Evening star., 1935-09-15

In England, their inevitable
greetings are Have you done
the Shakespeare country yet?" and
'.Have you done Dickens"
Doing Dickens seems to have been
a favorite pastime of Americans ever
since Dickens himself crossed the
Atlantic to read his own stories in
American concert halls and theaters,
back in 1867. This fact explains why
thousands of travellers stepping ashore
in England every Summer have a
secret ambition to breakfast in some
inn associated with his name, and
why the London they expect to see
Is more the ShadoWed and haunted
metropolis of David Copperfield"
than the seat of empire it is.
THE inns of Dickens are really the
most Sought-out shrines of the
famous writer today, for he described
their comforts. cuisine, charm and
history in such detail that even
though he changed their names they
are easily recognized when found.
The Kings Head at Chigwell. half
an hours spin out of London, is
quickly recognized as the Maypole Inn
of "Barnaby Rudge" 1t still stands
opposite the old church just as it
did in the book, and the front room
on the second floor is kept exactly
as it was in the time of Dickens.
The Red Lion at Barnet, where the
Artful Dodger took Oliver Twist for
breakfast and Dickens himself often
dined, provides breakfasts still In
the Oliver Twist category there is
also the Angel of Islington. a land
mark in London for two centuries.
The famous Saracens Head is one
of the inns in Nicholas Nickleby,"
but Americans visiting Snow Hill find
that it stands no more, though its
600 years of tales live after it. 1t
got its name in the twelfth century
when Richard the Hearted
halted there on his return from the
Third Crusade Richard became
drunk and began laying about him
with his battle ak until one of his
barons remarked, Il wish hys majestic
hadde ye hedde of a Saracen before
hym juste now, for trowe he woulda
play ye deuce Wyth lite" There
upon the king paid all the damage
and gave the innkeeper the right to
call the inn "Ye Saracen'S Hedde."
One of the most famous Of the
Dickens tavernS is the Six Jolly Fell
loWship-Porters of Our Mutual
Friend the favorite resort of Rogue
Riderhood and CATER Hexam. It still
stands today in Limehouse and is
known as the Grapes; in Dickens time
1t was called the Bunch of Grapes.
1t is no wider than its front door,
recalling Dickens description that it
was like handle of a fiat iron set
upright on its broadest end" River
men still eat there, and its veranda is
a good place to sit and watch the
Thames, which engroSSed Whistler as
much as it did Dickens.
lew regret today that they can no
L longer take the stage coach rides
Dickens told of, for automobiles and
their speed make these jaunts more
enjoyable than they were in his time.
Many initiate the coach ride of Nicho-
las Nickleby along the Great North
road to Yorkshire, or Tom Pinch's
ride to London, now covered in a few
hours by auto.
Doing Dickens in England is much
more than seeking out London inns,
and many people select certain spots
for an English holiday solely because
of Dickens associations. Yarmouth,
now very popular resort, is the scene
of the Peggotty episodes in David
Copperfleld," while Gadshill in Kent
is where the author spent his last
days Even the American who tries
to do London in a day seldom passes
up Portsmouth street, where Ye Olde
Curiosity Shoppe still stands. A fas-
cinating spot to ALL most Londoners
insist visitors should see it, even if
one has to miss Westminster Abbey"