Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-11

| to childish conclusions. You were In nc
| position, with all due respect to YOU
childhood, to pronounce such q severe
| Judgment on one whose books sold into
the millions, and which still sell int
the hundreds of thousands Of copie:
every year.
You might be mistaken, you know
Out of q hundred adult readers who
insist that they do not like Dickens,
at least so per cent would come to like
him If they read him. Time and eXpe.
rience, two of mankinds best teachers
have taught them much since they
blithely came to the conclusion (erro-
neouS) that they 'hated" Dickens. Life
itself has taught them that the books Of
Dickens have a great deal of life ir
them, after all, no matter how many
persons may sheer at them. There never
has been anything worth while that mas
not had its fair share of knockers"
We have selected Dickens because his
| peculiarly hearty style fails to regis
ter" with many readers. They concen-
trate on what they do not like, instead
of being interested in what they might
like. Every one has seen some person
who, instead OF praising those around
him for the good points they possess
has merely concentrated on their bac
| points, or what seem to him bad traits
Such a man is making a big mistake
not only in being unjust to others, but
above all in hurting his own heart and
mind.
What is true Of Dickens is, Of course
true of all other authors, ancient anc
modern. Some readers cannot stand
Hawthorne or Scott or Dumas or Long
fellow. Every one of those writer's has
many lines which any one who is half
way fair in his judgments could stand
| very well If he would do himself ano
the authors the simple justice Of read
ing them.
Consider the case Of Longfellow, he
who wrote THE Psalm of Life" Evan
geline," 1.-THE Skeleton in Armor," etc
| No writer of either prose or verse
has received such lambaSting at the
hands of the so-called "intelligentSia'
(whatever that means). The campaign
of sneering at his verse reached such 9
pitch about 10 years ago that no youne
man who desired to be considered at al
intelligent dared admit, among certain
groups that he could find so much as 9
single meritorious line in the works Of
the beloved American poet. Even Ten
nySon, who is today regarded everywhere
as truly great poet, and who Is gaining
in esteem as the years pass, suffered
from the onslaughtS of those who pro.
fessed to find all things Victorian bad
| Is not the truth of things nearer u
the golden mean, which says that where
there has been so much smoke there
must be some fire, that when writers
works manage to keep being printed
long after he has passed on there mus
be some good in them? The distinction
must be kept clear between reasoned
| lack Of enthusiasm for an author-any
author-and an unreasonable spleer
conceived against certain names, works
writer's.
Not every writer can please every
reader, any more than every reader car
like every writer. Many sincere lovers
of literature declare that they FIND
Dante among the most enthralline
poets, while other equally sincere read
ers land quite as well informedD say
that THE Divine Comedy" Is not fol
them. Both are right. No man car
read for another, any more than he car
breathe for him.
An unreasoning spleen, however, Is ar
entirely different thing. 1t is state o.
mind which the earnest reader of book:
must flee as he would the devil, II hi
is to keep the open mind and prevent
| himself from missing some OF the fines
| things ever written. Often delightful
things are hidden in rough wrappers
The going may be difficult, in many 9
book, but before the end one finds great
things, worthy Of all the effort expended
to ind them. Beware the spleen; keer
| the open mind.