I.--Jingle and the Theatre
The little Theatre here must be interesting to us from the fact of
Jingle's having been engaged to play there with the officers of the 52nd
Regiment on the night of May 15th, 1827. Jingle was described as "a
strolling actor," and belonged to the "Kent circuit," that is, to the
towns of Canterbury, Rochester, Maidstone, &c. To this circuit also
belonged "Dismal Jemmy," who was "no actor," yet did the "heavy
business." It does not appear that he, also, was engaged for the
officers' performance. We often wonder whether Jingle _did_ perform on
the night in question; or did Dr. Payne and Lieutenant Tappleton tell the
story of his behaviour to their brethren: of his passing himself off as a
gentleman, his wearing another gentleman's clothes, and his insults to
Dr. Slammer. Tappleton scornfully recommended Mr. Pickwick to be more
nice in the selection of his companions. No doubt Jingle was suggested
to the officers by the manager: "knew a really smart chap who will just
do for the part." On the whole, I think they must have had his services,
as it was too late to get a substitute. Jingle, as we know, was played
successfully by Sir Henry Irving in the early 'seventies, _tempore_
Bateman. His extraordinary likeness to the Phiz portrait struck every
one, and it was marked, not only in face, but in figure, manner, &c. The
adaptation of "Pickwick," however, was very roughly done by the late
James Albery, who merely _tacked_ together the Jingle scenes. Those,
where there is much genial comedy, such as the Ball scene at Rochester,
were left out. It is likely that the boy, Boz, noticed Dismal Jemmy
among the strollers, and possibly may have seen a Jingle himself. But
the characters of Jingle and his confederate, Job, were certainly
suggested by Robert Macaire and Jacques Strop, which, a little before the
appearance of Pickwick, were being played in London--in "_L'Auberge des
Adrets_."
Mr. Pickwick had discovered in the morning that Jingle was "connected
with the Theatre in that place, _though he is not desirous to have it
generally known_."
Now considering generally the different "games" he was pursuing, his
passing himself off as an officer, an amateur of cricket, &c., it was not
altogether desirable to have his profession known. Knowing also that Mr.
Pickwick intended staying at Rochester, and that the gay Tupman or
Snodgrass would find out his engagement and witness his performance, he
likely enough confided his secret to Mr. Pickwick. "Dismal Jemmy," the
odd being who appears at Rochester for a short time, had promised Mr.
Pickwick a tale which he never gave him. At the end of the story, _Boz_,
having forgotten the engagement, is driven to supply a far-fetched
reason. He was Job's brother, and went to America "in consequence of
being too much sought after here." It will be recollected he was of a
depressed and gloomy cast, and on the Bridge at Rochester talked of
suicide. He also told the dismal "stroller's tale." Now, it is plain
that Boz drew him as a genuine character, and his behaviour to the
stroller was of a charitable kind. Boz, in fact, meant him to be a
suitable person to relate so dismal an incident. However, all this was
forgotten or put aside at the end, and having become Job's brother, he
had to be in keeping. The reformed Jingle declared he was "merely
acting--clever rascal--hoaxing fellow." His brother Job added that he
himself was the serious one, "while Jemmy never was." Mr. Pickwick then
presumed that his talk of suicide was all flam, and that his dismals were
all assumed. "He could assume anything," said Job. Boz, too, forgot
that his name was James Hutley, whereas the brothers' was Trotter--though
this may have been an assumed one.
The condition of the Rochester stage must have been rather low, when we
find two such persons as Jingle and Dismal Jemmy members of the corps.
Jingle's jerky system of elocution would seem a complete
disqualification. From sheer habit, it would have been impossible for
him to say his lines in any other fashion--which in all the round of
light "touch and go" comedy, would have been a drawback.
