Daily national Democrat., 1858-11-20
sneerInr nt AmrrIcan GenIns.

sneerIng at American Genius.
The Athenaum. mot Cora Anna Weekes's,
but much older humbug, and one which is
still extant-we mean the hebdomadal Of
that name in London,) says that Henry W
Longfellow--or Mr.. Protrlcted fellow" as
it terms him, in wretched attempt at face.
tiousness-is "a poor Poet" After speaking
very contemptuously of our historians Pres
colt and Bancroft, and of our poets Oliver
Wendell Holmes and John G.. SAKE. and ac-
cusing Washington Irving of want of gen-
iality, it goes on to say, in review of Long
fellows last volume of poems, that it finds in
the (masterly) poem of Miles Standish only
one pretty iine-the rest, it says is very com
mon-place Now, the man who would make
such a declaration is thoroughly assinine in
every component part of his mental constitu-
ton. The elegant literary caterer for the
Philadelphia Press, commenting on the cri-
tique of the Athen@um, says:
"Some thirty years ago while yet the
Atheneum was young, it pleased its conduct
ors just as contemptuously as it now sneers
at Longfellow, and the majority of Ameri-
can authors, to ridicule pelham" the first
ambitious production of young gentleman
named Bulwer-the first almost for "Fa k
| land" was Withdrawn nearly as soon as pub
lished, and "Weeds and Wildhowers," and
"O'Niel, or the Rebel" were poetic efforts
chiefly noticeable now as showing the prom
ia... tb, Il
less of the advice not to write again pursued
his career as n man of letters-but the fact
that he had clean linen, well fitting coats,
and usually wore kid gloves, continued to
annoy his critical friends of the Atheneum.
In a wonderfully short time though he had
the misfortune to be man of fashion, Bul-
wer's works became themes Of general admi-
ration, and it was felt that a writer had aris-
en-, likely to take the place which scott was
about to leave. Then, true to the principle
which has since guided it, Except when
American celebrities are implicated,) the
AtheuGum followed the example of Fada-
deem, the critic in. ."Lalla Rookh, and sudden
" praised as violently as it had once ridi-
culed Bulwer, who probably had felt the
sneer, was superior to the eulogy. In the
midsummer of 1880 his satirical novel of
paul Clifford" was published in which he |
described his old foe as the Ass inelaa and
designated its "slashing critic by the sObri-
q,tet of "Peter McGrawler." The world |
laughed, and the nick name stuck. To this day, |
the Atheneum is as well known by one title
as by the other, and if any doubt could have
existed rs to its meritlng the appelation,
whoever reads its recent pronouncing upon
Longfelow will undoubtedly admit that, to
this hour, it is the ASsineum, and nothing
more nor less"
Asanother instance of the fallbility of such
bull-headed critics, of course every one will
recollect the Edinburgh Review and Lord
Byron. That somewhat inflated, though in
the main able magazine, undertook to wipe
out the rising poet like a name from black
board with wet sponge, but he lived to
ybbet in immortal contempt the critique
that assailed him. As the author of Pelham
Dutlived the attack of the Atheneum, and
Byron that of the Edinburgh Review, SO
will Longfellow that of the former In fact
the fame of Longfelow is already so well
that it is like shooting pop-guns
at the stars. to attempt to bring him down
from his position, or lessen him in the
smallest degree in the eyes of his millions of
admirers. As Walter Scott has welded to
immortal romance the great events of Scot
tish and English history, Longfellow has
married to immortal verse much of wha. is
beautiful and worthy of preservation in the
early history of this continent His Evan
ia hut T.,
well as his Miles Standish, and IIawatha has
preserved in most attractive form the inter
esting traditions, names and characteristics
of the grander aboriginal races of America,
who have left their bones along the shores of |
the northern lakes, and their name and fame |
to history. How any man could be SO
stepped in prejudice, so blind to all mer
1t that did not "spring up within the little
limits" of his own island or neighborhood, as
to be oblivious to the transcendant power of
genius, great and original, like that of
Longfellow, is certainly wonderful 1t can.
not be so. The writer in the Athenaeum
must know that he does injustice to a trnly
great poet. and feel the self condemnation Of
a literary culprit who writes what he knows
in his secret soul is false
We remember very well, that it used to |
be quite the custom of English writers to
sneer at every literary effort whith emanated
from this side of the Atlantic, but we had
thought that that time had passed, and that
no respectable English journal, at least, would
now hesitate to acknowledge that the United
States had produced great writers, both in
poetry and prose. 1t was long time before
the English mind could comprehend that
erery character of greatness was not confined |
to the other side of the water; but, when |
they saw, in spite OF themselves, the rapid |
succession of great statesmen and orators, |
like our Websters and Clays and Calhouns
and Hayneses, they were compelled to ac |
knowledge that the great men of the Revo
luton did not happen to be so because they |
grew up, in She first place, under British |
rule and British institutions. Reluctantly |
our equality in the above |
named respects, they were very slow to make
the second concession to our rightful intellee
tual claims, to,wit: the literary excellence of
our leading writers in prose and verse but
they were compelled even to do that, and
the only purblind, miserable, old fogy con
cern that We know of, among the English
journals of reputed respectabiity, that de.
nies it, is the London Athenaeum Well, we
can afford to laugh at the old granny, and