The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-08
From the New York Sun.

From the New York sun
SrUDENTs and lovers of Thackeray
perhaps no one is the first with
~ out being the second--may read q
new and most interesting chapter in the
life of the great novelist in his letters
to and concerning Mrs. William Ii.
Brool1feld hitherto unpublished. which
form part of the collection of the late
Mai. William II. Lambert, which Is to
be sold at the Anderson galleries begin
ming February %.
All the world knows of Thackeray' $
friendship for Mrs. Brookfeld, but there
are few living persons who know that the
friendship was, at least on Thackeray' S
part, much more than. that cool word i'm
plies. That his feeling for Mrs. Brook
field was the compelling passion of Thack-
eray's life. that he was as great in his
renunciation as in his love and that in
spite of all his care he quarreled with
Mr.. Brookfield, who seems to have been
always nervously suspicious, and not
without reason-all this becomes known
for the first time through the letters
which Major Lambert guarded carefully
during his lifetime.
Mrs. Brookfield was the cousin of Ar
thur 1Iallam, who was immortalized by
Tennysons I'm Memoriam.' Her hus-
band was a clergyman of small accom-
plishments, who had known Thaekeray at
Cambridge. He introduced Thackeray into
his home circle on an evening when Mrs.
Brookfield was much perturbed because
there was nothing but a cold shoulder
of mutton at hand and she had to send
out for tarts
Although Mrs Brookfield was feminine
enough to be mindful of the small merits
of cold mutton even when reinforced with
tarts she was remarkable woman with
unusual intellectual gifts. Thackeray
was ever after-eXeept when his atten-
tions had excited the anger of the hus-
banda frequent visitor at the Brook
field home, and he wrote letters to Mrs.
Broolzfield from all parts of the world.
Many of the letters are not in the usual
vertical handwriting, well known from
facsmiles but in Thackeray's slant style
which he used only for foreign letters
or on particular occasions. Some doubt
has been cast upon this style of the
novelists writings, but he refers to the
change in one of the letters.
Mr. Brookfeld and Thackeray were
good friends for a long time in spite of
Thackerays unconcealed affection for the
clergymans wife. and the first of the
series of letters is one to NJ Cazati ask
ing him to conduct Mr. Broollfield about
Paris, he had some time before con-
Quoted the novelist. This was probably
written in 1899.
Eight years later Thackeray had ap-
parently allowed his affection for Mrs
Brookheld to get the better of his discre-
tion and had spoken with too much en-
thusiasm and in too public a manner of
his regard and had been properly called
to account by the watchful Mr. Brook
field. SO on his way home he writes the
following to MIR. Brookfield:
Under the confessional seal In the
railway. Her innocence looks,
angelical sweetness and kindness charm
and ravish me to the highest degree;
ond every now and then in contem-
Plating them l burst out into uncouth
rapture. They are not the least dam
serous--it is a sort of artistical de-
light Ca spiritual sensuality so as to
speak)-other beautiful objects in ma
ture so affect me, children, landscapes,
harmonies of color, music, etc. +
My dear old fellow, you and God AL
mighty may know all my thoughts
ahout your wife: I'm not ashamed OF
one of them, since the days of the dear
cid two penny tart dinner till now.
It 'Evins, Here Is Wimbledon
Station. Well, I have opened my bow