The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1891-04-12
WHAT SHALL GIRLS READ? {?
Lcontinued from the Ninth Page

marked culture and refinement, and talk
with the wife of the great Indian fighter will
soon impress one with respect and admiration
for her breadth of thought and wide informa-
tion upon all subjects of modern interest.
''In regard to modern literature" she re-
piled to my question, II do not class all as i'm
pure and injurious, but think that it in general
inclines to weaken the mind and vitiate the
taste of the young, thereby rendering it unfit
for solid food. For this reason l consider it
necessary that parents should carefully super
wise the reading of those committed to their
charge and select such as are conductive to
the elevation of the mind and proper training
of the heart. l personally supervise my
daughters education in this respect, though
she is at an age when most girls usually in
dulge their taste without regard to the advice
of their elders. The General is especially
careful of the books that are placed in the
hands of his daughter and young son, and l
am happy to assert that my daughter, though
fully grown, never indulges in a book that has
not the sanction of her parents Unfortunately
there is too much license allowed the fancy in
the crowded novel counters at most of our
fashionable summer resorts, when there is
much idle time that is in this manner relieved
of monotony. In such hours of leisure, should
the taste be guided in proper channels, the
good results would soon be realized in higher
moral tone and superior attainments of mind.
GOOD AMERICAN WRITER'S.
!!."Among modern WRITER'S" Mrs. Miles went
on, 81 enjoy Bret Harte whose stories relate
largely to the free Western life of the plains,
with which | am so familiar. l have also lately
read a beautiful book of Mrs. Burton Harrison,
whose style is very pure and characters
naturally drawn. Then there is Mrs Hodgson
Burnett. What could be finer than That
Lass O'Lowrie's.' Mary Cecil Hay has also
written many novels of an elevating character.
Such may be classed many of the works of the
Duchess among light literature.
SOME BADBooKs
81 think two of the worst novels that ever
read" said Mrs Gen. Miles, swere anna
Karenina,' by TolstoT, and Amelie Rives's
remarkable conception, 'The Quick or the
Dead class these two together as tending
to the moral downfall of all those sentiments
and feelings that are usually held sacred
Anna Karenina' is without doubt one of the
very worst books ever put upon the market,
and should never be put into the hands of
young man or woman
is NOVEL READING DECREASING?
/ sought an interview with Mrs. Lowry
Bell, of Philadelphia, whose name is familiar
one upon every occasion of social gathering at
the Capital, and whose warm personal friend
ship for Mrs. Wanamaker has during the past
season rendered her familiar figure upon
every occasion of entertainment at the beau
| tiful home of the Postmaster General Said
| she: 81 consider the literary taste of our age
| far more pure in tone and elevated in char
| acter than we are usually credited with, and,
| judging from observation, believe that the
| sale Of worthless or what is generally classed
under the head of light reading, decreases
each year. The young of the present day
crave more substantial food for their minds
than mere romance. book must have real
literary merit to attract, where formerly the
fancy was satisfied with the mere enjoyment
of the moment. l cannot conceive of the re-
markable run Of such book as the 'KreutZer
Sonata 1t is work without single literary
merit. Had the work never been criticized
it would probably have passed unnoticed
through the market and soon died a natural
death 1t is more often that people, and
especially young persons, are apt to rush for
| book that through adverse criticism favors
| of forbidden fruit.'
TWO GOOD NORWEGIAN WRITER'S.
| Mrs. Bell went on: Compare the works of
the only two Norwegian writers of whom we
| of the present day are acquainted, Fredrika
| Bremen and Ibsen. How different in style,
yeI WHICH Oh GQe TWO are more universally
| known or read? Few of the present genera
| tion are familiar with Ibsen, whose works re-
| ceived such recent revival of interest through
| the Interpretation of Mrs. WInslow's public
| reading of the DOLLS House, one of his best
| known works, while the translations Of Fred
rika Bremen are quoted in almost every
| household in the land Such works will live
| on from generation to generation as true pic
| lures of home life and national customs. 1
would be willing to assert that a visit to the
| leading libraries and bookstores of our land
| would elicit the fact that the rage for light
| novels is surely ON the decrease. Never be-
| fore has there existed SO many literary clubs,
| especially among fashionable women. In
| Washington alone the number of these asso-
Citations for the purpose of general culture
| has increased to an unprecedented extent,
| and ladies' clubs are organized under every
variety of pretext. The Current Event Club,
| of which / am a member, meets weekly at the
homes of the different ladies to discuss, as its
name designates, every topic of public in
| terest as the subjects present themselves. In
this way we have to read up the happenings
| of the day and be prepared to discuss them at
| length. Such condition of things tends to
| the larger cultivation of the mind and leads
| to more extended field of reading"
MISS GRUNDY, JR.