Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1857-09-17
THE LITERARY ASSASSIN OF TOE.

The recent death of Dr. Rufus W. Griswould has
excited not a little comment in Northern newspaper
dom Some of the papers speak in no very compli-
mentary terms of his abilities and honesty as a lit
terGfesr while others with disregard of of the
most beautiful traits of human nature that of for
giving the mere frailues of man, do not refrain
from alluding the fact that prior his exit from
the feverish stage of life his unfortunate matrimOn
Ial relations produced considerable scandal in the
literary and fashionable world.
The bitter and relentless persecution which fol-
lowed Shelley, one of the divinest of men, and
which drove the author of Chlde Harold from Eng
land disgusts us with all reference to matrimonial
difficulties. Now and then society must have VIC
tim, and the victim is impaled with little human
ity the Nazarine in the ancient days of
Judea.
The position and eminencs of the man thus select
ed to be offered up as sacrifice to the mawkish
sensbty Of the self righteous OF the social sphere
only renders the persecution more daring, inhuman
and wicked In the instances 10 which we have re-
ferred, British society in that morbid state when
errors, in the of Shelley and of Byron were
reg arded as crimes. Society craved for victim,
and domestic squabbles were seized upon offenses
demanding the exile of the gift ed twain.
Such may have been the with DR.. Griswold
He was twice or thrice married. His last matri
monial alliance subjected m TO scandalous charges,
which amounted to nothing serious in the end
Scandal, of course, with her hundred tongues was
busy with his name until his DEATH but there even
scandal should stop.
It'll al,ne of the literary acts of DR. Grswold that
we would speak. And, here let say, that although
many granl-motherly persons imagine that the
grave all sins, 1t does not cover literary sin.
Truth woulI do herself great injustice we're she 10
muzzle her angelic lips when it becomes necessary
speak of the literary of those whose works
assist TO make up the catalogue of the booksel-
lers.
No man in this country did greater harm to Ameri
can literature than the subject of this article. He
Wasin every literary charatan. In fact hewas
than this; he plagiarist, and, worse than
ALL an assassin of the reputation of man whose
genius sent forth thoughts gOlden-hue graceful
and grand. There was no fairness in his criticisms,
no justice in his conclusions His prejudiees had
complete control of his judgment
Deficient in all the elements of sound and dis
eliminating critic, and destitute of that learning
essential to literary editor, Dr. Grswold, never
theless, set himself up American Clifford, and
passed judgment upon the builders of the lofty
rhyme with the air and audacity of that distin-
guished individual The "hoarse Fitzgeralds,"
bawlng out their limpiDg verse in pot-house were
too often fayOrtes, while such unfortunate heatses
if they can be called unfortunate, under the cir
cumstances-as were personally distastetul to him,
we're omitted from his lame compilations or g dam
ned with faint praise"
Few persons can read his ''Poets and Poetry of
America " without being struck with this truth.
Verse writers of mediocre abilities introduced
into the sublime company of our masters of the
Tyre and their feeble efforts ridiculOusly extolled.
But the browning literary sin of Dr. Griswold was
his assassination Of the reputation Of the brilliant
but erratc Edgar A. Poe. Claiming to be his lite
rary executor by the '.last words that child of
genius. he nevertheless took the earliest occasion
after Poes death to indite for the New York Tribune
malignant and dsgraceful article calculated to do
much injury to the deceased poet.
DR.. GrisWOld and Poe had been for years enemies.
Yet, according to the declaration of the former, the
latter had magnanimou-ly contided to him the task
of acting as biographer and literary executor. To
kick the dead lion under such circumstances was in
the highest degree ungrateful and unjust.
And here we leave DR. Griswold with the single
remark, that while We have much charity for his
frailtes n man. we have none for errors and sins
as aLnerdteur.-N o. Delta.