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CHARLES DICKENS--Ti.

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/3-__-.~_ His Works, Iiifused With the Great Spirit' of Love and Charity are Still Rcild llfhr`011§llilhl§_f

*"'." ‘ao A 1

I .;,'t*h0usaius» Beforquie i>nu0rm=.wher@ it isrubiiciy Rem at-'rni§`iSé'as0n of iheiitear-“Hel Being Dead ireiff speakers.” ' '

custsrnasi ya vvetieiinown

public man once laid that: "Char-

les Dickens. to a didnt extent, made t-ir keeping of Christmas what it

ie.” There in little q‘oubt that the Maetet~Authar's Christmas stories inlueed into the Wor d that _Christmas spirit which in to prevalent to- day-the Spint of Love and Charity. Charles Dickens' works are as

popular today as they were fifty

years ago. Branzhea of the Dick-

ens' Fellowship Society are established ln many towne on both aides of the Atlantic. and their members hip in increasing yearly. Charles Dickens will never be forgotten. The millions of his readers speak for that, and he will be always especially remembered .nf Christmas

tl'Y\€.

MORE than onc hundred and ten

ycnr.~s had pusscd since _ (‘hzti‘lf.»s'_

ore than hulf at century since ull

V' Dickeiis situ' the light, and it is \ " ni . im R* in

~ . .

?°~ imp Q .. :i :ff minister Abbe-y. \'f_'t thc magic of “f i'_ Charles Dickens si`ill tuiiches our

` " ` livss, and the niunhood of the ' _ whole Atiglo-Suxoii race is covered

‘ hy thoso hours of our boyhood

,' when wi- laughed nt Sain Weller,

_ hated Joiius ifltiizzlcwit, and \ (`ai‘ker, loved little Null, trembled

ut Quilp. fitncii-ll ourselves Nichol-

‘ X al., Nicklcliy, I-nviud David Copper-

/ . 8

_ .np

:it was left of the great heart nd briiin wa.; deposited in West-

li-te».tod I’eiksbit'f and cried over

tic suffgings of Oliver Twist.

_ 'I' 'I' 'U

.\ir. Sit-vciison once said that

“yoiingsicrs love deop draught!! that warm their blood and stir their piilscs.” lt is this that Char- lna Dickens gave us over and

field. longer to possess a Grip. I ' : _ r _

' ~ over again. A great writer once

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iid to another When I feel my hge cref-ping upon me, I always take down a volume of- Charles Dickentuflt is like a draught at the fairies' well. Beforel have read a dozen pages Ieonld persuade my- self-provided uo looking-glass was near-thnt.l am once again n youngster, the red blood flowing bravely in my veins, the lovellght dancing In my eyes." V

'D 'I' 0

Charles Dickens knew all his

characters. Ho knew the common people of the town in all the lights! and shadows of their existence. He nas never ut liouie in thc draw- ing-room, but in the street he was :t magician to whom all secrets were known. Charles Dickens had the key to the street. Ile was ot’ the people and lived among them. He listened to their wants and sorrows, saw them in their dwijll- ing plzit-es. nllcvintcd their distress, and then produce-il them in his u-oi-ks. liis sympathy for the poor :ind the iieglr-cu-tl, and thc desolate :iuil more i=.=pi'ci:illy for children was n passioii. \'r'ry fvw of thc \\'t»;i|tli_v \\‘uultl 'cvvr ltlivt' krio\\'ii ul' how lunch wrong :ind sorrow", limi' iiiucli :ilso of liitlilon nolilt'itr=s.~' ox-

iti- of our i.:r<-iii citfcs, limi iioi his rim-p f~i-ling innii of tlii- pi-oplo tom-lit-d their hearts :intl tniiirht thi~in that thi-so follow- l‘r1,n,turi-s had :ilso fcoliiigs and liopcs, iluiitaniiitit: sympathy and hvlp. _

