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VOLUME C-NO. 47.
PORTLAND, OREGON; "THURSDAY, A
1881.
PER YEARWJOt
' ' t-
) - '
'V;:'V
- a DAY WITH DICKENS. . .
si BY ABIGAIL 8COTT Itl'.MWAV. I ,
, One, In my travel by stage. JL found myself 1
ensconced, at nightfall In a village tavern away
' out at the foot of the Salmon River Mountains In
Northern Idaho. - The day's ride had been a hard
.anjd tedious one. I had compared slxty-fl ve miles
of travel lu an oieu vehicle on a route that rViF
over mountains and through valleys, up grades
and down, through cafions, streams and swamps,
and again over rocks and -ridges, but amid such
scenes of abounding beautyeverywhere that I
scarcely took note of passing hour.- ' -
The tavern In which I found refuge nestled in
the center of .the YUlage at tht base of long suc
cession of tree-studded steeps, at the extreme end
of all wagon roads, and at the beginning of that
peculiar style of transportation -known among
miners as "mule navigation.'1 -
'My lnfS day's, ride was followed -by a night of
refreshing sleep, but J knew not a soul In the vll
t -lage, and the following morning dragged heavily.
The tavern was undergoing repairs throughout,
V and . there . waao room ready for me that had
facilities for fire- The long, cold ride of the pre-
vlousjday had chilled jne almost into paralysis.
. At last I complained of the cold to the obliging'
landlady, who, after a Yew minutes absence, re
turned with the information that a gentleman
(an entire stranger), jwho did not even -give ine
permission to thankthim, would assign me his
room and stove for daily use during toy sojourn.
- This message was accompanied also by the In
etruction to make myself thoroughly at home.
. ' It was easy enough to see that the room was a
bachelor's. The stove-and wood-box occupied
one corner; a huge ox whip of the "blacksnake"'
. variety lay coiled like a living representative of
its class In another; a table with a confused litter
of old maga tines and antiquated gazettes of fasti-
Ion stood near ihe lounge ; a spittoon, filled with
saw-dust and tobacco quids sat under it ; a rack,
. with hats and coatsJwo Chairs, a 'single bed
stead, a wash-stand, a cane, a crutch, a cribbage
board, i deck of cards, and a little mirror, were
mentallyLJioJediJiogether with an dor of linl-
' ment, which was associated at orice with my
. thought of the crutch, and led me lo fear that my
unknown friend's hospitality would result in a
fresh attack of rheumatism, from which malady
rr-cay landlady informed-me that hs wasJost reoov
eiing. But the good woman assured me that my
apprehensions for her lodger's comfort were en
tirely unnecessary; and there being absolutely
, no other place for me to sit and enjoy a fire, I re
luctantly Installed myself In the convalesceat's
chair, while Its self-banished owner took refuge
la the bar-room below.
Under the pile of old magazine and antiquated
gazettes of fashion lay a copy of the "Old Curiosity
!15h6p," Twenty years had rolled over my head
tinea I had read this book, and I welcomed It, in
my lonely retreat as an old and valued friend. -1
did not delve into its pages with the impatient
eagerness with which one greets a new book from
the pen of a well-known author; but I leisurely
opened at the preface and pondered over tbe
author's confession that this great novel had first
appeared as a serial Inlb4 1 In a week lyl pu bl i ca
tion Issued by himself, entitled Matter Humph
try's C7oc. ' --
' The world take eager note of the achieved suc
cesses of a great author ; but how many stop to
think of the years of struggle, toll and disappoint
ment that antedate his fame? And yet, we know,
If we will but considerrtbat but for the struggles
that mellowed, the heart and the experiences that
broadened the understanding of Charles Dickens
that brought him face to face and heart to heart
"with" London's" squalor "and ' wretched nesa' and
crime we should have never known and pitied
the occupants, or the great city's alleys or shrunk
from the criminals that hide from folayllght in
portions of Its rat-infested "water side."
