Supplement [pp. 782-784]

Supplement.
the olden time, or some book, rare, yellow and moth-eaten,
mercilessly exposed upon some old stall by the way.side; and
worse yet, had robbed them of the walk down to the stall in
order to cast furtive -lances along the rows of books to see if
the identical one adhered to its legitimacy; and then the thrill
of delight and the interchange of glances to behold it in its
place. Who that has ever read Charles Lamb, has not been
with him into his quiet penetralia and worshipped his house.
hold with affectionate and adoring piety? We thought of this,
and then turned to thie article in our Magazine. Truth to say,
the author became as a brother to us in his appreciation of
Lamb. He has, in this age, the tare quality of quietude in the
spirit of his writing. Together with the characteristics of
Lamb, he has thrown in pleasant thoughts and suggestions of
his own, well worth the perusal. We commend the article, as
well for the harmonies of its style, as the pure, quiet intellect
breathing throughout, which makes the reader feel as if seated
by his side, and communing in a low voice, the room dreamily
lighted, and the feet in slippers.
"1 The Quakeress, Chapterfifth," still sustains its interest,
and promises well both in manner and plot to carry out the
favorable opinion entertained from reading its commencement.
" The Dying Exile," is certainly surprisingly good, if indeed written by a girl offifteen,-still we would recommend to
her, discipline and study. Judging from the present specimen,
she must have an intellect that can bear it, which is saying much
in her praise. We believe she will feel herself capable ere
long of producing something stronger and healthier than she
has yet dreanmed of. The age for mawkish sentiment, and the
stringing together of words, however brilliant, unless as the
medium of wholesome ideas, is passing away, and we rejoice
at it.
" Th e Prophetic Tapestry; In six Chapters." This is a
thrilling tale of the fifteenth century, with just enough of love
to give it zest, and no more. The stirrirvg events of the period,
and the splendors of Lorenzo the Magnificent, are happily related, and all is in good keeping and life-like.
"T The Constellation Lyra," By William Wallace. Who is
William Wallace? Except the Scottish patriot we have never
seen the name before, and we are quite sure the article could
not have been written by him, for there is history, &c. &c.,
and yet there is a great deal of noble, stirring and beautiful
poetry in it; and much too that a writer capable of writing so
well, should blush at, as
"1 Bard of the stars! thou led the dance, &c."
has he read Lindley Murray? or have the type-setters been
playing the mischief with him? It is difficult to find the meaning of the fifth stanza, and if it has one, we doubt its value.
" Tale of the Revolution," by a Lady of Pennsylvania;
graceful, and its improbability relieved by the womanly spirit
pervading the whole.
" Abbhot, or the Hermit of the Falls," is a tale of wild and
vindictive passions, and we frankly confess, that however well
delineated they may be, we have small interest in them.
" Our Country's Flag," by J. W. Matthews. Did the writer
never feel that this is a subject over which he may exult in his
own thoulhts, but on which few would hazard a line after the
splendid apostrophe of Drake?
"Desultory Speculator." No. 7-a unique and pleasant article.
6 Summner.Morning,' another delicious article by Charles
Lanman. The writings of this young enthusiast are well im bued with an elevated and beautiful morality, which adds much
to thei r merit. His descriptions of natural scenery are full of
life, spirit and be aut y. But we hav e n o room for further quo tations from him.
" To my Mother," By Egeria, Clark's M ills, Ohi o: pleasant
and graceful poetry.
" The d.Sotherless Dau g hlters," Attributed to Prof. Dabney, of
Washington College, Virginia. This is the conclutd(ing number
of a hi bhly-wroughit story. It i s too long for us to give an
analysis of it; we carl only commend it to the notice of the
reader.
