merican literature if it
were not for the generosity of England in granting their authors a
copyright in this country; indeed, the American public pay that tacit
compliment to us that they will hardly look at a work by one of their
own citizens, until it has first been published in England, and received
the stamp of approbation. Those American authors who have obtained a
reputation, look, therefore chiefly to the English copyright for
remuneration; and if it were not for this liberality on our part, the
American literature would not receive sufficient support from its own
country to make it worth the while of any one to engage in it. The
number of English works republished in America is very great, but the
number of each work sold is much smaller than people here imagined.

The periodical literature of the United States is highly creditable.
The American Quarterly Review; the New York Mirror, by George P Morris;
the Knickerbocker, by Clarke; and the Monthly Magazine; all published at
New York, are very good; so, indeed, are the magazines published at
Philadelphia, and many others. It may be said that, upon the whole, the
periodical press of America is pretty well on a par with that of this
country. Periodical literature suits the genius of the Americans, and
it is better supported by them than any other description.

The Americans are jealous of our literature, as they are, indeed, of
everything connected with this country; but they do themselves injustice
in this respect, as I consider that they have a very fair proportion of
good writers. In history, and the heavier branches of literature, they
have the names of Sparks, Prescott, Bancroft, Schoolcraft, Butler,
Carey, Pitkin, etcetera. In general literature, they have Washington
Irving, Fay, Hall, Willis, Sanderson, Sedgwick, Leslie, Stephens, Child
and Neal. In fiction, they have Cooper, Paulding, Bird, Kennedy,
Thomas, Ingraham, and many others. They have, notwithstanding the
mosquitoes, produced some very good poets: Bryant, Halleck, Sigourney,
Drake, etcetera; and have they not, with a host of polemical writers,
Dr Channing, one of their greatest men, and from his moral courage in
pointing out their errors, the best friend to his country that America
has ever produced! Indeed, to these names we might fairly add their
legal writers--Chancellor Kent and Judge Story, as well as Webster,
Clay, Everett, Cass, and others, who are better known from their great
p