AN AFTERNOON AT GAD'S HILL PLACE.
"It was just large enough, and no more; was as
pretty within as it was without, and was perfectly
arranged and comfortable."--_Little Dorrit._
"This has been a happy home. . . . I love
it. . . ."--_The Cricket on the Hearth._
A NEVER-TO-BE-FORGOTTEN day was Saturday, the twenty-fifth of August,
1888, a day remarkable, as were many of the closing days of the summer
of that year, for its bright, sunny, and cheerful nature. The sky was a
deep blue--usually described as an Italian sky--broken only by a few
fleecy, cumulus clouds, which served to bring out more clearly the rich
colour of the background. There was a fine bracing air coming from the
north-west, for which the county of Kent is famous. Truly an enjoyable
day for a holiday! and one that Dickens himself would have loved to
describe. So after a desultory stroll about the streets of Rochester,
one of many delightful strolls, we make our first outward tramp, and
that of course to Gad's Hill. By the way, much attention has been
devoted to the consideration of the derivation of the name, "Gad's
Hill." It is no doubt a corruption of "God's Hill," of which there are
two so-called places in the county, and there is also a veritable
"God's Hill" a little further south, in the Isle of Wight.
[Illustration: Rochester from Strood Hill.]
Crossing Rochester Bridge, we enter the busy town of Strood, pass
through its long thoroughfare, go up the Dover Road,--which was the
ancient Roman military road afterwards called Watling Street, until a
little above Strood it turned slightly to the left, passing through what
is now Cobham Park,--and leave the windmill on Broomhill to the right.
The ground rises gently, the chalk formation being exposed here and
there in disused pits. A portion of the road higher up is cut through
the Thanet sands, which rest on the chalk. Again and again we stop, and
turn to admire the winding valley of the Medway. As we get more into the
country and leave the town behind, we find the roadsides still decked
with summer flowers, notably the fine dark blue Canterbury bell--the
nettle-leaved Campanula (_Campanula Trachelium_)--and the exquisite
light-blue chicory (_Cichorium Intybus_); but the flowers of the latter
are so evanescent that, when gathered, they fade in an hour or two. This
beautiful starlike-blossomed plant is abundant in many parts of Kent.
We pass on the right the pretty high-standing grounds of Mr. Hulkes at
the "Little Hermitage," and notice the obelisk further to the right on
still higher land, erected about fifty years ago to the memory of
Charles Larkin (a name very suggestive of "the eldest Miss Larkins") of
Rochester,--"a parish orator and borough Hampden"--by his grateful
fellow-citizens.
A walk of less than three miles brings us to the "Sir John Falstaff"--"a
delightfully old-fashioned roadside inn of the coaching days, which
stands on the north side of the road a little below 'Gad's Hill Place,'
and which no man possessed of a penny was ever known to pass in warm
weather."
Mr. Kitton relates in _Dickensiana_ the following amusing story of a
former waiter at the "Falstaff":--
"A few days after Dickens's death, an Englishman, deeply grieved at the
event, made a sort of pilgrimage to Gad's Hill--to the home of the great
novelist. He went into the famous 'Sir John Falstaff Inn' near at hand,
and in the effusiveness of his honest emotions, he could not avoid
taking the country waiter into his confidence.
"'A great loss this of Mr. Dickens,' said the pilgrim.
"'A very great loss to us, sir,' replied the waiter, shaking his head;
'he had all his ale sent in from this house!'"
One of the two lime-trees only remains, but the well and bucket--as
recorded by the _Uncommercial Traveller_ in the chapter on "Tramps"--are
there still, surrounded by a protective fence.
[Illustration: The "Sir John Falstaff" Inn, Gad's Hill.]
We have but little time to notice the "Falstaff," for our admiring gaze
is presently fixed on Gad's Hill Place itself, the house in which
Dickens resided happily--albeit trouble came to him as to most
men--from the year 1856 till his death in 1870. Everybody knows the
story of how, as a little boy, he cherished the idea of one day living
in this house, and how that idea was gratified in after-life. It is from
the _Uncommercial Traveller_, in the chapter on "Travelling Abroad," and
the repetition is never stale. He says:--
"So smooth was the old high road, and so fresh
were the horses, and so fast went I, that it was
midway between Gravesend and Rochester, and the
widening river was bearing the ships, white-sailed
or black-smoked, out to sea, when I noticed by the
wayside a very queer small boy.
"'Holloa!' said I to the very queer small boy,
'where do you live?'
"'At Chatham,' says he.
"'What do you do there?' says I.
"'I go to school,' says he.
"I took him up in a moment, and we went on.
Presently, the very queer small boy says, 'This is
Gad's Hill we are coming to, where Falstaff went
out to rob those travellers, and ran away.'
"'You know something about Falstaff, eh?' said I.
"'All about him,' said the very queer small boy.
'I am old (I am nine), and I read all sorts of
books. But _do_ let us stop at the top of the
hill, and look at the house there, if you please!'
"'You admire that house?' said I.
"'Bless you, sir,' said the very queer small boy,
'when I was not more than half as old as nine, it
used to be a treat for me to be brought to look at
it. And now, I am nine, I come by myself to look
at it. And ever since I can recollect, my father,
seeing me so fond of it, has often said to me, 'If
you were to be very persevering, and were to work
hard, you might some day come to live in it.'
Though that's impossible!' said the very queer
small boy, drawing a low breath, and now staring
at the house out of window with all his might.
"I was rather amazed to be told this by the very
queer small boy; for that house happens to be _my_
house, and I have reason to believe that what he
said was true."
[Illustration: Gadshill Place]
Mrs. Lynn Linton, the celebrated novelist, who resided at Gad's Hill as
a child, has very kindly given us her personal recollections of it sixty
years ago, and of the interesting circumstances under which Charles
Dickens subsequently purchased the property;--which will be found at the
end of this chapter.
Before seeking permission to enter the grounds of Gad's Hill Place,
which are surrounded by a high wall, and screened externally by a row of
well-topped lime-trees, we retrace our steps for a few minutes, in order
to refresh ourselves with a homely luncheon, and what Mr. Richard
Swiveller would call a "modest quencher," at the Sir John Falstaff. It
may be certain that not much time is consumed in this operation. We then
take a good look at the remarkable house opposite, the object of our
pilgrimage, which has been made well known by countless photographs and
engravings. It is a comfortable, but a not very attractive-looking
red-brick house of two stories, with porch at entrance, partly covered
with ivy. All the front windows, with the exception of the central ones,
are bayed, and there are dormer windows in the roof, which is surmounted
by a bell-turret and vane. What a strange fascination it has for
admirers of Dickens when seen for the first time! According to Forster,
in his _Life_ of the novelist, the house was built in 1780 by a
well-known local character named James Stevens, who rose to a good
position. He was the father-in-law of the late Professor Henslow, the
Botanist, of Cambridge. Dickens paid for it the sum of L1,790, and the
purchase was completed on Friday, 14th March, 1856. The present owner is
Major Austin F. Budden,[11] of the 12th Kent Artillery Volunteers, who,
we find, in the course of subsequent conversation, had also done good
municipal service, having filled the office of Mayor of Rochester for
two years,--from 1879 to 1881,--and that he was elected at the early age
of twenty-eight.
We ring the bell at the gate which shuts the house out from view, and
are promptly answered by a pleasant-speaking housemaid, who takes our
cards on a salver, and ushers us into the library. We are requested to
enter our names in the visitors' book, and this is done with alacrity.
We are under the impression that we shall only be allowed to see the
hall and study, a privilege allowed to any visitor on presentation of a
card; but fortunately for us the courteous owner appears, and says that,
as he has half an hour to spare, he will show us entirely over the
house. He is better than his word, and we, delighted with the prospect,
commence our inspection of the late home of the great novelist with
feelings of singular pleasure, which are altogether a new sensation. Do
any readers remember, when perusing the Waverley novels in their youth,
a certain longing (as the height of their ambition, possibly gratified
in after-life) to see Abbotsford, the home of the "Wizard of the North"?
_That_ is a feeling akin to the one which possesses us on the present
occasion, a feeling of veneration almost amounting to awe as we recall,
and seem to realize, not only the presence of Charles Dickens himself,
but of the many eminent literary, artistic, and histrionic
characters--his contemporaries--who assembled here, and shared the
hospitality of the distinguished owner. "Dickens penetrates here--where
does not his genial sunshine penetrate?"
Turning over the leaves of the visitors' book, Major Budden calls our
attention to the signatures of Americans, who constitute by far the
majority of visitors. Among the more recent appears the name of that
accomplished actress, Miss Mary Anderson--herself a great admirer of
Charles Dickens--who came accompanied by a party of friends. We also
found her name, with the same party, in the visitors' book at Richard
Watts's Charity in Rochester. Major Budden spoke also of the great
enthusiasm always exhibited by our American friends in regard to
Dickens, some of whom had told him more than once that it was the custom
to instruct their children in a knowledge of his works: they read them,
in fact, in the schools.
The library, or study, is a very cosy little room, made famous by Mr.
Luke Fildes's picture of "The Empty Chair." It is situated on the west
side of the porch, looking to the front, with the shrubbery in the
distance; and among the most conspicuous objects contained in it are the
curious counterfeit book-backs devised by Dickens and his friends, and
arranged as shelves to fit the door of the room. They number nearly
eighty, and a selection is given below of a few of the quaintest titles,
viz.:--
The Quarrelly Review. 4 vols.
King Henry the Eighth's Evidences of Christianity. 5 vols.
Noah's Arkitecture. 2 vols.
[Illustration: PG from the Drawing of S. L. Fildes
"The empty chair" Gad's Hill Ninth of June 1870.]
Chickweed.
Groundsel (by the Author of Chickweed).
Cockatoo on Perch.
History of a Short Chancery Suit. 21 vols.
Cats' Lives. 9 vols.
Hansard's Guide to Refreshing Sleep (many volumes).
The Wisdom of our Ancestors--I. Ignorance. II. Superstition. III. The
Block. IV. The Stake. V. The Rack. VI. Dirt. VII. Disease.
Several of the titles were used for a similar purpose at Tavistock
House, London--Dickens's former residence.
We cannot help, as we sit down quietly for a few minutes, wondering how
much of _Little Dorrit_, _Hunted Down_, _A Tale of Two Cities_, _Great
Expectations_, _The Uncommercial Traveller_, _Our Mutual Friend_, and
_The Mystery of Edwin Drood_ (which were all issued between 1856 and
1870) was written in this famous room, to say nothing of those heaps of
exquisite letters which so helped, cheered, interested, or amused many a
correspondent, and have delighted the public since.
In the hall, which has the famous parquet floor laid down by Dickens, is
still hanging the framed illumination, artistically executed by Owen
Jones, and placed there immediately after Dickens became the "Kentish
freeholder on his native heath" as he called it. It is as follows:--
This House,
GAD'S HILL PLACE,
stands on the summit of Shakespeare's Gad's Hill,
ever memorable for its association with
Sir John Falstaff, in his noble fancy.
[Illustration: Counterfeit Book-backs on Study Door.]
"But, my lads, my lads, to-morrow morning by four o'clock early at Gad's
Hill. There are pilgrims going to Canterbury with rich offerings, and
traders riding to London with fat purses; I have vizards for you all;
you have horses for yourselves."[12]
From the hall we enter the dining-room, a cheerful apartment looking on
to the beautiful lawn at the back, which has at the end the arched
conservatory of lilac-tinted glass at top, in which the novelist took so
much interest, and where he hung some Chinese lanterns, sent down from
London the day before his death. We are informed that in this building
he signed the last cheque which he drew, to pay his subscription to the
Higham Cricket Club. The door of the dining-room is faced with
looking-glass, so that it may reflect the contents of the conservatory.
