Charles Dickens as I knew him. The story of the reading tours in Great Britain and America (1866-1870)

Preface To Present Edition

HE centenary year of the birth of Dickens, although an obvious reason, is not the only justification the publishers claim for issuing a popular edition of the present volume.

Of the numberless books devoted to the novelist's life which have appeared since his death, George Dolby's ^' Charles Dickens as I Knew Him " stands apart from the rest in that it deals exclusively and fully with a phase of Dickens's career but lightly touched upon by others who had perforce to secure their knowledge second-hand. By virtue of the unique position he held in regard to the particular sphere of the novelist's activity to which his book is devoted, George Dolby was able to speak from a personal, intimate, and business standpoint. The result is an authoritative work full of facts, full of life and good spirits, and one which contributes much to the knowledge of Dickens's many-sided character. To the student who follows the details of his life and travels, and to the topographer seeking to establish definitely the associations of Dickens with the towns and cities of Great Britain and America, the book is an indispensable record.

George Dolby became the novelist's secretary and manager in 1886, and remained his personal friend and vi PREFACE TO PRESENT EDITION.

business adviser, so far as his Reading Tours were concerned, until Dickens's death in 1870. He arranged all the details of the tours in Great Britain in 1866-7, in America in 1867-8, and again in Great Britain in 1868-70. The narrative of this association he has given in the following vivid pages, and so extraordinary was the excitement and enthusiasm to hear the novelist read from his own books, the story at times seems almost incredible. No such furore had attended anything of the kind before, nor has it since. That men and women should bring out mattresses and other creature comforts to await through cold nights, as they did in America, in order to be in time to buy tickets next morning to hear those readings some days following is as remarkable as it is true. No other person than George Dolby, excepting Dickens himself, could have told the unique story of those eventful days.

One can well understand that under such conditions the ventures were commercially successful. According to the facts revealed, Dickens netted a profit of ;^33,ooo under Dolby's management, whilst the novelist himself estimated that ;£i 2,000 resulted from his previous readings under the management of Arthur Smith.

Valuable as are the business details of the tour as set out in the following pages, the intimate and anecdotal story interwoven in the narrative makes the book as vital and interesting as any written on the personal side of the novelist's career.

George Dolby died in 1900.

The text of the present edition remains as originally written, with the addition of a copious index and illustrations and portraits.

O. S.

Author's Preface

|Y Preface shall be a very brief one, but I feel that two or three introductory words are necessary. And in the first place (and chiefly I must confess with a wish to disarm them), I will make an apology to any and all of my critics who may miss in these pages the flavour and essence of a genuine literary work. I am far from the affectation of claiming for my book that it should rank as an artistic production. All that I have done is this : I have spent some months in the effort to tell, as simply as possible, the story of the famous Reading Tours of Charles Dickens ; the most brilliantly successful enterprises of their kind that were ever undertaken. Had I the pen of a ready writer, I could have told my story a hundred times better than I have done ; but such as it is, it has been a labour of love to me. Dickens was my great hero— my ''Chief" — in the pleasant bygone days when we were " on the road " together — by day and by night, week after week, viH AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

month after month, right through the English and American tours ; and his memory is heroic now that he has gone. His death closed the brightest chapter of my life, and the warmth and vividness of my recollections of that period of his career in which I was privileged to be very close to him, are the main explanation and excuse I have to offer for attempting to tell the story with which these pages are concerned. May I venture, in the second place, to hope that the personal references in this book, which I fear are not a few from first to last, will not be thought to have had any egotistical purpose ? I stood to my ^' Chief " in the relation of manager, and it is in the managerial capacity, and in that alone, that I have introduced myself, in obedience to the necessities of the narrative. Lastly, while I have trusted for the most part to a good memory and a copious store of notes, I have had occasion here and there, when traversing ground that has been partially covered before, to refer to three well-known works, viz., Mr. Forster's " Life of Charles Dickens," the " Letters of Charles Dickens," and '' In and Out of Doors with Charles Dickens," by Mr. James T. Fields (Houghton and Co., Boston, Mass., U.S.A.), and I desire here to make a cordial acknowledgment of my indebtedness to them.

