The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1885-10-23
NEW WALKS WITH DICKENS.
John L. Stoddard's Lecture in the
Stockbridge Course.

The patrons of the Stockbrdge Course COM
pletely filed City Hall last evening to listen to Mr.
John L. Stoddard's lecture. Almost everybody
has an intimate knowledge of the works of the
great English novelist and are eager to see the
places immortalized in his works Mr.. Stoddard's
pictures are faithful portraits of these spots where
Dickens characters have lived, and the neces-
sary descriptions were given in the lecturers US
nal pleasing style The quotations from the
works. with which the lecture was plentifully in
terspersed, were made with care and served to
Illustrate both the humorous and pathetic sides OF
Dickens stories
The great authors method of selecting names
for his characters was mentioned by the lecturer
as one of his peculiarites. With his note
book he walked through the streets and Jotted
down those names which struck his fancy, using
some as he found them and manufacturing others
from syllabes taken from these names upon the
signs over the shop doors. This custom OF using
the names thus found is forcibly brought to our
notice by the sign still over the door of London
warehouse, bearing that familiar firm name of
The works of Dickens owe much Of their sue
cess to the pleasing association of place and per-
son and the author used great care in selecting
these places All the spots in which he localized
his stories were the objects OF accurate descrlp
lions SO that they may be readily recognized,
and London abounds with them. The wooden
midshipman is still in his position over
the door Of the shop made famous I'M IN pbGi s s
while John Chivery's shop and the house i'll
which Mrs Jellaby lived. neglecting her children
to devote her energies to the natives OF "Boorlo-
boola Cha, retain the same appearance as when
visited and described by Charles Dickens
In the country as well as on the pasysements Of
crowded London, Dickens was faithful IN his
descriptions, truthfully setting forth the beauties
of quiet roads and lanes and the quaint old towns
and cities Here as in dond9pm tine IS
school, contained in Nicholas Nickleby, was writ,
ten when the cruelty Of the masters OF many OF
the Yorkshire schools was being brought to the
attention of the public; and in low and long
stone house in Yorkshire town we find the build
ing in which Squeers incnlcated pracucal ednca-
ton to his starved and i'll treated pupils. The
room which Dickens occupied in the Unicorn lnn
while writing this work. is still pointed out, much
as it was then. -
the same relative care as on his larger works and
this Christmas season was always one OF enjoy
being shared by himself in receiving scores of let
tiers at each Christmas tide from people who had
read and re-read these stories:
When writing Nicholas Niellleby, Dickens con-
ceiyed the idea Of making his next great work
collection of short stories to be issued under the
title of master Humphreys CLOCK the plan pc
ing to have the stories read by Humphreys from
manuscript stored in the case OF the clock: Mas.
ter Humphrey still lives and the clock is still
hanging on the wall Inc old man was vis1fa at py
graphed. his portrait being one OF the nnest PIC
lures thrown upon the screen last night sturdy
honest lace. Win klnuly eApTtSSlUH. MI. mum
phrey cherishes letter from Dickens apologize
ing for the liberty taken by the novelist in using
his name.
The darker sides of London life, so forcibly
represented in the novels of Dickens, were shown
on the screen last night. looking as dark and as
wicked as when Dickens painted them. Here we
find the streets through which Bill Sykes skunk,
and houses any one of which might have been
that den to which he fed, closely pursued by the
officers and crowd of Infatuated people, and where
he met his death in desperate attempt to escape;
London Bridge is mentioned in every one OF
Dickens's works. and was shown last night with
the landing steps where Nancy disclosed the plot
against young Oliver Twist.
MANY other scenes were shown on the screen
and described by the lecturer, comprising the
features of the best known of the novels, the pic
lures being equal in excellence to those OF the
places here mentioned and the character OF the
descriptions being maintained throughout.
Mr. Stoddard lectures again in the Stockbridge
course next Thursday evening, his subject being
sMary, Queen of Scots"