The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1836-1851, 1839-12-07
Fran Ike SO"tAsra L'terafy Messenger
-,MRs FrNIMORE COOPER, ESQ,


famous character, and Sustained by no
,.r:,ers who were authors hy rTotesslnn'
occasionally, lawyer, tNla2, pol'-
,ician. or a schoolmaster, mignt ,o."
ss;dc from the serious business OF his nue.
AVID comnilc or compose book upon 'he
sn',;rc,s connected with his individual
pursuits; and incipient poets lovers anu
wis. adorn the pages Of the two or three
msgaziues then existing, with guam, SOU
nets, ballads, squibs, cleg'cs ana cp'-
Grams: further than this, American ii1SEa-
turc had neither form nor c"milncsS' we
...rcn, here the diplomatic correspondence
Of Washington, Lee, Hamilton, Adams
and other distinguished writers and scho
lars of the revolution; compositions
which for elegance of diction. strength
and directncss Of expression, ana roma"
,ioor Of STYLE, are surpassed by no VII
tinrs Of a later period, an" may comr'fc
viii the hest of The brightest era Of Drl-
tish literature; it is al.nc of literature as
n nursnit, of authors by proirsslo"' 10
which these remarks have rctrrcnce.-
After Americans became independent OF
Grca, Britain, they began to think Tor
themselves in literature as well as III pHi'-
tics: and writer's on various SUBJECTS ne-
gan 20 make their appearance, and RAPID,
IT. increase in numbers, digaiiying and
clcvating their pursuit, by the eAte"''
variety, and holiness of their productions,
and by the genius and learning they dis
played. Bat not until about the year Sc
vcn,cen hundred and ninety, could Anne
rican literature be properly classcd, or
authors be designated by names derived
from their devotion to orc branch OF lear
ming. And although at the period VIC
have lust named, few or 10 writer's ioi-
loved to Tie exclusion Of ether branches
OF science, CT other professions any one
ra.h Of literature, still, with less d'Eicul-
IT, than twenty years before, they adj
,ni,ied of classification under respective
heads. Thus, in 1870, the United States
could boas. her historians, her hiographers,
her inris,s, her 1heologians, her fraTcl-
,crs. her poets, and her norel:sts; and so
rand, since that period, has been her
progress in every hca of literature, art
and science, that at this time she holds u
Droud rank in the world of letters. to
which, during the last forty years, her
contributions in the various department.
of science, have been eQnalled by no ma
tons except England, and perhaps GeT'
many.
OF the classes Of writers abcvcmcn-
toned, the novelist was the slowest IN his
advances into public favor. The severe
cast of character of that grave generation,
which retained traces Of the stern and
severely moral tone Of feeling derived
from the early settlers of the colonies,
presented powerful obstacles to the intro
duction of species of literature, whose
object was amusement, and which, IN the
-asinion of the sober people of the age,
was akin to the sorccries Of the Moabites
and Ammonitcs, and temptation of the
devil. The first American novelist, Who
had the ,emerity to encounter these puri-
tanic preiudiccs, was clergyman! the
Rev. DR.. DelknaP. lie was an accurate
scholar, and distinguished for the sound
ness Of his learning in various depart
mcnts of science, especially legal juris-
prudence, history, and politics, that dc
not usually invite the attention OF dlvlnes:
Some Of lis opinions uF"" soci'!y an"
political government, were OF h''1, o".-
pinal and dangerous character; a"d zach
rs he did no, think it wise TO dlTa:;;c with
ou, some precautions. He therefore, i'll
imitation of certain French writer's, wrote
il novel, il which he introduced many
we!l-drawn characters, which nc maie the
medium Of expressing sentiments lie deeMi-
cd it irprudcnt to convey to Tie pubic
through u more direct channel. ihis no.
vel he entitled "Thc i'orcsters.' |. be-
came very popular, and the reverend no.
yclist, instead Of being, with h's book
compared with Aaron aHa the golden call,
tempting men to ;loiatrv, n lieu OF ro'"-
tias them TO Heaven, ga!ncd by his pro
nuclinn, Observed reputation.
Dnc Or two unsuccessful limitations oil
THE Forcstcrs,' followed soon after
wards; but no novelist appeared until
1913, when Charles Brockden Brown p"b-
lished "W Wieiand,'' which noble compo-
sitoa gave tho author title 10 rank
among the mosl popular writer's OF hc'
ton Of his time. This was succeeded by