Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1842-09-07
Critics and Criticism.


eralure receives is from the unirerSdHty
Of Criticism.
T is matter Of doubt with me if there
be any such thing as public opinion. If
il does exist, tits a most puzzling problem
TO discover how it acts aud is acted upon.
There are almost as few ludlcious crit
les as original writers.
The criticism uf a iran of taste is gem
orally based upon an instructive feeling
for the beauties Of composition; that of
iudicious man is the result OF process Of
reasoning.
Rules certainly never made poet and
hardly a critic. Without doubt they never
made general critic.
II is species Of prolanityto deny truly
great names.
very unsafe critics.
Nowadays the c,hic is frequently The
rival Of his author
A true critic must have a heart as we'll
as a head This is often forgotten.
The Republic of Letters is wholly IN
like all other republics. In it, the few
govern.
Men intelligent in their own walk of
life, but who have never received any tine
ture of letters. make the most opin.onated
of all critics. A carpenter expects to quad
rate the powers of the human mind, and Il
stone mason TO overthrow one Of Ariosto's
castles.
Those who turn critics after having fail
ed in every other department Of literature
are invariably, of all others, the most mar
row minded and presuming, malicious and
sour
There must be Il vein Of deIicacy in true
criticism. which belongs only to men or
remarkably nice powers of discrimination.
Few critics can appreciate true scntl-
ment
Many persons have a cant phrase they
apply TO every book.
With what paid critics and party critics
friendly and hostile, it is next to impossi
bic to get an unbiased judgment Of any
work in this age Of books.
All critics c0ndcnn in the same fashion.
Lawyers make good merely verbal crit
les.
Oriental and biblical critics surpass all
others in conceit and punctuation.
Authors (the bcst) are very fair and lib
cral critics Of each others merits, notwith-
standing the general impression to the
contrary. 4
Short, incidental criticisms are infinite
ly better and certainly truer than set for
NAL critiques.
Most critics arc very deficient in stan
dards.
A long continued habit ofcritcisipg ou-
| ~ N
! after models.
! Fine critics may be divided into three
classes-the acute, the udicious. The elo-
| quent. The first are sterling and original
but in some particulars are apt to be delcc-
rive and unsound; the second are always
lust and fair but ratheS I'D and indi1eer-
ent; the third, + - = ID brilliant, but Of
ten both unsound and just.
The best critics are ever in a minority
on all questions OF taste on which the pub
lie undertakes TO decide.
Is there not more music in Paganini's
violin than in the choir Of "A country
church? just SO there is more trust to be
reposed in the judgment Of first rate crit
ic than in the collected opinions Of an ar
my Of general readers.
Criticism undergocs as many mutations
as fashion, and is influenced by causes as
trivial.
Criticism is generally finest when orig
inal writing are worthless. Ills an nrt
that hourishes but in the decay Of all 9th
ers.
Original Writers make critics, but crit
les never made original writer's.
TIE ANALYST.
CANADIAN PRIsoNERs.-W learn that
Chandler and Waste, the first Of whom
has a wife and eleven children, and the
second n wife and one child, IN Canada,
have effected their escape from Van Die
mans Land, and reached Rochester, New
York, days Journey from their rcspcc-
tive families. They left their island prs-
on two days before the escape Of Gem
nell; secrcted themselves more Cn"ctually
from every search, amorg the fasiness OF
a distant isle near the coast, fortified with
more than two weeks provisions. How
they contrivcd 10 get on board a New
England Whalcr, and where. /, not stated;
but it is certain that she brought them
safely to New England.
Mrs. Waite, year or two since, set off
for London, to petition the Queen to res
tore her husband to her. 1t is said the
Queen was willing, but Lord Mebourn
thought it unsafe TO comply with her re-
quest. Chandler and Waite were ordered
for execution in August, 1888, but their
wives took Journey TO Quebec, and OBJ
tanned an audience Of Lord Durham, and
an order TO Sir George Arthur staying the
execution. We trust they will frown down
every attempt at reviving the border trou-
bles. A convention consisting Of Major
Handy and others, has assembled at Cevc-
land to deliberate on an invention, but it