Dutch.J) He had not, however, entered into the spirit of the master, and what he followed in him was often only outward characteristics.
Better, as regards the historie element, are the three other romances. Even their very subjects are more suggestive of the past, though they too fail short of Scott's poetic tales.
Thus in Adegild Van Lennep gives a picture of the Christianization of the Frisians in the days of Radbout and Charles Martel. But what might have been an epic ends in being a love-story. For while Christian and heathen stand opposed to each other, it is Gertrude, who sings to convert Adegild,2) and it is thus that the Frisian prince becomes a Christian and finally Christianizes Friesland. In "Jacqueline and Bertha," too, the element of love is stronger than that of history. Yet the time of the Dutch Mary Stuart, with its feuds of Hooks and Kabbeljaws was a happy choice. The poet, however, limited himself to the love-affair of Jacqueline and Arkel, which in itself is legend more than history, and left the picture of public life in those disturbed days to the historian.3) Only in "The War with Flanders" would it seem that Van Lennep meant his romance to be more historical. Perhaps under the influence of the troubles with Belgium during the time of its writing, the author depicts the public strife as of greater importance than the private love-affair in this picture of Holland's fight against Flanders. Yet here too there is a transplanting of the present into the past rather than a representation of the past with its public questions standing out in bolder reliëf than its private problems. -
') Cf. Nederlandsche Legenden, Vol. I, De Schrijver, September 1828. " Een voorbericht schijnen mij de Legenden, welke ik heden den goed* gunstigen lezer aanbied, niet te behoeven. Mijn doel met de bewerking en uitgave zal hem bij de lezing genoegzaam blijken: ik poogde alleen de zeden en gebruiken van ons voorgeslacht hem op een behagelijker wijze, dan tot nu toe geschied is, voor te stellen. Het min duidelijke en min bekende zal men, hoop ik, in de aanteekeningen opgehelderd vinden". J) Tweede Zang. ') Cf. Zesde Zang.
"Tot hiertoe bezong ik, op kunst'looze wijzen, Het noodlot van Arkel, en de ijdele min Dier schoone, verdrukte, beklaagb're Gravin: De droevige elenden, die tweespalt doet rijzen. De vruchten van heerschzucht en muitziek geweld: Ik zwijg.' dat geschichtkunst u 't verdere meld."



— 164 —
That Van Lennep, notwithstanding Scott's influence upon him and his imitation of the great master, wrote tales of a much less historie character than those he took as his model is also seen in his dramatis personae. The English writer in general made some neutral person his hero and round him as a centre grouped the events and characters of his story, while his historie characters were public rather than private personages and many of his dramatis personae typified a party or a sect characteristic of the time and place. Van Lennep did not go so far as this. It is true that in Adegild the hero is neither Radbout nor Charles Martel, but a prince of lower rank, but in "Jacqueline and Bertha" the heroine is the most prominent person in the romance, and a countess. Yet in each of Van Lennep's historie persons the private side of the character has more stress laid upon it than the public, and so both Adegild and Jacqueline seem to be more interested in their love-affairs than in the condition of Friesland, or of Holland. In Witte of Haemstede, the hero of "The War with Flanders", however, we find a more personally disinterested character, who thinks of his country before himself. Still most of Van Lennep's personages are of the same kind and private rather than historical. It is for this reason, too, that Scott's types are but feebly imitated. Perhaps Grimwald in Adegild might be thought to bear some resemblance to William of Deloraine, the moss-trooping Scot of The Lay of the Last Minstrel. But the adventurous Wilt is after all but a weak representation of the typical worshipper of Wodan. And while in "Bertha and Jacquelme'' the author had a splendid opportunity to oppose the Hooks to the Kabbeljaws as Scott did the Highlanders to the Lowkmders in The Lady of the Lake, the significance of every type is lost here in the importance of the love-story. Eggert, who typifies to some degree the rising commoner, might be considered an exception,l) Again in "The War with Flanders" the war-story and the influence of the insurrection of Belgium upon it is too strong to allow the poet to lay sufficiënt stress on the types which a vivid picture of the time and place demands.
The historical element, so important a part of Scott's
0 Tweede Zang sq.



- i65 -
tales is considerably diluted, if we may use the term, in Van Lennep's romances. It seems as though, in spite of hjs notes, the poet did not make a deep enough study of the period he wrote about. So, with but a slight amount of trouble to himself, he wanted to imitate the English writer. This is seen in his descriptions of manners and customs. While Scott's poems abound in pictures of the life of the past, Van Lennep scatters them with a somewhat sparing hand. Yet his talents were too great for him to fail altogether in this point. So we find a sacrifice1) and a dinner graced with a bard8) in Adegild, a toilet3) in "Jacqueline and Bertha'' as well as a boar-hunt, *) a battle&) and a sea-fight6) in the Middle Ages in "The War with Flanders." There are not many elaborate descriptions, however, and but too often Van Lennep paints in general and vague terms. Nor does the writer take great pains to suggest the past by language and style. In Adegild, indeed, some characters swear by Wodan, in "jacqueline and Bertha" the Kabbeljaws are distinguished by the name of greyhoods,7) and in "The War with Flanders" the old Templar Beaumont calls out the war-cry of Beaumont;8) but in general the local colour of the various romances is poor, and there is hardly any attempt to make the speech of their characters express time and conditions.9)
So Jacob van Lennep, inspired by his father's "Dissertation" imitated Scott in his "Dutch Legends", but it was not in the first place the painter of the past who appealed to the
Eerste Zang. -) Derde Zang. :) Tweede Zang. 4) vierde Zang. 6) Vijfde Zang. 6) Zesde Zang. ') Vijfde Zang. 8) Tweede Zang.
*) Nor must it be forgotten with respect to this point that Van Lennep was by no means kindly disposed to Middle Dutch. He did not care much for it, neither did he know much about it, but preferred to read French.
See Geschiedenis der Noord-Nederlandsche Letteren in de XLXe Eeuw door Dr. Jan ten Brink, Vol. I, p. 138.
The different attitudes of Scott and Van Lennep towards medieval literary products may also explain the latter's easy imitation.



— i66 —
Dutch writer. He followed rather the singer of songs, the poet of action, the romantic and picturesque writer.
This may be seen in whatever was translated from Scott or readily puts the reader in mind of the master, as also in the preface to "Jacqueline and Bertha", where Van Lennep, closely following the introduction to Canto Third of Marmion, gives some account of himself and of his muse. Here we find the lines:
"Indeed, I love my liberty too well;
No rule, no precept forces me to order." *) In these the poet renounces the service of classicism and swears allegiance to the romantic muse. We have already seen Van Lennep's licence in his literary thefts and in his careless preparation. The desultory preface tells us more about this.
Like Scott, Van Lennep was a writer of action at the» jcost of the expression of feeling. The personages in the "Dutch Legends" may be picturesque, only their outward characteristics are drawn and it is but rarely the author gets to the heart. But then, though he does not reflect or meditate on what his personages do or say, he is careful to make them lifelike. His fault is that the past is not» sufficiently vivid to himself and this causes a lack of harmony between the dramatis personae and their setting with respect Ito time and place. Hence, too, while Scott paint his characters according to their position in the story, Van Lennep is not always careful to do so. There is not much difference between the picture the writer of the "Dutch Legends"' paints for us of the countess and that of her maid of honour, in "Jacqueline and Bertha", though the former belongs to history and is the heroine of the story, whereas the latter occupies but a subordinate place. Yet again he follows Scott in depicting his characters mainly through their actions and words, which method though not satisfying the psychologist, does make the character sketch a picturesque one. This may be seen in Jacqueline and in Bertha, who are actuated throughout by love. It is equally noticeable in
0 "Ja> 'k min haar teêr, mijn vrijheid: licht te veel: Geen regelmaat, geen voorschrift kan mij dwingen." Voorzang to Jacoba en Bertha.



— 167 —
Grimwald, the heathen, in Adegild, who only thinks of fighting and marauding. But though Van Lennep generally describes his characters by making them act or speak, sometimes, like Scott, he does paint passion as when in "The War with Flanders" he gives a picture of Witte's aged mother waiting for her son and pressing him to her heart, when he comes back safe and sound, or when in beautiful words he describes the feelings of Hadewy towards Haemstede.1) He only rarely, however, delineates the workings of the heart and follows the English author more in depicting action. The writer with a turn for the picturesque also finds scope for this in the multitude of his characters, though Van Lennep's hurried tale left him no time to fill his (romances with as many personages as Scott did.
In the action of the story Van Lennep also imitated Scott, and his poetic tales are full of movement and adventure. So in Adegild the hero sails across the North Sea, fights an English ship, jumps overboard, is saved by Tjetscke, goes to Wiron Wood, defeats Grimwald, enters Wodan's temple, and rescues the princess Gertrude, while many other events enhance the liveliness of the romance. In the other tales the same action is found. Even the plots themselves are strange and crowded enough. The characteristics of the picturesque writer are also seen in the various episodes. To mention a few, we might draw attention to the ride in "Ter Leede House", in which the knight and his sister are carried along on the horse possessed by an evil spirit, or to the description of the inroad of the Frankish enemy into the Frisian country in Adegild}) Full of action, too, is the taking of Gorcum in "Jacqueline and Bertha"3) and the battle of the Hollanders and Flemings in "The War with Flanders"4.) As to the dialogue of Van Lennep's poetic tales, here too we may notice Scott's influence. What is stiff and unnatural is avoided, so that a faithful representation of life may be given. Thus in the conversation between Radbout and Charles Martel's
l) Eetste Zang. ') Derde Zang. ') Zesde Zang. *) Vijfde Zang.



— i68 —
ambassador in Adegild1) we may observe the animated discourse in which the Frisian king is angry and impatient, whereas the representative of the Frankish ruler preserves his dignity undisturbed. Again in the conversation of the countess with her maids of honour before she retires, in "Jacqueline and Bertha",4) we find a gentier spirit. Van Lennep, however, unlike Scott, is somewhat inconsistent in his dialogue, nor does he give us the atmosphere of the past.
As a descriptive writer, too, we see how Van Lennep lacks the profound knowledge and the serious application necessary to give a real picure of the past. He follows | Scott in his picturesque descriptions, but his characters and their surroundings are too vague and indefinite, and more stress might be laid on the distinctive character of each scène of action. Not that Van Lennep falls into the classic error jof generalizing in conventional language, but he is far from feeling Scott's personal interest in his characters and their stage. That Van Lennep can be picturesque we can see in his description of Elegast, Charles Martel's ambassador, dressed in steel, with flowing beard, and in his right hand a poplartwig, as he stands before Radbout in the romance of Adegild.*) Another beautiful picture is that of Jacqueline of Bavaria and her maid of honour in "Jacqueline and Bertha,"*) however much the latter reminds us of Ellen Douglas in Scott's Lady of the Lake. Here there is also a description of the countess's bedroom with its lamp and bed, tapestry and prayer-book, and other objects painted as details belonging to a picture of the past. In "The War with Flanders" there is a picture of the preceptory of the Templars at Zierikzee,6) but the terms used here are again of a general nature. In his descriptions of nature, however, Van Lennep is not inferior to Scott. For these no special study was necessary and they show how much better the Dutch writer might have done if he had taken more trouble with his tales. We may merely mention, as examples, the forest of Wiron in
*) Derde Zang. *) Eerste Zang. *) Derde Zang. 4) Eerste Zang. ') Tweede Zang.



— 169 —
Adegild1) and the splendid picture of the wood of the Hague in "Jacqueline and Bertha".2)
Thus Van Lennep wrote his "Dutch Legends". The in, fluence of Scott is seen in their being historical, also in their romantic value. Their shortcomings however are many, such as their want of local colour, of feeling, of artistic I sfcöl. Yet, notwithstanding these defects they were received I with great enthusiasm and did more for the Romantic / Revival in Holland, than work of a higher literary Standard Jjpiight have done. The public had had too much of long-winded and moralizing or didactic poems, not to read these tales 1 in verse with interest, and the literary development of Holland I at the time was not such as to make her critics too severe. *) But the writer himself feit that his poetry was not of the' first order. So he tells his reader that nature inspired him, but complains that he was not able to express all its beauties.*) The same note is found when he compares himself to a quacking duck. 6) No wonder, then, that again following Scott, who had left poetry to Byron, and turned to writing
') Vijfde Zang. *) Vierde Zang.
') Van Lennep's poetry from the beginning met with a good reception. So Bowring in his Sketch of the Language and Literature of Holland, p. 113, says: —
"Van Lennep, a young poet on whom the classical spirit of his father has descended, has already done enough to awaken hope and to give promise for the future. His best productions are translations from French, Latin, and English; and among the latter, the bride of Abydos is admirably and correct, ly versified."
A somewhat later writer Van Kampen in his Lecture on the influence of English Literature upon the Literature of the Dutch, pp. 39" and 41, has: "Even Byron's sombre, but sublime tones, are echoed in this country; his Bride of Abydos, and his Siege of Corinth, have found an able translation; and the same writer has done still greater service to his country, and more honour to England, by imitating the truth of Scott's costume of earlier ages, in his National Legends; wherein he has animated his subjects with all the glow of poetical refulgence."
4) See Adegild, Zesde Zang.
"Ik ademde ... en mijn zucht was poëzij: Ja, poëzij en heilig zinverrukken; Maar ach! te rijk, te grootsch om uit te drukken: 'k Gevoelde dan, hoe hooggestemd van geest, Natuur, uw schoon; maar ach) mijn onmacht meest!" E) See Jacoba en Bertha, Voorzang.
"De nachtegaal zingt toonen, hemelzoet: De landeend kwake in lage slijkmoerassen".



— 170 —
novels, Van Lennep also abandoned the, writing of poetic tales to the rising genius of the somewhat younger Beets and became a novelist. *)
Other writers, however, continued the metrical romances, though Scott's influence is now also found, at second hand, through that of Van Lennep.
Yet, as if to show that the gleaning of the grapes might be better than the vintage, Van Lennep wrote one more poetic tale, "Edward of Guelders", *) which appeared in 1847, sixteen years after "The War with Flanders".8)
This last of the "Dutch Legends" gives an historical picture of the Duchy of Guelders about the year 1371. It is the time of the parties of patricians and plebeians, characteristic of the fourteenth century, and rallying here round the families of the Bronkhorts and the Hekerens. The Duke of Guelders is Edward, who after dethroning his elder brother Reinoud, reigns for ten years. In Holland Albert is regent for his mad brother William, and has to content both Kabbeljaws and Hooks. At first Edward and Albert were at war, but when the former was generally acknowledged by his duchy, the latter made his peace with him and a betrothal took place between Catherine, Albert's young daughter, and Edward. As the bride is now twelve years old, the Duke goes to fetch her home, and for this reason he travels through Utrecht to the Hague. It is with Edward's entry into Utrecht that the tale opens, which also gives the poet occasion for a description of the political condition of the bishopric at the time. Then follows a beautiful picture of the festive reception offered by the bishop to the duke and the journey from Utrecht to the Hague is depicted. At Albert's court the nuptials take place, interrupted by the appearance of the mad count, and terminated by the news of the inroad of the Duke of Brabant into Gulik, where
l) Of Van Lennep's smaller poems Jacobaas Weeklacht op het huis te Teyhngen (1839) may be mentioned here, translated as it is into English: Jacoba's Lament at the House of Teyüngen, from the Dutch by S. Farncombe Sanders (The Hague, 1840).
3) Eduard van Gelre,
3) Beets, to whom Van Lennep had given up poetry, also declared Eduard van Gelre the best of the "Dutch Legends".
Cf. Jacob van Lennep door Beets. Verscheidenheden, meest op Letterkundig gebied, Vol IV, pp. 12, 13.



— i7i —
Edward's brother-in-law and ally rules. But the Duke of Guelders also loves, though reasons of state direct his life, and his fate is drawing near. Not, however, till the battle of Baesweiler is fought in which Edward turns the defeat of the Duke of Gulik into a victory. Then he meets his death through the hand of a friend who thinks himself injured.
In a preface Van Lennep tells his readers how the writing of a canto of "Edward of Guelders" took him three times as long as, in earlier days, one of the cantos of "The War with Flanders." It shows how much the poet had changed.x) But the result is the best poetic tale as a whole ever written by him, and the most original. Only the last stanza of the poem "Praise of Women"2) is a rendering of Vidal's song in Scott's Betrothed*) which, however, is duly acknowledged in a note.
Yet "Edward of Guelders," though most original, is at the same time most in the manner of Scott's poetic romances. We see this even in the headings of the six songs, which are: The Entry, The Festival, The Journey, The Nuptials, The Deathbed, The Battle. *) Like the titles of the cantos of Scott's Marmion they indicate that a spacious picture of the life of the past may be expected. And indeed the poem, in the painting of the manners and customs of its time, far surpasses the preceding legends.
"Edward of Guelders" is really the most historie of the "Dutch Legends". There is a love-story in it, but this is kept in the back-ground. The history of Gelderland and of its reigning house, and a picture of the time form the principal part of the tale. In thus emphasizing the historical element Van Lennep follows Scott. The hero, Edward, though not a neutral character, is in the first place a public
>) Expressing his fear that the public might have changed their taste, Van Lennep says: "En al ware mijn Publiek hetzelfde gebleven, ik weet te wel, dat ik het niet ben. Hadde ik er nog bewijzen voor noodig gehad, de om* standigheid alleen, dat het samenstellen van eenen zang van Eduard van Gelre mij drie malen zooveel tijd kostte als vroeger dat van eenen der zangen van den Strijd met Vlaanderen, zoude mij daarvan overtuigd hebben".
Eduard van Gelre, De Schrijver, Augustus 1847.
J) Tweede Zang, Vrouwenlof.
») Chapter XX.
4) De Intocht, Het Feestmaal, De Dagreis, De Bruiloft, Het Sterfbed, De Veldslag.



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person. The duke takes precedence of the lover,1) while even Scott's types are found in such persons as Wolf the Minstrel, and the brave and strong Kuik. For Wolf is the German singer to whom his art is dearer than his life, and Kuik represents the warlike knight to whom fighting is the breath of life. But in general the characters more than in former tales are historical, and are more important as personages of their age than as private persons. Moreover the local colour of the poem shows how much Van Lennep's insight into and knowledge of the past had broadened and deepened since writing "The War with Flanders". We may mention the banqueting-hall and the guests of the nuptials in the Hague2) and the battle of Baesweiler.») Only the language is less successful in giving an illusion of the past. On the whole, however, Van Lennep does succeed in giving us a picture of the Duchy of Guelders and of the Netherlands towards the end of the fourteenth century, and paints the political situation as well as the social condition of the time.
Van Lennep is picturesque in "Edward of Guelders" as in no other legend. Even in the variety of metre found in the poem he shows the development of his art, as well as in the romantic element of the story. This is seen in the prophecy of Edward's mother that the dynasty of Guelders was to become extinct with her two sons, because her husband had repudiated her. Like a pall of doom this forecast hangs over the tale. We see the romantic element too in the love-story of the hero. For Edward has loved and won Mechtelt, the betrothed of his friend and minstrel, and this causes his death, though the bard was wrong in suspecting the duke of having betrayed their friendship.
The romantic writer imitates Scott, and in the manner of the former legends again depicts his characters by action
') Cf. the couplet: —
"Geen. Vorst is hij,, die ooit op 't wezen Zijn innig zielgepeins doet lezen". (No prince is he whose face ever betrays his inmost thoughts). Derde Zang. ') Vierde Zang. *) Zesde Zang.



— 173 —
and word and but rarely analyses. Yet some psychology there is in the description of Mechtelt's character, as her liking for the minstrel is overcome by her love of the duke.1) Count William is also well depicted and his short fit of sanity soon followed by returning madness.8) That the story is picturesque may be expected of a poem which begins with an 'Entry' and ends with a battle. The picturesque writer is also seen in many an episode such as the ride of the minstrel through the duchy. *) A dialogue full of spirit is found in the conversation of Mechtelt on her deathbed with the minstrel and the priest*) and at the banquet in Utrecht.6) The descriptive writer finds full scope in depicting his characters, and the different places they visit and see, and especially in the descriptions of nature in which, as always, Van Lennep excels. We need only point out the picture of Isabel playing and singing in the camp before the surprise and the battle with its many changes.6)
That many songs such as "The Palace at Utrecht," 7) "Praise of Women," 8) and others should enliven the romance is not strange in the follower of Scott.
But more than anywhere else the measure in which Van Lennep was influenced by Scott, and the manner in which he wrote his poetic tale, may be seen from an abstract for which we take Leers's coming to Nyenbeek by order of Duke Edward to look after Reinout: —
"And soon across the heathy ground
He rushes past the Beerenberg:
He follows brack.half overgrown
And gallops Loenen Forest through:
Now Koldenhoven's walls he nears
To see the sunlight on them play,
Then passes Eerdbeek on his left
And Hol, Voorstonde, Biel rides past,
At lesser speed to follow now
J) Vijfde Zang. *) Vierde Zang.
3) Vijfde Zang.
4) Vijfde Zang. 6) Tweede Zang. 6) Zesde Zang.
') Tweede Zang, Het Hofpaleis te Utrecht. 8) Tweede Zang, Vrouwenlof.



— 174 —
The winding brook found in this part, Which flows into the Ys?el stream, And on whose green and fertile bank Soon rises Reinout's prison high Before his eye in stately strength.
Quick seized his hand the copper horn Which hung upon the outer wall, And far resounded trumpet-sound;
While soon the watchman on the tower And, from the court, the barking dogs Gave answer to the Minstrel's blast.
And now the moat, so broad and deep,
Kept on its edge him waiting for The porter from the other side,
And Herman looked on battled towers With wistful eyes and languid spirits.
The fortress neither state nor pomp Distinguished from the other castles,
However great its import was To Edward and his country's fortune, Because it held within its fortress
The man whose liberty, if gained, Might be of both of them the ruinl —
A thought well fit to make the bard
Whose soul was moved by hint of this, Fail into deep and sombre musings.
The long and bitter civil war, Despite of law and right, and all
Decided by the first-born's fail: The public weal (who might dissemble)
Against the first-born's right divine
Now weighed as if of higher worth: — All this for thought gave ample reason.
And, though the time passed quickly on While Herman by the gate was waiting, Ohl quicker did his thoughts run o er
The circle of the by-gone years.
But harkt upon the steps of stone Resounding from the other side The heavy tread of armed men: The sound approaches ever nearer: A bunch of keys makes rattling noise And grating rises the portcullis:



— T75 —
The weighty bar at last removed
Falls from its clamps unto the ground. And now the gate unlocks and opens And shows a strong and watchful troop Within the castle's wall, to guard Against surprise and fierce attack. The drawbridge falls. Before the others Betakes himself with measured tread The porter to the wicket-door. 'Who's there?' resounds then loud to Herman. — 'Pray open quick, in Gelre's namel The castle's Captain must I see.' Thus does he loudly speak his answer.
And soon the porter's hand unlocks The door which but remained between them,
While Herman to the other side Now ridden, under faithful escort Is guided to the inner court.
And now as duty bids, At once the knight's arrival is
The noble Captain told, And presently the answer comes: 'Let him be brought at once to me.' "*) The foregoing passage, and indeed, the whole of "Edward of Guelders" cannot but make us regret that Van Lennep did not begin his "Dutch Legends" with work like this. We also notice the general influence of Scott, which however does not include the imitation of the English writer's essential quality, his ability to capture the spirit of the past, and his skill in local colour, especially as expressed in the dialogue. Just because it was so fatally easy for Van Lennep to imitate outward characteristics,8) he failed in these deeper qualities.
But in "Edward of Guelders" as well as in the former legends we are struck, in reading the conversations, bythe fact that the author even in these, shows his gift for the picturesque. Of this Van Lennep, who was also a dramatist, set the example in Holland, notwithstanding the inconsistencies
l) Nederlandsche Legenden. Eduard van Gelre, Vijfde Zang. 3) Cf. De Muzen (Amsterdam, 1835), p. 469.
"Welligt bezit niemand onzer dichters eene zoo gelukkige gave om zich de denkbeelden van anderen toe te eigenen dan Mr. J. van Lennep".



— 176 —
of his dialogue. Moreover in his description of nature he was always thoroughly romantic.
We also see the influence of Scott in Van Lennep's novels,1) the first of which was published in 1833, two years after "The War with Flanders", the last of the series of "Dutch Legends ', had appeared.
1 The novel was entitled "The Adopted Son".») Though [Van Lennep is a novelist above all and when turning to jthe novel, abandoned the writing of poetic romances to IBeets and others, it was the success of his legends which Jenabled him to find an editor for his prose tale. Scott's \Waverley, as an unfinished manuscript, had been lost for fsome time; Van Lennep's first novel had had to wait in a drawer for some years before a publisher took pity on it and even then the novelist had to do without a fee.8)
"The Adopted Son" had been written in 1825?, the same # 7 year in which "The Squire" by Miss de Neufville had made .
~its appearance^ Again we feel the influence of D. J. Van Lennep's "Dissertation on the Importance of Holland's soil and antiquities for the Cultivation of feeling and imagination." • Van Lennep, however, was much more of an historian and of a novelist than Miss de Neufville, whose work was published earlier, and Scott's new prose found in him ,
\ a better and a more influential imitator, though less original.
Drost's "Hermingard of the Oak-mounds" also preceded * Van Lennep's first novel by one year. Yet, however great
') Cf. Beets, Verscheidenheden meest op letterkundig gebied. Vol. IV, p. 18 sq. Here we read: —
"In Van Lennep gelijk in Walter Scott, had zich de Romanschrijver reeds in den dichter vertoond, en de Nederlandsche Legenden, gelijk hare samen, stelling eene niet te versmaden vóóroefening voor die van zijne zooveel uit. gebreider en ingewikkelder proza»dichtingen geweest was, gaven in bijna ieder opzicht den maatstaf aan de hand van hetgeen men in deze zoude vinden, en missen".
*) De Pleegzoon.
!) See Van Lennep's letter to Jan ten Brink (August 4, 1867): — Ik heb mijn Pleegzoon ongeveer 40 jaren geleden geschreven; hij heeft eenige jaren in een lade gelegen: geen boekwurm wou er aan. Eerst toen ik met mijn Legenden wat naam gemaakt had, wou P. Meijer Warnars er zich wél over ontfermen. Van honorarium kon nog geen sprake zijn".
J. ten Brink, Geschiedenis der Noord-Nederlandsche Letteren in de XlXe eeuw. Vol. I, pp. 150, 151.



— i77 —
the historical knowledge and the novelistic insight of the author of Hermingard and of "The Pestilence at Katwijk (1625)" may be, "The Adopted Son" and its successors were the first historical novels to catch the ear of the public.
Part of this success may be ascribed to the very defects of Van Lennep's work and to the more or less adulterated state in which the characteristics of Scott's növels were here introduced into Holland.
Van Lennep, however, stands out as the Dutch novelist of the second quarter of the nineteenth century. This he was under and owing to the influence excercised upon him by Scott, to whom his father's "Dissertation" had directed him, and who was always his great example. While hisürst novel was to a certain extent original, we shall but too easily detect the ready plagiarist in others, while at least one work is a novel of the past in the best manner of Scott.
The historie nature of "The Adopted Son"1) (1833) wet see in the time to which the action belongs, which isfrom^ 1598 to 1621. _We find a description of the war and of the truce between the Netherlands and Spain, of the religious| dissensions of the Arminians and Gomarists, of Maurice of Nassau and his brother Frederic Henry. The action of the novel falls more especially in the first part of the year 1621, when by the end of the Twelve Years' Truce the Spaniards were busy strengthening their position by negotiations and treason, and when also some attempts were made to murder Prince Maurice. *) The romantic element of the novel is supplied by the adopted son Joan, who, in reality the descendant of a German nobleman, lives for a great part of
') De Pleegzoon was translated into English.
The Adopted Son, translated bij Hoskin. New.York, Burgers, Stringer and Co., 1847.
The translater dedicated to the Duke of Wellington "the following trans* lation of a modern Dutch Historical Novel, the first I believe ever made from that language".
In one of the notes we read: "At Hindelopen, the inhabitants still wear a horrid costume, which must have had its origin in the earliest ages of civi* lization. It is indescribably ugly". Perhaps a rather curious remark in an historical novel.
') The writer takes some liberties with history in putting Mom's treason after the death of the archduke.
12



- i78 -
his life under the suspicion of being the son of a Spanish grandee. The writer gives us his adventures from his l early youth to his happy marriage. Kidnapped by the | Spaniards, then taken and educated by the Dutch, he is j later estranged from his foster father Van Reede, but refuses | to undertake anything treacherous against him or his country,
and when in the end the intrigues of the Jesuit Eugenio have all miscarried, gets married to Ulrica van Reede. The doings of the follower of Ignatius Loyola, wonderful adventures, hairbreadth escapes, secret passages and chambers, all help to heighten the romantic interest of Van Lennep's first novel.
"The Adopted Son" was a great success with the reading public, which admired the author's talent for narrating an interesting and entertaining story, and also liked the Dutch characteristics of the novel,
> There is not much taken from Scott's works in "The Adopted Son", except several incidents. So the kidnapped hero rejmnds us of Harry Bertram in Guy Manneting, as Gheryt Maessen and his wife resemble Dandie Dinmont and his gudewife in the same novel, while the scène in which Prince Maurice in disguise visits Joan in prison') reminds one of a similar scène in A Legend of Montrose
in which Argyle comes to Dalgetty.') The Latin of Velasco and De Groot8) also puts one in mind of some characters in the Waverley novels as for instance, of Tressilian and the pedagogue in Kenüworth.4) Moreover the nurse of Ulrica in her religious controversies with Raesfeld6) is as opinionated as Mause in Old Mortalüy.6) Reminiscences of Ivanhoe acê_jLoujld in the way in which Bouke speaks up for the absent Joan,7) as Rowena does for Cedric's son,8) while Van Lennep's game of skittles9) may be borrowed from Scott's shooting-match.10)
') Hoofdstuk XXIX.
3) Chapter XIII.
») Hoofdstuk XXV.
4) Chapter IX.
6) Hoofdstuk VIII.
") Chapter VII and others.
Ó Hoofdstuk XX.
8) Chapter V.
9) Hoofdstuk XXI. '*) Chapter XIII.



— 179 —
In general, however, "The Adopted Son," though written f in Scott's manneris one of Van Lennep's most original J works.8) This may perhaps be ascribed to the influence J of D. J. Van Lennep's "Dissertation", which was in favour j of national work and against imitation.
i In "The Rose of Dekama"3) (1836), a second novel, the author took a medieval subject, and is also much more
• indebted to Scott, in various episodes of his book.
"The Rose of Dekama" aims at transporting its reader to the Netherlands in the chivalrous times of the Middle Ages. It tells us about William the Fourth, Count of Holland, and his expedition against Utrecht, and later, with the bishop, against the Frisians. We hear about knights and merchants, mechanics and priests, about the efforts of Holland to increase her importance among the nations and the independent spirit of the inhabitants of Friesland, about sieges and battles and the multifarious aspects of life in those turbulent times. To see all this the reader has to follow the adventures of Madzy Dekama, a Frisian heiress, who travels to Holland in the company of the Lord of Aylva, her guardian, an ambassador to William IV, with Seerp van Adeelen, and the Abbot of Saint-Odulf. The reader is taken to the court at Haarlem, witnesses a tournament, and enters the city of Utrecht. Madzy, meanwhile, who is engaged to Adeelen, has enflamed the hearts of two noblemen of unknown birth, with the result that one friend stabs the other, and that there is a rupture between her and herbe-
') De Recensent, ook der Recensenten, Vol. XXVILX p. 97, thought "The AdopEècTSön'' in the manner of Scott, but not a slavish imitation, and ad* mired its local colour.
The critic in De Vriend des Vaderlands (Amsterdam, 1833), Vol. VII, p. 584 sqq., divides the historie novels into two kinds, those of the romantic school, subor* dinating the characters to circumstances, and those of philosophic nature, in which the spirit of the age predominates. Van Lennep's novel he considers romantic.
') The writer also owes something to Kotzebue and Victor Hugo. ■') De Roos van Dekama.
Translated into English: The Rose of Dekama, or the Frisian Heiress, trans* lated from the Dutch by Frank Woodley A. B., 2 vols. London, Bruce and Wyld, lj|2r~~
In his preface the translater calls his work "a novel translated from a Dutch author-one"oT*a nation wich prejudice has considered utterly unfitted for the appreciation much less the production, of any work in the more polished and refined branches of imaginative writing."



— 180 —
trothed. But when in the expedition against Friesland, the Count of Holland and Adeelen meet with their death, the lover who was stabbed but did not die reappears. He is no less a person than Aylva's son, and a happy marriage compensates for many troubles. The prophecies of the Italian Barbanera, the adventures of brother Syard, as well as many other incidents tend to enhance the romantic nature of the novel.
There is rather much in "The Rose of Dekama" to remind us of Scott. Even as a whole it bears some resemJblance to one of the Waverley novels, namely Anne oj Geierstein. For as in Scott's romance the Swiss mountaineers wish to maintain their indepen dence against the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, so in Van Lennep's novel the Frisian lowlanders claim their right to a government of their own against William the Fourth, Count of Holland. There is a similarity between the Frisians and the Swiss, both fond of liberty, as well as between the brave but quarrelsome William of Hainault and Charles the Bold. Moreover the Swiss send an embassy to Charles, as the Frisians do to William, and the wise Landamman may be compared to the prudent Aylva, Donnerhugel is as headstrong as Adeelen and they are both equally eager for war. Further the two embassies are each accompanied by a young lady, Madzy Dekama and Anne of Geierstein. The lives of both these ladies are influenced by an old saw, and they have more than one suitor, but the obstinate Adeelen dies as well as the headstrong Donnerhugel, and love crowns all, when true hearts are united. If however, in its choice of subject and its general development, "The Rose of Dekama" suggests Anne of Geierstein, thetournament at Haarlem1) at once reminds us of Ivanhoe. The famous tourney of Ashby-de-la-Zouche,2) well-known to every reader of Scott is here depicted over again,3) and the knight of
') Hoofdstuk XIV. Ó Chapter XII.
') Vaderlandsche letteroefeningen (1837^1, p. 29, considers Van Lennep's description of the toürnameriF"onIy inferior* to Scott's in Ivanhoe.
But then the same critic says on page 31: "Wij mogen, na dezen Roman gelezen te hebben, wanneer het slot aan den aanvang beantwoordt, ons geluk, wenschen, dat ons Vaderland ook eenen Walter Scott of Cooper bezit."



— 181 —
the Red Eagle, John of Arkel, Bishop of Utrecht, in disguise, strongly resembles the Black Sluggard, Richard of England. Besides this, the bishop's love for Madzy Dekama, bears a resemblance to that of the Templar for Rebecca the Jewess. A scène similar to that in which Barbanera acts as a fortuneteller to William's court1) is found in The Pirate where Norna sits in the tent and provokes the anger of the Udaller.8)
These and other imitations detract from the originality of "The Rose of . Dekama."
It is of more importance, however, that in this novel as well as in "The Adopted Son", Van Lennep followed Scott in making his romances novels of the past.
So the action of "The Adopted Son" belongs to the end of the sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth century, and that of "The Rose of Dekama" to the middle of the fourteenth century, as we have already seen. Van Lennep
even seems to have gone so far as to be influenced in the choice of his subjects by an English rather than a national point of view. For as to most Scotchmen as well as to most Englishmen the question of religion has always been an important one, and is found in Old Mortality, The Heart of Mid\lothian, and many another novel by Scott, so the Dutch lauthor wrote about the followers of Gomarus and Arminius in "The Adopted Son." Yet the average Dutchman of about 1830 did not care much about the religious sects of the Twelve Years' Truce, nor did the novelist himself make them the central point of his work. The Middle Ages, too, had a peculiar interest for Scott and the Englishman of his day, the spirit of chivalry having been kept alive by their Toryism and in their nobility, but to the Dutch they stand for that conception of civil and religious liberty which led up to theEighty Years'War. Hence "The Rose of Dekama" should not have been modelled on Iiianhoe, in depicting the feudal institutions which were always rather foreign to
See also De Beweging, Vol. IX, 2, p. 139, where J. Koopmans in hisjacob van Lennep in zijn Eerste Roman praises the tournament, though he denies that Van Lennep has local colour.
l) Hoofdstuk VI.
») Chapter XXI.



182
the free Netherlands. *) The author had done better to follow Anne of Geierstein in painting the Frisians' love of freedom and their fight against a mighty prince; but Friesland was only one of seventeen provinces, and the Southern Netherlands were reasserting their liberty at the time of the appearance of "The Rose of Dekama." Here, too, it is not a ruling national idea that^is the chief feature of Van Lennep's novel. The time of "The Adopted Son" which is that of the Eighty Years'War is indeed a happier choice. Yet again the writer does not paint the rise of the Dutch Republic; the period of the greater part of his novel is the end of the Twelve Years' Truce when the national spirit was rather at an ebb.
Thus Van Lennep may have been influenced by Scott in the choice of his subject-matter to the detriment of the Dutch character of his novels. Yet "The Adopted Son" and "The Rose of Dekama" are national, though not in the same way as are the Waverley novels. This we see if we consider how Van Lennep worked out his romances. For
ï it is here that the Dutch writer deviates from Scott. With the
latter the historie element comes first, with the former it is only of secondary importance. Consequently instead of following the course indicated by his subject and its time, and painting the Dutch republic in a state of turbulence
and disquiet, yet strong enough to cope with a mighty
enemy, notwithstanding the existence of what might be the
cpfrlc r\f cnmïnfr s4ïc<<./-.l,,<-lnn . t...«... i,1 _r ; ti ï-\ . 1
. ——~ uiMumuuu, msLCdu ui piuiuring tne uuren
><^ I states and their unruly inhabitants in the Middle Acres and
the hot-headed William IV of Holland hastening to his death amid adventures, tournaments, and wars; instead of letting this tale grow up, a natural product, as it were, of the time and scenery, Van Lennep made history merely subservient to the dramatic interest of his narrative. Unlike Scott, who saw the past as in perspective from out of the oresent. the
| Dutch novelist too often put his present in the past. But Ithen Van Lennep's present is Dutch, and in so far he is
aiways national.
Van Lennep's novels are historical only to a certain degree. With Scott's romances thev have this in common that their
period is the past, but they differ from them in the relation
0 Cf, a criticism of De Roos van Dekama in De Gids, Vol I, B., p. 331sqa.



- i83 -
between their historie and novelistic elements. Van Lennep does not first of all give a picture of the time he writesl about, but he writes a narrative, aiming at being entertainmg and, as he hopes, useful to his reader, and he paints persons "as they are still in his days, with their good and bad qualities, with their tempers and passions — but modified 1 so as to be in accordance with the ideas, manners and j customs of the time," J) adding some moral teaching.
So "The Adopted Son" is the tale of the youthofUlnch von Daun, Count of Falckestein, winding up with his lovestory. That he is bom towards the end of the sixteenth century and plays his part during the Twelve Years' Truce is of secondary importance, it augments indeed the number of adventures and facilitates the plot, but the interest of the novel does not turn on it. Nor is the plot against- the life of Prince Maurice in which the hero is implicated a great historie event. "The Rose of Dekama" is more in the manner of Scott, centring at it does round the expedition of William the Fourth against Friesland, and depicting the Frisians with their native peculiarities as well as feudal life in the Middle Ages. Yet again the element of love predominates in this novel. Like Ivanhoe, which begins with a description of a medieval landscape in England, it opens with the past in a picture of a town and its life in Holland in the fourteenth century, but it soon deviates into the paths of love. Hence the important part which Madzy and her three suitors play in the novel.
It really seems as if Van Lennep in imitating Scott feil short of the aim he had set before him. He wanted his [ novels to be historical, but he was not historian enough to ! remain true to his intention. So he lays his scènes in the past, only too soon, however, losing hold of this, though I ever and again the claims of time reasserted themselves. This is also seen in the characters of "The Adopted
') See introduction to De Roos van Dekama.
"Wie op de fantastische schildering van exceprionee/e personen belust is zooals de hedendaagsche literatuur onzer naburen die meestal aanbiedt, zal zich bedrogen vinden: hij zal hier slechts menschen aantreffen, zooals zij nog heden ten dage zijn, met hun goede en slechte hoedanigheden, met hun driften en hartstochten, - maar gewijzigd naar de denkbeelden, zeden en ge. bruiken van den tijd".



— 184 —
j Son" and "The Rose of Dekama". As in Scott's romances the heroes are not historical personages, though in both | novels characters belonging to history are found. Yet even lVan Lennep's historie characters are not in the first place •public personages. Maurice of Nassau in "The Adopted Son" is first seen in the field fighting the Spaniards, and here he has some of the responsibilities and talents of a general,l) later at Tiel he is Captain Hokvast and buys horses,s) and it is as a private person that he visits Joan in prison and attends a meeting of the Remonstrants.3) As he is depicted here and elsewhere, we do not generally see in him the portrait of the great stadholder of the Dutch Republic, Nor is Frederic Henry depicted in accordance with the place he holds in history. Of the lesser personages we need only name De Groot and Spinola, for the Latin pedant is no good portrait of the acute scholar, any more than the prudent ambassador gives us a true picture of the great general, *) to make it clear that the historical characters in "The Adopted Son" are, as such, failures, for the greater part at least. In "The Rose of Dekama" they are drawn more in Scott's manner. William of Holland, for instance though he makes his first appearance on the scène as Treslong, cannot altogether hide his dignity. He speaks of the Count or the Duke of Guelders as his cousin, yet instantly corrects himself, but what is more he assumes a tone of authority such as does not belong to a simple nobleman.6) And when he acts or speaks in his own quality, he is indeed the Count of Holland. This is also seen when in his last battle his last words are to assert his rights as Lord and Master.*) A different picture is that of Arkel, Bishop of Utrecht. Not only because it is untrue to history,7)
0 Hoofdstuk VI. * Hoofdstuk XXIV, s) Hoofdstuk XXIX. 4) Hoofdstuk XXV. ') Hoofdstuk V. •) Hoofdstuk XXXIV.
0 Cf. Van Lennep's Eduard van Gelre, Aanteekeningen op den eersten Zang. "Jan van Arkel, die hier bedoeld wordt, was de zevenenveertigste Bisschop van Utrecht, en dezelfde, die in mijn romantisch verhaal: „De Roos van Dekema", de hoofdrol vervult. Gaarne wil ik te dezer plaatse (ten be. hoeve van hen, die de geschiedenis uit de romans willen leeren en deze laatste niet aan de geschiedenis toetsen), de bekentenis afleggen, dat de blaam



- 185 /"
but also because it is primarily the private side of Arkel'si character that is painted, and we but rarely see the parti he plays in the history of his bishopric and of Holland and? Friesland. It is possible that Van Lennep had before his mind Scott's picture of Richard Cceur de Lion in Ivanhoe, and wished to draw a parallel sketch, but we do see Richard's influence on his country and we fail to find in Utrecht's bishop an historical and public person. Beaumont, however, is again first of all represented as a public character and so are others.
As to Van Lennep's heroes and heroines, they are neutral characters as are Scott's. Joan in "The Adopted Son" is supposed to be the son of a Spanish noble, but is adopted by a Dutch baron. He becomes involved in the intriguSJ» of the Jesuit Eugenio, has intercourse with Roman Catholics 1 and Remonstrants, and produces about the same impression as the hero of Scott's Waverley, while like him, he leads a wandering life. Thus the adventurous hero is 1 the fit person to have the story built up around him. The far-reaching questions of religion and nationality, however, are not the chief points in Van Lennep's novel. Madzy in "The Rose of Dekama" also wanders a good deal. She travels from Friesland to Holland, and after alongsojourn in the bishopdom of Utrecht returns to her native country. Her experiences enlarge her views of life; further, though a Frisian, she falls in love with a nobleman of William's court, and so she takes no pronounced part in the fierce quarrels between Holland and Friesland, but offers ample opportunity for the painting of national contrasts. Even ini her love she is passive rather than active, and here, too, resembles Scott's heroes and heroines. Yet her love-story is sufficiently prominent as to impair the historie quality of | the novel.
The Waverley novels also give us types, the better tol illustrate the time of the action. Van Lennep followed J Scott in this respect too, but feil short of the English mas- j ter in these characters as well as in those that are historical. 1 It is again his knowledge that seems to be at fault. Thusl
van zelfzucht, welken ik aldaar aan dien wakkeren kerkvoogd ten laste leg, niet, althans niet in zulke mate, door de Geschiedenis gewettigd wordt". Here Van Lennep revokes the charge of egotism made against Arkel in his novel.



— i86 —
in the clergyman Raesfelt in uThe Adopted Son" Van ; Lennep might have painted the staunch Calvinist of his j days, and in his son Hendrik the Arminian, but the novelist is 1 too strong for the historian, and the writer's often cheap fun 'must fill up the gaps owing to lack of historical insight. The I Jesuit Eugenio is more.successful in representing the religious I party for which he stands, actuated as his life is by the one I principle of the destruction of the heretics and the glory of his * church and of Spain; while, as his counterpart, we get Father Ambrosius, who loves both his country and his enemies. But if in his novel Van Lennep wanted to paint the mercenaries who fought in the Dutch armies, he really failed by merely introducing a few of their officers, speaking a most corrupt Dutch, and by omitting to give a picture of their lives and thoughts. But when choosing his characters among peasants and poachers the writer draws upon the present, and here the novelist succeeds. In '-The Rose of Dekama" Claes Gerritsz. is the type of the citizen of the Middle Ages, jealous of his political privileges. First a townclerk, he later enters the service of the count, cites the "privileges" in the midst of the rebellious Frisians, and dies in the exercise of his functions. But he stands almost alone as the representative of the people among the nobles. Of these we might mention Reinout and Deodaat, only their lives are so much under the influence of their love for Madzy that the typical side of these characters is for the greater part lost. Love and hatred also greatly influence Adeelen, and he has less right to the name of "the Frisian" than Cedric in Scott's Ivanhoe to that of "the Saxon". A true Frisian and patriot is Aylva, who rises from his sickbed to defend his country against the foreign invader. The monks of Friesland are represented by the Abbot of SintOdulf and Father Syard, who in many respects resemble the Abbot Boniface and Father Eustace in Scott's Monastery. Syard like Eustace loves the church and his country.
Thus Van Lennep followed Scott, but at a distance, in depicting the historical side of his characters, and often l paints them only from a novelistic point of view. \ Unlike the great English master he did not live in the



- i87 -
past and this may also account for his many shortcomings | in local colour. *)
Yet the Dutch author was too talented a man entirely tofail in this, and in suggesting the idea of time and place in his novels he also shows the influence of Scott. So in l"The Adopted Son" he makes the foreigners speak either jin their own languages or in corrupt Dutch, while the peasants talk their own dialect. The representation, however, jis not always correct or beautiful, and the conversation often modern. A point in which he does better is that the IPsalms are cited in the metrical version of Dathenus then 'in use,») and that Starters songs*) make our thoughtsrevert to the first part of the seventeenth century. A description, too, such as that of the offering of the boar by Utrecht to the Count of Holland*) revives an ancient custom. Moreovër the past is represented in dress and architecture. In connection with this we may mention the picture of the two noblemen, Reede and Falckestein,s) and the fine description of the barons bedroom.6) In general, however, the local colour in "The Adopted Son" is somewhat faint. In "The Rose of Dekama" we can easily see how much more Van Lennep has profited by Scott's example in his second novel. For here we have really something of a picture of life in the Middle Ages. Even the conversation of the different characters has in it an atmosphere of the past. They swear by St. Martin as does Arkel ?), or by St. Momus as does Barbanera's clown, and the Italian himself cries out Corpo di Bacco and Madre di
') Cf. Mr. Koopman's Jacob van Lennep in zijn Eerste Roman in De Be* weging. Vol. IX, 2. ,
Here we find on p. 119: "De lokale historiese kleur, die bij Drost en Bosboom ons inderdaad naar vorige eeuwen verplaatst, wordt bij Van Lennep gemist".
Of De Pleegzoon we read in Vaderlandsche Letteroefeningen (1833), 1, p. 579; „Maar vraagt men naar waarheid, naar waarschijnlijkheid van karakter der daarin voorkomende historische personen, en der natie zelve, zoo als zij toen was, dan heeft de schrijver zich wel alle moeite gegeven, om het costuum van' het begin der zeventiende eeuw voor te stellen; maar het portret der natie zelve is door hem niet getroffen, en aan haar voorkomen is bezwaar, lijk regt gedaan".
J) Hoofdstuk I, VIII, etc.
>) Hoofdstuk XVIII.
<) Hoofdstuk XXVII.
») Hoofdstuk I.
6) Hoofdstuk XIV.
0 Hoofdstuk XXI.



— 188 —
Dio,!) while the Frisian abbot recommends a soothing drink and adds the prescription») and Adeelen prefers his native beverage to a foreign wine. s) For ancient manners and customs, we may draw attention to the tournament at Haarlem, *) the banquet given by the count,6) and to the diet of the Frisians,6) while the description of the battle of Staveren?) is a good picture of a medieval fight. Barbanera's costume,8) too, is described, as well as William's courtdress, •) and Madzy's attire. 10) Then the town of Haarlem11) is depicted, a cloister with its hall,12) the camp round Utrecht,13) an inn,") a castle, 16) a church, 16) and much more of the same kind, all to illustrate the tale by its surroundings.
But always with Van Lennep, even in "The Rose of Dekama" the romance is novelistic rather than historical, and there remains some incongruity between the story and its period and scène. Moreover to call up the past the language of the writer is not restrained enough, and his personages by their own words and acts do not appear to us to belong to an age remote from our own.
Yet even as a mere novelist Van Lennep was greatly influenced by Scott, and shows fewer deviations from the master than when he followed the writer of historical romances, though he remains the same easy-going worker.
What in the Waverley novels especially appealed to Van I Lennep and made him a romantic novelist in the manner f of Scott may be seen in the direct imitations. The kidnapped hero of "The Adopted Son" and his many wanderings and
') Hoofdstuk VII.
3) Hoofdstuk IV. ») Hoofdstuk V.
4) Hoofdstuk XIV. ') Hoofdstuk XVI. •) Hoofdstuk XXVI. 0 Hoofdstuk XXXIII. 8) Hoofdstuk II.
s) Hoofdstuk IX. ") Hoofdstuk XI. ") Hoofdstuk I. ") Hoofdstuk XVI. ") Hoofdstuk XXVI. u) Hoofdstuk XIX. '•) Hoofdstuk XX. le) Hoofdstuk XXXIII.



— 189 —
adventures teil us that the element of mystery and the < action found in the English master especially attracted the Dutch writer. When John of Arkel in "The Rose of Dekama" is an imitation of such afigure as Richard of England j and is painted with glow and animation, we may concludej that the picturesque writer is followed. '
Indeed, in his own degree, Van Lennep is like Scott the writer of action. His is not an all round romanticism, finding expresssion both in the abstract and the concrete, but it is imaginative like his master's.
This we see first of all in the way in which Van Lennep paints his characters. For even more than the dramatis personae of the Waverley novels, his personages lack depth and originality, though they make up for this by liveliness and picturesqueness. They are elementary in their virtues and vices, and rather simple. Painted from the outside, as it were, it is but rarely that their hearts are laid bare, and the complexity of human nature is not to be looked for. We see that the Dutch writer foliows Scott only too closely and goes even farther. He also paints his characters by word and action and avoids elaborate descriptions. So he appeals to ,the readers imagination, but does not touch his heart. IVan Lennep is even less of a psychological writer I than Scott.
Moreover in "The Adopted Son" he makes but little distinction between the characterization of his public and private persons. This may be ascribed to the fact that his historie insight is at fault. Thus the portrait of Maurice of Nassau is anything but satisfactory. And Joan the hero, however good a youth he may be, is more of a lay figure than a living person. Further when Van Lennep emphasizes such characters as Eugenio and Father Ambrosius he makes the Jesuit irretrievably vicious, the vicar ideally virtuous. Personages such as the clergyman Raesfelt, farmer Gheryt Maessen, and Bouke are simpler, and are better painted. Still the different characters are picturesque in their way. What is wanting is seen when such a scène as the murder of Eugenio by his son*) fails to move the reader. In I "The Rose of Dekama", however, Van Lennep came
') Hoofdstuk XXXII.



— 190 —
I much nearer to Scott. William of Holland, though painted without any depth of characterization, speaks and acts
mee a prince 5 prieel too is a picturesque character, whether
ne appears as a knight or a statesman, a bishop or a lover. But in Reinout we find an impulsive character whose actions might have been more restrained or better explained, though his being an Italian may have appeared to the writer a sufficiënt explanation. Deodaat, Adeelen, and Syard, are all better painted. And some delineation of passions, such as love and hate, is indeed found in "The Rose of Dekama", though it never amounts to analysis of feeling. The picturesque writer, however, always communicates life to his personages.
The picturesque writer in both novels also delights in the number of his personages.
Yet Scott's influence on Van Lennep is more dearly seen 1 in the lifelikeness of the story. In the plot of the novel of the past the writer's imagination has fuller scope than in the romance as such. As long as he keeps true to the general lines of history in his tale, the author is absolutely free in the minor details, and moreover he can take advantage of poetic license. Van Lennep's historie knowledge, however much inferior to Scott's, was ample enough for the main lines, while his dramatic gifts, though he sometimes degenerates into the comic or the burlesque, also made him an apt pupil of the English master. Hence the picturesqueness of his story.
In Van Lennep's first novel we admire the easy flowing tale with its many new and surprising adventures. We follow the life of the picaresque hero almost from his birth to his marriage, but just as in Scott's Guy Mannering the narrative skips a period of nearly seventeen years, in the same way many years of Joan's life are but briefly reviewed. Yet how many adventures fail to the hero's lot! When still young. he is thrown into the water
rescued by a dog, protected by a Spaniard, adopted by a Dutch noble, and all this within a few days. Later he tra veis abroad, but after his return one adventure succeeds the other. Various events connected with other persons also add to the liveliness of the story. We draw attention to the



— I9i —
taking of Falckenstein's castle,1) to Velasco's death,») to Joan's escape from Tiel,s) and to the murder of Eugenio.«) But in many another scène, too, the picturesque narrator is seen. In "The Rose of Dekama," however, his development is nper and there is less of the burlesque in this novel. The heroïne again wanders. She leaves Friesland to meet with numerous adventures in Holland. One lover has accompanied her, two more appear on the scène. And when she tries to escape from the power of the Count of Holland who wants to place her in a nunnery, she falls into the hands of John of Arkel and is present at the siege of Utrecht. But then she returns to her native country, only, however, to find it in arms against William IV. And how many incidents and adventures befall the other dramatis personae! Deodaat is stabbed by his friend, recovers, is in the army fighting against Utrecht, goes with the count to Friesland, is about to die when Reinout intercedes for him, is imprisoned, regains his freedom, and takes refuge in a cellar, is found, and proves to be a Frisian. Among the great many picturesque scènes m the novel we may mention the tournament at Haarlem ') Madzy's departure from Utrecht,6) the storm on theZuider Zee n and especially the battle of Staveren.8)
In Van Lennep's conversation, too, Scott's influence is seen His djalogue is always easy and free, and h.s characters talk as^ were for the pleasure of talking. This can but enhance the picturesqueness of the discourse. Yet notwithstanding all this Van Lennep never attains Scott's level. The latter makes his characters speak according to their position, and under the influence of time and place; this is less the case with the former. Public personages in Van Len-, nep's novels converse very much as do ordinary people in private life, and local colour is but sparingly introduced in the diaWue, and then is often not quite correct. Moreover the Dutch writer cannot always withstand his facetious' tendencies and
>) Hoofdstuk III sqq.
') Hoofdstuk VII.
Hoofdstuk XVII. ") Hoofdstuk XXXII. *) Hoofdstuk XIV. 4 Hoofdstuk XX. 0 Hoofdstuk XXXII. *) Hoofdstuk XXXII sqq.



— 192 —
where he gives way to these the dialogue suffers.
Yet picturesque dialogue is occasionally found. In "The Adopted Son", the conversation in Mrs. van Sonheuvel's Iyingin roomhor when farmer Gheryt Maessen and his wife talk with Joan, *) and in the hall of the Countess of Nassaus) is not without merit. In the dialogue in "The Rose of Dekama," Van Lennep reaches a higher level and is not only more natural and lively, but also more suggestive of the past. We may draw attention to the conversation in the forester's hut4), or at William's court at the dance 6), and to that of Madzy with Mechtelt and with Arkel,8) as well as to the altercation about Deodaat among the Frisians at Staveren.7)
As a descriptive writer Van Lennep again follows Scott, but shows the same deviations as in his characterization and his dialogue. His descriptions of whatever belongs to the past lack the finishing touch of the great Scottish master. We may say that in general he is too easily satisfied. Yet Van Lennep's imagination is not at fault, and in his pictures of nature he shows to what height he might have attained with greater application. So he paints his portraits of historical and private persons, and describes not only the characters in his novels, but also the scènes where they play their parts, and then excels when he has occasion to draw upon his knowledge of the present and give his descriptions of nature.
How Van Lennep paints his personages in "The Adopted Son" may be seen in the pictures of Falckestein and of Reede.8) Not only are their persons depicted, but also the different articles of dress. Other portraits are those of Raesfelt and his wife,9) and of Eugenio.10) There is also a fine description of the baron's bedroom,11) and of the large
') Hoofdstuk VIII. a) Hoofdstuk XVIII. *) Hoofdstuk XXXIII. 4) Hoofdstuk XXXIII. ') Hoofdstuk VII. ") Hoofdstuk XXIV. '') Hoofdstuk XXX. 8) Hoofdstuk I. ») Hoofdstuk IX. "*) Hoofdstuk XXXII. n) Hoofdstuk XIV.



— T93 —
hall in his castle.i) While for a picture of nature we refer to the painting of the village of Sonheuvel on an autumn night.») Yet as a descriptive writer Van Lennep is not at his best in his first novel. "The Rose of Dekama", however, again shows considerable development. The picturesque descriptions are of more frequent occurrence here, and have also gained in beauty. A picture of the Count of Holland is found in the description of Treslong, on the occasion of the reception of the Frisian ambassador,8) in which both appearance and dress are depicted. Later the count is again portrayed as we see him in St. John's and the church itself is also described.*) Other portraits are those of the abbot, Aylva, and Father Syard in the monastery of St. John, a picture of which building is also drawn for us.6) Among the characters of lower rank we may mention Master Barbanera and his clown, and Feiko and Sytsken in their Frisian dress.6) Picturesque is the description of the castle of Nyenstein, ">) and of the Count of Holland's camp on the outskirts of Utrecht,8) and the battle of Staveren9) is also a picture in itself. Nature we find depicted in the scenery about Haarlem,10) as well as in that of Gaasterland.11) In "The Rose of Dekama" Van Lennep, indeed, comes much nearer to Scott than in "The Adopted Son".
How much the romantic and historical novelist profited by Scott's influence, and how Dutch literature adjusted itself may also be seen by the following extract taken from Van Lennep's novel "The Adopted Son".
"Outside the charmingly situated town of Tiel, along the bank of the gloomy Waal. a cheerful grove extends, offering several views, all very picturesque. The enjoyment of this pleasing scenery, however, did not seem to be the motive which had enticed thither the two persons who visited it on the beautiful May evening
') Hoofdstuk XX. ') Hoofdstuk XI. s) Hoofdstuk V. 4) Hoofdstuk IX. 6) Hoofdstuk IV. «) Hoofdstuk II. 0 Hoofdstuk XX.
8) Hoofdstuk XXVI.
9) Hoofdstuk XXXIII sqq. '») Hoofdstuk V.
») Hoofdstuk XXVI.
15



— 194 —
with which wc resumé our story. Neither the vernal song of the warbliog birds, bot the lovely scène of the orchards, in full Moom, nor even the majestic nood which rolled its water along the foot of the massive dike, across which the little grove extended, seemed to occupy their attention. From the bench on which they were sitting in the shade of a large lime they stared fixedly ata ferry-boat which was slowly bearing up against wind and stream from the other side.
'I don't know,' said one of them, 'whether it is owing to the reflection of the sun in the water or to the great distance, or whether my eyes are at fault, but I cannot yet recognize any one of the passengers in the boat.'
The speaker was a middle-aged man, stout of face and body, with high shoulders and with greyish hair and beard. He war* a new silk cloak over a hunting-soait whose original green had faded and the lace of which, once gold, had become black. His companion was smaller, but of a more refined build and plainly but elegantly dressed in black. The suggestion of wit in his glance, the grace and alertness of his movements and the care with which hair and beard had been combed and dressed, gave him a still youthful appearance; but certain wrinkles which showed on the temples made the attentive spectator suspect that the governor of the Country between the Meuse and the Waal (for it was he) was already past his first youth.
'It is very disagreeable,' he said, 'to have to wait, when one's time is passed in painful uncertainty, as ours is.'
'Come nowl' replied the one who had spoken first: 'if you lose courage, I don't know what your honour's obedient servant must do; for at all events I am indeed in worse plight.'
'Anyway you will never lose courage, my dear Botbergenl', said Mom.
'No.' he answered, 'but what use is it when...'
'I do not mean it in that way,' the sheriff interrupted him: — 'you cannot lose what you have never had.'
•Was zum HenkerT exclaimed Botbergen, putting his hand to the hilt of his sword, 'if any other than Jakobus Mom insulted me like this.'
'But it's lucky for you it is Jakobus Mom and no other,' said the latter. 'Now, don't look so grimly at me; you know, don't you, that your fuss does not make any impression on me. Teil me, rather, why you think yourself to be in worse eondition than I am.'
'Ah, how stupid, notto see that yourself, Jakobus Mom, powerful and honoured from the Meuse to the Waal and about to marry



— i95 —
the most beautiful aod richest girl in the neighbourhood: who will perhaps become stadholder of the whole province if the plot sncceeds, and if it miscarries will know how to save himself, how could he be as uneasy as Elbert van Botbergen, who in case of success will be recompensed with some paltry office, perhaps with a "may God reward you" and if the thing goes wrong will lose his head.'
'Fooll' said Mom, 'for the very reason that you have nothing to lose, your fate would be more favourable than mine, whik I stake much; — however my marriage is by no means so certain as you think; my credit has been going down a good deal for some time, and if to-day, no money comes from Grobbendonck, I'll give up the plot; . . . . but see, Elbert 1 has not Teun Wezer two strange passengere on board?'" l)
In the foregoing passage we may admire the picturesque writer who sketches the beauties of nature as well as ias^ characters, and in his dramatic dialogue indicates the j position of his personages and works out his intrigue. Yet we ] cannot fail to notice that though in many respects the manner is Scott's, the touch is lighter. Further the atmosphere of the past is almost entirely wanting.
But there are other passages in which Van Lennep shows himself to be more of the historical novelist, one of these is the following in '-The Rose of Dekama": —
"It was not without often turning his head to the inn, that the monk had crossed the yard and continued his way, divided betweea the uneasiness which the impudent rudeness of the guests left with him, and the anxiety caused by the uncertainty of the result of his intended visit. When, however, he had turned the corner and had lost sight of the inn, he quickened his pace. and as far as possible banished all other thoughts, to think only of the future fate of his beloved country.
The avenue which he now followed and which led straight te the entrance of the castle was planted on one side with a row öt slender birches, whose white leaves touched by the west wind were in continual, rustling motion. On the other side wasaditch whose green border was overgrown with shrubs and over whose smooth water numerous swallows flew to and fro. Arrived at the end of this long and monotonous avenue the pedestrian was agreeably surprised when, all at once, he discovered a vast plain which presented an extensive and in many respects picturesque
9 De Pleegzoon, Zestiende Hoofdstuk.



— 196 —
view. A small riv'er wound through rich cornfields and green meadows. Its banks were covered here and there with pleasant groves whose luxurious green the last rays of the setting sun coloured with lovely tints. In the distance the towers of a few rich and prosperous villages were seen, and farther still across the plain, the half finished tower of the Utrecht cathedral which since finished, after so many centuries, serves as a beacon and guide-post for the neighbouring districts. In one of its many curves the river of which we have spoken watered an uncultivated, slightly elevated piece of land which, surrounded by a wide moat abundantly covered with duck-weed, communicated with the avenue out of which the monk was emerging, by means of a bridge composed of loose planks, which could be taken away at the least danger of surprise. Crossing this bridge, one came to a path paved with cobble-stones leading to the wall round the castle, around which a second moat had been dug, not deep indeed, but unfordable owing to the mud with which it was filled, and, moreover, defended on the inner side by a doublé railing which was, it is true, partly rotten or decayed but Cbuld soon be repaired. A small gate, only just high and wide enough to admit of the passage of a rider on horseback, led to the drawbridge thrown across this moat, and was like the bridge, defended by two small turrets placed on the outer wall. A small round passage at the end of the bridge led to the castle itself which only consisted of a massive square tower built of large bricks but without any ornaments except the mantle of ivy with which nature had been kind enough to provide it on one side; and without other fortification than such as was provided by the thickness of the walls and the situation of the place. The shape of this old and rude monument of former centuries, even in that time when such buildings were more general, contrasted gloomily and sadly with the gay landscape around it, and the greyish battlement, especially on the side where the ivy had not grown, produced the same effect as a cold heap of snow in early spring on a fiowerbed.
The old chronicler from whom our story is taken, does not teil us if Father Syard was occupied with any such comparisons, as he gazed long at the old tower. However this may be, he crossed the first bridge and, arrived at the smaller gate before the drawbridge, he lifted the heavy horn which was fastened to the wall by an iron chain and blew a few shrill notes. He had, however, to repeat this signal twice before he obtained a hearing: or at least before a meagre face which showed itself on the other side



— 197 —
behind a loophole, showed him that his request to be admitted had been heard." l)
The preceding fragment really bears a strong resemblance to Scott's work, yet Van Lennep's individuality again finds expression here. For however picturesque the descriptions of the past, the Dutch writer does not forget the present. He cannot omit speaking about the tower of Utrecht's cathedral in his own time, and must refer to his chronicler. And it is of some interest to note that ever and again, even in his best descriptions, Van Lennep thinks it necessary to introducé a reference to his own days into his historical novel.8)
To lose himself in the period he wrote about was not possible to Van Lennep in his first two novels. The distance in time was too great and he was too much interested in the present, as well as in his dramatis personae, always to think of the past. Hence "The Adopted Son" and "The Rose of Dekama" are not historical novels, notwithstanding Scott's influence. But they show the development of their writer's talent8) and are of the first importance owing to their place in Dutch literature. They also lead up to the novel \ Ferdinand Huyck,') which appeared in 1840 and is the 1 author's best book, by far.
Yet Ferdinand Huyck is not an historical romance either, 1 in the strict sense of the word, though it is a novel of the past. No important historical event or person is the centre of it. But as a picture of its time it is unequalled. I The time is the eighteenth century, an age with which the writer was thoroughly acquainted. Through his father, and even more through his grandfather he was quite at home with it.6) Moreover he had read Van Effen, Woltf
») De Roos van Dekama, Twintigste Hoofdstuk.
>) See De Roos van Dekama: Hoofdstuk XIV, XXXIII, etc.
') The criticof DePleegzoonïn Vadsdaxds^eJ^eroefeningeni}^), 1, says of Van Lennep. on p. 580: 'Hij mag naar de zeldzame eer streven, éénmaal onze Walter Scott te worden". Cf. note 3, p. 180. of the present work
<) Translated into English: The Count of Talavera. From the. Dutch of J. van Lennep by A. Arnold. Londen, j. C. Nimmo and Bain 880.
') Cf Beets, Verscheidenheden meest op letterkundig gebied. Vol. IV, p.U sq.
"Met" nadruk in dit verhaal, gevoelt gij dat de schrijver u nergens brengt of hii is er volkomen tehuis, en nooit is de eigenaardige, de oudhollandsche wijze van denken en gevoelen en doen duidelijker te zien en te waardeeren gegeven.



