ARTHUR HELPS.

(1819-1875.)

"I SHOULD be very sorry," writes John Ruskin. in the appendix to the third volume of "Modern Painters," "if I had not been continually taught and influenced by the writers whom I love; and am quite unable to say to what extent my thoughts have been guided by Wordsworth, Carlyle and Helps, to whom (with Dante and George Herbert in olden time) I owe more than to any other writers." And again he he says: "There are things which I hope are said more clearly and simply than before, owing to the influence upon me of the beautiful, quiet English of Helps."

Praise from such a quarter is praise indeed, and makes it well worth any reader's time to study for himself the works of him whom so great a writer as Ruskin calls one of his masters.

Arthur Helps was born in England in the year 1819 and died in 1875. His life was uneventful. Literature was not his profession, but his leisure was spent among books, and he had intense de

light in writing. After holding various stations he became clerk of the Privy Council, and his official duties brought him near the Queen and gave him intimate relations with the great men of all parties. He acquired consequently a large knowledge of public affairs, and had he entered upon parliamentary life would have reached great emi

nence as a statesman.

He chose to be a philanthropist and all his writings have a purpose. His heart was full of love for man, and he desired to make him better. Next to his love of man was his love of books.

His writings are numerous and comprise a history, many volumes of essays-most of them interspersed with dialogue-three or four dramas, as many fictions and a biography. During his life he had many readers in England and at the time of his death his popularity was rapidly growing in this country. In recent years he has gone somewhat out of fashion, but no one can read the most insignificant of his writings without being fascinated with the beauty of his style and impressed by the weight of his thought.

The works by which he is best known are "Friends in Council," "Companions of My Solitude," and "Realmah." These peculiarly exhibit his originality of style and thought. His

diction is idiomatic, rhythmic, graceful, aphoristic -full of sharp and fascinating turns of imagery -with gleams of humor and quiet irony. His choice of words and epithets is exquisite, and his felicities of expression endless. The praise that Johnson gave to Addison is not too great for these writings, and might well be amended to read : Whoever wishes to attain an English style familiar, but not coarse, and elegant, but not ostentatious, must give his days and nights to the volumes of Arthur Helps. "Friends in Council purports to be edited by an old clergyman named Dunsford, who meets to pass summer evenings with two old college pupils, Ellesmere, a lawyer, and Milverton, a writer and politician. There is a page or two of introduction, informing the reader of what is necessary to know concerning these "Friends," and then Milverton reads an essay. This is followed by a discussion of the subject and merits of the essay. These conversations form a very agreeable portion of the work and show a fine mastery of the art of dialogue. They are exactly like the discourse of intelligent and educated men and exhibit the characteristics of the individual speakers; the robust and vigorous intellect of Ellesmere; the benevolence and wisdom of Milverton, and the sweet, mild temper

of Dunsford. Later in the work other characters are introduced, notably two young ladies, Mildred and Blanche, one of whom afterward becomes Lady Ellesmere and the other Mrs. Milverton.

The essays embrace a wide range of topics, from "Slavery" and "War" to to "Worry," "Pleasantness," and the "Art of Self-Advancement." This last purports to be written by Ellesmere, and abounds in graceful humor and irony.

These friends appear in nearly all of Helps' works, discussing various subjects and criticising or commenting on the writings of Milverton. The reader soon comes to know them and de

They are as real as

light in their "good talk." any characters ever drawn by any writer, and it is probably the fact that they had their counterparts in real life. Milverton was, of course, Helps himself.

In "Companions of My Solitude" certain of the social problems of the time are discussed in essays and conversations between the friends. Something of the scope of the discussions may be understood from the following passage:

A daughter has left her home, madly, ever so wickedly if you like; but what are too often the demons tempting her onward and preventing her return? The uncharitable

speeches she has heard at home, and the feeling she shares with most of us that those we have lived with are the sharpest judges of our conduct.

"Would you then," exclaims some reader or hearer, "take back and receive with tenderness a daughter who had erred ? ” Yes," I reply, "if she had been the most abandoned woman upon earth."

The most striking part of this charming work is the touching story of Gretchen, a poor German maiden, told by Sir John Ellesmere. He had met her when on his travels in Germany. She was poor and an orphan, had been out to service and had not been paid the pittance that was due, and was destitute. Ellesmere relieved her necessities and fell in love with her, for she was a thoughtful and refined girl, but she already had a lover, "a poor man and far away." The words, her benefactor said, in which she told him this went down like a weight into his heart, which never was quite lifted off again. He saw her more than once again, and he declares that she had one of the best intellects and most beautiful natures he had ever seen. Afterward he contrived to assist both her and her lover, and he finally saw them happily married.

Sir Arthur Helps-he was made a baronet a year or two before his death-is at his best in the story of "Realmah." This is a novel with a purpose, and is intended to show that nations