New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-11-07
Edmund Yates ON Charles Dickens.


Steinway Hall was well filed last night 10
hear the first lecture Of Mr.. Edmund Yates,
the distinguished English novelist. Had il
not been for the difficulty of getting convey
ances Of any kind last night the hall would
have been crowded.
Mir. Yates commenced by stating that he
had thought it best not to make the division in
the lecture, as had been announced, one part
to be devoted to Dickens and the other to
Thackeray, but that the personal reminiS-
cenceS of the greatest of England's humor-
lists, Charles Dickens, would be the subject.
lie spoke of his sorrow on taking up one
morning the Telegraph and reading the death
OF Dickens, and how that very day he was to
have gone to Gad's Hill to visit him. lie
described feelingly how this great author had
been his friend for fourteen years that it had
been an intimacy formed in his youth which
had strengthened with his middle age, and
that the memory of Charles Dickens was as
soclated in his mind with the remembranCes
OF thousand acts of kindness. All he could
do would be To describe Charles Dickens as
he knew hlm-that perhaps Il telling line
from one OF his letters now and then would
paint the author better than ANYTHING else.
Mr. Y tes here paid graceful compliment
to the numerous American authors who had
lately given such accurate pictures of Mr..
Dickens. Speaking of his appearance. he
referred to the first portrait of Dickens,
painted by Maclsc, as the young author of
1887, Tin cascade of satin cravat, with two
pins i'll it, and long, luXuriant hair" The
Dickens he knew was a different man. What
hair he had was scant and grizzled. The
face bore deep lines of thought, as if craven
there with a heavy chisel, showing mental
labor and care; but the marvellous beauty OF
the eyes, with their pleasant gray look, still
remained. His complexion was red, of that
peculiar hue which sailors have from expo
sure to weather, which gave him a nautical
expression. In fact, his dress, prcdisposi-
ton to wear short pea-iacket and loose
trowscrs, increased the nautical flavor about
him, AMI when his friends laughed at him
about this il rather seemed to please him.
Mr.. Yates showed Il well-drawn sketch OF
Charles Dickens leaning against one of the
pillars of Gad's Hill. The house Of Gad's
Hill and the library were carefully described.
Some details of how he wrote were among the
most novel portions of the lecture II seems
Mr.. Dickens was hard worker. From 10
till 3 he shut himself up in his study,
ready" as he expressed himself, "to take
up the thoughts when they came
Mr.. Yates told the audience that he was
prone to rcwrite and repolish his work fire.
quently, so that his manuscript was crowded
with interlneations. That literary work at
times was Ia him lrightful mental drudgery.
In proof Of this he quoted Dickens letter to
Lady l'lessington, where, after finishing the
Chimes, he says, "Just finished my book, aud
have come out of it looking like Il murderer"
That few people knew the immense labor he
undertook while editing al The Year R0md.
That almost every article in it was read, re-
worked, and polished by him.
Mr.. Yates spoke touchingly of the many
walks he took with Dickens. How, OF the
main thoroughf;tre, in the poorer streets,
striding at Il round pace, he loved to walk,
and that there he found many of his charac-
tiers, and how all that was unseemly and un-
savory lost coarscness under his magic hand
and poor human nature was made to look
her best. Mr.. Yates repealed with scorn the
mputation, which, he regretted to say, first
had credencc in America, that Dickens walked
to get rid of the previous nights potatiOns.
His iondness for the stage, and his remarka-
bic powers as an actor, were cleverly de-
scribed. Mr.. Yates spoke feelingly and
kindly of the authors domestic troubles, and
quoted a letter of 1858, where this great griel
was spoken about IN the saddest, most heart
rending tones.
His death, Mr.. Yates believes, was brought
ABOUT DN IL nervous SiOck on Ms SNSteh
caused by railroad accident in 1865, from
which he never entirely recovered. During
his last reading engagement after his return
from the United States, the lecturer spoke Of
his having met him, and though he had grown
much older, and walked less actively, still
the honest, CHEEKY voice was there, the sturdy
grip of the hand was left, and his clear eye
had lost nothing of its fire. That pleasant
exchange of books between the Queen and
England's most popular author was prettily
told. Once he said to Mr.. Yates, 1.-The idea
of Il hereditary peerage is simply propOster-
GUS" 1t seems, on one occasion at a public
dinner, Lord Houghton took him to task fol
the rather satircal style in which he haG
written up the privileged classes, which
brought out bitter reply from the novelist
The Queen, however, so Mr.. Yates intimates
was DESTROYS of knightng him, and, had he
| lived, he might have been so hOnOred.
| His last moments were pathetically alluded
to- The unfinished chapter of Edwin
! Brood" and the description of his resting
place in Westminster Abbey, his dust ming
ling with the greatest and most illustriou;
of EnglanHs worthless, concluded the lee
| ture.
Mr.. Yates has peculiar grace and dignity
of person. Like all English speakers, hi
utterly discarls anything like eesticulation
and rarely moves from his reading desk
| Occasionally he gave truthful limitations o
Mr.. Dickens style and manner Of Speech
! y. y. Times, oct. 90.