The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1880-01-31

4 Charles Dickens. But cases like this of
Anthony Trollope's are, l suspect, much
commoaer than these of Scott and
Dickens. ....-.,
Charles Dickens used to pooh.pooh the
netien of Lions in the Path in the pur-
suit of literature, and he pooh.poohed it
with good reason, for doubt If he ever
experienced the feelings which most other
men of his kind have felt at the sight of
a Rejected MS; and from the day when,
with the "New Monthly" in his hand, he
turned into Westminster Fail, with tears
in his eyes, to read his first centribution
to magazine, till the afternoon
when he laid down his pen upon the
unfinished page of edwin brood" +"
the career Of Charles Dickens was
long and uninterrupted succession
Of triumphs. But there is hardly anoth-
or writer of Dickens genius who could
not turn to his pigeon-holes and fish out
MS. after MS. that had made the round
of the magazines or the publishers. Even
Bret Harte's own icountrymsn, John Lo-
throp Motley, the greatest historian
America has yet produced, had the NOR
tifcation to see his MS. of "''The Rise of
the Dutch Republic returned "with
Murray's compliments and thanks" be-
fore he could find publisher for a
work which now ranks with the
most brilliant and successful mar
ratives Of our time. This was M0tley's
second disappointment with his MS. His
first was the intelligence, when he had
spent several years in collecting his ma
terials and in sketching the outline of
his History, that Prescott, with life
of Philip the Second" was anticipating
him. The intelligence almost took the
soul of Motley. "It seemed to me-" he
saysi in one Of his letters, "that l had
nothing to do but to abandon at once a
cherished dream, and probably to re-
nounce authorship. For had not made
up my mind to writela history, and then
cast about to take up a subject. Ny sub
ject had taken me up, and drawn me on,
and absorbed me into itself. It was nec-
essary for me, it seemed, to write the
hook I had been thinking much of, and
1 had no inclination or inter
est to write any other" Yet
Motley thought upon reflection that it
would be disloyal on his part tinat to sgo to
Prescott at once and explain his position,
and if he should find a shadow of dis
satisfaction on his mind TO abandon his
plan altogether. Prescott, one of the
most generous of men, acted with Mot
ley as Sir Walter Scott acted on q SINH
lar occasion with Robert Chambers, and
gave him every encouragement and help
he could. "Had'the result Of tue inter
view been Different" said Motley, II
should have gone from him with a chill
upon my mind, and, no doubt, have laid
down the pen at once; for it was not
that cared about writing a history, but
that felt an inevitable impulse to write
one history"
This was very much tho case with
Carlisle and his History Of the French
Revolution" Lord Brougham had the
idea of writing a History of the French
Reveluaien" in his head for years, and if
he could have found time for the requi-
site investigations he wouid have done
it, for next to eloquence his greatest am
biti0n was to rank AZ an historian, and
he Thought he possessed a special gift,
equal to Livy's, for narrative. The se-
cret history of Garlyie's work is one of
the mest interesting of its kind in itera-
,ture. There lis even q touch of ipathos
about it, for after the work had been COM
pieted, offered to a Publisher, and
returned, like MoAey's, with Mr..
Murray's compliments and tharl1s," the
MS. found its way into the hands of
John Stuart Mill for perusal, and
through Mill into the ;hands of o person
whe expressed q great desirs to Gee it.
"This person sat up tperusing it far into
the wee hoursiof the morning; and at
length, rscolleoting himself, surprised at
the flight of time, laid the MS. careless
ly upon the library table and hied to
bed. There 1t lay, a loose theap'of rub.
bish, fit only for the waste-paper basket
or for the CRATE. So Betty, the house
maid, thought when she came to light
! the library fire in the morning. Looking
around for something snitable for hel
purpose, and finding nothing better thar
that she thrust it into the grate, ,andapply.
ing the match" {as Carlyle said recently
when giving an account Of the mishap)
sup the chimney, with q sparkle and
roar, went The French Revolution; !;
thus ending in smoke and SCOT, as the
/ great transaction itself ,didemore than 8
half-century ago. At FIRST they forbort
to tell me the evil tidings; but at length
heard the dismal story, and / was as 9
man staggered by heavy blow.
l was as man beside myself, for there
was scarcely page Of MS. left. / sa'
down at the table and strove to collect
my thoughts and to commence the work
again. filled page after page, but rar
tie pen over every line as the page fin
ished. Thus was it for many a weary day
| till at last, as sat by the window, half
hearted and detected, my eye wandered
along over acres of roofs, Il saw q mar
standing upon q scafold, engaged in
building wall-the wall of a house. With
his trowel he would lay great splash Of
mortar upon the last layer, and then bricl
after brick would be deposited upon this
striking each with the butt Of his trowel
as if to give 1t his ibenediction and fare