There are pop-corn ears drying on the floor of this old garret; its solid rafters[Pg 2] are festooned with dried apples and white onions. Odd bits of furniture, and two or three hair trunks bearing initials made with brass3-headed nails, are scattered4 about the room, and from where I lie I can see a Franklin stove, a pair of brass andirons, and one of those queer wooden-wheeled clocks that used to be made in Connecticut years ago, and which are a fitting monument to the ingenuity5 of the Yankee race.
Every article in the room is carefully treasured, and none is held in more tender regard than are certain square, dust-covered packages of what might be old newspapers that are piled up in big heaps beside the old chairs and tables. One of these bundles lies on the floor beside my sofa, with its string untied7 and its contents scattered carelessly about. Look down and you will see that it contains copies of the New York Ledger8, of a year that was one of the early seventies, and[Pg 3] which have been religiously preserved, together with fully6 twoscore of other similar bundles, by the excellent people who dwell in the house.
The number which I hold in my hand contains instalments of four serials9, as many complete stories, half a dozen poems, contributions by Henry Ward10 Beecher, James Parton, and Mary Kyle Dallas, and a number of short editorials and paragraphs, besides two solid nonpareil columns of “Notices to Correspondents.” One of the serials is called “The Haunted Husband; or, Lady Chetwynde’s Specter,” and deals exclusively with that superior class of mortals who go to make up what a great many of the old Ledger readers would have called “carriage trade.” Another story, “Unknown; or, The Mystery of Raven11 Rocks,” bears the signature of Mrs. E. D. N. Southworth, a name venerated12 in every household in which a red-plush photograph-album is treasured as[Pg 4] a precious objet d’art. The short stories are simple and innocuous enough to suit the most primitive13 of brain-cells. The fiction is embellished14 with three pictures, which are interesting as specimens15 of a simple and now happily obsolete16 school of art.
The “Notices to Correspondents” are a joy forever, and reflect with charming simplicity17 and candor18 the minds of the thousands of anxious inquirers who were wont19 to lay all their doubts and troubles at Robert Bonner’s feet.
It is here that the secrets of the maiden20 heart are laid bare to the gaze of the whole world. It is here that we read of the young man who is “waiting on” a young widow and formerly21 “kept company with” a lady friend who is the cashier of the laundry which he patronizes. Not knowing which of the two he ought to marry, he pours out his soul in this free-for-all arena22 of thought and discussion.[Pg 5] “Mary X.” writes from Xenia, O., to inquire if she is a flirt23 because she has a new beau every two weeks, and is solemnly warned by Mr. Bonner that if she goes on in that way she “will soon have no beaux at all.” “L. L. D.” is a young girl of eighteen, whose parents are addicted24 to drink. She wishes to know if it is proper for her to correspond with a young gentleman friend who is a telegraph-operator in Buffalo25 and has made her a present of a backgammon-board last Christmas. That these letters are genuine is proved by their tone of artless simplicity, and by the fact that no single mind or score of minds could invent the extraordinary questions that were propounded26 from week to week.
Careful perusal27 of the Ledger lyrics28 reveals a leaning on the part of the poets of that period toward such homely29 themes as “The Children’s Photographs,” “The Mother’s Blessing,” and “Down by the[Pg 6] Old Orchard30 Wall.” They are all written on the same plane of inanity31, and are admirably well suited to the tastes of the admirers of Mrs. Southworth and Sylvanus Cobb, Jr.
It is growing dark in the old garret—too dark to read—and I arise from the horsehair sofa, filled with memories of the past which have been awakened32 by perusal of the yellow sheet of twenty years ago. As I tie up the bundle and place it on the dust-covered heap with its fellows, my eye falls upon a dozen packages, different in shape from these and containing copies of the Century Magazine for the past decade, which are preserved with the same tender care that was once bestowed33 upon the Ledger alone.
But as I slowly descend34 the staircase my mind is full of the favorite old story-paper, and of the enormous influence which its Scotch35 proprietor36, Robert Bonner, exerted over the literature of his[Pg 7] day and generation—an influence which is still potent37 in the offices of the great magazines which now supply us with reading matter. I doubt if there has ever been, in this country, a better edited paper than the Ledger was in the days when its destinies were shaped by the hand of its canny38 proprietor. No editor ever understood his audience better, or, knowing his readers, was more successful in giving them what they wanted, than was Robert Bonner, whose dollars accumulated in his own coffers even as the files of his paper accumulated in country garrets in all parts of this broad land.
