West-Jersey pioneer., 1867-06-21
SENSATIONAL LITERATURE.


portions, seems to be built upon the
model OF the sons of Ia belle France. It
Is OF but little consequence as to whether
1t is true, still less consequence as to the
moral influence it conveys, but absolutely
essential that it should be of that highly
exciting kind that is now denominated
sensational. In the windows of any book
store, or the table Of any side walk vend-
er OF books, in the arms of the paper
boys who go through the cars, and
indeed everywhere, where books are sold
the highly colored covered volumes, and
more highly colored incidents inside
them are offered for sale, and more gener-
ally purchased than any other. It is
difficult to assign reason why fctions
untrue to nature, should command more
favor than those which really illustrate
life and the philosophy of mind, but still
the fact remains. This perverted taste
affects all the departments of our reading
and even the Sabbath School, where the
taste should be cultivated in harmony
with the relatives and facts of actual life,
is no exception. Sensational stories are
more highly priced here among the
children than are any other, and it is
difficult to get our incipient men and
women to take out book from the libra
ries, unless it partakes this character
1t is of not the least consequence what
the story is about, whether it represent
hair breadth escapes in battle, or the fall
of virtue, if it is only sensational it will
be read, and if not, it will lie unread
upon the shelves So strong is this
tendency becoming that it is engaging
the serious attention of the leading minds
of the church, and is recognized by them
as serious evil, so much so that in
almost every Sabbath School convention
it is made matter of discussion The
evil is not, in their estimation, that the
stories are 6ctions, but that they are fic-
tions of character which give false
views of life, and excite passions and
appetites whose only tendency is evil,
and thus convert one of the best institu-
tions in the land, into a vehicle of posi-
tive evil. Often, too, these books are
made the occasion of positive injury to
reputable individuals. Some floating
nighborhood story, probably originated
in malice, Of but little consequence in
itself, is seized upon by some sensation
writer, its facts distorted and colored
largely beyond even the malicious story
itself, woven into permanent form, and
given to the world in book, which once
published, can never be really recalled.
Our attention has been called to this
aspect Of the case, by reading a book
published some years since. as Sabbath
School volume, entitled the "Fatal
Feud" The book has been placed in the
libraries of different denominations, cir
culated, in thousands of volumes, over
the country, and is purely of this sensa-
tional type. The moral that it inculcates,
if any, is more than neutralized by its
style, and it is not likely that the relig-
ious proclivities of the children, who may
read it, would be increased by its perusal.
The scenes are laid in the southern parts
dents professedly occurring during the
war of the revolution. Names and local
tiles are freely used, and in such a man
ner as to infict lasting disgrace upon
many of the individuals described in its
pages, by associating with them acts of
the vilest infamy, when, SO far as can be
found, the most of these alleged actions
are the result of the purest invention
The family principally described in the
book were named Pagan, and the author
of the book states that the most of the
incidents recorded in the book were OBJ.
tanned from the lips of the last represen.
tative of the family. Happening to be
in the neighborhood not long since, our
attention was called to the case by Mr..
Pagan himself, who pronounced the book
an unqualified falsehood. The work
starts with the assertion that licencious
ness especially prevailed through Jer-
sey during the war, which few of the peo-
pie of our section will be willing to ad-
NIT. The book states that the Fagans
bore the appellation of Tories, when the
facts were that two at least of them were
in the American army, and there is no
knowledge, beyond mere rumor, that any
one of them was engaged upon the other
side. The terrible scenes of blood and
slaughter, recorded in the book, have no
vouchers either in our country's history
or the traditions Of the village. One, at
least, of the individuals, called Philip
Fagan, recorded in the book, as killed by
the patriots, by the slow process of star
walton, certainly possessed an excellent
character in the neighborhood, and lived
long after the war was over, and was the
father of family Of reputable children.
The description of both his character
and death, in the book, is both revolving
and narrowing, and yet both are certainly
untrue. Some of these parties are rep
resented as emigrating to the west in
order to escane the odium attached ia