LITERARY NOTICES. 



699 



Under the system of public-school 

 administration that now prevails, espe- 

 cially in our large cities, this Quaker 

 lady would not have been allowed to 

 break the tedious routine of book-study 

 with any such diversions. Any attempt 

 on her part to observe the individual 

 aptitudes of her pupils, to foster them, 

 and qualify the boys to put their facul- 

 ties to the best use of which they were 

 capable would have been frowned down 

 as inconsistent with the true purposes of 

 the school. On the other hand, she 

 would have been compelled, under pen- 

 alty of dismissal, to put them all through 

 an identical Procrustean drill, which 

 tends to dull the faculties, suppress the 

 aptitudes, and destroy that individuality 

 of character in which alone resides the 

 possibility for the highest usefulness of 

 the man. 



LITERARY NOTICES. 



The Art of Authorship. Compiled and 

 edited by George Bainton. New York : 

 D. Appleton & Co. Pp.355. Price, $1.25. 



This book is described in its sub-title as 

 Literary Reminiscences, Methods of Work, 

 and Advice to Young Beginners, personally 

 contributed by Leading Authors of the Day ; 

 and, rightly used, it may be of great assist- 

 ance to all persons who desire to write well. 

 The compiler, seeking material for illustrat- 

 ing a lecture on the Art of Composition and 

 Effective Public Speech, bethought himself 

 to secure, if possible, personal experiences 

 and counsels from a few of the leading writ- 

 ers and speakers of the day. The volume is 

 the outcome of that effort. Replies are pub- 

 lished from one hundred and seventy-nine 

 English and American authors — poets, nov- 

 elists, essayists, historians, and scientific 

 writers — each giving an account of his lit- 

 erary history, methods in composition, or his 

 impressions of what constitutes good writ- 

 ing, and how the object is attained. Many 

 of the contributors compress their views 

 into a sentence or even a maxim ; and there 

 is a singular unanimity in the conclusion 

 which they all reach. The whole lesson of 

 this book of the experiences of more than a 

 hundred and seventy-five successful authors 



may be expressed by saying that the art of 

 good writing consists in having something to 

 say .and saying it in the clearest manner pos- 

 sible. A few of the expressions of repre- 

 sentative authors in different fields may be 

 quoted. The compiler has attempted to 

 classify the observations under such head- 

 ings as Good Writing : a Gift or an Art ? 

 Methods, Conscious and Unconscious ; On 

 Literary Style ; The Strength of Simplicity ; 

 A Protest against Obscurity ; and Truthful- 

 ness to One's Self ; but the divisions so blend 

 into one another, and all cluster so immedi- 

 ately around the single principle already 

 stated, that we have found it impossible to 

 keep the lines distinct. Prof. Huxley would 

 advise the young writer, rather than ape the 

 great writers, to make his style for himself, 

 as they did. They were great " because, by 

 dint of learning and thinking, they had ac- 

 quired clear and vivid conceptions about one 

 or other of the many aspects of men and 

 things ; . . . because they took infinite pains 

 to embody those conceptions in language ex- 

 actly adapted to convey them to other minds ; 

 . . . and because they possessed that purely 

 artistic sense of rhythm and proportion which 

 enabled them to add grace to force, and, 

 while loyal to truth, make exactness sub- 

 servient to beauty." To Prof. Tyndall, to 

 think clearly is the first requisite ; next, to 

 express clearly in writing what he thinks. 

 But this is not enough, and, with a good 

 ear, sound judgment, and a thorough knowl- 

 edge of English grammar, one must have a 

 peculiar sensitiveness to the charm of a good 

 style. The only tendencies that enable Mr. 

 Francis Galton to write intelligibly u are a 

 great desire to be clear in thought and dis- 

 tinct in expression, and an inclination to 

 take much pains." He has, further, a clear 

 appreciation of good and clear writing by oth- 

 ers, and a love of getting at the exact mean- 

 ing of words. Sir John Lubbock thinks that 

 "there is no better way to improve one's 

 style than by the study of the greatest mas- 

 ters of English." Grant Allen attaches much 

 importance to the average classical edu- 

 cation, and looks out deliberately for the 

 most graphic and interesting way of putting 

 things. John Burroughs believes that " ear- 

 nestness is the great secret of forcible com- 

 position." Mr. Lowell has formulated the 

 rule that every sentence must be clear in 



