his melancholy couch, and set to the contents proved to be a manubis task at an hour when gaiety script play, by a young lady of New had little more than sought his. York, who kindly requested me to Firmly did he keep to his desk read and correct it, equip it with during long hours, till he could prologue and epilogue, procure for satisfy himself that he had done his it a favourable reception from the utmost. The temptations of so- manager of Drury Lane, and make ciety, the more insinuating claims Murray or Constable bleed handof an overworked system for rest, somely for the copyright; and, inwere alike resolutely rejected. The specting the cover, I found that I world must ever hear with wonder, had been charged five pounds odd that between the third day after for the postage. This was bad his bankruptcy and the fifteenth enough; but there was no help, so day thereafter, he had written a I groaned and submitted. A fortvolume of Woodstock, although se-night or so after, another packet, veral of these days had been spent of not less formidable bulk, arrived, in comparative vacancy, to allow and I was absent enough to break the imagination time for brooding. its seal too, without examination. He believed, that, for a bet, he could Conceive my horror, when out have written this volume in ten jumped the same identical tragedy days. Just a fortnight after his of the "Cherokee Lovers," with a final breach with fortune, he says second epistle from the authoress, in his journal, "I have now no pe- stating that, as the winds had been cuniary provisions to embarrass me, boisterous, she feared the vessel inand I think, now the shock of the trusted with her former communidiscovery is past and over, I am cation might have foundered, and much better off on the whole. therefore judged it prudent to forI shall be free of a hundred petty ward a duplicate." public duties imposed on me as a man of consideration, of the expense of a great hospitality, and, what is better, of the waste of time connected with it. I have known in my day all kinds of society, and can pretty well estimate how much or how little one loses by retiring from all but that which is very they are the pride and honour, intimate. If I could see Dickens thus laments over the those about me as indifferent to the applications to which his stateloss of rank as I am, I should be ment has given rise:completely happy. As it is, time must salve that sore, and to time I trust it." SIR WALTER SCOTT AND THE AMERI CAN AUTHORESS. CHARLES DICKENS. Having stated, in the original preface to Nicholas Nickleby, that the Brothers Cheeryble were portraits from the life, and that they yet exercised their unbounded benevolence in the town of which - "If I were to attempt to sum up the hundreds upon hundreds of letters from all sorts of people, in all sorts of latitudes and climates, to which this unlucky paragraph has since given rise, I should get into "One morning," said Scott, "I an arithmetical difficulty from opened a huge lump of a despatch, which I could not easily extriwithout looking to know how it cate myself. Suffice it to say, that was addressed, never doubting that I believe the applications for loans, it had travelled under some omni- gifts, and offices of profit, that I potent frank, like the first lord of have been requested to forward to admiralty's, when, lo and behold, the originals of the Brothers Cheery It was another rule, that every attempt to tamper with his digletter he received should be an- nity. swered that same day. Nothing else could have enabled him to keep abreast with the flood of communication that in the sequel put his good nature to the severest test; but already the demands on him in this way also were numerous; and he included attention to them among the necessary business, which must be despatched before he had a right to close his writing-box. In turning over his enormous mass of correspondence, I have almost invariably found some indication that, when a letter had remained more than a day or two unanswered, it had been so because he found occasion for inquiry or deliberate consideration. Camp was at this time the constant parlour dog. He was very handsome, very intelligent, and naturally very fierce, but gentle as a lamb among the children. As for the more locomotive Douglas and Percy, he kept one window of his study open, whatever might be the state of the weather, that they might leap out and in as the fancy moved them. He always talked to Camp as if he understood what was said, and the animal certainly did understand not a little of it; in particular, it seemed as if he perfectly comprehended, on all occasions, that his master considered him as a sensible and steady friend, and the greyhounds as volatile young creatures, whose freaks must be borne with. SCOTT'S REVERSES. I ought not to omit that in those days Scott was far too zealous a dragoon not to take a principal share in the stable duty. Before beginning his desk-work in the Sir Walter Scott was engaged, at morning, he uniformly visited his the time of his misfortunes, in writfavourite steed, and neither Captain ing the Life of Bonaparte, taking nor Lieutenant, nor the Lieutenant's up his new novel of Woodstock at successor, Brown Adam, so called intervals by way of relief. These after one of the heroes of the Min- tasks he continued, with steady strelsy, liked to be fed except by perseverance, in the midst of all his him. The latter charger was in-distresses. Even on the day which deed altogether intractable in other brought him assurance of the grand hands, though in his the most sub-catastrophe, he resumed in the aftermissive of faithful allies. The