Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1859-07-12
THE INTELLIGENCE

nave number of the New York Centyr,
oe'ore US which has well written article coIIa5
p"rSohs and novels" 1t is curious sort or -,
a'Uc'e' out contains great deal that we venture
"aS often occurred, perhaps, in different doos
10 readers Of English works of fiction. If seems
10 oe tne idea Of the author to prove that there
a'e really no novels on domestic life, having in
them good moral germs, outside of England 60
Tar as European fiction is concerned In sne,l.
ing oil novels illustrative of domestic liG. in
france and Germany, he says that
When French novels are all that mor,,ist
coulo wish them to be, they are wearisome IN
.ue extreme; and German novels, which are al
pooI oeyohd description, sink into abiect
'lu"ity "hen the author is riding his best horea
The author seems to consider that the groot
charm OF English novels of a domestic kind are
tue clerical characters which appear in them.
and the reason why such an clement does NOT
ana cannot enter into the composition of n
French novel Of this kind is that
a priest is an object of such unCeioned nh.
nofence to most literary Frenchmen. that thev
would as soon think of introducing a picknockSt
as an aboe among their drumutis 1,ersoDg The
clergy OF the Romish Church are also cnt off
oy their position from their sphero nr fooI;no.
which is the stronghold of domestic romonca cT.s
a German pastor is too humble, dusty and sno.
KY, 100 cottuSer sort of person, to be bronpht
with elect into novels that are to sucroaI ~
circulating libraries ~
In England all this is different and for chic
reason:
Clergymen are especially attractive Co ,o.,,a..
and, indeed, if she does not mind a little hum.
drum iusSlncSs clergymanis is generally all that
the ordinary English girl can desire The par.
IS thnrnF FO1.oo r
written by Indies. OF course, when there is n
direct exposition of the lady's theological creed
clergyman Is the most convenient SDOkoSmaD.
but this is nneXceptional, and usually the nnr
son has to fill ia much less obvious part we
gather from ladies' novels what we might Eper
maps gather from actual eXperience-that wo.
men regard clergymen as Standing halfway
between themselves and men. They are male
undoubtedly, but then they do things and know
things that no regular men know. They ,,o
to blank ket-meetings-they know the names
OF school Girls-thcy are acquainted with the
diseases =, ana circumstances of poor people
Religious observanceS also necessarily occasion
a sort Of halEpublic life. There is excite"
ment in this, but it is safe and protected
excitement Church services, missionary meet
ngs. Bible eXpoSitiOns are at once in the world
and out of it; They involve the publicity at
tehoant on all gatherlngS of neighbors, but they
are not so public, so unreStrained so danger
ouS, as meetings of pure business or amusement.
The lady that attends them feels that there is n
barrier between her and the outer field of world
ly excitement. This sort of thingis interesting,
but ii is tranquil. Many women like this. a1i
especially the sort OF women-pensive, good,
and perhaps diSappointcd-who write domestic
novels. They naturally describe what they care
and know about, and in this Sen-public SDhere
the great man is the parSon. 1t is he who ar
ranges, lends and dispoSeS of everything. lie
fixes the times and seasons. lie can bring the
prestige of an official character, and the weight
OF vlrllc power, into the most trivial discussion
Here is a constituted authority ready to preside
over coal club. Here is a man willing to sn-
Perintend the distribution of petticoats Not
only, therefore, has clergyman ali the interest
which attaches to every one who is n cOnliLlant
of higher thoughts and spiritual aspirations,
but he is medium between the retiring novelist
and the multitude of lay, unknown, indisDutable
0card.wearing men. a lady feels herself rather
weak when she comes to the men of her story.
She knows that she is totally ignorant of their
occupations, interests and opinions. She does
not feel at her ease If she makes the soldier of
the story do more than wear a red cout and the
barrlStcr OF the story do more than wear wig
But with the clergy she is at home She can
write qures Of paper describing what they do
or say, what they arc and ought to be. She
sets the parSOn up as Il GOrked radSh, which she
can cut till it is surprisingly like man. She
thus avoids the rcPrOach which she most funrs
NO cTluc can say tlat the men IN her book are
all absurd; for there is the parson drawn to the
life, and is lie not man?
Speaking Of this characteristic of female wri.
tiers of English fiction, leads the author into a
glance at the which male writers make of
clergymen. There is something about his view
Of the case which is strikingly illustrative:
Men, when they write novels, naturally use
clergymen in different way. Perhaps the
most obvious and the most common way is to
make an imaginary parson the vehicle Of their
own secret feelings and opinions on Sc
rious and religious subjects. it needs very
little acquaintance with religious biography,
and with the published Journals of religious
men, to be aware that when persons come to
put their religious thoughts on paper, and have
any sort of anticipation that the eyes of others
will subsequently fall on what they write, they
never say exactly what they think-unlcss, in
deed they have adopted standing technical
PhraSeology, and really have no other thoughts
than those which this phraseolOgy can ex.
press 1t is not that the writer's wish to de-
ceivc, or to conceal, or to be guilty Of any
kind of trickery; but directly they at
tempt to convey to others what they feel
on the highest subjects, or OH matters bound
uD with these subjects thev are OhIiuo6 to