Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-11-10
PRINCES OF THE PEN.

From the New York Herald
Mr.. Edmund Yates delivered last
evening a lecture, the subject Of which
was advertised as princes Ofthe Pens,'
but which turned u in fact to simply
refer to Mr.. Charles Dickens, Mr.. Yates
having found it too much for him 10
speak of Thackeray and Tennyson as
well on the same evening. The audi
ence was very thin, but a fair degree Of
interest was manifested. Mr.. Yates be-
gan by saying that he should not give
them a criticism of Mr.. Dickens as a
novelist: he would simply speak Of him
as his dear dead friend. He
aimed merely for the nOnce TO
be the Boswell of the great novel;
ist. When he had first known
Dickens that great man had already
changed very n~Oticeably in personal APP
pearance from the young man who, as
some one had said, "came and calmly
took his place at the head Of English
literature" and whose features had been
preserved for us by the pencil Of Maclise.
His hair was already streaked with gray;
had carved thoughtful lines about his
face, and his complexion had a peculiar
ly weather-beaten red-brown tint, which
made him look singularly like some
sailor, who had been subjected to every
vieissitude Of climate and weather. Mi.
Yates proceeded to infinitely describe
Mr. Dickens'5 residence at Gadshill-its
guardian dogs, its furniture and pictures,
its apartments and garden, and, more
particularly and Infinitely than all, Dick
ens's study. Dickens's habits of life were
very regular. He breakfasted at nine,
and from ten to two invariably secluded
himself in his study or in the littlesum-
mer chalet given him by Feehter for
purposes Of literary work. Dickens
believed that literary work should be
done at stated hours, the same as any
other business. Dickens, it might be
stated also, worked very slowly. Even
when young this was the case, as he con-
fessed himself, when ne wrote to Lady
Blessington, "That he had Just finished
q book and had come out Of it looking
like a murderer Mr.. Dickens, as
editor Of Al The Year Round, did an
immense amount of work, all the real
labor of that journal being in truth
done by him. Dickens, as was well
known, was a great walker, and he
Yates had been greatly surprised, since
he had been in this country, to hear it
stated that this was mainly to
get rid of the effects Of the
previous nights potatoes. No cal
umny could be more unfounded. But
Dickens's walks were no mere pleasure
He was ever, on these pilgrim
ages, busy collecting new scenes and
characters for his novels. Dickens was
a great actor. His power of impersona-
ton was something wonderful, though
he only played at private theatricals.
Dickens was a very happy and charming
letter writeT-a faculty which Mr.. Yates
proceeded to illustrate by reading several
and pointed epistles from Mr..
to himself and to his mother.
had been struck down in the
of his fame and glory, though not
without warning. Strangely enough, five
years before his death, on the same
day-the ninth Of June-On which
he died, he was in a railroad
accident at Staplehurst. Dickens
then sustained a shock which probably
shortened his life, and from the effects
Of which he neverthOrnughly recovered.
Yates went on to allude to Dickens's
opinions, and his intense con-
empt for the aristocracy. All the noble 7
men in his novels were either foolish or :
.bsurd, and he had at once told Mr.. ;
rates that the idea of an hereditary :
was prepOsterously absurd. The :
My public occasion on which Dickens y
.yer lost his temper was once at a din
when having been twitted by Lord r
1Oughton for his literary injustice (
o the peerage, he turned round
nd replied. "What amazing dew Q
had possessed him to ae- +
use him of having deprecated the !
order" Before his death 2
was shown considerable favor Z
y the Queen, and might have obtained
distinction that his tastes and opin-
ms would permit him to accept. Mr.. l.
.ates then narrated the manner of the il
reat novelist's death, and concluded by a
perOratiOn, in which he paid an affec- o
tribute to the characterand genius ii
{ the author Of nGpicEWicE - 4,