The Washington herald., 1915-08-29
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tamene." The authors name was un.
known to Frenchmen generally when
the work appeared, but his success
was assured. And for many years at
ter that first OF all French romantic
writers came Victor Hugo. the young
man who had written those poems at
sixteen. At that same age Of its boy
author was published a volume Of
poems by an English youth whose fame
was to become immortal. He died At
seventeen but what student Of liter
ature does not know the name Of
Thomas Chatterton. the marvellous
boy" whose beautiful ode to Lib
erty' and 'Minstrers Song" appeared
in that volume Of his sixteen-year-old
publishing?
The most brilliant production Of any
youth of eighteen was certainly Shell
ley's Queen Nab" Even In our own
day this poem is considered an ex-
traordinarily fine piece Of literary
work, apart altogether from the merits
or demerits of its theme. and Of tho
opinions expressed in it. Percy Bysshs
Shelley wrote many nne things while
yet under age. but none Of them ex-
celled the celebrated Queen Nab"
Close upon the heels of this work.
however, as a wonder Of eighteen,
may fairly be put Disraelfs WELL
known novel. Vivian Grey" which
was in part written while its author
was in his nineteenth year, and was
published before he actually attained
his twentieth birthday. Vivian Grey
is certainly the most famous novel
ever written by a boy. And for q
novel of its class. too. it suggests ex-
traordinary insight. thought and pre-
cocity on the part of its writer to
have been able to tackle such q sub
ject while yet at an age of compara-
tive inexperience in the world that
he portrayed in his story.
Three boys however. at the age Of
nineteen. produced books that were
destined to be reckoned more or less
famous, though all of these produc-
tons were poems At nineteen Vols
taire wrote his well-known 'OEdipe;"
at the same age Southey published his
fine poem, Joan of Arc" and. while
yet nineteen. Philip James Bailey
wrote that noble work-almost a
classic some years back-'Testus." It
"Festus" is the finest of these. Some
of its passages are nearly worthy of
the immortal Shakespeare. and bear .
kind of resemblance to his style OF
thought and writing. Bailey died not
long ago. having survived to an age
that had nearly forgotten the won-
derment and delight Of the literary
world Of his youth whsn II learned
"Festus" was a boy Of nineteen.
We can just bring in one moro act
ual ''boy"-that is, a writer who was
not more than twenty-one when he
wrote a famous book. And. strangely
enough, this was probably the most
famous Of all books we have mention
ed az written by boys. and 1t has truly
become a classic in literature. The
boy was a brilliant youth indeed. for
his name was George Gordon, Lord
Byron. And his famous book was also
brilliant. for 1t was the well-known
English Bards and Scotch Review
ers" That a youth of his age should
have been able to produce a slashing
piece of critical. sarcastic writing like
this: such splendid passages and styles
such effective thrusts and retorts-
must ever remain a marvel to be
ranked with Pope's ode to Solitude"
at the age of twelve.
When the age of twenty-one has
been passed, custom and law forbid
US to reckon the male members Of So
ciety as boys" any longer Had 1t not
done so. we might have been able to
incorporate in this account at least
three more of the worlds famous
writer's who came out and found them-
selves famous at the age Of twenty
two. with books that gained world
wide renown. Charles Dickens. at that
age, published his first celebrated
novel. Sketches by Boz" Goethe. most
famous of German writer's, gave us
his "Gotz con Berlichingen:" and
Thomas Campbell was delighting the
reading world at twenty-five with his
beautiful Pleasures Of Hope" Today
the world recognizes all these as mas
terpieces written by master hands.
But the authors were no longer truly
boys: they had passed the Rubicon"
for ever and aye.
(Copyrishted By American LiteazJ Prsa3