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Notes
See William Stanley Hoole, "William Gilmore Simms's Career as Editor," Georgia Historical Quarterly, XIX (1936), 47-54; also articles by John C. Guilds, Jr., based on his Ph.D. dissertation, "William Gilmore Simms as Magazine Editor: 1825-1845: With Special Reference to His Contributions" (1954): "Simms's First Magazine: The Album," Studies in Bibliography VIII (1956), 169-183; "William Gilmore Simms and the Cosmopolitan," Georgia Historical Quarterly, XLI (1957), 31-41; "William Gilmore Simms and the Southern Literary Gazette," Studies in Bibliography XXI (1968), 59-92; and "The 'Lost Number' of the Southern Literary Gazette," Studies in Bibliography XXII (1969), 266-273. We wish to acknowledge the research assistance of Mr. Stephen Drinkard and to thank the Research Council of the UCLA Academic Senate for a grant which supported this study. We wish especially to thank Mrs. Mary C. Simms Oliphant, who graciously granted permission to publish the eight previously unpublished Simms letters presented here.
The first in a series of letters published in the Magnolia, III (1841), 1-6; 69-74; 189-190. The letters may also be found in The Letters of William Gilmore Simms, ed., Mary C. Simms Oliphant, A. T. Odell, and T. C. Duncan Eaves (1952-56), I, 196-208, 215-228, 236-240. Hereafter cited as Letters.
A History of American Magazines, 1741-1850 (1930), pp. 341-342. Mott quotes the New-York Mirror as giving the average life of periodicals in 1828 as six months. Although Mott feels this estimate is too low, his own figure of two years is also clearly a guess.
An extensive letter collection of the Griffins was preserved by descendants and is presently being studied for the first time. Some seventy of the letters are chiefly of biographical and historical interest; approximately eighty pertain directly to the Companion. The letters in the latter group originated from the following named persons (with the number of letters indicated after each name): William Cullen Bryant, 1; William Alexander Carruthers, 3; Robert M. Charlton, 2; George Washington Crawford, 1; Emma C. Embury, 2; Rufus Dawes, 1; Caroline Howard Gilman, 1; Hannah Flagg Gould, 1; Charles Julius Hadermann, 1; James Edward Henry, 2; Caroline Lee Hentz, 3; George Frederick Holmes, 1; William G. Howard, 3; James Lawson, 1; Mary Elizabeth Lee, 6; [T? L?] Locke, 1; Maria J. McIntosh, 1; John Newland Maffitt, 1; Brantz Meyer, 1; Grenville Mellen, 1; Maria G. Milward, 3; John Neal, 16; Caroline F. Orne, 2; Frances S. Osgood, 3; George Washington Patten, 2; Albert Pike, 1; Sergeant Smith Prentiss, 1; William S. Rockwell, 1; William Sanders, 1; Frederick William Sheldon, 1; Elizabeth Oakes Prince Smith, 1; Anne Sophia Stephens, 1; Henry Theodore Tuckerman, 1; E. G. Walker, 1; Hardy Vickers Wooten, 2. Many of these are letters declining to contribute, but there are also instances where several letters were exchanged. Most notable are the 16 lengthy letters from John Neal, which are being prepared for separate publication.
Early Georgia Magazines, p. 68. Flanders also compares the Companion favorably with one of the most popular periodicals of the time: "The reading matter of the periodical is not inferior to the etchings, which compare favorably with those in Godey's" (p. 63).
Besides the general tone which indicates that the first number of the Companion had not yet appeared, this letter is dated by Simms's references to (1) a notice in the Charleston Courier (see note 10, below), (2) his story, "Oakatibbe" (which appeared in the November and December, 1841, issues), (3) his sonnets (one of which appeared in the October, 1841, issue), and (4) the matter of the plate (see note 11, below).
The review of the March, 1841, issue of The Ladies' Companion included the following praise of Simms's The Kinsman: "Mr. Simms already stands so high in the estimation of the reading public, that any commendation of ours is almost nugatory, yet we cannot refrain from expressing our conviction that the Kinsman is, in many respects, superior to his preceding productions. So full is it of thrilling incidents, and powerful character, it is difficult to select any one particular part for especial praise[;] we will venture, however, to say that the combat of the brothers is compeer to that of Rhoderic Dhu and Fitzjames, in the Lady of the Lake, while many other descriptions and situations are equal to those of any of our best living writers of fiction." (Charleston Courier, XXXIX [March 30, 1841], 2).
The Editorial Department for October, 1841, explains the matter: "Our plate for this number is not what we intended it should be. The volume and page of the Partisan was designated from which the artist was to make the sketch, but from some inadvertance, the wrong volume was taken, which changed the entire character of the plate. "We now have two beautiful sketches in the hands of the engravers, which will be ready in due season for the subsequent numbers" (I, 64). Apparently the sketch in question was prepared for the anticipated spring, 1841, publication of the first issue.
One of these was published in the first number of the Companion (I, [1841], 9). All eight, including a repetition of No. I, were later printed in a group under the caption "Heart Fancies: A Series of Sonnets" (I [1842], 200-201).
