The Sun.
London, England, 1858-04-30 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY

MR. CHARLES DICKENS,

AND HIS "CRICKET ON THE HEARTH."

Last evening the vast area of St. Martin's Hall,
Long-acre, was crammed with a delighted audience
who had assembled there to give a greeting worthy
of him, to the greatest of English Humourists. It '
was not by any means, of course, the first of Mr.
Dickens's public readings, but it was the first of all
his public readings—for Himself ! Hitherto his
kindly voice having been raised exclusively in this
way for the advantage of others—for the benefit of
mechanics' institutions, in behalf of hospitals
and other eleemosynary establishments, and as
upon the last occasion, even at the behest of little
ailing children. At last, after having won " golden
opinions"—poured then invariably in affluent abun-
dance and with a lavish and emptied hand into
coffers thus generously, and one might al-
most say magically, replenished for the
means for eff cting all this, remember, was
simply the Reading of a book years ago
printed off by thousands and tans of thousands,
and known almost by heart long since by nearly
every one, who yet went to hear it read once more
by its delightful writer—after reading thus solely
for the advantage of others, Mr. Dickens has at
length begun to read for his own in like manner.
Yesterday witnessed the inauguration of what we
are half-disposed to designate a new epoch in his
public career. The reading- this time was in another
respect also a novelty in every way conspicuous.
It was the reading not of the Christmas Book, the
Immortal " Carol," but of one of its most charm-
ing successors—" The Cricket on the Hearth."
Before beginning the perusal of his Fairy Tale of
Home, Mr. Dickens addressed to the audience
these few and manly words of explanation :
Ladies and Gentlemen,—lt may perhaps be known
to you that, fora few years past, I have been accustomed
occasionally to read some of my shorter books to various
audiences, in aid of a variel of good objects, and at
some charge to myself both in time and money. It
having at length become impossible in any reason to
comply with these always accumulating demands, I have
had definitively to choose between now and then reading
on my own account as one of my recognised occupations
or not reading at all. I have had little or no difficulty in
deciding on the former courts.

The reasons that have led me to it—besides the con-
sideration that it necessitates no departure whatever
from the chosen pursuits of my life—are threefold.
Firstly, I have satisfied myself that it can involve no
possible compromise of the credit and independence
of Literature. Secondly, I have long held the opinion,
and have long ac'ed on the opinion, that in these
times whatever brings a public man and his publio
face to face, on terms of mutual confidence and respect,
is a good thing. Thirdly, I have bad a pretty large expe-
rience of the interest my hearers are so generous as to
take in theF• occasions, and of the delight they give to
me, as a tried means of strengthening those relations, I
may almost say of personal friendship, which it is my
great privilege and pride, as it is my great responsibility,
to hold with a multitude of persons who will never hear
my voice, or see my face.

