The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1854-04-08
rHE DAILY DISPATCH
eATuRD1Y -MoRNIN1s. APRIL ., las..
aTHE GREAT BOSTON NOVEL.

There exists in the literary circles OF DOS
tom and Cambridge, a sort of mutual ASST
rance literary association, known as tne
Mutual Admiration Club." It's composed
of all the weak. minded men and strong
minded women, who seek immortality through
,h. rsces Of NORTH AMERICAN REVIEWS.
The organization of this association for puff
snu ia 80 perfect that however worthless a
volume member of the Club publishes, it is
at once pronounced the best Of books and
lauded to the skies. Poets puff novel wri-
tiers. professors Of Greek literature initiate
botanists. and ethical writers eulogize heavy
headed philologists. The editor Of the North
American Review is generally the tool OF
this interesting Club-and hence the South
ern reader is frequently astounded by the
long drawn. exaggerated eulogles OF worth
less Boston publications. The principie py
which this association is governed is, that
every thing published in Boston, and sane
TONED in Cambridge, is excellent, whilst all
literature, born beyond the limits of this
magic literary circle, is Insignificant, and only
worthy of the consideration of pastry cooks
and trunk makers. asszast s,, nIz & IA
BY this system of unblushing impudence
and organized adulstion of each other, the
members of this Club have palmed off SPARKS
as great historian, LOWELL as mighty
poet, and HUDSON as a most erudite Shak-
spearan Phil ,sophers, metaphysicians, poets
mathematicians, essayists, geolcgists and bot
anists have been manufactured by this asso-
citation in large numbers, and enjoy with the
undiscriminating masses much reputation for
talent and genius.
The success of Mrs MowATT's Autobiog-
raphy, and of Mrs. KINGS BUSY Moments
of an Idle Woman" rendered it neces-
sary that the Mutual Admiration Club"
should turn out fromtheir well arranged man.
ufactory first class domestic Romance
Boston and Cambridge were to be immortal
lied by the pen of the principal and leading
blue stocking of the concern. '-
Mrs. HARRISON GRAY OTIs, a lady ofhigh
social position, of wealth and education, was
selected to glorify Boston. Boston Reviews
and newspapers keptthe reading world in a
state of intense andfeverish suspense for many
months, whilst Mrs. OTIs's Romance, "THE
BARCLAYS OF BosToN,' was on the literary
stocks. The illuminate and ktteratti of the
Admiration Club spread far and wide the re-
port, that Mrs. OTIs was about to eclipse all
the novel writer's from the days of AMAD1s
DE GAUL to THAcKERAY. They contracted
in advance of the appearance of her novel
for all the laurels upon Parnassus, and WHIP
PIE, the principal critic of the Little Pedling-
ton Club, it is said, prepared in advance re-
view, which placed the expected novel over
the heads of The CARTONS, PENDENNIs,"
BLEAK HOUSE" and "THE SCARLET LET
TER Never did literary mountain labor
so hard, and never did more ridiculous fail
ure than the great Boston novel fall still born
from the inky womb of the fruitful press.
The bantling of New Englands literary up,
per ten is, by common consent, north, south,
east and west, pronounced the poorest novel
of the age "THE MUTUAL ADMIRATION
CLUB" after having made to order all sorts
ofliterary humbugs could not get out cred
liable novel.
In "THE BARCLAYS OF BOsToN' Mrs
OTls manages her characters as stif1y and
awkwardly as a travelling organ grinder
does his dancing automatons. She violates
all the unities of novel writing, and starts SC
many plots, and then abandons them, that
the reader seeks in vain to eliminate from the
tangled skein, either amusement or profit
She manages the love affairs of her heroines
and heroes flor there are troops of both) as
hide bound shaking quaker of sixty would
.<.45 u,
fifty-fve. ge#
She does not permit people who ought to
get married to do so-she keeps every body
in her romance in hot water, and accom-.
plishes by force the most unnatural and un
heard of marriages.
She unites a young, fresh, rosy, cheerful
girl to u formal, sedate preacher, and make
one Of her assortment of obedient young la
dies marry the wrong man. and then-repent
ut leisure. "THE BARCLAYS are all, like
the authoress, very respectable, wealthy Bos.
tonianS, and, like Mrs. OTis, very stupid.
trashy and decent folks. They are made to
do all sorts of unnatural things, and to talk so
hideously dull, that leaf of their converse.
ton might be administered as powerful,
narcotic, and two leafs would kill an able. bo.
died man. fass.sl s-e-.. s.... z
We are introduced to the multitud;nous
heroines of the book before they have reach.
ed their teens, the marriages, with a single
exception. take place about the middle Of tbe
book, and, after those interesting events.
tough old widow and an irascible bacbalor
quarrel through the remaining two hundrad
pages. and marry just at the time that Won
are wishing them at the devil -
10 say that this much bepuffed BosTos
novel is a failure is to speak far too mildly Of
us dement's. II is book SO intolerably stu a.
plo, tns' II could not have been concocted by
any ouf seif-eonceited, strong minded Bo:..
ton woman. Dos'
FRANCE AND ENGLAND
The New York Herald SAYS that the srst
shadow has fallen upon the French and Enc.
ish alliance, which seems. however, to be no.
thing more than apetty piece Of professional
jealousy between the finance ministers of the