St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1868-02-21
NFfoln tNt NOTtltrn NonthIy1
Some PLAIN UGTdS COHceHninU
Nr. ChdrieS Dickens.

book without regard to its honesty or de-
cency, simply because it would pay ex-
penseS," it was the inner consciousness OF
Mr.. Dickens himself that was speaking.
1t strikes the keynote of his career ; for
the great object of his life has been to
pay expenses" Nothing has intertered
with this purpose except his profound
>nobbiShne>s. II his whole personal his
tory be examined. it will be found to
contain two simple motives, unappeasa-
ble avarice and Unsuitable vanity.
As he abused America ITO paw ex-
penses," 50 he pays the expenses" of
entertaining his friends by caricaturing
them in his novels. rs in the case Of
Leigh Hunt who appeared rs Harold
Skimpole in David Cnpperiield. SO he
forgot his name to Christmas stories that
were not his because it paid SO he
has written pages upon pages of repeti-
ton and verbiage. when his name had
become sufficiently famous TO float it, be-
cause it paid = 50, when public opln-
ion had remarked the absence of all ref
crence of Jesus Christ in his books, he
introduced the name of the Savior, be-
cause he thought it would pay :" 50
he inculateS virtue and describes domeS-
tic felicity bee iu>e it pays" but casts
OFT his own wife after living with her
twenty-five years because she does not
pay = 50 he expresses lis profound ad-
mlration of Me>srs. Ticknor and Fields
because they pay" and is entirely oh
Llvious ot other publishers who have paid
before, but whom he finds it to his inter
est 10 traduce now - he comes to this
country avoweliy for the sole purpose OF
carrying away about two hundred :hou-
sand dollars, which il Is 10 he trusted
Will pay expense" without driving him
10 the necessity of writing another book
on America
Mr.. Henry J. RAYMOND. one of our
most accomplished journalists, after wei
coming Mr. Dickens warmly and with
something perhaps of the hnpctulncss and
hoaSitulne>s of youth. had his reward bv
appearing III the PAGES of Marin ChuZ-
zicwit i'll the character OF Jefferson Brick.
laIah' tll~AslllNN- illlI
has gone further than this. 1t has pass
ed INTO Il proverb throughout the earth.
that an honorable man will honor hi-
father and his mother il is commanled
also i'll the Holy Scriptures. though this
of course has no weight with Mr.. Dick
ems. Designating the obligations and
teachings OF liial obedience. reverence
and affection. or desiring, perhaps, 10
pay the expenses of Il decent treat
mcnt OF his parents, he has uotoriouslv,
in the person of Wilkins Micawber. carl
catured his own father rs common
swindlcr and drunken sot.
But the mos: eXtraold nary fact i'll tho
whole career OF Mr.. Charles Dickens is,
that he has the ettrontery to stand up
again i'll the face of American audiences
for the sake of their dollars" after hav-
ing scandalizcd america and americas tiag
in the character OF Martin Chuzzlcwit,
Chapter NNI., as follows
"AIen Were weighed by their dollars ;
measures gauged by their dollars life
was auctioneered, apprised, put up. and
respectable thing to dollars was any ven
ture having their attainment for It's end.
The more of that worthless balldst. hon
or and fair dealing. which any man cast
overheard from the ship OF his good
name and good intent, the more ample
storage room he had for dollars Make
commerce one huge lie and mighty theft
Dei;lcc the banner OF the nation for al
idle rag pollute it star 10y star; ant
, cut out stripe by stripe as from the arm
OF a degraded soldier Do anything trl
dollars What is Il tlag to them.
In another place, Chapter XXI,
Chuzzlewit says of the stars and stripes
!; 'lou are a gay flag i'll the distance
, But let a man be near enough to get tn
t light upon the other side and see through
you, and you are but sorry tu~tian.'
: Mr.. Dickens vanity has obtruded it.
self on so many occasions that it is no
necessary to particularlizc them.
t He has the reputation in England of /;
t tutt. hunter, and for the sake OF mer
recognition by titled men, for the sake o
putting his feet under the mahogany o
: mobiles, he has been willing to submit I,
the grosscst humilations. The sam
thing is shown in his hashy waistcoat
his glaring ncck-tics, his gorgeous toilc
| and his theatrical manner, all whicI
were so offensive at his reading in Enc
land. that Miss Louisa NJ. Alcott, one c
: his warmest admirers, i'll describin
, them, says that she was sorely disaF
e pointed and grieved in her idol Slr
looked for a dignified and genial gentle
, man, and found an old dandy.
Mr.. Dickens's English cont;,reS hav
Il given circulation to II story that their ex
emplar refused to appear in L privat
: theatrical exhibition before the queen o
the ground that he did not care to anus
v a circle in which he could not be receive
: on the footing of Il gentleman. Unfo
c tunately for Mr.. Dickens, this statemer
{ does great injustice to Queen Nictori;
There is no difficulty, rs many Amer
? cans know, i'll getting access to her Or
her court. She, however, insists on OF
requiste-a spoticss moral character.
: is because OF his unfortunate dOmcstl
/, relations, and the scandal resulting there
n from that Queen Victoria refuses to IT
l. ceive a man who has cast off hls Wi
and is at war with his own family. Wi
the queens OF American society be an
, less exacting in their treatment of MI
lc Charles Dickens
: We regret Mr.. Dickens's presence
this country, because he has viliied OF