It must be remembered that at this time no signatures were allowed in the Harpers’ publications, and the matter[Pg 35] published in the Monthly was either of foreign manufacture or else prepared in the Franklin Square Foundry by poets employed by the week at fair but not exorbitant5 wages. The Ledger6 principles were observed here to a certain extent, but were not enforced as rigidly7 as they were by Mr. Bonner in his own establishment. I think, myself, that the Pfaff poets were more directly accountable for the introduction of the Bonnerian maxims than were the Harpers themselves, because they had become so accustomed to eliminate stepmothers, sisters, fast trotters, and other objectionable features from their work that they had come to regard them as quite as much outside the pale of ordinary fiction as if they were dwellers8 on the planet Mars. Moreover a poem or story constructed on the Bonner plan might, if rejected by the Harpers, still prove acceptable to the Ledger.
From the very first Dr. Holland showed[Pg 36] a commendable9 purpose to raise the tone of the new Monthly above that of Mr. Bonner’s story-paper, and although we see distinct evidences, in his earlier numbers, of Ledger influences, it was not long before a gradual emancipation10 from the strictest and most literal interpretation11 of Mr. Bonner’s iron-clad rules began. Horses soon began to strike a swifter gait in the serial12 stories, and in “Wilfred Cumbermede” one of these quadrupeds has the hardihood to throw its rider over its head. But that would never have happened if George Macdonald had been trained in the modern Ledger school of fiction.
Looking over these old numbers in the light of ripened14 knowledge, I can see Dr. Holland slowly groping his way along an untrodden pathway leading from the Ledger office to the broad fields of literature, where our magazine barons15 hold undisputed sway. That he kept a watchful[Pg 37] eye on his rural subscribers is shown by an extended illustrated16 article on Fairmount Park, and another one descriptive of Philadelphia—subjects which possess about as much interest for metropolitan17 readers as that masterpiece of bucolic18 romance, The Opening of a Chestnut19 Burr. Among the writers whose names appear in these numbers are Alice Cary, Edward Eggleston, J. T. Headley, and Washington Gladden—all graduates or disciples20 of the great Ledger school.
Of these I consider Washington Gladden entitled to the highest rank as an exponent21 of mediocrity. Indeed, after a careful survey of the magazine barons’ wide domain22, I must award the palm of merit to this popular manufacturer of literary wares23 for even mediocrity, unspoiled by the slightest sense of humor. It is that very lack of humor which has brought success to many a man whose mission in life has been to write for the[Pg 38] great, simple-minded public. The poets and humorists of the Jack24 Moran school, who were compelled to descend25 to the commonplace and the stupid because of their temporal necessities, never really became thorough masters of the divine art of writing mediocrity, because their sense of the ludicrous brought them to a halt before those Alpine26 heights of tedious imbecility which people like E. P. Roe27 and Washington Gladden scaled with unblanched cheeks.
But to return to Washington Gladden. If any of the large and thoughtful circle whom I have the honor to address have never read a story from this gentleman’s pen, entitled The Christian28 League of Connecticut, I implore29 them to seek out the numbers of the Century in which it appeared about a decade ago, and sit down to the enjoyment30 of one of the finest specimens31 of unconscious humor that our generation has known.
[Pg 39]This story deals with a league composed of all the Protestant churches in a small Connecticut town, for the promotion32 of large-hearted geniality33 and mutual34 aid in the work of evangelization. It contains a description of a scene in the Methodist Church at the moment when it seems that the congregation will be unable to raise the debt which has long weighed them down. They are about to abandon the attempt, when the other churches in the town learn of their distress35 and proceed to help them out. The First Congregational Church pledges $1675, the Universalist Church sends $500, and finally the Second Congregational Church raises the ante to $1810, while the people burst forth36 into shouts of “Hallelujah!” and fervent37 songs of praise.