Probably Confession: or, The Blind Heart; A Domestic Story (1841) and Beauchampe, or The Kentucky Tragedy; A Tale of Passion (1842).
"Oakatibbe; or The Choctaw Sampson" was originally written for the Magnolia under the title of "Slim Sampson" (See Letters, I, 233-234), but was published instead by the Companion in two parts, the first in the November (I, 76-82) and the second in the December, 1841, issue (I, 163-169). An earlier version of the story entitled "Indian Sketch" was published in the Southern Literary Gazette, I (1828), 142-149.
In her Editorial Department for the November, 1841, issue, Mrs. Griffin borrowed this statement about the story from Simms's letter and used it as a justification for the inclusion of the story in the Companion (I, 128).
John Neal (1793-1876) and Benjamin Griffin were both residents of Portland, Maine, and may have had mutual friends and overlapping interests in publishing enterprises. They probably did not know each other personally, as Griffin was younger and grew up and left the state while Neal was in Charleston and London. During the years after Neal returned to Portland, the Griffins lived in the South. Mrs. Griffin probably contacted him when she sent prospectuses to other writers, but details are unknown. The sixteen Neal letters in the Griffin Papers are lengthy and rich in advice on many facets of editing. Though his irascible nature led him into controversies with many of his peers, Neal was uniformly eager to help beginners — especially crusaders. He thought establishing a first-rate Southern periodical would be an admirable but difficult endeavor. He was also an ardent feminist and wished Mrs. Griffin to succeed as an editress. Neal was one of the most frequent contributors to the Companion.
Dated by Simms's reference to receiving the first number of the Companion, which was dated October, 1841, but of which Simms undoubtedly received an advance copy.
Richard Henry Wilde (1789-1847) was known as much for his political career (five terms as a Congressman from Georgia) as for his literary achievements. He was an Italian scholar and poet and is best remembered for his "My Life is Like the Summer Rose," which was set to music by Sidney Lanier and others. The poem to which Simms refers here is "Lines Written for Viscountess _____'s Album" (I, 34).
George Frederick Holmes (1820-1897) was a Southern educator, author, and scholar. Besides writing for periodicals, he published numerous textbooks. He became professor of ancient languages at the University of Richmond, professor of history and political economics at William and Mary, and was the first president of the University of Mississippi. The article to which Simms refers is "Outlines of an Essay, on the Causes which Contributed to Produce the Peculiar Excellence of Ancient Literature" (I, 56-59). The article continued in the following issue (I [1841], 112-120). Apparently Simms's criticism of the notes caused Mrs. Griffin to omit them in the November issue, for in the Editorial Department for the month she says, "We may as well add that the essay was accompanied with a vast number of Notes, which displayed the extensive and critical reading of the author, but which we were obliged to omit" (I, 128).
"Education" by Professor J. Darby. (I, 51-55) Two additional articles by Darby appeared in subsequent issues: "Early Instruction" (I [1841], 121-123) and "Elementary Instruction" (I [1841], 186-188). In the Editorial Department for October, 1841, under the subject "Georgia Female College," Darby is listed as "Prof. of Chemistry and Philosophy" (I, 64).
An evidence of the Magnolia's want of variety is seen in the fact that two pieces of Simms's ("Logoodie" and "The Prayer of the Lyre") appeared in the Magnolia in 1836, 1839, 1841, 1842, 1843, 1844, and 1846 (See Letters, I, 66, note 2).
Sarah L. Griffin and M. M. Mason, Southern Primary Reader, Southern Second Class Reader, Southern Third Class Reader, Southern Fourth Class Reader (n.d.). Simms gave a favorable review of these books in the Magnolia, n.s. I (1842), 126.
According to Alexander S. Salley, it was about this time that "a species of guerilla warfare was begun between the Knickerbocker and the Mirror on one hand and Simms on the other. Cornelius Matthews, Evert Duyckinck, and Edgar Allan Poe were at times involved in the quarrel, the background of which is not entirely clear" (Letters, I, lxxiv). Part of the trouble with the Knickerbocker, according to Parks, arose when Simms "began demanding pay for his contributions to the magazine" (Simms as Critic, p. 94). It also had something to do with Simms's longtime quarrel with Willis Clark, editor of the Knickerbocker, over sectional literature. (See Letters, I, note 73, p. 320, 322, and the sketch on Clark and his brother, I, xcviii-xcvix.) Mrs. Griffin became involved in the discussion, as well. See "The Knickerbocker and Southern Periodicals" in Companion, I (1842), 820.
"Poetry of the Bible" by Rev. Thomas Curtis began in the first number of the Companion (I [1841], 27) and continued in subsequent numbers of Vols. I, II, and III.
"The Ins and Outs, or the Last of the Bamboozled — By a Disappointed Man" (I [1841], 13-23) was written by John Neal.