The little Theatre is at the farther end of the town, where the road
turns off to the fields, a low, unpretending building with a small
portico. I recall it in the old days, on a walk from Gads Hill, when I
paused to examine the bills of the benefit of a certain theatrical family
of the Crummles sort--father, mother, sons, and daughters, who supplied
everything. The head founded his claims to support on being a fellow
townsman, winding up with Goldsmith's lines:
And as the hare, whom hounds and horns pursue,
Pants to the spot from whence at first it flew;
I still had hopes, my lengthened wanderings past,
Here to return, and die at home at last.
Boz was hugely amused when I rehearsed this to him at lunch.
He himself, on his later visit, noted the strange encroachments that were
being made on the Theatre. A wine merchant had begun on the cellars, and
was gradually squeezing himself into the box-office, and would no doubt
go on till he secured the auditorium, the lobbies, etc. When I last
passed by that way, it had become the Conservative Club, or some such
institution.
The wonderful picture, given in "Nickleby," of the Portsmouth playhouse,
with all its characters and accessories and inner life, shows the most
intimate familiarity with all the ways and fashions of the old Provincial
Theatre. Every touch--Crummles, Folair, Lenville, Snivelicci--proves
clearly that he knew perfectly the life behind the scenes, and that he
wrote of it _con amore_. There was a firm belief at the Theatre Royal,
Portsmouth, that all the performers in "Nickleby" were personal sketches
of this corps. One actor told my friend, Mr. Walter Pollock, that they
could even identify Folair, Lenville & Co., and that there was a playbill
still extant in which either the names or the pieces corresponded. But
in this theory, however, little faith can be placed; for at the time the
family was at Portsmouth, Dickens was but a child not more than ten or
twelve years old, and not likely, therefore, to be taken behind the
scenes, or to pick up or observe much. It is certain that the whole
description of the Theatre and its company, with the minute and intimate
details of stage life, was drawn from this little house at Rochester. But
we can go beyond mere speculation.
In one of his retrospections, Boz tells us of a visit he paid to
Rochester in the fifties, "scenes among which my _early days_ were past."
The town he calls Dullborough, which is a little hard on the place. He
went to look at the old theatre, and reveals to us how it brought back to
him a number of reminiscences, which shows that he was much associated
with stage matters when a youth, for he describes Richard III. and
Macbeth all "cast" and mounted exactly as Mr. Crummles would have mounted
them. "There was Richard in a very uncomfortable wig, and sleeping in
war time on a sofa that was much too short for him, and his conscience
fearfully troubled his boots." There was the lovely young woman, "who
went out gleaning, in a narrow, white muslin apron, with five beautiful
bars of five different colours across it. The witches bore an awful
resemblance to the Thanes and other inhabitants of Scotland; while the
good King Duncan couldn't rest in his grave, but was constantly coming
out of it and calling himself somebody else." These are all Crummles
touches, only he refrained from going again over the old ground. But one
point further favours the theory--he recalls his alarm when Richard in
his terrific combat was "backing up against the stage box." He was in
the stage box then, and therefore a privileged person at the theatre. His
uncle, "Dr. Slammer," no doubt was thus complimented as being "in Her
Majesty's service." "Of course," he goes on, "the town had shrunk
fearfully since I was a child there."
The description of the outlaw drama which Nicholas Nickleby saw on the
night of his arrival is exactly in the key of the account of the
performance of "Richard III." just given: also the account of the London
manager, who was in the boxes; still more so when Mr. Crummles and all
the company _died at him_. And as in Nickleby we have "the Comic
Countryman" who so inopportunely caught a bluebottle when Mrs. Crummles
was making her great point for the London Manager: so in the account of
Dullborough we are told of "the _Funny_ Countryman" who sustained the
comic, bucolic parts. This alone would show that the Rochester and
Portsmouth Theatres were the same, while the beautiful young lady in the
white apron performed the same sort of characters that Miss Bravassa, or
Miss Snivelicci did.
And in this connection may be supplied a further speculation which is
interesting. In _Boz's_ earlier works it is plain that he relies for his
most striking effects of character on his own recollections and personal
observations. They might be considered passages from his autobiography.
