Literary cadet, and Saturday evening bulletin. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1826-1827, 1826-05-13
NEAL.

The American writer NEAL, now employed as a
Ing as his opinion of Paulding's ~facetious erirara-
ganxa, JOHN BULL:
JoHN BULL IN AMERIcA.-A very clever, .aucy,
i~l-tempered book; with a deal OF snapp,sh rough
satire in it much biting truth and a sort of Ia
bored cross humor, at which you cannot help
laughing, bitter and surly as il is; ungraceful aud
wicked as it is-wicked, We say (; because, Of a
trnth, it is very NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. A
very large part Of it is caricature-apd a very hap
Ply one, too, Of the absurd accounts which are gwen
about America, the American habits, lang lsge,
vices, institutions, &c. DC. by that class of writers,
who come under the title--God forgive us-of
" British travellers i'll America q set OF chaps who
have done more mischief, aud sowed more evil,
rancorous thought, between, two great proud ma
tons, forty times over, than all the war, in which
they have encountered each other.
The design of the book is well enough-or might
be forgiven, at any rate, in such a case but the exc
cution is bad; bad, because it is not cheerful enough;
bad, because you see the bitterness Of private
feeling at the bottom Of all the sharp truth which
appears.
% We like the system of decided retaliation. Hard
knocks, for us-no "pelting with roses" There is
glory in beating a stout man little or no disgrace
if we are beaten by him. We are willing to give
VI tuht-ds NHe Sdse "dy Icqune-du eye LOT an
eye, or a tooth for a tooth, in our way but we
would have all prejudice, and private personal ami
mostly, kept clear of, while a man is pulling the
tooth, or ~gouging" the eyes of a whole nation
that 10 IL we make an attack upon u people,
because that people, or a part Of their understrap-
pers, had wronged our people, or a part of our un-
derstrappers, we should be very careful TO make il
i'll such a way, that our Indignation would appear
to be reused, not for ourselves, but for our country;
or NJ lenat fpr our caunfrvmpnl IN choul1 n,n.o.
so, as a matter Of policy, whether it was, or was not
so for truth itself-the truth Of a superior being,
would be doubted, If it were known that he had a
direct personal view, in promulgating il.
Wherefore, we should say that Paulding has
overshot his mark. In every page Of this volume,
which would appear, or should appear, to be the
generous, brave, praise-worthy UNDER
taking Of a good fellow, ripe for mischief, or frolic-
or both-in behalf, not Of himself, or his own dirty
quarrel, but Of a great nation sfar of-ir every
page or two, at every turn, where you are wholly
for it-wholly--there start. up q
phrase or a flourish, which puts you upon asking,
why the devil he 10 forever going out Of the way,
for a bsck-hsnded slap At the Quarterly Review.
Then, Of course, the game IL up-the murder is out.
For, when II Is well understood, by the readers Of
JoHN BULL m ANERicA,' that il is written nv
The reputed author of " OLD ENaLANp pI A NEW
CreLArp MAN, which was reviewed 10 . very bad
way, BY the Quarterly; when this truth comes 10
be understood BY them, how much much will they
for the rubbing up Of John Bull in Amsrics,-
not q &c.