The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1878-10-11
CHARLES DICKENS.
His speech at the Farewell banquet
5,t-, ,sg in London.

AmeTlCaa, CAaTleS 4J4CkeuS was euASH.
tanned by his friends in London, on
the eve Of his departure. Mr.. Dickens
speech of thanks Is a model:
No thanks that L can offer you can
express my sense of my reception by
this great assembiage, or can in the
least suggest to you how deep the
glowing words Of my fEisnd the chair.
man, and your acceptance Of chem,
have sunk into my heart. But both
combined have 30 greatly shaken the
cOmposure which Tam used to conn.,
mand before an audience, that hope
you may observe in me- some traces of
an eloquence more expressive than the
richest words. (Cheers.) To say that
am fervcntly grateful to you Is to say
nothing; to say that can never forget
| this beautiful sight Is to say nothing /;
to say that it brings upon me q rush
of emotion not only In the present, but
in the thought Of its remembrance In
the future by those who are dearest to
me, is to say nothing; but to feel all
this for the moment, even almost to
pain, is very much indeed. a(Cheers.)
Mercurfo says of the wound In his
breast, dealt him by the hand Of = foe,
that 'tis not so deep rs well, nor SO
wide as a church door; but tits enough,
it will serve" I may say of the wound
in my breast, newly dealt to me by the
hands of my friends, that It Is deeper
than the soundless sea and wider than
the whole Catholic church. (Cheers
and Q laugh.) l may safely add that it
me dumb. should be more than
human, and assure you i am very
human indeed, if could look around
upon this brilliant representative com.
pany and not feel greatly thrilled and
stirred by the presence of so many
brother artists, not only in literature
but also in the sister arts, especially
painting, among whose professors, lfv-
ing and unhappily- dead, are many of
my oldest and best friends. (Cheers.)
hope that may, without presump-
tion, regard this thronging of my
brothers around me as u testimony ON
their part that they believe that the
cause of art generally has been safe in
my keeping, and that it has never been
falsely dealt with by me. (Cheers.)
Your resounding cheers just now would
have been but so many cruel reproaches
to me if could not here declare that,
from the earliest day Of my career
down to this proud night, have
always tried to be true to my calling
(cheers)-never unduly to assert it, on
the one hand, and never, ON any pre-
tense or consideration, to permit 1t to
be patronixed in my person, has been
the steady cndeavOr of my life, and
have occasionally been vain enough to
hope that l may leave its social posi-
! ton in England better than 1 found it.
(Cheers.) Similarly, and equally
hope without presumption, l trust that
may take this general representation
of fhn v,unh1io t,opr, fppOs,n,t, or manu-
orders, pursuits and degrees, as u token
that the public believe that, with a
host of imperfecti0ns and shortcomings
on my head, have as a writer, in my
soul and conscience, tried to be as true
to them as they have ever been true to
me. (Cheers.) And here, In reference
to the inner circle of the arts, and the
outer circle of the public, I feel it n
duty tonight to offer two remarks. I
have in my duty at odd times heard n
great deal about literary sets and
cliqles and coteries and barriers; about
keeping this man up, and keeping this
man down about sworn disciples and
sworn unbelievers and mutual admi-
ration societies, and know not what
other dragons in the upward path. /
began to tread it when I was very
young, without influence, without
money, without companion, introducer
or adviser, and am bound to put in
evidence in this place that I never
lighted on the dragons yet. (Cheers.)
So have heard in my day, at divers
odd times, much generally to the effect
that the English people have little or
no love Of art for it's own sake, and that
they do not greatly care to acknowl-
edge or do honor to the artists. My
own experience has uniformly been
exactly the reverse. (Cheers.) can
say that OF my countryfnen, though
cannot say that of my country. "a
Iaugh.) 80
And now passing to the immediate
occasion of your doing me this great
honor, the story of my going to Amer
lea is very easily and briefly told.
Since was there before, vast and
entirely new generation has arisen in
the United States. Since was there
before, most of the best known OF my
books have been written and publish.
ed the new generation AID the books
have come together and have kept to-
gether, until at length numbers of those
who have so widely and constantly
read me, naturally desiring little
va riotv in the Relationship batWeari