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1852.]
wine. “He set out,” said the chronicler,
“from whence I know not; but we saw
him passing through towns and villages,
preaching everywhere, and the people
surrounding him in crowds, leading him
with offerings, and celebrating his sanctity
with such great praises, that I never re
member to have seen such honours be
stowed upon any one.” Thus lie went
on. untired, inflexible, and full of devo
tion. communicating his own madness to
his hearers, until Europe was stirred from
its very depths.
(BintorT Deprtiimti.
“” CHARLESTON, S. C
SATURDAY MORNING, JAN. 17, 1852.
Satire and satirical journals.
We have a profound faith in the efficacy of
satire to cure most types of that epidemic which
we call folly. It is efficient in cases where Rea
son fails, and its power is not confined to indi
vidual cases, but extends from the body personal
to the body politic. There can be no reasonable
question that many of the greatest follies of this,
and of past ages, have been cured by the satirical
treatment. Satire has lopped off the excrescences
of fashion, whether exhibited in the hooped petti
coat, the pyramidical head-dress, or the still more
unsightly bustle. We will wager something that
satire, alone, cured that recent folly of fashion,
which at one time threatened to invade the sanc
tity of skirtdom, and cause woman to unsex her
self. It is, probably, unnecessary for us to say
that we allude to Bloomerism —the bold and start
ling progress of which innovation under the spe
cious guise of “Re-dress for woman,” defied the
ordinary modes of treatment —argument, decla
mation, and entreaty alike, and w’ould speedily
have curtailed the fair proportions of those grace
ful robes with which our ideas of feminine deli
cacy are inseparably linked, had not satire aimed
its shaft, and sent it right home to the very heart
of the folly. Even Bloomerism bold as it was
and brazen, shrunk abashed from the blaze of ridi
cule, which flashed upon it from the columns of
the newspaper—the types of the truest public
opinion—and was fain to hide its bare knees from
the points of a thousand epigrams, launched at
them by the wits and humourists of the day. They
were glad, to take, in “sailor phrase,” the reef out
their skirts, and give their canvass unrestrainedly
to the breeze. It must ba acknowledged, we
think, that satire was the only medicine for such
an epidemic as that was in many parts of this Re
public, thftugh we thank Heaven that it never
tnade its appearance here.
Uur illustration will suggest others in point, and
save us the trouble of amplification. We may
as We H confess that our theme was quite an un
premeditated one, and that we are indebted for it
t 0 le chance which brought to our hands at the
sanie Moment, die London Punch, and its Ameri
can imitator, the Lantern of the younger Di
j °gcnes. Our readers, inded, may reasonably
n °t know of the existence of the latter —for its
SOUTHERN LITERARY GAZETTE.
fiist beams have just reached our horizon—only
three days from the city of Manhattan. The
high character and vast influence of Punch in
England, can scarcely be unknown to any of our
readers. We have long considered that journal
as one of the grandest humanitarian agencies at
work in England, and we should be profoundly
sorry to know that its days vvete numbered. It
would be an omen, to our perception, of ill to
Albion’s fast anchored isle—the ceasing of thp
unmistakeable voice of Punch. So fearless in
his ridicule of every thing like humbug, and so
indiscriminating in his satire upon individual and
national follies, his ministry is far more important
than that of either Russell or Palmerston. We
do not say that Punch is always right, or always
just, or always wise. “To err is human,” and
man is a bundle of prejudices—apothegms these,
which are broad enough in their application to
cover the frailties of Punch —and still allow us to
see and feel the prevailing virtue and integrity of
Ins purpose.
We intended, however, no eulogium upon the
quiver of the London wits. It was rather to wel
come the first rays of the New-York Lantern ,
that we referred to it at all—a reference unavoid
able in the connection. If the same evil fate be
falls this satirical journal which befell its predeces
sors, “John Donkey” and “Yankee Doodle”—(of
the former of which it may be said its years
were briefer than its ears) —it will find its early
and appropriate epitaph from the book of Human
Wisdom—“ Out, brief candle !” Let us hope for
it, better things, since we feel the necessity for a
journal such as it proposes to be. The necessity
is not so great as it is in England, on account of
the absence here of that spirit of centralization,
of which London is the embodiment. Here we
have many centres, and at each of them the
local journals are wont to wing the arrows of rid
icule, and
“to shoot folly as it flies.”
