The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-11-09
HERMAN MERlVALE'S BOOK.
4 BATCH or ANECDOTES ABOyT
WELL-KNOWN ENGLISIMEN.
Buckle. the Historian, and Q Dictionary
Dean StanlcS's Musical SI,ili-Cardinal
Manning rs an Athlete a arlyies Idea OF
-Tliackeray and the children
DIR .Drury's DiscON cry Of Edmund Il can


Of old age through the default 4 a
trusted friend and solicitor. to begin
nothing in particular. upon nothing at all
Herman Merivllc. barris,er, playwright
and actor. has started anew hy writing
a rambling and interesting book Of remi.
niscenccs. He has plenty Of material
to draw upon.
" was in 1896 that Merivaic made hi-
debut a. IA writer for The stage. with He :
n Lunatic," produced al the old Queen I
Theatre in Long Acre. The change in the
attitude Of society toward the stage and
everything connected with II since those
not very remote days il wonderful indeed
Mcrivale was a barrister. and. as he says
Eff q barris,er then wrote openly for the
stage. We gods, II was over my iirst farce
mt the Queens that | first quailed under
the tcrrors of criticism. when n stern critic
pierced my disguise. and laniented that n
crude EFFORT of reprehensibln frivolity
should have been pcrpetratcd under a
thin veil. which concealed IN" nam" of an
'honored official. who had grown gray
In the public service Ny worthy father
was suspected o' having taken TO evil
courses n, his advanced age. and written
Hes Lunatr' in secret. "
The thin disguise" adopted by Mcrivale
was the punninG nom de plume Of Felix
Dale
Jumping suddenly, a. i this writer
fashion, from one subject ~ another.
Merivale next speaks of the "more ortho-
dox" guests who gathered at his father :
table. "Macaulay, with his rich talk and
rare flashes 81 silence" was "A frequent
guest So. too. was Buckle. the histo Of
civilization.
Macaulay and Buckle. according TO Meri-
vale, stood az tn" two poles of omniscience.
Buckle was "A very omniscient lion indeed
a very lion III buckram, on a night when
remember his dining at my fathers. and
he laid down the law on anything and
everything with magnificent pomposit y
which made the table quake
Unfortunately for Buckle he lad n
listener in Lvrilph Stanley, Of school board
fame, a contemporary and Balliol ally
of my OWL in those days, Of whom Lowell
once said To me in America that he knew
three times "a many facts as any young
man whatever had any business to know. y"
For long young Stanley listened In 81
lence TO -the great master of inaccuracy,"
but at last il was more than he could bear
land torrents of imprisoned knowledge
were poured on Buckles head, till the
historian of civilization safe wrathful,
extinguishcd mute.
He had his revenge later on in form
which is not to be forgotten. Somebody
mentioned new dictionary, and said it
was good one.
1T is said Buckle with much solemnity
1T is one of the few dictionaries / have
read through with pleasure.
Il have always remembered that as the
most appalling utterance of my day. The
idea of a man who read through dictionaries
for a relaxation, and enjoyed some of them,
Is a little difficult to improve upon.
Another frequent guest AT the Merivale
house was Arthur Stanley. the famous
Dean Of Westminster. who once said that
his knowledge of music was confined to
twc tunes, one. which was God Save the
Queen and another, which wasn't.
AS Jenny Lind was his fathers prot cgc
and his own early friend, the special igno-
rance had H., odd attraction. He was the
best talkcr Of his time, one perhaps who
said hing to be especially remembered
or recorded but was always brigh, and
tanning Arthur Stanlev bore Il
curious resemblance To Wendell Holmes,
most fascinating and human Of Anne rcan
men of letters, in the likeness Of hi talk
and his writing
OF another famous preacher, Or Manning
atterward known TO all the world ~ Car
dinal Manning. who was frequcn, visitor
20 his fathers ho1sN, Merivale say, The
famous Cardinal loved To sit at one of my
fathers feet while | rcpoSad al tho other
lie never came to dine. because from the
earliest hours of life he was possessed Of
the most bounhlc,- 'Scru,Le~' on the matter
of digestion. A. il man wa not omnivorous
and obliged To eat, To many II is not
entertaining, but has 20 be done.
But Manning would never dine, and IA
far as I know never did He came for a
cup Of tea aftcrward
"Cricket wa one If tie great Cardinal
early di>;inc' ions, which seems somehow
as iIappropriat" a. "a" fact tina, John
Morley's Oxford emiuonce was chiefly
won in amateur theat ricals. But Manning
was also boxer; and one of the younger
priests who was trained under him has
told me that. when he grew dcmonst rative
in the pulpit, ne had n knack of throwing
his body backward and assuming tho pugi-
listic attitude"
Writing Of other well-known figures
he knew in his early days, Merivale tells
the following story as'illustratng tho style
Of wit for which Lord Westbury, the famous
advocate and Judge, was known;
1T was AT my fathers table that he made
his famous remark when somebody wal
made Judge over somebody clse's head,
Really, he had pmple, but nevc
knew il came TO head
Here Ia a story OF Carlyle and Alling
ham, "the gentle and admirable poet anc
man Of letters"
During the usual afternoon walk, q
which Allingham was ono Of the constan
companions. holding his tongue most eau
tiously the while. Carlyle propoundcd som
theory 50 startling that the gentle -piri
reboled, and went so far a 20 say
oh. Mr.. Carlyle.
Carlyle only checked him with frowr
and when they arrived al the steps of hi
house, instead Of asking him 90 tho usua