The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1898-08-21
A New Volume of Thaekeray.

/ hshed by the Lippincotts.
A New Volume of Thackeray.
The fifth volume of the biographical edi-
ton of Thackeray has appeared. 1t con-
tains the Paris Sketch Book, the Irish
Sketch Book, Notes of a Journey from
! Cornhill to Grand Cairo, Dickens in
France. and other sketches. The por-
frontispiece, is from a drawing made by
/ DR.. Madise. about 1910. The illustrations
/ are from sketches by the author.
In the Introduction there is an extract
from one of Thackerays letters, which
reminds one unaccountabiy Of the
/ Madame Cantharides," who figures in
the last chapter of -'Trilby." and since
| du Maurier was of the same world as
! Thackeray, one conceiVes il possible that
the Madame DejaZet whom the great
English novelist saw, may be the same
ancient actress whom the Norman-Eng-
lish artist of pen and pencil delineates
with such a cunning hand. In the same
letter there is a scrap of opinion about
Tennyson which is Of interest:
Alfred Tennyson, il he can't make you like
him, viii make you admire him-he TO me
to have the cachet Of great man; his CONVEX
sation IS often delightful, i think, full of
breadth. maninesS, ana Hulnor, ne reaGS all
sorts of things swallows them, and digests them
like a great poetical boa constructor, as he is.
Now, ] hope, Mrs. Proctor, you will recollect
that if your humble servant sneers at small
genuses he has, on the contrary, a huge
respect for big ones Perhaps it is Alfred Ten
nyson's great big yellow face and growing
voice that have made an impression on me;
maniness and simplicity of manner go a great
way with me, ] fancy.
Another bit of description is fascinating
as showing the great, tender heart of
Thackeray, and his appreciation of char
acter wherever he found it
Such of engraver | have foundl
wish you could him. He is about thirty
eight, has not spark of genius, works fourteen
hours day, never breakfasts except off cheese
and bread in his ateier dimes in the same way
never goes out; makes about 5000 francs year,
has a wife and child, and is happy the whole
day long; the whole home is like a cage of
canaries-nothing but singing from night till
morning. 1t goes to my heart TO hear his little
wife singing at her work What noble charac-
tiers does one light in little hooks OF this
great world!
gerald, in 1872, is peculiarly characters
tic:
/ have read no great books or novels to talk
about; but scores of volumes of history, in the
most owl-like solemn way, and by way OF amuse-
ment, Victor Hugo's new book the Rhine.
He is very great, and writes like God Al
mighty About this book I've been trying 10
write today, and only squeezed cut one page.
Hugo saws some tine thlngs-yiZ: Looking at tie
stars, he says that night is, as it were, the
normal color of heaven. There is something
tul in tia darkblue eternity, glittering all
with silent, watchful stars. Is it nonsense, or
the contrary? i know what Vtnibles would say
that the dark blue Is all CANNON, being an
optical effect and so on; but, STILL it's rather
awful, and l feel certain that Time and Space
dark blue.
The Irish Sketch Book is introduced with
some particularly piquant letters, one of
which, Thackeray says, he had intended
to address from the Giants Causeway,
but the place was so awful and lonely
that he fed from it, and tumbled into
a hotel whose last guest had been a
corpse. He declared that he believed
the ghost was there stiIl.
Another letter written from the con-
tinent, remarks "The Pope's Nuncio is
to have my bedroom tomorrow; think of
my being warming-pan to his Holiness
lieutenant" An additional interest is
given to this little happening by the fact
that the Nuncio so picturesquely referred
to is now the Pope of Rome. who was
NunciO TO Brussels in 1874, and at about
the time of the letter went to England
and visited Queen Victoria. He probably
crossed the channel Immediately after
Thackeray. After this trip to the CONT
nent came his Oriental journey. In his
notebook, under the date of September
18th" appears the entry:
A white squan in the mo ming, dire con terna-
ton among the Jews and iniidels
1t happened that large number OF the
lower class of Turks and Jews occupied
the steerage quarters of the vessel, and
their dire CONSERVATION" in this white
,ol1 &c lacarihad in af Thapk-
eray's ballads, included in this volume of
his works.
A charming incident of the great au-
thor's family life is recounted near the
end of the chapter:
can remember his return. We wee in Paris; he
arrived in the evening, and he kiSs-d me; but
nv little sister cried because he had grown
moustache during his absence, and she thought
he was another papa. Then he folded news
paper and kissed her through it; and next morn
ing when he came down he had shaved off the
mous ache, and she flung her arms round his
neck, and she knew him quite well.
To many of his American readers
Thackeray is less a personality than an
impersonal genius. With the help of
these introductions he becomes real
man, a delightfully."- humorous, slightly
cynical, very domestic and lovable human
being. In addition TO this vivid impress
sion of his personality, one gets fascE
Mating glimpses of the incidents which
suggested his marvellous literary crea-
tons.
QIarper & Bros. New York;
eeThe Neral ImbeciIes."
The latest work of Sally Mclean Greene,
hest known as the author of "Cape Cod
,-,, >, l. sorT,l,o Moral IpnhaeilaS and the