I have often been &longs;urpri&longs;ed, &longs;aid the author,
taking the &longs;ketch (for I had wrote it down) and giving
me a bow of thanks — It has often &longs;urpri&longs;ed me,
&longs;aid he, to find that all the di&longs;tre&longs;&longs;es of a novel proceeds
from a pa&longs;&longs;ion which is in general &longs;uppo&longs;ed to
contribute to our chief happine&longs;s — All writers of
that &longs;ort of production, from the time of romance
and enchanted tales, to the pre&longs;ent tribe of scribblers,
could find no other &longs;ubject to employ their
pons but love — I wonder that the novel readers are
not tired of reading one &longs;tory &longs;o my times, with
only the variation of its being told different ways.

When I fir&longs;t commenced Author, continued he,
I wrote on religion and philo&longs;ophy; but I found in
the fir&longs;t I could gain no reputation unle&longs;s I wrote
in the enthu&longs;ia&longs;tic &longs;tile of a Methodi&longs;t; and the
latter was too ob&longs;tru&longs;e a &longs;tudy for the young and gay,
required too much time for the old, and was totally
improper for the ignorant and illiterate — My books
would not fell — I had frequently applied to a per&longs;on
eminent for his numerous publications. He told
me if I wi&longs;hed to get a living I mu&longs;t write to amu&longs;e
rather than in&longs;truct the world; and that if I would
write him a good novel in two volumes, he would
give me ten guineas for it.

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He thought, no doubt, ten guineas was a very
large &longs;um to be put into the hands of a poor author:
to deal candidly, I &longs;hould have been very glad at
that time of a fifth part of the &longs;um—but to proceed—
I was not at all conver&longs;ant in that &longs;ort of reading;
but finding it ab&longs;olutely nece&longs;&longs;ary, I borrowed
&longs;ome of the be&longs;t e&longs;teemed modern novels from a library,
and began to peru&longs;e them with great attention,
but there was a &longs;amene&longs;s in the generality of
them that di&longs;gu&longs;ted, and a loo&longs;ene&longs;s in the language
of others that &longs;hocked me.

It is indeed &longs;hocking, &longs;aid I, to &longs;ee &longs;o many reams
of paper expended in u&longs;hering to the world pernicious
pages, which tend to vitiate the ta&longs;te and corrupt
the heart. When the heroine of a novel is
repre&longs;ented as flying in the face of filial duty, eloping,
running into the very lap of danger, braving
the authority of her parents, and forgetting the decorum
and delicacy which ought to be the characteristic
of the female &longs;ex, and yet, in the end meets
with every ble&longs;&longs;ing, every comfort, &longs;he can wi&longs;h;
is it not enough to ruin the weak head and unwary
heart, by leading them to think true felicity is to
be found by following the bent of their own inclinations,
though never &longs;o wayward and oppo&longs;ite to
the advice of their friends or the dictates of rea&longs;on?

Nor can I think that the more modern productions
contain a better moral, &longs;ince the whole merit of
the filial obedience is cancelled by the retaining an
affection for one man after they have vowed eternal
fidelity to another.

I would wi&longs;h the authors of tho&longs;e works to reflect,
that it is the inclinations of the heart that renders
us guilty as much as the actual commi&longs;&longs;ion of
a crime; and a woman who &longs;trays from her

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husband only in wi&longs;hes and thoughts, is in reality as
culpable as &longs;he who actually wounds his honor.

I have very nice notions of conjugal fidelity and
filial duty, and earne&longs;tly wi&longs;h that no writings might
ever be made public which tend to injure either:
they are the foundation on which we may always
rai&longs;e the temple of happine&longs;s; they are a crown of
glory for the head, a cordial and comforter even to
the &longs;orrow-wounded heart.

The&longs;e virtues are the brighte&longs;t ornaments the
female &longs;ex can wear, they make the plaine&longs;t woman
lovely; and, when di&longs;played in an eminent degree,
elevate the human &longs;oul, and make it little inferior
to angels.