NOREEN; OR, O'DONOGHUE'S BRIDE.* BY MRS. CRAWFORD t PRETTY mocking spirit! say, Pretty mocking spirit! say, Softer than the lover's lute, Pretty mocking spirit! say, POSTMEN, TOWN AND SUBURBAN. From the Spectator. man carrying in his breast his own fate and the fate of others. And the postman's life, (to let drop the birds of omen, all dead and buried long ago with him who drank the hemlock,) at least in town, has much of the child's about it. If in the morning your walk is towards the city, you meet them packed in vans, which are to deposit each at the starting points of his daily round.They go forth to their work laughing and light-hearted as children in a wagon to the hay-field. And their weariness at night is not unlike the fatigue of childhood-sheer physical exhaustion, the working of the mind has had no share in producing it.— Two sets of vans do we encounter in this great city, both the property of her Majesty-both known to be such by the Royal arms emblazoned upon them. The one is sacred to the uses of the gay scarlet-andgold-liveried postmen, the other to the more sombre candidates for the hulks. Alas, that even as bull's-eyes and lollipops tempt young prides of their mothers' hearts to sin, so the money which people will put into letters, exposing postmen to temptation, frequently makes one or other of them exchange his own airy van for the close tumbril of the Police! XENOPHON has preserved a plausible arThese are the town postmen. The sugument of Socrates in support of the vul.burban postman is quite a different-a more gar belief of his day that the future might intellectual creature; and if in consequence be learned from omens-sneezes, the flight he has more cares, as all must have who of birds, &c. There is something very share the inheritance of the tree of knowpretty in the way in which the old sage ad-ledge, so he has higher and keener pleaverts to the ignorance of the birds respect-sures than his town compeers. The suburing the good or bad fortune they became, ban postman-formerly on the Threepenny in the hands of a superior being, the means establishment, now, we believe, incorporaof heralding. Postmen much resemble birds in this respect. They, in their daily circuits, are the messengers of good and evil to thousands, yet know nothing of the contents of the pregnant missives they carry. The ignorance of Athenian birds and London postmen is their bliss: how sympathizing and anxious they would become if they knew the nature and consequences of the tidings they were bringing! In this innocence of intention they resemble children: it never occurs to the playful boy that he must one day become an earnest and responsible being that his simple presence is the prophecy of a future ted into the "General" service-still retains his old uniform: he belongs to "the Blues." His color is fresh, for he has to take long walks through green lanes, or what once were green lanes and still are not streets. He resides in some central part of his beat, and, except of a holyday, rarely ventures nearer town than the place of call where all his brother postmen of the same district meet to deliver up the letters posted and to receive those which they are to distribute. The suburban postman is in general married on a fine day he may be seen leading his little son or daughter along with him as he goes his rounds. If not married he is an aspirant to the holy state of matrimony; and the lady of his affections may sometimes be seen accompany; ing him in the more rural and secluded parts of his beat-saving time, making love and transacting business at the same moment. The suburban postman is in a manner connected with literature; for about Christmas he supplies the families whose and transmuting Mr. Charles Dickens into letters he delivers with their almanacks. Mr. John Johnson, or Mr. Benjamin Brown, The connection is slight, but, co-operating gone away without allowing a hint of our with his rural haunts, it lends a dignity, a dash visit to transpire either at home or abroad. of sentiment to his air, which is never seen We should thus have entered America, and about the town postman. Last summer, made all our most important observations, on a smooth firm pathway between embow- under a strict incognito. A month before ering hedges, we sometimes encountered quitting it, however, we might perhaps have a suburban postman-one of those scholar- resumed our character of "Charles Dickens, like figures, slender, and with more height Esquire," and presenting the best letters of than he can carry easily-short-sighted, or introduction with which we had come proat least wearing glasses; and, ever as he vided, mixed in the best society in our paced along, a fair girl was by his side, own proper person. Thus we should have into whose ears his speech was voluble. If seen Jonathan asleep, in dishabille; and that postman was not a contributor to the also wide awake, and in his best clothes, Annuals, we know nothing of the signs ex- and his best manners. And we hereby give ternal of a poet. him notice that, if ever we go over the water, this will be the plan of our proceeding; and our American friends will be unconscious, while we are doing it, that DICKENS'S AMERICAN NOTES FOR GENE- American Notes for General Circulation. By "A chiel's amang them takin' notes," But what did our good friend Boz do? Why, alas! to our inexpressible concern and vexation, we saw him formally announce his intentions to the whole world, months before he set off; nor was there a