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Show " y. lN. : ! ' By LOUISE M. COMSTOCK ' Z ;" V iwl'J ' ff "JjTT ' "A Christmas Carol" Charles ' 1 rfiVLJo'Al vOSj I JO SOa worn . . : I fJzlb. Ct-I A ifM ! favorite Christmas .tor. It - f5l ilL"-- 2St6 T W ft u W has been read and reread at V : -jLr -1 k.-" )) f& ' ( J I 'tfSl thl U"" each year until old V - H. -rlj, 7 VVisL- ' IV m 8crooce and Tiny Tim are " rdYyP m I k thrlH,1',in,lr,lfn,!, an' ,h,e a,a' ' 2?c2zffiiummd2XarrjirJ books ZH&zZzz ' M' i Christmas that we quite sympathize with the lit- ' " . -iS-" ifi 1,0 who' 11 "aid, asked when told of hla tT---S-wa; f 111 th. Mr. Dickens la dead, then Is Santa ftggggy. Py l3 Dickens' place as a literary artist Is seldom Nii- Jj ifburtesy, Cbjrtoftoftax Book (brforatfo By LOUISE M. COMSTOCK fiTT ' "A C1,rl8tnia Carol" Charles JtJ- Dickens gave the world a $3 favorUe Christmas story. It TpPl has been read and reread at &L thls tlnw each year unt11 oId iMffl&m 8crR8 and Tiny Tim are nKalKry (fo cherished friends, and the an-' i pv thor himself Is so closely . . Idontlfled with the spirit of i Uirlstnms that we quite sympathize with the lit- 1,0 W wn, It Is said, asked when told of his denth, "If Mr. Dickens Is dead, then Is Santa t'laus going to die too?" Dickens' place as a literary artist Is seldom disputed. But on Charles Dickens the ninn the modern debunker tins recently turned his pene-tratXnn pene-tratXnn spotlight with astonishing results. Two f oew b0,,k " the life of the famous author: "Charles Dickens, a Biography From New Sources," by Ralph Straus, published by the Cos- , I niopolltun look corporation, nnd "This Side Idol- atry a Novel Based on the Life of Charles Pick- j ens." by C. E. nechhofer-Roberts, published by the Robbs Merrill company, revenl disconcerting m"!RP on the whitewashed Idol the Dickens legend has given us. I The "Christmas Carol," It seems, for all Its I sermon against selfish greed and Tiny Tim's Ira- j mortnl "Clod bless us every one," was written I primarily becnuxe tbe author needed money, Ira- mediately and badly. "Martin Chuzzlewlt." bused I on bis first trip to America, had enjoyed so Clin t , comitared to earlier book, na tn hrino f husband. Uere, according to Mr. Bechhofer-Rob-erts, Is her final Judgment of hlra: "I am weary, Charles, of bearing you prate of cant and humbug hum-bug and hypocrisy. Is there a meaner cant than your empty catchwords? lou're the hypocrite, you, who boast your contempt for money and break fultb with every publisher I Tou, who . preach charity and pillory your parents and friends In your books! Tou, who rant duty anj faithfulness and desert me for a painted actress I" Of this "painted actress" Mr. Straus has "little to any," beyond that her name was Ellen Ternan that she was "somewhat well known" and the first named benedclury In Dickens' will, which left her 1,000 pounds. She Is undoubtedly the "young Indy for whom I have great regard," Dickens Dick-ens mentions tn the impetuous and ridiculous defense de-fense of the separation which he later wrote tc come by glueing labels on blacking bottles tn a cousin's factory, a period so painful to him lhat John Forster, his faithful friend, advisor and blngmpher, was the only person, not excepting bis wife, to whom be ever mentioned It. Later there was a dull period as clerk In a lnw office, a more lively period as newspaper re-; re-; porter, whon the young man chased news by couch from one end of England to the other and took down parliamentary speeches, writing on hla knee; then the famous sketches by "Boz"; then "Hckwlck" and fame when he was not yet twenty-rive yenrs old I From self-centered, ambitious young manhood, Dickens slipped easily Into the role of public Idol. He set up an extravagant household, entertained lavishly, always with that Joy In rollicking, middle-class good cheer so marked In the "Carol." He directed and acted In the most talked-of amateur theatricals of the day, and edited papers, made speeches, traveled and produced books with unbelievable energy. The role of public Idol Is always a trying one. 1 head long pending difficulties with Chapman & ! Important among the many publishing j houses with whom Dickens had first dealings and then difficulties. Under this cloud the author Journeyed to Manchester to assist at a dedica- ; tlon. He returned In Improved spirits, loud pub- ) "C applause stUI ringing In his ears and his if bend full of a new story. It" Inspiration, he told his wife, Kate, was the i crippled son of his sister, Fanny, whom he had Just visited. It was to be "sort. of a fairy tale, contrasting the selfish, canting, hypocritical rich who don't understand tbe spirit of Christmas with the humble, happy poor who do." It was to contain "all his philosophy" and be such a "snack In the eye for cant and humbug" I He set to work with that remarkable energy that characterized all his efforts. At the end of ten days he read the half-finished story to Kute and Oeorglna Hogarth, her sister, and a mem- .'