— 198 —
. and Deken, the writers whose works breathe the self-sufficiency of those Frenchified days, and their influence had even | detracted from Scott's. But thus the novel became a repreI sentation of the life of the eighteenth century. We see its j men and women, we hear about the houses they lived in, j the manners they followed, the dresses they wore, the «language they spoke, the thoughts that actuated them.
The introduction to Ferdinand Huyck tells us how the manuscript feil into Van Lennep's hands. The writer here follows the romantic precept, also carried out by Scott, and keeps in the background. At the same time the introduction gives us certain judgments on French novels, which as a rule are pronounced to be bad, whereas Fielding is praised, and his Tom Jones is even said to have a moral tendency.
Ferdinand Huyck is intended to be a work of similar nature. Notwithstanding its sometimes domestic character it is a picaresque novel with a moral purpose. Its hero is Ferdinand Huyck after whom the book is named. After an absence from Holland of two years he is returning to Amsterdam when his adventures begin. On the same day he meets with Henriëtte Blaek, a young lady whose uncle has embezzled her money and now wants his son to marry her; he also meets with a gentleman calling himself Bos and Van Beveren, but who in reality is Baron van Lmtz and a Spanish count, and also the pirate Don Manoël. Ferdinand falls in love with Henriëtte and his life is saved by Bos, whose daughter Amelia he is then to take to Amsterdam! The incidents multiply as Lodewijk Blaek does not care for his cousin, but pursues Amelia. Moreover the police are on the look-out for Bos. Huyck's life, indeed, is anything but a quiet one, though he settles down and becomes a partner in a commercial house. But when Lodewijk Blaek dies after a fight with the ex-pirate Sanders, who wishes to avenge his sweetheart, the daughter of the poet Helding, Ferdinand gets married to Henriëtte.
It is evident from this that the novel is a full and varied picture of life in the eighteenth century in Holland. Yet however much Ferdinand Huyck is Dutch, Scott's influence is found in Van Lennep's imitations. *) In this connection
' l) We have already spoken about the Dutch writers Van Effen, Wolf. and



— 199 —
we may mention Baron van Lintz, who in his lofty sereneness j resembles Mr. Mertoun in The Pirate, and still more in his haughtiness Redgauntlet, in the novel of the same name.! There is also some likeness between Sanders and Cleveland in The Pirate. They both wish to reform, but have former [ associates who want them to take up their former lives as! jpirates again. The poet Helding may be compared withl Claud Halcro and the isle of Ter-Schelling where the 1 nnravelling of Van Lennep's novel takes place, has much j in common with Zetland, not only as regards government I and privileges, but also in the custom prevalent among 1 their inhabitants of appropiating the spoils of wrecks. Fer- \ dinand Huyck also makes us think of Scott's Guy Mannering. Not only because the two novels are both pictures I of the eighteenth century, but in some details too. Thejl^ poetic meeting at Helding's perhaps owes its origin to the description of Mr. Counsellor Pleydell's carousel and both in^i? Ferdinand Huyck and in Guy Mannering the heiress and tó^f the heir have lost their heritages and recover their property V only at the end of the book.
Of even greater importance than some perhaps involuntary thefts is the pervading influence of Scott, and the J general character of Van Lennep's novel. 1 And here we may say that Ferdinand Huyck as a novel j of the past is in Scott's best manner. It is indeed an his j torical picture, though the writer's purpose to make it suchj is less pronounced and the time of action is much nearerj than in his first two romances in prose.
After writing Ferdinand Huyck, Van Lennep might have taken Scott's words as applying to himself, where the master speaks of having traced "the evanescent manners of his own country".1) His book paints the Dutch republic of the eighteenth century, in so many respects a contrast to the kingdom of
Deken, who played their part in the development of Van Lennep's genius.
The influence of Dickens's Pickwick Papers we see in Captain Pulver, who in his way of speaking and his metaphors reminds us of Sam Weller, and in Doedes, the magistrate and physician of Terschelling, who makes us think
0fThe" unravelling of the plot is as romantic as the end of Dickens's Martini Chozzlewit, where the several dramatis personae also meet in the catastrophe.|» ■) 'Waverley, Chapter LXXII, A Postscript.



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Holland of the nineteenth, and still more so to that of our own days. And the canvas upon which he paints is broad enough. His hero is the son of an Amsterdam magistrate, has studied for the bar at Leyden University and becomes a partner in a commercial house. So the reader becomes acquainted both with the commercial life and the legislative organization of the eighteenth century. Moreover through Ferdinand's aunts he gets to know the town and the church as well as the country, while through his sister and her lover he hears about The Hague and the government of the Netherlands. Lodewijk Blaek is the representative of the young dandies of the time who recklessly spent the money earned by hard and dangerous work in former days, and the poetaster Helding is one of the hangers-on of the rich would-be patrons of art. To the darker side of life belong Sanders and his associates. A great many other characters help to make the picture as comprehensive and broad as possible.
But not only in the'representation of life in general do ; we see Scott's influence in Ferdinand Huyck, it is also seen Jin its inner qualities. For the past is now an inherent \ element of the novel. It is true that Van Lennep's intention Imay not have been to emphasize this historie side, and Fer-
ainand s love-story may predominate, yet we cannot separate Ferdinand and Amelia from their surroundings, and their characters bear the stamp of the ap-e. And thmio-h th* h~rn
lis in many respects a neutral figure, other personages are
Imore pronounced and typicaj of their class. The stage, too, on which the different characters appear is painted with care and knowledge, though the local colour in this novel again strikes the reader less than it does in Scott. Yet Ferdinand Huyck, however unintentional in general its j character of the past, is in this respect not inferior to the Waverley novels. The manner in which the writer paints the
time of his novel, may be seen in the following description :
"The foremost of them was no less a person than the owner of the homestead himself, Mr. Jacobus Blaek, a man of middle height, looking thin and unhealthy, and possessing a face whose colour might be most conveniently compared to that of a glass of pure Amsterdam canal-water. The wrinkles which furrowed his forehead, the sickly expression of his eyes, sunk deep in their



20I
sockets, the markedly protruding chin and meagre cheeks, and the want of the greater number of his teeth, gave him the appearance of a decrepit old man, though in reality he was no older than fifty-three. His bearing, however, was always deliberate and stately; nay, in some cases not without dignity, and his appearance that of a fashionable man. His dress consisted of a plain summer gown of plaited silver-wire. Out of the broad cuffs of the sleeves which reached just below the elbow, a considerable quantity of ruffies feil on the fore-arm. The doublet was of black figured damask, as were the wide breeches, and between them shone a linen as white as snow. The silk stockings were tucked into large square shoes provided with high red heels. At the moment he wore no sword at his side, but a costly dagger on a silver chain in a sheath of sealskin, the handle of which was ivory inlaid with gold. A wig of tow and over this a white cloth cap with a broad and greatly protruding peek covered his head; and a tie with lace ends, over which snuff was abundantly scattered, encircled his neck. In his right hand he held a long, brown cane with amber knob, and in the left an umbrella." x)
By the dress we might teil in what period the person who wore it liv.ed. The time is even more clearly defined when the author describes Lodewijk Blaek and compares his appearance with that oi his father, but it is not often that Van Lennep's descriptions are as complete as in this instance. Nor do his explanations belong to the be^trjartrjf the novel. The writer is more successful when he revivesthe past in spite of himself, and at his best when he is picturesque in Scott's manner.
For Ferdinand Huyck possesses all the good romantic qualities found in the Waverley novels. It shows the full development of the author's imagination, now strengthened and sustained by actual knowledge. Hence a picture which is both lifelike and lively.
The characters are drawn in Scott's manner, less defined by description than by their own words and actions, and making up for their lack of depth by the brilliancy of the part they play. All this enhances the liveliness of the novel, which, however, is especially found in the never flagging interest of the story with its many incidents and plots and the dramatic dialogue, which is now also in accordance with the time and conditions.
') Ferdinand Huyck, Vierde Hoofdstuk.



— 202 —
Likewise the descriptions, though not over-abundant are picturesque in no mean degree, and the love of nature is found again as in all novels by Van Lennep.
To show how much the writer of Ferdinand Huyck was influenced by Scott, also in the novel proper, the following passage may serve: — '
"But, though this fresh morning-breeze was welcome to cool my feverish blood, I was yet more agreeably surprised by the magnificent view which opened out before my eyes and for which I was far from prepared. The night before, in the room we were then in, I thought the view limited; the window before which I was now standing was in another side of the building, and afforded me a view of natural scenery, worthy of a painter's brush. On the left of and behind a barn, a pigeon-house, and a few other small buildings, belonging to the farm-house, rose a fine group of centennial oak-trees, whose tops had, it is true, been stripped of their leaves by the seawind, but whose knotty trunks, with their spreading boughs painted their dark outlines against the yet colourless sky and against the Zuider Zee, on whose dark gray surface a number of small vessels crossed each other's path. Somewhat nearer rosean old ruin, covered with moss and shrubs,theaustere architectural style of which seemed to indicate that I had the remains of a monastery before me: a low wall, which in former days might have surrounded a churchyard, connected this monument of antiquity and the home-stead in which I was. On the right the ground sloped up. wards, and the perspective was here and there interrupted by undulating hills, partly grown with corn or buck-wheat, partly overgrown with shrubs and coppice, partly covered with the violetcoloured heather, over which the white-fleeced flocks were already moving to seek their morning meal. The quiet of the morning was broken only now and then by the dull lowing of the cattle in the stable and the crowing of the vigilant cock, strutting with his multicoloured harem over the farm-yard and welcoming the rising sunlight, which gradually imparted life and splendour to this scène of nature. All at once the thought struck me I had seen this pleasant scène once before: when or in what companyl could not recollect; but it seemed to me as if it was not the first time I found myself here. From the road I had taken the evening before and from the nearness of the sea I might conclude that I must be somewhere to the east of and not far from Naarden, and, indeed, about the place where formerly a town of the same name had been destroyed in the feuds of the Hooks and Kabbeljaws; but as far as I knew I had never made any excursion in that direction. At last I gave it up; and as I had often visited the neighbouring Muider-



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berg, where the landscape much resembled that which I now had before my eyes, I concluded that, deceived by the similarity of natural scenery, I wrongly imagined I had been there before.
The early morning had exercised its beneficent influence on me, and with the daylight had disappeared those vexing visions and anxious thoughts which had occupied me during the night. So I did not hesitate to betake myself to my bed again, and nature, resuming its rights, which it had ceded to imagination too long, made me enjoy a refreshing sleep, out of which I did not awake before my host's voice called me, and I, rubbing my sleepy eyes, saw Mr. Bos, already completely dressed, standing before me.
'It is timel' he said: 'I am sorry to disturb such agreeable rest; but doubtless you would not like to miss the first barge.'
•You see,' said I, rising, 'that my toilet will not require much trouble. I have nothing to do but to wash, and I am at your service.'
•I have brought you what you wanted,' said Mr. Bos, pointing to the table on which he had put down a basin with water and a towel. 'I need not ask you whether you have slept well.'
'Frankly speaking, I cannot say I have.'I answered, and told him at the same time in what way my night's rest had been disturbed. During my account I continually observed the features of my host. Neither surprise nor emotion was visible on his face. I only saw him knit his brow now and again.
'I did not expect anything else', he said, when I had finished my information: 'and I had given old Martha the necessary instructions with regard to that. However, the rascal must see neither you nor me here: the consequences might be too dangerous. I just want to talk to the old woman about it. Please keep my daughter company during that time.' " x)
The description of nature with which the foregoing abstract begins has nothing of the general and vagüe terms of classicism when it deals with life, but is altogether personal and in the best manner of the romantic revival as introduced by Scott. Even an old ruin is reconstructed by the eager imagination of the writer into a building of former days, and before his mind's eye a town rises up destroyed in the dark time of feuds and warfare. And how well, in a few words, does the author describe the influence exercised by nature on man and his cares! As to the characters in our illustration, they are painted by their own words and actions. See Mr. Bos, ready dressed, entering
') Ferdinand Huyck, Achtste Hoofdstuk.



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his guest's room carrying with him the water for washing,
and hear his decisive and imperative talk; while the hero
is obedient and polite, yet wants to keep his own ground
and to find out things for himself.
Thus Ferdinand Huyck was written. And in this novel
at least Van Lennep showed himself a worthy imitator and 1 pupil of the great English master. The past in this case 1 was near enough to be real to him, and his experience
took the place of serious study. Here he was also the
iDutch writer.
Yet though Ferdinand Huyck will remain Van Lennep's masterpiece and its place in the Dutch romantic revival is a high one, it had not the influence of "The Adopted Son" and "The Rose of Dekama." This is because Scott and the historical novel, to use the term in its limited sense, were of greater importance, also to Van Lennep himself. For however much of a success Ferdinand Huyck may have been, its writer did not continue in this line. He preferred history and the far past, as is seen in a series of historical f tales which continued his first two novels.
These tales appeared under the title of "Our Dutch J Ancestors"*) and were written between 1838 and 1844. In a preface Van Lennep tells us how, having written historical J novels before, he now wants to illustrate Dutch history in I chronological order. In the description of events, of customs I and manners, and of historie persons, he bases his work lupon authorities, while he wishes to show the gradual development of the Netherlands under the influence £of their different tribes and their systems of society. He does not think it necessary to defend the union of fiction and history, as in an historical novel the reader knows what he may expect, but rejects a possible charge of plagiarism in so far as his first two tales might resemble part of Soulié's "Novels of Languedoc",5)
J) Onze Voorouders.
The tales are: Alwart, Brinio, Chariëtto, De Saksische Weezen, De Friezen ie Rome, De Koorknaap, De Hunenberg, De gestoorde Bruiloft, Ulrich de Zanger, De Friesche Bouwmeester, De Bedevaartganger, De Reisgenooten.
3) Romans Historiques du Languedoc.
They belong to the best work written by Soulié at the time when the historical novel in France was already in its decline. Cf. Maigron, Le Roman Historique & TEpoque Romantique, p. 361, note 2.



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because he has studied the same historians.*)
So we see that Van Lennep's tales are in Souhé's manner, but at the same time it cannot be denied that they are largely influenced by Scott and even approach the Waverley novels more nearly than "The Adopted Son" and "The Rose of Dekama" did. On this account these sketches also claim our attention, though again they propagate Scott's influence on Dutch literature less than the historical novels.
The first tale Alwart has for subject the beginning of the alliance between the Romans and the Batavians.
Brinio, the second tale. is much longer and more interesting It Tescribes the revolt of the Netherland tribes round the Batavian Civilis against the Roman Empire, ending with arenewalofthe alliance. The extortion of the Roman Massa paved the way for the insurrection. But Massa not only fills his money-bags, he also lays snares against the honour of the Dutch Ada, Brinio's sister. Rheime, an elder sister, was his victim in former days and is now mad; moreover Brinio loses his possessions to Massa, who gambles with false dice Ada, however, is rescued by Rheime, who has recovered her senses, and Aquilius, a Roman noble. The marriage of Aquilius andAdaends the tale. There is some resemblance here between Rheime and Madge Wildfire in Scott s Heart of Midlothian, also to be found in their songs. Moreover Coponius, Aquilius' friend, somewhat resembles Athelstane in Ivanhoe, both in his love of good cheer, and even more inthewonderful way in which heescapes death and retains his appetite after all adventures. Both Athelstane and Coponius lose the object of their love to a worthier friend.
Chariïtto takes us back to the time of Julian the Apostate, and" tells us of the noble revenge of a Saxon.
"The Saxon Orphans" gives the story of the two children of a Saxon prince, whom the successorto his power wants to murder. But they are converted to Christianity and escape death, whereas their oppressor is killed. Utrecht, however, comes under Frisian dominion.
"The Frisians in Rome" relates a conspiracy against Leo 111. The Frisian Forteman, one of Charlemagne's paladins, aids
0 Sec Onze Voorouders, Voorrede.



20Ó
the pope to escape to the King of the Franks. Then Charles himself comes to Rome, accompanied by Leo, and frustrates the plot of the Duke of Ferrara and Adalgizius, a Lombard prince, both historical inventions of Van Lennep's, J) and is crowned Emperor of the West. Virtue is then rewarded in the marriage of Forteman andFerrara's daughter. In this tale Isaac, the Jew, who saves the pope's life by his wonderful skill in medicine, reminds one of Scott's Talisman. Like Saladin, who was a physician and a sultan, he also appears in the doublé quality of physician and ambassador.
"The Chorister" describes the Netherlands under the government of the Norseman Godfrey, when Charles the Fat was emperor. The hero is the son of a Count of Teisterbant, lost in the turbulent times, when he was about two years old, but found and educated by a priest. The chorister, however, does not belie his aristocratie birth, is recognized and after marrying Godfrey's daughter becomes the ancestor of the Counts of Holland.2)
"The Castle of the Huns" recounts the love-story of an Hungarian prince and the lost daughter of a nobleman of Cleves. The prince had fled to the Netherlands after the defeat of the Magyars by Henry the Fowler at Sondershausen.
"The Disturbed Wedding. 1000A. D."s) tells us the origin of the noble house of Brederode, one of the first families of the county of Holland.
"Ulrich the_JBard. 1048 A. D." relates the murder of Dirk IV, Count of Holland, by the trouvère Ulrich, offended in his pride as a poet.
"The Frisian Architect. 1082—1099 A. D." narrateshow the Bishop of Utrecht made use of a young woman to get at the secret of the Culders and so built his church, but was murdered on the day of its inauguration.
"The Pilgrim. 1095 A. D." describes an inroad of the WestFrisians into Holland, when Florence II was count. A pilgrim
x\ See Aanteekeningen to De Friezen te Rome.
3) The escape through the swamp is also found in Het Slot Loevestein in 1570 by Oltmans.
*) Translated into English: The disturbed Wedding by G. van der Pot Rotterdam, 1905.



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is of great help in defending the castle of Mabelia of Rijnegom, and is bravely assisted by a freeborn hunter. The hunter is knighted and marries Mabelia, the grand-child of the pilgrim Robert of Flanders. The attack of the castle reminds one of the storming of Front-de-Bceuf's castle in Ivanhoe.
The last sketch is "The Travelling Companions", a framestory of tales told by thlrtêen*' persons, travelling from Sicily to Genoa. They have been to Palestine in the crusade of Edward I of England and are men of various qualities and characters. Their leader is John of Arkel.
Brother Steven relates the story of Fulco, who was successful as long as, each year, he committed a murder with a knife he had, and did no good action. Eelco Hermina, a Frisian student, tells a tale interlarded with Latin about a woman who could not find rest after death until she obtained absolution. Albert of Haastrecht, Arkel's page, gives the story of a trouvère who won his love in a game of dice, in a fight, and before the emperor. The sailor Kees Dirksz. narrates how he saved Count William II of Holland's life and helped himself to a wife. Agge Jelles, a Frisian, relates the story of the digging of a canal through Vlieland, made possible by fratricide. John of Arkel praises the honesty of a young Savoyard whom he helped in his trade. One-eyed Peter, a sailor, narrates his adventures as a physician and a merchant in Syria. Conrad of Emmerich, a cook, describes the surprise of Nimeguen by the Count of Guelders. Roeïif Meeuwisz, an artisan, tells of King Williams protection of the lower classes and how honesty and love were rewarded. Gerlach, the squire's, tale is about a man who went down to heil to prove his sister's innocence. It reminds us of Wandering Willie's Tale in Scott's Redgauntlet. Both the visitors to heil sink to the ground after uttering the word God. Michael of Goor gives us a narrative about the private laws and customs of Twente and about its lords, too often highwayman and magistrate in the same person. Blind Hinna in this story resembles Alice in Scott's Bride of Lammermoor. Red Gerard, a Zeeland sailor, describes an expedition of Flanders against Zeeland, and tells us how he escaped the Flemings and warned King William of the danger. The Frisian Duco Hermana, who studied at Padua, relates one of his adventures in which he found a baby and helped a lady.



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Then the travellers arrivé at Genoa and there find Arkel 's Savoyard the husband of Ouco's lady. Thus the various tales illustrate the history of the
{Netherlands from the coming of the Romans to the end
lof the Crusades and its beginnings as a nation. £} With Ferdinand Huyck they belong toVan Lennep's best work,
f though they are not all of the same quality, and some of them are rather slipshod both in language and style. Such
I tales, however, as Brinio, "The Chorister", and "The Travelling Companions" are real historie pictures and make us regret that Van Lennep did not write novels of this kind.
In how far the author of "Our Ancestors" directly imitated Scott has already been indicated in the summary of the tales. Greater is the indirect influence exercised bythe the writer of the Waverley novels. And this influencêTls seen, in the first place, in Van Lennep's now deliberate and often successful attempt to represent the past.
Before his reader's eyës~*Van Lennep revives the past, not however as the dry chronicler or the wise historian, but rather as the skilful playwright of modern days, who both writes the drama and arranges its scenery. He also knows full well the importance of small and hidden motives as the causes of great events, and looks beneath the surface of things.2)
With great diversity Van Lennepsoaints Batavians, Romans, Franks, Frisians, Saxons, Normans, and Magyars, Christians and heathens, nobles, priests, freemen, and slaves, barons, squires, manufacturers, and merchants, rulers as well as the people, while the same variety is found in the adventures of the different characters, all which makes an exceedingly full and varied picture of medieval and even older society. Nor do historical events and persons take the first place, the spirit of the time is even more to the writer, and this spirit finds expression in the life of the people at large. Hence the prominence given to the description of customs and manners and to whatever was characteristic of the Netherlands and their inhabitants.
» ') Onze Voorouders was indeed a prelude to De Voornaamste Geschiedenissen wan Noord-Nederland aan zijn kinderen verhaald by Van Lennep. So Scott fcvrote his Tales of a Grandfather. s) See Alwart.



— 20Q —
Still, it must be admitted that the novelistic element is| to be found in "Our Ancestors", but it is of secondaryi importance. So in more than one tale a love-story is found, and it may even appear that in this lies the chief interest; on j closer investigation, however, the reader must acknowledge 1 that the author's purpose was not to depict its happy orl unhappy ending but to paint some feature of the past. »
In "The Frisian Architect" Ubbo, the son of Plebo of Dokkum, a sheriff of the Culders, loves Mary the daughter of the Utrecht carpenter and bricklayer. The wily bishop uses the woman to worm out the secret the knowledge of which will enable him to build his church.The love of youth and maiden is described in a most picturesque manner, and the sad fate of the young man who dies by his father's hand because he was untrue to his order, and of the woman who caused her lover's death, thereby breaking her own heart and ruining her life, makes a strong appeal to the reader, as well as the dramatic end of the bishop, who is murdered on the day of the inauguration of his church. Yet we feel that another thought underlies the whole of the story. Van Lennep did not want to relate for the second time the story of Samson and Delilah, he only used it as a foil in his lifelike sketch of one of the masonic brotherhoods of the Middle Ages. The mighty institution of the craft-guild of York is the subject of his tale. But in Scott's manner he disguises his intention, and the superficial reader may content himself with the story of the lovers and their unhappy fate. Yet the fact remains that he cannot escape the charm of the past and cannot but notice the difference between the present and bygone days. For the writer duly impresses upon his readers mind the failure oftheattempt of the Utrecht builder to fill up the pit and begin with the foundations of the church, before Plebo and his son appear on the scène. These two at first ridicule the others, thus drawing upon themselves anger and abusive words, but contempt gives way to admiration when the old man makes himself known as a sheriff. Thus the masonic guild is painted in accordance with its historie value, and we see how its influence has grown when the lover sacrifices his love and the father his son and himself for the sake of the order, while the mystery reaches a climax on the day when the
14



2IO —
bishop is expected to enter his now finished church and does not come, because he lies murdered.
In the other tales, too, some historie thought is embodied, though its place is not always as clearly defined as here. But that in general Van Lennep followed Scott and emphasized the past is further seen in the different characters. The writer of "Our Ancestors" is indeed no more a psychologist than Scott, nor do short sketches offer much opportunity for analysis of the human mind, but the dramatis personae of the tales are painted mainly as historie characters.
In Chariëtto the principal person belonging to history is Julian the Apostate.1) Van Lennep is careful to give us a complete picture and the capable soldier, the wise and vigorous statesman, the superstitious philosopher stands out clearly. To achieve this the author paints him at the time when he had to pacify the western part of the Roman Empire and the rebellious army proclaimed him emperor instead of caesar. The reader sees both the private and the public side of Julian's character, but the impression of the historie personage prevails. As such he becomes emperor, as such he subdues the Saxons. The hero of the tale is Chariëtto, belonging to one of the Saxon tribes, but forced to leave it and his love owing to calumny. Thus he occupies a place between the Romans and Germans and is a fit neutral character quite in Scott's manner. He even fights his own tribe in the service of Julian, and wounds but spares his personal enemy. Later the emperor appoints him ruler of the Germans. The hero here also belongs to history but this is not generally the case with Van Lennep, nor is Chariëtto a commanding historie person. As to the other characters of the tale, they, too, are depicted in such a way as to give a real picture of the past. Accordingly in Wanda, the wife of Wichman, Chariëtto's calumniator and enemy, we see the Germanic woman in her subordinate position. Though Wanda has loved Chariëtto, she is true and faithful to Wichman now that he is her husband, the father of her son. She also pleads for her child, that he may be permitted to march out against the enemy.
') The liberties the writer takes with history are explained by him in the notes.



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An honourable death is more both to him and to herself than a shameful life.
"Our Dutch Ancestors" in local colour too follows thej Waverley novels. It is true that Van Lennep was not always' consistent in his work and that only too often he skipped from the past into the present, especially in his dialogue, but on the whole the illusion of the past is maintained. This we may see in Brinio. The scène of this tale is the neighbourhood of Leyden or Lugdunum, as the writer calls it using the Latin name; the period is the first century of our era, and the story introducés Romans and Germans. Van Lennep succeeds wonderfully in evoking the idea of time and place. The Romans invoke Jove, Hercules, Bacchus, Comus, and other deities; while the Germans swear by their own gods, by Thor, and by Wodan. The elves of northern mythology are also opposed to the dryads anld sylphs of the classic day.1) Moreover the verses of Horace are quoted by Aquilius and his friend,8) whereas Rheime sings her Germanic songs.») It is in this way that even the dialogue calls up the idea of the Roman and the Germanic world. Besides, degenerate Rome has its representative in Massa, but its ancient virtues still live in Aquilius, while Civilis stands for the educated and patriotic typical German, and Brinio is a type of the Teutonic virtues and vices. But it is also in their way of living, in dress, in customs and manners, in houses and strongholds, in war and in peace, and in many other such details that the Germans and Romans are depicted. Thus the description of Matilo furnishes us with a picture of a Roman fortress and whatever belongs to it;*) and the sketch of the lake-country with its fishermen, where we also witness a sacrifice, calls up before the reader much of Germanic life.8) How particular the writer sometimes is we may see when he describes the refined table of the civilized glutton as opposed to the frugal fare of the Teutonic race.6)
>) Hoofdstuk III. ') Hoofdstuk III, XIV. 5) Hoofdstuk III, VI. <) Hoofdstuk VI. ') Hoofdstuk XII. *) Hoofdstuk III.



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So far we have tried to point out the influence of Scott as a writer of the past upon Van Lennep in "Our Ancestors", and have seen that in no other work does he come so near to the English master as in this. I Looking upon "Our Ancestors" from a novelistic point lof view, we may also find some development of art, at jleast when we compare it to "The Adopted Son" and "The f Rose of Dekama", but the advance is much less. For from sthe very beginning of his career as a poet and a novelist, {Van Lennep was a romantic and picturesque writer. We ' find him the same in his historical tales. I Here again he follows Scott in depicting his characters by jwhat they do and say, without analysing them, and gives \ an easy flowing tale full of dramatic interest and natural l dialogue, while his descriptions are picturesque, as they ! always are, and show that the return to nature was an 'essential element of the Romantic Revival.
The time, too, to which the action of "Our Ancestors" belongs offered an opportunity to the author of being more fantastic than when writing about the near past, and that he should make use of this might be expected of a disciple of Scott. This may account for the subterranean passage found both in Brinio and in "The Saxon Orphans". [Romanticism likewise explains the fact that both the speech land the actions of the characters are lofty and sublime, a thing lalso found in Scott's novels, though with more consistency.
A good instance of the style of the picturesque writer of the past is the following scène taken from Brinio, in which the Epicurean Titus Coponius Tarpa plays the leading part. He belongs to a small troop of soldiers travelling through the Netherlands on a hot summer day.
"Friend Tarpa meanwhile was engaged in a discourse of quite a different nature. As soon as Aquilius had gone aside with the priest, he had turned round in his saddle as much as his body permitted him, and had cried in a hoarse voice 'Seleucus'.
The man who bore this royal name was, however, no better than a Syrian slave, perhaps the only one of the whole troop who did not find it too hot. In quite royal state he was seated on a waggon in the rear; but, hearing his name called, he jumped down and came running to his master.
'Seleucus 1' said the latter: 'I am dying with thirst. Have you



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any Punic apples left in your wallet to refresh my dry palate.'
'Alas, my Lordl' the slave answered, shaking out the empty bag which hung from his girdle, 'you have just taken the last.'
'A plague upon you,' said Coponius: 'did we not buy fifty of them, which have cost me a good many sestertii? Can they be all gone now ? I rather think, O most wicked of all slaves, in the past, present, or future 1 that you have sucked out half of them yourself, not caring whether your master should drop down with thirst here on the highroad and perish miserably. And what about the wine-skin? Out with it,'
The slave rubbed himself with a sigh and then reached his master a leathern wine-bag, which could undoubtedly hold as much as five gallons.
'Let us seel' said Coponius, putting the bag to his mouth, — but alasl however much he squeezed and pressed it, only a few drops ran over his parched tongue.
'Wretchl' he exclaimed in violent anger, flinging the empty bag into the slave's face, 'are you making a fooi of me? The rascal has swallowed the good liquid himself. But take care 1 at the first resting-place 1 shall pommel your back till it is as tender as beaten eggs, — though I should perish myself inflicting the chastisement. Indeed 1 I swear by the immortal Gods that in future I shall carry my provisions with me myself: fooi that I was to trust them to a gluttonous slave who does not know how to bear thirst 1 And now I must be parched with thirst or ruin my stom ach with the water of yonder river, which is quite spoiled with all the brackish ditches and canals that empty themselves Jnto it,'
'If you will not scorn me, Centurio 1' said one of the horsemen producing a leathern bottle and reaching it to him: 'I think there is something in here which may help you for the moment.'
'Give it me 1' said Coponius, looking with pleasure at the bottle and putting it to his mouth: 'It is very drinkable,' he said, after taking a draught, with a nod of approval. 'It is really delicious,' he continued after the secoud drink. 'You are an honest fellow' — (again a formidable pull). — 'How does the fellow come by this nice wine f' — (drinking again) — 'your name is Rufus, is itnot?'
The horseman nodded assent, somewhat anxiously looking at the bottle.
'All rightl you have rendered me good service;' — (taking another draught) — T shall recommend you for promotion to the commander of the horse.'
•If you please, Centurio 1' said Rufus, without losing sight of the bottle which he already repented having given out of his hands.
'Who could have thought,' continued Coponius, alternating his



— 214 —
words with renewed drinks, 'that a common horseman would have such wine with him? — it is said that hunger is the best sauce — but with thirst this is not the case — at least not with me: — however dry my throat is, I can taste the difference between Scio and Fanaeus. — As to this wine, however, 1*11 be hanged if I know where it comes from: — it is really good: — it is only a pity that is has become somewhat warm; but it is difficult on such a march to take snowwater with one to cool the wine — Comel' — (lifting the bottle high to catch the last remaining drops) — 'it would be a pity if anything remained in it. — There, my friend 1' — (giving him back the empty bottle) — 'once more my thanks. — Where did you get that wine from?'
'It was given me for the journey by my hostess at Noviomagum,' the horseman answered, with a melancholy look at his bottle: ♦I did not ask her what its name was. If the child looks nice, what does it matter who is its father?'
'You acted wrongly, Rufus 1' said the captain, wiping his mouth: 'you should always ask the origin of good wine, when you are so lucky as to get it. How is it possible else to order more of it later? — If on our return we stop at Noviomagum, you shall take me to your hostess that I may enquire about it. — You don't happen to have more of it, do you?'
'No, Centuriol' said Rufus: 'I wish a had a cask full of it: — and you would not get it into your hands,' he added mentally."1)
The foregoing sketch of the thirsty centurio drinking the soldier's wine is indeed a picture in Scott's best manner, nor does it lack its atmosphere of the past. If Van Lennep had begun his career with the promise given in "Our Dutch Ancestors" and lived up to it, he might have been even more to Dutch literature than Scott to English, especially because literary activity in Holland in his day was low and weak. No novel, however, was written with an historie character equal to that of the best of the tales. | Yet one more novel appeared which was also historical. It is "Elizabeth Musch (A sketch of the seventeenth century)" *), Jand saw the light in 1850. The work, however, does not come up to its predecessors. It treats of the time of the second war of Holland with England, when Joan de Witt was paramount and the Orange party looked to England
') Brinio, Hoofdstuk I.
3) Elizabeth Musch (Een tafereel uit de 17e eeuw).



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for help, and it centres round the correspondence between Buat, the husband of Elizabeth Musch, and some English friends, which led to Buat's execution.l) The novel is original work, and through it the reader can become acquainted with j personages and conditions in one of the most remarkable j periods of Dutch history. But Elizabeth Musch is not al success. It is tedious, and the discourses in particular arej prolix. Van Lennep may have feit this himself, for he never j wrote the halfipromised continuation, nor did he write | another historical novel. Others had appeared in the field where he had been the first to gain success.
The number of historical tales, however, was not yet com-1 plete, and Van Lennep added to them many a tale. Moreover, j he wrote one novel of present-day life.2)
Yet all this later work shows little or none of the direct in-t fluence of Scott, and it is also of no great importance with re-! speet to Van Lennep's place in the romantic revival in Holland.! Even the tales of the past, whether with an historie subjectI or not, such as: "The Ordeal," "The two Pistol-shots. 1672," ; "A Meeting of the States of Holland," "The two Admirals," "An Elopement in the Seventeenth Century," "A dejected Father," Cornelia Vossius, "The Crown over the Shield," "Rustenbergh. A domestic Scène of the XVIIth century,"J)
») The historie part of Elizabeth Musch is not strong, the character of the heroine especially is not true to history and De Witt makes a rather poor figure as a statesman. Van Lennep was, indeed, not a real historian.
See Dr. Jan ten Brink's Mr. Jacob Van Lennep, prefacing Sythoff's edition of De Pleegzoon, p. xi.
"Zijne „Legenden", zijne „Roos van Dekema", zijne „Voorouders" verraden op menige plaats, dat hij trots zijne verwonderlijke vlugheid, ondanks eene verbazende gemakkelijkheid, om alle zwarigheden te boven te komen, toch zijn meester Walter Scott in kennis en opvatting der middeleeuwen niet evenaarde".
Van Lennep's insight into history in general was no better.
a) De Lotgevallen van Klaasje Zevenster (1865).
As a novel of the present it resembles Scott's St. Romans Well.
Like Scott Van Lennep occupied himself with literary work and edited Vondel. Moreover, he wrote for the stage.
») Het Godsoordeel, De twee Pistoolschoten. 1672, Een Vergadering der Staten van Holland, De twee Admiralen, Een Schaking in de zeventiende Eeuw, Een bedrukte Vader, Cornelia Vossius, De Kroon boven 't Wapen, Rustenbergh. Een familietafereel uit de XVLTde eeuw.
The preceding tales are found in Van Lennep's Novellen. Another collection is Vertellingen van Vroeger en Later Tijd.
Many tales appeared in annuals and periodicals.



