New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-01-20
THE MYSTERY or EDWIN brood.

A contribution TO the unwrlttcn story of Dick
enss last novel is furnished in the current number
of The Centuvy where Mrs. Alice Meyncll writes of
the work of Mr.. $. l.. Fdes in illustrating the un-
finished Mystery of Edwin brood" 1t was the
custom of the novelist to take the illustrator
somewhat into his confidence as to the secrets OF
the plot, and Mr.. Fides knew enough of the plan OF
the story to make his pictures appropriate to what
was to come as well as to the text which they I'M
mediaely accompanied. 1t is rather curious, how
ever that the disclosures of Mrs. Meynells paper.
while they cover several interesting points about
which there has been debate embrace only one de-
tail not already mentioned in FoTsters biography,
and that was obvious enough to any attentive
reader of the book We mean the fact that the
black silk scarf worn by Jasper in chapter xiv.
was 10 be the instrument of Edwin DrOOd's murder.
This always seemed to us perfectly plain; and we
are not surprised to learn from the article in The
Century that the illustrator, divinlng the signif-
cance of the scarf drew it with kind Of empha-
Sis so that Dickens afraid that he was telling
the story too fast Perhaps for this reason, the
picture does not appear in the book.
1t IS strange that while conjecture has been so
long busy over The Mystery Of Edwin Brood"
hardly any notice is taken of the plan Of the story
given in Forster's book Even Mrs. Mcynell is evil
IDENTIFY uuacquainted with it As Dickens outlined
and his body to be consumed in the heap of quick
lime spoken of as lying the stone-yard near
Durdles's house, not in the cathedral town, Mrs
Mcynell supposes. The crime to be traced
home to Jasper by means of the diamond ring in
the victims pocket In the last chapters the muir
derer in the condemned cell was to review his
career and dwell upon its temptations AS If not be-
the ,ulprt, but some other man, were the tempted"
Neville Landess was to lose his life IN helping Tartar
to unuask and seize Jasper. Rosa was to marry Tar
tar and Crsparkle Helena. Some of these partcu-
lars Mrs. Mcyncll did not know. She IS uudoubt
odly right, however in declaring that the central
crime of the book can never have been intended by
the author to be a mystery. The secret was the
manner Of lis discovery. How willing Dickens was
that the fact of the murder by Jasper should be uu
dcr,tool is plain from one OF the illustrations in the
second number of the story, where Jasper enter
tain, the two young men at his rooms and starts
the conversation which leads to their quarrel We
do not know that this matter has ever been publicly
noticed; Int by few strong and ingenious touches
the artist has contriyed here to represent Jasper
with the attitude and expression of a
devil tempting Landcss and pointing ont
ing ont brood as "A victim. 1he light OF a table
lamp is thrown upon him from below as he stands
with outstretched hand the shadows give his fea-
lures the conventional Satanic type and CLEAN of
high light on the hair has almost the effect of
horn That picture alone would have been enough
to reveal Jasper as the murderer.
Tho story the detection vaseydenty TOT involve
some secret Of the cathedral; and it seems plain to
MS that on the night of Jasper's expedition with
Durde, through the crypt and the tower, Jasper
drug1cd the liquor of his companion, and made
private excursion of his own while tho old stone
mason slept. JaspcI's opium-dreams were t. be
studied by the bag of the Radcliffe Highway; aud
Mr. Grcwgious. whose suspicious are wonderfully
indicated ny the artist, pencil was of course to be
the moving agency Of relrbUtIon. We are a little
surprised, however, to read in The century article
that he is a keen reader who has ever found out
who and what was Nh hatchery, and Of this
Mr. Fdes Knows no more than the public
some commentators hazardng the very
Wild conjecture that this strange figure
was Edwin brood himself 1t Is not rash suIpo-