_A Collection of Thackeray's Letters_ (1847 to 1855. SMITH & ELDER).--It
must have cost Mrs. BROOKFIELD a good deal of mental anxiety before she
decided upon giving publicity to this correspondence. But she has
undoubtedly done well and wisely, as everybody interested in the
personal THACKERAY, outside and away from his works, will gratefully
acknowledge. THACKERAY was always fond of alluding to himself as the
Showman with the puppets, or portraying himself as taking off the
cap-and-bells when, from behind the grinning mask, peep out the sad eyes
and the rueful countenance. Now in these Letters we are sometimes
admitted behind the scenes, as, for instance, when he is just going to
work; but, as a rule, we see him in his leisure, out for a holiday,
amusing himself and others, and enjoying himself like an overgrown
schoolboy full of fun and frolic, not a bit of a cynic, and there are no
sad eyes and rueful countenance when the mask is off. The peculiar charm
of these Letters is that they are so evidently private; there is nothing
of the _poseur_ about them. They were never intended to be addressed
_urbi et orbi_.
One favourite style of amusing himself in writing he had, which, by the
way, rather calls to mind the way _Mr. Peter Magnus_ had of amusing his
friends, and that was mis-spelling, and spelling in Cockney fashion. How
he must have revelled in writing _Jeames's Diary!_ The burlesque element
of humour was irrepressible in THACKERAY, and found vent through pen and
pencil. Nearly all his sketches, with remarkable exceptions, are, more
or less, grotesque. Many of his Vignettes, with which he illustrated his
novels, cannot fail to suggest a kind of Dicky-Doyleian humour. Two
characteristics of the man are brought out strongly in these letters;
first, his humility as regards his own work (he was proud in other
matters), and, secondly, his generosity as exhibited in his unaffected
admiration for the work of CHARLES DICKENS.
Occasionally we catch a glimpse of his religious tendencies, which are
at one time influenced by J. H. NEWMAN, at another by J. S. MILL; and it
is interesting to read his _naive_ utterances about Scripture, showing
that whatever lectures he may have attended at Cambridge, those on
Divinity, or on the Greek Testament, could not have been among them. And
this indeed is highly probable. His kindness of heart is evident
throughout. His laughing at himself as a Snob when affecting the company
of great people is delightful, though there seems to be in this
self-ridicule something of the true word spoken in jest. He makes a
burlesque flourish--so like him--about sending in "his resignation" to
_Mr. Punch_. As a matter of fact, he remained an honorary member of _Mr.
Punch's_ Cabinet Council, and retained his seat at _Mr. Punch's_ table,
up to the time of his death. The present writer remembers WILLIAM
MAKEPEACE THACKERAY being frequently present in _Mr. Punch's_ Council
Chamber, _Consule Marco_. A most interesting, amusing, and instructive
book, especially to literary men--(some novelists must be delighted at
finding THACKERAY reading over the previous portions of his own serial
in order to recall the names of his characters, and his frantic joy at
hitting on the title of _Vanity Fair_)--is this collection of
THACKERAY'S Letters. To Mrs. BROOKFIELD our heartiest thanks are due.
_Like and Unlike_. By Miss BRADDON. Everybody who cares about a novel
with a good plot so well worked out that the excitement is kept up
through the three volumes and culminates with the last chapter of the
story, must "Like" and can never again "Unlike," this the latest and
certainly one of the best of Miss BRADDON'S novels. Miss BRADDON is our
most dramatic novelist. Her method is to interest the reader at once
with the very first line, just as that Master-Dramatist of our time DION
BOUCICAULT would rivet the attention of an audience by the action at the
opening of the piece, even before a line of the dialogue had been
spoken. This authoress never wastes her own time and that of her reader,
by giving up any number of pages at the outset to a minute description
of scenery, to a history of a certain family, to a wearisome account of
the habits and customs of the natives, or to explaining peculiarities in
manners and dialect which are to form one of the principal charms of the
story. No: Miss BRADDON is dramatic just as far as the drama can assist
her, and then she is the genuine novelist. A few touches present her
characters living before the reader, and the story easily developes
itself in, apparently, the most natural manner possible. _Like and
Unlike_ will make many people late for dinner, and will keep a number of
persons up at night when they ought to be soundly sleeping. These are
two sure tests of a really well-told sensational novel. _Vive_ Miss
BRADDON!