The Alexandria herald. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1811-1826, 1823-04-04
JoHNsoN's LIFE OF GREENE.

ID work entitled" Sketches of the
LIFE and CORRESPONDENCE of Nathaniel
Greene, Major General ofthe armies Of
he United STATES, in the mar Of the Re-
pollution complied chiefly from original
materials by WILLIAM JOHNSON, of
Charleston, South Carolina, Q volumes,
4to. PIP. 99s. Charleston. A. f. Mil
Ter. 1892"
a publication which has lately made
its appearance here, called the United
States Magazine and Literary and Poll
sicai Repository, contains an elegant cri-
teal and interesting review of the above
work; and which is we'll understood TO
be from the pen of gen. Armstrong
The writer first INDUCES himself and di-
verts his readers in vein of ridicule and
sarcasm, on this production, as a literary
composition and enumerates the fol-
lowing among the blcmishes that are TO
be found in it; The language he as
serts, is sometimes Duigar often gram.
maticaNy corrupt ; frequently .Johhish or
affected; sometimes 6om50stic often
borders on ertravaganf or hyhro6olcaI +.
the sentences are sometimes involved
and obscure and lastly, that some of
the authors terms, though apparently
common, have been totally and shame.
iessfy misahfiied. These several yer.
bal criticisms he maintains by adducine
Instances from the book to Justify each.
Having disposed Of this part of his SUBJ
Iect, he next considers the work. "as a
chronicle or register of public events. -
and pertinently observes that Gwi,hout
truth, history becomes romance and
that though IT may smuse the imagina.
ton, II can never be made rule of hu
man conducts either in acting or jude,
ing" He then proceeds to examine the
authors relation of what he denomina,es
the froo constructors which d!sigure our
revolutionary story, one, 10 huf
doTVn general Washington the other
$50 close the S5or tn us1irhatien and
monarchy" Our limits will not allow us
to extract any thing respecting the first of
these heads, &we therefore must content
ourselves in extracting what respects the
last in proof of which, reliance is placed.
principallysif not solely, on what is usual
iy denominated the NezU6urg letters.
AS to these letters, an impartial respect
tor truth, totally regardless whom it NAV
concern, renders it an imperious duty
upon the editor of this paper, more espe.
cIally as he, in the course of newspaper
controversy, some years since, with the
person 10 whom they have long been
attributed united in common with others.
In imputing TO their author, borrowing
the language of general Washington as
expressed at the time. the "blackest of
notlves,' e, take the earliest opportu-
NIFTY ofpermitting him TO be heard, at
length, in his own justification, both as to
facts and motives, through the same me.
dunn that formerly spared het 10 couple
is,name with the bitterest opprobriu,n
Judge Johnson in the above work. has
not seruPled, to the surprise venture 20
say OF every one in this quarter, TO adj
vance the suggestion that the lateGover-
neuI Morris was the real writer of those
letters, md that he was actuated by ba5
and traitorous motives. We are now
prepared for the extracts which we have
TO offer from the above interesting and
well conducted magazine. Not a sylla.
Bile more need be added, we presume, TO
secure them an eager perusal, than to
name the author general Armstrong
II will be found to contain sketch of the.
late Governor Morris, drawn with great
fidelity Of resemblance and brilliancy of
coloring. W. =. Euenfns Posf.
"On this branch Of our subject, il, but
remains TO examine what MIR. Johnson
may consider his strong hold-his sug-
gestion that Mr. Morris was the author of
the Newburg Letters. Like some stur.
dy polemic whose zeal increases in exact
proportion as his reasoning fails, and who
hastens TO supply by confidence what he
wants in argument or facts, he no longer
stoops to the low drudgery of examining
documents and exposing the nakedness
OF confidential letters, but boldly commit
ting himself,to his imagination overturns,
at once, both history and tradition, and
ascribes 10 the pen Of Mr.. Morris, a pro.
duction in which that gentleman had
bout as much agency as he had in writing
Soloman's Song or the Psalms of David
"a conjecture Which as Tar as we know,
has never yet been offered to the public.
Mr.. Johnson's argument, on this point
being unique in dialectics, we shall
give literal copy Of it, with few brief
remarks of our own.
The author of the Newburg Letters
has hitherto lain conceal. Popular OPT.
Mon has attributed them to an individual,
who has been satisfied to compound for
the doubts cast upon bis morals, by en-