The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-25 00:00:00

(From the Morning Post.)

The announcement of the death of Mr. Thackeray will
cause a profound sensation in England—even en this happy
Christmas morning. It will remind—and startlingly re-
mind—men of the shock felt in political and literary society
when it was announced, during the Christmas festivities of
1860, that Lord Macaulay had died suddenly. The illus-
trious essayist had received a party of dearly-loved relatives
at his house on Christmas-day—he was in excellent health;
he was hard at work oa his "History of England "—two
years afterwards he was dead. Mr. Thackeray, on the
other hand, has been suddenly summoned away on the eve
of Christmas-day—truly a mournful festival this year for
the affectionate daughters who survive him. So lately as
the 12th of this month Mr. Thackeray was an honoured
guest at his beloved " Grayfriars," on the occasion of the
anniversary of the death of Thomas Sutton, the munificent
founder of Charter House; he was present in his usual
seat in the quaint old chapel; he went thence to the
" Oration," in the governors'-room, and, as he walked up
to the Orator with his contribution, he was received with
such hearty applause as only Carthusians can give to one
who has immortalised their school. At the banquet after-
, wards he sat side by side with his old friend, John Leech,
at the high table, and, in a humorous speech, proposed the
health of the noble foundation which he has adorned by his
literary fame, and made popular in his works. On that
occasion he was apparently in the most excellent health,
and certainly he was in the highest spirits. Last Tuesday
he followed to the grave his relative Lady Rodd, widow of
Vice-Admiral Sir J. Tremayne Rodd, K.C.8., who was the
daughter of Major J. Rennet!, F.R.S., Surveyor-General of
Bengal, by the daughter of the Rev. Dr. Thackeray, head
master of Harrow School. Although for a few days past
he had telt symptoms of illness, he was able to be out on
Wednesday night. When his valet called him yesterday
morning about nine o'clock he was found in his bed quite
dead, lying placid, apparently
without having suffered any
William Makepeace Thackerary was born in Calcutta.
He was born, like the late lamented Lord Elgin, in 1811,
his father being a civil servant of the East India Company.
When a boy he came over to England_ though a toy, he
was not too unobservant to derive no materials for thefuture
reflection and amusement of himself and the public. At St.
Helena he was taken to see the dreadful "Bonet'"—once a
corporal, then a renowed conqueror and kingmaker, then a
mighty emperor, now a captive of homicidal and even can-
nibal propensities, according to the tales told to young
Thackeray by his attendants. The boy who was shrewd
enough to take notes of the unlucky ex-Emperor, took
notes at Charter House School, to which he was sent on his
arrival in England, of a different character. " The chiel
was epilog them," a sharp-eyed lad, who would do more
for the credit and fame of the school than any future first-
classman or wrangler of them all. From Charter House
Mr. Thackeray went to Trinity College, Cambridge; and
among his contemporaries there were Mr. Alfred Tennyson,
the Poet Laureate, and the late Mr. John Mitchell Kemble,
the distinguished Anglo-Saxon scholar. He did not take
a degree at the university, though his knowledge of classics
of Horace, at least—was amply sufficient to secure him an
honourable place in the "previous examination."
Mr, Thackeiary inherited a tolerable fortune from his
father, Ho intended to become an artist, and in the course
of hie continental tour he went to Weimar, where he saw
and visited the illustrious Goethe, as may be seen by an in-
teresting letter of his to Mr. G. H. Lewes, in that gentle-
man's life of Goethe. Probably Mr. Thackeray was one
of the few, if he was not the only one, of living English-
men who had conversed with that celebrated man.
On his return to England Mr. Thackeray devoted him-
self to a literary life, tempered by art. He produced suc-
cessively " The Paris Sketch-book," " The Irish Sketch.
theon Journey from Cornhill to Grand Cairo," and
" d Funeral of Napoleon," which made at the
timel;e little Second
impression on the public or the publishers. He
was, however, said to enjoy a lucrative connection with
Eraser's Magazine and an important daily journal. In 1841
the flood-tide of Mr. Thackeray's fortune set ,in. " The
Great Haggerty Diamond" had appeared—and the late Mr.
John Sterling, when editor of a contemporary journal of
great influence, praised it in a letter to Mr. Thos. Carlyle.
The reputation of Mr. Thackeray was, however, chiefly
made by his contributions to .Puncll. lie was not one of
the original writers in that facetious periodical, but he be-
came known first as the " fat contributor"—his illustra
Lions being as funny as his articles, which were funny.
The series called " Joanna's Diary" caused great amuse-