The sun., 1912-08-04
Dlckeus's Dolby.

sehSes'
Dickens's Dolby.
Those oldsters who remember Dick
ens's readings in New York forty-tour
wears ago will also remember Dolby.
Great must have been the astonishment
of such of them as have fallen in with
the recent announcement OF Charles
Dickens As ! knep Him by GEORGE
DOLBY ,Scribners,. il in those distant
days they had fallen in with Dolby in
the flesh. There was a good deal OF 1t.
Of the flesh. to fall in with. for in 1898
Dolby, though far from Falstaf'ian.
realized Falstaff's hattering description
of himself as IA goodly portly man. /
faith and a corpulent and his
age some 80. or. bv'r Lady. inclining TO
threescore Distinctly the Snowman
looked older than hi, chief and IT would
have been miraculous il he had survived
the centenary OF Dickens long enough
and in good enough condition TO write
q book about it, The wonder disap-
pears when one learns that the present
volume is a reissue Of book originally
published in 1885 and that the author
died at an advanced age in 1890. The
reissue, in view of the centennial revival
of interest in Dickens. il timely and well
come the more so because II contains
dozen illustrations Of things and people
connected with the Dickens's readings
and has for frontispiece the photograph
OF Dickens taken in New York in isss
At the instance OF Dolby. and vouched
for by him, as it will be by the recollec-
ton Of those who saw the original during
that winter Of the readings. as the best
likeness Of him extant.
Dickens had given public readings in
the early 'e0s. much to the disgust Of his
friend and biographer. Forster. who re-
gard-d them. very unjustly, as merely
making a show of himself for money
lie had suspended them by reason of the
death Of his friend and manager, Arthur
smith. in 1892 not having after that sue
ceeded in finding manager who COM
maiitied his confidence. Smiths sue
cessor had botched th. business part OF
the readings so as to exhaust the novelist =
rather limited stock OF patience In 1855.
however. the prospec, Of profit and the
lure Of the footlights again tool; posses
sion of him and he made contract with
! AIessrs Chappell for n course of thirty
readings at 500 each, This series Dolby.
already we'll known as "A theatrical agent
, and manager was employed by the firm
to manage. The result WAS a great sue
cess. which il to say that The gross re-
ceipts were about three times what The
reader was to receive What he received
was less than a fifth Of what MS many
| readings ne,ted him in his American tour.
Although Dolby was the manager of the
| tour he had very little 10 do with Dickens
| personally. the reader taking with him
F, his sub-sditor IN Al ne Year Round as a
| travelling companion For another Sc.
r!es Dickens raised his price. a. he was
more than justified III doing TO 81? 800 for
| forty-two readings. This tour Dolby also
managed. and for the first time formed
| the intimate acquaintance OF hi, star
who had much good humored fun with
| him Probably Dolby went TO his grave
withou, reading Dickens's whimsical
account Of his doings on this tour, for it
was contained in "A letter to Wills, printed
only since Dickens's death; "Dolby's legs
| stand as they did; his right eye becomes
! inhamed of morning only when he goes
out after go no bed TO treat the local
| agent, Iic uPIVaIVN al pTtdhIdst one
morning at Liverpool with three glasses
OF gin and water and two cigars distinctly
| 10 be- seen under his right eyeld" When
| the urgency Of James T. Fields was
brought to bear to secure American read
ings Dickens's confidence in Dolby had
| become so great that he sent him out in
| advance to investigate and report upon
| tn, chances. and 1t was upon Dolby =
favorable report that his decision was
| based.
| Dolby himself came in for much more
notoriety than hs bargained for or en-
, joyed The truth is that the American
curiosity 10 see and hear Dickens went
far beyond what he or his manager had
ina gined II sounds odd enough now
and indeed would have sounded odd
/ enough then il it had then been published,
! to hear that among the preliminary ex-
penses undertaken in London for the
tour was the layng in of some tons OF
poster pan"r Of the orange tint which
/ Dickens favored upon which were to he
printed the announcements Of the read
ings Of which very few American men
women or children a. all concerned
were una~ar" beforehand. Dolby pl,Imes
himself. AL The same. upon having sold
the poster paper al a profit after it's super
huuy had become manifest. One Amer
lean "Ifizen only appears in this record
wh" was bhssiully ignorant of the read
I inss and The reader. This was the n,ayor
OF New Haven, whoever that functionary
1 may have i'--n, There was Il great DIS
! tlrbancr IN New Haven over the sale
"f s'V- Th" lral agent had privately