. _
Thus it is that I corns, quite naturally, to be here
among you at this time. And thus it is that I proceed
to read this little b:)ok, quite as composedly as I might
proceed to write it, or to publish it in any other way.
Any one who has not yet heard Mr. Dickens read
aloud one of his own inimitable productions, who
has never seen him upon the stage enacting before
the footlights some imaginary character, or listened
to hint upon the platform, as he stood there last night
in propria persona, turning over the leaves of " The
Cricket on the Hearth," and giving new life by the
glance of his eye and the intonations of his voice
to the creations already stamped upon the page by I
the vivifying impress of his own written descrip-
tions anyone who knows "Buz" exclusively
through his books, can form no notion whatever
(not the very faintest) as to what is meant by one
of these Readings. The entertainment is not in
the smallest particular, not the least bit in the
world, in any way like what one of those wholly
uninitiated might conjecture. The reason being
simply this—that Charles Dickens (for we drop the
Mr. as something in him we regard as quite super-
fluous)—that Box (a name still ringing familiarly
in cur ears by reason of its many joyous and de-
lightful associations) is not merely the most popular
Author of his Age, but one of its most gifted
Actors and Elocutionists. Everyone acknowledges '
this who has once seen him in one of his own riant
farces, or in Bulwer Lytton's elegant comedy, or
in one of Wilkie Collins' weird and harrowing melo-
dramas. Here, as a wearer of the sock and buskin,
is one who, by his protean genius, is no mere
amateur upon the boards, but a veritable, true-
born acnor, one who exercises at his own free
will and pleasure a perfect mastery over
our emotions—at once tragedian and comedian—
who
wins, as he lists, by his voice, by his look, as he
has so often and often done by his matchless
writings our tears and our laughter. But—subject-
ing himself to a severer teat than any encountered
by the histrionic advimtumr—Oharlem Dickens has
proved this more signally again and again, when
without the aid of one touch of carmine, or one
panicle of gold lace, when without powdered
peruke or velvet doublet he has come before an
audience just precisely as he is himself, carrying
only in his hand, it may be, a little magical paper-
knife, and reading to us one of his little Christmas
story books, as it could assuredly only be read by
such an author and such an elocutionist rolled into
one ! As a triumphant testimony of his power over
his audience—there was the readingof his "Cricket
on the Hearth" last evening ! Listening to it as it
fell from his lips yesterday—well though we knew
the book before-e-it seemed in some unaccountable
way or another, as though we had never known it
until then ; certainly as though we bad never ade-
quately appreciated it, And this not casually, but
continually—from the first " Chirp" to the last.
Beginning with the kettle and ending with the bro-
ken toy upon the hearthrug. The characters of the
tale ,poke to us audibly, moved before us almost
visibly. Dear little Dot who was both fair and
young, " though something of the dumpling shape
—but I don't myself object to that." Honest stal-
wart Carrier Peelybingle "who was often near to
something or other very clever, by his own ac-
count"—but always stopping when half expressed
for fear of spoiling it ! Boxer, the dog, with that
preposterous "nothing of a fag-end of a tail of his,
describing a circle of barks round the horse, mak-
ing savage rushes at his mistress arid facetiously
bringing himself to sudden stops." Tilly Slowboy
the nursery girl, who was continually in the
matter of her costume making surprising re-
velations of some flannel under-vestment of a sin-
gular structure," and "affording glimpses in the
region of the back, of a corset or pair of stays, in
colour a dead-green 1" The very baby, whose head
is being partially brought (by an ingenious con-
trivance on the part of Miss Slowboy) into
contact with deal doors, dressers, stair-rails, bed-
posts, and other foreign sub•stances ! Other per-
ssnages, too—Gruff, and Tackleton, the Toy mer-
chant, a savage old reprobate or rather a " domes-
tic Ogre," whoe soul revelsin the construction of
hideous hairy red-eyed Jacks in Boxes, and demo-
niacal tumblers who won't lie down, but are pa r-
petually flying forward to stare infants out of court-
tenance, and with Tackleton his right hand man,
Caleb Plummer, who asks of little Dot, to her
astonishment, " You couldn't have the goodness
to let me pinch Boxer's tail, mum, for half a mo-
ment, could you ?" " Why, Caleb ! What a
question ! " "Oh, never mind, mum. He
mightn't like it perhaps. There's a small order
just come in for harking dogs ; and I should wish 1
to go as close to A atur' as I could, for sixpence."
How they all lived again, and talked, and looked
again, on the platform of St. Martin's Hall last
evening ! How the audience roared to hear them
—or listened in breathless silence at other moments
w' ea each of us, 'here, kte tme together, for a while,
somewhat as Caleb was when hearkening to the
Blind Girl's talking, when—" Her father could
not choose but let his moist eyes overflow ; she was
so earnest and patheic." From first to last the
Reading was in truth--a treat. And as for the
reception of Mr. Dickens at its cointnet.cement,
and his greeting upon its conclusion, it was in sim-
ple reality
nothing le,s than an ovation. On Thurs-
day next the same Hall will echo to our great
novelist's voice reading his " Chimes ," and on the
Thursday following,
to the thrilling music of his
exquisite and matchless " Carol." L'appetite vient
en mangeant--Why cannot we hope ever to hear
him road choice passag, s selected from his larger
volumes, to have him reproduce with his mobile
features, and his marvellous voice—say, Mrs. Gamp
and Mr. Pecksuiff from Martin Cauzzlewit ;
' Samuel Weller and 'Tony Weller, from the
LPick-
;' wck 'Pers ; Captain CuC' tle and Major Bags. ock /
from Donbey and
Son.; and so on throughout the
whole wonderful and motley catalogue ? Let'
us " Mess the gifts the Gods have given us,"
however, and fall to. 'llls intellectual ban-
quet pi epared for us is sufficiently appetiz ng
• —Three courses (the first of which we enjoyed,
wish a ref sh, v, sterday) and The Desert,
f 4 r none other than the great popular Author-and-
Reader in one, the waiter of this charming Fairy
Ta'e of 11 me, The Cricket on the Hearth. And
so, with cordial thanks to Charles Dickens, a grate-
ful fare well—att revoir ~

GOVERN3IENT EMIGRATION.—Her Majesty's Ern ;gra-
on Commissioners char'ered yesterday afternoon,
the
29 h int., the Bee, 1,352 tons, to sail from Liverpool
fur Adtlaide, South Australia, at 131. 18i. 61 per eta
tu•e adult, to be ready for the reception of passengers on
ench day as the commissioners may fix upon betwe.eo
the 10th and 19,1 of June. They have also given n aloe
of tlie,r intention to receive tenders next Thur-day, the
6th pr,xia:o. for a chip to proceed to Sydney, New South
Wales, to be ready to sail any day the commielionera
may fix upon between the 19th and 30th of June.