The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1837-10-20
ANNALS.

THE PARLOUR SCRAP BOOK for 1888,
cn,beliSled rtA fourteen beautiful engrauingS, ciM
pocticai illustrations. Philadelphia CAREY, LEA g.
BLANCHARD, 1887.
This is the second number of this splendid quarto
Annual and great improvement in all respects
upon the first. For beauty finish, and elegance, it
stands we think al the head of the class of Ameri-
can Annals.
Among the best and most interesting of the en-
cravings are, The Sisters, Qhe frontispiece,) by
Thomson-a very beautiful and perfect specimen of
the art; ledora, by Hopwood-which has the fault,
however, of representing person sleeping, rather
than dead-a difference requiring the perfection of
the art to distinguish Beatrice by Cook-ths is the
Beatrice of Shakespeare, and one of the tavorite
characters of that unrvalled delineator of human
nature, Mrs. Fanny Butler-the poetica illustration
is fine, but the painter or engraver, has given too
Sombre a cast to the counenance of the masker-its
the sad, not the merry Beatrice: Caroline d. Agnes,
both by Robinson, are,very beautifu-and their illus
raons among the very best in the book-more espe-
cially that of the latter (Which will be found in our
columns next weekly Isa, by Mote, well drawn and
well engraved-but not of the character, which
pleases us SO much as some of the others
The rest of the embellishments represent Oriental
Scenery and Temples, conveying TO the mind all the
voluptuousness of the Eastern cline They are very
fine but not easily described
We should have mentioned, that the fine print of
Agnes, was drawn by lady, Miss L. SHARPE and
we might add that there is all the characteristics
and delicacy of the woman in the conception OF the
picture.
In conclusion we must say, that for the encourage
mept of the native arts, and the reward of native
genus, this beautiful Annual presents the strongest
claims to public patronage.
The book is for sale at Mr.. Taylor's, the Waverly
Bookstore, Pen nsylvania Avenue.
THE OASIS, a monthly Quarto of 32pages, edited
and published by Nelson & Randall, Oswego,
New York.
This periodical of which we have received the
frs, two numbers consists of original and selected
articles in prose and poetry and reviews of the cur
rent literature of the day, and IS conducted with
talent
Though the selections are very good, we think the
ORIGINALS are not always very select We shall not
stop TO argue the matter however, but simply aude
to one article on the literary characerc CT BULwER in
which the Editors are guilty of the original SIM Of
DENYING 10 his transcendent genius the attribute of
ORIGINALITY
Hear the charge
with all his greatness, he rants ORIGINALITY"
And now hearken to the evidence
awe occasionally meet with sentiments and
thoughts in his pages which evidently owe their orr
gin even to Spinoza, Hobbies, SALISBURY, and Bo-
lingbroke'
And this is the evidence of rant Of originate
IT,"
By this rule this new and original canon of orr
ginaty, Fulton would be deprived of all his immor
tal honors, BY the first old gossip who used teapot
By this rule, the genius of Raphael must be surrend
cred to the paint grinder; and that of Shakespeare
10 the scene-shifter and candle-snuffer-(" put out
the light!") BY this rule tho discoverer of the
New World must yield the palm to the first savage
who padded canoe; and the Tanner of Lightning,
10 the housewife who spun the Irvine with which he
drew down the thunderbolts from Heaven.
We are ashamed of having said SO much (where
so little seemed to be required) in defence of the
mastery genius of man, who was SCOTS superior,
and Byron's equal; and is Brougham's rival. But
ii is our nature TO stop and slay rabid opinion, as
we would a rabid animal we have only to add,
that IL the Oasis lets loose many such opinions,
instead Of being green spot in DESERT II WILDE
a desert surrounded by very palegreen-eorer'"