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jand many other stories show no further development of
I Scott's disciple.
The influence of Scott is especially seen in Van Lennep's first two novels "The Adopted[ Son "and "The Rose of Dekama", a^fwell as in Ferdinand Huyck and "Our Ancestors";
( in the last two works, however, the influence is less direct
i and the writer more original and national. In the first "Dutch Legends", too, the author plagiarizes more and enters less into the spirit of the English poet than in "Edward of Guelders", the last legend.
Yet it is perhaps Van Lennep's less finished work which most propagated Scott's influence and led others to the study of the English master. Among these we shall find both poets such as Van der Hoop, Meijer, Beets, Hofdijk, and novelists, such as Oltmans, Toussaint, Schimmel.
It is true that a great many more names might be given of followers of Scott and writers of historical romances either in poetry or in prose, and we shall have occasion to mendon some of them too, but most had better remain in obscurity.
That so many authors failed in the attempt to imitate I Scott is not to be wondered at. His historical romance was \ too much of a new departure to be understood at once. Moreover, no small amount of historie knowledge is necessary for success in depicting the past, and history was only just beginning to be studied in the right manner. Nor is the doublé qualification of being both an historian and a novelist found in every writer. Yet the eagerness with which Scott's poems and novels and their imitations were received and read brought many into the field of letters who would have done better to have stayed at home. In their own day they may have had their share of honour, but now they are entirely forgotten.
The di minorum gentium, however, prepared the way for the di maiorum gentium. The latter, continuing what their predecessors had begun, not only found the right manner, but also brought it to a fuller development. It may be given to a genius such as Scott to be his own teacher, most writers have to learn their art, and they are taught better by their own futile attempts and the works of lesser authors than by a master-piece.



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Nor were the first imitators of Scott in Holland geniuses. We never know, indeed, to what point Drost might have developed but he died young. The other writers who introduced the historical romance to Dutch readers had only talent, and not even that in every case. And the chief and most gifted among them was Van Lennep. With him the historical poem and novel made good its claim to rank as literature, and starting with him Scott's influence worked successfully to the good of the Romantic Revival in Holland.
Van Lennep, however, was no genius either. His principal merit, as regards Dutch literature, even lies in his mediocrity. Had he had genius he might have risen to a height to which but few could have followed him. As it was he saw the many good things in Scott's new poetry and new prose and adapted them to his own country, but did not add much to them. Thus he won his great reward in a popularity which was unequalled in his day. Not that he could content the critics of his time, who wanted him to be more national and more original, but his readers were quite satisfied, and yet were taught to read and to discriminate. And even a later generation cannot but notice the return to nature in his work, while younger people still continue to love the boyish animation of his spirited tale.1) To his contemporaries, however, Van Lennep was the great man who rung in romanticism. The extension of Scott's influence is found in other writers.
How important this influence on Dutch literature was has /been seen already in Van Lennep, who both as a poet and as a novelist wrote in Scott's manner, at first imitating chietly outward characteristics, later understanding better the inner qualitiesof his work. The Dutch writer, however, remained
!) Cf. J. Koopmans, Jacob van Lennep in zijn Eerste Roman. De Beweging, Vol. IX, 2, p. 119 sqq.
See De Nieuwe Gids ('s Gravenhage, 1910). Vol. XXV, 2, p. 147. Here Willem
Kloos says: — . ,
"Van Lennep is wel geen Kunstenaar, wiens werk u stil maakt van be« wondering, maar evenzeer wordt hij nooit onuitstaanbaar van zeurende vaagheid, zooals zijn tijdgenooten, de rijmende predikanten, dat maar al_ te dikwijls zijn. Neen, zijn schrijversfiguur is zeer gewettigd, en zoo blijft hij, na Potgieter, Huet en Bosboom, en gezien in 't geheel van zijn veelver* scheiden werken, een der merkwaardigste auteurs uit het midden der vorige eeuw".



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merely the skilful imitator, and did not avail himself of the new possibilities of fiction, indicated by the English master.It was reserved for Van Lennep's successors to do this, and from the poet of "The Dutch Legends" and from the author of "The Adopted Son" and "The Rose of Dekama" they were to turn to Scott, and then find and follow the new lines of literature.
Thus, after Van Lennep's time, Scott's influence was continued on poetry as well as on prose. For while in England the Scottish bard was soon beaten out of the field by Byron, such was Scott's place in Dutch literature that poetic romances continued to be written until poetry died its natural death. Prose was still more influenced and perhaps no country in Europe owes more to the writer of the Waverley novels than Holland.
All this determines Van Lennep's position and makes it one of great importance; hence the place we have given to the investigation of his work. No new lines are found in it, but he is the centre from which radiates the far-reaching influence of the English novelist.
9 In his heart Van^ Lennep perhaps remained too true to the classic prin* ciples, however much impelled towards romanticism by the general enthusiasm feit for Scott and Byron by the Dutch, and the approval bestowed by his readers upon his work.
Cf. Mr. Jacob van Lennep by Dr. Jan ten Brink put before Sythoffs edition of De Pleegzoon. Here we read on p. xiii: —
"De algemeene geestdrift voor Walter Scott en Byron bracht hem tot zijne „Legenden" en zijne historische romans. De bijval, hem geschonken, stuurde hem verder voort, dan hij misschien wel wilde, naar de kusten der Romantiek, immer vasthoudend aan de classieke beginselen, die hem als knaap en student waren ingeprent".



CHAPTER III.
THE POETIC ROMANCE CONTINUED IN HOLLAND.
the elder and the younger english romantics - van der hoop's
William Tell — Meijer's Buccaneer and Heemskerk — Scott's influence on beets - kus er and ada of holland - hofdijk, his first romances and younker of brederode _ the death of the poetic tale.
In the Romantic Revival in England, as far as poetry is concerned, we may distinguish two stages and call their poets the elder and the younger romantics. The line of demarcation lies about the year 1810. Scott belongs to the elder writers and was by far the most popular of them. But the blaze of his popularity was too sudden to last long, and the public soon' turned from him to Byron, later to Keats, Shelley, and others of the younger generation.
In Holland the influence of the poet may be said to date from 1825, when in England his day was long over, and though for sfme time Byron also had his followers, the rhymed tale of the past was cultivated until the middle of the nineteenth century and later. We cannot, however, number many great poets among those who cultivated this form of literary art and the Dutch muse only reached a high degree of excellence, when with the study of Keats and Shelley a younger school arose about the year 1880.
It is, indeed, characteristic of Dutch poetry in the first half of the nineteenth century that Scott's influence on it
was so strong and maintained its hold for so long; tne
chief explanation of the fact that there were so many wutci» of rhvmed tales maybe found in the scarcitjrof poetic genius
1 and the public'sjoye of the romance in poetry.
Tollens, the popular poet ot the beginning 01 ine nineteenth century, had already rhymed a story in his "Wintering in Nova-Zembla". The new elements brought into literature by Scott, however, are not found in it.
Among Van Lennep's contemporaries who experienced



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Scott's refreshing influence we may mention, in the first yplace, Van der Hoop and Meijer.l) / Adriaan van der Hoop Jr. (1802—1841) had much in common with Van Lennep, whose friend he was. A romantic poet like Van Lennep, he also loved the stage and was a fair reciter and actor. So they two in 1827 began to edit the periodical Apollo, and in it drew attention to Sir Walter Scott and Byron, Lamartine and Victor Hugo. Yet they differed in so far as Van der Hoop adhered to the principles of Bilderdijk and Da Costa, however much he admired the revolutionary Byron. Moreover his romanticism was not tempered by classic tendencies and though in 1830 Van der Hoop dedicated a book of poems to his friend and in 1831 Van Lennep addressed him in his introduction to the first song of "The War with Flanders," their ways separated.
Van der Hoop leaned towards the foreign and eccentric side of romanticism and even less than Van Lennep was he a national writer.
In how far Scott influenced his work is perhaps best seen in his poem "William Teil. Swiss Pictures," which appeared in 1833.8)
This romance takes the reader to Switzerland in the fourteenth century, and treats of the well-known story of the Swiss hero and patriot Teil, who rose against the Austrian oppression and emancipated his country from the foreign yoke. Thus the poet, though historie, seeks his subject matter outside Holland. This may explain how it is that "William Teil," notwithstanding its being written in Scott's manner, differs so much from his romances. For
J) H. Vlnkeles was perhaps the first Dutch poet of the historical tale, though he stands outside Scott's direct influence. As early as 1824 and 1825 he wrote Marco Bocaris, a poem about the Greek rebellion. With De Inval der Noor. mannen and Slavina van Pommeren, it was published under the title of Romantische Poëzy van H. Vïnkeles. Te Amsterdam bij P. Meijer Warnars, 1836. See De Gids, Vol. III, B., p. 435 sqq. 5) Willem Teil. Zwitsersche Tafereelen (Amsterdam, 1833). In a criticism of this poem, which regrets the age of philosophic poetry, „—in De Vriend des Vadeilands, Vol. VII, we read on p. 830: — Xƒ "De Romantische Muse is geene dochter der willekeur of der ongeregelde veï* " beelding, maar der bevalligheid en van het gevoel" (The Romantic Muse is not a daughter of lawlessness or of irregular imagination, but of grace and sentiment). Romanticism was beginning to find its appreciators.



221
with the English master the past is revived and local colour is an essential element of his work, and with Van der Hoop, who had never seen the country where the scène of his tale is laid, history and his own principles come first, but of the Switzerland of Teil not much is told us.') Yet one element of the new poetry is found in Van der Hoop's poem, namely the romantic treatment of nature. His descriptions of the Swiss landscape are really good and he excels as a picturesque -writer when he paints the flood in which Teil perishes.») The poet himself also tells us that his intention in writing his romance was to recount a story of the past and to give a picture of natural scenery not found in Holland.8) In its outward form the poem has some resemblance to Scott's rhymed tale both in its metre and in the many songs with which it is interspersed, and it even bears some slight resemblance to The Lady of the Lake.
Yet Van der Hoop was not the man to understand and imitate Scott, nor need we speak about his other poems and about the influence of Ossian, Byron, and others upon him. Both his translations and his original work, however, show that he was attracted chiefiy by the extravagances of romanticism. As a poet he was both to himself and others rather a disappointment, notwithstanding his love of nature.
Another, though younger, contemporary of Van Lennep was H. A. Meijer (1810-1854). Like Van der Hoop he was also a thoroughly romantic writer and under the influence both of the elder and the younger romantic schools, represented to him by the English writers Scott and Byron. The naval officer Meijer, however, had seen more of the world than the druggist Van der Hoop, and though no classical learning whatever moderated his romanticism,*) its basis was reality.
Of Meijer's rhymed romances we may first mention "The
') See Eerste Zang, Voorzang. Den éénigen Bilderdijk toegehuldigd. n Vijfde Zang, De Overstrooming.
*) "Men houde echter in het oog, dat ik geen heldendicht konde noch. wilde schrijven; maar dat mijne bedoeling alleen was eene herinnering aan vorige tijden, vreemd aan die, welke wij thans beleven, en eene schilderij van natuurschoonheden, welke ons vaderland niet aanbiedt."
Aanteekeningen, p. 145.
«) Cf. Voorrede to Heemskerk. De Gedichten van H. A. Meijer, Vol. II, p. iv.



222
Buccaneer",1) which appeared in 1840, though begun about ten years earlier.*) It is a tale of the past, going back to the Eighty Years' War, about a Dutch nobleman who, wanting to avenge his wife's death (as he fancied) on a Spanish rival, became a pirate, and after seeing his enemy die returned to his country to hear that his wife had escaped and was longing for him^in vain. The hero bears some resemblance to Mortham in Scott's Rokeby,
Desperate and dark, whom no one knew,8) and as Mortham writes his history to Matilda so Meijer's Arnold tells his story to the priest whose life he spared.
More historie in character is Meijer's second tale, called Heemskerk,*) which saw the light in 1847. It describes the newly married admiral Heemskerk,6) his longing to go to sea and fight for his country, the death of his wife, his expedition to the Indies and his battle with the Spaniards near Gibraltar, which he won at the cost of his life. Written in honour of Holland the poem is patriotic like Scott's romances, yet with this difference that the English writer turns in the first place to his native soil and Meijer to the history of his country.
The measure of the two tales is the iambic tetrameter with many deviations and hexameters, while here too occasional songs enliven the story. Thus in their form there is some imitation ol Scott in Meijer's poems, nor can poetic quality be denied them, but they almost entirely fail to reproduce the historie and picturesque elements of the new poetry, as written by the English master.
Though Meijer's poetic romances go back to the time
l) De Boekanier.
*) Cf. introductory letter to De Boekanier by Boeke.
*) Canto Third, XXII. Cf. De Boekanier, Eerste Zang.
Byron's influence on Meijer is especially seen in the character of the hero. Moreover the Dutch and the English poet have in common their love of the sea.
*) In a preface Meijer reminds his reader of Jakob van Heemskerk, welkknown to readers of De Overwintering op Nova Zembla by Tollens (1819) and of De togt van Heemskerk naar Gibraltar by Bogaers (1836). ^Meijer wants to paint a hero.
Cf. Jacob van Heemskerk en vijf en twintig jaren Hoüandsche poè'zy. E. J. Potgieter, Kritische Studiën (Haarlem, 1876), Vol. II, p. 220 sqq.
«) The wish of De Gids, Vol. IV, B., p. 408, in acritcism of De Boekenier, for Dutch navigators and not imitations of Cooper's heroes was fulfilled here.



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of the Eighty Years' War they are not representative ofit. The subject of "The Buccaneer" is revenge, of Heemskerk patriotism; the writer, however, does not aim at giving a picture of the past. Yet he might have described the West Indies and Guelders, where he lays the scène of his first tale, or Holland and Amsterdam, the East Indies and Spain, the scène of Heemskerk, and the many-sided, picturesque, and stirring life in the days of the struggle of the Dutch with the Spaniards. Meijer, however, gives but a very superficial sketch of the time he writes about. He eschews all elaborateness, it would even seem as though his knowledge was not extensive enough for this. For when the naval officer turns to his own profession, he is a true disciple of Scott. So we get a good description of a Spanish frigate >) and of a Portuguese galleon with her cargo.2) The romantic poet can also be seen in the pictures of national scenery. We may mention the beautiful sketch of a spring morning in Guelders8) and of the landscape in the East Indies. *)
But in general Meijer falls short of Scott, nor is he equal to Van Lennep. The latter, indeed, among all his contemporaries is the poet who best understood and followed the English master, notwithstanding his plagiarism. Yet even he wrote no romance which as a picture of the past comes up to Scott's poems.
Van Lennep, however, was not the last writer of the \ rhymed historie tale. In England Byron may have completely j superseded Scott from the very first as a poet, in Holland the influence of the latter outlived that of the former.
This we see in the poetic career of Nicolaas Beets (i 814—1903). For in it the influence both of Scott and of Byron may be noticed. Scott however carried the day.
In poetry Beets was the successor of Van Lennep, but his social position first as a clergyman, and later as a professor of theology, prevented him from giving his time to literature. So in him, too, Scott's poetic romance failed to achieve full success in Holland, however much his
J) De Boekanier, Vierde Zang. ') Heemskerk, Vijfde Zang. a) De Boekanier, Zesde Zang. *) Heemskerk, Vijfde Zang.



2 24 —
classic education as well as his romantic inclinations and his natural talents might have marked him out as the poet in whose works we might have expected this success.
When still young, Beets came under the influence of English literature. One of his friends at Haarlem, where he attended the elementary and secondary schools, was John Ingram Lockhart, who was English and lived there from 1820 to 1830. The two boys read together Scott, Byron, and Sterne, and Scott's poetic tales won their first and best love. The pupils of the Haarlem grammar-school, moreover, had a literary club under the patronage of one of their teachers, of which Beets was a member. No wonder that he began to write poetry and prose. His first poem1) is in so far remarkable that it was written on the occasion of Mrs. Bilderdijk's death and shows the young poet's veneration for Bilderdijk, who then lived at Haarlem, as well as his Christian spirit to which he remained true throughout his long life. His first prose work is entitled "A Tribute of Homage to Sir Walter Scott"2) and appeared in 1832. Its title shows the deep impression made by the English poet and novelist on the youthful Dutch writer. Indeed, if Van Lennep had not preceded him, and if Byron had not for some time been first in influence, Beets himself might have given his life to the writing of the new poetry and the new prose introduced by Scott. As it was, however, he found his own place.
While at Leyden University Beets continued his literary education and in 1834 the student of divinity published his "Selections from the poetic works of Walter Scott."s) They
') Bij den dood van Vrouwe Katharina Wilhelmina Bilderdijk, geboren Schweickhardt in Nederlandsche Muzen-Almanak (Amsterdam, 1831).
*) Proeve van Hulde aan Sir Waltér Scott. . Algemeen Letterlievend Maandschrift (Amsterdam, December 1832), Vol. XVI, 15.
Scott did not write for glory, Beets said: "Neen, zijn doel was (en het straalt in al zijn voortbrengselen zoo levendig door) nuttig te zijn; de-zucht om liefde voor het vaderland en eerbied voor de deugd inteboezemen. Geschiedenis en Oudheidkunde, vooral met betrekking tot den hem zoo dierbaren geboortegrond, te leeren, Menschen* en Wereldkennis te bevorderen, ziedaar de voornaamste beweegredenen. See p. 680.
') Proeven uit de dichterlijke werken van Walter Scott. First Published in M. Westerman's Verzameling van Voortbrengselen van Uitheemsche Vernuften (Amsterdam, 1834), Vol IV, they were later entered in Beets" Verstrooide Gedichten.



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are trans,laJdojas_of The Lay of the Last Minstrel1) of Rokeby, of Harold the Dauntless and of other poems, in some cases of parts, in some of the whole of the poem.
But in the same year "Selections from Lord Byron's Works"8) had appeared and for some time Scott was relegated to the background.
The poet now began to write his poetic tales,3) which saw the light between 1834 and 1840, the last of them in the year after he graduated. Whatever was written later by Holland's uncrowned poet laureate, the successor of Tollens for many years, was mere occasional verse.
The first tale was "José, a Spanish Story" (1834), in the manner of Byron's Lara, and not in the least a romance in Scott's manner.
The same may be said of "The Masquerade" (1835), written in honour of the lustral festival of Leyden University and its historical pageant representing Ferdinand and Isabella's entry into Grenada (1492). In some of its stanzas the poet laughs at the pedantry of classicism as opposed to romanticism.
But in 1835 Kuser appeared, a tale in heroic measure and more in Scóïï'S "manner, though Byron's influence has not yet disappeared. The history of Aleide of Poelgeest is narrated in it. Loved by Albrecht, Count of Holland,- she made him favour the Kabbeljaw party. The Hooks, angry at this, murdered her. Kuser, who had already loved Aleide when at her father's castle, was mortally wounded in her defence. He dies after confessing his love to the count, whose son was one of the principal murderers. The hero Kuser is in many respects Byronic, but on the whole the poem is in the manner of Scott and of Van Lennep. The choice of the subject which is historie and of the poet's own country shows this. Yet there is more of history than
') In 1840 an anonymous translation of The Lay of the Last Minstrel saw the light.
3) Proeven uit Lord Byron's werken.
M. Westennan's Verzameling van Voortbrengselen van Uitheemsche Vernuften, Vol. III.
') Dichterlijke Verhalen.
The poetic tales are: José, Maskerade, Kuser, Gwy de Vlaming, Ada. Nieuwe, herziene uitgave. Haarlem, 1848.
15



22Ó
of the atmosphere of the past in the poem. And only in his dj^hj>rionsjg£najjyi.re 's Beets a true follower of Scott, as he shows himself to be when he paints the beautiful landscape of the Hague forest. The writer is himself in his characterization, and he is also free from plagiarism. It was this poem which made Van Lennep give up poetry. ~Yët the hëxt romance "Guy the Fleming. A Tale" (1837) is again a return to Byron, and full of gloom and mystery. It tells us about a nobleman who, without knowing it, married his sister, and on learning what he had done killed her in a fit of madness and died himself. The scène is laid in the fourteenth century, but the romance is entirely devoid of local colour.
Then in 1840 after renouncing all adherence to Byron in his poem "The Black Time"x), Beets published his last poetic romance "Ada of Holland. A Tale." It is written in octosyllabic iambics and is historical. It depicts the sad fate of Ada of Holland, the only child of Dirk VII of Holland. A few days after her father's death and before his burial she is married to the Count of Loon, though she loves another. Then in a fearful struggle for the rulership of the county she becomes a prisoner in the island of Texel and there dies, after hearing of her husband's victory and her lover's death. Thus the tale gives part of the history of the county of Holland in the beginning of the thirteenth century, and is picturesque in many of its descriptions of persons and situations. In this again it follows Scott.
Yet even if we take the two best tales written by Beets, Kuser and "Ada of Holland," we can see only too clearly in what they fail short of Scott's rhymed romances. They may be original and free from plagiarism, they may be historie in their subject-matter, they may be picturesque in their descriptions, but they do not revive the past. It would be almost impossible to attach a date to the tales were not the names given, and though Beets is far too clever merely to dabble in historie matters and to be guilty of anachronisms, he is not so well read in the period of his tales as to
!) De Zwarte Tijd.
Already in 1834 Beets had outgrown Byron's influence, though .Kuser and even Guy de Vlaming were still to be written. Cf. Chantepie de la Saussaye, Het Leven van Beets (Haarlem, 1904).



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be able to paint it for his readers. v Still, Beets might have done even better than Van Lennep in his "Edward of Guelders", if only he had made the necessary study of his subject befonThe sat down to write his poetic romance.
This is clear to any one who has read his prose-work Camera Obscura (1839), *) in which he so accurately sketched the different phases of Dutch life in the time when he was at the university. In one of the sketches we are introduced to the apartments of the student Beets, where there is a portrait of Sir Walter Scott on the wall, and we hear Mr. Kegge inquire about a complete edition of Scott.*)
How much Beets honoured Scott is also seen in his study entitled Walter Scott % read at Haarlem in December 1864, and in his literary essay "Sir Walter Scott's Centenary, 18^1,"*) in which he writes about his visit to Edinburgh to celebrate that occasion.
Thus in Beets we may see the constant influence exercised by Scott on the literary and cultured Dutchman. It is true that for some time Byron took the place of Sir Walter, but his charm was but transient. Scott kept his place, and
') J. ï. Lockhart translated De Leidsche Peuëraar under the title of "The Leyden Eebbobber" and published it in The Country of 1877.
See James Mackinnon, Dutch humour. The Camera Obscura of Hildebrand in The Ladder (Londen, 1891), Vol. I, No. 6.
The Camera shows the influence of Dickens, Sterne, Lamb, and others.
A late critic of the work does not think much of Beets as a novelist.
"Intusschen houdt men de eigenaardigheid vast: er zat in Hildebrand geen romanschrijver." Beets-Hildebrand, 13 Sept. 1814-13 Sept. 1914. De geheimen der Camera Obscura by Carel Scharten in De Gids of 1914, 3, p. 433.
') De Familie Kegge. Kennismaking met menschen en dieren.
Added to the Camera in 1851, ready for the press since 1840.
^Verscheidenheden meest op Letterkundig Gebied door Nicolaas Beets, Vol. III. Walter Scott.
Here we read on p. 99; "Zonder Walter Scott zou, naar ons oordeel, Engeland zoo min een Macauley of Amerika eenMotley en een Prescott gehad hebben als Nederland een van Lennep of een Toussaint" and on p. 106: "Ik weet hoe hoog ten onzent mannen als een Van der Palm, een Hamaker, een Clarisse, een Geel, een da Costa en de Clercq met hem liepen. Bilderdijk noemde ik reeds."
4) Hef Eeuwfeest van Sir Walter Scott, 1871, te Edinburgh, added 'to the new edfcon of Ivanhoe by Dr. M. P. Lindo (Leiden en Delft, 1872). Here we read: —
"Een grooter, machtiger, schoon minder omvattend genie dan Scott zich Üet voorstaan te zijn, dan hij metterdaad was, Lord Byron heeft gezegd: „vóór mij regeerde Scott." En dat was waar. Maar ook nevens hem regeerde Scott, en na hem regeerde Scott, en nog is hij koning."



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even the rich parvenu, though no reader himself, had heard about him and wished to possess his works.
The poet Beets, however, never attained Scott's level. He remained the amateur, and wrote nothing that could be compared, in knowledge of the past, with The Lay of the Last Minstrel and the other poetic tales. His historie sense and knowledge were not equal to this.
More of an historian is Willem Jacobsz. Hofdijk (1816— 1888), a disciple both of Van Lennep and of Scott. In him we have another true romantic writer, free from classic taints. Yet he was well-read and especially in later life when teacher of Dutch history and literature in the Amsterdam gymnasium he widened and deepened his development. All this is reflected in his work and its evolution. But whatever changes Hofdijk's romanticism underwent, he remained true to nature all his life. Born at Alkmaar, his first rambles were in its environs, and with the eye of a painter and of a poet he saw the beauties of his Kennemerland. Professor Van Lennep's "Dissertation" turned his attention even more than before to the Dutch landscape and to the past connected with it. Hence his love of nature which is one of Hofdijk's special characteristics. Among the writers he read as a boy, and who attracted him to literature and romanticism, was Sir Walter Scott, and by his side Van Lennep, the author of the "Dutch Legends" and of "The Adopted Son," himself one of Scott's disciples. The literary career of Hofdijk, however, was not an easy one. This was not only because for some time he wavered between painting and letters, but also because circumstances were often against him. He was first a gold-smith's apprentice, then a teacher, later a townclerk, and was at last able to enjoy more freedom and ease when he obtained his position in a grammar-school, helped to this by Van Lennep in 1851.
But much had already been written by Hofdijk before this date, and it is in this work particularly that we notice Scott's influence. As early as 1839 Hofdijk's first regular poem saw the light; it was entitled "Rosamond, a Romantic Poem."1) It relates the story of Alboin, King of the Lombards in the sixth century, and his wife Rosamond, who had him
') Rosamunde; Romantisch Dichtstuk.



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assassinated for forcing her to drink wine out of her father's skull. So the poem is an historical tale in the manner of Scott's romances. Yet there is a great difference. Scott in his first subjects turnèd to his own country, Hofdijk went to Italy. Besides, the time of "Rosamond" is much more remote than that of The Lay of the Last Minstrel. The result is that Hofdijk's work is an historie and romantic poem rather than one reviving the past. It is seen at once how much the Dutch writer lacks the excellent preparation of the English poet. Yet some faint traces there are to show that he wishes to suggest the time and place of his subject. So he speaks of the barren heath about Rome,1) about the sixteenth hour of the Italian time2), while a single obsolete word points to an elementary knowledge of Middle Dutch.3) On the whole, however, local colour in "Rosamond" is rare. To compensate for this the poem is historie as well as its subject. Moreover it has a romantic and mysterious element in the spirit of King Cunemond murdered by Alboin, who appears to announce to the latter his approaching death. "Rosamond" is especially picturesque in its descriptions of nature, the tale and dialogue do not lack liveliness either, though the poet is often declamatory. The measure of Hofdijk's first romance is octosyllabic and iambic, with many deviations.
Thus "Rosamond", as an historical and picturesque tale, while showing traces of Scott's influence, is original in its exuberant romanticism. Further study will lead to a better imitation and at the same time tone down many an exaggeration. Nor must we forget that in Hofdijk's first romances at least, other writers besides Scott and Van Lennep exerted an influence.
The next tale, which appeared in 1840, was "Egmond in 1004 and 1021." *) In it the writer is less romantic, and follows Scott in turning to his own country. It treats of two ladies of Egmond. The one of 1004 was faithless to her husband with the result that she and her lover were killed by him.
') Vierde Zang, 2.
3) Vierde Zang, 9. *) vierde Zang, 12.
4) Egmond in 1004 en 1021.



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The other of 1021 fought with her son against the Frisians, who had made an inroad into Holland. The poem like "Rosamond" is original,x) yet it is remarkable in so far as it shows the lines along which Hofdijk was developing, which ran parallel in their degree with those of Scott's preparation for his work. Not only does a dedication to his friend Masdorp show the influence exercised by the ruins of Egmond on the poet's youthful imagination, but a number of notes give proof of the author's study of the history belonging to the subject of the poem, and some mottoes bear witness to a reading of Middle Dutch writers. Yet in its historie and picturesque character Egmond is no great advance upon "Rosamond."
Nor is "The Bridal Dance. A Lay of the Minstrel of Kennemerland" *) (1842) equal to Scott's romances, though the imitation is closer. In it the writer takes his reader to the eleventh century and again remains in his own country. It tells us about a noble lady who loves a page but has been promised by her father to the son of a nobleman who saved his life. The page is then sent out to find his death8), but escapes, being warned by witches. The young lady now dies of a broken heart and her spirit appears in the bridal' dance to carry away her lover when he returns a knight. In its prelude and conception the poem resembles The Lay of the Last Minstrel by Scott, the minstrels of both romances wishing to "recall an ancient strain." *) The supernatural element in Hofdijk's poem is carried through to the end, but the picture of the past, the great motive of Scott's romance, is lacking. What there is of local colour is not characteristic of the period and scène of "The Bridal Dance," though the author is careful not entirely to neglect local colour. Only the picturesque painter of nature continues to give us his vivid sketches, and in page after page displays the beauties of Kennemerland. Nor is there any lack of
') A slight plagiarism from Van Lennep's Roos van Dekama is excused in a note.
*) De Bruidsdans. Een Lied van den Minstreel van Kennemerland.
Some ballads on the subject of Kennemerland had procured Hofdijk the name of Minstrel of Kennemerland.
') Like Fridolin in Schillers Gang nach dem Eisenhammer.
4) Hofdijk in an explanation to De Bruidsdans also begs his reader to compare the last verses with those of some medieval poems given by name.



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interest in narrative and conversation, but the past is not a living present to the poet, so he cannot paint it as such to his reader. In outward form, however, as well as in design "The Bridal Dance" belongs to the new poetry. Its measure is again iambic tetrameter with shorter and longer verses and it is interspersed with songs.
So we come to Hofdijk's last rhymed tale in Scott's manner, which, though the author was not yet the historian and antiquarian of a later day, is his best romance in this style. It is "The Younker of Brederode".1) The poetic tale takes its reader to Holland, more especially to Kennemerland, in the time of Count Dirk VI, and tells the reader about a youth living with a hermit near a castle. The young man, Willem, often called younker by his companion, loves a noble lady, Elwyne, and she returns his love. He is the son of Dirc of Brederode, who has gone to Palestine to expiate the crime of manslaughter committed in anger, but he does not know of his descent. The hermit, however, is recognized by a noble, Watersteyn, and the latter passes on his discovery to his friend, Dirc of Brederode's half-brother, who desires to keep his nephew's estates. He himself loves Elwyne and wishes to marry her, but thinks that she loves Florence, Dirk, Count of Holland's, brother. Hence arise various intrigues and deceits. But the hero's father returns in time to prevent his son from entering a monastery and to reconcile the Count of Holland and his brother. So Watersteyn is hanged and Elwyne finds her lover to be a nobleman's son.
The measure of "The Younker of Brederode" is octosyllabic iambic like that of the former rhymed tales, but there is a greater diversity of metre attained by means of occasional shorter lines and die interspersion of a number of songs. Here we may notice Scott's influence. This is seen too in the hunting-party in the opening of the romance,a) which puts one in mind of the chase in Scott's Lady of the Lake,3) also imitated by Van Lennep in his "Jacqueline and Bertha".4) And when the poet
0 De Jonker van Brederode. ') Eerste Zang, I sqq. ') Canto First, I sqq. 4) Tweede Zang, I, II.



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describes the castle of Brederode one cannot but think of fair Melrose in Scott's Lay of the .Last Minstrel. i) The poem is also cast in the form of a minstrel's song,») an expediënt made use of by many a romantic writer, while the unknown knight at the banquet») perhaps has his prototype in the stranger in The Lord of the Isles') by Scott.
Van Lennep wrote an introduction to "The Younker of Brederode" in the form of a letter to the publisher. In this he highly praised the poem and, at the same time, complained that the worst novels were at the time more readily sold than the best poetry.
Of more importance, however, it is that in "The Younker of Brederode" we at last find the full extent of Scott's influence. For though the poem may be a tale of love, it also is a picture of the past. When the hero thinks himself low-born, he gives up the noble maiden and is ready to enter a monastery. The villager's son calls it a crime to aspire to a lady. Thus a picture of the different classes is given and of their mutual relations. We see the force of iron, ruling society, and by its side the force clerical and the liberties of the people, steadily growing in strength, while the minstrel sings of truth and love. The characters, indeed, not only play their part in the story, but are also representative, and in the poem as a whole Hofdijk paints the position of Kennemerland with its Hollando-Frisian population in the county of Holland. He is also careful to evoke the idea of time and place. Thus he fully describes the hall and the banquet in Ogier of Ryswyc's castle, 6) and ever and again paints customs and manners and uses some obsolete word or expression.
Hofdijk is also picturesque in "The Younker of Brederode", as in no former poem, now that he is well read in his subject, which is shown by his many notes. The romantic writer, however, in painting his dramatis personae is not a psychologist. No more was Scott. But he paints the appearance of his personages, as well as their dress, leaving
') Canto Second, I.
') Vijfde Zang.
") Vijfde Zang.
4) Canto First and Second.
') Vijfde Zang.



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it to the reader to judge of their characters by their words and acts. The story and dialogue, too, are vivid and lifelike, though not without romantic ornaments, such as the attack of Brederode's castle by the Kennemers. *) The picturesque writer, however, excels in his descriptions, and especially does he revel in natural beauties. Hence the many comparisons drawn from nature.
But a selection from Hofdijk's poetry will give the reader the best opportunity of judging of it. For this we may take the scène in which Elwyne, going out hunting, meets her lover in the wood.
"Her beauty was not such as blinds
The eye with luxury: Not of the sun in burning glow
When rising in the sky; Not of the swelling rose, as it
Bursts from its opening bud, And sparkles in the morning dew, Above each bloom and herb; But of the silver moon, when all
In lovely splendour she, In silence of the summer night,
Goes up above the lake; But of the hawthorn, delicate,
When warnüh of eastern sun A rosy glowing light doth shed
On snowy satin leaves. And thus, while yonder forth she rides
Arranged in samite fitting close, Her tresses in the gauzy veil
Caught back, her radiance rather due To gentle beauty, than to gems And precious stones, adornment rich
Of girdle, hair, and hem of robe: She might have been of those ideals Which sometimes float before the eye
When fancy holds the mind in thrall. Her frank salute dispersed the fear, Which still clung to his timid mind.
With arm of strength but courtlygrace He gently lifts her from the saddle
') Negende Zang, IX sqq.