Among these are two or three New Zealand tree-ferns which Dickens
himself purchased. In the dining-room Major Budden pointed out the exact
spot where the fatal seizure from effusion on the brain took place, on
the afternoon of Wednesday, 8th June, 1870, and where Dickens lay:
first on the floor to the right of the door on entering, and afterwards
to the left, when the couch was brought down (by order of Mr. Steele,
the surgeon of Strood, as we subsequently learned), upon which he
breathed his last.
The drawing-room faces the front, and, like the dining-room, has been
lengthened, and opens into the conservatory. In fact, Dickens was always
improving Gad's Hill Place. There is a memorable reference to the
conservatory by Forster in the third vol. of the _Life_. He says:--
"This last addition had long been an object of desire with him, though
he would hardly, even now, have given himself the indulgence but for the
golden shower from America. He saw it first in a completed state on the
Sunday before his death, when his youngest daughter was on a visit to
him.
"'Well, Katey,' he said to her, 'now you see POSITIVELY the last
improvement at Gad's Hill,' and every one laughed at the joke against
himself. The success of the new conservatory was unquestionable. It was
the remark of all around him, that he was certainly, from this last of
his improvements, drawing more enjoyment than from any of its
predecessors, when the scene for ever closed!"
This room is a long one, and, in common with all the others, gives us,
under the auspices of the brilliantly fine day, some idea of the late
owner's love of light, air, and cheerfulness. That the situation is also
a healthy and bracing one is confirmed by the fact, that in a letter
written on board the _Russia_, bound for Liverpool, on the 26th April,
1868, after his second American tour, he speaks of having made a "Gad's
Hill breakfast."
Our most considerate cicerone next takes us into several of the
bedrooms, these being of large size, and having a little dressing-room
marked off with a partition, head-high, so that no cubic space is lost
to the main chamber. As illustrative of Charles Dickens's care for the
comfort of his friends, it is said that in the visitors' bedrooms there
was always hot water and a little tea-table set out, so that each one
could at any time make for himself a cup of the beverage "that cheers
but not inebriates." The views from these rooms are very charming. Mr.
W. T. Wildish afterwards told us, that during the novelist's life-time,
Mr. Trood, the landlord of the Sir John Falstaff, once took him over
Gad's Hill Place, and he was surprised to find Dickens's own bath-room
covered with cuttings from _Punch_ and other comic papers. I have since
learned that this was a screen of engravings which had originally been
given him.
The gardens, both flower and vegetable, are then pointed out--the
approach thereto from the back lawn being by means of a flight of
steps--as also the rosary, which occupies a portion of the front lawn to
the westward. The roses are of course past their best, but the trees
look very healthy.
In the flower garden we are especially reminded of Dickens's love for
flowers, the China-asters, single dahlias, and zinnias being of
exceptional brightness. As to the violets, which are here in abundance,
both the Neapolitan and Russian varieties, the Major shows us a method
of cultivating them, first in frames, and then in single rows, so that
he can get them in bloom for nearly nine months in the year!
Adjoining the lawn and vegetable garden is "the much-coveted meadow,"
which the master of Gad's Hill obtained by exchange of some land with
the trustees of Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School at
Rochester, and in which he planted "a number of limes and chestnuts,
and other quick-growing trees." Four grass walks meet in the centre of
the vegetable garden, where there is a fine old mulberry tree.
It is stated in Forster's _Life_ of the novelist (Vol. iii. p. 188) that
Dickens obtained the meadow by exchange of some land "with the Trustees
of Watts's Charity." But this is not right. The distinguished historian
of the Commonwealth, and the faithful friend of the novelist all through
his life, is so habitually accurate, that it is an exceptional
circumstance for any one to be able to correct him. However, I am
indebted to Mr. A. A. Arnold, of Rochester, for the following authentic
account of the transaction.
Dickens was always anxious to obtain this meadow (which consists of
about fourteen acres), and, believing that the Trustees of Sir Joseph
Williamson's Mathematical School at Rochester were not empowered to sell
their land, he purchased a field at the back of his own shrubbery from
Mr. Brooker, of Higham, with a view--as appears from the following
characteristically courteous and business-like letter--to effect an
exchange.
"GAD'S HILL PLACE,
HIGHAM BY ROCHESTER, KENT.
_Monday, Thirtieth June, 1862._
"GENTLEMEN,
"Reverting to a proposal already made in general
terms by my solicitor, Mr. Ouvry, of Lincoln's Inn
Fields, to Messrs. Essel and Co., I beg to submit
my application to you in detail.
"It is that you will have the kindness to consider
the feasibility of exchanging the field at the
back of my property here (marked 404 in the
accompanying plan), for the plot of land marked
384 in the said plan.
[Illustration: Gad's Hill Place from the rear.]
"I believe it will appear to you, on inquiry, that
the land I offer in exchange for the meadow is
very advantageously situated, and is of greater
extent than the meadow, and would be of greater
value to the Institution, whose interests you
represent. On the other hand, the acquisition of
the meadow as a freehold would render my little
property more compact and complete.
"I have the honor to be, Gentlemen,
Your faithful and obedient Servant,
CHARLES DICKENS.
"To the Governors of
Sir Joseph Williamson's Free School,
Rochester."
The offer fell through at the time; but it was renewed in 1868 in a
different form, and eventually the field was sold (by permission of the
Charity Commissioners) to Charles Dickens at an "accommodation"
price--L2,500--which really exceeded its actual market value.
[Illustration: The Grave of Dick]
But to resume our inspection. The whole of the back of the house,
looking southward, is covered by a Virginia creeper (_Ampelopsis
quinquefolia_) of profuse growth, which must be an object of singular
beauty in the autumn when the crimson tints appear. As it now stands it
is beautifully green, and there is scarcely more than a leaf or two here
and there marking autumnal decay. The two famous hawthorn trees were
blown down in a gale some years ago.
In a quiet corner under a rose-tree (_Gloire de Dijon_), flanked by a
_Yucca_ in bloom, the bed underneath consisting of deep blue lobelia,
is a touching little memorial to a favourite canary. This consists of a
narrow little board, made like a head-stone, and set aslant, on which is
painted in neat letters the following epitaph:--
This is
the grave of
DICK,
the best of birds,
born
AT BROADSTAIRS,
_Midsummer_, 1851,
died
AT GAD'S HILL PLACE,
_4th October, 1866_.
No one can doubt who was the author of these simple lines. "Dick," it
should be said, "was very dear both to Dickens and his eldest daughter,"
and he has been immortalized in Forster's _Life_. There is a very
humorous account given of the attacks which the cats in the
neighbourhood made upon him, and which were frustrated by an organized
defence. The following is the passage:--
"Soon after the arrival of Dickens and his family at Gad's Hill Place, a
household war broke out, in which the commander-in-chief was his man
French, the bulk of the forces engaged being his children, and the
invaders two cats." Writing to Forster, Dickens says:--"'The only thing
new in this garden is that war is raging against two particularly
tigerish and fearful cats (from the mill, I suppose), which are always
glaring in dark corners after our wonderful little Dick. Keeping the
house open at all points, it is impossible to shut them out, and they
hide themselves in the most terrific manner: hanging themselves up
behind draperies, like bats, and tumbling out in the dead of night with
frightful caterwaulings. Hereupon French borrows Beaucourt's gun, loads
the same to the muzzle, discharges it twice in vain, and throws himself
over with the recoil, exactly like a clown. . . . About four pounds of
powder and half a ton of shot have been fired off at the cat (and the
public in general) during the week. The funniest thing is, that
immediately after I have heard the noble sportsman blazing away at her
in the garden in front, I look out of my room door into the
drawing-room, and am pretty sure to see her coming in after the birds,
in the calmest manner possible, by the back window.'"
Passing on our way the large and well-lighted servants' hall, over which
is the bachelors' room,--whence in days gone by that rare literary
serial, _The Gad's Hill Gazette_,[13] issued from a little printing
press, presented by a friend to the sixth son of the novelist, who
encouraged his boy's literary tastes,--we next see the stables, as
usual, like everything else, in excellent order. A small statue of Fame
blowing her golden trumpet surmounts the bachelors' room, and looks down
upon us encouragingly.
Our attention is then turned to the well, which is stated to be two
hundred and seventeen feet deep, in the shed, or pumping-room, over
which is the Major's mare, "Tell-tale," cheerfully doing her daily
twenty minutes' task of drawing water, which is pumped up to the cistern
on the roof for the supply of the house. There is said to be never less
than twenty feet of water in the well.
[Illustration: The Well at Gad's Hill Place]
It may be interesting to mention that Gad's Hill Place ("the title of my
estate, sir, my place down in Kent"), which is in the parish of Higham,
and about twenty-six miles from London, stands on an elevation two
hundred and fifty feet above mean sea-level. The house itself is built
on a bed of the Thanet sands. The well is bored right through these
sands, which Mr. W. H. Whitaker, F.R.S., of H. M. Geological Survey (who
has kindly given me some valuable information on the subject), states
"may be about forty feet thick, and the water is drawn up from the bed
of chalk beneath. This bed is of great thickness, probably six hundred
or seven hundred feet, and the well simply reaches the level at which
the chalk is charged with water, _i. e._ something a little higher than
the level of the neighbouring river." The chalk is exposed on the lower
bases of Gad's Hill, such as the Railway Station at Higham, the village
of Chalk, the town of Strood, etc.
There are humorous extracts from letters by Dickens in Forster's _Life_
respecting the well, which may appropriately be introduced. He says:--
"We are still (6th of July) boring for water here, at the rate of two
pounds per day for wages. The men seem to like it very much, and to be
perfectly comfortable." . . . And again, "Here are six men perpetually
going up and down the well (I know that somebody will be killed), in the
course of fitting a pump; which is quite a railway terminus--it is so
iron, and so big. The process is much more like putting Oxford Street
endwise, and laying gas along it, than anything else. By the time it is
finished, the cost of this water will be something absolutely frightful.
But of course it proportionately increases the value of the property,
and that's my only comfort. . . . Five men have been looking attentively
at the pump for a week, and (I should hope) may begin to fit it in the
course of October." The depression caused by the prospect of the
"absolutely frightful" cost of the water seems to have continued to the
end of the letter, for it thus concludes:--"The horse has gone lame from
a sprain, the big dog has run a tenpenny nail into one of his hind feet,
the bolts have all flown out of the basket carriage, and the gardener
says all the fruit trees want replacing with new ones."
[Illustration: The Porch, Gad's Hill Place.]
Two of the Major's dogs are chained in the places formerly occupied by
Dickens's dogs, "Linda" and "Turk." The chains are very long, and allow
the animals plenty of room for exercise. The space between the two
permitted a person to walk past without their being able to come near
him; and, as an instance of Dickens's thoughtful kindliness even to the
lower animals, two holes were made in the wall so that the dogs could
get through in hot weather, and lie in the shade of the trees on the
other side. On the back gate entering into the lane at the side of the
house was painted, "Beware of the dogs!" This caution appears to have
been very necessary, for we heard more than once the story of an
intrusive tramp who trespassed, and going too near the dogs, got sadly
mauled. Dickens, with characteristic goodness, sent him at once to
Chatham Hospital, and otherwise healed his wounds.
