A Week's Tramp in Dickens-Land

William R. (William Richard) Hughes

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• Publié par: uwloe
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 60
• Langue: English

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Title: A Week's Tramp in Dickens-Land

Author: William R. Hughes

Illustrator: F. G. Kitton

Release Date: February 25, 2010 [EBook #31394]

Language: English

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A WEEK'S TRAMP IN DICKENS-LAND

The Marshes, Cooling. The Marshes, Cooling.

A WEEK'S TRAMP IN DICKENS-LAND TOGETHER WITH Personal Reminiscences of the 'Inimitable Boz' THEREIN COLLECTED. BY

WILLIAM R. HUGHES, F.L.S.

WITH MORE THAN A HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS BY F. G. KITTON AND OTHER ARTISTS.

LONDON: CHAPMAN & HALL, Limited. BOSTON: ESTES AND LAURIAT. 1891.

Richard Clay & Sons, Limited, London & Bungay.

[All Rights reserved.]

TO MY WIFE AND DAUGHTERS,

EMILY AND EDITH,

I DEDICATE

THIS RECORD OF "A WEEK'S TRAMP,"

TO REMIND THEM OF

THE MANY PLEASANT READINGS FROM DICKENS

WE HAVE ENJOYED TOGETHER

AT HOME.

PREFACE. * * * * * * "'I should like to show you a series of eight articles, Sir, that have appeared in the Eatanswill Gazette. I think I may venture to say that you would not be long in establishing your opinions on a firm and solid basis, Sir.' "'I dare say I should turn very blue long before I got to the end of them,' responded Bob. "Mr. Pott looked dubiously at Bob Sawyer for some seconds, and turning to Mr. Pickwick said:— "'You have seen the literary articles which have appeared at intervals in the Eatanswill Gazette in the course of the last three months, and which have excited such general—I may say such universal—attention and admiration?' "'Why,' replied Mr. Pickwick, slightly embarrassed by the question, 'the fact is, I have been so much engaged in other ways, that I really have not had an opportunity of perusing them.' "'You should do so, Sir,' said Pott with a severe countenance. "'I will,' said Mr. Pickwick. "'They appeared in the form of a copious review of a work on Chinese metaphysics, Sir,' said Pott. "'Oh,' observed Mr. Pickwick—'from your pen I hope?' "'From the pen of my critic, Sir,' rejoined Pott with dignity. "'An abstruse subject I should conceive,' said Mr. Pickwick. "'Very, Sir,' responded Pott, looking intensely sage. 'Hecrammedfor it, to use a technical but expressive term; he read up for the subject, at my desire, in theEncyclopædia Britannica.' "'Indeed!' said Mr. Pickwick; 'I was not aware that that valuable work contained any information respecting Chinese metaphysics.' "'He read, Sir,' rejoined Mr. Pott, laying his hand on Mr. Pickwick's knee, and looking round with a smile of intellectual superiority, 'he read for metaphysics under the letter M, and for China under the letter C; and combined his information, Sir!' "Mr. Pott's features assumed so much additional grandeur at the recollection of the power and research displayed in the learned effusions in question, that some minutes elapsed before Mr. Pickwick felt emboldened to renew the conversation." * * * * * * The above perennial extract from the immortalPickwick Paperssuggests to some extent the nature of the contents of this Volume. It is the record of a pilgrimage made by two enthusiastic Dickensians during the late summer of 1888, together with "combined information,"—not indeed "crammed" from the ninth edition just completed of the valuable work above referred to, but gathered mostly from original sources,—respecting the places visited, the characters alluded to in some of the novels, personal reminiscences of their Author, appropriate passages from his works (for which acknowledgments are due to Messrs. Chapman and Hall), and some little mention of the thoughts developed by the associations of "Dickens-Land." Although the pilgrimage only extended to a week, and every spot referred to (save one) was actually visited during that time, it is but right to state that on three subsequent occasions the author has gone over the greater part of the same ground—once in the early winter, when the blue clematis and the aster had given place to the yellow jasmine and the chrysanthemum; once in the early spring, when those had been succeeded by the almond-blossom and the crocus; and again in the following year, when the beautiful county of Kent was rehabilitated in summer clothing, thus enabling him to verify observations, to correct possible errors arising from first impressions, and to gain new experiences. As our head-quarters were at Rochester, and most of the city and other parts were taken at odd times, it has not been found practicable to preserve in consecutive chapters a perfect sequence of the records of each day's tramp, although they appear in fairly chronological order throughout the work. "A preliminary tramp in London" will possibly be dull to those familiar with the great Metropolis, but it may be useful to foreign tramps in "Dickens-Land." Availing myself of the privilege adopted by most travellers at home and abroad, I have made occasional references to the weather. This is perhaps excusable when it is remembered that the year 1888 was a very remarkable one in that respect, so much so indeed, that the writer of a leading article inThe Timesof January 18th, 1889, in commenting on Mr. G. J. Symons' report of the British rainfall of the previous year, remarked that "seldom within living memory had there been a twelve-month with more unpleasantness in it and less of genial sunshine." We were specially favoured, however, in getting more "sunshine" than "unpleasantness," thus adding to the enjoyment of our never-to-be-forgotten tramp. Upwards of three years have elapsed since this book was commenced, and the limited holiday leisure of a hard- working official life has necessarily prevented its completion for such a lengthened period, that it has come to be pleasantly referred to by my many Dickensian friends as the "Dictionary," in allusion to the important work of that nature

