The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1858-09-03

be received at the same rate.
Mr.. JAMES ANTHONY FRoUDE, late of Oxford,
well known for his theological gyrations and his
learning and cleverness withal, has been engaged,
for some time, upon History of England, from
the fall of WoLsEY TO the death of ELIZABETH. The
first part of the work, embracing the most impor-
tant portion of the reign of HENRY the Eighth is
now before the public and has attracted attention,
not merely because of its literary merits which are
high, but because of its historical novelty, which
is its most remarkable feature. Mr.. FGoUDE has
set himself to work, in good faith, to show, that
the merry monarch, his hero, has occupied, thus
far false position in the annals of mcn-that in
stead of being tyrant and Bluebeard, ''who
"never spared man in his anger or woman in his
'Gust, AS ordinary history reports him TO have
said of himself-he was q gentle and q good
king, who chastencd his people merely because he
loved them, and put away and beheadcd his wives
altogether as matter of conscience. To what
extent Mr.. FRoUDE will be able to convert his
countrymen to his way of thinking, remains TO be
seen. Thus far, the critical opinion which has
been expressed on the other side of the water
seems to regard the work rather from the comic
point of view and to treat Mr.. FRoUDE as badly
bitten by the same tarantula which has set Mr..
CARLYLE to worshpping, as saints, all the fanatics,
and as heroes, all the despots and freebooters,
whom he has ascertained to have been really in
earnest.
Regarded as mere intellectual gymnastcs--as
new demonstrations of the already well-establishcd
fact, that every question has two sides to it-such
works as the one to which we referring would
certainly do great harm. They employ the
leisure of literary men, readers as well as writer's
they promote research, and freedom of opinion and
enquiry. Perhaps, in the end, they have the good
result of qualifying the too absolute Judgment,
which history commonly passes upon prominent
characters, and of showing that there is something
of good in the worst'of men; as we unfortunately
know, without their aid that there is a touch OF
human weakness in the best. But there is an evil,
inseparable from the pursuit of historical paradox
which goes far beyond any claim of moral or intel
lectual advantage that can rghtfully be urged in
its behalf We do not alludc to the scepticsn
which it engenders-the pernicious doubt, as tc
whether there is any real truth in the recorded
bad enough, certainly, but which is, more or less
involved in every impeachment or correction o
received historical opinion, and with which truth
and reason may be trusted, in the main, to wrestle
What we refer TO, is the inevitable result that fol-
lows making history partisan. SO long us an
advocate stands before the bar, in his recognized
capacity, he invites challenge and conesses parti-
atty. lie may mislead the tribunal, perhaps, but
he does not prostitute it. When, on the contrary,
the Judge who is to determine is himself an advocate
concealed, and what he pronounces as the sentence
of justice, is but the echo of foregone conclusion
prompted if not purchased he not only does
wrong, but misrepresentS and de@radeS the right.
History cannot at one and the same time, be
safely advocate and Judge With the exercise of
those incompatible functions, come the perverted
fact and the inSinuated falsehood-the haf-quoted
record and the halEtold crme-prase in disguise,
and meek in the stead of Indignation
The path is paved to conclusions utterly false by
premises not quite so, and the distance between
right and wrong is cunningy diminished by
slightly depressing the and imperceptby
clevating the other. A little caSuistry and little
phraseolOgy-a shade darkened and a shade light
tion-are the means by which, skfully managed
CROMWELL may be made crop-eared WASHING
TON, and HENRY the Eighth obtain niche by
EDWARD the Confessor.
The faculties which Mr.. FRoUDE employs tC
bring about, in his peculiar line, the results tc
which we are abiding, are very graphically de
scribed by one of his critics, as CHS dexteriy il
'deodorising, as it were, transactions of which the
"moral scent is not very sweet and his faculty O
'lubrcating painful circumstances, so as to make
'them slide easily down the throat of the reader "
We do not know that we have ever seen more
happy calculation than this of the processes by
which the unconscious public mind is fed with Sc
much falSehood in modern literature-processes
too, which are not monopolized by its higher de-
partments, but which, more or less awkwardly
and coarsely applied, produce large part of thu
most banefal influences of the press Indeed it is in
the hands of those who write chiefly for the daily
public that such machinery is most dangerous and
most unprncipled We read history with care
in our hours of graver leisure or of allotted intel
lcctual labor. The fleeing chronicles of the day
come before US, on the contrary in our moments
of hasty distraction, or in the whrl and pre-occu
patton of business. We receive impressions from
them necessarily-we have scarce time to chal.
lenge their accuracy or their fidelity. Papable
untruth we can, of course, readily detect. Open
and avowed defence of what is obviously dishonest
or unworthy, of course, shocks and repes us al
once. But the fasehood which is masked in
ambiguous expression or suggeSti0n-the dis
honesty which is mixed or diluted until it appears
indifferent honest'-glides imperceptibly, as it is
sent stcalthily, into the minds and hearts of the
unwary. The ''deodorized" abomnaton is taken
for a sound thing, if not savoury. The elubri-
Gated poison is swallowed as harmless if moi
wholesome food In proportion as the writer is
cowardy, or false, or corrupt, is the readers risk
of being deceived and demoraliZed. There is no
abuse which may not thus be defended or ex-
cused-no delinquent who may not thus be
snatched from public indignation. Happily the
remedy is not far from the evil. What slavish
press may do, free press can undo. What a
partisan press may cover up, an independent press
can expose. 1t may need some trouble, and con-
sumo some time, but walking forwards is more
natural than walking backwards standing
still, and the world, in the long run, is pretty
sure to follow its nature.
With the return of the busy season, and the in
crease of trade between Baltimore and the South,