Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-12-19
AN INTERVIEW wI1R DICKENS
Al the Aston Izouae In Is42-Mrs.
Dickens Apology.

lCor. Boston Bttiget.J
The first time l met Charles Dickens was
in lsi2. when, as he said himself, he came
here on business and the Yankees chose to
make fools Of themselves. His business was
to obtain the passage Of an international
copyright law, and failing in that he felt
nothing but bitterness towards the people
who had treated him SO Hospitality He put
up at the Astor house, and there / went
armed with n letter from James W. Gerard,
the celebrated lawyer, who was prom inent
member Of the COMMITTEES who had received
Dickens, and who had paid the great author
much personal attention. | suppose
may have oversteppei the bounds of ETH
quetSc, but | was not aware of it,
when took with me- Robert H. Elton, who
will BE- remembered by old NewYorkers as the
publisher of 'Eiton's Comic Almanac the
preceder of all the funny papers. We were
ushered with much shoddy ceremony up to
Dickens reception room, where fortunately,
as 1t proved, there were very few people,
AMI found Dickenss lolling ungracefully in a
chair with several obsequious looking citi-
zens standing about him, while Mrs Dickens
was looking out Of the window onto Broad
way. Ny first impression of the couple was
that Charles was decided snob, being
dressed As no AMERICAN gentleman ever
dressed. loaded with jewelry. and that she
was ss loud in that particular as a woman
as he Yves as a man. He scanned my letter
through bis glass, looked at me supercil-
iously, AMI "WellF' can6 snappishly from
his mouth. | was little taken back but
tried to say something, which something was,
Truth lies ut the bottom Ct a well, Mr..
Dickens
who's thatf' was his unsniling response,
pointing at Elton who was not a man to be
easily taken aback, but looked annoyed.
introduced him Dickens did not respond,
but looked at the letter again through his
glass, and then said:
Its not customary, where | came from,
when you have a letter of introduction t.
take anybody with you; l don't know how
you do it here
] said nothing, and at this moment Mrs.
Dickens came TO our aid, and, in a very lady
like and gentle way, drew US aside to the
window, volunteering the remark, Mr.
Dickens isn't very well this morning. and
then endeavored to entertain us by asking
questions for fifteen or twenty minutes, when
we took our leave, Dickens barely noticing
us as we departed
Hes hog growled Elton. when we got
into the street, and was not disinclined t.
agree with him.
The next time | saw Charles Dickens was q
dozen or more years ago, when he again
came on business, to read to the Yankees,
and as his business was prominently sue
cessful he was more amiable. He put up at
the Westminster hotel. and was introduced
by his old and especial friend, Arthur Math-
ieson, then residing in this city. This time
found Dickens pleasant enough and sufiici-
emily laxative, but bis talk was Charles
Dickens, and nothing but Charles Dickens.
He invited US to stay to lunch, which we did,
and during which Dickens talked necessarily
about himself and swallowed bumpers OF
champagne until his talk became monoton-
Gus and trifle maudlin. This. however,
does not take away the fact that he was the
greatest writer of fiction that the world has
ever produced.