Chapter I Page

MY FIRST TOUR WITH THE CHIEF . . .1

Preliminary Arrangements — The Manager — What to do with the Crowd? — "Doctor Marigold" — We go down to Liverpool — The Two Hogarths — The Manager to the Rescue — His Favourite Hotel — We swear Friends — The Chief is fond of a Circus — The " Shilling" Tide — The Manager wins Half-crowns — "Why didn't he stay longer? " — Our Train takes Fire — The Origin of "The Boy at Mugby" — The Artful Sandwich, &c. — An Interrupted Hornpipe — The Chief's Birthplace — Mr. Wiils's Prison — The Close of the Tour.

CHAPTER II A GLIMPSE OF LIFE AT " GAD's " . . .42

The New Terms : ";^6oa Night "—An Incomparable Host— The Purchase of " Gad's "—A Peculiarity of the Household—" It was all geniality at * Gad's ' " — A Trial Reading — His Kindness to the Hop-pickers — The Dogs — The Execution of " Sultan " — The Conversion of " Bumble."

X CONTENTS.

Chapter III Page

ON TOUR IN SCOTLAND AND IRELAND . . .62

"Barbox Brothers"-! dub him "Chief" — A Catastrophe saved — We find ourselves in a Scottish Gaol — Shocking Occurrence in a Train — To Dublin in a Snow-storm — Dublin in a State of Siege — We travel with Irish Patriots — Singular Conduct of a Town Clerk — The Chief is always Cheerful — England or America? — " Let Dolby go."

BOOK II The American Tour (1867—1868) CHAPTER IV

Mr. Fields' Invitation — The Belgian Volunteers — Their Ruffianly Conduct — The Manager's Instructions — The Manager's Departure — Halifax — Fruit and Lobsters — The Boston Pilot — "Which is Dolby ? " — Arrival at Boston— A Boston Dinner— The Tremont Temple — Nantucket— The Literary Shop-boy — A Floating Palace — First Glimpse of New York- Broadway not quite the thing— A good deal of Trotting — We inquire of the Oracles — The King of Showmen — " Willard's " — The Manager is "Sly, Sir."

Chapter V

PREPARATIONS FOR THE SECOND AMERICAN TOUR . I30

The Welcome at "Gad's"— "The Case in a Nutshell"— Estimated Net Profit, ;^is,500— Mr. Forster in Opposition— The Oracle orders Lunch, and relents — Back to America — Two Tons of Yellow Paper.

Chapter VI The Commencement Of The Second American Tour I45

Subject to Pains in the Back — A Queue half a mile long — The Press is in danger of Starving — The Skipper restores us to Life

CONTENTS. xi

—It is all right with the Chief— The Pallid Curate— " These People have not changed " — Reunions — Bogus Tickets — Taking Stock of the Speculators — The Tickets go at a Premium — "P. H." — The First Night— An ** Aside "—They revel in " Pickwick" — Boston at his Feet — We modify our Plans.

CHAPTER VII CHRISTMAS AND THE NEW YEAR . . . l8o

New York — The "Westminster" — We are served with a Summons — A Queue of three-quarters of a mile — "Sticking" the Speculators— A "Boss" Speculator— "Fire ! " — Quite a "One-horse" Fire, though — The Skirt of the Ballet-dancer — Christmas in Boston — The Pudding is sent from England— Rather Home-sick— The Entire City takes a " B. and S. "— The Manager takes Poison twice — Mr. Beecher lends us his Church — A Fight for Tickets — Profits of the First Course, ;^io,ooo — iNIr. Dickens meets Mr. Beecher — Washington will do.

CHAPTER Vni FURTHER AMERICAN EXPERIENCES . . . 2l8

Chicago threatens to go into Fits — Manager and another go into Training — A Model American Gaol — The Baltimore Hotels — The Chiefs Health alarms us — There is no rest for the Manager — Mr. Secretary Staunton and his Memory — The Congressman who had Dined — Dog — An Audience of the President — The Chiefs Birthday— " Good-bye ! "— A Lunch at Whelcker's— A Matrimonial Agency — Riot at New Haven — The Gifted Mayor of New Haven — A Novel Sensation — " Those Horrid Speculators " — The Printer's Little Joke — A Reminder of Bow Street — Political Hubbub— Two Hats a Side— The great Walking Match — Sporting Narrative — Badly Beaten — A Dinner at Longfellow's — How to make a Speech — Qualification for Parliament.

Chapter IX The Close Of The American Tour, And The

RETURN HOME ..... 276

Syracuse— A City under Water — The Little Game of the Sheriff's Officer — Buftalo Ladies, please Skip — Niagara — Utica — An

CONTENTS.