moment he was bridled and sad dled, it was the custom to open the stable door, as a signal that his master expected him, when he immediately trotted to the side of the leaping-on-stone, of which Scott, from his lameness, found it convenient to make use, and stood there, silent and motionless as a rock, until he was fairly in his seat, after which he displayed his joy by neighing triumphantly through a brilliant succession of curvettings. Brown Adam never suffered himself to be backed but by his master. He broke, I believe, one groom's arm and another's leg, in the rash noon the task which had engaged him in the morning. There was more triumph over circumstances here than might be supposed, for he had lately begun to feel the first touches of the infirmities of age— age to which ease, not hard work, is naturally appropriate. His sleep was now less sound than it had been; his eyesight was failing; and, above all, he felt that backwardness of the intellectual power which is inseparable from years. The will, however, was green as ever, and under the prompting of an honourable spirit, it did its work nobly. Doggedly, doggedly did the energetic old man rouse himself from the contents proved to be a manuscript play, by a young lady of New York, who kindly requested me to read and correct it, equip it with prologue and epilogue, procure for it a favourable reception from the manager of Drury Lane, and make Murray or Constable bleed handsomely for the copyright; and, inspecting the cover, I found that I had been charged five pounds odd for the postage. This was bad enough; but there was no help, so I groaned and submitted. A fortnight or so after, another packet, of not less formidable bulk, arrived, and I was absent enough to break its seal too, without examination. Conceive my horror, when out jumped the same identical tragedy of the "Cherokee Lovers," with a second epistle from the authoress, stating that, as the winds had been boisterous, she feared the vessel intrusted with her former communication might have foundered, and therefore judged it prudent to forward a duplicate." his melancholy couch, and set to his task at an hour when gaiety had little more than sought his. Firmly did he keep to his desk during long hours, till he could satisfy himself that he had done his utmost. The temptations of society, the more insinuating claims of an overworked system for rest, were alike resolutely rejected. The world must ever hear with wonder, that between the third day after his bankruptcy and the fifteenth day thereafter, he had written a volume of Woodstock, although several of these days had been spent in comparative vacancy, to allow the imagination time for brooding. He believed, that, for a bet, he could have written this volume in ten days. Just a fortnight after his final breach with fortune, he says in his journal, "I have now no pecuniary provisions to embarrass me, and I think, now the shock of the discovery is past and over, I am much better off on the whole. I shall be free of a hundred petty public duties imposed on me as a man of consideration, of the expense of a great hospitality, and, Having stated, in the original what is better, of the waste of time preface to Nicholas Nickleby, that connected with it. I have known the Brothers Cheeryble were porin my day all kinds of society, and traits from the life, and that they can pretty well estimate how much yet exercised their unbounded beor how little one loses by retiring nevolence in the town of which from all but that which is very they are the pride and honour, intimate. If I could see Dickens thus laments over the those about me as indifferent to the applications to which his stateloss of rank as I am, I should be ment has given rise:completely happy. As it is, time must salve that sore, and to time I trust it." SIR WALTER SCOTT AND THE AMERI CAN AUTHORESS. CHARLES DICKENS. "If I were to attempt to sum up the hundreds upon hundreds of letters from all sorts of people, in all sorts of latitudes and climates, to which this unlucky paragraph has since given rise, I should get into "One morning," said Scott, "I an arithmetical difficulty from opened a huge lump of a despatch, which I could not easily extriwithout looking to know how it cate myself. Suffice it to say, that was addressed, never doubting that I believe the applications for loans, it had travelled under some omni- gifts, and offices of profit, that I potent frank, like the first lord of have been requested to forward to admiralty's, when, lo and behold, the originals of the Brothers Cheery DICKENS AND SQUEERS. Prefixed to Dickens's second edition of Nicholas Nickleby, we find the following allusion to Yorkshire schools: ble (with whom I never inter- | posititious little boy who had been changed any communication in my left with a widowed mother who life), would have exhausted the didn't know what to do with him; combined patronage of all the lord- the poor lady had thought, as a chancellors since the accession of means of thawing the tardy comthe house of Brunswick, and would passion of her relations in his behave broken the rest of the Bank half, of sending him to a Yorkshire of England." school. I was the poor lady's friend, travelling that way; and if the recipient of the letter could inform me of a school in his neighbourhood, the writer would be very much obliged. I went to several places in that part of the country "I cannot call to mind, now, how where I understood these schools I came to hear about Yorkshire to be most plentifully sprinkled, schools, when I was not a very and had no occasion to deliver a robust child, sitting in by-places, letter until I