Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1844-05-23

| A doubt is raised, Fact, so clear and
indisputed, falls at once into uncertain
| tv, by the magic virtue Of this little If
Touchstone, indeed, allows great virtue
in your if;' but the virtue he discovers
was of the composing and healing kind /;
whereas, in this instance, the application
of the word rouses all the tumuituous
passions, ard confidence is as severely
shaken, as when late ingenious and no.
bic author promulgated his doubts, as to
the personal and mental deformities of
Richard III.
.sWhat!' exclaims the candid reader.
and is it then possible that Peter Piper
did not pick the peck of peppers,
Possible returns the cynic, lit was
hardly possible he should have done it
| tod you before, if the author wished
to gain credit for so improbable an "a
chievement, he should have specified the
peculiarities Of the pepper, whether black
or white, whole or ground; that is the
way to obtain belief. For my own part,
this statement only confirms the doubt ]
before entertained. If Peter Piper pick-
ed peek ofpepper.' Yes. yes, the au-
thor here wishes to come off handsomely;
he knows he can bring no proof of his as
sertion.'
Not so, however, feel the generality of
mankind; only here and there Zoilus,
who dares to cavil at what gives uniyer-
sa! pleasure. | must confess, on con-
sidering the third division of this little
composition, that The author has shown
more skill in touching the passions, than
in distributing poetical justice. The
mind is left in melancholy muod, on
reading the conclusion.
Where's the peck of pepper, Peter Piper
pick'd!'
CAV, where indeed!' exclaims the in
sulting cynic: i defy any one Of you to
produce it: and now what becomes of
YOUR assertion?' Where indeedn la
ments the candid reader; 'Oh that the
belief. of such industry should fall to the
ground, when assailed by such ques-
tion!'
Be that as it may, this pathetic apos-
trophe appeals forcbIy to the feelings,
and leaves the mind impressed with the
tender melancholy, which is SO favorable
! to vrtuous emotions, that should not
wonder, if many ardent individuals were
to sally forth true knights Grant in the
cause, determined to find the peck Of
pepper, or to die. i. | should not be sur
prlsed. if the very identical peck of pep
per,. with the initials P. P. on the cor
ner of the bag that holds it, were to be
found in the same iron chess, that con-
tanned the Shakspere papers. | was
limiting this idea to;a friend Of mine the
other day, a man Of great critical acu-
men, and, after celebrating a long time,
he replied, should rather think it prob
able, that in that chest might be discov
cred the other half of this equisite COM
position, for have long been of opinion,
that is but mutiated fragment. The
author has displayed such admirable tai
ents, that cannot believe he would have
lett a piece of such meritso imperfect,
as to end with note of Interrogation. -
| cannot help fancying that the other
half has been destroyed, by the malevo-
lence of some enemies to literature and
good taste; though perhaps a copy may,
by good fortune, be found in some Of
those repositories of ancient works of
merit. whence, every now and then, some
happy being has the privilege of select
ing some to improve the world. Indeed
this little piece has before now employed
my thoughts, and once had an idea
that it originally ran as follows
"A peck of pepper Peter Piper pick'd;
If peck of pepper Peter Piper pick'd,
Where's the peck of pepper Peter Piper
pickdp
To say nothing of the beauty, which
inverse construction bestows on poetry
the uniformity of endngs for lon!
while induced me to think this the true
reading: but. since the idea Of secont
part being somewhere to be met with
has occurred to my mind, | have aban
doned this novel arrangement of th'
lines; for cannot BUT acknowledge, tina
there is something inexpressibly meIodi
Gus and pathetic in the double ending
of the two first lines, according to tn
common reading.
Having thus critically considered thl
lnimitable poem, as within all the rule
of rhetoric and poesy. lie: US ascend to
higher grade of analysis, and exhibit it a
perfect model Of logical sylogism.
With good reason, the dialectcians o
ancient times assimilated logic to clos
ed and firmly compacted hand. II tn
business of this comparison be admitted
then it may be affirmed, that no PROPOSE
ton in Euclid ever more resembled the
clenchedness of the fist thar his poem,
Peter Piper pick'd peck of pepper.
t Now it is in vain to consider thes
memorable lines as tricked out with tn
delusiye charms Of eloquence. There |
in them nothing gorgeous, nothing per
Eiphrastic; they relate a plain fact, in plain