We are next conducted round the grounds, and have an opportunity of
examining the front of the house more in detail. The porch is flanked by
two cosy seats, the pretty little spade-shaped shields, and lateral
angular ornamental supports on the back of which, we are informed, were
constructed of pieces of wood from Shakespeare's furniture given to
Dickens by a friend. A large variegated holly grows on either side of
the porch, and a semi-circular gravel walk leads to the door. There is a
closely-cut lawn in front, and opposite the hollies are two fine
specimens of _Aucuba Japonica_--the so-called variegated laurel.
[Illustration: The Cedars, Gad's Hill.]
It will be remembered that the master of Gad's Hill had a tunnel
excavated under the Dover Road (which runs through the property), so as
to approach the "shrubbery" previously referred to, without having to
cross the open public road. We did not learn who constructed the tunnel,
but it was designed either by his brother, Mr. Alfred L. Dickens, who
died at Manchester in 1860, or by his brother-in-law, Mr. Henry Austin.
The entrance to the tunnel is by a flight of about twenty steps, flanked
by two beautifully-grown specimens of _Cedrus deodara_, the "deodar,"
or god-tree of the Himalayas. The tunnel itself is cut through the
sands, and, being only a little longer than the width of the road, it is
not at all dark, but very pleasant and cool on a hot day. A
corresponding flight of steps leads us into the shrubbery, which is shut
off from the main road by iron railings only. Both ends of the tunnel
are covered with ivy, which has the effect of partially concealing the
openings. Readers of Forster's _Life_ will recollect that the Swiss
chalet presented to Dickens by his friend Fechter the actor, and in
which he spent his last afternoon, formerly stood in the shrubbery. The
chalet now stands in the terrace-garden of Cobham Hall.
Before we reach the exact place we have an opportunity of examining the
two stately cedar trees (_Cedrus Libani_) which are the arboreal gems of
the place. Major Budden informs us that they are about one hundred and
twenty-eight years old, and were planted in their present position when
they had attained about twenty years' growth. Some idea of their
luxuriance may be formed when it is mentioned that the girth of each
tree exceeds sixteen feet, and the longest branch of one of them
measures eighty-four feet in length. In consequence of the habit of
these trees "fastigiating" at the base, a very numerous series of
lateral ramifying branches is the result. These branches spread out in
terraces, and the rich green foliage, covered with exudations of resin,
seems as though powdered silver had been lightly dusted over it. Each
tree extends over a circular area of about eighty feet of ground in
diameter. Under one of the cedars is the grave of "the big and beautiful
Linda," Dickens's favourite St. Bernard dog. One of the trees has been
injured, a large branch over-weighted with snow having broken off some
years ago.
Two or three noble ash trees also grace this spot, running straight up
in a column some thirty-five feet before shooting out a canopy of
branches and leaves. There are also a few Scotch firs, the trunks well
covered with ivy, and a pretty specimen of the variegated sycamore. The
undergrowth of laurel, laurustinus, briar, privet, holly, etc., is very
luxuriant here, and the vacant ground is closely covered with the wood
anemone (_Anemone nemorosa_), which must form a continuous mass of
pearly white flowers in spring-time.
The ground formerly occupied by the chalet is pointed out to us, its
site being marked by a bed of rich scarlet nasturtiums. It will be
recollected that Dickens describes the interior of the building in a
letter to an American friend, which is thus recorded in Forster's
_Life_:--
"Divers birds sing here all day, and the nightingales all night. The
place is lovely and in perfect order. . . . I have put five mirrors in
the chalet where I write, and they reflect and refract, in all kinds of
ways, the leaves that are quivering at the windows, and the great fields
of waving corn, and the sail-dotted river. My room is up among the
branches of the trees; and the birds and the butterflies fly in and out,
and the green branches shoot in at the open windows, and the lights and
shadows of the clouds come and go with the rest of the company. The
scent of the flowers, and indeed of everything that is growing for miles
and miles, is most delicious."
But the glory of Gad's Hill Place is reserved for us until the close of
our visit, when Major Budden very kindly takes us up to the roof, which
is approached by a commodious flight of steps; and here, on this
exceptionally fine day, we are privileged to behold a prospect of
surpassing beauty. Right away to the westward is the great Metropolis,
its presence being marked by the usual pall of greyish smoke. Opening
from the town, and becoming wider and wider as the noble river
approaches its estuary, is the Thames, now conspicuous by numerous
vessels, showing masts and white and brown sails, and here and there by
the smoky track of a steamer.
We remember how often the city and the river have been the scene of many
and many an exploit in Dickens's novels. Northward are the dreary
marshes, the famous "meshes" of _Great Expectations_, hereafter to be
noticed. Then far to the eastward runs the valley of the Medway, the
picturesque city of Rochester thereon being crowned by those conspicuous
landmarks, its magnificent Castle and ancient Cathedral. In the
background is the busy town of Chatham, its heights being capped by an
enormous square and lofty building erected by the sect called
"Jezreelites," whatever that may be. We were informed that the so-called
"immortal" leader had just died, and it has since been reported that the
gloomy building is likely to be converted into a huge jam factory.
Beyond, and nearly seven miles off, is the high land called "Blue Bell,"
about three hundred feet above mean sea-level, and all along to the
south the undulating grounds and beautiful woodland scenery of Cobham
Park complete the picture.
[Illustration: View from the Roof of Dickens's House at Gad's Hill]
As Major Budden points out in detail these many natural beauties of the
district, we can quite understand and sympathize with Dickens's love for
this exquisite spot; and we heartily congratulate the present owner of
Gad's Hill Place on the charming historical property which he possesses,
and which, so far as we can perceive (all honour to him), is kept in the
same excellent condition that characterized it during the novelist's
lifetime. What is particularly striking about it is at once its
compactness, completeness, and unpretentiousness.
Descending to the library, whence we started nearly three hours
previously, we refresh ourselves with a glass of water from the
celebrated deep well--a draught deliciously cool and clear--which the
hospitable Major presses us to "dilute" (as Professor Huxley has
somewhere said) in any way we please, but which we prefer to drink, as
Dickens himself drank it--pure. Before we rise to leave the spot we have
so long wished to see, and which we have now gone over to our hearts'
content, we sadly recall to memory for a moment the "last scene of all
that ends this strange, eventful history,"--that tragic incident which
occurred on Thursday, 9th June, 1870, when there was an "empty chair" at
Gad's Hill Place, and all intelligent English-speaking nations
experienced a personal sorrow.
And so with many grateful acknowledgments to our kind and courteous
host, who gives us some nice flowers and cuttings as a parting souvenir,
we take our leave, having derived from our bright sunny visit to Gad's
Hill Place that "wave of pleasure" which Mr. Herbert Spencer describes
as "raising the rate of respiration,--raised respiration being an index
of raised vital activities in general." In fine, the impression left on
our minds is such as to induce us to feel that we understand and
appreciate more of Dickens's old home than any illustration or written
description of it, however excellent, had hitherto adequately conveyed
to us. We have seen it for ourselves.
* * * * *
The reminiscences which follow are from Mrs. Lynn Linton and three of
Charles Dickens's nearest neighbours.
GAD'S HILL SIXTY YEARS AGO.
The early love which Charles Dickens felt for Gad's Hill House, and his
boyish ambition to be one day its owner, had been already anticipated by
my father. As a boy and young man, my father's heart was set on this
place; and when my grandfather's death put him in sufficient funds he
bought it. Being a beneficed clergyman, both of whose livings were in
the extreme north of England, he could not live in the house; but he
kept it empty for many years, always hoping to get leave of absence from
the Bishop for a term long enough to justify the removal of his large
family from Keswick to Rochester. In 1831 a five years' leave of absence
was granted; and we all came up by coach to this Mecca of my father's
love. We were three days and three nights on the road; and I remember
quite distinctly the square courtyard and outside balcony of the old
Belle Sauvage Inn, where we put up on our arrival in London. I remember,
too, the powerful scent of the Portugal laurel and the bay-tree which
grew on the right-hand side of Gad's Hill House as we entered--brought
out by the warm damp of the late autumn afternoon. In our time all the
outhouses had leaden figures on the top. There was a cupola with an
alarm bell, which one night was rung lustily, to the terror of the whole
neighbourhood, and the ashamed discovery among ourselves that rats were
not burglars. In the shrubbery were two large leaden figures of Pomona
and Vertumnus, standing on each side of the walk leading up to the
arbour. We had then two arbours--one opposite the house at the end of
the green walk, and another in a dilapidated state further in the
shrubbery. They were built of big flint stones, many of which had holes
in them, where small birds made their nests. I remember in one was a
tomtit which was quite tame, and used to fly in and out while we were
watching it. The two cedars, which I believe are still there, were a
little choked and overshadowed by a large oak-tree, which my father cut
down. Between seventy and eighty coaches, "vans," and mail-carts passed
our house during the day, besides private carriages, specially those of
travellers posting to or from Dover. Regiments, too, often passed on
their way to Gravesend, where they embarked for India; and ships'
companies, paid off, rowdy and half-tipsy, made the road really
dangerous for the time being. We used to lock the two gates when we
heard them coming, shouting and singing up the hill; and we had to stand
many a mimic siege from the blue-jackets trying to force their way in.
Sweet-water grapes grew and ripened in the open air over the wash-house;
and the back of the house was covered with a singularly fine and
luscious jargonelle pear. The garden was rich in apples. We had many
kinds, from the sweet and pulpy nonsuch, to the small tight little
pearmain and lemon pippin. We had nonpareils, golden pippins, brown and
golden russets, Ribstone pippins, and what we called a port-wine
apple--the flesh red, like that of the "blood-oranges." The small
orchard to the right was as rich in cherry-trees, filberts, and cobnuts.
In the garden we had a fig-tree, and the mulberry-tree, which is still
there, was in full bearing in our time. The garden altogether was
wonderfully prolific in flowers as well as fruits--roses as well as
strawberries and apples; and the green-house was full of grapes.
Nightingales sang in the trees near the house, and the shrubbery was
full of song birds. We had a grand view from the leads, where we used
sometimes to go, and whence I remember seeing a farmyard fire over at
Higham--which fire they said had been caused by an incendiary. There was
a Low Church clergyman in the neighbourhood who might have been Chadband
or Stiggins. He was fond of some girls we knew, and called them his
"lambs." He used to put his arm round their waists, and they sat on his
knees quite naturally. I myself heard him preach at Shorne against the
institution of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. He said it was not only
superstitious but irreligious; as pancakes meant "pan Kakon," all evil.
This I, then a girl of thirteen or so, heard and remember. When my
father died his property had to be sold, as he did not make an eldest
son. Mr. W. H. Wills, the trusty friend of Charles Dickens, and editor
of _Household Words_ and _All The Year Round_, was also a friend of
mine. We met at a dinner, and he spoke to me about Gad's Hill, but as if
he wanted to buy it for himself. He was afraid to mention Charles
Dickens's name, lest we should ask too much. So he told me afterwards. I
had been left executrix under my father's will, being then the only
unmarried daughter; and I took the news to our solicitor and
co-executor, Mr. Loaden. He wrote to Mr. Wills, and the sale was
effected. We scored a little triumph over the "ornamental timber." Mr.
Dickens objected to our price; the case was submitted to an arbitrator,
and we got more than we originally asked. But there was never one moment
of pique on either side, nor a drop of bad blood as the consequence. It
was always a matter for a laugh and a joke between Mr. Wills and myself.
