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highest class and the lowest class have heen made to illustrate in their immorality the necessity of some middle term of wholesome discipline . Jerrold has painted nothing of the kind . His St . James serves to give an antithesis to the title , and that is all . The effect of education and of circumstance upon his character is not indicated even in the faintest manner . He is , indeed , almost neglected | by the author , and employed mainly as an agent in the story . Occupied with direct illustration in St . Giles , Jerrold has not attended much to contrast . As a set-off to this objection , let us note
with applause the admirable consistency with which St . Giles is preserved during the first half of his career . The temptation to idealize has been resisted with a dramatic fortitude as rare as it is admirable . The knowing young blackguard reared in the London streets—the sharp , ignorant , unprincipled , daring scamp—vicious because he knows not virtue , unprincipled because untaught—isnever transformed into an heroic , imaginative , or unselfish youth , but preserves his decided individuality through all changes of circumstance . This is a merit which will only strike the critical reader , because only the critical reader will be aware of its rarity ; others will simply think the character " so true " and pass
on . In praising this creation , however , we allude only to the St . Giles shown us during the first half of his career—up to the time when he returns to England as an escaped convict j for subsequent to that his individuality is lost in the incidents of the tale , and becomes inappreciable . St . Giles the pauper brat , the young thief , and the returned convict , are vivid enough ; but St . Giles the virtuous servant is a nonentity . While on this subject let us also note that Capstick and Bright Jem—both delightful creations—grow a little too intellectual towards the close , and lose something of their individuality thereby . Tom Blast is the best preserved : nothing changes him but the bed of death , which softens all men .
The book has many excellences . Nothing signed by Jerrold can be deficient in wit , fancy , and quaintness of illustration . This work is bright with them ; but many readers will be surprised at its surpassing interest as a story , especially those who do not believe in his power to construct one . In our opinion it is one of the most thoughtful , as it certainly is the most entertaining of his fictions . There is a more powerful
grasp nf reality in it than in any other . He allows his love of the fanciful and fantastic to express itself in images and illustrations , and not—; is he too often does—to mingle with the current of the work . And what images ! what illustrations ! what an inexhaustible fancy , throwing out flowers as Houdin throws them from his inexhaustible hat , surprising the audience by their prodigality , no less than by their beauty ! How quaint and witty , for example , this illustration of an old usurer ' s aire ! —
" Ho hud sixty iron winters-and every one of them ; ih plain as an iron bar - in his fate . 'rimv It-id used Ids vt . myu as Hobinson Crusoe used his wooden ctlendtir , notching every day in it . " How like Sir Thomas Browne this is !— - " Fur , apart from ts . SHOcmtion , the expression of ; i bare skull has , to ourselves a * least , little in it serious : nay , there has always seemed to uh a quaint , cheerfulness in it . The ; cheek-bones look Ktill puckered with a smile , as though contracted when it Jlung aside the mask of life ,, andeumjht a ytimpsc of the one-oming t / lon / . "
Then , again , when Miss Canary , " a born lady , " though now a vendor of "apples , oranges , f ingerbeer , or bill of the play , " is outraged \> y the presence of a negro footman , and declares she will not Hlay in the room with a blackamoor : — - " Bewthlcr . d , yet endeavouring to make a graceful retreat , nlie still remained motionless , drawn taller as jiriile . and death will draw pio / ilc . " But the pages glitter with bright sentences , rapid telling dialogues , and line descriptions . Trusting to your being . suflicienlly guided by , . kvoiiiuicmlation to get the book and enjoy it , quietly |> y J . 'ourHelf , we shall merely nelecl , a passage or two > y way of stimulating curiosity , and so leave it :
( J Mlll'TIN MAKKIt . " Where Mr . Capstick enme / iom nobod y knew . It was plain he wum one of those , people who mnv and then-drop from the * ky into a neighbourhood , for no other cml than to adorn and dignify it . Any \* ay it wan plain that Mr . Cup . st . ick thought as much ; and lie wuh not a man to dit ^ uine bin thoughts when they nt all tended to bis M ? lf-glori ( icatioii . Tine it wan , mulliiiH hud lu : on known in . St . ( jIjIcs ' h ere Mr . (' uptuick lighted iiifl oven there . littt what , inn / linn ! How , too , were they imulo — ul . ero vended ? Why ,
