, 1881-01-30

sdmunds' dover claim" III
We acoult Senator Edmunds, however, OF
any Intentional injustice In this matte1; no
las evidently misunderstood the case IN ls
letails, and perhaps is not Informed OF tne
,iratfcal efforts made Of late years TO plant
I'D land warrants i'll the heart OF tills Guy
under the claim OF title from the unl1eo
states. In view Of the whole facts OF Inc
chse there eau hardly be any supstan1'AA w
je6s(on to the passage OF this blll.
'sTHAoiK:ERAY's RELATIONS TO ENGLISH
Under the above caption, Mr. E. S. Nadal |
has contributed -a-ptper to the teorua1s
number OF Scrlhssea's Monthly whlcn Is
very NOTICEABLE, pot only for the Interesting
light which 1t thrpWs upon Mr.. Thackeras's
personal relatlohs; bht also for the opportu-
nifty it affords of-inaitlting SOME compaf'-
sons between the treatment of literary men
in Great Britain hh1d' iu'oqr own country. 1t
is no secret now that it WIS aruling passion
in Thackeray's mind:hts desire to secure nd
mission into the lnghestEnElish society, and
that, while he numerically .lashed spoos, LIE
was snob himself, in that re you'd have
toadled to that class in order to lave gained
admission to It. Mr. Nadal very cleverly de-
scrihes him in this sketch: ''''He believed In
the world, and bestowed reluctant out H.
evitable worship upon it. He was porn
poet and humorfst. His eyes were liked on
life so strongly that, it would have
been impossible for him to withdraw
them altogether. He could nut. cease
to be poet and he could not forget the world.
Between the two he was unable to make up
his mind. lie discovered daily the vanity Of
mundane matters, hut the discovery. had
nevertheless to be made the day after. de
was proud and ambitious man, who hated
to be ignored or thought tritllng or unln-
portant. He had desire for social position
which he was Mn able to put aside" So In
tense was this desire that at the age OF
40, when he had established bis reputation
and had written Esmond" and - Vanity
Fair" he tried to get the position of Secre-
tary of Legation at Washington, position
which financially was Of no account. AS Mr.
Nadal says: "He was willing to step down
from one Of the highest literary thrones Of
the day to accept place where he should
CODY the words OF masters at home who were
scarcely conscious of him, and take lessons
of Juniors who dcspised him as an interloper
and good-for-nothing; and he wonli do all
this that he might have the consciousness
OF belonging to a respectable profession" -
He carried this pass sion to the most
extreme degree. He hHd come to regard the
British world Of fashion as the most tre-
mendous object in existence. He had not
only an admiration, but fond affection, for
Lords, Counts, and Earls. lie was willing
even to be their laekey, this man who had
charmed all England anta America with Ills
writing, provided lie could be. admitted to
their society. lie was willing to sit at the
foot Of their tables and eat the crumbs that
fell from it. It is not pleasant picture to
look upon. but unfortunately it is a true one,
and this luan, who, apart from this servillty,
was.one of Natures own noblenlen, with the
highest title on earth,-that of intellect
would hare descended to any humility that
would have admitted him to their presence
When Beethoven's brother wrote to him and
signed himself "Land Owner" the penni-
less old master replied. signing 1in1-
self brain. Owner'; and when Goethe
seryilely removed his hat while the
Emperor passed., the, sturdy Beethoven
| kept his on. .p1id yfebnked. the poet But
Thackeray was not one of this Sort. He fiot
| only attacked the worship. Of rank, but satlr-
! lied all the fol1ies and nbsurdities Of English
society, and could make Bulwig exclaim: !:
sand you, Yellowplush, would penetwate
| these mystewies; you would wafse the awful
| veil and stand in the tremendous Pwesence.
Withdraw, wash neophyte," and get no
| Inn 74tnr
have raised that veil than he No man would
| have been more delighted to have taken
seat by the side Of titled nonentities. aristo-
| cratic rouGs, and mobiles half removed from
!! idiots. And what constitutes this English
| society, which would not to-day admit Sliak-
speare, If he were living, with all his present
fame. to their tables, except rs q lackey
What Is this ''society" but handful OF
| feudal land monopolists who are rich by hal1
starving millions Of poor wretches? There
is seemingly democratic equality In the
| English laws, but their social system is 4
caste that is more exacting and rigid than
that of thu H1ndoos.> No matter what mans
character and brains may be, no matter what
he may have accomplished for the .beneht VI
the world, he cannot enter that charmed cir
Gle Of titled nonenity and glltterfng fustlan
/ But Thackeray Is not the only Englishman
who adores the sristncracy Of his country
twenty-five millions Of Britons are willing
to be auasi-slayes, and to toady to and fawn
upon and worship the idols they have set up
and certainly the Idol, so handsomely set,pI
and entertained. cannot be blamed for DC
cepting the Worship: 1t is only pity whef
a man OF intellect, like Thackeray, consent:
to bow down and worship even though he re
ceiyes only sneers and snubs. Had Mr.
Thackeray's lot been cast In our owi
land, every door from the hu1ables
to the highest would have been ope1
to receive him, aud his gift OF genius
would have been Q; carte blanche Into ou'
best society, which would have taken him .,
the hand and honored lin, and admired hlW
and made him. the idol Of its affection 4s'lt
reverence. He would have escaped th4're
; bluffs which met him while living. His 1aen'
ory would not have been subjected''y years
after his death. to insult al the hands OF tl't
most offensive snobin England In one OF 70!
most stupid books eFer written, that has only