“Well, where do you find evidences of such careful editing in that hotch-potch which you describe so carefully?” I hear some carping critic ask, and as I run my eye over what I have written I realize that I have utterly39 failed in my attempt to convey an idea of the glories of that particular number of the Ledger. I would[Pg 8] say, however, to my critical friend that the paper is well edited because it does not contain a line of prose or a stanza40 of verse that is not aimed directly at the hearts and minds of the vast army of farmers, midwives, gas-fitters’ daughters, and the blood-relations of janitors41 who constituted its peculiar42 clientèle. And I would add that if the critical one desires to get at the very bone and sinew of Ledger literature he should make a careful study of the poems which were an important feature of it, and in which may be found the very essence of the great principles by which the paper was guided.
Indeed, Mr. Bonner used to be more particular about his poetry than about his prose, and always read himself every line of verse submitted to him for publication. Some of the poems were written by women of simple, serious habits of thought; but a great many of the highly moral and instructive effusions that were[Pg 9] an important feature of the paper were prepared by ungodly and happy-go-lucky Bohemians, who were glad to eke43 out the livelihood44 earned by reporting with an occasional “tenner” from Mr. Bonner’s treasury45. These poets studied the great editor’s peculiarities46 and personal tastes as carefully as the most successful magazine contributors of to-day study those of the various Gilders, Johnsons, Burlingames, and Aldens who dominate American letters in the present year. For example, no horses in Ledger poems were ever permitted to trot47 faster than a mile in eight minutes, and it was considered sagacious to name them Dobbin or Old Bess. Poems in praise of stepmothers or life-insurance were supposed to be distasteful to the great editor, but he was believed to have an absolute passion for lyrics which extolled48 the charm of country life and the homely virtues49 of rural folk. If a poet wrote more than one rhyme to[Pg 10] the quatrain he was warned by his fellows not to ruin the common market.
And now I hear from the carping critic again: “But you don’t mean to tell me that any good poetry was produced by such a process? Why, suppose one of our great magazines—”
“Who said anything about good poetry? It was good poetry for the Ledger subscribers to read, and as to the great modern magazines—haven’t I told you already that I stumbled over a heap of them just as I was leaving the old garret where the pop-corn and the wreaths of dried apples and the bundles of Ledgers50 are kept?”
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
shingled
|
|
| adj.盖木瓦的；贴有墙面板的v.用木瓦盖(shingle的过去式和过去分词形式) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
rustling
|
|
| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
brass
|
|
| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
scattered
|
|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
ingenuity
|
|
| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
fully
|
|
| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
untied
|
|
| 松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
ledger
|
|
| n.总帐，分类帐；帐簿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
serials
|
|
| n.连载小说，电视连续剧( serial的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
ward
|
|
| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
raven
|
|
| n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
venerated
|
|
| 敬重（某人或某事物），崇敬( venerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
primitive
|
|
| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
embellished
|
|
| v.美化( embellish的过去式和过去分词 )；装饰；修饰；润色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
specimens
|
|
| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
obsolete
|
|
| adj.已废弃的，过时的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
simplicity
|
|
| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
candor
|
|
| n.坦白，率真 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
wont
|
|
| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
maiden
|
|
| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
formerly
|
|
| adv.从前，以前 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
arena
|
|
| n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
flirt
|
|
| v.调情，挑逗，调戏；n.调情者，卖俏者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
addicted
|
|
| adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
buffalo
|
|
| n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
propounded
|
|
| v.提出（问题、计划等）供考虑[讨论]，提议( propound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
perusal
|
|
| n.细读，熟读；目测 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
lyrics
|
|
| n.歌词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
homely
|
|
| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
orchard
|
|
| n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
inanity
|
|
| n.无意义，无聊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
awakened
|
|
| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
bestowed
|
|
| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
descend
|
|
| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
scotch
|
|
| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
proprietor
|
|
| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
potent
|
|
| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
canny
|
|
| adj.谨慎的，节俭的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
utterly
|
|
| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
stanza
|
|
| n.（诗）节，段 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
janitors
|
|
| n.看门人( janitor的名词复数 )；看管房屋的人；锅炉工 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
eke
|
|
| v.勉强度日，节约使用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
livelihood
|
|
| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
treasury
|
|
| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
peculiarities
|
|
| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
trot
|
|
| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
extolled
|
|
| v.赞颂，赞扬，赞美( extol的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
virtues
|
|
| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
ledgers
|
|
| n.分类账( ledger的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |