290 
HISTORY OF ENGLAND [1837-1901 
Carlyle, Cardinal Newman, and John Ruskin are masters 
of prose, and certain to be remembered. 
Among <he books of whose making there is no end, the 
novel holds the most prominent place. Scott, Dickens, 
Thackeray, and “George Eliot” have long been our best 
known writers of fiction, four 
authors who are so dissimilar 
that the popularity of all is, 
in itself, a proof that the novel 
is enjoyed by all kinds of 
people, But the object of the 
novel of to-day is not merely 
to give pleasure. Fiction is no 
longer a source of amusement 
and nothing more; it has. be- 
come a useful servant. Perhaps 
the most excellent feature ’of 
this ascendency of the novel 
is that we require our fiction 
to be true to life. Adventures 
must be probable, characters 
must be consistent, and the historical novel, if it would 
have more than a passing fame, must be the work of the 
student as well as the teller of stories. 
274. Jubilee years.— The fiftieth anniversary of Victoria’s 
Accession to the throne was celebrated in 1887 by a brilliant 
military parade at which representative troops from 
all parts of the Empire were present. Ten years later, 
in 1897, the sixtieth anniversary was celebrated by an 
even more imposing military spectacle. The prime 
ministers of all the colonies, accompanied by- detachments 
of colonial troops, attended, and took part in the dem- 
onstration. Both these jubilee parades were more than 
mere show. They demonstrated the wealth, the extent, 
the power, and the loyalty of a united and self-governing 
people. 
275. Influence of Queen Vietoria.—There were world- 
stirring events during the life of Queen Victoria, but no one 
of them held so steadily the interest and attention of the 
CHARLES DIicCKENS
	        
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