diff options
Diffstat (limited to '42908-8.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 42908-8.txt | 6456 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 6456 deletions
diff --git a/42908-8.txt b/42908-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 41f7707..0000000 --- a/42908-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6456 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Dickensian Inns & Taverns, by B. W. (Bertram -Waldrom) Matz, Illustrated by T. Onwhyn, Charles G. Harper, L. Walker, F. -G. Kitton, and G. M. Brimelow - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - - - - -Title: Dickensian Inns & Taverns - - -Author: B. W. (Bertram Waldrom) Matz - - - -Release Date: June 10, 2013 [eBook #42908] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DICKENSIAN INNS & TAVERNS*** - - -E-text prepared by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team -(http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by -Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 42908-h.htm or 42908-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42908/42908-h/42908-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42908/42908-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/dickensianinnsta00matziala - - - - - -DICKENSIAN INNS AND TAVERNS - - * * * * * * - - -_BY THE SAME AUTHOR_ - -THE INNS AND TAVERNS OF PICKWICK - - With thirty-one illustrations. - Large Crown 8vo. Second Edition. - 10/6 net. - -"The Inns and Taverns of Pickwick" has proved one of the most successful -books of the season. The reviewers have been unanimous in its praise, and -in speaking of its value and qualities have used such adjectives as -famous, friendly, entertaining, delightful, well-informed, irresistible, -valuable, fascinating, jolly, glowing, jovial, great, favourite, charming, -congenial, and agreed that it is the "final authority and worthy of its -mighty subject." - -LONDON: CECIL PALMER - - * * * * * * - - -[Illustration: JOHN BROWDIE AND FANNY SQUEERS ARRIVE AT THE SARACEN'S HEAD - -_Drawn by T. Onwhyn_] - - - -DICKENSIAN INNS & TAVERNS - -by - -B. W. MATZ - -Editor of "The Dickensian" - -Author of "The Inns and Taverns of Pickwick" etc., etc. - -With Thirty-Nine Illustrations by T. Onwhyn, Charles G. Harper, -L. Walker, F. G. Kitton, G. M. Brimelow and from Photographs -and Old Engravings - - - - - - - -London -Cecil Palmer -Oakley House, Bloomsbury Street, W.C. I - -First Edition - -1922 Copyright - -Printed in Great Britain by Burleigh Ltd. Bristol - - - - -TO RIDGWELL CULLUM - - - - -CONTENTS - - - _Chapter_ _Page_ - - PREFACE 13 - - I DICKENS AND INNS 15 - - II OLIVER TWIST 22 - - III NICHOLAS NICKLEBY: THE SARACEN'S HEAD 32 - - IV NICHOLAS NICKLEBY (_continued_) 49 - - V BARNABY RUDGE: THE MAYPOLE 72 - - VI BARNABY RUDGE (_continued_) AND THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP 89 - - VII MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT 105 - - VIII DOMBEY AND SON 132 - - IX DAVID COPPERFIELD 144 - - X BLEAK HOUSE, LITTLE DORRIT, HARD TIMES 169 - - XI A TALE OF TWO CITIES AND GREAT EXPECTATIONS 178 - - XII OUR MUTUAL FRIEND 191 - - XIII EDWIN DROOD, AND THE LAZY TOUR OF TWO IDLE APPRENTICES 217 - - XIV SKETCHES BY BOZ, AND THE UNCOMMERCIAL TRAVELLER 239 - - XV CHRISTMAS STORIES AND MINOR WRITINGS 258 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - John Browdie and Fanny Squeers arrive at the Saracen's Head. - Drawn by T. Onwhyn _Frontispiece_ - - The Red Lion, Barnet. Photo by T. W. Tyrell _Page_ 24 - - The Coach and Horses, Isleworth. Drawn by C. G. Harper " 26 - - The Eight Bells, Hatfield. Drawn by F. G. Kitton " 29 - - The Sign of the Saracen's Head " 35 - - The Saracen's Head, Snow Hill. From an old print " 41 - - The Peacock, Islington. From an old engraving " 50 - - The George Inn, Greta Bridge. Drawn by C. G. Harper " 57 - - The King's Head, Barnard Castle. Photo by T. W. Tyrrell " 60 - - The Bottom Inn, near Petersfield. Drawn by C. G. Harper " 65 - - The King's Head, Chigwell. Drawn by L. Walker " 75 - - The Chester Room, King's Head. Drawn by L. Walker " 82 - - The Old Boot Inn, 1780. From an old engraving " 91 - - The Red Lion, Bevis Marks. Drawn by G. M. Brimelow " 99 - - The George, Amesbury. Drawn by C. G. Harper " 111 - - The George Inn, Salisbury. Photo by T. W. Tyrrell " 114 - - The Black Bull, Holborn. Drawn by L. Walker " 121 - - The Sign of the Black Bull. Drawn by L. Walker " 129 - - The Bedford Hotel, Brighton. From an old engraving " 134 - - The Royal Hotel, Leamington. From a lithograph " 134 - - The Plough Inn, Blunderstone. Photo by T. W. Tyrrell " 146 - - The Buck Inn, Yarmouth. Photo by T. W. Tyrrell " 146 - - The Duke's Head, Yarmouth. Photo by T. W. Tyrrell " 146 - - The Little Inn, Canterbury. Drawn by F. G. Kitton " 157 - - Jack Straw's Castle. Drawn by L. Walker " 163 - - The London Coffee House. From an old engraving " 172 - - The Old Cheshire Cheese. From a photo " 180 - - The Ship and Lobster, Gravesend. Drawn by C. G. Harper " 187 - - The Grapes Inn, Limehouse. Photo by T. W. Tyrrell " 194 - - Limehouse Reach. Drawn by L. Walker " 199 - - The Ship Hotel, Greenwich. Drawn by L. Walker " 207 - - The Red Lion, Hampton. Drawn by C. G. Harper " 213 - - Wood's Hotel, Furnival's Inn. Drawn by L. Walker " 223 - - The King's Arms, Lancaster. Drawn by L. Walker " 231 - - The Eagle Tavern. From an old print " 242 - - The Crispin and Crispianus. Drawn by C. G. Harper " 255 - - The Mitre Inn, Chatham. From an engraving " 259 - - The Lord Warden Hotel, Dover. From an engraving " 268 - - The Pavilion Hotel, Folkestone. From an engraving " 268 - - - - -PREFACE - - -The very friendly reception given to my previous book on the Inns and -Taverns of Pickwick has encouraged me to pursue the subject through the -other novels and writings of Dickens, and to compile the present volume. - -I do not claim that it is encyclopędic in the sense that it will be found -to supply a complete index to every inn mentioned in the novelist's books. -Many a reader will recall, I expect, a certain inn in his favourite story -which has been overlooked; but, while my chief aim has been to deal with -the famous and prominent ones, I have not ignored the minor ones which, in -many cases, are also the most alluring, and often play an important part -in the story. - -The plan has been to take the long novels in something approximating to -chronological order, followed by the shorter stories and sketches; and, -where an inn is mentioned in more than one book, to deal with it fully in -the chapter devoted to the story in which it was first alluded to. - -Inns associated with the novelist's own life find no place in this -volume, unless they have association also with his books. - -In such a volume as this it is obviously necessary to quote freely from -Dickens's books, but, when one recalls the young person's comment on -lectures about Dickens that "she always loved them because of the -quotations," no apology or excuse is needed here. - -I am greatly indebted to my friends T. W. Tyrrell and Charles G. Harper -for much valuable advice and assistance in my task. The former has kindly -loaned me prints from his unique collection of topographical photographs, -and has also given me the advantage of his expert knowledge of the -subject. - -How much I owe to the latter goes without saying. No one can write of old -inns, old coaches, or old coaching roads without acknowledging -indebtedness to the score of books standing in Mr. Harper's name, which -are rich mines for any student of the subject quarrying for facts. He has -not only permitted me to dig in his mines, but has allowed also the use of -many of his charming drawings. - -Acknowledgment is also made to Messrs. A. & C. Black, Messrs. Methuen & -Co., and the proprietors of the Cheshire Cheese for the use of blocks on -pages 24, 99 and 180 respectively. - -B. W. MATZ. - - - - -DICKENSIAN INNS & TAVERNS - - - - -CHAPTER I - -DICKENS AND INNS - - -In these days when life is, for the most part, and for most of us, a -wearying process of bustle and "business," it is comforting as well as -pleasant to reflect that the old coaching inn still remains in all its -quiet grandeur and the noble dignity which quaint customs and unbroken -centuries of tradition have given to it. For a brief period in our recent -history, it seemed that even so great a British institution as the old -English inn, and its first cousin the tavern, were doomed to pass away. -Indeed, the invention of railways, followed by the almost automatic -suspension of the coach as a means of locomotion, did succeed actually in -closing down many of them. But the subsequent invention of the motor-car -reopened England's highways and by-ways so that to-day there are -unmistakable indications that the old English inn is once more acquiring -that atmosphere of friendly hospitality and utility with which it was -endowed in the past, and which is so faithfully reflected in every book of -Dickens. - -No one can really believe that the palatial and gilded hotels that sprang -up in the place of scores of the