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Exalting: 'Elwyne 1 here again 1... May God reward thee for thy goodness, Which in thy bounty thus thou showest
To me, a hermit in the wood, And here in solitude.'
'In truth!' she gently said: 'I ne'er
Would give thee up for stores of gold, For all my heritage!'
She tied her hawk to saddle bow. And, though respect had held him back, She bade him sit beside her in
The shadow of the birches green.
But then as if jn wrath she spoke: Not for the first time now I grieve;
Say, must my heart not doubt your words, Most courteous though in sound they were,
When ere their sound has died away,
A gloomy look, a furrowed brow, Gainsay them and so soon already? — Thou hidest secret grief from mei'
He looked at her in silence long.
— 'And has my grief betrayed itself? But shouldst thou wish — my heart shall speak,
But oh 1 do not give way to wrath, If I at thy request the secret Disclose which should from thee be hidden....
I love — I love with all my heart. But though she be of angel nature,
Return the love of one at whom
Her page would hardly deign to look,
Oh no ... alasl that cannot bel' —
She trembled and with rosy flush From off its stalk she broke a flower,
And with a leaf of fern she played,
Till she recovered; then she spoke With gentle voice: 'So go and teil her.
And if she knows thee as I do —
True-hearted son of this wild placet She cannot but return thy love
And I will pray that God give thee
His blessing and a happy life.'
Then, plainly deeply moved, she rose
But ere she could advance a step He at her feet had thrown himself.



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— 'Elwyne 1' he cried in joyful trance: 'Elwyne! O hear and answer me: She whom I love, 't is thou thyself....'"x) In the above picture of chivalric courtship we may first of all notice Hofdijk's profound love of nature. In this he was a true romantic writer and surpassed Scott. We see, too, that he has read the Middle Dutch poets2) and not in vain. There is at times a note in "The Younker of Brederode" that partakes of the medieval ballads and romances. The same thing is found in Scott. Yet there isa difference, which may be due to the fact that their preparation had been dissimilar. The English poet was already steeped in folklore and history before he set himself to write hisfirst rhymed tale, the Dutch romancer only after he began to write, and owing to the influence of Scott had acquired the knowledge necessary to revive the past. Thus Scott's object in writing his tales is to paint bygone ages, whereas Hofdijk is less conscious of a definite aim when painting his pictures, but has, perhaps, more of the characteristics of the Middle Ages.
So "The Younker of Brederode", though written more in Scott's manner than Hofdijk's other works has its own individual characteristics. Hofdijk might have continued in this line and found a newer note, if this romance had not been the last written under the influence of the English master. Not that he gave up writing poetry, but he turned in another direction.*)
One more work, however, shows Scott's direct influence on Hofdijk. It is "Kennemerland Ballads",4) which saw the light between 1850 and 1852. In five volumes Hofdijk here gives a great many ballads, their subjects drawn from his beloved Kennemerland in the Middle Ages. The author added to these a number of notes on history and folklore. So Hofdijk concluded that period of literary action during which he was most under the influence of Scott and of Van Lennep, by writing a book of the same kind as that with which the English master had started his career. For
") De Jonker van Brederode, Eerste Zang, VIII—XIII. J) We may add Tegnér's Frithjofssaga.
*) In Een KvnstenaarsidyUe (1849), Hofdijk gives some of his views on art, love, and religion. 4) Kennemerland Balladen.



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in its degree "Kennemerland Ballads" is an imitation of The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border})
Meanwhile in 1851 Hofdijk had been appointed teacher of Dutch history and literature in the Amsterdam gymnasium. Van Lennep, like another Maecenas, had helped him to this place.
And now a new period of literary activity began for him, the first result of which was "Aeddon, an Epic"2) (1852). The poem tells us about the Celt Aeddon, his fight against the Cimbri, and his winning of the beautiful Olwene. But though Scott's well-known apostrophe to the "Harp of the North" was put as a motto at the head of the romance, the disciple no longer followed the master, but was findinghis own way. The poet had now fully studied his subject, and though typically Dutch as in no earlier work, no longer limited himself to the Middle Ages and Kennemerland. He called his tale an epic as Scott did Marmion, but wrote it in alexandrines, while it is somewhat Ossianic in manner and reminds us of Helmers and Tollens. Other poems by the epic and lyric poet followed,3) in some of which he even drew his subject-matter from the East Indies,*) but the historie rhymed tale after Scott was altogether forsaken.
Thus up to the middle of the nineteenth century Hofdijk was under Scott's influence and later he was more generally romantic, yet his position among Dutch writers is no insignificant one, and more especially owing to the patriotic and essentially Dutch character of his work he was one of the literary leaders of Holland in his time.*)
Still Hofdijk, too, did not continue the historical rhymed tale, and just as in England when Scott gave up writing poetic romances there was an end of them, so it was
') The Minstreky, however, contains few poems by Scott himself. *) Aeddon, een epiesch gedicht.
*) A tale about the Northmen in Kennemerland is Helena (1854).
4) Hofdijk's Indian tales make us think of Longfellow. We may mention In 't Harte van Java. It tells about the Dutch settling in Mataram about 1677-1678, and is written in hexameters.
6) Of his popular scientifk books we may mention: Historische Landschappen (1856) and Ons Voorgeslacht in zijn dagelijksch leven geschilderd (1858-64). Some parts of the latter work, indeed, read like an historical novel.
As late as 1888 he published an historical sketch De Kennemmer Avonturier about the pirate Compaen in De Gids of August 1888, p. 325 sqq.



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in Holland. "The Younker of Egmond" might be called the last.
It is true that there were more poets of romances of the past, and to mention only a few of them we might give the names of Bernard ter Haar, Josephus Albertus Alberdingk Thijm,1) and others, but their work lies for the greater part outside Scott's influence.2)
As to the natural death of the poetic tale after Scott, it coincides with that of poetry in Holland in general and falls about the middle of the nineteenth century. 8)
>) De Klok van Delft. Een Romantisch verhaal, by J. A. Alberdingk Thijm (Utrecht, 1846) is not only a poetic tale of the past but also gives in a preface the writer's views on poetry and classicism and romanticism.
a) One of the last poets to write in the manner of Van der Hoop and Van Lennep was W. R. Veder, who wrote Berijmde Verhalen (Dordrecht, 1858).
«) Da Costa, though his Poëzy of 1821 and 1822 is romantic poetry in many respects, has the isolated position of a great genius, which isolation was strengthened by his religious and political opinions. His masterpiece De Slag bij Nieuwpoort, an epic, appeared in 1859.



CHAPTER IV.
OLTMANS AND SCOTT.
Oltmans's one talent — The Castle of Loevestein in 1570 — The Shepherd — The tales of the past.
Of the many disciples of Scott in Holland perhaps none / wrote more in the master's manner on Dutch subjects than
jan rrederik Ultmans (1006 —1054).
We have already seen that, among the first writers of the new prose, Drost to a great extent followed his own genius, soon, however, to have his career cut short by death. Miss de Neufville only made a weak attempt at imitating Scott, and the many-sided Van Lennep only gradually found his way to the writing of the historical national novel.
Oltmans, however, at once reached the full height of his attainment, and wrote really Dutch works in the manner of Scott. All the more is it a pity that his art did not develop but came to a standstill. The time for the new kinds of novel was not yet in Holland.
Yet Scott's romance in prose was well imitated and adapted to Dutch circumstances bv Oltmans. He wa<? ir Je tme
/ a man of few talents; these, however, he used to the full. Moreover he had received an excellent education, and among the pursuits to which he devoted himself,
f drawing, history, and archaeology had a prominent place. Thus, notwithstanding his weak health and predisposition to consumption, Oltmans was well qualified to be an author of historical novels, books which almost seemed to belie his
I constitution. Modest and delicate though he was, his heart was full of patriotism and the spirit of romanticism awakened by Scott did not pass him by without stirring the inmost feelings of his heart. The charm of old things also had got hold of him, and he, too, knew how to communicate this charm to others in a manner more pleasant than scientific, more impressive than majestic, but always picturesque.



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Yet in writing his two great romances "The Castle of Loevestein'' and "The Shepherd'' the writer seemed to have exhausted himself, and no more work of the same kind appeared. They, however, are first-class in their kind, and their popularity has continued up to the present.
Oltmans's first work was "The Castle of Loevestein in 1570. Historical tale of the Eighty Years' War byj. van den Hage".1) The pseudonym adopted by the writer was taken from his birth-place The Hague, but before his death his own name appeared on the title-page. The novel saw the light in 1834, and as the author tells us in a preface, was written under the influence of Belgium's rebellion and Van Speyk's heroic self-sacrifice.2) There is even some analogy between Van Speyk and the hero of "The Castle of Loevestein", as they both perish with their enemies, blown up by their own hands.
The novel at once pointed out Oltmans as one of Scott's romantic school. It is a tale of the past with an historie subject. It takes the reader back to 1570, the thirdyearof the heroic struggle of Holland against Spain, and to the castle of Loevestein on the western coast of the island of Bommel, the territory between the Meuse and the Waal. Four Franciscans demand hospitality at the castle gate, and when ushered into the presence of the castellan, kill him, overcome the feeble garrison, and make themselves masters of the place. In the course of the next day other patriots join the four Gueux and under the command of Herman de Ruiter they all set themselves to secure the fortress. Floods and frost, however, detain a larger reinforcement, and some thirty men have to defend Loevestein against Perea at the head of two hundred soldiers sent to recover it as soon as possible. The result is that the Spaniards batter a breach in the wall with their cannon and enter the castle. De Ruiter, however, retreats to an inner hall, and at last when almost overpowered by numbers, applies a match to the powder. In the explosion he himself is killed, but a great many of his enemies share his doom, and add to
*) Het Slot Loevestein in 1570. Geschiedkundig verhaal uit den tachtig' jarigen oorlog — door J. van den Hage.
') Cf. the preface to the first edition, written November 1833. The same cause led Van Lennep to write De Strijd met Vlaanderen.



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the number of those already slain. This is the historie part of the book in which in the main the writer keeps true to history. 1) But the novel does not lack its love-interest either. The castellan has a ward, whose father was murdered by him and Perea, and she is loved by Van Doorn, a Dutch nobleman and Beggar, and by Perea. It is on account of Van Doorn, who had been made a prisoner by the commandant of the castle, that Herman van den Bosch, as Oltmans calls De Ruiter, surprises the castle. The Dutch noble then takes his beloved to a safer place, and comes back to help his friend against the Spaniards, but is too late to save him, though he succeeds in avenging him by killing Perea. Thus Oltmans first romance is an historical picture in / the guise of a novel, and is written in Scott's manner. The love-interest is found in it, but it is only of secondary importance. The reader even gets the impression that with the taking of Loevestein and De Ruiters death the story / has lost its principal interest and is rather unduly prolonged. Yet the work retains the character of a novel, and though the hero belongs to history, his place in it is so romantic and mysterious that his being historie does not affect the novelistic character of the book, while such an historie figure as Alva is kept in the background. The romance, however, well expresses the national spirit of the Dutch ƒ and their love of liberty and their hatred of the foreign f oppressors, and equally well does it paint the Spaniards and their good and bad qualities. Nor does the writer omit / to give the time of his story. His antiquarian studies here stood him in good stead, and the warfare of De Ruiters days in particular is sketched accurately and vividly. Moreover, local colour is found all through the novel, in the | dialogue too, where some scattered Spanish words and I expressions also make a fine show. To see how Oltmans follows Scott in reviving the past, the reader may be referred to the visit of the physician Helleborius to Loevestein and to the inspection of the castle by the Gueux.s) But in the
J) Qf. Een woord aan den lezer (17 April, 1839) in the second edition, in which the writer defends his following Hooft in the choice of his hero.
See however J. G. R. Acquoy, Herman de Ruyter naar uitgegeven en onuitgegeven authentieke documenten ('s*Hertogenbosch, 1870)
3) Hoofdstuk XXIV.



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novel as a whole we also find Scott's influence. The author of "The Castle of Loevestein" is picturesque like his great master, only he does not strike out new paths for himself. So the personages are drawn by description of their outward appearance and by means of their own words and actions, while there is not much delineation of character. Story and dialogue never stand still, though with Oltmans the discourses are at times rather stiff and bookish. In the descriptions of war and of fighting the writer is most himself and at his best; while like Scott he hates the ignoble, loves the noble, and wants his readers to do the same. For an illustration of the manner in which Oltmans characterizes we may point to the portrait of Alva,*) while the blowing up of the castle3) may stand for an instance of the action of the novel.
"The Castle of Loevestein" was indeed written under Scott's influence, though it is not a direct imitation of any of the Waverley novels.3) Only the description of the castle is much in Scott's manner and the meeting of the conspirators4) puts one in mind of Woodstock?) Representing the novel to be a manuscript, a kind of biography of a youth who took part in the rebellion against Spain, is resorting to an expediënt also made use of by the English master.
As an example of Oltmans's manner of writing we here give the description of the armourer's last fight: —
"The Armourer still stood his ground in a dark corner of the room, which on account of the high position of its windows, was badly lighted even on the brightest days. Two Spaniards were lying before him with wide gaping wounds; and now he was fighting the Anspessado to whom for fun he had paid military honour when he left the castle. In vain did this brave warrior try to find an opening in the ancient armour with the long blue steel point of his partisan; there was nothing of the enemy but
») Hoofdstuk XXI. ') Hoofdstuk LI.
*) De Recensent ook der Recensenten, Vol. XXVIII, 2, p. 352, speaking about the many soscalled historical novels to which the example of the great Walter Scott has given rise, is glad sometimes to find a single one making a favour» able exception, and also praises Het slot Loevestein in 1570.
4) Hoofdstuk VIII sqq.
6) Of other romantic writers whom Oltmans may have read and followed we may mention Cooper, Dumas, and especially Victor Hugo.
16



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was covered; even his face was hidden behind the nose-piece and chin-piece of the visor, so that his eyes were not visible to betray on which side his blows would fail. Only, not yet having conquered his enemy, the Spaniard made a violent lunge which would possibly have made an entrance for the hardened steel, if he had hit the armour in front, but with a spark it slid down along the right side of the cuirass. At the same moment the Armourer swept his battleaxe round above his heimet, and before his enemy had stepped back again or could protect himself with his weapon, the Danish iron descended on the head of the Anspessado, from whose hand the ebony staff of the partisan dropped. 'Espana,' he cried softly, as he sank and feil across his comrades swimming in his blood. Thinking of his native country he expired; alasl he was never to see it again, and his remains were to be buried in foreign ground.
Either fatigued with the fight, or perhaps even sorry for the fate of his honest enemy, the Armourer rested on his battle-axe, and adjusted his heimet with his left hand; but nobody showed himself inclined to risk a fight with him, and the soldiers would possibly have fetched their muskets to attack the single man from a distance as if he were a fortress, had not Velasquez, recognizing his old adversary, pushed his way through the soldiers, saying: 'Defend yourself or surrender.'
'Never 1' sounded dully through the air-holes of the heimet, while the Danish axe was lifted again and circled threateningly through the air. But though Velasquez tried cautiously to approach nearer and nearer to his enemy, just as cautiously did the latter try not to give too much weight to his weapon and so exposé himself. Twice the weapons had met, and only the skill with which Velasquez used his rapier had preserved him and his steel from destruction. Then the Spaniard slightly wounded his enemy above the gauntlet in his left arm, on which the latter, fatigued and fearing at last to waste his strength in this calm way of fighting, resolved to end the fight with one blow, and, breaking through his enemies, to seek the Messenger and die with him. Nothing, however, betrayed his intention, when all at once he let the battle-axe fail vertically with all his strength. It seemed, however, as if Velasquez had guessed the intention of his antagonist, for springing aside he evaded the blow, and close to his left foot, the battle-axe went deep between the flags with which the room was paved. Violently the Armourer pulled at his weapon; but before he could draw it back Velasquez threw away his rapier. He hoped to catch his valiant enemy alive and he knew the uncertainty of a thrust upon a person who, like a tortoise, is hidden in iron. 'Surrender 1'



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he cried, and caught the Armourer round the body with both his arms. Without answering the latter let go his weapon, did not step back, but bent his head forward so that his heimet touched his enemy's face, and while he clasped his iron arms and gauntlets around the head of Velasquez, he tried to smother him against his cuirass. The nails with which the iron breast-piece had been forged together, grated with the pressure; the Spaniard let loose the right arm. Already the soldiers were rushing up in order to save their captain, who seemed as if he must otherwise be lost, when the Armourer opened his arms and cried: 'I surrender.' For while he thought he had his enemy in his power, and already tried to read approaching death on his pale face and forehead, as his hat had fallen down, he feit the sharp point of a fine, steel dagger, which below his arm-pit pierced the buff which he wore under the armour, entered his flesh, and threatened to pierce his heart.
When the musketeers disarmed him and bound his hands on his back, he offered no further resistance." *)
The foregoing picture is an illustration of Oltmans' detailed description. In this he somewhat deviates from Scott,z) though in many respects he is his closest yet most original imitator. This we see in the lively and lifelike character of his sketch, while by the side of the dramatic interest there is also the interest of the scène, which is painted with due consideration for time and place, and without exaggeration.
But all this is to beseen still better in "The Shepherd", one of the best historical novels in Scott's manner, and at the same time its writer's masterpiece.
"The Shepherd. A Tale of the Utrecht War, 1481—1483, by J. van den Hage," 8) appeared in 1838. It treats of the last struggle of the Hooks against the Kabbeljaws and of the intestine wars in the bishopric of Utrecht, whose bishop at the time was David of Burgundy. The hero of the story, after whom the book is named, is Ralph the Shepherd. He is born with a cawl, and gifted to a certain degree with prophetic powers, and enjoys popularity and influence. His adopted son, in reality his grand-son, is Frank. The latter
*) Het slot Loevestein. Negen en Veertigste Hoofdstuk. s) The influence of Victor Hugo upon Oltmans may in some part explain this deviation.
") De Schaapherder. Een verhaal uit den Utrechtschen oorlog, 1481—1483, door J. van den Hage.



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forsakes the old man and becomes the follower and friend of John of Schaffelaar, one of the Bishop's knights, and honoured on account of his honest and brave character. Opposed to Schaffelaar is Perrol with the Red Hand, an Italian condottiere in the service of Louis XI of France and of the Hooks against the Bishop. He makes the impression on the reader of being a fallen angel, is brave, but has been guilty of every kind of wickedness. The enmity between Schaffelaar and Perrol is the central point of the novel. Perrol wants to revenge himself on Schaffelaar by trying to seduce the latter's bride, Maria, the daughter of Amerfoort's armourer Wouter. In the course of the war the condottiere's attempts lead to many adventures, in one of which Frank succeeds in rescuing Maria from Perrol's hands by stealing her out of Utrecht, while Schaffelaar looks in vain for his bride in Eemnes, which is attacked and taken by the stadholder's army. Frank is loved by a nobleman's daughter, but his heart belongs to his friend's betrothed, and Maria also begins to perceive that she does not love her noble bridegroom. Then in one of many fights Schaffelaar overthrows Perrol, but the latter gets his full revenge when he - besieges his enemy in the tower of Barneveld and forces him to jump out of it to save his men's lives. Perrol, however, is wounded by Schaffelaar and dies of poison given him by a witch whose love in former days he had abused and then scorned. Frank now proves to be David of Burgundy's natural son, and so Maria ends her life in a cloister, while her lover dies in Spain against the Moors, j We see that in "The Shepherd" the historie and novelistic I elements are singularly interwoven. The author, however, |wanted to sketch the spirit of the age, and he preferred this to writing a history of the Utrecht War. Therefore he Idepicts the time he wrote about, its customs and manners, /costumes and meals, dwellings and castles, and its life in ' general, and he was in this the true disciple of Scott, • though he abstained from giving any scientific notes. So the hero of the novel is not the Bishop of Utrecht, nor even Schaffelaar or Perrol, but Ralph the Shepherd. He is not an extreme type of either Hook or Kabbeljaw, and freely moves about in the different scènes of war. But grouped about this character pictures are given of



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the various parties, which all have their representatives. Yet the author's subject is not in the first place the feuds of patricians and people, nor the growth of the nation at Ilarge. But his novel is of the past and he paints life in Holland towards the end of the Middle Ages. In many respects "The Shepherd" here resembles Ivanhoe. For as Scott opposes the Saxons and the Normans, so does Oltmans the Hooks and the Kabbeljaws, and both show the two t parties already amalgamating and growing into one nation, f in one case the English and in the other the Dutch. Cedric, however, is a Saxon more than Schaffelaar is a Kabbeljaw, just as the antagonism between nationalities goes deeper than that between factions. The former sacrifices his son to his projects, but the latter was prepared to renounce his allegiance to the stadholder to save his bride, though he willingly gives his own life for his followers. Yet, especially in their painting of the past, the two novels have much in common. And like Scott Oltmans revives the age to which his dramatis personae belong.
They are in keeping with the stage on which they move,
And as the tournament of Ashby-de-la-Zouche gives the average reader a better insight into a memorable phase of the Middle Ages than many a work of history, so the battle of Eemnes and the siege of Barneveld's tower are pictures of medieval warfare, such as are hardly found anywhere else. That these pictures are also epics in themselves is a secondary matter, the most important thing about them is their local colour. Nor is Oltmans inferior to his great example in his painting of daily life, and he describes the household of Wouter, the Amersfoort armourer, as faithfully as that of Loef, the Utrecht nobleman. So the + period of the Utrecht war in all its aspects is made vivid to the reader by Oltmans. Quite in Scott's manner, the novelistic element in "The Shepherd" takes a secondary place. Yet the modern qualities of the picturesque, romantic writer are also found in it. They are seen in such pictures as that of Perrol's visit to the witch, *) or of the banquet in Utrecht.3) No wooden characters, nor long-winded de-
') Deel I, Hoofdstuk VII. J) Deel II, Hoofdstuk I.



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Iscriptions, nor tedious story and as tedious dialogue are to be found here, but instead of these all the good things of the new prose as first written by the English master. iBut, on the other hand, we have not yet the new possibilities to which the Waverley novels had opened the way. jThe good and bad characters are balanced as they are in Scott. Schaffelaar and Perrol, Frank and Walson, Perrol's lieutenant, Ralph and Ganita, the witch, are all contrasting teharacters. Nor is there much development of character, khough there is indeed some psychology in Oltmans's sketch of Maria discovering that she loves Frank better than Schaffelaar. The author is also somewhat of a moralist, and though Schaffelaar perishes through Perrol, the latter meets with his death because he does not repent of his
j sins; and how well does the author emphasize the contrast between the death of John of Schaffelaar and of Perrol.
-r Likewise in plot and conversation do we see in "The Shepherd" a fuller imitation of Scott than in his former work and "The Shepherd" is an advancement upon "The Castle of Loevestein," though a certain amount of mannerism remains. It is especially in the descriptions of battles and of nature that Oltmans excels. The scène of his novel is for the greater part the beautiful district of the Veluwe and this he paints with as much love and knowledge as Sir Walter paints his beloved Scotland. This love of his country shown in the painting of its landscape and history is, indeed, one of the principal characteristics of many of Scott's novels, and it also inspired Oltmans. Thus, with less genius or talent than many another author, Oltmans succeeded in writing "The Shepherd," a novel which makes him a not unworthy disciple of Scotland's great romantic writer, and one which may be placed on a level with Scott's masterpieces.
On the whole Oltmans is also original in "The Shepherd," even though a certain amountjaf close imitation may be noticed here. Thus the assault upon Schafïelaar's mansionJ) bears some resemblance to the siege of Front de Bceuf's castle in Ivanhoe?) the "Tumbler" being as strong in the
') Deel I, Hoofdstuk VI. *) Chapter XXIX sqq.



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attack as "the Black Knight". Maria and Rebecca also have much in common; for both snares are laid, both fail in love in spite of themselves, and are unhappy in the affairs of the heart, while Bois-Guilbert, the Templar, may have served as a prototype for Perrol. The latter, moreover, is a friend of 'le Sanglier des Ardennes', De la Marck is found 1 in Scott's Quentin Durward as well, and Perrol's characterx) somewhat resembles his. Some likeness too, may be traced between the witch in "The Shepherd" and Norna in The Pirate.
But these imitations, whether direct or indirect, do not diminish the value of the novel.
The following abstract may serve as an illustration of Oltmans's prose. It takes us to the house of the armourer of Amersfoort, whose daughter is loved by Schaffelaar. The latter has just entered and Wouter welcomes the guest. * "The master of The Gilt Heimet was not as tall as the horseman, but broad-shouldered and strongly-built. His kind face was often not in keeping with his words ; in his youth he had borne arms, and passed the rest of his life in the workshop, so that his language and gestures were characterized by a certain roughness, which was often misunderstood by those who did not know him. His face and hands were of a smutty colour owing to his working at the fire. He was bare-headed, and wore a jacket and hose, which served him as trousers and stockings, of red- and greystriped cloth, without any ornament or trimming except some large brass buttons. He had on clumsy shoes, the shape of which was quite different from that of the long pointed shoes of his daughter, or of the boots of Van Schaffelaar, or the sandals or slippers of Dame Martha.
'I am glad to see you in my house', said Wouter ; 'but you must know you are risking too much, and that in broad daylight.'
•By no meansl' answered Van Schaffelaar, never taking his eyes off the girl who was laying the table with a sweet grace. •You know that I am very well acquainted with Montfoort, though he is now at enmity with my master; I have his safe-conduct and may remain in town to-day till four o'clock in the afternoon.'
'That is another thing, and then we need not be afraid to welcome you. Come mother, now let us have the wine here soon', continued the smith to Martha, who entered the room with a Cologne wine-jug in her hand. 'Maria 1 where are the mugsl'
0 Perrol's unknown orig=n and the isolated life that he leads, remind us \ of Byron's heroes.



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The latter having laid the clean cloth over the table, put four silver plates and a tin one on it, and now hastened to place two silver goblets before her father.
'I bid you welcome in this mug of Rhenish wine', said Wouter. 'I thank all of you', Van Schaffelaar answered, returning Dame Martha and her daughter's salute.
'Is it good, Heer Jan?' asked Wouter, when they had emptied their mugs, licking his lips with pleasure.
'It could not be better, master,' resumed Van Schaffelaar; it is of a good vintage and of the kind a horseman likes to drink so much, but can get so rarely.
'But where is Griet with the dinner?' cried the smith; 'is our traveller to lose flesh ? consider that he has to go back this evening and must have strength to face marauders if necessary.'
Martha was -just going to teil him that his request would soon be fulfilled. when Griet entjered with a large dish of boiled meat. He now filled the goblets again, and after they had been emptied, put the jug on the table with the cloth.
'Are you glad, Maria?' her father asked gaily, 'that your lover is in town? it is only a pity that he has to go away soon. But I really think that your eyes are still red with weeping; fie, this ill becomes a wench in love.'
'Come, dear Wouter! don't tease the child, put that weapon away, rather. before it is spoiled,' said his wife. She alluded to a smooth, steel battle-axe with an ebony handle, which had lain on the box, and had been taken up by Van Schaffelaar to distract the smith's thoughts from Maria.
•Look at it again, Heer Jan,' Wouter said with selfsafisfaction, 'I venture to say, such a test-piece is not made by every armourer.'
The blade as well as the steel points which were found at the back and on the top, had been damaskeened with beautiful figures of real gold, which was rightly considered a high art; the handle was inlaid with silver and ivory, and at the end of the handle was a silver ring through which a thong or a chain could be passed. Van Schaffelaar again expressed his approval, and Wouter, having taken off his boots, stepped upon the box and hung the showy weapon upon the wall again, after wiping it.
'I don 't think that you will see many more beautiful,' said Wouter; 'such a weapon would be in its right place at a court, and yet it would render good service in a fight, it must be a good heimet or a strong shield which requires a second blow before it splits. The gentleman who was here this morning and has just gone away, was exceedingly well satisfied with it. I am sure you know him, he is one of the best of men, I assureyou;



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before Maunday Thursday I must make him fifty helmets, as many swords, and a hundred spear-points; and if he is satisfied with them, I think that this order will not be the last. But you must know him, Messire Perrol.'
'Yes, I do know him, he is the commander of the Black Troop and in the service of my master,' answered #Van Schaffelaar, i 11— pleased with the smith's eulogy, which the latter did not perceive, continuing with a laugh: 'So let us sit down; but meanwhile I must teil you, Heer Janl that he has an eye on your girl.'
'He. Perrol with the Red hand? by my father's soull I hope it may not be sol' cried Van Schaffelaar passionately.
'Come, come, it is of no account, to be surel' said Wouter; 'who does uot like to see a fine girl; I see Maria does not like my telling you, but why not?'
•Wouter l Wouter 1 I pray you let us sit down to dinner,'cried Martha in perplexity, 'don't you see that you make the child sad?'
'Ha, ha, sadl' repeated the smith, laughing aloud; 'what will not make a young maid sad, and all about one single kiss.'
'Kiss .. .1 has Perrol with the Red hand kissed her?' exclaimed Van Schaffelaar, his face turning deathly pale.
'Oh my father 1 what have you said?' Maria sobbed. She hid her face on her mother's breast, who put her arms around her and said; 'There you see, Wouter 1 what you don't know can do you no harm; why do you teil things that had better remain untold? Don't weep, Maria 1 Jan knows it is not'your fault, but your father's, why does he bring such foreign soldiers here?'
'Do you think Perrol is still in townf' asked Van Schaffelaar angrily, putting on his hat and taking hissword".1) - Perrol, however, is already gone and the armourer asserts his readiness to vindicate the honour of his family himself. So presently they all sit down to table, Meg at the bottom and each in his or her place. Then the master of the house says grace, and they take their dinner of raw apples, boiled or smoked mutton, salt herring, eaten by Meg, split pies, carrots. and bread; while they drink either wine or ale. And in this way the writer introducés us to the household of the Amersfoort armourer. The picture itself does not lack local colour, while the dialogue is in harmony with the scène and with the rank of each speaker.
Thus "The Shepherd" follows the example of the Waverley novels and we can easily tracé Scott's influence. Yet Oltmans
') De Schaapherder, Eerste Deel, Hoofdstuk I, De Vergulde Helm.



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is not so good an historian as the English master, so that the historie quality of his romance suffers. He did not write any explanatory notes; but then he did not wish to, [and his work did not require it. For with Oltmans the spirit of the century he wrote about is of more importance / than its quarrels, whether these find their outlet in war or feud. He tells his readers this himself by saying in his preface to the first edition of "The Shepherd" that he was not a learned man and did not pose as such. Nor was it his intention to write a History of the Utrecht War or of the troubles of the Hooks and Kabbeljaws, but he simply sketched the spirit of the age into which he had projected himself. *)
Nevertheless "The Shepherd'' by Oltmans takes a foremost place among the first Dutch novels of the past, and ranks higher than the greater part of what Van Lennep wrote, partly because it is a really Dutch work.
No wonder that Oltmans's contemporaries thought much of him. But though the author had ample leisure for writing and had found literary friends to encourage and guide him, his later work cannot be compared with "The Shepherd". His one-sided studies had developed his talents in one direction; when he sat down to write in a newer way he feil short of what was expected of him.
These later publications are tales, the greater number of which are tales of the past, historical or otherwise. Thus "In Remembrance of a bravely Executed Order"*) tells the reader how Huyghens went to London and kidnapped
') Cf. Voorbericht voor de eerste uitgave.
"Sommige mijner lezers zouden misschien gewenscht hebben, dat ik hier en daar een aanteekening bij het werk gevoegd had, ter verklaring van eenige benamingen van wapenen, kleederdrachten en gebruiken van den tijd, waarin het verhaal hen verplaatst; het zou waarschijnlijk een geleerd aanzien er aan geven, maar hen doen glimlachen, die weten, dat de schrijver geen geleerde is, en ik heb er dus van afgezien. Ik voeg hier alleen nog bij, dat het mijn voornemen niet was eene Historie van den Utrechtschen Oorlog te schrijven of van de woelingen der Hoeksche en Kabeljauwsche partijen, die hier weder een nieuw terrein vonden om elkander te vernielen.
Het zal mij aangenaam zijn, indien men oordeelt, dat ik in het schetsen van den geest der eeuw, waarin ik mij verplaatst heb, den bal niet heb mis* geslagen, en leg de pen neder, vertrouwende op de bescheidenheid mijner lezers." .
*) Gedachtenis van een kloekmoedig uitgevoerd bevel.



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a child from the Spanish ambassador to give it back to the anxious father. "The Will"1) takes the reader to France in the time of the Huguenots, and relates the story of a man who killed his brother-in-law and wanted to get his nephew's goods. "The Mermaid's House"2) is a Dutch tale of the past, telling us about an English lady who was rescued from the water by a lyoung skipper. People thought her a mermaid, but the sailor married her and after much distress and many difficulties rose to great prosperity. The time is the end of the fourteenth century. "Gaston de Foix"3) takes us to France in the latter part of the fourteenth century and describes the manner of the death of Gaston Phebus's son. Gertrude is a Dutch tale again, telling us about a lady defending her honour against the wiles of a Spanish captain and marrying him on his death-bed. So is "The Count of Bossu in Rotterdam,"*) which describes the perfidious stratagem by which Bossu captured Rotterdam in 1572. All these tales appeared in 1840 and 1841. 5) A last tale followed in 1846. It is "Frisian Hospitality",6) and in it the writer narrates how a Frisian lady protected Florence, Count of Holland, against her grandson and servants. It is true that the count had slain her son when they quarrelled about the right of hunting, but he was her guest.
The tales, as we see, treat of various subjects belonging to the past. They are also original though written in Scott's manner. But in general they lack the touch of genius. The best of them is perhaps the last in which the writer gives us a good picture of Friesland and its unruly inhabitants. The Frisian country rises before the mind's eye of the reader, with its endless struggles against sea and storm, Norsemen and Hollanders. The lonely farmhouse is also painted with its stubborn inmates, both free and bond.
') Het Testament.
J) Het huis van het Zeewijf.
') Gaston van Foix.
*) De graaf Van Bossu te Rotterdam.
») Most of the tales were first published in De Gids, which periodical, however, hindered Oltmans's natural development.
See Bakhuizen van den Brink, Studiën en Schetsen over Vaderlandsche geschiedenis en letteren ('s Gravenhage, 1876), Vol. III, p. 446.
•) Friesche Gastvrijheid.



