Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1847-07-31
LITERARY REWARDS.

letters in that country:
Treatment or LITERARY MES.-The soldier the sailor
the architect the painter all within sight Of the most
lavish prizes oil public beraliy. Parliament has just given
Titles and superb pensions the conqueros of the Skhs
The India Company has followed its example We applaud
this munlhcen liberaly in both instances. Two general
onceIs nave mus obtained peerage, with $1,000 and
$4,000 year. They deserved those rewards Bat the
whole literary encouragement of the British empire with
revenue OF hitytwo millions sterling is 81 2O0-Ie more
than the tenth part of the pension allotted to those two gallant
men, 200 tor the whole literary encouragement Of Eng
land There be greater scandal 10 the intellectual
honor of the country. The pettiest German prncnatv
scarcely limits its literary encouragement to this sum We
doubt whether Weimar between literary offices and pensions
did not give twice the annually But named in compe
ion with the beraity of the leading soveregn is utterly
mean. Louis XIV, two hundred years ago. allotted 80 900
francs year to his forty members of the Academy sum
equivalent in that day. and in France, little less than
$4,000 year in day. and in England Frederick H.
pensions and appointments to whole corps of literary
At this moment there scarcely of any literary
distinction III Paris who has not share the liberal and wise
policy Of Government either in Office public pension.
But we to be answered by class pehorc with wealth
and rank, that literature ought be with living on
its MEANS must not the obvious be- the author
10 be author down to his grave Is there no relaxa
ton Of toll Is there to be allowance for the exhaustion
of his ove-worked faculties for the natural nfrmies OF
years for the vexatons of noble spirit compelled to sub
init TO the cpices of public change land with full share
of the common calames Of life, increasing their pressure at
by inevitable of wrong, and by feeling that
the delight of his youth be the drudgery of his age
When the great Dryden, in his SEVENTEEN year, forced
in the bitterness of his heart to excan Must die in the
harness his language brand the common sense as
well as on the just generosity Of his country.
If it will be any comfort to dame Maya SAYS q
literary correspondent to learn the state Of Lite
rary Rewards, ransatantically, we assure her
that the aids bestowed, in this country, in honor or
encouragement of Literature, by no means put Eng
land to shame, let France the welve-miles-
German principalities do what they may. The d.
rect recompenses to Letters, as such, have, thus
far, amounted in the United States, during seventy
one years of Independence, to-exactly nothing
at all.
Nor, indeed, are we by any means sure that this
is not Just it should be. Governments are gene
rally but indifferent critics if kingly, they usually
look on those as the greatest writers who hatter
mem the most and hence competition of adula-
ton arises which renders the literature of the dav
deeply service and il, on the other hand, it is the
popular voice that is to sit arbiter of wit and dis
penser of its rewards, why then, what should we
have but reduplcation of the reward of writers
already more popular than they deserve, and
deepening OF the neglect of those who, writing for
the more permanent modes of taste and learning.
anguish and labor on, until posterity THE only
prince or patron always wise and just) comes,
with posthumous praise, to atone for the ill-judg-
ment OF their day?
Had the plan which Maya seems to wish pre-
vailed now, would it have prevented Homer from
starving, Dante from dying in exile, Tasso from
being clapped into mad-house Ariosto from being
trampled on by the stupid Duke whom he strove TO
immortallZe, Milton from selling Paradise Lost for
three payments of 45 each, Otway from choking
with crust of bread, or Dryden from expiring a
beggar III old age Or, in short, how would il have
altered those Caamities of Authors" out OF which
Mr.. Dlsraeli has contrived TO make for himself re-
putaton, much after the manner in which many
people have grown rich by managing the affairs of
the poor
But Blackpood intimates that. as the Senti-
mental Journey" says, " They manage this matter
much better in France for that sthere is scarcely
any man of literary distinction who has not share
under the liberal and wise policy of its Govern
ment. Well; the rewards dispensed, we pre-
sumo, are IN some proportion to the noisy estima
ton IN which authors are held and Eugene Sue
and Madame Sand are, in that judicious realm,
g Les mieux rentes de tous les erudits
And could the same happy state of things be brought
about in Britain, Master Dickens, Sir E. Lytton
Bulwer, the juvenile D'Israeli, and James of the
mill that grinds out Novels would enjoy all that
Shakespeare and Milton never did when living.
Or, suppose that here, across the waters,
could have possessed, in addition to our Written
Constitutions, Constitution for Writers, and Gen.
o"S'ASoi
derstood it'-since the time when King Midas sat
Judge of Music when has been seen such state of
criticism as he would have given!
Finally, we doubt the advantages of this protec-
tive policy in Literature. The object of protection
is TO make thing cheap: now Literature is quite
cheap enough. Protection stimulates production
and we have a much larger production than is need
ed. Protection is apt to induce multiplication of
bad fabrics; and Phpbus knows that we have verv
little else already Since steam was introduced
upon Parnassus and the old water-powers of Hip
pocrene and Aganippe were thrown out of gear the
literary cotton-works have gone on at such rate
that rags are song, and every song rag. Our
Government, as of late administered, has Just
adherence of paper, as a thing nimical to those
who conduct 1t. Jack Cade knew very little of
books; but his wise natural instincts told him to
beware of reading and writing, which bring many
honest men TO an untimely end. Besides, this Adj
ministration has no surplus of capacity to spare
from the present conduct of its public trusts. Nor
again, can we afford literary stipends any more
than money for internal Improvements, at pre-
sent: all our cash is wanted Mr.. Polk saysJ for
humaner purposes-namely, the Mexican war.
Shall we 20 into debt for Learning Shall Secre-
tary Walker issue more post notes on Posterty, or
draw drafts upon Fame, or publish proposals for a
three per cent. stock of immortality (! If he does