The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1852-12-16
The War or the WIts-Thackcray, Swirl,
and the Herald.
WAsHINGToN, Nov rs, 1852.

The War or the Wits-Thackcray, Swirl,
and the Herald.
wAsHNGToN, Nov rs, 1852.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD.
SrR.-The assault made by the wit Of the times
Of Queen Victoria on the greatest Of the wits Of
the times Of Queen Anne" in your city, seems to
have reused the wrath Of Of your contributors,
who has rolled up his sleeves and pitched into Mr.
Thackeray in very ferocious style. From the fer
vor of the attack, as well as it's temper, it wsuld
though the shillelah in defence Of the Dean
was welded by an Hibernian hand, and It Is most
vigorously laid on Although this may be " free
fight" on the Donnybrook Fair plan, open to all
corners. / have no disposition to risk a cracked
crown by entering the melee, but calm spectator
of the wintry fray" wish with your permission
to put in plea at once for the old wit and the new
For, il the latter has in his lectures Gas believe)
dene injustice to the great satrst who scourgsd
the foles Of his time, the caustic comments Of your
correspondent do far less than justice to Mr. Thack
cray IN calling him - snob," phrase which he
himself has rendered classical in the vocabulary Of
contempt. Neither for any thing that he has done,
or left undone is this appellaton ust-neither his
his pen, justify is "A snob" is defined in Web
ster's folio dictionary, unabridged to be "a vulgar
person, who apes gentility." That is the American
definition Of the animal the English rhackeray
subject Nov, Mr.. Thackeray is not 90 vulgar
person. nor dses he 8. ape gentility" He is gen.
tleman in the highest sense of that much abused
tcrm--that is, genuine man, and both his life and
his writings prove it
As q Stranger within our gates, he is entitled to
courtesy: upfnching foe to hollow shsms and
humbugs Of all kindsan unsparing satirist Of inso
lent pretsnsons--he has claims on the sympathy Of
apeope whose precept, If not practice, is based on
the sentiment Of Bufns:-
The rank Ia bat the guineas stamp,
The mans the gowd for - that
brief but most agreeable acquaintance with Mr..
Thackeray. since his arrival in this country, author
ICES the writer to say this confidently az to his
sonal character while his writings proclaim IL more
loudly still. What living writer has done more TO
strip pretsnson Of its eIternals, and show how
and paltry thing rank without MORT is! Whss
hard has stripped off more mercile,sly the trap
pings Of nobility and fashion, and held /, up shiver
Ing and naked, to public soornl What modern
fatist has struck harder blows q. the arstocracy,
the nobility and gentry" Of England, and con.
trasted it with the true dignity of genuine mau-
hosd more orc,bly and faithfully, taan the author
Of Vanity Fair and the I" Book of Snobsl' 1t is,
therefore, both injurious aud unjust to rank him
with that speces of insect which he has seienti1-
caiy sRught, classified, and impaled ia glass case,
tor the study of curious inqarers. To call Thacks
ray anob after his life and labors Is adding insult
to injury it il uugenerous to the guest who thr0
himself an our courtesy.
With Mr. PhAckersy's history the public is
familiar. Though in tho commencement Of his
career he was guilty OF committing absurditcs and
fell into those errors incident to large and bberl
natures accompanied by inexperience, yet there is
no title OF evidence to prove that he was snob,
or fawned on and fattersd people Of superior sta
ton to bis own Ik(as is said) his own youthful
experience is portrayed in the :. Yellow Plush Pa
pers," and that pcturesf fashionable swindler is
drawn from one of whom he was the dupe and
vicito and if for time, sourea by such experience
he dipped his pen 10 gsll, yet noby has he toiied
with sweat Of brow and brain to retrieve those
errors and certainly nothing of teadyism is dis
cerpaole in these struggles for broad and fame
Where the Hob. in feeling or intellect, would have
stopped succHmbed, Thsckeray stood upright in
the digpity of reused manhood, and achieved at
once b noble revenge and high reputation IL in
the commencement of his career can be found much
Of warning to impulsiye youth from the latter part
can be extracted tar moro worthy Of imitation.
The man who put prosperity to an unworthy use,
in the first flush Of hot, youthful Blood extracted
from adversely that precious jewel which Shaks.
pears made its frontet Both his early mistor-
tunes and subsequent proceedings have been
=. gerated by those aides Of the American press
whose friendship is more fatal than their enmity;
and it may have been but natural that you,
in yosr hasse, suspected the genuineness OF the
note, because Of the himsiness Of the men of straw
who endorsed it. The fulsome gatherings poured
out so psofusey upon the imported lien, were calcu-
| lated 10 disgust sensible people, as well as the
shIewd and sarcastic subject OF them. As asample
Of the style in which these daubers plastered on
Their pufs enc OF the most Prctcntious Of them,
Narte Goodwin or Wilis, speaks of his retaining 40
old family servant in his greatest poverty, and
Ike ping up "sbe splsndor Of his mental deeora-
tions," while the simple fact was, that Mr.. Thscke
because no could not do without his services; and
induced him in sold drab overcost," without
even the 'spendor" Of yellow plush" brooches
When the man Jared 80 badly at the hands Of these
to escape the ''splepdor Of su,h ''menial decora-
tisns" from the biddy judges Of tho New York
press! Yet, the nobbhhnsm of these super-ser-
vieeablc eulsgsts cannot in fairness be visited
he hnaI IF hair pnfa 80 nh,a whn
less, must, from his character, vince and wriths
under the infistion. more unpretending,
straightforward, outspeksn nan than Mr. Thacke-
ray it has been tho fortune Of the writer TO
meet in an extensive intercourse with the great
and little men in eli parts Of this republic Of
So much for the personal part Of this charge. Al
low noe the privilege Of saying word or two As to
the literary aspect Of the question. regard for
your valuable space, Con which am trespassng,)
ceMpels to be ''cufst briet," as Sir Toby Beoh
Gays, and therefore can but skim off the cream of
this controversy Mr. rhaeksrsy is accused OF defAm-
ing Swift. do not think him amenable to this
charge, from the skeleton Of his lecture which is
given in The papers; sut do think that his judg-
nent of that hayward though glorious genius was
expected from him. While giving full credit for the
matshless mental power Of Swift, he has shown lit
tie charity fer those short comngs in character and
conduct whioh arose from diseased and dstsmpered
brain and most unhappy life-has exaggerated de-
fects s.d not given dus prominence to virtues That
tie whoia life OF swift was struggle against the
msdness that fnally mastered him, and made the
three last years Of his life . melancholy blank, is
now generally admitted by al who have studied the
subject This. Of itself would pallists many acts
otherwise iDexcussbe; fer though We may not en-
terrain the Oriental belief Of the sanctity that
hedges in one God has thus smitten, yet surely in.
sanity must be regarded rs sufficient shield against
seBspre for things inexcusabe in one possessing the
sound mind in the sound body.
Swift suffered under the desbls curse Of the un-
sound Mid in tho unsound body, and his very
brightness Of intellect healthy radiance, but
the phosphorio glean that hovers over decaying
matter. On no other rational supposition but that
OF n2dpef con his course and conduct be accounted
6r-espsciaily the cruelty Of his triHing 80 lsng
aud 30 peraistenly with the Affections Of two wo-
men, both devoted 10 him, and both renders
wretcl cd by bis insane sad Inconsistent freaks and
vagariss. There Is NO saddsr page Ia English biog-
rspby, than that which 10 recorded the sad story
OF Stella and Nsnsssa. The Indignation which the