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。
AnOccidentalcannotjudgetheliteraryqualityoftheEasterntales；butIwillownmysuspicionthattheperfectionoftheItalianworkisphilologicalratherthanartistic，whilethewebwovenbyMr。JamesorMissJewett，byKiellandorBjornson，byMaupassant，byPalacioValdes，byGiovanniVerga，byTourguenief，inoneofthoselittleframesseemstomeofanexquisitecolorandtextureandofanentireliterarypreciousness，notonlyasregardsthediction，butasregardsthosemoreintangiblegracesofform，thosevirtuesoftruthandreality，andthoselastingsignificanceswhichdistinguishthemasterpiece。
Thenovellahasinfactbeencarriedsofarintheshortstorythatitmightbeaskedwhetherithadnotleftthenovelbehind，astoperfectionofform；thoughonemightnotliketoaffirmthis。Yettherehavebeenbutfewmodernfictionsofthenovel\'sdimensionswhichhavethebeautyofformmanyanovellaembodies。Isthisbecauseitiseasiertogiveforminthesmallthaninthelarge，oronlybecauseitiseasiertohideformlessness？Itiseasiertogiveforminthenovellathaninthenovel，becausethedesignoflessscopecanbemoredefinite，andbecausethepersonsandfactsarefewer，andeachcanbemorecarefullytreated。
But，ontheotherhand，theslightesterrorinexecutionshowsmoreinthesmallthaninthelarge，andafaultofconceptionismoreevident。
Thenovellamustbeclearlyimagined，aboveallthings，forthereisnoroominitforthosefelicitiesofcharacterizationorcommentbywhichtheartistoffalteringdesignsaveshimselfinthenovel。
IV。
Thequestionastowheretheshortstorydistinguishesitselffromtheanecdoteisofthesamenatureasthatwhichconcernstheboundsetbetweenitandthenovel。Inbothcasesthedifferenceofthenovellaisinthemotive，ortheorigination。Theanecdoteistoopalpablysimpleandsingletoberegardedasanovella，thoughthereisnowandthenanovellalikeTheFather，byBjornson，whichisoftheactualbrevityoftheanecdote，butwhich，whenreleasedinthereader\'sconsciousness，expandstodramaticdimensionsimpossibletotheanecdote。Manyanecdoteshavecomedownfromantiquity，butnot，Ibelieve，oneshortstory，atleastinprose；andtheItalians，iftheydidnotinventthestory，gaveussomethingmostsensiblydistinguishablefromtheclassicanecdoteinthenovella。Theanecdoteoffersanillustrationofcharacter，orrecordsamomentofaction；thenovellaembodiesadramaanddevelopsatype。
Itisnotquitesoclearastowhenandwhereapieceoffictionceasestobeanovellaandbecomesanovel。Thefrontiersaresovaguethatoneisobligedtorecognizeamiddlespecies，orratheramiddlemagnitude，whichparadoxically，butnecessarilyenough，wecallthenovelette。
Firstwehavetheshortstory，ornovella，thenwehavethelongstory，ornovel，andbetweenthesewehavethenovelette，whichisinnameasmallerthantheshortstory，thoughitisinpointoffacttwoorthreetimeslongerthanashortstory。Wemayrealizethemphysicallyifwewilladoptthemagazineparlanceandspeakofthenovellaasaone-numberstory，ofthenovelasaserial，andofthenoveletteasatwo-numberorathree-numberstory；ifitpassesthethree-numberlimititseemstobecomeanovel。Asatwo-numberorthree-numberstoryitisthedespairofeditorsandpublishers。Theinterestofsobriefaserialwillnotmountsufficientlytocarrystronglyoverfrommonthtomonth；whenthetaleiscompleteditwillnotmakeabookwhichtheTrade（inexorableforce！）carestohandle。Itisthereforestillawaitingitsauthoritativeavatar，whichitwillbesomeone\'sprosperityandglorytoimagine；forinthenovelettearepossibilitiesforfictionasyetscarcelydivined。
Thenovelettecanhavealmostasperfectformasthenovella。Infact，thenovelhasforminthemeasurethatitapproachesthenovelette；andsomeofthemostsymmetricalmodernnovelsarescarcelymorethannovelettes，likeTourguenief\'sDmitriRudine，orhisSmoke，orSpringFloods。TheVicarofWakefield，thefatherofthemodernnovel，isscarcelymorethananovelette，andIhavesometimesfancied，butnodoubtvainly，thattheultimatednovelmightbeofthedimensionsofHamlet。IfanyoneshouldsaytherewasnotroominHamletforthecharacterandincidentrequisiteinanovel，IshouldbereadytoanswerthatthereseemedagooddealofbothinHamlet。
ButnodoubtthereareotherreasonswhythenovelshouldnotfinallybeofthelengthofHamlet，andImustnotletmyenthusiasmforthenovelettecarrymetoofar，or，rather，bringmeuptooshort。Iamdisposedtodwelluponit，Isuppose，becauseithasnotyetsharedthefavorwhichthenovellaandthenovelhaveenjoyed，andbecauseuntilsomebodyinventsawayforittothepublicitcannotprosperliketheone-numberstoryortheserial。IshouldliketosayasmylastwordforitherethatIbelievetherearemanynovelswhich，ifstrippedoftheirpadding，wouldturnouttohavebeenallalongmerelynovelettesindisguise。
Itdoesnotfollow，however，thattherearemanynovellewhich，iftheyweredulypadded，wouldbefoundnovelettes。Inthatdim，subjectiveregionwheretheaestheticoriginspresentthemselvesalmostwiththeauthorityofinspirationsthereisnothingclearerthanthedifferencebetweentheshort-storymotiveandthelong-storymotive。One，ifoneisinthatlineofwork，feelsinstinctivelyjustthesizeandcarryingpowerofthegivenmotive。Or，ifthereaderprefersadifferentfigure，themindwhichtheseedhasbeendroppedintofromSomewhereismysticallyawarewhethertheseedisgoingtogrowupabushorisgoingtogrowupatree，iflefttoitself。Ofcourse，themindtowhichtheseedisintrustedmayplayitfalse，andwilfullydwarfthegrowth，orforceittounnaturaldimensions；butthecriticalobserverwilleasilydetectthefactofsuchtreasons。Almostinthefirstgerminalimpulsetheinventivemindforefeelstheultimatedifferenceandrecognizestheessentialsimplicityorcomplexityofthemotive。Therewillbeapropheticsubdivisionintoavarietyofmotivesandamultiplicationofcharactersandincidentsandsituations；ortheoriginalmotivewillbedivinedindivisible，andtherewillbeasmallgroupofpeopleimmediatelyinterestedandcontrolledbyasingle，orpredominant，fact。