The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-01-14

WndC may not lldppPOpTldtSiys poIAdpSy
be called the learned professions.
THE "SHORT STORY" OF A. d. 1900.
1t has been repeatedly claimed by
critics and magazine writer's that the
"short story is a distinctively modern
invention and that 1t has been created
and brought to its present perfection
within the past fifty years. Such is not
the case, however. The "short story" as
we see 1t today, the condensation Of thres
volumes Of words into compact, bril-.
liant literary gem Of 1.5o0 to 5000 words.
was well known and appreciated by read
ers of elegant fiction, at least 100 years
ago. And, further, the supposed purely
modern, development Of the book pub
fishers trade whereby~a publisher is-
sues works of fiction in serial form at
popular prices, styling the issues "ljhra.
ries" with some fancy appellation. Is as
old as the short story, and the two up
pear to have been born and thrived to-
gether.
True, the tone and style Of the short
stories Of the end of the eighteenth and
the beginning Of the nineteenth centuries
were not such as would suit the cultivated
and critical taste of the fiction reader OF
today. They were written. apparently,
for the sole purpose Of appealing to the
Ia I'm cir a
lions Of a guileless generation. The
language employed in their composition
is eminently grammatical and the senti-
ments expressed are highly moral. The
style Is. to modern taste, absurdly silt
ed. giving q flavor of droll insincerity to
the work And, almost without exception,
the short story of 100 years ago Is abso,
lutely devoid Of humor or dialogue. The
characters never jest, they are never
facetious. Occasionally the principal per,
sonages portrayed deliver brief orations.
powers of the authors Of those days to
produce. .so as.srea p
From the year 1900 there was published
in London a periodical with the title "The
Tell Tale. or Universal Museum, by J.
Roe and Ann Lemoine. The actual print
er was a craftsman named L. Maiden.
''The Tell Tale consisted of small
volume containing from eight to dozen
romantic short stories. literally illustrat-
ed with full page wood cuts. Many Of the
stories are by anonymous writer's,
among whom Is supposed to have been
the aforesaid Ann Lemoine; but among
the authors bold enough to own their
literary offspring are M. Chapman, Sarah
Wilkinson and other names of romance
writer's whose fame has failed to survive
to this day In 1906 1.-THE Tell Tale" ap-
pears to have passed into other hands,
one B. Mace figuring as the publisher
and A. Macpherson as printer, SO 1t IS
evident that publishing houses had their
vicissitudes even in those days.
The short story writers who achieved
their passing fame in 1.-THE Tell Tale"
were artists of no mean ability. Tnelr
grasp of detail was often immense and
In descriptive writing they shone with
singular brilliance. In the opening OF one
Of the stories. entitled s9The Welsh Cot
tage; or The Adventures Of Belinda Bel
mont" the appearance Of the heroine ON
the scene of the narrative is thus
described:
"Soon after he (the hero) saw lady, IN
a rich night gown, something In years,
but very beautiful attended by the young
female he had seen the day before; her
neck was bare and her hair was careless
ly braided, and tied up in green ribbons.
Upon her head she wore a straw hat.
lined with green and gold, and a habit
suiting. She had sweetness and
modesty in her look, that would have
charmed the coolest breast, and checked
the boldest lover from proceeding farther
than he ought
No doubt the hero was much impressed
with that rich night gown, something In
years, but very beautiful. attended by
the young female" Of whom he seems to
become suddenly enamoured The bold
ness of the author In decorating the he
roine with a green and gold trimmed hat
| is only equaled by the adroitness with
| hich he lodges the task Of describing,
and leaves to the taste and fancy of the
reader the particular color of the young
| lady's habit That the color Of the gown
suits the shade Of The hat and ribbons,
| he carefully establishes, but to the i'm.
agination of the gentle reader the choice
| of colors is wisely left.
An exquisitely delicate compliment paid
to the undoubted sense of propriety pos
sessed by the fair reader Is conveyed
in the next paragraph. OF course, every
| welI-bred young lady would have her own
virtuous opinion as to how far the bold