Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-11-21
of
Many Novels
Degrading
BY CANON HORSLEY.
Leading British Cleric.

London, Nov. 20.-Imagination is
as divine a gift as reason, to be re-
ceived and used with thanksgiving,
especially by those whose environ
ment is unexciting, and their occu-
patton more or less mechanical and
undressing.
No list OF the causes of low moral
ity in the upper and middle classes
would be complete if it excluded the
influence of very many of our popu-
lar novels.
Some of the novelists whose writ
ings have much art and even beauty
of diction lay themselves out to be
guides to seduction by recording in
detail the varied arguments used by
a seducer to sap a fortress of honor.
What can. be the effect of the cant
of carnality, camouAaged by clever
diction, coming in novel after novel,
upon the mind of the young but to
lower their standard of morality and
to provide excuses for their hooking
at sin? ~,
Cites Two Examples. +
As | write two novels unsolicited
by me come from a lending library,
and | make precis, 81 each. The
first introduces us to AN cX-actor art
ist who has been living for three
years with girl of 81, brought up
as Roman Catholic.
She suggests marriage. Good
God, why?" he says, bat gets the
special license, more common IN,
novels, than in fact, and yet is mar
ried in a registry Office, where it
would not be available.
Brought up in a theater. Isolated
from the world of morals and re-
ligion," she goes, on the stage and,
meets his wife.
Law Somehow Wrong"
He pleads he had forgotten the
marriage as "a good many women
have gone out Of my life She
leaves from fear Of bigamy proceed
ings, but thinks "the law is some-
what wrong, giving advantage to
anyone who is mean enough to take
advantage of it," and that when
they were abroad 1t would not have
matteted how many wives he had i'll
England"
She takes refuge with an actress
friend who is married. but living
with man with a wife elsewhere.
Made love to by the manager, a
theatrical knight who is married,
she achieves a brilliant success and
marries, with no particular reason,
Grub street idealist, one Of the
only two decent characters in the
book.
As to this union, neither was
quite sure whether the absurd mar
rage with c. would make this lille
gal, but they decided to risk il"
Whether this is the society the
novelist frequents or that which he
chooses to invent as attractive and
saleable in a book, l am sorry for
him.
The second novel centers round
two men. X is nationalist scien-
list, whose wife, aged 40, writes that
she is deserving him after IL years,
to be with IAN affinity" 10 years
younger than herself, the excuse
being that she has been used only
as an audience, whilst she is a
hedonist and a lover of reakishness
and clothes.
He sees a young lady purposing
suicide drags her off the railway
track and henceforth acts in some
respects as a good Samaritan. She
is about to become the mother of
the >child of Y, whom she only
knew a month. X tries to find Y
for her while proceedings for d.
vorce at his wife's request.
X finds that Y is his wife's para
mour and also the seducer of the
girl, and later that he is married
man with family.
Suggests Murder.
The baby comes. X. suggests in
ocuiating it with the fatal germs Of
sleeping sickness. She resents-but
brings the babe at night, and re-
ceives it back thinking the crime is
committed.
He refuses his wife's overtures
fol reconciliation. Meanwhile
Lady X. has spent her capital on
Y and now leaves him. X. will
marry the girl when five months
brings the confirmation of the de-
cree nisi.
He causes her to pose as the