The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-07-08
CHARLES DICKENS AT HOME.
. v,,,t Described by Hans Christian An
-

The Cincinnati Commercial translates the
following account of a visit to Charles Dlckens
by Hans Christian Andersen:- ,
X "Dickens had written to me IN
letter which received in Denmark, nave
inst finished my new work, and am now rec
man. We shall, therefore, be together al the
1ime and can play cricket on the law Rut
o,,r intercourse was somew .at iutsr.
Tnnted. for on the day pr -vious To NV
arrival the humorist and playwright. Dou-
gias Jerrold had died, AID he had said to
his hesrt-broken wife, Dickens will take care
of you when am dead Aud. in fact Dickens
did take care OF the widow. He collected
several thousand pounds for her, and invested
this capital SO that the interest sutnoed for her
wants Dickens founded a committee of men,
bearing names no less illustriou5 than his own,
such as Bulwer, TbaCkeray, and Macready,
and programme was drawn up for making
money in different ways, and for noble pur-
poses. II is we'll known that Dickens pos
sesses wonderful talents as an actor; he has
established a small amateur stage at his
Iouse, where he gives dramatic representa-
GOns, in conjunction with some of the
members of his family and several intimate
friends. Now, some performances were to bs
given at high rates of admissions; besides,
Dickens and Thaclleray engaged to deliver
some lectures, for which Dickens, on his part,
selected one of his Christmas stories. Time
and labor were required to carry all this into
effect. There were days when | saw him write
and forward twenty letters, all of which he
did with an eagerness and joy as if it were
ohild's play. The only thing that grieved me
in this respect was that it shortened and
limited our Intercourse; for, owing to these
affairs, he had to 90 repeatedly to London and
stay there for whole days.
"When l arrived at Gadshill the family had
not yet been two weeks at their new country
bpth ha ryirn all driU WA
new to them. Meanwhile | myself soon found
out the most attractive points, and to one of
them, the summit of Gadshll, | conducted
Dickens and his family. Our way led across
the broad highroad on which, opposite to
Dickens villa, there lies tavern, on the faded
Sign of which EalstaG and Prince Henry, and
on the reverse a scene from the Werry Wees
Of Windsor are represented. From the tavern
a ravine between live hedges led up to
group of pleasant houses, all twO.stored,
aud their walls beautifully clad with vines
and creepers; long, neat white curtains
hung in the windows; the highest house was
watched by an old blind dog; cows and sheep
were grazing on the meadows, and on this
highest point there rose an Obelsll. The
whole monument was cracked, and the first
gust of wind might upset it, The inscription
was no longer distinctly legible, but we saw
that the monument had beeu erected in honor
of an excellent country gentleman who had
died many, many years ago. Inasmuch as |
was the first to lead Dickens to this point he
afterwards called the place, iocularly, Hans
Christian Andersen s monument
"Without any previous practice
in speaking English, and hearing it spoken, |
understood from the very first all that Dick
ems said to me. Whenever | hesitated, he re-
peated the idea in another form; and no one
caught my meaning quicker than he did.
Danish and English are so wonderfully similar
hat We oft ~ isha al nt and yuha
at times was at a loss to find the right word,
Dickens begged me to name the Danish word
and we often found that it was precisely the
the same as in English.
"When | acquired greater familiarity with
the language, | lOuged more and more to con-
verse on topics other than those OF every day
occurrence; | lOuged to express my feelings
and find in the foreign language words as
natural TO me as those of my mother tongue. |
felt more and more at home; even the smaller
children of the house began to understand me-
nay, the smallest of them, who, when ! asked
him, on the first day. if he liked me, said, very
honestly, will put you out OF the window,'
assured me now, with a smiling face that he
would put me in again. Dickens had no
daughters, Mary and Kate, aud seven
sOns:-Charles, Walter Lanlor, Francis
GeOirey, Alfred Tennyson, Sidney
Suith, Henry Fielding, aud Edward Lytton
BulWer. The two eldest aud the two youngest
were at home; the other three came on a visit
from BoulOgDe, in France, where they were at
a boarding school. 1t was vacation time, and
l soon saw them climb in the bran Jhes of
the large cedar trees, or play at cricket with
their other brothers and their father, all of
them in shirt-sleeVes, on the large meadow
close TO the garden tue ladies sat in the tall
grass under the trees, peasant children peepsd
over the hedge, and Turk, the watch dog, who
was fastened all night, had now been delivered
while his long chain and his kennel were left
to a big, old raven, who no doubt considered
himself a relative to the raven in 'Barnaby
Ridge, which, though stuffed, still existed,
and was to be seen in the house.
"When in London, Charles Dickens lives in
Tavistock House. A grated gate separates the
yard and garden from the lively street. In the
rear of the house extends large garden, with
several lawns and tall trees and imparts a
rural appearance to the whole in the midst
of smoky and dusty London. In the passage
leading from the street to the garden there
hung paintings and copper plates; here stood
Dickens marble bust, lifelike, young, and
handsome, and the doors of the bed. chambers
and diningrOom were surmOunted by Thor
waldsen's bas reiefs of Night and Day. On
the first floor was a large library, with a fire.
place and writing table, and in the large room
opening upon the garden, Dickens and his
family aud friends amused themselves in the
winter by performing plays. The kitchen is
in the basement, and the bedrooms are on the
upper floor.
"When l came to London, was quartered
in pleasant room opening upon the garden,
whence / saw, above the trees the tower OF
nVt1n 1 -,