The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1879-10-23
ABOUT WRITING.
BAD FASHION AND TRICKS OF
STYLE-RICHARD GRAN1 WHITE
ON APPRECIATION,
New York Times.

ON APPRECIATION,
New York Times.
There are fashions in writing 5aere
are in dress, and in almost ess; ys1ing
that pertains to the personslit Omen.
And by fashion l do not mean style,
either that which distinguishes the indi
vidual, or that which marks period
The latter may be called fashion more
properly than the former. For example
the old way of writing prose, cumbrous
Lonesome, and involved, which prevailed
between the Elizabethan period aud the
time OF Dryden-who did more for En-,
glish prose than be did for English
poetry-was a fashion. Dryden, and af.
ter him Addison, killedit; and We may
be sure that it will rever come to lie
again. But it was not style; il in no
way expressed any mental peculiarly OF
the writer. He merely adopted it, just
as he put on the hst and coat OF the
period. The change of fashion which
gave US the modern, free and varied
manner of prose writing was very great
change as great as that from velvet and
lace ruf1es and big wigs in the dress of
men to wooden stufs and sober colors,
natural hair and simplicity. Since then
there have been some changes in literary
fashion of minor i'm portance. The great
est of these was the introduction of the
Johnsonian vocabulary and period. This
fashion, happily, soon passed away. Hav-
ng in it a radical element of absurdity,
when assumed by these whose thoughts
needed strength rather than imitation or
decoration, it became ridiculous. Then
came the fashion of elegant language,
and the sway of pedants and
psrsers. This was broken down
chiefly by the prose writing of
Walter Scott, aided large oz she
Edinburgh Review writer's, s1d By
Wilson ard others in Blsckwood. !sso!t,
the most vivid Of all narrative ,,,,.siSars,
the master story-teller of modern days.
was an inexact writer; one who cared very
little for rule of any kind in language,
and who thought nothing about the
grammatical construction o hissentences,
even lfhe knew anything upon the sub
.ject, which is more than doubtful. His
influence, which was for freedom, entirely
changed the fashion in narrative style;
and it affected prose style in all other
kinds of writing. Mscaulay, the next
succeeding great writer of English prose,
although his style was peculiar and highs
ly characteristic, cannot be said to have
set any fashion in writing. He presented
the singular union of splendor with
precision. His style cannot be called
chaste, and venture to say that it can
hardly be called manly style, so dis.
turbed is it with consciousness; but yet
amid all its striving-generally success
1ul striving-after striking effects and
imposing orms, it is exact, correct. AT.
ter all, its perfect clesrness is its highest
beauty, although perhaps not to every
reader its chiefest charm. But the
trick of Macaulay's writing is hard to
catch, and he has had no successful imi-
tators and has set no fashion. It were
well if be had more followers in the per-
fectly clean and clear construction of his
sentences; but even then, clearness is not
b fashion.
= 1t is not upon such changes as these
Fhat L propose 10 remark, but upon Ger
Faln rather new.fangled forms of expires.
'sion which seem to me affected and not
fellcitous. The first of these which I
shall bring up is a change in the position