The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-04-04
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

The North Anezioan Refien fot Apri Boston Crosby
Nichols, Co,
This time honorcd periodical, now nearly half cen
tury old comes out with vcrnal freshness and contains
eleven excellent articles. One "Lrrng's Life Of WASH
top contains many pleasant things about the anthor
as well the book ''The Rebellion in Ldia is scath-
ing and Just review of the of England in the East
"Duers Constitutional Juripra1enoe is valuable addition
to our legal literature and there other clever at
cles on s.The Brahnanic and Buddhist Doctrine Of Future
LIE {" s'Mchau1 North Anaericun Sylco " "4ierdndet Ham
on &C. No library table is well furnished without the
last number of the North American. M
LiQers Lichg Age New and enlarged series Boston
Little Son, & Co. New York Stanford Dellisser,
No. 637 Broadway
Every one knows or should know that this is week
y magazine of eighty pages containing selections from
oil the principal periodicals of the Old World. The first
series embraced tlrtysix volumes (four volumes being
published yearly) Of the second series, just completed
twenty volumes were published The third series, now
commencing viii be enlarged by the addition of sixteen
pages to each weekly part and will be improved in its
typographical appearance Its publishers claim that no
similar publication exists in which much excellent
matter is given for the sum Of six dollars
Household Words for april. Republished at New York
Jansen & Co.. No. l26 Nassau street
Although Dickens docs not write all the articles in this
interesting periodical have supposed he has in
fused into it his fascinating STYLE and has gathered around
him class of associates who of the literary
stamp himself The capital stories which it contains
neither sentimcntay foolish nor prosy tame but
always sparkle with vvacity and replec with valu-
able information.
Pro1y Piuc. The DARK Lady. -Yanthine and Melanic
All by J. v. Huntington For sale by Blanchard g.
Mohun.
The claims of Mr.. Huntington to literary distinction
on the works which noted above, stand very high
for they have justly achieved for him European well
American reputation and he is generally ad-
mtcd by critics. the most hostile to be master
of English style. The author is brother to the emf
ncnt artist and his maiden literary efforts artc
cisms which still remembered for their enthusiastic
feeling and reproducing in words the pictures they de-
scribed
It long complaint of the English critics that
American poets and novclists merely imitaton-
borrowers, not originals who derived their inspiration
from books and not from the fresh and magnificent ma
turc with which they surrounded in country where
the very institutions and manners invite them to origi
nality When the native poetry of Bryant with its Wild
wood odors quoted to dsprovc this charge it was
replied that his style had been formed the English
pastoral The American themes of Cooper did not save
him from the mputation of transferring English manners
to native canvass and if the originality nnd American
''"'S'"'SN"'''c
said that this Coopers sole character Longfcllow's
Gcmansms werc Of course fatal TO h, and he has vim
dcatcd his title to dstinctivcly American inspiration
only in the eccentric numbers of Hiawaha Irving
notoriously occupied foreign ground He won his fame
by treating foreign themes in style itself borrowed
from Goldsmith and Steele. The " Sketch Book and
"Bnccbridgc Hall, the " Conquest of Granada and
Tales Of the Alhambra " show how much he has lin
gered on stranger soil The Life of Columbus is
more European than American aud Astoria and the
" Legend of Sleepy Hollow with Knckerbocker's
History of New York. to fail in proving to our
transatlantic cousins that American literature has nation
allied itself
However this very notion is entirely an absurdity.
An American u.s. after all European OF the New World
and il is neither possible desirable that he should
start entirely new in literature, government, morals
manners or anything else. Our f,ncici originality in
government Is an illusion, suspect and pcrncious
one There has fircr t,cr thing been sail of late
than Senator Bcnamn's demonstration OF the conncxion
bctwecn American law in regard to institution of
slavery and that Of Europe, Mr. Keitts bold and