Evening star., 1934-06-03

Anna E. Welcker, resides In this city at the
Hotel Roosevelt She tells the writer she was
married to her husband in the dining room Of
Welckers Hotel when q girl Of only l6. Il
remember" she writes, when Ageron Sartoris
was stopping there" which was prior to his
marriage to Nellie Grant She also recalls the
frequent visits there of Gen. U. s. Grant. Don
Piatt and A. M. Shoemaker who kept reStau-
rant near the National Theater. Speaking Of
Nellie Grant, Mrs. Welcker says she often saw
her at the National Theater In evening attire
and that she was a very sweet girl. Welcker's
has long since ceased to exist, and the site Is
partly covered by the building erected for the
Swartzel. Rheem k Hensey Co. on the east
side OF Fifteenth street between New York ave-
nue. and H streets.
NICKENS' lectures well attended and
- greatly appreciated, and The Star gives the
first one the following favorable comment:
Dickens has read to begin with. There is
doubt about that This fact can be at
tested by the large number Of enthusiasts who,
provided with the essential So bit of pasteboard,
made their way tortuousiy to Carroll Hall via
F and II streets into the mo thoroughfare" Of
G street. The rush was heavy at 7:45 and the
process of seating the people little slow in
consequence of the pressure. Petulant young
ladies, cross over their damaged skirts, asserted
quite openly that the reason why no chairs
were allowed in the passages was because there
was no room for themi When seated there was
something more than the usual buzz of expecta-
tion. Why were the walls hung with carpet?
Was it to deaden the sound? Had Mr. Dickens
brought the carpet all the way from England
or hired it from a carpet store here? And why
was his droll little red velvet covered reading
stand lighted from the front? And what
clumsy gas fixtures! And was that square of
purple on the curtain behind the desk designed
as sort of Photographic background to Mrs.
Dickens? And there was Chief Justice Chase on
bench D. And was that Mrs. Sprague with
him? No, Miss Hattie Chase, and that was
Senator Sumner on the next bench behind;
and Mr.. Sumner and Mr. Dickens dined to-
gether, did they not? And wasn't it odd that
Mr.. Dickens, who wrote so apprecatively of
women, and Mr.. Sumner, who spoke so ap-
preciatively in their behalf, should have un-
sympathetic, nonappreciative wives? And where
was the President? Why was the President not
here? Oh, don't you remember, it is levee night,
the President will come tomorrow night"
From then on to the time Of his departure
The Star says: THE second reading of Mr..
Dickens went of much more satisfactorily to
everybody than that Of Monday night" and
the following day Dickens will read this eve
ming DR.. Marigold' and the famous trial scene
from 'Pickwick'" February Z: Dickens i'm
proves upon acquaintance. With each reading
here his audience has shown more warmth and
enthusiasm. His DR. Marigold' last night was
thoroughly good from the first syllable to the
last" =" tonight he takes his farewell
of us with the reading from Nicholas Nickleby'
and Boots at the Holly Inn."
On February Mr.. Dickens left Washington
at IL 80 for Baltimore.
IOHN and Elizabeth Dickens, parents of the
- great novelist had six children: Fanny
(who married a Mr.. Burnett), Charles, Letitia
(became Mrs Arthur, Frederick "a govern
ment clerk in London), Alfred, an engineer,
and Augustus NJ, who emigrated to this coun-
try and settled In Chicago, where his widow.
Bertha P. Dickens, died from an accidental
overdose of morphine on Christmas day, 1858,
leaving three children, Bertha, Adrian and
Amy, who, no doubt have q number of de-
scendants living In the United States.
About the time that Dickens came here in
1858, it was sarcastically said that it was
hoped he (Dickens) would not forget the widow
Of his brother. whose young children would