Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-12-01

characterizes ministerial discussions on such
subjects has been shown in the treatment OF
this matter, so far as the debates have been
reported. There can be no well-grounded
objection to thorough perusal of standard
works of fiction, for with rare exceptions the
scenes depicted are drawn from real life,
and pictured with such fidelity to nature that
one cannot object to them without Directing
also to nature itself. They also teach valu-
able lessons of morality and inculcate cor
rect views of life which, probably, could not
be conveyed as efectually through any 9th
er medium. A majority of the works of
Charles Reade, too, deserve to be classed as
standard. and few convey more powerfully
those valuable truths thatare so necessary to
q correct understanding of the duties of life.
One or two of his productions may be re-
garded as of doubtful propriety Griffith
Gaunt, for instance-but as whole they
cannot be excluded from the library without
creating hiatus that cannot be filled. The
novels o. Wilkie Collins are more social and
sentimental, and the propriety of admitting
them to the family circle is debatable.
| For the ''modern novels we have no
particular affection. AS rule it
is mass of senseless and sentimental
twaddle, utterly unfit for mental food, and
pernicious in its tendency, more especially to
the young. The dranaatis 2oersoaaaa@ is sub
stantially the same in ala young lady in
love, two suitors, stern papa, a sympathetic
mamma, villain of the deepest dye, per-
| haps few female relatives or friends of the
young lady first mentioned, and generally a
married couple around one or both Of whom
the suspicion of marital infidelity hovers.
! The characters are all overdrawn. The young
lady is Of such extraordinary loneliness that
the reader expects every succeeding chapter
| to chronicle her translation to thu celestial
regions, as being too good for earth; her
lover is all that is nobility; his rival q hypo-
critical snake-in-the grass, employing every
undetermined means to win her affections OF
her hand her father brute; her mother an
imbecile; the villain one of the deepest dye,
guilty Of untold crimes; the married pair
| we'll qualified for admission to an insane
asylum, while the young lady friends of the
| heroine are party Of chatter,ng fools.
| There is nothing true to nature in the plot,
there is nothing instructive in the dialogue,
and the sensation after concluding The read
ing is that one experiences after enduring
a sweat bath and then passing out into the
chill atmosphere. These novels convey an
erroneous idea of life in its every phase,
make of love either a sport or tragedy, and
lead the reader to believe that the married
state is synonym for adultery. Such pro-
auctions of the pen--We were about to say
brain of the modern novelist are anythin G
but beneficial upon the minds of the suscep-
tible, and we would cordially unite with the
clergy in condemning them.
But there is another class of novels, some
times placed in the catalogue Of the "mod-
ern,'' to which these objections do not apply.
What are known as historical novels are
really beneficial, for they add to the
store OF knowledge of the reader i'm
perceptibly, yet with lasting effect. Who that
has read "The Scottish Chiefs can forget
the incidents there related? Though not
strictly true to history, sufficient fidelity
is usually observed to give the reader pass
ably good idea of the principal events of
the time in which the story is laid-infor-
nation which, we fear, would seldom be ac-
quired by the average reader III any other
way. Novels of adventure are also harmless
and often beneficial to the young, especially
of the masculine gender. They create in
their minds certain love for deeds of dar-
ing which makes them independent, and to
a great degree fearless of personal danger
wherever result is to be accomplished that
appears to be worthy of praise. When the
youth who has imbibed this spirit grows to
manhood he learns to avoid danger for its
own sake, yet retains the fearlessness of
| character which goes far to make marked
and successful business man or politician.
Yellow covered literature and the sensation
al modern novels of the day are harmful,
and the SUNDAY GLOBE heartily seconds the
efforts Of the clergy to discourage their
perusal, but fiction has it's uses as we'll as his
tory, and we cannot afford to exclude il en-
tirely from the home circle or the public
library.