PAGE

American Deluge — Letters from Home — Getting near the End — Sickness and Misgivings — " The kind, fair hands unknown " — The Chiefs Gift to the Blind— Farewell to Boston— We return to New York — Our old Friends turn up again — The Manager beards the Collector — Another Threat of Arrest — The Press Dinner — Speech to the Press-men — New Impressions of America — Americans in England — The Last Reading in America — The Collector is Implacable — Mr. Commissioner Kennedy — '*Two Rough-looking Men " — " Good-bye, Boz ! " — Home once more —Total Receipts, #228,000.

Chapter X Eight Thousand Pounds For A Hundred Readings . 333

One Hundred more Readings — First Idea of the "Murder Reading — Each Man his own Luncheon -bearer — ** Plorn " — " Plorn " goes to Australia — In doubt about the " Murder."

Chapter XI The Last Tour In Scotland And Ireland . . 347

"The Old Curiosity Shop" — Opinions on the "Murder" — Thirty Thousand Nerve Shocks — Scottish Cordiality — A Christmas Turkey — Prematurely cooked — ' ' Sikes and Nancy " — To Ireland — Alarm of Fire — A Railway Scare.

Chapter XII The Beginning Of The End .... 369

What Macready said — Smith — The Manager entertains the Chief — ^Torquay — His Son's Promotion — Our first Break-down — The Chief Mends— Edinburgh Thrilled— Three " Murders" a Week

CONTENTS. xiii

PAGE

— London again — Hull — A Rapid Departure — The Undertaker's Man — The Liverpool Banquet — Notable Speakers — Sleepless Nights — In Consultation — Blackpool — A Medical Examination — A Big Disappointment — Safe through it — Decision of the Doctors.

Chapter XIII American Visitors At '* Gad's " — The Last Readings

AND FAREWELL TO THE PUBLIC . . 415

Australia — Nocturnal Expeditions — Gad's Hill in June — Canterbury Pilgrims — An al fresco Luncheon — Canterbury — A Dance at «* Gad's "—A Brilliant Match— The Chief's Grog— The Largest Sum ever paid — Education for the People - Chair — The Last Christmas Day — Fresh Danger — The Crowning Triumph — A Splendid Reception — Farewell Speech — Net Profits.

CPIAPTER XIV

HYDE PARK PLACE — THE CHIEF'S LAST DAYS IN TOWN. 452

Mr. Arthur Helps — An Audience of Her Majesty— The Queen's Gift— That Cocked Hat— A Bright Concert— Gad's Hill once more.

Chapter XV The End ....... 464 List Of Illustrations

CHARLES DICKENS ..... Frontisftece

From a photograph by Ben Gurncy taken in New York, 1867.

From a photograph by Cundall, Downes & Co.

CHARLES DICKENS GIVING A READING , • • . 80

From a contemporary print.

JAMES R. OSGOOD ..,,,.. 112

THE RUSH FOR TICKETS FOR THE DICKENS READINGS IN NEW YORK . I68

From a contemporary print.

PLYMOUTH CHURCH, BROOKLYN ..... 208

Lent by the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher for the Dickens Readings.

PARKER HOUSE, BOSTON ...... 264

Tlie scene of the dinner after " The Great International Walking Match."

JAMES T. FIELDS AND MRS. JAMES T. FIELDS . . . 304

CHARLES DICKENS AND GEORGE DOLBY . . . .328

A caricature from an American paper on the eve of their departure for England.

CHARLES DICKENS'S READING OF " SIKES AND NANCY " . . 352

Two studies from a contemporary magazine.

BANQUET TO DICKENS IN ST. GEORGE'S HALL, LIVERPOOL,

APRIL 10, 1869 : CHARLES DICKENS SPEAKING . . . 4OO

From a contemporary print.

ST, JAMES'S HALL, LONDON, WHERE DICKENS GAVE HIS

FAREWELL READING . . . . . .448

Chapter I. My First Tour With The Chief

|ARLY in the year 1866, Messrs. Chappell, of New Bond Street, London, learned that Mr. Dickens had determined to resume his Public Readings — which had been relinquished four years previously, owing to the death of his old and valued friend and manager, Mr. Arthur Smith (brother of Albert Smith of Mont Blanc celebrity) ; and that, could any arrangement be effected whereby he might be relieved of all business cares in connection with the Readings, Mr. Dickens was disposed to negotiate v/ith the firm for a series of about thirty Readings, to be given in London, the provinces, and, if necessary, in Paris. Messrs. Chappell had no doubt of the success of such an enterprise. Mr. Dickens's popularity was undimmed. The previous Readings had been brilliantly successful ; and when

Messrs. Chappell proposed that I should accompany the Reader as their representative and manager throughout the tour, it was without the slightest hesitation that I advised them to accept any terms Mr. Dickens might impose.

