The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1896-10-04

And thev hold. not without reason that
ira reccnsion IS more euphonlous anu
maio7ious. stll. we must beware . peinS
r,siol bv this circumstance; lot II ~.
n tho Fundamental laws or INC 80
n,o ~ text criticism, that a copyisl
- noro likely 10 .lengthen than to
~-.is+o his text; and especially is TINS
go ubon he seems TO see how the TEX
-- Ia smnr9ved. I'm sense or IN Souhu'
siieht additions. Now we nave
r, q case in point. No ear not
,t+or,y destitute Of every trace OF me'er'
,~,,si. and melody, can fan 10 peicei'o
that
little Jack Homer
g., I'm q corner"
ia hald and harsh as compdlou va"
little Johnny Homer
sitilnc I'm a corner;
g.,,t an n momentous question me
MS 7 would not dare TO dosnla,lle -
.rtl- . nrirciple has been hImAs
.I5.r the labOrs o. such schol~s
.'.,i., and Alill and Lachman' ana
r.ic.hach and Troscllcs ana
,-1 ~TfechcrdCrf and Weslcot.
o.a constrained 20 oec.le !" g.
tho shorter rcccl-ion- lo+er
.gfssrflv an establishment py d
hand.
I'm The third line OF our text
and pulled ont "a plum
l.l- d., the received version, there
ana eo~-o Gouhta as TO the word luil'"'
.b,r. a,o come few. though not very
-,.i.rf uanurcripts. which read, plcheA
e,~ smiled pulled" however, mas a de-
.fa,1 rreponderance Of external eNluehce
In lis favor. and. therefore IL is nol 49,,
earv for us TO 20 into the question Oh nv
T,-i,~atic evidence. however Interesting
thaf might be-.
once more. IN the last me
oAn1 eafl what g. good hoy am j.
Common version. following textus re-
cerfrl the arthoriues are by no means
49, 81, tt,. word good" NOt "A few
co,,.-s and some Of no mean antiquity
.. .r.,orer. others read mice, ana one
.emar+ Upon the whole, the nelter oiln
,,n seems 20 be that che teN'ls I1,ept-
ie rie.t. and hence We have re'a'Neu
Tfo,,ro now settled the purity or the
. win proceed TO the presentation
avid discussion Of the great facts whl'h
81 sets. before us. ~ 60
ma text is "a brief epic poem; that y
,o gev n poem which depios ana ceIe-
b~otos the thoughts. the actions ieehhbs,
oe..-atiorr-in a word. the character OF
n har,. our first and main business theh|
is with the hero himself. ana
T. lie is called Little
owe cannot doubt that inc p0et Ita.s
.~..,. 10 anr'v the adjective little 10
.ho ba~o widely as the manuscripts
dt0or ON other matters (Which We nave
,i~.srv notfced). there IA a perfectly
-no~fr,ots consensus of all extant codlces
81, tris ooiut. No codex. ancient or mod
orn uncial or cursive, IS without .ne
- af,t.lor And vet the question or the
actual and historical dimhnutVehe"s OF
Tho late Mister (Or Master horher u Oy
ro mems settled. For, In the hrst pi~ce.
or, Il, remember that we are dealing
Win roetry: and il would be utterly I'M
reasonable TO interpret poetry " NV
canons Of prosaic history.
Agafn. fho latest modern Investigation
has rroffv clearly established ihe concur
sion that tho poem was written Dy =
mother. and the weight or the e~'lueHce
noirts 70 an Oriental write that Is 70
eo,- n writer who lived al or IN the
vicinity of that great eastern city Do9
CON Eov, 90 interpret Oriental poetry
written. too. by a mother), as II II We're
simn.e history. is 20 violate the very hist
r%rinciples Of sound hermeneutics, as held
i- AM the greatest critics. from Losing
80 Carlvle. We know how prone mothers
ore TO bolittle what they love. ms
tc,5orcv seems to be inherent In human
nature. and. indeed. n is, In one FORM
o~ another. the basis or those WORDS Wnicn
Voc call "diminutivcs.' 'Birdie, uossie'
..rt.-fo n,ra even Johnnie. ARE examples
under this great law. ON TINS point ! an
not enoculating. but I am simply s'atihs
a. ,rtncipie we'll knoyn TO all scholars.
The modern. mighty, marvellous masni-
eoert science Of Language born In the
brain Of Grimm. unused and nurtured by
Tho herculean labors OF Bopp ana fott.
odornod Inv tho genius Of MAJ Muller, ana
hoau,ieoa and popularized by our own
Whitney. has clearly established TINS
GREAT law Of human speech. Under such
circumstances as these ! would be me last
10 doematze as 70 the question or the
real personal dimensions of our hero But
II. "He sat in a corner
on this uoint. too. all our authorities.
ancient and modern. are at one. Upon
the whole. ] am inclined 10 regard the
statement as historical. and as the ques-
ton Is an interesting one. I will proceed
70 give my reasons:
| hold that the corner was the most
natural place for a boy to sit when he was
RECALLING himself with a pie. and especially
Il Christmas pic. because:
1 Il is the s%nugrest place IN winter.
. It is the position from which ne
would be least likely TO be displaced TO
give his seat 20 older persons coming into
the room.
g. il is the place where he would be
safest from tho Intrusion o. that house.
hold pet Tor posO. the fclis domestics, vul-
carly called cat. whose propensities in the
direction Of purloining rich food are too
well known 10 require further comment"
AT this point OF the sermon ] somehow
lost consciousness. and recovered only in
time 10 catch the following peroration)
'But. my brethren, the greatest heroes
arc only human. and our hero evidently
had his defects. Whether he called himself
mice" or ~'Tbrave." or smart or good
land T am Inclined to adopt tho last ad-
~tective). In any case his tendency to self
praise is painfully manifest. Beware OF
arnhitioni Nor indulge in too losy an
estimate or your own capacities. In the
language OF tho immortal Bard OF Avon:
81 charge thee fling away ambition:
Ry thst sin fell the angels. how car man
then.
The image OF his Maker. hope to win by
it?'
Theodore Hamilton will play Frank
Nfavo.s role ia "Pudd'nhead Wilson"