When we first went to Gad's Hill there was a fish-pond at the back; but
my father had it filled up, lest one of his adventurous little ones
should tumble in. Officers used to come up from Chatham to the Falstaff,
and have pigeon matches in our big field; and one of the sights which
used to delight our young eyes, was the gallant bearing and gay uniforms
of the Commandant at Chatham, when he and his staff rode by. We were
great walkers in those days, and used to ramble over Cobham Park, and
round by Shorne, and down to the dreary marshes beyond Higham. But this
was not a favourite walk with us, and we girls never went there alone.
The banks on the Rochester road--past Davies's Straits--were full of
sweet violets, white and purple; and the fungi, lichens, flowers, and
ferns about Shorne and Cobham yet linger in my memory as things of
rarest beauty. We always thought that the coachman, "Old Chumley," as he
was called, was old Weller. He was a fine, cheery, trustworthy man; and
once when my father was in London, he had one of my sisters and
myself--girls then about fifteen and thirteen--put under his charge to
be delivered to him at the end of the journey. The dear old fellow took
as much care of us as if he had been our father himself. I remember my
brothers gave him a new whip, and he was very fond of us all.
E. L. L.
* * * * *
* * * We had at a subsequent visit to Gad's Hill Place, on the
invitation of our hospitable friends, Major and Mrs. Budden, the
pleasure of a long and interesting conversation with Mr. James Hulkes,
J.P., of the Little Hermitage, Frindsbury, a Kentish man, who came to
live here more than sixty years ago, and who was thus a very near
neighbour of Charles Dickens during the whole of the time that he
resided at Gad's Hill Place. We were shown into a delightful room at the
back of the house, overlooking the shrubberies of the mansion--in the
distance appearing the high ground on which stands the monument to
Charles Larkin. The room is a happy combination of part workshop, with a
fine lathe and assortment of tools fitted round it--part study, with a
nice collection of books, engravings and pictures (some of hunting
scenes) on the walls--and part naturalist's den, with cases of stuffed
birds and animals, guns and fishing-rods--the fragrant odour of tobacco
breathing friendly welcome to a visitor of smoking proclivities. The
varied tastes of the owner were sufficiently apparent, and a long chat
of over two hours seemed to us but a few minutes.
Mr. Hulkes said he just remembered the road from Strood to Gad's Hill
being cut through the sands down to the chalk. It was for some time
afterwards called "Davies's Straits," after the Rev. George Davies, the
then Chairman of the Turnpike Road Board, and the term indicated the
difficulty and expense of the operation. Before the new road was cut,
the old highway constituting this part of the Dover Road was very hilly
and dangerous.
Reverting to the subject of Charles Dickens, our relator remarked, "I
fear I cannot be of much use to you by giving information about Mr.
Dickens, as I only knew him as a kind friend, a very genial host, and a
most charming companion; to the poor he was always kind--a deserving
beggar never went from his house unrelieved." What indeed could be said
more! These few simple words, spoken so earnestly after a period of
nearly twenty years, sufficed to bring before us the lost neighbour
whose memory was so warmly cherished by his surviving friend.
John Forster, in the _Life_, speaks of Mr. Hulkes as being "one of the
two nearest country neighbours with whom the [Dickens] family had become
very intimate," and mentions that both Mr. and Mrs. Hulkes were present
at the wedding of the novelist's second daughter, Kate, with Mr. Charles
Alston Collins. Mr. Hulkes spoke of the pleasant parties at Gad's Hill
Place, at which he met Mr. Forster, Mr. Wilkie Collins, Mr. Percy
Fitzgerald, Mr. Marcus Stone, Mr. H. F. Chorley, and many others; and
observed that, on the occasion of charades and private theatricals
there, Charles Dickens was always in fine form. He showed us an original
manuscript programme (of which we were allowed to take a copy), written
on half-a-sheet of foolscap; and from the fact that "_Gads Hill Gazette_
Printing Office" appears in the corner it would seem that it was printed
on the occasion for the guests. It is as follows:--
_December 31st, 1863._
"A night's exploit on Gad's Hill."--_Shakespeare._
=Her Majesty's Servants=
will have the honour of presenting
Three Charades!!!
Each Charade is a word of two syllables, arranged
in three Scenes. The first scene is the first
syllable; the second is the second syllable; the
third scene is the entire word.
(_At the end of each Charade the audience is
respectfully invited to name the word._)
=Charade 1!=
Scene I.--The awful end of the Profligate Sailor.
Scene II.--On the way to foreign parts.
Scene III.--Miss Belinda Jane and the faithful
policeman (Division Q).
=Charade 2!!=
Scene I.--Archery at Castle Doodle.
Scene II.--Fra Diavolo a Dread Reality.
Scene III.--The Choice of a too Lowly Youth.
=Charade 3!!!=
Scene I.--The Pathetic History of the Poor Little Sweep.
Scene II.--Mussulman Barbarity to Christians.
Scene III.--Merry England.
_Gad's Hill Gazette_ Printing Office.
The various parts were taken by Dickens and his family, and the entire
word of the last Charade is supposed to be "May Day."
In connection with charades, Mr. Hulkes alluded to Dickens's remarkable
facility for "guessing a subject fixed on when he was out of the room,
in half a dozen questions;" and related the story of how at the young
people's game of "Yes and No," he found out the proper answer to a
random question fixed upon by Mr. Charles Collins, one of the company,
in his absence, which was, "The top-boot of the left leg of the head
post-boy at Newman's Yard, London." The squire sometimes took a stroll
with his neighbour, but observed "he was too fast a walker for me--I
couldn't keep up with him!"
Mr. Hulkes possesses a nearly complete "file" (from 1862 to 1866) of the
_Gad's Hill Gazette_, to which he was one of the subscribers, and which
was edited by the novelist's son, Mr. Henry Fielding Dickens, and, as
before stated, printed at Gad's Hill Place. It chronicled the arrivals
and departures, the results of cricket matches and billiard games, with
interesting gossip of events relating to the family and the
neighbourhood. Occasionally there was a leading article, and now and
then an acrostic appeared. Among the subscribers were the novelist and
his family, The Lord Chief Justice, The Dean of Bristol, Lady
Molesworth, Mrs. Milner Gibson, M. Stone, A. Halliday, J. Hulkes, C.
Kent, W. H. Wills, H. F. Chorley, Edmund Yates, etc. The number for
January 20th, 1866, contains a humorous correspondence on the management
of the journal between "Jabez Skinner" and "Blackbury Jones." Mr. H. F.
Dickens kindly allows a copy of the number for December 30th, 1865, to
be reproduced, which is interesting as giving an account of the
Staplehurst accident, and also the notice issued when the journal was
discontinued.
THE
GAD'S HILL GAZETTE
Edited by H. F. Dickens
December 30th 1865 Price 2d
* * * * *
We are very glad to meet our subscribers again after such a long lapse
of time, and we hope that they will patronise us in the same kind and
indulgent manner as they did, last season.
In the circulars, we announced that some great improvements were to be
made in the Gazette-- We are sorry that they cannot appear in this
number (as our suppliers of type have disappointed us) but we hope that
next week, we shall be able to publish this journal in quite a different
form.
Hoping that our subscribers will excuse us this week, we beg to wish
them all A Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!
* * * * *
Christmas at Gad's Hill.
During the past week, Gad's Hill has resounded with the sounds of
festivity and merriment.
(Continued on the next page)
As is usually the case, the house has been filled with the guests who
have come to taste of Mr Dickens' hospitality. These consisted of Mr
Mad, and Master Fechter, Mr & Mrs C. Collins, Mr Mrs and Master C.
Dickens junr, Mr Morgan (who suddenly appeared on Christmas Day, having
just returned from America) Mr M. Stone, Mr Chorley and Mr Dickenson.
The latter gentleman has not yet entirely recovered from the effects of
a most disastrous railway accident in which he was a sufferer, and had
it not been for the courage and intrepidity of Mr Dickens, he would not
now be spending his Christmas at Gad's Hill.
A short time before the accident occurred, Mr Dickenson had a dispute
with a French gentleman about the opening of the window when the former
offered to change places, if the open window was disagreeable to his
fellow traveller--this they did.--
Then came the accident, accompanied by all its frightful incidents. The
French gentleman was killed, Mr Dickenson was stunned and hurled with
great violence under the debris of a carriage.
Mr Dickens, who was in another compartment, managed to crawl out of the
window and then, caring little for his own safety, busied himself in
helping the wounded. Whilst engaged in doing this, he passed by a
carriage, underneath which he saw a gentleman (Mr Dickenson) lying
perfectly still, and bleeding from the eyes, ears, nose and mouth.
He was immediately taken to the town of Staplehurst where he so far
recovered as to be able to return to London, that evening.
Next morning he was suffering from a very severe concussion of the brain
and was ill for many weeks--But to our subject.
On Christmas Day, Mr, Mrs & Miss Malleson came to dinner. At about 9, an
ex tempore dance began and was kept up till about 2 o'clock Tuesday
morning. During the week, billiards has been much resorted to. (See next
page)
All the visitors are still here, except Mr Fechter and family who left
on December 26th, and Mr Morgan (who is to return on 31st. Talking of Mr
Fechter, our readers will be glad to hear that he has made a most
decided success in his new piece entitled--The Master of Ravenswood--
* * * * *
Sporting Intelligence.
Billiards
Of all the matches that have been played during the past week the most
important was a Great Handicap on Christmas Day, the prize being a
pewter. Annexed is an account of it.
Stone Scratch C Dickens jun 20 Harry 30
Fechter 5 Dickenson 20 C Dickens 35
Morgan 10 Collins 30 Plorn 40
Our space will not allow us to enter into the minute details of this
match suffice it to say that Mr Dickenson won but that as regards good
play, he was excelled by Mr Stone (who, however, was so heavily weighted
that he could not win. Great credit is due to Mr Ch Dickens junr for the
way in which he handicapped the men.
On Saturday 30th a match is to be played between The Earl of Darnley and
Mr M Stone.
* * * * *
Gad's Hill Gazette Office.
January--1867.
In a circular issued last August, we announced that a final number of
the Gad's Hill Gazette was to be published this Xmas. We are grieved
however to state, that the shortening of the Wimbledon School holidays
(in which establishment the Editor is a pupil) has rendered this
impossible.
It is with feelings of the deepest regret that we find ourselves obliged
to conclude the publication of our Journal in this sudden and unexpected
manner, but we feel sure that the great indulgence of the Public will
overlook this, as it has done many other great errors in the Gad's Hill
Gazette.
In conclusion, we beg to take leave of our Subscribers in our public
capacity of Editor, thanking them for their kindness in supporting our
Journal, and wishing them all
--"A Happy New Year."--
[Illustration: Signature: A. F. Dickens]
(Signed) Sole Editor
Mrs. Hulkes had a number of pleasant recollections of Gad's Hill Place,
and of Charles Dickens and his family. "As a girl," said this lady, "I
was an admiring reader of his works, and I longed to see and know the
author; but little did I think that my high ambition would ever be
gratified." That a warm friendship existed between his admirer and
Charles Dickens, who subsequently became her near neighbour, is
evidenced by the fact that, in reply to her request, he allowed this
lady the great privilege of reading the catastrophe of that
exquisitely-pathetic and nobly-altruistic story of _A Tale of Two
Cities_, some weeks before its publication, as appears from the
following letter:--
"GAD'S HILL PLACE,
"HIGHAM BY ROCHESTER, KENT.
"_Sunday evening, Sixteenth Oct., 1857._
"MY DEAR MRS. HULKES,
"My daughter has shown me your note, and it has
impressed me with the horrible determination to
become a new kind of Bluebeard, and lay an awful
injunction of secrecy on you for five mortal
weeks.
