Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1835-05-07

S.; ADD, rs u is fAir 10 Infer, from the
tenor Of hs remarks, that he has some conf
depce In our Judgment. Nc shall embrace the
opportunity to make a Few observations.
Thanking him Tor the eomplinent which he
has thought proper To bestow upon our paper,
we shall Get out with remarking. that, notw It'll
standing all our friendship for him, in view Of
his valuable patronage. We must, nevertheless.
say that we do not think he Is perfectly jus,i-
fable" in imagining himself To be personally
alluded TO by Philos. n s. had been
the only individual whose poetical eulogie. ap-
peared IN our columns, then he might justly
have taken offence at the contamination Of
Philos, and considered Il q personal attack /;
but there Is multitude who have contributed
In the saVe way. why, then, should s.
apply 70 himself the remarks Of Philos,
We do not wish the communication Of S.
to appear before the public without saying
word to prevent wrong impression which il
Is calculated to make. Philos is q gentleman
Of character very different from what s.
has imagined il 10 be. Philos cannot be cha
grinned at party movements; for he is almost
Indifferent on that score. lie by no mean, pos
sesses the spleen attributed 10 him; and us to
his age, he is by some years the junior Of s..
The occasion seems 10 require a defence
OF ourselves. II is true, we have "thought
proper" to admit many poctical obituaries in
to our columns; but IL is not a fair inference
that they met with our appreciation. We
have, moreover, received repeated assurances
from our subscribers that such communication
were not agreeable 10 the generality OF rca-
ders- We have been unwilling, however, 70
wound the feelings Of these who have been be-
reaved; and complying with their wishes, we
have frequently published articles which our
feelings, our taste, and our Judgment, would
have united to suppress, owing to the style Of
execution.
These remarks we have made without wish
ing TO give offence. s. must not think
that we attack him individually. We have
not sought the occasion to express our opinion;
but as II has been presented, we have said
what our sense Of duty told US ought TO be
said.
In hne, We hope that no controversy will
arise out of what has been said. Philo. will
certainly not consider il necessary to say any
thing farther; and as to s., we hope
that he will regard our suggestions as the Ian
guage OF friendship, and act accordingly
TO rHE EDITORS or IuE FnEE rREss.
.N,irs. Editor,:-I admire the manner in
which your paper is conducted, and have been
Tor some time subscriber; and if do not
take part in the every day intrigues which are
practiscd by members Of both political parties.
yet, trust am rs much devoted To the inter
ests Of my party and the welfare Of nv coun-
try, as those who would be forever blabbinc
about them Thee remarks, Messrs. Editors
were elected on reading communication in
your last weeks paper. Its author, n very
learned gentleman, who 7 suppose chagrined
AZ some party move or other, and not being
able TO obtain satisfaction from the right source.
ard having on hand n greater quantity Of
spleen than wit, has been venting il upoa those
who have humbiy tried To eulogise the dead
He complains that obituary notices too often
exclude from your columns matter or more
importance and he remarks, 1.-The style in
which these communications are commonly
written, particularly che poetic effusions-de-
fectiye both in rhyme and measure. I" he pro-
nounces them useless in every sen.s of the
word; and then Immediately goes on 10 saw
he has no personal allusions--his remark, are
intended for a general object But I well
know that he has personal illusions; and in
virtue of the right as one Of those who have an
:" itch for scribbling," I feel myself perfectly
Justifiable in now appearing in your Columns,
TO make few remarks on some Of those oh p
tuary notices My feeble hand. in one or two
instances, attempted 10 add a line or two OF
rhyme To the notice Of some decease-somc of
which were ELECTED by friendship; Others by
request You, gentlemen, thought proper In
honor them with place in your columns: and
although am conscious that am not capable
Of commemorative the dead as they deserve 10
be, owing 10 the humble sphere Of life in which
have bcen called TO move, yet, perhaps, IL 4
had been blessed with the education which
" PhiIos" has, should be Snore capable Of do
ing so; OF any rate, should have employed ms
talAnt differently from what he has 4 wtu,d
have engaged a foe, the conquest OF which,
would have heaped honors on INV head, rather
than to interfere with those whose years are
not half his number, or whose chance TO be
wise has not been half 90 great.
Notwithstanding all this, do not think that
those lines which have penDed or any that have
appeared in your paper on this subject, could
posSibly give offence 30 any one, unless their
breasts were devoid Of that sympathetic teel-
ing which endears 10 us the memory Of a friend
or relative. By this remark, mean no diSpa-
ragemeDt 20 the genilemans sympathy, for he
tells us that no one can sympathise moro free
ly In the loss Of friends than himself; and \
have no reason TO doubt bis veraeity. Finally,
! would recommend "Philos" 20 turn the cur
rent Of his wit 10 some more noble and exalted
purpose. For what honor could possibly ar
crue 10 him, even " he could prevent persons
from pouring the balm of consolation in the az.
nicted and agonizing heart; from trying TO
blunt the keen edge Of The D. eyer Of affection
and shedding . sympathetic tear DER the re-
mains and the recolieeiions Of some dear loved
one only AJAX him what benefit could he
possibly derive from Il let him ask his own
heart, and Il viii quickly say--bons.