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follow that it is common at the South. We are as
utterly above resorting to such miserable subter
fuges as these Journals would teach their readers
■ire incident to offers of handsome Prizes, as they
-can be —and we need only repeat that what we say
in our paper, we mean, honestly and earnestly.—
We say this, to give to authors everywhere the as
surance that the humble Prizes we have offered will
he faithfully adjudged to the best articles sent in, in
compliance with the published requisitions. No
further postponement will be marie.
<our (Kosstp Column*
We cheerfully comply with the request of our fair
correspondent, “A Learner,” to publish her note
“in>the Gossip Column,” where,however, we think
“Bayard” will be pretty sure to see it—as, indeed,
he should. Our firm persuasion is, that he had bet
ter not have provoked the ladies by his first allusion
to Miss Mclntosh's book, Eut to “ A Learner's”
reply:
Dear Sir : —I was much disappointed, instead of
learning something about Homeopathy from “ Bay
ard,” to find Lady Mary Montague stripped of all
the glory which I thought would be reflected on the
sex. If he will look again, he will find that the in
troduction of innoculation is all that Avas claimed
for her—vaccination is spoken of as being “ intro
duced” in our day. How does it happen, that for
so many faculty agreed that vaccination
was a great blessing 1 1 suppose,because they were
not so wise and well-informed as they are now. It
is really a pity that “ Bayard” was arrested in his
progress to “the bottom of the well.” I hope he
will try it again. Indeed, I feel particularly anx
ious he should, because perhaps he will find out for
the benefit of mankind , what womankind can com
prehend. They ought to thank him, however, that
he allows them to understand one science (their
knowledge of that makes them “ help-meats,” is it
not I). They have the satisfaction of ministering
to the least intellectual of man’s senses—that of
taste; but Horace tells us, “ the road to a man’s
heart is through his stomach.”
I think “Bayard” would like me if he knew me,
for I am considered a capital house-keeper, though,
to be honest, I am a little fond of trying to under
stand things beyond my comprehension, and forget
that my “ mission'’'’ is to “ illustrate ” puddings and
pies, for men to “ appreciate.”
Pray do not tell who I am, or what. Indeed, lam
reduced to a non-entity ; and just put this in your
Gossip Column. “ Bayard” does not read gossip, I
know —’tis too womanish.
Does “ dying mathematically” mean to die like
the infidel Mirabeau 1 A LEARNER.
.... A distinguished literary lady writes to us as
follows, of “ The Schoolfellow “I am extremely
pleased with the new enterprise you are about to un
dertake. It promises all that is necessary to inter
est the minds of the young, and I have no doubt from
the way in which you have redeemed your pledge to
the older public when you came forward as a minis
ter to its literary wants, that you will abundantly
fulfil the expectations you have raised. * * * If,
by promising to be an occasional, if not a frequent,
contributor, I can aid, in the least, a cause dear to
my heart, I do it cheerfully—gladly.” Thanks
our best thanks —to our much esteemedfriend, whose
encouragement increases our confidence in the ex
cellence of the enterprize. Her aid will be as high
ly valued as her ambition can desire We
have been amusing our circle of late with a volume
entitled “ The Biglow Papers,” which are rhyming
epistles from Hosea Biglow, of J aalem Point, to Mr.
Buckingham, of the Boston Courier They are ad
mirable satires in Yankee dialect upon the move
ments of the age, and are attributed to the pen of
Lowell, who is the author of the “Table for Crit
ics,” as we “ guessed.” We have laughed so heart
ily over Hosea’s notions and verses, that we are dis
posed to let our readers laugh too. So here goes for
■a taste of his quality:
HOSEA’S OPINION OF WAR.
“Ez fer war, I call it murder,
There you hev it plain and flat —
1 don’t want to go no furder
Than my Testyment for that;
God hez sed so plump an’ fairly,
Its ez long ez it is broad—
An’ you ’vc got to get up airly
Ls you want to take in God.
Taint your Eppylettcs an’ Lathers #
M ike the thing a grain right—
Taint a fclleria’ y our bell-wethers
Will excuse ye in His sight..
Es you take a sword and dror it,
An’ go stick a feller thru,
Guv’ment air.’t to answer fer it—
God ’ll send the bill to you!”
And here we have Hosea’s creed —which, howev
er, he puts into the mouth of what he calls “The
Pious Editor:”
“ lu short, I firmly du believe
In Humbug generally,
For its a thing that I perceive
To hev a solid valley ;
This heth my faithful shepherd ben —
lb B T S !B A IE Y
In pastures sweet heth led me“
An’ this ’ll keep the people.green,
To feed ez they hev fed me!”