I have thought that much in "Nickleby" of Nicholas's career and
Nicholas's own character was drawn from himself. Nicholas suggests Boz
in appearance, in his spirit and vehemence, and in some of his
adventures. Some years ago a remarkable letter appeared in the papers,
in which Dickens, then a mere youth, made an application to one of the
managers, Mr. Webster I think, for a situation in his theatre. He wanted
to go on the stage. Was not this like Nicholas? This desire was surely
founded on intimate acquaintance with the boards and amateur experience.
"I had entertained the impression," he goes on, "that the High Street was
as wide as Regent Street--I found it little better than a lane. There
was a public clock in it which I had supposed to be the finest clock in
the world, whereas it now turned out to be _as inexpressive_, _moon-faced
and weak_ a clock as ever I saw." The Town Hall was a "mean little brick
heap, like a demented chapel."
II.--The Bull
Jingle, it will be recollected, on the party arriving at the Bull, gave
that Inn the highest praise, recommending them to stay there--"_good
house_--_nice beds_--" a testimonial that used to be displayed in gold
letters at the door, but which, I have seen it stated, has been removed.
I have also read the same testimonial in the guides and advertisements.
Jingle warned them against another Inn hard by,--"Wright's--next
house--_dear_--_very dear_--half-a-crown if you look at the waiter,
making a charge for dinner, all the same, if you dined out"; a practice,
however, not altogether unknown to modern Hotels. It was bold in Boz,
thus to publicly disparage Hotels that he did not approve. "Wright's"
could not have relished so public an allusion. What or where was
Wright's--"next house?" There is now--in the same High Street--"The
King's Head," described as "Family and Commercial, one of the
oldest-established in the Kingdom, close to the Cathedral and Castle--home
comforts." This being its position--the Castle on one side, the
Cathedral on the other--situated exactly as the Bull was--and therefore
"next house," accurately described its position. Being "one of the
oldest-established," it must have been there at the time of the
Pickwickian visit.
At the Bull, they show you "Mr. Pickwick's room"--as well as Tupman's and
Winkle's--Boz's very particular description enables this to be done. Mr.
Pickwick's was, of course, to the front--when, roused by the Boots, he
gave the direction of his followers' bed-room, "next room but two on the
right hand." Winkle's room was inside Tupman's--so we are shown a room
in the front with another inside of it--and the _third_ on the left will,
of course, be Mr. Pickwick's, Q.E.D. The waiters know all these points,
and prove them to the bewildered visitors. "You see, sir, there is the
very room _where the clothes were stolen_."
III.--Jingle's Love Affairs
Jingle's elopement with the spinster aunt was ingeniously contrived, but
it seemed rather speculative and rash--she might not have had a penny.
His only ground for jumping to the conclusion that she _had_ a fortune
was that, on his saying that "Tupman only wants your money"; "The
wretch!" she exclaimed--"Mr. Jingle's doubts were resolved--she _had_
money." More wonderful, too, were the very easy terms on which he was
"bought off"--a hundred and twenty pounds. Her fortune might be
estimated at some thousands. He was really master of the situation. The
lady was of mature age--her own mistress, Wardle and his attorney could
do nothing to stop the business. He certainly might have held out for
four or five hundred pounds. Perker's diplomacy was wretched, and his
plea about the age of the old lady mere burlesque. "You are right, my
dear sir--she is rather old. The founder of the family came into Kent
when Julius Caesar invaded Britain; only one member of it since who
hasn't lived to eighty-five, and _he_ was beheaded by one of the Henrys.
The old lady is not seventy-three now, my dear sir." Which seems like
buffooning in a man of business.
Jingle's course, after he left Rochester, can be traced very readily.
With plenty of money in his pocket, he found his way to Ipswich (or
Eatanswill), assuming the name of Captain FitzMarshall, and taking with
him, as his confederate, Job Hutley. There he got introduced to Nupkins,
the Mayor, who presided at the election, and who had made his money in
"the nail and sarsepan business"--that is, as an ironmonger. The few
words this functionary uttered on the hustings are of the same pompous
character as his later magisterial deliverances.
