THE DAILY EVENING TELEGRAPH PHILADELPHIA, MONDAY, JANUARY 1G, 1871.
DICKENS' AMATEUR THEATRICALS.
Frtm Jtttry Saturday,
It is sow some eighteen years since the
present writer then in his school days took
part in the earliest of those winter evening
festivities at the house of the late Charles
Dickens, which continued annually for seve
ral years, terminating with the performance
of Mr. Wilkie Collins' drama of Tht Frozen
Deep. And when he remembers the number
of notable men who either shared in or
assisted (in the French sonse) at those dra
matio revels, who have passed away in the in
terval, he is filled with a desire to preserve
some recollections of evenings so memorable.
What nights have we fieen at the Mer
maid!" What evenings were those at Tavis
tock House, when the best wit, and fancy,
and cnltnre of the day met within its hospi
table walls! There was Thackeray, towering
in bodily form above the crowd, even as he
towered in genius above them all, save ohly
one; Jerrold, with the blue convex eye,
which seemed to pierce into the very heart of
things and trace their subtle resemblances;
Leech, with his frank and manly beauty,
fresh from the portrayal of "Master Jacky,"
or some other of the many forms of boy
hood he knew so well; Mark Lemon, "the
frolic and the gentle" (dear to all ns younger
ones, irrespective of blood-relationship, as
"Uncle Mark"); Albert Smith, dropping in
late in the evening after a two or three thou
sandth ascent of Mont Blanc, but never re
fusing at our earnest entreaty to sit down to
the piano and sing ns "My Lord Tomnoddy,"
or his own latest edition of Galtgnani's Met
tenger; Augustus Egg, with his dry humor,
touching from contrast with the face of suf
fering that gave sad presage of his early
death; Frank Stone, the kindly neighbor
and friend, keen as any of us boys for
bis part in the afterpieoe; Stanfield,
with the beaming face, "a largess uni
versal like the sun, his practiced hand and
brush prompt to gladden ns with master
pieces of scene painting for the Lighthouse
or the Ice-fields; and last but not here to
be dismissed with a few lines only our
bountiful host, like Triplet, "author, man
ager, and actor too;" organizer, deviser, and
fcarmonizer of all the incongruous assembled
elements; the friend whom we have so lately
lost, the incomparable Dickens. The very
walls of that home and the furniture
which filled it were rich in interest
and eloquence of his fame and the tribute
which it had brought him: the testimonial
given him at Birmingham; the handsome case
of cutlery sent him by Mr. Brooks, ot Shef
field (reoognizant of the chance mention of
bis name in the pages of "Copperfield");
Grip the raven, in his habit as he lived, under
the glass case in the hall; the Chinese gong,
then less common in English houses than now,
reminding the reader familiar with his "Dick
ens," of that one at Dr. Blimber's which the
weak-eyed young man, to Paul's amaze
ment, suddenly let fly at "as if he had gone
mad or wanted vengeance;" the pictures
which looked down npon ns from the
walla of dining-room and staircase, Sir
Charles Coldstream in his ploughboy's dis
guise, er Bobadil prostrate on the couch; the
lady in the barouche reading the oarrent
number of "Bleak Ilouse," and the curious
tiger skimming the contents over her shoul
ders Dolly Yarden in the wood; poor . Kate
Nickleby at work in Madame Mantalini's
show-room; little Nell among the tombs of
that old church which in these days of resto
ration will soon have no existence but on the
oanvas of George Cattermole; these, and
many more such signs of the atmosphere of
art and literature in which we moved, were
gathered then and are now soattered to the
four winds.
In one sense our theatricals began and
ended in the school-room. To the last that
apartment served us for stage and auditorium
and all. But in another sense we got pro
motion from the children's domain by de
grees. Our earliest efforts were confined to
the children of the family and their equals in
age, though always aided and abetted by the
good-natured manager, who improvised cos
tumes, painted and corked our innocent
cheeks, and suggested all the most effective
business of the scene. Our first attempt
waa the performance of Albert Smith's
little bnrletta of Guy Faieke, which
appeared originally in trie pages of his month
ly periodical, the Man in the Moon; at another
time we played WUliain 2'ell, from the late
Mr. Robert Brough's clever little volume, "A
Cracker Bon-bon for Evening Farties." In
tnose days there were still extravaganzas writ
ten with real humor and abundant taste and
fancy. The Broughs, Gilbert a Beckett, aud
Mr. Flanche could write rhymed couplets of
great literary excellence, without ever over
stepping the bounds of reverence
and good taste. Extreme purists may
regret that the story of the strug
gle fer Swiss independence should ever
be presented to children in association with
anything ludicrous; but, those critics ex
cepted, no other could object to the spirit of
"gracious fooling" in which Mr. Brough re
presented William Tell brought up before
Gesler for "contempt of hat;" Albert, his pre
cocious son, resolving that, as to betraying
bis father, "though torn in; half, I'll not be
made to split;" and when he comforts hia
father, about to shoot at the apple, by assur
ing him that he is "game," the father reply
ing, "Wert thou game, I would preserve, not
Bhoot thee." This is drollery, it seems to us,
not unworthy of Sydney Smith or Hood, and
in no way to be placed in the same catalogue
with the vulgarities and inanities of a later
brood.
Another year found us more ambitions,
and with stronger resources, for Mr. Dickeqs
himself and Mr. Mark Lemon joined our
acting staff, though, with kindly considera
tion for their young brethren, they chosa
subordinate parts. In Mr. - Flanche's ele
gant and most witty fairy extravaganza of
Fortunio and His Seven Gifted Servant, Mr.