-l- 'I' 'I-

Chfirlcs Dickens its at child-

lover is unique, "I love those little people," he says in the “Old Citr- losity Shop" "und it is no slight thing when thi-y who :ire so fresh front (ind, love- ns." Ilia ex- purienco in his own child-life, his childish hunger, :ind his experi- ence of the hlacking biisiiicss, throughout his worlcs one finds tltat he never forgot that period of his life, and ht" never ceased to sympathize with suffering child- hood. llis portraynl of the suffer- ings of Paul Dombey, thc intense interest displayed in the unrequitt- cd love of little l’aul's sister to- wards bcr ntistoro father; fire dreams ot little Pip in "Great Ex- pectations." frlendless and hams- lf-ss Joe in "Bleak Ilouao” and. above nil, his little cripple Tiny Tim. Full of pathos and childlike simplicity and tenderness, yet hc could hurl fierce denunciation at criminals and the instigators of crime, against cruelty and wrong. Ile can make its shudder as well ns well as laugh and cry.

'I' 4' 4' A BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS STORY AND ITS LESSON

The lesson that Charles Dickens

conveyed to the world in his “(‘bristnias Carol" will never bn forgotten. llis delineation of tho bard- hearted Scrooge in the first portion ol the Carol, his beautiful conception of the visits of the Three Spirits-Pact, Present and l~`ntura-and the conversion of thc miserable, tight-fluted man to the genial and generous one, is a beautiful Christmas story and lesson. Let me quote a fcw lineiiz- `

Oh! But he was a tighbflsted-

hand at the grindstone. Scrooge? ii squeezing, wrenching. grasping at-raping, clutching. covetous. old sinner! Hard ond sharp as flint from which no steel had over struck out generous fire: secret, and self-contained. and solitary as an oyster. The cold within liini froze his ol1l'f<~ntiires. nlpped his pointed nose slirlvnlled his cheek, ntiftcned his gait; made his oyos red, his thin lips blue; and spoke nitt shrewdly in his grating voicc. A frosty rims' was on his ltr-ad. and on his eve-rbrowii and his wlry aiiln.

Ile carried his own low tenipern- turf' 'always about with him: he iced his office inthe dog-days; and dldn't thniv it one degree at (‘hrist~ mas.

I-ltsriinl heat and cold had little

iiifluence on Scrooge. N0 \varni'lt could warm, tio wintry v-'-'-st_hci' chill him. No wind that hliw wus blitcrcr than lic, no falling snow

was more intent upon its pu/rposr-. no pvlting ruin lr-ss open to cn- trcnty. l"onl weather didn‘t know when' to have him. The heaviest rain, and snow, and hall, and slnct, could boast of the a'ilvitntago over him in only one respect. 'l‘hc_v often “came down" handsomely, and Scrooile never did.”

Nobody ever stoppi d him in the

street to stty, with glailsomc looks. \'i'hcu will you come to see me?" "My dear Scrooge, ho\v are you? No beggars Implored him to best- ow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o'clock. no man or woman ever once in all his llfo inquired the wny to' such and such a place of Scrooge. Even the blind mens dogs appeared to know him: and when they saw him coming on. would tug their owners into doorways and up courts: and then would wag their tails as though they said. “No eye at all is better than an evil eye, dark master!" ~

4' 9 'I' _

'And, again. after the visit of the

Spirit of Christmas Past, and the thawing effect it has upon Scrooge. the great Master teaches Scrooge fthe World) another less- on in the Spirit of Christmas Present: -- 'Thc Ghost of Christmas Present rose. -

"Spirit," said Scrooge sub-

missively, “(.‘ouduct nie \vhe.rc you will. I wont forth lust night on compulsion. and I learned u lesson which is working now. Ton-ight, if you liuvo aught to ti~iii_~lt inc, let ine profit liy,il."

“'l‘oucli my mlm!" Scrooge dill :ts hc was told. :ind

lit-ld it la.-it.

llolly, iiiisteloo, rod bert-les, ivy,

tiii~kc_vi~a, goose. gziiiic. poultry, lti'.'i\\'ri, iiiieait, ~plg:~‘. snlisagcs, oyst- i»r.~'. pics, piiddiiig.»~, fruit :ind piitirli, ull vaiiisliell liistohtly. So did -thi; room, the fire, thc rudd_v glow. thc hour of night, :ind they stood in the ci-ly streets on Christ- iiins iiiortiing, whore `f0r the weath- ri' wus scver<') the pi.-nplc made n rougli. but brisk and not unpletui- tint kind of music, in scraping the snow from the pavement in front of their dwclIlngs'; and from the tops of their hoiiseti, whence it was delight to the boys to see it como plumplng down into thc road be- low, and splitting into artificial

little. snow-storms.

