Newspaper Page Text
284
that worthier endeavours would have achieved far
greater results.
In retiring, for the present at least, front tho
Editorial chair, I should do violence to my feel
ings, if I failed to express my thanks to those
gentlemen ol the p>ess who have uniformly ap
plauded and cheered my toils. They will under
stand, I am suie, the emotions of regret with
which I now sunder the tie that has bound us to
gether in more than common courtesy.
For all the errors which I have committed du
ring my connection with the Gazette, I have to
plead alone the lallibilily of human judgement
and to throw myself upon your indulgence, confi
dent of a lenient intei pretaiion of such errors.
It is pioper for me to state that for six months
past the chief editorial management of the Ga
zette has devolved upon my esteemed associate,
Paul 11. Hayne, E.-q, into whose bands lam now
to resign it absolutely. It is gratifying to me to
know that lie is in every respect competent to
discharge the responsible duties of the position. 1
might insist more earnestly upon this point if you
were not alteady in possession of the best possible
proofs of it in his labours for half a year. I re
gret that his unavoidable absence from the city at
present, renders it impossible that his plans for the
future management of this journal should bo an
nounced in connection with my valedictory. Most
sincerely do 1 wish him the largest possible de
gree of success in his endeavours to sustain the
paper, and I may be allowed to urge upon the
friends of a Home Literature, the imperative ob
ligation under which they rest to support him in
those generous and self-sacrificing eudeavours.
And now, dear readers, Faiewell !
• W. C. Richards.
A MODEL EDITOR.
Our brief reign is over. The sceptre has departed
from our hands. The true monarch comes to
take possession of his editorial throne. In this
revolution, it would be a consolation to know that
we had discharged our duties with the proper de
gree of dogmatism and common place. But we
leel deeply that we have not distinguished our
selves. We have not had the opportunity of cut
ting up a single author, or of damaging a single
reputation. We have made no spiteful remarks,
wounded nobody’s feelings, declaimed upon no
trite subject, puffed no small poets. W T e iiave
not attempted to gel readers, or to create surprise
and excitement by the avowal of new and start
ling opinions upnn authors of acknowledged me
rit. We have cheated the public of its due allow
ance of milk and gall, of paradox and platitude.
But, alas ! we are young and inexpeiienced, and
we throw ourselves upon the generosity of sub
scribers. Yet in spite of our deficiencies, we are
not ignorant of what ought to be the qualifica
tions of an editor We think we can sketch them.
The successful editor must boa Snob—of
course an American Snob. “He should meanly
admire mean things,” but, unlike h s English rela
tive, he should truckle not to wealth or station,
but to the public. He should bow down and
worship it, he should cringe and fawn upon it, he
should consult its tastes, sentiments and opinions
SOUTHERN LITERARY GAZETTE.
on all occasions. At times, and upon indifferent
subjects, ho may be paradoxical in order to ap
pear original. His criticisms should always be
general—never descending to examples or parti
culars. They ought to be grave, vague and shal
low, or if the author on review be clever and un
popular, a tone of pertness and pleasantry is ad
missible. He should have the power of uttering a
stale truth with the air of one who has made a
discovery. He should he au eloquent writer of
common places. He must have the patience to
read the silly stories and sillier poelry which his
unpaid contributors send him, and he should pub
lish them with a refer, nee in his editorial column,
to the “charming tale or the graceful verses in
another part of his paper.” Now and then he
may advertise for prize stories, and when a suffi
cient number have been collected, he may forget
to adjudge the prize. He should be able to throw
off, at a moment’s notice, smooth meaningless lit
tle paragraphs with taking captions. If he should
offend a subscriber, he should be mean enough to
offer the most submissive apologies. He ought
never to be guilty of metaphysics, and if his pa
per be a literary one, he ought to have no political
opinions at all. He must be intimately acquaimed
with the system of puffing. He ought to be also
a small pedant, but not a scholar, as he values
his subscription list. Lastly, he ought never io
perpetrate a caricature like this, or he ought to do
it with greater point and effect. W ith these qual
ifications, whiefi it is onr intention to cultivate,
we warraut an editor complete success with lire
very critical and discriminating public.
ft gjigfi of fiogsip.
