The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1879-10-10

I 10 De Tor IN passing towards the doc
! he staggered up against me, and. bal
/ anclng himself for moment against tn,
end OF the counter, succeeded in accom-
pllShlng a very unsteady exit into tn,
I street. / Immediately followed and il
( attempting to pass the fellow on tn,
narrow walk L was greatly surprised [,
hear him address me by my name, and
on turning round, [ was still more sur
/ prised to find that the person who ad
/ dressed me was no other than the great
Charles Dickens. He had in moment
! dlvested himself of the long. rOupI
beard, and OF the unsightly patch whicI
had covered his eye, and hastily grasp
ing me by the arm, he hurried me away
in the direction of Limehouse church
The dark, narrow lanes and streets OF
Which the ancient neighborhOod is com.
posed seemed as familiar to the great
novelist as to the most prowling prig III
London.
In Heavens name, Dickens - l III
qmred, what could you have been do
ing in such strange company :"
Only at work, as usual. = he respond
ed. Tonight l have been gathering
material for my new serial. Our Mu-
tudl Friend. You needn't tell any
body, but the public house we have lust
left IS The Six Jolly Fellowship Por-
ters' Of my story The lady you seem
ed to be on such good terms with behind
the bar is my Mrs. Peterson and if
you'd had your eyes about you. you
would not have had to look very far for
poor Lizzie Hexem's father
Having called a cab at the first stand
we came to, we were driven to Our Club.
near COYent Garden. and from that
night commenced an intimate acquaiut-
ance with the illustrious author. which
continued to the time of his deaCh. He
frequently assured me that there was
scarcely a character he had ever written
whose pTOtrOtype he had not seen in real
life that to him Pickwick Oliver Twist
and Nicholas Nicklebv were living real
tiles, that Dotheboy-s Hall was no lic-
tion, and that his only regret about
Squeers was that he never felt quite sat
lSIied with his own portrayal of the
character
One would imagine who reads Dickens
that it was easy work FOR him to write
Such, however, was not the case. as the
peTuSal Of some Of his original manu-
scripts on exhibition at the kenSington
NJ USeUm fully atteStS. The manuscripts
bear evidence of intense labor. and
abound in corrections and interlincation
to such an extent that it seems q perfect
wonder how the printers were ever able
to produce clean proof from them.
" hIle at serious work Dickens would
lock himself in his room for days tOgcth-
er, denying all company or recreation
until his work was done. and would then
made his appearance, haggaTd, weary,
broken down, and more ike the ghost of
his real self than anything else that
could DE Imagined
There is a dark marble slab in Poets
Corner, in Westminster Abbey. which
bears name in deep cut golden letters.
The marble efhgies of England's cher
ished dead surround you at every hand
but of all the great departed who slUm-
Der there entombed. not one has left be-
hind a nObler record OF a memory more
dear ,hau IhaJ OF him whose name that
deep-cut marble bears-Charles Dickens.
-ChgTtsS IId1rick iH Nor York Clipper.
THE CAUTIOUS TANNER In the old
country there was a law requiring the
tanner to give at least twelve hours
notice to the eXCisemen before drawing
hides from his watts. That was SO that
the Government might not be defraUded
of an excise duty on tanned skins. Well.
once upon a time a certain supervisor
fittttlEl Il tailitI III ttlA Al- >LiA- It, niue
from one of his watts without having
given the required notice. and straight
way he complained of the delinquent
and had him brought up for trial. In
vain was it that the tanner plead that
the hide was but a simple sheep, or lamb
skin, that ne haa been tanning for the
use OF his wife. lie had violated the
law. and must pay the penalty.
Some time thereafter it happened that
the supervisor. having been out to a pub
lie dinner. and drank more than was
good for him. on his way home thought
TO cross the tanner yard. and thus make
a short cut. lie had gained the centre
of the yard, OF thcreabOuts, when he
staggered wide OF his path, and tumbled
into a vat of the strongest liquid His
wells and cries soon brought half a dozen
men Of the establishment to the scene.
and they were on the point of pulling
the luckless wight! out, when the mas
ter arrived.
No, no - the latter cried. 'Let
him be III never draw another hide
without giving legal notice, Iii not
he fined again, if l can help it But
Johnny McDavitt, you may run and tell
the eXcisemen that the supervisor Is in
my vat. hide and all -
The unfortunate man bOwled, and
begged. and entreated. and stormcd and
threatened-but ali TO no purpose. He
remained there, the sides of the vat be-
ing SO smooth and slippery that he could
not gain a hold Tor climbing, until the
proper officer came, and gave the tanner
permission 10 draw the supervisor 5 hide
from his liquor pit
-z -E
ADVERTISING The man who says
that he doeSn It believe jn advertising is
doing Just what he pretends to despise
lie hangs coats outside his door, or puts
dry goods in his window-that' advertis
ing. He has printed cards lying on hi.
counter-that advertising. lie send.
out drummers through the country. 0l