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1832.]

Minor Periodical Literature.

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have not only never seen, but never perhaps even heard of. Any old public house in the neighbourhood of London will always be from association an object of interest to thousands, because it is within the ken as it were of a million and a half of people; but the same building in the vicinity of Bullock-Smithy or Bolton-le-Moors had better be left to tumble down unwept, unhonoured, and unsung,' by those who are desirous of reaping remuneration for the trouble of spreading its glory. There is besides a richer fund of tradition connected with spots in the neighbourhood of the mighty city." Places in general derive their interest and their classicality from persons; and it is obvious that where celebrated persons are most numerous, celebrated places will be most numerous also. It might be added, that Mr. Hone spent his youth in Cockney-land, and that he evidently writes with most spirit when youth and Cockney-land are his, subjects. Owing to all this the Year Book is certainly very conspicuously inferior to the Every Day Book; but is nevertheless quite sufficiently entertaining to prompt a wish that it will not be the last periodical Mr. Hone will superintend. Should he undertake a new one, perhaps these remarks may be of use to him, and he might likewise find it advantageous to resume the old Every Day Book form of publication, in weekly numbers, fresh and fresh, instead of his recent very tantalizing method of issuing forth monthly parts, afterwards doled forth in weekly numbers to those who did not like "to eat all their cake at once."

The list of publications on the old plan is now finished, without we include in them a weekly work called The Polar Star, which consists of much the same sort of contents as the Mirror, but gives no plates (except occasionally a steel one; usually from old Annuals,) contains a few more pages than its twopenny contemporary, and is charged sixpence. There are indeed two penny works of which the fate is obscure, and which, as they may still be in existence, it may be worth while to mention. These are The Scrap Book and The Quizzical Gazette. The former was conducted on the plan of the Casket, but was seemingly intended to be quite superior in the matter of illustrations, which were

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in fact ludicrous failures. The Quizzical Gazette was edited by the late notorious Jack Mitford, of whom the papers have recently told us so much. To edit this work, say his biographers, the publisher used to keep him confined in a cellar under the printingoffice (the Literary Saloon in Holywell-street), with a blacking-bottle full of gin; and it was under this inspiration that the pages of the Quizzical Gazette were produced. It is probable that no great quantity of respectable readers will be very curious to know further about them.

The revival of Literature in the weekly periodical line, which is now so conspicuous that all must have observed it, originated in a single work. Towards the close of 1822, the appearance of The Mirror in sixteen pages octavo with plates, price. twopence, so captivated the public, and produced such a sensation in the publishing world, that not long after at least half a hundred periodicals were started, which evidently owed their origin to its success. This enthusiasm however slackened in the course of years; competitors fell off one by one, till, at the beginning of 1831, the literary weeklies were reduced to the number already enumerated, while the political circumstances of the country were beginning to give birth to various little venomous publications, which, under the titles of The Poor Man's Guardian, The Republican, &c. seemed to threaten to revive the epoch of The Medusas, and Black Dwarfs, and White Hats of 1819. It was at this time there came forth the first number of The National Omnibus, in eight pages folio, containing about double the matter of the Mirror; and this periodical was given gratis to coffee-houses, and sold for one penny. by the newsmen; the necessary remuneration being looked for from the profit of the advertisements inserted in it. The success of the Omnibus was such, that it was soon announced that instead of appearing fortnightly, as originally intended, it would come forth weekly, and instead of being published by Mr. Onwhyn the newsvender, be issued at a separate office. By the end of the year its success was so established, that a new and more conspicuous office was taken for it in the Strand, and the publishers dedlined distributing any of the copies

gratis. It seems now in the full career of prosperity. The number of persons who offer it for sale to the passengers in the streets is amazing.

The National Omnibus is said to be edited by Mr. F. W. N. Bayley the lyric poet. Its literary contents consist of reviews of new books, notices of the theatres, and a leading article containing remarks on the topics of the day. The extracts from the new books are very entertaining, and the parodies which invariably form a portion of the leading article, are in most cases capital. Our praise is now at an end. Of the rest of the poetry nothing good can be said; it cannot be better defined than by the single word namby-pamby. The reviews of new books seldom contain any striking remarks, and the theatrical criticisms never. A degree of ignorance is also sometimes exhibited, which harmonizes but ill with the lofty pretensions of the work in a late number, for instance, Hobart Town is repeatedly mentioned as the capital of New South Wales, instead of Van Diemen's Land. The parodies also, though in general so good, bid fair to become in time very tiresome, by their frequency; and the unparodical attempts at humour, are often overstrained and unmeaning. The advertisements will frequently be found of a kind such as it is a pity to see inserted in the pages of a literary work. With all these faults, the Omnibus is quite a public favourite, and is not undeserving of its pre-eminence; its cheapness is certainly astonishing, and far surpasses that of any previous publication. What with its parodies and its extracts, there is always plenty of amusing matter to be found in its pages, which, be it remembered, at half the price of the Mirror, contain about double the reading.