We should like to quote more from this impudent,
queer book, but our limits are reached, and we
close it.
(Due 3300 ft (Table.
Publishers and Authors who desire to have their
Books noticed in this Gazette are requested to send cop
ies to Editor through Stringer it Townsend, New-York t
or Carey At Hart, Philadelphia.
The Sacred Poets of England and America,
for three centuries. Edited by Rufus W. Gris
wold. One vol., Bvo., pp. 552. Illustrated with
steel engravings. New York: D. Appleton &
Cos.
As we have before taken occasion to remark, sa
cred poetry is the highest manifestation of the Di
vine Art. The sublimest eloquence of language is
embodied in the poetry of the Bible —and of poetry,
uninspired by Revelation, we unhesitatingly affirm,
that sacred poetry excels in all the essential attri
butes of loft}’ and ennobling song. Ilow acceptable,
then, to thousands in Christendom must be a collec
tion of the sacred poetry of three centuries —embo-
dying, of course, the sweetest, purest and loftiest
strains that in that long period have rung out from
the golden harps of Zion, and thrilled upon the
hearts of the Christian world, like music from the
“New Jerusalem.”
Never have we welcomed a volume from the hands
of Dr. Griswold with more pleasure than this ; and
never, we think, has he displayed to more advan
tage his excellent taste and judgment in selection.
It is rich in beauties from beginning to end, and
scarcely a page unfolds itself upon which there is
not something to be read —it may be for the hun
dredth time, but nevertheless with delight.
Those of our readers, who know little of the reli
gious poetry of the sixteenth and seventeenth centu
ries, will thank us for pointing them to this beauti
ful volume as a repository of verse, whose chief
characteristics are quaintness of diction and great
fervor of sentiment. The poetry of that period had
not the grace and polish of that which succeeded it,
but its very homeliness —and, sometimes, grotesque
ness —attracts the mind of the reader to the great
thoughts which glow within it. Here are the riches
of Vaughn, Herbert, Quarles, Donne, Fletcher, and a
host of other worthies of the ancient time. Our lim
its forbid extracts of any length, but wc must find
room for a few specimens. The following is from
Fletcher:
“ He is a path, if any be misled —
He is a robe, if any naked be;
If any chance to hunger, He is bread —
If any be a bondman, He is free —
If any be but weak, how strong is He!
To dead men life He is, to sick men health —
To blind men sight, and to the needy wealth —
A pleasure without loss, a treasure without stealth.”
Who has not admired the exquisite hymn of
Vaughan, commencing,
“ They are all gone into a world of light—
I alone sit lingering here ;
Their very memory is fair and bright,
And my sad thoughts doth clear.
It glows and glitters on my cloudy breast,
Like stars upon some gloomy grove ;
Or those faint beams in which the sun is dressed,
After the sun’s remove.”
Among the more modern ‘ sacred poets,’ are the
names of Cowper, Thompson, Montgomery, Pollock,
Heber, Croly, Keble, Mrs. Ilemans, Bryant, Dana,
Wilcox, Mrs. Sigourney, and others. There are
some names omitted that it would have gladdened
us to meet in such a collection, hut we will not, on
this account, disparage the excellence of what is
embraced in the volume, which is worthy to find a
place in every Christian family throughout the land.
Tire Sybil, or New Oracles from the Poets. By
Caroline Gilman. One vol., 12mo. New York:
George P. Putnam.
This is one of the most appropriate volumes for
the parlor-table that we have had occasion to no
tice. The design of the work is as pleasing as its
execution is graceful; and cf the latter no one will
doubt, who is familiar with the previous product ions
of its accomplished authoress. Ihe Sybil, or New
Oracles, is a novel and exceedingly beautiful sys
tem of what is commonly termed “fortune-telling.”
It embraces a series of questions, the answers to
which are selected lrom the most celebrated poets,
and are sufficiently numerous to afford different an
swers to the members of a large company. We
know not better how to make our readers acquaint
ed with the plan of the work, than by quoting a spe
cimen or two. There are eighteen subjects, or ques
tions, of which we take the first —addressed, let us
suppose, to the Oracle by a lady. What is my char
acter! The fair questioner chooses any number,
from 1 to 42 —say, for example, No. 22—which, up
on reference to the Oracle, we find to be as follows:
“ Have I not seen thy needle plied,
With as much ready glee,
As if it were tby greatest pride
A sempstress famed to be 1
Have I not ate pies puddings, tarts,
And bread, tby hands have kneaded—
All excellent, as if those arts
Were all that tlmn hadst heeded 1”
Now,- let us give the gentlemen a chance. Wc
will suppose one to ask of the Oracle concerning the
character of his lady love ; and, in obedience to the
direction to choose a number, lie selects 36, which
affords the following revelation;
“ She keens an Album
Well tilled with all an Album’s glories,
Paintings of butterflies and Home,
Patterns for trimmings, Persian stories,
Soft sonnets to her cockatoo,
Fierce odes to famine and to slaughter,
And autographs of Prince Laboo,
And recipes for elder-water!”
