Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-01-07

nf no consequence. hut in the matter o
| the interests of young readers IL Is s"ri
Gus affair.
The places to stop" the evil is III
schoolhouse. But the manner Of Apply
ing the cautery is OF moment. The dI
ddctic and sermonic attitude should b
avoided and the pseudo scientific one q
Suggestion adopted. You Will vast
your time and money on such books.
Most of them are published by IN
writers. not the publishers. The mani
for seeing themselves in print. th'
vanity that Graves the opportunity to say
Il am an author" etc, is the procreatint
agent of two-thirds of this trash. ano
the conceited one pays for it.
The ma gaZlnUS, too. even the leading
ones. have ceased to lac anything hui
time killers" They are mind ema
tors. The tendency is now. with the bet
ter class of readers. to revert 10 Tx
tcIlect are Independent of novelty. The
popular tvulgar craze for the latest
is quietly ignored by the Republic of Let
tiers. But. of course. all this is ''caVaiare
to the general. New York Triblnc.
One Of the most marked literary fca-
lures of the age is the absence of schools
in modern letters, says Il writer III IN"
London Daily Mail. We have always with
US (and will havel the heritage of Dick
ems hut modern writers have failed as a
rule to found schools. and there is. there
fore. not that sharp division into camps
under Haunting and defiant banners that
has been seen in other times and in other
countries. Mr.. George Meredith has inn
pressed his influence on younger men and
women. particularly the influence Of his
Style ii would he possible perhaps to
name four or five living novtlists VINO
owe him much Of their inspiration. or
their manner, or their mere WAY ot writ
ing. Mr.. Hardy can hardly be said 70
have Il follower. The lat" II. l.. Steven
Son had plenty; Mr.. Barrie has two Or.
three. But there the matter ends. There
are no schools; there is no definite iii
vision. In this country. at any rlt".
youth has ceased to enroll itself with On
thusiasm under this flag or that. The
writer who has most followers, is. Of
Mr.. kiplinS. INT can he be sad TO
have founded Il school? If beng lhdi-
sr"l Cookney verse is To found Il school
then is our unlaurrllcd laureate guilty
tut. outside his Verse, Mr.. kIpllhS
genius has not been infectious story
here or story there may he IN his VEN,
hut that is ali. At most he is RESPONSE
BILE for The abrupt. arrogant method o!
which. often annoying i'll his
own hands, becomes positively onen>iV"
Il Styl. undoubtedly stimulates imitation
Thus, Mr.. Barrie produced in his tram the
celebrated kallyard school: Mr.. lldsSard
fCuud a score of newcomers relating after |
him how "a strange thing happened"
writer's of Dolly Dialogues emerged for |
brief season; and Mr.. Maurice Hewlett |
has caused Il revival OF mpdl:tNal legends. |
1t is only the strong and individual souls |
that keen the even tenor of their way. I'M |
accosted and unalarmcd by the popular |
clamor. Some ten years ago there Wer" |
two breeding grounds of literature in |
London the one the National obScrNcr.
under Mr.. Iierley'S cditOrShip. and the
other the Speaker These were two di-
verse camps. and of the two. despite the
support of %" ana some others of note.
Their. was no denying that the Tory
ground was more populoUS ANA influential.
l;ut the National Observer died. and ever
since young ToryiSm has lacked i rally
ing POINT in letters To-day. oddly enough.
th. situation of ten years ago is rcNc1S ii.
Ii is in the Liberal ranks that youth airs
it,; literary aspirations most abund;intlN.I
ana il WoUId seem as il the next out |
burst Of literary energy would he inspired
~ Liberal aims and views This Srl-Saw
Is only in keeping with the history Of the
literary world. ToryiSm and Whigg"rN
Ii NE succeeded each other for genera
ions ANA Tories and Wings have Fought
each genera tion in literature as Wcli a.
n politics. 1t is. indeed doubtful whether
any real literary revival can take plhc"
wiki the political or rather phll"'"-
lhical foundatio underneath. Ilic best
trt has always com" in cpochS most
lrov;.cativc Of thought and the most tur-
,ulem and restless of idea. 1t is time
now. in the crclng of the wheel, for a
new movement. l. it coming?