Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1900-03-29
DICKENS AND BOYS.
CHlCAGOAN WHO KNEW THE "KIND-
EST MAN THAT EVER LlVEDD

The Great Authors Friendlness For tho
! Youths who Worked In the Brickyard.
His Kindly Manner when He said,
"weu. MY Little Man, How Are you?"
Henry r. Jones, pioneer of Chicago,
who lives at tho corner Of Wood and Su-
rerior streets. was born in wiltshire, Eng
land, in 1898, and has some interesting
memories of Charles Dickens. Mr.. Jones
was employed in q brickyard where Dick
rms was in tho habit of stopping on his
tours of observation, and tho boy with
whom he talked longer and more fire.
quently than with any ono else in the
place remembers him now in his years of
throoscoro and ten with an adoring re-
gard.
"Charlcs Dickens was tho kindest man
that over lived in England, and j believe
no kinder man ever lived in the whole
world, " said Mr. Jones. ale had kind
and pleasant word for every one, but more
especially, think, for boys Why for boys?
Oh, because of his own neglected child
hood 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 como
into contact with them. He had way of
laying his hand on boys shoulder and
of look ing into his eyes and saying, Well,
my little man, how ore your 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 | was moro
impressed with his kindness and goodness
than his greatness. ! admired his appear
snco too Some of his pictures of that
time resemble him, but he wore when l
knew him nico brown beard, and lis
pictures never make that beard as hand
some and becoming as it really was. lio
was n noted man then, for he had pub
lishcd two of his great novels Oliver
Twist and Nicholas Niokloby '-and all
England was talking about him. l havo
all his works, and they are my greatest
comfort.
"Our brickyard, where l worked, con-
tinucd Mr. Jones, twas just short dis
TANGO from Gadshill the home of Mir
Dickens, and scarcely day passed that no
did not come to visit the place. Why, he
came sometimes as carly as I 80 clock in
the morning, although the yards only
opened at A. He was so fond of watching
laborng people, and brickmaking is--or
, was at that time in England-a slow and
tedious process, one brick being made by
hand at time. In lS47 they could mako
r six bricks at a time in America but be-
q fore that | had heard of the now country
, across the ST. where bricks were made by
' machinery, and ! talked with Mr. Dick
ems about plans for coming here. | often
wondered if the men were rude or surly,
and If that was why he talked to boys in
, preference, but l suppose he liked to get
into boys thoughts, and that is perhaps
the secret of his capital studies Of boys,
THE boys on their part had the greatest
D respect for him, fact which was notice
t able, for brickyard boys are, as rule, a
rather tough lot They were all the way
from ii TO 10 years of age, and thelr
greatest sport was the mOosting of passors
by. They always threw stones or called
; names after everybody not of their own
class and had quick and complete revenge
D on any one who dared to oppose or answer
= them. Many a ruined suit of clothes they
wero responsible for and the offender
4 could never be punished for too many
were guilty. But they made great OK
ception of MIR Dickens When any one
saw i'm coming down he street, he quick
a " Informed the rest, and the boys would
Z all stop to brush their hair with th III
II hands and rub some of the clay off thell
clothes, and all were glad and excited
The cry would go forth, There's Mr.
< dickens comirg-tion't zee see him.
Then he would come up and shake
hands with them all. He had such [
hearty handshake, and he always told VI
that he hOnOred the hand OF "A labOrinf
boy more than that of the greatest land
b. owner. And we believed him. If you eve
), read his viii, you will know how he re
melnbe"ad al his servants and instructed
his executors not to put Mr.. or Esquire OF
his tombstone but just Charles Dickens
And | think his reference to the lessons o
$ the Nov TcstaLlful III that last documen
gives tie whole character OF the man.
i IL an I..2 ho Mcntions the bricEyard
or Iath LrickticiJ, as it is called il
England, in one of his works l think
Is in Edwin Brood.
Taking W a copy of David Copper
field, lie turned the leaves slowly AM
said LAS l read of boys hardships ant
suiieriues as they arc recounted here,
feel the thrill of his touch upon my shout
der and hear again that pleasant, kindl
voice saying as in the old days when b
70 watched me making bricks, Well, m
boy, how are you today
Being asked if d" David Copperfeld" wa
not considered an autobiography MI
Jones said: well, that is hard to say. j
is told that Mr. Dickens had stepfnthe
q who was very cruel to him, and that NIGH
" have been in his mind when he wrote tn
book. But he was SO kind to boys and sue
IA good friend to them that he would natu
rally he moro sympathetic in telling tn
story Of their wrongs. Perhaps though
q it was because he himself had suffered Il
a tender age
Il Mr.. Jones became master of his own al
and prospcred in the country of his adoI
:, ton. Tho courthouse, fremont Ilous,
&C. Palmer House, Cook County hospital an
20 othor large and important buildings wei
~ constructed from material furnished b
NJ him, but for many years now he has live
retired, enjoying the competence his bus
"A ness afforded He does not regret that
w never knew Charles Dickens after he ha
~, grown to mans estate.
-, Il should not then remember him as IL
N friend of boys or given him that niche
, my heart which he will occupy ms long ;
that heart beats for it was as the man an
=, friend that / knew him best, and l di
- not care then for what he had written.
a was his own personality that impresse
"a me most and made mo remember hi
IT. longest, "-Chicago Post.
t. AN ARSURDITY PERCEIVED.
l' ~ could face starvation itself for yol
u sol,e - he exclaimed AS he drODped to n