Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1856-09-03
Southern Literature.

SoA4 ~ oPOh
and maintaining a purely Southern
Eiteratlre-a literature relieved of the dis
namby-pambyism-the corrupting
exhibitions of high and low life at the North,
so shockingly portrayed by most of those
degrading works are proclaimed with
such a flourish oftrumpets as they issue from
the press-and also freed from the insulting
ly slanderous misrepresentation of South
ern institutions, manners and morals with
which many professedly pure literary works
are interlarded. But, much as has been
said and written, very little has been done, to
bring about this "~consummation so devoutly
to be wished Our people continue to read
and purchase this insulting northern trash
they patronize these northern publishers
whose vocation is constantly to vilify and
traduce US, and thus feed and sustain the d.
rest enemies to the peace and welfare of our
section, socially and politically.
We are all too guilty of the inconsistency
which we have here pointed out, and we try
to excuse ourselves upon the ground that we
have no Southern Literature, and are there
fore forced to the alternative of perusing the
pernicious stuff emanating from the northern
press. But can we satisfy our consciences
with a lachrymose depreciation that we have
no Southern works to peruse and patronize?
Such as do this, are guilty Of gross injustice
to the South. The truth is, those who say
this, have never enquired, or perused our
Southern advertisements enough to know
whether we have any Literary publications.
There are thousands who take Northern
Monthlies and Quarterlies, who do not know
that we have such Periodicals as the "South-
ern Literary Messenger" at Richmond, Va.
"DeBow's Review" at New Orleans the
. " Southern Quarterly Review" at Charles
ton, S. c., &c. &c.
And SO of the Literary Weeklies. Hun
dreds of thousands of dollars are sent north
for such abolition papers as the Philadelphia
Saturday Post, New York Tribune, and 9TH
ers of the same stripe, by persons who have
a never seen or heard of the +" Spirit of the
Age" in Raleigh, N. c.. the " Home Jour
a nal" of Georgia; "The Kaleidoscope" at
e Petersburg and the many other excellent
N Literary papers published in various South
ern States. And if Temperance men in the
d South want a paper devoted to that cause,
they must needs send off to non-slaveholding
States. and take papers there, in which it is
n proclaimed that "Rum and Slavery arc syn.
onymous - and Abolitionism and Temper
in ance are natural and inseparable allies.
w 1t is such conduct as this, that enables
at the north to have a Literature, and that keep
ty all Southern pretentions in that way of sucl
nd a stunted, dwarfsh growth, that it is not vel
I'M known among Southern men. If Southern
I'm men will patronize, and thus encourage an
Ter sustain Southern Literature, we shall 500
i've proudly rival, and then excel our censoriou
me and egotistical ~neighbors of the North.
tn There is one thing, however, in whic
ex- Southern Publishers are greatly at fault, e
Ike p~ecially our Periodical Publishers, viz: tt
Try cultivation of an acquaintance with the Ii
er erary and Secular Newspapers of the Sout
ON Their tables are loaded from week to wee
me with Godey's, Graham's, Harper's, Putnam
ky National. American and other Magazine
AR! from the North-they are noticed by t
Press SO often that they become familiar
household words to our people. But We
the few Southern Editors ever receive the Sout
tent ern Literary Messenger-DeBow's Review
ted. the Southern Quarterly, &C., and hence tn
are seldomed noticed, and Southern peol
bile know little or nothing about them. Let 0
con- Southern Periodicals remember this thing.