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EDITOR’S DEPARTMENT,
ATHENS: SATURDAY, EES. 17, 1819.
Demoralizing Literature.
The evil influences of what is commonly termed
“•cheap literature,” arc so apparent in cities and
towns, and to a more limited extent, in all
.sections of the country, that the friends of virtue
have begun to sound the alarm in earnest, and to
denounce in terms of merited severity those “yellow
covered” books, which within “are full of rotten
ness.” So serious is the evil of which we speak,
that every conservator of the public weal, whether
he occupy the pulpit,dihe teacher’s desk, or the Ed
tor’s chair/is bound to lift up his voice against these
corrupt arid corrupting books, which literally infest
society, with a miasma more fatally destructive than
that of the plague, since it saps the only foundations
upon which society can be established—those of vir
tue and morality.
We consider the authors and publishers and vend
ors of these books, as the worst enemies of their
race, who knowingly exhibit to the public gaze the
most revolting pictures of profligacy, and breathe
into the unsuspecting ear of youth and innocence,
tales of crime, so carefully disguised with the flow
ers of romance, that the poison is inhaled before its
presence is even apprehended by the victim. There
can be no doubt that hundreds, nay thousands, of
young persons have been corrupted by these mis
chievous books, many of which arc published with
out responsible names, either of author or publisher
—a precaution only too wisely adopted by those who
send them forth, and thus shield themselves not on
ly from the execration cf outraged humanity, hut
from the vindictive arm of the Law, which is em
powered to strike such offenders
It must be confessed, however, that there is not
that sensitiveness in the public feeling, which should
exist in view of the evil we speak of; and this is,
perhaps, the best possible reason why such a multi
tude of these dangerous books has been spawned
upon the reading community, until we encounter
them in every corner of the land. If the friends of
virtue rightly regarded this fearful invasion of their
interests, they would be on the alert, to check the
aggression, and to rebuke and punish the aggressors.
We are far from intimating that all “ cheap lite
rature,” so called, is corrupting and dangerous. Ve
ry far from it. There arc hundreds of delightful
and improving fictions constantly issuing from the
press in paper covers, which, under judicious direc
tion, the young may read with profit. But in the
midst of these unobjectionable books are to be found
others, reeking noth the atmosphere of pollution,
and freighted with the seeds of moral death- The
most revolting narrations of libertinism are often
times made doubly offensive by disgusting pictures,
and to all this is superadded an attempt to throw
over the story the shadow of justification, by the
disastrous fate of its iniquitous actors. With too
many, alas! this flimsy subterfuge has succeeded—
and because a seducer has come to the gallows, or
some untimely death, the tale of seduction has been
regarded as a moral lesson! Oh, Shame! where is
thy blush 1
It is as clearly true, to our mind, that no man has
any more right to compile, publish, or vend such
hooks, than he would have to sell arsenic under
some innocent name. In the latter case, he w r ould
>nly endanger the bodies of his credulous victims ;
in the former case, he exposes their souls to thecon
tamination of vice, and to the awful penalties which
arc inseparably connected w ith its commission. It
is high time that a stop should he put to the issue
of such infamous publications as those we speak of.
And if this cannot be otherwise effected, we c all upon
the parents, teachers and advisers of our youth, to
scrutinize well the books which they allow them to
read, and to exclude from their homes everything of
a questionable character. In this way, the demand
for such publications would be so greatly lessened,
as to remove the inducements to their multiplica- j
tion which now exist to an alarming extent, and
which is only understood by those who are conver
sant with the statistics of the Book-Trade in this
country. There is, we fear, no greater or more
deadly snare to be avoided by the young, than im
moral books; and if wc shall be successful in putting
J*ny oa their guard against them, our pen has not
been employed altogether in vain.
§®im b& bs iu ? g [a&
Award of the Prizes.