contemplated by Dr. Strong, respecting which (says David Copperfield) "Adams, our head-boy, who had a turn for mathematics, had made a calculation, I was informed, of the time this Dictionary would take in completing, on the Doctor's plan, and at the Doctor's rate of going. He considered that it might be done in one thousand six hundred and forty-nine years, counting from the Doctor's last, or sixty-second, birthday." My hearty and sincere acknowledgments are due to the publishers, Messrs. Chapman and Hall, not only for the very handsome manner in which they have allowed my book to be got up as regards print, paper, and execution (to follow the model of their Victoria Edition ofPickwickis indeed an honour to me), but especially for their great liberality in the matter of the Illustrations, which number more than a hundred. These were selected in conference by Mr. Fred Chapman, Mr. Kitton, and myself, and include about fifty original drawings by Mr. Kitton, from sketches specially made by him for this work. Of the remainder, six are from Forster'sLife of Dickens, fifteen from Langton'sChildhood and Youth of Charles Dickens, seven fromCharles Dickens by Pen and Pencil, ten from the Jubilee Edition ofPickwick, and five from Rimmer'sAbout England with Dickens. A few interesting fac-similes of handwriting, etc., have also been introduced. Surely such an eclectic series of Dickens Illustrations has never before been presented in one volume. To Messrs. Chapman and Hall, Mr. Robert Langton, F.R.H.S., Messrs. Frank T. Sabin and John F. Dexter, Messrs. Macmillan and Co., and Messrs. Chatto and Windus (the proprietors of the above-mentioned works), the author's acknowledgments are also due, and are hereby tendered. Mr. Stephen T. Aveling has kindly supplied an illustration of Restoration House as it appeared in Dickens's time, and Mr. William Ball, J.P., generously commissioned a local artist to make a sketch of the Marshes, which forms the frontispiece to the book, and gives a good idea of the "long stretches of flat lands" on the Kent and Essex coasts. To those friends whom we then met for the first time, and from whom we subsequently received help, the author's most cordial acknowledgments are due, and are also tendered, for kind information and assistance. They are a goodly number, and include Mr. A. A. Arnold, Mr. Stephen T. Aveling, Mr. William Ball, J.P., Mr. James Baird, Mr. Charles Bird, F.G.S., Major and Mrs. Budden, Mr. W. J. Budden, Mr. R. L. Cobb, Mr. J. Couchman, The Misses Drage, Mrs. Easedown, Mr. Franklin Homan, Mr. James Hulkes, J.P., and Mrs. Hulkes, Mr. Apsley Kennette, Mrs. Latter, Mr. J. Lawrence, Mr. C. D. Levy, Mr. B. Lillie, Mr. J. E. Littlewood, Mr. J. N. Malleson, Rev. J. J. Marsham, M.A., Mrs. Masters, Mr. Miles, Mr. W. Millen, Mr. Geo. Payne, F.S.A., Mr. William Pearce, Mr. George Robinson, Mr. T. B. Rosseter, F.R.M.S., Dr. Sheppard, Mr. Henry Smetham, Dr. Steele, M.R.C.S., Mr. William Syms, Mrs. Taylor, Miss Taylor, Mr. W. S. Trood, Major Trousdell, Rev. Robert Whiston, M.A., Mr. W. T. Wildish, Mr. Humphrey Wood, Mr. C. K. Worsfold, and Mrs. Henry Wright. The late Mr. Roach Smith, F.S.A., took much interest in my work and gave valuable assistance. Mr. Luke Fildes, R.A., and Mrs. Lynn Linton generously contributed very interesting information. The Right Honourable the Earl of Darnley, Mr. Henry Fielding Dickens, Mr. W. P. Frith, R.A., and Lady Head, also kindly answered enquiries. Miss Hogarth has at my request very kindly consented to the publication of the original letters of the Novelist—about a dozen—now printed for the first time. My sincere thanks are due to Mr. E. W. Badger, F.R.H.S., the friend of many years, for valuable help. To my old friend and fellow-tramp, Mr. F. G. Kitton, with whose memory this delightful excursion will ever be pleasantly connected, my warmest thanks are due for reading proofs and for much kind help in many ways. "He wos werry good to me, he wos." As Pip wrote to another "Jo," "woT larX" we did have. Last, but not least, my cordial thanks are due to Mr. Charles Dickens for much kind information and valuable criticism. So long as readers continue to be, so long will our great English trilogy of cognate authors, Shakespeare, Scott, and Dickens, continue to be read. Indeed as regards Dickens, a writer inBlackwood, June, 1871 (andBlackwoodwas not always a sympathetic critic), said:—"We may apply to him, without doubt, the surest test to which the maker can be subject: were all his books swept by some intellectual catastrophe out of the world, there would still exist in the world some score at least of people, with all whose ways and sayings we are more intimately acquainted than with those of our brothers and sisters, who would owe to him their being. While we live Sam Weller and Dick Swiveller, Mr. Pecksniff and Mrs. Gamp, the Micawbers and the Squeerses, can never die. . . . They are more real than we are ourselves, and will outlive and outlast us, as they have outlived their creator. This is the one proof of genius which no critic, not the most carping or dissatisfied, can gainsay." So long also, the author ventures to think, will pilgrimages continue to be made to the shrines of Stratford-on-Avon, Abbotsford, and Gad's Hill Place, and to their vicinities. The modest aim of this Volume is, that it may add a humble unit in helping to keephismemory green, and that it may be a useful and acceptable companion to pilgrims, not only of our own country, but also from that still "Greater Britain," where "All the Year Round" the name of Charles Dickens is almost a dearer "Household Word" than it is with us. William R. Hughes. Wood House, Handsworth Wood, near Birmingham. 30th September, 1891.

