The daily Nome industrial worker., 1916-03-03


 removed a very interesting ,igurs from literary society that is ra- pioly disappearing. A novelist of parts, considered by not few one of the greatest, James certainly is a name which is not likely to become a house hold word for all that.
 Whatever may be his abill.y, he outlived the mission of the novel and it's influential function in So- ciety, and the readers who enjoy and delight in his pages gre con- fined to an even smaller class than those who enjoy and delight in the poetry of Browning.
 Not having been at any time an appreciativc reader, the writer will not presume to attempt criticism of this genius, except to remark that he and his works arc given to world which has passed beyond in, fuence of the novel.
 The Victorian era was the era that in English literature, the nove, attained it's greatest power and poss- ibly also its greatest development Today the novels are appraised fitly enough in best seller" category, and not 50 much the power, nervous force or significance of tho work is the criterion that warrants crit1- cism, but the fact that they dircu- late industriously and well.
 It was not always thus. Men like Dickens, Thackcray. Hawthorne, , sentas-nost of other and lesser Aghts contribute as well as to the litera- ture of their times to the progress of social evolution also.
 Probably the influence of Uncle Toms Cabin hes been excessively not to say ridiculously over-rated. but unquestionably its part in tho cause of abolition, even at that, was a greater part in the current social movement, than has been attained by any modern work.
 And the important matter is that the novel in tho hands of the masters in the Middle Nineteenth Century played such a part almost always, and contributed not 2. little to the advancement of social legis- latiOn
 It was through the novel that the muck raker in those days opo- rated; yielding his rako it is true ln a highly cultivated and decorous fashion, without any excessive use of denunciatory phrase.
 A good many socicl reforms can be traced back to the Writings oi Dickens, Reade and Elliot; good many moral cs well as social re- forms can, even at that, be distinct ly traced to the cynicism of Thack- cray, the gentle satire of Jare Aus tin or the vigorous ssntimentalism of the Brontes.
 The novel however was taken ur by Q number of literary articts who found that they provided 6 hand some means of living, as well as secured for them considerable repu' tations as masters of style, dcline- ators of character, portrcyers ot life in all tte different oocial grades for the instruction elevation anc amusement of the well-to-do, who paid for this entertainment,
 It io possible that this cen be de- scribed as art for art sako, but we can be quite sure it was art for moneys sake as we'll
 The mcn who wrote novels that would Dot sell usu4ily acquired no vory great far.e and waa afforded little opportunity of practicing his talorts
 One of tho most eat2r.,inihg of the later novel;sts of the nineteenth century and Q CaEadicn with ex- exceedingly radical and direct soci' alist notions was Grant Allen. His works were popular and he used to observe with some cynical amuse- mant that really valuable scientific writings that he had given the light of day, wore wholly ignored and un- read, while the fiimsiest novel trash that he poked together in his own clever style, secured a very great following of readers.
 He hadn't much confidence in the value of the novel from social