Ballads and Critical Reviews Author:William Makepeace Thackeray Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: A BOX OF NOVELS 'THE Argument.—Mr. Yorke having despatched to Mr. Titmareh, J- in Switzerland, a box of novels (carriage paid), the latter returns to Oliver a... more »n essay upon the same, into which he introduces a variety of other interesting discourse. He treats of the severity of critics; of his resolution to reform in that matter, and of the nature of poets; of Irishmen; of Harry Lorrequer, and that Harry is a sentimental writer ; of Harry's critics ; of Tom Burke; of Eory O'Moro; of the Young Pretender and the Duke of Bordeaux; of Irish Repeal and Repeal songs; concerning one of which he ad- dresseth to Rory O'More words of tender reproach. He mentioneth other novels found in the box, viz. "The Miser's Son," and " The Burgomaster of Berlin." He bestoweth a parting benediction on Boz. Some few—very few years since, dear sir, in our hot youth, when Will the Fourth was king, it was the fashion of many young and ardent geniuses who contributed their share of high spirits to the columns of this Magazine, to belabour with unmerciful ridicule almost all the writers of this country of England, to sneer at their scholarship, to question their talents, to shout with fierce laughter over their faults historical, poetical, grammatical, and sentimental; and thence to leave the reader to deduce our (the critic's) own immense superiority in all the points which we questioned in all the world beside. I say our, because the undersigned Michael Angelo has handled the tomahawk as well as another, and has a scalp or two drying in his lodge. Those times, dear Yorke, are past. I found you, on visiting London last year, grown fat (pardon me for saying so)—fat and peaceful. Your children clambered smiling about your knee. You did not disdain to cut bread and butter for them ; and, as you poured ou...« less