The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1883-06-10

ufKIOT DOUyuDU0UN ~ - WUxOs - 0SnssS
man. ue was Of pafRlslAA and even iilustrious
iinesee, aad b was edueated ct Elton. ths
school which. in the early part Of the eishteen0
century ~ In our own day. vas particularly
favored by the aristocrHcy. The result was
that Fielding being rs wen born and bred Q
man a. there was In England. did not regard
the So called higher orders with Walter SCOTS
yeneration, with Dickens's spiteful animosity.
or with the shame faced hankerings only par
tialiy concealed behind ThAckerny Sc xtravasant
rrilings against snobisn. Henry Fielding was
perfectly qualified to draw man or woman OF
quality. and he drew them whenever he had
use for such percentages ON hts canvas. But
for the most part hs preferred to seek subjects
Of portraiture In the middle and lower classes
not because. as In the case Of Dickens. he knew
at flrst hand no other strata OF society. but
because. after studying the world In all It's
aspects. he had perceived that the most arti-
hcinl people are the least picturesque and In.
teresting or In other words. the loast adapted
for didacic or artistic purposes. George Eliot
arrived at tho same just conclusion. though shs
reached it'seemingly by intuition rather than
experience.
Another noteworthy characteristic 81 Fielding
10 that while he brought to the work OF novel
writing. on which he entered In middle age. q
wider observation OF life than may b attrb-
while he fails below Cervantes. he may be Tx.
ened to Balzao aB regards the knowledge OF
men acquired ut nrst haad by personal scru-
tiny-he was also. in q broad and emphatic
sense. a scholar No other English novelist OF
high grade with the exception OF George
Eliot. whose requirements moreover. were
rather scientific than schoiastic) can vie with
him in this respect. Scott. for instance. could
read German at a time when acquaintance
with that language was reckoned species OF
accomplishment. and no seems to have been
more or less familiar with the easier Latin
authors. OF course. too. he read French with
out difficulty. Thackerny. on his part.
was profoundly conversant with contemporary
Fronch literature. and could quote glibly
enough from such Latin poets as IRE most as
siduousiy read at school and college. To
| Dickens wo need not say that tho
classic languages were completely sealed. and
| his ignorance OF history and OF all
arts except those OF the novelist ana the
actor. we're ludicrousiy and even painfully re-
venled in his Letters from Italy Fielding
on the other hand. had not only thorough
knowledge Of the literary languages OF Europe
| and especially Of Spanish and French. but his
reading In I.atin literature was wide and vari-
Gus. far transce nding tho measure OF SCOTS
or Thackeray's attninmcnts In this field. and
he WAS an admirable Crock scholar a. a time
,rhen H.llonic learning was very .upcracinlly
cu,tiyat.d M the English universities. In his
wilder days Fielding read Aristophanes with
| as much delight and fncity NJ most men OF
~. ,rnr,d woulJ road .Gu Blas and we have
tis AVN on,ho,itv for tina statement that he
hna formed bis style ON that OF Lucian. OF
! whose dialogues by the way. MIR. Dobson has
disooyared that ha n, ope time protected n
,ro,s,otion those who nrprscinto both au-
thnrs ANN r,easurc what English literature
,.o,,,', hsv,, sain.d in a vor.ion Of "Lucian -
~, ua,rr Tiaiding
,n.s .,s,z n.,, ,,o ,,,,,.,,,,, ,or,ro,, -,
49,. a.. ,sond',"r .totch drawn nv
.'us , ."o ,,,nr ~. noyo,st =
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ucath' anu WHICH n'u ill., u" Wv . ~,
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ms me- N,," n,' ,,, WIZ s,,,....h ,r diaoa.s
~. "' Mr n,,I"n Sn1. I, Jin,cul,
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80, ~ , ," ,ha hioh.nrc,'es Homon nosa
. '.'.,, 80 ~. .';os n.,ros.n,oh li, ,h.