MR. CHARLES DICKENS'S READINGS.

Press, Volume XI, Issue 1409, 15 May 1867, Page 3

MR. CHARLES DICKENS'S READINGS.

[From the "Daily News."] Headings by Mr Charles Dickens are now looked for as a matter of course at this season of the year, and were they not forthcoming there is no doubt that a large section of the public would be grievously disappointed. For it cannot be denied that there is a strange fascination in hearings an author give dralmattc^ln%*atotft^f"mto his own creations, and the fascination ia certainly not diminished when the author occupies such a high position in general favor as Mr Charles Dickens. "Mugby Junction," from which his selections were made last night at St. James'shall, is but a minor contribution to the literature of the Christmas season, but it is the latest production to which his name is appended, it is fresh in the recollection of the public, and it is still the subject of comment and of conversation in the domestic circle. It was sure, therefore to excite interest, and to be listened to with as much attention and as keen a sympathy as the author's most popular works could have aroused. Mr Dickens divides his readings into two parts. The first includes the chapters in " Mugby Junction" headed "Barbox Brothers" and " Barbox, Brothers and Co." The second consists merely of the narrative in which the experiences of the Boy at Mugby are related. To say that Mr Dickens reads these productions is, however, to convey a very imperfect idea of the interpretation they receive at his hands. It would be more to the purpose to say that he recites them with dramatic intention and in a dramatic spirit. Nay, so careful is he that nothing shall be wanting to give them full effect, that he learns every worH beforehand, and seems to regard his book merely as a resource only to be appealed to should memory fail. He is thus enabled to impart to his embodiments of character the facial expression of the gestures which give them a more distinct individuality and a more vital significance. The power of doing this he evidently possesses in such abundance that had he not been a popular author, there can be but little doubt he would have chosen the stage fo* , his profession and become one of its brightest illustrations. In his reading of " Barbox Brothers," the character which stood out conspicuous from the rest was unquestionably the honest, simple-hearted " Lamps" of Mugby Junction. As in his literary portrayals so in his dramatic, Mr Dickens is thoroughly at home with eccentricity in humble life. " Lamps," with his poetical tendencies, his cheerful philosophy, and his tendency when agitated to give himself a " rounder," that is, to rub his face with his oily handkerchief, was brought so to speak visibly before the audience. Every little feature which the author had delineated was reproduced by the reader, and h?d Mr Dickens put on fustian and reali/ greased his face, the portrait could scarcely have been more complete. The commencement of the second division ot the first narrative, where Barbox Brothers holds the dialogue with himself at the inn window, and recalls the experiences of his past life, was given with much impressiveness, and the innocent prattle of the lost child Polly was rendered with admirable effect. All were able to

appreciate the concluding portion of the entertainment, " The Boy at Mugby.' , This was given with a distinctness of utterance and of breadth of humor which directly appealed to every one present. As sentence followed sentence, laughter followed laughter, the whole room joining so heartily, and with such good temper in the merriment, that the truth underlying the Mugby Boy's rather|highly seasoned satire obviously met with general recognition.