The house fronts looked black

enough, and the windows black- er, contrasting with tha smooth white sheet of snow upon the roofs, and with the dirtier snow upon the ground; which last deposit had been ploughed up in deep furrows hy the heavy wheels of carts and wagons; furrows that hundreds of timos. where the great crossed and rccrossed each other streets bqtncbed off; and made ltitricwte channels. hard to trace, ill the thick yellow niutl and icy water. The sky was gloomy and the shortest streets were choked up with a dingy mist, half thawed, half frozen. whose heavier particl- es di-scenilcd in a shower of aooty atoms. :is if all the chimneys in Grout Britain had, by one consent, caught fire and were blazing away to their dear hearts content. There was nothing very cheerful iti tho climate or the own, and yet the;-it was an air of cheerfulnesg abroad inat the clearest summer air and brightest summer sun might, 1t:~_y..-

cndcavorad to diffuse in vain. _

'I' 'I' 'I' ` But soon the steeples called good

people all to church and chapel, and away they came » 'flocking through the streets in their host clothes, and with their gnvest faces. And -at the same time there emerged from scores of by-streets. lanes and nameless turnings. 'in- numhersble people, carrying their dlnnsna to the bakers’ shops. 'l‘he sight of these poor revcllers appeared to interest the Spirit very much. for he stood with Scrooge .bc-side hhn in n baker’s doorway, and taking off tho covers aa,|h¢ir in-nrurs passed, sprinkled incense Aon -tit-'ir dinners from his torch. Ami it was a very uncommoukind nl' revolt, for once or twice when there were angry wnrvln lm»;\'io~_»n _'=_onir: ilinner-carriers who had .tostlcd each other, he 'shed 1 fl-iv drops 'oi water on them from il. and their good humor was re.-itor.-it tl.ri-ctly. For they said, it was a

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shame to quarrel upon Chrlstiuas Day. And so it was! God love it, so it was!

|i.- tiiiic the tells ceased, .inl thc

bakers' were shut up; and yet there was a genial shadowing forth of all these dinners and the progress of their cooking, ln the iliatweil blotch of wet above each b:iker's oven where the pavement smoked as if its stones were cook- ing too. '

_“ls there a peculiar flavor in

what you sprinkle from your torch?" asked Scrooge.

"There is. My own." “\\'ouliI it apply to any kind of

dinner on this day?" asked Scroono.

"To uuy kindly given. To n poor

one most."

"Why to a poor one most?"

iiskotl Scrooge.

‘°Iii'cnitsu it needs it most." “Spirit," said Scrooge, after :i

niomient's thought, “I wonder. you. of all the beings in the inuuy worlds about its should desire to vrunip these poople’s opportunities of innocent onjoyinent." ~i'.'" i-ru-ii um spirit. * "You would deprive them of

their means of dining every seventh day, often the only day on which they can be said to dine at all," said Scrooge. “Wottldn't you?"

“l"? cried the Spirit. “You seek to close these places

on tht-_ seventh day?" said Scrooge. “And it comes to the same thing." “I seek?" exclaimed the Spirit, “Forgive me if I am wrong. It

has been done in your nam'e, or at least in that of your family,” said Scrooge.

"There are some upon this earth

of yours," returned the Spirit, “who lay claim to know us and who do their deeds of passion, pride, lil-will, hatred, envy, bigot- ry and selfishness lu our nanic, who are as strange to us and :ill our kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that, und charge thcir doings on -thentselves, not us." ' i

Scrooge promised -that be would;

and they wi'nt on, invisible., as they had liecti b»_-fore, into the suburbs of the town. It was a re- tiiiirkablc quality of the ghost (which Scrooge had observed at thc buker'_>tl thai, notwithstanding his gigantic size, he could accom- iii_odzit_e himself to any place with case; and that he stood beneath :i low 'root' quite as graccfitlly and like ai snpi-i°iiniiii'ul :reatun-, ui: it \\'a.g.; po.i:.ilile.l.c could have -loin- iu any lofty hall. '