Still, we do need an American Punch , and if
there is the right sort of talent, and the right sort
management in this new enterprize, to make the
“Lantern” flash brightly and clearly, upon fol
lies and abuses, so that their deformity shall
appear, its success cannot long be a problem. We
cannot judge from the first gleam, what will be
the degree or character of its light. Far be it
from us to address it in the slang of the day.
“You can’t shine!” but rather do we hope that it
will shine, and that its healthful beams will per
meate every dark corner of folly and wrong, and
be truly “a light for the people.”
THE AMERICAN ART-UNION.
The annual drawing and distribution of the
prizes in the Art-Union die. not take place, as it
was expected to do on the Jlst ult. The post
ponement was made on account of the deficiency
in the subscription fund. The number of names
upon the list being only 12,500, it was wisely re
solved by the managers to delay the distribution
until the number should be increased to 15,000.
We are at a loss to understand why the subscrip
tion has been so limited for the past year, when it
is confessed that the attractions were never before
so numerous and valuable. It is not improbable
that many hundreds of those whose names have
been enrolled for previous years, consider them
selves regular subscribers to the fund, forgetting
that no name is entered upon the books of the
Union for any year until the money is actually
paid to the Treasurer. It cannot be, we feel sure,
that the Art-Union is becoming less popular, just
at the time when it begins to develope its vast ca
pabilities for doing good, not only in cultivating a
taste for works of Art among the people, but in
giving encouragement and support to young artists
struggling with adverse circumstances. We call i
upon every friend of Art, and upon all who ate
willing to invest Jive dollars with a certainty of i
getting more than an equivalent for it, and a
chance of getting a picture of great value, to sub
scribe immediately for the year 1851 ; and while
his hand is in, put his name down for the present
year also.
B gM of fioggip.
The Forrest Suit.
We discover from our New-York exchanges, ;
that “the Forrest suit is getting on very slowly.” j
We are surprised that it is getting on at all at
this season of the year in the latitude of Gotham,
for our forests have not yet begun to make a swell
towards their spring suit It must, therefore, be ,
regarded, we suppose, as a natural phenomenon,
and what gives a colouring to this idea is the pecu
liar nature of the leaves, which are already put J
forth. If the whole development should be of the
same character, we are of opinion that the Forrest
suit will be a very rich one, and of unexampled
greenness—an opinion, in the expression of which
we hope we have uttered no treason.
A Novel Book, but not a Novel.
We have received from Messrs. Win. H. Horst
man &, Cos., of Philadelphia, through their pub
lishers, Lippincott, Grambo Sc Cos., a very elegant
quarto volume, upon the side of which is stamped
in showy letters—
“ Uniform and Dress of the Army of the Uni- \
ted States .”
We hesitated, at first, whether or not to notice
it in our regular book columns. Its novelty,
however, has induced us to assign it a place among
the Gossip, as its contents are not amenable to our
usual standards of criticism. Not belonging to
the army, nor holding even a sergeant’s rank
among the “malicious,” as good Mrs. Partington
would say, we must judge this book from gener
alities. Its title page announces it to be “From
the original text and Drawings in the “War De
partment,” and the autograph of Adjutant Gen. :
Jones is affixed to an order making its provisions
and requisitions binding upon the army. So much
for its authority, and more cannot be required. Its
execution involves a branch of Art that comes
within our scope of observation. We have ad
mired its beautifully coloured plates of groups of
Engineers, Artillerists, Dragoons, Infantry, <tc.
From these we have looked through the numerous
plates illustrating the coats, buttons, trowsers,
caps, cap covers, pompons, cravats, boots, spurs,
gloves, sashes, sword-belts, swords, scabbards,
sword-knots, badges of rank, shoulder straps,
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