"Here is the remainder of the _Tale of Two
Cities_. Not half-a-dozen of my oldest and most
trusty literary friends have seen it. It is a real
pleasure to me to entrust you with the
catastrophe, and to ask you to keep a grim and
inflexible silence on the subject until it is
published. When you have read the proofs, will you
kindly return them to me?
"With my regard to Mr. Hulkes,
"Believe me always,
"Faithfully yours,
"CHARLES DICKENS.
"MRS. HULKES."
Mrs. Hulkes said that when Dickens went to Paris in 1863, he jokingly
said to her, "I am going to Paris; what shall I bring you?" She replied,
"A good photograph of yourself, as I do not like the one you gave me;
and I hear the French people are more successful than the English, or
their climate may help them." And he brought a photograph of himself, of
which there were only four printed. It now graces Mrs. Hulkes'
drawing-room, and represents the novelist very life-like in full face,
head and bust. The photograph was taken by Alphonse Maze, and has been
exquisitely engraved in Mr. Kitton's _Charles Dickens by Pen and
Pencil_.
Mrs. Hulkes mentioned a curious and interesting circumstance. On the
night before the funeral of her friend, Miss Dickens sent down to the
Little Hermitage to ask if she could kindly give her some roses. Mrs.
Hulkes cut a quantity from one of the trees in the garden (Lamarque, she
believes), and the tree never bloomed again, and soon after died. No
doubt, as she observed, it bled to death from the excessive cutting. It
was the second case only of the kind in her experience as a rose-grower
during very many years.
Charles Dickens also took interest in his friend's son (their only
child, who has since finished his University career), and this gentleman
prizes as a relic a copy of _A Child's History of England_, which was
presented to him, with the following inscription written in the
characteristic blue ink--"Charles Dickens. To his little friend, Cecil
James Hulkes. Christmas Eve, 1864." In a letter to Miss Hogarth, written
from New York, on Friday, 3rd January, 1868, he says:--"I have a letter
from Mrs. Hulkes by this post, wherein the boy encloses a violet, now
lying on the table before me. Let her know that it arrived safely and
retaining its colour."
There are many interesting relics of Gad's Hill Place now in the
possession of the family at the Little Hermitage, notably Charles
Dickens's seal with his crest, and the initials C. D., his pen-tray, his
desk, a photograph of the study on 8th June, 1870 (a present from Miss
Hogarth), the portrait above referred to, an arm-chair, a drawing-room
settee, a dressing-table, and a library writing-table.
* * * * *
On another occasion we were favoured with an interview by Mr. J. N.
Malleson, of Brighton, who formerly resided at the Great Hermitage,
Higham, and who was a neighbour of Charles Dickens for many years. Mr.
Malleson came to the Great Hermitage in 1859, and a day or two after
Christmas Day in that year--having previously been a guest at the
wedding of Dickens's second daughter Kate, with Mr. Charles Alston
Collins--he met the novelist, who, stopping to chat pleasantly, asked
his neighbours where they dined at Christmas? "Oh, Darby and Joan," said
our informant. Dickens laughingly replied:--"That shall never happen
again"; and the following year, and every year afterwards, except when
their friend was in America, Mr. and Mrs. Malleson received and accepted
invitations to dine at Gad's Hill Place. On the exception in question,
the family of Dickens dined at the Great Hermitage.
* * * * *
In the autumn of the year 1889 we had a most interesting chat with Mr.
William Stocker Trood, at his residence, Spearcehay Farm, Pitminster,
pleasantly situated in the vale of Taunton, for many years landlord of
the Sir John Falstaff at Gad's Hill. The first noteworthy circumstance
to record is that his name is not _Edwin_ Trood, as commonly supposed,
but William Stocker, as above stated, Stocker being an old family name.
This fact disposes of the supposition that the former two names, with
the alteration of a single letter, gave rise in Dickens's mind to the
designation of the principal character in _The Mystery of Edwin Drood_.
The name of "Trood" is by the substitution of one letter easily
converted into Drood, and that word is perhaps more euphonious with
"Edwin" as prefixed to it; but "William Stocker" is not by any means
easily converted into "Edwin." The idea that "Edwin Drood" is derived
from "William Stocker Trood" may therefore be dismissed as a popular
fallacy. It may be mentioned, however, _en passant_, that Mr. Trood had
a brother named Edward, who sometimes visited him at the Falstaff, and
also a son who bore the name of his uncle.
We found our informant to be wonderfully genial, hale and hearty,
although in his eighty-fifth year. He had a perfect recollection of
Charles Dickens, and remembered his first coming to Gad's Hill Place.
Before the house was properly furnished and put in order, both Mr. and
Mrs. Dickens sometimes slept at the Falstaff; and afterwards, when
visitors were staying at Gad's Hill Place, and the bedrooms there were
full, some of them slept at the Inn; in particular, John Forster, Wilkie
Collins, and Marcus Stone. He said Mr. Dickens was a very nice man to
speak to, and Mrs. Dickens was a very nice lady. They were always kind
and pleasant as neighbours, but Mr. Dickens did not talk much. Said Mr.
Trood:--"When I was at Higham, Mr. Dickens used to say no one could put
in a word; I had all the talk to myself." The sons were all very
pleasant; in fact, he liked the family very much indeed.
Mr. Trood sometimes acted as local banker to Charles Dickens, and used
to cash his cheques for him. Only the day before his death, he cashed a
cheque for L22, and was subsequently offered L24 for it by an admirer of
Dickens who desired the autograph; but to his credit it should be
mentioned that he did not accept the offer.
Our informant next spoke of the wonderful partiality of Dickens to
cricket; he would stand out all night if he could watch a cricket match.
The matches were always played in Mr. Dickens's field, and the business
meetings of the club were held monthly at the Falstaff. Mr. Trood was
Treasurer of the club. Occasionally there was a dinner.
A circumstance was related which made a profound impression on our
friend. The family at Gad's Hill Place were very fond of music, and on
one occasion there were present as visitors two great violinists, one a
German and the other an Italian, and it was a debated question among the
listeners outside the gates, where the music could be distinctly heard,
which played the better. Mr. Trood had just returned from Gravesend in
the cool of the summer evening, about ten o'clock, and stood in the road
opposite listening, "spellbound," to the delightful music. Miss Dickens
played the accompaniments.
Mr. Trood spoke with a lively and appreciative recollection of the
Christmas sports that were held in a field at the back of Gad's Hill
Place, and of the good order and nice feeling that prevailed at those
gatherings, although several thousand people were present. Among the
games that were played, the wheeling of barrows by blind-folded men
seemed to tickle him most.
Our octogenarian friend also spoke of the great love of Dickens for
scarlet geraniums. Hundreds of the "Tom Thumb" variety were planted in
the beds on the front lawn and in the back garden at Gad's Hill Place.
Soon after the terrible railway accident at Staplehurst, Dickens came
over to the Falstaff and spoke to Mr. Trood, who congratulated him. Said
Dickens, "I never thought I should be here again." It is a wonderful
coincidence to record, that a young gentleman named Dickenson, who
subsequently became intimate with the novelist, changed places (so as to
get the benefit of meeting the fresh air) with a French gentleman in the
same carriage who was killed, and Mr. Dickenson escaped! The accident
happened on the 9th June, 1865, and Dickens died on the "fatal
anniversary," 9th June, 1870.
Mr. Trood confirmed his daughter's (Mrs. Latter's) account of the
_fracas_ with the men and performing bears, given in another chapter,
adding, "That _was_ a concern."
* * * * *
The beautiful city of Exeter is not far from Taunton, and we naturally
avail ourselves of the opportunity of stopping there for a few hours,
and stroll over to see the village of Alphington. It was here, in the
year 1839, that Charles Dickens took and furnished Mile End Cottage for
his father and mother and their youngest son. He thus describes the
event in a letter to Forster:--"I took a little house for them this
morning (5th March, 1839), and if they are not pleased with it I shall
be grievously disappointed. Exactly a mile beyond the city on the
Plymouth road there are two white cottages: one is theirs, and the
other belongs to their landlady. I almost forget the number of rooms,
but there is an excellent parlour with two other rooms on the ground
floor, there is really a beautiful little room over the parlour which I
am furnishing as a drawing-room, and there is a splendid garden. The
paint and paper throughout is new and fresh and cheerful-looking, the
place is clean beyond all description, and the neighbourhood I suppose
the most beautiful in this most beautiful of English counties." The
negotiations with the landlady and the operation of furnishing the house
are most humorously pourtrayed in the same letter.
The cottage is also described in _Nicholas Nickleby_, which he was
writing at the time. Mrs. Nickleby, in allusion to her old home, calls
it "the beautiful little thatched white house one storey high, covered
all over with ivy and creeping plants, with an exquisite little porch
with twining honeysuckles and all sorts of things."
Fifty years have passed since the parents of the novelist went to live
at Alphington, which, notwithstanding the subsequent growth of the city,
still continues to be a pretty suburb with fine views of the Ide Hills
to the westward, and Heavitree to the eastward. Our efforts to obtain
any reminiscences of the Dickens family in the village were quite
unsuccessful--so long a time had elapsed since their departure--although,
to oblige us, the vicar of the place kindly made enquiries, and took
some interest in the matter.
FOOTNOTES:
[11] Since this was written, Gad's Hill Place has been purchased by the
Hon. F. G. Latham. Major Budden has resigned his commission locally, and
now holds a commission in the Limerick City Artillery Militia. It is
very pleasant to place on record that in subsequent visits to
"Dickens-Land" I was always received with friendly kindness by Major and
Mrs. Budden, whose hospitality I often enjoyed. Their enthusiasm for the
late owner of Gad's Hill Place, and their willingness to show every part
of their beautiful residence to any one specially interested, was most
gratifying to a lover of Dickens. Like the novelist, Mrs. Budden is fond
of private theatricals, and has published a little book on _Mrs.
Farley's Wax-Works and How to Use Them_.
[12] It has been suggested that the lines above quoted might give one
the impression that they are those of Falstaff. This, of course, is not
the case. They are spoken by Poins, when in company with Falstaff,
Prince Henry, and others. They occur in Act I. Scene ii. of _King Henry
IV._, Part 1.
A Note to Charles Knight's Edition of Shakespeare, contained in the
"Illustrations to Act I." of the same Play, states that Gad's Hill
appears to have been a place notorious for robbers before the time of
Shakespeare, for Stevens discovered an entry of the date of 1558 in the
books of the Stationers' Company, of a ballad entitled, "The Robbery at
Gad's Hill." And the late Sir Henry Ellis, of the British Museum,
communicated to Mr. Boswell, Editor of Malone's Shakespeare, a narrative
in the handwriting of Sir Roger Manwood, Chief Baron of the Exchequer,
dated 5th July, 1590, which shows that Gad's Hill was at that period the
resort of a band of well-mounted robbers of more than usual daring, as
appears from the following extract:--
"In the course of that Michaelmas term, I being at London, many
robberies were done in the bye-ways at Gad's Hill, on the west part of
Rochester, and at Chatham, down on the east part of Rochester, by horse
thieves, with such fat and lusty horses, as were not like hackney horses
nor far-journeying horses; and one of them sometimes wearing a vizard
grey beard, he was by common report in the country called 'Justice Grey
Beard;' and no man durst travel that way without great company."
