Washington sentinel. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1856, 1856-07-03
From the Richmond Enquirer.
The Life and Death OF Sam In Virginia
BY Virginian.
RICHMOND A. MORRIS, 1856.


We are not surprised at the various character
of comments and criticisms this work has
elicited-that, on the one hand, it should have
met with almost unbounded praise, and on the
other, with unjust and undeserved censure
And, while we cannot pretend to be altogether
disrobed of political preferences in the conclu-
sions we have reached, we have yet attempted
to throw off all the prejudices of the party man,
in order to do the work even-handed Justice
We have read it and been pleased with it. Its
style, for the most part, is pure and unexcep-
tionabe. Its writer has displayed no party
spleen, and seems, from the beginning to the
end of his.work, to have desired to give fair
picture of what he believed Knownothingism
to be. If he has exaggerated any of its de.
fects or has failed to notice its excelleucies.
(of which our readers will doubtless say there
were precious few,) he has done So we are
assured, with do design to misrepresent or dis
tort. His style, his manner, his language, all
convince US that the man is in earnest, and
that, in very truth, he believes from the bottom
of his soul everything that he has here set
down against the party, which, through brief
period, agitated the political waters of this
State
Sam is dead-unquestionabl dead and
stretch of charity might prompt US to throw
the veil over his defects. But is it quite right
to do so? Are we not at liberty-is it not our
bounden duty to marshal I" in dread array"
his enormities, that others may be deferred
from following his example? We give the
followers of the so-called American party
many of them at least-credit for sincerity of
purpose, for honesty of aim but, saving this.
we do not mean to sanction their gross depar-
ture from what we deem to be the first princi.
Piles of pure government; principles upon
which, we believed, depended essentially the
permanency of our institutions and the welfare
of our country. But we have no desire to enter
again into the discussion of the principles Of
this party. Its career has passed into the
domain of history and fiction, and we do not
wonder that both historian and novelist have
been found to chronicle and picture on the
canvas the last and final struggle of this
party in Virginia The details Of that strup.
gle-its machinery-the confident boastings of
the Know-nothing party-are all fresh in our
memory, and probably the day is not far dis.
tant when the Samites of Virginia shall fail TO
be recognized and known as the supporters of
the most dbominaJle political heresies that ever
infested free people.
The writer of this work has shown up that
history in its amusing features. His charac.
tiers are all well drawn-and though we think
he has not done full justice 10 some Of the wor.
thiest elements Of the party, he has surely done
no injustice to the very large section Of il, who
we're most noisy at the period Of the election
day and therefore most likely to attract atten-
ton.
Our readers will be gratiied TO learn that
the book contains an exciting love story inter.
weaved and interviewed among the details Of
politics. 1t is so. And we have read the
work with infinite gusto on this account. The
amusing blunders Of old Mrs. Laubinger; her
unreasonable terror and discourse on the point
Of the ACKNOWLEDGMENT of Mr.. Uriah Hawks,
the anxiety she displays in conversation with
that worthy, are all excellent points, well
brought out, and cannot fail to excite a smile
in the most srolid and dull of all stolid crea-
lures. Hawks story, too, Of the sapsucker is
amusing and at the same time instructive. Ii
shows, at the least wholesome dread on the
part of Know.nothings in encopntering the
valiant old banner counties Of the Tenth Lee
gion, and is unquestionably true to fact
Nor is the experience Of Mr.. Ike Davis with
out its moral. The doctrine Of winding ones
own business" is here set down in ineligible
language But space would fail us to remark
upon the noticeable points of the work Our
readers must get il, and read il for themselves. |
If they read through the first FIVE pages, which, |
the author will allow us to say, are dull, and |
the only dull pages in the book, they will not |
stop until they get through, and will feel that
they had not before learned all or read all that |
might be said or written Of interest and amuse- |
ment, about the recent canvass in Virginia.