And pt.t'hnps it \\':i.'i liio piozi.-tzirn

the good Spirit had in snowing off this power of his, or else it was his o\vti kind, generous, licarly uiiturc, and his sympathy with all poor men, thot lcd him straight to Scroogc-`s clcrk's; for there hs went, und took Scrooge with l-Jin, holding to his robe; and on the threshold of the door the Spirit smiled, and stopped to bless Bob Crutchit's dwelling with tho sprinkling of his torch. Think of that! Bob had but fifteen "bob" a week himself; he pockoicd on Saturdays but fifteen copies of his Christian nnmc; and yet the Ghost or Christmas Present blessed his

four-rooniod house! .

'I' 'I' 'I' _

And finally ws have the Spirit

of Christmas Yet To Come, where- in Clmrlcs Dickens. In his happiest vein depicts the agony which a man oi' Scrogg's disposition and nature goes through when he ro- ulizes the great mistake of his llfo; but the Joy and happiness when be wakes and knows and feels that the opportunity of doing good to his fellow man is still his. The Spirit stood among the graves pointing to one with his finger. Scrooge drew nearer and read

"Ebenezer Scrooge."

“Am I that man who lay upon

the bed?" he cried, upon his knees.

The finger pointed from the

_grave to him and back again.

"No, Spirit! Oh, no, no!"

The finger still was there.

"Spirlt!" he cried, tight clutch-

ing at its robe, “Hear me. I am not the nian I was. I will not be the man I must have been but for this inter-course. Why show me this if

I am past all hope?"

._ For tho first time the hand np-

peared to shake. `

"'_Good Spirit." hc pursued. as down upon the ground be feel be- fore in “your nature lntercsdes for me. and pitles me. Assure me_ that I yet must change these shadows

may have shown me, by an altered

e."

The kind hand trembled.

"I will honour Christmas In my

heart, and try to keep it all the year I will live in the Past, the Present and the Future. The spirits of nil three shall strive within me. _I will not shut out the lessons thnt they teach; Oh, tell me I may Slwntte away the writing on this

stone!"

- in his agony, he caught the spec- tral hand. It sought to free itself, but he was strong in his entreaty.

and _iletained it.

The Spirit, stronger In his cn-

trhaty. resisted.

_Holding up his hands In a last

pruyer to have 'nls fate reversed. he saw an alteration in thc phnntoin‘s hood and dress. Il shrunk, collapsed and dwindled down into bcdpost. _

Yes! and the bedpost was his

own. Tho bell was his own. U10 mom was his own. Best and happi- sst of all the time before him was his own. to make aineiids in !

“I will live in the Past, the Pros-

ent and the Future!" Scrooge fl- peated. as he scrambled out of bell. “The Spirits ol' nil three shall strive within nie. 0 Jacob Marley' Heaven and the Christmas time be praised for this! I say li- 0!! l_\~y knees, old Jasub. Oll ml? kneel* '~

Ile was so flattered and so glo\\'~

ing with his' good intentions that his broken voice would scarcely np- swar to his call. Ile had been routi- ing violently ln his conflict will' the Spirit and his face was wet with tours. _

"Thoy orc not torn down.' '.‘rt\=i|

Scrooge. folding one of his bmi- curtains in his arms. "they :tro not torn down, rings and all. The-y are here-I um here-the shadows nf tht- thing that would have been. muy bo als;-elled. They will lic. 'l know they vill." _

ills hands were busy with his

garments an this time: tlirnlns them inside out. putting th-'ein on upside down, tearing them. iiiislay- lug them making them partie.; to evcry kind of extravagunco.

"l don't know what to do!" cried

Scrooge. laughing and cryin!! Ill the same breath, and making: a per- fect Lacoon of himself with his stockings "I nm as light as at feather, I nm as happy as an utigcl. I am us marry as a schoolboy. I H'1\ as giddy as it drunken man. A Merry Christmas to everybody! A Happy New Year to all the world. Iiollo. here!Whoop Holla!"

Ile :risked into the sitting-room,

and was now standing there. D01” fcctly windcd.

