Sir Harry Vane 157 



resulted in spreading constitutional government 

 far and wide over two hemispheres ; and we can 

 begin to see how disastrous in its consequences 

 would have been the victory of the Cavaliers, true 

 and gallant men as most of them doubtless were. 

 Without dealing too much in generalities, Mr. 

 Hosmer s narrative keeps before us the gravity 

 of the issues at stake, while our attention is sel 

 dom drawn away from the powerful but quiet and 

 gracious personality that occupies the centre of the 

 canvas. It is customary for great eras to live in 

 the twilight of popular memory in association with 

 some one surpassing name, while other heroes of 

 the time are dimly remembered or quite forgotten. 

 The work of these other men gets unconsciously 

 transferred to the credit of the most brilliant or 

 striking hero, as Hamilton, for example, is apt 

 to get associated not merely with his own all-im 

 portant achievements, but likewise with those of 

 Madison and the Federal Convention generally. 

 In accordance with this labour-saving habit of 

 mind, the Great Rebellion in popular memory 

 means Oliver Cromwell, while such men as Eliot 

 and Pym, Fairfax and Ireton, are passed over ; and 

 if Hampden stays, it is partly due to the often- 

 quoted line of the poet Gray. So there are many 

 who know Vane only through Milton s sonnet, 



