The Sun.
London, England, 1865-10-30 00:00:00

A SLIGHT DIFFERENCE OF OPINION

Spectator and Athenaeum.

Our great novelist, Mr. Charles Dickens, may
this week amuse himself, if he so pleases, by reading
./Esop's fable about " The Old man and his Ass,"
by the light of an entirely new illustration as to its
inner-meaning. The illustration we refer to comes
apropos to the close of his new story, " Our Mutual
Friend"—one of the most wonderful of all his stories,
by reason, on one hand, of the extraordinarily
ingenious elaboration of its plot, and, on the other
hand, by reason of the astonishing diversity or
variety of its many hUmorous characters. Imme-
diately upon the completion of which highly
elaborated and most carefully thought out work
of art—a couple of reviewers, hitherto silent
altogether during these last eighteen months as
to its merits or demerits, have just now given the
world (of Mr. Dickens's readers) the benefit of their
opinion as to the success or failure of his efforts
at their amusement. Take, in evidence of the
totally opposite conclusions they therefore arrive at
—the following passages published simultaneous
on Saturday last, here in the Spectator, here in the
Atheneum, in reference to some of the most con-
spicuous characters delineated by Mr. Dickens in
his latest fiction :--
SAYS THE " ATHENEUM SAYS THE " SPECTATOR

We demur to Wegg and Besides highly commend-
to Miss Jenny Wren as to a ins- Wegg The eerie little
pair of eccentrics approaching dolls' dressmaker is perhaps
that boundary-line of carica- the best sketch in the book. Tile
tore towards which their peculiar effect of her de-
creator is, I.y fits, attempted. formity on her mind is a
subject with just enough of
mixed pathos and oddity, to
exhaust the great power
which Mr. Dickens has of
inventing appropriate varia-
tions for the same thread of
idea.

On returning to the cha- Bradley Headstone, the
meters, that of Bradley schoolmaster with sti oig
Headstone, the schoolmaster, passions and mechanised un-
dogged, sensual, unready;— derstanding, is a caricature
his tremendous passions without humour, as 31r.
compressed by the responsi- Dickens's didactic carica-
bilities and respectabilities tures usually are.
of his position, takes the
foremost place among them
as an original conception The same may be said of
The pair of lawyers, Mor- Mr. Mortimer Lightwood and
timer and Eugene (whose sin- Mr. Eugene lfrayburn and
cerity of attachment one for their friendship. 'Two friends
the other is not the worst point who talked to each other in this
in the book). conceited and affected style
would deserve to be whipped
like schoolboys.
The author of " Pickwick " The worst thing, however,
never revelled among ,richer in the book is Mr. Dickens's
whimsies than are to be found Aide and ridiculous attempt to
in the comic parts of this draw ambitious "society" in
tale ; in the Veneering the middle class. _Mr. Pod-
househ,old, and the guests as- snap, the representative of
sembled by it. The mistress the British Philistine, always
of the mansion and of the casting every sort of view
camels on the dinner-table, behind him—in pantomime
with :her readiness to of course—which does not
weep, her stupid sentimenta- suit the prejudices of the
lities about " Baby," her rich respectables, may per-
inane admiration of the haps have in it some slight
prancing gossip of that old gleam of humour, though it
mechanical harridan, Lady is humour hard to see through
Tippins, because the same pas- the conceited mannerism
sea with her as a fashionable with which Mr. Dickens
pearl of great price,— the por- shows it off. But Lady Tip-
tenious Podsnap, who knocks pins, the Vezzeerings, Boots.
down argument by British and Brewer, and Buffer, and
sentiments, and laconic, in- that butler who pours out
solent dogmatism,—the civil, the wine, and whom Mr.
misty, nobly-connected old Dickens makes a great point
Twemlow—(who would be a of likening to an analytic
true gentleman, every inch chemist, and calling '•the
of him, were he not a little analytic" with infinite pride
too promiscuously willing to as often as he can during
sit at anybody's feast.) each dinner party, aro all
forced productions, absurdly
unlike what they are meant
to caricature, and with no
more of the fresh bubbling
humour of Mr. Dickeu's old
fun loft in them than has a
glass of soda-water of impri-
soned air, after it has stood
for an hour.
Tho supers (as they say on The descriptions of the
the stage) Boots and Brewer, Veneerin.q'dinner parties and
—are all now people in print, their social circle are amongst
whom every diner-out has thevery worst of his writings—
met every week of his life in self-conscious, affected, ma-
private. The vivacity and licious, extravagant, vulgar.
variety of this division of the The contrast between the
novel are admirable. kindliness of his humour, the
genial laughter of his man-
ner, in such pictures as that
of the dolls' dressmaker, or
Mr. (Venus, and the painful
scream of his taunting man-
nerism in describing Lady
Tippins and Veneering is
very striking, and worth
minuter analysis for any one
who cares to understand his.
genius.

The will of Sir John Henry Palmer, Bart., late
of Charlton-park, near Rockingham, Northampton-
shire, was proved in the London Court on the 4th
inst., and the personalty sworn under £120,000.
The executors and trustees appointed are his sons,
Sir Geoffrey Palmer, Bad., and the Rev. Francis
Palmer. The testator was the eldest surviving son
of the late Sir John Palmer, Bart., M.P., and suc-
ceeded to the title and estates in 1817. He married,
in 1808, Mary Grace, daughter of the late Lord
Sondes. He was Deputy Lieutenant for the county
of Northampton. His will bears date Sept. 30, 1863,
and he died on the 26th of August last, aged 90.
He leaves to his eldest son his manors, advowsons,

messuages, lands, tenements, and real estates ; his
furniture, plate, books, &c., are to be held as heir-
looms with the title, Tie bequeaths to his daughter
Charlotte a legacy of £20,000, and to three of his
other children legacies of £lO,OOO each ; and to
others of them, and to his son-in-law, legacies of
various amounts are left ; and to three of his grand-
children £5,000 each. All legacies to be paid free of
duty. The residue he believes equally to be divided
between his sons, Sir Gregory and the Rev. Francis
Palmer.

Colonel Wells, the Superintendent of the Southern
Indians, on the 29th ult. concluded an important treaty
with the Osage tribe. The Osages cedo I,ooo,oooacresto the
Government for $300,000. Other lands were also coded,
and the rights of settlers thereon protected. The land is
all in Kansas.

Nearly 500 Post-Offices have been re-opened in
he southern States since May last.