old coaching inns possessed the same snug -cheerfulness, the same appeal to the traveller, as did the old hostelries -of the coaching era. To-day, this is being realised more and more, and -when the time comes, as we are told is not far off, when everyone will -have his own motor-car, mine host of every wayside inn and county town -hostelry will once again become the prominent figure that Dickens made -him. The real romance of the coaching era may never return. Perhaps we -have become too matter-of-fact for that. But something approximating to -the spirit and glamour of those days is possible still for those who are -content to undertake a motor journey minus the feverish ambition for -breaking speed records. In many an old-world English village stands an -old-world English inn, and when that hour before sunset arrives that all -travellers of the open road know--the moment when a luxurious and healthy -weariness overcomes us--ah, well, be sure the right sort of inn awaits you -if you deserve such good fortune, and, when the time comes to fill pipes -and sit at ease before a blazing log-fire, what better subject for your -dreams will you find than the glowing pages of a Dickens book? - -In them you get not only the romance and the glamour of the journey from -place to place, but also descriptive pictures of the various inns, of -their picturesque outward appearances, of their interior comfort and -customs, of their glorious and luscious array of wholesome food and wine, -to say nothing of the wonderful description of the happy company assembled -there, all told with that incomparable charm and grace and good humour of -a writer of genius. - -Dickens not only knew how to describe an inn and its comforts (and its -discomforts, too, sometimes), but he seemed to revel in doing so, and -became filled with delight when he was one of the guests within its walls. - -He seems to have shared Dr. Johnson's view that there was no private house -in which people could enjoy themselves so well as at a good tavern, where -there was general freedom from anxiety, and where you were sure of a -welcome; and to agree with him that there is nothing as yet contrived by -man by which so much happiness is produced as in a good tavern or inn. - -His books are full of the truth of this, and provide many such happy -occasions when, after a cold coach drive, the hospitable host conducts the -passengers to a large room made cosy with a roaring fire, and drawn -curtains, and presenting an inviting spread of the good things of life, -and a plentiful supply of the best wines or a bowl of steaming punch, for -the jovial company. And the coach journey which brings one to these inns! -Is there any described with so much exhilaration to be found elsewhere? -Take the coach ride of Nicholas Nickleby along the Great North Road to his -destination in Yorkshire. Here is reflected the real spirit of old-time -travelling which brings us in touch with the old customs of the coaching -age in a manner that no historian could possibly convey so realistically. -Read again Tom Pinch's ride to London. We not only encounter old inns and -old houses with their cherished memories, their old rooms, each with its -own romantic atmosphere and a tale to tell, but we traverse picturesque -by-ways and highways, which in themselves recall the past as well as -reveal unchanging scenes of glorious nature; we can experience these -feelings to-day in a way our fathers could not. The railroad, for a spell, -made this impossible. To-day the road has come into its own again, and the -motor-car brings back to us the glory of the road, the pleasure of the -inn, and the enjoyment of the wonderful country which is England. - -There seems to have been a positive allurement about an inn or tavern for -Dickens which he could not resist. He lingered over the most decrepit and -lowly public-house, such as the dirty Three Cripples, the resort of Bill -Sikes, as he did over the sumptuous Pavilion Hotel at Folkestone. A -wayside inn was as real a joy to him in its modest way as was the chief -coaching hotel in a country town with its studied comfort. - -When travelling about the country himself with his friends, some comment -or pen-picture of the inn they stayed at creeps into his letters, as it -would seem, by instinct. Even in his unpublished diary we see noted items -about delightfully beautiful drives, coach offices, stage-coaches, and -excellent inns. And, when he and Wilkie Collins went for their idle tour, -it resolved itself into visiting the inns and coast corners in -out-of-the-way places. - -His knowledge of inns was stupendous. In that Christmas story, "The Holly -Tree," there are scores of them recalled, each recollection no doubt -reminiscent of experiences and association. - -One gets a gleam of the joy he experiences at such times in the extract -from a letter to an American friend, in 1842, after he had gone for a trip -into Cornwall with some bright and merry companions: - -"If you could but have seen one gleam of the bright fires by which we sat -at night in the big rooms of the ancient inns, or smelt but one steam of -the hot punch which came in every evening in a huge broad china bowl!" - -But instances could be multiplied. - -Dickens saw something different in every inn, and succeeded in conveying -it to the reader. There were no two inns alike to him. Each had its own -tale to tell, its own individuality to reveal, its own atmosphere and fare -to present, whatever its grade or social environment. As for an inn sign, -it transported him into his most whimsical and pleasant of moods. - -In the following pages an attempt has been made to gather together the -material from his books which shows how Dickens delighted in everything -appertaining to inns, and how he extracted from association with them all -that glow of sentiment and joy which permeated their atmosphere in the -old days, leaving their pictures in glowing words for all time. - -There is nothing so calculated to make a place famous as mention of it in -a classic story. It may have already had a past history by association -with notable names and events, which gave it prominence in our annals for -a time; but in the case of a building, when it is demolished, it soon -passes out of memory. If, however, Dickens has drawn a pen-picture of it, -or, in the case of an old inn, has used it for a scene in one of his -books, it can never be forgotten; even when razed to the ground its fame -survives, and the site becomes a Dickens landmark. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -OLIVER TWIST - - THE RED LION, BARNET--THE ANGEL, ISLINGTON--THE COACH AND HORSES, - ISLEWORTH--THE THREE CRIPPLES--THE GEORGE INN--THE EIGHT BELLS, - HATFIELD - - -There are not many inns that can be identified in _Oliver Twist_, and -those that can play very little part in the enactment of the story, or -have any notable history to relate in regard to them. The first one to -attract attention is that at Barnet, where the Artful Dodger took Oliver -Twist for breakfast on the morning they encountered each other on the -latter's tramp to London. - -Although Dickens does not name this inn, we believe he had in mind the Red -Lion, for it was one of those inns that was an objective when he and his -friends went for a horse-ride out into the country. One such occasion was -chosen when his eldest daughter, Mamie, was born, in March, 1838. He -invited Forster to celebrate the event by a ride "for a good long spell," -and they rode out fifteen miles on the Great North Road. After dining at -the Red Lion, in Barnet, on their way home, they distinguished the already -memorable day, as Forster tells us, by bringing in both hacks dead lame. - -This trip along the Great North Road was a favourite one, and Dickens -consequently became well acquainted with the highway. At the time of -Forster's specific reference to the Red Lion, Dickens was engaged on the -early chapters of _Oliver Twist_, and we find him describing the district -in those pages wherein particular mention is made of Barnet. - -Tramping to London after leaving Mr. Sowerberry, the undertaker, Oliver, -on the seventh morning, "limped slowly into the little town of Barnet," we -are told. "The windows," Dickens proceeds, "were closed; the street was -empty; not a soul was awakened to the business of the day." Oliver, with -bleeding feet, and covered with dust, sat upon a doorstep. For some time -he wondered "at the great number of public houses (every other house in -Barnet was a tavern, large or small), gazing listlessly at the coaches as -they passed through." Here he was discovered by Jack Dawkins, otherwise -the Artful Dodger, who, taking pity on him, assisted him to rise, escorted -him to an adjacent chandler's shop, purchased some ham and bread, and the -two adjourned finally into a public-house tap-room, to regale themselves -prior to continuing their journey to London. As the Red Lion was so -familiar to Dickens, we may assume that this was the inn to which he -referred. - -The inn, no doubt, was the same from which Esther