ifelike
picture of a great historical character that we possess. Other historians
had heaped calumny upon Cromwell till the English public regarded him with
prejudice and horror; and it is an indication of Carlyle's power that by a
single book he revolutionized England's opinion of one of her greatest men.

Carlyle's _Sartor Resartus_ (1834), his only creative work, is a mixture of
philosophy and romance, of wisdom and nonsense,--a chaotic jumble of the
author's thoughts, feelings, and experiences during the first thirty-five
years of his life. The title, which means "The Tailor Patched-up," is taken
from an old Scotch song. The hero is Diogenes Teufelsdroeckh, a German
professor at the University of Weissnichtwo (don't know where); the
narrative concerns this queer professor's life and opinions; and the
central thought of the book is the philosophy of clothes, which are
considered symbolically as the outward expression of spirit. Thus, man's
body is the outward garment of his soul, and the universe is the visible
garment of the invisible God. The arrangement of _Sartor_ is clumsy and
hard to follow. In order to leave himself free to bring in everything he
thought about, Carlyle assumed the position of one who was translating and
editing the old professor's manuscripts, which are supposed to consist of
numerous sheets stuffed into twelve paper bags, each labeled with a sign of
the zodiac. The editor pretends to make order out of this chaos; but he is
free to jump from one subject to another and to state the most startling
opinion by simply using quotation marks and adding a note that he is not
responsible for Teufelsdroeckh's crazy notions,--which are in reality
Carlyle's own dreams and ideals. Partly because of the matter, which is
sometimes incoherent, partly because of the style, which, though
picturesque, is sometimes confused and ungrammatical, _Sartor_ is not easy
reading; but it amply repays whatever time and study we give to it. Many of
its passages are more like poetry than prose; and one cannot read such
chapters as "The Everlasting No," "The Everlasting Yea," "Reminiscences,"
and "Natural Supernaturalism," and be quite the same man afterwards; for
Carlyle's thought has entered into him, and he walks henceforth more
gently, more reverently through the world, as in the presence of the
Eternal.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. Concerning Carlyle's style there are almost as
many opinions as there are readers. This is pa