The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1892-09-17
RELICS OF DICKENS.
aAANY QUAINT BUILDINGS MADE FA-
NOUS BY THE NOVELIST.


Appeal to All. Are Fast Disappearing
from Old London-BleAk House.
Ere long another Of the fast vanishing
localities, peopled by the genius of the
mAster novelist with characters more
real to US in some respects than their
present inhabitants, will be nonexistent.
Entering Lincoln s-inn-6elds from Great
Queen street, turn to the right, pause at
O. and picture Mr.. Tulkinghorn emerg-
ing one evening from chambers where
-lAwyers lie like maggots in nuts" I'm
A9ine him walking through the inn,
passing beneath its ancient Tudor gate
way, and visiting Mr.. Snagsby, the law
stationer in Cooks court, Cursitor street,
with view of ascertaining where Memo,
the mysterious law writer, lives.
A little to the south of Old Buildings,
ON the west side of Chancery lane, are
Bishop's court and Chichester Rents,
the latter approached through tun-
neled passage alongside the Three Tuns
public house. To the Rents came the
two gentlemen, not very neat about
the cuffs and buttons" who instituted
perquisitions through the court, dived
into the Soils parlor and wrote with
ravenous little pens on tissue paper
those sensational reports of the inquest
which had just been held at that we'll
known and popular house of entertain
ment, the Old Soils Arms"
Soils is the present Old Ship Tavern.
1t stands at the head of the court, fac
ing it on one side and the wall of Lincoln
Inn on the other. 1t is certainly ancient
enough, and on the first floor can still
be seen the identical long, low room
where the coroner presided, and where
little Swills, the comic vocalist, pre-
sented TO the harmonic meeting his ad-
mirable impersonation of that important
official
So far Identification Is plain sailing
But where was the famous rag and bot
tie shop, whose gin soaked proprietor
died from spontaneous combustion: Mr.
Rimmer, in About London with Dick
ems, is silent on the subject. The writer
=; Dickens London" thinks it must
have stood in Bishops court hard by
for no other reason apparently than the
fact of its being IAN old, narrow, dreary,
decaying and mournful passage, just
the place in which such people as the
poor law writer and crazy Miss Elite
would have made home"
But a careful study of every allusion
made by Dickens to the locality will, !
think. show that Mr.. Pemberton is
probably mistaken. Krook's shop Is
spoken Of as Lying and being in the
shadow Of the wall" -" blinded by
she wall" No house in Bishops
court exactly answers to this descrip-
Sion- On the contrary, the only
likely one at the corner next to Old
Soils faces an open passagewaY which
leads to New square. Krook's must
therefore be sought for at Nos. s ana
0 In the Rents NOW occupied by a
Law Stationery, opposite the Old Ship,
fronting the court on one side and On
the other within couple of yards off
and entirely blinded by the WALL SO
often referred to in the narrative.
Miss Elite, meeting Esther Summer
son and the wards III chancery one morn
ing i'll Old square, invited them to come
and see her lodgings. So close by did
abe live that, slipping out at a little
side gate" she stopped most unexpect
edly in narrow back street (Star yard.
leading to Carey street,, part of som"
courts and lanes Immediately outsid
the wall of the inn," and she was a;
home. She lodged in garnet at tie
top of Krooh' shop, described as ''blind
ed by the wall Of LincolI's Inn. which
intercepted the light within couple Of
yards" She lived in q pretty larg"
room, from which she had a glimpse Of
the roof Of Lincolns Inn hail; TIE new
one, be it remembered. for the cid hal.
is entirely shut out from view by the tail
houses in old buildings.
1t is during the visit that the poor
little creature draws aside the curtain
Of the long. low garnet window and calls
attention to q number of bird cages
hanging there, whose occupants Lady
Jane. the cat, is forever striving to de-
YOUR, crouching ION the parapet outside
for hours and hours" This is conclusive
testimony. for no other house in either
court-save the Old Ship-possesses an
attic with an outside parapet. The win
dows are mostly dormers, or flush with
the wall, while from no other garnet
window-except Sols-can glimpse of
the old hall roof he had. This can
readily be tested by standing close to
the hall and looking through the trees
toward Chichester Rents. where the
slated top story and long, low garnet
window of the rag and bottle shop may
be identified.
In q miserable back room on the Sec
ond floor of this dismal abode Captain
Hswdon, alias Memo, was found dead
by Mr.. Tulkinghorn and Krook-dying
by his own hands from an overdose OF
opium. ITO hemmed in churchyard.
pestiferous and obscene, they take our
dear brother here departed and lower
him down foot or two" On the steps
leading to this charnelhouse Dame
burden finds her mother. with one
arm creeping around q bar of the iron