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And as a picturesque writer, the author carefully describes the dress and appearance of the Frisians, nor does he forget to paint their national character, as well as their customs and manners, while as an historian, he delights in depicting the relation between the county of Holland and Friesland. Yet, after all, "Frisian hospitality" is merely a sketch.
As to the tales about modern subjects which Oltmans wrote, fhey are no better than his other tales, and none of them can be compared with the novels. And to these none was added. When in 1854 after many years of retirement Oltmans died, the manuscript of a new novel was indeed found among his possessions, but it got lost. And the writer's fame rests on "The Castle of Loevestein" and "The Shepherd."
• The position of Oltmans in Dutch literature is in many respects an isolated one. In him we find Scott's influence by the side of Victor Hugo's, but without further development. Nor did he himself take a leading place among writers in Holland. Yet his novels are still read and admired in his own country, as Scott's are in England and abroad.
This is due to their romantic character, to their being lifelike and interesting, and to the charm of their atmosphere of the past. But while in the novels of the master new possibilities lie hidden, we do not find these in the work of the disciple. Oltmans merely wrote in the manner of Scott; in this lies his greatness as well as his weakness. To see Scott's influence continued and new roads opened up and followed we must turn to the work of a more gifted writer, Mrs. Bosboom-Toussaint.



CHAPTER V.
MRS. BOSBOOM-TOUSSAINT AND THE NEW PROSE.
Miss Toussaint's first tales — The Earl of Devonshire — Miss Toussaint's novel in the past and Scott's novel of the past — The House of Lauernesse — Historic and psychologic novels— The new prose.
It is a general rule that whatever is good is pretty sure to find imitators, which in itself is a sign of its usefulness or beauty; and, in its degree, this also holds good in the world of letters. And though the first attempts at imitation. in literature are either clumsy or are open to the objection of plagiarism, they lead to the path of emuiation and progress. Thus it was with Scott's new prose. That the first imitations were almost bound to miscarry is clear enough. Only a man of genius can find a new opening, and those who follow either lack the strength to continue, or get lost in bewilderment.
In Scott we have a romantic writer who in picturesque language revived the past. But the doublé qualifications of novelist and historian were not found side by side in his disciples. Either in one or in the other respect they were wanting, sometimes in both. The excellent preparation of the English master was not theirs, and they sat downtoatask without even understanding the difficulties connected with it. Only gradually, learning by failure and by criticism, did they acquire an insight into the many requirements of the new novel. Hence the weakness of the first imitations, which was only a natural consequence of the originality and ingeniousness of the new prose. Scott's work differed too much from what had preceded it to be easily imitated, and progress could not but be slow. The first disciples were no better •than apprentices, who did their utmost, but were far from attaining proficiency. They were wanting in practice. Moreover the subtle imagination necessary to enable a writer to live in the past and to represent it to his readers was not theirs.



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Where genius should have presided, sometimes not even talents were found. Also it must be borne in mind, and this may excuse many shortcomings, that the study of history had not yet reached its later or its present height. People were just beginning to study it in the proper way, there was al change for the better, but it was still in its dawn. History had been a dry chronicle and a collection of mere matters of fact, now it was to become a living science which inquired into the origin of things and awoke the very spirit of the past. Yet the novelist had still to be his own historian. Thus the Romantic Revival, and with it the new poetry and prose, came at the right time, but it demanded both serious study and imaginative fancy from its writers.
The first authors, indeed, did their utmost according to their gifts and lights; that they could do no more was due to their "stars" which made them "underlings." And so their works are iorgotten. Yet what they wrote must not be passed by entirely unnoticed, because they were as pioneers who prepared the way for their successors. As such they have their value, and thus we have spoken of Miss de Neufville, as well as of Van der Hoop and Meijer, though many more writers were passed by in silence. How some of them understood their task may be seen in Aleid van Poelgeest by Schut, where no description of a tournament is found, but the reader is simply referred to Scott.
Better work, however, is that by Van Lennep, and though the writer did not refer to romantic predecessors or contemporaries, but took what he found in them and in more or less disguised form gave it as his own invention orthe result of his own study, even this is an advance.
This author even gave us a real Dutch novel of the past when he wrote Ferdinand Huyck, and laid the scène in the seventeenth century, with which he was almost as thoroughly acquainted as with his own age
Van Lennep also wrote the new poetry, but his poems as well as the other poetic romances shared the fate of Scott's rhymed tales and feil into oblivion.
The new prose, however, continued its successful career, and in "The Castle of Loevestein" and in "The Shepherd" we have historical romances which may rank with the Waverley



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novels. But the promises found in Scott's work were not yet to be fulfüled by Oltmans. For this he was not enough of an historian and of a novelist. Still, he too prepared the way for his successors.
So we have now come to the newer writers who, inspired by the example of the great English author, taughtbyhim and his imitators, and stimulated by their success, not only followed their predecessors but soon outdid them. And the high position of Scott in Holland cannot perhaps be better seen than in these new masters, who were all of them first his pupils. Whereas in England it may be somewhat difficult to speak of the school of Scott this is not the case in the Netherlands. It is indeed rather hard to point out any direct influence of the Waverley novels on the romances written by Lytton, Reade, Thackeray, and so many other English writers. And the author of Henry Esmond, an historical novel which in its kind is as near perfection as is possible, in his earlier work shows little or no tracé of Scotfs influence. But in Holland the master continued to exert a direct influence, and even the writers who perfected the Dutch novel ^ of the past were first his pupils, though Van Lennep, Scott's great imitator, also had a share in educating the future
novelists. *
So Anna Louisa Geertruida Toussaint, 18x2—1886, the greatest Dutch authoress of the nineteenth century, as she grew up read Scott and Van Lennep as well as other romantic authors, and in her first novels shows the influence of the English master, however soon her own genius was to lead her into new ways. Her literary education began with the reading of Vondel and Hooft, later she turned to Scott, Schiller, Bürger, and Van Lennep, whose "Legends" and "Adopted Son" she much admired. And then, when her delicate constitution obliged her to give up her profession of a teacher, she devoted nerself to literature. Her first translations from the French and the German we may pass by in silence, as well as her attempt at a play on the subject of Elizabeth of England.
Nor does her first tale Almagro, published in 1837, indicate her future greatness, though it already shows her romantic turn and her position as a religious author. It tells us of the adventures of a French nobleman's illegit-



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imate son, who when his brother takes his place becomes a pirate, but is converted by a young clergyman Selmer, and after his brother's death becomes his heir and marries a rich English lady. When discovered, he is pardoned and goes to America. It reminds us of Scott in so far that the way in which life in the higher circles of society is depicted puts one in mind of St. Ronan's Well.*) Like Scott, too, Geertruida Toussaint puts a motto at the head of each chapter, a practice likewise followed by Van Lennep, Oltmans, and others. But before long she ceased to follow this fashion.
Another tale was "The Comedy of the Marchioness de Caumartin",8) remarkable for the part which the dialogue takes in it, and "The Consorts of Turin".8) Both tales take their readers to Paris.
When in 1843 Miss Toussaint collected these tales with Lord Edward Glenhouse (1840) under the title of "StrayTales"4) she excused herself for whatever was weak and insignificant in these sketches on the ground that they were her first attempts in literature. They were, however, an excellent preparation for her novels.
"The Earl of Devonshire. A Romantic Episode of the youth of Elizabeth Tudor" 6) (1839) was the first of these. This historical novel tells us about Mary I, Queen of England, and her love for Edward Courtenay, Earl of Devon, who in his turn loves Elizabeth. We also hear of Gardiner's intrigues, which were too much for Courtenay. Wyatt's insurrection is described as well as Elizabeth's imprisonment. And in the end we see Mary married to Philip of Spain and the Earl of Devon dying of the poison he took to save Elizabeth.
The book is a great advance upon the preceding tales, though not free of extravagances. In the opening chapters we make the acquaintance of two horsemen, an opening
') Almagro, himself, at war with society reminds one of Byron's Corsair and Balzac's Rastignac, and still more perhaps of le comte de Vaudrey in La Vigie de KoaUVen by Eugène Sue.
') Het Blijspel van de Markiezin de Caumartin.
3) De Echtgenooten van Turin.
4) Verspreide Verhalen.
6) De Graaf van Devonshire. Romantische episode uit de jeugd van Elisabeth Tudor.



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which would appear to have been suggested by the novels of James.1) There are many fantastic scènes and incidents, one of which is the marriage of Wyatt and Courtenay's sister.8) The description of the household of the Lutheran clergyman Thomas Bealow*) shows us the Protestant convictions of the authoress, and foreshadows the famous novelist she was to become.
Thus, giving up her first wild fancies, and her description of aristocratie circles, Miss Toussaint came nearer to Scott's representation of "all sorts and conditions of men", though she never was his follower in everything, and soon devoted herself to a new kind of tales and novels and now with greater success.
In this first novel the authoress differs from Scott in more than one respect, as she herself points out in the preface.
In this "Word to the Reader" Geertruida Toussaint excuses herself for venturing, after Walter Scott, to write an historical novel whose subject and scène is English. The ideal, however, should be high. Moreover she is not the conceited 1 imitator of Scott, nor does she wish to be. And it is here that we find the fundamental difference between Sir Walter and herself.
"He writes," she says, "to sketch the age, its manners, and its local colour; and interweaves the romantic element with these for the sake of interest. *) I use all this only not to sin against local colour, as the actor adopts the costume of his character not to show how Sulla or CEdipus was dressed, but only noT to look different from representations of Sulla or CEdipus. The writer of Ivanhoe, of Waverley, of Woodstock, personifies a sect, a class, a party in an individual. I myself
») George Payne Rainsford James (1801-1860), an historical novelist, who wrote as many as a hundred novels. ') Hoofdstuk III. ») Hoofdstuk IV.
*) A different opinion is held by P. van Limburg Brouwer, who ia drawing a comparison between Alessandro Manzoni and Walter Scott says that Man» zoni writes a novel to explain history, while Walter Scott uses history to season his novel.
See his preface to De Verloofden, a translation from the Italian. Better is Van Limburg Brouwer's opinion of Scott's characterization, when he says that Scott shows the effect* of the passions, not the passions themselves.
17



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only use parties and sects, as far as I saw my personages implicated in them. So I am not Scott's conceited imitator, nor has it been my intention to be this. I have only tried (let not the attempt, however, be confused with the result) to learn from him how to retain such truth in historical characters as may excuse many an offence against history".1)
She also defends her choice of subject by remarking that she thought taking a subject from Dutch history as auda{/l^^*<Sous as imitating Walter Scott on his own ground, since "The Rose of Dekama" and "The Adopted Son" were examples too strong to suffer a weak imitation. She chose her subject on account of its hero, whom she thought great and wanted to represent as such.
Thus Miss Toussaint wrote her first novel of the past and though, indeed, she was not the blind follower of Scott, yet she is historie and picturesque even^as he Js.
We cannot, perhaps, show this befter than by the following conversation between Princess Elizabeth and Baroness Hokarth, her friend and governess.
'"I teil you, Gertrude, that you are wrong; such a walk as this fatigues me more than it diverts me, and the lovely majesty of this old wood makes me impatient and melancholy. I hate those ever silent trees 1'
So spoke Lady Elizabeth, ldaning on Gertrude Hokarth, and led by her farther into the forest of AshlSjridge than she liked.
'If your ladyship is tired, we can return,' replied the ever dignified lady, 'but it is certain that bodily exercise is good for you after such severe mental exertion.'
'Heaven forbid, my dear Hokarth 1 you make me think of the proverb: Venienti occurrite morbo—prevention is better than cure.— If they were to injure my health, those few moments which I give to my studies, and which are the sweetest part of my present life, then I should have died long ago under the tuition of my good Roger Ascham, who, as it were, nourished me on Greek and Latin. That was a good, a happy time, Gertrude, when I read Cicero and Livy with him. Yet it is strange that we value those moments so little when they are there, and only when they are irreparably lost are we taught to see what they were to us. Ascham calls the tragedies of Sophocles a school for princes, a warning against too great a confidence in the durability of their happiness; and following his instructions I learned
') De Graaf van Devonshire, Een woord aan den lezer, p. iv sq.



— 259 —
much of them by heart, which I often call to mind now, to console myself. Yet, to return to my first words, I think that this wood is unbearableto me because it always reminds me of the merry hunting-parties at Greenwich and Woodstock, in which, formerly, I might take part; I feel almost ashamed to say so, but it vexes me to do without this amusement.'
'Your ladyship might hunt here; it is said that there is much game here.'
'Hunt? Without a proper retinue, without the proud, graceful party which gives something elegant and impressive to such a festival. Hunt with a couple of borrowed hounds and clumsy servants, like the daughter of a poor country nobleman, who intrudes upon the hunting-grounds of another. No, by Jove, better is it for the daughter of Henry VIII to lock herself up within four walls than show herself thus in public." *)
i hus the imperious daughter of the no less imperious Henry VIII may indeed have spoken to her confidante, though the note of prudence is not lacking. And Elizabeth's character, as painted by Miss Toussaint, may bear comparison with that which Scott gives us in Kenüworth. It is true that in the English novel she may also be heard to speak Euphuism, which would have been out of place and misunderstood in Dutch, and that moreover she is a queen there, and anxious to assert her power, while in "The Earl of Devonshire" she is a princess and half a prisoner, but putting aside the difference due to her position and to her appearance in a Dutch or in an English romance, the representation is the same.
So neither the historie nor the picturesque element is wanting in Miss Toussaint's work. Yet master and pupil differ in one fundamental respect as already indicated in the preface to "The Earl of Devonshire". Scott wishes to give an historie picture, to paint manners and customs, some great event or feature of the past, and to this every thing else is subordinate. Hence his lack of characterization. Miss Toussaint, however, wanted to be a psychologist and a ' novelist more than an historian. Hence the greater importance attached to the characters, whilst their lives, as representative of the age in which they live, are not brought out in such strong reliëf. And though, perhaps, she was
l) De Graaf van Devonshire, Hoofdstuk X.



— lóo —
too often carried away by the greatness of her subject to give due attention to the frame into which she put it, yet i it cannot be denied that owing to the painting of qualities before externals her work is more generally human than Scott's.
Geertruida Toussaint, however, had not yet given us her best historical novel in "The Earl of Devonshire". and her novelistic genius continued to develop in many directions. It is remarkable that notwithstanding her opinions of Scott's method, she approached it more nearly in her later work, I and sometimes wrote work even more historie than he did, • in a sense, or altogether discarded the novel of the past to write on newer lines.
"The Earl of Devonshire" itself was criticized by Potgieter, who did full justice to its writer as a rising genius, but did not approve of her admiration for the author of "The Rose of Dekama" and "The Adopted Son,'1 because Van Lennep wrote too much in Scott's manner. The authoress was advised to use her gifts on a really Dutch novel, while "The Earl of Devonshire" was pronounced to be neither historical in Scott's manner, nor psychologie as are the novels of Madame de Stael.x)
Meanwhile this writer of promise continued her studies, and as the first-fruit of these there appeared in 1839 "The English in Rome. A Romantic Episode of the reign of Pope Sixtus V." *) In this historical novel the reader finds a picture of Rome in the time of Sixtus V and of the pope himself in all his vigour and statesmanship, while Orsini Peretti is depicted with her playfellow, the traitor Scipione— Angelo and her lover, the noble Colonna. The Englishman Karre is the trusted agent of Sixtus V with Queen Elisabeth, and Anna Oston's love is alienated from him and given to the young Cardinal Montalto, and in spite of this she is forced to marry her old lover.
Though Geertruida Toussaint has not yet followed Potgieter's advice, the novel is a rare combination of bold fancy and profound historical and topographical kwowledge and
') Cf. De Gids, Vol. II, B., p. 657.
*) Engelschen te Rome. Romantische episode uit de regeering van Paus Sixtus V.



— 2ÓI —
so justifies the choice of a foreign subject, Did not Scott also often go abroad, in search of subjects and has not what is outside one's own country as well as what is outside one's own time its attraction for the romantic mind?
The writer, however, still struggles to find her place in the world of romanticism, though her individuality is asserting itself. When she shows one or other weakness in Orsini's character she herself tells us that she is. averse to the absurd, imaginary perfection portrayed by many a novelist and looks for trttth.1) Here we see what we might call the influence of the English master's sound realism. And being a better psychologist than he was,3) she proves in her portrait of Orsini as well as in that of Anna Oston that she knows the female heart, while the passions of man are also well described by her in the characters of Montalto and Karre. How well, too, does she paint Sixtus and his tooi, Scipione! In her search for truth and in her characterization she follows Fielding, but Scott is her master in the historical novel. Like him, she heightens the effect of her story by her description of scenery and surroundings, and the novel is full of local colour. The Etemal City3) is painted with special verve and animation, and when the authoress pictures Easter in Rome, not only as a Roman Catholic but also as a Christian festival *) she reaches a rare level of excellence. Yet it is evident to the reader that Miss Toussaint has her own method, and in "The English in Rome" as elsewhere places
') Hoofdstuk XI.
') Scott was not much of a psychologist, as was already seen in Part I of the present work. Dibelius in Engtische Romankunst, Vol. II, p. 205 says: "Was laszt sich an Begeisterung und Angst, hoffhungsvoüer und bedrückter Stimmung, Mut und Erschöpfung, Aufopferung und Blutgier aus Scotts Situa* tionen herausholen, und wie wenig hat er diesè Themata gestreift, aber nicht bearbeitet; im wesentlichen hat er doch nur das Kostüm gefunden, in dem spater Kipling lebende Seelen entdeckt hat".
Mrs. BosboomsToussaint was the Dutch author who saw the psychological possibilities of Scott's novels, perhaps at the expense of picturesqueness.
Cf. Gaebel, who in Beitrage zur Technik der Erzahhtng in den Romanen Walter Scotts, says on p. 70: "was die Psychologie einbüszt, gewinnt die schil= dernde Darstellung".
The question, however, may be to find the true relation between the psychological and picturesque elements.
3) Hoofdstuk I sqq.
4) Hoofdstuk XX.



— 2Ó2 —
the novelistic element above the historie. Love still seems to be the ruling factor.
This, however, is not the case in "The House of Lauernesse", l) a novel which appeared in 1840 and treats of the reformation in the Netherlands from 1521 to 1525. It tells us that Ottelijne of Lauernesse and Aernoud Reiniersz. Bakelsze, an officer in the army of the emperor-count and a free citizen of Utrecht, love one another. But Paul of Mansveld appears at the festivity in honour of the betrothed, * speaks of Luther, and a sword is brought into the castle of Lauernesse. Aernoud remains true to Roman Catholicism, his fanaticism even makes an inquisitor of him; Ottelijne is converted to Lutheranism and suffers much on account of her religion. When they meet for the last time the inquisitor is wounded in disturbing a hedge-sermon, and dies supported by Ottelijne, who then travels to Wittenberg. Thus she gives us a novel with personages influenced by the Reformation. While by the side of the fictitious characters a few historie persons appear on the scène, such as John of Woerden, who dies as a Protestant martyr, and Bishop Philip of Burgundy with his vicar Boudewijn Gerardsz. of Heerde, both worthy representatives of moderate Roman Catholicism.
That Miss Toussaint's manner of writing in "The House of Lauernesse" is much nearer to Scott's method than in her • former work is readily seen. The book itself was written at the request of the publisher Beyerinck, who asked her to write a novel about the first period of the reformation in Holland which should especially describe its influence upon the social and domestic life of the Dutch. Now a social and domestic picture was also what Scott himself purposed to give. The time of the novel was the most unknown and most difficult period in the history of the reformation in the Netherlands, and the authoress gave two years of serious study to the preparation of her work. And how ' well has she succeeded in her task! From beginning to end "The House of Lauernesse" captivates, and the story never lacks interest. The two religions and their adherents are described impartially, though the writer never denies
0 Het Huis Lauernesse, translated into English, also into French and German.



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her Protestantism. History is not violated and the domestic and civil life of the time is painted with rare success. So that there is a deliberate attempt to reconstruct the past in word, in fact, in sentiment.
Not that the novel has not its defects. The workshop is sometimes opened to the reader, and contemplation or \ explanation takes the place of sketching by word and action. Some parts of the story are also improbable and fantastic, while language and style might have been paid more attention to, with advantage.
But notwithstanding its shortcomings "The House of Lauernesse" is a grand book and does its writer infinite credit, not least in that it is an original Dutch historical novel.
In this work we may say, indeed, that Miss Toussaint gives us the first Dutch historical novel in imitation of Scott I that is at the same time original. The picturesque representation of the past is there, yet the style is individual. For, while the English writer emphasizes the historie side of his personages, the Dutch authoress lays due stress on their spiritual or religious nature.1) In the conflict between love and faith, the latter carries the day with her dramatis personae. And in the broad picture given of religion as
i) when Scott tries his hand at painting reÜgion, he is, in general, not successful. Cf. Bagehot. lirerary 5rud.es, Vol. II, p. 179 sq. Here we read:-
"The character of God images itself very imperfectly in any human soul; but in the highest it images itself as a whole; it leavesanabidingimpression which will justify anxiety and allow of happiness. The highest aim of the religious novelist would be to show how this operates in human character; to exhibit in their curious modification our religious love, and also our religious fear In the novels of Scott the two elements appear in a state of separation, as they did in his own mind. We have the superstition of the peasantry m the Antiquary, in Guy Mannering, everywhere almost; we have likewise a pervading tone of genial easy reflection characteristic of the man of the world who produced, and agreeable to the people of world who read, these works But we have no picture of the two in combination. We are scarcely led to think on the subject at all, so much do other subjects distract our interest- but if we do think, we are puzzled at the contrast. We do not know which is true, the uneasy belief of superstition, or the easy satisfaction of the world; we waver between the two, and have no suggestion even hinted to us of the possibility of a reconciliation. The character of the Puntans certainly did not in general embody such a reconcihation, but it might have been made by a sympathising artist the vehicle for a delineation of a struggle after it The two elements of love and fear ranked side by side in their minds with an intensity which is rare even in minds that feel only one of them. The delineation of Scott is amusing, but superficial".



— 264 —■
governing the age, she paints the two currents of Roman Catholicism and Protestantism as distinctly as Scott did the Saxons and the Normans, as separate nations; in Ivanhoe. Yet Miss Toussaint's work is more subtle and in characterization she surpasses the English writer. In imagination, in depth of feeling, in power of passion she is also the better of the two. Thus "The House of Lauernesse" is historical in a finer sense than the Waverley novels, and is particularly successful in painting the spirit of the age.1) It also gives a beautiful picture of the age itself. Perhaps Miss Toussaint's antiquarian knowledge is not as deep as that of Scott, but writing in this case about her own country she is more careful than ever before to describe her personages and their surroundings, and how much her work has gained in local colour may be seen by any reader who compares this novel with its predecessors.
Even her dialogue is such as accords with the period.') Still, however picturesque "The House of Lauernesse" may be, as a novelist Geertruida Toussaint ranks below Scott. His liveliness of story, description, and dialogue is only rarely attained by her, moreover she is too much afraid of being realistic, though the great master might have taught her better. Her gifts, though, are of a high order. In proof of this we would especially draw, attention to the death-bed of widow Bakelsze *) fand to the meeting of Paul and his father, the Duke of Guelders.4) And in how far she is indeed a picturesque writer of the past in Scott's manner may be seen from the following abstract: —
"May I introducé my readers to the widow of Reinier Bakelsz., Aernoud's mother. It was a stately town-house on the Old Moat at Utrecht which she inhabited. It had a brick facade and was roofed with slates: improvements made by Mr. Reinier a little before his death in his quality aspatron of solidity and elegance. There were also broad benches in front of the house, though
l) "Not by slashed breeches, steeple=hats, buf&belts, or antiquated speech, can romance heroes continue to interest us; but simply and solely, in the long run, by being men".
Thomas Carlyle's CoUected Works, Vol. V, p. 274 (Sir Walter Scott).
') The influence of Drost and Potgieter may be seen in the archaic language.
J) Deel I, Hoofdstuk XIV.
4) Deel II, Hoofdstuk XIV.



— 265 —
any one sitting down on them to take the air would miss the projecting penthouse; after all the house was not a shop and there was no merchandise to be displayed in the shutters of the lower windows after they had been turned down; the upper story, however, which had been built in such a manner as to project rather far over the lower, partly made up for this loss, and for this demanded its tax of light. The building was rather narrow, but high enough and possessing a considerable number of apartments, at least judging from the number of small windows, all half covered by shutters, which protected the panes, some square, some oval, and some of another form, against attacks from the outside. It was curious how much good and solid iron-work had been squandered on the hinges of those shutters; now-a-days less is used on a barrier which shuts off a whole town. The fifteen steps on either side, above which rose the facade ending in a point, gave it a well-finished and symmetrical appear- , ance, which reconciled one with its stiffness. Like all1 the woodwork, the door was painted a sombre green inclining to black, which invested the building with an air of seriousness. The door framed between square posts was horizontally divided into parts, the wood was grooved and the higher end of the top part was rounded and adorned with a gigantic iron knocker. This upper door was open now. Was it to catch a little more light in the gloomy dwelling, where it was already dark, though the sun had scarcely turned to the west? or was it to grant the passer-by a glance at the pretty girl who was spinning in the hall, arranged as a sitting-room? or was it for herself? ... we should almost be inclined to think the last; for the clear blue eyes so often wandered from the turning wheel to that opening, and they came back from it in such disappointment that evidently she was looking out for something not yet to be seen". l)
Thus the author gives us a vivid picture of the house and at the same time the reader hears about Aernoud's sister, looking out for him she loves. The authoress now turns to painting her dress and appearance and also describes widow Bakelsz. This is followed by a conversation between mother and daughter, in which again words and construction are characteristic both of the speakers and of the period. But the preceding lines may suffice to prove that Toussaint was an historical novelist in Scott's manner. Though her genius had revolted against
]) Het Huis Lauernesse, Eerste Deel, Hoofdstuk XI.



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slavish imitation, it had also taught her to see what was good in his method. Scott, however, remained true to his new prose and wrote his romances as representatives of historie society, but Geertruida Toussaint with wonderful versatility wrote of the past as well as of the present, and each of her works has its distinctive character.
Henceforth, however, Mrs. Bosboom-Toussaint, as she is generally called after her marriage with the painter Bosboom in 1851, may be said to be an original writer following her own high calling in literature, and giving proof of her independence as an evangelical writer.
As such she wrote a great many historical tales and novels. In the novels about the Earl of Leycester *) she is a writer of history rather than a novelist, *) whereas in "The Delf Quack"3) she produced an exceedingly fine novel of the past.
The indirect influence of the romantic writer Scott is still found, nor could we expectjt to be otherwise in an authoress who had studied the grand-master of romanticism.
But Mrs. Bosboom-Toussaint also wrote of the present. Her first tales were modern, and so was Don Abbondifyo II (1849). This novel treats in a romantic way of the political and social conditions of the Netherlands before 1848, and ends with four marriages. It deserves some special mention in so far as there is a slight resemblance between the character of Aelbrecht, Abbondiho's brother, and that of Touchwood in St. Roman's Well by Scott. Other novels followed in which the new prose appeared in various forms. So "Major Frank"4) (1874) treating of the woman's question, and a psychological work of high merit, is written in the
') De Graaf van Leycester in Nederland (1846).
De Vrouwen uit het Leycestersche tijdvak (1849—1850).
Gideon Florensz. Episoden uit het laatste tijdperk van Leycester's bestuur in Nederland (1854-1855).
') Dr. J. Prinsen J. Lzn. in De oude en de nieuwe Historische Roman in Nederland, speaking of Scott's historie digressions says that Mrs. Bosboom» Toussaint has all these defects in a much greater degree.
See p. 63.
3) De Delftsche Wonderdokter.
*) Tanslated into English: Major Frank by A. L. G. Bosboom-Toussaint, author of "The English in Rome", etc. Translated from the Dutch by James Akeroyd. London, 1885.
Also translated into French, German, Russian, Swedish.



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form of letters, whilst "Raymond the Cabinet-maker"1) (1879), emphasizing the contrast between the ancient and the modern political system in France, is in dialogue.
We cannot, however, enter into details of these and many other novels and tales by this voluminous writer. Though we cannot deny that Scott's indirect influence can be traced in them, Mrs. Bosboom-Toussaint's genius was too original for her not to have outgrown direct imitation of his methods.
But that the greatest and most influential Dutch authoress of the nineteenth century in the beginning of her literary career was a pupil of Scott's, is as much to the credit of the English master as it redounds to her own honour, since she not only recognized the brilliant qualities of his romances, but also used them as a mine of precious ore, which she worked to advantage in her own novels. Moreover, while Scott was a writer living in a world of sense and romance,») Mrs. Bosboom-Toussaint also saw the spiritual side of things.*) This may have been to the detriment of the vividness of the picture, but, on the other hand, her work gained in lasting qualities.
J) Raymond, de Schrijnwerker.
3) See Bagehot, Literary studies, Vol. II, p. 181.
"As the union of sense and romance makes the world of Scott so charac teristically agreeable, - a fascinating picture of the world in the light «1 which we like best to dwell on it; so the deficiency in the attenuated striving intellect, as well as in the supernatural soul. gives to the world of Scott the cumbrousness and temporality - in short, the materialism - which is characteristic of the world".
») When Dr Jan te Winkel asks himself which he places higher Schimmel or Mrs Bosboom, he chooses the latter. He says: "Zij verhoogt door den adel van haren geest, die op iedere bladzijde harer werken uitschittert, het peil onzer gemoedsstemming, en dat ééne is reeds voldoende om aan haar den palm toe te kennen".
See J. te Winkel, Letteren en Taal in Eene Halve Eeuw (Amsterdam, 1898),
Vol II, p. 273.



CHAPTER VI.
SCHIMMEL AND THE HISTORICAL NOVEL. The dramatic character or the historical novel — Schimmsl's rhymed
ROMANCES — HlS TALES OF THE PAST — THE FüïST DAY OF a NEW LiFE
and A Woman of the Hague — Mary Hollis and Lady Carlisle — Sinjeur Semeyns and The Lifeguardsman — The end of Scott's direct influence.
Scott was the great man whose new poetry and prose by its historie and picturesque qualities decided the victory of romanticism in the beginning of the nineteenth century both in England and abroad. In Holland, however, literary life was low and there was no genius mighty enough to dispel the influences of sloth and indiflerence. All that could be done for romanticism, Van Lennep did in his own way. Nor can what he was to a younger generation be easily overrated. For it was he who by his works reached the hearts and minds of the Dutch boys and girls among whom were the writers of the future. He, as it were, led them to Scott, and when the latter's influence was already declining in other countries, it still found a fruitful soil in the Netherlands. Hence the continuation of the historical romance, and to this and to the increasing love and study of history and the revival of literature it owes its great success. The historical novel, however, is not only a new manner of writing history, it does what history cannot do and revives the past by making real to us not only its men and women, but also their sentiments and thoughts, their dress and surroundings, their attitudes and words. It is history in the guise of a portrait, an image of the real world; it is the past brought on the stage to instruct and amuse the spectator.
In this Scott's first imitators feil short, because the English author and his historie and romantic qualities were not fully understood. The beauty and greatness of his



— 269 —
work was feit, but clear insight into it was wanting. Classicism with its fixed rules was not at once ousted from the place which it had held so long. It is so much easier to write about man in general, and paint him in vague and indefinite colours. Romanticism, however, even in its beginning had to localize man, but at the same time to look for what is human in him and may be found in all ages and in all countries. Moreover in Scott's romance the right balance had to be struck between the novelistic and the historie elements, while both required an unusual appreciation of the picturesque and knowledge of the past. But the disciple of Scott had first of all to see the local colour in his work and to imitate this. The English master painted bygone ages as seen from afar and yet near. The historie personages, princes and ministers were only the representatives of their time; history was made by the crowd. A whole period was revived with all its various prejudices and sentiments, its peculiar manners and customs. Beautiful descriptions depicted the persons and their surroundings, and often drew attention to details of incident and history. So the reader became a contemporary of the dramatis personae whom the author introduced to him along with the stages on which they played.
All this Scott's genius was able to achieve, at the same time opening up new prospects in literature to a coming generation of writers. But in Holland the most promising author, Drost, the writer of "The Plague at Katwijk 1625)," died when young, and the talented Van Lennep was on the whole little more than an apt imitator. The first to follow her own bent in writing about the past was Mrs. Bosboom-Toussaint, who as a novelist was as many-sided as she was gifted. The historical romances, as written by Scott, however, had not yet come to an end.
Just as different degrees of perfection could be traced in the Waverley novels, so the seeds of development could be found in them. Thus it might also be expected that the growth of the historical novel should reach a stage in which this form of literature would either undergo some change or come to an end.
The author of the past must have as his main object the painting of the customs and manners of the time he



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writes about, moreover he must lay bare the minds of his characters, and the spirit that moves them. To do this he represents classes by types, without, however, being onesided, and makes the speech and sentiments of his personages in harmony with the period, while observation and description are almost equally balanced. Thus romanticism in its revival developed the new feature of local colour, yet did not neglect the older analysis. The dead generalities of the classic school, however, had had their day. But whereas in Scott local colour and analysis were both found, and mind as well as eye had its task in understanding him, the historical novel in its development might encourage one of these to thé detriment of the other. In the same way either the historical or the novelistic element in the novel might get the upperhand.
An essential feature of the historical novel, moreover, is its dramatic character. While the first literary attempts of the human mind were epics, in which the deeds and exploits of the great men of old were represented and heroes were applauded, these were followed by dram as in which life in all its phases found expression. The novel belongs to a later day and depicted the contemporary world. The greatest achievement in the field of letters, however, was the historical novel. In it epic, drama, and novel are, as it were, combined. Its writer goes to the past and whatever stands out in bold and lofty reliëf is his subject, whether it be some great event in the life of a nation, some thought conquering the world, or some conflict in the ebb and flood of the ages. This he depicts, and his dramatis personae appear on the stage, to speak and act as if wandering again on this earth of ours. But not content with this, the stage and audience are also supplied by the author, and we get as full a picture of a bygone time, as if we ourselves were witnessing from afar what, but for the new literature, might have remained in the dust of oblivion, without ever coming before the multitude.
Scott was the first world-writer of the new poetry and prose, and in his work we find local colour and analysis, history and novel, drama and art, though he never exhausted the possibilities of the historical romances. Only the rhymed tales of the past were outlived by their bard, and even



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they were imitated on the continent and in Holland after the poet's death. The change and decay of the novel belongs to a later period still. The author in the Netherlands who continued Scott's prose longest and developed more especially its dramatic art and its realistic touch is Schimmel.
Hendrik Jan Schimmel (1824—1906), as if by natural impulse turned to rhyming and to narrating stories, notwithstanding the warnings and the opposition of his father, who admired only the stage and was inclined to object to anything else belonging to literature. Schimmels school education was also against him, for though he was a lad ofparts financial difficulties prevented him from continuing his studies, and when in 1842 his father died, he had even to provide for his mother and sisters. He went to live in Amsterdam and it was only after many years that his circumstances improved to such a degree that much time could be given to the cultivation of literature. But in spite of small Latin and less Greek, and the hard struggle for life, Schimmel never lost sight of the inspiration of his youth.
In 1844 the first work of the young writer was published, a mystic religious poem entitled Hagar (1847), which relates the Biblical tale of Ishmaef and his mother. Another tale in verse is "Margaret of Hainault"x) (1849), which tells us of the unhappy woman reviewing her past life and dying, and of her son, William, who rose against his mother and went mad. "Pieter Dirkszoon Hasselaar (March i573)"s) (1849) gives us an episode of the siege of Haarlem in the Eighty Years' War. Another narrative poem is Beatrix (1850), which treats of a young child saved by a warrior and brought up by him, who proves to be a nobleman's daughter and his enemy's sister. The time is the beginning of the fifteenth century. Together with some ballads and other poems the poetic tales were collected and published in 1852 under the title of "Stray Poems." 3)
J) Margaretha van Henegouwen.
') Pieter Dirkszoon Hasselaar (Maart 1573).
s) Verspreide Gedichten.
This collection includes the poem; Christus en de Volkeren (Christ and the Nations), showing the writer's religious tendencies, which can also be traced in his other works. When older, Schimmel forsook to a certain



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The rhymed romances are in various metres, and highly romantic. In this Scott's influence may be seen as well as in their subjects, which belong to the past. Yet Schimmel's poetic tales difler from Scott's in their design. As the English poet tells us himself and as is clear to any reader, The Lay of the Last Minstrel and its successors aim at painting the life of their characters as typical of the life of their time, the subject matter being of secondary importance. Schimmel's purpose is less pronounced, and the dramatic action of his tales diverts attention from the historie descriptions. Moreover, the Dutch romances are on a much smaller scale. Thus Beatrix takes us back to the days of Jacqueline ot Bavaria, but the party-strife of the time is only hinted at, nor is there any comprehensive picture of the social conditions of the bishopric of Utrecht and the county of Holland. Nor does what local colour there is in the poem change its character. And its chief interest lies in the pathetic story.
We here insert a few lines from Beatrix's foster-father's tale: —
" 'Sixteen years have passed away since
God both judged and punished me. Frederic a bishop was at Utrecht, when the feud twixt Holland
And the bishopric reopened. In the shadow of the banners
Which your eyes may yonder see, Marched I into Holland, feasting
At the cost of Utrecht's foe. Dordrecht saw our colours flying;
And the deeds, performed then By the Lord of Gaasbeek and his
Warriors on so many walls,
By the Utrecht bard are told In his song.' " *) In "Margaret of Hainault", too, in the painting of the heroine both face and dress are shortly described, her castle
extent the religion of his youth, though he never quite freed himself from certain mystic influences, which later found their outlet in spiritualism.
Cf. Jan Willem's Levensboek. Losse bladen verzameld door H. J. Schimmel (Schiedam, 1896), p. 243 sq.
') Verspreide Gedichten. Beatrix, Eerste Zang.