Who, save those who, like Dickens, have passed
through the fiery trials'of poverty and disappoint
ment, can comprehend the Ingenuous confession.
that his "conscious pen winces" while be explains
the rise and fall of Matter Humphrey's Clock t
-oirwrmdnitre theoufnfal prTdewtthwhichv
as be tells us, he welcomed in those days of trial
"an essay in a literary Journal, of which Little
Nell was the principal theme;" and how we ap-
-preaatelheJ!mlnchoIy graUrtcatlon'' It afforded
-(-nature, cruelty, personal nlueousnes. and general
devirtrtha.kspeare has never minted a Daniel
Qultp. " Scott has not attempted such a master
piece. Mrs. Stowes , Legreemakes you shudder,
but he wasr not versatile indevljlhtalents uo'r
fertile In vlllaluous resources like Daniel Quilp.
And JhereT were MrsQullp and Mrs. Jlnlwin.
How clever the satire upon iuatch-making moth
er, which Js Imniorlalized Ja-MraL Jlul win ; and
how etincing is the- good-natured sarcasm of
the Satyr-like son-Iu-law, whose dellghf ln roak
iug Mrs. Quilp utterly wretched and helpless Is
only equaled ..by 'his felicity In cbm jjeinng Mrs.
Jiniwlu to realize that the match was of herown
making.' One cannot refrain from saying of -Airs.
Jiniwlu, "Served her right.' But with tbe same
breath conies a1shu,ddering-pity-for the meek nd
timid wife, who "obeys and serves the hideous
dwarf In mortal terror, while his very presence Is
a loathing aud a pestilence. ,
Of Mrs. Jarley and her "wax work," the world
has known much, and the name of Little Nell has
long been a household word In song and story.
Bui whoever thinks of the old grandfather except
In connection with the child? And yet, how
vivid la the great master's, picture of the terrible
fascinations of tbe gambling table, under the In
spiration life-long struggle with poverty
fascinations that seize hold Lheold man in his
dotage and drive him mad under thetash-omhe
ever unsated demon, Acquisitiveness. .
The-strength of -Dickens' lies In his heart7- He
goes down into the common walks of human life
and angles there f or clmnicterit hat weaker men
have seen daily, but have failed to think worthy
of note. He touches the reader's heart with the
Infirmities and misfortunes of the poor and the
lowly, and leads him to despise the oppressor and
the bigot. ' ;., '
It is comforting, In these days of skepticism, to
know, that Dickens was a firm believer in tbe-Immortality
of the Divlnelri human nature. Even
Daniel Quilp had some redeeming traits, albeit
they were few and scant and badly discolored with
wickedness. And, to those whose loved ones have
passed beyond the vale, jthe lessons of restoration
that he teaches have a power to console and com
fort that is irresistible. , -
A
writer of tbe easay," who was then "going slowly
downto his grave," was Thomas Hood.
I turned from the preface to the book Itself, and
as I read and pondered, I could not but ask my
self, a I now ask you, kind reader, why.lt Is that
the literary world, which so love to quote Dick
lArp V0- yldorn mention bis jrnasterpleee of vil
lainy, Daniel Qulip? Nowhere, "among all th
;Rb UUI NI1J wm looking mt a humble stons wblcb
totd of a young man who bad died st lwnly-hr y
did, flfty-Ove jrra sco,wbn bttfrd a faltering step ap
proaching, and looking round, saw a febl woman bant
with tbs weight of yearn, who tottered to tbe foot mt the
ame-grave kU her to read thsjrdtlag oalbAJtboneu.
Tbs old woman thanked ber when she bad done, saying
that he bad bad tbs wonla by heart for many a long year,
but could not see them now.- x
" Were, you b Is mother T" aald the child. '
-I was hU wife, my dear. .. -
Phe the wife oi a young man of three and twenty f
"Too wonder to bear-m say that," remarked the old
woman, shaking her bead. M You're not the flnU, Olh-4
folk than you bays wondered at the same thing before
now.. Yea, I was his wife.. Death doeant change as mors
than life, my dear."