came to a certain near Rochester Castle, with a head town which shall be nameless. The full of Partridge, Strap, Tom Pipes, person to whom it was addressed and Sancho Panza; but I know was not at home; but he came that my first impressions of them down at night, through the snow, were picked up at that time, and to the inn where I was staying, that they were somehow or other It was after dinner, and he needed connected with a suppurated ab- little persuasion to sit down by the scess that some boy had come home fire in a warm corner, and take his with, in consequence of his York- share of the wine that was on the shire guide, philosopher, and friend, table. I am afraid he is dead now. having ripped it open with an inky I recollect he was a jovial, ruddy, penknife. The impression made broad-faced man; that we got acupon me, however made, never left quainted directly; and that we me. I was always curious about talked on all kinds of subjects, exthem-fell, long afterwards, and at cept the school, which he showed sundry times, into the way of hear- a great anxiety to avoid. 'Was ing more about them-at last, hav-there any large school near? I ing an audience, resolved to write asked him, in reference to the letabout them. With that intent Iter. 'O, yes,' he said, 'there was went down into Yorkshire before a pratty big 'un.' 'Was it a good I began this book, in very severe one?' I asked. 'Ey,' he said, ‘it winter time, which is pretty faith- was as good as anoother; that was fully described herein. As I wanted a' a matther of opinion; and fell to see a schoolmaster or two, and to looking at the fire, staring round was forewarned that those gentle- the room, and whistling a little. men might, in their modesty, be On my reverting to some other shy of receiving a visit from the topic that we had been discussing, author of the Pickwick Papers, I he recovered immediately; but, consulted with a professional friend though I tried him again and here, who had a Yorkshire connec- again, I never approached the tion, and with whom I concerted a question of the school, even if he pious fraud. He gave me some were in the middle of a laugh, letters of introduction, in the name, without observing that his counI think, of my travelling compa- tenance fell, and that he became nion: they bore reference to a sup-! uncomfortable. At last, when we DANIEL DEFOE. had passed a couple of hours or so, very agreeably, he suddenly took up his hat, and, leaning over the table, and looking me full in the face, said, in a low voice, 'Weel, misther, we've been vary pleasant toogather, and ar'll spak' my moind tiv'ee. Dinnot let the weedur send her lattle boy to yan o' our schoolmeasthers, while there's a harse to hold in a' Lunnun, or a gootther to lie asleep in. Ar wouldn't mak' ill words amang my neeburs, and ar spak' tiv'ee quiet loike. But I'm doom'd if ar can gang to bed and not tellee, for weedur's sak', to keep the lattle boy from a' sike scoundrels while there's a harse to hold in a' Lunnun, or a gootther to lie asleep in.' Repeating these words with great heartiness, and with a solemnity on his jolly face that made it look twice as large as before, he shook hands and went away. MAGNANIMITY OF CERVANTES. 117 civilized world, starved in the midst of a high reputation, and died in penury. As Philip III., King of Spain, was standing in a balcony of his palace at Madrid, and viewing the prospects of the surrounding country, he observed a student on the banks of the river Manzanares, reading a book, and from time to time breaking off, and beating his forehead with extraordinary tokens of pleasure and delight; upon which the king said to those about him, "That scholar is either mad, or he is reading Don Quixote." This anecdote is worth a volume of panegyric. One STERNE'S HARD-HEARTEDNESS. "What is called sentimental writing," says Horace Walpole, "though it be understood to appeal solely to the heart, may be the product of a bad one. would imagine that Sterne had been a man of a very tender heart; yet I know, from indubitable authority, that his mother, who kept a school, having run in debt on account of an extravagant daughter, would have rotted in jail if the parents of the scholars had not raised a subscription for her. Her son had too much sentiment to have any feeling. A dead ass was more important to him than a living mother." Michael Cervantes Saavedra, the author of Don Quixote, gave a proof that his generosity was equal to his genius. He was, in the early part of his life, for some time a slave in Algiers, and there he concerted a plan to free himself and thirteen fellow-sufferers. One of them traitorously betrayed the design, and they were all conveyed to the Dey of Algiers; and he promised them their lives on condition they discovered the contriver of the plot. "I was that person," exclaimed the The name of the interesting intrepid Cervantes; save my com- writer of Robinson Crusoe was panions, and let me perish." The not originally Defoe, but Foe-the Dey, struck with his noble confes-prefix being added by himself. He sion, spared his life, allowed him to be ransomed, and permitted him to depart home. 66 DANIEL DEFOE. was born in London in 1663. His early education and habits were such as to promise almost any This writer of an incomparable other results than works of fiction. romance, replete with character, And yet we find him, at twentyincident, pleasantry, and humour, one years of age, the author of a without any alloy of vulgarity, ob- treatise against the Turks. scenity, or irreligion, and which is joined the insurrection of the Duke held in admiration throughout the of Monmouth, but had the good He |