A more remarkable instance of his propensity to indulge in parody of this kind is to be found in a letter addressed to Mark Lemon in the spring of 1849. The novelist was then enjoying a holiday with his wife and daughters at Brighton, whence he wrote to Lemon (who had been ill), pressing him to pay them a visit. After commanding him to 'get a clean pocket-handkerchief ready for the close of "Copperfield" No. 3--"simple and quiet, but very natural and touching"--_Evening Bore_,' Dickens invites his friend in lines headed 'New Song,' and signed 'T. Sparkler,' the effusion also bearing the signatures of other members of the family party--Catherine Dickens, Annie Leech, Georgina Hogarth, Mary Dickens, Katie Dickens, and John Leech. NEW SONG TUNE--'LESBIA HATH A BEAMING EYE' I Lemon is a little hipped, And this is Lemon's true position-- He is not pale, he's not white-lipped, Yet wants a little fresh condition. Sweeter 'tis to gaze upon Old Ocean's rising, falling billers, Than on the Houses every one That form the street called Saint Anne's Willers! Oh my Lemon, round and fat, Oh my bright, my right, my tight 'un, Think a little what you're at-- Don't stay at home, but come to Brighton! II Lemon has a coat of frieze, But all so seldom Lemon wears it, That it is a prey to fleas, And ev'ry moth that's hungry, tears it. Oh, that coat's the coat for me, That braves the railway sparks and breezes, Leaving ev'ry engine free To smoke it, till its owner sneezes! Then my Lemon, round and fat, L., my bright, my right, my tight 'un, Think a little what you're at-- On Tuesday first, come down to Brighton! T. SPARKLER. WILKIE COLLINS'S PLAY 'THE LIGHTHOUSE' 1855 I.--THE PROLOGUE 'THE LIGHTHOUSE' Wilkie Collins composed two powerful dramas for representation at Dickens's residence, Tavistock House, a portion of which had been already adapted for private theatricals, the rooms so converted being described in the bills as 'The Smallest Theatre in the World.' The first of these plays was called _The Lighthouse_, and the initial performance took place on June 19, 1855. Dickens not only wrote the Prologue and 'The Song of the Wreck,' but signally distinguished himself by enacting the part of Aaron Gurnock, a lighthouse-keeper, his clever impersonation recalling Frédérick Lemaître, the only actor he ever tried to take as a model.