Glad to see people are enjoying this one! Incredibly, the original publication just keeps going, with segments which call to mind nothing so much as the tale of Nicki Minajās cousinās friendās balls:
Not very long since, a double suicide was committed in Massachusetts by a young married couple from Ohio, who were clearly proved to be led to ruin and death by these most pernicious books. Not many winters ago, in a town of New England of not more than five thousand inhabitants, to the certain knowledge of the writer of this volume, three divorces were distinctly traced to the influence of this class of writings on the minds of young romantic wives and mothers, one or two of whom were professors of religion. Police officers too in London and some of our own large cities, have given mournful evidence of the results of some of these novels when dramatized and performed on the stage, as leading to burglaries and murder.
He then applauds an anonymous minister in his efforts ābeseeching those young persons who wished to enjoy happiness on earth and heaven hereafter, never, never to touch the unhallowed book, called by whatever name it might be, partaking of the character of a novel.ā So, you know, take note.
