Editor's Table [pp. 378-379]

THE LADIES' REPOSITORY.
our correspondents as, under the same circumstances, we would
be treated. We have endeavorem, also, to do what we could
for the pleasure and profit of our readers. Nor have we any rea son to complain, but every reason to be thankful, for the recep tion which our poor labors have met with in almost every quar.
ter; for the occasional little raps that have been given us upon
the knuckles, by two or three of our newspaper friends, in re.._
gard to our series of articles now concluded-and for ever con cluded-hardly form an exception to the general kindness for
which we feel bound to express this gratitude. And these
raps themselves have been given under such a misapprehen sion of the real character of the articles, that we have felt
complimented by the notice taken of them. Still, as the gen eral topic, rather than the occasion for here introducing it, is
one at all times interesting to us and to all men of true Chris tian feeling, we will take the liberty to say now, once for all,
whatever we have to say upon this subject.
We cannot feel otherwise than thankful, that more than
three years have passed since we came to this position, during
all which time, until a month or two since, we have never
seen any thing in reproof of our editorial contributions; and the
slight taps that we have now received, in relation to our Shoul der-Knot articles, are given in such an equivocal manner, that
we can hardly tell whether to feel gratified or mortified. It is
certainly gratifying to find that there is such a general hostil ity to fiction, that history itself, if written with a little less
than ordinary dullness, excites suspicion; for we at once claim
to have contributed quite our full proportion, both before and
since our editorial career began, to this good state of feeling.
For the last twenty years we have been battling against this
species of writing; we have shown our hostility to it, not only
in the pulpit and through the press, and that constantly for this
long period, but by never having read five chapters of a novel,
with but a single exception, since we had a being; and what
we did once read, during a season of convalescence from a
severe and protracted illness, was perused by the advice of our
family physician, who, queer as it may sound, did actually
prescribe a few volumes of Walter Scott as a medicine. Our
reading had always been of such a black-letter, skull-crack.
ing character, that he thought, perhaps unwisely, that a little
amusement from these books would be serviceable to health.
This was in 1835. We read the volumes prescribed, got well,
and have never read a novel from that day to this; but we have
raised our voice against them, and that understandingly and
emphatically, as we have seen the most alarming consequences
to others come from the perusal of them.
With this gratification there has been mingled a little mortification, as there seem to be some amongst us, and those of
some pretensions to knowledge, who do not appear to know
when they are reading facts and when fiction. They are not
quite certain whether we have told the story of the marriage
of Charles the First of England according to historical records, or have manufactured our own records. Because the
story is somewhat romantic, they can hardly credit it as a
reality, not knowing that the marriage of Charles the First is
a romance in history; nor do they seem to perceive that the
greater part of our series makes no pretensions to be either
history or fiction, but speculation. The truth is, however, that
the Shoulder-Knot carries two distinct characters. It is made
up of fact and philosopky. The story part of it relates factshistorical facts-facts pretty thoroughly known to all persons
well-read in history. The other part consists of philosophical
speculations, wherein.he author gives his opinions, and the
opinions of those represented, of our present life, of hell, and
of heaven, besides connecting his views of the physical, intellectual, and spiritual l1 of man with the great world's history.
Indeed, the story is no at all prized by the writer for its own
sake, but only as the vehicle by which he conveys these opinions on the highest earthly and religious topics to his readers.
He chose this mode of conveyance in place of a series of philosophical and religious essays; and those who have not seen
this very evident design, must have failed to do so by not having interest enough in the subjects to give our series a perusal.
To allay all fears, now and for ever, respecting the historical
character of our story, we will here plainly say, that we have
gathered our materials, by a very extensive course of reading,
from more than one hundred volumes of authentic history;
and though it would be impossible, without unnecessary pains,
to cite chapter and verse in so many works where we have got
a fact, or a hint, or a scrap, in the course of studying and
writing, we will give the following as among the reliable au thorities from which our materials have been taken. Having
daily access to the largest and best libraries in the Mississippi
valley, we have consulted, we have no doubt, a great many
authors, whom we cannot now remember. The following we
happened to minute upon our manuscript: Hardwicke State
Papers, Howell's Letters, Reliquie Wattonianme, Sir Henry
Ellis' Original Letters, (1623,) Life of Edward Lord Herbert
of Cherbury, Bacon's Works, Works of Sir Walter Raleigh,
Life of Raleigh, by Tytler and by Cayley, D'Israeli's Curiosi ties of Literature, Camden's Annals of James I of England,
Burnet's History of his own Times, Dunlop's Memoirs of
Spain, Clarendon's State Papers, Italian Translation of Men dozza, Meade's Epistles, Les Larmes de l'Angleterre, Am bassades de Bassompierre, Somer's Tracts, Craik and Macfar lane's History of England, vol. iii, and Lord Haile's Memorials.
If our readcr wishes to look more nicely into the sources of
our facts, we cite him to the designated places in the follow ing works: Russell's Modern Europe, vol. ii, Letter 2, pp. 59,
61, 62, 64, Craik and Macfarlane's History of England, vol.
iii, ch. 1, pp. 2-241, inclusive, Parliamentary History, vol. vi,
p. 66, Franklin, pp. 71, 72, Kennet, p. 776, Sanderson's Life of
Charles the First, passim, Hume's History of England, from
the Accession of James the First to the Death of Charles the
First, and Rushworth, vol. i. Or if any of these are inaccessible, let him just pick up Pardoe's Life of Louis the Four.
teenth, recently published by the Harpers, and he will find in
the first five chapters of vol. i, the substance of the very story,
which our unread critics have looked upon with a shyness so
discreditable to their knowledge.
Many, we ought to say, who know the difference between
history and fiction, have expressed an opinion in this matter;
and our friends may not complain, if, after taking out all the
eulogy of a candid notice, which Wm. C. Bryant has been
pleased to make of our magazine, we give that part of it bearing directly upon the question. Perceiving the double character of our Shoulder-Knot series, as composed of facts and philosophical speculations, he concludes his reference by the words,
"A very clever and lively sketch, principalli historical."
In conclusion, we will here add, that, if we know what fiction is, we never wrote a word of it in our life, and we never
shall We do not like it well enough. We hope, therefore,
our friends will always trust us that we know what we are
about, until they are certain to the contrary.
There is one thing, however, rather funny in this matter. A
female friend of ours, who remembers days of yore, when cer.
tain books used to get thrown into the fire whenever we could
lay our hands on them, and who has been waiting a long time
to get the joke on us, writes us, "Good, good, good-the novelburner himself accused of writing fiction!"
The tenth volume of the Repository will be characterized by
the following improvements: 1. It will contain a larger number of pages. 2. It will employ more of our best American
writers. 3. It will receive more contributions from foreign
countries-not gossiping newspaper letters, but articles on interesting topics, from writers of high reputation. 4. It will
give, in every alternate number, a piece of music adapted to
the piano, from the pen of Professor Werner, who has been
pronounced the best composer and the best pianist in this
country. 5. Its engravings will be, on the whole, one hun.
dred per cent. better than the average of our former volumes.
They will be new, striking, and original, many of them scenes
in the Mississippi valley. Any four of them would cost, at
the usual prices, as much as the year's subscription to this magazine. The Publishers say in their circular, that they "confidently believe, though they have no pecuniary interest whatever in it, that the next volume will be much the best, in evewr
tazu, ever issued of this work." For ourself, we are pledged
to use our best endeavors to make the tenth volume of the
Ladies' Repository an honor to its friends and patrons.
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