Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-04-09
ENGLISH AND FRENCH NOVELS.
Tho Former Run to Adventure. the Latter
to Character and Passion.

lho Fotfncf Atun Adventure inc Latter
TO Character and Passion.
1t Is curious and interesting to note
TINT tho English ind French take opposite
sides In novels, the English preferring
now. as alwRys. tho romance or, rather
Its modern form, the novel OF adventure,
while tho French take tho kcenost pleasure
In the analysis OF characters or passions
playing within the frame Of every day lie.
Before Attempting to decide which Is the
better OF these two productions 1t may DO
well TO try and explain how the English
came to choose the romantic and tho
French tho reslistio method The cxpla-
nation seems to lie on tho surface, to 10
seen by any one who considers tho oircum-
stances OF the two peoples.
The English Is a oolonlzing race that
seeks adventures and finds them In every
quarter OF tho globe. III Englishmen do
not push across painless forests TO conquer
dragons mud duliver fair mnidens or plunge
into sunloss sen caves to war with mon
sters more terrible than any TO be found
In upper air, 10 Is simply true to say that
tho dangers have only assumed new
forms Fighting fevcrs and famine In In.
dia or tolling form livelihood on tho frozen
plains OF Manitoba, sooking gold amid
tho rninstorns OF Newfoundland or ON
tho sunbaked watorless wastes OF West
Australia, tho Briton's Ito Is apt to 10
one OF great vicissitudes, filled with events
us strange as those which, In the telling,
charmed D0sd0monn. IL is not to be won
dercd at that tho race that most luves adj
vonturos and perils und feels moro keenly
than others tho fascination OF tho un.
known should prefer works OF art that rem
dor its peculiar passion, The novel Of I'D
venture Is still, as 1t has always boon, tho
chief type Of English creative work In
prose,
Tho French Idea OF prose fiction Is
wholly different, corresponding closely,
as 1T docs, with French life and French
character Tho Fronohman is neither ad-
venturous nor romantic, but gifted with
the Latin reasonableness and clearnuss OF
view, an art lover from his birth, with a
leaning toward refined eonsunlity, These
qualities and many other excellent differ.
oncus win he readily conceded to him by
every student Of art or literature For tho
model OF his prose fiction. for the master
pieces embOdylng his characteristics, as
Robinson Crusoe" ombodios tho ohnrac-
tctistics Of Englshmon, we must not 20
to Gil Bias, d" with its Spanish intrlguos,
but to Manon Lesonut" Every ono knows
the story Of tho Chcvallor dos GriouS and
his passionate love for Manon, Every ono
knows, too. how Manons llghtnuss and
Rayoty tortured and fascinated her lover,
how tho Cbuvaliar's parents made common
cause with the authorities Of Paris TO sop,
hrato the devoted pair and how they
failed. No one who has ever read II can
have forgotten the story uf Manon's death
in that American desert and Of tho chcya.
Hers inounsulnblo grief,
This great work resembles "Robinsun
CrusGo' In nothing save the fidelity 10 ITO
OF IT, character drawing Robinson CRU
500 IL finer study Of an individual, far
moro intimate soul revealing and olabo
rate than tho somewhat oarclcss skotchy
portrait Of Dos Grioux. But Mnnon Gan be
clussud perhaps oven higher than Robin
son Crusoe MS a portrait taken from life
Tho varying fortunes, too, OF tho French
lovers nro conditioned by their characters
and by the circumstances of the time, and
are not to be compared In strnngcnoss md
physical excitement with tho wholly ncol.
dental adventures which called for Cru
soo's indomitablo energy, Both books are
acknowledged masterpieces aud the charm
Of ono for mature readers Is certainly not
surpassed by tho fascination which tho
other exercises over the imagination Of
boyhuod SATURDAY, Review