The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-05

10Th August, : but was probably written
In the year 1898:
'Thsnk you for your good opinion about
V. F. Vanity Fairl and for many. many
kind intentions in my behalf. / should
have liked Of all things to have gone to the
private Wow Of Stowe; such sights suit the
gloomy temper OF my Soul, and besides
are good for my purposes as q tradesman
and Satfrist. but I was away at the Spa,
Hamburg. Cologne and only came back
last night to ind-O such o quantity Of
lettersl Amongst which yours the very
first that / opened and almost the most
fiattering OF al.
But there lie another which says-well
Idcn't know what 1t doesn't sayl-it 10 from
the Mysterious Author Of Jane Eyre, and
would make me blush II anything could.
"s Vanity Fair is doing very well
commercially, I'm happy to say. at present.
They have sold 100 Of the volumes. which
is very well in these times Of revolution
and dismay. go
II saw the King and the Vicar Of the EN-
pire and all sort Of sights at Cologne and
Spa and Hamburg-and oh. for shame, I
lost e5 at the horrid rouge ct noir and
roulette. But / intend to make It pay me
In my Christmas book, which IL to be called
Lady Kicklebury Abroad But why do
] write all thisf intending as / do TO try
and pay a visit to Gore House this evening
and shake hands with kind people who have
been kind TO melville my back was turned
too-that Is the rarity Of It; no II isn't. The
world Is q much kinder and better world
than some bilious covered ~eatirists have
painted 1t. must give up the yellow cover
and oome out In q kinder tone.'
CHANCE 10 DOOM sPENDENuS1s,'
Thackeray inadvertently made an en-
gagement to dino with the Countess on
December ~, q day as he says ssacred to all
old Charterhouse men who meet at the old
schoolhouse and dine together afterward.'
He asks Lady Blessington to let him OF and
reveals-if serious-that besides literary
genius there was some business talent In
him. His own words tell the story best:
To-day IL TO. be q grand field day.
Peel Is to be In the chair at the dinner. The
Archbishop Of Canterbury preaches-every-
body will be there. May 1 break my prom
Use to you and gof I think I hal DO glad
il you would Let me OF; but hat 1 ought to
ask-for you understand what an effect upon
the sale OF Pendennis may be produced by
complimentary speech. replied to In an
appropriate manner by Mr.. Ttmarsh and
heard by 800 or 400 gentlemen of all oallings
and professions in life; who will naturally
be interested In their man.
HISTORY oF PIE.
The fnal history Of the pie is told at
length. The Power girls had accused
Thackeray Of never having any intention
Of bringing such a pie 10 the picnic and this
is Thackeray's answer:
All Brighton is In an uproar about the
pie. mean the Pie ] didn't bring to Burn
ham Beeches. Mrs. Mutton took 1t TO
Horace Smith and wanted my address in
London, which Horace refused to give.
The Pie was hawked about for sale at q
reduced price and finally purchased by q
friend OF mipe who invited q party to meet
it, who ate 1t and found it-execrable.
"The grouse and the partridgea had
quarrelled and would have disagreed with
US Too II we had come in contact with them
l mean that they were In n highly unwhole-
some state and we shouldn't have liked them.
So we lost nothing by not having the Pie. I
am not a humbug (as some young ladies
insisted). Witnesses can be brought to shew
hat the Pie was ordered, made, eaten, 90
The reason for the suppression of these
letters has passed away. Charles Dickens.
Lady Blessington. Sir Edward Bulwer-
Lytton with their troubles have passed
across the border. Small matter to them
whether blamed or praised or loved or
hated. We to-day know their relative
statures. That Thackeray was right in
assuming Dickens gained improvement
from reading the yellow-oovers' may be
true. The lovers Of Charles Dickens may
we'll ask did not the author Of vanity Fair
gain something from him Of the 'Pickwick
Papers?' That mel learn from each other
is a truism not worth IN argument. One
thing is certain that by the hand OF Mar
garet Power 1t 10 fortunate these letters
were preserved 10 the world.