第2章

’MydearLeFanu，’Inreadingoveryourbrother’spoemwhileIcrossedtheAtlantic，Ibecamemoreandmoreimpressedwithitsgreatbeautyanddramaticeffect——somuchsothatIdeterminedtotestitseffectinpublic，andhavedonesohere，onmyfirstappearance，withthegreatestsuccess。

NowIhavenodoubttherewillbegreatpraisesofthepoem，andpeoplewillsuppose，mostlikely，thatthecompositionismine，andasyouknow(Itakeforgranted)thatIwouldnotwishtowearaborrowedfeather，Ishouldbegladtogiveyourbrother’snameastheauthor，shouldhenotobjecttohaveitknown；butashiswritingsareoftenofsodifferentatone，Iwouldnotspeakwithoutpermissiontodoso。Itistruethatinmyprogrammemynameisattachedtootherpieces，andnonameappendedtotherecitation；sofar，youwillsee，IhavedoneallIcouldtoavoid“appropriating，“thespiritofwhichImighthavecaughthere，withIrishaptitude；butIwouldliketohavethemeansoftellingallwhomitmayconcernthenameoftheauthor，towhoseheadandheartitdoessomuchhonour。Pray，mydearLeFanu，inquire，andanswermeherebynextpacket，orassoonasconvenient。Mysuccessherehasbeenquitetriumphant。

’Yoursverytruly，’SAMUELLOVER。’

Wehavehearditsaid(thoughwithouthavinginquiredintothetruthofthetradition)that’ShamusO’Brien’wastheresultofamatchatpseudo-nationalballadwritingmadebetweenLeFanuandseveralofthemostbrilliantofhisyoungliteraryconfreresatT。C。D。Buthoweverthismaybe，LeFanuundoubtedlywasnoyoungIrelander；indeedhedidthestoutestserviceasapresswriterintheConservativeinterest，andwasnodoubtprovokedaswellasamusedattheunexpectedpopularitytowhichhispoemattainedamongsttheIrishNationalists。

Andhereitshouldberememberedthattheballadwaswrittensomeelevenyearsbeforetheoutbreakof’48，andatatimewhena’98subjectmightfairlyhavebeenregardedaslegitimateliterarypropertyamongstthemostloyal。

WeleftLeFanuaseditorofthe’Warder。’

Heafterwardspurchasedthe’DublinEveningPacket，’andmuchlaterthehalf-proprietorshipofthe’DublinEveningMail。’Elevenortwelveyearsagohealsobecametheownerandeditorofthe’DublinUniversityMagazine，’inwhichhislateraswellasearlierIrishStoriesappeared。Hesolditaboutayearbeforehisdeathin1873，havingpreviouslypartedwiththe’Warder’andhisshareinthe’EveningMail。’

Hehadpreviouslypublishedinthe’DublinUniversityMagazine’anumberofcharminglyrics，generallyanonymously，anditistobefearedthatallcluetotheidentificationofmostoftheseislost，exceptthatofinternalevidence。

Thefollowingpoem，undoubtedlyhis，shouldmakegeneralourregretatbeingunabletofixwithcertaintyuponitsfellows：

’OnewildanddistantbuglesoundBreathedo’erKillarney’smagicshoreWillshedsweetfloatingechoesroundWhenthatwhichmadethemisnomore。

’SoslumberinthehumanheartWildechoes，thatwillsweetlythrillThewordsofkindnesswhenthevoiceThatutteredthemforayeisstill。

’Oh!memory，thoughthyrecordstellFullmanyataleofgriefandsorrow，Ofmadexcess，ofhopedecayed，Ofdarkandcheerlessmelancholy；

’Still，memory，tomethouartThedearestofthegiftsofmind，ForallthejoysthattouchmyheartArejoysthatIhaveleftbehind。

LeFanu’sliterarylifemaybedividedintothreedistinctperiods。Duringthefirstofthese，andtillhisthirtiethyear，hewasanIrishballad，song，andstorywriter，hisfirstpublishedstorybeingthe’AdventuresofSirRobertArdagh，’whichappearedinthe’DublinUniversityMagazine’of1838。

