The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-08-19
DICKENS AND THE NEWSPAPERS

DICKENS AND THE NE WSPA PERS.
From the London Saturday ReUt,w.
That Mr.. Dickens should be estimated by
the newspapers quite as much as he deserves
is not surprising. He is the representative
Of the ordinary newspaper excellences and
newspaper literature; a very favorable speci-
men, but one more especially identified with
the body of writer's who salute themselves as
the Fourth Estate, with occasional igno-
rance of what the Three Estates are. We
have been among the first to admit Mr. Dick
ems very remarkable powers. The man
who has contributed so much TO the cheerful
ness of so many homes is in his way a bene-
factor to the human race. His DEATH like
that of any other popular man, creates a
blank; but we should hardly say that the ''mel-
ancholy tidings darkened hundred millions
of homes with the sense of personal loss.
But the merits of such writer-undoubted
and great merits-run a chance of being
seriously disparaged with thinking men when
more value is given to his influence than 1t
deserves. TO speak Of him, as he is spoken
of as ''the literary emperor who has Just
fallen amidst the universal trophies of his
genius, is rather highfalutin, which it may
well be, seeing that it comes from New York.
We have the highest relish for Sairey Camp
and Sam Weller, but it is quite another thing
to be summoned to bow down before ''the
Christ-like spirit of tenderness and charity
which DefNAQeS ali MS compositions. IO
speak of bis Christmas Carols and sentimen-
tai works of that kind, poor in themselves,
and produced like other articles of the sea-
son, the Illustrated Ne1oS of the Christmas
week, for example, ordinary matters of mer-
chandise as the results of "a pen dipped in
tears and his own hearts blood, is not
so much grotesque gabble as revolving
and offensive. For the life of us we cannot
believe that even when Mr.. Dickens was
hic fa1a with O nd
inveighing against the evils of Yorkshire
schools, the Court of Chancery, public Offices
and imprisonment for debt, he was ''doing
the work of surpliced priest. 1t is of course
mere blasphemous raving to speak of Little
Nell, and the death of Paul Dombey-and
Mr.. Dickens pathos was always very pumped
up and melodramatic-as ''bearing on his
sympathetic mind, in distant resemblance to
Christ, the awful load of the sorrow and mys-
terry of humanity" We are not charging all
the sermon writers or newspaper panegyrists
of Mr.. Dickens with this amount of profane
folly: but we ask with amazement what there
is in Mr.. Dickens life to elevate him into the
character of a saint or hero what there is in
his writings to put them on the range of the
four Gospels? A very great humorist
he was, but that he is g one
of the greatest and most persuasive of
preachers we may be permitted to doubt,
unless we admit the gospel of iollity to be a
divine revelation. Mr.. Dickens, and it is no
disparagement of him to say so, understood
the world: he presented himself to men as
men were willing to take him. 1t became the
fashion at Newspaper Fund dinners and
Guilds of Art to consider, or to affect to
consider, him the representative of English
literature. The world to whom Grotes and
Hallams and Thrlwalls and Darwins and
Newmans are dull professional writers, sa-
luted the author of the CHIMES as a benefac-
tor of the human race. 1t rather stirs the
temper-and unless it is moderated it may
stir the gall-all this idolatry of life which,
after all, is only that of a successful
HtterGteuT by no means blind to his own
interests. Mr.. Dickens realized q large
fortune by his works, and by semi
dramatic exhibition of them and himself in
performances on stage or platform, which
he called Readings. This is by no means
discreditable: but we fail to see anything
very ''brave' or ''earnest" or ''heroic" about
it, Mr.. Dickens wrote stories, and in the
most money getting form, in decreasing
ratio of interest and power, till he wrote him
self out He then adopted another mode of
airing his popularity, and read and recited
till his health broke down; and then he took
to stories again, but with what success those,
if any such there be, who have read through
what he left of Edwin brood can tell us: and
then he died and left a will behind him;
ecstacies at the beauties and divine
character of his will. And here
we must remark that to say much on this
subject is distasteful, and, unless we were
challenged to the ISSUE would be somewhat
indecorous and improper. We are little in
cilned to consider Mr.. Dickens an apostle
but words would fail us to express the indig
nation we feel, if it is true. as we are told
that some obscure preacher, not an English
man, has been base enough to describe hii
death, death lamented by us all, as Divine
judgment for his irreligion. In certain
sense we think Mr.. Dickens was religious; hC
certainly reverenced the Saviour and he tell
us that he ''rewrote the Gospels for hi
children long before they could read and
almost as soon as they could speak" 1t ma.
be no great loss to the world that this iftl
Gospel has not been preserved, but we hav
not a word to say about Mr.. Dickens per
sonal faith or professions. We have nothing
whatever to do with subjects on which h
has been silent.
FEMALE FATNESS AT LONG BRANCH