The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1872-02-16
BY HORsLEY BROS. & FIGURES.
For the Sou thern Press.]
"THE NEREID,"

above title, the like of which, in one
respect, we have not seen since those
dark days in "war times, when s. Fl.
Goetzel & Co. issued from Mobile
press "Macaria Augusta Evans
Wilson's best work. Its first striking
peculiarly is this-that it bears the
imprint of Southern publisher, the
first work of fiction bearing such a
stamp which we have seen since the
era of "whitey-brown" paper and wall
paper bindings, which adorned Goet-
zel's publications of Tannhauser "
and Great Expectations" We look
in vain now, however, for the tinted
material used in the times when we
were "blockaded' by "our friends, the
enemy" This book is issued in the
same style in which "Valerie Aylmer"
and "Morton House, have been
brought before the public by the Ap-
pletons. Some Typographical errors
appear, which might have been avoided
by allowing the author to revise the
proofs; for it is to be supposed that
no one knows better than the writer
what he or she meant to say } but in
all other respects the "make up" of
this work is not inferior to the late
novels of Miss Fisher, although the
latter bear the imprint Of the Apple
tons, of New York, and the former that
of J. w. Burke & Co., Macon, Georgia.
The author is to be commended for her
courage in thus lending her influence
to the opening of a new era in the
South; the era when our books will
not only be written, but published, at
home. The appearance OF the work
itself, and the very reasonable price at
which it is offered, goes far, we think
to prove that books can be published
in the South as well, and as cheaply,
perhaps, as in the North. We ask our
selves-why cannot Nashville, with her
abundant resources and central posi-
ton, become a center for Southern
publication? We examined, not long
since, some volumes of Reports, issued
from the Banner presses, and were
convinced that they were as correctly
printed, and as well finished as could
possibly be done anywhere. Why
should not your Southern Newspaper
Union" become publishers of books,
as well as of newspapers? Nashville is
generally becoming centre of publ
cation, though few seem as yet to note
the fact; and we sincerely trust the
time may come when it will be as clash
ionable" to read novel with Nash
vile imprint, as it is now to purchase
only thosewhich bear the ''trade mark"
of Philadelphia and New York.
On the title page of the book before
us we read, "THE NERED; 6y Mary
Faith Floyd" Both names SO new,
so fresh, so pleasant to the ear! Sim
plicity, purity and grace, charmingly
blended in the whole. Were we
permitted to lift the veil behind
which the real author appears, the
public would be delighted to find
one of its favorites wearing the fair
mask of "Faith Floyd" But it is
not for us to remove this dainty dom;
no, and therefore we pass on to the
book itself. A tale of the Georgian
sea-coast, where the grand hymn of the
ocean is perpetually sounding, and the
mystical gulf stream, as it rushes along,
bears in its blue waters the warmth
and life which make those shores a
continual "Summer Land" We see
at once the Nereid of this semi-tropical
scene. At first a young child, trained
to sea life, rocking idly in her fairy
boat in some sequestered cove; or
glancing far out over the shining wa
ters, her gay song borne backward on
the breeze or dashing through glis-
tening "breakers" with glad shout
of triumphant freedom, as the white
foam fecks her dripping robe, and the
sea-spray filings its diamonds over up
turned brow and streaming hair! This
passed then came, floating up to
our minds eye, the vision of a fairy
creature loving to linger along the
ocean shore; a careless being scarce
knowing that she possessed soul, but
with cool, white fingers and low and
tupeful voice-with large, soft eyes, so
shy and SO loveable, and ripe, red lips,
so saucy and so-fissgble! Then again
we saw her. The sea was broken into
wild and fearful billows; the heavens
were black with dread and driving
storm; the minute guns doomed
through the strife OF winds and waves,
and dauntless girl with pallid face,
and a stout cable knotted round her
slender waist, pushed off alone in her
fragile boat towards the foundering
ship, and with the heroism OF Grace
Darling, rescued portion OF its per-
ishing crew; finding, ultimately, from
this same rescue, that she had both
soul and destiny. Such was the
"ksseid" of our imagination as we
read the nslas on the title-page. This,
however, is not the ENereid" of our
author, and to discover how much bet
ter is the sea-nymph of her imagination
than ours, you must read the book.
We shall not undertake to tell you, as
that wcaid be aepriving you OF real
pleasure, and you would Ielther bless
nor thank us for the service. 49,
The author of the "Nereid" appears
not to have written a novel to enforce
any particular theory; nor has she
dealt in "burning Goals pf Jumper,
sharp Arrows of the strong,"' with
which some earnest thinker and impet-
uous speaker seeks to ohastiss politl-
cal folly, or o social wrong. Her aim
seems to be to write pleasing story,
the plot of which is intricate enough to
be very interesting, and the purpose OF
which is to show how much OF real
good may be effected by one noble
woman-earnest, pure, self-sacrificlng
and patient. There is nothing In the
story which can be stigmatized by any
candid critic Gor occasionally we do
find such q rarG qptsj az either "unnat-
ural" or @unconyention4i." Ting PAR. par.
rative runs smoothly, Like story Qf
to-day, in times OF railroads and tele,
graphs, and conforms to the received
ideas of society, simply las it seems 70
us) because the author did not care 20
challenge, in any way, the reealVed
opinions of the people who will read
her book, 1t was not because she did
not possess the power, or the courage
to challenge the stereotyped doctrines
of "society," (so-called,) or to charge
the batteries of fashion, or onstom, OF
prejudice; but only that she did not
care, sat this present writing" TO 90
so. Here and there, scattered through
her work, are brief passages OF strong
individuality and independent thought,