New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-12-30
10. On the novels Of the year.
90. On hIiss Porters noyelA
OF Mr. HaNaana-

ambiguity in Lord Lytton's reference 10 IT, Dui"Oi
turned an honest penny BY playing cards he was
not gambler, though he had not passed unScathcu
through all the temptations OF Pans. An lncluenS
of his youthful career in that capital Ii reia'eu III
the following words:
gambling hOnse in which he had been passing ElS
last hours of the night. For the first time ID MS o
he had played high and: with tne lnsosS rst sstens
fortune so frequently attendant on the nTss st1pS
along what would otherwise be the snor5esC; ana
least attractive pathway to perdlton NO nau hi
largely. The dav was dawnng when no I0'''~ "orsoIe
own rooms, His writing desk stood upon con'oe
in front of mirror; and pauslng over ~ ~ En- p
his winnings. he startled and shocEea ny Ho
Election Of his face in the glass 6e nmv Sap9aTd It
was sinister He had rlsked far more tn;n NC ud
afford to lose his luck had been extLaorulnS, any f
his gains were great But the lgnoDe iS fooo
the night had left their lingering traces IN ms race
and as be caught sight of his own FEATURES sun
working and cleaning with the iexGs VI iimsef
excitement he for the first time, desplsed nllseH
1t was then he formed resolution tlat, pe lle
circumstances of his future life what they mgnt IN
inducement, whether of need or greed snouiu again
This resoIUton WAS never broken or relaxed. The
origin of it was told me by my father, wnGh was
myself very young man aTG events to be pres
entity related Possi IDLY, a prudent nVeslienIS VI
the winnings of that night may nave 1Gunuea; OF
the proceeds of his ncessant literary labor and me
interest on the small capital inherited from ms
father, afterwardenabled him to maintain, wlthout
serious debt, rather expensive estaDilShhiehV
during the first few years of his married llle; -.
But it is remarkable that, notwithstanding ms
love of cards his great aptitude Tor al games I les
must have been exposed when thrown chtdTely
upon his0wn resources, OF seeking now anu Ihc itol
te favor of canoe some addition TO IS means ieS5
painfully acquired than the slow result OF cohthuai
brain work. he never from the date OF his marriage
either bettcd or INDUCED in games of hazard
A gentlemany game of cards, however, is not 10
be COMPOUNDED with game of hazard, and MT.
Bulwer had no objection to winning the money OF
his friends by the exercise of skill. This Is LORD
LyttOn's account of the case:
One other source of income, which was also a
means of amusement, may be mentioned though
this could not have availed him, either LOT reclea-
ton or profit till he settled in London, two years
later Pay, says Goethe, is much 10 pc recon- bo
have practical sense and wish to look 9nt IN tne
world for themselves" And, after describing how
m mi or hms pleasure and
greater freedom in society" than he c0uid nave
otherwise enjoyed, he observes that tn3so &c WHO
would qualify themselves for the enjoyment OF gen
eral society should not avoid social games, put
rather strive after certain dexterity IN them IN
asmuch as time is infinitely long, ana each nly ;ii
vessel into which much may be poured IL one VIII
Now, my father, who was of the same. opinion,
mentions in his Autobiography that he inherited
nom n grandmother love of cards. He was at
no Tine Eamester; for, as have already had occa-
sion 20 observe he had neither the advantages nor
the defects Of the sangulne temperament ne was
therefore without passion which owes its fascna,
ton more to chancCt than calculation. But he 10und
in tho combinations of card-playing pleasant
stmulant TO the faculties Of observation and Judg-
ment, which were at all times active in his nature.
In games OF cards, moreover, 1t IS necessary, AT
least for the habltual player to study not on the
cards themselves and the various combinations
of which thev are capable, but also the pcculiaTi-
ties of the persons who play them which, III itself,
had for him an inexhausti6le interest lie piaXGd
by instinct on the principle which Savillc lin his
novel of "GOdophin" y cOmmends from experience.
But the things we begin TO do with hiking Tor
Whist and piquct were tie games my
father relished and studied most, because
in them the result depends moro upon skill
than luck; and from practice and aptitude cont
bined, he soon became, not st-rae, but an eX-
ceedngly good, whist player, toa degree whic made
his winnings an appreciate addition to Ills
income.
Thus, adds the son, with an unconscious touch
Of humor, 1.-The fortune on which my father mar
ried had no other sources than his wellstOrcd port
folio his teeming brain, and his indefatigable i'll
dustry."
Two works, begun and almost finished in Paris,
were published before his marriage. These were
the poem of "ONiel, or the Rebel" and the prose
romance of Falkland" a history and analysis Of
illicit passion, which, though not much noticed at
the time of its appearance promising enough to
induce the publisher, Coburn, to offer E500 for a
tnree-VOluIne nONelIrOm the same pen. VIII give
you one that shall be sure to succeed" was the
answer The first volume of D." Pelham was already
written, and the manuscript of the whole was sOon
in Colburn's hands. Co burns chief reader emphat
ically condemned it Us utterly worthless" His
second readers report was more favorable. Three
or four days afterward COlburn called the two
critics to his room and said: Ihave read Mr.. Bul-
wers novel, and it is my decided opinion that it
will be the book of the year." Colburn was right.
For two months the book appeared in a fair way of
perishing by neglect. Critics, installing its pur-
pose and translating its satire literally received it
with censure Indifference But suddenly it rose
into enormous favor; 1T was a sensation; novelty
in English literature; it set fashions in foppcrcs-
for the dandies did not understand its irony any
more than the critcs-and the interesting fact is
mentioned by the biographer that it caused most
important and lasting change in masculine costume:
One, least, of the changes which the book effect
ed in matters of dress has kept its ground to this
day. Lady Frances Pelham says, in u letter to her
son: "AprOpOs of the complexion: / did not like
hat blue coat you wore when last saw you. You
look best in black which is great compliment, for
people mnst be very distinguished i'll appearance TO
do So" I'LL then the coats worn for evening dress
were of different cOlors-brOwn, green, or blue, ac-
COrding to the fancy of the wcaTcr; and Lord
Oxford tells me that the adoption Of the invari
All the contemporaries of Pelham would appear to
have been simultaneously possessed with the idea
that they were emit led to take to themselves the
great compliment paid by Lady Frances to her
son.
For his next novel, " The Disowncd" he got
$780, and for the next, "Devereux i" s1 800. "Paul
Clifford" followed in 1880, the fourth novel in
three years. The price obtained for this is not
stated. The next year Bulwer became editor of
COlburn's Ne0 Monthly Magazine. Over-work was
rapidly producing its inevitable result and hasten
ing the great domestic calamity Lord Lytton
writes of the "efect Of the literary upon the
married life" in the following strain:
When my father married, relying mainly upon
ducng his style of living to that of an author with
straitened means. In the career he had shaped out
for himself he was looking forward to seat In the
unnae of Cnmmnns. and he hcnt retain- |