A Week's Tramp in Dickens-Land Part 18

"GAD'S HILL PLACE, "HIGHAM BY ROCHESTER, KENT.

"_Thursday, 5th Nov., 1858._

"MR. COUCHMAN,

"Please to ease the coach-house doors, and to put up some pegs, agreeably to George Belcher's directions.

"CHARLES d.i.c.kENS."

It should be mentioned that George Belcher was the coachman at the time.

Mr. Couchman recalls an interesting custom that was maintained at Gad's Hill. There were a number of tin check plates, marked respectively 3_d._ and 6_d._ each, which enabled the person to whom they were given to obtain an equivalent in refreshment of any kind at the Sir John Falstaff. The threepenny checks were for the workmen, and the sixpenny ones for the tradesmen. The chief housemaid had the distribution of these checks to persons employed in the house, the head-gardener to those engaged in the gardens, and the coachman to those in the stables.

On one occasion, our informant remembers when his men were engaged upon some work at Gad's Hill, such checks were given out to them, and that he also had one offered to him; but, recollecting that his position as a master scarcely ent.i.tled him to the privilege, he stated his objections to the housemaid, who said in reply that it was a pity to break an old custom, he had better have one. "So," says our informant, "I had a sixpenny ticket with the others, and obtained my refreshment."

He has in his photographic alb.u.m a carte-de-visite of Charles d.i.c.kens, by Watkins. It is the well-known one in which the novelist is represented in a sitting position, dressed in a grey suit; and the owner considered it a very good likeness. He also showed us a funeral card which he thought had been sent to him by the family of d.i.c.kens at the time of his death, but judging by its contents, this seems impossible.

It is, however, well worth transcribing:--

To the Memory of =Charles d.i.c.kens= (England's most popular author), who died at his Residence, Higham, near Rochester, Kent, June 9th, 1870.

Aged 58 years.

He was a sympathizer with the poor, suffering, and oppressed; and by his death one of England's greatest writers is lost to the world.

Mr. Couchman confirms the verbal sketch of d.i.c.kens as drawn by his neighbour, Mrs. Masters, and states that d.i.c.kens used to put up his dogs ("Linda" and "Turk"), "boisterous companions as they always were," in the stables whenever he came to see him on business.

Mr. William Ball, J.P., of Hillside, Strood, kindly favoured us with many interviews, and generally took great interest in the subject of our visit to "d.i.c.kens-Land," rendering invaluable a.s.sistance in our enquiries. This gentleman is the son of Mr. John H. Ball, the well-known contractor, who removed old Rochester Bridge; he is also a brother-in-law of the late gifted tenor, Mr. Joseph Maas, to whom a handsome memorial tablet, consisting of a marble medallion of the deceased, over which is a lyre with one of the strings broken, has since been erected on the east wall of the south transept of Rochester Cathedral. By Mr. Ball's considerate courtesy and that of his daughters, we are allowed to see many interesting relics of Charles d.i.c.kens and Gad's Hill.[15] When Mr. Ball's father removed the old bridge in 1859, it will be remembered that he offered to present the novelist with one of the bal.u.s.trades as a souvenir, the offer being gracefully and promptly accepted, as the following letter testifies:--

"GAD'S HILL PLACE, "HIGHAM BY ROCHESTER, KENT.

"_Thursday, eighth June, 1859._

"SIR,

"I feel exceedingly obliged to you for your kind and considerate offer of a remembrance of old Rochester Bridge; that will interest me very much.

I accept the relic with many thanks, and with great pleasure.

"Do me the favor to let it be delivered to a workman who will receive instructions to bring it away, and once again accept my acknowledgments.

"Yours faithfully, "CHARLES d.i.c.kENS.

"MR. JOHN H. BALL."

The present Mr. William Ball, then a young lad, was the bearer of the gift, and on being asked by us why he didn't ask to see the great novelist, replies, "Yes, I ought to have done so, but I was afraid of the dogs!"

The bal.u.s.trade, which was placed on the back lawn at Gad's Hill, was mounted on a square pedestal, on the sides of which were representations of the four seasons, and a sun-dial crowned the capital. Something like it, but a little modified, appears in one of Mr. Luke Fildes's beautiful ill.u.s.trations to the original edition of _Edwin Drood_, ent.i.tled "Jasper's Sacrifices." Three more of the bal.u.s.trades now ornament Mr.

Ball's garden at Hillside.