Summerson, in _Bleak -House_, hired the carriage to drive to Mr. Jarndyce's house, near St. -Albans. Arriving at Barnet, Esther, Ada and Richard found horses waiting -for them, "but, as they had only just been fed, we had to wait for them, -too," she said, "and got a long fresh walk over a common and an old -battle-field, before the carriage came up." Doubtless the posting-house -where this change was made was the Red Lion, for Dickens had used it for -posting his own horse many a time. - -It is there to-day, and drives a busy trade, more as a suburban hostelry -than as a posting-inn. - -Continuing their walk to London, the Artful Dodger and Oliver gradually -reached Islington, and entered the City together. Islington in days gone -by was a starting point for the mail-coaches going to the north, and as -a consequence was famous for its old inns. Perhaps the most famous, -particularly from the antiquarian standpoint, was the old Queen's Head, a -perfect specimen of ancient domestic architecture, which was destroyed in -1829. Another was, of course, the Angel; but the house bearing that name -to-day can claim none of the romance or attractiveness of its ancient -predecessor, and has recently been modernised on the lines adopted by a -very modern firm of caterers. But the Angel of its palmy days was -well-known to Dickens, and, although he does not make it the scene of any -prominent incident in his books, it has mention in _Oliver Twist_ in the -chapter describing Oliver's trudge to London. It was nearly eleven o'clock -when he and the Artful Dodger reached the turnpike at Islington. They then -crossed from the Angel into St. John's Road, on their way to the house -near Field Lane, where Oliver was dragged in and the door closed behind -him. - -[Illustration: THE RED LION, BARNET - -_Photograph by T. W. Tyrrell_] - -The inn is mentioned again in the same book on the occasion when Noah -Claypole and Charlotte traversed the same road. "Mr. Claypole," we read, -"went on, without halting, until he arrived at the Angel, at Islington, -where he wisely judged, from the crowd of passengers and number of -vehicles, that London began in earnest." He, too, led the way into St. -John's Road. - -The Angel has been a London landmark for over two centuries. There have -been at least three houses of the same name, but the one Dickens knew and -referred to was apparently that built after the destruction in 1819 of the -original. - -In those days, it was the first halting-place, after leaving London, of -coaches bound along the Holyhead and Great North Roads. The original house -presented the usual features of a large old country inn, and "the inn -yard, approached by a gateway in the centre, was nearly a quadrangle, with -double galleries, supported by plain columns and carved pilasters, with -caryatides and other figures." Now, as we have said, it is merely a very -ordinary, everyday modern refreshment house. - -The low public-house in the "filthiest" part of Little Saffron Hill, in -whose dark and gloomy den, known as the parlour, was frequently to be -found Bill Sikes and his dog, Bull's-Eye, probably was no particular -public-house so far as the novelist was concerned, although he gave it the -distinguishing name of the Three Cripples. At any rate, it has not been -identified, and must be assumed to be typical of the many with which -this district at one time was infested. First referred to in Chapter -XV, it is more minutely described in Chapter XXVI. "The room," we are -told, "was illuminated by two gas-lights, the glare of which was prevented -by the barred shutters and closely drawn curtains of faded red from being -visible outside. The ceiling was blackened, to prevent its colour from -being injured by the flaring lamps; and the place was so full of dense -tobacco smoke that at first it was scarcely possible to discern anything -more. By degrees, however, as some of it cleared away, through the open -door, an assemblage of heads, as confused as the voices that greeted the -ear, might be made out; and, as the eye grew more accustomed to the scene, -the spectators gradually became aware of the presence of a numerous -company, male and female, crowded round a long table, at the upper end of -which sat a showman with a hammer of office in his hands, while a -professional gentleman with a bluish nose, and his face tied up for the -benefit of a toothache, presided at a jingling piano in a remote corner." -That was a scene common to the "low public-house," of which the Three -Cripples was a notorious example, and the atmosphere depicted no doubt -applied generally to most of them. - -[Illustration: THE COACH AND HORSES, ISLEWORTH - -_Drawn by C. G. Harper_] - -On the other hand, the Coach and Horses, at Isleworth, where Bill Sikes -and Oliver alighted from the cart they had "begged a lift" in, is no -flight of Dickens's imagination and can be discovered to-day exactly where -he located it. - -The tramp of the two from Spitalfields to Chertsey on the burglary -expedition can easily be followed from Dickens's clearly indicated -itinerary. The point on the journey where they obtained their lift in a -cart bound for Hounslow was near Knightsbridge. Having bargained with the -driver to put them down at Isleworth, they at length alighted a little way -beyond "a public-house called the Coach and Horses, which stood at the -corner of a road just beyond Isleworth leading to Hampton." They did not -enter this public-house, but continued their journey. Mr. John Sayce Parr, -in an article in _The Dickensian_, Vol. I, page 261, speaks of the -topographical accuracy of Dickens in this instance: "The literary -pilgrim," he says, "sets out to follow the route he indicates, doubtful if -he will find the places mentioned. There is, however, not the slightest -excuse for making mistakes, for Dickens apparently visited the scenes and -described them with the accuracy of a guide-book. Thus, one finds the -Coach and Horses, sure enough, at the point where Brentford ends and -Isleworth begins, by the entrance to Sion Park, and near the spot where -the road rambles off to the left." - -[Illustration: THE "EIGHT BELLS" Hatfield - -_Drawn by F. G. Kitton_] - -The Coach and Horses, the same writer says, is not a picturesque inn. It -is a huge four-square lump of a place, and wears, indeed, rather a dour -and forbidding aspect. It is unquestionably the house of which Dickens -speaks, and was built certainly not later than the dawn of the nineteenth -century. - -It still exists to-day, although the surroundings have altered somewhat -by the advent of the electric tramways and other "improvements." - -The George Inn, mentioned in Chapter XXXIII, where Oliver took the letter -for Mr. Losberne to be sent by "an express on horseback to Chertsey," -cannot be identified, as the market-town in whose market-place it stood is -not mentioned or hinted at. Mr. Percy FitzGerald claims that the -description applies to Chertsey, but, as the letter had to be taken to -Chertsey, something seems wrong in his deduction. - -In the chapter describing the flight of Bill Sikes, we read that, on -leaving London behind, he shaped his course for Hatfield. "It was nine -o'clock at night when the man, quite tired out, and the dog, limping and -lame from the unaccustomed exercise, turned down the hill by the church of -the quiet village, and, plodding along the little street, crept into a -small public-house whose scanty light had guided them to the spot. There -was a fire in the tap-room, and some of the country labourers were -drinking before it. They made room for the stranger, but he sat down in -the farthest corner, and ate and drank alone, or rather with his dog, to -whom he cast a morsel of food from time to time." Here he met the pedlar -with his infallible composition for removing blood-stains. This -particular public-house is no doubt the Eight Bells, a picturesque old -house which still remains on the spot where Dickens accurately located it. -It is a quaint little building with a red-tiled roof and dormer windows, -and local tradition assigns it as that at which Bill Sikes sought refuge -for a short time before continuing his journey to St. Albans, enabling -Hatfield to claim it as a veritable Dickens landmark, together with that -other, the churchyard, where Mrs. Lirriper's husband was buried. