The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1844-07-24


amusing in the newspaper literature of this city,
than the critiques which appear the new journals
and magazines, which rise up like bubbles on the
surface of the water, and then disappear for ever
Things Of day just buoyant on the food,
Then numbered with the puppies in the mud"
These magazines come before the public with all
the pomposty imaginable-ad admirable illustrations
Of the fable of the inflated frog. One Of the most
frequent of their themes Of segratulation, is their
infinite superiority directors Of public taste and
opinions over the newspapers The newspapers, they
regard shocking sources Of all sorts Of evil-hey
corrupt public opinion-they poison the public ear
they pollute the public sentiment Heaven only
knows what mischief is done by these BLACKBOARD
newspapers And yet these miserable, spluttering,
snarling creatures, go about, from week TO week,
and month to month, begging "notice" from
these very newspapers, to whom, indeed, they are
indebted altogether tor any circulation they may
enjoy.
During the last ten or fifteen years we have seen
dozen and more OF these magazines start up, swell
out their bags OF wind to the greatest stretch and
then explode. And each of them has been pro-
nsunced in succession, by the newspapers, as the
very best thing OF the kind-the very perfection OF
magazine literature. We have had the old " Mir
ror," and it did get its gil OF suffing from the
newspapers, and thrived well for years, but finally
expired of sort of paralytic stroke. Then we had
the " Knickerbocker," and it was declared to be
the ne plus ultra Of magazines. Then there were
the " Monthly Magazine, and the "New York
Review,"-and the New Yorker, - and the 'sCor.
ar,"-and "Arcturus, ''-and half dozen others,
each quite Incompatible, quite unsurpassable quite
brilliant, all, in fact, quite too good for this world,
and like the sckly chickens forced into existence
by the tat man and the big oven, patronized by
Horace Greeley, unhappiy addicted to dying off
prematurely.
The last prodigy IN the way Of magazine hatch
ing is the Colombian" conducted by Mr.. In
man, andwe have been very much amused, indeed,
during the last few days in looking at the notices
OF this wonderful gem of modern literature.
Almost every paper in the city is declaring that the
COLOMBIAN Magazine . is the most astonishingly
clever thing that has appeared in this country
that it is perfect miracle of genius and talent
and that the editor is the admirable Crichton
of the nineteenth century. This extraordinary
Mr.. Inman-this vesuvius of genius, who actually
wrote whole number Of the Magazine himself,
yes, fifty mortal pages of divine poetry, heavenly
love stories, enchanting autobiography, splendid
with his own hand and added to all his own por-
trait, and that OF his cherub infant, with perfect
ly accurate fac-simile Of his autograph, why? oh
why, didn't he throw in lock Of his hair ?-this
astonishing incarnation Of versatility, originality,
and talent, vanished over too with that charming
modesty and delicious reserve which are so cha
racteristIc OF genuine merit, is exalted to the very
highest elevation in the armament, sharing in UNI
approachable glory with the Prophets ass, the Sc
venteenth heaven, and we expect that on the publ
cation Of the next number he will be put peg
higher.
1t may not be amiss for US, when thus exposing
the miserable, discriminating, canting criticism
Of the magazines, (which we lind in the newspapers,
to give our readers little inkling Of the way in
which these mushroom affairs are begotten. Well,
then, it is done in this way-one OF your loafers,
who fancy themselves the most distinguished liter
atews of the age, because they can talk learnedly
in the lobbies of theatres andsretal commonplace
at the bar of an hotel, to the establishment Of adj
miring goods clerks and MISUNDERSTANDING that
his coat begins to look gerry seedy, and that there
is no chance OF renewed credit, looks about him
for victim in the shape of some publisher, who
had unfortunately, by the exercise of economy,
industry, and talent, saved few thousands OF
dollars and is DESTROYS of making few more.
The literary gentleman gets an Introduction to
the publisher, by means of some chap of the
same kidney, who may be editing the "New
York Paragon of Magazines" or the "Superb
Looking-gass OF Literature and Elegance" or the
"Lady's and Gentleman's Exclusive Magazine"
and tells the honest publisher that he is capable
of setting the world on fire, as Homer did the
ancient isles of Greece-that he can write any
thing from heroic poem to an acrostlc-is per-
feet dab at criticism, from the ANGLE Of ballet
girl lat Niblos, to the works of the elder dramatiss
beats Darlington Macauley all to pieces as an es-
up things about town and the uihes
of everyday life in style far superior to Charles
Lamb--can bring around him an astonishing
coterie of genius, masculine, feminine, neuter and
asnlne-in short, the very man who can originate
a magazine by which a fortune will be realized
in three years. The Inflated publisher, desert
ed by his guardian angel, is caught. He en-
banks with the literary loafer in the publication of
a new magazine, which is pronounced by all the
newspapers to be the model of perfection-the most
elegant thing of the kind in the woodland finds
himself in six months ruined man. In the mean
time the astonishing genius who edited the maya
zine has accomplished his purpose He has got fresh
credit with his tailor and washerwoman, and stick
ing after his name, slate Editor Of the New York
Burning and Shining Literary Lantern and Con-
centratedSpirit Of the Age" he regains the plate
at the hotel tables, comes in once more for
gin sings at Niblo's bar, and absolutely reves in
the cellars of Park Row-the appropriate temples
of the beer-inspired genius which shines in the
Sunday papers, and from which emanate some OF
the brightest corruscations of magazine litera-
ture
In these remarks, the intelligent public do not
need to be reminded that we do not include the
few really excellent periodicals which exist amongst
US. OF such magazine, for instance, as the
/" North American Review" conducted with Ia
lent, dignity, and power, all who wish the prospe-
rity and progress of our national literature may
well feel proud. Even the COLOMBIAN Magazine"
TO which we have alluded, isvery good Of its kind