The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-02-28

abstemious, good fellowship, made
visit a delight.
Nevertheless, although noted for
his hospitality, Charles Dickens
was simple, modest and unaffect-
ed. He had an Astounding SYM
pathy for the troubles of others,
yet he was rarely confidential
even to his children. AS he had
never related to them the story of
his early life, so did he keep to
himself his sufferings from ia
tigue and insomnia brought on by
his prodigious literary labors.
IN his own way, Dickens main
Il tanned strict discipline among
his children. Himself extremely
tidy, and given to neat and dap
per but somewhat brilliantly COL
ored clothes, he insisted upon tidi-
ness in the little crowd of his
offspring. His son Henry recountS
that their fathers methods of i'm
pressing neatness upon the boys
did not meet with their complete
approval.
In 1856, when Dickens moved
his family to the country estate,
GadShill, Kent (the old Gad'S Hill,
famed as the scene of Falstaff's
adventures), where he spent the
rest of his life, the family had
been increased to nine-seven boys
and two girls. The girls we're al
ready of manageable age, and
Charles was young man of 10,
but the other six youngsters we're
miniature gang of English small
boys whose righteousness must
have sometimes tried their fathers
patience.
Dickens was always inventing
games and entertainments for his
family, and he made use of a
game to maintain their tidy habits.
1t was called Pegs, Parade and
Gustos." Each of the six boys
was assigned a peg for his hat
and coat, and every week they
would hold a parade for the pur-
pose of overhauling their clothes
to remove the stains of a weeks
wear. Each boy in turn would
be assigned the Office of custo-
dian for the implements used in
this parade of cleanliness. And
they didn't like it-but thew
obeyed
Henry said of this game: Our
resentment took the form of Whis-
pered mutterings among ourselves
on the subjects of Slavery 'degra-
dalton and so forth, which served
as a kind of Safey valve and
helped to soothe our ruf1ed feel
ings."
D1CKENS not only invented
- entertainments, sometimes
writing plays for his children to
take part in as actors, but took
part in them himself.
In 1849, at the time "The Life
of Our Lord" was written, Kate
and Mamie prepared their father
for their brothers birthday party
by teaching him to dance the
polka.
He studied assiduously but the
night before the party he awoke
in the middle of the night almost
overcome by the fear that he
would cut a poor figure in the
dance next day, and to make sure
he had not forgotten his steps he
ran downstairs and practiced them
over and over again, all by him.
self.
Dickens had a fondness for Civ
Ing humorous nicknames to his
children, dryly humorous like the
names he gave his fictional char
acterS. Charley, the eldest, was
called Plaster F1oby, a childish
way of twisting about Dickens
original Master Toby" Demure,
motherly Mamie was Mild Gyos-
ter, while the fiery tempered Kate
was affectionately referred to as
"Lucifer Box"
Walter, the second son, was
young Skull" for his high cheek
bones. and little Sydney, the 3
year-old and the smallest Of all
the Dickens children, was i'm
mediately nicknamed Ocean
Spectre" because of the some
what weird look in his large,
wondering eyes.
And for the rest of his life the
other children called him "Hoshen
Peck" Edward Bulwer Lytton
Dickens, who was born in 1852,
became "Plorn."
In his letters Dickens some
times confessed comically that he
could not recall all his children
by name, and in later years that
he was not always sure of their
whereabouts. Mamie tells us that
"he had a peculiar tone of voice
and way of speaking for each
OF his children who could tell,
without being called by name,
which was the one addressed "