The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1891-03-08
OUR LITERARY BUDGET.
CONTRIBUTION From THE FIELD OF
LITERITURE.
Inability of Many NovelIsts to Rise to the
Merit of Their First work-Genius is a Gift.
Not an Attainment - Comment of Edin-
burgh Review on American Fiction.

Not an Attainment - Comment of Edin-
burgh Review on American Fiction.
II has been said that almost every intelli-
gent man could write one interesting book,
and. though the assertion is somewhat too
sweeping. il has a certain degree of truth.
Not infrequently We see novelist who has
never again been able 10 rise 10 the high de-
gree of merit which marked his first work.
But this holds good only where talent is con-
cerned. Genius, though not inexhaustible, Is
too deep and rich vein TO be worked out by
a single effort. II is the second-rate felton,
writer who makes literary success that he
can never repeat His first book is passion
ate wall Of personal pain, or an artless cutlery.
OF ioy and pleasure. IL Is young and ideal;
because all his youth goes INTO r-youth
with its charm and glamour and Illusions, Tor
the loss of which no access of wisdom, no
maturity of power can ever quite atone. lie
is amazed at the singing flight OF ms own
thoughts, like a child who has startled up a
covev Of birds from the rustling sedge. II IS
an hour when all the senses are keenly alive:
The glory in the grass" the whispering OF
leaves the tingling touch OF the WIND upon
the cheek. make no vain appeals Such a
writer puts himself into his hrst book, ana IL
seems real and living. because the reader feels
the earnestness Of his interest IN the subject:
This is but another example Of the wonderful
power Of egOtism. How engaging we seem TO
ourselves. how we caress our qualities OF mead
or heart with pretty phrazes, and dramatize
every situation in which we figure, thanks TO
the beneficent gift of human vanity; Having
exhausted his own thoughts and feelings
and actions this writer has come to the
end of his material. That vivid alertness was
but an eyanescent state. when the leaplng
blood Of the young body acted upon the
mind He passes from the eager questioning
of youth 10 the sluggish indifference OF mid
die age that wonders and eXclallns no mole.
His talent is an extinct volcano, and although
il may cast up spark now and then. II mas
no Glowing core OF fire The truly great nov
elst must have deep and far-reachng sympa-
thies. be must possess those qualities OF the
heart which are no less essential IN the pro
duction of literature than the qualities 0i me
head Faces are open books IN WhlcI ms
quick intelligence reads the truth through tne
mask Of a smile or a fr0wn. No Wofd Is WIN
ont meaning 10 him. nor Is any human cled-
ture rejected as common or uncleah.
The hearts
OF all men beat in his breast.
His susceptibilities are ike so many sensl-
five feelers Outstretched IN every direction.
lie is intensely receptive. and the sublecuTe
helps TO explain the objective 70 his nina: lie
is able TO understand the grief and happiness
of Others 10 Join in their laughter and suheT
their pangs lie enters, by turns, INTO thg
feelings Of the bleeding victim, the hunted
criminal the detective following the tran oil
evidence relentlessly, the Judge VINO pro
uounces the sentence the Langlnan who exc
cutes H. This Is what Walt Whitman meant
when h wrote:
Agonies are one Of my changes Of garment.
do not ask the wounded person how ne leeIs-
I I'D f.le o. 4
My hurts turn lvid upon me as l lean on my
cane and observe.
Maupassant SAYS in the preface Of Pierre
ct Jean: 1T is. then, always ourselves that
we show IN the person of king. an ASSASSIN;
thief or am honest man, for we are Obliged
m ureseut the problem 20 ourselves thus. II
were king. an assassin. or thief, what
would / DO. what would / think, how would l
actyn adding that the art Of the author con
s.sts IN not allowing the reader 10 discern TINS
| under the various DISCUSSES II wears but
this is not the last word on TINS subject.
Something must be said for the clairvoyance
of geuius-its flashes of intuition that cast a
lightning CLEAN into the obscure abyss of
character IN tine language Of the splrtualis-
tie seance. genius seems under control
when dealing with certain emes, ana dls-
PLAYS an insight which Is a u .e snort OF mi-
Iaculous. Thus, writer con make the ms
tory of an ordinary little shop grl-utteflY
foreign 10 his own nature and expert
ence Of life-a TIN 90 laugh and
weep over. Where the commonplace observer
would see only what IS obvious. this other
knows the secret hopes that render endura-
BE the gray-tnted existence Of the lonely
woman: the single green spot in the and heart
of the moneys rubher: the aspirations Oh
Dryasdust that persisted in the chrysalls be
fore finding their wings. Intuition - as much
needed by the author rs sympathy. Should
he merely say, If l were q king, an a-sassi pm.
or an honest man. how would ! actY' his
kings. assassins, and honest men would all be
alike and would represent only himself II
was not by any such process. surely that
Victor Hugo learned 10 comprehend 80 per-
fectly the piteous fears and tremors Of Coaette,
the poor little drudge Of the lhcnardlcrs.
Though il is the custom at present % pooh
pooh the idea of tie authors inspiration as
an antiqusted delusion, genius is gift, not an
attainment. Though hard work may be nee
essary to develop fully it, resources, all the
hard work in the world cannot create IT, 1t
is not industry alone but inspired industry
New Orleans Democrat.