The Schoolfellow.
Great leais Have been entertained by the friends
and admirers of this beautilul magazine, for child
ren, lest the removal of us editor, who, it is well
known, is no other than our friend Mr. Richards,
lrom Charleston, should occasion its discontinu
ance We are happy to announce, however, that
he has resolved not to abandon it. It will be here
after pubhshad iu New-York, and we are very
sure that its thousands of readers will unite with
us in thanking Mr. Richards for resolving to con
tinue it. He inteuds to increase its attractions,
and to make it the most beautilul juvenile maga
zine in the country, which, indeed, we think it is
already. The subscribers in Charleston will be
supplied with it by carriers as usual, only with far
greater promptness than heretofore. VVe wisii
the little woik and its amiable Editor the largest
possible degree ot success. May they both live a
thousand years !
The Wizard of the North.
The daily papers announce the advent of the
world-renowned Professor Anderson in oar city,
and he is to open his mystic temple on Monday
night, at Hibernian Hall. We are not unfamiliar
with the wonderful skill of Professor Anderson in
the necromantic art, having witnessed many of
his extraordinary feats during his magical soirees
in New-York. He is unquestionably the most
accomplished magician in the world, and his en
chantments would put to shame the achievements
of all the sorcerers, from the timo of Pharaoh to
the present. If wo must bo made the victims of
deception and delusion, let us be deceived and de
luded in the most inexplicable and unexceptiona
ble manner ; and it i* certain that suoli is the
manner of the Great Northern Wizard. Every
ono should witness his wonderful exploits.
Tennyson’s Ode.
Tennyson’s ode upon the death of Wellington,
is marked by a studied plainness of language
which in some passages degenerates into prosa
ism—a fault not often attributable to the author
ol the Princess. Generally the style of no poet is
further removed from prose, uor yet freer from po
etical common places. His poems abound in those
sugggestive felicities of expression, which, by.
slight and indescribable touches, awake in the
mind of the reader all the associations connected
with the subject. In the ode, we have remarked
only one of these, and that is an exquisite oue in
deed.
“Perchance a darkening future yield*.
Some reserve of worse to worse.
The blood of men in quiet fields.
And sprinkled on the sheaves of peace.”
An Epigram.
A mend has handed us the following epigram—
extracted from we know’ not what paper—upon
the plagiarisms of D’lsraeli :
No patriotic feelings swell my heart!
But since lire laud one garb ol mourning wears,
An organized hypocrisy be my pari.
And as I e’en must weep, i will steal Thiers .
French Humanity.
Everybody has read Sir Francis Head’s Faggot
of French Sucks. The hook is prosaic, but trot
prosy,and is replete with useful information. What
touches us paiticularly is the description of the
Parisian boucheries. It seems that the French
slaughter their cutle with the utmost tenderness.
They are particularly careful to give them as little
pumas possible. They lead a pig to death as we
lead a bride to the altar. Nothing can be more
admirable than the attention which they give to
the poor horses m ihe omnibus line. After leediug
and woikiiig the animals up to the mea.-ure ol their
eapacilies, they are never guilty of the cruelly of
prolonging u&elessly their lives, but send them to
the slaugmer house, where they are killed and
skinned with a gentleoess that does honour to the
regulations of Paris. A friend of ours, wdio is an
admirer of the French character, alluded not long
ago, in a conversation upon ihe subject, to these
customs as evidences of French humanity. We
said at the time (we do not say we think so now,)
that they weretXamples of that inconsistency,
which almost seems to justify the witty distinction
vvlnch somebody once endeavoured to establish
between French nature and human nature. Some
of the bloodiest demagogues of the Revolution
displayed the same degree of tenderness for ani
mals. Marat cultivated doves. (Jouthoo used to
walk to the assembly with a spaniel in his bosom !
Bulwer, in Zanoni, tells a good story of Sergent to
the same effect. A lady had called upon him to
procure the pardon of her husband who had been
condemned—wantonly of course —to the guillo
tine. Sergent would not listen to her. As the
lady was going out she put her fool accidentally ,
[December 18*