Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1855-12-29
Mtsrellanfous.
From puyeiueh's c~yciopedla Of American Literature.
EARLY AMERICAN LITERATURE.

" 50 ~ w WIS III nCu WIG
author was IS years Of age. In style; it Affects an
unoouth "Babylonish dialect" and in tone is q
growing satire on liberation, the condition Of Eng
land, and the follies Of fashionable ladies.
While looking over the notices of Ward which
remain, and which are not SO many as could be
wished, IL has been our good fortune to hold in our
hands the copy of The Simple Cobler which be-
longed TO Robert Southey, who as is well known,
was o diligent reader and warm appreciator of the
American colonial history and records. 1t is mark
ed throughout with his peculiar peneilings on the
margin of the following among other fine passa'
gas; ''Thc least truth Of Gods kingdom doth in
its place uphold the whole kingdom of His truths;
take away the least rericulum, out of the world and
itnnworlds all potentially, and may unravel the
whole texture actually, If it be not conserved by
m arm of extraordinary power"-a sentence which
has, q VERY Coleridgean- look. Again, an illustra-
ton worthy of Milton: mon seHescit %reritaS. No
NAN ever saw q gray hair on the head or beard OF
any truth, wrinkle or morphew on its face: the
bed of Truth is green all the year long" This is
very terscly expressed; ut is a most toilsome
task to run the wild-goose chase after a we'll
breath'd opinionist: they delight in vitilitigotion; it
is an itch, that loves a lie to be scrub'd; they de-
sire not satisfaction, but satisfaction, whereof Them
selves must be judges" In these more earnest
thoughts he rises beyond his word-catching; but
one portion of his book is very amusing in this
way-that directed against the fashionable ladies
of the time. The 'Cobler' processes to be a sol
itary widower of twelve years standing, on the
lookout for a mate, and thinking of going to Eng
land Tor the purpose-''but, . says he, when l con-
slider how women have tripe-wiied themselves
with their cladmeuts, / have no heart to the voy-
age, lest their nauseous shapes and she sea should
work, too sorely upon my stomach. / speak sadly;
methinks it should break the hearts of English
men to see so many goojly English women i'm
prisoned in French cages, peering out of their
hood7holes for some men of mercy to help them
with a little wit, and nobody relieves Them" lie
tells US there are ''about five or six" specimens of
the kind in the colony: "If l see any of them ac-
cidensally, ! cannot cleanse my fancy of them for
u month AFTER On this matter the COOLER" thus
defines his position: at is known more than
enough that | am neither niggard nor cynic to the
due bravery of the true gentry; if any man mis-
likes q bully mong drosock more than |, let him
take. her for his latour; | honour the woman that
can honour herself with her attire; n good text al
ways deserves q fair margent: | am not much of
Tended if / see o trim far trimmer than she that
wears it: in q word, whatever Christianity or CT
Witty will allow, | can afford with London meas
ures: but when | hear a nugiperOus gentledame
inquire what dress the Queen is i'll this week: what
the nudiustertian fashion of the court, | mean she
very newest; with egg to be in it in all haste, what
ever it be; | look at her as the very gizzard OF IL
trihe, the product of a quarter of a cypher, the
epitome Of nothing, filter to be kickt, if she we're
&c a kicka Die substance, than either honour'd or
humourd."
The old Tory divine, Mathew Byles, is chiefly
remembered at this day for his inveterate attach
Ment 10 the British Government, and his detesta-
BILE attem pts at pun making.
The Rev. Jacob Bailey, the Missionary at Pow
Marlborough, before the Revolution, says of him af.
ter a visit to his house, in ITS: The perpetual
reach after puns renders his conversation rather
distasteful to persons Ct ordinary elegance and
refinement" And Mr.. Kettell quotes some CO.
temporary verses to the same effect
There's punning Byles provokes our smiles,
A man of stately parts
lie visits folks to crack his jokes,
Which never mend their hearts.
With strutting gait and wig so great.
He walks along the street;
And throws out wit, or what's like it,
To every one he meets.
The latter part of this parody Of Joseph Green's
parody on his psalm, shows that he was occasion,
ally coarse in his TESTING; but we have never heard
any indelicacy or irreverence alleged against
him.
The ana which have been preserved, show that
his reputation as a wit was well deserved. There
was n slough opposite his house, in which, on a
certain wet day, a chaise containing two of the
town council stuck fast. DR.. Byles came to his
door, and saluted the officers with the remark,
Gentlemen, | have often complained to you of
this nuisance without any attention being paid to
il, and ! am very glad to see you stirring IN thus
matter now"
SIN the year 1880 a very dark day occurred, which
was long remembered US 1.-THE dark day" A lady
neighbor sent her son to the doctor to know if he
could tell her the cause of the obscurity. "My
dear, was the answer to the messenger, give my
compliments to your mother, and tell her that ]
am as much in the dark as she is"
One day a ship arrived at Boston with three
hundred street lamps. The ame day the doctor
happened to receive a call from a lady whose con
versational powers were not OF the kind to render
n long interview desirable. He availed himself o
the newly arrived cargo to dispatch his VISITOR
Have YOU heard the news ?" said he with empha
sis. '.0h, no! What news 2" "Why, three hun
dred new lights have come over in the ship thi
morning fr, IN London, and the Seiectmen hav'
wisely ordered them to be put in irons immediate
w." The visitor forthwith decanped in search o
the particulars of this invasion of religious lib
erty. ~-r s1 a.. .L5. rsl.gaL
When brought before his judges at the time o
his trial they requested him to sit down and warn
himself. .Gentlemen,' was the reply, when
came among you, | 4 expected persecution; but
could not think you would have offered me the BIZ
go suddenly"
A mol Of Byles's is related by the ~hospitabl
~its of Boston, to the visitor, as he passes y
Kings Chapel in fremont street. There are tx
courses Of windows by which that building is ligh
cd on its sides; the lower ones are nearly squar
In allusion to this architectural popularity o: til
square eu,brasures OF it's solid walls, Byles sal
that no had often heard of ecclesiastical canon
but never saw the portfolios before. Another,
revolutionary wittieism, does justice to Byles
toryism. When the British troops; the lobster
paused his door, after entering the town; "Ah,
said he, new our grievances will be redressed.'
hIIis system Of practical joking is said to haS
been as delicious as his verbal, though rath'
more expensive 10 the victims.
Eth doctor. however. occasionally met his mate
Aslady whom he had long courted unsuccessful
married q gentleman by the name OF Quincy. IS
madam,,' said the unsuccessful suit1r, on meetii
ber afterward. lit appears you prefer a Quincy
Byles." "Yes. for If there had been anythin
worse than Jles, God would have afflicted job wi
them" is6. t1t
He was not, however, always unsuccessful wi
the fair sex, as he was twice married. His fl
vide was a niece of Governor Belcher, and her 81
cesssr. tho aigaity apparently diminishing wi
the relationship. a daughter Of Lieutenant Cove
NOR Tailor. -f.fs avt