The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-07-27
ABOUT FOLK STORIES"
A CLEVER ANALYSIS OF WHAT CON-
STlTUTES THEM.
Their Origin and Authors 49, America
Their Most Productive SoiL
Their Value.
Hnrlcnnln. Ncm nrlcnns.

Harlequin, New orleans.
In every nation which Is old enough to
have made place for itself in history we
fnd certain songs whose origin no one
knows. They seem as much product
ot the country as Its plants and trees. Tho
shamrock is not moro truly indigenous to
IreIand than "Shamama Hula" or the
"Cculin' How truly these native airs
aud their rough yet powerful words ex.
press the genius Of the people We all know.
We know too their wonderful power OF
bringing tears to the eye, swifter throb
to the heart. Generations Of Oblivion may
lie upon the authors of these melodies,
Their fame lives, etenally, while youth
aud age, love ana hate, passion and
lelhsrgy respond to the eternal spell OK
mpsic
We lind also poems of the people, old
ballads. stirring ana energetic stll; love
songs signing after the weary roll OF cen.
.tultes for Bessie or Margaret or Kate;
poems ablaze WIN socialism, patriotic
Wtses. stories Of long ago.
A / these we call folk songs" They do
not soar over the heads of ordinary PEG.
Pc, The lowllcst peasant can understand
and love them, yet the most intcliectucl
ran enjoy them, for they bear the noble
marx ot notutc sreHtesi gitt -honcStF.
Whatever Is spoken from the heart lives
ana VIII i've. Aruhclality Is the one IN.
pQtCn uble SIN of literature.
We have no longer the ballads and ballad.
singers through which nation can give
the best of Itself 70 posterity, and the high.
es, VT can produce, 1t seems, In the way
of Soul-stlrriug melody, Is rag-time music
hut OF late there seems growing tendency
10 ptTpctuate the characteristics and pecull
lr'tieS of nation, or rather of a locality.
hf means of short stories sketches This
has stir more recently developed into tho
character novel.
Almost every great author has tried his
hand az work of this kind Thus we haVu
Thacberay's Christmas books, Our Neigh.
t1rho1d. aud Mrs Perkins BAN" Dick
ems ySriGus travel notes, George Ehots
clerical sketches, Mrs. Gaskclrs "Craw-
What should be the object of such work 7
10 reject genuinely the limo and place N,
winch II Is produced These are NOT. OF
ccmsc- real folk stories The latsr bav6
tacif origin among the people. the humble
ioik, Wnr never heard OF fime and are
usually fairy tales or legends They arc
ne best type OF nation stories, because
they come directly from the people them.
sclN's but, nov that such tales are no
longer produced We have what comes next
u az thininesS and excellence. stories about
IN" people written by those who read md
uhu9rstand them. These are our folk.
I"lleS teday. They should be short half
thc,r cearm Hes In brcyity. Life among
!nthar lower classes Is earnest aud compact,
lhelc. Is nothing HoWery about It, So n
long tale spun out ~ certain typical char
nctcrstlcS, may become n dcNghtfui book
IKE David ll1rum" hut can hardly be-
considered MS belonging 10 H.. TO-, ~
literature we are considering
lct ~ RETURN for moment 10 thosn gPc1r
MpfkS mentioned just now DlcK-ns was
700 mncn engrossod in the theatrical. TO
,, ticttGyeNqge 70 give az altogether faithful
%, Engish fok This applies bu, to IA
ssn'lieI ldIeS. Tor of course I'm hts novt,I,
~ ~ LeaiS certain phases 81 English va
INV ''e'cy IN his time-for example the