. Self-made men. assed blamelessly amid books,medals, conversations, correspondences, and other kindred occupa-tions. Duval was the author of various numismatic catalogues-works requiring an unusual amount of exact antiquarian knowl-edge ; also of three volumes of letters and fragments, and two un-published works—the one a treatise on medals, the other a phil-osophical romance. He remained in firm health until his eighti-eth year, when he was attacked with a painful disease which over-threw his hearty constitution, and brought him to the brink ofthe grave. He rallied for a while, but the shock
. Self-made men. assed blamelessly amid books,medals, conversations, correspondences, and other kindred occupa-tions. Duval was the author of various numismatic catalogues-works requiring an unusual amount of exact antiquarian knowl-edge ; also of three volumes of letters and fragments, and two un-published works—the one a treatise on medals, the other a phil-osophical romance. He remained in firm health until his eighti-eth year, when he was attacked with a painful disease which over-threw his hearty constitution, and brought him to the brink ofthe grave. He rallied for a while, but the shock proved too se-vere, and on the third of November, 1775, he died, in the eighty-first year of his age. By his will he left the interest of eleventhousand florins to be divided yearly, as a marriage portion,among three poor young girls of Vienna; a pension to a widow,with whom he had boarded; and annuities to his servant anda deserted child, whom the servant had found in the street andtaken under his CHAELES DICKENS. In the minds of a good many excellent critics this illustriousgentleman represents the genius of modern fiction. A structureof wonderful comprehensiveness and beauty is upheld on his braw-ny shoulders, and future generations, they say, will point to it asto the mighty ruins of the Parthenon, saying here is a guide anda study. A writer so curiously varied and fresh as Mr. Dickensprovokes naturally a vast amount of exaggerated most discreet find it difficult to assign him a place. Heshoots out so strangely in every direction, and yet possesses sucha wonderful power of concentration, that we are always liable tosay too much or too little of his powers. One thing is certain,the world has produced but few men of Mr. Dickenss belongs incontestably to the same order of genius as Shak-speare, Fielding, and Sir Walter Scott. It would not be utterlyabsurd to say that in some particulars he is superior to either ofthese illustrious offi
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, bookpublishernp, bookyear1858