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -NICHOLAS NICKLEBY - - THE SARACEN'S HEAD, SNOW HILL - - -The Saracen's Head Inn, Snow Hill, long since demolished, is familiar to -all readers of _Nicholas Nickleby_, because it was the hotel from which -Squeers took coach with his boys for Dotheboys Hall; and, but for the -fact, the name of Saracen's Head would recall little or nothing to the -ordinary Londoner. - -It stood on Snow Hill or Snore Hill, as it was called in the very early -days, and its exact location was two or three doors from St. Sepulchre's -Church, down the hill, and was one of London's oldest and most historic -inns, dating back to the 12th century. The first mention of it that we can -find is in a volume by John Lydgate, the Benedictine monk who flourished -in the early part of the 15th century, who is best remembered by his -poem, "The London Lyckpenny." He tells the story of the origin of the -name, which is interesting as fixing an early date at which the inn -existed; even if it cannot be vouched for as correct in face of the fact -that others have been suggested, it is at least as plausible. - -It would appear that, when Richard Coeur-de-Lion returned from the Third -Crusade in 1194, he approached the city of London and entered it by the -New Gate, on the west. Being much fatigued by his long journey, the weary -monarch, on arriving at Snow Hill, outside the gate, stopped at an inn -there and called loudly to a tapster for refreshment. He drank rather -freely, "untille ye hedde of ye Kinge did swimme ryghte royallie." He then -began laying about him right and left with a battle-axe, to the -"astoundmente and dyscomfythure of ye courtierres." Upon which one of the -Barons said, "I wish hys majestie hadde ye hedde of a Saracen before hym -juste now, for I trowe he woulde play ye deuce wyth itte." Thereupon the -King paid all the damage and gave permission that the inn should be called -"Ye Saracen's Hedde." - -It is a pretty story, and, as we have suggested, may or may not be true; -but it gives us a starting point in the history of the inn. How long -before this incident the inn had existed and what its name was previously, -we cannot say. - -Lydgate refers to the inn's name again in the following stanza of one of -his poems: - - Richarde hys sonne next by successyon, - Fyrst of that name--strong, hardy and abylle-- - Was crowned Kinge, called Cuer de Lyon, - With Sarasenys hedde served at hys tabyelle. - -The inn, by virtue of its situation, was in the centre of many an historic -event enacted in the surrounding streets, and would naturally be the -resort of those taking part in them. If records existed, many a thrilling -tale could be gathered from their perusal; as it is, only meagre details -can be furnished. - -In 1522, Charles V of Germany, when on his visit to London, stayed at the -inn, and his retinue occupied three hundred beds, whilst stabling for -forty horses was needed also; evidence that it was no mean hostelry, in -spite of the fact that Stow's record of the inn's existence in his "Survey -of London" is confined to the following sentence: - -"Hard by St. Sepulchre's Church is a fayre and large inn for the receipt -of travellers, and hath to signe the 'Saracen's Head.'" - -A few years later (1617) we get another reference to the hostel, in Wm. -Fennor's "The Comptor's Commonwealth," a book describing the troubles of -an unfortunate debtor in the hands of serjeants and gaolers. Therein is an -allusion to a serjeant "with a phisnomy much resembling the 'Saracen's -Head,' without Newgate," alluding, of course, to the figurehead on the -sign-board of the inn. - -[Illustration: THE SIGN OF THE SARACEN'S HEAD] - -It goes without saying that the famous Pepys knew the house, and we have -the following entry in his diary as confirmation: "11 Nov. 1661. To the -wardrobe with Mr. Townsend and Mr. Moore and then to the 'Saracen's Head' -to a barrel of oysters." How Bob Sawyer and Benjamin Allen would have -revelled in that occasion! - -The inn and the church were both victims of the Great Fire in 1666, but -both were rapidly rebuilt on the old sites. From the time the original inn -was erected in the 12th century, until the last of its race on the same -site was demolished in 1868, doubtless there had been more than one -Saracen's Head, and through this long stretch of years it was a favoured -resort of all sorts and conditions of men. - -In 1672, John Bunyan, after his release from Bedford Gaol, paid frequent -visits to London by coach to the Saracen's Head, and it is recorded that -he spent several nights within its hospitable walls; and we are told that -Dean Swift made the inn his headquarters in 1710, on his visits to London -from Ireland. An even more famous man, in the person of Horatio Nelson, at -the early age of twelve years, stayed a night there prior to making his -first voyage in a merchant ship in 1770. Many years afterwards, when he -had become world-famous as Lord Nelson, the proprietor of the hostelry, -in honour of the early event, named his smartest coach after the admiral. - -These are a few bare facts worth recording of an inn which was the most -prominent of the coaching inns of London, as it was one of the largest and -most flourishing. At one period of its history, coaches started from it -for almost every large town in England and Scotland, and over 200 horses -were kept in readiness for the purpose. - -During the years 1780-1868, the inn had been managed by three generations -of the Mountain family, the most notable member of which, owing perhaps to -the coaching era then being at its height, was Sarah Ann Mountain, who -succeeded her husband in 1818. Innkeeping in those days was one of the -most ancient and honourable of professions, and Mrs. Mountain was -evidently an ornament to the calling. She was a keen competitor in the -business of coach proprietors, and set the pace to other coach owners by -putting on the first really fast coach to Birmingham, which did the -journey of 109 miles in 11 hours. At that time thirty coaches left her inn -daily, amongst them being the "Tally Ho!" the fast coach referred to, -whose speed was, we are told, the cause of the furious racing on the St. -Albans, Coventry and Birmingham roads up to 1838. At the rear of the inn, -Mrs. Mountain had a busy coach factory, and sold her vehicles to other -coach proprietors. One of her advertisements announced that "Good, -comfortable stage-coaches, with lamps," could be purchased "at 110 to 120 -guineas." - -It was at this period of its prosperity that Dickens made the Saracen's -Head a centre of interest in his novel, _Nicholas Nickleby_. Ralph -Nickleby, being anxious to find employment for his nephew Nicholas, called -upon him one day and produced the following advertisement in the -newspaper: - -"EDUCATION.--At Mr. Wackford Squeers' Academy, Dotheboys Hall, at the -delightful village of Dotheboys, near Greta Bridge, in Yorkshire, Youth -are boarded, clothed, booked, furnished with pocket-money, provided with -all necessaries, instructed in all languages living and dead, mathematics, -orthography, geometry, astronomy, trigonometry, the use of globes, -algebra, single stick (if required), writing, arithmetic, fortification, -and every other branch of classical literature. Terms, twenty guineas per -annum. No extras, no vacations, and diet unparalleled. Mr. Squeers is in -town, and attends daily, from one till four, at the Saracen's Head, Snow -Hill. N.B.--An able assistant wanted. Annual salary £5. A Master of Arts -preferred." - -"There!" said Ralph, folding the paper again. "Let him get that situation, -and his fortune is made." - -After some little discussion, Nicholas decided to try for the post, and -the two men set forth together in quest of Mr. Squeers at the meeting -place announced in the advertisement. - -Before Nicholas and his uncle met Squeers, Dickens proceeded, in one of -his very picturesque passages, to give a description, first of Snow Hill -and then of the Saracen's Head: - -"Snow Hill! What kind of place can the quiet town's-people who see the -words emblazoned, in all the legibility of gilt letters and dark shading, -on the north-country coaches, take Snow Hill to be? All people have some -undefined and shadowy notion of a place whose name is frequently before -their eyes, or often in their ears. What a vast number of random ideas -there must be perpetually floating about regarding this same Snow Hill. -The name is such a good one. Snow Hill--Snow Hill, too, coupled with a -Saracen's Head: picturing to us by a double association of ideas something -stern and rugged! A bleak, desolate tract of country, open to piercing -blasts and fierce wintry storms--a dark, cold, gloomy heath, lonely by -day and scarcely to be thought of by honest folks at night--a place which -solitary wayfarers shun, and where desperate robbers congregate; this, or -something like this, should be the prevalent notion of Snow Hill, in those -remote and rustic parts, through which the Saracen's Head, like some grim -apparition, rushes each day and night with mysterious and ghost-like -punctuality; holding its swift and headlong course in all weathers, and -seeming to bid defiance to the very elements themselves." - -The reality, he goes on to say, was rather different, and presents the -true picture of it as it really was, situated in the very core of London, -surrounded by Newgate, Smithfield, the Compter and St. Sepulchre's -Church-- - -"and, just on that particular part of Snow Hill where omnibus horses going -eastward seriously think of falling down on purpose, and where horses in -hackney cabriolets going westward not unfrequently fall by accident, is -the coach-yard of the Saracen's Head inn; its portal guarded by two -Saracens' heads and shoulders--there they are, frowning