tories are tales of adventure in the
forest or on the sea. Like him, Scott shows lack of care in the
construction of sentences. Few of the most cultured people of to-day
could, however, write at Scott's breakneck speed and make as few
slips. Scott has far more humor and variety than Cooper.

Scott's romanticism is seen in his love for supernatural agencies,
which figure in many of his stories. His fondness for adventure, for
mystery, for the rush of battle, for color and sharp contrast, and his
love for the past are also romantic traits. Sometimes, however, he
falls into the classical fault of overdescription and of leaving too
little to the imagination.

In the variety of his creations, he is equaled by no one. He did more
than any other pioneer to aid fiction in dethroning the drama. His
influence can be seen in the historical novels of almost every nation.

JANE AUSTEN, 1775-1817

[Illustration: JANE AUSTEN. _From an original family portrait_.]

Life and Works.--While Sir Walter Scott was laying the foundations
of his large family estates and recounting the story of battles,
chivalry, and brigandage, a quiet little woman, almost unmindful of
the great world, was enlivening her father's parsonage and writing
about the clergy, the old maids, the short-sighted mothers, the
marriageable daughters, and other people that figure in village life.

This cheery, sprightly young woman was Jane Austen, who was born in
Steventon, Hampshire, in 1775.

She spent nearly all her life in Hampshire, which furnished her with
the chief material for her novels. She loved the quiet life of small
country villages and interpreted it with rare sympathy and a keen
sense of humor, as is shown in the following lines from _Pride and
Prejudice_:--

"'Oh, Mr. Bennet, you are wanted immediately; we are all in an
uproar! You must come and make Lizzy marry Mr. Collins, for she
vows she will not have him; and if you do not make haste he will
change his mind and not have her!'

"'Come here, child,' cried her father ... 'I understand that Mr.
Collins has made you an offer of marriage. Is it true?' Elizabeth
replied that it was. 'Very well--and this offer of marriage you have
refused?'

"'I have, sir.'

"'Very well. We now come to the point. Your mother insists
upon your accepting it. Is it not so, Mrs. Bennet?'

"'Yes, or I will never see her again.'

"'An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this