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is also drawn with a few lines as well as its quiet surroundings, but then the poet again turns to Margaret, and pictures her as recalling her past life before she dies; he ends his tate by depicting her son William and showing us how he becomes mad. When Van Lennep chose William of Hainault as one of his characters *) he painted for us the count who was mad.s) Schimmel made the story more dramatic but was less a poet of the past. Yet in his own way the writer continued the rhymed tale as written by Van Lennep, Van der Hoop, Meijer, Hofdijk, and many other poets; so too he did in his poem "Saul—Paul"8) (1853); while like Scott and Van Lennep he found his way to the prose tale by means of the poetic romances.
But only gradually did Schimmel acquire the profound historical knowledge required for the writing of novels of the past. First, however, he turned to the drama. And here, too, the writer looked for historie subjects as in "Two Tudors"4) (1847), in which Mary and Elizabeth are the principal personages and in which the writer aimed at giving us Scott's novel in dramatic form, or in Joan Woutersz., whose hero is the son of a Spanish father and a Dutch mother, and is portrayed as divided between the love of his country and of his father, in the political and religious struggles of the sixteenth century. Gondebald (1848) has for its subject the conversion of Friesland to Christianity, Giovanni di Procida (1849) treats of the Sicilian Vespers, "Orange and Holland" *) (1849) of William III in 1672. The influence of Schiller and especially of Victor Hugo can be only too easily traced in these dramas. We may pass them by in silence, remarking that they show the author's romanticism and that they introduced him into the Amsterdam literary world, and were the means of his becoming personally acquainted with Van Lennep and
') Eduard van Gelre, Vierde zang.
:) See G. Kalff, Geschiedenis der Nederlandsche Letterkunde, Vol. VII, p. 530, where the writer says: "opmerkelijk en Schimme l in zijn aanleg van het dramatische kenschetsend is, dat Van Lennep den graaf toont die krank» zinnig is. Schimmel den graaf die krankzinnig wordt."
s) Saulus—Paulus.
4) Twee Tudors.
6) Oranje en Nederland.
1 18



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with Potgieter. The latter criticized the plays *) and comparing "Two Tudors" with Toussaint's "Earl of Devonshire",2) wanted the writer to compose historical dramas and take Dutch subjects.
Schimmel, however, now began to add prose to lyric and dramatic poetry, and like Scott and Van Lennep turned from the rhymed to the prose tale.
His first prose work is "General Bonaparte and his Time",8) a collection of three tales which first appeared in De Gids in 1851 and 1852. Schimmel was on the stafï of this periodical in 1851, and remained a member of it till 1867. This membership was of much advantage to him in his literary education and Potgieter's influence, especially, was such as to direct his talents towards historical works of a purely Dutch character. Yet several years were to pass before his first great Dutch novel of the past saw the light, nor was this height to be attained without Scott's aid and influence. As yet the sketches in "General Bonaparte and his Time" are history rather that short novels. "An Evening at Baroness de Staël's'' *) describes a party where we meet Barras, Fouché, Talleyrand, Bonaparte, and others, Bonaparte has just returned from his Italian campaign. In "The Directory"6) the discord ofitsfive members is depicted. Among them are Siéyès and Barras. General Bonaparte is in Egypt, his wife Joséphine in France, while Talleyrand is continuing his intrigues. "The Eighteenth of Brumaire''8) gives us the overthrow of the Directory on November 9, 1797. Bonaparte, returned from Egypt, carries out his 'coup d'état' helped by Talleyrand and Fouché, and becomes first consul.
In so far as the sketches are historical they may have been written under the influence of Scott, but they can in no sense be called imitations of the English master. We may admire their dramatic action, the liveliness of their dialogue, and their historie qualities, but the true represen-
0 De Gids, Vol. XXX, 2.
5) See De Gids, Vol. XXX, 2, p. 66.
') Generaal Bonaparte en zijn tijd.
*) Een Avond bij de Baronesse de Staël.
') Het Directoire.
') Achttien Brumaire.



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tation of the life of the past with its happy combination of novel and history is wanting.
Schimmel only gradually found his way to the writing of the novel of the past, but before coming to this he turned his hand to the tale of the present, which made him more of a novelist than before.
In 1855 a reprint of several tales both of the past and of the present appeared, entitled "Stories and Tales".1) To them belong "Old and Young", "Krijn, the Ferry-man", "The Cottage on the Moor", "A Withered Bud", "An Everyday Case",') all tales of the present, which as such we may pass by in silence. But in the same collection the writer, now a more practised novelist, also treats of the past.
Thus in "A Ne'er-do-well"s) the author describes the schooldays of Michael de Ruyter, the famous Dutch admiral, and tells us how he got permission from his parents to go to sea. In "A Man of the Sixteenth Century" 4) we hear of a sturdy Dutchman, acquiring wealth by fishing up some of the treasures of the Armada, and so making his daughter the wealthy bride of her lover. In "An Act of Prostration" 6) Schimmel paints Oldenbarnevelt's wife and daughter-in-law going down on their knees before Maurice of Nassau to beg the life of son and husband. "A Secret Resolution"8) tells us how by the statesmanship of De Witt it was possible for the Dutch to recover the fortresses in Africa lost by them to the English. And in "A Private Conference"7) the reception of Evertsen and Almonde by William III is depicted. The latter makes the Dutch admirals agree to serve under Arthur Hubert in the expedition to England of 1688, by which James I lost his crown.
We see that all these tales ot the past treat of Dutch history. They show the way in which Schimmel's talents are developing under the influence of Potgieter. Soon,
') Sproken en Vertellingen.
') Oud en Jong; Krijn, de Veerschipper; De Hut op de Heide; Een Vet* welkte Knop; Een Alledaagsch Geval. ') Een Deugniet. *) Een Zestiende=eeuwer. ') Een Voetval. *) Een secrete Resolutie. ') Een Bijzonder Onderhoud.



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when Scott is in the ascendant, a series of historical novels is to follow. But in these tales already we may admire the dialogue which is such as might be expected of the playwright and conversationalist. Moreover Schimmel is no longer a mere chronicler, but the true modern historian, and the picturesque novelist is not only seen in the conversation but also in action and description.
How he paints and revives the past may be seen in a selection from the sketch of Maurice of Nassau, playing at chess with his clerk in an apartment of the stadholder's palace *in the Hague: —
"The walls are hung with gold leather the ground colour of which, however, is green, thus corresponding with the rest of the furniture. The floor is ingeniously inlaid and polished smooth, a Utrecht carpet lies under the table only. At a smaller table pushed close up to one of the windows we find two men engaged in playing chess. One of them we guess to be quite fifty years old; his face, of a somewhat yellowish pallor, approaches, the oval in form, to which perhaps the peaked, fair beard round the chin, which here and there is beginning to get grey, contributes not a little; his glance is piercing and sharp and is not unlike that on yon portrait representing William the Silent. The broad, flattened forehead expresses firmness and strength, and we regret to notice a shade of sensuality in the features of the lower part of the face. His stature as far as we can observe when he is thus seated, makes us suspect the beginning of córpulency. A high ruff is arranged round his neck and contrasts with the dark green velvet jacket embroidered on the sleeves and chest. The wjde, puffed breeches are gathered in above the knees, black silk stockings cover the legs and the feet are hidden in low, redheeled shoes, with a bow of ribbon in front. He is the Stadtholder, Maurice of Nassau". x)
This portrait of Prince Maurice, in which Schimmel shows his talents both as an historian in the widest sense of the word, and as a novelist of the new romantic school, is indeed worthy of the writer who is soon to continue Scott's novels, long after the master's death.
The first of Schimmel's historical novels "The First Day of a New Life"2) originally appeared in a periodical and was published as a separate work in 1855.
') Sproken en Vertellingen. Een Voetval. ') De Eerste Dag eens Nieuwen Levens.



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This novel treats of the municipal revolution of Enkhuizen in 1572. In this year the people rose against the magistracy, overthrew it, and so repudiated the government of Alva. We see the Water Beggars strong in their hatred of Spain, but weak in their licentiousness. The political and religious struggles of the stirring times are given. Creed is at variance with politics, and father is opposed to son, and mother to daughter. And so fiction and history are interwoven. The hero of the novel is Kolterman, sent by the Prince of Orange to Enkhuizen. Freêrijk Simonsz., one of the principal inhabitants of the town, seeks his life, but Kolterman escapes and proves to be Freêrijk's son; Freêrijk himself, on committing treason, is killed by the youth he educated as his son, and who is, in reality, the grand-son of the man he robbed of his estates. The love-interest is not forgotten in so far as Kolterman loves and marries Freêrijk's niece and is loved by the burgomaster's daughter. The position of the hero makes us think of Ivanhoe in Scott's novel of the same name, between Rowena and Rebecca. His unknown birth and rank also put one in mind of Brown in Scott's Guy Mannering, while Freêrijk's visit to Black Molll) reminds us of Scott's Pirate and its sibyl.8)
But it is not only these few resemblances or imitations, which make us think of the English master when reading the novel. "The First Day of a New Life" as a whole bears the stamp of the influence of the Waverley novels. It is true that there is much history in the book and that the novelistic part sometimes halts, but the writer has attempted to depict the beginning of the great struggle between the Netherlands and Spain as a novelist should. In this he followed Scott, who, in Ivanhoe, depicted the strife between the Normans and the Saxons, and painted the patriotism of the Swiss in Anne of Geierstein. The book is not in the first place a love-story; more influential than love or avarice
') Hoofdstuk V.
2) We are reminded of Oltmans in the explosion of the farmhouse by powder left there by the Beggars (Hoofdstuk I) and in the way in which the Spaniards sink into the swampish ground when pursuing Volkertz.— Kolterman (Hoofdstuk I), both scènes also being found in Het Slot hoeve* stein. There even seems to be some resemblance between Oltmans's style and that of Schimmel.



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or any other passion with the chief characters are the great principles of religion, freedom, and patriotism. And yet in so far, again, is the novelistic element to be found in that the leading persons of the day are kept in the back-ground, and it is on the stage of common daily life as lived in those agitated days that we see "all sorts and conditions of men" playing their parts. And these representations of Roman Catholics and Protestants, of Spaniards and Dutchmen, of patriots and traitors, of poor and rich, of high and low, of mean and noble, all move around the hero, who himself, though a Protestant Dutchman, is not the fanatic Beggar goaded into madness by the savage cruelty of the oppressor but a man like William of Orange, who loves his country and his God, and is a patriot before he is a partisan. Thus the author paints for us the different aspects of the age, grouping his characters round his hero, who, though a man ahead of his times, is none the less a representative figure. The picturesque writer' does not forget the scenery in the midst of which his personages move, nor what is due to local colour. Customs and manners are depicted, and the romantic author, also in this following Scott, paints his characters by means of description and action in lively story and dialogue.
How vivid Schimmel can be we see in the picture of Kolterman's visit to the miller. Focke Abels the Beggar comes to these two and meets with his death when the mill is attacked by the Spaniards. He is in the mill with two of his men and Kolterman, while his boat is taken by the enemy. Hearing a shot, he and Kolterman look out.
"What a spectacle! Several soldiers had attacked the boat. The surprise had been so sudden that only one of the Beggars had been able to discharge his musket. The others were prisoners below the deck, while only a few who had been found on it struggled in despair with superior numbers. but could scarcely utter a single cry by way of warning to their captain. In disgust Kolterman turned aside from the scène of massacre faintly illuminated by the light of the lantern.
'Come, upstairs I' resounded Focke's order. It was time, for outside the order was given to enter the mill and could be heard inside, where the captain was hidden.
As quick as a cat Focke jumped up the wooden steps. Kolterman wanted to follow and was already half-way, when the door shook



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under the blows of the enemy's axes, and a man with a curly head on which a heimet glittered appeared before the open window, put in the musket and fired. One of the men, the lowest, feil down.
'Is it Walter?' asked Focke.
'No', was the answer.
'Then it is Aart; despatch him, if he is not yet dead and climb upl' came the reply.
Kolterman, meanwhile, had jumped down; the remaining Beggar made use of the room gained by this to climb up and for the first time in his life, perhaps, was disobedient to the redoubted captain. Kolterman snatched the musket out of the stiffened hand of the fallen soldier, the bullet- and the powder-bag from the belt, and then ran up the steps. The enemy was already inside and one of the warriors was putting his foot on the lowest rung". 1)
In this way the writer continues his story, but even these few lines are enough to give us an idea of Schimmel's method. The words spoken by Focke, and his quick action characterize the Beggar who neither expects nor gives mercy, while Kolterman's going back to provide himself with weapons paints the prudent and brave man. So by their actions and their words the characters are made real to us.
We may see in this first novel how much the author has profited by Scott's example. Yet Schimmel was unlike the English master in so far that his first work cannot be compared with the last. Scott's novels all bear the same stamp of genius. Schimmel only gradually attained to full mastership and the more Scott's influence gained in strength, the more Schimmel's novel improved, though it retained its own individual character.
To see this we must turn to the following historical novels, the next of which may be put on a line with the first, an excellent beginning but too romantic and not yet a masterpiece.
This novel is "A Woman of the Hague. Historie sketches of the seventeenth century." *) It takes its reader to the Southern Netherlands in the year 1624. The Archduchess
]) De Eerste Dag eens Nieuwen Levens (Enkhuizen in 1572), Hoofd» stuk VI.
3) Een Haagsche Joffer. Historische Schets uit de zeventiende eeuw.



— 28o —
Isabella governs after the demise of her husband Albert of Austria and her chief minister is the cardinal Alfonsus de la Cueva. It is the cardinal's object to subdue the United Provinces. To help him in this he wants to use William of Stoutenburg, Oldenbarnevelt's elder son, who after his father's death on the scaffold conspired against Maurice and had to flee from the Dutch republic. Stoutenburg has become a Roman Catholic and bears the name of Sire de Valckenaere. He is the destined successor of Spinola, the Spanish general, and is to lie in ambush for Maurice in order to make him a prisoner. Moreover he is going to marry a young heiress. But the latter loves another better and all the cardinal's projects are frustrated by Miss Serklaas, who, as a kind of ambassador, is at the moment in Brussels. She is the heroine of the book after whom it is named, and by her wonderful shrewdness, veiled under the guise of rusticity, the cardinal is defeated.
Even from this short sketch we may see how singularly the historie and novelistic parts of the book are interwoven. In the position of the hero, too, Scott's influence is feit. Miss Serklaas is not a well-known historie person, but occupies a subordinate position. Yet for this very reason it is possible for the writer to group his various dramatis personae around her. Nor are the great personages of history, Isabella and Maurice, Spinola and the cardinal, the chief actors in this novel. The peace-negotiations of the year 1624 are described, it is true, but it is more particularly a picture in broad lines of the whole period that is given. Yet the tone of the book is perhaps not as democratie as that of most of the Waverley novels. In this respect it somewhat reminds one of Scott's Fortunes of Nigel, which is also full of court-life. Moreover as the English novel gives us a picture of London in the seventeenth century, so Schimmel sketches us the Brussels of the time. Thus the author gives us an historical painting in Scott's manner, and represents the age to the reader. Nor is the novelistic element neglected in "A Woman of the Hague". But what there is of love or of any other general human passion in the book is only of secondary importance. Thus the courtship of De Valckenaere is by no means a question of the heart, but only a matter of politics; and the love-



— 28l —
story of Van Maldeghem and the heiress Adèle d' Oultremont, even though it ends happily, is of little importance by the side of the important intrigues of the novel.
Yet notwithstanding the many good qualities, both historie and picturesque, of "A Woman of the Hague" this novel can no more stand the test of comparison with the Waverley novels than "The First Day of a New Life". There are many beantiful scènes, but exaggerated romanticism spoils other parts, the dialogue is often perfect, but then again is stilted, while historie insight does not always guide the writer, who sometimes lapses into the atmosphere of the present.
Nevertheless Scott's influence grows stronger with Schimmel, and leads him on to his first great novel of the past. A novel of the present1), however, preceded as well as some dramas and poems2). All this work in its way helped Schimmel to develop his talents further and so by degrees he became the author he was destined to be, and we may now discuss the famous historical novels which have made him one of the greatest novel-writers of Holland. The right balance between history and novel has been struck, and both the dramatist and the historian in Schimmel help the novelist.
The great historical novels written by Schimmel are Mary Hollis, "Lady Carlisle," Sinjeur Semeyns, and "The Captain of the Life-guards." They rank high aböve his other work. It is true that the author also continued to write novels of the present, dramas, and poems, but these can no more be compared with his historical romances than their predecessors; moreover they belong to another province and may be said to lie outside Scott's influence.
Mary Hollis*) saw the light in 1860. It takes its reader
') Twee Vrienden. Drie tijdvakken uit een leven (1858).
!) We mention: Napoleon Bonaparte, eerste Konsul (1851); Schuld en Boete (1852); Juffrouw Serklaas (1857); Het Kind van Staat (1859); Bilderdyk's eere (1856); Nieuwe Gedichten (1857).
') Translated into English: Mary Hollis, A Romance of the Days of Charles II and William Prince of Orange by H. J. Schimmel, author of "Lady Carlisle". In three volumes. London: John Camden Hotten, Piccadilly. 1872.
The translation is dedicated to Motley, the author of The Rise of the Dutch Republic and The History of the United Netherlands.



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to England in the days of Charles II. The heroine, after whom the book is named, is the daughter of one of Cromwell's soldiers, a preacher of the Independents, living on the estate of Sir Henry of Hallam Castle, a country-gentleman. The Duke of Buckingham is a guest at the castle for a few days, has Mary kidnapped, and takes Sir Henry's only son Charles with him to London. So the writer takes the reader to the court of the profligate king, where Charles soon takes his place among the young noblemen. We learn about the king and queen, about the Lady Castlemaine, one of Charles the Second's favourites, and Louise de Quérouailles, sent by Louis XIV of France with promises and subsidies, also about the position of the king between his parliament and France, as well as about different intrigues. The Prince of Orange is also in London at the time and is clever enough to get to know of the treaty of Dover. Meanwhile Mary escapes the snares of Buckingham and meets with her former lover Charles Digby, who however thinks himself at the time in love with an unknown lady who is none other than the Queen of England. Then Charles loses some thousands of pounds to Buckingham, fights and wounds him, and Mary, taken up by Lady Castlemaine, begins to influence the king for good, but when Mary sacrifices herself to hide the love-affair of Digby and the queen, Buckingham and the Lady Castlemaine regain their influence soon to be exiled, when Louise de Quérouailles is victorious. Mary, finally, is married to Charles at Hallam Castle.
Thus Schimmel paints England for us, where the influence of the Puritans is still feit, though the licentious court of the easy-going king undermines religion and morality. But not only is the religious and moral condition of the country described, its social and political state is also given us. And we get as boldly drawn a picture of the England of the Restoration as Scott himself might have painted. The reader moreover obtains a good insight into the characters of the leading persons of the day. The character of Charles II as opposed to that of the Prince of Orange is particularly well depicted. How much of a favourite the future king-stadtholder is already with the author, and how well he could paint



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him, may be seen in the description of the wolf-hunt]) and of the visit paid him by Dirkens, Sir Henry's Dutch gardener.3) Yet the historie personages are not put too much in the foreground, and the story centres round the neutral heroine.
Mary Hollis opens with the two horsemen of many another novel, but then very soon Scott's influence is seen in details of conception and execution which are taken from his novels. Thus the horsemen lose their way and are received at Hallam Castle,3) which reminds us of the opening of Scott's novel Ivanhoe. *) The shooting-match in which Jack Kemble, surnamed Red Jack, wins 6), resembles the archery competion in which Locksley is the winner in the same novel, Ivanhoe.6) Mary Hollis7) also, like Rebecca,8) threatens to throw herself down from a window to escape infamy. An imitation of Scott may likewise be seen in the kidnapping of Mary,») an incident which occurs to Jeanie Deans in The Heart of Midlothian10) Moreover the characters of Hollis, Mary, and Dirkens find their prototypes in Deans and his daughter. Mr. King, the chaplain, represents the same kind offigure as Dominie Sampson in Scott's Guy Mannering. The novel in general, in its description of court-life and London, also reminds one ot The Fortunes of Nigel in which Scott describes James I and his London. So there is all this and more in Mary Hollis that points to Scott's influence, yet Schimmel made it all his own, and remains his characteristic self. Style and language are also paid careful attention to in this first great historical novel of the writer.
Nor was it long before Mary Hollis was followed by a novel equally great. Not many years after the publication of Mary Hollis, Schimmel's life was changed in many respects. Hard work was exchanged for ease and comfort, when in 1863 he became director of an Amsterdam financial concern.
>) Boek IV, Hoofdstuk VI. s) Boek IV, Hoofdstuk IX. ») Boek I, Hoofdstuk I. *) Chapter II.
6) Boek I, Hoofdstuk VIII. •) Chapter XIII. ') Boek III, Hoofdstuk VIII. ") Chapter XXIV. s) Boek III, Hoofdstuk I. 10) Chapter XXIX.



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He could now give more time to literature and to the studies necessary for his historical novels. In the same year his mother, brother, and two sisters died, and two years later in 1865 he got married.
In 1864 "Lady Carlisle"1) appeared. It treats of the great struggle between Charles I and the English nation. Round the heroine, Lady Carlisle, we see the central figures move in the great drama and more than once hers is the brain that sets them in action. She is the friend of Strafford, Lord-lieutenant of Ireland, whol after the meeting of the Long Parliament is impeached for high treason, and when the impeachment seems likely to fail is served with a Bill of Attainder. Charles refuses his assent, but at the intercession of the queen the weak king yields and Strafford is beheaded. Now Lady Carlisle turns to Pym to have her revenge on the Stuarts. The king, however, thinks himself stronger and wants to arrest Pym and other members of the House of Commons, but they are warned and escape and the civil war breaks out. Then Pym dies and with him Lady Carlisle's influence ends. In vain had she roused her brother, the Duke of Northumberland, out of his lethargy, caused by the disappearance of his wife Violetta Contarini j in vain had her brother Percy died and Robert Conway married the rich heiress Jane Howard; all her schemes had failed. There were undercurrents stronger than the influence of Lady Carlisle: the envy of France, which did not want Charles I to be too strong, and the hatred of the Italian marquis, who wanted to avenge Violetta. Both these influences are at work in the Jesuit Rosetti. In the midst of all this scheming and contra-scheming Cromwell fulfils the will of his God. Lady Carlisle, when Petworth is taken, sees her own failure and acknowledging the greatness of her niece, Violetta's daughter, is won over by the charity which seeketh not her own.
Thus fiction and history are interwoven in the novel The scène of "Lady Carlisle", like that of Marry Hollts, is laid in the England of the sixteenth century, but in the case of the former it is Puritan England, rising in arms against the King and his courtiers, and not at rest
') Mylady Carlisle.



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until Charles dies on the scaffold. As in Ivanhoe Scott opposed the Saxons to the Normans, so Schimmel placed the Roundheads over against the Cavaliers, and he paints the Puritans with their religious and social peculiarities with as much verve and perhaps more love than the English writer in Old Mortality and in many another novel. Yet Schimmel is less directly indebted to Scott in "Lady Carlisle" than in Mary Hollis. In painting Cromwell and the Independents he does not follow the author of Woodstock, but prefers to draw on Carlyle, whom he even introducés to his readers in chapter XXXI, thus showing them his workshop. In this he follows Mrs. Bosboom-Toussaint, and might have done better had he given notes like Sir Walter.
Yet both in Mary Hollis and in "Lady Carlisle" Scott's indirect influence is to be found, the two novels being real pictures of the past. The love-interest, though present, is subservient to the representation of the age. Also the historie persons are no more heroes than they are in the Waverley novels, while the two heroines are, in a sense, neutral characters brought into relation with opposing parties. But the various classes and groups all have their representative types. Thus the priest Con is as much a type of the uncompromising Roman Catholic clergy as Rosetti of the slyJesuitsandHewson of the Roundheads, while many more characters in "Lady Carlisle" are representative of other sects and conditions. Moreover the novels are pictures of the time in the description of manners and customs, of buildings and dress, and of many peculiarities, their dialogue also giving expression to the spirit of the age. Thus Schimmel, following Scott, gives an historie sketch full of local colour. But as a romantic writer, too, though not in the same degree, the Dutch author follows the English master. Story and dialogue are indeed picturesque, and many a beautiful description is found, while the characters are depicted by their own actions and words. Yet Schimmel's dialogue is more dramatic, and his characterization goes deeper than is the case with Scott. It is here that we notice both the progress of the historical novel and the authors personal development. In some slight degree the realistic and naturalistic tendency of the age also begins to exercise its influence.



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In order to show the many gifts of Schimmel as an historie and as a romantic writer and also to make clear the way in which he followed Scott, we may draw attention to some beautiful descriptions and scènes. In Mary Hollis we note Buckingham's visit to Mary, l) the duel between Buckingham and Digby on the moon-lit snowfield,2) William of Orange's wolf-hunt,3) the self-sacrifice of Mary Hollis to save the queen and shelter Charles;*) in "Lady Carlisle" the picture of the Tower,6) Rosetti's journey from London to Dover,6) Charles in the House of Commons,7) and the storming of Petworth Castle.8)
We here give a short abstract, taken from Mary Hollis in which the writer gives a sketch of the fashionable life of the gallants in the days of the first Charles.
"Since St. PauFs walk had ceased to exist, having been destroyed by the grand fire, though before that event in the early days of the Restoration of the house of Stuart it had been the resort of the beau monde, and of the gallants of those days, Spring Garden might now rejoice in being frequented by ladies and gentlemen, who met there in the profoundest secrecy, and swore oaths of eternal faithfulness which were already forgotten before the utterance of the last clause.
But Spring Garden, however spacious it was, however numerous its apartments were, however luxurious the furnishing which imitated Versailles in every detail, could not remain the only Eden chosen by the gallants of those days. Gradually the New Exchange, on either side of which was a row of the most magnificent French milliners' shops, had become its rival and enjoyed even more visitors than Spring Garden. The shops, moreover, besides the modesty of their entrances and exits which made it easier to preserve an incognito, had the privilege of being inhabited by beautiful French ladies. So the stream of fashion, which was especially distinguished by the worship of the fair sex, turned in this direction.
This worship, however, greatly differed from that of the chivalrous
') Boek I, Hoofdstuk X. *) Boek III, Hoofdstuk XII. •) Boek IV, Hoofdstuk VI. 4) Boek IV, Hoofdstuk XV. 6) Hoofdstuk V. «) Hoofdstuk XI. Ó Hoofdstuk XXIX. Ó Hoofdstuk XXXVIII.



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Middle Ages when religion enobled and sanctified it. It was rather no better than a sacrifi.ee to sensuality, and preferred the nude figure to the draped. To love was to live, and woe to him who thought he was at home in the fashionable world, and neglected the decrees of fashion in this respect. Such singular beings were indeed exceptions, and the no less singular persons who ran to the opposite extreme and wished to exceed even the laws of bon ton, were found in much greater numbers.
The use of bows which became universal in a later period, was already beginning to be general and the colours were not chosen arbitrarily, but were those of the lady to whom court was paid. Thousands of perfumed and satin notes conveyed the warmest declarations of tenderness and love through the whole of London, where they reposed in scent-box and toilet-case or on the heart, till after living the life of a summer-insect they disappeared in the flame of a wax-candle without leaving a tracé." x) In this way the author introducés us to the scène where Charles Digby goes to find his lady-love. The picture is indeed worthy of Scott's pupil, and though it is true that such an introduction is not often found, either in the English or in the Dutch writer, who both prefer to give their local colour incidentally, this peculiarly characteristic feature of the time almost made it necessary here for the Dutch reader. For Mary Hollis and "Lady Carlisle" are novels on English subjects, hence perhaps certain explanations; for the same reason also there is too much history, as there is in Count Robert of Paris by Scott.
Scott's masterpieces written on subjects which the author thoroughly understood and whose local colour came quite naturally as it were to the writer, leave the historie characters in the background and the author rarely finds it necessary to enter into explanations.
In this respect Schimmel's last two novels may be called his masterpieces. Here he writes about his own country, whose history and whose landscape were as well known to him as the manners and customs and the characters of its inhabitants.
A novel of the present "The Household of Master van Ommeren"3) (1870) was published before these historical
>) Mary Hollis, Derde Boek, Hoofdstuk VII. 5) Het Gezin van Baas van Ommeren.



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novels, but it only shows how much Schimmel wanted an historie background to work upon, to prove himself a master. This background he found in the glorious past of Holland. The man who led him to this was Helmers, the chauvinistic Dutch poet, read and admired by him when a boy.x)
The novels are Sinjeur Semeyns and its sequel "The Captain of the Life-guards."
In Sinjeur Semeyns, which saw the light in 1875, Schimmel gives a description of the United Provinces in the year 1672, when divided by political factions and attacked on all sides. To the republican party belongs Van Arkesteyn, a merchant-burgomaster of Amsterdam, and a member of the States-General. In his service is Semeyns, employed in surveying in the" neighbourhood of the southern frontiers of the province of Holland with a view to the formation of a line of defence against the French. But Van Arkesteyn communicates with the enemies concerning terms of peace, and his son sells them powder. Meanwhile the people clamour for a stadtholder and William of Orange is appointed. The land is laid under water and the spirit of the Dutch revives. Van Arkesteyn finds himself in a difficult position, when the treason of his son is discovered by means of Semeyns's uncle, a spy and ex-pirate, who wants to avenge his sister's honour on the rich merchant. He turns to the French, partly because he is in the power of Zweder, Baron van Linden, the son of a Dutch nobleman, and an Italian lady, who murdered his elder brother and went over to the enemy. Semeyns, his favourite, now becomes more and more rebellious. Gertrude Perseyns, the haughty daughter of a Dutch admiral, taught by misfortune and shame, also turns away from Van Arkesteyn, and at last, when sold to Zweder, flies to Mrs. Semeyns. The Baron van Linden's schemes, however, miscarry and the invasion of Holland is stopped, and the warning church-bell is rung by Gertrude and Brechtje, a schoolmaster's daughter, who loves Semeyns but sacrifices herself for Gertrude. When the treason is found out, the landsurveyor hears that Van Arkesteyn is his father, so he cannot accuse him, but the stadtholder
l) See Jan-Willems Levensboek. Losse bladen verzameld door H. J. Schimmel.



