Litchfield enquirer., 1871-08-10
OUR BOOKS.


 A taste for first class literary work is just as much 8 matter of education as a taste for first class music or painting. Hence it is very melancholy but not at all remarkable fact that those who mis- spend the most time on literary trash are those who have the least" time or inclina- ton to read anything. Undoubtedly a correct literary taste is best formed by the constant study of such works as have stood the test of time and criticism. But if time selects more iudiciously than any of us, it is unfortunately so long about it that the works it selects undergo certain amount of depreciation. The literary treasures of former generations lose much of their freshness in the process of becoming classic. Whatever belle lettres scholars may say to the contrary, the works of our own time are what we read and value most. Not only do thought and more especially wit have and more or less distasteful with the lapse of time, but it is the matter and not the manner that is of chief importance after all: and the matter of the past can never be of equal interest and importance to us with the matter of the present. It is at least as much indolence as culture that leads many "scholars" to neglect the lit- erature of their own day. This is mis- take that progress cannot afford to make; least of all in this liveliest half of the Nine- teenth Century.
 Current Literature contains, as every reader knows to his sorrow, large infu- sion of pure nonsense. more that is weak dilution of sense, and now and then work so original and valuable as to be al- most indispensable to those who wish to keep up with their times. If in any way we could detect the nonsense so that we might neither buy nor read it: if we could be allowed even taste of the weak dilutions, we should need to purchase very few of them: and if we could only know which were the really great and original works, we should naturally desire to read, re-read. and to buy them. The great diff ficulty lies in making our selections with. out the waste of much time and money in the winnowing process. A good circulat- ing library is great help. Not only does such library give the individual member the opportunity of making his own selections, but it enables community of readers to profit by each others taste and experience. With the great increase in the number of readers and in the bulk of current literature that marks our gen. eration has come necessarily greater re- liance on magazine and newspaper criti- cism for assistance in the work of selecting what we really need from mass of publica. tions few have time or opportunity to ex. anime. How many of these criticisms are the work of interested publishers, or even of authors themselves, is best known to the editorial fraternity, who are constantly re- ceiving copies of new publications, with laudatory notices accompanying, ''all o, any portion of which, if they meet thei, views" they are at liberty to publish as original!
 It has occurred to us that occasional re. views of works that the starting of a new library in this village has made us acquaint. ed with, might be of use to other dabblers in current literature; especially as we shall write without any bias of pre-. sentation copy with notices attached. Be- ginning with the last book read, we take up Mrs. Stowe's,
 PINK AND WHITE TYRANNY.
 The large sales of this book indicate ai least temporary popularity. Its taking the title almost ensures a hit of itself. Nevertheless, after pernsal, we cannot but consider it an inferior work. decidedly the weakest of Mrs. Stowe's we have ever read. The story is this: A nice young man is ''hooked" by passe watering place belle. one of the weakest, prettiest, most selfish, products of fashionable society. He mar ries her fashionably, starts life with her fashionably, pets her and indulges every Whim. Her follies and extraYagance ore