"'Whiffin, _proclaim_ silence,' said the Mayor, with air of _pomp_, &c.,
where this superciliousness is emphasised. 'Gentlemen,' he went on,
'brother electors of the Borough of Eatanswill, we are met here to-day
for the purpose of choosing a representative in the room of our late'--but
the noise and interruptions prevented the rest of the speech being heard.
Notwithstanding, he characteristically 'thanked the meeting for the
patient attention with which they had heard him throughout,' a
declaration that excited roars of laughter, lasting for a quarter of an
hour."
This is exactly what one might expect from the self-sufficient Nupkins,
who was evidently understood and laughed at by his fellow townsmen.
Later, when the confusion and "row" grew fast and furious, our Mayor
"issued imperative orders to twelve constables to seize the ringleaders,
who might amount in number to two hundred and fifty or thereabouts." We
can recall Nupkins' dealing with the schoolboys in exactly the same
sapient spirit.
Into the family of this worthy Jingle insinuated himself. But would he
not be recognised by Mr. Pickwick and his friends? Yes; but we find that
he took up his quarters at Bury St. Edmunds, conveniently near, and,
assuming that the Pickwickians had departed after the election, thought
he might safely exhibit himself at Mrs. Leo Hunter's party, whence he was
tracked back to Bury by Mr. Pickwick. It is certainly fresh evidence of
the identity of Eatanswill with Ipswich that Jingle should have appeared
in both places as "Captain FitzMarshall." Once established in the
Mayor's family, the insinuating Jingle devoted himself to the capture of
the haughty and ill-natured Henrietta Nupkins, making his way into her
good graces, and "cutting out" Sidney Porkenham, her old-established
admirer. This was Jingle's second attempt at matrimony which failed like
the first. It may be said, after all, that his behaviour was not so
heinous. He was a fortune hunting adventurer--such was his role--which
was common enough in those times. The unlucky Leo Hunter meeting,
however, spoiled all.
After the trick on Mr. Pickwick at the school, and which was a fair
retort, the pair left Bury that very night.
By an odd coincidence, they were taken up the next day by old Weller at
Chelmsford--a stage or two from London. He was driving the Ipswich
coach, and brought them to that town. It is clear, therefore, that they
took this round from Bury in dread of pursuit, and with a view to throw
Mr. Pickwick off the scent. The latter gentleman never dreamed that they
were so near him, dismissed the whole matter, and returned to town to
arrange about his action. By a happy chance he met old Weller, and,
within a few days, set off for Ipswich and unmasked Captain FitzMarshall
in Nupkins' own house. After this failure, his course was downward, and
we next meet him in the Fleet.
Job's story was that Jingle dragged him away in a post-chaise and
persuaded the girl at the boarding-school to tell Mr. Pickwick that she
knew nothing of the matter. He had also bribed the schoolmistress to
tell the same story. He had then deserted her for a better speculation,
to wit, Miss Nupkins, to whom he had hurried back.
But for Mr. Pickwick's unfortunate adventure at the "White Horse," Jingle
would likely enough have captured Henrietta Nupkins. When Sam so
opportunely met Job in the Inn yard at Ipswich, he, instead of punishing
him as he had so often threatened to do, merely bid him be at the Inn at
eight o'clock. Why did he not bring him straight to Mr. Pickwick who was
upstairs? Instead, he went up himself, told his master it was "all in
trainin'," and "detailed the plan of action." Mr. Pickwick was curious,
but Sam only said "all in good time." We never learn what the plan of
action was to be. Indeed, what could the pair do to Jingle?
IV.--The Garrison
The military recollections of Rochester and Chatham are amusingly
confused, or rather, in defiance of all known regulations. Thus, at the
Ball, we find Colonel Bulder as "head of the garrison"--one would think
at so important a quarter, where there was a large garrison, a General at
least would be in command. Then we may ask the question, why was not Dr.