Tben.-growlng garrntoua apoa-a theme wblctrMiiewi
one listener, though but a child, ebe told h?w h.e had wept
and moaned and prayed I die hercirwhenthl happened;
and how, when she flrat came to that place, a young crea
ture, strong In love and grief, ahe had hoped her-heart was
breaking, as' ft' seemed to be. But now that Ave and fifty
yean were gone, ahe spoke of the dead' man aa thoujrh he
had been her son or grandaon, with a kind of pity for hi
youth growing out of her old age, and an exalting atrength
of bla manhood growing out of ber own weakness and da-
cay; and yet, he poke of him aa ber huaband, too( and
thinking of herself in connection with him, aa aha weed to
be, and not aa ahe waa now, talked of their, meeting In an
other world aa If he were dead but yexterday, and ahe, arp
arated from ber former self, were thinking of the happlneaa
of the comely girl who aeeined to have died With him.
To Dickens the seen and unseen world were
blended, and all-was natural. Superstition he
had none, for the reason that the physical and the
supersehsuou were intermingled in his idea, and
each waa part of the universal whole. How nat
urally he describe the closing hour of Little
Nellr "Waking, slie, never. wandered, 4n-hr
mind but once, and that was of beautiful music
that she said was In the air.- God knows. It
may have been."
Dickens carries one from the sublimely spiritual
to the abominably nefarious In human, nature
with tbe artistic power of a master. We shudder
with disgust when Daniel Quilp get home, after
Mrs. Quilp and Mrs. Jlnlwin have, thought him
drowned. And we Involuntarily wish it had been
true on account of the timid wife, who, because it
seems to b her duty, professes Joy athi nex-
pected return Joy which he know is manufac
tured for the occasion, but which delight him be
yond measure because be know It is assumed
ihrouirh fear of him.
the author In hi famous year toTeaharnhe jr
It close. I abut the book and stand for an hour
at the uncurtained window, looking out upon the
adjacent mountain. .There ha been a bard,raln
storm, but tbe sun la shining now, bathing with a
flood of golden light the rugged steeps upon which
the miners' trail 1 visible, as It wind through
the tree.
and twenty
13
Three ana twenty year agoi An, me
Irnttrn!
equal In combined deformity, shrewdness, good
n
then, and full of life and hope, clambered tip that
mountain lde on 111 weary-way to the gold
mines, inhink of him, and of his battles
with destiny; of my own changing years, and of
the good and 111 that seem alike Inherent In hu
man nature; and! turn from.the contemplation
of evil as personified ,. lu Daniel Quilp to good as
llluotrateti In the closing words of Little Nell,
ud "wlththat mountain trail before my eyes,
the memory jf,the. three ;!LI,.ty.yanttht
sweep over my spirit lilla my waking dreams
with fancies., that eem to fill the air. "Ootl
know.. It may be so."
A fresh shower falls, and a rainbow of vivid
brlghtnessspans the horizon, Just above the clear-
cut green of the still tree tops. I gaze abroad till
the sun iroes down, and then, laying aside, the
OUYCurlosI ty-Shop,!!- It-vaingerlngioolLl
upon the dingy furniture In the bachelor room,
and repair to my own apartment, devoutly tnana
ful for the opportunity that, in spite of lonely surr
rounding, gave me a day with Dickens.
WOMAN ANDTNDEPKNDENCE.
flatter to the Stew York Hun J t-r v
To the tkUtort-rln recent Issues of the A'un are
several letters eacl bollirtgvover with zeal about
a grand Fourthrof July-wlebratlon. A one-half
of the fteople of this country are yet held in the
same political subjection In which they were held
efore the IVcIaratlon of Indeendence was writ-
ton, and as I belong to that UbJ u gated half, ! beg
the Sun to give a small space to my Ideas on
Fourth of July celebrations. '
First, I will state that I fully recognize the good
work that our forefather did for themselves and
their male posterity when they seceded from the
British Government and founded a freer. But I
fall to see wherein the Declaration of Independ-
HONEST INDIGNATION,
L v Han Josh, Cal., July 20, 1881. .
