New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-02-19
MR. CI-RTIs on ENGLISH FICTION.

Mr.. CURTIS on ENGLISH FICTION.
The first Of a series OF lectures on English Fiction
by Mr.. George William Curtis was delivered last
ev,niuc in Clinton Hail. before very large and
highly respectable audience.
Mr CURTIS said on commencing, that be could not
hope 10 mention all the works Of English fiction, for
there were but six hours allotted to him and be was
not James, of the novelists. The soy-teAer was
ALWAYS welcome. from HOmer5 tale OF Troy % Dick
eus's story of the Holly Tree Inn. Who would not
have ratL er written Robinson Crusoe than Newton's
Pripcipia How much dearer was John Bunyan than
John Calvin. To be loved by children was the best
fame. and what child did not love the tinker WHO
wrote that Sluday--koblnson Crusoe. We were per-
sonaly acquainted with the etory-teler-we grasped
is hand and enjoyed his presence. But nobody heart
beats quicker at the name of Aristotle. Every ehild
read tie Arabian Nights, and Robinson Crusoe, ana
was not that the eternal homage OF the human heart
70 Story In the boy fiction was the play OF the I'M
aginaion. In the man - the revenge oil experience
uIon in agina,ion. Fiction was the hna fact OF eX-
pere &C. Fielding Ceryantes and Scott were a. neces-
gary to history as Alexander or Frederick the Great
He lad heard solemn seeming cergymen OBJECT 70 nov
els and at the same time speak OF the beauty OF tue
parallels Mr.. Curtis read aud refuted the objections to
he fiction of Scott and Miss Bumey. All history, ie
said sC WY became fiction. The novel was as real
and a. worthy of attention ~ fine statue or 0eau-
full sunset Tie great artists deemed their ar but me
art lived Raphael painted the Crucixion and envied
the shoemaker. The old romanceB bod no relation to
the Ia ter but that Of chronology. But BITS had been
cuaried cut of them and act in modern fiction when
slowed how good they were. And they had then
critics too thew with Chaucers stories from Boccecco,
were the Chief ,adiDg Of England III their time.
From the reign of Elizabeth onward, romance became
drama 1hentl Revolution shook England to pec \,
and Charles III. brought back from his exile the most
dssolute of novels. The plays of COngleve were
pictur, of oudon life then as Vanity Far IL OF 1t
now; but while Congreve's play tended, and was IT,
tended to confirm that state Thackeray shovel tended
to correct them. The fault of these plays was Their
In this lpy their mbanCe TO
the mod, IN novel. They held the mirror up to nature,
but It was to debauchcd nature, and they held 1t up
with delight. Tie restoration led to blSotry anu
arotborreyolution. Out of the wreck OF polite, arose
Rygorous Government and out OF the leesOf dtbGlch-
cry healthy lite nature. The measure OF literature was
its resrect FOR woman. II was in literature ana art
that We locked for social progress and in the deep re-
su,ct for woman shown by the Old essayiss We saw
great advance. The De COvery papers were short
and few but they presented perfect character The
pathos as in Oldbuck was only limited at; 1t lay IN
each like immortal sadness behind smlei ahd
this was written only fifteen years aier ConsreVe anu
Nychelley. Tom Jones was not more justly conceived
II an Sir Roger De Coverly; yet he was at best but
sketch of character. A novel was an advancing
play OF light and passion. Macauay thought that AZ,
Olson might have written the best novel but II
WAS impossible 10 think Of Addison writing
novel He had nothing OF that vagabond
air and that readiness to associate with eVeryUouy
which characterized all uoyests. But while Addison
WAS finishing the eighth volume OF that work which no
ran could have done better, man was standing IN
tLe pjuory who when he came down and was broken
as n politican. wrote the story which was the most
p.ruhnen, contribution TO literature OF his time.
There could hardly be greater difference between
two creations than between Cfusoe and CULVER
Robinson CrusOe was the average man, ana he ex-
cited our sympathies; CULVER, whether among the
Brobdignags or the Lliputians excited nothing but
contempt. These books, with the Pilgrims
Progress and Sir Roger de Coverly, were the four
stories of THEN age. Richardson was wnat
/ called a good boy at -cl COL and told stories, which
be- declared had ways n good moral. Pamela was
written in three months, and five editions sold magyar
But when once be asked literary friend OF bis II She
bad ever read Pamela she replied, UNCONSCIOUS oil Tue
satire TINT she had never been long enough where II
was to fnish IT, In the days OF slow coaches, prob
ably there was time to read his stories Miss Hannah
More was said to have learned from them those prn-
cples Of piety by which her life was distinguished
she must have bushed while she was learning her
pictv His novels studies OF manners anu Gus
ioms His books as unreadabe a. Fieldlngs
ON the tcore Of prOprety, and beside, they were
u,osy pedantic and uninterestiug. iet his was one
Of the most eminent names IN modern history put ms
value was moral and not literary. No man coud read
bis novels but could fail to see the moral nero
i'm of hs position He stood amid swasn OF I'M
morality and asserted that there still such things
ns morality and decency. He represented just tue
spirit which saved England He was kind OF
duenne with great starched capyou always had that
feeling but then the world was gamesoms gIn III
his day and needed watching. by the side OF him
was greater. His books were excluded from society
for their cOarseness rather than for their immOiay.
Fielding was banshed from the library shell, and Bu-
wer lay on the parlor table lie was coarSer, bat
more moral than Bulwer. And, indeed, we would be
kelier to invite NephisOpheles in patent leather to
our table than the king Of the Cannbal Islands bare
foot Fielding was cOarse, but not immoral the fresh
manhness helped more than the coarsene5s lamed.
And the coarseness belonged to the times Richani-
sons Pamela was recommended from the pulpit, but
no man would read it to hi family now. lie would
not recon mt nd any to read Tom Jones, but we
should bury him not without tear remembering Tue
sympathy and charity, the sweet wit and fluent magn,
Al ION the good sense and the human heart we should
loose With Richardson and Fielding the English
novel began. Smollet was kind Of lesser Fielding;
be was one Of the poorest noyelsts in Englsh tera-
ture After bin there came many ladies' and Others,
whose names were long since buried in the blograph
cal dictionary. Only the Vicar OF Wakehed and
Rasselas, which were not novels, and Miss Binneys
which were, had survived. With our century came
Mr. Edgeworth ard Sir Walter Scott, with whom the
new novel mounted the throne. And no man need
suupCse that the world wearing out when his
own century hsd produced Washington, Goethe, and
Napoleon. No man need feel that he vas born oolate
wien. g. Thackeray concluded the greatest novel OF
society that had ever been written, Dickens took up
the VonGTous tale.
The lecture was frequently interrupted by applause
and occupied an hour.
BOARD OF ALDERMEN