Slammer in uniform--always required in presence of a commander? It was
wonderfully bold, too, on Boz's part to give the _numbers_ of the
regiments. Hon. Wilmot Snipe of the 97th, who _was_ in full uniform,
which Mr. Tupman took for "a fancy dress." It was, of course, a Highland
one. We learn, too, that the other regiment was the 43rd, to which Dr.
Payne belonged, and that the 52nd was getting up plays at the local
theatre. And why did Boz select these particular numbers?
The Chatham garrison consisted of "half-a-dozen regiments," with which a
fair display at a Review could be made on "The Lines." Temporary
fortifications had been erected, the citadel was to be attacked and
taken--Fort Pitt we may assume--and a mine was to be sprung. Servants
were keeping places for the ladies "on the Batteries"--an alarming
position it would seem. The Sergeants were running "with vellum books"
under their arms, usually left at home on Review-day. The Officers were
"running backwards and forwards," while Colonel Bulder was seen
"gallopping" (with two p's) at large, "prancing and curvetting," that is,
making his steed curvet. The operations were, however, not under his
command, but directed by the "Commander-in-Chief," not, of course, of the
Army, but, we may presume, the General of the district. His behaviour
was the most extraordinary of all, for, instead of cultivating a solemn
reserve and quietude, and standing still, surrounded by his staff, he was
seen "backing his horse _among the people_," and heard shouting "till he
was hoarse." The soldiers wore the old, stiff leather stock, choking
them, which was heard of so much in Crimean days. They were also arrayed
in _white_ trowsers. Boz is here wonderfully accurate, for these
garments were always worn after May came round, and this was May.
The catastrophe to the Pickwickians from their having got between the two
lines of soldiers, is somewhat perplexing. One line was advancing to the
attack, the other firmly awaiting it. They were shouted at to get out of
the way. Suddenly the half-dozen regiments had overthrown them. Mr.
Pickwick was upset. Winkle received a bloody nose, after performing a
compulsory _somerset_; then, at the same moment--wonder of wonders--we
were told that the regiments were "half-a-thousand yards off,"--that is
about a third of a mile away--all in a second! It is hard to understand
why they were so maltreated. The soldiers would, of course, never have
met; and in our own time the amenities of a Review and the police would
have secured stray civilians from such rough treatment. We do not know
whether the evolutions described were accurate--such as "one rank firing
over the heads of another and then running away."
It was to this exciting spectacle that old Wardle brought a party in that
wonderful Barouche of his--which is really phenomenal for its
accommodation. When Mr. Pickwick recovered his hat, he found these
persons in the carriage:--1, Wardle; 2, a daughter; 3, a second ditto; 4,
a sister; 5, Trundle; 6, Tupman; 7, Fat Boy, on the box. The
Pickwickians were actually summoned by the hearty Wardle to join. "Room
_for you all_--two inside and one on the ox," where there was one
already. All accepted the invitation, making _ten_ persons in all who
were accommodated in the Barouche! But this does not exhaust its
wonders. When lunch time came round, with plates, dishes, bottles, eight
persons were squeezed together inside, so no wonder Wardle said, "We must
sit close." How it was done is not to be conceived--two sitting together
is the usual allowance for a modern Barouche, but four on one side!--and
yet we are told, when the horses were put to, the Barouche "rattled off."
The boy Dickens had carefully noted the behaviour of the garrison, and
described them as "staggering about the streets of Chatham dead drunk,"
more especially when we remember that the "following them about, and
joking with them, affords _a cheap and innocent amusement for the boy
population_--" (_vide Mr. Pickwick's notes_). The boy, no doubt, often
witnessed the incident of the private, "drawing his bayonet, and stabbing
the barmaid who had refused to draw him more liquor." It is
characteristic, by the way, of the police in a garrison town, for this
fellow appears to have been at large on the next day, as he went down to
the Tavern and tried to "square it" with the girl.
And now, is not this a testimony to this strange book, that we should be
thus introduced to old Rochester and its doings, and out of the scant
materials furnished, can really reconstruct the time and the place, and
find out, as if by enquiries, all about Jingle and his connections and
the theatre--such is the fruitfulness of the text?