Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-03-13
A FRIEND OF DICKENS.
From Chicago Evening Post J


Henry T. Jones, a pioneer of Chicago,
who lives at the corner of Wood and
Superior streets, was born in Wiltshire,
England, in 1882, and has some interest
ing memories of Charles Dickens. Mr.
Jones was employed in a brickyard
where Dickens was in the habit of stop
ping on his tours of observation, and
the boy with whom he talked longer
and more frequently than with any one
else in the place remembers him now in
his years of three score and ten with
an adoring regard.
Charles Dickens was the kindest man
that ever lived in England, and l be-
lieve no kinder man ever lived in the
whole world" said Mr., Jones' "He had
a kind and pleasant word for every one,
but more especially 1 think for boys.
Why for boys? Oh, because of his own
neglected childhood You know it is
said that the early history of David
Copperfield is the story of his own
! youthful days. | know he always spoke
to boys whenever he would come into
contact with them. He had way of
laying his hand on a boys shoulder and
of looking into his eyes and saying,
Well, my little man, how are you? that
made the boy remember it as long as he
lived. Yes | have had the masters hand
on my shoulder many a time. 1t made
ME proud then TO be noticed by him,
but 1 was more impressed with his kind
ness and goodness than his greatness.
l admired his appearance, too. Some Of
his pictures of that time resemble him,
but he wore when | knew him a nice
brown beard, and his pictures never
make that beard as handsome and be-
coming as it really was. He was not
ed man then, for he had published two
of his great novels, oliver Twist and
Nicholas Niekleby,' and all England
was talking about him. have all his
works, and they are my greatest COM
fort.
"Our brick yard, where worked, .
continued Mr.. Jones, was just a short
distance from Gads Hill, the home of
Mr.. Dickens, and scarcely a day passed
that he did not come to visit the place
Why, he came sometimes as early as
4 30 o'clock in the morning, although
the yards only opened at 4. He was so
fond of watching laboring people, and
brickmaking fs-or was at that time in
England stow and tedious process,
one brick being made by hand at a
time. In 1S47 they could make six bricks
at a time in America, but before that
heard of the new country across the
sea, where bricks were made by ma
ehinery, and l talked with Mr.. Dickens
about plans for coming here. I often
wondered if the men were rude or surly
and if that was why he talked to boys
in preference, but / suppose he liked to
get into a boys thoughts, and that is
perhaps the secret of his capital studies
of boys,
"The boys on their part had the great
est respect for him. fact which was
noticeable, for brick yard boys are, as
a rule, a rather tough lot They were
all the way from IL to 10 years of age,
and their greatest sport was the molest-
ing of passers-by. They always threw
stones or called names after everybody
not of their own class, and had quick
and complete revenge on any one who
dared to oppose or answer them. Many
a ruined suit of clothes they We're re-
sponsible for and the offender could
never be punished, for too many were
guilty. But they made great exception
Of Mr.. Dickens. When any one, saw Ghim
coming down the street, he quickly in