The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-11-26

the Elder weller Taken From Lafe,
Nmme, ssviddere and All.

The Weller Taken From LARes
Name, sevidder' and All.
That Charles Dickens adopted the
name of Pickwick from that
Of Moses Pickwick, the coach prCpTie-
tor Of Bath, is generally known; for
who will forget MI. Pickwick's aston
ishment at the coincidence when Sam
drew his attention to the magic name
in gilt letters OF a goodly size on the
coach door, or the Indignation of the
faithful servitor: Amt nobody to be
whopped for takin' this ere liberty,
sirT" But it Is not, says the London
Globe, Of more than local knowledge
that he met the Wellers In the flesh.
Lest SO strange a discovery should be
found too shocking we hasten to quail
fy 1t by the admission That the imlnor-
tai Sam at all events owes little TO
his prototype. Six years ago John
Weller, then aged about seventy, was
living in High street, Lansdowne, Bath,
a pretty little round featured, red
checked man, like n of Randolph
Caldecott's postboys. He was as CHEEKY
as he looked, and his quite unusual
powers OF memory and conversation
were united to a pleasant sense OF hui
NOR. He was at that time a candidate
for st. Johns hospital In the town
where, IL he Is still alive, 1t Is possible
that he may be found. He had been
a~pprenticed successfully as a jockey
and as a postboy, but had exchanged
those stirring situations for the o
sedentary one Of the coachbox. He
was driver for n local lyman at a
moderate weekly wage. John was CON-
municatiye ON the subject OF his fam
lily history and charmed to enlarge IN
the occasion when the great novelist
crossed Its path. "@
His father, Dan Weller, an Essex
man, was In the coaching line, and
lived OH the west road, with ~headquar-
tiers at. Bath. He had known his sor-
rows, for he was d wfdower, but he
prospered i'm business, and at the eli
max of his fortunes was lin charge OF
the stables attached to the York House
hotel, Bath. Here he me- his fate.
The York House tap was In the hands
of a widow who was feputed to be q
lady OF property. She viewed the man
of horses with an eye, like Mrs. Wad-
mans salutatory-he was q personal
nan-and according to his son made
the offer which generally comes from
the other side, but rarely In a form so
terse and suggestive. Hang up your
hat here, Weller" The hint was taken,
and, to quote John again, they came
together" for better or worse. 1t was,
unhappily, for the latter. There had
been a hole in the widows stocking.
She was In debt. A veil may be drawn
over the connubial chickering's which
ensued, though Mr.. Weller, ST., was
indiscreet enough to publish them "nrbi
ct orbi." From the wider sphere there
suddenly dropped into that urban Gen.
ter a gentleman Of an inquiring turn
of mind. This was Mr.. Dickens. He
lodged in st. James square, an aristo-
cratic quarter, but 1t was remarked of
him hat he went out little into So
ciety. His pleasure seemed to be to
hold with coachmen, stable
men and persons of that class. To him
Mr.. Weller, ST., lore rotundo," and in
the dialect of his native Essex, dis
closed his griefs, and spoke his mind.
''Viddies. avoid viddies, sir" 1t will
be noticed that the pronunciation is not
that of the parsonage whom, lotwith-
standing his fictitious being, we may
call the real Mr.. Weller. That gentle
man spoke of "vidders." John Weller,
on the other hand, contended that he
gave the word as his father used to
utter it; it a one of the marks, In
his opinion, of his fathers Essex birth
and breeding.