[13] At an interview with Mr. H. F. Dickens some time afterwards, he
told me the story of the origin of _The Gad's Hill Gazette_. There was a
good deal of sand exposed at the back of the house, and the sons of the
novelist--who like other boys were full of energy,--were fond of playing
at "burying" each other. Their father naturally feared that this kind of
play might have some disastrous effects, and develop into burying in
earnest. So he said one day to his sons, "Why not establish a newspaper,
if you want a field for your energies?" _The Gad's Hill Gazette_ was the
result. At first the tiny journal was written on a plain sheet and
copies made; then a Manifold Writer was used; and afterwards came the
Printing Press.
CHAPTER VIII.
CHARLES DICKENS AND STROOD.
"So altered was the battle-ground, where thousands
upon thousands had been killed in the great
fight."--_The Battle of Life._
"Keep me always at it, I'll keep you always at it,
you keep somebody else always at it. There you
are, with the Whole Duty of Man in a commercial
country."--_Little Dorrit._
THE town of Strood,--the Roman _Strata_,--which stands on the left bank
of the river Medway, has, like the city of Rochester, its interesting
historical associations. Its Church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, stands
high on the north side of the London road leading to Gad's Hill, and has
a brass of T. Glover and his three wives. At one time there was a
hospital for travellers, founded by Bishop Glanville (_temp._ Richard
I.), near the Church. The most interesting remains are, however, those
of the Temple Farm, distant about half a mile south, formerly (_temp._
Henry II.) the mansion of the Knights Templars of the Teutonic order, to
whom it, together with the lands thereto belonging, was given by that
monarch. The gift was confirmed by King John and by Henry III. (1227);
but the unfortunate brethren of the order did not retain possession more
than a century, for in the reign of Edward II. they were dispossessed of
their lands and goods, under pretence of their leading a vicious course
of life, but in reality to satisfy the avarice of their dispossessors.
The present building dates from about James I., has one fine room
overlooking the river, and underneath is a spacious vault called by
Grose the "Preceptory," excavated out of the chalk, and having fine
groined stone arches and aisles--the walls are of very great thickness.
Near Frindsbury Church--in which are three most interesting
wall-paintings of St. William the Baker of Perth, St. Lawrence, and
another figure, all three discovered on the jambs of the Norman windows
only a few years ago--stands the Quarry House, a handsome old red-brick
mansion, "described as more Jacobean than Elizabethan," built in the
form of a capital E, each storey slightly receding behind the front
level of that beneath it, the top tapering into pretty gables, the
effect being enhanced by heavy buttresses.
There is a dreadful legend of the ancient people of Strood common to
several other parts of the kingdom, _e.g._ Auster in Dorsetshire, which
the quaint and diligent Lambarde, quoting from Polydore Virgil,
evidently regarded as serious, and takes immense pains to confute! It
relates to St. Thomas a Becket and his contention with King Henry II.,
whereby he began to be looked upon as the King's enemy, and as such
began to be "so commonly neglected, contemned, and hated:--
"That when as it happened him upon a time to come to _Stroude_, the
Inhabitants thereabouts (being desirous to dispite that good Father)
sticked not to cut the tail from the horse on which he road, binding
themselves thereby with a perpetuall reproach: for afterward (by the
will of God) it so happened, that every one which came of that kinred of
men which plaied that naughty prank, were borne with tails, even as
brute beasts be."
[Illustration: Temple Farm Strood]
Surely had the credulous historian lived in Darwinian times, he might
have recorded this as a splendid instance of "degeneration"!
[Illustration: At Temple Farm Strood]
In a lecture delivered here some years ago, the Rev. Canon Scott
Robertson, Editor of _Archaeologia Cantiana_, gave a graphic picture of
"Strood in the Olden Times." To this we are much indebted for the
opportunity of giving an abstract of several of the most interesting
details.
In the thirteenth century Strood and Rochester were the scene of a
severe struggle between Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, the
leader of the Barons in their war against Henry III. to resist the
aggressive encroachments of the King on the liberties of the subject,
and the supporters of that monarch.
[Illustration: Crypt Temple Farm]
Simon de Montfort, who was a Strood landowner, and possessed of other
large properties in Kent, took the lead, followed by several other
nobles, in the siege of Rochester. Their first obstacle was the
fortified gate-house at the Strood end of Rochester Bridge, and for some
time their efforts were in vain, till at length, by means of small ships
filled with inflammable matter, set on fire and driven towards the
centre of the wooden bridge, causing "actual or expected ignition of the
timbers," the King's soldiers were dismayed and retreated. The Earl of
Gloucester simultaneously reached the south end of the city, and the
Barons took possession thereof, sacking the town, monastery, and
Cathedral Church. The garrison of the Castle shut themselves up in the
strong Norman Keep, and held it till relieved by Prince Edward, the
King's son.
The Castle was subsequently taken by Simon de Montfort after the Battle
of Lewes (1264), where Henry III. was taken prisoner and brought to
Rochester, and a Proclamation was issued transferring the custody of the
Royal Castle to the Barons.
At the Battle of Evesham (1265) Simon de Montfort was slain; and the
King, on becoming master of the situation, imposed a fine, equivalent to
about L1,500 of our money, on Strood, because it was the headquarters of
Simon during his assault on Rochester. The fine caused much ill-feeling
between the two towns, which lasted until the reign of Edward I. Such
was Strood in the olden times.
Long years have since passed, and the amenities of an industrial age
have succeeded to these turmoils. The town of Strood appears to be
flourishing, and now possesses large engineering works, cement
manufactories, flour mills, and other extensive industries.
Allusion has been previously made to a very entertaining _brochure_,
entitled _Charles Dickens and Rochester_, by Mr. Robert Langton, F. R.
Hist. Soc. of Manchester (himself, we believe, a Rochester man). In it
there is scarcely any reference to Strood, although the sister-town,
Chatham, is freely mentioned. Our enquiries at Strood, on the Tuesday
and subsequently, resulted in the discovery of many most interesting
memorials of Charles Dickens in connection with that town, enough almost
to fill a small volume. There was a general impression that Dickens had
no great liking for Strood, and yet it was a doctor from that town who
was one of his most intimate friends, and who attended him in his last
illness; it was a builder in Strood who executed most of the alterations
and repairs at Gad's Hill Place; it was a Strood contractor who gave him
the souvenir of old Rochester Bridge; it was at Strood that an eminent
local scientist lived, who was incidentally, but very importantly,
associated with him in the movement connected with the Guild of
Literature and Art; and it was at a quiet roadside inn at Strood that he
sometimes called to refresh himself after one of those long walks, alone
or with friends, for which he was famous.
[Illustration: The "Crispin & Crispianus", Strood]
Let us reverse the order of the above, and give a recollection from the
last-mentioned. The "Crispin and Crispianus" is a very old-fashioned
inn, which stands on the north side of the London road just out of
Strood, and was, as we were informed, erected some centuries ago. It is
a long building, of brick below, with an overhanging upper floor and
weather-boarded front, surmounted by a single dormer window. The sanded
floor of the common parlour is, as the saying goes, "as clean as a new
pin." Round the room is a settle terminating with arms at each side of
the door, which is opposite the fireplace. Mrs. Masters, the cheerful
and obliging landlady, who has lived here thirty years, describes
Dickens to us (as we sit in the seat he used now and then to occupy),
when on one of his walks, as habited in low shoes not over-well mended,
loose large check-patterned trousers that sometimes got entangled in the
shoes when walking, a brown coat thrown open, sometimes without
waistcoat, a belt instead of braces, a necktie which now and then got
round towards his ear, and a large-brimmed felt hat, similar to an
American's, set well at the back of his head. In his hand he carried by
the middle an umbrella, which he was in the habit of constantly
swinging, and if he had dogs (a not unfrequent occurrence), he had a
small whip as well. He walked in the middle of the road at a rapid pace,
upright, but with his eyes cast down as if in deep thought. When he
called at the Crispin for refreshment, usually a glass of ale (mild
sixpenny--bitter ale was not drawn in those days), or a little cold
brandy and water, he walked straight in, and sat down at the corner of
the settle on the right-hand side where the arm is, opposite the
fire-place; he rarely spoke to any one, but looked round as though
taking in everything at a glance. (In _David Copperfield_ he says, "I
looked at nothing, that I know of, but I saw everything.") Once he and a
friend were sheltering there during a thunderstorm (by a coincidence, a
storm occurs at the time we are here), and while Dickens stood looking
out of the window he saw opposite a poor woman with a baby, who appeared
very worn, wet, and travel-stained. She too was sheltering from the
rain.
"Call her in here," said Dickens. Mrs. Masters obeyed.
"Now," said he, "draw her some brandy."
"How much?" she asked.
"Never mind," he answered, "draw her some."
The landlady drew her four-pennyworth, the quantity generally served.
"Now," said Dickens to the woman, "drink that up," which she did, and
soon seemed refreshed. Dickens gave her a shilling, and remarked to Mrs.
Masters that "now she will go on her way rejoicing." The story is a
trivial one, but the units make the aggregate, and it sufficiently
indicates his kindness of heart and thoughtfulness for others.
In some of his walks Dickens was accompanied either by his
sister-in-law, Miss Hogarth, or by friends who were staying at "Gad's"
(or the "Place," as it was sometimes called). Mrs. Masters, whose
recollections of Dickens are very vivid, said--"Lor! we never thought
much about him when he was alive; it was only when his death took place
that we understood what a great man he was." Alas! it is not the first
instance that "a prophet is not without honour, save in his own country,
and in his own house." The news of his death was a great shock to Mrs.
Masters, who heard of it from Edward, son of Mr. W. S. Trood, the
landlord of the Sir John Falstaff, as he was bearing the intelligence to
Rochester within half-an-hour after the event.
In passing we should mention, that the Crispin and Crispianus has been
immortalized in the chapter on "Tramps," in _The Uncommercial
Traveller_, where, in reference to the handicrafts of certain tramps,
Dickens imagines himself to be a travelling clockmaker, and after
adjusting "t'ould clock" in the keeper's kitchen, "he sees to something
wrong with the bell of the turret stable clock up at the Hall [Cobham
Hall]. . . . Our task at length accomplished, we should be taken into an
enormous servants'-hall, and there regaled with beef and bread, and
powerful ale. Then, paid freely, we should be at liberty to go, and
should be told by a pointing helper to keep round over yinder by the
blasted ash, and so straight through the woods till we should see the
town-lights right afore us. . . . So should we lie that night at the
ancient sign of the Crispin and Crispianus [at Strood], and rise early
next morning to be betimes on tramp again."[14]
We are also indebted to Mrs. Masters for an introduction to our next
informant, Mr. J. Couchman, master-builder and undertaker of Strood,
who, though advanced in years and tried by illness, is very free and
chatty; and from him and his son we obtained some interesting facts. He
had worked for Charles Dickens at Gad's Hill Place, from the date of his
going there ("which," says Mr. Couchman, "was on Whitsun Monday, 1856,")
until the 11th June, 1870, two days after the sad occurrence "which
eclipsed the gaiety of nations."
From Mr. Couchman's standpoint as a tradesman, it is interesting to
record his experience of Dickens in his own words. "Mr. Dickens," he
says, "was always very straightforward, honourable, and kind, and paid
his bills most regularly. The first work I did for him was to make a
dog-kennel; I also put up the chalet at Gad's Hill. When it was
forwarded from London, which was by water, Mr. Fechter [whose name he
did not at first remember] sent a Frenchman to assist in the erection.
