Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1872-01-10

fuiiNA- tlANN q luAE &C., WHICH, NtluE
J. united 10 40 unusual niauuer. furnish tie
+. best materials for cUmio ridieu.e. Com
edy, therefore, improves in direct ratio
with her acquaintance with the world, Or
a. the circle Of her observation Is cn'arg.
cd aud. though she sometimes degeurT-
ates 10 criminal liceu,iou,urss, shc has
united the most brilliant saiiies Of Wit
with the puross aud meet Iehued seuii-
meui. Various ale the forms hich riii-
cule has assumed among the moderns. a.
the vices and iOiblcs Of the age seemed TO
call for correction. The d,gcneracy Of
ehivalry pictured to the fertile imagination
Of Cvrvanles the manifold ridiculous ex.
PLOTS Of Don Cuixoie; Butler, in Ilu-
dibras, followed MS example, taking fer
his theme tbs infatuated zeal Of the Puri-
TINS aud Mark Twain has thoroughly
exposed the aiiectation Of would be liter
AIRY tourists, by quoting their letters from
anliquatcd guide-books We do not pro-
pose at this time to discuss the good or
evil resulting from the diffusion of that
species Of literature known as sentimental
romance, but simply remark that it there
is any excellence in it, it must be placed
in the modern balance.
In the arts Of design in which the con-
ceptious of poetry are realized 10 the
senses, it is vain TO expect any superiori-
/ ty from the models of antiquity; hot so
much with the hope of exceeding its ne
BILE specimens, as with the more modest
aim Of expressing as many Of its excel
lcnccs as possible. To the ruined cdi.
fees of Rome, We are chiefly indebted for
the present correctness aud simplicity ia
the proportions and decorations of our
arehlteetures. Their temples, theatres,
baths, arches, colonades aud columns,
have not only been admired, but carefully
studied; aud we may venture to assert
that from the comparison of their magnif-
cent remains, modern architects were i'm
pressed with the great idea Of beauty
which has presented itself in the most
magnificent structures Of modern times
The style of architecture introduced by
our ancestors in the early ages of Europe,
aud continued till within the last two
hundred years, is now regarded rather as
an object Of curiosity than imitation,
The gloominess aud solemnity Of the
Gothic buildiHgs are highly characteristic
of northern superstition aud in them we
trace the progress Of apcope gradually
advancing from rough aud uncutivated
manners, to IDEAS, beauty aud grace.
Many Of them are executed with a great
degree of Iightness and ease, aud loaded
with the richest profession of adornmeuts;
but these decorations seem to be out of
place, and true taste is offended at the
nissupplied exertions Of genius, and re-
ours with eagerness TO the chaste and ele-
CANT designs, which were produced under
the more genial influence Of the mildcr
climes OF Greece an Italy.
Nor have the modelns been more sue
cesslu in the sister AIT, OF painting and
sculpture. The many celebrated statues
preserved amid the general ruin of the
works Of genius. exist as lasting mouu-
mcnts Of that unrivalcd excellence which
the invention and skill Of the Gre"ian
artists enabled them TO attain. Michael
Angelo, the most celebrated Of modern
sculntors, frankly acknowledged that uu-
tiquity had furnished models whose excel
encc he could only hope to approximate.
Unfortunately for the admirers Of antidh-
ty, no remains of Grecian painting, and
quite probably the better specimens Of
the Roman, have been preserved but
the universal admiration bestowed upon
them by their contemporaries, and the
testimony Of poets, orators and historians,
who, in their descriptions Of sculpture
and painting, have usually. expressed
themselves in similar terms, may he safe
ly relied upon as guides to cur Judgment.
In arts so nearly related, the transition is
easy and decisive; and how, we ask,
could people be wanting IN taste for
delicacy Of proportion, beauty Of design,
Or sublimity of expression, whose gaze
was accustomed to the contemplation Of
all those excelences which were portray
ed in the matchless works of Lysippus,
a Praxiteles aud Phidias?
So little is known concerning the art
Of music as it existed among the ancicnts,
that it must ever remain subject for ex-
ccIcuco belongs Harmony and melody
must have existed in high state Of per-
lection, or heather mythology would
never have invented the fabulous mythb
of the power Of Anphion to call together
by the aid Of his golden harp, the stones
for building the Theban walls, or thought
TO mention the assembling Of the trees
and stones and savage beasts, or the nod
ding Of the ragged mountain tops, charm
ed by the sweet cadences Of the lutte and
Tyre. The songs ofTyrtaeus, which re-
animated the dropping spirits Of the Spa
tans, and recalled them to victory and
triumph, might perhaps have derived
their effect from the accompanying
words; but whatever power we attribute
to the ancient melodies, it is probable
that the discovery of the counterpoint
which forms the leading feature in the
music OF the present time, has greatly
enriched the principles Of the art, as the
various instruments Of recent invention
have in an equal degree facilitated and
improved its practice; and it is hardly
possible for us to conceive Of more sweet
enchanting strains than those which have
been poured forth by the genius of Han
del Hayden, Mendelschn, Gottschalk
and Rosila.