New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-10-30
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
LETTERs on DlCKENs.

1895 10 1879 l2mo. PIP 2s5 Charles seri'Ae'
Sous. -. .ho
authorized publication of the Letters OF 0nu'oo
49,, h oldiug IN the selection issued TWO
go oco a pnmber of epistles which had theh
esconed the search of the ediOrs, aud many OUTFITS
winch had already been printed III various ooohS.
Of the letters IN this latter category the hos' anu
tho hest were addressed to trlends III America
Those 10 Professor FELTON, and TO MT anu MIS-
James T. Fields are to be found IN Mr. rieiuS
O Yesterdays with Authors; and those TO Washing
ton Irving were gwen in the Life aud Letters OF
the author of The Sketch Book But 1t is satls-
faction to have them all brought together Inc
OMISSION of such admirable specimens OF rienuiy
correspondence from any collected edlticn OF tlo
Letters of Charles Dickens was not 10 De thousH'
Of In this supplementary volume they are ASST
ciated with a few epistles to Mrs. Cowden Clarke
Lady Blessington and other English 1richds, "h'oH
in one way or another have also been puoiisheo oe
fore. and with a great variety of wholly fresh
material the most important part of which Is asso-
GATED with the name of Bulwer-Lytton.
A striking characteristic of this, as well as the
two previous volumes, is the uniformly s'ions
quality OF the contents. The SUBJECTS are eA'eols
miscellaneous There are short notes OF compliment
or courtesy: business communications OF all sorts :
rolckIpg illusions of friendship; protestatiohs Vi
affection: literary ard dramatic CRITICISMS; 40
nestle discussions and invitations to dinner; out
there Is nothing slovenly or worthless. IL Dickens
had TO write only a few formal lines of thanks or
regret, he made them remarkable by force Oh OK
pression and the ring of sincerity. If he amused
himself pennng nonsense and extravaganza lor HIS
intimate companions, he gave these trililng pages
n pont and polish which affixed 10 them the unhils-
taxable stamp of literature. He stated facts WIN
,oasterlv clearness and emphasis. and put reasons
with convincing energy. Tremendous Ngor
marked all that he wrote and all that he dld ana
he never forgot his favorlte motto tha' W haV i
worth doing at all is worth doing we'll" Perhaps
his expenditure of intellectual fcrce upon Trivial
objects would often impress US uniaVoraoiy ]"
were not that his somewhat strenuous episties are
go often lighted up with flashes of merriment, and
so deeply tinged with natural feeling. lhough
they are careful they are not artificial. They re-
feet an earnest mi nd and an ahectionate DISPOSE
tion and frequently some drOn turn OF phrase
some brilliant touch of description, some wild ana
original conceit, breaks in suddenly. dsslpathg
every appearanee of artifce and adding new
value to the whole page. In the MIDST OF serious
recommendation to Lady Blesslngton TO see phe-
nomenal youth known thirty years ago as the
magnetic boy" he writes
am told that down in Devonshire there are
Young ladies innumerable who read GRABBED manu-
scrlDts with the PAINS OF luelI uduuo anu
papers with their ankles, aud SO torth ana VINO
are so to speak, literary all over begin 10 Under
stand what a blue-stOcklng MEANS ana nav hov V
lhe smallest doubt that Lady - ilOl lhstau ~"
could write quite entertaining BOOK Win tHe
sole of her foot as ever she did with her head.
aIam going to bed, he says at the end of a letter
To his friend Mr. Thompson; ." The landlady is not
literary, and calls me Mr.. Digzon In other re-
spects it is good house." "Many thanks for the
grapes" he writes to the Hon. Miss Eden; which
must have come from the identical vine man ought
to sit under" At the close of business letter TO
Mr. W. Ii. Wills on the affairs of Household Vor@''
we find the following postscript, with the heading
doubly underscOred:
ASPECTS OF NATURE.
We have had tremendous sea here Steam
racket in the harbOr frantic and dashug her Drains
out against the stone walls.
"Do YOU suppose" he asks Washington Irving
s. do you suppose the post-ofice clerks care to Ie-
ceive lettersf have mg doubts They get INTO
dreadful habit of indifference. postman, l mag
inc is quite callous. Conceive his delivering one
TO himself without being startled 10y preliminary
double knockp An equally droll fancy is ex-
pressed to Professor FELTON, proDos OF the oysters
OF New York:
4 terrible idea occurred to me as wrote those
words The oyster-cellars-what do they do when
oysters are not in season Is pckleu satnI I
yended there Do thew sell crabs shrlmps, wlnKies
berrlngs The Oyster-openers-wha 40 Wty 90 !
DO they commit suicide in despair, or wrench open
tight drawers and cupboards and hermeucaily
sealed bottles for practice Perhaps they are den
fists out OF the oyster season. Who knows
An invitation 10 dinner is cancelled in this whim-
steal manner III note TO Mr.. Charles Babbage IN
1874:
My DEAR SIR,-I regret to say that we are placed
in the DreposterOus situation OF being ODllgeu 10
postpone our little dinner party on saturday, oy
reason of having no house to dine in. We have not
been burnt out; but desirable widow las tenant,
own house for the whole term ot our intended ab-
sence abroad, on condition that she had possession
OF IL to-day, We fed, and were driven INTO inns
nlace which has no convenience for the production
of any other banquet than cold collation. OF paie
and linen, the only comforts we nave not leIt Oe-
NV consolation lies in knowing what sort OF
dinner Won would have had if you had come fcre,
and IN looking forward TO claiming the iulhmcnt OF
your kind promise when we are again at nome.
An appointlnent with Mr.. Thompson, in 1910, Is
postponed in this characteristic communication:
have received most llattering message from
the head turnkey OF the Jail tins morning, intlmat-
ing that " there waTn't geneman IN all London
he'd be gladder to show his babies 10, than Muster
Dickens, and let him come weneyer ne would 10
that shop he wOs welcome" but as the Governor
lwbo is a very nice fellow and gentleman Is not
ut home this morning, and Furthermore as the
morning itself has rather gone out town IN respect
of it's poetical allurenents, THINK we had best
postpone our visit for day OF two
The following narrative of dream, sent to Pro-
lessor FELTON, in 1s43, has been PIT blished before,
but il is so humorous that readers will not be
sorry to renew their acquaintance with 1T:
dreamed that somebody was dead. | don t
know who. but it's no. TO the purpose. IL was 2
private gentleman, and particular friend and |
was greatly overcome when the news was broken
to me VERY delicatelyl by gentleman in a cooked
hat top boots and sheet. Nothing else. " Good
Cod" i said, is he dead = lie is as dead sir
reioined the gentleman, as a door-nail. But We
must all die, MI Dickens, sooner or later, my dear
sir" "Ahw | said. Yes, TO be sure. Very true
But what did lie die Off The gentleman burst
into flood of tears and said, in voice broken by
emotion: He chrisened his youngest child, sir,
with toasting fork" | never in my life was so
affected as at his having fallen victim to this com
nlalnt III carried conviction TO my mind that he
never could have recovered. | knew that IL was
the most interesting and fatal malady in the
world and | wrung the gentemans hand in a
CONFUSION of respectful adEiraton, for felt that