Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1856-10-31
EVENING STAR,
THE BIOGRAPHY OF A WIT.
Gilbert Abbott A,Bsck.,,


humor. Not word in the English language
was there that he did not conceive might be
| converted to a new meaning. The art Of pun
| ming seemed with him the object of living In
very early life, when still lacking three OF
four years of mans estate, he was the editor
OF several witty periodicals in London. Iii:
| father, staid lawyer, was much shocked by
the Literary propensities of bis son, and sought
| to bind him down in legal chains, but in vain
Gilbert broke fairly loose and became the
manager Of theatre. Then he was on the
highroad to bankruptcy. The plays innum
cradle that he wrote, among others The
andering MInstrels," which Burton still
makes popular, and /" The Siamese Twins, -
raised more laughter than funds People
came to laugh but not to pay, and conse
quently Gilbert A'Beckett, before FIVE and
twenty years Of bis life had passed away, was
declared bankrupt
curious scene was witnessed in the court
A'Beckett was proved to be the editor of no
less than seventeen publications, not one OF
which was bringing him in salt. The best by
far was Figaro in London" a weekly sheet
OF exquisite wit, and conducted by him and
Henry Mayhem, since celebrated as the au
thor Of London Labor and London Poor. ~
A Beckett, after cleaning his skirts from the
Court Of Bankruptcy, became an adaptator
tor the theatres, and arranged carefully from
The French more than one hundred dramas
Don Caesar de Bszsn" was one Of these
He also wrote burlesques la Pnneh with
much skill, his power of double entendre sery-
ing him in good stead. At this time love
filled his bosom, and the daughter of Mr.
GlOssop, formerly manager Of La Scala, Ma
Piles, soon became his wife. This lady pos-
sessed great musical talent, and is the compo-
ser Of an opera entitled &c Little Red Riding
Hood" which met with some success besides
which she is the writer of innumerable COM
positions for the piano.
When, in the year IS41, Punch came into
existence, four men were chosen as its regular
contributors, viz: Douglas Jerrold, Gilbert
A'Beekett, Albert Smith, and Mark Lemon
the latter acting as editor from that day to
this. Until that hour A'Beckett had been
forced constantly to play game of hide and
seek with the bailiffs He who, with his mer-
curisl spirit, could so readily take off the dull
had been equally liable to be so taken off by
them Sometimes disguised as scene shift
ter, minus coat and vest, he would issue from
the stage door, and reducing his six feet of hu-
manity some inches by stubborn stOop, thank
his stars that he could pass for a smaller man.
At that time Douglas Jerrold and himself
were probably the men most sought after in
all London. In debt and in prison were their
constant fate. What they writ never seized
upon the public so completely as the law writ
seized upon them A'Beckett's papers in
Punch concerning Mr.. Dump were almost bic
graphical He never felt free except when he
was in confinement, and then his jovial spirit
would break loose, and although his body was
in limbo his spirit would soar above the bricks
and mortar that confined him.
Punch succeeded, however, chiefly owing
TO Jerrold's admirable papers, entitled Punch s
Letters to his Son, The Story of Feather,
Mrs. Caudle, and Punch's Universal Letter
Writer. not forgetting ABeckett's Comic
At this time extra editor was required for
the Times, and A Beckett was chosen for the
post. His writings in the Times have been
praised, but they always seemed TO US like
the efforts Of a butterfly who might attempt to
cOnsort with lions 1t was not in him. That
force-that vigor which makes the present su-
periOr in the eyes Of the multitude TO that
which was ever or will be-was not possessed
by the lightsome writer. A'Beckett, it is
said, one day when the excitement was great
in England concerning the manner in which
paupers were treated in the AndOver Union,
wrote the whole of the leading columns 10 the
Times; but this was spasmodic effort never
repeated. 1t was rather caused by the gen.
erous impulses Of the man than his literary
vigor. The Times, in fact, was not for him,
nor he for the Times
This was so fully shown to be the case, that
the Times influence was to be exerted and
Gilbert A'Beckett obtained the appointment,
worth $4,000 per annum, Of a metropolitan
magistrate. This office be conscientiuusly
filled from l849 until within the last two
months, when death suddenly approached, and
at the age of forty-fve, Gilbert A A'Beokett
had ceased to be of the earth earthly
Punch in paragraph pays an exquisite
tribute to his memory:
We have to deplore tho loss Of Gilbert Ab
bott A Beckett, whose genius has for more
than fifteen years been present in these pages;
present from The first sheet, July IL, lS4l
until August 80, 1856 On that day passed
from among US genial, manly spirit singu-
larly gifted with the subtlest powers Of wit
and humOr faculties ever exercised by their
possessor to the healthiest and most innooeut
purpose. As magistrate, Gilbert A Beckett
| by his wise, calm, humane administration
of the law, gave daily rebuke to a too ready
belief that the faithful exercise Of the highest
| and gravest social duties is incompatible with
| the sportiveneSs Of literary genius. On the
bench, his frmness, moderation, and gentle
ness, won him public respect, as they endeared
| him to all within their influence His place
knows him not" but his memory is tenderiy
| cherished.
II may be said of Gilbert A Beckett tha,
| his associate, Douglas Jerrold who, probably
with one other exception, Charles Dickens,
never spared the foibles of friend, had a
| kindly word for him. Of Albert Smith, MARI
| Lemon, and mapy others, Jerrold has uttered
words of bitter sarcasm, but he could nevel
find it in his heart to speak slightly of A Beck
ett. Albert Smith, previous to making for
| tune by his entertainment concerning hi
ascent of Mont Blanc, was Jerrold's particu
lar aversion. He practised as dentist as wei
az second wit, and when a member of tn,
Garrick Club, expressed surprise that Smith
should be dentist as we'll as a writer, Jer
| rold sarcsstically replied: "Oh, sir, be live
by taking things out Of other peoples mouths. ,
II is due to the literary profession in CLOSING
notice Of the career of Gilbert A. A'Beckett
to dwell for a moment on the fact that, as
magistrate and writer, he was equally great
Too often it ia supposed that the practica
man must be a dullard, or at best mer,
politician. From Moses to ID Israeli the re
verse is proved to be the case. Because dul
lards are frequently tolerated, it is presume'
that dullness is Synonymous with success
This is a most egregious blunGer. But fo
genius shedding light around which enable
dullness to find its way to position in life
ILLNESS long ago would have sunk into i,
native quagmire. 1t is blundes, 6 moi
gross blunder with the world to write the ept
taphs of great men. Not all the soundiu