The Lady's Monthly Museumse speaks unfavorably of Wieland, saying: "We know not what may be its fate in America, but predicting that it is not likely to succeed in England, and continuing:

The lovers of translations from the German, &c, will here find as much mystery, and as much sentiment as they can wish; but we shall not so far injure the maddest of German productions, as to compare them with this. For the plot, all that the author perhaps. imagined interesting incidents, are founded upon Ventriloquism!!! In conclusion the reviewer says, "but enough, we regret that we have wasted any time to read this book."

The Gentleman's Magazines characterizes Wielands as "A most improbable and horrid tale; and evidently written by one whose talents might have been better employed." Even the Monthly Reviews is on the whole unfavorable.

The author of this work appears to entertain higher expectations with regard to its reception, than we imagine he is authorized in indulging either by the improbable adventures of Wieland, or the flat and tedious manner in which they are related by his sister. All the mysteries of the tale are founded on the tricks of ventriloquism and the outrages of madness; but these can scarcely afford instruction; and in the present instance they are so inartificially managed that they fail to excite interest. Nevertheless, we give credit to Mr. Brown for his desire of being useful; and we think that a warning against yielding to superstition may be gathered from his book.

It is somewhat strange that these notices pointed no resemblance of Brown to his master Godwin, or to other English writers, though in at least one instance they make comparisons with the Germans.

N. S. IX: 338 (Dec., 1810).

7 LXXXI: 364 (April, 1811).

Both this review and the one in the Monthly Review give the author's name as B. C. Brown.

Mo. Rev. Enigd., LXIV: 96 (Jan., 1811).

CONCLUSION

Since English criticism has been discussed in the preceding pages only as a preliminary to a future study of its effects in America, and since from the nature of the subject the discussion can make no claim to completeness, it would be unwise to attempt a general summary of conclusions. It may, however, be said, as has already been said in connection with groups of writings, that in the period between the two wars with Great Britain, and even during the latter war, British interest in American thought and American writings was considerable; and that it was due in part to mere curiosity, and in part to serious concern with the political, economic, and to a lesser extent the scientific and religious development of the new nation. It was also fostered, to an extent which this paper makes no attempt to trace, by the prevalent custom of reprinting American works of all sorts in England, largely, no doubt, for export to America.

A succinct statement of the prevailing attitude of English critics toward American writings would be more difficult, if, indeed, any one attitude can be said to have prevailed. The great majority of English readers were disposed to be fair, though they were unable to restrain the expression of their own feeling of superiority, and were likely to adopt a paternal, if not a patronizing manner. The extremists of both sorts-those whose political conservatism led to bitterness in literary as in other judgments, and those whose liberalism led to absurd praise-were relatively few in number, but they were highly conspicuous; their articles were likely to be longer and to contain more quotable passages than the judicious estimates of the relatively unimportant literary work which America was at this time producing; and-if the probable results of future investigation may be guessed-they must have attracted the most attention in America.

In general, then, this study may be said to indicate that Englishmen did just about what, under the circumstances, they might as Englishmen have been expected to do; but the material which it contains may aid in explaining more clearly than has been possible before, the causes of some of the misunderstandings that are well known to have existed between the intellectual elements of the two nations.

INDEX

Advice to the Privileged Orders, 68, 69. Byron, 9, 14.

American Indian, or the Virtues of Na-Columbiad, 18, 32-3, 36, 68, 69–72.

Book of Common Prayer, American, 50 Edinburgh Review, 6, 18, 22-3; cita-

European Magazine, 22, 47, 63; cita- | Letters of a British Spy, 44n, 86-7.

Explorations in America, accounts of Literary Magazine and British

Franklin, Benjamin, 8, 16, 18, 47, 53-6, Mackenzie's Voyages, 18.

Hudibras, compared with McFingal, Notes on Virginia, 30, 35, 45.

Inchiquin, the Jesuit's Letters, 44n, 72, Paine, Robert Treat, 80.

Knickerbocker's History of New York, Pinkney, Ninian, 88-90.

Com-Poems on the Happiness of America,

Lady's Monthly Museum, citation from, Poems, American, quoted in British