New-York daily tribune., 1845-12-18
THE TRIBUNE.
Books of Travel.

the daily increasing facilities to extend the range of
his experience it does follow that many fthese
.bsu have the clements Of knowledge, the equipoise
and discipline Of faculties needful either TO appre
,;ate the known or detect the unknown. Neither
is the power Of picturesque concise and suggestive
recital OF what has been seen and heard commensu-
rate with ,ba, of writing grammalically and in u
egibe hand.
Indeed the requisites for good observer and mar
rstor are many, and their combination rare.
Isl. The person should be in good health We
do not want the partial or exaggerated statements
ina. come from morbid state in the traveller. Be-
SIDE without vigor and elasticity he cannot have the
necessary enterprise and persistence in striking out
new paths.
3D. He must have generally cultivated mind and
Just at the right point knowing enough of the views
and suggestions OF others to be the lookout Tor
all they were seeking for, yet not too much bur
,hened with theories and opinions TO receive its
own proper benefit from the hour and the occasion.
Buff there must be excess it is better to be too
little than too much informed as to what has already
been seen and known.
Sd. The traveller should have some knowledge Of
science, and some notion of the scope Of the fine
arts or the peculiar influences and the most express
i've features of life in each land and nation will be
likely 10 escape him.
4th He must have poetic sensibility to what is
special and individual both in nations and men,
Fineness and a-seness N perception and sympathy
ere strangely rare among men, so that not one in
,sa thousand ;s abe 10 see his fellows they are
The res, OF ne zen :oozsand look upon their fellow
men only Z -.iu-rr -Ee5- own personalities or
u.ects; .hcse Vlc Il: -:sse - good those who co
VI. bad Az: ( .;u s.ea1 cs- :Is5- comments any
portion Of 2-s -. = E. = =;c-e i:.:c1;y and
{. more pe.ii o: -is-Lk= ~ :. : so-.t.
This poetic se2s.o!.i: oa:; % oe cog,moa 70 ere.
~ one and we perceive distinctly hat some pc.
RODS Of hstory i, has been lar more so than st pre-
sent; but now minds highly endowed in many re-
spects are often deficient in this, that Jbsexra
tion of theirs will ever reproduce the reality. In
The world OF writers we find very few, arlong our
daily companions almost none, that LOOK through
the wells which are hung the realities of life
few or almost none that hold tho golden key.
which, turned so softly, turning with so sweet a
sound, unlocks the hearts os men, And you can
see nothing Of the Institutions and manners OF
tion unless you can look into the heart from which
they grew
5.h He rust have the power OF generalizing with
out that exceeding love for which leads TO rapid
ascrutny of the particulars that they do not abide
in the memory, and we have only an inference,
when we want the facts also. The mind Of the
rsveer should be in some degree philosophical
or be can take no large views but it must be still
more poedca in its keen sense for those things
which are the symptoms OF life
9Th. The traveller should have special object in
upveing beyond the delight OF new and various
Impressions or if he has one it should only absorb
snoagh of his time and attention 10 give earnesiness
and spring to the rest.
All these are requisites for him who shall see
enough as he moves about to give full and live,
ly account OF Whit he has seen, even ii the power
Of expression correspond with that OF sight, and
how few rossess so much as two or three OF them
Among those We have, the best as TO observation
Of particulars and lively expression are by women
They arc generally i'll prepared as regards previous
culture and their scope IS necessarily narrower
than ,ha, of men but their tact and qulckness help
them great deal You can see their minds grow
by what they feed on, when they travel There are
many books of travel by women that are, at least
entertaining, and contain some penetrating and just
observations. There has. however, been none since
Lady NJ. w. Montague with as much talent, live
illness and preparation to observe in various ways
asshe had.
Agood article appeared lately in one OF the Eng
!ish periodicals, headed by long list of travels by
women. 1t was easy to observe that the personality
Of the writer the mos, obvious thing in each
and all Of these books and that even in the bes, o
amusing companion rather than as an accomplished
or instructive guide.
Among the men this is scarce less the case in fact
thouSh is less obvious because they have larger
stock OF outward objects to describe yet in great
proportion Of them we have more of the writer than
MS subject. whether the impression OF personality
relate TO the religious cnthusiasms OF Chaeaubriand
and La Mariine or the lost pan,aloons and cups o.
lea Of our countryman, Stephens.
This extreme personality makes book, as Otter
hdoes person. amusing al first, at the expense O.
permanent interest, Flights OF emotion and viva
e0as sallics are easily appreciated. mere intel
ieciual narrative wins US slowly bu. by thousand
subtle charms, and sows seeds in our memory l,
saeh The ground is judiciousy powed and wacreC
W 'he dIscoverer, who thus becomes the propreto
Saa makes his III the others i, Is petu
! Mnuy uampled over by TASTY s.eed whose ohjec
lies beyond. Such travellers rob the desert ol 1t
en'r0dden sanctty without making it blossom Ek'
lne rose in return
] opposed TO these extremely personal narratives
are bare Daguerreo,ypcs of the external features o
ue scene, such as those OF Kohl, or intelligent sos
up about the same like those OF William HowiIt.-
A'e'e are not without their use in showing bette
''Aes' than they where 10 look for many things
N4Ns saving their time aud their attention from un
necessary wear and tear
most OF those which possess any kind of interes
I-'e become current in this country, but there ar
"'ee or tour which, in the absence OF complete o
seHesa merit, possess much in several kinds tina
We mink they ought to be universally known. AM
"oud hope by this notice TO awaken the attention
VI their proper readers.
on the hackneyed ground Of Italy there are tw
a1 could fail 10 be OF great use 10 the studer
Was wishes really 70 SEQ the Italy Of Italy, and