They all promise far more than
they can perform; the work is not done masterly; she has not reached
that point where a writer sits at the helm of his own genius.
Sometimes she plies the oar,--sometimes she drifts. But what greatness
she has is genuine; there is no tinsel of any kind, no drapery
carefully adjusted, no chosen gesture about her. May Heaven lead her,
at last, to the full possession of her best self, in harmony with the
higher laws of life!
We are not acquainted with all her works, but among those we know,
mention "_La Roche Maupart_," "_Andre_," "_Jacques_," "_Les Sept Cordes
de la Lyre_," and "_Les Maitres Mosaistes_," as representing her higher
inspirations, her sincerity in expression, and her dramatic powers.
They are full of faults; still they show her scope and aim with some
fairness, which such of her readers as chance first on such of her books
as "_Leone Leoni_" may fail to find; or even such as "_Simon_," and
"_Spiridion_," though into the imperfect web of these are woven threads
of pure gold. Such is the first impression made by the girl Fiamma, so
noble, as she appears before us with the words "_E l'onore_;" such the
thought in _Spiridion_ of making the apparition the reward of virtue.
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