NOVELS AND NOVEL READING.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume VI, Issue 292, 6 December 1878, Page 19

NOVELS AND NOVEL READING.

( Lecture by Mr. B. O'G. Lalor.) IN speaking oi this branch of literature, which usurps such importance now-a'daye, I shall divide my lecture into three parts. In the first $>laco I shall give a brief history of the romance, or novel, for these terms are synonymous, showing how the terms were derived, and going back to the earliest times to find their origin. Secondly, I sh?U dwell upon novels and novel writers, giving a brief history of their lives, and a " critique " of their principal work, showing also their chief characteristics, their merits, and their defects, and what influence the incidents of their lives have upon their works. At this point I shall likewise instance a few readings from the principal standard authors as examples of their style j and, to conclude, I shall say a few words about novel reading and its immediate effect on the mind) the passions, and morality. In the first place, what is the definition of a romance or novel ? I have heard it defined as " a book bound in paper-boards, with a plentiful sprinkling of love passages, which generally winds up with a marriage." Ought we, therefore, to exclude those works of fiction in which "love" passages do not occur? The answer is a difficult one. However that may be, it is almost impossible to give a good definition of a novel. Amongst others who have attempted this, Dr. Johnson distinguishes between romance and novel j this author has defined romance in its primary sense to be " a military fable of the middle ages, a tale of wild adventures, of love and chivalry." But although this definition expresses correctly the ordinary idea of the word, it is not sufficiently comprehensive to answer our present purpose. A composition may be a legitimate romance, yet neither refer to love or chivalry, to war, nor to middle ages, The wild adventures are almost the only absolutely essential ingredient in Johnson's definition. I would be rather inclined to describe a romance as " a fictitious narrative in prose or verse, the interest of which turns upon marvellous and uncommon incidents ;" being thus opposed to the kindred term novel, which Johnson has described as " a smooth tale, generally of love ; " but which I would rather define as '• a fictitious narrative differing from the romance, because the events are accommodated to the ordinary train of human events, and the modern state of society." Assuming these definitions, it is evident from the nature of the distinction adopted, that there may exist compositions which it is difficult to assign precisely or exclusively to the one class or other ; and which, in fact, partake of the nature of both. But the distinction will bo found broad enough to answer all general and useful purposes. The word novel is derived from the Latin novvx, new. It was a novelty in prose, a species of fictitious composition in prose, for the first novels or romances were originally written in verse, and sung by the bards or minstrels at the Barons' feasts. Afterwards they came 1o grow weary of these long descriptive songs, and the romance began to be written in prose ; hence it was called a novelty, Romance is derived from the word Roman, because it was originally written m the Roman or Latin tongue, or in languages derived from the Latin, and hence called Roman or Romance tongues. This species of composition Wcis principally written in French, which is one of the chief Romance tongues, so that the word Romance in its original meaning was far from corresponding with the definition now assigned. On the contrary, it signified merely one or other of the popular dialects of Europe, founded as almost all these dialects were upon the Roman tongue — that is. upon the Latin. The most noted romances in the middle ages were usually composed then in the Romance or French language, which was in a peculiar degree the speech of love and chivalry ; and those which were written in English always affect to refer to some French original, which usually, at least, if not in all instances, must be supposed to have a real existence. Thus, very naturally, though undoubtedly by slow degrees, the very name of romaunt or romance came to be transferred from the language itself to that peculiar kind of composition in which it was so much employed, and which so commonly referred to it. Having thus accounted for the derivation of the word, our investigation divides itself into three principal branches, though of unequal extent. In the first of these I propose to inquire into the general history and origin of this peculiai epecies of composition, particularly of romances relating to European chivalry — which necessarily form the. most interesting object of our inquiry. In the second, I shall give some brief account of the history of romance of the chivalry in the different States of Europe. Thirdly, I propose to notice cursorily the various kinds of romantic composition by which the ancient romances of chivalry were followed and superseded, and with these notices to conclude the first part of the lecture. The second part I shall devote to the immediate origin and his* tory of our modern novel, giving then a division or classification of the different novels, and finally in chronological order the chief novel writers, especially the English ones, with a resume of their prmsipal novels, and either a few words about the general style of their works, or a short critique *on some of their literary productions. I shall then give a very brief -outline of foreign novels, specially including Spanish romances and the modern French novelists, with a few words on their styles, merits, or defects. In conclusion, I shall say a few words concerning the different classes of novels with regard to their effect upon the mind and morality, and finally, about novel reading and the intense harm and injury it causes. Now, to come back to romance, which of course is the first form of our modern novel. In fact our novel is simply the romance modified and adapted to modern times and our epoch. The progress of romance, in fact, keeps pace with that of society, which cannot long exist, even in the simplest state, without exhibiting some specimens of this attractive style of composition. It is not meant by this assertion that in early ages such narratives were invented in the character of mere fictions, devised to beguile the leisure of those who had time enough to read and attend to them. On the contrary, romance and real history have the same common origin. It is the aim of the former to maintain as long as possible the mask of veracity ; and indeed the traditional memorials of all earlier ages partake in. such a varied and doubtful degree of the qualities essential to those opposite lines of composition, that they form a mixed class

between them, and may bej termed romantic histories or historical romances, according to the proportion in which their truth is debased by fiction, or their fiction mingled with truth. A moment's glance at the origin of society will show why this can hardly, be otherwise. The father of an isolated family, destined one day to rise into a tribe, and in further progress of time to expand into a nation, may, indeed, narrate to his descendants the circumstances which detached him from the society of bis brethren, and drove him to form a solitarysettlement in the wilderness, with no other deviation from truth, on the part of the narrator, than arises from the infidelity of memory, or the exaggerations of vanity. But when the tale of the patriarch is related by the children, and again by hi 3 descendants of the fourth or fifth generation, the facts it contains are apt to assume a very different aspect. The vanity of the tribe augments the simple annals; from one cause ; the love of the marvellous so natural to the human mind, contributes its means of sophistication from another ; while, sometimes, the king and the priest find their interest in casting a holy and sacred gloom and mystery over the early period in which their power arose. Thus, the definition which I have given of Romance as a fictitious narrative, turning upon the marvellous or the supernatural, might in a large sense be said to embrace . quiequiA G-raecla mendax audet in hlsiona ; or, in fine, the mythological and fabulous history of all early nations. It is also important to remark, that poetry, or rather verse, rhythm at least of some sort or other, isi originally selected as the best vehicle for these traditional histories. Its principal recommendation is probably the greater facility with which metrical narratives arc retained in the memory, a point of the last consequence, until the art of writing is generally introduced ; since the construction of the verse itself forms an artificial association with the sense, the one of which seldom fails to recall the otherto recollection. But the medium of verse at first adopted merely to aid the memory becomes soon valuable on. account of its other qualities. (To Tie Continued')