as Mr . Capstick would observe , they were made as if they were bad halfpence—and they were quite as hard to chew—in guilt and darkness . Nobody knew what ihey were easing . Now , all the world might see him make his muffins . Indeed , he would feel obliged to the world if it would take that trouble . To be sure , he was throwing his muffins to swinebut he couldn ' t help that . It wasn ' t his nature to do anything that wasn ' t first rate ; he knew he was a loser by it ; all men who did so were ; nevertheless , a man who was a true man would go on ruining himself for the world , though he might hate the world all the time he was doing it . His muffins were open to the universe . There was no mystery in him , none at all . And then he would say , glowing at times with a strange eloquence , ' What a glorious thing it
would be for the world if every man made his muffin —whatever that muffin might be—in the open light of heaven ; and not in a cupboard , a hole ^_ a--c 6 rner It was making muffins in secret , and in darkness , that made three parts of the misery of mankind . ' When people heard Mr . Capstick discourse after this fashion they would confidentially declare to one another that it was plain he was born above his business ; he was a broken-down gentleman ; perhaps come of a Jacobite family , and made muffins to hide his disgrace . True it was , there was a pompousness , a swagger , an affected contempt of the people with whom he turned the penny , that gave some warranty for these opinions . Notwithstanding , Mr . Capstick , with all his consequence , all his misanthropy—and he wore his hatred of mankind as he would have
worn a diamond ring , a thing at once to be put in the best light and to be very proud of—was a great favourite . The cellars of St . Giles ' s echoed his praises . He was , in his way , a great benefactor to his poorest neighbours . ' You see , Mary Anne , * he would say to his wife , ' what a blessing there is in corn . When muffins are too stale to sell , they ' re always good enough to give away . ' And these remainder muffins he would frequently bestow upon the veriest need }' , accompanied with phrases that spoke his contempt of human nature , his own particular nature included . " This amiable misanthrope thus humourously discourses
on—THE HEDGEHOG AND THE CAT . " With this , Capstick took two steps from hi s chair , stooped , and in a moment returning to his seat , placed a hedgehog on the table . " ' Humph , ' said Kingcup , •' tis an odd creature for a bosom friend . '
" ' Give me all bosom friends like him , cried Capstirk . ' For then there 'd be no deceit in ' em : you'd see the worst of ' em at ihe beginning . Now , look at this hue honest fellow . What plain , straightforward truths he bears about him ! You see at once that ho is a living pincushion with the pins' points upwards , and instantly you treat him after his own open nature . You know he ' s not to be played at ball with : you take in with a glance all that his exterior signifies , and ought to Live him for his frankness . Poor wretch ! ' Ti » a thousand and a thousand times the ruin of him . He has , it is true , an outside of thorns
—IIiMven made him with them—but a heart of honey . A meek , patient thing ! And yet , because of his covering , the . world ea-ts all sorts of . slanders upon him ; accuses . him of wickedness he could not , if he would , commit . And so he is kicked and cudgelled , and made . the . oiuc . llcHt sput of ; Inn peisecutora all the while thinking themselves the . best of people for their worst of treatment . He bears a plain exterior ; he shows so many pricking truths to the world , that the world , in revenge , couples every outside point with an interior devil . He i . s made a martyr for this iniquity , he hides nothing . Poor Velvet ! ' and Capstick very gently stroked the hedgehog , and proffered it a slice of apple and a piece of bread . " * ' Tin a pity , ' said Kingcup , that all hedgehogs ar ' nt translated after your fashion . '
"' What a better world ' twould make of it ! ' answered the cynic . ' Hut no , sir , no ; that ' s the wort of thing the world loves , ' and (' up . stick pointed to a handsome tortoiseshell cat , stretched at . her fullest length upon the hearth . * Whut a meek , cony face sb ' . ' lias ; a placid , quiet sort , of" grandmother look ! — may all grandmothers forgive me ! Then , to see her lap milk , why you 'd think a drop of blood of any . sort would poison Jier . The wr « I Ji ! ' twas only last week she killed and cat of
. one my doves , and afterw . inls sat . i \ ipiug her wlunkei . s with her left paw , an eoin ' oit ibl y as any dowager at 11 t : > a-purty . 1 nursed her before sin ; had any eyes , to look at her benefactor , and she Ids sat and puued upon my knee , iih though she knew all sin ; owed me , and was trying to pay the debt , with her bent fringing . And for all this , " look here —thin in what , she did only yesterday , ' Cap stick Hhowed three long fine . scratches on hi . s rii / Ut hand .
