Critical Notices [pp. 112-128]

SOUTHERN LITERARY MESSENGER.
family in Christendom? Yet never was admiration of
any work-universal admiration-more indiscriminate ly or more inappropriately bestowed. Not one person
in ten-nay, not one person in five hundred, has, during
the perusal of Robinson Crusoe, the most remote con ception that any particle of genius, or even of common
talent, has been employed in its creation! Men do not
look upon it in the light of a literary performance.
Defoe has none of their thoughts-Robinson all. Tlhe
powers which have wrought the wonder have been
thrown into obscurity by the very stupendousness of
the wonder they have wrought! We read, and become
perfect abstractions in the intensity of our interest-we
close the book, and are quite satisfied that we could
have written as well ourselves? All this is effected by
the potent magic of verisimilitude. Indeed the author
of Crusoe must have possessed, above all other facul ties, what has been termed the faculty of identifi cation-that dominion exercised by volition over imagi nation which enables the mind to lose its own, in a
fictitious, individuality. This includes, in a very great
degree, the power of abstraction; and with these keys
we may partially unlock the mystery of that spell
which has so long invested the volume before us. But
a complete analysis of our interest in it cannot be thus
afforded. Defoe is largely indebted to his subject. The
idea of man in a state of perfect isolation, although often
entertained, was never before so comprehensively carried
out. Indeed the frequency of its occurrence to the
thoughts of mankind argued the extent of its influence
on their sympathies, while the fact of no attempt having
been made to give an embodied form to the conception,
went to prove the difficulty of the undertaking. But
the true narrative of Selkirk in 1711, with the powerful
impression it then made upon the public mind, sufficed
to inspire Defoe with both the necessary courage for
his work, and entire confidence in its success. How
wonderful has been the result!
Besides Robinson Crusoe, Defoe wrote no less than
two hundred and eight works. The chief of these are the
Specultim Crape-Gownorutm, a reply to Roger L'Estrange,
and characterized principally by intemperate abuse-a
Treatise against the Turks, written for the purpose of
showing England "that if it was the interest of Protestantism not to increase the influence of a Catholic
power, it was infinitely more so to oppose a Mohammedan one"-an Essay on Projects, displaying great ingenuity, and mentioned in terms of high approbation
by our own Franklin-the Poor Alan's Plea, a satire
levelled against the extravagances of the upper ranks
of British society-the Trueborn Englishman, composed
with a view of defending the king from the abuse
heaped upon him as a foreigner-the Shortest Way with
the Dissenters, a work which created strong excitement
and for which the author suffered in the pillory-the
Reformation of Ianners, a satirical poem, containing
passages of uncommon force, that is to say, uncommon
for Defoe, who was no poet —dIore Reformation, a continuation of the above-Giving.tlms nto Charity, an excellent treatise-a Preface to a translation of Drelincosirt
on Death, in which is contained the "true narrative" of
Mrs. Veal's apparition-the History of the Union, a
publication of much celebrity in the days of its author,
and even now justly considered as placing him among
the "soundest historians of his time"-the Family In
structor, "one of the most valuable systems of practical
morality in the language"-the History of Moll Flanders,
including some striking but coarsely executed paintings
of low life-the Life of Colonel Jaque, in which an account is given of the hero's residence in Virginia-the
Mdemoirs of a Cavalier, a book belonging more properly
to History than to Fictitious Biography, and which has
been often mistaken for a true narrative of the civil wars
in England and Germany-the History of the Plague,
which Dr. Mead considered an authentic record-and
Religious Courtship, which acquired an extensive popularity, and ran through innumerable editions. In the
multiplicity of his other publications, and amid a life of
perpetual activity, Defoe found time, likewise, to edit
his Review, which existed for more than nine years,
commencing in February 1704, and ending in May
1713. This periodical is justly entitled to be considered the original of the Tatlers and Spectators, which
were afterwards so fashionable. Political intelligence,
however, constituted the greater portion of its mnateriel.
The Edition of Robinson Crusoe now before us is
worthy of all praise. We have seldom seen a more
beautiful book. It is an octavo of 470 pages. The
fifty wood cuts with which it is ornamented are, for the
most part, admirable. W\e may instance, as particularly good, those on pages 6, 27, 39, 49, 87, 88, 92, 137,
146, 256, and 396. The design on the title page is superlative. In regard to the paper, typography, and
binding of the work, that taste must be fastidious indeed
which can find any fault with either.
CHRISTIAN FLORIST.
The Christian Florist; containing the English and Botaniical Names of different Plants, with their Properties
briefly delineated and explained. Illustrated by Texts of
Scripture, and accompanied tsith Poetical Extracts from
various dtauthors. First.ltierican, from the Second LondonEdition. Philadelphia: Carey, Lea. Blanchard.
The title, which our readers will perceive is a long
one, sufficiently explains the nature and design of this
little book. It is very well adapted for a Christmas
present, to those especially whose minds are imbued at
the same time with a love of flowers-and of him who
is a God of flowers, as well as of mightier things. The
mechanical execution of the volume is unexceptionable, and the rich colors of the Dahlia show to no little
advantage in the firontispiece. The poetical selections
are, for the most part, excellently chosen, and the prose
commentaries on each article in good taste, and often
of great interest.
Speaking of alterations made in the Second London
Edition, the Authors of the work say in their Preface
"We believe it will be found that most of those suggested have been adopted, with the exception of one,
which proposed the rejection of the first piece of Poetry
attached to the Sun Flower." These words excited
our curiosity, and turning to page 42, we found six lines
from Moore. It seems these had been objected to,not on
account of any thing intrinsically belonging to the verses
themselves, (what fault indeed could be found there?)
but (will it be believed?) on account of the atthor who
wrote them. The Christian Florist deserves the good
will of all sensible persons, if for nothing else-for the
spirit with which its authors have disregarded a bigotry
so despicable.
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