The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1857-10-03
For the Central Py.Hsta-isp
The Letters of a uaatabrigian.
Adiea to RieAsoa,

Dear L,--This city wild s,of he left with
out tne deepeSC regreO osany. part, for m,
stay mas oeen long ehousS,,;s test the fine
social qualities of its peopls Many acts o
kindness have endeared itinbabitants to
stranger. How then car nv gratitude b,
better shown than by des :tinp this fpa
Letter to some remarks as',rS the literar,
taste which prevails in the capital of Vir
ginia.
1t gratifes my natioaa feelings not
little to say that this tast Enolisb I'll
not French. The Fren ,onare is reac
by some, and our nobl s,e Is iniure,
by connecting with il sccss ION. the gaIli
( writer's. eEn!!,v.v.s-..ss.
man literature was oyerwhelinad DJ Frencl
inundation, but there is no danger of ou
models of composition ever being supplant
ed among Virginians. They have reaC
Corneille, Racine and Voltaire, and yet de
iberately prefer the age of Queen Anne tC
that of Louis Fourteenth. Some into whose
company your correspondent has at times
fallen, cultivate an antique penchant, anc
are familiar with Chaucer, Cover and Spen'
ser. Such examples however, are rare
Four-ffths of readers do not careto 90 back
beyond that knot of wits, who fouriShed il
the time of Anne, or that other company Of
literati to whom DIR. Johnson served for q
nucleus. Shakespeare however, is a general
fayorite. He is popular Notwithstanding his
numerous extravagancies, his errors of taste,
his confusion of metaphors, and the impro-
liabilities which appear in his Winters Tale,
and his Romeo and Juliet. 1t is perfect
fashion to admire him among Virginians.
He is constantly quoted at the bar, in the
Senate and in some few instances in the
pulpit. The pulpit, however, is place too
holy to be desecrated in this way, and yet
astonishing to tell, some American Divines,
to their perpetual disgrace, are now advo-
eating theatrical amusements. But this re-
mark has no kind of application to Rich
mond. Had Shakespeare been French, his
faults would have met with rougher treat
ment in this country. But in the midst of
his alterations from correctness, and often
from purity, the English feeling prevails,
and the people here look at nothing but his
excellencies, his profound acquaintance with
human motives and passions, and his bril-
liant invention. Next to the bard of Avon,
no book perhaps has been so generally read
as the letters of Junius. They belong to
the political literature of the United States
as well as of England. Their authorship
is to this day, subject that inspires interest,
and the most of persons coincide in opinion
with Macaulay, that they were written by
Sir Philip Francis. This is not nay view Of
this disputed question Lord George Sack
vile presents the Z -ougeSC presumptiye
claim to their authorship. His defence Of
himself on his trial in 1850 was a manly
effort. In his condemnation for his conduct
in The battle of Minden, he received II deep
injury from his country, and that injury lent
bitterness and vigor to his style. But the
literati of Richmond will not listen to me
on this point, so infatuated are they with the
dogmatical positions of Macaulay. But when
we speak of the strong English feeling in
Virginia, as determining matters of literary
taste, there is no intention of excluding the
writer's of Scotland. British is the word
perhaps that should have been used inplace
of English. Sir Walter Scott has enjoyed
here a day of unequalled popularity, and
Christopher North would have been exten-
sively read except for his forced, unnatural
style. He kept his mind on a strain per-
petually to say fine, elaborate things. The
metaphysicians and moral philosophers ot
Scotland, are looked upon as far abler thar
ours. The immense Presbyterian influence
of this country adds greatly to the populari'
ty of the Scottish literature. The menta
associations of tens of thousands are con-
nected with the moors, the caves, the glen:
and burns of Caledonia. In truth the Ame-
rican mind thus far has not risen beyond
the imitation of our types and standards
but this imitativeness is nothing to the dis
credit of the United States, They may
produce works superior to the originals. Nc
one ought to find fault if Paradise Los
should be surpassed by some initiative poet
Who could reasonably object if Prescott
should transcend Robertson, Motley, Glib
bon or Longfellow, Wordsworth. By thu
way the Hiawatha of the last is failure
equal to the Maud of Tennyson.
But whilst the literature of Richmond il
not French, it is equally clear that it is fal
less German. Many of the best scholar
of Virginia were educated before the Ger
man language came into vogue. Thus far
the pulpit of the State keeps itself aloo
from the distractions ana lawless criticism
of the Teutonc Diyines. 1t is to me how
ever, cause of disquietude, that many il
the United States seem to think it quite
compliment to the Bible if German divine
will only consent to be one half or even
third sound. The writings Of Tholuck
Krummacher and Knapp, are widely diffus
ed. The rising generation may possibly be
come germanized, for even young ladies ar
translating German authors. The false
crooked, angular and incomprehensible styl
of Carlyle is not without is admirers ant
he wrote with tolerable perspicuity til h
became the half insane worshipper of
transcendental Pantheism. Emerson of Con
cord, and Margaret Fuller might have bee
sent to an Asylum without the least detri
ment to common sense. The sister of Buck
minister has lately presented the autobio
graphy of Jean Paul in an American dress
Richter wanted taste. His Imagination wa
full of incongruitieS, and yet he was alway
defying the true and canonizing his ow
vague creations. Ideal perfection was tn
underlined, something about which he talke
like parrot, whereas Revelation present
infinite perfections in the Creator of tn
universe. The German school at Weima
was composed of men mystical and atheisti
An intense personality or self deifcatio