An imitation of the Omnibus was started towards the end of 1831, under the title of The Entertaining Press. It contains, like its prototype, eight pages folio, for the small charge of one penny, but the paper and printing were inferior, and the matter could bear no comparison. In connection with this Entertaining Press, was a four-paged weekly folio, called The Sunday Budget, the contents of which more resembled news. The latter procured an extensive sale for some weeks by giving portraits of the burkers Bishop and Williams, a view of their cottage, &c. &c. but we believe

that both these publications are now discontinued. One called The New

Entertaining Press, and another bearing the name of The East End Omnibus, seem to be still in existence. Of the merits of these and of another started within these few days under the title of Broad Grins, which does not seem well to suit a period when the cholera is just announced to have made its appearance in London, we have no right to speak, as we have not yet subjected them to examination.

The success of a publication so cheap as the Omnibus, encouraged others to venture on schemes which could only be rendered profitable by very extensive support. The weekly review entitled The Athenæum, sunk its price from 8d. to 4d. and continued at that charge to furnish to its readers sixteen pages of literary matter larger than those of the Literary Gazette. The Athenæum, perhaps the best-written of its class, and indeed, considering the frequency of its appearance, so able and well-informed as to be a real credit to English periodical Literature, appears to have found its account in this reduction of price, which it still continues. independence, which debars it from obtaining in obtaining in some cases the early information of its rival, has hitherto alone prevented it from taking without question the first place among our weekly reviews. An attempt was made shortly after this reduction in the price of the Athenæum to establish a similar work under the title of The Literary Beacon, first at the price of sixpence, and afterwards at fourpence and threepence, but the incompetence in its conductors was too evident to excite any surprise at its want of suc

cess.

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About the beginning of October, however, the first number of The Laterary Guardian was offered to the public, and this soon proved to be a more formidable rival. Neatly got up, it contains sixteen well-filled quarto pages, for which only twopence is demanded. Having now struggled into a new year, and started a new type, it may perhaps be considered as established. Its reviews, which seemed at first to be manufactured from those of the Gazette and Athenæum, with merely the friendly assistance of a pair of scissars, have of late very visibly improved, and maintain a respectable rank, in point

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of literary merit. It furnishes, we believe, earlier intelligence respecting the Opera than either the Literary Gazette or Athenæum. Since the Guardian, another work of the same nature was started, The Literary Test, but it is already defunct.

The example of price-reducing, set by the Athenæum, was speedily followed by another rather non-descript publication, which perhaps it may almost be considered out of our province to notice, The Tatler. This paper, a daily "folio of four pages, happy work!" was started by Mr. Leigh Hunt, the well-known poet and essayist, to supersede, with a paper of some literary pretensions, the somewhat slovenly periodical called The Theatrical Observer, which is sold at the doors of the theatres, and contains the play-bills of the night. This same Theatrical Observer made its first appearance about ten years ago, and met with such brilliant success, that the usual play-bills of the theatres went quite out of fashion, and no one could go near Drury-lane or Covent-garden in the evening, without being pestered to purchase. The original work merely contained the playbills of the Royal theatres; a companion periodical was soon issued for the minors, which supplied that deficiency, and they were sold for a penny each. The Tatler, which contained the bills for both majors and minors, was charged twopence. Soon after the reduction in the Athenæum, however, that also sunk to a penny, a charge which was not increased even when a double number was published, as in the case of the pantomimes. The Theatrical Observer is therefore now as inferior in cheapness to its rival as in literary merit. The Tatler may perhaps be considered as established; though the recent secession of Mr. Leigh Hunt from its editorship (on Feb. 13th) will certainly not add to its popularity. His name was a tower of strength, which "those upon the adverse faction wanted."

There is still another class of publications, which perhaps it may be as well to notice, though they are partly, nay chiefly, of a political nature. Figaro in London is a work which comments on the events of the day in a style very different from that of the Poor Man's Guardian, but still not always in that decorous manner that it ought. It also contains remarks on the theatrical performances of the

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week. Punch in London, and Punchinello, are neither of them equal in ability to the Figaro, and the latter is also very decidedly inferior to the former, being in fact the stupidest publication yet mentioned. The Weekly Visitor seems in its political articles to manifest a more malicious character than the preceding. The English Figaro, and Figaro in Paris and London, (why the French metropolis takes the precedence, let the entitler explain,) are probably destined to no long duration; the latter is, we believe, a new series of the publication called Puris and London, which was discovered, after a few weeks trial, to be unsuited to the public taste. Another work is to-day, we believe (Feb. 18th),* added to this class, under the title of Giovanni in London. All these works are in quarto, price one penny, and all are pretty regularly illustrated with woodcut caricatures.

