The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1882-04-02
SOME NEW BOOKS.
A New Life OF Charles Lamb.


knowledge OF the man or the author. but has
confined himself for the most part To n CON
dens.ation of materials cXtant in larger books
The task Of selection and arrangement Ia. how
ever. skilfully performed and the events OF
| Lambs life the peculiar features Of his char
actcr, and the current Judgments on his work
are presented more succnctly and effectively
than in any other single publication.
The key to much that would otherwise be in
expcabic in Lambs attitude toward many Of
his contemporaries IL to bc found in the humble
circumstances of his birth the shortcomings
OF his early training and the obscurity OF the
social position which he long occupied and
from which he can hardly be said 10 have at
any time emerged. Lamb, HUhtt. and Leigh
Hunt belong to group of writer's whose rela-
ton TO the literary magnates Of their own day
controlling or commended by the Edinburgh
Repe,o tho London Quarterly and Bldck1oood
can DO best indicated by describing them az
Adullamtcs. They were not well born. they
had no rich relations, they had not received u
university education. they had not the definite
status resulting from membership OF one OF the
liberal professions. The caves OF Adullam. in
which these disconnected and dsinherited
men OF talent, cut of from the great channels
OF publicity. and discountenanced or con-
descondngly patronized by the arbiters
vi OplHlOU, tooh ltlusc, Ntlc lllc i>oftuoN
Magazine. the Monthly. tho Ne,o Monthly, and
the E,0hshmans Magazine. Here they got
the hearing which would probably have
been long denied them by moro eminent and
self-magnifying tribunals. and 1t was through
such relatively devious and modest avenues
that they fought their way to reputation. IL IL
amusing to look back and recall how much
greater men jeffrey. the editor of the Edtn-
btToh. and Clifford the editor OF the Quarterly
supposed themselves to be than the con-
tributors 10 the seeond-cla periodicals
above mentioned. Yet how Insignificant these
mighty personages now appear to us be-
side the figure OF Charles Lamb. on whom they
would have fanced themselves TO be comforting
high honor by inviting him to dine. Not with
impunity. however. can even man OF genius
and of native geniahty dwell in the tont Of
the Ishmaeite or the hut of the Pariah. Tho
sunniest spirit will be clouded by the shadow
OF successful mediocrity the sweetest temper
will be sourcd by a ranking sense OF injustice.
and the soundest judgment may be warped by
instructive wish to redress inequalities and
infict retribution.
Lambs father was man q all work and body
servant to lawyer in the Temple. and his
mother was the daughter Of u housckeeper en-
ployed in Hcrtfordshirc family. through whose
influence Lamb subsequently obtained a clerk
ship at India House. II would be difficult 10
pointout in the list of English men Of letters one
the circumstances OF whose birth would be
more likely to tell heavily against him in q
country which is still the reverse of demo
cratic. Lambs educational advantages were
better than his station. yet they stopped short
at a point whore the most important stage Of
training il usually considered to begin For
his schooling no went at the age Of eight 10
Christs Hospital. and remained there seven
years, carrying away with him some Latin and
a very little Greek Al the age of fifteen he
saw his last OF school, and within the
two years following he got. as we have
said. n eerkship in the Accountants Office
OF the East India Company. His salary began
at the rate of go year rising 10y gradual
steps, and a clerk Lamb continued to be from
1892 to 1875. when. after thirty-three year.
slavery. he was permitted 10 retire with pen
sion OF $3.50. 1t is important to remember that
all hs best literary work was done al night
after days spent in Office drudgery and that
this WAS only one Of many ways i'll which from
| infancy to his premature old age the iron must
have entered into his soul. That disposition
50 naturally sunny and expansive as was
Lambs should have led him to cnivcn his
dull existence with such companionship a.
was forthcoming, and should have entaicd
habits OF a cOnvivial sort. was perhaps to be
expected, and charitable persons would not
now touch at all upon a falling OF which Lamb
himself made no secret but for Carlyle's sheer
which Mr. Frouds has lately thought proper to
report As is notod by the present bographer
Lamb had 10 bear some tIunt- OF the kind from
his contemporaries. most malignant of which
was the QuarterIvs avermcnt-not "insinua-
ton. as Mr.. Angler says-that his " Confessions
OF q Drunkard" was n true tale" No doubt the
essay had enough reality in it to live as a very
powerful plea for the virtue Of self restraint
but it is 4 gross misuse OF language to speak of
Lambs occasional Indulgence, which never in
terfered with the punctual fu,fllmcnt OF his
monotonous business duties or blunted the
fine edge OF his intellect. as hahtual inebricty
Undoubtedly there was certain Bohcmianism
in him-a foDdncss fer ovcrnurh tobacco and
gin and water. and Willingness to censor:
with those on whom more particular people
looked somewhat as&ance. But with whom.
pray. was Charles Lamb in his early years-a
humble clerk scribb'ing anonymously for
obscure periolicals-to associate; and was II To-
his discredt or to his honor that when. after
he had passed the meridian o! life. the skies
were less overcast and the circle o, his a.
Quaintance widcned. he did not turn his back
on the comrades Of his young manhood?
1t is true that Lamb was disposcd-and only
those who investigate the man before studying
the author would expect a different attitude
To eye with gtnam Of irony or stare of icy in
credulity the great ones Of the literary world
provided they had not paid the last forfeit 10
mortality. OF provided they were not personally
known TO him "a were COleridSe Wordsworth
and SOuthey. For Scott, Byron and Shelley he
entertained feeling almost Of aversion, VIVA,
had Charles Lamb in common with barons and
the sons Of baroncts, or what had the pensive
Ella, whose admirers, rs De Quincy said must
needs always he n select few in common with
the Magician Of the North who charmed mil
lions and made gains which neither then nor nj
any epoch had been paralleled in literature
According to the present biographcr, the
success of the Wavoriey novels seems
to have caused Lamb amusement rather
than admiration. About Byron, with whom
by the way he was never brought
face TO face for single evening he
wrote: Il have a thorough aversion to his
character, and very moderate admiration of
his genius; he is great in so little u way. To
be u poet is 10 be the man, not petty portion
Of occasional low passion, worked up in Il per
manent form Of humanity" He told n friend