The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1845-03-09
THE "REsPEcTABLE PRESS"
From the Courier and Enquirer.l


From the Courier and Enquirerl
Having for a moment escaped from more important
topics have few words for the editor of the Evening
the request ohs associates to be thus
personally as alone responsible for whatever that paper
contains While filling one portion of his sheet with
proessed detestaon OF what he impudently les the
national tendency personal abuse he has crowded
others with assaults OF the grossest upon one
he suddenly discontinued SITTER weeks indulgence in
the gentlemany exercise hearing that his victim
might not De quite deenceless Having slight aversion
TO being SO informally dropped, must Insist upon
more regular parting Mr. Willis may prefer retreat, but
after his unmanly onset, he mnst expect pursuit
Mr. Wills made three distinct assertions concerning
matters OF fact wi regard to the writer Vt ththe par
tcular editor whom he assailed by -repeong
Of them three times In each OF these Eve particulars he
branded with fasehood by third parties invoIved
which he gracefully acknowledges by confessing that
his estimates were corrected" Beyond these he has
seen lit to reproach with alleged vulgarty of early
sociaton with low origin end training which precud
ed US from understanding the character of vrtuous la.
dies With want OF that polish and worldly Judgment de-
rived from extensive acquaintance with exces
sive passion ind generally with whatever occurred
own model charcoal hc ye orc 2, M
be deemed in all moral respects his perfect opposite
have superadded OF charity which prompts
TO aid his pursuit Of biographical knowledge. Had he
known US better he might have added largely his list OF
attributed negatives We lack many more things than
he has He has cataogued the tenth part
of what we have not BEEN and have not done. He
rect in limiting that we have travelled; but he
might have added that have not left trail through
Europe as that OF Shiny profigate He did wei! to
innate that We have mingled in the high society
which he saw in England but strict justice required
him TO add that kicked out of it, for max
merchandise of the private conversation which
heard II is quite true that navgated the Me
diterranean inaU vessel which received us out OF
charity" but 1t is also true, that the mess
witnessed compelled retraction of beItine boast
concerning ladies' at home Mr. Willis right in Civ
ing his readers to understand that had been in
Rome but he might have added that never com
PEELED American artists resident there 10 blush for the
open and shameless profgaey Of Of their country
Partial iusCe il better than " Mr.
Willis was recording our lacks he should have made the
list complete We confess our want ofthe habits and
distigue mode OF that high class of which he is the
plscen model We have never reserved year after year
the exquisite luxury Of 'paying bill to make trades
ing for suit OF clothes, to give receipt in full We
have never been forced to scour the city in anxious
SO o. or gsacer or or &
by paying for service rendered Nor is it our way to
publish interesting to the public and essential to
selves all the receipts for board and Dress and washing
&C.. we are fortunate enough to get. We have never
found polite to watch dsparaging bit of personal his
tory from one pointto another it fell into paper edited
by a poor clergyman, and then bully him into a
full retraction, which might, by. personal solici
% % ve o
are accomplishments, we Confess above u.s. And while
Mr. Willis was enquiring into our family relations, the
from birth has been passed. he might have added
which he can appreciate that all relatives inhabt
would have essentially heightened his picture Of vr
tuous neuer"a character TO which, the world and him.
sell are perfectly agreed he has no shadow of claim
They could not perhaps be justly SUPP osed to be within
his knowledge; but his next delineaon should not be
without them.
Our readers and those of the Mirror course UNDER
stand that this assault from Mr. Willis grew out OF what
we saw nj to say concerning the Mirrors comment on
had reached the puSlic Mr. Willis saw fit to pronounce
the lady witnesses in that case abandoned Characters
He declared explicitly and repeatedly that any
who would under oath charge Minister of GOD with in
decency herself impure The assertion itself betrays
its proigate origin but the circumstances under which
il made seemed to add cowardice to baseness The
attack was without motive for the same paper which
contained declared that the writer defending
the wives 81 cergymsn and The scs hst they were thus
douby defenceless to have given double vraence
to the humanity assault As journalist we took the lib
ery to craven asperson and to brand the
in which it appeared as we thought it deserved. No
personal illusions were made but the public
Of q public journal was censured. And in response
to this, Mr. Willis stopped the low personal abuse
which we only hope we have not lost self
respect in endesvoring rePe to his defence of the
Bishop, the theoretical stupides he has uttered
OF it, we have said lttle and much less
II has been marked by nothing whatever except utter
another In what school he learned this art we are
not aware unless his experience in lodging duns has
Srst MIR Willis pronounced these LADY witnesses aban
doned characters. which has specific and well UNDER
stood meaning When he was lashed for this, he pro
fesstd merely to have asssiled their "credibtyo And
when he to very clearly that respectable peo
pie would net tolerate that his swagxer soened into
suspicion that they were misake1n The same sneak
ing spirit has pervaded each of the countless columns he
has written upon the subject At first he protested to de-
tend not rhe Bishop but holy Office" Finding that the
holy office" deemed his aid an injury he mounted stills
and became the self elected champon the rened and
viruous" portion of our country and started upon
crusade in reformation OF the morals and manners Of the
people in general Lacking countenance mot brass in
this he next made formal proer OF bertinisms cham
the aid of correspondent into the service he urged the
concusveness of the Elder Brothers opinion, in Comus
that his Sister was safe from insult because she was
chaste: utterly ignorant of the farther firm" judgment
of that same elder brother that
"vrtue may be ASA lied, but never hurt !,
as well the fact that in spite Of wise OPT Mons that
chaste sister was exposedto
--"the rudeness and swilled insolence
"Of those late wassalers"
Thus he hos skulked like a whipped cur from pillar
to post-constant to nothing bat to his doctrines
Of open aud shameless libertnism, in his puolic
journal But all these sub.crfuges unavailing; and
So fading that virtue not at all thankful for liber
tines tributes" Mr.. Willis at last sunk into the plain.
tSe his worst enemies NOT
wish him worse fate All these consequences might
easily have been avoided had he been in this he
casionally Is in other matters dsccntly vtuous from SELF
interest. Some of his friends say that his first article
which commEted him to all this public display OF profit
gacy written after dinner, when he not in
dtion from which prudence Is expected; and that he
omitted the usually judcious proceeding Of submittngi
ter attribute the whole, which, in fact, sys-
tematc be the result of an aerdinner accident to
natural and selfish desire TO destroy the weight of female
testimony.
Whatever may have been his motive the effect IL pap,
BILE He has utterly forfeited the respect OF every
minded person. and has made his Mirror the pct pimps
and self the crowned leader Of all the prcg CIV that
seeks tigher resting place than the gutter In its origin
the Mirror promised better things and endeavored r
long timeto believe that II would All the vacant place
at which II aimed There is class CT intellectual and
refined people who neei paper somewhat different
any published; aud hoped their wants would be sup.
led. In particular sphere Mr.. Willis had exhibited
ability OF common order and in his somewhat rapid
descent from wholesomeiporulsry to utter contempt we
trusted daily paper Of this stamp might keep him useful
and respectable for year OF least But months cxpe
rimen settled the question As monthly writer for
gazines, he had managed TO occupy at least neutral
ground between virtue and vice. He lowered
successfully in the twilight Of dccency, and with
two exceptions wrote nothing which
titled him, In equity, TO horsewhipping In
ofthc excepted he escaped believe through the
solicitations Of personal and pccunary friend what
relieved him from the embarrassment OF the
others not aware But the pressure OF daily
paper too much for his weak sembance Of respecta
bty. Ills disgusting vanity, the conceted insurance
with which placed himself the head Of the "uppcr
ten thousand and the ordly tone which his naniy