Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1884-02-14
DazRife.
THURSDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY ii.
DICKENS; READINGS.
From the Scottish Review

From the Scottish Review
We can assure our readers who never
heard Dickens read that they lost nothing
which might help them TO understand Ms
creations. His biographer tells us that ne
and other trends reconstructed with nm
against the unwisdom of the eXcltementan
labor of these readings; but the money re-
turns argued on the other side. lie contn-
ned them with a few intervals until nearly
the end Of his life, went to America sec
ond time. in the end Of 1867, for the sole
purpose OF getting money by reading, was
very i'll the whole time, but kept Oh, despite
of warnings, and had his reward IN the
shape OF enormous gains-E3O0 night.
The manager is always going about WIN
an immense bundle that looks like a sofa
cushion, but is in reality paper money, ana
it had risen to the proportion of sofa on
the morning he left for Philadelphia lie
cleared $1,000 in this expedition. Before
returning home he had already settled with
a London firm of spectators to give one
hundred readings more in England Tor
5000 net That Dickens was
very careful man will be evident to every
one. His uuarrels with his publishers about
money make one Of the least agreeable tea-
lures in his character. That he was gener-
Gus to his literary helpers we have already
said The 100 readings began, and soon
again began the distressing bodily symptoms
which had appeared in America, but which
the rest Of the voyage home had allayed. Inc
doctors at length peremptorily forbade the
continuance of the readings. He got bet
ter, then applied for leave to begin again,
and received permission for final twelve,
provided there were no railway travelling
We heard two of the last, one on which he
prded himself more than any--the murder
of Nancy by Sykes. He writes that 1.-The
effect was tremendous" that "B. was so
terrified that he was dazed all the evening""
that some were taken out fainting. We
can certainly say that there was no such et-
feet near Us. Fagin was very fine, Sykes
was passable, Noah Claypole was Z fool,
but not the supreme sneak oftne story, and
Nancy was intolerably STACY" We have
seen her better done al country theater
and all simply because, TO give her lndiVld-
uality, the reader had TO rave and throw
himself about. The same evening he read
Mrs Camp" We expected mach fun out
of this bat by the time il came he WAS evil
IDENTIFY exhausted. and it was painful 10
watch him. He gave his las reading on
the 18th Of March. 1870, ana followed il ~
a few graceful and touching words from he
platform Of heartfelt, grateful respectful,
atiectionac farewell bu; the mischic!
which had begun was now i!r%pa!aulc.
Fresh signs OF ruined health followed one
rnon the other and ON The S,h Of Junt. he
was seized with tit, while seated nj dinner
with his sistcr-in-iaw, and died IN ~ hours,
without the least return 10 CONSCIOUSNESS.
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THE EoPTtIyFS.rEPN INITIAL life ~
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