Dickens took the part of the old "Baron
Dunover," whose daughters so valiantly adopt
man's attire and go to the wars; Mr. Lemon
contenting himself with the role of the "Dra
gon," who is overoome by "Fortunio's" strata
gem of adulterating the well, whither he
usually resorted to quench his thirst, with a
potent admixture of sherry. What fun it
was, both on and off the Btage! The gor
geous dresses from the eminent costumier of
the Theatres Royal; our heads bewigged and
our cheeks rouged by the hands of Mr. Clark
son himself; the properties from the Adulphl;
the unflagging humor and suggestive re
sources of our maHager, who took upon him
the charge of everything, from the writing of
the playbills to the composition of the punch,
brewed for our refreshment between the acts,
but "craftily qualified," as Michael Cmio
would have said, to suit the capacities
of the childish brain, for Dickens never
forgot the maxima rectrentia due to chil
dren, and some of us were of very tender
age: the comedian who played (ia a complete
jockey's suit and top-booU) Fortanio'a . ser
vant Light-foot, was we are afraid to say
he young but it was somewhere between
two and three, and he was announced in the
bill as having teen "kept out of bed at a
vast expense." The same veracious docu
ment, by the way, represented the sole lessee
and manager of the Theatre Iloyal, Tavistock
House, as Mr. Vincent Crummies, disguising
Mr. Dickens himself in the list of
dramatii persona as the "Modern
Iloscius," and Mark Lemon as the "In
fant Phenomenon," an exquisitely con
ceived surprise for the audience who, by no
means expected from the description to re
cognize in the character the portly form of
the editor of Punch. The time, by-the-way,
must have been the winter preceding the
commencement of hostilities with Ilussia,
for Mr. Dickens took advantage of there
being a ferocious despot in the play the
Emperor Matapa to identify him with the Czar
in a capital song (would we could recall it!) to
the tune of "The Cork Leg," in which the
Emperor described himself as "the
Robinson Crusoe of absolute state," and de
clared that though he had at his court many
a show-day, and many a high-day," he
hadn't in all his dominions "a Friday! " Mr.
Flanche had in one portion of the extrava
ganza put into the mouth of this character
for the moment a few lines of burlesque upon
"Macbeth," and we remember Mr. Dickens'
unsuccessful attempts to teach the performer
how to imitate Macready, whom he (the per
former) had never seen! And after the per
formance, when we were restored to our
evening-party costumes, and the sohool-room
was cleared for dancing, still a stray "pro
perty" or two had escaped the vigilant eye of
the propesty-man; for Douglas Jerrold had
picked up the horse's head (Fortunio's faith
ful steed Comrade), and was holding it up
before the greatest living animal painter, who
had been one of the audience, with "Looks
as if it knew you. Edwin!"
Another time we attempted Fielding's
Tom Thumb, using O'Hara's . altered ver
sion, further abridged and added to by the
untiring master of our ceremonies. Field
ing's admirable pleoe of mock-heroio had
always been a favorite of Charles Dickens. It
has often been noticed how rarely he quotes
his books, but the reader of 'Pickwick" will
remember how in an early chapter of that im
mortal work Mr. Alfred Jingle sings the two
lines:
"In hnrry, post-haste for a license,
In hurry, ding-dong, I come back."
They are from Lord Grizzle's song in Tom
TJtumb. Mr. Lemon played the giantess
"Glumdalca" in an amazing get-up of a com
plete suit of armor and a coal-scuttle bonnet:
and Mr. Dickens the small part of the ghost
of "Gaffer Thumb," singirjg his own song
on the occasion, a verse of which may be
quoted, if only to illustrate the contrast be
tween the styles of the earlier and later bur
lesque. In O'Hara's version the ghost appears
to King Arthur, singing:
" Pale death la prowling,
Dire omens scowling '
Doom thee to slaughter,
Thee, thy wife and daughter;
Forles are growling
With horrid groans.
Grizzle's rebellion
What need I tell you on?
Or by a red cow
Tom Thumb devoured?
Hark, the cock crowing, Cockcrows.
I must be going.
I can no more !" Vanfohe.
Mr. Dickens' substituted lines were, as nearly
as we remember, the following:
'I've got up from my churchyard bed
And assumed the perpendicular,
Having something to Bay la my head,
Which isn't so very partlcalar.
I do not appear in sport,
Itut in earnest, all danger scorning
I'm at your service, in short,
And I hereby give you warning
I (Vck crows.
Who's dat crowing at the door 7
Here's some one In the house with Dinah!
I'm called (so can't say any more)
13 y a voice from Cochin China!"
Nonsense, it may be said, all this; but the
nonsense of a great genius has always soma
thing of genius in it.
The production next year, on the same
stage, of the drama of I he Lighthouse,
marked a great step in the rank of our
performances. The play was a touching and
tragic story, founded (if we are not mis
taken) upon a tale by the same author, Mr,
Wilkie Collins, which appeared in an early
number of his friend's weekly journal, House
hold Woi-ds. The principal characters were
sustained by Mr. Dickens, Mr. Mark Lemon,
Mr. Wilkie Collins, and the ladies of Mr.
