Critical Notices [pp. 582-600]

SOUTHERN LITERARY MESSENGER.
rendezvous at which we left Constanza in the clutches of
Cudjo, rescues her, and placing her safely in his vessel,
determines to put her forthwith in the hands of her lover.
He is met, unfortunately, by the frigate of the enraged
D'Oyley. The vessels are thrown together, and the
Count springs with his boarders on the deck of the
schooner-turning a deaf ear to explanation. The cor sair is mortally wounded by the Count. The cap of
the latter falling off in the tumult, he is discovered to be
Henri-the brother of Achille, or Lafitte. An old man
on board, called Lafon, is at the same mnoment oppor tunely discovered to be the father. Explanations ensue.
Lafitte dies-the lovers are happy-and the story ter minates.
It must not be supposed that the absurdities we have
here pointed out, are as obtrusive in the novel of Pro fessor Ingraham as they appear in our naked digest.
Still they are sufficiently so. "Lafitte," like the "Elks watawa" of Mr. French, is most successful, we think,
in its historical details. Commodore Patterson and
General Andrew Jackson are among the personages
who form a portion of the story. The portrait of the
President seems to us forcibly sketched. But our author
is more happy in any respect than in delineations of cha racter. Some descriptive pieces are well-drawn, and ad mirably colored. We may instance the several haunts of
the pirates, the residence of Velasquez, the house of the
council at New Orleans, and the private cabin allotted
by the corsair to Constanza. Thewhole book possesses
vigor, and a certain species of interest-and there can
be little doubt of its attaining popularity. The chro nological mannerism noticed in "Elkswatawa" is also
observable in "Lafitte." Some other mannerisms re ferrible to the same sin of imitation are also to be ob served. As a general rule it may be safely assumed,
that the most simple, is the best, method of narration.
Our author cannot be induced to think so, and is at
unnecessary pains to bring about artificialities of construction-not so much in regard to particular sentences,
as to the introduction of his incidents. To these he
always approaches with the gait of a crab. We have,
for example, been keeping company with the buccaneers for a few pages-but now they are to make an
attack upon some old family mansion. In an instant
the buccaneers are dropped for the mansion, and the
definite for the indefinite article. In place of the robbers proceeding in the course wherein we have been
bearing them company, and advancing in proper order
to the dwelling, they are suddenly abandoned for a
house.. family mansion is depicted.. man is sitting
within it../ maiden is sitting by his side, and a quantity of ingots are reposing in the cellar. We are then,
and not till then, informed, that the family mansion,
the man, the maiden and the ingots, are the identical
mansion, man, maiden and ingots, of which we have
already heard the buccaneers planning the attack.Thus, at the conclusion of book the 4th, Count D'Oyley
has rescued his mistress from the cavern, and arrived
with her, in safety, upon the deck of his frigate. He
has, moreover, decided upon returning with the frigate
to the cavern for the laudable purpose, as aforesaid, of
hanging his deliverer. We naturally expect still to keep
company with the ship in this adventure; and turn over
the page with a certainty of finding ourselves upon her
decks. But not so. She is now merely a fi'igate which
we behold at a distance-a stately ship arrayed in the
apparel of war, and which "sails with majestic motion
into the bay of Gonzales." Of course we are strongly
tempted to throw the book, ship and all, out of the
window.
The novelist is too minutely, and by far too fre quently descriptive. We are surfeited with unnecessary
detail. Every little figure in the picture is invested with
all the dignities of light and shadow, and chiaro'scuro.
Of mere outlines there are none. Not a dog yelps, un sung. Not a shovel-footed negro waddles across the
stage, whether to any ostensible purpose or not, with out eliciting from the author a vos plaudite, with an
extended explanation of the character of his personal
appearance-of his length, depth, and breadth,-and,
more particularly, of the length, depth, and breadth of
his shirt-collar, shoe-buckles and hat-band.
The English of Professor Ingraham is generally good.
It possesses vigor and is very copious. Sometimes, how ever, we meet with a sentence without end, involving a
nominative without a verb. For example,
"As the men plied their oars, and moved swiftly
down the bayou, the Indian, who was the last of his
name and race, with whom would expire the proud
appellation, centuries before recognized among other
tribes, as the synonyme for intelligence, civilization,
and courage-THE NATcHEz!-the injured, persecut ed, slaughtered and unavenged Natchez-the Grecians
of the aboriginal nations of North America!" See p.
125. Vol. 2.
Many odd words, too, and expressions, such as "re venge you," in place of "avenge you"-" Praxitiles,"
instead of "Praxiteles"-" assayed" in lieu of "essayed," and "denou6ment" for "ddnouement"-together
with such things as "frissieur," " closelier," "selfpowered," "folden," and "rhodomantine" are here to
be found, and, perhaps, may as well be placed at once
to the account of typographical errors.
Our principal objection is to the tendency of the tale.
The pirate-captain, from the author's own showing, is
a weak, a vaccillating villain, a fratricide, a cowardly
cut-throat, who strikes an unoffending boy under his
protection, and makes nothing of hurling a man over
a precipice for merely falling asleep, or shooting him
down without any imaginable reason whatsoever. Yet
he is never mentioned but with evident respect, or in
some such sentence as the following. "I could hardly
believe I was looking upon the celebrated Lafitte, when
I gazed upon his elegant, even noble person and fine
features, in which, in spite of their resolute expression,
there is an air of frankness which assures me that he
ivould never be guilty of a mnean action," &c. &c. &c. In
this manner, and by these means, the total result of
his portraiture as depicted, leaves upon the mind of the
reader no proper degree of abhorrence. The epithet
"impulsive," applied so very frequently to the character
of this scoundrel, as to induce a smile at every repetition of the word, seems to be regarded by the author
as an all-sufficient excuse for the unnumbered legion of
his iniquities. We object too-. decidedly-to such expressions on the lips of a hero, as "If I cannot be the last
in Heaven, I will be the first in Hell"-" Now favor me,
Hell or Heaven, and I will have my revenge!"-" Back
hounds, or, by the holy God, I will send one of you to
breakfast in Hell," &c. &c. &c.-expressions with which
the volumes before us are too plentifully besprinkled.
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