The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-06-01

the personalities and actions and ut
terances OF his characters. At times
an excuse for writing has been found
before the first paragraph of actual
text.
The original dedication Of Gen. Lew
Wallace's ben Hur" read, ITO the
Wife OF My Youth" 1t was widely in
terpreted as a reference to one who
had passed away. and the interpreta-
ton resulted in such deluge Of letters
OF sympathy, some of them thinly veil
ing half proposals OF marriage from
women matrimonialiy disposed, that in
later editions of the book Gen. Wallace
found II expedient to change the dedi-
cation to read. ITO the Wife Of My
Youth, Who Still Abides with Me-"
Tempest Over Uncle Toms Cabin
Although written in day when let
tiers were less frequent, though Of
greater individual length, probably no
book of American origin ever brought
its author such a flood of correspon-
dence as Uncle Toms Cabin"
All the fire Of the South welled up in
the epistles Of denunciation from those
OF slave holding proclivities directed at
the little New England woman. The
tone of these letters was balanced by
the volume of laudatory correspon-
dence from high strung .Abolitionists.
Every character In the book, Uncle
Tom, Topsy. Little Eva, and above all
Simon Legree. was furiously extoIled
or abused. according to the convic-
lions or preJudices of the writer.
Not his expressed opinions on the
slavery question, though on that sub
ject he held ideas as radical as those of
Harriet Beecher Stowe herself, but his
public utterances on the matter of in
ternational copyright, emptied a mail
bag OF letters at the door OF Charles
Dickens. These letters. for the most
part anonymous, informed the Eng
lishman in no uncertain terms that he
was no gentleman" that he was "a
mere mercenary scoundrel." that his
motives for visiting the United States
were "of the basest nature" And all
those communications. whether signed
or not. ended by demanding an imme-
date answer.
by every post" Dickens wrote back
20 England, letters on letters arrive,
all about nothing. This man is Of
Tended because I won't live In his
house, and that man is thoroughly dis
gusted because l won't go out more
than four times In an evening""
Thatkeray's "Thorn Letters"
Thackeray, much as he liked the
writing Of letters and delightfully."- as
he wrote them, frequently squirmed IT.
receiving them. There was q kind OF
an epistle which he called a 'thorn
letter." and these were In most cases
OF Irish origin. for though he married
a wife half Irish and proclaimed a love
for the sister island. his humor was OF
quality that the Irish could not al
ways understand. There was one
freshman who was In the habit OF
writing every little while promising an
early call for the purpose OF soundly
thrashing the novelist. Then, when he
wrote "Lovel. the Widower," Thack-
cray provoked correspondence IKE the
following:
Sir: I have Just finished the nrsi
portion OF your tale Lowell, the Wild.
over and am much surprised at the
unwarrantable structures YOU mass
therein on the corps de ballet.
I have been for more than far
years connected with the theatrcar
profession. and / beg to assure va,
that the majority OF the corps de- halls,
are Virtuons' well conducted girls, ant
consequently that snug ceStAges ar