Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-11-11
AMERICAN MEN OF LETTERS.
England at Last Comedies Ability to wrl
tiers on 1i,is Side.

tiers on Ihis side.
Is It not fac, that Americans have
habit Of desplslng their own llserature1
They prefer. ordinarily. British history
and British literature to their own. Most
any American school boy can give you an
accurate an Intelligent summary Of Eng
lish history. bu; when questioned on their
own viii be found to know little aud care
less.
Max o'Ren, In his clever 'John Bull,
Jr" tells US that the British school boy
knows the history OF his country by note,
and is filled with pride wlih rccitals Of It's
glorles-and yet Knows little or nothing Of
American history or literature. He IA la
striking conlras. 70 his Cousin Jonathan
who cares lltte or nothing for the achieve
monts Of his forefathers and who feeds his
brain on foreign British history, How
little the average American knows OF the
annals OF his own country is discovernble
by the slightest catechlzlng,
late number Of the London News"
contained the following item: AN Ameri-
can committed suicide upon the grave ut
the poet Gray, author OF the famous clegy,
The man showed an Intimate knowledge
even OF the poet Gray's resting place. The
knowledge which Americans generally have
OF English writer's and English literature
is enough 10 make the so-called lterlteurs
blush with shame, Yet what knowledge
have English men and women OF American
men OF letters and their productions? Many
an English woman who claims refinement,
aud aims TO entertain, cannot tell you where
Longiellow livc1 nor quote from the fow-
ing and delightful poems OF that sweet
lived writer How many knew Emerson
or Lowell? How many know OF Whitman
the sage OF Camden? Yet perusal Of their
works is a liberal education"
Considering the too often under esuma-
ton Of American literature by Americans
the compliment from the London News"
is very acceptable. II would appear that
In the past the British had studlouay
neglected our lternture-and what wonder.
considering that our own people have n
habit OF doing very much the self samo
thing. As an example Of this we have but
TO turn TO the most popular books on Eng
llsh literature. Unless we pick up a book
OF this kind, compiled In this country,
such as swln,on's, wo do not find an Amorl-
can mentioned. Tame. Mluto and Chambers
Ignored America with one possible e0cep-
tion-Chambers mentions Franklin. Yet
Il was Victor Hugo "a compatrloi OF Taine)
who said nifty years ago; English liter
allure consists Of four distinct llteraturoH,
English, American, Scotch and Irish; each
having a different character" So then tho
work that Ignores America Is q niisnomer In
name and construction. IL was not before
Columbus discovered America either that
the following was wri;ten: THE human
mind walks in England; in France Il ekips
and capers. In G rmany II pr1ds and gropes
In Italy It scars" What does It do In
America 7--it walks, sklps. prods and
Al washington Irving said forty odd
years ago, at Is not In the opinion Of
England alone that honor lives, and rcpu-
tatlon has It's being" Dickens Amer
lean Notes" aud Mrs Trollope's Social
Manners Of the Americans" once aroused
Intense and furious patriotic Indignation
but we have become too self-resbectlnf 10
grow unduly excited by the "wasplsh
sting" OF ono foreign critic, or exuberantly
olated over the studied praises" OF an
other. What docs the American care. even
though Keats dismissed all American books
as worthless. or because Southey could
ind nothing 70 praiEeg
This condition OF things Ia changing
every day. It must have been something
Of prde-squelcher for the proud and
'aughty Britain to acknowledge, lately that
an American naval officer was able to give
them points on naval tactics! Most every
copy Of British magazine that comes to
US from "oYer seas" contains something
from the pen Of an American author. Ar
temus Ward won recognition abroad, and
tho articles he contributed 10 Punch"
were long ago published IN book form,
and are still in lively demand In Eng
land, while bust OF our immortal Long
fellow has found place in the poets cor
ner in Westminster Abbey.
1t is to be hoped, then, with reoog-
milton from abroad, that Americans will
turn TO their own lands, essayIsts and
Historians and give them the attention and
devotion they deserve +. J. w.