“There's the saucepan that the

gruel was in!" cried Scrooge. start- ing off again. and going round the Wireplace. ‘_"I`here's the door l'>' which thc Ghost of Jacob Marley entered; There's the corner where the Ghost_ of Christinas Present sat! There‘s tht- window where I saw the wandering spirit! lt’§ ull right, it's all true, it ull happened. lla, ho. hu!"

Really, for it inan who 'had birch

out of prtictlcu for so litany years. It was u _splendid laugh. it most illustrious lnngh. The futher of at long, long line of laughs.

“I doii't know how- long l’v€

been :iuiong the spirits. I <lon't ‘know itiiyiliing. l’in 'lititc it lmhy~ Never mind I rlon"t cure. I'tl rithei' lie a baby Ilollo! Whoopi llollo, hurPi" _ - llc' was checked it' his iran- sports by the churches rlnizlttii' out the lustiest penis he had cvei' heard. Clash clang. hammer; ding do'-g, bell. Dell dong ding, hanimer, claiig, clash! Oh! glorious. glor- ious! ~

Running to the window ho open-

ed lt, and put out his head. No fog. no mist; clear, bright, jovial, stirr- ing, co`ld; cold. piping for the blood to dance to; golden sunlight; _heavenly sky: sweet fresh air: merry halls, Oh. glorious. Glorious!

"Wl\nt's today?" 'cried Scrooge.

calling downward ton boy in Sun- day clothes, who perhaps had

loltered in to look about him.

"Ehl returned the boy, with all

his might of wonder. '

"Whittie today my fine follow?"

anld Scrooge.

“Today!" rr-plied the boy. “Why

Christmas Day."

"lt’s Christmas Day!" said

Scroogo to himself. "I havsn‘t missed it. The spirits have done lt all in one night. They can do any- thing they like. Of coufsethey can. Of course they can. Ilollo, my fine

fellow!"

"llollol" my fine fellow!"

“lIollol" returned the boy.

"Do you know the poulterer's in

the next street but one, at tho

corner?" Scrooge inquired.

-"I should hope I did," replicd’

the lad.

"An intelligent boy!" said

Scrooge. "A remarkable boy! Do you know whether thcy’vo sold the prize turkey that was hanging up there? ,Not the little prize turkey;

the big one?" . _

"What, the one as big as me?"

retumed the boy. . '

“What a delightful boy!" said

Scrooge. "lt's iz pleasure to talk to

him. Yes, my buck!" '

plied the boy. _ _ _ _

"lt's hanging there now," replied

the boy.

"Is It?" _said Scrooge. "Go and

buy it,"

"Walk-ER!" exclaimed the boy. "No, no." said Scrooge, "l ani

ii: earnest. Go and buy lt. and tell them to bring it here, that I may Rive them the direction whore to take it. Come back with the man, and I‘ll give yous shilling. Come Milli With him in less than fivo lhinutcs and l'll give you hall it

crown." '

T110 NW was off like a shot. llc

must have had tt. steady hand at ~. t'_`lSK9i" whoyxould have got a

shdsi off-half so fact '

` "ru semi it to 'mu ci-archival" whispered Scrooge rubbing his _hands and splitting with a lztuigli. “He sht|n't know who sent it. lt's twice the size oi tiiiiy Tim. Joe Miller never made such tt. .luke as sending it to Bolfu will be."

The hniid i.. which he wrote the

zitldress was not a steady one, but ~.-'rlic it he did. somehow. and \vi'.-ut downstairs to opep,the street door, ready for the- coming cf tht- poultererki man. As he .sstood there, waiting his arrival. the kuocker caught his eye.

“I shall love lt. as long as I live.”

cried Scrooge patting lt with his hand. “I scarcely ever looked at it ln fore. Whitt an honeat expression it has in its fuce. lt's :i \voii~ii=t'- ful knocker. ll4:i°c's thc "turkey. llollo! \\'hoop!~ llow nrc you" Marry (‘.ltrli-=tnms!" '

lt was ii tnrkf-_yi Ile nnvcr could

have stood upon his legs. that bird- Ilo would have snapped 'ein shvrf off in a ininuto, like sticks of seal- ing-wax.