Dickens' family. The scenery was painted
by (JiarkBon btanheid, ana comprised a drop
soens representing the exterior of Eddystone
Lighthouse, and a room in the interior in
which the whole action of the drama was car
ried on. The prologue was written (we be
lieve) by Mr. Dickens, and we can reoall, as
if it were yesterday, the impressive elocution
of Mr. John Forster, as he spoke behind tho
scenes the lines which follow:
"A story ol those rocks where doomed ships come
lo cast their wrecks upon the steps of home:
Where solitary men, the long year through,
The wind their music and the brine their view,
Teach mariners to Bhun the fatal light
A story of those rocks is here to-night:
Eddystone Lighthouse"
(Here the green curtain rose and discovered
Ktanfield's 'drop scene, the Lighthouse, its
lantern illuminated by a transparency)
"In Its ancient form,
Ere he who built it died iu the great storm
Which saivercd It to nothing once again
Beheld out gleaming ou the angry main.
Within it are three men to these repair
In our swilt bark of fancy, light as air;
They are but shadows, we shall have vou baclc
Too soon to the old dusty, beaten track.''
We quote from memory, and here our
memory fails. We are not aware that the
prologue was ever published,' or -indeed the
play for which it was written; though the
Lighthouse was performed two or three years
later at the Olympio, with Mr. Robson in the
character originally played by Mr. Dickons.
The main incident of the p'ot the confes
sion of a murder by the old sailor, "Aaron
Gnrnock," under pressure of impending
death from starvation (no provisions being
able to reach the lighthouse, owing to a con
tinuance of bad weather), and his subsequent
retractation of the confession when supplies
unexpectedly arrive afforded Mr. Dickens
scope for a piece of acting of great power.
The farce of Mr. Nightingale's If.iary, the
joint production of Dickens and Mark Lemon,
which followed Mr. Collins' play at Tavistock
Ilouse, was well calculated to exhibit the
versatility of the principal actor. Mr.
Dickens played one "Mr. Gabblewig,". in
which character he assumed four or five diffe
rent disguises, changing his dress, voioa, aud
look with a rapidity and completeness which
the most practised "entertainer" might envy.
TMs whimsical piece of extravagance had been
before played by the 6aoie actors in the per
formances for the benefit of the Guild of
Literature and Art, but has never boon
printed, except privately for the use of the
original actors. WJint portions were contri
buted by the joiut authors respectively we oin
only surcuise; but there were certain charac
ters and speeches whioh bore very dearly
stamped upon them the mark of their author,
ship. One of the characters played by Mr.
Dickens waa an old lady, in great trouble
and perplexity about a missing child; of
which character (being nameless ia the
drama) he always spoke, when be had ocoa
sion to refer to her off the stage, ai ','JIfs.
Gamp," some of whose speeches were as well
worthy of preservation for droll extravaganoe
of incongruity as the best of her famous pro
totype in "Martin Uhuzzlewit. In addition
to her perplexity about the missing infant,
she is further embarrassed as to the exact
surname of "Mr. Nightingale," whose name
she remembers to be that of a bird, but can
not always refer to the correct species of that
order, A quotation we make from memory
will leave no doubt as to the fertile and sin
gular fancy from whose mint it came:
"No, sir, I will not leave the house! I will
not leave the establishment without my child,
my boy. Mi boy, Bir, which he were his
mother's hope and his father's pride, and no
one as I am aweer on's joy. Vich the name as
was giv' to this blessedest of infants and
vorked in best Vitechapel, mixed upon a pin
cushin, and 'Save the mother' likewise, were
Abjolom, after his own parential father,
Mr. Nightingale, who no other ways
than by being guv' to liquor, lost a day's
vork at the veel-right business, vich
it was but limited, Mr. Skylark, being
veels of donkey-chaises and goats; and van
V88 even drawn by geese for a wager, and
came up the aisle o the parish church one
Sunday arternoon by reason of the perwerse
ness of the animals, as could be testified by
Mr. Wix, the beadle, afore he died of draw
ing on Vellington boots to which he was not
accustomed, after an 'earty meal of roast
beef and a pickled walnut to which he were
too parjial ! Yes, Mr. Robin Redbreast, in
the marble fontin of that theer churoh was
he baptized Abjalom, vich never can be
unmade or undone, I am proud to say, not
to please nor give offense to no one, nohows
and noveres, sir. . . .Ah! 'affliction
sore long time Maria Nightingale bore; phy
sicians teas in vain' not that I am aweer she
bad any one in particular, sir, excepting one,
vioh she tore his hair by handfuls out in con
sequence of disagreements reJitive to her
complaint; and dead she is, and will be, as
the hosts of the Egyptian fairies; and this I
shall prove, directly minute, on the eving
dence of my brother the sexton, whom I
shall here produce, to your confusion, young
person, in the twinkling of a star or huinin
eye!"
Scarcely had tho old lady quitted the
stage when Mr. Dickens reappeared as "my
brother the sexton," a very old gentleman
indeed, with a quavery voice and self-satisfied
smile (pleasantly suggesting how inimi
table must have been the same actor's man
ner as "Justice Shallow"), and afflicted with
a "hardness of hearing" which almost baffled
the efforts of his interrogators to obtain
from him the desired information as to the
certificate of Mrs. Nightingale's decease. "It's
no use your whispering to me, Bir!" was
the gentle remonstrance which the first
loud shout in his ear elicited; and on the
question being put whether "he had ever
buried" he at once interrupted to reply that
he had brewed; and that he and his old woman
"my old woman was a Kentish woman,
gentlemen: one year, sir, we brewed some of
the strongest ale that you ever drank, sir;
they used to call it down in our part of the
country (in allusion, you understand, to its
great strength, gentlemen), 'Samson with
his hair on, " at which point the thread of
bis narrative was cut short by the reiteration.
in a louder key still, of the intended question
in a complete form. A third character in
the farce, sustained by Dickens, was that
of a malade imaginaire, for the time
being under treatment by a new specific
"mustard and milk." the merits of which ha
could not highly enough extol, but which
nevertheless was not so soothing in its
effects but that the patient gave every minute
a loud shriek explaining apologetically.
