Whatevertruththereisinallthis，andIwillconfessthatagooddealofitseemstomehardyconjecture，ratherfavorsmypositionthatweareinsomesuchperiodofourliterarydevelopmentasthoseotherpeopleswhentheshortstoryflourishedamongthem。Or，ifIrestrictourclaim，Imaysafelyclaimthattheyabundantlyhadthenovellawhentheyhadnotthenovelatall，andwenowabundantlyhavethenovella，whilewehavethenovelonlysubordinatelyandofatleastnosuchquantitativeimportanceastheEnglish，French，Spanish，Norwegians，Russians，andsomeothersofouresteemedcontemporaries，nottonametheItalians。WesurpasstheGermans，who，likeourselves，haveasdistinctlyexcelledinthemodernnovellaastheyhavefallenshortinthenovel。Or，ifImaynotquitesaythis，IwillmakeboldtosaythatIcanthinkofmanyGermannovellethatIshouldliketoreadagain，butscarcelyoneGermannovel；andIcouldhonestlysaythesameofAmericannovelle，thoughnotofAmericannovels。
III。
Theabeyance，nottosaythedesuetude，thatthenovellafellintoforseveralcenturiesisverycurious，andfullyasremarkableasthemodernriseoftheshortstory。Itbegantoprevailinthedramaticform，foraplayisashortstoryputonthestage；itmayhavesatisfiedinthatformtheearlyloveofit，andithascontinuedtopleaseinthatform；
butinitsoriginalshapeitquitevanished，unlessweconsiderthelittlestudiesandsketchesandallegoriesoftheSpectatorandTatlerandIdlerandRamblerandtheirimitationsontheContinentasguisesofthenovella。Thegermofthemodernshortstorymayhavesurvivedinthese，orinthemetricalformofthenovellawhichappearedinChaucerandneverwhollydisappeared。WithCrabbethenovellabecameasdistinctlytheshortstoryasithasbecomeinthehandsofMissWilkins。
Butitwasnottillourtimethatitsgreatmeritasaformwasfelt，foruntilourtimesogreatworkwasneverdonewithit。IremindmyselfofBoccaccio，andoftheArabianNights，withoutthewishtohedgefrommyboldstand。Theyareallelemental；comparedwithsomefinermodernworkwhichdeepensinwardimmeasurably，theyarealloftheirsuperficiallimits。Theyamuse，buttheydonothold，themindandstampitwithlargeandprofoundimpressions。