Author Description

From the Preamble. IN such an age as the present, when the craving for novels and tales of all kinds is constantly on the increase, and apparently almost insatiable, it seems as if it may be useful to present the subject of fiction in a new and different light - as a profitable study rather than as a mere indulgence wherewith to while away an idle hour. The love of fiction is rooted in the human soul: witness the child's eager petition, 'Tell me a story; 'witness the power of the minstrel bard, the improvisatore, the story - teller in all ages; witness the romances, the legends, and the tales of folk-lore surviving in all countries ever since the childhood of the world; witness the immortal power of such books as the Pilgrim's Progress, Robinson Crusoe and the Arabian Nights, which hold their own from generation to generation. Stories - true or fictitious - always have been, and always will be, of universal interest, because they appeal to our humanity, to those deeper thoughts and emotions, common to us all, which go to make up the drama of human life; and if they have been wrought with that 'touch of nature which makes the whole world kin,' they will live and speak and teach their lessons when other books have to rest silent on their shelves It is in vain to tell people not to read fiction - the young will read it because they are young, and on the look-out for amusement; the old will read it because it makes them feel young again, because it brings back 'the glory and the dream' of former years, and makes their hearts thrill once more with the memories of love and sorrow; the weary and the hard-worked will read it because it rests them, and diverts their minds from the worries of life by plunging them into the absorbing interests of a new and brighter world. But it is not in vain so to cultivate the taste, the judgment, and the refinement of thoughtful readers, as that they will learn to 'refuse the evil and ch