The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-02-20


mother of ten of his children-to accompany
him for quarter of century-and from his
own admission was an amiable and complying
wife. Having gone SO far, why not tarry to
the end? And what are we to think of all the
lessons of love and duty2 Was Dickens,
after all, mere master of novels,
who used phrases and sentiments as
Napoleon did armed men, with which he at
tanned certain uses and expressions which
came from the mind and not the heart? 1t is
hard to make such an admission, and yet it is
hard to resist making it Because, if our mas
tiers are, after ALL masters in the sense of those
who take granite and clay and fashion them
into palaces-if all thess beautiful lessons of
love and virtue and effect are so many wares
made to sell, and only for sale-what are we
to think of the calling? Are men like our
Dickens teachers or simply tradesmen If
they are teachers then have we not a right
to demand that they shall make their lives
Illustrations of this gospel? When they fail
in this how can they escape our censure
Certainly Dickens failed. The story of his
separation from his wife is stain upon his
name, and takes from his teachings oil of
their beauty and freshness and color.
So far as America is concerned there is
nothing in what Mr.. Forster writes to show
that Dickens was in mind much different
from the temper in which he wrote his
american Notes." Apart from some warm
friendships in Boston he had only business
feeling towards America. His first errand was
to induce a change in our copyright law;
his second was to confirm his fortune He
failed in the first in the second he attained
mans feeling towards America It was
place in which to make money. We fail to
see sentence of hearty, genuine appreciation
of our country in any one of his familiar
letters to Mr.. Forster. We did not bore him
we did not stop him in the street; we allowed
him peace in his hotel. In addition he noted
great change in our manners-improvemen
in our customs. In other words, we were
about the same type of people that had in
spired american Notes" except that we did
not snob him. If our lamented friend had
lived long enough to have become 'the guest
OF ONO OI Oul 6ulH11eE CLUBS We bro 8lralu
he would not have made even this
concession. But this is really of little conse-
quence. We must learn to be Indifferent to
the opinions of foreigners. And, after ALL
american Notes. was not such al atrocious
book, and many of his seyerest judgments
about us were sound enough y was hard,
perhaps, to be told this by the nau whom We
had been following with drums and bells
but if he was plucky enough to tell us what
he thought we should not blame him. We
have many things to learn in America, and we
can learn from every observer, especially from
one as illustrious as Dickens
For every reason we are glad this book has
been written Our ideal Dickens fades away,
and we have real Dickens in his place. And
if the feet of the idol are Of clay let us not
complain. The real Dickens was, with all
his faults, a rarely gifted. brave and just man.
The work he did was surpassed by that of no
man in his time. For this let us honor his
memory, and rejoice that we were permitted
to share the splendor of his genius and his
fame.