Jo the Editor or thi Nsw Northwbmti
I enclose check for my subscription up to Jan-
uary l, 1882.TIme flies so fastjwa not aware I
was so far behind. -
J am glad to see by your paper that you have a
. . . .m a s s . a
prospect or. getting the sun rage in uregon, wnicn
I conslderls-dua principally to your untiring en-
ergy. .-The question here in (jaiiioruia seems at a
stand-still. The only symptom of life In that
direction (except in Individual cases) seems4" to
have concentrated in the Social Science Associa
tion and the Woman1 iJfcraUl-oJ ' Industry, a thor
oughly live paper, which I hope will be a success.
You, of course, have received a copy, with Mr.
J, W. Stow' "Night behind the Bar." I It not
awful that uch thing can go on as she describes
tn the jalh especially In regard to those aeven
young girls?; Does It seem pIbl that lane
men would countenance uch doing or permit
uch men as she describes to hold offloe? -It
seems unreasonable that Mr. Stow should have
been arrested and treated In such a brutal manner
for Just refusing to repair the street. I was under
tt Impression that the Street Commissioners, 1
a case of that kind, would have the work do
and then compel -4lu owner to pay for It, an
could ell the property tr need be; nut I way n
aware that a woman could be arrested aud put7 In
: x . - . . -. r i- ' r
"rrTht
..... ! - a ' ' 1 " 1 m a; T
prison,-and tnai ner doors could re brokenOpen
as Mrs. Stow describes. If uch I really the case,
the newspaper have been very re mis in their
duty, that they did not blazeu forth ucn Injustice
to the world. Itlehame and a disgrace to the
State that women and young girl should be under
th control Of such unprincipled ruffian, anyway.
If women and girl must be Imprisoned for crime
Indulged in through the enlreatle and by the
suggestion usually of nhelriiAtQralpTOtector,'
there should at least be women officers to see that
they are made no worse by being subjected to the
law, "not of th people nor by the people," but
most certainly for women when it come to taxes
and crimes. -. ... -
- Your sincere friend and co-worker,
-Sarah L. Knox-Goodrich.
-CHEERING WORDS.-
Mrs. L. A. Moffett, of Lower Cascades, writes:
YourTruly!i! last letter .! Just splendid. No
doubt many women could tell of slmllanexperl-
ences If they only had the moral courage to do so.
lYourJTrulyV experience will do good In more
families than one. If more men would pocket
their pride and the fear that their wive want to
encroach upon their Inherent dignity, or 'britches'
as you so well say, they would read auch articles
with "profit and there Would be many more happy
homes titan now. By tbe way, my husband en
Joyed that 'adorable Jim'' discomfiture quite ai
much a I did, and he look for the New North
wkht quite as eagerly every week ; says It fills i
want long felt by many who are not able to take
more than one or two papers and still desire a va
riety of reading matter We always took for the
editorial correspondence first. Often I read It
twice. It descriptive fiower seem to Increase, If
that were possible every week. We think; a col
lection of the same In book form would be a valu
able acquisition to apy library. To those who
wish to change their places of abode,' ihe book
would be of great assistance, and those who stay
jUome whoish.j9j
lapd' in their own State or Territories, would not
fail to appreciate it."
CoL-T.W. Hlgginson y : "The reason why
many women don't like the equal right move
ment 1 because they, have too little thought In
culture and social polish, but for want of an Idea 1 1
yWtrg Wgtrtet!
these thing are only glitter and worthIesness."
ence has left women in any freer condition. Our
much-lauded forefathers found the women , of
America subjects of one sovereign a man of edu
cation, of an educated race, and of gentlemanly.
manners.-' They left them helpless subjects under
a million sovereigns, black, white, and yellow,
native and foreign-born, sober and drunk, selfish,
arrogant, brutal, or good, Just as It happens, .