The chalet consisted of ninety-four pieces, all fitting accurately
together like a puzzle. The Frenchman did not understand it, and could
not make out the fitting of the pieces. So I asked Mr. Henry [Mr. Henry
Fielding Dickens, the novelist's sixth son, the present Recorder of
Deal] if he understood French. He said 'Yes,' and told me the names of
the different pieces, and I managed it without the Frenchman, who stayed
the night, and went away next day." In conversation, we suggest that the
circumstance of the chalet having been made in Switzerland may have
embarrassed the Frenchman, he not having been accustomed to that kind of
work. In his letter to Forster of the 7th June, 1865, Dickens
says:--"The chalet is going on excellently, though the ornamental part
is more slowly put together than the substantial. It will really be a
very pretty thing; and in the summer (supposing it not to be blown away
in the spring), the upper room will make a charming study. It is much
higher than we supposed."
Mr. Couchman also took down the chalet after Charles Dickens's death,
and erected it at the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, where it remained for
a short time, and was subsequently presented to the Earl of Darnley by
several members of the Dickens family. His lordship afterwards ordered
him to fit it up at Cobham Hall, where, as previously stated, it now
stands. The woods of which it is constructed he believed to be Baltic
oak and a kind of pine, the lighter parts being of maple or sycamore. We
saw it subsequently.
Several contracts were entered into by Mr. Couchman with Charles Dickens
for the extension and modification of Gad's Hill Place, notably during
the year 1861. We are favoured with a sight of an original specification
signed by both parties, which is as follows:--
"Specification of works proposed to be done at
Gad's Hill House, Higham, for C. Dickens, Esq.
"_Bricklayer._--To take off slates and copings and
heighten brick walls and chimneys, and build No. 2
new chimneys with stock and picking bricks laid in
cement. No. 2 chimney bars, to cope gable ends
with old stone. No. 2 hearthstones. No. 2 plain
stone chimney-pieces. No. 2--2 ft. 6 in. Register
stoves. To lath and plaster ceiling, side walls,
and partitions with lime and hair two coats, and
set to slate the new roof with good countess
slates and metal nails.
"_Carpenter._--To take off roof, to lay floor
joist with 7 x 2-1/2 in. yellow battens; to fix
roof, ceiling, joist and partitions of good fir
timber, 4 ft. x 2 ft.; to use old timber that is
sound and fit for use; to close board roof, lead
flat and gutters; to lay 1 in. x 9 in. white deal
floors, to skirt rooms with 8 in. x 3/4 in. deal;
to fix No. 4 pairs of 1-3/4 in. sashes and frames
for plate-glass as per order. _All the sashes to
have weights and pulleys for opening._ To fix No.
2--6 ft. 6 in. x 2 ft. 6 in. 1-1/2 in., four panel
doors, and encase frames with all necessary
mouldings; to fix window linings, and 1-1/2 in.
square framings and doors for No. 2 dressing-rooms;
to fix No. 2, 7 in. rim locks. No. 2 box latches,
sash fastenings, sash weights, to fix 4 in. O. G.
iron eaves, gutter with cistern heads, and 3 in.
iron leading pipes.
"_Plumber, Glazier, and Painter._--To take up old
lead guttering, and lay new gutters and lead flats
with 6lb. lead, ridge and flushings with 5lb.
lead; to paint all wood and iron-work that
requires painting 4 coats in oil, the windows to
be glazed with good plate glass; to paper rooms
and landings when the walls are dry with paper of
the value of 1_s._ 6_d._ per piece, the old lead
to be the property of the plumber. _The two
cisterns to be carried up and replaced on new
roof, the pipes attached to them to be lengthened
as required by the alterations; and a water tap to
be fitted in each dressing-room._
"All old materials not used and rubbish to be
carted away by the contractor. All the work to be
completed in a sound and workman-like manner to
the satisfaction of C. Dickens, Esq., for the sum
of L241. The roof to be slated and flat covered
with lead in one month from commencing the work.
The whole to be completed--paper excepted--and all
rubbish cleared away by the 30th day of November,
1861.
"(Signed) J. COUCHMAN,
"Builder.
"_High Street, Strood_,
"_Sep. 10th, 1861._"
Then follows in Dickens's own handwriting:--
"_The above contract I accept on the stipulated
conditions; the specified _time_, in common with
all the other conditions, to be strictly
observed._
"(Signed) CHARLES DICKENS.
"_Gad's Hill Place,_
"_Saturday, 21st Sep., 1861._"
What is most interesting to notice in the above specification, is the
careful way in which Dickens appears to have mastered all the details,
and the very sensible interlineations given in italics which he made,
(1) as to the sashes and weights, (2) as to the two cisterns, and
especially (3) in the final memorandum as to _time_.
It is also worthy of remark, that the work _was_ completed in the
specified time, the bill duly sent in, and the next day Dickens sent a
cheque for the amount.
Another contract, amounting to L393, was executed by Mr. Couchman, for
extensions at Gad's Hill. On its completion, Mr. Dickens paid him by two
cheques. He went up to London to the Bank (Coutts's in the Strand) to
cash them. The clerk just looked at the cheques, the signature
apparently being very familiar to him, and then put the usual
question--"How will you have it?" to which he replied, "Notes, please."
It appears that, as is frequently the case in large establishments,
orders were sometimes given by the servants for work which the master
knew nothing about until the bill was presented; and to prevent this,
Dickens issued instructions to the tradesmen that they were not to
execute any work for him without his written authority. The following is
an illustration of this new arrangement:--
"GAD'S HILL PLACE,
"HIGHAM BY ROCHESTER, KENT.
"_Thursday, 5th Nov., 1858._
"MR. COUCHMAN,
"Please to ease the coach-house doors, and to put
up some pegs, agreeably to George Belcher's
directions.
"CHARLES DICKENS."
It should be mentioned that George Belcher was the coachman at the time.
Mr. Couchman recalls an interesting custom that was maintained at Gad's
Hill. There were a number of tin check plates, marked respectively 3_d._
and 6_d._ each, which enabled the person to whom they were given to
obtain an equivalent in refreshment of any kind at the Sir John
Falstaff. The threepenny checks were for the workmen, and the sixpenny
ones for the tradesmen. The chief housemaid had the distribution of
these checks to persons employed in the house, the head-gardener to
those engaged in the gardens, and the coachman to those in the stables.
On one occasion, our informant remembers when his men were engaged upon
some work at Gad's Hill, such checks were given out to them, and that he
also had one offered to him; but, recollecting that his position as a
master scarcely entitled him to the privilege, he stated his objections
to the housemaid, who said in reply that it was a pity to break an old
custom, he had better have one. "So," says our informant, "I had a
sixpenny ticket with the others, and obtained my refreshment."
He has in his photographic album a carte-de-visite of Charles Dickens,
by Watkins. It is the well-known one in which the novelist is
represented in a sitting position, dressed in a grey suit; and the owner
considered it a very good likeness. He also showed us a funeral card
which he thought had been sent to him by the family of Dickens at the
time of his death, but judging by its contents, this seems impossible.
It is, however, well worth transcribing:--
To the Memory of
=Charles Dickens=
(England's most popular author),
who died at his Residence,
Higham, near Rochester, Kent,
June 9th, 1870.
Aged 58 years.
He was a sympathizer with the poor, suffering, and
oppressed; and by his death one of England's
greatest writers is lost to the world.
Mr. Couchman confirms the verbal sketch of Dickens as drawn by his
neighbour, Mrs. Masters, and states that Dickens used to put up his dogs
("Linda" and "Turk"), "boisterous companions as they always were," in
the stables whenever he came to see him on business.
Mr. William Ball, J.P., of Hillside, Strood, kindly favoured us with
many interviews, and generally took great interest in the subject of our
visit to "Dickens-Land," rendering invaluable assistance in our
enquiries. This gentleman is the son of Mr. John H. Ball, the well-known
contractor, who removed old Rochester Bridge; he is also a
brother-in-law of the late gifted tenor, Mr. Joseph Maas, to whom a
handsome memorial tablet, consisting of a marble medallion of the
deceased, over which is a lyre with one of the strings broken, has since
been erected on the east wall of the south transept of Rochester
Cathedral. By Mr. Ball's considerate courtesy and that of his daughters,
we are allowed to see many interesting relics of Charles Dickens and
Gad's Hill.[15] When Mr. Ball's father removed the old bridge in 1859,
it will be remembered that he offered to present the novelist with one
of the balustrades as a souvenir, the offer being gracefully and
promptly accepted, as the following letter testifies:--
"GAD'S HILL PLACE,
"HIGHAM BY ROCHESTER, KENT.
"_Thursday, eighth June, 1859._
"SIR,
"I feel exceedingly obliged to you for your kind
and considerate offer of a remembrance of old
Rochester Bridge; that will interest me very much.
I accept the relic with many thanks, and with
great pleasure.
"Do me the favor to let it be delivered to a
workman who will receive instructions to bring it
away, and once again accept my acknowledgments.
"Yours faithfully,
"CHARLES DICKENS.
"MR. JOHN H. BALL."
The present Mr. William Ball, then a young lad, was the bearer of the
gift, and on being asked by us why he didn't ask to see the great
novelist, replies, "Yes, I ought to have done so, but I was afraid of
the dogs!"
The balustrade, which was placed on the back lawn at Gad's Hill, was
mounted on a square pedestal, on the sides of which were representations
of the four seasons, and a sun-dial crowned the capital. Something like
it, but a little modified, appears in one of Mr. Luke Fildes's beautiful
illustrations to the original edition of _Edwin Drood_, entitled
"Jasper's Sacrifices." Three more of the balustrades now ornament Mr.
Ball's garden at Hillside.
Mr. Ball the elder was invited to send in a tender for the construction
of the tunnel at Gad's Hill previously mentioned, but it was not
accepted, as appears from a letter addressed to him by Mr. Alfred L.
Dickens (Charles Dickens's brother), of which we are allowed to take a
copy:--
"8, RICHMOND TERRACE,
"WHITEHALL, S.W.
"_August 30th, 1859._
"DEAR SIR,
"I am very sorry that absence from home has
prevented my replying to your note as to the
tender for the Gad's Hill tunnel before.
"I much regret that the amount of your tender is
so much higher than my estimate, that I cannot
recommend my brother to accept it.
"I am,
"Dear Sir,
"Yours faithfully,
"ALFRED L. DICKENS.
"MR. BALL."
Among the Dickens relics at Hillside, we are shown by Mr. Ball the
pretty set of five silver bells presented by his friend Mr. F. Lehmann,
to the novelist, who always used them when driving out in his basket
pony-phaeton. They are fastened on to a leather pad, and make a pleasant
musical sound when shaken. They are of graduated sizes, the largest
being somewhat smaller than a tennis-ball, and appear to be in the key
of C: comprising the Tonic, Third, Fifth, Octave, and Octave of the
Third.
There is also a hall clock with maker's name--"Bennett, Cheapside,
London." This was the "werry identical" clock respecting which Dickens
wrote the following characteristically humorous letter to Sir John
Bennett:--
"MY DEAR SIR,
"Since my hall clock was sent to your
establishment to be cleaned it has gone (as indeed
it always had) perfectly well, but has struck the
hours with great reluctance, and after enduring
internal agonies of a most distressing nature, it
has now ceased striking altogether. Though a happy
release for the clock, this is not convenient to
the household. If you can send down any
confidential person with whom the clock can
confer, I think it may have something on its works
that it would be glad to make a clean breast of.
"Faithfully yours,
"CHARLES DICKENS."
Included among the relics are a very handsome mahogany fire-screen in
three folds, of red morocco, with Grecian key-border, a musical
Canterbury, and a bookcase. But the most interesting object from an art
point of view is an India proof copy, "before letters," of Sir Edwin
Landseer's beautiful picture of "King Charles's Spaniels," the original
of which is said to have been painted for the late Mr. Vernon in two
days, and is now in the National Gallery. The engraving of the picture
is by Outram. It has the initials in pencil "E. L.," and a little ticket
on the frame--"Lot 445," that being the number in the auctioneer's
catalogue.
