Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-11-21
Dickens Double Life.

| double life-ore of the Imagination
and one like ordinary men. To hin
the fairy land created by his fancy wa
more real than the land he lived in
The vividness with which his charac
ters stand out from the printed pag'
bear witness to this. Mr.. Pickwick
Sam Weller, Captain Cutie, 10 Gar
gerry. Mr.. Boffin and Salry Camp seem
to US people we have known. Wher
we think of David Copperield ane
Aunt Betsy Trotwood. we think of them
as persons who once lived and breath
ed. We understand and sympathize
with them as with people we know.
The creation of human beings of the
imagination-if such phrase be per
missible-so complete In every detail
that an artist could almost paint theil
portraits; the surrounding them with
environments so natural that we un
consciously regard them as being quite
as real as any that appear upon the
pages of history; the organizing ol
their lives so thoroughly that we fol-
low them as the story unfolds without
a thought of criticism must necessar-
lily absort the entire attention of the
author, leaving very little time to de-
vote to affairs that interest and excite
other men to action. We read with
delight the story of the campaign be-
tween Horatio Fizkin of Fizkin Lodge
and Samuel Slumkey of Slumkey Hall.
1t is much like other elections in its de-
tails, but we never heard of Mr.. Dick
ems taking any part in an actual elec-
ton. We read with pleasure of the
conversion of Scrooge from parsi-
monious old skin-lint, who starved his
clerk, to a generous, broad-minded
philanthropist. but we learn that Mr..
Dickens was not model of charity.
He pathetically describes the woes of
Florence Dombey, but was not a par
ticularly affectionate father or hus-
band. Doing the work he did, it was
scarcely natural that he should be.
Every detail of his living had to be ar
ranged for with the greatest nicety to
enable him to perform work. Atten-
ton to detail was one of his peculiar
ties. This feature of his character
would cause him to adjust his expen-
ditures to his probable income with
the greatest nicely, and anything cal
culated to disarrange them no doubt
caused him much annoyance. So,
when the beggar approached him, he
felt as helpless to assist as a man
without penny.
His life among the children of his
Imagination disqualified him to realize
much of the actual wants and needs of
those around him. His son thinks the
children of his fathers brain were
more real to him than the children of
his body, and this surmise IS not un-
reasonable when we take into account
the vast amount of work turned out.
The days he passed with the Dorritts.
the Micawbers, in wandering about
with Little Nell, were greater in num-
Der than those he passed with his fam
lily. 1t is not probable that his wife
him, or could accustom
herself to his idiosyncras:es. Had
she been able to do so, she might be
considered a woman of genius. Ac-
cording to his sons account of him,
which he is now writing up for the
Youths Companion, his father occu-
pied the time from a little before ten
to luncheon time with literary work,
and frequently took long walks with
he did not appear to be conscious of
his presence.
1t Is said of Mr.. Dickens that his
characters are caricatures rather than |
portraits. This is scarcely true. That
1e had keen perception of the ridic-
llous you have but to read his works
. discover; this, no doubt, colored his
men and women, but the fact they
lave delighted two generations testify
o their genuineness. 1t is said of him
hat he exposed his parents to ridicule
n the persons of Micawber and Mrs.
Iickleby. That ne ever Intentionally
eproduced any real person in his
FEATURES of Imagination is very doubt
ul. He pictured human character
s he had experience of it. The pc
ullarities of his father and mother
lay have unconsciously crept into
ONE of his stories, as something of
he parents aud early home life would
rop out of a story that any one else
hight write treating of domestic con-
erns.
Leigh Hunt thought Harold Skim
ole in Bleak House was meant for
i'm. and several Yorkshire school ,
lasters thought they could see some {
hing of their own likeness in Wack- +,
,rd Squeers.
Really, his characters were compos- I
e, constructed as the portrait of the s