The result of the negotiations was, that Mr. Dickens agreed to give thirty Readings in London, the provinces, or elsewhere, in consideration of the firm paying him the sum of ;f 1500 for the course, or ^50 a Reading ; they undertaking all responsibility and trouble, and paying all expenses, personal and otherwise, in connection with the tour ; thus liberating the reader from all anxiety, and leaving his mind free and untrammelled for the work he had before him — that is to say, as free as ever he allowed it to be, for, although all responsibility of the tour was removed from his shoulders, he had still the editing of " All the Year Round," and other literary duties ; and he was always anxious to make sure that the results of his agreement with Messrs. Chappell were such that they could not in any way regret their acceptance of his terms.

The sum stipulated for — viz., £1500 — was to be paid as follows: 3^500 on the first Reading, ^fsoo on the fifteenth, and ;f 500 on the termination of the agreement. That Messrs. Chappell had met Mr. Dickens in a liberal manner, and that he perfectly understood the nature of his agreement, the great author's own words, written in a letter to a friend, will testify :

PRELIMINARY ARRANGEMENTS. 3

" As to the Readings, all I have to do is to take in my book and read at the appointed place and hour, and come out again. All the business of every kind is done by Chappells. They take John and my other man merely for my convenience. I have no more to do with any detail whatever, than you have. They transact the business at their own cost, and on their own responsibility. I think they are disposed to do it in a very good spirit, because, whereas the original proposition was for thirty Readings * in England, Ireland, Scotland, or Paris,' they wrote out their agreement in London, the provinces, or elsewhere, as you and we may agree.'"

That Messrs. Chappell had no reason to rue their bargain was shown by the fact that on the completion of the tour the gross receipts amounted to nearly ^^5000, an average of £1^0 a Reading. Such a success had never been known in any similar enterprise ; and it was all the more gratifying as Mr. Dickens had, with that consideration for the masses which ever characterized his actions, stipulated, at the commencement of the engagement, that shilling seatholders should have as good accommodation as those who were willing to pay higher sums for their evening's enjoyment ; *' for," said he, ** I have been the champion and friend of the working man all through my career, and it would be inconsistent, if not unjust, to put any difficulty in the way of his attending my Readings."

The scheme comprised eight Readings in London (at St. James's Hall), and twenty-two in the provinces; at Liverpool five, three each at Edinburgh, Manchester, and Glasgow, with Readings at Birmingham, Aberdeen, Portsmouth, Clifton, &c., to complete the number. This plan was laid before Mr. Dickens in the early part of March, the public having become so impatient when once the cry of ** Dickens is coming " was raised, that it was found necessary to hasten matters as much as possible, and issue a definite programme ; but this, of course, could not be done until Mr. Dickens had signified his entire satisfaction with the arrangements.

So there was an interview at the office of " All the Year Round " which I shall always look back upon with pleasure. Though I had known Mr. Dickens for some time previously, this was the first occasion on which I came into contact with him in a business matter ; and there was naturally a feeling of constraint which might have made our first interview tedious but for that geniality, that antidote to reserve, which formed one of his chief characteristics. He expressed himself thoroughly satisfied with all the plans, and told me that Mr. W. H. Wills, his friend and partner in ** All the Year Round," would travel with him, not only for companionship, but to enable him the more easily to conduct the magazine during his absence from the metropolis. When I took leave of him, he shook me heartily by the hand, and with that deep earnest

THE MANAGER. 5

look in his eyes which I have so often seen, said, " I hope we shall like each other on the termination of the tour as much as we seem to do now."

