, 1874-03-22

Edmund Yatcs' Account of Charles
Dickcus' Separation from His
Wife.
Front Letter by Ea"a"d dt3 yaf<' to the 1s" York Her
While he complains that his friend is not 80
tolerant as he might bo of - tho waysard and
unsettled feeling which is part OF the tenure on
which one holds an Imaginative }'to,, be does
not seek to ecreen himsclf from the blame
which will follow the act. & I claim no ilnmuni-
ty from blame. There il plenty Of fault on my
side, dare say, in the way OF thousand un-
eertainties, cRorlces, and difficulties OF dsposl-
ten; but only one thing will alter all that, and
Tint is tho end, which alters everything" Ee
was dead set upon carrying this separation into
effect, refused to listen TO ANYTHING Ike retnon~
STRANGE Or to take any middle course, aud car
ried it into effect then and there. HencefoE-
ward be and bis wife lived apars; tho eldest
inr effect to her expressed wlsh in this respect.
mud the other children remained With himself,
their intercourse with Mrs. Dickens belnR iett
entirely to themselves" And then followed the
selfinictcd coup which dlsoaSea nlchsns ~ ffnul M
Lis pedestal and overshadowca the rest OF his
life. So far the separation had been purely
r,riyate matter. and though the general pubic
had. Of course, some inkliug Of it, it would have
caused three days talk and then been forgot
ten, bad not Dickens IN tue 99efehctea &c a. ana IT,
chosen to tako the public into his confidence
and Law bare the eecrots Of his domestic
life. He prepared a. statement OF hls case
for publication IN Household Words, a1n,
proceeding, all he conid wiring from :. ms ~
friend was On offer to suppress 1t, III,
upon reference to the opinion Of cerfaln
Distinguished man still living, that opln1on1,
should not prove to be Ill agreenaent "11n 1n'ne.
Tle present writer has Dickens' Own authority
for saving that that distinguished man Vas Mr.
). Z. Define, then and now editor Of the Lon
don Times His opinion coincided with Dickens,
and the statement appeared in Household lFort1s,
whence it was widely copied throughout Y Inc
abatement, which Dickens aways called the
| 'tyioluted letter." = paper subscribed by 1us
name which got into print without his sanction.
It had been addressed and given to Dir. Arthur
Smith as an authority tor correction OF 'ase tu-
mors and scandals, and 1lr. Smith had given a
copy Of it, with like intention, to tue London
correspondent OF the New York Tribune, W
whom it was sent to his journal, and there pub
1ishei. What this second statement WAS Alr
Forster does not say, but it s probable that had
I some reference to document. copy OF which
| was sent at the time by Dickens to the present
| writer, with the following letter:
rAr1sroeK HorsE, TAv1sTocK stst. sag4nEs q 1sza
1osno, W Mondas ssy, EysninE Ma2 M 1SsS s3,
never mako ungcnerous use Of the raper 81 v,hch
send YOU copy the other side, though believe
nothing will eyer , r. to 'ac to haye
been abused think it simply Just that eh. should see
it. Ii you think ton lbut not othe11se sho" II ~
"o-' "@''' CHARLES DICKENS.
The scopy Oh the other side ran TINS:
Il having been stated to that tn reference to the
differences which have resulted In the separation OF
AIR and Mrs. Charles Dickens. certain statements nave
een circulating TINT such differences were occas1oned
b. deeply injecting the moral chaIacte
| ri Mr. Dickens and compromising the reputation OF
| others we solemniy declare that we nov dlsbehefe
such statencnts We know that they not believed
nv N1a Dickens and pledge ourselves on AZ occa-
sions to contradict them entirely destitute OF 1ounda
tion- ..&-z
of Mrs. Dickens family.
There is no doubt that 50 soon as the state
1nent was printed in Household Words all e1traot
dinary reyulsion Of feeling took place aga'ns'
Dickens He who had been looked upon ~ TN
incarnation Of every domestic virtue. now stoos
before tho world as breaking up hla home an<
cast1ug OF his wife, ayowedly for no fault OF he
own. hut for the mere capricious Eratlhcatlon
his own morbid fancy. Violent articles tSer
written about him in the newspapers. and tn
following" epigraE1, not given by Nr. Forster
Was largely circulated:
With toueue aud pen no more mag Dickens fudge,
=, In vain for truth and cbarits he pleads
| The world aroused, the author now EcH 1uase,
No. by his Hous.aotd Hords but household deeds.
His acquaintance was split into two sets, On
Of which sided with Mrs. Dickens, and anon;
the friendships which Dickens lost at that tim
were those with afiaH Burdett-Coutts, his part
nerB in Household Words aud publisher
1Icssrs. Bradbury t. Evans, and his old and int
mate ally, Mr. Mark Lemon He bore up brave
" against these troubles, but tilas the pain {
them entered into Ills soul the following extra<
| from letter Of his to the present writer, dats
June "a, 1888: will SHOW