THE LITERARY SPECTATOR.

Mn. COOPER, in his Notions of the Americans, Picked up by a Travelling Bachelor *, has made a serious mistake in the form

which he has chosen for the mould of his opinions. It was right in an American, desirous of conveying to the nations of Europe, correct intelligence of the character and opinions of his country- men, to attempt an accurate picture of them. But by pretending to do so in the person of an European, he has deprived his work of all the grace of truth: it is from one end to the other a deliberate,

though perfectly innocent, falsehood. The Travelling Bachelor (and why a bachelor, but to introduce some pointless joke ?) pre- tends to communicate the impressions which America would make upon a mind of a wholly different experience. The consequence is, that in endeavouring to describe feelings he never felt, his style be- comes feeble and spiritless ; and when we looked for important evidence, we only find poor fiction. The plan has moreover the additional demerit of fostering Mr. Cooper's grand faults—verbosity and prolixity. In his novels, admirable as they are, his rate of travelling over a subject is that of the tortoise : his visual sense of the proportions of a dialogue is truly microscopic ; and his assump- tion of another character, and the casting his work into letters to imaginary persons, in these Notions, give an opening to his round- about propensities. Deducting these faults, the Notions supply a great deal of solid information, and interesting description. Such, for instance, is the account of the election of Quincey Adams, of the details of the elective system as practically operating in the townships and other divisions of the States ; with a multifarious collection of intelligence repecting facts of minor importance. In the Notions we have as much about the ill-natured critiques in the Quarterly Review, and the general injustice of English re- ports of America, as in all other works published in the United States. This extreme sensitiveness is laughed at here by people who do not understand its causes. We do not believe that the Americans are regarded generally in this country with one jot of ill-nature ; but it is the peculiarity of every national literature to eulo- gize things at home, and depreciate what is foreign in the comparison. The writers of England have always been essentially national : as with the Greeks, so with us, not to be English is to be barbarous —if not to be barbarous exactly, to be destitute of true notions of liberty—to be comparatively deficient in bravery, and in all the blessings of domestic virtue to be eminently wanting. Other na- tions give themselves no sort of trouble about the vanity and pre- judices of their neighbours, being occupied with their own ; and being ignorant of the language in which they ae couched, the insulting passages remain a dead letter. But the Americans are a particularly national people, while they look to us for a literature —our national literature—in which we indulge our prejudices against others, and sing our own praises. The Americans import their books—books calculated for another meridian : when they print their own, the virtues of the Americans will not be forgotten, and the censures of others will never be read or heard of.

Any one inclined to laugh at American peculiarities might find food among Mr. COOPERS Notions ; or if he were disposed to pick a quarrel, it would be as easy as bite his thumb. "War! war !" is threatened at every turn—" Oh, we will go to war with you!" A naval officer, who in the Appendix reviews Mr. De Roos's Travels, and endeavours to expose his inaccuracies, observes upon a passage in the Quarterly Review of that work, very much in the style of a brutal prize-fighter—" I admire the coolness with which the reviewer says, If they have any plan to offer by which Ame- rican seamen may be protected against serving in our fleets, and British seamen from entering theirs, Great Britain will be ready to discuss it: We have a plan (says the American officer) for the protection of our seamen. The Pennsylvania and her five noble sisters, whose frames are now providing, the Alabama, the Dela- ware, the Ohio, the New York, the Vermont, the North Carolina, &c., &c., furnish a hint of its outline."

Mr. COOPER'S Notions are not calculated to increase his well- merited reputation ; at the same time that his performance may have its utility. It is to be regretted that any defect of form or any want of point in style should prevent the spread of the valuable informa- tion it contains respecting the United States. We hear that the Notions are accused of gross exaggeration, and that the writer's is a case of inflamed national vanity. The charge is false. The American is justly proud of the rapid growth of his country, of the elements of strength which it contains, of its practical liberty, of its natural wealth, and the enterprise, industry, and happiness of its inhabitants. What American could avoid being proud of such blessings ? What lover of human nature does not feel his heart expand with joy when reflecting upon the field which is there opened for the best exertions and the noblest enjoyments of man ?

The most instructive portion of the Notions is that part which shows the total absence of fear of political change. A man may write or speak against the Constitution as long and as loud as he pleases : if he convinces the majority that a change is for the best, they will adopt it—if not, not. "Aye, it will end in a monarchy at last," says the English traveller. "Certainly, when we come to think that that is the best form of government, we will have a king," is the answer of the American. If we can find space anywhere, we shall insert Mr. Cooper's account of the manner in which the in- ternal government and the election of officers are carried on. It is very useful to know, and makes us ashamed of our select vestries

* 2 VP1S• SW, C6011111. 18286

and county trusts, with other minor institutions sadly open to jobb'ng for private interest, and very ill adapted for promoting the public advantage.

