Year: 1875




For quarter Of a century or more
the literary world has been flooded
with an endless succession of works of
romance and fiction. To deny that a
great majority of these works are
worthless and that they involve a
taint that is dangerous to the moral
culture of the rising generation is SIM
ply impossible. And Notwithstanding
the untiring efforts of the moral world
to check its progress, the stream still
rolls on, carrying with it the delighted
multitude on its smooth and attractive
surface. We acknowledge that for the
clearest calculations Of truth in the
world we are mainly indebted to fic-
tion. But like all other blessings
granted us by benificent Providence,
it has been greatly abused, and in lieu
of being used as vehicle to convey
ideas of truth in the clearest and most
| forcible manner, it has been moved
out of its channel by a class Of imag-
NATIVE authors and used for the silly
purpose of amusing the imagination,
rather than imparting any permanent
benefit to the understanding. The lit
erature of all ages bear evidence of the
high estimate that past generations
placed upon fictitious narrative as a
means of instruction. Some remark
able instances of this character have
come down to us from remote period
of antiquity, such as Esop's Fables,
the Grecian histories, and the Bible,
which is altogether remarkable for its
full complement Of this mode of in
struction. Indeed, it is pre-eminent
aboveall other books, for containing
examples of the sublimest lessons
taught by aliegory or parable. With
such illustrious examples, coupled with
the fact that the human mind receives
and retains lessons taught through
symbols more than by any other
mode, modern writer's have taken ad-
vantage of the fact, and rushed into
the field of Imagination, and brought
forth cargoes of fiction without regard
to any symbolic standard, and with
no higher object than to amuse the
Imagination or please the fancy. Ex-
travagant romance is all that can be
said Of them. The influence of such
fiction upon society is visible every
where and sadly deplorable. AS soon
as the youthful minds are crammed
with ideas of extravagant fiction their
character assumes an unreal or artifi-
cial aspect. Then they no longer
comprehend that "Life is earnest,
life is real" The solid realities of life
become stale, and all its charms are
gone. An ideal character now haunts
the mind of the maiden, and her fu-
ture beau must come up to her idea of
romantic perfection, with an ample
supply of means for style and elegance
with such ideas. She pines away into
the signing land of old maidenhood


The young man who quaffs from the
same cOrrupting stream is either in
search of Venus, or he feels his
poverty keenly, and says, at would


be an objectionable crime to ask one


of these angels to share my poverty
and sorrows. Besides, the artificial
society of this age demands style
which I cannot afford. Pll wait till


fortune places me in condition not
only to live up to the demands of So
ciety, but to exceed the luxuries Of
my neighbors." These two classes of
unhappy human beings, from whom
the world can never be benefited, are
rapidly on the increase. 1t is true
our old maiden aunts or bachelor un-
cles are sometimes objects of interest
to relatives, especially if they have
money. yet we are inclined to the be-
lief that they are disadvantage to
society. They are generally the liv-
ing embodiment OF a fictitious
or artificial existence, and the
greatest caterers we have to fash
ion and style. 1t is not for us to
determine which of these two
classes are most in fault. One thing
is evident; they are both prodigiously
deficient in solidity of character; or,
as our fathers would have said, "They
lack common sense" They are alto
gether artificial beings, and made so
by the artificial literature of the age.
Abstractly considered, the single
blessedness of the two classes do not
retard the world great deal. But the
same cause which is multiplying
these classes is heaping burdens upon
mankind that are unbearable. 1t is
cultivating love for fashionable or
artificial life; filling the minds of the
young with the idea that they must
be loaded down with costly trappings
in order to appear decent in society.
1t is this foolish expenditure of means
to make their children appear artifi-
cial that causes the gray headed
fathers and mothers of the land to
work their lives away and even mort