St. Paul daily globe., 1895-11-17

erature will soon be given perma-
nent place in the regular work of all
American institutions of learning.
The theory upon which the course
has been laid out is that the dis
eliminating perusal of novels is bene-
fetal, and the aim is to get the stu
dents of Yale into the habit OF read
ing them in that way.
THE best literary thought of the
day" says DR.. Phelps, "is going into
the novels, and certainly the young
who read novels should put their
time into something that represents
the best thought"
The modern novel, he holds, should
be considered the most important
form of literary art. 1t should be
studied, therefore, as poetry and the
drama are studied. All the current
tendencies of thought manifest them
selves in the novel of these times.
Their study may be made the study
of the spirit of today, and the man
who keeps track of current fiction
keeps track not only of current taste,
but also of current opinions and ten
denotes. DR.. Phelps has introduced
several especially valuable features
into the training of those who take
his course of lectures on modern nov
els. For instance, each member of
the class is required to bring to the
lecture room written review of the
novel that has just been read. This
gives the student excellent training
in the art of novel reading and at the
same time affords the best sort of
practice in rhetoric and composition,
especially as the reviews are not al
lowed to degenerate into mere synop-
ses. They must be analytical and
critical, thus affording the most rigid
mental discipline.
Another point we'll worthy of atten-
ton is that in order to make the
course as contemporaneous and up to
date as possible every author studied
will be living one excepting Steven
son and Turgeneff. The exception is
made in the case of Stevenson be-
cause his death is so recent, his fame
so current and his spirit so thorough
ly modern in every way that he is
virtually living writer, while as to
Turgeneff, his works give such a
faithful picture of modern Russian
life that he cannot we'll be overlooked.
AS a rule, only one novel by the same
author will be taken up, and this will
be the most representative though
possibly not always the best of his
works from a critical standpoint.
But when the author has an "early''
and late period, like Tolstod or
BjOrnson, each period will be studied.
Thirty novels are to be considered
during the present college year. The
order in which they are read has been
made after the most careful deliber-
alton. For example, "Marcella," "a
Modern Instance" and Esther Wat
ers' are read in succession, since each
represents a different sort of realism.
They will be followed by "a Gentle
man of France and Treasure ISL
and" in order to show the sharp con-
trast between the realistic novel, the
historical romance and the story of
adventure.
DR.. Phelps class in modern novels
numbers 25S students, members of the
junior and senior classes. Besides, there
are about fifty, who, though not in the
class proper, occupy chairs in the rear
of the lecture room, and are permitted
TO take the course as visitors. In ad-
dition number of reading clubs have
been formed in different parts of the
United States, to which lists of the
novels to be read have been sent. There
was one such club in the Sandwich
Islands last summer.
1.-The dignity of the modern novel
should be upheld" says Mr. Phelps.
Because thing is old is no conclu-
sive reason why it is better than the
contemporary novel. 1t is a common
complaint that college graduates can