CHARLES DICKENS—WHAT THE WORLD THINKS OF HIM.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 1941, 24 March 1875, Page 2

CHARLES DICKENS—WHAT THE WORLD THINKS OF HIM.

:■ In a former c article I adduced certain arguments which have occurred to me in opposing tho statements that Dick em t' works hare a demoralising effect upon the reading public because of a declared tendency to ridicule religion. The jßfeace devoted to that article was limited, tdfA I purpose, therefore;to continue my remarks to this head, exclusively, before .proceeding further to apeak of Charles Dickens and his literarjr connection with tho English speaking races. If I may bsr permitted to* express such an opinion* I , think it is ouly just to remark, for the 1 credit of human discrimination—firstly, | that these statements are made principally by those who express ideas without having previously considered whether they are warranted in so doing, or from • a sheer incapacity to form a justly accurate idea upon any subject whatsoever; or, in the second place/ that they emanate from a class whose general reading is limited, and their reading of Dickens in particular very far from extensive. That i this must be, in a great measure, : true of the class referred to, is made tolerably clear by the facts which I have .previously shown; and which therefore, exculpate" me from a charge of regarding the subjes£. from » favorite standpoint of my own^. rather than looking at it with a vision v' undimmed.by the mist of prejudice. „ -•-..-, Among the many evils which infested tbi> i time and country in which Dickens ntoved, he observed this of the false prophets and empty word-preachers, whose baleful influence was leading many into the ways of error and' destruction; And. who.wiU. be so uncharitable as to say that—coupled with his love for fame' (peculiar to most great men) —there did not exist a,deter* mination to use the power he felt himself possessed of to crush so hateful a class— the chief danger to be feared from whom, was (and is) that they did not appear-in their true light, save to those w.hd could penetrate the coating of hypocrisy with which they were, clothed, as with the goat-skin of Jacob, and see the miserable false heart's laid bare—a picture of error, ignorance, and animalism;^ This evil did not escape the observation of Mr Dickens, and he hurled at it maiy death-dealing shafts from his quiver, of satire. The oleaginous Chadband, the Shepherd, and his pine-apple-rum-loving Deputy wers> held up as types of a tooxnutnerous guild of the (desecrated) cloth. }.; ,; s _** Having demonstrated incohtrovertibly, by quotations from Dickens' written sentiments on the subject, that ho held the greatest veneration for earnest' ! gospel preachers and practical teachers of religion, it only becomes necessary for present purposes to show that, in trying to expose and destroy this abominable ■ sham, the end sought to be attained justified the means - employed to attain it. Not that I, individually, would be : understood to consider that' tue means were not. unquestionably good, but because it is asserted that the" characters pourtrayed by Dickens are a libel upon Christian,, self-sacrificing, and virtuous men, who are working for the salvation of mankind, and that; as a natural consequences their "power in this direction ii weakened and lost by the influence which the writings of Dickens would have upon the minds of his readers. To put it in th? mildest form, this argument is totally erroneous, and those whe use it give th« readers of.. Dickens marvellously little credit for possessing the most ordinary . understanding. All men being gifted with a certain amount of reasoning power, is it not fair to assume that they are capable of discriminating between good and evil? And if-opposite pictures of righteousness and wickedness are placed before them, are they not blessed with faculties for comprehending the wide gulf which separates the two ? : Can they not be accredited with capacity for acknowledging the beauties of one, and the terrifying ugliness of the,otherP Unquestionably we may assume so much of men in common who have the advantage! of a knowledge of reading; and to those who have, not this advantage—why, the warnings considerately pronounced are so much breath wasted, for they are »ojt likely to make the acquaintance of a Chadband, or any of his tribe, unless, indeed, they meet him in living shape, which even now they may. ~. To the unprejudiced, then, it will appear that the effect of the examples set before us by Dickens cannot bo otherwise than good. -Oanif and word preaching had become an institution, and the surest means of destroying'its influence was resorted- to—it was satirised and ridiculed, to an extent.that few.institutions could stand. At the present day there are often to be met with ministers of the. Chadband principles and moral sentiments, if not like him in manner, i I have met with them. How often do we see .ministers of the church displaying the worit of worldly passions. Envy, hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness, have I witnessed in the parson who will preach >to you on Sunday, and 1 pray to God for His r Aln.ighty blessing upon the work which he (the Priest of Sanctimony) is performing on earth. And, as it is a fact that such men do exist, it is no less true that hosts of the simple minded will believe in him as confidently as a child in the wisdom of its father; and be misguided and led astray in consequence. 11l a religious mentor, we wish for a man such as tho3e who have devoted their lives to the work which t'aey have become responsible for, whose precepts are backed up and supported by example* whose life is a practical evidence of religion in itself, vho goes down to his grave when his God has taken away the. lamp, from the " tabernacle " with the consciousness tfafit he leaves behind him a living evidence of - himself.in the work he has performed. Such men he did admire, but the opposite he attacked. There are only two ndHto

the picture ; no middle state can be accepted in a Minister of God. His name implies what he mu«t be; and if he is not that, he must be rejected as incompetent. Now, Dickens has drawn two sides of the picture. The result, I affirm, must be for good to all «those ,whcm it may be desirable to npch ; as for such who make statements ottextraragant untruth about the writings of Diclcenj, as well as with regard to the most minute details of his private life, I say nothing. .A n amusing Good Templar in A uckland recently, at a public meeting, said Dickens was a drunkard. We might be inclined to doubt that, but there in one tbjirig of which we may be certain, _ that the,-Good Templar who said so was a fool. It is, however,, a weakness in persons who wish to advance a new thing or instituti^tftfiit they mak«i all triamnbr of statements without reference to truth or oommtn sense. j-■■•-■•;■ ■■■: ".■■•.. ':- -r "'".':' '"r ' \vs.£sV"> ;^,:p £';' .-V- B6ok Joe. """■.

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