The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-17
I012e Esb:Y -1912


 1872 FsbX l9l
 In "A Tale of Two Cities as in many other of Charles Dickens novels, the character around whom the story centres and toward whom it's action converges-= what is called the ''hero" for want of a more accurately descriptive word,Ais not the novels great character. Charles Dar- nay, Marquis of Evremonde, the hero of the Tale, would indeed be a quite snf- ficient hero were it not for the greater character who is introduced almost acci- dentally.
 Though from the beginning the figure of Sydney Carton is immensely real, in- mensely distinctive, his story through the greater part of the Tale is so entirely sub ordinate that when he disappears beforu the passion and fire of the French Revo- lution, 1t seems natural enough that he should drop from the scene forever. Had Dickens so dropped Sydney Carton, though he would always remain one of the nove- lists striking characters, only alert and
 keen readers could perceive that he was to have been something more; and even the keenest nvr could perceive what an ex- traordinary part he was to have played.
 Yet this part that he does play when he reappears again suddenly, was no after thought of the author In no other of his books is the development so ab- solutely consistent, or does it adhere so truly to the original design. Dickens paid little attention-sometimes none-to the mechanics of story telling, that is, to plot and to gradual, steady concentration toward that plot His novels are good, not because they were well invented, but because he was Charles Dickens. Djinns who rear Aladdin's Palaces do not need mechanics.
 For those who are not djinns Dickens novels would be extremely poor mod els. with the one great exception of this Tale. It is perfect in plan, construc- tion, development and climax. Apart from it's characters, apart from the splendors of it's wording, apart from its marvellous description of the Revolution and the Terror, it ranks as one of the best ex- amples of story making.
 Sydney Carton is Dickens greatest trag- ic figure, a sorrowful figure, but never sentimental, heroic without heroics, ris- ing at last to such height that he seems to dominate the Revolution, and passing in a final scene so solemnly beautiful that the storm and fury of that Revolution seem to hush while the silence of eter- nty receives him.
 A FOOLISH King was on the throne "A of England, and a foolish King 4 \ was on the throne of France. There was hearty hatred between the two coun- tries,, though Tn all conscience they should have had the closest fellow feeling, for they were alike in many more respects than having merely foolish Kings. They both maintained ignorance and want as national institutions, and they both ad- ninistered death as a sort of cure-all for Ill evils that arose therefrom.
 In the sunny land of France, under the legal fiction that the King was the father of his people, man who tried to kill him because he was but heartless and wicked father was treated as par ricide and torn to pieces alive in the streets of Paris, with ladies looking on limbs from him one by one, so slowly that he lived til sunset.
 In Merry England the forger was put to Death. The utterer of bad note was put to Death. The unlawful opener of letter was put to Death. The thief who stole 40 shillings and six pence was put to Death. The holder of a horse who ran away with it was put to Death The coiner of bad shilling was put to death.
 And while all this cheerful putting to death by the law, and putting to death by hunger and putting to death by mis- cry was going on so gallantly, there were trees growing in France that were des- tined to be sawed into boards and blanks to make a certain frame work with q knife in it, terrible in history.
 But the two foolish Kings and the judges and the victims in the two coun- tries did not know of those trees. They struggled on, laboring day and night to be royal, laboring day and night to abol- ish crime with gallows, ax and hurdle, working day and night to produce more crime.
 In the noxious court room of the den known as the old Bailey in London, they were trying a man; and they had woven the net around him so patiently that it was extremely plain that trying" him meant Trying to Put Him to Death,
 He was young man, strong and hand some, with sunburned cheek and dark, brave eye that did not attempt to hide anxiety though it looked at the judge steadily enough. He was accused of trea- son, in that he had been guilty of sundry comngs and goings between England and France, with design of spying on Eng lands army and revealing it's secrets to the French King. The crowd looked at him with horrible relish; for if he were found guilty, as was the very evident intention of Crown Prosecutor, judge and jury, he would be drawn on hurdle1to be half hanged, taken down to be mutt lated, then beheaded and then quartered.
 It was a day of blood-money, and hired spies went on the stand to swear to everything that could help Spin the rope. sharpen the aX and hammer nails into the scaffold. In reply ta their tes- timony the prisoners counsel I could only point to their known evil charac- ter their known, profession He was unable to combat the charge more specifically, for the prisoner would say only that his frequent journeys had been caused by family matters that he could not reveal, even for his life; and he admitted that the name under which he lived, Charles Dsrnay, was respecta-
 To give the spies testimony respecta- ble reinforcement, the crown called Lucie Manette, daughter of Dr.. Man cite, Frenchman like the prisoner, and famous as having been kept in