second series which Lamb brought out with
a curious preface "by a friend of the late Elia," do not differ from
the earlier series, save that they are shorter and are more devoted to
literary themes. Perfect in its pathos is "The Superannuated Man,"
while "The Child Angel" is a dream which appeals to the reader more
than any of the splendid dreams that De Quincey immortalized in his
florid prose. Lamb in these essays gives some wise counsel on books
and reading, urging with a whimsical earnestness the claims of the
good old books which had been his comfort in many dark hours. It is in
such confidences that we come very close to this man, so richly
endowed with all endearing qualities that the world will never forget
Elia and his exquisite essays.

DICKENS THE FOREMOST OF NOVELISTS

MORE WIDELY READ THAN ANY OTHER STORY TELLER--THE GREATEST OF
THE MODERN HUMORISTS APPEALS TO THE READERS OF ALL AGES AND
CLASSES.

Charles Dickens is the greatest English novelist since Scott, and he
and Scott, to my mind, are the greatest English writers after
Shakespeare. Many will dissent from this, but my reason for giving him
this foremost place among the modern writers is the range, the
variety, the dramatic power, the humor and the pathos of his work. He
was a great caricaturist rather than a great artist, but he was
supreme in his class, and his grotesque characters have enough in them
of human nature to make them accepted as real people.

To him belongs the first place among novelists, after Scott, because
of his splendid creative imagination, which has peopled the world of
fiction with scores of fine characters. His genial humor which has
brightened life for so many thousands of readers; his tender pathos
which brings tears to the eyes of those who seldom weep over imaginary
or even real grief or pain; his rollicking gayety which makes one
enjoy good food and good drink in his tales almost as much as if one
really shared in those feasts he was so fond of describing; his keen
sympathy with the poor and the suffering; his flaming anger against
injustice and cruelty that resulted in so many great public reforms;
his descriptive power that makes the reader actually see everything
that he depicts--all these traits of Dickens' genius go to make him
the unquestioned leader of our modern story tellers. Without his humor
and his pathos he would still stand far above all others of his day;
with these qualities, which