R,CHARD MONCKTON MILNES was born in the year - OUDL Home

Women Novelists of the 'Seventies 79the sound of Time's dark waters, but is mingled with theroar of our own busy printing presses. 'As we are, soyou shall be!' The very years we now so actively occupywill soon be packed up in an old satchel and labelled, the'twenties; and our little, hot, cold, violent, affected,brand new, exquisite, fresh little habits of mind, manners,hobbies, fashions, ideals will have thinned and vanishedaway, will steadily have evaporated, leaving only a frigiddeposit of history; a few decaying buildings, a fewpictures, some music, some machine-made voices, animmense quantity of print—most of it never to be disturbedagain.In the midst of the battle maybe it is indiscreet to museon the tranquil moonlit indifference of the night thatwill follow. Yet one cannot but be reminded of it as onegrubs and burrows in these old novels—re-animatingold heroines, not merely dead and buried (for no novelisthas power to keep them so) but forgotten. It may be thatmany devotees still visit the derelict scene. If it is not so,may I be forgiven for disturbing its peace. Walter SavageLandor was confident that his work would be remembered.'I shall dine late; but the dining-room will bewell-lighted, the guests few and select.' That too may bethe postponed joy of some of our novelists. But Landorknew also that such a destiny is unusual:—Laodameia died; Helen died; Leda, the beloved of Jupiter,went before. It is better to repose in the earth betimes than to situp late; better, than to cling pertinaciously to what we feelcrumbling under us, and to protract an inevitable fall. We mayenjoy the present while we are insensible of infirmity and decay:but the present, like a note in music, is nothing but as it appertainsto what is past and what is to come. There are no fields of amaranthon this side of the grave; there are no voices, O Rhodope, that arenot soon mute, however tuneful; there is no name, with whateveremphasis of passionate love repeated, of which the echo is not faintat last.