The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-07-09

A rev edition Of the works Of Waiter
scots.has recently been published, and the
question comes up for answer again as TO
whether She erea. Seoschman s;iIl holds
the xorid A. his public with ~ firm .
grasp a. he did sixty years ago. before We
had any Dickens, Thackeray or George
Eliot Our own Mr.. Howelis 10 fond Of
sneefSns 1t Scott - superficial" and -
the representative Of the Obsolete TO
mantle school Of fiction.
Water Scott taught the modern his
toriars how 70 clothe historical characters
with flesh and blood. SCOTS his toricai
painting was the inspiration and model Of
the historians that fed upon his fiction, ~
Carlyle. Mseauiay, Frouds and Motley.
Their, treatment Of historical characters
and events 10 clearly the picturesque
methsc Of Walter Scott Scott In the do
main OF fine humor that always en.srtains
or in the heroic eioquence and action that
thrills the reader not only - not out
grows. but is In no more danger Of future
eclipse than Mr.. HoweiIs' invertebrats
men and women are Of literary immof-
tslity.
Wh.n the world ceases to read Shakes
peare it will cease to read Walter Scott.
The great dramatic critics and novelists
have always dealt with men and women
Of full stature for good or evil, but
Howeals' men and women are % smAll, 10
mean. 20 faccid and invertebrats that
they seem to infest society just a. fleas in
fest . dog. Our sympathies go out to the
dog rather than the fieas, but Mr.. How
ellis seems to have no sympathy for the
dog. t,nt to prefer to I'LL his fiction with
fieas. Scott did not put human heas into
his fiction; he put men and women Of full
stature for good or evil. His characters
did ne,t speak in eunuch tones: they did
not yawn and babblc their lives away
chronicling social small! beer.
Whsther SCOTS men die for truth or
error. whether they are satanic or seraphic
heroes. they fight and die like one Of
Homer's men. The finest battle pieces in
English poetry are found in "Marmion."
the '.i.ay Of the Last Minstrel" and 1.-THE
Lady of the Lake." and next to Scott in
this kind Of work comes Byron. 1t 10 q
noteworthy fact that Scott, who. like
Byron, had the soul Of soldier, like
Byron. was lame. II Scott aud Byron had
not bqen lame. the chances are they would
have sought the profession Of arms and.
instesd Of blowing war bugle notes in
poetry. would have charged sword in hand
with Wellington's troopers at Waterloo.
II raay not be denied that the charm OF
6cott's fiction il dimmed with time, but
"waverley." 1.-THE Antiquary." Guy Man
nering." THE Heart Of Mid Lothian"
Rob Roy" ''Old Mortality" and "The
Bride OF Lammermoor" are immortal, and
"Ivanhoe" wilt live because of "Rebeccs
the Jswess, the most heroic woman that
Scott ever drew. scotfs chivalry il rs
dead ~ the chivalry thst Cervantes satir-
lied In Don Quixote." but his heart was
not with his knights and lords and ladies'
II ara bad hand" he said, "at depicting
= hero properly 50 called. and have an IN
fortunate propensity for the dubious char
acters Of borderers. buccaneers. Highland
robbers and all others Of . Robin Hood
description. Dugaid Daigetty. Caleb
Baidsrs,ons. Eide Ochiltree. Dominic
Sampson. Meg pods. Nicol Jarvie are the
kind OF minor folk that Scott made i'm.
mortas.
Go into Central mark In New York city
and you viii lind statue Of Waiter Scott.
Il was not erected bv the influence or paid
for 10y the money Of Scotchmen. II Was
placed there by Americans. animated by
the SANE idea Of high respec, for rare liter
AIRY genius that led them TO place near i.
WARTS fine statue Of Shakespeare. Men Of
genius are dear TO all enlightened nations
because they leave all enlightened nations
In their debt. Such men belong TO the
imuor,sls." The overpowering beauty OF
their mentality. whether manifested in
song. story or art is yielded to and priced
by every thinking people.