Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-01-04
Literary Style.
HOW IT SOMETIMES INTERFEREs WITH THE IN
TEREsT OF STORY.

Literary style.
HOW IT SOMETIMES INTERFEREs WITH THE IN
TEREST OF A STORY.
From the Athenaum.
Why is it that a writer like Mrs Lynn Linton
sometimes will fail to achieve the convince
ment" that is the story teller's quest bv the
mere excellence of the style as literature? If
could answer this question we should
answer many other questions connected with
it, we should also see why prose fiction is so
ephemeral as compared with poetry. STYLE is
the one preservative of all literature. and vet
the prose fiction that effeetually 'convinces''
can only bear certain amount of literary
wealth. Those numbering. long winded para
graphs which make the opening pages of
Hdcertey read like an authentic record by dull
dry-as-dust chronicler are, no doubt bad
enough as literature; but when at last the story
really does open-when the greatest romaucist
the world has ever seen begins to warm to his
work-these early chapters which We found so
tiresome have lent the authenticity of
history to the romantic incidents. Their
very lack of style has aided In the artistic
CONFINEMENT" the great magician sought.
On the other hand. so perfect may be the turn
of q story teler's sentences, SO faultless and so
dazzling may be his epigrams, that we decline
to give more than partial credence to charac-
tiers and scenes presented with such clamorous
and gratuitous and literary excellence. There
is no need to glance here at those contempo-
rary French writer's whose vogue extends from
X
novelist OF our own country, who. few years
ago, was one of the most prominent figures i'm
literary London. There was in Douglas Jerrold
enough of intellect. enough of fancy and wit
and every kind of literary wealth to have set up
a score of writers like ANTHONY Trollope: but
unfortunately for Jerrold a moraiist. he had
become the acknowledged chief of the London
wits OF his time and the impersonation of Punch
OF that day. Hence 1t is no exaggeration to say
that st. Giles and st. James," "A Story of
Il
smothered and destroyed by the brilliance of
the literary form in which the characters and
incidents are presented-that very quality, in
short. the lack of which aided in giving Troll
lope his power of confinement" and the I'M
mense popularity that came therefrom. One
may be too clever. 1t seems, to tell a story.
A CANADIAN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT Dis
oUALIrIED.-The Hon. James McShane. men,
Der of parliament. for Montreal Quebec and
ex-minister OF Crownland, was yesterday dis
qualified by the Dominion superior court for
seven years from sitting in parliament. He
was charged with corruption in the recent
election IN La Prairie, where he distributed
Doodle to the electors.
AMERICAN STUDENTS STRIKE.-The author
tiles of the st. Theresa college in Canada ex-
PEELED New York student named Robinson
cans struck and marched to Montreal. refusing
to return unless Robinson was taken back. 1t
is believed at Montreal that the college will
back down and Robinson go back.
SwINDLING TIE SOUTHERN NEGRoEs-Mr. ].
L. Taylor. general passenger agent Richmond
and Danville railroad, is engaged in exposing
the plans of ope l.. G.. Read. of San Francisco,
in swindling the negroes of the south. His
scheme is to obtain money from them by rep
resenting that he would bring them out to Cali
fornia for s6.45 each, children under fifteen
years of age free. The circular is signed by
the California Land and Labor company and
forty thousand were found in his trunk when
arrested few days ago in San Francisco.
BRUTAL ASSAULT on 4 GIRL WITH AN AYE
A young German girl named Dora Eisenbecs,
at Berea village, near Cleveland, Ohio, was as
saulted and nearly killed yesterday morning by
man who first attempted to outrage her. She
went to the chicken-house to feed the fowls,
when the fellow, who was concealed in the
building, assaulted her. She screamed for help
and he struck her with an axe, inficting eight
severe wounds on the head. The girl viii prob
ably die. Her assailant escaped, but il IL be-
Heved that he viii be caught.