"That's the mustard! followed immediately
by a still louder one, "That's the milk!" We
are afraid to say in how many other disguises
our manager appeared, but there was cer
tainly one other, a footman or waiter, in
which character the actor gave ns a most
amusing caricature of the manner of one
of his own servants; and we remember
with what glee, one night at supper
after rehearsal, Dickens learned that the
man in question had been heard imitating his
master in the part for the amusement of his
fellow-servants, in utter ignorance that he
himself had eat in the first instance for the
portrait. The same amazing fertility and
rapidity of invention, in which Dickens
stands without a rival as a humorist, often
served him in excellent stead, in the sudden
substitution of extempore remarks known to
the professional actor as gag." On one oc
casion in a farce (we forget its name) played
after "The Frozen Deep," one of the charac
ters having ocoasion to disguise . himself for
the moment in the chintz-cover of the sofa,
Mr. Dickens suddenly observed, to the aston
ishment of his fellow-actors, "He has a
general appearance of going to have his hair
cut!" a comparison so ingeniously perfect as
to convulse everybody on and oft' the stage
with laughter. In this rapid discovery of re
semblancesfor example, Mrs. Lirriper's dei
cription of the poor gentleman, when the fire
broke out in her lodgings, carried out in a
chair, "similar to Guy Fawkes," or the des
cription of Captain Bunsby's eyes, "one mov
able and one stationary, on the principle of
some lighthouses" our great novelist has
never been approached. "Phus," it has been
truly said, "he makes human nature and its
surroundings speak to us; and thus the rich
ness of life is multiplied to us infinitely, so
long as we are enabled to view it with his
eyes."
It was perhaps partly owing to Mr. Dickens'
sense that his mission in life was to be an
"entertainer," that from the outset of his
literary career he exhibited so strong a fellow
feeling with entertainers of all kinds; and
these few rough notes of his own theatrical
relaxations may be of interest if only as illus
trating one undoubted characteristic of his
genius. His love of the stage, and his faun
liarity with every aspect of it, are apparent in
almost everything he has written, from the
"Sketches by Boz," in which he described
an evening at Astley's (which, by the
way, may be compared, by those who
like to trace the growing power
and the perfecting touch of a great artist,
with a description of the same scene in the
"Old Cariosity Shop"), to the casual mention
in the unfinished "Mystery of Edwin Drood"
of the picture of "riignor Jacksonini the
clown, in the act of saying 'How are you to
morrow?' quite as large as life und nearly as
melancholy." The conventionalities and ar
tificialities of the stage afforded him constant
material for humorous description or com
ment. He has written nothing more genu
inely humorous and clever than the account
of Sir. Crummies and his company at the
Portsmouth Theatre. Who can ever for
get Mr. Crummies' expression of honest
&ret . as he recalled the first-tragedy-man,
once a member of his company, who
"when be plajed 'Othello' used to black him
self fill over. That's going into a part as if
jou felt it. It isn't common, moras the
pity"; or the same gentleman's account to
Nicholas of his first introduction to Mrs.
Crummies: "The first time I saw that admi
rable woman, Johnson, she stood on her head
on the butt-end of a spear, surrounded by
LlaziDg fireworks"' But, although Mr. Dick
ens constantly introduced the theatre and the
theatrical profession, to laugh at their tot
t . m .
common ftosureiueB ana meir aanerence to
tradition, he believed in them still. His own
genius was too dramatio for him not to have
strong sympathy with dramatio representa
tions, if at the same time his close ob
servation of human nature and his keen
sense of the ludicrous forced him to see
how little illusive stage illusion commonly is.
There is no theme on whioh he appears to love
more to dwell. "The Uncommercial Travel
ler," and the miscellaneous papers which he
contributed to his periodical Household Word,
are full of exquisite instances in point. He
cannot mention Dullborough as "his boy
hood's home" without remembering that he
feels "like a tenor in an English opera when he
does so." He cannot pass the Dullborough
Theatre without calling to mind that there he
had first seen "the funny countryman, but
countryman of noble principles, in a flowered
waistcoast, crunch up his little hat and throw it
on the ground, and pull off his coat, saying,
'Dom thee, Squire, coom on with thy fistes,
then!' At which the lively young woman who
kept company with him (and who went out
gleaning in a narrow white muslin apron with
five beautiful bars of five different colored
ribbons across it) was so frightened for his
sake that she fainted away." And every one
has noted, in reading that nncomfortable and
rather dreary story "Hard Times," that the
part which the author himself really enjoyed
is that which deals with the interests of the
poor horse-riding people Mr. Sleary, Sissy
Jupe, and Master Kidderminster. Mr. Grad
grind's method of gauging all human nature
by statistics is a trifle caricatured, and the
boasts of Mr. Bounderby a thought conven
tional, but poor old asthmatio Mr. Sleary's
account of his new scene in the circle, as
be imparts it to Sissy Jupe, reveals at
once where the humorist was really strong
and rejoiced in his strength: "If yoawath
to thee our Children in the Wood, with
their father and mother both a-dying, on a
horthe their nncle a receiving them ath
hith wardtb, upon a horthe themthelvth
both agoin' a blackberryin' on a horthe
and the robinth a comin' in to cover 'em
with leavth, npon a horthe you'd thay it
wath the oompleteth thing ever you thet
your eyeth on I " Dickens was drawn to
ward all that multifarious class who live by
affording what he conceivod to be innocent
amusement. It was his favorite doctrine
that people must be amused that they
needed it; and no form of Pharisaical pro
priety was more irritating to him than that
which advocated the mechanics' institute or
the lecture-hall as the only legitimate relief
to the working man's hours of labor.
