MR. W. S. LILLY ON DICKENS. [To THE EDITOR OF
THE " SPECTATOR."] SIR,—Will you permit me to observe that the remark ;LI the Spectator of January 26th regarding my lecture on Dickens, given recently at the Royal Institution, appears to be based on an imperfect and misleading account of what I said ? It is my intention to publish the lectures after the course has been completed. The full text of them will, I think, supply a sufficient answer to your criticisms. Here I will merely observe that my reason for designating Dickens " the humourist as democrat," was not, as you appear to suppose, any "democratic propagandism" of his. My memory is quite clear that I did not use the phrase, nor any phrase at all like it. And my shorthand writer's report confirms the testimony of my memory.—I am, Sir, &c.,
[We read carefully three different reports of the lecture, those in the Times, Standard, and Daily News, and are very sorry if we misrepresented Mr. Lilly. But our point was that Dickens's humour had no vital relation to democracy, one way or the other.—ED. Spectator.]
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