newspaper in Great Britain which did not contain paragraphs intimating the fact, the time, and the manner of this amusing satirist's departure for the scene of his interesting observations. From that moment, (as we then said to those around us,) we gave up all expectation of any such product as Mr. Dickens's qualifications and opportu. nities, prudently used, would have entitled us to rely upon. He was hamstrung and hoodwinked at starting; he doubtless unconsciously prepared himself for a triumphal progress through America-all hav ing long before been put on their guard, and by a thousand devices of courtesy, hospitality, and flattery, disabling their admired visitor from taking, or communicating to his countrymen, just and true observations on the men and manners of America; for it was to see them that we supposed such a man as Boz would have gone; and not the mere cities, villages, railroads, coaches and steamboats, or the rivers and mountains and forests of America, all of which have been repeatedly scanned, and adequately described, by perhaps a hundred of his predecessors. Maga would not deserve her hard-earned and long-held position in the world of letters, were she to permit any private personal partialities-to suffer any consideration to warp her judgment, or induce her to withhold her real sentiments from her readers on any subject of general literary interest; and it is with infinite con- in all this he showed himself to be a man of cern and reluctance, especially knowing original genius. His powers of pathos were that our judgment also will be somewhat prominently developed not till some time regarded in America, that we acknowledge afterwards. The Quarterly Review prothat our apprehensions prove to have been nounced ex cathedrâ, that his forte lay warranted by a perusal of these volumes. there. Mr. Dickens seemed so satisfied of They contain many evidences of the peculiar and unrivalled powers of Boz; quite as many evidences of his literary faults and imperfections; and still more of his selfimposed difficulties and disabilities. this, that his writings thenceforth assumed a somewhat different character-pathetic touches greatly predominating over the humorous. He planned, moreover, (ob. serving how firmly fixed he was in the public favor,) far more elaborate and ambitious performances than any which he had previously contemplated. His series of light detached "Sketches" of persons and places, gave way to formal Novels, appearing in very copious monthly numbers, for twenty months running-each novel following close upon the heels of the other, with The suddenness and universality of the popularity of Boz, constitute a remarkable event in the literary history of the times. Who, or what he was, or had been ; what his early education, and habits, and society, no one knew ; yet all of a sudden, he started from the crowded ranks of his eager competitors in the race for popularity and distinction, and distanced them at a bound unapproach- a sort of literary superfætation. Shall we ably. We have watched his progress with acknowledge our opinion, however, that lively interest and curiosity, and with, we each one of them, which contained, by the trust, an anxious disposition to acknow- way, variations and re-productions of his ledge his undoubted merits. When he thus original characters, was inferior to its presuddenly burst on the public, he could not decessor; and all of them, trebled, unequal have been more than six or seven-and- in genius and execution to the creations twenty; yet he evinced the possession of which originally delighted the public? His several of the best qualities of Goldsmith, Sketches,' several portions of his 'PickSmollett, and Sterne: the same fond eye wick,' and of his 'Oliver Twist,' we believe for the simplicity of nature; the same per- cannot be equalled, in their way, by any ception of broad and humorous capabilities; living writer; and in producing them, Mr. the same tenderness of sentiment. He Dickens became his own greatest rival. touched off with ease and beauty the true Quantity, not quality, seemed subsequently, characteristics of the lower orders of Eng- however, to become his object-to win lish, particularly of metropolitan, society. "golden opinions" of one sort, at least, from His eye was keen and clear, his heart full his innumerable and enthusiastic admirers. of generous feelings. He seemed to have He did not give his genius fair play; he did been born and bred among the scenes he not allow himself leisure either to contrive delineated with such accuracy and sprightli- a complete plot, (essential in the composiness. His humor long excelled his pathos; tion of a sterling and lasting novel,) to conit was sly, caustic, spontaneous, original, al-ceive distinctly the incidents of which it ways wearing a gay, good-humored ex- was to be constructed, or to sustain, conpression, and governed by an impulse of sistently, the characters by whom it was to evident love towards all men. Under his be worked out. What imagination could Hogarth-like pencil, a Cockney in all his stand such a heavy monthly drain? You low varieties of species, became the most saw the man of genius, indeed, but painfully entertaining creature in the community; overworked and exhausted; exhibiting in his language, his habits, his personal pecu- his rapidly succeeding productions frequent liarities, were suddenly introduced into the master-strokes, but obscured and overborne drawing-rooms of the great, the haughty, by the