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CHAPTER IX
THE PRESS AND THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGES
The French bring an artistic instinct into the
manufacturing of all things, and so it follows
that they could not be content to compose
newspapers on the lines of British journalism,
which accepts the propagation of mere news as
the aim and object for which journalism was instituted.
It is not necessarily what is true, but
what will amuse and please his subscribers that
the editor thinks of. If these want fiction, then
give them fiction, by all means, but mix it up in
a literary ragout. And so, when you have
turned from the political article of your paper,
which is frequently written in questionable taste,
you will find little paragraphs, half-columns
about the nothings of the hour, written with a
delicate wit, an infinite grace and humour. Most
of the contributors to the Figaro are remarkable
writers. Of M. Anatole France there is nothing
to be said here, once we salute him as the living
master of French literature. Every Wednesday
he offers the fortunate readers of the Figaro a