The success of Tht Lighthouse, performed
at Tavistock House in the January of 18."(5,
and subsequently repeated at Campden
Ilouse, Kensington, for the benefit of the
Consumption Hospital at Bournemouth, in
duced Mr. Wilkie Collins to try his dramatic
fortune once more, and the result was the
drama of The Frozen Deep, with aa excellent
part for Mr. Dickens, and opportunity for
charming soenio effects by Mr. Stanfield and
Mr. Telbin. The plot was of the slightest.
A young naval officer, "Richard Wardour," is
in love, and is aware that he has a rival in
the lady's affections, though he does not
know that rival's name. His ship is ordered
to take part in an expedition to the polar
regions, and, as we remember, the moody
and unhappy young officer, while chopping
down for firewood some part of what had
composed the Bleeping compartment of a
wooden hnt, discovers from a name carved
upon the timbers that his hated rival is with
him taking part in the expedition. His re
solve to compass the other's death gradually
gives place to a better spirit, and the drama
ends with his saving his rival from starvation
at the cost of his own life, himself living just
long enough to bestow his dying blessing on
the lovers; the ladies whose brothers and
lovers were on the expedition having joined
them in Newfoundland. The character of
"Richard Wardour" afforded the aotor oppor
tunity for a fine display of mental struggle,
and a gradual transition from moodiness to
vindictiveness, and finally, under the pressure
of suffering, to penitence and resignation,
and was represented by Mr. Dickens with
consummate skill.
The production of The Frozen Deep has a
literary interest for the reader of Dickens, as
marking the date of a distinct advance in his
career as an artist. It was during the per
formance of this play with his "children and
friends, he tells uj in the prefaoe of his
';Tale of Two Cities," that the plot of that
story took shape in his imagination. He
does not confide to ns what was the precise
connection between the two events. But
the critical reader will have noticed that
then,' and from that time onward, the
novelist discovered a manifest solicitude and
art in the construction of his plots which he
had not evinced up to that time. In his ear
lier works there is little or no constructive
ability. "Pickwick" was merely a series of
scenes from London life more or less loosely
strung together. "Nicholas Nickleby" was
in this respect little different. In "Copper
field" there is more attention to this specially
dramatio faculty, but even in that novel the
special skill of the constructor is exhibited
rather in episodes of the stoiy than in the
narrative as a whole. But from and after the
"Tale of Two Cities," Mr. Dickens manifests
a diligent pursuit of that art of framing and
developing a plot which there can be little
doubt is traceable to the influence of his inti
mate and valued friend Mr. Wilkie Collins. In
this special art Mr. Collins has long held high
rank among living novelists. He is indeed, we
think, open to the charge of sacrificing too
much to the composition of riddles, which,
like riddles of another kind, lose much of
their interest when once they have been
solved. And it i3 interesting to note that
while Mr. Dickens was aiming at one special
excellence of Mr. Collins, the latter was
oss-imilatiDg his Btyle, in some other respects,
to that of his brother novelist. Each, of
late years, seemed to be desirous of
the special dramatio faonlty which the
other possessed. Mr. Dickens' plots, Mr.
Collins characters and dialogues, boro more
and more clearly marked the traces of the
model on which they were respectively based.
It is possible, however, that another conside
ration was influencing the direction of Mr.
Dickens' genius. He may have half sus
pected that the peculiar freshness of his earlier
style was no longer at his command, and he
may have been desirous of breaking fresh
gTound and cultivating a faculty too long ne
glected. As we have said, we believe that
his gf nius was largely dramatic, and that it
was the overpowering fertility of his humor
ts a dtseriptive writer which led him at the
outset of his literary career to prose fiction
as the freest outcome of his genius. How
ever that may be, he loved the drama aai
things dramatic; and notwithstanding what
u.iht be inferred from the lecture which
Nicholas administers to the literary gentle
man in "Nicholas Nickleby," he evidently
loved to see his own stories in a dramatio
r shape, when . the adaptation was made
in accordance witn the spirit and de
sign of the originator. Most of his
earlier works were dramatized, and en
joyed a success attributable not less
to the admirable acting which they called
forth than to the fame of the characters in
their original setting. His Christmas Stories
proved most successful in their dramatio
shape, and it is difficult to believe that he
had not in view those admirable comedians,
Mr. and Mrs. Keeley, when he drew the
charming characters of Britain and Clemency
Newcome. His "Tale of Two Cities"
(which, by the way, Mr. Wilkie
Collins has somewhere publicly re
ferred to as the finest of his friend's
notions in point of construction) was
arranged under his own supervision for the
stage, and he seems to have had a growing
pleasure in seeing his works reproduced in
this shape, for "Little Em'ly," the last ar
rangement of "David Copperfield," was pro
duced with at least his sanction and approval;
and at the present date a version of the "Old
Curiosity Shop," under the title of "Nell," is
announced for immediate production, as
having been similarly approved by himself
shortly before bis lamented death. In the
present state of the stage we may well be
thankful for pieces so wholesome in interest,
so pure in moral, so abounding in unforced
humor, as his best stories are adapted to
provide.