surrounding hasty and unskilful the refined; into the cottages of the poor in daubing. He judged it necessary, also, at the counties, into the little garrets and fac-length, to extend the sphere of his action tories of the manufacturing towns-in fact, everywhere; affording universal amusement, not only at home, but abroad, and amongst those ignorant even of our language and be it observed, that Mr. Dickens in all this never exceeded the boundaries of moral propriety; so that all, the young, the old, the virgin, the youth, the high, the low, might shake with innocent laughter. Surely according to the growing exigencies of his stories, and introduced characters and scenes taken from the higher classes of society; and here, with due deference to those who may think otherwise, we consider that he is never successful-that he has never presented one single character in superior life, with a tithe of the truth, force and consistency, with which he has delineated those of inferior life.-We deprecate again his stant presence of these pictorial illustra recourse to history, as in his last story, for tions has unconsciously influenced his own the substratum and material of his fictions. fancy while at work in drawing his ideal We object to this in him-we object to it in characters; which are insensibly moulded the case of all the other writers of the day by, and accommodated to, the grotesque, -on principle, as calculated to give the quaint, and exaggerated figures and attivast mass of partially and imperfectly edu- tudes of the caricaturist's pencil. The cated persons, who are in the habit of reading writer's "mind's eye" becomes thus obediworks of fiction only, in the present day, ent, insensibly, to the eye of his body; and most superficial, distorted, and mischiev- the result is, a perpetual and unconscious ously erroneous notions on the subject. straining after situations and attitudes which Sir Walter Scott we recognise as a magni- will admit of being similarly illustrated. ficent exception; but dear and delightful, Thus the writer follows the caricaturist, inyet youthful Boz, consider for a moment the stead of the cariacaturist following the character and circumstances of that giant writer; and principal and accessory change writer-the mature age at which he had ar- places. rived before he at once enchanted and instructed the public with the glorious and immortal series of his works, commencing with Waverley-his prodigious knowledge, his complete mastery of history and all its adjuncts, his universal reading, his facility of writing the many years of silent acquisition, observation, and reflection he had enjoyed his amazing natural powers, his imagination, his prodigious memory, his strong and chastened taste and judgment -all these combined to make him deservedly the wonder and idol at once of his own and all future times. What may have been Mr. Dickens's early education, opportunities, habits, acquirements, and society, we know not, nor are we intrusive or impertinent enough to inquire into, or speculate upon; but let him bear in mind how young he is, and how many years he has before him to acquire and treasure up rich and varied materials for enduring reputation. Let him reflect on Seneca's maxim, "Non quàm multa, sed quàm multum !" "Trees which abide age," it was beautifully observed by Mr. Burke, we believe, "grow slowly; the gourd that came up in a day, withered in a day." Again. The credit he has attained for "a rare and happy power of placing matters of ordinary occurrence in a new light, and detecting and bringing forth to view some features of interest from the most trite and common topics," he is most justly entitled to; but it is the credit which he has already obtained by, and for, this, which may be indicated as a source of danger to him: for it is calculated, since he must write so much, and so frequently, to put him upon straining after, and forcing out, these hidden qualities and effects, instead of-so to speak-allowing them to exude before the eye of a minute and penetrating observation. We could fill columus with striking illustrations of this remark, taken from the volumes now before us, and from, indeed, almost all Mr. Dickens's other works. What is more natural? What requires more watchfulness? From an eye settled upon her, with a business-like determination to make the most of her delicate and hidden charms, Nature flies, alarmed and shocked. Look at her, and love her for herself, originally and solely; and treasure up your impressions afterwards, with anxious fondness, if you like, and make what use you please, hereafter, of the precious results of your observations. Before concluding this brief sketch of the progress of Mr. Dickens, let us advert to one or two other matters deserving to be Yet once again. The works of Mr. Dicktaken into account. There can be no doubt ens afford many evidences of their writer's that, originally, and all along, he has been great familiarity with theatrical matters and greatly indebted for his popularity, among associations; a dangerous thing to a young his numerous readers in the lower classes writer on men and manners, as apt to induce of society, to the spirited and often admir- a style of writing, turgid, factitious, and able illustrations with which all his writings exaggerated. It is to look at the realities have been accompanied, by Cruikshank and of life through a glaring, artificial, and vulothers at once rousing and sustaining the garizing medium. How painfully