Next day Mr. Dickens wrote to Messrs. Chappell that ** he hoped Mr. Dolby was a man of resources, otherwise he would find considerable pressure put upon him, and the same difficulties would present themselves as had caused the abandonment of the Readings for three years." It may be as well to explain here the matter to which this letter referred, and of what those difficulties consisted. At the commencement of one of his earlier Reading tours, in October, 1861, Mr. Dickens had the misfortune to lose his much-cherished and valued friend, Mr. Arthur Smith, a most astute business manager. Before his death Mr. Smith had expressed a wish that the gentleman who had acted as his subordinate and assistant might, in consideration of his knowledge of the business, be retained to carry out the arrangements for the tour then commencing. Mr. Dickens, out of respect for his dying friend, readily responded to this wish, though it is but too apparent, from a letter written immediately after Mr. Arthur Smith's death, that his faith in his late manager's colleague was none of the strongest. *' My Readings," he wrote, " are a sad subject to me now, for I am going away on the 28th, to read fifty times, and I have lost Arthur Smith — a friend whom I can never replace— who always went with me and transacted, as no other man ever can, all the business connected with them, and without whom I fear they will be dreary and weary to me." Mr. Dickens's forebodings were only too fully realized, for the new manager, though he had proved himself an admirable adjutant, was entirely unfitted for his new duties. Quite unwittingly, he caused great trouble and anxiety to Mr. Dickens, especially as the blame for his shortcomings was laid by the dissatisfied public, not on the manager's, but the reader's shoulders. Thus, in Edinburgh, where two Readings were given, tickets, sufficient to fill the place, had been sold before the commencement of each Reading; but, as Edinburgh audiences are shy of ** first nights," and the tickets were not dated, many seatholders who should have attended the Reading on the first night, held aloof until the second, swelling the crowd on that night to an alarming extent. It was at such a time that the new manager was at a loss, and a scene of indescribable confusion always followed. Hundreds poured into a hall already crowded to suffocation, amid rent gar ments, expostulations, threats, cries for '* the manager,' and '* Where is Mr. Dickens ? " It was a surging roaring sea that overflowed everything, even the plat form on which Mr. Dickens was to read. The atten dants and men at the doors suffered much — to use Mr Dickens's own words in telling the tale : " They were all torn to ribbons ; they had not a hat and scarcely a coat amongst them," Indeed, so futile were the efforts

WHAT TO DO WITH THE CROWD? 7

of the attendants to control or in any way to stem the tide, that Mr. Dickens found it necessary to come forward and address those who were already in the hall, while an intimate friend, from a prominent position, endeavoured to instil reason into those who were outside. It was the recurrence of such scenes, entailing much worry and anxiety, and no inconsiderable expenditure of physical strength and energy, which often at the commencement of a Reading left Mr. Dickens almost in a state of collapse, and eventually forced him to discontinue his Readings until he could find a manager who would not expose him to the risk of such disasters.

Here I had better explain that the record of the first *' Dickens Readings " of which I had undertaken the management must necessarily relate more to business detail than to my intercourse with Mr. Dickens, as at the outset I was brought but very little into his society, owing to the great stress put upon me at first by the difficulties which had overwhelmed poor Arthur Smith's colleague. Still, these details may be interesting to many, and they are entirely essential to the purpose of this work.

No time was lost in arranging the opening Reading, which was given in St. James's Hall, London, on Tuesday evening, April 10, 1866. Independently of the interest created by the reappearance of Mr. Dickens on the platform as a public reader, there was much excitement when it became generally known that he had decided upon reading " Doctor Marigold" for the first time on this occasion. This Reading, like all the others, had been most carefully prepared ; and, in order to test its suitability for its purpose, a private rehearsal was given on March i8th, at Southwick Place, Hyde Park, in a furnished house which Mr. Dickens had taken for the season. This audience consisted of the members of his family, and Mr. Robert Browning, Mr. Wilkie Collins, Mr. Charles Fechter, Mr. John Forster, Mr. Arthur Chappell, Mr. Charles Kent, and myself. It is hardly necessary to say that the verdict was unanimously favourable. Everybody was astonished by the extraordinary ease and fluency with which the patter of the ** Cheap Jack " was delivered, and the subtlety of the humour which pervaded the whole presentation. To those present, the surprise was no less great than the results were pleasing ; indeed, it is hard to see how it could well have been otherwise, for seldom, and but too seldom in the world's history, do we find a man gifted with such extraordinary powers, and, at the same time, possessed of such a love of method, such will, such energy, and such a capacity for taking pains. An example of this is the interesting fact that, although to many of his hearers at that eventful rehearsal of " Doctor Marigold " it was the first time it had been read, Mr. Dickens had, since its appearance as a Christmas number, only three months previously, adapted it as a

"DOCTOR MARIGOLD." 9

Reading, and had rehearsed it to himself considerably over two hundred times — and this in addition to his ordinary work.