The Album Wreath and The DrawingRoom Scrap-Sheet, consist of selections from the current poetry and literature of the time, printed in a style which is perhaps more gaudy than tasteful.

There is a numerous list of songbooks, which, under the titles of Pegasus, The Metropolitan Songster, The Convivial Olio, &c. seem to attract no small number of purchasers.

To all these we have to add two or three works, which seem to stand by themselves alone; first, The Weekly Communicator, a work which aspires at reforming the world by its eloquence and wit, of which we are afraid we cannot speak very highly; 2d, The Parrot, whose usual talk seems to consist of jokes, the merit of which is attested by their antiquity. This work would perhaps, from its being comprised in four pages quarto, run some risk of being confounded with the Figaro class, did it not single itself

*Considering the ephemeral nature of his subject, we owe an apology to our Correspondent for deferring his article from last month; which was owing to our engage ments with our architectural friends of St.

Mary Overies, &c. We think, however, his review of the Minor Periodicals is equally curious, though not so complete, as if it was brought up to the first of April. We must not, however, omit to notice the important announcement, by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, of a Penny Magazine, to consist of eight folio pages, with wood-cuts. This will probably effect a new revolution among the small fry of literature,—EDIT.

from those plebeians by its price, which is exactly double. 3d. The Quid, a collection of original tales, published by an eccentric snuff-shopman in the neighbourhood of Sadler's Wells.

Were it our object to extend our notice to all the weekly publications which are within the reach of those likely to purchase the Mirror, &c. we should here enumerate The Poor Man's Guardian, The Political Prompter, The Slap at the Church, and some others of a similar description; but suffice it to say, that of this class of periodicals there are but too many in existence they have no other aim than to excite the passions of the unreflecting, and hurry them into illegal violence. It is to be hoped that in a short time their cessation will give reason to believe that those to whom they are addressed are wiser and better than the authors of this kind of trash suppose them.

;

I will now, Mr. Urban, lay down the pen of the reviewer, with the hope that by assuming it I may have rendered a service, however trifling, to the annals of our periodical literature. These annals, which are still to be written, would form, if undertaken on a large scale, as entertaining a work as literary history, the most entertaining of all subjects, could produce; and I cannot, Mr. Urban, conclude this letter, in which I fear I have already exceeded your limits, without expressing a wish that it will ere long be undertaken. In the mean time, if any of your erudite Correspondents would furnish your pages with as accurate a list of the Periodicals of the seventeenth century as I have endeavoured to supply of our modern weeklies, he would confer a very great pleasure on Yours, &c.

Mr. URBAN,

W. T.

Gosmore, Herts, March 6. WHEN from so many parts of the empire we hear such loud regrets at the dilapidation and sad state of the venerable Abbey of St. Alban, it surely behoves the inhabitants of this county not to be lukewarm in their attempts to do something towards preserving, as much as possible, this most interesting object of antiquity, perhaps the most ancient in the kingdom, and at the same time also so distinct a record of some of the great events that accompanied the introduction of Christianity into this country.

Impressed with this feeling, I trust no apology will be deemed necessary, for my humble attempt to call the serious attention of the nobility, clergy, and gentry, to a matter in which they are all equally involved, further than by begging leave to premise the few observations I am about to make, by pointing out the rapid effects of the weather upon any building when once an entrance is obtained, and that therefore no time should be lost.

The first question that naturally presents itself is as to what quarter we are to look for the funds adequate to its preservation, for as to the propriety of some steps being taken towards that end there can be none.

I imagine that Government are not in a situation to render assistance, unless we set a good example by putting our shoulders to the wheel; and therefore, that we may with the better grace go to that source for help, if necessary, I beg leave to submit that a County Meeting be called forthwith, through the High Sheriff, to take into consideration what steps are advisable, towards an attempt at raising a sum by subscription, that may at all events prevent further mischief to this most venerable pile.

I venture to predict, should this be done in the proper spirit, laying aside all political feeling, all old feuds, and such an example set by the leading gentlemen of the County, equally ambitious of preserving what has been our pride for so many centuries, the result will be as creditable to us, as gratifying to the feelings of every antiquary in the kingdom. Supposing this should be the case, and I feel very strongly assured upon it, knowing as I do the high feelings and good taste of so many amongst us, it will go far to make a national question of it, and the public will be forced, by so good an example, to follow up somewhat our exertions. Without some such measure from within, it will be idle to call for help from without; for he that will not aid himself, deserves no assistance from others.

As for external help, Mr. Urban, to you I mainly look, and therefore call upon you to exert yourself to rescue St. Alban's noble Abbey from neglect, with the same energy that you displayed on behalf of York Minster and the Lady Chapel of St. Mary Overies. Yours, &c.

C.

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