“Why i.t's impossible to carry

that to Canidan Town," said Scrooge. “You must have a cab"

The cliltcklo with which hc :iitiil

this. and the chuckle with which he paid for the turkey. and tha chuckle with_ which he paid for the cab, and the chuckle with which he rccotnpenscd the boy, wore only to he exceeded by thc chuckle with which he sat down breathless in his chair again, and chuckled till he cried.

'I' 'I' 'I' Shaving was not :in easy task,

for his hand continued to shake very much; and shaving roquires attention, oven when you don't dance _while you ore at lt. But if he had cut the end of his nose off he would have put a piece of sticking-plaster over it, and been quite sattsfled.

He dressed himself "all in his

best," and at last got out into the streets. The people were by this time pouring' forth, as he had seen them with the Ghost of Christmas Present; and walking with his bonds behind him. Scrooge regarded everyone with a delighted smile. He looked so irresistibly pleasant. in a word. that three or _four good-humoured fellows stiid. "Good morning, -sir. A Merry Christmas to you!" Anil Scrooge said often afterwards, that of all the blithe sounds lic hull »-vcr ueiird, those were the billb-

e..-t in his ears.

Ili- had not goin' fur. when coni-

inl: on towards hiui he lit-licid ilu- pm-ily ge-.iitlcitinii who had walked into his countitig-lion.-ic tho diiy lu-fore and said; "Scrooge :ind l\iarley's, I beliove?” it sent a pang across his heart to ‘think Lou' the old gentleman would look upon him when thcy nictt but lie knew what pnih lay slr1iif;Iit_L:o-

fore him mid he took it.

_"My dear sit," said Sii~uul;g_ quickenlug his pace, and taking the old getitleinnn by lluth his hands. "How do you do? I liopt- yoii succeeded yesterday. It wus very kind of you. A illerry Clirlst- mns to you. slr!" . _ “l\ir. Scrooge?" . _

‘Yoi-i," said Scrooge, “'I`ba‘t is my

name, and I fear it may not ~_ -.be pleasant to you. Allow me to ask you pardon. And will you have the goodness--" here Scrooge

whispered in his snr.

"Lord bless me!" cried the

gentleman. its if his breath 'vera taken away. “My denr Mr. Scrooge,

are you serious?"

if YOU please," said Scrooge.

"Not n larthlug lest-i.` A great many bsckpaymentg are included in it. I assure you. Will you do me that

favour?"

“My door slr." sold tho other,

shaking hands with him, "I don't know what to say to such munifi

"Don't any anything. please,” rc-

.tortcd Scrooge. “Como and seo nie.‘Wlll you come and see mc?"

“I wIll!" cried the old gentle-

man. And it was clear he meant to do it. '

“Thank'ec," said Scrooge. "I

am much obliged to you. I thank you fifty times. Bless you!"

Ile went to church and walked

about the streets. and watched the people hurrying to and fro, and patted children on tho head, and Questioned beggars. and looked down into the kitchen, and found that everything could wield him pleasure. He had never dreamed that any walk-that anyitung__ C0_\tld give him so much happiness *_ 0' O AN AMERICAN 0PlNl0N OF

_ CHARLES DICKENS '

Charles’ Dickens wng' the eup.

rome democrat of the nineteenth century. lf democracy implies a bo. llef in fraiomlly and equality as well as liberty. Dickens certainly valued personal liberty. If he wer.. alive today he would probably join with Mr. Chesterton and Mr. 5°"°° "1 li°“"\"\0lllS bureaucra- tic interference with the actions of the confmon man. He would oppose prohibition. -and would have . nc greater love -than `ll‘Ir. Chesterton

inspectors who -nowadays com- plicate the life of-iuean streets.

Equality and Fraternity. _

But equality and fraternity were

even moro to Charles Dickens than liberty. In almost every one of his books he emphasizes the equal- ity of the simple and the highly placed, of the master and .the man. It never occurred` to Mr. Pickwick to treat Sam Weller as an inferior. and indeed Dickens makes it perfectly clear that Sam was infinitely sl\l'tei'ior to Mr. Wliikle, Mr. Snodgrass. and Mr. Tupman. The Marchloness passed with perfect ease from 'hi' very unpleasant iindcritrolllili kitchen in St. Mary Axe to lic- tho mistress of Dick Swivelier's llitlo house at llanipstead. The whole noral of tho story it .'\Iiirtlti Chuzzlewit is that Mark Tunlfiy ls. ag old Martin admits at thc Girl of the book, morally and overt titutit- ally superior of his rich-'r zissociot- cs.