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arrivés in time to save him and his uncle, and Van Arkesteyn, pardoned, dies of mortification, while Gertrude and Semeyns have found each other.
This short outline is enough to show the manner in which this historical novel is written. In a preface to Sinjeur Semeyns the author, moreover, gives his opinion on the historical novel in general. It does not differ from that so often pronounced by Scott, and must also answer the question: Is the historie novel no longer of our time? Many critics have considered it an amphibian, neither history nor fiction. Schimmel rejects this idea. There may be some authors who write romantic history, both tampenng with history and clipping fancy's wings. The historical novelist, however, is a novelist who takes his subject from the past. He must show due regard for the objective truth of historie facts, and may only use them as his canvas to work upon. The writer himself has not always acted up to this theory, but in the present novel he has tried to show regard for the historie fact; it was his guide, but nowhere his servant. "I have tried," Schimmel says, "to make myself acquainted with the historie period, with the persons who lived and worked in it, with the chief currents of their thoughts, and to shape the action of the work and my characters by them. I have written fiction, but with an historie background. I wished to dig up a world out of the grave of the past; I found a skeleton and I have tried to re-cover it lwith flesh and with veins', as Vondel has it." x)
Thus in Sinjeur Semeyns the history of the year 1672, in which the Dutch Republic was attacked by the French and the English, is the base of the novel. We hear about the Orange and De Witt factions, about the land laid under water, about the movements of the French and the Dutch forces, yet these and other facts of history are given as necessary to the novel, and only rarely are historical persons seen to move and heard to speak. But how well the past is depicted to the reader! He enters into the spirit of the new men of the time looking down upon the aristocracy of former days; yet wishing to found a name themselves. The
') See Voorrede to Sinjeur Semeyns.
19



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lower classes are also drawn, the peasants of the provinces of Utrecht and Holland, as well as the shopkeepers of Amsterdam and Utrecht, and the Orange sailors. Nor are the religious movements forgotten, and the schoolmaster is there, as well as the clergyman and the priest. So Sinjeur Semeyns with its diversity of characters and paintings is one of the great novels of the past written in the best manner of Scott. Language and style are also good. The writer's direct indebtedness to his predecessors, however, cannot be denied. Like Scott's Ivanhoe the novel is thoroughly romantic in character. The witch who sets fire to the castle of Slichtenhorst*) makes us think of the Saxon Ulrica firing Front-de-Bceuf's castle in Ivanhoe. *) Schimmel has also drawn upon other authors. *) These imitations, however, in no way diminish the value of the novel.
Its sequel in which the adventures of Semeyns are continued did not appear until 1888. Other works, dramas and poems, preceded it, among them a collection of tales entitled "Reminiscences" *) (1878) and reprinted as "Of Past and Present" «) (1897). Though some of these tales are of the past6), we may pass them by in silence, as well as a novel of the present "Reconciled" 7) (1882) and another prosework "The Eve of the Revolution"8) (1886).
Of more importance however and continuing Scott's influence is Schimmel's greatest historical novel "The Captain of the Life-guards" 9) (1888), written by him after he had
') Boek I, Hoofdstuk XXVII. ') Chapter XXXI.
') Brother Gerbrands, the friend of Gertrude's cousin Geerte, bears some resemblance to Mr. Stiggins in The Pickmck Papers by Dickens; and Brechtje has something in common with Tennysons Elaine, the lily maid of Astolat in his Lancelot and Elaine.
4) Herinneringen.
') Uit Verleden en Heden.
") Een Laatste Worp (1863) relates the treacherous submission of Charles I of England and his death, Een Ziekbed (1896) tells us about Cornelis de Witt signing the revócation of the edict meant to exclude the Prince of Orange from the post of stadtholder.
0 Verzoend. Dickens's influence is seen in this novel; Mr. and Mrs. Van Oven remind us of Mr. and Mrs. Micawber in David Copperfleld, and Duval resembles Little Neli's grandfather in The Old Curiosity Shop.
*) De Vooravond der Revolutie.
*) De Kaptein van de Lijfgarde.



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resigned his situation in 1878. In this novel the author tells about William III, Stadtholder of the United Provinces, and his invasion of England in 1688. Here the Prince of Orange is depicted with the same veneration as is shown by Thackeray in Esmond. But the hero of the novel is Semeyns.
An introduction gives a kind of political survey of the relations between Holland and England, and introducés the reader to William and Mary, and Semeyns, now an officer. Soon, however, we are in the middle of the story, and in England with Semeyns, who has left his wife and children behind him. The position of James II is described, relying on and betrayed by Sunderland and Churchill. Semeyns, who speaks English well and is a trusted messenger, makes the acquaintance of Maud, the daughter of Kate Sedley, Countess of Dorchester, James's mistress. Her sensual beauty appeals to him, yet he joins the army of William, who has landed in England. The stadtholder's discipline, however, is severe and Semeyn's ensign is shot. Then the grumbling oficer falls back upon Maud, who has found her captain. Meanwhile James's position becomes weaker, and weaker and finally the king flees to France, induced to do so mainlyby Semeyns. The latter is now made a captain of the lifeguards and William and Mary are crowned. But Kate Sedley wants her child and seeks to be revenged on William, who has offended her. So she finds Maud and through her Semeyns is involved in a conspiracy against William. He is not guilty except in so far that he deserted his post for a short time,' and then Edward Jones disguised as Semeyns made an attempt upon the king's life. The captain, however, is dismissed and finds his wife and children with Maud. His family has had a very bad time, and even now he finds them only to lose them again, for Semeyns disappears, to reappear in Ireland under the name of Monsieur Charles in one of the Huguenot regiments. Gertrude, his wife, follows him there, and hears about him through Edward Jones, who has deserted to William. Jones, how-
Translated into English: 27ie Lifeguardsman. A Tale of the English Revolution. Adapted from Schimmel's "De Kaptein van de Lijfgarde". London, Adam and Charles Black, 18%. The translation is dedicated to Besant, who wrote "for faith and freedom".



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ever, is a traitor and in the battle of the Boyne Semeyns saves the king from him, is severely wounded and remains on the field of battle where Gertrude finds him. But she has to defend him against Kate Sedley, who has gone mad and wishes to avenge Maud, who drowned herself in London on her wedding-day with Jones. The king, however, takes care of him, and Semeyns and Gertrude, the wiser and the better for their varied experiences, go to live at Het Loo.
Thus historie fact was used by Schimmel as the material on which his fancy worked out its creations.*) With wonderful imagination the author depicts the sympathetic officer estranged from his wife and falling before the beautiful and sensual Maud, yet rising again and gradually regaining his self-esteem, while conjugal love triumphs in Gertrude after she has lost her pride. But in the first place the novel is one of the past, and the dominant figure is William III, though working in Scott's manner, the writer does not make him the hero. Opposed to him is King James, such a contrasting of characters being a device used by the English master, too, to heighten the effect of the picture. Moreover, the novel gives a vivid and in the main faithful representation of England and the Netherlands in the end of the seventeenth century.
Thus "The Captain of the Life-guards" is one of the best Dutch historical novels of the nineteenth century and while it is one of Schimmel s most original works *) yet it is written in Scott's manner. A fault may perhaps be that there is too great a display of an extensive knowledge of history, though only rarely is the historian prompter to the novelist.
To show the characteristics of the historie and picturesque writer we may draw attention to the picture of Amsterdam and its Exchange,3) the flight of James, *) the sale of the portrait of Gertrude's father,6) William's interview with Lord
') See preface to Sinjeur Semeyns.
') It is easy to see how much Schimmel drew on Macaulay for the historie part of his novel; nor is the novelist altogether independent of his predecessors; the picture of Maud, for instance, in the midst of her pigeons (Boek II, Hoofdstuk III) suggest Goethe's Lili (Lilis Park).
') Inleiding, Hoofdstuk II.
4) Boek III, Hoofdstuk XVI.
') Boek V, Hoofdstuk VI.



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Godolphian,l) the meeting of Semeyns with Gertrude and Maud,8) the battle of the Boyne3), and many another beautiful chapter.
The following abstract may serve to exemplify the historie and novelistic elements of "The Captain of the Lifeguards." It takes us to the house of David Foppers on whom Semeyns is quartered. Dinner is on the table and Maud wonders at the way in which the guest eats without using his fingers.
"The omeiets besprinkled with honey now made their appearance. Sally took one of them with her hand and flung it on the foreigner's plate, after which she put her fingers wet with honey to her lips and licked them clean. And the foreign gentleman? He availed himself of the usual spoon in addition to which he used his knife; in this way all was consumed without finger or lip suflëririg any contamination.
'Is that the way it is done in Holland?' asked Sally, who was also surprised now. Oh, your honour must not forget that we are humble people. Our nobles do things differently I am sure.'
'With us in Holland forks came into use a short time ago.'
'Forks?' remarked Sally astonished. 'What are they like?'
'They look somewhat like a hay-fork on a small scale.'
'Poor jaw-bonesl' thought Sally.
Semeyns explained their use and promised that he would ask his dear wife to send a couple of them when the wind changed.
Another mug of beer and still another! Father David got more and more loquacious. He had, indeed, become quite merry for him, and began to talk of Charles the First's decapitation in '49. A shadow falling just in front of him on the table caused him to turn his head for a moment to the window, where Kit was standing who had never dared to do anything of the kind even in her best day. Before David could spring to his feet and order her to be off, she began to cry: 'Don't get angry, I am going at once. I have only come as a good neighbour to teil you the latest news. Already there is some one hanging on his own doorpost close to Cheapside. A rich City banker who betrayed our King — blessings on his name! — tothe Dutch. You had better sing through your nose now for pleasure! Much good may it do you!' With these words she had already gone away, when
') Boek VI, Hoofdstuk VI. s) Boek VI, Hoofdstuk XI. ») Boek VII, Hoofdstuk XII.



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David, vexed and trembling with anger, took his stand on the threshold of the open house-door." *)
It strikes us that Schimmel, like Scott, is fond of local colour and revives the age about which he writes both in his personages and in their surroundings. He is also fond of types, and to the Puritan opposes his Roman Catholic neighbour, while the hero of the novel is a more insignificant character. Nor, wishing, as he does, to impress upon his reader a picture of the past, does he omit the portrayal of manners or customs.
In consequence of this "The Captain of the Life-guards" is one of the best Dutch novels of the past, and it is one written in Scott's manner.
It was followed by some poetry, "The Life-history of Jan Willem," 8) a kind of autobiography, and "The Child of Sin",') a novel of the present, and of high life, all which we may pass by in silence.
Schimmel's fame rests upon his historical novels. In writin'g them he was much indebted to Scott, though it is worthy of remark that of his great works Mary Hollis and "Lady Carlisle" the former is an imitation of Scott more than the latter, yet "Lady Carlisle" is by no means the lesser novel. In the same way "The Captain of the Life-guards" is more original than Sinjeur Semeyns, but cannot be considered inferior to it. Having first taken his subjects from English history the author later turned to his own country, and then achieved his great success. Careful attention is paid to the language of the novels, the dialogue is always good, and the interest of the story never flags; but the student of human character could wish to find a deeper insight into human nature.
So Scott's influence on Dutch literature was continued into the second part of the nineteenth xentury. The Waverley novels, however much read and admired in England, were much less influential there than abroad. One of the greatest historical novels ever written, Thackeray's Henry Esmond, appeared as early as 1852 in England, and this
*) De Kaptein van de Lijfgarde, Tweede Boek, Hoofdstuk VII. J) Jan Willem's Levensboek. *) Het Zonde-Kind.



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owes nothing directly to Scott. It was only a work in which advantage was taken of one of the many new possibilities opened up by the English master. But in Holland, though Mrs. Bosboom-Toussaint had already grasped the new possibilities opened up by Scott's genius, as late as 1888 Schimmel's "Captain of the Life-guards" shows Sir Walter's direct influence. Its freeness from plagiarism may redound to its writer's honour, but the novel itself, as well as its date, is the strongest proof possible of the influence exercised by the author of the Waverley novels upon Dutch literature. Schimmel's work, however, is more pathetic, analytic, and passionate than Scott's novels. This extension of the picturesque element of the new prose may account for the long continuance of the historical novel in Holland. Scott, writing under the pressure of money difficulties, no longer showed in his last novels, the full development of his genius. Schimmel wrote his masterpiece in a time of freedom from work and anxiety.



CONCLUSION.
Scott's influence on romanticism, on literature in general, and on Dutch literature in particular cannot easily be overrated.
It is true that the Middle Ages in England had their romances already, that after the Renascence the romantic drama of Shakespeare arose, but even the romanticism of the Elizabethan age was limited in sphere, and was lost in the Age of Reason which preceded the French Revolution. Nor was it a literary feature of Europe in general. By its side, the drama of France showing the good qualities and lacking the excesses of classicism was too powerful not to hold its place.
But with the French Revolution the reaction against romanticism ending in a degenerated classicism was swept away, to open up a new era for romantic literature, especially in the new_ prose but also in the new poetry.
The Age of Reason was past. A new and fiery blood coursed through the hearts of men and the shrunken body of literature renewed its youth. As in the great Elizabethan days passion and fancy found free and full expression, and this not only in England. The influence of the movement extended from England to France, Germany, and Holland.
In England the new poetry had its votaries in Scott, Byron, and Keats. The first to influence Dutch literature was Scott. It is true that for a short time Byron, who had replaced him in his own country, also eclipsed him in Holland, but he regained his ascendancy and had his disciples as late as the second half of the nineteenth century.
Then, along with Scott's influence on poetry, poetry itself disappeared. In Holland poetry was too weak to live its own life. The rhymed tale in Scott's hand had been a mighty means of interesting people in bygone ages. But



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Scott himself had turned to the novel, as being still better > fit to dramatize and picture the past. Poetry in Englandj became the expression of fancy, the effusion of sentiment,| the cultivation of the things of beauty. It found its symbolj in the lyre, speaking to the heart. In Holland, too, by the<\ side of- the rhymed romances, too often but weak imitations J of Scott's tales, there had been a re-awakening of the true7 poetic spirit. But the sleeping beauty soon turned to her dreams again. Tales and ballads, occasional poems, and verses in periodicals made to order, were all that was given to the reading public.
So about the year 1870 we come to a time of standstill, | in which neither reason nor sentiment, logic nor fancy, found expression in literature.
But gradually objective tyranny led to subjective freedom and it was about the year 1880 l) that a new poetic life began. Keats») was the great example now, the rhymed, tale of the past was given up, and Scott's influence had come to an end. By the side of Keats, Matthew Arnold *) and Alfred Termyson *) were cultivated and Shelly with his pantheism was also admired and imitated. 6). The Dutch muse, moreover, though she might appreciate the work of others *), had no mean opinion of herself; an excuse is to
') In 1885 a new periodical De Nieuwe Gids representative of the new spirit made its appearance.
See about the writers after 1880 Herman Robbers, De Nederlandsche Litteratuur na 1880 (Amsterdam, 1922).
a) W. W. van Lennep translated Keat's Hyperion.
») Lilith and Godenschemering by Emants are expressive of the influence of Keats and Arnold.
") Tennyson s Idylls were translated by Soera Rana.
*) The poetry of the French decadents also exercised its influence in the beginning of this revival of letters.
*) Willem Kloos wrote an anthology of Bilderdijk's poems. In a certain sense Bilderdijk may be said to be a precursor of the new poets. His roman» ticism, also went back to the Middle Ages, while inspiration was everything with him.
Of his immediate predecessors, Willem Kloos says in De Nieuwe Gids Vol. XXV, 2, p. 139: -
"Maar tevens zal dan erkend worden, dat diezelfde „tachtigers" de beste dichters, die hen onmiddellijk voorafgegaan waren, zonder sterk de aandacht der eigen tijdgenooten te trekken, n.1. Potgieter, Thijm en Hofdijk, hoog hebben gehouden en langzaamaan in de hun toekomende eer hersteld".



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be found in her youthful exuberance and in her real merits. x) The new prose, however, developed different4y in many respects. Its appearance coincided with the rise of the novel, a new feature in the world of letters and a splendid success. The man who contributed most to this success was Sir Walter Scott. Like King Cophetua he raised the beggar-maid to be a queen. The intellectual and social progress of the people indeed helped him, as well as the increased freedom of the press and the improvement in the art of printing, but it remains his chief merit that by his historical novel he induced people to read, and opened new vistas to the novel in general. From a literary point of view the nineteenth century was the century of the novel. Novels of all kinds: historical and social, moral and psychological, intellectual and realistic, religious and domestic, picaresque and naturalistic, comic and satyric, didactic and artistic, of high life and of low life; of whatever quality and in whatever form they appeared, they find their prototype in the Waverley novels. Scott continued the work begun by Richardson and Fielding, other writers took up >4he novel where he left it.
It is impossible to estimate even roughly how many novels appeared in the nineteenth century; the number of copies sold of Scott's works alone would be a startling figure. Yet the simple beginning of the phenominal rise of the \ novel was the publication in England in 1814 of Waverley. C Scott's influence in Holland may be said to have begun jvery soon after. As early as 1824 the first translation of )Waverley was published. Fr°rn this date his influence spread Und widened.2)
f At first, however, it was only the historical novel that «ras cultivated,8) and it was not until later that other varieties t?f the novel developed side by side with this.
') Among numerous writers of sonnets we may mention here: Frederik van Eeden, Willem Kloos, Albert Verwey.
*) In 1824 and the two foliowing years at least thirteen novels were published, most of them by W. van Boekeren at Groningen. One of the novels was „translated from the German.
*) The love of the historical novel amounted almost to a craze in its be» ginning and led to many bad products. We draw attention here to Het Slot te Vollenhoven, of Vrijheidsmin en Heldendeugd. Eene geschiedkundige Roman, uit den opstand der Stellingwerver Vriezen tegen Bisschop Gui van Utrecht,



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In Scott's historical novel we have noticed its historie | and picturesque qualities, its democratie and subjective tendencies. The imitators and disciples of the English master followed these each in his own manner. Perhaps the nearer they kept to the example, the less they were apt to lose 1 their way, though to the detriment of originality. On theJ other hand the cultivation of the novel of the past presented many diffïculties. It demanded so much of its writer. Not only had he to be an orator, a man of letters, a person of general knowledge, but at the same time it was necessary that history should have no secrets from him. Only rarely is the novelist a man of historical study, nor can he always find time for the extensive investigation necessary for him to give a broad picture of the past. All this was prejudicial to the historical novel. Its greatest rival, however. is perhaps the modern historian, who, taught it may be by the historical novelist,l) does not content himself with writing a collection of dates and facts, but also treats of manners and customs and paints the past on a large canvas, not merely giving us a chronicle but making history an interesting study.
In this way it was rather hard for the historical novel to retain its place by the side of modern books of history. This may, to a certain extent, also account for its degeneration into a novel which sought to interest by paying special attention to periods in which obscenity and violence were
in 1311-1313. Door A. D. van Buren Schele. Te Amsterdam bij J. Allart Rietberg, 1836. This novel is mere trash and was severely criticized in De Gids, Vol. I, B., p. 32 sqq.
>) Cf. Leslie Stephen's Hours in a Libvary (London, 1892), Vol. I, p. 162, about Scott's influence on history, where we read: "it still remains true that Scott's great service was what we may call the vivification of history." See Carlyle's Collected Works, Vol. V, p. 275. ~
. . . "these Historical Novels have taught all men this truth, which looks like a truism and yet was as good as unknown to writers of history and others, till so taught, that the bygone ages of the world were actually filled by living men, not by protocols, state*papers, controversies and abstractions of men."
See Lettres sur V Histoire de France, par Augustin Thierry (Bruxelles, 1839), Lettre VI, p. 57.
"La lecture des romans de Walter Scott a tourné beaucoup d'imaginations vers ce moyen age dont naguère on s'éloignait aver dédain; et s'il s'opère de nos jours une révolution dans la manière de lire et d'écrire 1' histoire, ces compositions en apparance frivoles y auront singulièrement contribué".



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'"paramount. The democratie tendency of Scott's novel and of the age, however, also helped to promote a liking for what is low and realistic in preference to that which is high and idealistic.') The historian, an impartial man of study, treats of all parts of history alike and is more inclined to idealize than to paint with too dark colours. The novelist under the influence of the realistic age looked for what perhaps might better have remained hidden.
Moreover the novelist was by nature a subjective author. He gave of himself in his novel, and wanted to influence his readers either for good or evil. The writer had some intention, some purpose, sometimes his work was even /didactic.2) The historie novel at first aimed at painting the ^Vpast, but the study necessary for this made the writer less ^partial, and more general, causing him to do full justice to 'Oall his types. So the subjective writer became again more ^^^j^bjective, and this in its turn also led to realism. The ^-novelist of the past became a photographer, nor was it ^-"always his fault when the shadows were darker than the light. ""— Thus on one hand the historical novel had a rival in history ready to put it aside and make it superfluous, but I on the other hand the novel itself had a tendency towards \ the realistic^leading to the naturalistic.
No wonder that in many countriës~the novel of the past, Scott's beautiful creation, lived but a short life. Yet there too, in France and Germany as well as in England, it reasserted itself, and up to the present date the historical novel flourishes, however different it may be from Waverley.*)
*) Scott himself, however, was neither idealistic nor realistic. In his heroines he was romantic, as he was too in the description of the Middle Ages. Cf. Book I of the present work.
*) "But after all, in the loudest blazing and trumpeting of popularity, it is ever to be held in mind, as a truth remaining true for ever, that Literature has other aims than that of harmlessly amusing indolent languid men: or if Literature has them not, then Literature is a very poor affair; and some» thing else must have them, and must accomplish them, with thanks or without thanks, the thankful or thankless world were not long a world otherwise!" Carlyle's Collected Works, Vol. V, p. 273.
8) So Mr. Albéric Cahuet says of Le Bouctier d' Alexandre, an historical novel by Marcelle Tinayre, which appeared in 1922:—
"Marcelle Tinayre a voulu faire un roman unique sans aucune prétention a 1'archéologie."
See niustration (Paris, 28 Janvier 1922), p. 88.



— 30i —
In Holland, however, Scott's influence was so very strong^ that it was feit even after the writers of the eighties had! entered upon their career. Schimmel's historical novelsj prove this. Drost might have been the Dutch Scott, but he died too young. Van Lennep had merely imitated the! English writer, while Mrs. Bosboom-Toussaint wrote ofl the past, but also excelled in many another kind of novel \ and brought them to perfection. Schimmel, however, ad- ] hered to Scott's method, though he was more of a dramatist and less of a picturesque writer. With his "Captain of the Life-guards" Scott's influence may be said to have come I to an end. -*
In the meantime in prose a new era had begun irr-J) Dutch literature. By the side of Scott other writers had 1 begun tq exercise their influence. We need only mention 1 the names of Lytton, George Eliot, and Ouida, Victor Hugo, j George Sand, and Octave Feuillet, Freitag, Auerbach, *) and I Spielhagen. Others succeeded them, while Dutch letters at the same time became more and more independent.8) More- \ over the character of the novel changed from objective to j subjective, which too often led to a cultivation of self, and I to neurasthenie, melancholie work, an adoration of the in- i aesthetic. But a fresh wind too began to blow and we also find prose of the highest quality, in which the Flemish authors had their share.8)
Nor was the new movement in literature so independent that it altogether forgot what was due to the early romantic writers of the nineteenth century. The poets of the eighties had frankly acknowledged their indebtedness to England's new poets, the prose-writers feit what romanticism owed to Drost and Van Lennep. So the authors of the eighties
]) In Auerbach, Fritz Reuter, and other writers of countrydife we see thel reaction in European literature against romanticism, found in Holland in/ Cremer's Dorpsnovellen. See Stories from our Village by Miss Mitford.
a) Drost was a national writer, but Van Lennep and Oltmans though national in their subjects, had been under foreign influence.
The periodical De Gids, however, had done much to nationalize Dutch literature.
Mrs. BosboomsToussaint and Schimmel were truly Dutch authors. The influence of Zola may be found in the realistic development of the later novel.
!) In 1838 already Conscience had written De Leeuw van Vlaanderen, a kind of historical novel.



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republished "The Pestilence at Katwijk" (1625)l) by Drost and appreciated Van Lennep's return to nature^8)
There is, thus, a continual flux and reflux of romanticism and classicism and yet there is a thread of continuation through both. So we see that Scott's influence on the Dutch novelists of the beginning of last century was again acknowledged by the writers of the end of the same century by their tribute to his disciples.3)
f Nor was the novel of the past entirely neglected. Scott's 'pupils and followers had carried it on into the eighties. By their side other writers had also cultivated it, such as J. Alberdingk Thijm, Lodewijk Mulder, A. L. H. Ising, P. A. S. van Limburg Brouwer, W. P. Wolters, J.Hufvan Buren, M. P. Rosmade, A. S. C. Wallis, Mrs. Elise van ^palcar, Jan ten Brink.
They were succeeded by Ary Prins, author of "The Holy Expedition," 4) and Adriaan van Oordt, writer of Irmenloo and Warhold,}) One of the most modern Dutch authors Couperus has written "Majesty" *) and "World-peace",7) novels of the future, however, rather than of the past. In 1920 his "Iskander. The Novel of Alexander the Great"8) appeared. Is. Querido also, as late as 1918, wrote his his-
') Aernout Drost, De Pestilentie te Katwijk (1625). Met inleiding van Albert Verwey, taalkundige aanteekeningen door Dr. E. G. N. de Vooys (Amsterdam, 1906).
') See De Beweging, Vol. IX.
3) This is also seen in the appreciation of Schimmel's work. See H.J. Schimmel by H. Robbers in Mannen en Vrouwen wan Beteekenis in onze dagen (Haar» lem, 1907), Vol. XXXVIII, 1.
4) De Heilige Tocht.
') Prof. Prinsen in the fourth chapter of De oude en nieuwe Historische Roman in Nederland draws a comparison between Drost's Pestilentie te Katwijk and Van Oordt's Warhold. He says here that although the old historical novel had to cede its place to the ancient chronicles and memoirs, yet, even now, "the art of the historical novel flourishes. But it is another than before '80." See p. 73.
A work still belonging to the old school, however, is Silhouetten, door L. E. (Amsterdam), which appeared with an introduction by Jer° de Vries, dated April 1, 1905. Mr. de Vries says that the novel Elizabeth is only a romantic sketch of old manners and customs in the manner of Ferdinand Huyck and the sketches he calls historical novels. See pp. v and vi of Voorwoord.
Another work of the same kind is Friesche Jayke door L. E. (Utrecht, 1922).
*) Majesteit.
") Wereldvrede.
8) Iskander. De Roman van Alexander den Groote.



— 3°3 —
torical novel "The Ancient World. The Country of Zarathustra. Kings," x) which takes the reader to the ancient world on the shore of the Mediterranean five centuries before Christ. "Sunrise" 2) and "The Oriënt"8) followed in 1920 and 1921.
The modern writer of the historical novel, however, no longer only wants to teach; his load.-star he thinks he has found in the words of Keats "a thing of beauty is ajoy for ever."
So Scott's direct influence came to an end in the present new period of literature, whose beginning was full of promise, but whose future no one would venture to foretell.
The great European War has not only shaken thrones and nations, but in its results will also most certainly affect literature itself. More than ever before the future of literature is hidden from our eyes.
Yet in the never-ending struggle between classicism and romanticism, between reason and imagination, between head and heart, it will always be found that the truly great writers are those of most harmonious development. And the greatest will be those who, fostered by nature, are guided by intellect. Scott was one of these and his example will survive.
') De Oude Waereld. Het Land van Zarathustra. Koningen. *) Zonsopgang. ') Morgenland.



LIST
LIST
of the principal works, periodicals, and books consulted or discussed.
bagehot, W. — Literary Studies. London, 1879.
The Waverley novels in Vol. II. Beers, H. A. — A History of English Romantici sm in the
eighteenth century. New York, 1910. A History of English Romanticism in the nineteenth
century. London, 1902. beets, N. — Dichterlijke Verhalen (José, Maskerade, Kuser, Guy
de Vlaming, Ada). Verscheidenheden meest op Letterkundig gebied. Haarlem,
1859—1869.
Walter Scottjnj/ol. III, Jacob van Lennep in Vol IV. De Beweging. Amsterdam.
bowring, J. — Sketch of the Language and Literature of Holland.
Amsterdam, 1829. Brink, J. ten — Geschiedenis der Nederlandsche Letterkunde.
Amsterdam, 1897. Geschiedenis der Noord-Nederlandsche letteren in de XlXe
eeuw. Rotterdam.
It contains bibliographies of the principal writers. canning, A. S. G. — History in Scott's novels, a literary sketch.
London, 1905. Carlyle, Th. — Collected Works. London, 1869.
Sir Walter Scott in Vol. V. Clercq, W. de — Verhandeli ng over den invloed van de
vreemde letterkunde op de Nederlandsche taal en letterkunde.
Amsterdam, 1824. DlBELIUS, W. — Englische Romankunst. Berlin. 1910. DROST, A. — Hermingard van de Eikenterpen.
Schetsen en Verhalen (De Pestilentie te Katwijk (1625)).
Gaebel, K. — Beitrage zur Technik der Erzahlung in den Romanen
Walter Scotts. Marburg, 1901. De Gids, Nieuwe Vaderlandsche Letteroefeningen. Amsterdam. Hofdijk, W. J. — Rosamunde, Egmond in 1004 en 1021, De
Bruidsdans, De Jonker van Brederode. hoop Jr., A. van der — Willem Teil. Zwitsersche Tafereelen. Hutton, R. h. — Sir Walter Scott. London, 1909.



— 3°5 —
Kalff, G. — Geschiedenis der Nederlandsche Letterkunde.
Groningen, 1912. Kampen, N. G. van — Verhandeling over den invloed der Engelsche
Letterkunde op de Nederlandsche. Amsterdam, 1832—1836. Lennep, D. J. van — Verhandeling over het belangrijke van
Hollands grond en oudheden voor gevoel en verbeelding.
Magazijn voor Wetenschappen, Kunsten en Letteren. 1827. lennep, J. van — Nederlandsche Legenden in rijm gebracht
(Het huis ter Leede, Adegild, Jacoba en Bertha, De Strijd met
Vlaanderen).
De Pleegzoon, De Roos van Dekama, Ferdinand Huyck,
Onze Voorouders. lennep, F. van — Het Leven van Mr. Jacob van Lennep.
Amsterdam, 1910. Lockhart, J. G. — Memoirs of the life of Sir Walter Scott,
Bart. Edinburgh, 1839.
Magazijn voor Wetenschappen, Kunsten en Letteren. Verzameld
door N. G. van Kampen. Amsterdam. Maigron, L. — Le Roman Historique a 1' Epoque Romantique.
Paris, 1898. Meijer, H. A. — De Boekanier, Heemskerk. Neufville, M. J. de — De Schildknaap. De Niéuwe Gids. 's-Gravenhage.
Oltmans, J.Fr. — Het Slot Loevestein in 15 70, De Schaapherder, Gedachtenis van een kloekmoedig uitgevoerd bevel, Het Testament, Het huis van het Zeewijf, Gaston van Foix, De Graaf van Bossu te Rotterdam, Friesche Gastvrijheid.
phelps, W. L. — The Beginnings of the English Romantic Movement. Boston, 1893.
potgieter, E. J. — Kritische Studiën. Haarlem, 1875—1877.
Prinsen J. Lzn., J. — Handboek tot de Nederlandsche Letterkundige Geschiedenis. 's-Gravenhage, 1916.
De oude en de nieuwe Historische Roman in Nederland.
Leiden, 1919.
The Quarterly Review. London.
raleigh, W. — The English Novel. London, 1894. De Recensent ook der Recensenten. Amsterdam. saintsbury, G. — A short History of English Literature. London, 1908.'
A History of Nineteenth Century Literature (1780—190x3).
London, 1912.
schimmel, H. J. — De Eerste Dag eens Nieuwen Levens, Een Haagsche Joffer, Mary Hollis, Mylady Carlisle, Sinjeur Semeyns, De Kaptein ^An de Lijfgarde.



— 3°6 —
i o /Thf. T av of the Last Minstrel, qmTT W. — Poetical works (The L.ay 01 p„,w;rk bCOTT, w- f T The Vis on of Don Roderick,
the Dauntless). f Geierstein,
X" ^ÏÏL BUCDw^f, The Brroe o,
Heart of Mid.oth.an Ivaohoe, ^'^''g^S'rZ^*.
S "a»"1- The Booharao. £~< -
Eoglish "'"^^l'fHistory of Eag.rsh Literature. Thompson, A. Hamiltojn
London, 1906 ^ yan Devonshire,
Toussaint, A L. G. A mag: rnessej De Graaf van
Engelschen te ™ ^ Wonaerdokter.
WKS^O^ - Nederiandsche Letter-
Yr;c"f? - & --Waiter Sco, London. It contains a bibliography up to the year 1888.



CORRECTIONS. Page 22, line 5 from top: add the
' 33, Hne 14 from top: for Cranstown.
etc. read Cranstoun.
STELLINGEN,



I
The essential characteristic of Scott's historical novel is not understood by Prof. Dibelius in his "Englische Romankunst". It is not the creation of an atmosphere belonging to another time or another country, but the reproduction of past life.
II
Prof. Maigron's definition of the historical novel in his "Roman Historique" as a novel of morals of which the subject-matter cannot be immediately proved, is incomplete and consequently wrong.
III
Objectivism is not a necessary quality of the historical novel. Subjectivism may even enhance its permanent value.
IV
Mrs. Behn as a novelist deserves a place among the first writers of English fiction.
V
The correction of stains in the "skeireins", Codex Mayland, III, ui (Maszmann's edition, VII, 27, 49) "nih stainsakjahan draiassaeiquath" into is ains by Jellinek, which is supported by Heyne, Wrede, and others [see Stamm's Ulfilas (Paderborn, 1903), p. 224] is unnecessary, as the objection to considering stains as a translation of paitrus has little force.
VI
In Roister Doister I. ii. 120 "No (say I) it is the thirteenth Hercules brother", brother is a vocative, and thirteenth Hercules refers to the twelve works of Hercules.



VII
The expanded present (the progressive form of the present) and the present as a future refer to a state or action not originating in a purely personal impulse.
VIII
When two or more infinitives follow each other, of which the first is preceded by to, this preposition or prefix may be repeated or not, though with a difference.
IX
Doublé translation is of the greatest value in studying languages and makes it possible to restrict the study of grammar within proper limits.
X
In de dialekten om de IJselmonden hoort men vele klinkers, die ook in het Engels voorkomen, tot zelfs het proces van de a-klank voor eind-r met of zonder verdwijning van de r-klank. Een studie van deze verschijnselen, waarbij waarschijnlik Friese invloed zou gevonden worden, zou zeker belangrijk zijn.
XI
Voor de studie van de historiese spraakkunst is kennis van het Grieks zeker evenzeer gewenst als van het Latijn.
XII
Het onderwijs in vreemde talen behoort niet tot het gebied van de lagere school. 1ÉT
XIII
De beslissing over de toelating tot de middelbare scholen behoort aan deze scholen. Het eind-examen zij of geheel 'n staatsexamen of worde, wat de toelating tot de universiteit betreft, onder toezicht van deze afgenomen.



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