The Committee, appointed to decide on the mer
its of the Tales and Poems offered in competition
for the various Prizes announced by us, have exam
ined the large mass of MSS. sent in, and have sent
us the following report. It is proper for us to say
that, Professor Waddel being unable to meet the
Committee at the appointed time, Philip Clayton,
Esq., kindly consented, at the request of the other
members, to fill the vacant chair:
Editor of Southern Literary Gazette:
JJcar Sir: —We have discharged the somewhat
i protracted task assigned to us, in examining the
manuscript Tales and Poems submitted for the pri
zes offered by yourself, and we have unanimously
awarded the first prize of Fifty Dollars to a Tale en
titled “ Percy, or the Banished Son,” and the sec
ond prize of Twenty Dollars to a Tale entitled “ The
New Aria.”
We have also unanimously agreed to accord the
first Poetical prize of Twenty Dollars to a descrip
tive Poem, entitled “ Wachullah,” and the second
prize of Ten Dollars to a Poem, entitled “The
Sword and the Pallette.”
In conclusion, allow us to congratulate you upon
the successful result of your liberal offers for the
promotion of Literature in the South, and also to
express our earnest hope that the successful articles,
together with the numerous excellent Tales and Po
ems—to which we regretted there were no prizes to
award —will form a sufficiently attractive feature of
your valuable Journal to double its subscription
list.
With cordial regard,
We are, Dear Sir,
Yours, truly,
HENR Y HULL, * ) Committee
.TAMES W. HARRIS, } of
PHILIP CLAYTON, > Award.
Athens, February 7th, 1849.
Our readers will, doubtless,, be anxious to
know the names of the authors of the successful ar- :
tides, and we shall, therefore, announce them in I
their order, except that of the author of the second ,
Prize Tale, which was sent only in initials.
The First Prize Tale was written by Mrs.
CAROLINE LEE HENTZ, of Columbus.
The Second Prize Tale was written by A. E. F.,
of Augusta.
The First Prize Poem, by Mrs. C. W. DUBOSE,
of Sparta.
The Second Prize Poem, by J. M. LEGARE,
ot South Carolina.
Our arrangements for their publication wHI be
speedily announced. Several of the “ rejected ad
dresses” will be published, and will, we doubt not,
highly gratify our readers.
<£>ur (Sostsip Column.
The charms of music are so highly appreciated by
us, that we must be allowed to congratulate our
town readers upon the opportunity about to be af
forded to them, for obtaining thorough musical in
struction, by the establishment of a Musical Acade
my under the direction of Mr. Charles Zogbaum.
In this institution, Mr. Z. proposes to give instruc
tion in Instrumental and Vocal Music, in all their
varieties—and from his distinguished reputation as
a Teacher and Performer, we have no doubt that he
* i . v
will give ■Satisfaction to all who may patronize the
Academy. It is an indication of progress in refine
ment amongst us, that there is reasonable ground
for hope that Air. Zogbapin’s laudable plan will be ;
sustained We were agreeably entertained |
at the Town Hall on Monday night, Ijy Mr. Scott’s
Lecture on Electro-Magnetism. In addition to a
clear enunciation of the principles of the Science,
there were many attractive experiments and illus
trations. Professor Morse’s Telegraph was put in
to operation, and so well explained, that all might
understand the manner in which it works. We are
glad to commend such Lectures to our readers eve
rywhere. They will do much to diffuse intelligence I
and to create a thirst for knowledge, and should be j
liberally encouraged If we may judge !
from the numerous expressions of regret which have !
reached us, at the suspension of the papers entitled ,
“ The Listener,” many of our readers will be grati- j
fied at the appearance, in our present number, of j
another of the series, and in the announcement we !
make of their continuance at intervals during the :
present volume A proposition has been j
submitted to Congress for a Telegraphic line across i
the Atlantic. The projectors, who are in earnest,
suggest the feasibility of erecting buoyson the table I
land, which is supposed to extend within soundings ;
from Newfoundland to the British coast —a distance
of 1900 miles. Should it appear, upon exploration, j
that the soundings could not be reached all along the
route, plans for fastening the buoys are not want- j
ing; and the scheme has the probability even of j
success. In a few months’ London and New York
may be in electric contact! The thought is a start- ‘
ling one, and fills the mind with visions of wonders
yet to be revealed.
Cije aimer lean s)moMcal |3vess.
The Scientific American. New York: Munn
& Cos
This invaluable Scientific Journal commends it
self to every intelligent artisan in the land, and
scarcely less to the general reader who would keep
pace with the discoveries in Art and Science which
crowd upon each other so rapidly in this progressive
age.
