The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-01-23
NASTY NOVELS.

Thomas Hardy in his latest work,
Jude the Obscure" has the warning
in his preface that the book lis novel
addressed by man 10 men and women
of full age" and that, this being re-
membered, the author is mot aware
that there is anything in the handling
10 which exception can be taken"
A writer in the New York Evening
Post says that the inference here IS
that by openly repudiating the obi
cations of a writer for boys and girls
you successfully escape them
An obvious difficulty with this infer
ence, at the start. is that the repudia-
ton is not open enough, continues the
Post. II appears in a preface. But
a majority of novel readers are as i'm
patient as Bacon of 'prefaceS and
passages and eXcuSatiOD4. Many
young women invariably begin reading
their novel at the last chapter; some
begin in the middle and read both ways
but who ever heard of one reading
preface? The danger-signal, to be truly
effective. should have been placed con
spicuously on the cover. Parents
should have been warned in large type
to keep the book under lock and key; or
dealers demanded TO require a cern-
ficate from all purchasers that they
were of full age" With such precau-
tons. no awkward mistakes would
have been possible. The apothecaries
do these things better. On their pOis-
Onous prescriptions they put sugges-
tive skull and crOss-bOnes. or take pains
TO sell their carbOlic acid only in
roughened bottle. so that a man reach
ing out in the dark for a sedative dose
will not get one for too effective.
But n more serious objection is that
any warning Of the kind, however en-
phatic and plain-spOken, cannot fail 10
be. under a system of perfectly free buy
ing and selling, provocative and allur-
ing rather than preventive. For every
parent put on his guard, for every inge-
nuous youth turned away. ten buyers
and readers will be attacked who
might have let the book entirely alone
but for the hint that il was no better
than it should be. The way in which
human nature. being what it Is, especial
" youthful human nature, being what
it is. reacts under such limited prohibit
tions and obscure limitations OF dan
ger. is perfectly well known. The
warning is always read as a challenge.
Old experience may wag its head as
sagely as it pleaSes, and advise hot
blood to wait till II is cooled before do
ing or reading certain things; but IL Is
of the nature Of hot blood 10 want 10 do
and read things Immediately, the soon
er the more risky. To prescribe the
reading Of books is a much more Ger
tain way Of insuring their neglect. with
a kind Of settled repugnance, than 10
forbid their reading. -
The futiIity of such warnings in On
or fields OF literature than fiction has
often been demonstrated Take the
illogical book Ike ''The Kernel OF the
Husk." The author. Dr. J.. A. Abbott,
i'm his preface warns away all those not
troubled By doubts about the super
natural. tie would disturbe on oue's
faith. But how J. such notice Ger
tain 10 operator Assuredly by making
many a careless turner u the leaves
say 10 himself. Why should there be
any doubts about the supernatural: II
some people have them. why shouldn't
L Let's see what this man has %
saw Thus the book gets = wider
hearing through the very fact Of pro
Tossing e. be addressed only 70 lar
--.rr- c--.I..