New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1854-11-02
Romance Of Representatives,.

ontactsd by any person except Mr. j. O. Nixon or his
written authority.
Romance Of Representatives,.
The strange and savage, the far off, dim and
improbable seems, always, to have been clothed
with wonderful charms in the minds Of men, and
adorned with marvellous colors. The earliest
evidence of this is historical-When adventures
went in search Of the unreal and endeavored to
render dreams tangible. The later proof is in
the wild tales of romance and poetry and the
avidity with which they are read. This feel
ing formerly displayed itself in actions after
4 wards recorded -latterly in writings subse-
quently acted.
1t has long been wondered why Jason led the
Argonauts away from home, into strange lands
and perils, on the force of fable; why Hanno
doubled the Pillars Of Hercules and pushed his
prows into the unknown waters Of the Atlantic.
Neither love of money, Of fame, or OF science,
are allowed as sufficient 1t was love Of the
strange, of the savage and marvellous: the
same underlined longing that gave popularity to
the grifiins Of Spenser, the dragons Of Ariosto,
the Mysteries Of Udolpho, the impossibilities of
the Arabian Nights Tales, and the improba-
bilities Of our existing romanees of wilderness
and maritime life. Right reason shows the
falsity Of them al, but, having their germ in o
feeling antagonistic to what is cool, settled and
rational, they continued to live as though they
we're true.
The fables Of old mythology, the mysteries
of medieval times, the rhymed romances OF
the Troubadours Of Oc and Oh and the cotempo-
rary Minnesingers and Mastersingers have
persisted utterly, with the generations they
charmed One after another each Of the vary
inn forms in which this ever living sentiment
embodied itself perished, and we are now left
with only the interest that attaches to such
tales Of impossible ocean and wilderness adyen-
ture as are recorded in works like Oomoo and
Typee, Marryat's and Cooper's sea stories,
and the leather-stocking novels Of the latter.
There is, indeed, a cheaper and more ephemeral
vein Of the same thing, diligently delyed at by
Ingraham and Lieut.. Murray bound in paper,
adorned with wood cuts and sold for twenty
FIVE cents--to accommodate that portion of the
public taste which can not afford qualification
at higher rate. But the most aristocratic
and recherche portrayal Of the incredible and
impossible is contained in works like those
first named.
The mastery manner in which they are exc
cuted, the literary ability brought into requi-
siton for their creation, and the steadiness with
which they adhere to the unities Of the plot on
which they are stretched, would all be unavail-
ing, however, to save the best from condemna-
tion, were it not that this sentiment Of admira-
tiou for what can never be real runs along
with their perusai, and, in every instance, sup
ports them Robinson Crusoe is not Of the class
to which we allude, nor is Paul and Virginia
Though untrue in fact, such occurrences and
incidents as they describe might, perhaps, have
occurred But what mortal or immortal can
gulp down and digest those tales, more mar
yelous than any penned by Mcnboddo or
Munchausen, which describe the attractions
and adventures Of life Vessels that are in
stantly metamorphosed from ships to schooners,
barks and briggs: from semblance Of thou
sand IONS to an appearance Of two hundred !;
that go before monsoons, tornadoes and ty-
phoons with all sail set; that successfully COM
bat frigates one day, and are hauled over Da-
rien, or hidden among the forests Of Guinea the
next How is any one. in or out Of his senses,
10 peruse Keloolah, the Berbers and Typee--or
even the leather stocking stories with pleasure,
unless accounted for by this sentiment, that has
survived so long. through 80 many stages and
so successfully
A novel is not expected to be true. But,
without . confession Of some such feeling as We
allude to- even narration Of events that never
occurred must be narration Of such as might
have occurred some regard paid to possibility
in the most exciting stories of prairie life and
the most thrilling sea tales. Such is not the
case Indians are made demi- gods, when we
know them to be devils. Nations are pictured
as civilized, that facts prove to be barbarous.
Impossibilties are treated as things of daily &C.
ourrence, and truth wholly abjured. Such
than any others. The wilder the story the more
interesting il is deemed, and the more improba
BILE its incidents the greater the demand for it,
We are all half-civilzed, and retain lingering
fondness for the savage and nomadie We are
all half-spiritualized, and long for what lies be-
yond the possibilities of cur present existence.
s.
NEW ORLEANS HOSPITAL GAzETTE.--We have
received the N o. Medical News and Hospital Gazette
this month contains articles from stone Fenner
Rcord schuppert and Martin Of this city treating
rous subjects interesting tho profession We see that
thers GIL deaths in the Charity Hospital during the
month of September Of which 548 from yellow fever
From Oct. st to the 2sth there only 1853 deaths,
of which 267 were yellow fever patients.
CONGRESSIONAL DOCUMENTS are indeht-
ed to member of Congress for Report of the Sc
lect Senate Committee the Atmospheric Telegraph"
We should be happy to give compliments to the
gentleman doing favor really he writes bad
~ that we doubt whether he would be able to deepher his
own signature.
METAIRIE TRACK. The celebrated nags Frank
Pierce and May Fpe together over this track this
AFTERNOON, In four mile wagons for purse of
FIVE hundred doas The track being in good condition
and the weather charming, considerable sport may be
confidently anticipated.
MoBHE TEMsJossph Bolles was on Satur-
day last tried before the City Court for the murder of
Wm Thompson, in June last Eight Mile Creek by
beating and kicking him The jury rendered verdict Of