The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1851-08-06

Mr.. ThackeraY's Lectures.


In our last, we gave sketches of the frs
and second of the series of lectures MI
Thackeray is now delivering in London,
series which we may regard with more in
terest because it is to be repeated in Boston
New York, and other American cities. Tht
subjects of the lectures already noticed wert
SWIFT, CoNGREvE, and ADDISON. The
third lecture was upon
SIR RICHARD STEELE.
Having says the Times, :" to deal witt
parsonage whose character was anything
but perfection, Mr.. Thackcray started with
a good-humored defamation against perfec.
ton in general A perfect man would be
intolerablc-he couldnot laugh and he could
not cry, neither could he hate nor even love
for love itself implied an unjust preference
of one person over another, which was so
far an imperfection. The interest which u
man takes in the progress of his own boy at
school, while he is Indifferent about other
boys who arc probably better and more
clever, his choice that death should occur
in his ncighbor's house rather than in his
own, and various traits Of similar kind. are
all 80 many manifestations of seIfshness, and
therefore so many removes from perfection.
"AItcr this preface, MIR. Thackeray dis
coursed upon Steele's career at school. At
the Chartcr-houae he distinguished himself
as a good-natured maurdiS sujet-idlc beyond
the average mark. By his scholastic acqui-
siions he gave little satisfaction 20 his mas
tcrs, and was hogged more frequently than
any boy in the school. Moreover, he was in
debt to all the vendors of juvenile delicacies
in the neighborbood; and, if any boy came
to school with money to lend, Dick Steele
was certain 10 appear as the person to bor-
row. These facts, given with much minute.
ness, were followed by an assertion on tie
part Of the lecturer that he had no authors
ty for them whatever. Ii was an admitted
truth that the child is the father OF The
man. and on this principle he felt he had "A
right, from his intimate knowledge of Cap
tain Steele, 10 deduce what sort of a person.
age Master Dicky Steele was likely to be.
This bit of mock biography gave the
keynote to the entire lecture. While MIR.
Thackeray admitted that Steele was far
less brilliant man than any who had formed
the subjects of the preceding discourses, and
far lose ontitled to a,l,n;ra,;on ,Lor Jl;.o,
he spoke of him in tone of warmer alIec-
ton than he had displayed when talking of
the great Joseph. He dilatcd with unction
on Steele's many follies and vicos--hi.
strange medley of pieiy and debauchery,
his iDordinate love Of dress, lis insensibility
as to the duty Of meeting pecuniary oLliga-
tons he even read an ill-natured descrip.
ton by John Dennis, remarking that it was
substantially true, but at the same time he
constantly KEEP, before the minds of his
hearers the kindliness Of Steele's heart. lie
did not call upon them to worship him as a
moral being or as talent, aware that many
others much more deserved such honor, but
he exIorted them TO love him as a friend
: If Steele is not friend, he is nothing
The great number of letters which Steele
wrote to his wife, and which are still extant,
furnished Mr.. Thackeray with much of the
knowledge he possessed as 10 the character
of his hero. With these he could pursue
him through every variety of joy and sor-
row, difficulty and triumph, and, as they
were evidently written for none but her to
whom they were addressed, he could be sure
that the writer spoke from his own heart.
On the literary productions of Steele, Mr..
Thackeray dwelt very little, but he pointed
out in them this peculiarly, that the author
showed a reverence for woman unknown to
his contemporaries. Swift hated women
just as he hated meni Congreve regarded
them as so many fortresses TO be conquered
by superior general even Addison sneer-
ed at them with gentle sreer; but Steele
really spoke of them in tone of affection
ate respect, and this gives a charm to his
comedies not to be found in more brilliant
productions.
Mr.. Thackeray took occasion to illus
trate by these extracts the characteristic diff.
ferences of Swift, Addison, and Steele. He
had already drawn ludicrous picture of the
relative positions of Steele and Addison, re-
marking that the latter had been through
life 10 the former what head boy is to an
Inferior boy at school. Now by Swif's po-
EN- on the Day of Judgment an extract
from the Spectator, containing Addison's re-
Elections in Westminster Abbey-and pass
age from Steele, be showed how the subject
of Death was treated by the three writers.
Swift's poem savagely treats as fools all who
pretend 10 know anything beyond The grave,
including the teachers of the several secis.
Addison's tone was kinder, bur, while he
was benevolent in his skeptcism, he came to
nearly the came result as the ferocious Dean.
Steele, On the other hand, WAS content to re-
member, as lis first grief the death of his
father, when he was Eve years old and the
dienifed sorrow of his mother.
~ a., ,yo,. 81 an additional ron,icaI apoio