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Article REVIEW OF LITERATURE, &c. ← Page 3 of 8 →
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Review Of Literature, &C.
author of this well-written Oration , delivered at a moment of peculiar interest , ancl with , no doubt , an impressive effect on the Fraternity . Brother Herring , the Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of New York , is no drone in the hive , and we have read with equal delight and gratitude , some other effusions from his fruitful granary . In the present Oration , he has commented " On the origin , design , and duties of Freemasonry" with his wonted dili but we
anticigence ; pate that he will give us , at no distant period , a more extensive work , which will embrace the diffusive range of his gifted mind . Brother Herring very properly observes , " Spots have been seen on the sun , and we have not been offended thereby , but have sought rather for the cause of the phenomenon ; ancl if a Mason has sometimes broken the laws of his country , he should be taken as an example of the perversity of human nature" And again •* ' It is not the externalbut the
. , , internal qualities of a man , which Masonry regards ; therefore , he not satisfied with the privilege of wearing the external garb of Masonry , without the correspondence of an internal decoration . " Some advice to representatives is given with peculiar admonition .
American Notes for General Circulation . In two volumes ; by Chas . Dickens , Esq . Chapman and Hall . Boz—the inimitable Boz—has been lionized in America . This was to be expected by all , ancl most of all , by himself ; and in this respect no one has been disappointed : but as Mr . Dickens can only be compared to Boz—himself being his own parallel—we must , in candour , regret that the American Notes generally , will not compare with the Pickwickian
, however they may exceed them in circulation , nor will the few instances of pathos and expression , approach either Oliver Twist , Nicholas Nickleby , or Barnaby Rudge . Perhaps we but express our ' meaning , when we say that , had any other author written these notes , and produced them as the genuine production of Charles Dickens , Esq ., the public , who are as justly partial to , as they are justly proud of him , ' would immediately have voted the notes a forgery . Not that the Notes altogether want interest ; the irresistibly touching sketch of poor Laura Bridgeman—deaf , dumb , blind , with scarcely any of the
sensesis marked by the master-hand with all the sweetest touches that the finest sensibility can impart . The story , too , of the Irish Brothers , who toiled—cheerfully toiled , until they could raise money enough to bring over their old mother , and then—when the dear soul expressed her desire to return—toiled as cheerfully to send her back again to ould Ireland , reminds us of the better powers of Boz . " He who begins well , " says the Italian proverb , " has half finished his work
. " Now these notes do not begin well—they are not the best description of a . voyage to America ; ancl are , withal , too personal in their object , and this personalty continues throughout : it woulcl seem as if the author was not himself—that he had undertaken some object without sufficient cause , like a painter who , having thought of a subject without sufficient impressment , sketched his outline accordingly , and , of course , filled it in without effect . It is true that character is ever at hand for
the pen to record—from the back slums of New York to the president ' s levee ; yet these lack the power of the graphic Boz to do justice to himself . How this happens , it is most difficult to conceive ; it could not arise from any fear of the opinions of the citizens of the United States ;
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Review Of Literature, &C.
author of this well-written Oration , delivered at a moment of peculiar interest , ancl with , no doubt , an impressive effect on the Fraternity . Brother Herring , the Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of New York , is no drone in the hive , and we have read with equal delight and gratitude , some other effusions from his fruitful granary . In the present Oration , he has commented " On the origin , design , and duties of Freemasonry" with his wonted dili but we
anticigence ; pate that he will give us , at no distant period , a more extensive work , which will embrace the diffusive range of his gifted mind . Brother Herring very properly observes , " Spots have been seen on the sun , and we have not been offended thereby , but have sought rather for the cause of the phenomenon ; ancl if a Mason has sometimes broken the laws of his country , he should be taken as an example of the perversity of human nature" And again •* ' It is not the externalbut the
. , , internal qualities of a man , which Masonry regards ; therefore , he not satisfied with the privilege of wearing the external garb of Masonry , without the correspondence of an internal decoration . " Some advice to representatives is given with peculiar admonition .
American Notes for General Circulation . In two volumes ; by Chas . Dickens , Esq . Chapman and Hall . Boz—the inimitable Boz—has been lionized in America . This was to be expected by all , ancl most of all , by himself ; and in this respect no one has been disappointed : but as Mr . Dickens can only be compared to Boz—himself being his own parallel—we must , in candour , regret that the American Notes generally , will not compare with the Pickwickian
, however they may exceed them in circulation , nor will the few instances of pathos and expression , approach either Oliver Twist , Nicholas Nickleby , or Barnaby Rudge . Perhaps we but express our ' meaning , when we say that , had any other author written these notes , and produced them as the genuine production of Charles Dickens , Esq ., the public , who are as justly partial to , as they are justly proud of him , ' would immediately have voted the notes a forgery . Not that the Notes altogether want interest ; the irresistibly touching sketch of poor Laura Bridgeman—deaf , dumb , blind , with scarcely any of the
sensesis marked by the master-hand with all the sweetest touches that the finest sensibility can impart . The story , too , of the Irish Brothers , who toiled—cheerfully toiled , until they could raise money enough to bring over their old mother , and then—when the dear soul expressed her desire to return—toiled as cheerfully to send her back again to ould Ireland , reminds us of the better powers of Boz . " He who begins well , " says the Italian proverb , " has half finished his work
. " Now these notes do not begin well—they are not the best description of a . voyage to America ; ancl are , withal , too personal in their object , and this personalty continues throughout : it woulcl seem as if the author was not himself—that he had undertaken some object without sufficient cause , like a painter who , having thought of a subject without sufficient impressment , sketched his outline accordingly , and , of course , filled it in without effect . It is true that character is ever at hand for
the pen to record—from the back slums of New York to the president ' s levee ; yet these lack the power of the graphic Boz to do justice to himself . How this happens , it is most difficult to conceive ; it could not arise from any fear of the opinions of the citizens of the United States ;