upon you from each -side of the gateway. The inn itself, garnished with another Saracen's -Head, frowns upon you from the top of the yard; while from the door of -the hind boot of all the red coaches that are standing therein there -glares a small Saracen's Head, with a twin expression to the large -Saracen's Head below, so that the general appearance of the pile is -decidedly of the Saracenic order. - -[Illustration: THE SARACEN'S HEAD, SNOW HILL - -_From an old Print_] - -"When you walk up this yard, you will see the booking-office on your left, -and the tower of St. Sepulchre's Church, darting abruptly up into the -sky, on your right, and a gallery of bedrooms on both sides. Just before -you, you will observe a long window with the words 'coffee-room' legibly -painted above it; and, looking out of the window, you would have seen in -addition, if you had gone at the right time, Mr. Wackford Squeers with his -hands in his pockets." - -Here, Mr. Squeers was standing "in a box by one of the coffee-room -fire-places, fitted with one such table as is usually seen in -coffee-rooms, and two of extraordinary shapes and dimensions made to suit -the angles of the partition," waiting for fond parents and guardians to -bring their little boys for his treatment. At the moment he had only -secured one, but presently two more were added to the list, and, during -the bargaining with their stepfather, Ralph Nickleby and his nephew -arrived on the scene. The incident of Nicholas's engagement for the post -will be recalled by all and need not be repeated here. As the uncle and -nephew emerged from the Saracen's Head gateway, Ralph promised Nicholas he -would return in the morning to see him "fairly off" by the coach. - -Nicholas kept his appointment by arriving at the Saracen's Head in good -time, and went in search of Mr. Squeers in the coffee-room, where he -discovered him breakfasting with three little boys. The sound of the coach -horn quickly brought the frugal repast to an end, and "the little boys had -to be got up to the top of the coach and their boxes had to be brought out -and put in." All was animation in the coach-yard when Nicholas's mother -and sister and his uncle arrived to bid him good-bye. - -"A minute's bustle, a banging of the coach doors, a swaying of the vehicle -to one side, as the heavy coachman, and still heavier guard, climbed into -their seats; a cry of all right, a few notes from the horn, a hasty glance -of two sorrowful faces below and the hard features of Mr. Ralph -Nickleby--and the coach was gone too, and rattling over the stones of -Smithfield." - -And so the Saracen's Head is left behind, and is not referred to again -until John Browdie comes to London with his newly wed wife, Tilda Price -that was, and her friend, Fanny Squeers. Dismounting near the Post Office -he called a hackney coach, and, placing the ladies and the luggage -hurriedly in, commanded the driver to "Noo gang to the Sarah's Head, mun." - -"To the _were_?" cried the coachman. - -"Lawk, Mr. Browdie," interrupted Miss Squeers. "The idea! Saracen's -Head." - -"Surely," said John, "I know'd it was something aboot Sarah's Son's Head. -Dost thou know thot?" - -"Oh ah! I know that," replied the coachman gruffly, as he banged the door. - -Arriving there safely they all retired to rest, and in the morning partook -of a substantial breakfast in "a small private room upstairs, commanding -an uninterrupted view of the stables." Fanny Squeers made anxious -enquiries for her father who had been in London some time seeking the lost -Smike. She was under the impression that he made the Saracen's Head his -headquarters, but was woefully disillusioned when she was informed that he -"was not stopping in the house, but that he came there every day, and that -when he arrived he should be shown upstairs." He shortly appeared, and the -good-hearted John Browdie invited him to "pick a bit," which he promptly -did. - -Mr. Squeers did not make the Saracen's Head his abiding place; he was too -mean for that; John Browdie, who was up for a holiday, stayed there the -whole time he was in London, and some very merry, not to say solid meals -he enjoyed during the period--for John liked a good meal. - -On one such occasion, when Nicholas was a guest, the conviviality was -sadly marred by a terrible quarrel between Fanny Squeers and her father, -and Mrs. and John Browdie--Nicholas incidentally coming in for some of the -abuse. Very nasty and cutting things were said on both sides, and Mr. -Squeers was summarily dismissed with a threat from John that he would -"pound him to flour." - -After the excitement had subsided and the Squeers family had withdrawn in -a perfect hurricane of rage, John calmly ordered of the waiter another -"Sooper--very coomfortable and plenty o' it at ten o'clock ... and ecod -we'll begin to spend the evening in earnest." - -The storm had long given place to a calm the most profound, and the -evening pretty far advanced, when there occurred in the inn another -incident more angry still, and reached a state of ferocity which could not -have been surpassed, we are told, if there had actually been a Saracen's -Head then present in the establishment. Nicholas and John Browdie, -following to where the noise came from, discovered coffee-room customers, -coachmen and helpers congregating round the prostrate figure of a young -man, with another young man standing in defiance over him. The latter was -no other than Frank Cheeryble, who, overhearing disrespectful and -insolent remarks coming from his opponent in the fray, relative to a young -lady, had taken the part of the latter by vigorously setting about the -traducer, who was ultimately turned out of the inn. Frank Cheeryble was -staying the night in the house, and so the four friends adjourned upstairs -together and spent a pleasant half-hour with great satisfaction and mutual -entertainment. - -These are the chief associations the Saracen's Head had in connection with -_Nicholas Nickleby_, except that it might be mentioned that Mrs. Nickleby, -as she would, confused its sign with that of another notable inn, by -referring to it as the "Saracen with two necks." - -There are, however, two other references to the inn in Dickens's books. In -_Our Mutual Friend_, we read that: - -"Mrs. Wilfer's impressive countenance followed Bella with glaring eyes, -presenting a combination of the once popular sign of the Saracen's Head -with a piece of Dutch clockwork"; and again, in one of his Uncommercial -papers, Dickens, speaking of his wanderings about London and of having -left behind him this and that historic spot, says he "had got past the -Saracen's Head (with an ignominious rash of posting bills disfiguring his -swarthy countenance) and had strolled up the yard of its ancient -neighbour," making clear that the old inn was a notable landmark to him. -He knew it in the flourishing days of the coaching era and lived to see it -demolished in 1868 to allow of the Metropolitan improvements in the -neighbourhood. - -But its name was not to be entirely erased from London's annals, for -another inn, although quite an unromantic one, was erected at the lower -end of Snow Hill, only to wither in course of time into an unprofitable -concern and to give up the ghost as a tavern. In 1912, this building was -taken over by a firm of manufacturers of fancy leather goods and kindred -articles of commerce, who recast the building for the purpose of their -trade and its necessary business offices. - -The proprietors have retained the old sign of the Saracen's Head and have -done much to keep up the association of the name with the most notable and -living part of its history--that of its connection with Dickens's story of -_Nicholas Nickleby_. - -Over the entrance they have placed a bust of Dickens mounted on a -pedestal, flanked on each side by full-length figures of Nicholas and -Squeers. Whilst on each side of the entrance porch is a bas-relief of a -scene from _Nicholas Nickleby_: one representing Nicholas, Squeers and the -boys preparing to leave the inn by coach, and the other, the well-known -scene in Dotheboys Hall, depicting Nicholas thrashing Squeers. - -And so, from out of seven centuries of historical associations, the one -that emerges and remains to-day is that created by Dickens. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -NICHOLAS NICKLEBY (_continued_) - - THE PEACOCK, ISLINGTON--THE WHITE HORSE, ETON SLOCOMBE--THE GEORGE, - GRANTHAM--THE GEORGE AND NEW INN, GRETA BRIDGE--THE KING'S HEAD, - BARNARD CASTLE--THE UNICORN, BOWES--THE INN ON THE PORTSMOUTH - ROAD--THE LONDON TAVERN--AND OTHERS - - -The first stop of Nicholas's coach after it had left the Saracen's Head -was at the Peacock, at Islington, an inn of immense popularity in those -palmy days when the north-country mail-coaches made it their headquarters. -It stood a little further north of the Angel, and was even more famous -than that historic inn. Besides being the starting point for certain -coaches, it was the house of call for nearly all others going in that -direction out of London, and the busy and exciting scenes which ensued -outside its doors became more bewildering still by the ostlers calling out -the name of each coach as it arrived. - -Such a scene, no doubt, was witnessed by Nicholas, in whose charge Squeers -had placed the scholars, when, "between the manual exertion and the mental -anxiety attendant upon his task, he was not a little relieved when the -coach stopped at the Peacock, Islington. He was still more relieved when a -hearty-looking gentleman, with a very good-humoured face and a very fresh -colour, got up behind, and proposed to take the other corner of the seat," -as he thought it would be safer for the youngsters if they were sandwiched -between Nicholas and himself. - -Everything and everybody being settled, off they went "amidst a loud -flourish from the guard's horn and the calm approval of all the judges of -coaches and coach-horses congregated at the Peacock." - -That was in 1838; later (in 1855) Dickens refers again to the same inn. -But on that occasion the scene must have been one of great tranquillity -and calm, if not a little dismal. - -This was when the bashful man, as related in the "first branch" of _The -Holly Tree_, starts on his journey to the Holly Tree Inn. "There was no -Northern Railway at that time," he says, "and in its place there were -stage-coaches; which I occasionally find myself, in common with some other -people, affecting to lament now, but which everybody dreaded as a very -serious penance then. I had secured the box seat on the fastest of these, -and my business in Fleet Street was to get into a cab with my portmanteau, -so to make the best of my way to the Peacock at Islington, where I was to -join this coach.... When I got to the Peacock, where I found everybody -drinking hot purl, in self-preservation, I asked if there were an inside -seat to spare. I then discovered that, inside or out, I was the only -passenger. This gave me a still livelier idea of the great inclemency of -the weather, since that coach always loaded particularly well. However, I -took a little purl (which I found uncommonly good), and got into the -coach. When I was seated they built me up with straw to the waist, and, -conscious of making a rather ridiculous appearance, I began my journey. It -was still dark when we left the Peacock." - -[Illustration: THE PEACOCK, ISLINGTON - -_From an old Engraving_] - -A reference to the same inn is made in "Tom Brown's Schooldays," when Tom -and his father stayed the night there in order to catch the "Tally-Ho" -coach for Rugby the next morning. - -There is still a reminder of the old Peacock at 11 High Street, where a -sign-board announces the date of its establishment in 1564, and a relic of -the coaching days may be seen in the form of an iron hook upon a lamp-post -opposite, to which horses were temporarily tethered. - -Following Nicholas's coach on its journey north we find it passing through -the counties of Hertford and Bedford in bitterly and intensely cold -weather. In due course it arrived at Eton Slocombe, where a halt was made -for a good coach dinner, of which all passengers partook, "while the five -little boys were put to thaw by the fire, and regaled with sandwiches." -Mr. Squeers, it may be noted in passing, had, in the interim, alighted at -almost every stage to refresh himself, leaving his charges on the top of -the coach to content themselves with what was left of their breakfast. - -Eton Slocombe is Dickens's thinly disguised name for Eaton Socon, a -picturesque little village of one straggling street in Huntingdonshire. He -does not mention the inn by name, but it may be rightly assumed that it -was the White Horse, an attractive old road-side coaching-house, which, in -those days, was the posting inn for the mail and other coaches passing -through the county. In later years it became the favourite resort of the -North Road Cycling Club, and witnessed the beginning and ending of many a -road race in the "'eighties" and "'nineties," and is, no doubt, a welcome -place of call for motorists to-day. - -Leaving Eton Slocombe, the coach took the turnpike road via Stilton, as -the night and the snow came on together. In the dismal weather the coach -rambled on through the deserted streets of Stamford until twenty miles -further on it arrived at the George at Grantham, where "two of the front -outside passengers, wisely availing themselves of their arrival at one of -the best inns in England, turned in for the night." The remainder of the -passengers, however, "wrapped themselves more closely in their coats and -cloaks, and, leaving the light and the warmth of the town behind them, -pillowed themselves against the luggage, and prepared, with many -half-suppressed moans, again to encounter the piercing blast which swept -across the open country." - -Grantham has the reputation of being a town of many and excellent inns, of -which the honours seem to have been divided between the Angel and the -George. When Dickens set out on his voyage in search of facts concerning -the Yorkshire schools prior to writing _Nicholas Nickleby_ he took the -same coach journey which he describes so realistically in his book, -accompanied by his artist friend, Phiz. They slept the night at the -George, like the two wise "front outsides" of the story; and in a letter -to his wife Dickens said that the George was "the very best inn I have -ever put up at," and he repeats this encomium in his book. - -The George was burnt down in 1780 and its beautiful medięval structure -replaced by a building not so picturesque, but none the less comfortable. -It was a famous coaching inn and consequently always busy with the mail -and stage coaches of the period. It is a square red-bricked building of -the Georgian type, and, although its outward appearance is not so inviting -from an antiquarian point of view as its predecessor, the testimony of -travellers confirms its interior comfort. - -The coach carrying Squeers and his party was little more than a stage out -of Grantham, "or half-way between it and Newark," to be precise, when the -accident occurred which turned the vehicle over into the snow. After the -bustle which ensued and after casualties had been attended to, all walked -back to the nearest public-house, described as a "lonely place, with no -great accommodation in the way of apartments." Here, having "washed off -all effaceable marks of the late accident," they settled down to the -comfort of a warm room in patient anticipation of the arrival of another -coach from Grantham. As this entailed a two hours' wait the company amused -themselves by listening to the narration of the story of "The Five Sisters -of York" by the grey-haired gentleman, and of "The Baron of Grogzwig" by -the merry-faced gentleman. Which was the "public-house" round whose fire -these two famous stories were told, the chronicler does not say, nor has -it been identified. At the conclusion of the last-named story the welcome -announcement of the arrival of the new coach was made and the company -resumed the journey. Nothing further of any note occurred until at six -o'clock that night, when Nicholas, Squeers "and the little boys and their -united luggage were all put down together at the George and New Inn, Greta -Bridge." The coach having traversed the road via Retford and Bawtry, -crossed Yorkshire, via Doncaster and Borough Bridge to this inn "in the -midst of a dreary moor," as Dickens so described it. - -Although Greta Bridge was but a small and picturesque hamlet at the time -Dickens visited and wrote of it, it nevertheless boasted at least two -important inns doing a busy trade with the coaches and mail on the main -coaching route to Glasgow. These were known as the George and the New Inn -respectively, and were about half a mile apart. In his book the novelist -combines the two names, perhaps to avoid identification; but there seems -no doubt that the George was the inn Dickens and Phiz stayed at -themselves, and therefore it may be assumed it was at that inn Nicholas -and Squeers also alighted when their coach journey ended. The George -stands near the bridge which spans the Greta river a little above its -junction with the Tees. It is no longer an inn, having since been -converted into a residential building known as "The Square" and let out in -tenements. But it still shows unmistakable signs of its former calling. -Its large square yard remains, although want of use has allowed grass to -overgrow it; whilst its commodious stabling, empty and bare as it is, -conjures up the busy scenes of excitement and animation the mail-coaches -and travellers must have created in those far-off days. - -The inn was the coaching centre of the district, received the mail as it -arrived and despatched it to the villages round about. Dickens was -evidently very pleased with the hospitality he received on his arrival -after a dreary journey, for when writing to his wife he said: - -[Illustration: THE GEORGE INN, GRETA BRIDGE - -_Drawn by C. G. Harper_] - -"At eleven we reached a bare place with a house standing alone in the -midst