DIVIDENDS, ETO.
ggy- PHILADELPHIA AND READING RAIL
EOAD COMPANY, Offlce No. 82T South
FOURTH Street.
Philadelphia, Dec. 24, 1870.
NOTICE. In accordance with the terms of the
Lease and Contract between the East Pennsylvania
Railroad Company and the Philadelphia and Read
ing Railroad Company, dated May 19, 1869, the
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company will
pay at their Offlce, No. 227 South FOURTH Street,
Philadelphia, on and after the nth day of January,
1871, a dividend of T60 per share, clear of all taxes,
to the Stockholders of the East Pennsylvania Rail
road Company, as they shall stand registered on
the books of the said East Pennsylvania Railroad
Company on the 3 1st day of December, 1870.
S. BRADFORD,
Treasurer,
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company.
NOTE. The transfer books of the East Pennsyl
vania Railroad Company will be closed on Decem
ber 31, 1S70, and reopened en January 10, 1871.
HENRY C. JONES,
Treasurer,
12 27 tJ17 East Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
rtS- OFFICE OF THE NORTH PENNSYL
VANIA RAILROAD COMPANY, No. 407
WALNUT Street.
Philadelphia, Jan. 4, 1871.
The Board of Directors of the North Pennsylvania
Railroad Company have this day declared a
dividend of FIVE (6) PER CENT., clear of Taxes,
payable In scrip bearing no interest, and convertible
into the capital stock of the company when pre
sented In sums or not less than fifty dollars. The
scrip so Issued will be deliverable on February 1,
and convertible at any time thereafter.
The Transfer Books will be closed ou SATURDAY,
the 7th Inst., at 3 o'clock P. M., and the dividend
will be credited to the stockholders as they may
stand registered at the closing of the books.
The Transfer books will remain closed until MON
DAY, the 10th lnst. WILLIAM WISTER. .
1 5 2w Treasurer.
tfiy- STATE OF SOUTII CAROLINA, TREA-
SURY DEPARTMENT.
Columbia, S. C, Dec. 23, 1S70.
The interest maturing January 1. 1871, on the
Bonds of the State of South Carolina, will be paid
in gold, on demand, on and after January 1, at the
nanking House or n. ii,.tt.iMnu, rio. Nassau
street, New York, and at the TREASURY OFFICE
in Columbia, S. C. The IntereHt on the Registered
Stock of the State will be paid In Columbia only.
NILES G. PARKER,
Treasurer State South Carollpa.
Coupons will be received for examination oq and
after the 27th InBtant. II. II. KIMPTON,
12 SO lfit Financial Agent State South Carolina.
Rgy TO TBE HOLDERS OF OHIO STATE
w STOCKS Notice Is hereby given that ths
Interest dne January 1.1871, on the Funded Debt of
the State of Ohio, will be paid at the American Ex
change National Bank. In the city of New York.
from the 1st to the 15th proximo, and thereafter at
our ottlce In this city. Columbus, Ohio, December
' JAMES II. QODMAN, Auditor of State,
ISAAC It. SHERWOOD, Secretary of State,
Commissioners of the Sinking Fund of the State of
onio. vi an lm
HZX- NOTICE TO STOCKHOLDERS. A DIVL
w DENDof FIFTY CENTS PER SHARE will
be paid by tho HE8TONVILLE, MANTUA, AND
FA1RMOUNT PASSENGER RAILWAY COM
PANY, free of State tax, on and after December
27th next, at the offlce of the Company, No. 112
South FRONT Street.
Transfer books will be closed December 15th and
reopen December 3 1st
12 10 smwtf Treasurer.
y OFFICE OF THE UNION .MUTUAL IN
w Sl'RANCE COMPANY, N. E. Corner of
THIRD aud WALN UT Streets.
Philadelphia, Jan. 5, 1871.
At a meeting of the Board of Directors of this
Company a dividend of SIX PER CENT, was de
clared ou the outstanding scrip and stock of the
Company, clear of taxeB. payable on demand.
1 6 2w JOHN MOSS, Secretary.
OFFICE ANTHRACITE INSURANCE
COMPANY, No. 811 WALNUT Street
Philadelphia, January 2, 1370.
The Board of Directors have this day declared a
Dividend of FIFTEEN PER CENT, on the capi
tal stock paid In, payable on demand, free of taxes.
WILLIAM M. SMITH,
1 5 lotrp Secretary.
ny- THE ENTERPRISE INSURANCE CDM
w PAN Y OF PHILADELPHIA.
Company's Bpildino, No. 400 Walnut stbeet,
January 2, 1871. f
The Directors have thU day declared a dividend
of THREE PER CENT, on the capital stock or the
Company for the last six mnrthn, pavnhle on de
mand, free of all taxes. ALEX. W. WISTER,
1 f . Sec rcUry.
MISCELLANEOUS.
y CAMBRIA IRON CJMPANY.-THE AN-
nual Meeting of the stockholders of the Cambria
Iron Company will be held at' their offlce, No. 218
South FOURTH Street, Philadelphia, on TUESDAY,
tho 17th day of January next, at 4 o'clock P. M.,
when an election will be held for seven directors to
serve for the ensuing year.
JOHN T. KILLE, Secretary.
Philadelphia, December 17, 1670. 12 17 im
mv- OFFICE BUCK MOUNTAIN COAL CO.
Philadklpuia, Jan. l, 1971.
