Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1870-12-23

an Italians mouth. In Rome he unhesi.
tatingly believes the legend that st. Philip
Neris heart was 80 infamed with divine
love that II burst Lis ribs--believes II
wholly because an author with a learned
list of university degrees strung after his
name endorses IT." otherwise" SAYS this
gentle idiot, II should have felt curlosi
ty to know what Philip had for dinner"
Our author makes long fatiguing journey
to the Grotto del Cane on purpose to test
its poisoning powers on a dog--got elabo-
rately ready for the experiment, and then
discovered that he had no dog. A wiser
person would have kept such thing dis
cretly to himself, but with this harmless
creature everything comes out. He hurts
his foot in a rut two thousand years old in
exhumed Pompeii, and presently when
staring at one of the cinder.like corpses
unearthed in the next square conceives the
idea that may be 1t is the remains of the
ancient Street Commissioner, and straight
way his horror softens down to q sort of
chirpy contentment with the condition of
things. In Damascus he visits the well of
Ananias, three thousand years old, and is
rs surprised and delighted as q child to
find that the water is "pure and fresh as
if the well had been dug yesterday" In
hard Arabic and Hebrew Biblical names,
and finally concludes to call them Bald
winsville, and Williamsburg, and so on,
".for convenience Of spelling"
We have thus spoken freely of this mans
Supplying simplicity and innocence, but
we cannot deal similarly with his colossal
| ignorance. We do not know where to
| begin we certainly would not know where
to leave off We will give one specimen,
and one only. He did not know until he
got to Rome, that Michael Angelo was
| dead And then, instead of crawling away
and hiding his shameful ignorance some.
where, he proceeds to express a pious,
grateful sort Of satisfaction that he is gone
and out of his troublesl
No, the reader may seek out the authors
exhibitions ef his uncultivation for him
self The book is absolutely dangerous,
considering the magnitude and variety of
its msstatements, and the convincing con
fidence with which they are made. And
yet it is a textbook in the schools of
America.
The poor blunderer mouses among the
sublime creations of the old masters, try.
ing to acquire the elegant proficiency in
art knowledge which he has cropping sort
of comprehension is proper sort of thing
for the travelled man to display. But
what is the manner of his study? And
what is the progress he achieves? To what
extent does he familiarize himself with
the great pictures of Italy, and what de.
gree of appreciation does he arrive at
Read:
when we see monk going about with lion
and looking up Into heaven, we know that 10 st.
Mark. When we see monk with a book and a
pen, looking TRANQUILITY up to heaven, trying to
think Of word, we know that is St. Matthew.
Ihant aftffa lpl1-tx
TRANQUILITY up to heaven, with human skul be.
side him. and without other baggage, we know
that is st. Jerome Because we know that he
always went flying light in the matter Of baggage.
When we see other monks looking TRANQUILITY up
to heaven, but having no trade mark, we always
ask who those parties are. We do this because
we humbly wish to learn"
He then enumerates the thousands and
thousands of copies of these several pic.
lures which he has seen, and adds with
accustomed simplicity, that he feels en-
couraged to believe that when he had
seen some more" of each, and had a
larger experience, he will eventually begin
to take an absorbing interest in them-the
vulgar boor.
That we have shown this TO be a remark
able book, we think no one will DENY
That it is pernicious book to place in
the hands of the confiding and uniformed
we think we have shown. That the book
is deliberate and wicked creation of {
diseased mind, is apparent upon every
page. Having placed our judgment thus
upon record, let us close with what chari
ty we can, by remarking that even in thi
volume there is some good to be found
for whenever the author talks of his owl
country and let's Europe alone, he neve
fails to make himself interesting; and mo-
only interesting but instructive. No ON
can read, without interest his occasiona
chapters and paragraphs about life in tn
gold and silver mines of California ant
Nevada; about the Indians of the plain
and deserts of the West, and their canni
balism; about the raising of vegetable
in kegs of gunpowder by the aid o
two or three teaspoonfuls of guano abou
the moving Of small farms from place t,
place at night in wheelbarrows to avoiC
taxes; and about lot of cows and mules
that climb down the chimneys and dis
turb the people at night. These matter
are not only new, but they are well wortl
knowing 1t is pity the author did no
put in more of the same kind. His bool
is we'll written and is exceedingly enter
tanning, and so it just barely escaped beinj
quite valuable also. '"'f