Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1872-01-11
q Charles DTIckens'sy Childhood.

Life of Charles Dickens has just been
published and the narrative of his child
hood am, youth is of great interest. His
Childhood was passed III abject poverty
his father, man of shifts and eXpedi-
ents, was the prototype of Micawber,
and familiar with the inside of prisons
&Dan insolvent debtor At an early age,
the son was put to service In a backing
1aanufactory, the wretchedness of which
"A lie thus describes In his photographed
sketch.
This speculation was a rivalry of
"Wauen's Backing, 80, Strand" at
that ZINE very famous In an evil hour
for me, as | often blttscly thought, it's
chief manager, Jamese Lambert, the re-
latiye who had lived with MS in Bayham
street, seeing how was employed from
Day to day, and knowing what our do
~ Nestle circumstances then were, pro-
" posed that should go iIGc&he backing
warehouse, to be as useful as l could at
salary, | think of six shillings week.
D lam not clEar whether it was six or
oseVen. / am inclined to believe, from
S1my unceaSainty on this head, that it was
six it first andSeven afterward. At any
rate, the offer was accepted very will
lingly by my father and mother, and on
\ Monday m0rning | went down to the
warehouse to begin my business life.
% 1t Is wonderful how | could have been
so easily cast away at such an age. 1t is
wonderful to me that, even after my de-
scent into the poor little drudge | had
Agen since we came to London, no one
had compassion enough on me-a child
of singular abilities quick, eager, deli
cate, and soon hurt, bodily or mentally
to suggest that something might have
been spared, as certainly it might have
been, to place me at any common school.
Our friends, | take it, were tired out.
b S5o one made any sign. My father and
mother Were quite satisfied. They could
hardly have bpn more so if [ had been
twenty years of age, distinguished at
grammar school, and going to Cambridge
The Neutrality-suspicious. was the last
house on the left-hand side of the way,
Oat Old Hungerford Stairs. 1t was a era
y,G3lmble-down old house, AUDITING of
course, on the river, and literally over
caln with rats. It's wainscOtted rooms,
and its rotten floors and staircase, and
the old gray rats swarming down in the
cellars, and the sound of their squeaking
and scuffling coming up the stairs at all
times, and the dirt and decay of the
place, rise up visibly before me, as if
were thG9p again. The counting-house
d was on the first floor, looking over the
coal-barges and the river. There was a
Eacess in it, in which | was to sit and
0Work. My work was to cover the pots
of paste backing, first with a piece of
oil-paper, and then with piece of blue
paper; to tie them round with a string,
and then to clip the paper close and neat
Gall round, until it looked as smart as
@lot of ointment from an apothecarys
0'shop. When a certain number of gros-
SgsGof pots had attained this pitch of
IRrfectfon, was to paste on each label
and then go on again with more pots
Two or three other boys We're kept at
similar duty down stairs on similar wa
g8, One of them came up, in a ragged
apron and a paper cap, on the first Mon
I DIG morning, to show me the trick of
q, using the string, and tying the knot, His
name was Bob Fagin, and | took the lib
eT9 of using his name, long afterward.
&9 Oli#er Twist."
.. Sur relative had kindly arranged to
Ieacifme something in the dinner hour
from G6yelye to one, I think it was
a every day. But an arrangement so in
compatible with counting-hOuse business
soon died away, from no fault of his or
mihSei anu loI tile SAINT reason, my
SNHSU "oIN-'aple' anu my 9losSes vi poIS'
my papers SlrinS; SCISSORS PaSte-Pot;
2Ha iaDels, by niue ana niue: vanished
0aG 3I We recess In ne cQuhItIs-houa9;
anu NtPt '"pallS Nl'h 'ie otneI siilall
- string, Scissors. and paste-pots down
stairs. 1t was not hong before Bob Fagin
and |, and another boy whose name was
Paul Green but who was currently he
iiereo 10 ha|T peeh ci''lSI'nc" ron "a
peIeI "h@h lr2n1oEred' ioh9 after
WHrus aSain 10 Hr y, 9%Ieeqleplpe, IN
y Maya NJ I410zZeElI l., worked generally,
sue ~ sioe: POD L a-l' M"1 an orphan
s~" IL, ''l 3 " IN ,,.1 -,.-.'' = a
I,t.l LhaH' on " .S'" l1'pt' I''t' tlle ""-
ul'lol"l u .si ~ p.inS nte1 ma
"lo NoS efhplo}J" 'I DIuIS Itd1e ne
at.|(D " ntlC alo7 l!eI ItldiiQil Oh ron 5
81 SAlil 1 ms Il'' 'lN''I' u''' ''lf7 III Ihe
pa,5tlAlllIll9S' .-..,......- ..
40 No Moil's can - PirS3 we StGLeV ago
5 ~ l5 "''''9 sui" Li'" 'lIS con-
PaS9I!.esLiP So'l, P4Acu 'r'Hc 'EeIyCaS
as?YIta'eS wei Iio9c VI my happier
a, cnl,C,ooU al - lev lny cary hopes OF
" ~ I ~ Wv a ie a, ilsu anu osTnh-
,'l"li' N' 'oiioG - my breast ne
UooP ie3"lcIiioi 'fSAIo ~ IlV 2CHSe l iiau o.
DeOS utterly htSlec'eo ana hopeless or
D l@ snk9ae Itit III my position OF the
MISERY IL was 10 my %Hun3 nGatt 10 oe7
iIoto 5hae' u@1 ~ Jay, nat l Hau
go % W ~ y, lI' o'tIt oellal'Tu H.
ss-lt l"ise N my G1uCy anu my enlulatloh
up 70 was passln9 away from me- never
o. 10 nt pIoug sI o"ch any more cannot De
" mI!I1sh, 41y "n2lg nature was so Penec
CaleNs"llh the SIlel ana Illumination or
Sucn coIl3 7 yl3 t1at even now, Ia
esous ana u. CaIeSseu ana haPPy, oiten
IolsoS III my 4ls,'iils Illat nave GEAR
"a VIZ anu SIlI 'I leI e3eh tuqI l am d
W man anu WahueF ueSOlaLely Dack TO