Martinsburgh gazette. [volume] (Martinsburgh, Va. [W. Va.]) 1810-1825, 1823-01-09

OF wit and worth aud fancy and geniu,
we can be induced to read, much less /
admire, such elaborate triiling, such i'm
portant nolhingness, as the following?
Such, for instance, was the odd confusion {
associations that kept breaking upon me az fiji,
| approached London. One Of my earliest wishe
had been to see II; had heard 50 much OF il
( childhood; had read 50 much about it in III
! earliest books that had been put ~ nv iata,
hands; was smillar with the names of rs s.ree,
aud squares, and pubic places, before, kne,
! those ofmy native city. II was, TO me, the eres
centre of the world. lrecollect contempistn
! 50 wistfuily. when a boy a paltry Little print I
the Thames, and London Bridge, and ST. Paul..
that WAS in front of Magazine; even the ven
cradle wood cut OF St. Johns gate, that has stoo
| time out OF mind on the title page ofthe Gentle
mans Magazine, was not without lis charms to
me.
How ms bosom thrilled when the towers O
Westminster Abbey were pointed out to me, ris
M, above the rich groves OF St. James Park
with thin blue haze about their grey pinnacles
Il could OF behold this great mlusoleum o!
what Is most iilustri0us IN our paternyl history
without feeling all my enthusiasm In a low; ms
can torbear TO menton, on the other hand. the
delightful, yet childish interest with which first
peeped into Mr.. Newberry's shop in st Paui's
church yard; that fountain head OF literature
Mr.. Newbelry WAS the first that ever filled my
infant nEnd with the idea ut a great aud good
nan. lie Published all the picture books OF tne
day, Tom Thumbs Folio, GILES Gingerbread;
aad Jack the Slant Killer, and out OF his aoun-
dant iuve for children. he em,nded nothing tor
the paper AID print, and only penny ha.ipenny
Dr the biudng'
We, however, owe it justice to ac-
knowledge, taat the fact stated IN the
last sentece, viz. that ;. MIR. Newberry
charged nothing for the paper, and only
a haitpenny for the binding was per-
tectly new to US. How it escaped ID ls-
raeh, in his Cariosities of Literature, we
know not, nor have now time to inquire.
1t is impossible, we find, to give any
thiag like an abridgement or summary OF
the work before us. 1t is neither histo-
ry, nor tale, nor poem; bat possesses
advantages unknown to either. 1t is,
tor instance, immaterial with which vol
unle you commence or at which end Of
the volume. 1t is sort OF series, or ra
ther a given number, of sketches and de-
scriptions of squires and maids and mat
rons and bachlors and lovesiok girls and
Scholmasters and priests and apotheca.
rics and doctors aud dogs; intermingled
with stories, both long and short, having
no other connection than that of contigu.
lty, and no other order than that of sue
cessi0n.
The following extract will furnish the
reader with all the Information we pos
,ess, as to the ground ozark of the per.
Iormance; and may perhaps throw some
additional light upon the character of the
book itself.
'Thc reader, if he has perused the volumes
,f the Sketch Book, will probably recoect
OF the Bracebrldge family, with
which once passed Christmas. / amnog on
mother visit to the Hall, having beeninvlted to
wedding, which IS shortly to take place. The
'quire's second son, Guy, fine spirited young
;aptan in the array, is about to be married to
his fathers ward, the fair Jnl;a Templeton. A
gathering of relatives and friends has already
commenced to celebrate the joyful occasion; for
he old gentleman is an enemy 10 quiet, private
d,lngs'
rhc family mansion is an old manor house,
tlnilng in retired and beautiful part Of York
'Mrc. g inhabitants have been reg rded
1rough the surrounding country as the .great
1hes OF the EARTH" and the little village ncartbe
Hall, looks up to the Squire with Almost teadal
homage. ] am again qalrtered in the pannelled
in the antique wing OF the house. The
prospect from my window, however; has quite
. different aspect from that it were on my vim
ter visit. Though early sin the month OF April,
yet few warm sInsiliny days have drawn forth
the early beauties oftiie spring. The parterres
ofthe oldfashoned garden are already gay with
flowers, and the gardener has brought out his ex-
oics and placed them along the stone ballus-
trades The trees are clothcd with green buds
and tender leaves; when open my window /
smell the odour OF mignonette, and hearthe hum
of the bees from the flowers against the sunny
wall, with the varied song Of the tirostle, and
the notes Of the tuneful little wren.
While sojourning IN this strong hold OF old
fashions shall be tempted to make some occa-
siona sketches of the scenes and characters be-
fore me; mingled with anecdotes and remarks
of wha. have seen and thought and felt. in the
course of my rankings In word, shall
make use of the leisure which is afforded me,
to clear Oft the motley contents which are apt
accumulate in travellers portfolios
From the number and variety of the
characters introduced, and the acknowl-
edged taste and hunour Of our author.
the reader win naturally anticipate m
ny fine heads and spirited sketches. And
he will not b. altogether dlSappointe d;
there is some good painting, and ma.ny
quaint, as we'll as humorous delineati ms
But we do think the author has, in ?. lev
instances, rather oversteped the mo 6esty
of nature, and passed from the lut.icrou
to the absurd. He has certainly embel
ished his hall with a number of coarse
if not fantastical portraits, the original
Of which, if we mistake not, are much Of
tener to BE- met with in the decoration.