The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1896-02-13
COBHAM OF DICKENS.
A VILLAGE ,MioRTALlzeo IN THE
"PlckW,ck PAPERS"


Is the Pride of Mine Host of the "Leath.
or BotteI~-An Antique Church and the
Brasses II Contains.
Less than an hour and half from
London is the quiet little station at
Stole street, named, suppose, in honor
of Roman road and trodden by travel
ers as they approach the manifold glo.
ries of Gotham.
Gotham. the Kentish Gotham, is one
of these places in which Kent is SO
rich, favored alike by nature and art
and historical association. For what is
called park scenery it has few superiors
in England. The church has memorials
Of its fourteenth century lords as fresh
as when they felt the last touch Of the
workman tools. while the inn opposite
is redolent with the memories of Charles
Dickens, and the ruddy old Elizabethan
hall is one Of the stateliest homes in
England-a real home, constantly lived
in.
To see Gotham in it's glory one must
of course visit it in summer. 1t is hard
ly fair to go there, as l did, on a weep
ing autumn day, though it was full Of
charm of its own. In the first place, the
season prec]uded my approaching Cob
ham in the orthodox way-from the
back Of the ancient buildings which
form the new college The boy who acts
as porter at the station did not recon-
mend the short cut for a very wet day.
1t had recently been plowed. So, pass
ing first an old Kentish black and white
house to the left and then fine red
brick Georgian mansion described by
the main street of Gotham village to
where putative leather bottle swings
in front of the inn which Dickens i'm
mortalized in "Pickwick. The leather
bottle, which, proudly labeled "Ecce
Signum," swings over sign of Dick
ems Mr.. Pickwick standing on chair
with his hands under his coattails, is, as
matter of fact, made of cast iron and a
weighs no less than 40 pounds, the real
bottle being kept on the top Of the clock
in the bar parlor, guarded by an uncer-
tain looking monkey and dog. 1t is
shaped like barrel, with combined
stopper and handle ON one side, and has
large hole cut out just below the ham
die. the reason of this being that when
it was dug out of field hard by it
weighed so heavy that the finder hacked
hole to see what YVES il it, He was re-
warded by finding j. ney, which was
probably exactly wha l.e wanted to find.
The inn claims to be as old as the
| oI,o ,f !,a 70 xr1, ,io1,
would make it fourteenth century. Even
the aspect of the much repaired exterior
does not make this impossible, and the
rough, worm eaten, dark oak beams in
the low ceiling of the Dickens room
certainly look old enough.
The Dickens room is the pride Of mine
host and brings Gotham visits from q
host Of theatrical people, who certainly
would never visit it for the sake Of its
lords, ancient or modern, and their hal.
and church and college. In the visitors
book read such names as W. S. Penley
and ]. L. Toole, the latter accompanied
by Mr.. Clement Scott, and over the
mantelpiece hung pretty theatrica
portrait Of Miss Mary Anderson, W
her hands tied together in some chari,c
ter which did S2t recognize-her me-
mento of visit sere.
The walls are hung with prints Of
various characters and scenes in Dickens
books, Dickens programmes, sketches
and what not, among them being The
Graphic's picture Of the empty
Chair" which made Luke Fildes' name
and Dickens last letter lin autograph)
dated June s, 1870, in reply to Non
conformist minister named Matcham, {
letter about edwin Drood," and with
pathetic and particular interest, be-
cause Dickens in this last letter of hi!
life avows that he Il%l always cherished
Christianity-even written a book t(
bring it home to his children, though hi
had not proclaimed his belief from the
house top. Jingle, Sidney Carton, the
devoted, and Pecksnitf are among thu
more prominent characters Oh the walls
All around the room there are rows o1
old fashioned chairs. the place of homo
being occupied by the Dickens chair;
fiat topped article Of the variety known
to old furniture dealers as 'The Wind
sor. "
Whatever tho claims of the "Leathel
Bottel' to fourteenth century honors
there is no doubt Of the antiquity Of th'
church, though the age of the exterior
except the towers, is obliterated with ,
facing Of fiints. Two gigantic flints, on'
of them at least feet by 2, lie on tn
grass below. The interior of the church
once ruined with plaster and whitewash
is now carefully restored and highl!
interesting. First in importance, O
course. come its monumental brasses
some 80 of them, not erected, but lai(
down ON the chancel floor to the homo
of the lords and ladies of Gotham ant
the masters of their college. Thes'
brasses have no superiors in England
and go as far back as the beginning O
the fourteenth century. Not line il
obliterated in these craven images Of tn
knights and danes - the one in full
armor, the other in the height Of fashion
Tradition says that in Cromwell's tim
they were saved from the heavy hand O