Have we any reason to help On Fourth of July
celebration ?''- The woman who engages In or
encourages such celebration J like those slave '
in the olden time of slavery, who, because tolera-
bly well-fed, housed and,, clothed, Were so pene
trated and permeated through and t h rough by J,he
demoralizing spirit of sUvery a to be utterly un-
conscious that they were slaves; In fact, so un
conscious as to fancy themselves part and parcel
of their master's grartdeurand honor.
The great body of American women are in thi
state of mind with regard to their political mas
ters. When but tfsmill girl, I myself felt in that
way. My small heart would fire with fervor as I
read the story of tur forefathers' struggle against
kingly power, Mndthe heroe of that struggle
loomed up before ray'chlldlsh Imagination grand
and glorified In the white light of liberty. But.
alaa I .andalas 1 a year come on, and the cruel
realities yof life and the law's oppressions td one
half of yth people In this so-called republic made
tbetnelve visible and dispelled the delusions of
Jrouth, th giant of the" revolution shrunk to ilte
ordinary size of other Imperfect aons of Adam.
e fact that our forefather had only taken a few
steps onward toward the pronrised land of freedom,
that the work; of carry I ngHhl people on to that
land yet remains to be done, forced Itself upon me
The women of this country are free to admit
that thi Is the beat government In the world, but
that admission only show bow bad are the other
governments, not how good Is our. Thi govern
ment can be made a much better than It Is, a it
Is better titan the monarchies of the Old World.
For thi rcaaon; jrer protest against Fourth of July
celebrations, which only befog the people' mind
and dull their moral perceptions by too much
praise of what iajo very defective. ..
How are a people to improve If-they ar taughl
to believe themselves already perfect T We have
looked backward long enough. We have adulated
our forefathers quite enough. It Is time we should)
cease this senseles praise, of the good work they
did and turn our attention to tlje work tiiey lef
undone. -. - ... ".-
We have had too many- spread-eagle speeches
about the freedom of thlr-countryr-Therel no-
true freedom In any country which holds one-half
of ita people in absolute subjection to the other
half; there must Inevitably be a very dull sense
of Justice In that country where such gros lnJus-
tice 1 done. - .
For the Jast hundred year Fourth of July ora
tor have shouted themselves hoarse in praise of
the founders of this government, and that fraud u
lent old blrdJhe American eagle, has spread hi
wing and screamed hosauuahs.toJ'reeuoni ; but ,
every thinking woman in the land know and
keenly feel the falsehood and the mockery. In
the name of the etislavetl half of this country, we
protest against any more of this spread-eagle non
sense. It.would .be far wiseE were men to critic
ally examine the signs of the times and keep their
eyes open to the danger they are In of losing the
freedom their, forefathers won for them,
The evil spirit of monarchy .Is not yet exorcised
from this land; the snake was not Killed by the
Revolutionary war, only scotched. - It has at last'
squirmed Itself loose and lifted it head, aod I
eagerly watching Its chance to resume its ancient
power. Were the true spirit of 'republicanism tan
prevail, the ioorest private soldier 'who did hi
duty, who marched up' to the cannon's mouth, or
stood on guard during the long watchee of the"
night In (freedom's cause, would receive a much
praise a the men who Ailed easier; more Comfort
able, and far less .dangerous place. There are
human beings In thi city who work from day
light until dark and on toward mldnlghtv and
earn thereby the pitiful sum of ten cent, making
shlrU'at flv cent each (they can only make two
a-dayj, and this, while men In office roll In riches,
feasting every jlay of their lives, clothed In pur-
pie antr nne linen, n is me growing power of
the spirit of monarchy that widens the difference
Iff th tf ttttftMIonr or tLch"nTJToT7ns JIi2St
i.mciumx fla,Ji,,ff. trf,gO'ngJH,ft.f
despotism, Instead of forward toward freedom.
Elizabeth Avery Mkriwkthe.
7
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