The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-12-22

DarLlaI A0lODlOkTdpny. 1nCio ID uo doubt that the description of David's s unhappy childhood is. indeed, very real description of the authors youth. after disaster overlook his careless, happy-go-lucky father As for the rest, much of an autobiography and as little of one as Nicholas Nfckleby, Mar tin Chuzzlewit' and Little Dorritt, all of which contain characters who have been 'identifed" as Dickens's mother, his father. himself, and so on. The truth is that Dickens possessed de- gree hardly ever approached by any other known writer, ancient or mod ern, the genius for true creation. since he wrote, millions of human beings have been born. have played their parts, have died and are gone. as 1T they had never been. The creatures or his brain remain-living, real, ever young, ever unchanging-far more real than all the "rear' multitudes Of men.
 It is said that Micawber, the wonder full. dissipated, hopeful, "cudging, iov- able Micawber. Is a description oi Dick ens's own father. If Dickens were writ ing today probably every reader would feel assured that Micawber was drawn from one of his own acquaintances. |. We have all known Steerforth, and loved him and served him, content to accept him as something great, and Loyalty shutting our eyes to our god { feet of clay. Uriah Heep may be found pie. noble heart of a Peggoty beats beneath a rough coat at every turning flor Peggoty is the brave. simple, mo- ble heart of our real humanity. that throbs true evermore under the ugly and disgusting armor that we wear in our war for living.
 5 when little David Copperfield first saw the Ark" he could not have been more charmed with the romantic idea of actually living in 1t if 1t had been lao and all It lay in the fiat waste of Yarmouth, with the big gray sea crouching close to 1t the sea that had once fondied 1t and swung 1t and borne it, but was never to bear 1t again. There was a delight ful door cut in one side and 1t was roofed over and there were little win dows in it. And in the little doorway stood most beautiful little girl, who wouldn't let him kiss her when he of fered to, but ran away and hid herself.
 And there was a mighty young man. who did not run away, but stood smii- ing sheepishly in a canvas jacket and a pair of such very stiff trousers that they could have stood quite as well lone. There was also most aston fshingly neat woman, who announced almost at once that she was a lone. Iorn creature with whom everything went contrairy. And there was MT. Peggotty, the owner of the entrancing house, a hairy man with very good natured face, who welcomed David po- Iitely, and expressed the hope that he had left his ma pretty jolly.
 When the inmates of the ark gather ed at the chimney corner that night, David sitting on locker by the side or the little girl. cogitated gravely on the varied relationship of all these. inter esting people. MT. Peggotty informed him that Little Emily was the daughter
 Iarrr xuh hRan "drowndead"; and the tall young man, Ham, was the son Of his brother who had been drown dead"; and the lone, Torn, wo- man was Mrs. Gummidge. widow of his old fishing partner.
 This information was elaborated later by David's nurse. who was sister to MT Peggotty, and who told him that MT. Peggotty, although poor hsherman' had taken all these forsa&en ones into his keeping.
 During the fortnight's visit David Copperfeld fell seriously in love with Little Emily; and she conhded'to him that she would like to be lady so that she might keep her cousin Ham from the sea and give her Uncle PegEotty Q sky blue coat with diamond buttons, a red velvet waistcoat and cooked hat. When the time for parting came, the tSso weat arm in arm to the carriers cart that was to bear David away. and felt the first great void in their young hearts.
 All the way homeward Peggottv was strangely confused and disturbed: but if was not until they had aliRhted in front of Blunderstone Rookery that she could bring herself to speak Then she threw her arms around the boy and told him with tears that he had new father to take the place of the rather who had died before his birth
 When he came into the room he saw A gentleman with very black hair and very glossy black whiskers. who said to David's pretty. girlish little mother as she arose hurriedly:
 Now. Clara. my dear, recollect! Con- trol yourself"
 As soon as he could David crept up stairs-but not to his old dear bed room; for he was now to lie in little attic room. a far way off. And there he sobbed himself to sleep
 The next day MT. Murdstone's sister Jane arrived. and that dark. uncom- promising, thin-lipped, metallic woman immediately assumed charge of the household, suppressing the little wife feeble opposition so summarily that the Murdstones were masters Of the place almost without siege. -..
 The two black ones became the em- bodiment of awful authority to David. They burdened his childish heart and brain with terror. until one day when Mir. Murdstone gave him frightful beating he turned in his anguish and blind fear and bit the kindly gentleman savagely in the hand.
 Within a few days he was on his way to school. His young mother un- der the wstchful eye of Miss Murd- stone, hardly dared to whisper fright ened farewell to him.
 As soon as he arrived in Salem House a placard was fastened on his back, On 1t was written in great characters: "Take care of him. He bites" The originality of this device was a source of intense gratification to the propri- etor of the establishment Mir. Creakle, a fery-faced, stout gentleman, who viewed a boy particularly If he was chubby, as a subject to be hogged on sight. Unfortunately for his complete enjoyment of the placard the young gentlemen under his care were all so low spirited that they did not seize upon the opportunity with the savage delight that the normal young of the human species would feel at such an invitation.
 However, even had the youthful in- mates of MT. Creakle's home of learn- ing been able to rise to the occasion. they would not have dared; for per- son of great power and supreme im- portance in the school world took Da- yid Copperfield under his protection. That person was J. Steerforth, the ald- est boy in the school and it's demi-god.
 The first term passed for little Da- vid in a tumble of earnings. tear-blot- ted copy books and worship of J. Steerforth. At night he sat on his bed while the boys gathered around