of a dreary moor, which the guard informed me was Greta Bridge. I -was in a perfect agony of apprehension, for it was fearfully cold, and -there were no outward signs of anyone being up in the house; but to our -great joy we discovered a comfortable room, with drawn curtains, and a -most blazing fire. In half an hour they gave us a smoking supper, and a -bottle of mulled port, in which we drank your health, and then retired to -a couple of capital bedrooms, in each of which there was a rousing fire -half-way up the chimney. We had for breakfast toast, cakes, a Yorkshire -pie, a piece of beef about the size and much the shape of my portmanteau, -tea, coffee, ham, eggs; and are now going to look about us." - -Dickens seems to be a little misleading in saying the inn stood on the -heath. It was actually in the village by the side of the road. But he -apparently got this idea that the house stood "alone in the midst of a -dreary moor" well into his mind, for, when using the inn again as the -original of the Holly Tree Inn in the charming Christmas story with that -name, we find that the bashful man is made to speak of it as being on a -bleak wild solitude of the Yorkshire moor. He describes the interior in -many whimsical details, perhaps at times a little exaggerated, as, for -instance, when he says his bedroom was some quarter of a mile from his -huge sitting-room. Next day it was still snowing, and, not knowing what to -do, he, in desperation, invited the Boots "to take a chair--and something -in a liquid form--and talk" to him. This he did and the delightful story -of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Walmers, junior, the chief incidents of which all -took place in the same inn, was recalled by the Boots. - -But to return to Squeers and his party: - -Having run into the tavern to "stretch his legs," he returned in a few -minutes, as, at the same time, there emerged from the yard a rusty, -pony-chaise, and a cart, driven by two labouring men. By these conveyances -he transported his charges to "the delightful village of Dotheboys" about -three miles away. - -Nicholas was preparing for bed that evening when the letter Newman Noggs -had given him in London fell out of his pocket unopened. This letter -interests at the moment by reason of its postscript, which runs: "If you -should go near Barnard Castle, there is good ale at the King's Head. Say -you know me, and I am sure they will not charge you for it. You may say -_Mr._ Noggs there, for I was a gentleman then. I was indeed." - -It is not recorded that Nicholas had occasion to visit the King's Head, -Barnard Castle, but we know that Dickens went there after having explored -the neighbourhood of Greta Bridge. He and Phiz made the journey in a post -chaise, there to deliver the letter Mr. Charles Smithson, the London -solicitor, had given him by way of introduction to a certain person who -would help him in his discoveries about the Yorkshire schools. - -Barnard Castle is about four miles from Greta Bridge, and is in the county -of Durham, just across the Yorkshire border. Arriving there Dickens made -the King's Head his headquarters. Since that date the inn has been -enlarged somewhat, but much of the older portion remains the same as when -he stayed there. - -It was here the interview referred to above took place before a fire in -one of the cosiest rooms in the building, and the person who furnished the -information became the original of John Browdie. - -Many legends about Dickens's stay at the King's Head have got into print, -such as that he stayed there six weeks, that he wrote a great part of the -book there, working hard at a table in front of the window all day, and -that he spent the nights in the bar parlour gathering facts from the -frequenters. Actually he only remained two nights, and wrote no more of -his book there than a few brief notes, in the same way that Phiz made -rough pictures in his sketch-book. - -It was whilst on this short visit that Dickens made the acquaintance of -Mr. Humphrey, who kept a watchmaker's shop lower down the street. This -worthy conducted him to some of the schools in the neighbourhood, and from -the friendly association sprang the title of _Master Humphrey's Clock_, -used by the novelist for his next serial. When Dickens first met Mr. -Humphrey, who we believe was the source from which sprang all the -legendary stories about Dickens and Barnard Castle, he exhibited no clock -outside his shop. It was not until two years after Dickens's visit that -the old man, having moved opposite the inn, placed a clock above the door. - -[Illustration: THE KING'S HEAD, BARNARD CASTLE - -_Photograph by T. W. Tyrrell_] - -The King's Head in those days was kept by two sisters, who were wont to -inform customers that Dickens wrote a good deal of _Nicholas Nickleby_ in -their house. He was always writing, it was said, and they could show the -ink-stand he used during the long stay he made. This is a little -exaggeration which reflected glory engenders sometimes. - -The inn is of the Georgian period and was built about the middle of the -eighteenth century. It is situated in the market place, and the room -Dickens occupied is still cared for and exhibited to visitors. The house -is practically the same, with its intricate staircases, low ceilings, its -old-world atmosphere, and old-fashioned appurtenances. - -Dotheboys Hall, Squeers's academy, has been identified as being at Bowes, -and at the Unicorn Inn there Dickens is said to have met Shaw, the -original of Squeers. It was Squeers's custom, we are told, "to drive over -to the market town every evening, on pretence of urgent business, and stop -till ten or eleven o'clock at a tavern he much affected," and no doubt it -was to the Unicorn that he repaired. - -This ancient inn stands midway in the village and was at that time the -most important inn between York and Carlisle. A dozen or more coaches -changed every day in its yard, which was, and still is, with its abundant -stabling, one of the largest of the ancient road-side hostelries surviving -the old coaching days. It is still unspoiled, and we believe remains much -the same as when Dickens and Phiz drew up there and partook of a -substantial lunch, and ultimately interviewed the veritable Mr. Shaw, -Squeers's prototype. - -The next inn carries us a good way into the story and brings us in company -with Nicholas and Smike on their tramp to Portsmouth. Chapter XXII of the -book describes how these two, having deserted Squeers, sally forth to seek -their fortune at the naval port. On the first evening they arrived at -Godalming, where they bargained for two beds and slept soundly in them. -On the second day, they reached the Devil's Punch Bowl, at Hindhead, and -Nicholas, having read to Smike the inscription upon the stone, together -they passed on with steady purpose until they were within twelve miles of -Portsmouth, just beyond Petersfield. Here they turned off the path to the -door of a road-side inn, where they learned from the landlord that it was -not only "twelve long miles" to their destination, but a very bad road. -Following the advice of the innkeeper Nicholas decided to stay where he -was for the night, and was led into the kitchen. Asked what they would -have for supper "Nicholas suggested cold meat, but there was no cold -meat--poached eggs, but there were no eggs--mutton chops, but there wasn't -a mutton chop within three miles, though there had been more last week -than they knew what to do with, and would be an extraordinary supply the -day after to-morrow." Nicholas determined to leave the decision entirely -to the landlord, who rejoined: "There's a gentleman in the parlour that's -ordered a hot beefsteak pudding and potatoes at nine. There's more of it -than he can manage, and I have very little doubt that, if I ask leave, you -can sup with him. I'll do that in a minute." In spite of Nicholas's -disinclination to consent to do any such thing, the landlord hurried off -and in a few minutes Nicholas was shown into the presence of Mr. Vincent -Crummles, who was rehearsing his two sons in "what is called in play-bills -a terrific combat" with broadswords. - -After the rehearsal was finished Nicholas and Crummles drew round the fire -and the conversation revealed the latter's profession and business. The -appearance of the beefsteak pudding put a stop to the discussion for the -time being; but after Smike and the two young Crummleses had retired for -the night Nicholas and Mr. Vincent Crummles continued their conversation -over a bowl of punch, which sent forth "a most grateful and inviting -fragrance." Under the influence of this stimulant Mr. Vincent Crummles -proposed that Nicholas should join his theatrical company. - -"There's genteel comedy in your walk and manner, juvenile tragedy in your -eye, and touch-and-go farce in your laugh," said Mr. Vincent Crummles. -"You'll do as well as if you had thought of nothing else but the lamps -from your birth downwards." After further flattery and persuasiveness, -Nicholas agreed to try, and without more