The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-11-29

have been some whose tender minds,
unless they were different from thou
sands OF other boys Of the COS, were
fed on the publications Of Mr.. BEADIE
and Mr.. MUNRO and "story papers"
The fiambOyant rhetoric OF AUGUSTA j.
EVANS was dear To hundreds Of thou
sands in the '7Os. No doubt each gen
Grafton has its admired stuffed Idols
and sawdust divinities. In 1914 there
Is more good fiction, most Of HARDY
and MEREDITH, all Of STEVENSON. for
instance. than the 1870 reader had and
| IL there Is no supereminent genius,
there Is much higher average. And
are not novels much bclied? At least
they widen the imaglna ton and may
enlarge the experience and improve the
manners they are the travel. the his
tory. the poetry Of most Of US. Why
should We not read them? Not always
does APOLLO stretch his bow and the
man Of tired mind and body. IL he Is 20
read. reads something easy. The mon
strous load OF books grows illlmitably.
Comparatively few In any time pore over
the greatest ones not even perhaps the
great and good persons who recommend
them to others. The books Of our own
time are the ones that we can best un.
derstand: the only ones we can fully
| understand. II people talk about Car
dinal NEWMAN more than they read him
land he is hard to rcad). those Of us
who affect to he honest with ourselves
and not set up an example to others
will gratefully remember that the res
reation OF that subtle intellect was
found in the novels OF good old An
THoNY TRoLLopE.
As tn the great former demand re-
called by Mr.. BRETT for the works Of
DARWIN, SPENCER. HrxLEY. TYNDALI.
''The Origin OF Species" was an epoch
making work, creating slowly scusa
ton and curiosity whose edge time has
abatcd. A hundred books dealing with
modificat Ions and criticism of DARwiNs
theories are at hand. Out Of the vast
SPENCER much stufiing has been knocked
by the unfeeltng years. HuxLEY's clear
| style. controversial talents and running
u
a vogue that has faded.
Mr.. BRETT himself publishes many
serious books on sociology. govern
ment. labor. taxation. trusts and what
not such as the generation he regrets
did not know. He publishes. or al
least his house on the other side pub
| fishes. FRAZER's Golden Bough," d mar
velous learned and an expensive book.
/ Its third edition in many volumes WAS
lately reviewed in THE StN. or Mr.. II.
FIEIDING-HALs charming soul of n
People" he says that the sale has
been limited to few. a very few hun.
| dred copies" II that is the case the
editions must have been very small, for
we have never seen the first.
But Mr.. BIRTHS competence to speak
in the matter Is Of course much greater
than any observer not "A publi sher can
pretend 10. Let him speak then. and
with authority:
Must we then blame the pubic for its
apparent complete indifference TO the best
thought OF the time in literature and in
science" IL my publishing friend right
in attribu;ing this indifference to n too
great enjoyment Of the material oppor-
tunities for rastime OF this age OF me.
chanical wonder and advancement? or
have the scare headlines OF modern Jour.
nalism and the short. scrappy. but inter.
esting methods OF the cheap magazines
so enhanced the butterfly habit OF mind
that We are no longer capable of con-
{ ayI
power OF reading books requiring ser,-
Gus attention."
In spite Of the sins of modern Jour
nallm," movies" and the motor car.
mny an Advocate Of the Printers Devil
doubt that "compete Indifference?