CONTENTS.

CHAP.  Preface I. Introductory II. A Preliminary Tramp in London III. Rochester City IV. Rochester Castle V. Rochester Cathedral VI. Richard Watts's Charity, Rochester VII. An Afternoon at Gad's Hill Place VIII. Charles Dickens and Strood Chatham:—St. Mary's Church, Ordnance Terrace, The House on the Brook, The Mitre Hotel, and Fort Pitt. IX. Landport:—Portsea, Hants X. Aylesford, Town Malling, and Maidstone XI. Broadstairs, Margate, and Canterbury XII. Cooling, Cliffe, and Higham XIII. Cobham Park and Hall, The Leather Bottle, Shorne, Chalk, and the Dover Road XIV. A Final Tramp in Rochester and London  Index

PAGE vii 1 7 51 98 111 142 161 211 251 288 317 349 376 405 427

Statue 1

LIST OF

Statue 2

ILLUSTRATIONS

The Marshes, Cooling Headpiece, "Humour" (From two Statuettes of "Mr. Pickwick" and "Sam Weller" in Crown Derby Ware) The Golden Cross Young Dickens at the Blacking Warehouse Fountain Court, Temple Staple Inn, Holborn Barnard's Inn Dickens's House, Furnival's Inn No. 48, Doughty Street Tavistock House, Tavistock Square No. 141, Bayham Street No. 1, Devonshire Terrace Fac-simile of Letter, Charles Dickens Apotheosis of "Grip" the Raven "My magnificent order at the Public House" Bull Inn, Rochester—"good house, nice beds" Staircase at "the Bull" The "Elevated Den" in the Ball-room, "Bull Inn" Old Rochester Bridge The Guildhall, Rochester The "Moon-faced" Clock in High Street In High Street, Rochester Eastgate House, Rochester Mr. Sapsea's House, Rochester Mr. Sapsea's Father Restoration House, Rochester Old Rochester Theatre, Star Hill The Castle from Rochester Bridge The Keep of Rochester Castle Interior of Rochester Castle Rochester Castle and the Medway Rochester Cathedral Rochester Cathedral, Interior The Crypt, Rochester Cathedral Minor Canon Row, Rochester College Gate (or "Chertsey's" Gate), Rochester Prior's Gate, Rochester Deanery Gate, Rochester The Vines and Restoration House, Rochester Restoration House, as it appeared in Dickens's time St. Nicholas' Burying-ground Memorial Brass in Rochester Cathedral The "Six Poor Travellers" Richard Watts's Almshouses, Rochester Fac-similes of Signatures of Charles Dickens and Mark Lemon The "Six Poor Travellers" from the Rear A Dormitory in the "Six Poor Travellers": Gallery leading to the Dormitories Satis House Watts's Monument in Rochester Cathedral