Great as was the success of '* Doctor Marigold's Prescriptions " as a Christmas number — the sale of which exceeded 250,000 copies in the first week-—** Doctor Marigold," as a reading, more than realized the anticipations of even the most sanguine of Mr. Dickens's friends, whilst the public, and those who in various ways were more immediately interested in the Readings, were convinced that up to that time they had had but a very faint conception of Mr. Dickens's powers either as an adapter or an elocutionist.

Mr. Wills having been retained as " travelling companion," I was, on the occasion of the first London Reading of this series, brought but very little into contact with Mr. Dickens; indeed, beyond informing him at the appointed time that the audience were seated, and, in their eagerness to hear him, and as a mark of the esteem in which they held him, had honoured the request which had been preferred in all announcement bills and tickets, and in all advertisements, that, as "the Reading would be comprised within two hours, the public were respectfully requested to be seated ten minutes before the commencement of the Reading," I took no active part, and indeed had little or nothing to do, in the management of the "platform."

lo CHARLES DICKENS.

" Doctor Marigold " was followed by ^' Mr. Bob Sawyer's Party," which was read to an accompaniment of uproarious laughter and applause. The whole entertainment was a most gratifying success, the receipts amounting to nearly ^^300. So much was Mr. Dickens beloved and admired, so strongly had he taken possession of the hearts of the English people, that the astonishment of his audience at his skilful manipulation, if I may use the expression, of " Doctor Marigold," and their appreciation of his rendering of the character, found vent in rounds of applause and shouts of delight, Mr. Dickens being called over and over again to the platform to receive their vociferous congratulations.

Next day, Messrs. Chappell's establishment in New Bond Street, and the various ticket agents' offices in the City, were besieged by crowds of people, anxious to secure seats for future Readings, thus assuring, so far as London was concerned, the success of the enterprise, not only artistically as affecting Mr. Dickens, but financially as affecting Messrs. Chappell.

In the same week, our plans included three Readings at Liverpool — on Wednesday the nth April, Friday the 13th, and the afternoon of Saturday the 14th — and one Reading at Manchester on the 12th. The journey to Liverpool, therefore, had to be made on the morning following the London Reading, and I was invited to travel in the same compartment with Mr. Dickens and his companion. I cannot at this distance of time, and

WE GO DOWN TO LIVERPOOL. ii

in affectionate remembrance of our after intimacy, look back upon that first journey, without experiencing a certain feeling of amusement at the recollection of the furtive manner in which we took stock of one another. First we digested the news in the daily papers, an operation never of great length with any one of the three who formed our little party ; more stocktaking and a cigar brought us to the time when we were due at Bletchley (forty miles' run from London). During this interim Mr. Dickens had worn an expression of anxiety and nervousness, which, after we had left Bletchley behind us, he explained was attributable to his reminiscences of the fearful railway accident in the previous year (1865) at Staplehurst, in which he had figured so prominently, and from which he had so providentially and miraculously escaped. He never, he explained, had travelled since that memorable day (the gth of June) without experiencing a nervous dread, to counteract which in some degree he carried in his travelling bag a brandy flask, from which it was his invariable habit, one hour after leaving his starting-point, when travelling by express train, to take a draught to nerve himself against any ordeal he might have to go through during the rest of the journey.

Bletchley, then, having been passed, the flask was brought into requisition ; and, cheered by further cigars, we gave up the unpleasant system of merely " eyeing " one another, and fell freely into conversation on matters connected with the ulterior object of our journeyings.

Mr. Wills, " the companion," was, however, doubtful as to the resources I had at command in the event of any unforeseen and sudden pressure being put upon us, also as to the convenience of our routes. With Mr. Dickens it was different : he had known me, and my reputation as a manager, for some years ; and Mr. Wills's volley of questions — and I must certainly confess he would have made a very good cross-examining counsel — evidently had the effect of making Mr. Dickens somewhat uncomfortable and ill at ease. But he restored his serenity by launching out into anecdotes, only one of which I shall reproduce here. The late Catherine Hayes's mother did not possess any talent in a remarkable degree, except perhaps that of committing astonishing blunders. Charles Dickens, whom she used to dub Carlo Dickens (for the old lady had been to Italy, and deemed perhaps that it was her duty, as the mother of a singer, to drag into her conversation Italian names, which she spoke with a broad Irish accent) was somewhat of a favourite with her. One day she was at his house with her daughter, and expressed the great pleasure it gave her to be the guest of the " celebrated Carlo Dickens." Seeking to add compliment to compliment if possible, she turned to some paintings and drawings, by Stanfield, Millais, and Frith, which hung on the walls, and, after being loud