Southern literary gazette. (Charleston, S.C.) 1850-1852, December 18, 1852, Page 284, Image 10

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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*