New-York tribune., 1899-03-25
THACKERAY.
epco11EcT1oNs OF HIS LAST DAYS By
MRS. RITCHIE.

Bioeranhical Edition. Vol MI. '''"'N ~
xxvIx YS Harper n BrOtherS'
.,o,-.r,,cal edition OF Thackeray's works
.,nroaches completion. there remaining only d
"pp :. .,,,sce,,snies' 10 follow the one un-
.s,6era,,on here To these "Miscelanies
. ii, y. amended the memoir OF the hoNe"S'
-, nis son-in-law Mr. Leslie Stepheh' CON-
..,n,,,ad 20 the Dictionary Of National bioe'a-
-. u is not impossible that the puohsneIs
49,. soroe dav issue volume containing "ie'','
NJ Rtchie's introductions and MT S'eP"e"
roerooir We may reasonably quote an f-"s'
,,,r,ter-the critic Of The London Giooe VIII.
=, ..,oc this possibility says: THE game oi
telling the story Of Thackerays He oH '"''4"
,,o,bods would then have been fully playeo
=, ha~ introduction to the present No'u"'e
nrs Rtchie records various reconections OF "''
to,ber,s last DAYS when IN the midst OF ih'reaN
inc il-health and physical weariness NJ WV
the inimitable Roundabout Papers an" u.
fragment Of a novel. Denis Duvai' "h''"
% remain only a fragment HIS nlgh's ""0
- soa,- ., sleer-for which hours he kept olo
Montaigne and "Howels Letters At "iS 80
s,ds ord IN the summer mornings he would rise
=, en- o,ocp and fall to reading in the
silent house. standing by his booksheNeS' MS
aooros, yoIunoes were old and shahoy-paruCu-
,o-,,. his CODY Of Johnsons poets. wherein MI
80 sorre+ n Shakespeare was one or 'he 'dS'
.A,urs he over read His daughter rernenoeiS
a., v,rrlaIe once saying that ThackeraH
-,.,o,,,ass oP anprehension was most ren'a'N"
49,, - oo,,oled hv that Of very few people anu
=, aas. .1- he read book he turned pas
-. ,oaa without stopping at all. IN a 'dp'N'
.,os,ca1 way and he used 10 say 'ha' li'
,o~ habit he could CLEAN the oonteh'S '
,oga as he glanced at t." In this sI' N,,1..
,,o,,rad n think many other men ol
-. sbarad-indeed Mrs. Ritchie he'Se"
certain eminent politician or the "ii'e "
o,a-,,, 70 q friend that II was ail''s' -i
-, 90 hin, 70 read less than three l'"o' "
once. ,o,, ,.ar,o,s small
The "Roundabout Papers reoa" 'al.OO, ,,ah.
nv .Iatr oroat,on 10 the authors dalgh-
-. none of them Of much important -
.o,os IN s'Denis Duval" are more i"'0 49,
:. onnears that before beginning 'i's
- ,n mind another as weli-ohe "e'V =
49, ao,.s ~ Henry V for which ne hdN ''
,,,,e n time read in Froissart ana blai''o."0
"a N,onstrelet The one fact oonoeIi'iie ''''
roediasval romance which IS NlVloiF i"'P'0
an Mrs RItchie's mind IS that me hN'o wa"
oorne into action on CON. as the hnIs"''
3, Acincourt when horses ran snort ID'S ''V''
,.,ar left the note-ta-kng stage ior 1's az.
49,. .-,or,s " was finally decided upon, and 'he
author soon became happily ABSORBED III '
-, -. being anxious about It. saying mat
.pbuin.' had not enough story ana 'hdO 'ii'9
~, hook must he a success If he could HaNe
49,. Nc 1vould carry the chapters about win
49,, a,a often null them out from his coat
So =. o,s,,lt II was a superstition or MS
% write at least one line every daE' anu "0
,r,od &, vain 10 dictate some pages Of the storE
:. sooro,arv He was somewhat worried ny
,ho +ecbrIca1 difficulties assailing landS"a"
s,,,e obo,t the sea and sometimes sald he
ho,1d like 10 take a journey in man-ol-"a''
en- as tn learn all the nautical phraseS-a ''li'e'
o vys all know man Of genius mas uoie w.
dov or haven't written n You sooner 'iI9
novelist wrote AZ this period to an oio iile"u'
.b4 nleased 10 know that for the last zen udSS
,bave been almost non Compos menus "Ho"
am In labor with book doh qul'' N'
u,hat happens sit for hours before my pHPo'
mt doing my book but incapahle OF ooihs any
thing else and thinking upon that suUJe'' "
vavs waking with it. walking ABOUT VII" ~
"a ,oinr n he'd with IT, Oh the struggles ana
botbors-oh the throbs and pains about 'h'S
,-rronerv," This mournful note no DOUBT hao
us rise IN il-health. for, as his daughter 'e"s
Us he was so often ailing in those Gays 'ha'
when he was well and happy it seemed 10 pe
general holiday in the house. sometimes '"eF
found him in great spirits. as when ne hau
r., read,ng about the famous fight OF the
Scraps. a stirring thing indeed. Ihe Young
Girl who was to he in after times Anne Thack-
e-o,,s eister-,n-law was often at Palace Green
during that last summer. and has written down
some "reminiscences:
remember when the story of the poor Coun-
+ese NJ Sayerne absorbed him. The Countess
is growing very mad he said one GAY IaSt
night ST Sebastian appeared to her stuck al
tho "a
he added graVely though with mock shudueI
And then ne would sketch for us what we teaa
afterward that Count de Saverne was heart
broken about his wifes hlght win the u'ut
Agnes. and one gathered the story Of the duel
with the mysterious Count de la Motto. VINO
had been brought up as a priest Inc count o.
Saverne was to be killed, and round ms neck
was to be found within his shirt ntue sh"e
hanging by string
You know. papa. Victor Hugo mas eot a
shoe"
1t must be something else. What do babies
WEAR"
We could not think Of anything hut the cap
but we regretted it and agreed that nothing
was so pathetic a shoe
The inspiration sometimes had to he waited
for and caught at the food The carriage came
10 the door and waited. waited an hour. an hour
and half two hours Mr Thackeray wrote on
His daughters only said what good thing II
was that every ten minutes made page ot
papa's handwriting At last he came and got
into the carriage with US. all in the best OF
spirits As we drove toward Wimbledon or
Richmond he would read eTery name on the
small shops as passed he wanted Christian
names for certain smugglers 20 come into the
story He commented on all tho names Every
minute seemed brimful in his society.
At a garden party have recollection ~
man saying to him. 1T IS said Thackeray, of
you that you have body enough for two and soul
enough for three
Soul enough for one, hope-1 can hut hope.
he replied gravely.
One other recollection Of those working days
OF his Is very vivid. Besides writing Denis
Duval" and the Roundabout Papers" ne vas
receiving calls for articles which he was often
fndisposed 10 write-once IL was critique o: the
sketches collected and exhibited after C:uik
shanks death. He accepted the task, declaring
ne would fail.
III | were you papa, ! would write all round
the subject and say little as possible about
it"