" Myst eries of the Bible," by W. G. Hsoward, Chilicothe,
Ohio. This is an able and interesting paper,the object of which
is to prov e that " the truth and inspiration of the Old and New
T e stamen ts are beautifully confirmed by the sublime mysteries
in which they abound." The article is eloquently and beauti fully wri tten; and th e great argum ent of Bishop Butle r, analoe.
gy, is happily and philosophically drawn. The analogy is
dra wn fr om t he mys teries of t he Bible t o the mysteries of creation and Providence; and the author's position is this. The
works of creation around us are full of mysteries entirely beyo mad our c ompr ehension. But these works, we all admit, come
from God. So are the dealingws of P rovi dence with u s f ul l of
incomp reh e nsible m ysteries; and thes e we also receive, as from
God. Therefore the mysteries of t he Bible a re tcertainly no
argument agains t its truth and divine origin. But on the contrary, if the volumes of creation and of Providence, coming
from God, abound in mysteries, analogy should lead us to expect that the volu me of the Bible, also coming from God, should
likewise abound in mysteries.
mr Literary Recreati ons," by Anag ram Ferrani. This seems
to b e the general title of a series of articles, the first of which
appear s in the e m ernde the preses int number. under the ub-title of "Modern
Magic.' W e u nd erst and the author is a D. D., and President
of on e of our Col leg es. T he story of Judith Betssaddi, which
attracted a good deal ofattention in the Messenge r a, f ew m on ths
agon, we suspect, w a s from the same per. The a uthor profe sses to
write for his own r ec reation, when fatie w ith at itprofessional labors, and having found that the co mpositio ns served to" smooth
his wrinkled brow o f care," he pu blishes them in the hope that
t hey may do the same kind office for the reader.' M ode rn Ma.
gic' is a sort of love story, in which a young German student,
opposed in his addresses to a young lady by her guardian, contrives t o operate upon their fears and finally brings them over
t o he n i is wishes, by meavs ofcertain pranks which his knowledge
o f chem istry enables him to play off upon them, and which
they consi der the myster ious works of magic. At the close of
t h e story the author pleasantly makes his reader ask for the
moral; and rep li e s that his moral is, "'that ignorance i s no
match for krno,,ledge.',
". Mr. Jefferson," b y Ju dg e Abel P. Upshur, of Virginia.
This article is mainly a review of the life of Thomas Jefferson
by Professor George Tucker of the University of Virginia, and
it is really one of the m-nost able papers we have seen in a Mamazine or Review for a long time. It bears the impress of a clear
head and a strong pen on every page. Judge Upshur ranks
among the best w r iters and best speakers in Virginia, and his
artic le on Jeffers on will be read with great intere st by all who
have any love for good writing, or any interest in the political
history of our country.
And here we desire to return our thanks to Mr. White for
sending us, in company with this number of the Messenger, a
pamphlet containing a powerful speech of Judge Upshut on
the basis of representation in Virginia, delivered in the convention for forming the State Conlstitution. We read it with a
good deal of interest.
" Characteristics of Lamb,"' by Henry T. Tuckerman. We
were startled to behold eight pages of close type devoted to this
exquisite writer. For a moment we hesitated to engage in the
article, for we feared th at the delightful essayist mnight be buried
in the elaborate painting intended to reveal to us his familiar
physiognomy; just as though everybody didn't know' Chzarley
Lamb,' and Bridget too; hadn't heard the rustle of her black
silk dress as she and Elis took their tea, discussing'~ old
chlina,"' and lookinfg sad, that prosperity had deprived them of
the pleasures of economy; had rendered it superflous to hus-l
banld their little gains montlh by month, to purchase the relic of
(From t he Madisonian. )
SOUTHERN LITERARY MESSENGER.
Here's our old friend again, as large as life; ay, larger, for
in this instance, we have the September and October Tumbers
under one cover. We welcome the Messenger most heartily.
Its promising table of contents, fine paper and clear type, make
it the most attractive of our monthly visiters. " Virginia
Dare," and the " Grapes of.mbra," will prove delightful
tales to beguile an afternoon; and the Essays on Lamb, Midsumnier, and American Literature, will furnish fine food for
reflection during one of these fine autumn evenings. " Take
it for all in all," this is a first rate number. The contents are
of every kind, and the most fastidious will discover something to
his or her taste. We have not space to mention the articles in
detail, and can only comniend them to the discriminating peru.
sal of the reader, assuring him that amuisernenit and instruction
are charmingly blended. We trust no one will read a borrowed
1840.]
783