The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-11-01
thors received kindly aid from several
sources" These are the sources,

thors received kindly aid from several
sources" These are the sources,
"Mr. cHARLEs W. STEVENSON Of whrrensburs No.
and Mcssrs. II. c. DAVIS and c. o. HEuptSu OF oninep
Vile. Texas, have lent valuable books and papera DR..
LEs1iE wAooENER, Chairman of the Faculty OF Te1ah
University, hah given friendly counsel"
In the " Introduction " these propositions
are aid down as Of the nature OF axioms for
the young American:
"GeniuS like other phenomena, Il subject 10 Stats
tics and America, in proportion to her age and popu'
iation, has had as many Ccniuses as any other
nation"
we have accomplished less in literature than in
any other branch OF human effort. . The day
for such achievements will doubtless como; but we
Will not seek TO anticipate u, for cminence in letters
seldom comes TO a nation until Its eminenoe In other
respects has begun to decline"
compAratlvely moderate may be tho
value OF American literature, there Ia no doubts that
It has been immoderateiy g~ossipped about"
The value OF the whole body OF American litcra-
ture 10, aa VIC have already intimatod, but noderato;
and, although every school pupil In this country should
know something. and know IL accurately ana byn'
tematically, about our representative writer's and
their books: and, though they should give the subject
an examination fuller than foreign schools would
demand; yet the sense OF proportion must not be lost
Our writer's have contributed hut q fraction to me
worlds sources OF culture. and II we would avoid the
Gripping of provincialism, we must not only concede
this fact theoretically, but practically act upon It."
Here are some Of the books criticisms and
characterizations OF prominent Americans;
"GARnlsoS was q characteristic product of New
England. in respect of indomitahlo energy courage.
and persistence. but he dlnered from the early Puri-
tans in the radicaiism and eccentriclty OF many or
his viewA."
Patriot he WENDELL PHnLrPs1 cannot be termed,
and, ardently though he p~rofessed to love reform, he
probably loved speaking on It even better"
"ABRAHAM LINCOLN, the war President. admired and
respected by both friends and foes, who. though any.
thing but a literary man. was among Americas his.
tory makers.'
"JgFrRRsoS DAVIS. President OF the confederacy, a
trenchant controversinlist, a man OF culture ana
scholarship. an eloquent speaker and good writer.
. " . The book thistory Of the secession confod.
eracJl 10 written with candor and reasonable Impair
TALLY. = . and the reader ia made to recognize
the personal integrity and devotion OF the Southern
leaders. and the heroism OF her people,"
Though aware. as her book f Uncle Toms caoin'1
shows. that tho great, patriarchal Shareholders were
often as humane in their treatment OF their property
as circumstances permitted. yet the evil OF the trafno
In human beings ranked in her Mrs. srowE's] mem
DRY, and became blacker and more portentous the
longer she unused over IT.
He tEMERsoS1 never showed marked Intellectual
power. " . : He had no rationatIve faculty. . .
He ignored the nnallty OF individual boundary llnes."
"His nature tLowELL'sl has q vein OF coarseness,
which appears occasIonally in his writings. but
which. ordinarily. only serves to give character and
flavor TO his culture"
"Uneducatsd, narrow. and prejudiced, his WHIT
TlERs] headlong zeal was in harmony with those
fiery times when men wished to act rather than to
reflect. To WHITTIER the Southern slavoholders were
opponents OF civilization"
THE moral perversity Of his tBREr HARrE's1 char
acter. which served but as artistic shadows Tor his
briefer narratives, became predominant and painful
In his longer works"
This American Literature" Is the joint
product of the grotesque Incompetence and
literary crudity Of JULIAN HAWTHORNE and
LEONARD LENNON the one n New Yorker and
the other n Texan slipshod writer. 1t should
he thrown out as a text book at the Flushing
High School, and should not be admitted
into any other. No instruction at all on that
subject would be better h n any that car
be obtained from this distorted, unbalanced,
and ill-proportioned example Of history and
criticism. Only the very best men in liter
ature are competent to give such instruc.
ton rs these two p~resumptuous authors
venture to offer to children. 1t is an out
rage that any school trustees should intro
duce into any school book SO vicious in its
own literary standard as this, and 30 cor
rupting to taste and judgment.