" ' f h u \ s nothing , ' said Mr . Kingcup . y ] U 1 OW that c . Uh will mc rateh . ' " 'To be M . re . I do , ' replied (! apstiek ; \ nU the world know ,, a ; but the world dont . think the worne ol them lor it , and for thin reason ; thev ean wli ,... U , ey hkc ,, > Wel , hide their claws . ' NowVSr Ht " Vehet h , re , „„„¦ vei . n . n martyr ! -he . an ' t di . sguiM ,
what he has ; and so he ' s hunted and worried for being , as I may say , plain-spoken ; when puss is petted and may sleep all day long at the fire , because in faith she * s so glossy , and looks so innocent . And all the while , has she not murderous teeth and talons ? ' " Here is something in another strain : — CHURCH BELLS AND CHTJHCH GOERS . " ? There ' s something beautiful in the church bells , don ' t you think so , Jem ? ' asked Capstick , in a subdued tone . ' Beautiful and hopeful—they talk to high and low , rich and poor , in the same voice ; there ' s a sound in ' em that should scare pride and
envy , and meanness of all sorts , from the heart of man ; that should make him look upon the worl d with kind , forgiving eyes ; that should make the earth itself seem to him , at least for a time , a holy place . Yes , Jem , there ' s a whole sermon in the very sound of the church , bells , if we have only the ears to rightly understand it . There ' s a preacher in every belfry , Jem , that cries , " Poor , weary , struggling , fighting creatures—poor human things ! take rest , be quiet . Forget your vanities , your follies , your week-day craft , your heart-burnings ! And you , ye human vessels , gilt and painted , believe the iron tongue that tells ye that , for all your gilding , all your colours , ye are of the same Adam ' s earth with , the beggar at your gates . Come away , come , ciies the church bell , and learn to be humble ; learning that , however daubed and stained , and stuck about
with jewels , you are but grave clay ! Come , Dives , come ; and be taught that all your glory , as you wear it , is not half so beautiful in the eye of Heaven as the sores of uncomplaining Lazarus ! And ye poor creatures , livid and faint—stinted and crushed by the pride and hardness of the world—come , come , cries the bell , with the voice of an angel , come and learn , what is laid up for ye . And learning , take heart , and walk among the wickednesses , the cruelties of the world , calmly as Daniel walked among the lions . "' Here Capstick , flushed and excited , wrought beyond himself , suddenly paused . Jem stared , astonished , but said no word . And then Capstick , with calmer manner , said , ' Jem , is there a finer sight than a stream of human creatures passing from a Christian church ?'
" Why , said Jem , ' that s as a man may considei with , himself . It may be , as you say , a very fine sight—and it may be , what I call a very sad and melancholy show , indeed . ' " Sad and melancholy !* cried Capstick ; ' you'll have a hard task to prove that . ' " ' Perhaps so , only let me do it after my own fashion . * Capstick nodded assent . ' Bless you ! I ' ve thought of it many a time when I ' ve seen a church emptying itself into the street . Look here , now . I'll suppose there's a crowd of people—a whole mob of ' em going down the church steps . And at the church door the re is I don't know how many roods
of Christian carriages , with griffins painted on the panels , ' and swords , and daggers , and battle-axes , that , as well as 1 can remember , Jesus does'nt recommend nowhere ; and there ' s the coachmen , half asleep , and trying to look religious ; and there ' s footmen following some , and carrying the Holy Bible after their missuses , just as to-morrow they'll carry a spanel—and that ' s what they call their humility . Well , that ' s a pleasant sight , isn't it ? And then for them wlio're not ashamed to carry their own big prayer-books , with the gold leaves twinkling in the sun , as if ihcy took pains to tell the world they'd been to church—well , how many of them have been
there in earnest ? How many of them go thero with no thought whatsoever , only that it a Sundaychuieh-going day ? And so they put on what they think religion that day , just as Iput on a clean shirt . Bless you ! sometimes i ' ve stood and watched tho crowd , and I ' ve said to myself , " Well , I should liko to know how many of you will remember you ' re Christians till next week ? How many of you go to-morrow morning to your offices , and countinghouses , and stand behind your counters , and , all in the way of business — all to scramble up the coinforget you ' re miserable Miinern , while every other tiling you do may make you more miserable , only feel it
you never , so long as it makes you moro rich ? And ho , there ' s a . Sunday conscience , like a Sunday coat ; and folks who'd get on in the world put the coat , and tho conscience ! carefully by . and only wear ' em once a week . Well , to think how mnny such folks go to worship-why , then I must say it , Master Capstick , to stand inside a church mid watch a congregation coining out , however you may utare , may be f can ' t help , after my fashion , thinking no—n melancholy sight indeed ; Lord lovo you , when we -sec what some people do all tho week---people who ' re . . staunch at church , remember -I can ' t help thinking thero ' H a good many poor houIh who ' re only Cluintian . s at morning ami iirternoon Hervicu . ' "
Here again : — I . M'H , VNI ) I ) RAT If . " H « passed on , rroMK (! d tho road ; tho street , was thronged ; tho hubbub o f tho day w » m Mt itH height ; yet St . UiluH h . iw nothing but thoHO pinioned men , und tho preacher of Chrim ' n word , in the name , of hi . s
Untitled Article
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 2, 1851, page 732, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1894/page/16/
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