The following is the story as recently told by Mr. W. P. Frith, R.A., in
his most interesting and readable _Autobiography and Reminiscences_,
1887:--
"His" [Sir Edwin's] "rapidity of execution was extraordinary. In the
National Gallery there is a picture of Two Spaniels, of what is
erroneously called the Charles II. breed (the real dog of that time is
of a different form and breed altogether, as may be seen in pictures of
the period), the size of life, with appropriate accompaniments, painted
by him in two days. An empty frame had been sent to the British
Institution, where it was hung on the wall, waiting for its tenant--a
picture of a lady with dogs--till Landseer felt the impossibility of
finishing the picture satisfactorily. Time had passed, till two days
only remained before the opening of the Exhibition. Something must be
done; and in the time named those wonderfully life-like little dogs were
produced."
Mr. Ball has also an interesting photograph of the "Last Lot," some
bottles of wine, evidently taken on the occasion of the sale at Gad's
Hill Place after Dickens's death, the auctioneer being represented with
his hammer raised ready to fall, and a smile upon his face. Among the
crowd, consisting principally of London and local dealers, may be seen
two local policemen with peaked caps, and auctioneer's porters in
shirt-sleeves and aprons. The sale took place in a large tent at the
back of the house and close to the well, which can be readily seen
through an opening in the tent.
The next person whom we meet at Strood is Mr. Charles Roach Smith,
F.S.A., the eminent archaeologist, who has achieved a European
reputation, and from whom we get many interesting particulars relating
to Dickens. We heard some idle gossip at Rochester to the effect that
Mr. Roach Smith always felt a little "touchy" about the satire on
archaeology in _Pickwick_, _in re_ "Bill Stumps, his mark." That,
however, we took _cum grano salis_, because this gentleman, from his
delightful conversation and frank manner, is evidently above any such
littleness. He is, however, free to confess, that Dickens had not much
love for Strood, but infinitely preferred Chatham.
There had been but little personal intercourse between Dickens and Mr.
Roach Smith, though each respected the other. Our informant says that,
soon after the novelist came to Gad's Hill Place, Mrs. Dickens called
and left her husband's card, which he, whether rightly or not, took as
an intimation that the acquaintance was not to be extended. He spoke
with all the enthusiasm of a man of science, and rather bitterly too, of
a certain reading given by Dickens at Chatham to an overflowing house,
whereas on the same evening a distinguished Professor of Agriculture (a
Mr. Roberts or Robinson, we believe), who came to instruct the people at
Ashford (one of the neighbouring towns) by means of a lecture, failed to
secure an audience, and only got a few pence for admissions. The learned
Professor subsequently poured forth his troubles to Mr. Roach Smith,
from whom he obtained sympathy and hospitality. We venture to remind
our good friend that the public in general much prefer amusement to
instruction, at which he laughs, and says that in this matter he
perfectly agrees with us. He expresses his strong opinion as to
Dickens's reading of the "Murder of Nancy" (_Oliver Twist_), which he
characterizes as "repulsive and indecent."
The most important communication made to us by Mr. Roach Smith is that
contained in volume ii. of his recently published _Reminiscences and
Retrospections, Social and Archaeological_, 1886. As this interesting
work may not be generally accessible, it is as well to quote the passage
intact. It has reference to the Guild of Literature and Art, for the
promotion of which Dickens, Lord Lytton, John Forster, Mark Lemon, John
Leech, and others, gave so much valuable time and energy, in addition to
liberal pecuniary support. The following is the extract:--
"Of Mr. Dodd I knew much. He was one of my earliest friends when I lived
in Liverpool Street--I may say, one of my earliest patrons; and the
intimacy continued up to his death, a few years since. The story of his
connection with the movement for a dramatic college, and of his rapid
separation from it, a deposition by order of the projectors and
directors, forms a curious episode in the history of our friendship; and
especially so, as I had an important, though unseen, part to sustain.
"In the summer of 1858 I was summoned to Mr. Dodd's residence at the
City Wharf, New North Road, Hoxton, to give consent to be a trustee,
with Messrs. Cobden and Bright, for five acres of land, which Mr. Dodd
was about to give for the building of a dramatic college, which had been
resolved on at a public meeting, held on the 21st of July in this year,
in the Princess's Theatre, Mr. Charles Kean acting as chairman. 'I give
this most freely,' said Mr. Dodd to me, 'for it is to the stage I am
indebted for my education; to it I owe whatsoever may be good in me.'
That there was much good in him, thousands can testify; and thousands
yet to come will be evidence to his benevolence. Of course, I felt
pleased in being selected to act as a trustee for this gift. I
conceived, and I suppose I was correct, that Mr. Dodd intended that his
gift was strictly for a dramatic college, and for no other purpose, then
or thereafter. Having expressed my willingness and resolution to be
faithful to the trust, I said, 'I presume, Mr. Dodd, you stipulate for a
presentation?' He looked rather surprised; and asked his solicitor, who
sat by him, how they came to overlook this? Both of them directly agreed
that this simple return should be required.
"I must leave such of my readers as feel inclined, to search in the
public journals for the correspondence between the directors and Mr.
Dodd up to the 13th of January, 1859, when, at a meeting held in the
Adelphi Theatre, Lord Tenterden in the chair, it was stated that Mr.
Dodd evinced, through his solicitor, a disposition to fence round his
gift with legal restrictions and stipulations, which apprised the
committee of coming difficulty; and the meeting unanimously agreed to
decline Mr. Dodd's offer of land. Previously and subsequently to this,
Mr. Dodd was most discourteously commented on and attacked in the
newspapers, the editors of which, however, sided with him. I was told
that the stipulation for a presentation was the great offence; but I
should think that the provision made against the improper use of the
land must have been the real grievance. In the very last letter I
received from Mr. Dodd, not very long anterior to his death, he says
that Mark Lemon told him that Charles Dickens had said he had never
occasion to repent but of two things, one being his conduct to Mr. Dodd.
That Dickens, Thackeray, and others sincerely believed they were taking
the best steps for accomplishing their benevolent object, there can be
no doubt; their judgment, not their heart, was wrong. The scheme was
based upon a wrong principle, as was shown by its collapse in less than
twenty years, after the expenditure of very large subscriptions, and the
patronage of the Queen. Articles in _The Era_ of the 22nd July, 1877,
leave no doubt, while they clearly reveal the causes of failure."
It may be mentioned that the Mr. Henry Dodd above referred to, appears
to have been a large city contractor, or something of that kind.
According to Mr. Roach Smith, what with him led on to fortune was a long
and heavy fall of snow, which had filled the streets of the city of
London, and rendered traffic impossible. The city was blocked by snow,
and there was no remedy at hand. Mr. Dodd boldly undertook a contract to
remove the mighty obstruction in a given time. This he did thoroughly
and within the limited number of days. Afterwards he appears to have
undertaken brick-making and other works on a very large scale. In the
opinion of Mr. Roach Smith, Mr. Dodd was the origin of the "golden
dustman" in _Our Mutual Friend_, whom every reader of Dickens remembers
as Mr. Nicodemus, _alias_ Noddy Boffin.
Speaking of Dickens's readings, our informant relates a conversation
with Charles Dickens's sixth son, Mr. Henry Fielding Dickens. The former
gentleman asked the latter whose model he took?
"Oh, my father's," said Mr. Henry Dickens.
"I would not take any man's model," said Mr. Roach Smith, "I would take
my own." And judging from the perfect intonation and thoroughly musical
rhythm of his voice, there is no doubt whatever that his model, whoever
it may have been, was one of very high standard.
We have since learnt that Mr. Roach Smith is the President of the Strood
Elocution Society, an almost unique institution of its kind. It has been
established upwards of thirteen years; and at the weekly meetings "the
various readers are subjected to an exhaustive and salutary criticism by
the members present." Mr. Roach Smith has always taken immense interest
in the progress of this Society. Miss Dickens occasionally helped at the
above meetings.
Mr. Roach Smith kindly favours us with the following extract from the
third and forthcoming volume of his _Retrospections_ with reference to
the late Mr. J. H. Ball, of Strood, which may appropriately be here
introduced:--
"Although I have said that I was the gainer by our acquaintance, yet now
and then I had a chance of serving him. Soon after the death of the
great novelist, Charles Dickens, and when people were speculating as to
what would become of his residence at Gad's Hill, Mr. Ball, wishing to
purchase it, commissioned me to call on the executrix, Miss Hogarth, and
offer ten thousand pounds, for which he had written a cheque. I
accordingly went, and sent in my card. Miss Hogarth, fortunately, could
not see me; she was hastening to catch the train for London, the
carriage being at the door, and not a moment to be lost; but she would
be happy to see me on her return in a day or two. I then wrote to Mr.
Forster, the other executor; and received a reply that the place was not
for sale. I kept him ignorant of the sum that Mr. Ball was willing to
give, and thus saved my friend some thousands of pounds, . . . for the
house and land were not worth half the money."
[Illustration: Old Quarry House Strood]
After some further conversation with our kind octogenarian friend, who
insists on showing us hospitality notwithstanding his sufferings from a
trying illness, we take our departure with many pleasant memories of our
visit.[16]
We have, after one or two unsuccessful attempts, the good fortune to
meet with Mr. Stephen Steele, M.R.C.S. and L.S.A., of Bridge House,
Esplanade, Strood, who was admitted a member of the medical profession
so far back as the year 1831, and has therefore been in practice nearly
sixty years. It will be remembered that this experienced surgeon was
sent for by Miss Hogarth, to see Dickens in his last illness. He is good
enough to go over and describe to us in graphic and sympathetic language
the whole of the circumstances attending that sorrowful event.
Previously to doing so, he gives us some interesting details of his
recollections of Charles Dickens. Dr. Steele had occupied the onerous
post of Chairman of the Liberal Association at Rochester for thirty
years, and believes that in politics Dickens was a Liberal, for he
frequently prefaced his remarks in conversation with him on any subject
of passing interest by the expression, "We Liberals, you know--"
[Illustration: Frindsbury Church]
As a matter of fact, Dickens discharged his conscience of his political
creed in the remarks which followed his address as President of the
Birmingham and Midland Institute,[17] delivered 27th September, 1869,
when he said--"My political creed is contained in two articles, and has
no reference to any party or persons. My faith in the 'people governing'
is, on the whole, infinitesimal; my faith in the 'people governed' is,
on the whole, illimitable." At a subsequent visit to Birmingham on the
6th January, 1870, when giving out the prizes at the Institute, he
further emphasized his political faith in these words:--"When I was here
last autumn, I made a short confession of my political faith--or
perhaps, I should better say, want of faith. It imported that I have
very little confidence in the people who govern us--please to observe
'people' with a small 'p,'--but I have very great confidence in the
People whom they govern--please to observe 'People' with a large 'P.'"
A few days after Charles Dickens's first visit, my friend Mr. Howard S.
Pearson, Lecturer on English Literature at the Institute, addressed a
letter to him on the subject of the remarks at the conclusion of his
Presidential Address, and promptly received in reply the following
communication, which Mr. Pearson kindly allows me to print, emphasizing
his (Dickens's) observations:--
"GAD'S HILL PLACE,
"HIGHAM BY ROCHESTER, KENT.
"_Wednesday, 6th October, 1869._
"SIR,