Morning herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1837-1840, 1840-03-20


The trashy papers that have sprung up like mush-
rooms, or rather like fungi, in this city recently,
not content with palming off spurious productions
as the works Of Boz, Charles Lamb, and Others
which those writers never saw have turned plagia-
riss in order to exc out a miserable existence, or
what is more likely, probably have only revived
system practised by the writers ever since they set
up for authors.
! However, to come directly at the point, as we
have not room to enlarge this gross literary fraud
to-day we will state one case which lately appeared
in the New World" The editors of that paper
undertook to give prose account of the recent
Grand Fancy Ball; they did so,and failed most mis-
erably. They then announced that they would write
poetical account of the ball. and publish it in the
next "New World" All the Wall street papers,
relations and friends of the editors Immediately be-
gan putting this poetical account of the Fancy Ball
in ad vance, and the following Saturday it appear
ed with pompous announcement, leaded origi-
nal matter, and filling two columns of the New
World"
To all this there would have been no objection if
the &C count had been original in the 'New w orld."
But when that the 9th of July, 1882 the
editor of the (" Providence Journal wrote and pub
lished very long poetical account headed 90 The
Fancy Ball. and that the whole of this &C count,
over two hundred lines, was stolen bodily, without
any credit, only fe words changed here and there,
and some verses added at the end To give sort of
locality to il, the public will understand the bare
faced attempt to humbug them made by the New
World"
Here is the commencement from the s' Providence
Journal"
THE Fancy BALL.
As float the fancies of gorgeous dream
That vanished with the mornings earliest beam;
As haun,s the some half remembered strain
[ovsrs TSoss bea u Ss ana whose s bloom hath fled
Each bright leaf withered and acf green dead"
Here is the commencement in the New World
The Fancy BALL.
As float the fancies Of gorgeous dream
It , gan'ed s Ms the Sfss ssa%
it once hath heard, and seems to hear again;
a flowers whose beauty and whose bloom have fed,
Here is passage slightly altered
A Scottish Maiden on sofa lies
Duh somnus waves his secpre DER her Eyes, 1,-
A Scottish Maiden on sofa lies;
Night waves her seeptre DER her siumbrous EYES HALL
Again
splnard and Mosem meet, to ask the price
oi cotton strictly prince and eo"T p1r rec: 1,,r
spanard and MOsem meet, to ask the prices,
Andtalk and grumble at the present crisis" NJ,
with CULVER o err his shoulder flung,
And buge-horn around him sung,
youthful hunter reads the room ,..
With Indian pouch DER shoulder flung,
A T.i, knife ias and Ratchet s round him sung,
An aged hunter ireads the ROOM" - - .,
e The dark Peruvian and the Naples maid
N es9SsS the Gos doTH the Eoadf
Prrridenee Jour
The Pawnce Cheftsn and the Naples maid
SPANS naughty Grandee seeks the Gpsey girl,
And Greek and MOslem joan the airy whirl" . ,,- .,
Nearly all the rest of the two hundred lines in the
9 Providence Journal are logged in bodily without
any alteration or acknowledgment of the source
whence they stolen. The closing six lines
beginning
Alas alas this weekday, worlday life"
commencing the nnety-rst line of the article in the
" New World" and few other verses similarly
nsposed to make the article appear original. This
is of the most monstrous literary frauds we have
heard of in a long time. II is of no for the con-
ductors Of that paper their friends, TO attempt 10
deny that they wished the public to believe the lines
were original in the " New World;' all the puifs
preparatory spoke Of il such, and every soul who
read it in this city, under the impression, from
their editorial articles that it written partly
by Of the editors Of that paper, and partly by
another of the editors. Here is their editorial
which does not allude to the Z" Providence Journal"
"The poetical account Of the Fancy Bali will,
we trust be read with pleasure. This was event
which excited universal conversation and interest;
and We have not deemed il out of our province to
present an imaginative description Of the gorgeous
scenepartly in the Of another, but chiefly IN
such lines scant time has allowed to rattle
| of from the nib OF our gray goose quill. -
! Nelc World, March T.
Not satisfied with this, however, in the Signal
Of March 10th appears new song, said tobe "writ-
ten expressly for Mr.. Russell, called "The SEXTON
which contains nothing remarkable except the clo-
sing line Of each verse,
! I" gather themjn gather them in :"
In the " New York Transcript" Of Dec -, 1884,
was published -" Song Of the Grave Digger" con
tanning the whole subject matter Of this new song
All the ideas which have been thus expressly" sto
len for Mr.. Russell, and even the last line Of every
verse is similar, II gather him in gather him inr'
Here two verses, by way of comparison
The child. strong and healthy, careers the heath
Not thinking, not caring. scarce knowing ofdeath;
Ia an instant he draws his last innocent breath.
] gather him in,
| / gather him
| ~ York Transeript
Mother and daughter. father and son,
| Come 10 solitude, one by
| But come they strangers or come they kin,
gather them IN ] gather them in ="
! And this is but small specimen Of the humbug
and trash with which these papers attempt TO gull
the reading public, week after week, all over the