Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-08-12
CHARLES DICKENS. AMANUENSrs.
= Talk with n Wan who Wrote Short.
hand for the Author.
From the Louisville Commercial.

From the Louisville Commercial
You We're an amanuensis Of Charles Dickens.
were you mott"
Yes; did shorthand work for Mr.. Dickens
'or eighteen months. | did not take dictations
or any of his novels-only his fugitive pieces
He dictated to me most of his articles in All
The Year Round He was very clever gentle
man to those under him. He always treated me
very well indeed. Most people seem to think
Dickens was ready writer. This is by no
means the case. He used to come into his office
IN st. Catherine street about o'clock in the
morning and begin debating He would walk
III and down the floor several times after die
Eating sentence or paragraph and ask me to
read it, would do so, and he would in nine
cases out of ten. order ne to strike out certain
words and insert others. He was generally tired
out By II O'clock. and went down to his club on
the Strand. very singular thing was that he
never dictated the closing paragraphs of his
story. Tie always finished it himself / used to
look in the paper for 1t. ana found that he had
changed 1t very greatly from what he hal die
tatcd to me- Dickens had very odd habit of
combing his hair. He would comb it 100 times
day He seemed never to tire of It, The first
thing he did on coming into the office was to
comb his hair. have seen him dictate a SEN
tence or two and then begin combing. When
he got through he dictated another sentence
He was very careful about his writings He
wanted every sentence to be as perfect as pos
sible before leaving it to go to press. Dickens
was an odd fellow regarding the company he
sought | have known him. while | was en-
plOyed by him, to 30 down to the Seven Das
about the worst place in London and sleep and
eat there He roasted his herring where the
rest did. and slept with the poorest. He loved
low society. He never seemed so happy as
when seated in a poor cOtfee-hOuse with
crowd of the lower classes talking around him.
He never missed word that was said and was
the closest observer 1 ever saw. Nothing es-
capped him. The most minute manneriSms were
noted and stored away. When was working
for him he was at the zenith Of his fame lust
before his death, and even then lie loved these
careless. rolllcking rounds among the poor bet
ter than heightened dinner
WAS he as great q drnker as he has the rcpu-
tation of being:'
II never saw him drunk myself have ssen
hlln several times eXhilarated. however. He
only drank the best of wine. but he drank that
very freely. Sherry was his especial favorite
and he never refused glass of fine old sherry
He was an Unsuitable cigarette smoker and
wren debating to me always had cigarette in
MS mouth. He was a very spruce man. too
He brushed his coat frequently. and changed
his collars several times in a day He was every
bit as humorous in his speech as in his writings
When he was in particularly fine humor he
could keep you laughing by the hour with his
witty talk. He was not one Of those men who
are above those they employ: he chatted as
freely with ne as any member Of his club on the
strand Dickens was undoubtedly the best
after-dnner speaker in England heard him
AT whitehall once. the occasion being the ami
versary of the British Museum There was an
enormous crowd, hardly standing room. and he
Kept them in one continual roar. He was fine
actor, and this, added to his wit, made him ir-
resiStibly funny"