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Graham for March.
We understand that Graham is in town, playing the phoenix to his brother's ashes — (when a man's books are burnt, those are “his ashes” we presume!) and that the younger Graham will spread his wings again (open is new window-shutters that is to say) in a few days, brighter, for being temporarily consumed by fire. We were talking the other day of the Canadian fashion of prefixing the to the name of a man who had distinguished his name, (as the McNab, the Mytton) and this definite article has Graham fairly won. He is the Graham beyond competition. His Magazine is a fine feature in the history of enterprise, tact and good taste, and the March number, now before us, adds another as bright a link as those that have gone before. We copy a sweet story by sparkling and fresh Fanny Forrester, and there is a charming article, half rhyme, by Mrs. Osgood, and a clever paper by Mr. Grund, and half a dozen other excellent things by excellent writers. It is a choice number. We copy one single passage of a letter from a foreign correspondent: —
“The Wandering Jew,” which was about being translated into every European language, begins to be a drug. The gross anti-religious, and, I may add, anti-moral tendencies of the work have justly disgusted the public. In Belgium no one could be found willing, for a considerable sum of money, to translate it. The German papers describe the work as indecent, and unworthy the genius of Eugene Sue; and the clergymen and priests have preached against it from the pulpit, and interdicted the reading of the work to their parishioners. It is certain than “The Wandering Jew” is no longer an entertaining novel, but a political tract, preaching in a most seductive form the principles of Communism, and the re-organization of labour. Eugene Sue seems to look upon religion as opposed to his views, and for this reason attacks it and its functionaries wherever he can, and with weapons which are far from being moral. The work, moreover, is carried out to an unreasonable length, and has already infringed on all the laws of composition, good breeding and taste. The feuilleton literature of France will finish by undermining all the true sources of the art, and by crushing even real genius, such as Mr. Eugene Sue undoubtedly possesses.
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* P. S. We have the curious bit of news that at 11 o’clock to-day, the $500 supposed to be lost in the fire, and which with Mr. Graham's watch, were under his pillow, WERE DISCOVERED IN THE RUINS! The bills are only a little singed; the watch destroyed of course, by melting.
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Notes:
This item was attributed to Poe by Killis Campbell as “probably to be assigned to Poe,” without further explanation, in The Nation, Dec. 23, 1909, p. 623. W. D. Hull felt that the review should be attributed to N. P. Willis.
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[S:0 - NYEM, 1845] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - Criticism - Graham for March (E. A. Poe ?, 1845)