The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-04-11
LITERARY.


TIE GALAXY fer April 15 1867 Published by W. 9. &
F. P. Church, No. SO Park Row, New York.
This number completes the first year of the
Gala1y; and in that brief space Of time this mag
azine has won an enviable reputation for itself
among the new literary aspirants for public favor
1t is well edited, and has excellent corps Of con-
tributors. The topics treated have been varied
and with rare exceptions, catholic in politics as in
literature. Tho number before us contains con.
tinuation of Mrs. R. b. DAVIS new story, 'sWaitna
for the Verdict and another instalment Of Mrs
EDWARDS 'sSteven Lawrence, Yeoman."
s'Ihe Fathers Ring" is a translation Of LES.
SINGS famous parable, Nor grauen Jaren lebf Elm
Mann in, Osien,' from his chatham der Wese.
The translation is fair, but by no means of high
degree of excellence. It is neither very literal
nor very elegant. Take the following specimen:
s'What's to be done9
He sends in secret to 9 jewel]er.
And bargains straightway for two other rings
Made in the first ones image, and enjoined
Not to be frugal of the cost and pains
TO make them tally with the model ring.
The man makes out to do it; when the rings
Are brought to him, the father cannot tell
Which is the model
The very simple sentence 'Das gelingt dem
Kunstler" is terribly murdered in the tame and
inelegant s'The man makes out to do it." So, in
the 5th line, he speaks of the ring as
seStoring the virtue in its luscious heart
To make the man who wore it on good terms
With God and with his fellows"
The original is thus:
s'Und hattie Gle geheime Kraft vor Gott
Und Menschen angenehm zu machen, wer
In deser Zuversicht ihn Gug."
This last line is not translated at all. We could
multiply instances ia show that we are not object
ing without cause. But this must suffice. We
have seen many better translations OF this famous
parable.
s'Some Lovers Clear Day." by JOHN WEISS, is a
pleasant little poem, which our readers will find
on our fourth page.
ssThe Facts about NJ. DU CHAnLu" give US some
pleasant information about that prince Of African
travellers, who has just published an elegant and
very interesting volume under the title, ga Jour-
ney to Ashango-Land."
This is followed BY biographical paper Oh Vit
toria Colonna.
The next is by EUGENE BENSON on Literature
Gently asked in sneering tone by the Boenan9
Post: Why have we no Saturday ReuaeD? he
candidly acknowledges that we could not have
them if we would but that it would be little less
than national misfortune if it were otherwise.
He says: "Saturday Reuieaos cannot grow out OF
anything less hard, arrogant, Intellectually arro-
CANT, than the cultivated and arstocratic English
man like him with set habit Of morals, and
utter deadnese Of the feelings that expand and re-
cprocate the enthusiasms Of humanity. Why
have we no Saturday Reua,os? Because We are
Americans, because we have not Oxford and Cam
bridge, and buck Of Oxford and Cambridge Eve
hundred years Of privilege, five hundred years Of
legal restrictions. The Saturday Reuie,o always
opens it's subject with the pretence of fair play,
and betrays so little feeling that the reader lis de-
ceived and believes it's critical examination is dis
passionate search for truth. But before you have
gone through it's bald, hard, figid, compact SEN
tences- before you have read the last Of it's cold
sneering and arrogant words, you have been chilled
with the discovery that it has no good hearty ex-
preston for anything human or divine, and you
are made aware that all that you most cherish is
Out Of the pale of civilization"
While these remarks give, perhaps, somewhat
too much indication Of an ultra-democratic sub
stratum, more than suits our tastes, We must, in
all honesty, confess that in the main wo agree
with Mr.. BENSON in his estimate Of this great
mogul Of the English literary hebdomadals
lrparrnua do o.>a 1922
per. written by some one who has been Through
the mill: from Wilmington to st. George: He
presents correct picture OF our sister city, IN
i863 and 1864 describes the perils and excitement
Of running the blockade" and gives good idea
of the effects this traffic had on the Bermudas and
Bahamas.
Mr.. RICHARD GRANT WHITE, regular contribu-
to to the GdLa1y, furnishes q third paper on
stWords and their Uses" His topic this time is
seNewspaper English" We need not say that his
field affords ample scope. Whether or not hls
structures will be instrumental In producing salu-
tary reform, we are unable to soy.
The Gata1y ministers to the curiosity OF its
readers, in that 1t gives the names OF the writer's
Of nearly all the articles. In this it only follows
the example long since in use in France, and be-
coming more and more common every day in
England We cannot approve it, however: II
looks too much like an advertisement. Anything
like a newspaper or magazine article should 0e
inpersonal. II on author desires to instruct the
public eg-cathedra, he should write book or
pamphlet, and append his name 1t was through
this ANONYMOUS feature the Edinburgh, Pldckaoood
the Times, and the other leading public Journals
magazines and reviews attained their high posi-
ton. IF journal becomes merely the vehicle
through which writer's, under their signatures
publish their views, such journal must fal! q
taking high rank among the leaders OF public
opinion. The journal is merely the distributor
and can lay no more claim to fame or credit tol
such service than the bookseller.