The Letters of Charles Dickens. Vol. 2, 1857-1870Dickens, Charles
General
The Letters of Charles Dickens. Vol. 2, 1857-1870
Dickens, Charles
Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870 -- Correspondence; Novelists, English -- 19th century -- Correspondence
My dearest love, of course, to the dear girls, and to the noble Plorn.
Apropos of children, there was one gentleman at the "Little Dombey"
yesterday morning, who exhibited, or rather concealed, the profoundest
grief. After crying a good deal without hiding it, he covered his face
with both his hands, and laid it down on the back of the seat before
him, and really shook with emotion. He was not in mourning, but I
supposed him to have lost some child in old time. There was a remarkably
good fellow of thirty or so, too, who found something so very ludicrous
in "Toots," that he _could not_ compose himself at all, but laughed
until he sat wiping his eyes with his handkerchief. And whenever he felt
"Toots" coming again he began to laugh and wipe his eyes afresh, and
when he came he gave a kind of cry, as if it were too much for him. It
was uncommonly droll, and made me laugh heartily.
Ever, dear Georgy, your most affectionate.
[Sidenote: Miss Dickens.]
SCARBOROUGH ARMS, LEEDS, _Wednesday, Sept. 15th, 1858._
MY DEAREST MAMIE,
I have added a pound to the cheque. I would recommend your seeing the
poor railway man again and giving him ten shillings, and telling him to
let you see him again in about a week. If he be then still unable to
lift weights and handle heavy things, I would then give him another ten
shillings, and so on.
Since I wrote to Georgy from Scarborough, we have had, thank God,
nothing but success. The Hull people (not generally considered
excitable, even on their own showing) were so enthusiastic, that we were
obliged to promise to go back there for two readings. I have positively
resolved not to lengthen out the time of my tour, so we are now
arranging to drop some small places, and substitute Hull again and York
again. But you will perhaps have heard this in the main from Arthur. I
know he wrote to you after the reading last night. This place I have
always doubted, knowing that we should come here when it was recovering
from the double excitement of the festival and the Queen. But there is a
very large hall let indeed, and the prospect of to-night consequently
looks bright.
Arthur told you, I suppose, that he had his shirt-front and waistcoat
torn off last night? He was perfectly enraptured in consequence. Our men
got so knocked about that he gave them five shillings apiece on the
spot. John passed several minutes upside down against a wall, with his
head amongst the people's boots. He came out of the difficulty in an
exceedingly touzled condition, and with his face much flushed. For all
this, and their being packed as you may conceive they would be packed,
they settled down the instant I went in, and never wavered in the
closest attention for an instant. It was a very high room, and required
a great effort.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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