Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1869-04-22

mate child was given his estates. ani hi.
! Legitimate son seems 70 have been change
beyond rec" ->it;on by some strange and
terrible medical process.
THE NovEL novel is emphati,
cally modern production it WAS un
known not only to the anceats. hut to
some of the brightest periods Of English
( literature The decline Of the drama,
and the heroic romanre was followed by
this last dcvelonmant Of the imaginative
art, and from 1741, when Richardson
the father of the English novel, publish
cd his Pamella" to the present time. has
! grown in power and inf Iencr, until It i.
the rival OF the newspaper press for su-
premacy in popular taste. Tha rapid
! growth in popular favor Of the noval is
paraleilei in the history Of both tho an
cient and moieru drama. After perio
of about one hundred years, the Attic
drama snnk. and was revived no more.
and the English drama lived about a cen
tury aud half Is tho novel destihc
to the same fate7 A century has elapsed
since Pamela" first appeared. AMI il
! that period tho novel has had many Vi
cissitules. Richardson, Fielding, Smol-
let aad Sterue were succeeded BY host
! IF novel writors, who rejecting n ere l.
/ it\apon the art. di much to degra le il.
The fctions Of Mackenzie, Dr. Moore.
Mss Barney. and Cumberland, though
/ greatlW superior to the ordinary run ot
novels of that period, exercised but lit
. tie rfuence on the national taste. an
did nothjnA to stem the torrent Of wretch
Ell morality Af,ctcd and riiicllou5 s,0-
timenta'iSn, Nye aud honor, mau Hin
ana dri,illine IN conception. that A2olc
the circulating library Of Enslanl from
the Minerva PrcssN Apologjsiag for d.
recting attention to Me- novel Lori JEFF
frey says. In my yo,lth, writings of this
sort were rated very low with us-scar' 'e-
ly allowed, indeed, to pass a. pert Of a
nafion's permanent GteFattre-anl gen
erally deemed altogether unworthy Of
any grave critical notes. Now in truth
in spite OF Cervantes ana Ls .Sage-lnl
Narrvau1. Rossaau. and Vol thiro, abroad
-ani even our own RlchArdsou and
Fielding, ii home-wou'd II Rsye Raen
easy to c1ntrovert that opinion. fr-4--r-
England, At that time. For srtain'y\a
greater mass Of trash and rubbish neyo7
dis.caced the press Of any cQGntry, than
the ordinary novols that filed AMI sup
ported our circulating lbr,ries down
nearly to the time Of Miss Elgevorth's 5
FIST appearance There had been the
Vicar Of Wakc6.li, to be sure, bs.orc !;
and Miss Bmncy's Eyeina and Cecilia
AMI Macken1ios Man Of Feeling, and
some bolder and varied fctioas Of the
Misse, Lee Bat the staple of our novel
market was beyond Imagination, despi-
cable, and had consequently sunk and de-
graded the whole departmen. Of literature !,
of which it had occupied the name"
The last half century has been rioh and
prolific IN prose 6ction; Sir Walter Scott
raised the novel from tie degraded posi-
ton into which it had sunk under the
debasing Influence OF the Minerva press,
Under hi. wonderful toucl the public
taste IN lerwent rapid and lm7or-
.ant chl lge 1t is law of our nature
that recreation AMI amusement ar3 a.
necessary to orr mind az exercise to our
body. and in this light Sir Walter Scott
must b. viewed as one of the greatest
beneisctoEs Of his species. Hs supplied
a copisus and almost exhaustlass source
Of amusement, s. innocent as It IS dellght-
full He revived the glories Of past ages,
illustrated the landscapes AMI history OF
his native country; painted the trIunphs
of ea,riotisn and virtue. and the mean
ess and vice Of misery; awakened our
best and kiniest feelings IN favor Of suf-
tering anl erring hunanity-of the low
born aud psrsecuei. the peasant. the
beggar, and the Jaw, he hs. furnished
an intellectual banquet as rich as 1t IS
various and picturesque. from hi. c1ri-
on. learning, extens We observation. fO--
gotten manners, and declyjug super, ii
tous-the whole cmbcllishad with the
lights of = vivid iuagination. and a cor
rect aud gracefully regulated TASTE. In
the number and variety Of his conceptions
and characters, Sc)tt is ent..ed to tlke
his seat beside thu greatest masters OF
uStl u S1me nave 6ACttiGI IN IN par
tcuiar qualities of the novelist. 51t 1ao
in their harmonious and ric4 com5.a4-
ton
Mlnv others followed in the d.rss;i9n
wAcl 500. led, AMI gathered up the
scattered ira a5msnts OF antiquarian re-
search and historical incident Nj Hor-
ace Smith, J. p f. James, Sir Elwrrd
LyttoG BlIwar, Tnacherly, and many
others of talent AMI genius came forward
to extend the usefulness and influence ot
prose fe,ion. aud TO paint ths manners
and customs sf other times and countries
In this country Irving and Cooper de-
picted tha character aud natural features
OF It's tr4okless forests, lakes, wild Indian
tribes and ancient settlers. Theodore
Hooh Sc: forth the manners Of high life,
and the riliculoas aad awkward assumo-
ton OF taen by persons In tas middle
Taaks, ani d;si = victim to the very tol.
lies spi yio1s hs slt!r:ssi a2i giiio1.ed.