Mr. Ball the elder was invited to send in a tender for the construction of the tunnel at Gad's Hill previously mentioned, but it was not accepted, as appears from a letter addressed to him by Mr. Alfred L.

d.i.c.kens (Charles d.i.c.kens's brother), of which we are allowed to take a copy:--

"8, RICHMOND TERRACE, "WHITEHALL, S.W.

"_August 30th, 1859._

"DEAR SIR,

"I am very sorry that absence from home has prevented my replying to your note as to the tender for the Gad's Hill tunnel before.

"I much regret that the amount of your tender is so much higher than my estimate, that I cannot recommend my brother to accept it.

"I am, "Dear Sir, "Yours faithfully, "ALFRED L. d.i.c.kENS.

"MR. BALL."

Among the d.i.c.kens relics at Hillside, we are shown by Mr. Ball the pretty set of five silver bells presented by his friend Mr. F. Lehmann, to the novelist, who always used them when driving out in his basket pony-phaeton. They are fastened on to a leather pad, and make a pleasant musical sound when shaken. They are of graduated sizes, the largest being somewhat smaller than a tennis-ball, and appear to be in the key of C: comprising the Tonic, Third, Fifth, Octave, and Octave of the Third.

There is also a hall clock with maker's name--"Bennett, Cheapside, London." This was the "werry identical" clock respecting which d.i.c.kens wrote the following characteristically humorous letter to Sir John Bennett:--

"MY DEAR SIR,

"Since my hall clock was sent to your establishment to be cleaned it has gone (as indeed it always had) perfectly well, but has struck the hours with great reluctance, and after enduring internal agonies of a most distressing nature, it has now ceased striking altogether. Though a happy release for the clock, this is not convenient to the household. If you can send down any confidential person with whom the clock can confer, I think it may have something on its works that it would be glad to make a clean breast of.

"Faithfully yours, "CHARLES d.i.c.kENS."

Included among the relics are a very handsome mahogany fire-screen in three folds, of red morocco, with Grecian key-border, a musical Canterbury, and a bookcase. But the most interesting object from an art point of view is an India proof copy, "before letters," of Sir Edwin Landseer's beautiful picture of "King Charles's Spaniels," the original of which is said to have been painted for the late Mr. Vernon in two days, and is now in the National Gallery. The engraving of the picture is by Outram. It has the initials in pencil "E. L.," and a little ticket on the frame--"Lot 445," that being the number in the auctioneer's catalogue.

The following is the story as recently told by Mr. W. P. Frith, R.A., in his most interesting and readable _Autobiography and Reminiscences_, 1887:--

"His" [Sir Edwin's] "rapidity of execution was extraordinary. In the National Gallery there is a picture of Two Spaniels, of what is erroneously called the Charles II. breed (the real dog of that time is of a different form and breed altogether, as may be seen in pictures of the period), the size of life, with appropriate accompaniments, painted by him in two days. An empty frame had been sent to the British Inst.i.tution, where it was hung on the wall, waiting for its tenant--a picture of a lady with dogs--till Landseer felt the impossibility of finishing the picture satisfactorily. Time had pa.s.sed, till two days only remained before the opening of the Exhibition. Something must be done; and in the time named those wonderfully life-like little dogs were produced."

Mr. Ball has also an interesting photograph of the "Last Lot," some bottles of wine, evidently taken on the occasion of the sale at Gad's Hill Place after d.i.c.kens's death, the auctioneer being represented with his hammer raised ready to fall, and a smile upon his face. Among the crowd, consisting princ.i.p.ally of London and local dealers, may be seen two local policemen with peaked caps, and auctioneer's porters in shirt-sleeves and ap.r.o.ns. The sale took place in a large tent at the back of the house and close to the well, which can be readily seen through an opening in the tent.

The next person whom we meet at Strood is Mr. Charles Roach Smith, F.S.A., the eminent archaeologist, who has achieved a European reputation, and from whom we get many interesting particulars relating to d.i.c.kens. We heard some idle gossip at Rochester to the effect that Mr. Roach Smith always felt a little "touchy" about the satire on archaeology in _Pickwick_, _in re_ "Bill Stumps, his mark." That, however, we took _c.u.m grano salis_, because this gentleman, from his delightful conversation and frank manner, is evidently above any such littleness. He is, however, free to confess, that d.i.c.kens had not much love for Strood, but infinitely preferred Chatham.

There had been but little personal intercourse between d.i.c.kens and Mr.

