Suppose, for instance, I, good-naturedly
point out a blemish in my friend MR. PUNCH'S person, and say, MR. P. has
a hump-back, and his nose and chin are more crooked than those features
in the Apollo or Antinous, which we are accustomed to consider as our
standards of beauty; does this argue malice on my part towards MR.
PUNCH? Not in the least. It is the critic's duty to point out defects as
well as merits, and he invariably does his duty with utmost gentleness
and candour.
An intelligent foreigner's testimony about our manners is always worth
having, and I think, in this respect the work of an eminent American,
Mr. N. P. Willis is eminently valuable and impartial. In his 'History
of Ernest Clay,' a crack magazine-writer, the reader will get an exact
account of the life of a popular man of letters in England. He is always
the lion of society.
He takes the PAS of dukes and earls; all the nobility crowd to see him:
I forget how many baronesses and duchesses fall in love with him. But
on this subject let us hold our tongues. Modesty forbids that we should
reveal the names of the heart-broken countesses and dear marchionesses
who are pining for every one of the contributors in PUNCH.
If anybody wants to know how intimately authors are connected with
the fashionable world, they have but to read the genteel novels.
What refinement and delicacy pervades the works of Mrs.
Pages:
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96