The Express.
London, England, 1857-10-09 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

...-
The friaries awl their Friends. Routledge.
TI. 's is a N•l, 1 which will be read with much inte-
rest and curi,,sity, not merely on amount of its in-
trinsic nit sits--a:though they are rather above than
below the average—but from the gratifying fact,
which is vouched upon the highest authority, that it
is the veritable production of a coloured man. and
Ores, in the main, a faithful picture of coloured
society in the United States. It is but repeating
a trite truism to say that the subject is one of the
decree interest everywhere, and nowbcre more
than in this toiletry, where, to oar honour be it said,
the elevation of the eons of Ham to a level with the
rest of the human family has been a great nation-
stirring question now for almost a century. We
have preached for it, fought for it, toiled for it, paid
for it, and it is only a fair instalment of the reward
of our labours when us thus see one of the
Pereeented people able, as in the book be-
fore to, to take up the pen and paint their man-
ners in vivid and pleasing colour,, aid to struggle
against their wrongs and oppressions with a weapon
which never yet failed the Just cause, even when
wieleed by a feeble hand. He has evidently
been n careful reader of Metros and Thackeray,
his book being full of reminiscences of both,
and as imitators generally are most faithful
in copying &feet'', he sometimes runs the
sentimentality of the former to death, that
tieing the point in which, in our judgment, our
prose Shakespeare is sometimes a little prolix and
dilute. A boy's letter, obviously suggested by the
:coding of o %anity Pair," is more successful, and is
adapted to a new writer, and in new circumstances,
with eomiderable skill and effect. Mr. Webb must
not be offended if we thus freely handle his coup
sfessei, because to do so is at once to give it brevet
rank amongst works which are considered worthy of
criticism ; and we freely acknowledge that it would
be, on the whole, good and pleamuit reading, coming
from any one. How much greater, then, must be
its merit, as the production of one abuse father
would perhaps hare been tarred and feathered if he
had dared to take a pen in hie hand, or even
to learn his alphabet As to the goestion which
Mrs. Stowe, who introduces the book in a short
preface, says it elucidates, it :is one which we have
never thought of asking. Our intercourse with the
East hit. enriched our language with one delight-
ihlly monosyllable, and that wo shall
apply to the interrogatory—ere the negrocs capable
of freedom, self-government, sad progress ? To affect
• doubt open this matter is simply " both." Whoever
beard of a dominant rare that would admit of the
presser, of the governing beaky in those whom
thee nportemerl? And our cousins on the other aide
of tie Atlantic are only following out the old rule of
night egninst right, in gravely asserting, es one of
their esteems for slaecry, that their slaves arc radi-
cally twit foe freedom. The Ethnologists have long
since it 'tiered such nor. sense to the winds. A. well
might we seem that there was an organic difference
of structure between the Suffolk Punch and
the hieb•mettled winner of the Derby. as that
the sable roe of Cie torrid zone was not as
eapish.e er improvement, both physical and intellec-
tual, an ho pale-faced brother of the more northern
talk u.lt a. Climate, dirt, and culture make all the
difference, as we sup see even here at home, where,
herein' the colour, there is as much apparent differ-
ence between the wretched pariah of St. Giles's and
the pampered pet of St. James's as between the
belie itiest planter of Louisiana and his much-eon-
teemed bondsman. If Mr. Webb therefore has
taken op.
his pen merely to prove that a negro or a
ma'am) is capable of venting a tolerable work of fic-
tion, he might hare saved himself the trouble, as far
as we were concerned ; but if he has turned an hoc
in order to give os some true idea of the inner life of
his rare, he has done good service to the cause of ,
humeirty and progress, and deserves all encourage-
meet rt, the hands of the critics and the public. We
ere oilliag to take the latter as having been his main
object, and therefore follow with a lively interest the
thread of his story.