Thn Annual Meeting or the Stockholders of the
BUCK MOUNTAIN COAL (JO. will be held at the
offlce or the Company, No. 820 WALNUT Street, on
WEDNESDAY, February 1, 1871, at elevua (11)
o'clock A.M.
An election for seven Directors to serve the en
suing year will be held on theuame day between the
hours of 11 A. M. and 2 P. M.
1 2 inw let T. H. TROTTER, Treasurer.
gspi PENNSYLVANIA INSTITUTION FOR
w THE DEAF AND DUMB The Annual Meeu
lng of the Contributors to the Pennsylvania Institu
tion for the Deaf and Dumb will be held at ttie In
stitution, corner or BROAD and PINE Streets, ou
W EDNESDAV, the lHth of January, at 4 o'clock
P. M.
The annual report of the Biard of Directors will
be aubmitted, aud aa election will be held for
oillcers to serve for th ensuing year.
10fuiw6t JAMES J. BARCLAY, Secretary.
MERCANTILE LIBRARY. THE AN VOAL
mw meeting or stockholders or the Moreantlle
Library tJompany will be held at the LIUilAKY
BIILL1NO ou TUESDAY EVENING, the 17l!i
iost.. at 7 o'clock. JOHN LA K ONER,
I a iat Recording Secretary.
rry- SHAHOKIN COAL COMPANY, OFFICE
No. a WALNUT htrctt
Fuii.auklpiiia, Da -. 81, 1S70,
The annual meeting of the stockholders or t!ie
above-named company, and an ejection ol Direcium
to serve for the ensuing year, w ill be held at their
offlce on WEDNESDAY, the lsth day ef January,
A. D. 111, at li o'clock M. Transfer books will be
cloned from January eih to lth.
C. R. LINDSAY.
12 8113t Secretary.
SPECIAL NOTICES.
THE ENTERPRISE INSURANCE CONt
w TANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, Companf'
jjuuaing, no, w haui ii oireeu
January 10, 1871.
At the annnal meeting of the Stockholders or the
Company, held on the 9th day of January, the fol
lowing gentlemen were elected Directors for the
ensuing year:
F. Ratchford Starr,
Nalbro Frr,ler,
John M. At wood,
Benjamin T. Tredlck,
James L. Cloghorn,
John H. Brown,
J. L. Errlnger,
William . Boulton,
Charles Wheeler,
Thos. 11. Montgomery,
ueorge ii. rnuari,
At a meeting of the Board of Dlrectora. held thin
jump m. Aermen.
day, F. RATCHFORD STARR was re-elected Presi
dent, and THOMAS 1L MONTGOMERY re-elected
Vice-President.
ALEXANDER N. WISTER,
110 6t Secretary.
USS- FARMERS' AND MECHANICS' NATIONAL
BANK.
rmr.ADKLrmA, Jan. 18, 1871.
At an election held on the llth day or January,
isn, the following-named Stockholders were elected
Directors oi tnis nam:
Edwin M. Lewis.
George W. Farr, Jr.,
William II. Woodward,
Charles 11. Hutchinson,
Henry P. Sloan,
Thomas McKean,
Ueorge II. fiirkham.
John Aahhurat,
Anthony J. Antelo,
Lindley Smyth,
Richard C. Dale,
Joshna B. Mppincott,
J. Edward Farnum,
And at a meeting of the Directors this day, EDWIN
M. LEWIS, Esq., was unanimously re-elected Pre
sident. 113 6t W. RUSHTON, Jr., Cashier.
COMMONWEALTH NATIONAL BANK.
Philadklphia, Jan. 13, 1871.
At the election held on the loth Instant the follow
ing gentlemen were elected DIRECTORS of this
imdk ior tne engumgyear:
E. P. Mitchell.
Samuel K. Ash ton,
William F. Hansen,
Robert B. Sterling,
Robert Morriii,
Walter . Wilson,
H. N. Burroughs,
Paul P. Keller,
John Wanaraaker,
C H. Duhrtng,
xi. w. uray.
And at a meeting of the Board, held this dav, ED.
WARD P. MITCHELL, Esq., was nnanlmons'ly re
elected President, and JAMES T. MITCHELL, Esq.,
Solicitor.
1 13 8t H. C. YOUNG, Cashier.
cawara i. steei.
ffcjV- THE INSURANCE COMPANY
OF
THE
Philadelphia. January 11. 1871.
At an election held January 9, the following gentle
men were duly elected Directors of this Company
i or nie Tear 101 1 ;
Henry D. Sherrerd,
Charles 8. Lewis,
Edward C. Knight,
John B. Austin.
Christian J. Hoirman,
Richard Dale Benson,
Ueorge H. Colket
Charles Macaleater,
William S. Smith,
Qeorge 11. Stuart,
Samuel Grant, Jr.,
Thomas B. Wattson,
Henry G. Freeman,
Ana at a meeting or tne
Board of Directors, held-
this dav. HENRY D. SHERRERD. Esq.. was unani
mously re-elected as President of the Company.
1 12 6t J. H. HOLLLNSHEAD, Secretary.
? PHILADELPHIA AND READING RAIL-
ROAD COMPANY, Offlce No. 227 S. FOURTH
Street
Philadelphia, Jan. 9, 1871.
At the Annual Meeting of the Stockholders or this
Company, held this day, the following gentlemen
were unanimously elected officers for 1871 :
Fresldent-FRANKLIN B. GO WEN.
MANAOKR8
II. Pratt McKean, i J. B. LIppincott,
A. E. Borle, I John Ashhurnt,
It B. Cabeen, I Charles E. Smith. ,
Treaaurer SAMUEL BRADFORD.
