| Show WORKS OF FICTION Their Macs la IiflmsclDf tnd EJa cillng R adars ilKJUIMtKS OF A linuil MJVII lllictHwil lij lrolriior I 1 Vn tnin if ho UHIi Jgrlfulmral CollfCf Jn Mr Hovvtlla little book Critlciim and ricllon lie tepoiW corretpond cnt writing to him In 0111 er to ome > rKint claim fur Ilie nv1 l at a men 11 I niul moral mean I have very grave doubt t lo the whole Iht of naunlficent thing that YU Mem to hlnk novels hive don fi > r the race mil can wllno III myMlf m ny evil IhlnKI ihlch II they have done f > r me U hut ever In my mental nuke up Is wild nntl vhlonary whatever It untrue ululcvir Injutloui I can trace lo the ptrutal of tome work of Action Vune than that lIovela bextt such lilghitrunic mu > u rnltlve Ideal ol tile that plain In linlry and plodding peiuverince Are deipbed anil matter of act poverty ore or-e nry ilay dlalrm meet with no > m palhy II Indeed notlceil at i II by one who hat crept over the Inipoulbly ao cumulated suffering ol tome clathlng hero or gaudy heroine Mr HowelU drupe the controveriy nil ut Noel are now acrepted everyone la Ing claim to cultivated laale and they really lorni the whole nlellectual Hie of auch Immenie num belt of person without queillon of their nfluence good or bad upon the mmU that It l refretliliik to have them frankly denounced and Tie connate that niucn icllon hao been wholly injunoui from lIa faliehood it folly It I wantonneu and III nimleuiie Much novel reading I the tmplle diulMllon like opium eallnn leaving the mind the neaker and crimr for the debauch Hut fiction reading 14 not re H > iitt > le lor nil the evil In Ihr chirao lei of In vktlrni The reader who ntei care In chooting rom Ihll 101lKU > growtl In the fleld ol literature may nounh 13 llti rll hlmielf on the true inuihroom at no rnk from die 1 iwltonoui tpecles The teit arc pliln > lmple Infallible The noel that thtier Hie > a ini IA and e > ahl them above the principles I poi oni > ui the Immoral romance llu preienl the tin of tenie unvltiled b the penallim mill or to 1 but Inenora bly certain the real world I polton out the tale that tkkle our prtjudlce liilUnurjudiinieiilor pamper our appetite ap-petite lor the marvelouf II mnuiritlou and urxtholnome the ttory that teache tliroiil JIIH KUUy heroine that love or Hit iicr un nmlakeii for It I the chief ieiuu i of life above prdcnce obedle teaton duly will make no reader w er health or wealthy I or wlte Any note that tin again truth I wlml alone van uoll and puilly men Ilia leave In reader In doubt bclvvtcn wha I riKhl and w hollo I vv ron < w hal i noble nnd what U liate I what II health and what 10 I perdition In the action ami character whkh It porlrav I a menu and moral pabulum I to be ali alone Hut II a novel I true to the motive the Impulien the principle that Ihde the hie of actual men uml uomen II I pretent that truth which include the htliliett morality and the liighet art II I Mnnut be UKLed It cannot be eak U i cannot create Hickednei nor Heakne II It 11 1 true to wlial men and l womei know of one another ouU I It ulll be true enough und it I may tc great am beiiulllnl and beneficent All literature mutt be initruclive or enierllninir or both at once The mml I ll no exception Ulcken wars our i out at hi ihrlttma lire luck I cruy rouw our inclination and quicken quick-en our contempt at hit ilum leI Mr Btovve make ill lInolhe demo lllon ol hoary wronK > Charle King le MacUonald Mr Ward make u > take theological uoler but all the lime we arc entertained They give ui the ttroncxor with it turning Inci lent hi merriment III pathoi it > Inln cateplot iKwondeihiK what will come next In the plot the Incident inlereMlng III thcmtelvi mu t be 10 carried forward for-ward ui to lorm one chief unllled action there mint be munethlng lo tell nnd each Incident mu I help tell It but ilill leave the reader In auincrue to the ind Keadc In Clulitie Jolmilone j I Gcorae Illol in SiU Warner IIIe moll in lotna Doom laiie In Confidential Agent how m IhlS tcicl consliuc Itve poxvir tf the hlgheit orucr The I end ol the ilory mutt lute a luiiable proportion and relation to the beginning hap II that It the plan righting the vvronn occurring In the action doing juttici lo viriuouiand vi Clout or a noble termination In tragedy lilting the readeri nature Into R high plane ol xcrllicc and puhm If the beginning be-ginning pomlilliat uay Nuoneuanti lo lead a polntlert HIOIV lr The character