F. G. Kitton

PAGE Frontispiece xvii 10 12 16 21 23 25 28 30 37 40 43 45 49 56 58 61 68 71 72 73 74 76 77 79 84 99 101 105 109 112 115 118 123 125 126 128 131 133 136 138 143 149 151 153 154 156 157

(from a Sketch byE. L. Meadows) Engraved byR. Langton Herbert Railton F. Barnard C. A. Vanderhoof " " Herbert Railton " " J. Grego J. Liddell F. G. Kitton D. Maclise, R.A. D. Maclise, R.A. Phiz Herbert Railton F. G. Kitton F. G. Kitton Herbert Railton F. G. Kitton " " " " F. G. Kitton " " (After sketch byH. Wickham) F. G. Kitton W. Hull F. G. Kitton Herbert Railton F. G. Kitton " " " " " " Phiz F. G. Kitton F. G. Kitton " " " " " " (Engraved from a Drawing by an Amateur) F. G. Kitton F. G. Kitton " " F. G. Kitton F. G. Kitton (From a Photograph) R. Langton

Rochester from Strood Hill The "Sir John Falstaff" Inn, Gad's Hill Gad's Hill Place "The Empty Chair." Gad's Hill, Ninth of June, 1870 Counterfeit Book-backs on Study Door Gad's Hill Place from the Rear "The Grave of Dick, the best of Birds" The Well at Gad's Hill Place The Porch, Gad's Hill Place The Cedars, Gad's Hill View from the Roof of Dickens's House, Gad's Hill Fac-similes ofGad's Hill Gazetteand Final Notice Temple Farm, Strood At Temple Farm, Strood Crypt, Temple Farm The "Crispin and Crispianus," Strood Old Quarry House, Strood Frindsbury Church Rochester from Strood Pier St. Mary's Church, Chatham No. 11, Ordnance Terrace, Chatham The House on the Brook, Chatham Giles's School, Chatham Mitre Inn, Chatham Navy-Pay Office, Chatham Fort Pitt, Chatham Birthplace of Charles Dickens, Portsea St. Mary's Church, Portsea Aylesford Aylesford Bridge The High Street, Town Malling Cob Tree Hall Cricket Ground, Town Malling The Medway at Maidstone Chillington Manor House, Maidstone Kit's Coty House Kit's Coty House and "Blue Bell" Hop-picking in Kent "Bleak House," Broadstairs Old Look-out House, Broadstairs The "Falstaff," Westgate, Canterbury The "Dane John" from the City Wall, Canterbury Bell Harry Tower, Canterbury Cathedral Scene of the Martyrdom, Canterbury Cathedral "Bits" of Old Canterbury "The Little Inn," Canterbury Graves of the Comport Family, Cooling Churchyard Cooling Church Gateway, Cooling Castle Cliffe Church Cobham Hall Dickens's Châlet, now in Cobham Park The "Leather Bottle," Cobham The Old Parlour of the "Leather Bottle"

C. Marshall F. G. Kitton " " F. G. Kitton(from the Drawing byS. L. Fildes, R.A.) R. Langton J. Liddell F. G. Kitton " " J. Liddell E. Hull F. G. Kitton F. G. Kitton " " " " " " " " " " " " W. Dadson E. Hull " " " " Herbert Railton (From a Photograph) R. Langton F. G. Kitton " " Herbert Railton F. G. Kitton " " " " " " " " " " (From the Painting by Gegan) F. G. Kitton " " " " " " F. G. Kitton " " F. G. Kitton C. A. Vanderhoof F. G. Kitton F. G. Kitton C. A. Vanderhoof F. G. Kitton " " Herbert Railton J. Liddell F. G. Kitton E. Hull

162 164 166 170 172 177 178 181 183 185 189 199-203 213 214 215 218 236 239 245 256 259 260 261 263 275 277 281 285 289 291 293 297 302 307 310 312

315 319 328 332 335 337 339 341 342 345 353 355 359 361 381 384 387 389

Cobham Church Shorne Church Curious Old Figure over the Porch, Chalk Church "There's Milestones on the Dover Road" Doorway, Rochester Cathedral Fac-similes of Charles Dickens's Handwriting 1837, 1850, 1854, 1870 The Grave in Westminster Abbey Tailpiece, "Pathos"

Herbert Railton F. G. Kitton F. G. Kitton " " " " F. G. Kitton (From two Plaques of the "Old Man" and "Little Nell" in Wedgwood Ware) Engraved byR. Langton

390 392 394 400 407 418-20 425

xx