It is worth remarkln.; that

there is tio condescensiuii in tho Dickens brniid ot cqitullty. nom' 01' the maddening pose with which the earnest Fabian proclaims hi.; equality with the out-of-work dock labourer.

A Common Man

The whole truth is, and it is a

perfectly splendid truth, that Dickens, in many respects that most inspiring of all modern Eng- lish writers. began and ended as a common fallow. I-le knew precious little about the aristocracy. Sir Leicester Dedlock. is as melodra- malically unreal as Sir Mulberry Hawk. He had very little sympathy with the successful business man. Mr. Rouncewell, the successful iron-master. is drawn with sym- pathy. but Dickens makes it per- fectly clear that hcglnfinitely pre- fers Mr. Rounccwell’s unsuccess- ful brotber. George the trroopcr.

Dickens never thanked God that

he was not as other men. Ile spent his whole life thanking God that- be was as other men. and there is something intensely Christian in the constant sincere declaration of equality with others from zt ninn of outstutiding kenlus.

A Shaw Preface

In at preface that he once wrote

to an edition of “llnrd Times." Mr. Show luiuental the fact thai Dick- ens had very little knowledge of industrial problems and very lille appreciation of -the beneficsiit power of trade unions. it is quita: possible that it Dickens were alive today he would deplore mfiiiy modern industrial di--vclopnieiits He might psrliaps laugh nt Labour Leaders: but Dickens often lnugli od at the people he loved. as, for example, at Mrs. Nlckleliy. at Cap- tain Cnttle, :ii Mr. Micawber, ut Mr. Micriwlier, at, Mr. Boffin.

Perhaps Too Gervial

From the point of view of ilu-

soclal reformer, the weakness of Dickens is that he shared thc characteristic nf the cc-simon Englishman of being nble in innkr' the best of a had job and to limi humour in the most uncoinfrrtabli: circumstances. It ls obvious, for example. that tho Kenwigses cn- joyed themselves immensely, 'les- pito the ovor-increasing number of their family. Dickens could have spent an evening with the Kon wigs family and have ltnd o. splendid time with them and with Mr. Newman Noggs, :ind his en- joyment might. and probably would have caused him to forgot. the urgent nec(-sslty that Konwlgs should have a better income and that his house sb mid have better drains. » The modern demand for higher wages and better drains Ls alto- gether to bc commended. but them is a definite danger that, In our preoccupation with material con- ditions. we should neglect spiritual essentials. Tho modern reformer is apt to regard the grent bulk of th-1 people as men and women to be ltltlgliod With, and carouggql with, and lived with. They were really his brothorg and sliters.

Real Sentiment

For him fraternity was not tin

aspiration but n reality. lf.Dickons were alive today he would regret the appalling unemployment gpg; has resulted from the chaos of the war, he would be sympathetic with all effort; to mitigate unemploy- ment. but I do not think he would

'QVHIG Dlmlnhlets about it; be would

'he' for more likely to go ou; in uw lU‘°9l8. nick out half a dozen men f"°m “ll Unemployed procession, and give them a square meal with. out bombast or patronage. ae one llwlry brother airing a~ good time to his unlucky brethren. _ ~

Dickenawaa not only essentially

° 0001010” msn. but he was also iigsentielly on English common man.

