The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1886-03-20
WEBSTER'S BOOK.
The Cold, Dispasslonate Work of tho
Great American photographer.
L. SUMMER

The Cold, Dispassionate Work of tho
Great American photographer.
Mr.. Webster, no doubt had the best
command of languages of any American
author prior to our day. Those who have
read his ponderous, but rather discon.
nected, romance known as Webster's I'M
abridged Dictionary, or "How One Word
led on to Another, will agree with me that
he was smart, and never lacked for a word
by which to express himself He was a
brainy man, and good speller.
1t would ill'becOme me at this late day to
criticise Mr.. Websters great work-a work
that is now in almost every library, school.
room and counting-room in the land. 1t
is great book But have often heard it
said, and so do not state it solely upon
my own responsibility, that Mr. Websters
books do not retain the interest Of the
reader all the way through. lie has tried
to introduce too many characters, and so
we can not follow them all the way
through. 1t ID good book to pick up and
while away an idle hour with, perhaps; but
no one would cling to it night and day
until the fire went out, chained to the
thrilling plot and the glowing career OF the
hero.
Mr.. Webster was most assurcdly brill
liant writer and | have discovered in his
later editions $4,000 words, no two of
which are alike. This shows great 1uency
and versatility, it is true, but 1--we need some
thing else The reader waits in vain to be
thrilled by the authors wonderful word
painting. There is not thrill in thewhole
to me. had heard so much of Mr.. Web
OF bat wi | I 7
was disappointed. 1t is.cold, methodical,
and dspassionate in the extreme As | said,
however, it is good book TO pick up for
the purpose OF willing away an idle mo-
ment and no one should start out on u
long journey without Mr.. Webster's tale in
his pocket 1t has broken the monotony
OF II many a tedious trip for me.
Mr.. Webster's Speller was a work OF lesa
pretensons, perhaps, and yet it had an i'm
mense sale. Eight years ago this book had
reached a sale of 100000, and yet had
the same grave defect. 1t was disconncct-
ed, cold, prosy and dull.
| read it for years, and at last became q
close student OF Mr. Webster's style; yet
| never found but one thing in the book
that was even ordinarily interesting, and
that was a little gem. 1t was so thrill
ing in its details, and so dramatically
different from Mr.. Webster's style, that [
have often wondered whom he got to
write it for him. 1t related to the dis
covery OF boy by an elderly gentleman
in the crotch of an ancestral apple tree,
and thefeeling of luminosity that sprangup
at that time between the boy and the elder
ly gentleman.
Though have been close student OF
Mr.. Webster for years, / am free to say,
and do not wish TO do an injustice to
great man in doing so, that his ideas OF
literature and my own are entirely dis
similar. Possibly his book has a larger
sale than NINE but that makes no differ
ence. When | write book it must en-.
gage the interest OF the reader and show
some plot to it. 1t must not be crliv in
its style and scattering in it's statements.
know it is great temptation to write d
book that will sell, but we should have
higher object than that.
do not wish to do an injustice to
man who has done so much for the world,
and one who could spell the longest word
without hesitation; but l speak OF these
things just as | would expect people to
criticise my own work-BM Nye, in Louis
vile COuricr-JOurnaL