Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-03-19
Charles Dickens and His Wife.


Tue manifest fact that everything
near or remote about the late Charles
Dickens is yet source of deep inter-
est in America must be my excuse for
quoting in eXtenso from the Bouleoud
u series Of paragraphs" inside !"
paragraphs l suppose they might be
called -concerning poor Mrs. Dickens.
One has abundant reason to know
that the writer is we'll informed. The
Bouleedra, l may observe, is society
paper, printed in English and pub
lished i'll Paris for circulation there and
also on this side of the channel. 1t
has large and steadily increasing cir
culation. The proprietor is lady
named Burke, and the editor ICON
jointly with herr is Mr.. Clifford Mill
age, Paris correspondent of consid-
cradle continental experience. Now
for the paragraphs
Tho novelist, being of all men the
greatest admirer of the useful virtues
III woman, of course chose wife for
good looks and good nature alone. She
belonged to ageneratlon in which hys-
terics and attacks OF nerves were in
course whenever the affairs of life
seemed grievous to them; they were
dowdy, slow, strictly feminine, and
laudably innocent of aesthetics; but TIE
love OF excitement, inseparable from
human nature, found its vent i'll fits of
screams and tears. Without any wish
to speak unkindly of the gentlewoman
who Is just dead, it must be owned
that she was eminently de son steele.
Dickens was not very tolerant of any
form of sensibility, and his wife's hys-
terics gave Oh Ills nerves past endu-
rance. This alone, all scandal notwith-
standing. was the one cause of the rup-
ture and final parting.
The domestic uiscomforts of David
Coppertield and Dora are no exaggera-
tons Of tho real miseries of the Dick
ems household under the faced man
agement OF its mistress. Things hap
penel there which never could have
occurred under any other roof-tree, as
Dickens himself used to declare in
desperation OF spirit. l have seen
their house bArricaded and garrisoned
by drunken cook, who executed
war dance ut the drawinG.zoom windows,
hurting defiance therefrom at the ex-
cluded family and the assembled in
habltants Of the neighborhood. On
one occasion somewhat numerous
party was gathered at the dinner table
when Maclise remarked to his neigh
Dor in an innocent voice, Isn't there
something curious about the table
cloth? 1t doesn't shine ! On exam
ination. it struck the person addressed
that the dinner was served upon
sheet. Far more trying to the guests
however, than any such little eccen-
tricity, was the strong language with
which the host received the CONVEX
sational blunders Of tue poor little
hostess.
"Miss Hogarth took her sisters place
in the household by reason of her Or
der, brisknsss, and managing powers.
The worlds suspiclsns OF her and of
her brother-in-law were absolutely
without foundation. She was happily
exempt from the weaknesses of her
time, never had Mysteries, and always
kept brown paper parcels and pieces OF
string out Of the ferOciously orderly
master Of the house. Whether tue
course she took WAS altogether sisterly
may be questioned; but its unseltish-
ness and self-sacritioe can hardly be q
matter VI doubt. .'...-.
"Eho brothers Dickens were not fitted
for the holy estate. Nevertheless, they
ali rashea young into the bonds. Or
fonr one only lived with his wife. Pri-
vats separation, the divorce court, and
Aight to America put an eud to the
marriages OF the three others. Lon
don Correspondence Phil. Bulletin.