In1844hewasunitedtoMissSusanBennett，thebeautifuldaughterofthelateGeorgeBennett，Q。C。Fromthistimeuntilherdecease，in1858，hedevotedhisenergiesalmostentirelytopresswork，making，however，hisfirstessaysinnovelwritingduringthatperiod。The’CockandAnchor，’achronicleofoldDublincity，hisfirstand，intheopinionofcompetentcritics，oneofthebestofhisnovels，seeingthelightabouttheyear1850。Thiswork，itistobefeared，isoutofprint，thoughthereisnowacheapeditionof’TorloghO’Brien，’itsimmediatesuccessor。ThecomparativewantofsuccessofthesenovelsseemstohavedeterredLeFanufromusinghispen，exceptasapresswriter，until1863，whenthe’HousebytheChurchyard’

waspublished，andwassoonfollowedby’UncleSilas’andhisfiveotherwell-knownnovels。

WehaveconsideredLeFanuasaballadwriterandpoet。Asapresswriterheisstillmosthonourablyrememberedforhislearningandbrilliancy，andthepowerandpointofhissarcasm，whichlongmadethe’DublinEveningMail’oneofthemostformidableofIrishpresscritics；butletusnowpasstotheconsiderationofhiminthecapacityofanovelist，andinparticularastheauthorof’UncleSilas。’

Thereareevidencesin’ShamusO’Brien，’andevenin’PhaudrigCroohore，’ofapoweroverthemysterious，thegrotesque，andthehorrible，whichsosingularlydistinguishhimasawriterofprosefiction。

’UncleSilas，’thefairestaswellasmostfamiliarinstanceofthisenthrallingspelloverhisreaders，istoowellknownastorytotellindetail。Buthowintenselyandpainfullydistinctistheopeningdescriptionofthesilent，inflexibleAustinRuthynofKnowl，andhisshy，sweetdaughterMaude，theonesoresolutelyconfidentinhisbrother’shonour，theothersoromanticallyandyetanxiouslyinterestedinheruncle——thesuddenarrivalofDr。Bryerly，thestrangeSwedenborgian，followedbytheequallyunexpectedapparitionofMadamedelaRougiere，AustinRuthyn’spainfuldeath，andthereadingofhisstrangewillconsigningpoorMaudetotheprotectionofherunknownUncleSilas——hercousin，good，brightdevotedMonicaKnollys，andherdreadfuldistrustofSilas——BartramHaughanditsuncannyoccupants，andforemostamongstthemUncleSilas。

Thisishisportrait：

’Afacelikemarble，withafearfulmonumentallook，andforanoldman，singularlyvivid，strangeeyes，thesingularityofwhichrathergrewuponmeasIlooked；forhiseyebrowswerestillblack，thoughhishairdescendedfromhistemplesinlonglocksofthepurestsilverandfineassilk，nearlytohisshoulders。

’Herose，tallandslight，alittlestooped，allinblack，withanampleblackvelvettunic，whichwasratheragownthanacoat……

’IknowIcan’tconveyinwordsanideaofthisapparition，drawn，asitseemed，inblackandwhite，venerable，bloodless，fiery-eyed，withitssingularlookofpower，andanexpressionsobewildering——wasitderision，oranguish，orcruelty，orpatience？

’Thewildeyesofthisstrangeoldmanwerefixedonmeasherose；anhabitualcontraction，whichincertainlightstookthecharacterofascowl，didnotrelaxasheadvancedtowardsmewithathin-lippedsmile。’

OldDickenandhisdaughterBeauty，oldL’AmourandDudleyRuthyn，nowenteruponthescene，eachafreshshadowtodeepenitsalreadysombrehue，whilethegloomgathersinspiteoftheglimpseofsunshineshotthroughitbythevisittoElverston。Dudley’sbrutalencounterwithCaptainOakley，andvilepersecutionofpoorMaudetillhislovemarriagecomestolight，leadusontotheghastlycatastrophe，thehideousconspiracyofSilasandhissonagainstthelifeoftheinnocentgirl。

ItisinterestingtoknowthatthegermofUncleSilasfirstappearedinthe’DublinUniversityMagazine’of1837or1838，astheshorttale，entitled，’APassagefromtheSecretHistoryofanIrishCountess，’whichisprintedinthiscollectionofStories。Itnextwaspublishedas’TheMurderedCousin’inacollectionofChristmasstories，andfinallydevelopedintothethree-volumenovelwehavejustnoticed。

ThereareaboutLeFanu’snarrativestouchesofnaturewhichreconcileustotheiralwaysremarkableandoftensupernaturalincidents。

Hischaractersarewellconceivedanddistinctlydrawn，andstrongsoliloquyandeasydialoguespringunaffectedlyfromtheirlips。HeisacloseobserverofNature，andreproducesherwildereffectsofstormandgloomwithsingularvividness；whileheisequallyathomeinhisdescriptionsofstilllife，someofwhichremindusofthefaithfullyminutedetailofoldDutchpictures。