conscious most dull and torpid fancy, giving form, of this are most persons of sound judg. and substance, and corporeal and tangible ment and cultivated taste, immediately on shape and reality, to his characters. They quitting a theatre-the moment that the have, however, had also another effect, not glitter and excitement of novelty and scenic hitherto, perhaps, adverted to by either Mr. decoration are over! Mr. Dickens, we Dickens himself, or his readers. The con-have reason to believe, is a great frequent er of such scenes; and we are sure his candor and good-nature will not take our suggestions otherwise than as well-meant and well-founded. Now, however, to his book on America. What were we war ranted in expecting from Mr. Dickens's account of his visit to that country? The and flesh of our flesh; and were we ourselves to go over to America, we feel sure that we should be greatly affected, the instant of setting our foot on the shores of the vast Western Continent, to hear our own dear mother-tongue spoken in our ears, in accents of kindliness and welcome. Americans may say, that we and our institutions have our faults: we believe that they and theirs have very grave faults; but we make all such allowances for them as a kind experienced father, with willing affection, makes for the errors and imperfections of a youthful and inexperienced son. Alas, how very sad it is to have to own the feelings of chagrin and disappointment with which we have risen from the perusal of these volumes of Mr. Dickens, and to express our fears that such will be the result of the perusal of them by the Americans! We perceive in every step he takes, in whatever he says or does, and all that he has written, the blighting effects of his original blunder in proclaiming before-hand his going to America. Where are his sketches of, at all events, the public characters, and of the pursuit and manners of the great men of America with whom he must have frequently come into close contact To an accomplished and philosophical observer, especially from England, America presents fruitful fields of interesting and instructive reflection and speculation; to which, however, we need not more distinctly allude, since we did not desire or expect from Boz any dissertation upon the political institutions of America, or their remote influence upon the habits, humors, and character of its citizens. We have long had, and are constantly acquiring, ample materials for judging whether the men, or the institutions, are to be praised or blamed for the state of things at present existing in that country. The penetrating intellect of the candid, but biassed, De Tocqueville, and the invaluable observations of our accomplished, experienced, and highly gifted countryman, Mr. Hamilton,* (the author of Cyril Thornton, whose work is greatly superior, in our opinion, in point of solidity and interest, to that of any other English writer upon the subject—and others whose the statesmen, the judges, the more eminent names will at once occur to the reader, have laid bare to us the very pulsative heart of America. We expected from Boz great amusement; and thought it not unlikely that, before setting off on his trip, or, at least, before publishing an account of it, he would have read the fine works of his more eminent predecessors, if not to guide his observations, at all events to enable him to avoid pre-occupied ground. An acute and watchful observer of the social, the academical, and literary characteristics of America, including such personal notices of leading men as a gentleman might feel warranted in giving, without any breach of etiquette or abuse of confidence, or sense of personal embarrassment, cannot even now fail of producing a work equally interesting and valuable to Englishmen, who have a deep stake in all that concerns their brethren in the far West. We utterly dislike and despise all those who would seek to set us against Jonathan, by dwelling, as some bave done, with resolute ill-nature on the weak parts of his character-needlessly wounding his vanity, and irritating his national feelings. Jonathan may rely on it, no British heart beats which does not delight to own that he is bone of our bone, • Men and Manners in America. 2 vols. 1834. members of the bar, the clergymen, the physicians, the naval and military men, the professors in the universities-nay, even the theatrical men, but above all, the authors, of America? Not one! or if any of them are mentioned, it is in only a word or two of vague and spiritless eulogy! Yet Boza shrewd, a cute, watchful observer, has been six months among them all; went to the President's levees, to the Houses of Legislation during their sittings, to very many courts of justice, to churches and chapels, to universities, and into the best and most varied society of America. Why is all this? And why did he form the once-ortwice-expressed determination to give no notices or sketches of individuals? And if he thought fit thus to resolve thus to exclude all possible topics of interest to the reading public-why, with his reputation and influence, did he publish a book on America at all? Would not such a performance, iis omissis, be indeed the play of Hamlet, with the character of Hamlet omitted? How many names of eminent persons in America occur to one's recollection, of whom personal sketches by so spirited and faithful a pencil as that of Boz, would have been delightful and invaluable ! Yet in his pages, they all "Come like shadows, so depart." |