In a different vein is the following beautiful reve
lation on the same topic, made known to another
querist, at No. 33 :
“ A spirit pure as her’s,
Is always pure, e'en when it errs;
As sunshine broken in the rill,
Though turned astray, is sunshine still!”
What a treasure is such a book as this for a win
ter-evening assembly, where there is a relish for
something else than gossip ! Apart from its oracu
lar merit, it is a perfect treasury of morccaux from
the best poets of England and America. Mrs. Gil
man has selected these with her own exquisite taste,
and
“ Many a gem of purest ray serene”
sparkles in its chaste setting upon the pages of this
volume. It is woman’s peculiar gift to adorn and
beautify whatever she touches, and we thank Mrs-
Gilman for this, her “ labor of love.”
% _____________
The Essays of Elia. By Charles Lamb. First
and Second Series. In one vol., 12m0., pp. New
York: George P. Putnam.
Literary Sketches and Letters. Being the
Final Memorials of Charles l amb. Never before
published. By Thomas Noon Talfourd. One
vol., 12m0., pp. 306. New York: D. Appleton &
Cos.
We hope to publish, in an early number, a paper
on the character and genius of Charles Lamb, by
an esteemed contributor, and our remarks on these
volumes will, therefore, be brief. It would be an
easy task, it is true, to write much in praise of one
of the most amiable of men, and one of the most de
lightful of authors, that the annals of Literature
can boast. We shall never tire of Elias’ charming
pictures—of his boundless and exquisite fancy—his
large and warm-heartedness —his love for humanity,
or his refined wit.
We havo read the volume of Mr. Talfourd with a
deep and melancholy interest. Never was there a
sadder story than that which it reveals, or a record
more fraught with power to excite the sympathies
of the reader. Poor Lamb! Smitten in the vigor
of his life, and in the freshness of his fame, by a blow
more terrible than that which wrung from Milton
the touching lamentation, —
“ Not to these idle orbs doth sight appear,
Os sun, or moon, or stars throughout the year, ’
Or man or woman j”
more crushing than any personal bodily affliction
could have been. Smitten in his tenderest affections,
in his fondest hopes, in his dearest relationship, by
the cruel malady which made his idolized sister the
gentle Mary—the dear Bridget of our sweetest
memories—an unconscious instrument of a violent
death to the mother who doted on them both ; smit
ten and weighed down by a dispensation dark and
fearful as this, how is our wonder and admiration ex
cited at the after-life of this truly noble man, sacri
ficing himself, his dearest enjoyments, his hopes of
fame, his all, to cherish and bless, with his devoted
love, that sister who, till the day of her death, was
the victim of recurring attacks of insanity!
Mr. Talfourd’s memorials are, indeed, beautiful
mementoes of the departed Elia. The letters to
Coleridge, and to others, arc transcripts of the great
and suffering soul of their author; and one cannot
read them, without emotions akin to reverence for
the heroism and self-denial they exhibit.
Charles and Mary ! Names around which Time
will wvathe ever-freshening laurels. Associated in
life by the bonds of a great sorrow and an unselfish
love, they are inseparable in the regard of all who
can estimate the nobility of nature combined with
that of genius!
Ellen Middleton. A Tale, by Lady Georgiana
Fullerton, Author of Grantlcy Manor. Oncvol.,
12m0., pp. 328. New York : D. Appleton & Cos.
. This is a production prior to Grantley Manor, ami,
though the peculiar talent of the writer is discerni
ble throughout, yet it is far inferior to that most
popular of Lady Georgiana Fullerton’s writings.
The heroine, Ellen Middleton, is the involuntary
cause, in early youth, of the death of her cousin.