Dated by the postmark and by the reference to the Charleston Courier "of this day." The notice of the Companion for September 29, 1841, in the Courier (XXXIX, 2) was an enthusiastic review of the first number. The review concludes, "From the specimen before us we are certain that this work will deserve, and we hope it will command success." Also dated by Simms's reference to his "new work" which was shortly to be published. This is probably a reference to The Confession, the only work of Simms published in 1841 besides The Kinsman, which was published in February or March. In a letter to James Lawson dated September 10, 1841, Simms says, "In a short time, I suppose, you will see a new work of mine, told in the first person, called 'Confession or the Blind Heart'" (Letters, I, 278).
James Edward Henry (1796-1850) of Spartanburg, South Carolina, was the author of "Tales of the Packolette," which was published in the Magnolia. Like Simms, Henry served in the South Carolina House of Representatives. (See Letters, II, 344.)
The Simmons brothers, William Hayne (1784-1870) and James Wright (c. 1790-1858) were close friends of Simms's. William contributed frequently to the Southern Quarterly Review under Simms's editorship, and James was associated with Simms in editing and publishing the Southern Literary Gazette. (See sketches in Letters, I, cxxxvii.) William Simmons was the author of The History of the Seminoles to which Simms refers in this letter.
The History of South Carolina from Its First European Discovery to Its Erection into a Republic: with a Supplementary Chronicle of Events to the Present Time (1840).
Simms later decided against doing a history of Georgia. See letter dated November 3, 1841, to B. F. Griffin, below.
Carl Werner: an Imaginative Story; with Other Tales of Imagination, 2 vols. (1838); Southern Passages and Pictures (1839); Atalantis, A Story of the Sea: In Three Parts (1832).
Dated by the reference to Simms's offering his works to Benjamin F. Griffin for publication. See letter dated September 28, 1841.
James Lawson (1799-1880) was probably Simms's closest friend and the person with whom he most frequently corresponded. Lawson was born in Scotland and came to America at the age of sixteen. He was a poet, writer of romance and fiction, and playwright as well as a newspaper editor.
Lawson's "Moral and Mental Portraits: William Cullen Bryant," Southern Literary Messenger, VI (1840), 106-114.
Dated by the reference in the following letter of the same date to Benjamin F. Griffin regarding the publication of Simms's History of South Carolina which Simms had inquired about in his letter of September 28, 1841.
See note 49, above. This letter and the letter to Mrs. Griffin dated November 3, 1841, were written on the same sheet of paper.
"The Defense of Slavery" is probably a reference to Simms's review of Harriet Martineau's Society in America, which appeared in the Southern Literary Messenger (III [1837], 641-657), under the title "Miss Martineau on Slavery" and was later reprinted in pamphlet form under the title Slavery in America, Being a Brief Review of Miss Martineau on that Subject (1838).
The "Parley Books" were a series of popular books beginning with The Tales of Peter Parley About America (1827) by "Peter Parley" (pseudonym for Samuel Griswold Goodrich [1793-1860]), which were rather syrupy, innocuous books of moral instruction and literature.
Israel Keech Tefft (1794-1862), a close friend of Simms, in whose Savannah home many of the literary figures of the day gathered. (See Letters, I, cxxxix.)
Jarend Sparks (1789-1866), editor, historian, and noted biographer of figures of the American Revolution.
Simms carried out the three projects he lists here, although they were not published by the Griffins: The Life of Francis Marion (1844); a biographical sketch of General Thomas Sumter appeared, along with other biographical sketches written by Simms, in Rufus W. Griswold's Washington and the Generals of the American Revolution, 2 vols. (1847); The Life of Nathanael Greene, Major-General in the Army of the Revolution (1849). Simms wrote other biographies as well, including lives of Chevalier Bayard and Captain John Smith.
William Bacon Stevens (1815-1887) was one of the founders of the Georgia Historical Society and the author of a two-volume history of Georgia, A History of Georgia, I (1847); II (1859). Volume I was reviewed by Simms in the Southern Quarterly Review, XIII (1848), 470-501. (See Letters, I, cxxxviii.)
Dated by the reference to the Lawson subscription. See Introduction and letter dated October 14, 1841, above.
Payment for the Lawson subscription apparently was not settled in accordance with this promise. Considerable heat was generated over the matter, though the amount was trivial. See Letters, I, 322, 371-372, and 374-375.
This is probably a reference to the controversy with William Tappan Thompson. See the Introduction.
Beauchampe, or the Kentucky Tragedy (1842). The "companions" to which Simms refers are Richard Hurdis; or, the Avenger of Blood: A Tale of Alabama, 2 vols. (1838) and Border Beagles: A Tale of Mississippi, 2 vols. (1840). In a letter to Benjamin F. Perry, dated July 14, 1842, Simms explains the reason for his anonymous authorship: "The particular purpose with which the anonymous was adopted in respect to these books, has been answered. This was, in part, the bedevilment of the small tribe of underlying critics, who are sagacious enough to detect a man's style in his sneeze, and his talent in a whisper. You perhaps are not aware that in my birthplace even to this day, nothing is more common than to contrast the works of the author of Beauchampe, Rd. Hurdis &c, with my own greatly to my disparagement." (Letters, I, 316)
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