New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-06-23

4
Que roale: ,oRs done
Now, We may quarrel With Dickenss benevs-
lence and sentimebtalties, II we lixe-tu. II We
accept the man at all, We must accept him as he
is. The serious side Of his genius 10 just as inevi-
table az bi. humorous sde-his pathos and his fun
spring from the same sources, from the funda-
mental structure Of his mind-and we doubt
whether you could get tie Pickwicks or the Cut
ties without the little Psuls. No doubt, tie Dom.
beys ard Csrker., and other such artificial machine
ries, could be left out by particular request; few
would miss them; they are part Of the authors
own life; they rather ytiae the action Of his fac
uties: but, for all the rest, ore grows naturally
out Of the soil the other. His fertile genius is like
great garden now lying in the pleasant sunshine,
and now exposed TO the cold winds and rains, which
sends up variety of shOots-some weeds, some
tender ard delicate stems-sorne unknown, noxious
plants perhsps-but most Of all luxuriant fruits and
flowers; and it is 10 be doubted whether We should
get from it one without the others. Dickens, Of
all the writers Of the day, is the most natural and
instructive enc; his faults and bis merts come alike
out of bis whole organization; he observes sharply,
and he Gays What be feels if he laughs very loud,
be also signs very deep; but he is no more himself
when he is joyial than when lie is sad Pickwck
does not represent him any better than the Christ
mas Carol. He is q humanitarian by original
structure Just as he s humcrist. In both charac-
tiers he may run into occasional eXtrayagances but
be would not be true to himself were he to SET up
exclusively in either.
For tb, reason We welcome the Little Dorrit,
though it is not Pickwick. All the faults of it
We were prepared for-all the merits We expected;
and yet such is the native vivacity aud freshness of
the man, that we have found it full of surprises
throughout. As Il story, it is like all his other
stories, himsily put together; at least one-ha the
characters have nothing to do with it, being intro
duced Ike so many supernumerarles on the stage,
to give appearance of reality; and the OH er hall
might be reduced by slender ingenuity, without
imparing the value of the plot. Some of these
les characters, too, like Flora or Miss Wade, are
great bores beside being on the part Of the author,
great failures. Others, again, more useful, like
Mrs. CleDnam, to the plot though meant to be of
the high tragic sort are darby heavy. The catas-
tropLe is hurriedly and obseurely worked out, and
the secrets kept in reserve SO long, to explain the
complexities Of the situations, are scarcely worth
tie waiting for. There ia an unusual number, too,
Of Dickens's imbecile folks lowering about every
where. But, with all this, the interest never flags.
The old perennial stream of humor and sentiment
runs through every page, refreshing aud brighten
ing even the dreariest spots. No one prodglous
aud commanding parsonage, like Mcawber, or
Cutie, or Pecksnii, is revealed to us-the princi-
pal figure in it, Father Dorrit being painful one
but there are several Lesser lights of very pleas
ant aspect. Pancks is fine specimen of the
little steam-tug; Meagles is jolly good
commonplace; DOyce and Clennam are noble fell
lows; Henry Gowau is exquisitey limned, much
better than his own portraits; Rgaud is tolera-
bic villain; and Little Dorrit, We have no doubt,
| will be considered pearl, though We cannot our
selves confess to much admiration Of her thus far
On the whole, the Characterization are not gen
| orally so striking as we are accustomed to find in
Dickens. The tnts are lees eshy aud vigorous than
| he il wont TO use. Many scenes, however, are III
| the highest degree efective-as the interview o.
| Mrs. Gowan and Mrs Merdle, for instance, where
the two fashionable bypocrites, knowing each
others by pocrisy and knowing that the other knows
il, yet keep up the deceit; the reception of John
| Chisery by old Dorrit during his splendor in Lon
don, when he half shakes the head of of his former
sdmirer, aud then sends hundred pounds to the
old prison associates. But the signal merit of the
book is the tremendous satire which it nicts upon
| two tbinss-tLe wretched pigments of family pride,
1 L.. o.. ID IS rtaka
cratic rule Dickens has scarcely written book
which does not bring some character or some
pha,e into range which is in itself an overwhelming
banter Of come abuse; and he has been true to
this trait of his genius in Little DOrrit The Bar
nacle family-meaniDg the whole tribe OF Official
leecLes-and The Circumlocution ofice-meaning
that department of government which iaboriously
contrlyes how not to do it-are among those happy
creations which pass into the general mind and
cling til death 10 their objects. No Engshman
hereafter will be able to look into the face Of any
Of his hereditary legislators without thinking OF
Mr.. Tite Barnacle, or Lord Decimus Barnacle; and
| nobody will ever lave anything TO do with govern
ment anywhere without confounding it with the
| Circumlocution Office. The Street Department Of
| New-York for example-what Circumlocution
| Office that is 1t purports to be engaged in keep
ing the streets clean, but with what admirable dill
pence il manages how not TO do il With what
extraordinary assiduity the Circumlocution Office
! at Washington has learned how not TO settle the
| affairs Of Kansas
| A TREATISE on THE CRIMINAL LAWS or THE
| UNITED STATES By FsSseIs WH.RtoS Fourth add
| Revised Edition. syo, pp ! 252 Philsd-phis: Kay 4
Brother. soa by Banks, Gould Co.