The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-10-12
LITERARY LEAVES.
The LITERATURE or The PAS ]
AND PRESENT.

Sensational PORN 81 Literature The Tn
= natural Spirit OF the Present Day-n"r-
der Mystery and rhantssm-Ihe SUI
premacy of Fads.
Ofall forms OF iction the sensational
demands the most careful treatment.
There is but ,ne step from the sublime
to the ridiculous, and to the sublime
may be added the horrible, the serie,
the blood -curdling, the sensational
That step is no wider than the bridge
itself no thicker than hair, over which
the true believer passes on bis way TO
Heaven. with pit yawning below. And
inst as many peccant soul trips Stun
bles and falls. so do the sensational writ
ers p,ss over the narrow line and plunge
'headlong into bathos. 1t becomes
trick as mechanical as the pea and the
thimblo, and is no longer a weird d.
vision filing the imagination unoidden'
l. is pumped up; it does not 10"
naturally. 1t is a ghost made Out OF
turnip aud white sheet thrown ABOUT
hop-pole: it is not the silent spectre
stealing between yOuand the moonlight
the for nless horror that, like another
Gorcou Z head, turns your very heartt to
stone. Murder and mystery and the
wild phantasies OF that region when Is
neither earth nor sky; tales OF those
peoples where the men are maglciahs
and the women are superhuman III IN
sight and understanding; crimes which
have no name and soTrOws which nave
no human source: the annals OF scot
land Yard and the experiences oil Bed
lam have all been ransacked aud ex-
hausted. and nothing Is now left Tor the
later hand but the barren cleaning OF
well-hatyested fields and the Jags
and rags Of WORKOUT garments. Sensa-
tionalism is played out, and the
..shilling shocker" has run its course
But among all this chaf and rubbish
we every now aud then light on bit OF
real gold-as in that wonderful piece
Of work, "a Village Tragedy" one OF
the strongest as well as one OF the most
subtle stories Of these latter days. For
the most part, however, our fiction Is
not epoch making. and the nantes OF
Scott. Dickens. Thackeray, and George
Eliot still iluttef above our heads. COW
eriug no mans shoulders. Some young
er writer's are forging ahead, and one
ia especial has found his way TO
the front-heartily welcome for the
power and originality that he shows.
If we are not up 10 the highest
mark in fiction, neither are we
IN one class Of poems. We
have idyIs and dramas, and splendid
concerted pieces like grand orchestral
music. but we have no new songs which
stir the nations heart. Our music hall
songs, like our drawing room dItties'
are beneath contempt and need not
be spoken of. What we want are
strong, stirring, wholesome songs, such
as Dibdin wrote-sOngs which 20 down
| to the very roots Ot PATRIOTISM ana
help. even more than set Oration5, to
keep men faithful TO law and country.
In this day OF universal dislntegratlOn
and the supremacy of fads, there are 50
many who would sacrifice the good Of
the country-the integrity of the en-
pire-to some impractlcable theory
that looks like gOdly justice on
| paper. YET WOulu Dc ~ NNi NAchh
IN practice. And we want keying
up again to the one central duty-the
one passionate deyotiOn-the patriotic
love Of Englishmen for England. Let
them sneer as they will, these milk-and-
water faddist. at the lingo sentiment.
The lingo song was a godsend, and
struck the right chord boldly aud truly.
We want more Of tine same character If
on another topic. The times are ripe,
the work is waiting to be done. and a
new Dibden would be Of priceless value.
This, TOO. would be aretun OF the Now
to the Then, and one which would do
more public good than even the
fitting Of SCOTS mantle or the
GIFT Of Thackeray :. The songs
of a nation both show more and
sink deeper than would seem at first
sight. The minds which appreciated
Drink to Ne only with Thine Eyes, and
Bid Me to Live aad l will live, were Of
different cast and moulG in all con
corning love, than are those which find
pleasure in luscious insipidity or sensual
vulgarlty. Dlbdin songs reused quite