In March of this year Charles Dickens went with his wife for two or
three weeks to Brighton, accompanied by Mrs. Macready, who was in
delicate health, and we give a letter to Mr. Macready from Brighton.
Early in the year, "Dombey and Son" was finished, and he was again busy
with an amateur play, with the same associates and some new adherents;
the proceeds being, at first, intended to go towards the curatorship of
Shakespeare's house, which post was to be given to Mr. Sheridan Knowles.
The endowment was abandoned, upon the town and council of
Stratford-on-Avon taking charge of the house; the large sum realised by
the performances being handed over to Mr. Sheridan Knowles. The play
selected was "The Merry Wives of Windsor;" the farce, "Love, Law, and
Physic." There were two performances at the Haymarket in April, at one
of which her Majesty and the Prince Consort were present; and in July
there were performances at Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Edinburgh,
and Glasgow. Some ladies accompanied the "strollers" on this theatrical
provincial tour, and Mrs. Dickens and her sister were of the party. Many
of the following letters bear reference to these plays.
In this summer, his eldest sister Fanny (Mrs. Burnett) died, and there
are sorrowful allusions to her illness in several of the letters.
The autumn months were again spent at Broadstairs, where he wrote "The
Haunted Man," which was illustrated by Mr. Frank Stone, Mr. Leech, and
others. At the end of the year and at the end of his work, he took
another short holiday at Brighton with his wife and sister-in-law; and
the letters to Mr. Stone on the subject of his illustrations to "The
Haunted Man" are written from Brighton. The first letters which we have
to Mr. Mark Lemon come here. We regret to have been unable to procure
any letters addressed to Mr. Leech, with whom, as with Mr. Lemon,
Charles Dickens was very intimately associated for many years.
Also, we have the beginning of his correspondence with Mr. Charles Kent.
He wrote (an unusual thing for him to do) to the editor of _The Sun_
newspaper, begging him to thank the writer of a particularly sympathetic
and earnest review of "Dombey and Son," which appeared in _The Sun_ at
the close of the book. Mr. Charles Kent replied in his proper person,
and from that time dates a close friendship and constant correspondence.
With the letter to Mr. Forster we give, as a note, a letter which Baron
Tauechnitz published in his edition of Mr. Forster's "Life of Oliver
Goldsmith."
Mr. Peter Cunningham, as an important member of the "Shakespeare's
House" committee, managed the _un_-theatrical part of this Amateur
Provincial Tour, and was always pleasantly connected with the plays.
The book alluded to in the last letter for this year, to be dedicated to
Charles Dickens's daughters by Mr. Mark Lemon, was called "The Enchanted
Doll."
[Sidenote: Mr. Charles Babbage.]