, 1873-11-30
LITERARY APES.


the occupants bad Inst isod ID.
~------o~--
LITERARY APES.
Aftor man has exhausted not only hiB oner-
Cca, but hfa ingenuity, In trying to dovtao aoma
way BY which he coil for o momont please An
iusatiato public, nnd at tho ammo time. put into
hts own pocket some OF that " filthy 1uore 30
oepsablo, at ttmea, to us all, and whom ho has
1t last, through accident or design, stumbled
| Upon tho very thing for which tho world las
boon waiting 30 long. It Becma hardly just for
| another man, equally nnxiouo, equally impo-
cunious, but not equally fortunate, togo dcltber-
atoly to work and attompt to perpetrato infrlngo-
mouts upon his patent.
Now, the patent isn't In ituelf anything re-
rnarkable 1t Ia simple, plaln, bat right to tho
point. It flattors the public by assuming that
tho public know what 1t wnntod, and adds to the
comfort Of tho inventor becaMso ho Aas been
| ablo to supply tho want. Tho complicated things
are not, wo know, the things calonlatol to give
tho 1nost pleasure to tho consumers aid IL Is,
perhaps. because thoy aro 80 uitnplo aa,d the mn
| teriais Of Which acceptable artices are mnde a1e
to be had at our vory doors, that we nil Imagine
| thoro lies within ourselves a latent inventive
! faculty far eurpaseing that Of our lucky no'gh-
! world. =
Az It is with mechauical Inventions, % 1t is
With literary novelties. No sooner dooH Bret
Harte, ont Of an experience IL, and observation
OF, wild Western lifo. evolve incldontB 80 full Of
rough and rugged beauty, md awcct, tondor,
! touching pathas, that We Ill stop to road. and
wonder, aud admire, than dozen aHpirarts aftor
similar honors assume m initiative attitude, aud
prepare to compel a division of tho "claim." "
Happily, tho public In, In tho main, able to dis
| corn between paBto and diamonds though occa-
| eionslly ono Of these Itorary monkeys worms
himself into local faTor and travels of with the
spoils.
sinoo tho Daubury .Ne1ns nan canlo upon the
| Bcene as q lumuribt, Reo how many poople thoro
are who havo Just discovered what 'an inex-
ha'lstlblc fund Of genuine tlrollory ia wrapped
! hits thcy havo mnde in timoH past! How etupid
Of them not to hayo preserved thcRe specimens
Of Wit and entirol
Why, sir, Mark Twain, Bret Harso. Bailey,
John Paul, and dozonR Of others whom the pep
plo aro foolish enough to beltove possessed Of q
distinctive Individuality, havo mover said auy-
thing remarkable after all,-nothing more tha1a
you aud say md hear every dny Of our lives.
sheir time to it,-.that's whero tho secrot is.
You foster my tendency, you put any plant into
hot-houao:, and 500 II you don't got atupsnd-
Gus growth"
| not I incline to tho negative Of tho question
but you, rnarvolously -honeBt old CRITIC, hayn't
you sense enough to 500 that tho old cooking
! receipt said to exist in q book that nobody oyer
| applies to ideas as wol ?
Nobody evor pretended to say that thcao peo-
ples thoughts run In channels worry different
from our own; II such wcro tho caso they
not so popular;. but everybody admits that
they have d dolioiously funny way of aaying tho
commonost things; it'a that manner which We
all admire. aud some Of ns try to initiate. :.
would BE- L we ddut tryl parhsps these stpe Pee
pie havo, na you say, only made popular hit"
and, by fortunate combination Of ciruum-
stances, succeeded i'll filling inches hitherto va
as he proves his ability to hold It by evidence as
conclusive aa that which he ia furnishing ua ut
preBonta
places somewhere; but 1t is, to gay tho least
little ungrac1ous, little OUT lnsto, to attempt
to alp into somebody elsoH place. Why can't
we bo content to be one Of Prof. Mathowa
"foolH"7
1havo boen drawn into this field without any
special effort Of my OWN but shall always
count it a. one Of the proofs that the ways Of
Providence no inscrutable for tho reason that
q TsnrLeaf has dono it. Boana nights slnco, I
was donocraticelly journoyng homcward. after
ublquitoua Observation-Disclosures entorod the car,
aud generously bestowed upoa uB all the advor-
tisenent Of 8 tea-hrn. Three things beiug q
| matter Of principle with me,-noyor to refuse a
tract, card, or circular, proffercd mo at street.
| corner or anywhere olse ; never to leave q lcc-
tura or sermon till it ia finished aud alwaya to
pay my washerwoman,-I took what tie child
gave. and, with truly national Instinct to hold
fast what Tgot, olutchod it tanaciouHty to dud it
In my hand as struggled for my la!oh-koy.
=. a ehanco look afterward revealed to mo TINT
there was 8 Helection belonging to tho class
whioh I havo boen conaomning, aud 10 lnai-
ctously inconsistent werc tho matter aud tho
I5A1a That r1ttfH f1rt fr1f f5try.r uAd
the customary oulogy Of the engineer. Why on
gineorH aud pilotH should be exalted to tho
| poetlcal heights which have beon ncoorded thon,
| has always boon query with mo. can 500 no
to which tho writer itchos to give yeut finds freor
| expression through ono who, aa all acknowledge,
| ia skilled In tho art Of giving us condensed md
forcble English. The specimen to which al
| luda would Introduce to ua an angtneer convar-
SAINT with Tennyaon, even to the quoting point.
| We cannot glve any valid reason why ongtuoera
may not road Tonnyson; hut our observation
toaohes ua that il Is not customary recreation
IDENTIFY tho modal for this effort. ! am 1ad to
confess my preference for the original, BIAS
phemous as IL la according to aomo autAoritics,
though, Il any authority eau ahuw mo q botter
tour llnea Of the production, ! will confcss my
anaehtaanesa. It aeema unfair in auy orttio to
call John Hay IN imitator Of Bret Harte,
Then there there y really % r9ry lhtlo ,,Ian,i: ei%t.
Or expression OF Tie two writera,-liay
being much tho moro cynical OF tho two. We,
most of us, bitterly as somo canaura it, read all
this "blasphemoua writing, and, because there
ia in y something 50 natural, 80 strong no truo,
hence got . reputation for, not higher, but Q
different, kind Of morality from what wo ACTUAL
ly poaaeaa. The day ought to haye paaaad for
al this Pu1itanionl stifrnoas, but thero's ROM
nant loft, to au appoarauoei though we aome-
| fimaa wundar IL It iHn't morbid hankerinQ After