If any one were to write a wild burlesque38 on the ecclesiastical methods in vogue39 in Connecticut he would fall far[Pg 40] short of Mr. Gladden’s account of this extraordinary meeting. The New England country parson who gets his salary regularly is a fortunate man, and as to subscriptions40 for the church, they are usually collected with the aid of a stomach-pump. I have never yet heard of a man giving anything toward any church save that in which he had a pew, but I do remember the scene which ensued one morning in a little country meeting-house, when the richest man in the congregation relaxed his grip on three hundred dollars—and there was a string tied to every bill, too.
Another chapter of The Christian League tells us how Judge Beeswax returned to his native village from the city in which he had grown wealthy, and generously gave a thousand dollars to save the old church, in which he had worshiped as a boy, from being sold for old timber.
And this dénouement bears such a wonderful[Pg 41] resemblance to that in eight of the sixteen “Two Brothers” poems that I am half inclined to suspect that in his younger days Mr. Gladden was one of the poets who turned up at the Ledger office every Friday and waited for the verdict.
And I am sure that Dr. Holland had been, in his time, a close student of the Bonnerian maxims, and especially of that which I have already alluded41 to—“In real life, yes; but not in the New York Ledger!” To which might be added, “nor in the old Scribner’s either.” All through the Holland period we find evidences of the deep hold that this maxim2 had taken on the minds of both writers and barons.
For example, I believe that it is pretty well known that extreme prohibition42 measures bring about the most degrading and terrible forms of drunkenness known outside of Liverpool, and that of all the prohibitory statutes43 the Maine Liquor Law is about the worst. That is[Pg 42] the case in real life, but not in Scribner’s Monthly, for in the year 1877—Dr. Holland being then the dominant44 figure in American letters—we find in an article on the Rangeley Lakes the following paragraph: “The Maine Liquor Law has certainly put an end to this régime (a barrel of rum to a barrel of beans), and with it have disappeared to a very great extent drunkenness, profanity, and kindred vices45.”
Yes, my carping friend, we all know that the sentence which I have quoted is ridiculously untrue, and entirely46 out of place in a very interesting article on trout-fishing, but there was just as good a reason for printing it as there was for publishing The Christian League of Connecticut. That paragraph was well calculated to please folks of the variety that swooped47 down upon New York thirty thousand strong, under the banner of the Christian Endeavor Society.
[Pg 43]I do not know why it is, but people of this class fairly revel48 in humbug49 of every description, and nothing pleases them more than to read about the beneficent influences of prohibitory legislation, or to swallow once more the old Anglo-Saxon lie about Albion’s virtue50 and the wickedness of France—and if you would like to see that miserable51 fallacy whacked52 in the head read Mr. Brownell’s French Traits—or even to gloat over Mr. Gladden’s story of the princely generosity53 that prevails in the religious circles of New England.
These Christian Endeavor people are a mystery to me. More than thirty thousand of them took possession of our city, and there was one erring54 brother among them who fell by the wayside, and was locked up in the House of Detention55, charged with having been robbed of his return-ticket and about two hundred dollars in money. He was confined nearly a week, and during that time not[Pg 44] one of his fellow Christian Endeavorers held out a helping56 hand to him. If the unfortunate man had come on from the West to attend a convention of sneak-thieves he would have fared better than he did.
“But what have the Christian Endeavorers to do with literature?” asks my doubting and critical friend. They have a great deal to do with literature just now, more’s the pity. I did not drag them into these pages by the neck and ears simply to say what I thought of them (although I am not sorry to do that), but to give my audience an idea of one of the elements—and it is a large one, too—to which our magazine publishers are obliged to cater57, if they wish to hold their own in point of circulation.
It is because of just such people as these that our periodical literature is constantly defaced by matter of the sort that I have mentioned, and we are all the[Pg 45] time saying, just as Bonner said to the Pfaff poet, “It’s one thing in real life, but another in Harper’s and the Century.” So it happens that intelligent human beings must have their nostrils58 assailed59 with rubbish about the Maine Liquor Law putting a stop to profanity, because, forsooth, it is supposed to tickle60 the palates of a lot of sniveling humbugs61, who are so busy with prayers and psalm-singing that they have not time to perform the commonest acts of decency62 and charity for one of their own kith and kin13.