1 V
The Western Literary Magazine. Jesse Clem
ent, Editor.
Air. Clement is an excellent Editor, as the varie
ty and value of his miscellany abundantly proves.—
Ilis qwn graceful contributions in verse, are not the
least attractive of its original papers—and evCry ar
ticle it contains is worthy to be read.
The Mistletoe, for February. Athens : J. W. &
T. A. Burke.
Wo intended to have noticed this, the second is
sue of the Mistletoe, in our last. Wc are glad to
see that the Messrs. Burke find encouragement to
proceed with their excellent Alagazine—and wc cor
dially commend it to the support of that Order
whose interests it has mainly in view. Price, only
One Ikdlar a year.
Holden’s Dollar Alagazine. New York.
We missed the January Number of this truly ex
cellent work, and regretted it very much, for wo
deem it worthy of binding. The February issue
fully maintains the deservedly high reputation of
the Magazine. It is no small testimony to the me
rit of “ Holden,” that wo find its articles copied ex
tensively into our exchanges.
The Daguerreotype. Boston: Crosby & Nichols.
This is the most elegant reprint of Britisli and
Foreign Literature which comes to our table; and
the only fault we can find with it is, that, by some
mischance or other, the numbers only occasionally
reach us. t Wc have recently received two parts in
I their order, and find them replete with tho very
choicest articles from the best miscellanies of Eu
rope. The Daguerreotype deserves a very extensive
circulation ; and wo cordially repeat to our readers
| the advice heretofore given, viz : to subscribe for it.
Notices to Correspondents,
L. P. 8. —Your proposed “ club” for The School
fellow can be supplied with the January Number —
and we take this occasion to anticipate all similar
queries, by saying that we will engage to supply
every club or single subscriber with the first and sub
sequent numbers of the work —at least, for the next
j month.
“A Reader.” —The Talc you allude to was
translated from the Frenili for the Gazette. That
it was originally written in the Spanish, may be
correct; but arc you not aware that a translator,
finding a story in a French volume of Tales, is en
> tirely at liberty to,give it an original English dress'?
! There is no more plagiarism in this, than there
would be in translating Mr. Pope’s Illiad into
! French verse!
E. S. N.—We sincerely regret that before your
letter reached us, the die had been cast. Your MS.
reached us this morning.
J. A. T.—Your favors have reached us, but our
i columns have been so extensively preengaged, that
i all “new matter” has been “laid on the tabid,
sine die.” We esteem them none the less, how-
I ever <
*** At least a dozen communications remain un
answered for want of time. They shall have speedy
attention. Some letters to our address, postage un
paid, remain in tjie Post Office, and there they will
remain. Subscribers ordering their address to be
changed, and all others wishing to secure attention
to their interests, should pay their postage.
®ttr Book Cable.
Publishers and Authors who desire to have their
Books noticed in this Gazette are requested to send cop
ies to Editor through Stringer k Townsend, New-York
or Carey A Hurt, Philadelphia.
Adler’s German and English Dictionary. A
Dictionary of the German and English Lan
guages ; indicating the accentuation of every Ger
man word, containing several hundred synonyms,
together with a classification and alphabet ical list
of the irregular verbs, and a Dictionary of German
abbreviations. Compiled from the works of Ifil
pert, Flugel, Grieb, Heyse and others. By G. J.
Adler, A. AI.. Professor of German Language and
Literature in the University of New York City,
pp. 1400, large octavo. New York: D. Apple
ton & Cos.
We have this noble work of a noble language now
before us. Aware of the difficulties attending the
study of this comprehensive tongue, we have for a
long time anxiously looked for such a Lexicon, in
order to facilitate its study to those who may be at
tracted by the treasures of mind to be found in it, in
every department of human lore. All these have
been a “ closed book” to the many, and few only,
who hare had the means of commanding full in
struction in it, have been able to open its pages with
advantage. One of the great harriers is removed
by Adler, and the student, whether invited by anti
quarian, by oriental, by scientific, or by fictitious
stores, may enjoy tho treasures to be found in this
growing language We say grotring, lor the Ger
man scholars are distinguishing themselves in every
branch of science, from the abstruse-1 metaphysiea
to the purest physics; and the language, from its
wonderful power of combination, is able to express
every shade of thought, and paint it to the mind.—
It is the Greek of modern science and civilisation.
