Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-10-18
Drsr..s 81 an Earl..A Novelist.

ECHAhLES hkApE AND His kDkOSYSSRAClEs-
London Corresr ondence Cincinnati s,smnereiu
Reede Is gentleman by bhta ard ed ,cas,on
though the very reverse OF 2entlenau whe
| his favor1te opinions happen to be conrrovertei
or his abundant preJudlceS are aroused. He.-
the oungest son OF John Reade, a subsssnii.d
country gentleman OF IpSden house, oar ri
shire; showed unmiStakao'e afe3 Ia MS stud ..
and vas graduated at MaEdalen cotteye, Oxford.
where he so distinguished himself as TO secure
&c lowShip. This was des:rabte-a feilowShip
In universities here, you Know, a foondation Tor
the maintenance, on certain eendulons. OF
younger son, colld inherit nothing from his
fathers estate, ali OF which went by the Law OF
man rad no idea Of passing his life, or any part
of 1t, in the university. He was determined
either TO study law or pursue literature. for
which he had early displayed a decided predi-
intent AT 90 he was called to the oar as
member OF Lincoln'S inn; but he never prac.
ticed, and he says now that he never purpoSei
practtcing; that he took a course OF law simply
10 aid him in writing novels. He is nor man
to comprehend his own ends In the past, albeit
he is very sincere 10 believing many things OF
himself which have no foundation in trush. he
told and wro;e stories from his boyhlod. and
has had.all his life tee deepest Interest in fic
tiefi. He read. hear, ali OF Scott's novels be-
fore he was II years old. aod while at college
absorbed the contents OF at least half a dozen
volumes OF fiction weekly.
The processes Of his mind are very rapid,
ard he laS an Instinct for getting at the things
he wants to know. which, to an author, IS OF
exceeding value. Some OF his boyfsh rom sacas
are asserted 10 have been very clever. consider
ing his age. have been told that he very care
fully keeps all the manuscript he has ever made
Il deem this probable. for he Is supremacy in
love with his own performances though he
Is said to be that some publisher will get hold
OF his Juvenile Efforts and issue them as new
novels by Charles Reade" Such things have
strange that authors OF reputation should have
some such dread. 1t may be that, standing ul-
der this shadow, Reade Tesoutely dtsavaws
having IN his possession bit Of early writing
which any reckless, purlotling publisher Colld
put to Use. Reade wrote stories anony sloiSly
at trst for weeklies and magazines, and even
Issued, | think, several novels, which failed,
however, to attract any special attention. The
novel Which first singled him out as man of
freshness and force was peg Wof1iastoG,' - be-
lieyed by many to be even now the best OF his
works. Any such lntimation is deeply resented,
however, by the author, who naturally dleS
rot wish to have 1t thought that he has not adj
vanced Intellectually In more than thirty -t1ve
years. A Story is told OF young provincial
Englishman, VINO had come down TO London to
see its lions and was making their acquaintance
as rapidly as time would permit. Having been
presented to Reade one evening at a club, ne
wished 10 say something pleasant, ana referred
10 "Woftington' as one CT Tie best novels OF the
time. and the Fety best which, IN his judgment,
the NOVELIST had written. Reade flew into a
passion at once, declaring that any man Who
was ID fool enough to hold such an opinion
ought not TO be permitted to express 1t outside
or lunatic asylum, With other Violence Oh
speech which overwhelmed the unfortunate
Brit0n with modification and caused hIUl to
leave the clubhouse With the words that 'Mr.
Eeade is a yery extraordinary gentleman as
he certainly rs. "Peg Wof1ngton' sold very
largely, was translated into several modern
languages and afterward draGlatiZed By tne
author aid pronounced g. success on the
stage, with which it continues to be a
favorite. The actress who is the heroine Of the
TALE IS very fatteiiug portrait OF by DO
means stainless original. Margaret Voting
ton WaS yer, attractive, yivacious creature In
| real life. OF very humble Irish parentage, sac
began her theatrical career al nine years, aud
evinced a high order OF histrtonic aoty. At 81
she came here, and played with brief 1nterru J.