Roach Smith, though each respected the other. Our informant says that, soon after the novelist came to Gad's Hill Place, Mrs. d.i.c.kens called and left her husband's card, which he, whether rightly or not, took as an intimation that the acquaintance was not to be extended. He spoke with all the enthusiasm of a man of science, and rather bitterly too, of a certain reading given by d.i.c.kens at Chatham to an overflowing house, whereas on the same evening a distinguished Professor of Agriculture (a Mr. Roberts or Robinson, we believe), who came to instruct the people at Ashford (one of the neighbouring towns) by means of a lecture, failed to secure an audience, and only got a few pence for admissions. The learned Professor subsequently poured forth his troubles to Mr. Roach Smith, from whom he obtained sympathy and hospitality. We venture to remind our good friend that the public in general much prefer amus.e.m.e.nt to instruction, at which he laughs, and says that in this matter he perfectly agrees with us. He expresses his strong opinion as to d.i.c.kens's reading of the "Murder of Nancy" (_Oliver Twist_), which he characterizes as "repulsive and indecent."

The most important communication made to us by Mr. Roach Smith is that contained in volume ii. of his recently published _Reminiscences and Retrospections, Social and Archaeological_, 1886. As this interesting work may not be generally accessible, it is as well to quote the pa.s.sage intact. It has reference to the Guild of Literature and Art, for the promotion of which d.i.c.kens, Lord Lytton, John Forster, Mark Lemon, John Leech, and others, gave so much valuable time and energy, in addition to liberal pecuniary support. The following is the extract:--

"Of Mr. Dodd I knew much. He was one of my earliest friends when I lived in Liverpool Street--I may say, one of my earliest patrons; and the intimacy continued up to his death, a few years since. The story of his connection with the movement for a dramatic college, and of his rapid separation from it, a deposition by order of the projectors and directors, forms a curious episode in the history of our friendship; and especially so, as I had an important, though unseen, part to sustain.

"In the summer of 1858 I was summoned to Mr. Dodd's residence at the City Wharf, New North Road, Hoxton, to give consent to be a trustee, with Messrs. Cobden and Bright, for five acres of land, which Mr. Dodd was about to give for the building of a dramatic college, which had been resolved on at a public meeting, held on the 21st of July in this year, in the Princess's Theatre, Mr. Charles Kean acting as chairman. 'I give this most freely,' said Mr. Dodd to me, 'for it is to the stage I am indebted for my education; to it I owe whatsoever may be good in me.'

That there was much good in him, thousands can testify; and thousands yet to come will be evidence to his benevolence. Of course, I felt pleased in being selected to act as a trustee for this gift. I conceived, and I suppose I was correct, that Mr. Dodd intended that his gift was strictly for a dramatic college, and for no other purpose, then or thereafter. Having expressed my willingness and resolution to be faithful to the trust, I said, 'I presume, Mr. Dodd, you stipulate for a presentation?' He looked rather surprised; and asked his solicitor, who sat by him, how they came to overlook this? Both of them directly agreed that this simple return should be required.

"I must leave such of my readers as feel inclined, to search in the public journals for the correspondence between the directors and Mr.

Dodd up to the 13th of January, 1859, when, at a meeting held in the Adelphi Theatre, Lord Tenterden in the chair, it was stated that Mr.

Dodd evinced, through his solicitor, a disposition to fence round his gift with legal restrictions and stipulations, which apprised the committee of coming difficulty; and the meeting unanimously agreed to decline Mr. Dodd's offer of land. Previously and subsequently to this, Mr. Dodd was most discourteously commented on and attacked in the newspapers, the editors of which, however, sided with him. I was told that the stipulation for a presentation was the great offence; but I should think that the provision made against the improper use of the land must have been the real grievance. In the very last letter I received from Mr. Dodd, not very long anterior to his death, he says that Mark Lemon told him that Charles d.i.c.kens had said he had never occasion to repent but of two things, one being his conduct to Mr. Dodd.

That d.i.c.kens, Thackeray, and others sincerely believed they were taking the best steps for accomplishing their benevolent object, there can be no doubt; their judgment, not their heart, was wrong. The scheme was based upon a wrong principle, as was shown by its collapse in less than twenty years, after the expenditure of very large subscriptions, and the patronage of the Queen. Articles in _The Era_ of the 22nd July, 1877, leave no doubt, while they clearly reveal the causes of failure."

It may be mentioned that the Mr. Henry Dodd above referred to, appears to have been a large city contractor, or something of that kind.