New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-09-30

seems old-fashloned 10 the youthiul
devotees Of such dirty truth as they
think they find I'm lola and Ibsen; An!
We knights of the pen! May honor be
your shield and truth tip your lances!
Be gentle to all gentle people. BE MOD
est TO women. Be tender TO children
And as for the Ogre Humbug, out sword,
and have at him"
Thackeray's judgments as a reauer
and critic of books came from the heart
Mr.. Melville believes, rather than from
the intellect; happily these sometimes
conceded The big heart Of the novelist
was easily touched, it is true. by the
revelation of generous or gentle traits
in man or book. There is character
istlc story told by Mr.. Melville of the
author Of Vanity Fair and John Will
son Croker, the person portrayed IN the
novel as Wendham, the managing man
/ Of the Marquis Of Steyne. After Croker
death the mutual friend told Thackeray
how Croker had begged his wife TO
seek out some homeless boys to stay
with them from Saturday till Monday
They will destroy your flower beds ana
upset my inkstands, but we can help
them more than they can hurt us.
Thackeray choked and went TO see Mrs.
Croker, and assured her he would never
again speak or think i'll Of her husband
This anecdote appears in a chapter on
the originals Of Thackeray's novels,
chapter full of entertaining details.
Quoted there Is a story which Charles
Kingsley used to tell Of a woman who
conided TO Thackeray that she liked
Vanity Fair" exceedingly. THE char
acters are so natural" she said, "all but
the baronet Sir Pitt Crawley and sure
ly he Is overdrawn it is impossible to
find such coarseness In his rank of life
The novelist was amused. THAT char
acter is almost the only exact portrait
in the book" he said. Studies from life,
If not exact portraits, were many OF the
characters in vanity Fair" Becky
was real, as far as character went, and
the extraordinary thing about her his
tory is that long after the publication
of the novel she actually ran away with
and married the nephew Of her en-
ployer, was popular in society after the
fashion of Mrs. Rawdon Crawley and
ended her career in much the same way
in Continental gaming places.
We agree with Mr.. Melville that
Thackerays ballads have not had de-
served attention and appreciation, and
that in the future they will find both.
We agree with him also in his estimate
OF Thackeray's merits as an illustrator
OF his own books. Full of faults as his
drawings are, they are inimltable IN
their humor, and worth a multitude OF
the correct and handsome illustrations OF
more accomplished artists. He used to
concede that his work In this direction
was not first rate. but declared that II
was not as bad as the wood cutters maze
II appear. That is true enough; all who
have seen his original drawings will hold
with Mr. Melville that they support this
view. A young man who put on the
wood a number Of the novelist's draw
ings for Mrs. Perkins's Bali turned
out some perfectly correct and perfectly
stupid cuts. 81 return the drawings
after making q few alterations in them, y
wrote Thackeray 70 Mr.. Vizetelly, who
had engaged the youth. Present Mr..
Titmarsh's compliments 70 your tai
ented young friend and say NJ a. 7.
would take It as a great favor II he
would kindly confine his improvements
to the Mulligan's and Mrs. Perkins,
other guests eXtremties. In your young
gentleman's otherwise praiseworthy cor
rections Of my vile drawings a certain
lie ne sails Quoi, which l fatter myself ex-
lists in the original sketches, seems TO
have given him the slip, and 1 have
tried in vain to recapture it. Somehow
prefer my own Nurcmburg dolls TO Mr..
Thwaites's superfne wax models "
Somehow we prefer them, too. What
clever young man could ever hope to
rival the drawing of Major Gahagan
which is reprinted in this volume?
Thackeray. says our commentator,
has no obvious imitators which re-
mark shows that it's maker is unac-
quainted with a comparatively recent
book by a female novelist Of this coun-
try. Her style so closely followed that
Of Thackeray in all his pecuiarities, in
the formation and rhythm Of sentences,
in punctuation and in atmosphere, that
It is difficult TO believe that the imita-
ton was unintentional. Perhaps II
came from persistent saturation of mind
in Thackeray's writings. However that
may be, it remains a singular instance