-of the Dickens household. "It's thrilling I" ?- the adoring Oeorglna exclaimed, reports Mr. . Rechhofer Roberts. "It will do more good to the I world than all the sermons ever preached." And t ' Charles modestly answered, "That's Just what I - think. What's more. It'll do the "Inimitable" , I more good than all the sermons preached. It'll f . sell like hot cakes!" I Sell tike hot enkes It did. The first edition ap- j peurcd a few duys before Christmas, 1843. and 6.000 copies were Bold at five shilling each within a . few hours of publicntlon. "Charles." Mr. Straus . . tells us, "was overjoyed, kept Christmas uproar- J, lously." Later editions sold over 10,000 copies, C giving Dickens, In bis own words, "a most pro- I dlglous success, the greatest I think I have ever I achieved." "The little book," Straus continues, ! "enrteured him to thousands of new readers and i !ut him on a new sort of pedestal. The alTee- tlt.rmte regard In which be had been held changed appease his wondering public. Mr. Beehhofer-Roberts Beehhofer-Roberts has much to say of her. Dickens bad first seen her In "Atnlnntn," a "dismal little person" per-son" whose voice did not carry to the boxes. There had been a trip behind scenes, an luev Itoble encounter, a tearful confession that It was the shame of appearing In tights that was spoiling spoil-ing her debut performance, appropriate words of consolation and an Immediate Infatuation. People Peo-ple had talked, Kate had complained and the long contemplated separation was thereby precipitated. precip-itated. Kate, however, was apparently alone In her doubt of Dickens' sincerity. Others accepted "A Christmas Carol" as he Intended they should, and Its sales mounted. But Dickens needed money; and In that respect the "Carol" disappointed hlra. Much had been spent on binding and printing, . on color plates and woodcuts; and five shillings was h notably low price. Ills profits, all told, fell short of $1,500. "Whnt a wonderful thing It Is," he wrote Forster, "that such a success should occasion one such Intolerable anxiety and disappointment dis-appointment I". In his chagrin Dickens made now his first and last attempt to protect himself against the common com-mon piracies of his books. No sooner hnd the "Carol" appeared than a children's weekly called Parley's Illuminated Library, carried almost the entire book reprinted with a short Introduction. In January, 1844, Dickens applied for an Injunction Injunc-tion to restrain Its sales. "Tbe pirates." he was able to write soon after, "are beuten flat. Thev are bruised, bloody, battered, smashed, squelched and utterly undone." But bis triumph was shortlived. short-lived. The pirates were let off with a mere rebuke; re-buke; they Immediately pleaded bankruptcy so that Dickens had to pay court costs and they thereafter calmly resumed their practices. Dickens Dick-ens did not Interfere agnln. "It Is better," he wrote, "to suffer a great wrong thnn to have ... O.....V. n c . v... nuiiutr,, AHHintTiuy nilH expressing ex-pressing the general opinion when he wrote: 'Who can listen to ohjettlons regarding such' a book as this! It seems to me a national benefit and. to every man or woman who rends It, a per sona! kindness, . The last two persons I heard speuk of It were women, neither knew the other or the author, and both said, by way of crltl- clsm. "Ood bless him!"'" ! Its success was natural. Mke the good show- j man he was, Dickens had quite outdone himself tn giving his public what It wanted: an extra 3 good "smack In the eye for cant and humbug." ,; Wltb what satisfaction he must have set Ita 5 knleldoscoplc scenes, that vivacious procession of -j guests arriving at the Fezzlwlg's ball, the tableau i of the Spirit of Christmas Present, the brief i drama of the Cratchlt's Christmas dinner! Here i was the successful author In his greatest role, , giving his renders gorgeous entertainment, play- ': Ing upon their heartstrings and hoping for lurge profits! There Is probably more of Dickens' own child hood than of Fanny's sick son In Tiny Tim Cratchlt. He bad been a bright, sensitive little i chap, subject to frequent spasms of sickness that confined hltn to books and dreams for amuse- ( menf. Ills father, afterwards so accurately por- ' t rayed In Mr. Macawher. seems to have been a :; charming scoundrel, so utterly unable to rope with the practical business