Letters of Thomas Carlyle to his Youngest Sister. Edited by
C. T. Copeland. (Chapman and Hall. 6s.)—The bulk of Carlyle literature is steadily mounting up to almost Shakespearian pro- portions. In one way, we do not at all object to these publica- tions of his merely private or family letters, for they certainly tend to correct the too harsh portrait that Fronde left the world of his "friend and master." But this book is altogether mis- named, as some of the most characteristic letters in it are from Carlyle to his old peasant mother, while a few of the mother's letters have also crept in. We could also well spare Mr. Cope- land's somewhat too pretentious preliminary essay, extending to over thirty pages, on "Carlyle as a Letter-Writer." In the grim old philosopher's outpourings to his sister, generally on trivial, or at least on homely, affairs, we are always conscious of that deep family affection which is a marked characteristic of the best Puritan, and especially North Country, domestic life. Here we have a man of world-wide fame writing as simply, as naturally, and as affectionately to his humble kith and kin as though he weie "a mere nobody." This utter absence of all vulgarity and snobbish pretence, as well as his deeply felt family affection, makes us respect Carlyle, despite all his imperfections of temper and his deplorable want of self-restraint. In this sense these ever-accumulating budgets of his private correspondence give us a true insight into his real character and inner nature. Carlyle- worahippers will doubtless peruse these unpretentious family letters, but we should prefer that those who have grown to dis- parage and dislike him should read them.
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