The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-04-08
TUESDAY, APRIL 8 1902.
OBsfSRVAyDA.

Een Of the eighteenth century who un-
siertook to be a man Of letters. was the
z1rst to place Don Quixote," the great
est Spanish novel. in the first rank of
znodern fiction. Sir William was not
one OF the greatest critics OF England,
although well read in some departments
Of literature. He lacked generally in
sight and taste. But as to Don
aQuixote" he interpreted rightly, for now
that mastery. most original book is
placed very high among the fictions of
the world in spite of the fact that since
Sir William wrote the greatest novels
have been produced-those of Scott,
-~Thackeray, Dickens, George Eliot
@rigAt name Mary Ann Evans) Bulwer,
Meredith, ~Blackmore, Charles Kings
1ey. Reade. Anthony TrolIope, Hardy
Nathaniel Hawthorne and others But
Sir William could make great blunders
IN letters. In enumerating the greatest
modern writers with strange perversity
or the worst taste or extreme ignorance
ne omitted the greatest names in the
1iteratures OF modern nations and times.
He neglected to Mention among the
italians Dante. Petrarch. ArIosto and
Tasso: among the French. Pascal,
Bosuet. Moliere. Cornille, Boileau;
amonE the Spanish. Lope de Vega and
<Calderon. and among the English,
Chaucer. SDenser. Shakespeare and
Milton Than these there Is none so
great possibly since in all Eng
3ish literature. They are of the
a-.T -a~lr 80 A. I--+
md of course in the order OF their
.ames. Up to Sir Williams time there
were no poets at all comparable to
those named. In the last century there
we're some twenty great poets. who de-
serve to sit high among the worlds
men OF OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES, Coleridge,
Byron, Shelley, Keat and T%ennyson,
he greatest of all we hold to he the
iast named. But we do not remember
TO have ever read of so bad exhibit Of
taste and ignorance as that of the en-
fnent Sir William Temple. with whom
lived for some years as his secretary a
TIuch greater mantle celebrated
Dean Swift.
~ cAN
aas been lately published. 1t is THE
Life and Work of Schiller by Professor
Calvin Thomas. an American scholar.
The German poet is OF high merit. Sec
-ond as a poet to but Goethe among the
men OF his own country. Schiller's
prose work, The Thirty Years War"
IS richly deserving to be read. Another
valuable work in English Of recent is
sue concerning Germany Is Francke's
German Literature" by another north
s.rn scholar
Miss Ellen Glasgow'S latest novel is
The Battle Ground" located az are
the novels of all Virginians, in hat
state. 1t is referred 10 as vigorous and
-delightful." She resides in Richmond.
va.
From some notices of Tom Dixon's
novel we might conclude that 1t was
excessively bitter with no special let
.-rary merit We have not seen 1T. II
as selling well of course
Some time & a very interesting life
of General Bedford Forrest. the splen-
hid Tennessee military genius, appear
ID. It is announced that another life
- out on him. 1t is by J. Harvey
1Iathes. in one volume. The first biog-
xaphy costs more but is the more val
liable. we have no doubt
The New York Bookman holds that
there have been greater noveilsts thar
Hugo, greater poets. greater dramat-
lsts: but there never was a nan who
in his own lifetime enjoyed so much o.
the glory of literary greatness" This
may be true. and yet Hugo was {;
genius OF much splendor and power
There is no novel in French. so we be
lieve. that really equals Les Miser
ables." He has not had probably a SUI
perior as a lyrical poet among his
scountryment.
The great Thackerav. that some pop
zun critics nowadays essay tn helit-
tie, was not a great admirer OF French
novels OF the best. He read tnen
easily in the original. He did not like
Marion Delorme." finding it pitifu,
and sickening. He could see little that
was not "debasing and bad" in tina,
o over which French writer's "gush"
and not a few American and English
critics shout praises galore" Flau-
bert's Madame Bovary." Is it not to
any one OF moral instincts and prin-
ciples, ~"debasing and bad" We would
not give T~hackeray's works for a
thousand "Pere Goriots'' n Madame
Eovarys."
III but seven of Scott's romances
were ~dramatized. Several ave been
aurned to operas.
f
: Professor Munsterberg. a distinguish
ed German scholar and author. visited
the northern states and wrote a book
on american Traits" He is quoted
as saying of the characteristics" he