Morris tribune., 1882-09-21
CHARLES DICKENS.
Method OF Composition-Low Society
Drinking and Cigarette.

Drinking anu SlSdFeCCc.
Garrett Dumas publishes the follow
ing interview with the private business
secretary of the great novelist, Dickens:
"You were an amanuensis of Charles
Dickens, were you not?"
Eyes; did short hand for Mr.. Dick
ems for eighteen months. l did not take
dictations for 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 gentleman to those
under him. He always treated me very
we'll 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. Cath
crime street about eight o'clock in the
morning and begin debating. He would
walk up and down the floor several times
after debating sentence or paragraph,
and ask me to read. l would do so, and
he would, in nine cases ont of ten, Or
der me to strike out certain words and
insert others. He was generally tired
out by eleven o'clock, and went down to
his club on the Strand. A very singu-
closing paragraphs of his story. He al
ways finished it himself l used to look
in the paper for it and find that he had
changed it very greatly from what be
dictated to me.
Dickens had very odd habit of
combing his hair. He would comb it a
hundred 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 combine.
When he got through he dictated an
other sentence. He was very careful
about his writings He wanted every
sentence to be as perfect as possible be-
fore letting it go to press. Dickens was
an odd fellow regarding the company he
sought. have known him, while was
employed by him, to 60 down to the
Seven Dials, about the worst place in
London, and eat and sleep there. He
roasted his herring where the rest did
and slept with the poorest. He loved
low society. He never seemed 50
happy as when seated in a poor coffee
house with crowd of the lower
classes talking around him. He never
missed a word that was said, and was
the closest observer ever saw. Moth
lhS SoSdpeO uIul LIE LuOSG minute
mannerlsms ewere noted and stored
away. When was working for him he
was at the zenith of his fame. Just before
his death; and even then he loved these
careless, rOlllcking rounds, among the
poor better than heightened dinner"
"Was he as great a drinker as he had
the reputation of being?"
Il never saw him drunk myself l
have seen him several times exhilarat
ed, however. He only drank the best
wine, but he drank that very freely.
Sherry was his special favorite, and
he never refused glass of fine old sher-
ry. He was an Unsuitable cigarette
smoker, and when debating to
me always had a cigarette in
his mouth. He was very spruce man,
too. He brushed his coat frequently.
and changed his collars several times in
d day. He was every bit as humorous
in his speech as in his writings. When
he was in particularly fine hnmor 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 me as
any member of his club on the Strand.
Dickens was undoubtedly the best after
dinner speaker in England. I heard
him at Whitehall once, the occasion be-
ing an anniversary of the British Mu-
scum. There was an enormous crowd,
hardly standing room, and he kept them
in one continual roar. He was fine &C
tor, and this added to his wit made him
irres:stibly funny. He was great eater,
not an epicure;; but gormand. He ate,
and ate, and cared little for the quality,
SO there was enough before him.