Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1863-02-20
PUBLISHING I'M THE coSrEDERAcY.

There is spread before us considerable
mass Of volumes published in Richmond since
secession. They are war books, indeed, not
literature strictly so-called,with tho exception
Of o spoon" or two, ono of theso also being
war poem, concerning which the less We
say the better. Literature indeed, will come,
but not yet. A nation which is, with all it's
might and hoart, making history, and such
history, has no time, nor patience, nor judi
cial oalmness, to sit down and write history.
A battle bulletin, (when it is every word
truc, like Lse's) is your only poem and as
for the arts and sciences, they can scarce be
cultivated amidst this smoke and uin, except
such CT them as are serviceable in the 1oun-
dries, and the Notifications, and, alas in tho
hospitals. Our publishers, therefore, ar.
Obliged, in such scarcity Of ink and paper, to
conflne themselves to such works as best
teach how war can be carried on. 1t is
literature which has the ring Of steel !; its
color is not rose-pink, but blood-red, and its
perfume is that of sulphur and nitro.
The general reading public il omsciated
by famine Of books, and will not soon DO
fed. Yet not the Toast wholesome effect of
tho WAL has been to cut Off from us the sup
ply Of what they call, in New York aud Bos.
ton, their literature"
We had come to regard with horror and
aversion the foods of rubbish in blue and
gold, OF in covers that wore tho hue of
hospital flag, which used to load the shelves,
and crowd the stalls and inundstc the GAYS
\ deluge rs if tho windows of hell had been
opened! For in our era Of civilization man
kind will read, and tho Yankee was on hand
to furnish not only shoes, but reading matter
also. On tho whole. by rejecting minds, the
books Of Massachusetts arc loss missed than
her shoes; for the shocs, though badly
enough put together, conveyed no positive
conagion; they were "pegged," but not
poisoned. Whereas tho books were running
over with cant and slang: brimfull of raeuun,;
torpar, as of moral death, New Eugland
English, Puritan philanthropy, aud all man
ner Of abomination. From the simplest vii
lage tale of youthful country minister who
wooed and welded sohoolmarm, up to the
big new American (more properly Yankec)
Oyolopudia" edited in the "Tribune" office
hr and wide through all the realms Of poetry
and romance history, travel, philosophy, tho
tone and spirit Of them all wore abhorrent to
Southern feeling, taste, temperament and con-
science. Then their blue and gold books las
now their blue and gold brigades0 aimed at
the overthrow and conquest of tho South, of
all that is noble, natural and characteristic at
tho South; aimed, indeed, at no less than to
mako us all Yankees; and they wcro even
making some progress towards that; for the
people who import their books import their
opinions.
Soutaeruers, it is true, had sometimes flatter.
I'd themselves that there WAS no danger; for
there never wanted 'vigilant CRITICS. sca.h-
Ing Do Bow, soorohing Ntzhugh, who con-
SANITY pointed ont the base nature Of those
books and exposed their vulgarizing and ma
terializing tendency. In vain! Readers read
to be amused; they do not love the trouble
Of thinking or oanvaaing; If they ever saw
those just criticisms and warnings with true
southeen sssoaoiaace they smiled ct tho fan
cisd danger Of oontasion, and road list
sasly On yswnine psshps sometimes,