It's an authorial aside, meant to be humorous, which may not sit well with some readers. Personally, this one doesn't bother me as much as making fun of the Musgrove's affection and grief for Dick (even if he seemed like a good-for-nothing to the rest of the world). The trouble with being a comedian or a humorist is that you often walk a fine line between entertaining your audience and offending them, and occasionally I think even our wonderful JA strayed over the line.