1 823.] Philosophy of Contemporar 



tition in this instance produceil the 

 eflFects that ordinarily result from it; 

 since even the rivalry of the Quar- 

 terly (which, in a literary point of 

 view, has been pre-eminently success- 

 ful,) has failed to do more than wake 

 the Aristarchs of the Scotch metro- 

 polis to an occasional degree of 

 activity. 



Simond's Travels in Switzerland 

 form the opening subject of their pre- 

 sent Number. Works of this descrip- 

 tion, — tours, and voyages of every 

 kind, — appear to be great favourites 

 both with the Edinburgh and Quar- 

 terly reviewers ; who, in our opinion, 

 too frequently bestow that attention 

 on the writings of travellers to which 

 the productions of other authors have, 

 perhaps, a much superior claim. That 

 mankind have been essentially benefit- 

 ed by the labours and researches of 

 enterprising and intelligent travellers, 

 no man will deny; but vve greatly fear 

 that the aggregate of useful informa- 

 tion obtained from the volumes pub- 

 lished by most of our modern tourists, 

 would, if fairly estimated, bear a la- 

 mentable disproportion to that which 

 ought to result from the time necessa- 

 rily sacrificed to their perusal. But, 

 if it be deemed indispensable by these 

 trimestral critics, that their readers 

 should have a voyage or two presented 

 to their attention in every Number, we 

 may at least expect, that a judicious 

 discrimination will be used in select- 

 ing proper subjects ; and this we do 

 not think has been the case in the 

 present instance. The most valuable 

 travels, at least in well-known parts 

 of the civilized world, are those which 

 enable us to form the most correct 

 estimate of the morals and political 

 institutions, and of the general pro- 

 portion of happiness and misery to be 

 found among the inhabitants: any 

 beauties of style, or picturesque de- 

 scriptions of inanimate nature, can 

 arrogate but a secondary praise, in 

 comparison with the far more impor- 

 tant merits which we have just men- 

 tioned. If our opinions on this subject 

 be well founded, Mr. Siinond, though 

 an acute observer and an elegant 

 writer, cannot rank high as a contri- 

 butor to our stock of useful informa- 

 tion. His reasoning on national 

 character and manners is that of a 

 complete Pyrrhonist ; and we cannot 

 expect to be greatly enlightened on 

 any subject by a writer, who, appa- 

 rently incapable of overstepping the 



y Criticism, No. XXVI f I. II9 



limits of doubting, seems to aim at so 

 exactly balancing his statements and 

 arguments, that he usually leaves his 

 reader just where he found him. Set- 

 ting aside these objections, we are 

 quite willing to pay our tribute of 

 praise to Mr. Simond's talents as an 

 author.* 



The succeeding article, on Vaccina- 

 tion and Small Pox, is well written, 

 and exhibits a complete acquaintance 

 with the subject ; but we conceive that 

 the labour bestowed upon it may be 

 regarded as in great measure super- 

 fluous. This long-agitated question 

 appears to have been, for some time 

 past, set pretty well at rest. The re- 

 sult of long experience and attentive 

 observation on the part of the faculty, 

 if it has failed to realise, in their full 

 extent, the sanguine hopes of the en- 

 thusiasts for vaccination, has at least 

 established the fact of its being highly 

 beneficial. To regard vaccination as 

 an infallible preventive against tlie 

 occurrence of variolous distempers, is 

 an expectation not warranted by ex- 

 perience : but we think every unpre- 

 judiced person will admit, that those 

 who have been vaccinated, if not 

 exempted from after-liability to the 

 small-pox, or chicken-pox, at least 

 experience those disorders much more 

 favourably in consequence. 



A review of Bracehridye Hall, the 

 last production of the author of "the 

 Sketch Book," Collows; and we beg 

 leave to enter our unqualified protest 

 against the excessive, we might almost 

 say fulsome, praise bestowed upon the 

 author. The reviewer attempts a la- 

 bour gratuitously futile, in wishing to 

 persuade us that the novel (if, indeed, 

 it merits that name,) of " Bracebridge 

 Hall" is equal in merit to the Sketch 

 Book ; for he will find the tastes, feel- 

 ings, and judgments, of every class of 

 readers arrayed against his paradoxi- 

 cal assertion. Nor do we conceive, 

 that even the merits of the latter work 

 entitle the author to the commenda- 

 tion made use of by the Edinburgh 

 critic. If such encomiums are to be 

 lavished upon mere ease and elegance 

 of writing, what have we in reserve 

 for the more exalted powers of genius 

 and imagination? \Ve can appeal to 

 our own pages in proof of our readiness 

 to acknowledge to the full the literary 

 advancement of our American brethren; 



* A translation of M. Simond's Travels 

 filled one of the late Numbers of the 

 " Journal of Now Voyaijes and Travels." 



but 



