Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-06-03
ENCOURAGEaENr FoR GRANr,

Grant as a Radical politician since
ne assumed that character, in which
1T has been our duty to criticise
him, and we have not been slack in
doing it. We have not, however,
thought it worth while to play the
critic on his literary performances.
We do not know that he affects to
be q literary character. He once
rather pretentiously said that he
was setting an example to the public
men OF this country, in holding his
tongue; he said this to the New
York Leaguers who, being marrow
minded blockheads," spplanded it
but it only showed his ignorance of
the character of popular govern
ment, and the way in which it ought
to be conducted. His letters, how
ever, have been very simple, and
not very successful attempts to ex-
press his ideas, and have provoked
"a good deal of ridicule. Thus he
lately seemed to say that the rebel
hon began at Cairo and was lot
ended yet; when, in truth, he only
meant TO speak of his friendship for
a Mr.. MARYLAND, of the Postofice
Department; the letter ran thus
i present this saddle, not for any
intrinsic value it possesses, but as
mark of friendship and esteem,
afler continued service with you
through the great rebellion, corn
mencing at Cairo, Illinois, in 1861,
to the present day, l hope, not get
ended. Yours truly,
...F. U. S. GRANT,
Lieutenant General.
So, again, in acknowledging the
receipt of some presents, against
which he never shuts his hand, he
said; Accept my thanks, and par
ticularly my boys, who 1 know will
take delight and derive benefit from
them" In publishing this, a Balti-
more paper asked: {" Can any of
the boys in the public schools parse
the foregoing?o
Now, we deprecate all these n.y.
percritical filings at L" the Presidents
English 1t is not the Kings En-
glish, TO be sure, says the Phila-
delphis Age, but the fact is known
to everybody who 10 familiar with
literature, that no one is safe from
verbal criticism. As for US, we
give and claim wide indulgence.
They who write for the daily press,
must learn to brave the critics. The
occasional writer may weigh his
words, and polish his periods and
keep his sonnet or his epigram on
his literary anvil for nine years, if
be please, according to the advice
of Horace. But in what is written
for the daily press, the ink has
hardly time TO dry. For that rea-
son, indeed, some editors use pen
Gil Thus, of course, is afforded an
easy chance TO detect the slips Of
the per, the marks of haste-in
short the common inaccuracy of
quick aim and rapid fire. But
man must shoot promptly who aims
at flying mark; a moment lost,
and the game is gone. In fact, the
work of daily life is best done by
practiced hands, which do not strain
after an ideal perfection. The great
Norks of art that challenge the ad
riiration of successive ages chal-
lenge too the scrutiny of the art
critics But the real worker in lit
erature does not linger over his
labor; it is fact that there is
scarcely a writer in the English
language who can defy verbal crit
icism. All the classic models are
full of faults, smOthercd in beau
ties. Addison is Il standard of ele-
gance and correctness. From his
works, DIR. Blair, the great profes
sor of rhetoric, culls the following
passage, - a specimen, and says OF
it Nothing can be more elegant,
or more finely turned than this SEN
tence. Ii is neat, clear, and musi-
cal. We could hardly alter one
word, or displace one member with
out spelling it. Few sentences are
TO be found more finished or more
happy" After this high praise, our
readers may like to see this fine
sentence from Addison: Here it is
There are indeed but very few
who know how to be idle and inno-
cent, or have relish of any pleas
= ures that are not criminal; every
diversion they take is at the ex-
pense of some one virtue or other,
and, their very first step out Of bust
ness is into vice or folly.-&pccta.
tor.
But now comes along a surly,
burly Englishman; no scholar, in
the sense Of the schools-for he
taught himself TO read and write
when he was private soldier in Tho
ranks of the British army. Bluff
William Goblet thus treats wha
Addison wrote, and Blair pro
uounced to be perfect;
4What does the pronoun the!
mean in this sentence of Mr.. Add
son? What noun does it relate Il
or stand for? The nOminativs o
the sentence is the word fen, mean
ing few persons. Very well then
the pronoun they relates to TIN