The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1867-09-15

| The duty devolving upon the Forfeit Con-
| gress is return to the pledges embodied in the
| platform unon which it was eiected-th pend
| ing constitutional amendment This duty
| involves the repeal of all the disorganizng
measures to which We have referred. and Inc
| substitution Of the plln of Southern recon
| struct.cn submitted TO the people and endorsed
by them in last years State elections. This is
| the road to success and restor ton, while le
| road to which Congress and thu republican
| par have diverged is the downhill road to
ruin, and herein lies the real issue between the
| party in power and the people.
Dickens "American Notes. and His Second
| Visit.
We lay before our readers to-day some of Mr
Dickens "Amercan Notes" originally prepara d
"for European circulation" but which for many
reasons are well entitled to be current anywhere.
Thes, extracts will give very fair notion Of
the volume from which they are aken-ol its
| strength and its weakness of lis authors
hatred of cant and lis indulgence in it, and his
views OF cities and men, politics, the press,
| society, and so forth. Here the reader may
| sympathize with the traveller in his fancy for
| he Lowell girls and 'the cast iron humor of the
| Yankees" and in his objection 10 cheap hotels;
he may appreciate the good-natured picture Of
| Broadway by daylight, and the stronger colored
| one, manly and honest in tone, OF the same
| street at another hour; he may even enjoy a
visit 10 the Five Points in such good company,
| and Will doubtless be pleased TO noe that
! having strayed into law court in one Of our
| cites, the British satirist could find nothing
more serious to crticise than the way in
which funcLionary pronounced the word
"engine." Nothing can be better than this
travelling Englishmans description of the
| travelling Englishmen he met in America and
whom he found-as we, too, have found them
displaying ian amount of insolent con ceit
and cool assumption of superiority quite
ments be more proper than those of holy hor-
ror expressed at Slavery piece of English
superiority"--as John Bull was then rid
Of the institution and we were not. We
pronounce the account of sermon to the
sailors piece of good reporting.
We must remember that these pictures of our
manners and morals date from the days when
the Carlton House was in 'the best part" OF
Broadway, and when in all the city, according
to this veracious traveller. there was to be
found, in the way Of popular amusement, only
"one barrel organ and a dancing monkey" 1t
was great while ago, therefore, and it is not
| easy for the present to sympathize with the
piejudices and passions Of that past period.
But there is tradition with those who played
dominoes at Palmo's cafe and walked on the
Battery Sunday evenings, that these notes
stirred howl of protest and resentm mt here
on their first appe aranca. 1t is difficult now 10
see the exact reason for all that. They are
Just, and are never so severe on US as we always
are on ourselves. Sometimes they are a little
| ill-natured; but are we 10 require an amiable
| spirit and an even temper of every travelling
Englishmln who writes about us? That would
| be to insure uncomfortable dulness in all he
said. We believe that the public will enjoy
very much a review of this work, with its criti-
cisms of our society and its observations, truc
and false, Of our character. 1t Is certain. how.
ever, that the traveller, in coming again, will
find US very different people. New York has
grown, physically, morally, mentally; and if
the satirist would find again the sort of life he
once saw not tar from Broadway, be must seek
| il in Chicago, ST. Louis or ON lha Yet it il
quite probable that he will find that inevitable
character, the toady, still in his perennial
youth, even here He will find bigger toadies
richer toadies, more pulled up, exubcrant and
noisier toadies here than he ever saw; for 1t IL
| still an American characteristic that we do
| things seriously and with set purpose to 'beat
| all creation" when we do them at all. II is
also one Of our weaknesses to 'honor litera-
ture"-rather cheaply, perhaps; and ii may be
another OF our weaknesses that many fancy
that this literature which we propose to honor
il incarnate in Mr.. Dickens.
We are glal that Mr. Dickens is to visit us
again, particularly as he comes TO entertain
us with one Of tnose courses Of readings"
which he formerly found fault with us for
liking. Ristori is here again, with her magnif-
cent company, and will have brilliant season
at the French theatre. Pixies Opera House
will soon open, all our theatres are brushing
up and making great promises of unusual
attraction, and the season promises to be one
of the gayess we have had. Mr.. Dickens enter
tainment will be a really excellent addition.
His entertainment here will perhaps be SUBJ
stantially what it was in London--a simple
reading Of some scene or chapter from some
one of his well known stories, illustrated only
by the remarkable incubation Of the readers
voice, and his miraculously significant dstor-
ton OF feature. To hear this reading and see
the grimace that accompanies 1t, IS to make the
personal acquaintance OF characters of whom
we seem before only to have heard. It is i'm
| possible that any counterfeit presentmenp
/ oa,id morn rnnxn ell III, tnndnrnr axnnn thins