Secretary J. W. Jones. 1 10 6t
I I. I. I n l K A 1 I. II . Mil If K-
J. M. HUTCHINGS (of Yo-Semlte)
will give a Lecture Illustrated with the Finest
Series of Views ever taken on "The Wonders of
Yo-Semlte and the Big Trees of California, " at
CONCERT HALL. CHESNUT Street, near Twelfth,
on MONDAY EVENING, 16th Inst, at 8 o'clock.
Tickets, 60c. To be had at GOULD & FISCHER'S
Piano Rooms, No. 923 CHESNUT Street, rrom 9 A.
M. to 5 P. M. lOmwfamBt
THE LORRAINE VEGETABLE CATHAR
TIC PILL is far the best Cathartic remedy yet
discovered. The most complete success has long
attended its use. It never falls to accomplish all
that is claimed for It It produces little or no pain ;
leaves the organs free frora irritation, and never
overtaxes or excites the nervous system. In all
diseases of the skin, blood, stomach, bowels, liver,
kidneys of children, and In many dliilcultles pecu
liar to women, it brings prompt relief and certain
cure. The best physicians recommend and prescribe
It; and no persou who once uses It will voluntarily
return to any other cathartic It Is sold by all deal
ers in drugs and medicines.
TURNER k CO., Proprietors,
10 6 thstnt No. 120 Tremont street Boston, Mass.
jgy TURNER'S UNIVERSAL NEURALGIA
w PILL Is an UNFAILINU REMEDY lor Neu.
ralgla Facialis. No form of Nervous Disease falls
to yield to its wonderful powsr. Even In the severest
canes of Chronio Neuralgia Its use for a few days
affords the most astonishing relief, and rarely fails
to produce a complete and permanent cure. It con
tains no materials In the slightest degree Injurious.
It has the unqualified approval of the best physi
cians. Thousands, In every part of the country,
gratefully acknowledge Us power to soothe the tor
tured nerves and restore the falling strength.
It is sold by all dealers In drugs and medicines.'
TURNER A CO., Proprietors,
9 29 mwft No. 120 TREMONT St. Boston, Mass.
BATCHELOR'S nAIR DYE THIS SPLEN
did Hair Dve is the best in the world, the only
true and perfect Dye. Harmless Reliable Instan
taneous no disappointment no ridiculous tints
"Doe not contain Lead nor any Vitalie Poiiton to fo
jure the llair or Ssntevi." Invigorates the Hair and
leaves It soft and beautiful ; Black or Brown.
Sold by all Druggists, and doalers. Applied at the
Factory, No; 16 BOND Street, New York. 4 87 mwft
jgy- THE IMPERISHABLE PERFUME! ASA
rule, the perfumes now in use have no perma
nency. An hour or two after their use there la no
trace of perfume left. How different is the result
succeeding the use of MURRAY A LArN MAN'S
FLORIDA WATER I Days after its application th
handkerchief exhales a most delightful, delicate,
and agreeable rrogrance. . 3 1 tilths
ytgr- THE UNION FIRE EXTINGUISHER
COMPANY OF PHILADELPHIA
Manufacture and sell the Improved, Portable Fire
Extinguisher. Always Reliable.
D. T. GAGF,
880 tf NO. 118 MARKSTJ3teirugenfc
tjy INSTEAD OF USING COMMON TOILET
Soap at this season of the year, me "Wright's
Alccnated GlycerineTablet or Solidified Glycerine."
It softens tne skin, prevents redness and chapping
by cold, and beautifies the complexion.
n or saie oy uruggisis srenerauy.
k G. A. WRIGHT,
1 6 fmw2Ct No. 674 CflESNUT tt, PhUad'a.
jgy JAMES M. SCO VEL HAS ESTABLISHED A
Law and Collection Agency for Pennsylvania
and New Jersey at No. 614 WALNUT Street 1229
ey JOUVIN S """" KID GLOVE CLEANER
w restores soiled gloves equal to new." For sale
by all druggists and fancy goods dealers. Price 23
cents Der bottle. 1 1 2Sm wf i
gy- DR. F. a THOMAS, No. 911 WALNUT ST.,
formerly operator at the Colton Deutal Rooms,
il.iintfiB lila anfira nrajt1cn tsh AVtrun.tlncr tuolh with-
out pain, with frcbh nitrous oxide gaa. 11 171
THURSTON S IVORY PEARL TOOTH
1 UfiAir HI.' 11 lu lh. hact artltlA In. i-Uanfilnir an1
preserving the teeth. For .Bale by an Druggtkts.
Price 26 and 60 cents oer bottle. 11 26 stuthly
CROOERIES, ETC.
LITIZ
CURRANT WIN E.
ALBKF.T C. ROBEKTS,
Dca'er in Fine Groceries,
11 T Corner ELEVENTH and VINE Sta.
CUTLERY, ETO.
RODCERS A WOSTENUOLMU POCKET
KNIVES, Pcuxl 'and Stag hacalea, and
beautiful diiibh; Rodgeis', and Wade h
Bulchefs ltaKortt, and the celebrated Le
cou!tre Itozor; Ladles' Scissors, in cases,
of the OLeut quality ; Rodders' Table Cutlery, Carvers
and Forks, Raior strops, Cork Screws, etc Ear In
struments, to fcbHlbt the hearing, of the most p
proved construction, at P. MADEIRA'S,
No. lie TENTH Street, teiov Cheanut,