The Cordele dispatch. (Cordele, Ga.) 19??-1971, 1918-07-17
DICKENS LONDON PASSES

lltfit!l ilNlihA 8fifiiitls Wflglfltifit}li \
An interesting contrast of wartime
lLondon today with the London as
Dickens knew it is drawn by the we'll
known writer George r Simms in one
of the daily papers. He had been
wandering around the old familiar
spots immortaliZed by the great novel
nd nights Of long ago when Dickens
found the joy of life in every street
and byway of the big city. and the
| feast and the wassial bowl were typic-
al Of the Merrie England in which he
lived" He compares them with the
days that are. when Britain is fighting
/ for her very existence as a nation.
when the food of the people is strictly
rationed when the houses of cheer
are closed during many hours Of the
day, and when long before midnight
Curfew rings out and bushes the great
city 10 silence"
j Entering the city from London Bird
&c he steps into High Street There
Va bun dog peers out from a narrow
ally leading TO an oldworld stun
There is a wisful Observation-Disclosures
biscnits?' lock in the animals eyes.
and think of Bill Skies and his dog,
and | wonder if Nancy would have
managed something for the faithful
beast with one of her coupons. But
Nancy who passes me today wear
Bills regimental badge. He is doing
"A bit of good work for a change, and
doing il on the Western Front"
Near The tip of the street he secs
an air raid warning and Il think of
Fagin on raid night He would pro-
badly have been down the nearest
lube, and the Artful Dodger and Char
| ley Bates, being physically unfit
would have been with him. And what
an ideal hunting ground the tube on
air raid nights would be for them"
As he strols aiong the street he
notices that CONSUMPTION and war con
ditions have played havoc with the
Dickens types that until recently
were to be found there.
by the entrance to the yard of the
Old George he continues, where the
picturesque wooden galleries still re.
main TO remind us of the old Pick
wickian days, couple of 'Waacs'
(Members of the Woman's Auxiliary
Army Corps are chatting with a Red
Cross nurse. On the spot where Mr.
Pickwick first met Sam Weller, two
stEalian soldiers ara--ma liiae--a w.
inquiry o. a pretty postwoman,
wonder what Mr.. Pickwck would have
thought of Australian soldiers at the
door of his inn And what would San
have to say to the pretty postwoman?
Il turn down a narrow passage at
the back of the old Ma1shalsea. Here
are still some portions Ut the prison.
AT the door of the little houses that
are faced by the walls Of the old
house of captivity where Mr.. Dorrit
lay prisoner for debt a youth in the
uniform of the Royal Air Force is
talking to gray.haired old lady, pro.
badly his grandmother. J wonder what
the old lady thinks OF airplanes and
airmen. and as | glance up at the lit
tie windows let into the high prison
wall. wonder how the poor debtors
would have felt on Zeppelin night.
I'm Little Dorrit's playground chill.
dren are still at play, but one of the
little girls is being called home by
her mother. The mother wears a
uniform with trousers to it. How Lit
tie Dorrit would have stared to find
a mother in trousers in her play,
ground! And what would Maggie have
said?"
Nearby are two establishments that
were familiar objects in Dickens day.
One is a public-holse and the other is
a pawnshop. But though it is early in
the afternoon the public-house is
closed. Before the war, the write,
| saws This pSfahliShmant ,UoC 90 Iib