The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1880-08-04

ondeayoring 10 chow its weaknesses
they bat attract attention TO its
strength.
THE AMOUNT of literary trash that
floods the nation to day is something
absolutely appalling. This has no
reference whatever to that class gen.
orally denominated ss dime novels,
or the like; but TO the oceans that
pretend to responsibility. 1t would
no! exist if people did not want it;
and It is therefore most unfortunate
commentary on the boasted intelli-
gence and literary standing OF the
nation. Side by side on the book
shelves, with the brightest writer's OF
the age, are the emauatious of persons
who are remarkable only for spelling
decent language. Every young
woman who can write verse comes to
the conclusion that she is q poetess;
and every young man who displays
a similar capacity becomes possessed
OF like idea. So with stories and
novels. The most superlatiye and
upaitiga;ed idiocy is published under
a touching or Observation-Disclosures
the nation grasPs the title; the stufi is
purchased and read, and tender
young women and malronly old
ladies shed brine over the noble sem
timents of the handsome August
Adolphus Fel;zHeymaD, and fgu-
ratiye!y drown themselves in thu cup
of sorrows Of the lc-o-vely and unIor-
tCnste Lucy Angelina Emptytale.
Tue situations are thrilling, the sem
timents the noblest. and the charao-
ters masterpieces of all that is idiolic;
these are read dag after day, year
af;er year, and are brought forth in
every conceivable manner, but they
are always the same thing; the same
encomiums are passed upon them;
TIE same lo7eliness of character is
atlribu ted &c the heroine, the same
nobility of soul to the hero, and the
same brine shed and signs heaved
over their vicissitudes. Ever and
anon a bold writer comes out in 8
new and striking style; chs Ii. is
generally a che in these days) runs
vein Of alleged philosophy, after the
speculative school, through her story,
and when the hero is not lost in con-
.smplating things that no one can
comprehend, because they have
nothing in them to be comprehended,
the author wsdes into personal dis
serta!ions in the came strain. The
only commentator that can possibly
be made upon writers OF this style is
that they come under the well known
lines OF Pope: ''For fools rush in
where angels fear TO tread" 1t is
the same also with poets snd poet
esses; they have an idea thay are born
to fame rs poets, and every time they
are troubled with Indigestion they
think that it is inspiration and pour
forth their dismal and dreary madri-
gals by the yard. No young man
or young woman of sense ever gets
such an idea; poets are like geniuses,
they never know their capacities, but
naturally and without effort and un-
consciously impress their greatness
upon others by their inspirslional
productions or works. Yet one can
hardly blame these young people for
thinking as they do. The great pub
lie reads their thoughts OF indigestion
born, snd not enly pays for them. bat
does so with an evident relish; so that
the stuff they produce only serves to
reflect the intellectual and literary
standing OF this great country. Adj
hitting, for the sake of illustration
only, that in reading this nonsense no |
harm is done, it is still wrong. be-
cause it Is a waste OF time that could |
be prcftably employed, and waste
of time is a sin. There is nothing |
vigorous in these productions,
and the maudlin weakness in
which they are born produces
q like degenerate weakness on the
minds of those who read. Intellectual
recreation is a necessity; but there is
no moro rest for the mind in reading
such absurdities, than there is of
tore for the body by filling it with
the slops to be had and recommend
and used everywhere. There are any
number OF standard writers in this
world, writer's OF fiction and fact
and philosophy, whose produ ctions are
20 far above this inundating class, and
ia which there is 80 much more real
rest, enjoyment, strength
and vigor and Bithal profit, that zone
bot weak minded persons could /
ADVANCE the idea OF mental rest as {
-esson for reading the stuff referred J
c. A good novel is work Of art.
nd if read and appreciated properly
Fisf produce similar effect on the