Whatever
such critics as he of the _Mirror_ may say, I love the Church of
England. Her ministers, indeed, I do not regard as infallible
personages, I have seen too much of them for that, but to the
Establishment, with all her faults--the profane Athanasian creed
_ex_cluded--I am sincerely attached.
'Is the forthcoming critique on Mr. Thackeray's writings in the
_Edinburgh Review_ written by Mr. Lewes? I hope it is. Mr. Lewes,
with his penetrating sagacity and fine acumen, ought to be able to do
the author of _Vanity Fair_ justice. Only he must not bring him down
to the level of Fielding--he is far, far above Fielding. It appears
to me that Fielding's style is arid, and his views of life and human
nature coarse, compared with Thackeray's.
'With many thanks for your kind wishes, and a cordial reciprocation
of them,--I remain, dear sir, yours respectfully,
'C. BELL.
'On glancing over this scrawl, I find it so illegibly written that I
fear you will hardly be able to decipher it; but the cold is partly
to blame for this--my fingers are numb.'
The dedication here referred to is that to Thackeray. People had been
already suggesting that the book might have been written by Thackeray
under a pseudonym; others had implied, knowing that there was 'something
about a woman' in Thackeray's life, that it was written by a mistress of
the great novelist.
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