Evening star., 1902-08-15
MIR. SWINBURNE,S RoARS.
His Paper on Dickens in "The Quar-
terly Review"
Ernm the I.nndnn Acndemy

krDm the LONDON Academy.
Mr.. Swinburne's love Of noise and rotun-
dity seems to preoccupy him to the extent
of destroying his finer judgment his sense
of scale and his eye for the architecture of
his commentary. In "a single paragraph he
will deafen himself to his own voice, so
that of Little Nell ne can whisper that she
would thoroughly deserve her fame "if she
were but a thought more human and more
credible" and then on rising lungs, vocif-
crate that "a child whom nothing can ever
frritate, whom nothing can ever battle
whom nothing can ever misguide, whom
nothing can ever delude, and whom MOTH
Ing can ever dismay. is a monster as in
human as baby with two heads"
Mr. Swinburne reserves to himself the
right to blame Dickens. The objectors to
the plot OF Bleak House." as 1t affects
Lady Deadlock are .'helots OF culture
whose brains may have been affected by
the academic delirium of self-complacent
superiority The critics who find some
parts of "A Tale of Two Cities" exagger-
ated and unreal share the chatteTing
ouncery and impudent maIignity of so con-
summate and pseudosophical a quack as
George Henry Lewis" Anon the lava tide
OF adjectives overtakes the blatant boobies
who deny truthfulness and realism to the
imagination or the genius of Dickens be-
cause 1t never condescended to wallow In
metaphysics or IN filth" Mr.. Lang-s gem
bc O1luIhsS OF Dlcken5 may nave been
tnln ana unnecessary sauce piquante to the
Gadshill banquet. but We are quite unable
TO discover why they should infuriate a
poet who screams the very same objections
II Is he who finds the plot OF "Dombey and
Bon stupid. and the characters of the
father and daughter failures Of the first
magnitude. 1t ia he who notes Dickens
curious and seemingly incorrigible igno-
rance OF society, and whom the halting in
vention and the poor humor of Little Dor
Tit AFFECT with ''irrepressible irritation"
IL may be that Mr.. Swinburne resents the
Destowal OF warm instead OF superheated
praise on the writer whom he can hardly
refer TO except under such phrase as this
magnificent and immortal benefactor." 1t
Is doubtful. however. whether the laudation
contained In the following sentence has any
meaning whatever: David CopperfieId.'
from the first chapter to the last is unmis-
taxable by any eye above the level and
beyond the insight OF a beetles as one Of
the masterpieces to which time can only
add new charm and an unima gina BILE
value Judgments like the following are
more wonderful than the thing they WON
der at: To have created Abel Magwitch
Is to be god indeed among the creators Of
deathless men," Even minor characters are
described as flashing into eternity across
the stage Of Dickens" II is but for mo-
ment that We meet Bill Barney. but "eter-
nifty Is In that moment" And so on and
so on II Mr.. Swinburne's aim were to do
Dickens hurt by paralyzing the praise OF
others II would perhaps explain his article
though 1t would not effect his object We
can only compare the effect of his prose
on our nerves with that of a relentless
steam organ braying in watts of gas heat
while the characters Of Dickens ride round
distractedly on hobby horses. urged as il
seems. by the insupportable accompani-