We would, however, while wo commend the pres
ent edition to all German scholars, resj ect fully
draw the attention of the able Editor to what we
should deem a great addition to the work in its next
edition. Idioms peculiar to all nations constitute,
to the student, especially when he has not a native
near to appeal to for explanation, the greatest diffi
culties in his path. In Gorman, these are more nu
merous than in the modern languages, other than
its cognate ones; arid hero, all Lexicons, this in
cluded, (though less than any othor,) are deficient.
Experience has taught us this difficulty, aud this
insufficiency; and although Adler is more full of
idiomatic expressions, yet he is wanting also. In
vain have-wo ransacked phrase-books, intended to
remedy this want; it Is a desideratum yet to the
scholar. This Lexicon is, however, to the student
of German, nearly what Webster is to that of Eng
lish—the best in the language ; but to be perfect up
to the present day, compound words and idioms must
be more largely embraced.
The time is not far distant, we hope, when the
German language—-the native tongue of thousands
of our fellow-citizens—will be generally taught in
our Colleges, aud divide the attention now bestow
ed upon the classical languages—so styled.
California, and its Gold Regions, with a Geo
graphical and Topographical View <>f the Coun
try: Its Mineral and Agricultural Resources,
Prepared from Official and Authentic Documents,
with a Map of the United States and California,
showing the Routes of tiro U. S. Mail Steam
packets to California; also, the various overland
routes. By Fayette Robinson. Due vol., Bvo.
New York : Stringer & Townsend.
The title page of this volume explains fully its
character, and we need to add only the assurance
that the Map is an excellent one, and the text as
authentic as it is possible to be, at so early a period
of Anglo-American adventure in California. ‘Un
hook is cheap enough to find multitudes of purcha
sers, and will be especially sought after by all who
are afflicted with tho prevailing gold fever.
Anger, or the Firebrand. By Eugene Bill
New York: Stringer & Townsend.
This is one of a series of novels called “The Sev
en Capital Bins,” and is a powerful illustration of
that passion in the peculiar, and, we think, objec
tionable manner of the great French Novelist. We
cannot conscientiously waste time in reading it.
The Mysteries of City Life, or Stray Leaves
from the World’s Book. ByJamesßees. Phila
delphia : J. W. Moore.
This volume is a medley of Religion and Ro
mance, its basis being the Notes of a Home Mission
ary employed in the city of Philadelphia. Besides
the direct illustrations of the misery, crime and woe,
which abound in a great city, there are several suf
ficiently exciting tales of vice and its consequences
Some of these arc quite in tho style of Lippard, and
would do credit to his nondescript pen. How far
the admixture of the touching records of a City Mis
sionary, with romantic stories of love, seduction and
murder, may accord with strict propriety, is a ques
tion which we shall not here discuss. They are, it
is true, only varied pictures of life—some saddening
and some almost revolting—and may do the good
which the book evidently aims to effect, though we
cannot help regarding the volume, in its strange
composition, as in somewhat bad taste.
History of Alexander the Great. By Jacob
Abbott. One vol., 16m0., pp. 278. New York :
Harper & Brothers.
We have already greeted the appearance of two
charming volumes, by Mr. Abbott, viz: Mary Queen
of Bcotts and Charles the First. This is the third
of the series, uniform in style, and most beautifully
illustrated with exquisite wood engravings. To
say that these books are excellent, is really small
I raise ; for there are not, in the whole range of Lit
erature for the young, more delightful volumes than
all of them, nor any which we think could be more
acceptable or beneficial to intelligent young readers
The ‘ History of Alexander the Great’ has afford
ed to the judicious author scope for abundant and
attractive incident. Tho narrative is simple and
charming, and, flowing from Air. Abbott’s pen.
History ceases to be dry audforbiddlng—becoming,
on the other hand, almost as fascinating as the fic
tions which so generally delight the young.
*** Notices of Macauley’s History of England,
Yola. s and 11, Abbott’s Kings and Queens, and
several other new Books, are deferred until next
week, for want of room.
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