Mr。WilkieCollins，amongstourlivingnovelists，bestcompareswithLeFanu。Bothofthesewritersareremarkablefortheingeniousmysterywithwhichtheydeveloptheirplots，andfortheabsorbing，ifoftenover-sensational，natureoftheirincidents；butwhilstMr。Collinsexcitesandfascinatesourattentionbyanintensepowerofrealismwhichcarriesuswithunreasoninghastefromcovertocoverofhisworks，LeFanuisanidealist，fullofhighimagination，andanartistwhodevotesdeepattentiontothemostdelicatedetailinhisportraitureofmenandwomen，andhisdescriptionsoftheoutdoorandindoorworlds——awriter，therefore，throughwhosepagesitwouldbeoftenanindignitytohasten。Andthismoreleisurely，andcertainlymoreclassical，conductofhisstoriesmakesusrememberthemmorefullyandfaithfullythanthoseoftheauthorofthe’WomaninWhite。’Mr。Collinsisgenerallydramatic，andsometimesstagy，inhiseffects。

LeFanu，whilelesscarefultoarrangehisplots，soastoadmitoftheirbeingreadilyadaptedforthestage，oftensurprisesusbyscenesofsomuchgreatertragicintensitythatwecannotbutlamentthathedidnot，asMr。Collinshasdone，attemptthedrama，andsofurnishanothergroundofcomparisonwithhisfellow-countryman，Maturin(also，ifwemistakenot，ofFrenchorigin)，whom，inhiswritings，LeFanufarmorecloselyresemblesthanMr。Collins，asamasterofthedarkerandstrongeremotionsofhumancharacter。But，toinstituteabroadergroundofcomparisonbetweenLeFanuandMr。Collins，whilsttheidiosyncrasiesoftheformer’scharacters，howeverimmaterialthosecharactersmaybe，seemalwaystosuggesttheminutestdetailofhisstory，thelatterwouldappeartoconsiderplotastheprime，characterasasubsidiaryelementintheartofnovelwriting。

ThosewhopossessedtherareprivilegeofLeFanu’sfriendship，andonlythey，canformanyideaofthetruecharacteroftheman；forafterthedeathofhiswife，towhomhewasmostdeeplydevoted，hequiteforsookgeneralsociety，inwhichhisfinefeatures，distinguishedbearing，andcharmofconversationmarkedhimoutasthebeau-idealofanIrishwitandscholaroftheoldschool。

FromthissocietyhevanishedsoentirelythatDublin，alwaysreadywithanickname，dubbedhim’TheInvisiblePrince；’andindeedhewasforlongalmostinvisible，excepttohisfamilyandmostfamiliarfriends，unlessatoddhoursoftheevening，whenhemightoccasionallybeseenstealing，liketheghostofhisformerself，betweenhisnewspaperofficeandhishomeinMerrionSquare；sometimes，too，hewastobeencounteredinanoldout-of-the-waybookshopporingoversomerareblackletterAstrologyorDemonology。

Tooneoftheseoldbookshopshewasatonetimeaprettyfrequentvisitor，andthebooksellerrelateshowheusedtocomeinandaskwithhispeculiarlypleasantvoiceandsmile，’Anymoreghoststoriesforme，Mr——？’andhow，onafreshonebeinghandedtohim，hewouldseldomleavetheshopuntilhehadlookeditthrough。Thistasteforthesupernaturalseemstohavegrownuponhimafterhiswife’sdeath，andinfluencedhimsodeeplythat，hadhenotbeenpossessedofadealofshrewdcommonsense，theremighthavebeendangerofhisembracingsomeofthevisionarydoctrinesinwhichhewassolearned。Butno!evenSpiritualism，towhichnotafewofhisbrothernovelistssuccumbed，whilstaffordingcongenialmaterialforourartistofthesuperhumantoworkupon，didnotescapehisseverestsatire。

Shortlyaftercompletinghislastnovel，strangetosay，bearingthetitle’WillingtoDie，’LeFanubreathedhislastathishomeNo。18，MerrionSquareSouth，attheageoffifty-nine。

’Hewasaman，’writestheauthorofabriefmemoirofhiminthe’DublinUniversityMagazine，’’whothoughtdeeply，especiallyonreligioussubjects。Tothosewhoknewhimhewasverydear；theyadmiredhimforhislearning，hissparklingwit，andpleasantconversation，andlovedhimforhismanlyvirtues，forhisnobleandgenerousqualities，hisgentleness，andhisloving，affectionatenature。’AndallwhoknewthemanmustfeelhowdeeplydeservedarethesesimplewordsofsincereregardforJosephSheridanLeFanu。

LeFanu’snovelsareaccessibletoall；buthisPurcellPapersarenowforthefirsttimecollectedandpublished，bythepermissionofhiseldestson(thelateMr。PhilipLeFanu)，andverymuchowingtothefriendlyandactiveassistanceofhisbrother，Mr。WilliamLeFanu。

THEPURCELLPAPERS。

THEGHOSTANDTHEBONESETTER。