tons at Coveht garden Until her retirement, -
years after She had any number of lovers,
Glany OF them distinSG ised IN various walks OF
life. one Of her most popular paris was Sir
Harry W1ldair In Farquhar's comedy OF "TIe
Ia 1t with enthusiastic applause After ile- per
torrance of this rakish character, "Wohng-
TOM WAS quickly succeeded By Christie john
stone, much in the same vein as the other, and
was almost equally wen received. These Two
stories established Reade's fame, and insured
for him prosperous career 10 fiction. Three
three volume for.n .sNever Too Late to Mend
which increased his reputation, and has, per-
haps, been more widely. read shan any of lis
works. Since then he has produced some ~
noveis in all. among them the Course of True
Love- "White Lies" love Me Little, Love Ne
i Long .Clois;er and the HEARTH 'Grlrlisn
tiduf4I, very EIIu 'fuL IN
| His Place, * Terrible Temptation" Eighth
| COMMANDMENT and "a Woman -Hater'' The
| last he puc.ishcd anonymously, fancying thai
| certain critics had such prejudice 5aiust him
| that they would not ana could not do him JUS
| tIcc. lie is full OF all manner Of crotchets ana
| 80 prodiginusly var and,eSotstic thatit is next
! 10 impossible to get on with ntln at times, par
i!cularly If you do not know his tdio5yucra-ies.
Despite his faults, which lie near The surface,
lie Is Kind hearted, brave, generous, wholly
independent, ElaulT fellow. HIS iDJim les d
M ~ ff,6
ndent that he will soon be very amtable and
serene again. lie hates injustice and opp;es-
son il every shape, and has the spirit OF a true
ierorIneT. Al his recent novels have beel d.
fecttd to reforming abuses. He says taat he
can 10 longer aford to write with no higher 90
Ject than entertainment; that The nob!e ana
society and the state. He has done Gaal OF
practical good, az, for instance. in bringing be-
fore the public he outrages perpetratedl IN luna
tic asyluIns in VERY Hard Gssh, , and in point.
irg out the mischief Of trades unions in .sPut
Yourself In His Place" You must have seen
ere or less aboGt his belief in the necessity OF
Iity-arG the zeal With which he urges it. II
al! one Goes nct see II v all the Importance
that he sees. his choler rises and he explodss
with yoney Of epithets. Not only is LIE lm21-
tient Of opposition, he seems to insist Ii at
everybody Shall! tndo!se his opinions, inned-
ately on pain OF his severe dlspeasure AID de-
criticised regarding criticism as q personal
affront you may remember that he brought
suit for libel against some American ne VS.
paper-1 disiemember the name now--whicn
had spoken OF Griffith Gaunt' as Immoral, and
privately he swore about the charge for u num-
her OF months. Reide appears TO have no self
discipline. lie is 65, and In some respects he Is
like ct.fic, having all OF childs irrit .b.iity
aud temper. Having so large a supply Of self
love, it is difficult NOS TO trench upon it nov aTl,
tben; sometimes when no one would suspect Is.
His friends coniinu ally defend him by saying
"CharleS ReaGes virtues are large and oyeab,e;
lis faults are small and without SAVIOR Of mean
ness.' And this is true. The novelist is big.
manipulating fellow. not fat, but large-frl,neu
and muscular. He Is very fond OF physical eX-
erctse, such as rowing, riding. cricket, swim
ming, and notwithstanding his hair is grizZled,
his stalwart body shows no sign Of weakness or
decay. He is neat. though careless In dress,
ana resemb,es, with his rudy face. easy gait
and unconventional manner, prosperous far
mer. He like ccEgenial company, but not for
mai society, Which, as rule, he takes pains to
avoid. He is in the best sense Of the worda Bohe-
milan, and enjoys himself vastly with lot OF
good fellows ana lively actresses ever pipes and
| bowl OF punch. lie ID not dissipated nor sen
| sual. He has wholesome degree OF animalisn,
| as most CT bis countryman have, but he
takes all his pleasures IN moderation. He Is q
| bachelor. but has q spacious, pleasant house
IN the suburbs OF the city, with any quantity Of
bric-a- brac, pictures, engravings, flowers and
q