of living that he often f "disappeared" when hills were overdue, leaving Mrs. Dickens, as futile as Mrs. Nichelby, and her numerous children to fjee the music. When all went well there waa proper schooling, endless , fascinating theatricals In the Dickens house and r " ajiijjtrluiiiphs when his fatherMftedhlm unto , the dln7Sg0ra tohfer fbperforiii"7or TMwJng guesta. Wheffft did not go well, the schoo'lngT stopiHKl. there s constant terror of poverty and tbe shame of seetag his father In debtors' prison ; and there was a devastating., though brief, experience ex-perience when Ste contributed to the family In- ; nun ever uiucu muney uii'sens hooks urougnt, he always needed more. Ills Improvident father and brothers constantly Imposed on his gener-- gener-- osity. His own children he spoke of as "the largest larg-est family known, wltb the least disposition to do anything for themselves." He was seldom free from the malady of his childhood and success suc-cess brought hlra only Increasing restlessness and dissatisfaction. At length there was a much talked-of separation separa-tion from Kate. She bad lived wltb him twenty-three twenty-three years, had borne him ten children, but she was now dismissed, left only her eldest son, COO pounds Income and the gracious privilege of seeing see-ing her children "when and where she wished." The household passed Into the more welcome care of Georglna. It was Dickens' jilea that they had "lived unhappily together for many years," that their differences were temperamental. Kate was, Mr. Straus tells ns, a complacently good-natured good-natured woman whom constant motherhood bad rendered 111 and unlovely. Certainly she was no Ideal mate for the energetic and clever Dickens. 'But she had put up with his ravings over the death of her sister, Mary, wbo died In his arms and whose loss he mourned publicly and privately private-ly all out of proportion to the relationship of sister-in-law. She bad even borne with him when, already approaching middle age, he had tried to revive a youthful romance with Maria Beadnell, herself married, fat, forty and not so fair. Though he had not seen Maria since his early Infatua-. Infatua-. tlon, be wrote her Indiscreet letters, arranged a meeting tn his own home, found what damage time had done her and retreated with no particular par-ticular grace. Kate had endured the trip to America at his wish ; had watched him monopolize monopo-lize conversation at dinner parties; knew his Ir- responsibility In business dealings; how public ' approval went to his head and criticism made him a restless tyrant, apt to caricature Its author mercilessly In his books. Moreover, and perhaps . herein lay Kate's fault, she made no Idol of her recourse to the greater wrong of the law." But "A Christmas Carol" was yet to make money for Its author.- It served as headliner for his public readings, of which he gave 400 during dur-ing the last 13 yenis of bis life. Dickens first experienced what Straus calls the "rather dangerous dan-gerous delight of appeurlng alone on a public platform" at Christmas, 1853 when be read the "Carol" at two benefit performances. When, In 1858, he commenced his publle readings, he sdd-ed sdd-ed to his program selections from "The Cricket," "I'ickwlck." "Dombey and Son," ".Martin Chuzzlewlt" Chuzzle-wlt" and later "Nlckleby" and "David Copper-field." Copper-field." His success was unprecedented. Here at last he seemed to have found himself. Here he was the nutlior living for his public the lives he had created; he was the actor alone on the stage, acting parts of his own creation. Every town In England clamored for him. . He made triumphant tours of Ireland and Scotland. He traveled once more to America, giving bis readings read-ings before "perfectly astounding audiences" and often making over $1,000 a week! It la probable that the strain of constant traveling, trav-eling, of emotional delivery, together with recurrences re-currences of his old malady, caused his death. There Is no doubt that he was a very sick man throughout his Ameiican tour; that that five months cost him his bealtb even while It earned him nearly 20,000 pounds. There was some improvement im-provement on his retun. to England, but when the fatal readings recommenced Dickens became seriously threatened with paralysis and was forced to accept a doctor's verdict of complete rest . On March 15, 1870, he gave his last reading, at old St. James hall, London. The occasion wus ' "his crowning triumph." He read the "Carol" and the trial from "Pickwick" amid repeated cheers. He died a few months Inter. He was only fifty-eight at the time, though an old man at thut. bnt worth ovar 100,000 pounds I |