The fact is known to but one or two, and she is not
aware who these are, though she knew the action
was witnessed by others. The consciousness that
she is a murderer pervades her whole life, engender
ing a morbid sensibility, and enveloping her in a
mystery which brings her into great difficulties. —
She at length discovers that her fatal secret is known
to one, a connection of her family and a rejected
suitor for her band. She marries a most devoted
husband, but the possessor of the secret exorcises an
unhappy influence over her when married as when
sing.e. Ihe mystery, involving their intercourse,
rouses the jealousy of her husband, who sends her
from hi in ; and, no longer able to bear the burden
of her wretched life, she becomes a prey to consump
tion. All ig explained, however, before her death;
and her penitent husband strives in vain to stay the
destroyer. Such is the outline of a plot which is
well developed, and the book contains some passages
and scenes of great power and originality. It is too
full of horrors, and our sympathy is too painfully
enlisted for the unhappy Ellen, to make it pleasant
reading. The dostiny of one so beautiful, and amia
ble, and gifted, is too gloomy and mournful, and the
impression left upon the mind after its perusal is
quite too melancholy.
Views Afoot, or, Europe Seen with Knapsack and
►Staff. By J. Bayard Taylor. One vol., 12m0.,
pp. 404 New anil Revised Edition. N. York. G.
Ik Putnam.
Probably, no book of travels has made a pleasant
er impression on the public mind, since the Arabia
Petra of Stephens, than this narrative of a Pedes
trian Tour in Europe. There were many things
combined to secure (or it a welcome reception; the
youth and energy of its author —the freshness and
naivete of his records. The chaperonagc of N. P.
Willis were among the most prominent; and when
the volume appeared, there was quite a rush for
it.
It has exhibited proof, however, that its claims to
popular favor were not altogether extraneous —for
it has already passed through nine editions, and it
is none the less popular than before. The present
edition is got up in Putnam’s best style, with a fine
portrait of Taylor, by Read, of Philadelphia.
The author is a true poet, besides being a genu
ine traveler, and he had some reputation in song be
fore his tour. At present, he occupies quite a favor
able position among the bards of tho day.
Ilis tour in Europe was porformed chiefly on foot,
and such was his self-denial, energy and persever
ance, that he made at wo year's pilgrimage through
the most vaunted regions of Europe at the incredi
bly low expense of five hundred dollars. And yet
he saw more, and to better advantage, than many
who spend on the same tour five times the amount.
Some people there are, who travel over the very
same route that Mr. Taylor pursued, and who pro
bably see much the same things as he saw, and yet
how taine and spiritless is the record they give us of
their journcyings. Ilow different is the narrative of
our author. Fresh and buoyant himself, in body
and mind, he gazes on the historic or picturesque
scenes of Europe, and forthwith bis soul is moved by
their beauty, and, obedient to the impulse, his pen
leaves upon the page glowing descriptions and spark
ling impressions that seem no more like the tamer
memorials of which we have spoken, than the living
form of beauty docs like the pluister-statuc!
Mr. Taylor had an eye for every thing about him,
and it is this comprehensiveness of vision that con
stitutes a good traveler, or rather a good narrator.
His vivid impressions are not tamed down to the for
mal exactions of the historical style. He writes, os
he might talk to a group of friends around the fire
side, and the reader goes with him along the Castled
Rhine, up the famous Danube, or over the heaven
piercing Alps.
Wc suppose that very few of our readers could
successfully repeat tho experiment of Mr. Taylor in
point of economy ; hut if they could see half of what
he describes at twice the expense, the pleasure would
be cheaply bought.
My Little Geography. Edited by Mrs. Tuthill
Philadelphia: Lindsay & Blakiston.
This is a little book, but it is an admirable one,
as we are prepared to testify. We would put it in
to the hands of a child in preference to any other
primary Geography wc have ever seen. Mothers—
teachers—if you would have your task become a
pleasure, use this unpretending little text-book with
your young pupils in Geography.
A Manual of Grecian and Roman Antiquities.
By E. F. Bojesen. 1 vol., 12m0., in two part#.
pp. 199 and 209. New York: D. Appleton & Cos.
1848.
A work long needed in our Schools and Colleges.
The manuals of Rennet, Adam, Potter, and Robin
son, with the more recent and valuable translation
of Eschenburg, were entirely too voluminous. Hore
is neither too much, nor too little. The arrange
ment is admirable —every subjoct is treated of in it#
proper place. We have the general Geography, a
succinct historical view. p tho general subject; the
cliirogrnphy, history, laws, manners, customs, ami
religion of each State, as well as the points of union
for all, beautifully arranged. We regard the work
us tho vcrj r best adjunct to classical study for youth
that we have seen, and sincerely hope that the
teachers of the South may be brought to regard it in
the same light. The whole is copiously digested
into appropriate questions.
$3- Several notices are unavoidably postponed
till nevt week.
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