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LECTIO CERTAPRODEST, YAU.IA DELE(.;TAT, Bcucca.
VOL. I. -
BOURBONNAIS GROVE, ILL FRIDAY April, 27 1883 WHAT SITA LL IT HE1
Whersoever we turn, or whatsoever we contemphte in the whole range ofthc history of civilization, ; we C:-tnnot screen from om·s~Jves th,.c ever visible lH'lnciple of universr~l instability in nll that human agency cnn rlevise. Hi~tory and dn.ily experie nce incontrovertibly ns~ert th~t this world is all a fleeting show,-n. world o.f emptine~ and vnnity. Troy onC'e W!l,< ; but all her glory n.nd grn.ndenr h1"18 long n.go dwindled into the f:1int echoes of hi~<"tfl ri cn l reminiscence, :mrl her ldng:> no w become hutfitsnhjccts formythic:1l romnncl'. :E very thiug hnmn.n, under the n.ctirm of inlln ence.;, :::ilcnt or tmnnltnon~<, serene or npp11lling, Is str~mped with the se:1 l of cha11gr>. F:1 in would we mort·tls ndvocntc the strengt.h nnrl dnr" bility of our institutions, were it. not thn.t· we nrc confronted with f.' lcts (rmrt f: :otl' nre stn bhorn things) which 1'et forth i .1 bold 11nd dnzzling relief the mnt" hili ties of the re.st1lt-s of CVHn whole li vcs of t.h_ought r~nd toiL W e h:1ve seen I'Ocieties shaken, g<wcrnmentl' crumbled and n ntiont~ oblitcl''' t.eri. Society, it nppe:trs, cannot rem11 iu 8t~ b r.;'. It either Hclvnnces or re~rograd cs; nnd Tor every vi~ci!ll'itn<ie there mn~t be wme efficient cnu~e. Somctime11 thill c:tnl'e, by its ngent, preeipit,tc!l i t..~ clf like the fierce nv r~ l a nche sweeping from the heig hts of the mountnin top nnfl c:trrying devnstnti011 in it-11 conr~e; and sometimes it e m ~ nntes from obscurity Rnd gradnnlly inc r e~sel' in proportions n.ccomplishing its work lil•e th e little wnter l't.re:tm whi ch !<prings from I!Ome fuir hill· side, at fir~t speeding ~ilently nnd neglected through its nnrrow chnnnel, incrensi ng ,by contributions from either sid e, until ft.nil lly it p o ur~< itl'elf with irresistible force into the broarl e:xpnn~<e of th P- mighty ocerm. Of nll the iufln encCB whi ch tend to re voluti onize I'O<: icty there i ~ none more potent t han c urrent li ter;ttnre. Ittrleed the Press is now Lccome the mnst po"'erful ex pres~ ion of hum:tn 1'entiment ; nnri whether it nppe:1r in the form of a flrtily or a weekly newspnperr or of a hi- weekly or monthly m ~ g:1 zine, or whether it li Ss ume the name of fl ctioll in the ~b :t pe of the 8tu::tll p: ~ per covererl no vel which is ~o ld on om counter s fur the t.rining sn m of hnlf n. dime, or is bound in gilt or morocc:o,-it is the Coon for the millions and never f<Lils to prod ucc, l'o r !:Jetter or worse, a momentous and
No. 5.
lasting impre...~ion ou the generality o"f t he reading public. _ The people ot the United Stntes n.re pre-eminently a n11tion ofrearlerl', Their const-1nt cry is for the me;, 118 of grntify ing their r:> v enous nppctite for re:•rling mrttter; nnd i'tis with di~m1y that we 8Cf' thei r dem ~ n rl s s:-t ti.-~ fled by antl.wi.q, mnle nnrl femnle, who write, not for the ~nke of hono-r, or th.me, but fHr the nc-qni ~ ition of filthy hw'ft>. n is •it.h rli~>mn .v t.h nt we see the cnnnt.rr teeming with n. lit,erat ure which i.~ a living port rnit.nr~, n living rlclinention of mor:tl c-onnpti on, silc nt.Jy s:•rping nt the hn11il'l of wh nt constitnte8 t.he fit Rt cletncnt.q nf n. good christinn people nnrl of n zcnlons p1tri ot.ic people. Tt ilt with rlir-mny thnt we see the P.Mcnce of di r~ h oli c: tl Vf'nom nnder th eg n i,~e nfn ple:tsing tnleorof a chnrmingly conrlncteri roma.ncl'., rn venously devoured by n. pcople, -b_v our JlMple., with ns, mn ~h rn.pnci ty ns they l:t f'k prnrlen('f'., nnrl wit.h :~~ mn eh engernr1's fiR they 1)"\ck jn rlgement. Finnlly , it i1' with di Bm:ty th:1 t, for enC'h ~onnd nnrl mor:t l hook which i ~~ ~~ e~ from the PreFs, we ~ce t-he Evil Bpirit instign ting llis FPrvfle genin11e~t to 11end" forth two or three rotten nnd eorrnpt ones, We oo- not ItO mtteh l11ment the want of good, ns the 11npernbumhm~e of bad liter"tnrc. · ·we h r~ ve ll'tirl t.h,.t t.he prople of th e United Rtnt' 8 nre ·n. nn.tion ofren.<ll'rs. This is inrlcerl tru e; but whnt klnrl of renders r~re thl'y? ThrcP. fourth s of the rending mnt.t.er nnnnnlly rli11trihnterl r~m o ng the penpl e consist$ of works of fi ction , nnrl of these we nee<i nnt., nn d f< r shnnw'~< ~r~ke we will not., ~onj ec tnrc how mnn.v :n·P. works of irreligion nml Godle;:.sness, "' hr~t is still more revolting, t heir works nre not fonnrl, ns mnny sn pposl', in the h n.n rl ~< Of t he bad boy only, but RIM! they constitnte the dclicn d as on which the imr~ginn.tion s of ot'r young- m r~ id e ns , n11<i even of our fnth ers n.nd mother:·, delight to fenst. Novels "Are the books, the n.rt.~ , the ncnrlrmf's, That show, contrtln, nnrl nouri gh nil the worlrl ." W e do not mcn n to cenwre fictitious composit ion con~irlcr ed in itself: This would he not onlv fnr eia n to o nr purpose, hutrnsh on onr pnrt. \Ve hn.ve i)recedc~ts in the history of li temtnre whi ch clcn rly d e m on~<t.rr~tc thr~ t fiction, when prnperly empl oyed, is one of the bes t m ean~ both lor irnp:t rting instruction, and for incu lcating