0 was constantly travelling on

the-continent. He paid two vlsitii to_Amerlca but while 'flamboyant

have moved him to"pcornful laught- er, he was absolutely .Dnglisb in his prejudices. his syinplthles. _as

English as Mr. Weller w_na.hal'f o` century ago. as lilnglisnu tliotaxl-‘

man in the London streets is Eng- lish today. The foreigner is us- ually a villain in the Dickens novel- Blandols. for example, in “Little Dori-lt," and the French maid in "Bleak House," to sny nothing ni' the unsympathetlc. (to use a euphemism) Americans in "Martin Cliuzzlewit."»

lt is interesting to speculate 'is

to his attitude towards' the Irish question. Great wars and whole- sale killings were unknown to the mon of his lucky generation, and it is prctectly certain that his over- mastering bumunism would have antagonizud him to nny policy that mnant continuation of strife and death and that he would be heart and soul with Mr. Lloyd George in tho endeavor tQ ntuko peace hc- twoeir thu English and the Irish people.

"Let ns bo happy." is the first

injunction of the Dickens gospel. Then there follows the constant demonstration that tliuro can bo no happiness for the cruel, the selfish. and the lnconsiderate. Italph Nlckleby lg rich and miser- able. Uriah Heep however his plots may succeed. is never hoplly Mrs. Pipchin is a miserable old woman. On the other hand. Tom Pincnand Mrs. Nickleby, Betsy Trotwood and Mrs. Pickwick. Joe Gargery -and old varieii~simpie. kindly. unselfislt souls. all of them-arc as happy as the day is long. The Dickens gospel can. indeed, be summarized in the late Professor Clifford'5 fitlo injunction, "Let’s join hands and help one another, for today we are here together."

It is therefore,‘ certain that if

Dickens were alive today he would use the great weapon of his laught- er against present-day.ubuses, and present day cruelty,_as he used' to in his own day against Poor Law, bullies. Yorkshire schoolmasters. the Law'S iniquitons delays and the vicious system of imprisonment for debt. I-Ie would jecr at Pod- snappery ln high places._He would gibbet poniposity and humbug. He would exalt the simple and the kind. And, when ong thinks of the turmoil and the bewilderment in which our lives .are cast, it' almost seems us if our great misfortune ig that'Charlcs Dickens is not alivo to cleanse the world with his deep. wholesome, (lockney laughter.

'I' 'I' 'I' LETTERS WRITTEN BY

’ ci-mates Dickens

Ainerico has just acquired ta. new

literary trcasiire. li consists `of more than 600\leiters by Charles Dickeiis. none of thcin' ever pitb- llshed or scarcely known outside the family of their author and then' recipient. They were purcliasad recently at the salc of the Bttrdett Coutta library in London by Ollvor W. Darrctt, a lawyer with offices in Chicago and his home in thc suburb of Kenilworth.

Virtually nil these letters were

written by Dickens to Baroness Durdctt (‘out.ts. The first is dated July I. 1839. Thclr datings con- tinue uiitll ISGS. They describe bis impressions during his first visit to Amorica, in 1842, and his re- actions to the adverse criticism by him by Ainoritans after his do- parture. Thoy acknowledge sourc- es of several of his fictional char- acters, and afford intimate glimps- es of him evolving his plots, writ- ing his books and enjoying tho applause of them. They iniike plain what nn extritorilliviry volntiic of time. energy rind thought he de- voted to charltv 'l‘hc_v_rovenl ln- timacies of his lvuiie life. of his devotion to children in the flesh as well as In -the imagination. They abound in chrr~~-tv-rlstic humor and tenderness. They cinbody pass- ages of narrative and descriptions comparable with his formal con- tributions to literature. They ex- press as much as is to bo found anywhere of Dickens' philosophy.

Admittedly. they _add no pre-

viously undiscovered _linesments to the portrait of Dickens 'ts conf stritcted~ by his contemporaries and conveyed in tho hugo volumes of his lottere edited by his daught- er and his .sister-in-law. Their value lg in filling ln and revivifylng these earlier pictures. Sir Edward Sullivan, in an essay written at the time their sale was announc- ed, said: “Tha lady editorsof the published correspondence in their preface call their work"'anotber book from Charles Dickens' own hands. as it were a portrait of nim- se_if4 by himself, many details omitted in that portrait are now forthcomins. and _the resulting pic- ture is infinitely fuller than bp. fore. So continuous. indeed, and eo well connected are these lett. ers` to Miss Contts thot. lf all Dickens' other letter had idis. appeared. we should be time mit of these alone to reconstruct the antlior's' life nnd‘do|ngs in a very

satisfactory wny.”

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