Understand me, I am not blaming the barons for putting stuff of this sort into their publications. If I were the proprietor63 of a great magazine I would have a picture of Robert Bonner over my desk, and the walls of my editorial rooms and business offices should be hung with the great Ledger maxims. There are a thousand mediocre64 people in this country to where there are five of superior intelligence;[Pg 46] but, after all, the five have some rights that magazine barons are bound to respect, and I think that about Christmas-time every year some little attention ought to be shown them.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
dwelling
|
|
| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
maxim
|
|
| n.格言，箴言 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
maxims
|
|
| n.格言，座右铭( maxim的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
pecuniary
|
|
| adj.金钱的；金钱上的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
exorbitant
|
|
| adj.过分的；过度的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
ledger
|
|
| n.总帐，分类帐；帐簿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
rigidly
|
|
| adv.刻板地，僵化地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
dwellers
|
|
| n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
commendable
|
|
| adj.值得称赞的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
emancipation
|
|
| n.（从束缚、支配下）解放 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
interpretation
|
|
| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
serial
|
|
| n.连本影片，连本电视节目；adj.连续的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
kin
|
|
| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
ripened
|
|
| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
barons
|
|
| 男爵( baron的名词复数 )； 巨头； 大王； 大亨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
illustrated
|
|
| adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
metropolitan
|
|
| adj.大城市的，大都会的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
bucolic
|
|
| adj.乡村的；牧羊的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
chestnut
|
|
| n.栗树，栗子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
disciples
|
|
| n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
exponent
|
|
| n.倡导者，拥护者；代表人物；指数，幂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
domain
|
|
| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
wares
|
|
| n. 货物, 商品 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
jack
|
|
| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
descend
|
|
| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
alpine
|
|
| adj.高山的；n.高山植物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
roe
|
|
| n.鱼卵；獐鹿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
Christian
|
|
| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
implore
|
|
| vt.乞求，恳求，哀求 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
enjoyment
|
|
| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
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： |
|
|
|
|
32
promotion
|
|
| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
geniality
|
|
| n.和蔼，诚恳；愉快 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
mutual
|
|
| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
distress
|
|
| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
fervent
|
|
| adj.热的，热烈的，热情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
burlesque
|
|
| v.嘲弄，戏仿；n.嘲弄，取笑，滑稽模仿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
Vogue
|
|
| n.时髦，时尚；adj.流行的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
subscriptions
|
|
| n.（报刊等的）订阅费( subscription的名词复数 )；捐款；（俱乐部的）会员费；捐助 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
alluded
|
|
| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
prohibition
|
|
| n.禁止；禁令，禁律 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
statutes
|
|
| 成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
dominant
|
|
| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
vices
|
|
| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
swooped
|
|
| 俯冲，猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
revel
|
|
| vi.狂欢作乐，陶醉；n.作乐，狂欢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
humbug
|
|
| n.花招，谎话，欺骗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
virtue
|
|
| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
miserable
|
|
| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
whacked
|
|
| a.精疲力尽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
generosity
|
|
| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
erring
|
|
| 做错事的，错误的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
detention
|
|
| n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
helping
|
|
| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
cater
|
|
| vi.(for/to)满足，迎合；(for)提供饮食及服务 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
nostrils
|
|
| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
assailed
|
|
| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
tickle
|
|
| v.搔痒，胳肢；使高兴；发痒；n.搔痒，发痒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
humbugs
|
|
| 欺骗( humbug的名词复数 )； 虚伪； 骗子； 薄荷硬糖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
62
decency
|
|
| n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
proprietor
|
|
| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
mediocre
|
|
| adj.平常的，普通的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |