The times., 1898-02-13
Two Interesting letters.

Two Interesting Letters.
Longmans Magazine for February
contains an article by Arthur Strong
about the friendship between Dickens
and Thackeray, and finds occasion 10
quote some heretofore unpublished let
ters written by the two great men. In
one of the Dickens letters, written from
Broadstairs in June, 1851, occurs this
paragraph;
"+ am in favorite house OF mine
here. perched by itself on the top of
cliff, with the green corn growing all
about it and the larks singing 1nVlsi-
BILE all day long. The freshness OF the
sea and the association of the place Il
finished 'Copperfield' in this same airy
nesD have set me to work with great
yigor. and ! can hardly believe that L
am ever manager, and ever go about
with painted face in gaslight
When | first had the happiness Of
seeing you in the room where we have
since held so many councils, you graf
ified me very much by your affection
ate remembrance of 'Copperfield.' am
having him put into decent suit OF
morocco, and when he GENES home in
his new dress shall entreat you to give
him place on your shelves for my sake
You see how dangerous IL is to give en-
couragement.
when | saw You last l was quite full
of the melancholy of having turned
leaf in my life. 1t was so sad to see
the curtain dropped on what you had
made so bright and interesting and mi
umphant, that something of the shad-
ow of the great curtain which falls on
everything seemed for a little while to
be upon my spirits. | have an inde-
scribabIe dread of leave takingS; and
the taking leave OF such a gracious
scene made me almost miserable, which
| acknowledge here, because it was GER
tainIy and undoubtedly your fault"
And one of the letters from Thackeray
illustrates in vivid and delightful way
the reality with which the characters
of Vanity Fair lived, moved and had
their being in the novelist's world The
letter is written from KensinSton, in
May, 1S4S, and runs as follows:
NV Lord Duke: Mrs. Rawdon Craw-
lev. whom | saw last week, and whom
| informed of your Graces desire to
have her portrait, was good enough to
permit me to copy little drawing
made of her in happier days she
said. with sigh, by Since, the Royal
Academician.
Mrs. Crawley now lives in small
but very pretty little house in Belgra-
via. and is conspicuous for her numer-
Gus charities. which always get into the
newspapers, and her unaffected piety.
Many of the most exalted and spotless
of her own sex visit her and are of
opinion that she is a most injured wo-
man. There is no sort of truth in the
stories regarding Mrs. Crawley and the
late Lord Steyne. The licentious char
acter of that nobleman alone gave rise
to reports from which. alas, the most
spotless life and reputation cannot al
ways defend themselves. The present
Sir Rawdon Crawley (who succeeded
his late uncle. Sir Pitt, 1882; Sir Pitt
died on the passing of the Reform Bid
does not see his mother, and his un-
dutifulness is a cause of the deepest
grief to that admirable lady. If it
were not for higher things she says,
how could she have borne up against
the worlds calumny, a wicked hus-
bands cruelty and falseness, and the
thanklessness tsharper than serpents
tooth) of an adored child? But she has
been preserved, mercifully pre-
served. to bear all these griefs,
and awaits her reward elsewhere. The
italics are Mrs. Crawley's own.
She took the style and title of Lady
Crawley for some time after Sir Pitts
death, in 1892; but it turned out that
Col. Crawley, governor of Coventry Is
land. had died of fever three months
before his brother. whereupon Mrs.
Rawdon was obliged to lay down the
title which she had prematurely as
sumed.
THE late Joseph Sedley, Esq, of the
Bengal civil service. left her two lakhs
of rupees. on the interest of which the
widow lives In the practices of piety
and benevolence before mentioned.
She has lost what little good looks she
once possessed, and wears false hair
and teeth (the latter give her rather
shastly look when she smiles), and
for pious woman--is the best-crino-
lined lady in Knightsbridge district.
Col and Mrs. w. Dobbin live in
Hampshire, near Sir r. Crawley: Lady
Jane was godmother to their little girl
and the ladies are exceedingly attach
ed to each other. The Colonel's His
tory of the Punjaub' is looked for with
much anxiety in some circles.
Capt. and Lieut.. Col. G. Sedley-Os-
borne the wishes. he says, to be dis
tinguished from some other branches
of the Osborne family, and is descend
ed by the mothers side from Sir
Charles SedleyJ is, 1 need not say. well,
for I saw him in most richly en-
broidered cambria pink shirt with dia-
mond studs bowing to your Grace at
the last party at DevonShire House.
He is in Parliament: but the property
left him by his grandfather has, / hear,
been a good deal Overrated.
HE was very sweet upon Miss Craw-
ley. Sir Pitts daughter who married
her cousin, the present Baronet, and a
good deal cut UP when he was refus-
ed. He is not, however. a man to be
permanently cast down by sentimental
disappointments. His chief cause of
ANNOYANCE at the present moment is
that he is growing bald, but his whis-
kers are still without gray hair and
the finest in London.
"I think these are the latest partic-
,1lars relating to a. number of persons
about whom your Grace was good