The Edinburgh Review, No. 94, nominally for May, but which has just appeared, contains an article called " History." It is of

the " brilliant" school—rapid and figurative in its style, novel and

striking. in its opinions. A new version is given of the merits of the ancient historians ; and we are on the whole not inclined to

quarrel with it. It is a bold thing, however, to attempt to despatch S9 many classical reputations in so small a number of pages, by a single hand, and that perhaps a young one. The deep in philo- sophy and the shallow in fact, is the usual inconsistency of this school of writing. A fine example of the kind is to be found in Chateaubriand's sketch of the Roman Emperors from Augustus to Augustulus. The fact is, that such articles contain results from premises that would fill many volumes. An examination of their truth is almost hopeless, for it is endless. We think, however, by way of specimen, we could show that the writer is mistaken in his estimate of Thucydides. He states, that " all his general observa-

tions (on the first principles of government and morals, the growth of.factions, the organization of armies, &c.) are very superficial.

His most judicious remarks differ from the remarks of a really philosophical historian, as a sum correctly cast up by a book- keeper from a general expression discovered by an algebraist." Many are the instances which occur to us of wisdom in the remarks of a general nature in the great work on the Peloponnesian War, which are bottomed in a profound philosophy. As an instance, let us take out of numerous other instances, his observations on the consequences of the plague at Athens in affecting the morality of the city. From that event he judiciously dates a disregard both of the moral and religious sanctions. We will quote him in the rude translation of Hobbes.

" And the great licentiousness, which also in other kinds was used in the city, began at first from this disease. For that which a man before would dissemble, and not acknowledge to be done for voluptuousness, he durst now do freely, seeing before his eyes such quick revolution, of the rich dying, and men worth nothing inheriting their estates : insomuch they justified a speedy fruition of their goods even for their pleasures, as men that thought they held their lives but by the day. As for pains, no man was forward in any action of honour to take any, because they thought it uncertain whether they should die or not before they achieved it. But what any man knew to be delightful, and to be profitable to plea- sure. that was made both profitable and honourable. Neither the fear of the gods nor the laws of men awed any man. Not the former, because they concluded it was alike to worship or not to worship, from seeing that alike they all perished: nor the latter, because no man expected his life would last till he received punishment of his crimes by judgment. But they thought there was now over their heads some far greater judgment decreed against them ; before which fell, they thought to enjoy some little part of their lives."

This is not superficial—this is not after the manner of the book- keeper who casts up a sum : it is, in all but the form, a general expression, applicable "to an infinite number of ioses."

The main object of this article in the Edinburgh Review is im- portant—it is to inculcate a new mode of writing history. Every

thinking man acknowledges, that the histories of England (for in- stance) are merely the histories of certain striking transactions, which do not essentially affect the well-being of England itself, and at any rate are-not the history of its people. Look into the histories of England, and say whether the difference which un- doubtedly exists between the subjects of Edward III. and those of George IV. is any where traced. We hear of prosperity and dis- tress, of victory and defeat ; but the real course of the events, which made or marred the happiness and enjoyment, or the wretchedness and privation of the people, is no where told. The writer in the

Edinburgh proposes to combine with history as it is, the ma- terials of history which the novelist has appropriated. "If a man,"

says the reviewer, "such as we are supposing, should write the history of England, he would assuredly not omit the battles and sieges, the negotiations, the seditions, and the ministerial changes ; but with these he would intersperse the details which are the charm of historical romances !!" This is fine talking : if the author understands the art of doing that which he recommends, let him give us either an example, or let him enter upon the task of laying down some practical rules.

In the new number of the Westininster Review, there is an ar- ticle on Scott's Life of Napoleon, in a very different style, and, we cannot help thinking, of far higher value. It amounts to an ex- amination into the truth of the English versions of the French Revolution, taking for a text the sketch by Sir Walter Scott. It is the result of most extensive reading, of a shrewd and enlightened inquiry into all the original sources of information ; and moreover, the author, instead of romancing about political and historical philosophy, is perpetually applying and explaining their principles, with a perfect mastery over their nature and use. We are delighted, nay elevated, by the high moral tone of the composition ; a feeling which we may explain by saying, that after reading the paper in the Westminster, we feel ashamed to think that we were pleased and tickled by the gew gaw fancies of the writer in the Edinburgh. This is stronger meat—for men—and not babes, who love their gingerbread gilt and their bread and butter sugared. We cannot give any example of the triumphant way in which the writer mar- shals his evidence and illustrates his aim—this is the web and woof of the article : we may, however, refer to a fine passage at p. 306, for a specimen of the moral energy in which the examina- tion is performed, it is where the writer apologizing for the length of his paper, disdains to solicit attention, but demands it "in the name and in the behalf of the whole human race, whom it deeply imports that justice should be done, at least by another age, to the few statesmen who have cared for their happiness." "Does the man exist," asks the reviewer, "who, having read the accu- sation brought against such men, (the Girondists,) will consider it too much trouble to listen to the defence ? Let such amuse them- selves with romance ; it belongs to others to read history."

We have only been able to read the first and the last article of this Number. The last contains a great number of facts relative to Mexico—printed, we should imagine, with scandalous inaccu- racy; for it would be unfair to attribute the numerous instances of bad grammar and mistaken words of the most obvious grammar to the writer. A gross instance of carelessness occurs in p. 491 ; where there are several lines relative to the Mexican church, which evidently belong to the end of the paragraph in p.493. It is amusing to observe, that some rash corrector, encountering a passage he could make nothing of in its place, has endeavoured to smooth the difficulty by the insertion of a few words which only increase the embarrassment.

It is melancholy to see a work like the Westminster, abound- ing in claims of a very high description, thus miserably neglected in its details.