The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-04-11
"reminiscences of Dickens.
From the Temple Bar.

FROM Lte IeWpte bar.
About this period his brother Frederick, whom
now saw for the first time, arrived by steamer.
and we all went to meet him. He had the same
wearied expression Mrs Burnett. the raised
eyebrows, small nose, and large, full-lipped
mouth; and spoke with the thick utterance of
his father and brother ! thought him. on the
whole. more comic in society than Dickens. He
had a positive genius for representing common
place matters in an absurd light, and with eX-
aggerated facial expression, so that he con-
t.ived to convert the most meagre material into
ludicrous combinations. They both occasion
ally INDUCED in puns, which if not always very
clever produced shouts of laughter from their
hearers, owing to the absurd way in which they
were uttered
One of Dickens good things was said to me,
and had great delight in repeating it. gen
tleman visitor was singing, by the sad sea
waves''-and singing it abominabiy; he finished
on high note, with most unlocked for and
inopportune establishment, in musical language
called a turn. Dickens had managed to pre-
serve a preternaturally solemn decorum until
this climax met his ears. He now flashed on
me a look Of absolute amazement.
What did he mean by thatYn asked equally
confounded.
sage shake of The head-"Oh, that's quite in
rule in music, as well as in accordance with
proverbal philosophy. When things are at
their worst, they always take turn
After the preparation of one of his puns he
was accused of irreverence. While we were
engaged at whist one evening. lady seated in
the background, apart from the players Il think
il was his mother), soothed by the lull, was in
dulging in placid nap. One of the players
with noisy glee suddenly banged down the king
of trumps to take the last trick, and thereby
awakened the sleeper, who started up in af-
fright.
''Don't be alarmed" exclaimed Dickens
You look awfully like one Of the defunct on
the Day Of Judgment"
"Whyf"
because you we're awakened by the sound of
the last trump
He pretended to be dreadfully Disguised when
his wife attempted puuning, and vowed he was
deteriorating under the influence of this bad
example though he could not help laughing as
she perpetrated her little harmless attempts
with the most innocent and deprecating air,
turning up her eyes, with affected terror of his
wrath, and terminating in a pretty little moue,
while he pretended to tear his hair and writhed
in well acted attitudes of horror.
One evening his friend Mr.. NJ, entered the
room with compacent air, arrayed in an
outrageouSly long stock, which he evidently
thought worthy of a Brummell. Dickens sur
veyed it for some moments with thoughtful
and puzzled expression. his forefnger ON his
forehead in imitation of Sterne.
"Halloa Charlie; what are you starting at my
stock for?" inquired M.
A heavy load of doubt and conjecture seemed
to be lifted from the mind of Dickens. He
heaved a sigh of relief. and beamed with thank
full satisfaction.
stock 1t is really meant for a stock, is it?
I am 50 glad to know you meant it for that. 1t
was so painful to think you might have intended
it for a waiStcOatl'
have never met with any one who entered
into games with as much spirit and bosterous
gee the simplest of them he contriAed to make
amusing and often instructive His fun was
most infectious, and he had three able parti-
sans in his brothers and Mr.. Milton, and under
the incentive of his prompting they became r-
resistbly comic Under their manipulation
"Vingt-et-un," "Lo.," etc, became so totally
altered as to be scarcely recognizable, and gen
enerally ended in unblushing cheating and CON
sequeht uproar ine Stahes mere usually thrown
of the evening