The Arkansaw traveler., 1889-03-23
THE COMING NOVEL.
ny JULIAN HAWTHORNE.

The new novel may he published
any day-it may already have beer
written and, although whatever else
1t may be, ii is tolerably certain to bt
quite different from any forecast of il
confess | am unable to control a
profitless curiosity on the subject
Sporting prophets expend good deal
of printers ink on speculations as tC
the probable winners of the seasons
races, and most of their prophecies are
wrong why have | not as good 8
right to speculate about the coming
novel? Everything that is to be will
be evolved out of what now is there.
fore, the data must be here, if one only
knew how to use them. Will the
novel in question throw a new light
on some of the already burning topics
of the day, or will it raise a topic Of
it's own?
Just at present there is strong
fictionsl current setting in the direc-
tion of the marriage relation, with iii
various offshoots and adiuncts. The
critics are scandalized, and the more
they are scandalized the more rapidly
does the honest, inquisitive public
buy up the editions. If there is any.
thing new to be learned about the
marriage relation the public is evi.
IDENTIFY resolved to learn it. Thus far
however, the gist of the instruction
received from this source amounts tC
affirming that the matrimonial yok,
is often an irksome one, and that i
might be expedient to either widen i
considerably or take it off altogether
and-see what happens. Now, Their,
is in these suggestions nothing dis.
tinctly original. They are stated with
a little more color and sensationalisn
than has lately been the fashion II
Anglo Saxon literature, and that is all
But not to go farther afield, one hal
recollections of young person called
Georges Sand, and of a novel called
"Indiana." The method of getting
the sexes together that now prevails
is not likely to be changed unless the
change is a very radical one indeed
Mere patching and darning and sewing
on Tor cutting Off buttons will moi
do. But If our novelist will discover
in man or woman some hitherto
unknown or unrecognized element
and will base his reform on that
something may come of it.
The communistic or socialistic ides
has also been coming to the surface il
fiction lately, but with less popular
success. The trouble with society al
this moment seems to be, not it
theory, but its practice and the fines
new bottle will not improve the flavor
of bad wine. The latter would do, i
only the spirit were not so perverse
If, however, somebody would boldly
proclaim that our forms are too GOOD
for our behavior, and that the way t.
harmony is to debase our ideals, he
would, at least, say something enter.
tanning. 1t is this doctrine of tn,
innate goodness of human nature that
makes as look 80 sceptical. Human
nature is to be subjected to no laws
because it is fitted to be q law unto
itselfl No, / fear not. Propose Il
abolish law in order to find out how
wicked we really are, and ] am ready
TO listen. That might prove q whole.
some experience. He'll, suppose, Il
place where vice no longer pays tn.
homage Of hypocrisy to virtue. But
IL Ia rather strong place to 60 to.
A lighter topic, bat one Of tolerablt
promise, Ii that Of new epoch-makine
inventions, such as Bulwer treated o.
In his "Coming Race and julie