The Portland daily press., 1896-06-27


fifth floor. co." he said. smiling at a
recollection, she first come up prcmigou-
Gus in fight p
And nothing could be more character.
istic of this Same Sam than to come ND
promiscuous almost anywhere.
This was before Sam knew Pickwick.
and it WAS Dickens who obtained for him
his position as boots and companion to
the dear. fussy, little old gentleman
whom the night Waterman has seen trot-
ting about London with his spsctaoles on
his bald head and wearing white waist
coat, just as eyeryb body knows him.
LITTLE NELL'S GRANDFATHER.
Nor were these all; with little NelIs
many pipe in the rear of the tiny shop
and 1t was he who brought Dickens to
look for an old book and to learn by
heart the simple, pathetic life story of the
old man and his idol. At country fair
he has stood to watch Mrs. Jarley's in
Domby who reused his luminosity and of
whom he is unable to speak yet with any
degree of GOODNESS, He will initiate him
in pose and carriage across the elevator
floor, and yet it Is at mention of Mr..
Domby that he invariably ends by break
ing into peals of laughter at some imag-
cry or other created by the name, and
which he will never explain.
There were other characters which he
discovered and of which Dickens never
made use, particularly another coachman
who had habit Of whipping the pipe
distance Of twenty feet along the road
side, and who was great friend of Tony
Weller. People used to make special
trips with the queer old man, who was
thus small bonanza to the stage owntrs
on purpose to see him flourish his long
motion of his arm send the lash neatly
about the pipsstem between the lips of a
yeoman away ahead of the coach. chuck
ling over the mans utter amazement as
the vehicle numbered by. Mr.. Iiowman
cannot understand to this day why this
ooachman was not iinmotalized as was
the other one. And there was LOBBY in
hospital to whom he secured access for
Dickens, and who as visited repeatedly
by him, and yet who was never made use
of. SO far as he knows, unless in the sick
ness of Paul Dombey. stf4 1T
81 have been," said the I'D man remi.
niscently, 'in the worst places in LON
don, 'as it was then, though 1 s'pose a
new crop has come up easy since. I was
usually covered up as a tramp, loating
around and pretondin' to sleep till got
bit of their slang and even sometimes
stray password or two into their dens.
And many time he lmeaning Dickens)
has been with me after l had made a
way. DisgulsedP He9 Yes, of course,
an lookin' like the worst of 'em with
coat not many of the boys would "a
looked at. I had to be mighty careful
into what took him though, fer if that
old coat had "a got ripped off there
wouldn't been no fifteen volumes o. his
left. Trap doors in them parts, bless
you is as common as cracks ia the floor
His recolleotions of the slang in which
they talked are curious and the bits
that he can remember seem quite with
out meaning until he has translated
them, laughing with something Of the
old enjoyment at their sound. For In
stance, he used to ask of passerby:
rs such and suoh house bone camp
If the answer was not "No," it might
be-: "Yes. but yer takes stick fer to
parry the buffer" or In the stables is
plenty of noseback,'' or Eyer gets Joey
quid OF half quid."
The question about the house being a
bone can" implied an easily understood
| curiosity to know whether generosity
might be expected at the house, and If
there were dogs there a pal was warned
to prepare to parry the BUFFER or close
the delicious confidence shared with him
that the grooms in the stables were gen.
erous and would supply him with to-
bac,o. a
Among these men Dickens wandered in
disguise with his guide and here he pho
togTaphed the faces of vice and misery on
his mind, to reproduce them in such
characters as Bill Skies and Quilp. In
the shufiing unkept figures, which
aroused the noyelisb's curiosity and
which the alert guide tracked patiently
day by day until he knew all about them,
there were dozen personalities whom
the world sknows now and at whom it
shudders. Sometimes the character de-
teotive's" story of certain points upon
| which the novelist wished 30 be satisfied
was enough; more often Dickens would
insi st upon going himself and from such
trips have come the pictures with which
sour Mutual Friend' nbounds and in
which poor little Oliver Twist made so
unwilling participant.
THINGS WHICH HE WILL NOT
TELL,
Mr.. Lowman was as considerations in
his service as Waterman and detective for
Dickens as he is now In his capacity as
elevator man, his recolleotions Of the
novelist are none the less not of the most
favorable character. In fact, his relations
ana oonse quent familiarity with him