New-York tribune., 1912-02-07
ATHOME
Cadshill Where the Real Man Was Revealed
His Toke on the Late George W. Childs.
BY Stephen Fiske.

BN StepncU EISNes
Dickens was very happy at Gadshill'
When boy, trampinS with his father
from London TO Rochester. he had stopped
before the pretty house and exclaimed:
There I shall live when l get to be a
man,' The fulflment of this prophecy
seemed TO Dickens like the happy ending 10
one Of his own fairy tales. Besides the
place was holy ground to him, for 1t had
been trodden by the feet of Shakespeare
and was a resort Of Falstaff, Poins, Peto,
Pistol and Bardolph. In the hall painted
panel read: This is Gadshll, Of which
Sir Johr Falstaff said and the quotation
from Henry the Fourth" follows
Gadshill is small stone parsonage.
su eet with flowers. To the left of the CEN
trail hall-which was hung with scenes
painted by Stansfield for amateur perform
aEces-were the reception and dining rooms.
On the right were the library and billiard
room. on a side door was the notice;
This leads to the kitchen; please keep
closed"
Placards, labels and signs were peculiari-
ties of the house. In the sleeping roomS
were benches lettered in black. For
trunk" For portmanteau." Dickens
laughed as he explained: Yes; everything
that can be labelled is Labelled. | used to
be the most careless of men, and had to
cure myself as my work increased. Now
am a martinez. Breakfast at sharp;
dinner at sharp otherwise this is LIB
erty Hail."
The room best known to the public is the
library, because of the picture by Luxe
Fildes. called "The Vacant Chair, which
has brought tears TO many eyes. But so
far as Dickens was concerned, that char
had always been vacant 1t was for the
accommodation OF guests. lie never used
Il. eXCeTt to write the most casual notes
How could I write works in library
he exclaimed. with all those volumes glar-
ing at me and mutterng, What An
othcr?'
Dummy Books in Library.
The books on the lowest shelf Of the
library were dummies with titles selected
by such London humoriSts as Albert Smith.
Mark Lemon. Edmund Yates and Andrew
HALLIDAY. Lives of the Poets" was so
thin that there was scarcely room for the
title on the back Five Minutes in India,
10y an Englishman," was I'm five portly vol
uncs. Eggs on Bacon" carcaturcd Coke
on Ltteton." Dickens recalled the au-
thors Of all the dummies, and would roll
on the floor with glee as he told about
them.
His important writing was done in
large bedroom upstairs or in a chalet on
the opposite side Of the road, connected
with Gadshill by a tunnel cut through the
chalk soil. so that Dickens might pass to
and fro without encountering the scores OF
sdmirers who stopped before his house
daily 70 catch a glimpse OF their idol.
The chalet was presented 10 him by
Charles Fechter, the famous French actor.
who saw II at the Paris Exposition. 1t ar
rived at Gadshill in sections carefully
numbered and boxed. Dickens had the
boxes strewn carclessly over the lawn. and,
when Fechter arrived, asked him anxious
". why have yod sent me this lumber"
"Ciel"' cried Fechter but I have been
swindled! They told me they woulG send
you a Swiss chalet to write inr
I never knew any visitor 20 be admitted
to this chalet. In It Dickens was as Sc
cluded as at a hcspice on the Alps. There
was no special view 10 distract his atteu-
ton from his work-only the meadows the
woods OF Darnley Park and the changing
sky. He had four regular working hours,
and no day laborer was more pUnctual
His vacations were his lecturing tours.
The Dickens manuscripts were written In
blue ink and this became a fad of what
used to be called "the Dickens school Of
writer's" Though he never mentioned his
immortal characters and turned the con-
versation Immediately II Pecksnin or Sam
Weller or Mr. Dombey happened to be
quoted. ! ventured 10 ask him II he en-
joyed his creations as much as his readers
did Certainly" he said; II always have
the first laugh and the first cTy"'
Having thus broached a forbidden sub
ject, Dickens was induced TO show me the
original manuscripts Of some of his novels
and to explain his method OF composition.
There were no interlneations. after
thoughts. changes Of expression, as In Bal
zac's manuscripts. II a word or phrase
were altered the change was made after,
not above. the first text. nor on the mar
gin. He said that when he had selected
and named a hero. he would iot down
memoranda about hlm--"Shall he be rlch?"
THE property in chancery?" An old
aunt or uncle" In this, as In everything
else, he was very methodcal. But his
works show no traces OF these aids 10
IndBldllOI'
Selecting Wines for His Dinners.
Upon a miniature scale. but with ample
means. Dickens maintained at Gadshill
the estate Of an old English country house.
Miss Georgina Hogarth, his sister-in-law.
was his housekeeper. He had an excellent
chef. The dinners were very elaborate.
with seven courses and q different wine
with each course. Almost every day there
were distinguished guests. coming from all
parts Of the world, and often the entire
conversation was in French, which Dickens
spoke as fuently as his friend Fechter.
Choosing the wines for the dinner was an
afternoon festival. Seated astride barrel,
in the cool cellar carved from the chalk
rock, Dickens told a good story with every
bottle selected and fairly revelled In boy
ish humor. The intense vitality OF his
novels glowed through his personality.
After dinner the guests were invited 10