h is no doubt aware
that, although this once noted writer's fame rests entirely upon his
treatise _Physiognomische Fragmente_, he founded a school of mystics
in Switzerland. This was before what is called spiritualism came into
vogue. I believe that the doctrines of _The Veiled Queen_ are closely
related to the doctrines of the Lavaterians; but my knowledge on this
matter is of a second-hand kind, and is derived from conversations
upon Lavater and his claims as a physiognomist, which I heard many
years ago at Coombe and during walks in Richmond Park, between the
author of _Aylwin_ and my father, who, admittedly a man of
intellectual grasp, went even further than Lavater.

A writer in the _Literary World_, in some admirable remarks upon this
story, is, as far as I know, the only critic who has dwelt upon the
extraordinary character of 'Philip Aylwin.' He says:

'The melancholy, the spiritual isolation, and the passionate love of
this master-mystic for his dead wife are so finely rendered that the
reader's sympathies go out at once to this most pathetic and lonely
figure....It would be difficult for any sensitive man or woman to
follow Philip Aylwin's story as related by his son without the
tribute of aching heart and scalding tears. To our thinking, the
man's sanity is more moving, more supremely tragic, than even the
madness of Winifred, which is the culminating tragedy of the book.'

I must say that I agree with this writer in thinking 'Philip Aylwin'
to be the most impressive character in the story. The most remarkable
feature of the novel, indeed, is that, although 'Philip Aylwin'
disappears from the scene so early, his opinions, his character, and
his dreams are cast so entirely over the book from beginning to end
that the novel might have been called _Philip Aylwin_. I have a
special interest in this character, because I knew the undoubted
original of the character with a considerable amount of intimacy.
Without the permission of the author of _Aylwin_, I can only touch on
outward traits--the deep, spiritual life of this man is beyond me.
Although a very near relation, he was not, as has been so often
surmised, the author's father. [Footnote] He was a man of
extraordinary learning in the academic sense of the word, and
possessed still more extraordinary general knowledge. He lived for
many years the strangest kind of hermit life, surrounded by his
books and old manuscripts. His two great passions were philol