New-York tribune., 1893-12-31

"a BY George San,shury LONDON D. NJ "'"'
THE WORKS OF FRANCES Bi'RNEy CErIL1A
In . vols Lon lon J. ". Dent Co: New
York Macmillan e. CO.
!: has been remarked that tho modern novel
the one which teaches a lesson or argues p"'nt
ly means of an elaborate illustration drawn
from soc!a! life. really began with Goetht's "Wil'
holm Mo,s:cr" There Ia enough truth In tho
suggestion t. make II worth considering. and
wha, truth there IL IN It makes n bar hc'w""n
the fiction II the last century and that ~ III"
prcscn; day The most chariciors'ic defect -
the novel, for the Las. hilf century At least. has
been lack 81 form as a work - art. Perfection
In details. each hv i.sel. hls taken The rac" ~
the shapo,nees sought In former times. SOM"
very great writers 90 fiction seem open I" IN
susp!cion Of caring more f,r the rhythm AMI bal
ance OF separate sen,en ros than they d. for III"
intelligih!li,y ~ their works IA whole" Th"y
are certainly net disciples ~ Fielding. however
much they may praise him. for II" was among a'l
writer's O! prose fiction IN" suIrein" master "'
form He saw beforehand all the surprises ani
mystiflca ,lons and en'nnglcments Of when hi'
theme was capable. Anybody ran guess how IN"
novel Of the present day II coming ou' bu'
who iN the person that. upon reading Tom
Jones for the first time without being Informed
as to the plot. could divine who the her" r"'l'Y
was who his parents were. or what was IN"
ultimate purpose Of those ep!s pdes which. rising.
as II accidentally far from the central theme.
helped In time to unfold IT. The tale Is 50 Ia
m,ar 70 readers generally that they are apt ~
overlook the possibilities % surprs" In IT, IL ~
probable that they came t. It not directly. but
By way OF some critical synopsis which was Just
ample enough to take yhc edge OF he work Itself.
rho, Il, NH The state those VINO
listen TO old dramas. In place OF the novelty
which they might have enjoyed. they now look
fnr sonnet hing else 10 interest them. and begin
TO exalt those matters to which the author him
self only pail passing attention Perhaps Inc
SUCCESSORS OF Fielding. those who claimed to be
his disciples. were thus led aside gradually To
that care for details which truly has become
vice in literature Not that one would advocate
neglect 1t Is one thing 70 De busy about the
small things that 50 10 make up complete work
and quite another to be nnical In small things
while leaving the great thing undone Polish the
statue at every point OF Its surface. but nee
that II Is a statue and not n leg or an arm or "A
hcadless trunk sticking out Of the rough block
Of marble.
The best witness to the artistic correctness
OF Ficlding's method Is IN" abiding interest ~
his works 1t was Rogers who remarked ma
novels with the preience that they had never
been published before. This IL. indeed. the only
way to tempt people this year with most u last
years fiction But one would almost as soon b.
ignorant of Hamlet" of Tscling's stories.
And SO these stories continually rccur I" obscr-
yation I'm one form or another-ncVcr. perhaps.
in more charming dress than that given 10
them IN the series 81 I'D novclists under con-
sderatlun. In spite Of some things which more
rcticent aye Wishes unsaid. Fielding's writings
have stood well the test as candida - for I'm
mortality They have boon found to posscss not
only perfection Of form but q living spirit which
brcathcs In every one ~ his characters. The
state Of society may seem unreal to readers Of
the present day. yet they cannot doubt that Il
was actual In It's time. II may no longer be So
sible 10 meet Squire Western In the flesh but
one feels certain that his tomb could be found.
For he was q human reality Of the sort that
would require funeral q headstOne and an cpl
,aph none too flattering Since Fieldng's time
the Improvement In means Of communication has
almos. efYsced those eccentricties which he loved
to deiineatc. Not one civilized country. but all.
have felt the process golng on which is gradually
destroying the individual In behalf Of the type.
After all. the characters created by Fielding
are cOmpa rativcly few. This cannot be said OF
Miss Burncy. The procession Of figures In her
novels II such that one retains the mcmosy Of
the march past" rather than o. those who took
part In It, On closer inspection the discovery II
made that the differences among the people she
describes arc external or accidental rather than
inward and necessary. This was partly due to
the uniformity Of life IN . city contrasted With
the diversity Of local peculiArites In the country
She was hersslf conscious that the creatures Of