Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1851-09-20
BOOK NOTICE.


i VOL, PIP. BAT.
This collection of highly interesting papers, frs
published in this country They entitled Early Days
London" "Ireand." sThs Irish Rebellion" :" Prema-
ure Manhood" Travelling" "My Brother" Oxford.
Gsrman Literature This book. to our reading, is the
most attractive volume of De Quincy we have met with
After relating in his ,eicou style, which cannot be
too highly commended, his transition from boyhood to
hood-prenature manhood,hs extract follows and which
will doubtless be read by lair readers with both pleasure
and profit
Never until this hour had thought Of women objects
of possible interest Of reverensl love- had known
them either in their nrmites and their unamabe aspects or
else in those relations which made them objects of
genial and uncompanionabe feelings Now first it struck
that life might half its attractions and all its graces 10
female companionshp. Gazing, pehsps with too earnest
admiration at this generous and spirited young laughter
Of Ireland and in that way making her those acknowledge
for her goodness which could properly cohe in
words, reused to Of my indccorum by seeing
her suddenly blush. believe that Miss BIZ interpreted
my admiration rightly for she offended, but, the
contrary for the rest Of the day. whom not attending TO her
sister, conversed almost exclusively and in acondenal way
with Lord W and myself. Tho whole, in fact Of this
conversation must have convinced Der that boy as
quite feen-coud not lave presumed to direct my
admiration TO her, fine young Woman Of twenty, in any
other character than that Of genepus champion and very
adrot mistress in the dazzling fene of coloqua skmish
My admiration had in reality been altogether addressed to
her moral qusliesher enthusiasm her spirit and her w.t.
Yet that blush, evanescent it WIS; the possibility
that very child, should have oiled up the moot uans
tory of bashuness conso upon any female cheek
6rst and suddenly, with fash lightning penetrating
some utter darkness illuminated my startled conscious
sEan 10 be obscured the pure and powerful ideal
of womanhood and womany excellence. This was, in a
proper sense, revelation it fixed great Of change in
my life and this newborn idea, being agreeable to the uni
form aspirations Of my naurehat il, lofty and sub
sautay effects Ever after, throughout the period Of YOUTH
jealous Of my demeano, reserved and awe-struek
in the presence of women, revepncng often not much
them my own ideal Of woman aen ia them, and seldom,
about with the idea, which rarely did approx
nation, Of
"a perfect woman, nobly planned.
TOY warn, to comfort to Command"
And from this day altered creature, and never
again capable Of the careless Protective mind of child
hood.
rea doubtless is the power Of each sex over the other
and greater in proportion to the original nobility Of tho
ture. But know bot why the dominion of over
man, far the contemplation of The reciprocal ideals 10
concerned the absolute. know not Why ALSO
because it conadcts what might have supposed apro
the female IDEAL (by which muchabused mean the
phiosophic maximum pesoiois less earthly and
gross pointing to possible alliance with some higher form
of purity and sancty And yet according scripual
mythus she the daughter OF earth and heaven, whilst
man drew his parenage directly from heaven. Whence the
Mtonic address
Daughter of God and man, accomplished Eve"
"And agreeably this conception we are told by the same
authentic oracle that whilst formed for God only,
she, the contrary, formed for God in him. He
drew his iadaon directly from the Deity she only by reflex
communication with him. However, these curious refine
ments But is truth the largest value thai the dominion
Of woman is potent exactly in that degree in which the nature
Of is exalted That regns despotcay, never
through her image distracted from her actual reality but
through her IDEAL which anterior to all actual exstences
that if there other detection of the hollow and false
basis upon which s built savage life and Mah,metan e than
merely the low and abect ideal of essential to those
forms of humanity, in that alone should ind sufficient
refuation of the shallow paadoxes devised for vanishing
those hideous degenerations of finally that such
will man forever beihe sex being essentially the
and adequate antagonist the other Women
be other than depressed where exalted This
remark make that may not, in paying my homage to the
other sex, and in clarifying it's possible power ours be
COMPOUNDED with those houghess and trivial hetocians the
poets of this age, who fatter with false
worship, and, like Lord Byrons buccaneers hold them
picture of their empire, built only upon sensual upon
shadowy excelencies We find continually false enthus-
dhyrambic nebraton, behalf Of w,man put
forth by modern WRITER'S expressly at the eInse the
other sex, though could be of porcelain whilst man
of common earthernware. Even the testimonies of
Ledyaj and Park in false though amiable
tributes to female excellence at least they merely
sided truhs-aspects OF one phass, and under peculiar
C0dIdCtenSt
they fail to reflect each other they differ
the general amount of Development Never yet
in stage of elevation, and (of the community
in another Thou, therefore, daughter Of God and man. all
potent woman reverence thy ideal and, in the Wild
of the homage which paid thee, also in the most
real aspects of thy wide dominion trophy of idle
vanity, but silent indication whether designed not of
the possible grandeur enshned in thy nature which aze
to the extent of thy power,
"sAnd show us how divine thing
woman may become"
Longfellow, in his Hyperion" has made US familiar
with the opinions Of Germans approving Of the symbols of
the adopted by the Greeks and holding them up
with the skulls and crossbones and other terri
bic devices and revolving images of death adopted by the early
Christian churches and perpetuaed to days. Of
these Symbols and in their Defence quote the following
passage:
"S in the Greek tragedy, however otherwise embered
against ancient literature by the dismal asctaons in
the scenca poetry at least felt the presence Of great and
original power. 1t nigh, be power inferior, upon the
whole, to that which presdes in the English hsgedy be-
ieved that but equally genuine, and appealed
equally to real and deep sensbtes in nature Yet ALSO
felt that the two pswers at work in the two forms Of the
drama essentially different; and without having read
line OF German at that e knowing of such contro
versy, began dtate the elementary grounds Of diff
ference between the Pagan and Christian forms of poetry
The dispute has since been carried extensively in France
not less than in Germany between the classical and the
mantle But will venture that step in adj
vance has been made to this day The shape into which
threw the question it may be well state, because
persuaded that out Of that idea properly pursued might
and the antique. Why is it, asked that the Christian idea
OF san is an idea utterly unknown the Pagan mind The
Greeks and Romans had clear conception of moral ideal
az we have but this they estimated by reference the