The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-02-23

IT is an old story that the English
language-the language of Shakespeare
and Milton-is doomed by fate to be-
come one of the grand milennial feat
ures, and be the universal instrument, il
not of spoken,at least of written thought.
What is known as Pigeon English is very
much the language of business in the
far East; and as men of thought and
leisure multiply in the colonial posses.
sinns and dependencies of Great Britain
and the adjoining territories. so is the
use of English increasing for higher
purposes than mere buying and selling.
The United States OF America have
become second. and in some respects,
so far as promise goes, grander Eng
land shakespeare speech and Mil
to1's tongue" have found a home on
American soil from which they can never
be dislodged American literature vies
with that of the mother country. 1t is
not separate literature-it only adds
to the common stock. Irving, and
Lopgfellow, and Prescott, and Lowell,
and Motley, and Holmes, and Bancroft
and Hawthorne are as English rs Scott,
and Byron and Macaulay and the others
before and since their time.
/ 1t is not wonderful that in such cir
cumstances writer should think of the
reading public-of his possible constitu-
ency particularly. In America, in Aus.
fro1;o -, TpJ;o ha UToef ToJ;oe o,I
in South Africa, the people are reading
and also making English literature.
There is no reading public half as large,
and if man writes for gain-uses the
pen as bread -winner-why should he
not appeal to the largest number?
Some such thoughts seem to have
passed through the brain of Maarten
Martens. a Hollander. yet in the flush
of youth, whose real name is j. M. w.
Van der Poorten Schwartz. This man
has quite recently emerged as new star
on the literary horizon; and his origin
atty and individuality have taken the
literary and critical world by storm. He
does not belong specially to any school.
He is not Realist, after the fashion Of
lola. nor, although Dutchman, is he a
Sensitivist, who is after all only modi-
fed Realist.
If Martens in his selection of lam
guage in which to express his thoughts
and views of men and the world generally,
reveals wisdom and something like
shrewd business common sense, he illus
trates in his mind and character the Pc
culiar and sometimes startling effects of
mixed training. 1t is doubtful if we
could have had Thackeray-justs such
a Thackeray as we had-if he had not
been born in India. The same may be
said of Kipling. who has already made
his impress so effe lively on English
literature. Although brought up in
different circumstances and under diff
erent influences. many Of the best feat
ures of George Augustus Sala are due to
the same or similar causes. The world
at its greatest. is not large; and these
writer's have all shown that while we
can hardly see too much of it, width of
experience and breadth of view do not
necessarily or seriously affect mans
appreciation of individual character, or
keenness or accuracy of observation.
Born in Holland, educated partly in
his native country, partly in Germany,
and partly in England, he finally gave
himself in the last named country to the
study of law, and qualified for the bar.
His soul, however. was bound up in lit
erature, and having acquired fair COM
mand of English, of French and Of Ger
man, he devoured the best authors in
these various languages, as we'll as in his
own. He became an enthusiast over
the works of Thackeray; he passionately
gave himself to the reading of Alphonse
Daudets works; and the influence of
these two writer's is distinctly discerni-
BILE in all that Martens has hitherto
written. Somehow he has not yet taken
to Sir Walter Scott, although there is a
strong presumption that he will in time.
Dickens he reads, and considers his
"Great Expectations" his best produc-
ton. Shakespeare he read when boy
at school. In German literature his fla
vorites are Goethe, Schiller and Heine
1t has already been said that as a
writer he has made choice of the Eng
lish language. and we believe that his
success has been such that he has virtu-
ally abandoned the law as a profession.
| Tho aotiu N fion in uhioh ha ia hald bv
the literary fraternity in London may be
inferred from the fact that he has just
been made the first honorary member Of
the newly organized Authors Club.
Among his published works are "Joost
Avelengh," "An Old Maids Love-" "A
Question of Taste" Gods Fool" There
is fine stroke of satire in all his books.
1t is not savage; it pierces you almost