The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1859-03-31
FOR HE JEFFERsoNIAN.
The Criticism on Cuba.

self again In htS rich and elegant attire
of critic, lain OF bis hat and With hair
combed aside, whi.kers brushed up,
and dissectiog knife aDd saw in hand,
With all the grace of French dancing
sster, has made bis bow TO the public,
aud, like a butcher, must lustily calls out
to the readers of that Journsl to take q
piece of the Pbilomath whom he fancies
he has SO dexterously dissected. We will
confess that when VIC at first beheld all
this condescension ard ostentation mani
tested over the in aginary remains of our
self, that diffidence caused our checks re
peatedly to become sudused with blushes
at the vanity Of (some) men. And 10 con-
sequence of our not being 10 favor Of un-
due parade were led to inquire into the
cause of oil this boisterous triumph, when
We learned that it originated in the pub
lication of an essay on Cuba in the JEFF
fersouian of the 18th inst. And by still
further inquiry and investigation we feel
compelled to take the following excep.
tions to this apparently ostentatious bid
for literary notoriety: Mr.. Burrell seems
to be filed with stunning wonder and sur
prise that two essays should have emaDa'
ted from me in succession; as be "hsd
hoped" that each member would have
been on band to take his turn at the
wheel" Now what Goes this critic mean
by "arheel" But / presume that he has
reference to that instrument Of punish.
ment on which criminals, in certain coun.
tries, are put to death by breaking their
bones. 1t would seem that Mr.. Burrel
has got an imaginary wheel" erected
and that be has turned executioner, and
"had hoped" to break each member ol
our society in bis order; and judging from
circumstances, it would appear that be is
greatly annoyed because his"Wheel' dou'i
seem to kill.
This critic tells US that it is not remar.
ksble that outsiders should speculate a,
to the probable cause of the thing. >
What does this critic mean by "tbe thingl'
We might guess, perhaps, but is it not the
duty of persons of his classical preteutions
to be more concise in their language =
Now how doestbis critic know but that he
is doing the Society gross injustice By init
mating that the two who have published
their essays represent the writing talent
of our Association For be certain
ly does not know but that they are
the most inferior members in this res.
pect;-at all events be has no knowl
edge that they we're selected from the Ten,
ss this critic seems to intim ate, as failing
offerings in order to appease the wrath Of
this assumed literary god. Our critic
next fuds fault with the minute descrip.
tioD given of Cuba, and with fearful eyes
arrives at the sorrowful conclusion that
| have somewhat retrogrsded in gram.
matical construction since giving my first
paper to the public. He further states
that ait is very common With some authors
to confound adverbs With adjectives, and
quotes the following FROM me to prove
that belong to that class: "Cuba extends
from longitude "A degrees to near e5 de-
grees West" This critic tells US that
the sdverb nearly should have been used
instead of the adjective near. Now, near
as above used is not an adjective, bot is
an adverb. In evidence of which we cite
Kirkbsm's grsnmsr, which Informs us
that near is an adverb, and gives the
following example: "The mao lives
near by" This settles the question
in our favor. Again. ''it is our pur.
pose to bridy review and see as near as
we can" Near in this sentence the crit.
lie calls au adjective. He seems to have
DO idea that the manner in which certain
words are used determines the parts Of
speech to which they belong. Our critic,
like the Modes and Persians in regard
to their laws, thinks once az adjective, a.
ways an objective. But Webster says,
that mear is occasionally al adverb, and
gives the following examples: at is mea'
twelve o'clock; the pay yOent of such a sun
would 60 near to ruin him." This, ]
think, fsvors MS agaiD.
Some argue that "Cuba must natural.
y grasitate back to US, (6guratively ei
course.)" Here, as ridiculous as it may
seem, ! am censored for doing what he
before uistakingly thought did not do
This critic tells US that we should have
used the adjective fgurative instead oi
the adyerb fguratUely. This uudoubtsd.
ly would have sounded very smoothly on
D....lisa