The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1886-02-06

10TT.


full OF AnecdotSS OF Ghe most celeOrateQ au-
thors of the last fifty years Dropping into
The great Market street store one day to have
a talk with him about q Book was then
preparing, he invited me into his private
Office and, being in a very, chatty h;nnor
that morning, he entertained me for an hour
or more with fund of literary reminis-
cences 80
II have seen most Of the English and
American authors Of my time, said MIR.
Lippincott "Dickens was naturally a ge-
nial geod-natured fellow, but his early and
extraordinary success completely dazzled
him: his head was turned by the sIiekwick
Papers, and it never got entirely straight
again. He was not . gentleman, as Eui-
wer and Thackeray were, but born snob.
No gentleman could have written American
Notes after enjoying the boundless hos
pitality that was showered upon him in this
country There are some things a gentle
man can not do ard that one was one Of
them His novels are not 50 popul " as
they were during his life dime. a re sction
in favor of Thaskeray has set in. Taacke-
ray won his way slowly to, recognition and
he was all the better for it. He vas 81
when hss wrote Vanity Fair, the novel
which established his reputation After
that his course was right onward. Thacke-
was more genuine He was delightful at O.
private dinner party, but not SO ready as
Dickens as q public speaker, The latter
was particularly happy upon such occa-
siofls
aOnce, atsa meeting Of the Authors Fund
society, Tom Campbell, the chairman, could
not presisl lie, and Dickens was called upon at
! a moments notice to take his place. He
made q brilliant improsnptu speech
which surprised and delighted an who heard
it TEackeray enjoyed gcod dinner He
was parti ularl fond of american oysters
,, aud canvas back ducks y In fact, be was
too mach of a club rEalt--he ate too many
good dinners His literary fame. though
less splendid ts;an Dickens turing life, viii
probably be more lasting People are be-
ginning to thina that Dickens tharaeters
! were caricetures; that there Is teo much ex-
aggeration in his wonderful Little Nells, his
Micawhers and his Turgeydrops Few
/, read iiclseIs third time, and those who
! enjoyed his novels when thsy were young
lind il impossible TO read them "t1en past
middle ege But III spite Of his foppery
and snobaery Dickens was fine fellow and
did good by drawing attention to the in
justice ard cruelty practited upen the poor
i'll public institutions, prisons. almhouses,
ETC. Els novels still sell. hut are rot s,
popular as they Were. His later works
| want tie hearty aEimal life and breezy
freshness that delighted all classes of read
ers in .Pickwick and David Cepparfeld'
ANTHONY rRoLLoPE AND BULwER.
! shy experience with English authors has
/ beer, rather peculiar, z lssa ilpincott A,ant
! on. Zone day waS sitting In this Office
when stranger entered and in a gruf
voice, without mentioning his name, said,
: Il want you to publish my views upon
America asked him what he had seen of
the country, what he knew of our people, in
stitutions, etc. He said he had seen New
York, Boston and Niagara Falls In short,
he had seen American society in hotel par
lors, on steamboats, and in railroad cars, and
was fully prepared to write up America in
the most approved style of foreign tourists
l asked him why he had honored our house
by selecting it to publish his book.
81 have been SO awfully cheated by other
publishers that / want to see whether you
will not treat me better All this time the
visitor had not announced his name. AT
/ length, said: with whom have l tho
pleasure of conversings' 4 am Anthony
/ Troliope, he replied, with an overwhelming
air Having survived this tremendous an
| nouncement proceeded to talk business,
/ and finally agreed to publish his proposed
I -ork divided the edition with the Har-
par's each house putting its own name I,pon
tho copies it published When Troliope
Heard this he thought ii wae some trick to
i cLeat hin and denounced us both as
| pirates
/ @What did you think of Bu1wer.
MY relations with Bulwer were both so
/ cial and business He was reserved at first,
! hut when the ice was broken he became
charming ng-from thistle he changed to q
warm tropical flower. He wrota at a desk
which had piece cut out in the middle
/ large enough to get his slender body in, 50
/ that lie could reach tae papers on every part
Of his desk without getting up Before conf
M ncing to write and while thinking over
! his work, he was in the habit OF smoking,
during which he would puff great volumes
out of his mouth and watch it as it ascended
toward the CLASSY roof Of his library. He
y said his INSPIRATION came from watching the
smoke rolling up.s He laughed very heartily
when telling this and had tho jolly air Of a
/ big schoolboy. 1t was in those moments
| that he offered great contrast to himself
as he appeared in uixed company under tie
restraint Of nonf fongenial people He dressed
| with fastidions elegance, perhaps little
! dignifed- He wss excessively particular
about his linen, and said the only perfume
| q gentleman should use was soap and water
4 He was delightful talker and thorough
/ Hnguist. He spoke italian SO well that when
/ he was in Naples writing the Last Days Of
] Pcmpei," the Italians tiseught him one Of
their own coIusrymen Butwer was fin
I ighed courtier and accomplished. man Of
letters and the worthy weGre- Of the mantle
Of the brilliant Duke de Grammont. Few
men have succeeded in SO many departments
Of Iterattre as the carl of IL tton-he was q
novelist, poet historian essayist, drama
tist, statesman, orator, nobleman, editor, So
eie.y man ard dandy"