rnu t be clearly drawn Interesting in themuKw lulled to the illualnm nnd action and tludled from real life There j mould be at lean one uhumay InipreM ui a a worthy pir I tonal Ion < l who e name linger In our mmdi The dialogue clever and natural mutt be true to the nature ol the > p akin ak-in I he action the retult I of the mental nnd moral lorce nI play The nuvtllit itudiei men and women hi I it concerned wlili their Ihunghu their Icclinci their actiuni Ill material i > hit Impreuion ol hit TIe air of reality reali-ty 10 I hIS iiireme vnrue Anthony Trol lope Haakly cOllllllal ho could gue hli tlory nny other turn the lack ol reality In lome of hll Morle U the Mine confrition The novel I a failure which doe not make iu I pcriontn visible to lit The iiulilcni un > i ituiilon num probable Ilonie uhowultin the middle of the Inglmii lor a pan of runaway horici jnd imp them by rniln ilrciiRlli wiihoui ieldmg an Inch are nu longer acientabli 1 he quandary In which John Ward Trencher and hlo helerouuic wile Imd lhemelve could never have happened In real life buih a coup would hive quaireled n duien time bifore he could have to tweetly popped the que tu > n and got tuih a ue t Ye IIr pleait The dwrlptivu pjrtloni in nit be na much as possible incnlenlil Uriel tug gelllve of picture and ilrlctly confined to what I clo ely connected with the development ol ch iracter and In tirict tubcrdinaiion lo it Human inleren inut abiorb cvcrylhing elie The ben ilnryteller never divirt jtientlon from the acton Cluilck Keade In hll In I comparable Clohur nnd Htarili slioui matter trok > > ol this kind ol th Indirect Ugestcd dr rlptlon The navel must be mttrui live The I matter ol fiction have hern do ihenllve ly dtdacik Human never Inlited more mronily on Ood duly Immortal iv the uliifulnwi of tin and Ihe bwuly of Iinhnen than the liberal and ante tic ro cra imui accept and Inilti on them Ubtl the nnul ol the work What end doe rlv1 With what tiiiilt doe 0 It treat t human nature In what tone In what mnxl doe II 1 le ve Ihe reader are qu lion every ciillc wlllatk in pmlng juci nnt on a book lllc li I the great tcnool ol ni kind Ifa novclltt wlihei lomipir great liuih he merely reprenent that portion of Ille which exhibit hio Irulh and the more Uithtully Ihe more aril lically and didait cally Ily ju hclou election he preenl noble ttandardi of character and noble leitont ol llvlnx 1 hI good novel add lo our 11 luleflec uul force It II I ol Ihe literature ol iio er ai well ao of the Illeralure ol knowledge To a wealth of wit and wUdom u add a I readlh lo our knowledge know-ledge of men and thing of all time Vherfverwecolorlthe bare lac tol lng II lull dr Seoulh lliilory the liigltnd and Scotland which we know are learned in Oickent and lr Ihackeray and Ueurge iiiot and Walter Scott In ilorylelllnit a clleerlnl countenance counten-ance work wonder A tory u attractive attrac-tive only hen told bilghlly Humor i warm pleatant natural Wuhoul Ihe tMikleol I uil and Ihe genial glow I III eao tl ol humor ea novel I unnatural and re pillant Takejjlmlromtlie J Autucrat iiul how much ol the glow would diiap pear Kv 011 thai boy wall hit popgun pop-gun could I not lie ipared A good novel i fJa a murli a potiible keep the reader m good clean lompam Men and their live are not lo he I pre I tented in fiction juil ai the anwih no ilcuton no Iderftiimg II Ihe ha < e and morally deloriued ai pear n niut be to make liideoui liirir baoencn mil deformity ully Ialr would be Intolerable on any oilier principle The unwhoieftomene heap ena llonal and much ol the reanxic fiction Iea in making ui keep company lth illr weakminded or vlcioui women oru > l prlggUh I I I and irreiolute men In i proiwriion at Hie novelut mlml Urlch noble familiar with lolly idea Mild the Ito cci mind receptive lit their Influence In-fluence will the novel partake of the nature of and csert the influence of a work ol an Imall the lie novel mutt preient beamy ol literary woikminthip foully literary 111 le deimcu Irredeemably from Ihe turn nf all otlur encelleiKe Inlelliueni reader love Unwell lor 1111 dar vigoroui muitcal Kngllth Hardly a page in the work ol any great RlAolell ol fiction II i not carefully or ked up More than Irom any other kind ol prote writer we have li right lo eiuct Irom the novelut u diction clear I rclhle tlegant l a corutiuclioii I varied 1 h Mitiinl and A rhlhni and cadence vtll tout oIK nee |
