Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1838-02-21

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cause we have not the power to do every
thing we would s,aesf .rse ass .zs.szrEs
We protest against the fashionabI
course OF. delugings the world with all.
sorts Of books, without due regard to their
character and tendency. We.splead with
those authors sOho kars sc6ascisacss, to
weigh well what they write; with pub
fishers, to consider beforehand what they,
publish; and with booksellers. to remem-
Der that readers, even female readers, have,
souls-Mohammedanism TO the contrary.
notwithstanding, .-g $50.
We complain especially Of a. certain
class of booksellers, They manifest a
squeamishness in regard 10 books which.
in order to prevent vice, hold it forth max
ed and odious, Just as it is; while they
will not hesitate 10 sell, by hundreds and
thousands, apparently without any qualms,
Of conscience, those works, which under
the pretence-perhaps with the intention,
of removing vice, trick her up to that de-.
gree Of fnery which attracts weak minds,
and defeats the object Such, we humbly.
conceive, are many of the fictitious writ
ings of the day, ard Of former days.
Such, at least, we believe to be the fact in
relation to most of the writings of Byron,
Bulwer and Marryatt. - 49,.
A capital mistake is often made, by the
superficial, both in medicine and Morals.
Things and books which contain but little
poison, are. supposed to be comparatively
harmless; while those, whose effects are
more immediate and obvious, are regard
ed as proportionally dangerous to the
constitution. Thus many who would not
for the world suffer their children to take
dose of calomel or emetic tartar, will yet
encourage them 10 swallow the same sub,
stances disguised in the form of pills, pow
ders, lozenges, &c; and will even ven
ture upon their use uncombined, when in
very small quantities. Multitudes, in
like manner, may be found, who will
| shrink back with horror from the admin
istration of the most needful moral cor
rectives while they will not hesitate to adj
nit of an almost perpetual losing with
such remedies as are found iE the fiction
of the day. Now there IS no point better
established, than that it is The poison of
small quantities, in both instances, which
most efectuaIIy, if not most rapidly un- /,
dermines the constitution, physical and
moral -
But our patience has been most severe
Iy tried with the editors of. our papers and
periodicals. These men have It in their
power to render our busy community
most essential service, by a careful and ju-
dicious examination Of, every new work,
as soon as it is issued from the press, and
by candidIy pronouncing on its tendency.
Some, indeed, appear to do :his, but their
number is few. The greater part, so far
as we are acquainted, pursue quite DIFF
ferent course. They cannot afford the
time or the patience to examine books for
themselves so like true herding animals,
they follow some leader. We might here
mention names, were it in keeping with
our general plan, but it is not We op-
pose not men, but measures. We make
not war on persons; we would only dis
cuss principles, +.
We have said that our books are, in
general, but poorly calculated to promote
the well-being Of the rising generation
and have, on a former occasion, more than
intimated the importance of a iudicious
revision and supervision in this depart
ment. Such service seems to be pro-
posed by the American Society for the
Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge. Among
the measures which this society proposes
is, as we have already assured our read
ers, the publication of series of books
of good tendency, to form the basis of IL
braries for district schools and families.
We are free to confess, that while we like
their plan, and especially the object they
r propose-that of supplying the communi-
ty with books not less attractive, but atthe
same time more useful than those which
now fill our bookstores and the shelves of
8 our hbraries-we could wish for seties'
still better, and, at the same time, more
attractive, than those of which catalogue
,, is given in the prospectus. However, we
arewilling to insert part of their pros
!. pectus, and to give encouragement to their
measures, though they seem quite made
E quate to the wants of the public mind,
starving and dying as It is in the midst of
> an over-excited, half.famished literature.