The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-02-14
NOVELS AED N)VELSIS.
MR.. C0wEN LECTURES ON ANCIENT
AND MODERN FICTION.
Literary Fecundity of Modern Au-
thor.-The Modern Romance q
Victory of lndividualism-Infi
ence of American Literature.

The field Of fiction was thoroughly tray-
ersed by Rev II. H. Gowen in his lee
ture on Novels and Noyel4sis, Ancient
and Modern az the Chamber OF Com
msree last Tuesday evening. The lecture
was extremely well attended. IL "as the
fourth VI the course now being delivered
by Mr. Gowsn.
The lecturer, abiding 10 a story OF
Welsh blacksmith who had learned to
read in order 10 have the pleasure of read
ing Robinson CruS0e.' said Ii seemed al
most as though the present generation had
learned to read for the pleasure OF enjoy
ing the immense mass or fiction provided
10 meet their taste. out OF a.Is.oov books
circulated by the Boston public library
nearly 400. 00o are ciassed as juvenile and
fiction. Not less astonishing is the tre-
mendous fecuEdity of authors Whereas
IL the time Of Sir Walter Scott only 100
novels a year were published, now in
Great Britain there appear five every day,
Sundays included Fortunately there is
no need to read many Of these. some may
be read by deputy, or tasted III the pages
of reviews, but after all allowance there
remains a very large number of good
novels which We can only hope TO read
if in some future life, while the authors
are resting for AN aeon or two" readers
may have an opportunity TO catch up.
One great reason for the increase Of
works of fiction. the lecturer believed 20
be stronger sense of the Importance OF
the individual man, and the feeling that in
the development OF the individual char
acter there was theme as large as in the
story Of nation. Thus the modern novel
came into ts~auH power as one result of
the victory of ind vidUaism In the Refor-
nation As modern science came In with
Sir Isaac Newton and modern music with
Sebastian Bach, so the modern novel came
in xfif Co eo1 ,slKeo
- Speaking first OF the prenatal life o, the
novel Mr.. Gowen went back 10 the epic
as being the recited novel OF ancient times.
and then spoke Of such stories as the
Fables of Pilpay." the Arabian NIGHTS"
and the story OF Bariaam and Josapnir.
born in Asia. but transplanted gradually
into every country of Europe. Following
these came genuine native productions, as
the Decameron' of Boccaccio and the
Canterbury Tales" of Chaucer, and then
at last the great Spanish novel of Ger
antes. Don Quixote."
OF Cervantes and his masterpiece the
lecturer spoke at length. describing the
authors sunny philosophy of life and the
philosophy OF the book. Defoe was then
mentioned as marking a transition, and
then came review of the classical school
Of English fiction, as represented b,-
Richardson. Fielding SmoiIett and Sterne
A great contrast TO these Is afforded in
Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield the
sweet simplicity of which had a powerful
influence on Goethe at critical point In
ms NE and much impressed Sir Walter
Scott The Magician Of the North, was
then Treated OF in a few sentences and
the lecture proceeded to deal with the
great school OF reform novelists incl,d.
ing Dickens. Thackeray. Resde Rrnnte
kingsley and George Eliot. in whom Mr.
Gowen said. he believed English ac,,on
mad obtained It's highest point The mower
OF her work was explained In some detail.
and then brief generalization was made
OF the various schools OF living novelists.
AT the same time acknowledgment was
made or the way in which the new forces
OF American literature were influencirg
Older schools. Three centuries ago sam.
uel Daniel had written:
vent NC may
The treasures of our tongue. To what
strange shores '
Inc gain OF our best glory NAV be sent.
dent 'iieu occi-
May grow refined with accents that are
Ihis prophecy has been abundanttv -r,-
nleu. ana mat now Uniformed Occident,.
mas begun IN turn to pour new pfe into
the literature Of the older world
me last lecture OF the present o,,,.
on Hamlet Will be given by Mr. Cove,
at the Chamber of Commerce to,,,n-rl,.-.
evenin. ~"