Evening star., 1898-11-19
DICKENS BAD INFLUENCE


"No." said ths man who is known to his
friends as a. h1ild dipsomaniac, Il don't
read Dickens any more. Not that I don't
like to read Dickens; do that: think he's
the king bee OF the whole hive of writers.
But Dickens has bad influence upon me.
In brief, Dickens makes me feel like drink
ing rum.
queer? Why's it queer? Look here, III
tell you how Dickens works on me. Sup
pose I've been doing a consistent sober act
for two or three whole months-not taking g
a drop. and giving the never-again frosty
eye I'd all hards who Want me to go and
have drink with :em. All right. l pick
up ore Of Dickens books-any Of EN-, it
makes ND difference which. Well, 1 don't
get more thar fifty pages into any one of
Dickens books before, say. he puts me on
top of a fire, old-fashioned stage coach,
along with a lot of happy-go-lucky, siam
barg1ng cheerful chaps, and begins to
Wtlri me through the bracing air on fine,
ringing country roads, bound for some
place or other about, days ride away from
where we start. All right. The coach load
OF fellows, f1cluding myself. have got, of
course, to put up for tie night at one of
ttose old inns, The Green Dragon or The
Boots and Pelican or THE Duck and the
Hound, or The Sign of the Blue Boar, or
some name like that Well, Dickens I'M
loads me and the rest of the coach full of
good fellows f1cm the coach, and he dumps
US INTO nice, cheerful, old-fashioned tav-
ern front room, with logs blazing on the
hearth and a buxom, pink-cheeked land
l3dy and landlady's daughter, and the smell
oil fine cooking victuals, and all that. What
does Dickens do then? Why, he starts all
OF us TO mixing punch that fellow
dreams ,bout after he's once tasted it-in
Dickens He dilates at length upon the
lemon peel that goes into the punch, and
the sugar, and how it's stirred around when
fn1 tLa 90 IL
perfumes up thean an6om and then he tells
how everybody smaeks his lips over it. and
It's pungeat hsSor, and how 1T goes right to
the spot of every man in the crowd and
makes the circulation cirk, until-great
Scott! when I'm reading Dickens when
Dlckens In that jaggy mood l feel like
hustllng on my coat and hat and going
Gown town and just filing up for snow
plros 1or the sake of getting into the right
spirit TO apprcciatiVely read Dickens After
.he punch 81 me is over the dinner makes
It's appearance, and any man VINO officates
al DICKENS cfnner by reading of one is
oScHd TO get hLngry. Well, after the York
shlre puddings and the meat pies and the
roast beef of old England and the savory
i2nb-and-parsnip i2 stews and all the rest of
tnc SUN mas been cleared away by the peo-
PIE at ths old roadside tavern, Dickens has
the cheerful, odd-iooking walters bring on
tne Deady, foamy old ale and The mulled
ctafet ana the pale beer and the schnapps
anu an hand5 sit around the table. loading
up ana telllns stories, and having such a
ceice or a good time-well, it's hard read
ing tor me Every man in the crowd has
got hold of one of those long-stemmed
church-warden pipes, and they just sit
mere IN that cozy, warm fre-lighted room
"tiIe' maybe, the snow is drifting and fur
rylng outside, and every winter sound Is
sharp and clear-and drink and smoke and
spin yarns, until this blooming old com
lnonplace life that we people NOWADAYS lead
say let not talk Dickens any more Nv
teeth are leaking now. and the first thing
you kno well, I just can't read Dickens
ana now you know why"