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Page 3
Under the guidance of our American author, George Henry Miles, we are
led back to the days of the eleventh century. He is an accurate and
picturesque chronicler of that iron, yet chivalrous age. If on the one
hand, we see the sinister figure of Henry IV of Germany, on the other we
find the austere but noble monk Hildebrand, who became Pope St. Gregory
VII. We hear the clash of swords drawn in private brawl and vendetta,
but see them put back into the scabbard at the sound of the church bells
that announce the beginning of the "Truce of God." The tale opens
beneath the arches of a Suabian forest, with Gilbert de Hers and Henry
de Stramen facing each other's swords as mortal foes; it closes with
Gilbert and Henry, now reconciled, kneeling at the tomb of the fair and
lovely Lady Margaret, their hates forgotten before the grave of
innocence and maidenly devotion, and learning from the hallowed memory
of the dead, the lesson of that forgiveness that makes us divine.
The American novelist, like the Italian Manzoni, teaches the lesson
inculcated in "The Betrothed" ("_I Promessi Sposi_"). It is a lesson
of forgiveness. It is noblest to forgive. Forgiveness is divine. Forgive
seventy times seventy times, again and again. In Manzoni's story, the
saintly Frederick Borromeo preaches and acts that sublime lesson in his
scene with the _Innominato_ with compelling eloquence. In "The Truce of
God," the Lady Margaret, the monk Omehr, the very woes of the Houses of
Hers and Stramen, the tragic madness of the unfortunate Bertha, the
blood shed in a senseless and passionate quarrel, the bells of the
sanctuary bidding the warring factions sheathe the sword, incessantly
proclaim the same duty. In writing his story, George Henry Miles was not
only painting for us a picture aglow with the life of olden times, but
pointing out in a masterly way, the historic r�le of the Church in
molding the manners of an entire generation.
The reader of "The Truce of God," in spite of the fact that the romance
seems to be sketched only in its broadest outlines, gets a distinct
knowledge of its chief actors. They live before his eyes. De Hers and
Stramen are not mere abstractions. They have the rugged, clear-cut
character, the sudden passions, the quick and at times dangerous and
savage impulses of the men of the eleventh century. In them the
barbarian has not yet been completely tamed. But neither has he been
given full rein. Somewhere in these hearts, there lurks a sentiment of
honor, of knighthood, which the Church of Christ has ennobled, and to
which the helpless and the innocent do not appeal in vain.
The American has caught this sentiment and plays upon it skillfully. His
setting is in keeping with his story. The wandering minstrel, the
turreted castle, the festive board, the high-vaulted hall with its oaken
rafters, the chase, the wide reaches of the forests of Franconia, the
beetling ramparts of old feudal castles by the Rhine or the lovely
shores of the Lake of Constance, the vineyards on the slopes of sunny
hills, the bannered squadrons, the din of battle, the crash of helm and
spear, are brought before us with dramatic power. Historic figures
appear on the scene. Close to the principal actors in the story, we see
the gallant Rodolph of Arles, Godefroi de Bouillon, Berchtold of
Carinthia, Hohenstaufen and Welf, acting their life drama at the council
board or on the field of battle. We see a woman and an old man, Mathilda
of Tuscany and Pope St. Gregory VII, slowly but surely building on the
foundations of a half-molded civilization the ramparts of the City of
God. "The Truce of God" is true to the requirements of the historical
romance. It summons before us a forgotten past, and makes it live. We
forget in the vitality and artistic grouping of the picture, in the
nobility of the author's purpose and the lasting moral effect of the
story, the occasional stiffness of the style. It is the style of the
refined scholar, perhaps also of the bookman and the too conscious
critic. Occasionally it lacks spontaneity, directness and naturalness.
It might unbend more and forget ceremony. But it is picturesque,
forcible, clear, and bears us along with its swing and dramatic
movement.
American Catholics must not forget the excellent work done by George
Henry Miles for the cause of Catholic literature, the more so as his
name is not infrequently omitted from many popular histories of American
literature. Yet the author of "The Truce of God" had mastered the story
teller's and the dramatist's art. "If there was ever a born
_litt�rateur_," writes Eugene L. Didier, in _The Catholic World_ for
May, 1881, "that man was George Henry Miles. His taste was pure,
exquisite and refined, his imagination was rich, vivid, and almost
oriental in its warmth." Moreover, he consecrated his life and his
talents to the cause of Catholic education, identifying himself for many
years with Mount St. Mary's College, Emmitsburg, Maryland, with whose
annals so much of the early history of the Catholic Church in the
United States, is closely linked.
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