deliberation declared it was a -bargain and gave Mr. Vincent Crummles his hand upon it. - -Next morning they all continued their journey to Portsmouth in Mr. Vincent -Crummles's "four-wheeled phaeton" drawn by his famous pony. - -Dickens does not name the inn in which this incident took place, and -beyond stating it was twelve miles from Portsmouth gives no other -indication helpful in identifying it. - -[Illustration: THE BOTTOM INN, NEAR PETERSFIELD - -_Drawn by C. G. Harper_] - -Mr. Charles G. Harper however says from Dickens's very accurate -description there can be no question as to the identical spot the novelist -had in mind, which is just below Petersfield. There is an inn, the Coach -and Horses, standing by the wayside to-day, but according to Mr. Harper it -did not exist at the time of the story, so that the inn to which Dickens -referred was the Bottom Inn, or Gravel Hill Inn, as it was sometimes -called, which stood there in those days, and exists to-day as a -gamekeeper's cottage. - -There are other inns in the book that are referred to without name and one -or two which leave no doubt as to their identity. - -The handsome hotel, for instance, where Nicholas accidentally overheard -Sir Mulberry Hawk talking familiarly about his sister Kate, was situated, -Dickens tells us, in one of the thoroughfares lying between Park Lane and -Bond Street. It cannot, however, definitely be identified. It was in one -of the boxes of the coffee-room that the incident took place and there -were many such hotels at the time in the district whose coffee-rooms were -partitioned off into such boxes as Dickens describes this one. It has been -suggested that Mivart's, afterwards Claridge's--the old one, not the -present building--was possibly the one Dickens meant. It stood in Brook -Street and for that reason would perhaps answer the purpose. But this is -mere conjecture. - -This hotel may also be the one referred to in Chapter XVI of Book II of -_Little Dorrit_, where we are told "The courier had not approved of Mr. -Dorrit's staying in the house of a friend, and had preferred to take him -to an hotel in Brook Street, Grosvenor Square." He had just returned from -the Continent and remained for a short time only. But it was the scene of -two or three momentous interviews with Mr. Merdle, Flora Finching and -young John Chivery. - -The Crown public-house Newman Noggs used to frequent in the neighbourhood -of Golden Square, London, and which he told Nicholas was "at the corner of -Silver Street and James Street, with a bar door both ways," has been -rebuilt and greatly altered since those days. The names of the streets, -too, have been changed to Upper James Street and Beak Street, but at the -corner where they meet is to be found a Crown public-house occupying the -site of Newman Noggs's favoured house of call. - -There is something more definite and real in the London Tavern referred to -in the second chapter of the book, where the "United Metropolitan Improved -Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company" was to hold -its first meeting with Sir Matthew Pupker in the chair, which Company was -being floated and engineered by Ralph Nickleby and his fellow conspirator, -Mr. Bunney. Arriving in Bishopsgate Street Within, where the London Tavern -was, and still is situated, they found it in a great bustle. Half a dozen -men were exciting themselves over the announcement of the meeting which -was to petition Parliament in favour of the wonderful Company with a -capital of five hundred thousand shares of ten pounds each. The two men -elbowed their way into a room upstairs containing a business-looking table -and several business-looking people. The report of that meeting is too -long to quote, but, long as it is, not too long for the reader to relish -every word of it if he will but turn again to the pages describing it. -After the petition was agreed upon, Mr. Nickleby and the other directors -adjourned to the office to lunch, and to remunerate themselves; "for which -trouble (as the company was yet in its infancy) they only charged three -guineas each man for every such attendance." - -The London Tavern where this meeting was held was opened in 1768. It was -built on the Tontine principle, the name of the architect one Richard B. -Jupp. The great dining-room was known as the "Pillar-room" and was -"decorated with medallions and garlands, Corinthian columns and -pilasters." It had a ball-room running the whole length of the structure, -which was also used for banquets, and was hung with paintings and -contained a large organ at one end. In those days the hotel was famous for -its turtle soup, the turtles being kept alive in large tanks, and as many -as two tons were seen swimming in the vat at one time. The cellars were -filled with barrels of porter, pipes of port, butts of sherry, and endless -other bottles and bins. The building was erected to provide a spacious and -convenient place for public meetings, such as had drawn Ralph Nickleby and -his friends on the occasion referred to above. - -In _Household Words_ in 1852 was a long article on the tavern to which we -are indebted for some of the facts here recorded. Meetings of Mexican -Bondholders were held on the second floor; of a Railway Assurance -"upstairs, and first to the left"; of an asylum election at the end of the -passage; and of the party on the "first floor to the right," who had to -consider "the union of the Gibbleton line of the Great-Trunk-Due-Eastern -Junction"; all these functions brought persons in great excitement and -agitation to its hospitable walls. - -For these meetings the rooms were arranged with benches, and sumptuously -Turkey-carpeted: the end being provided with a long table for the -directors, with an imposing array of paper and pens. - -In a word, it was a city tavern for city men, and it still exists to-day -to cater for the requirements of the same class of business men, although -perhaps not so ostentatiously. Banquets are still held there; city -companies hold their meetings there, and Masonic institutions their -lodges. - -Dickens knew the tavern very well, having given dinners there himself or -taken the chair for some fund, as he did in June 1844, in aid of the -"Sanatorium or Sick-house," an institution for students, governesses and -young artists who were above using hospitals and could not afford the -expenses of home-nursing in their lodgings. - -On another occasion (in 1851) Dickens presided there at the annual dinner -held in aid of the General Theatrical Fund. The thought of this dinner may -have come back to him when he was writing one of his short pieces entitled -"Lying Awake," (1852) in which, among the strange things which came to his -mind on those occasions, he mentions that he found himself once thinking -how he had "suffered unspeakable agitation of mind from taking the chair -at a public dinner at the London Tavern in my night clothes, which not all -the courtesy of my kind friend and host, Mr. Bathe, could persuade me were -quite adapted to the occasion." - -There are a few other inns not mentioned by name, or merely alluded to in -passing, which, together with those we have dealt with, make _Nicholas -Nickleby_ almost as interesting from this point of view as _Pickwick -Papers_. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -BARNABY RUDGE - - THE MAYPOLE, CHIGWELL - - -Of all the inns with which Dickens's books abound there is none that plays -so important a part in any of his stories as the Maypole at Chigwell does -in _Barnaby Rudge_. Other inns are just the scene of an incident or two, -or are associated with certain characters or groups of characters; the -Maypole is the actual pivot upon which the whole story of _Barnaby Rudge_ -revolves. It is associated in some way with every character that figures -prominently in the narrative, and scene after scene is enacted either in -it or near by. The story begins with a picturesque description of the inn -and its frequenters, and ends with a delightful pen-picture of young Joe -Willet comfortably settled there with Dolly as his wife, and a happy -family growing up around them. - -For these reasons it may therefore be said to be the most important of -all the Dickensian inns. It is also one of the few hostels Dickens -describes in detail, and perhaps the only one he admittedly gave a -fanciful name to, for its real name is the King's Head. Ever since it has -been an inn it has been so called, and is known by that name to-day, -although it is never referred to in conversation or print without the -corroborative appendage of "The Maypole of _Barnaby Rudge_," nor does the -sign-board omit this important fact. There are the remains of an inn near -by at Chigwell Row, boasting the sign of the Maypole, and this may have -suggested the name to Dickens, but that is all it can claim: the King's -Head is the inn and Chigwell is the place chosen by Dickens for the centre -of some of the chief scenes in his story, and the few fanciful touches he -gives to it and its surroundings are nothing but the licence allowed a -novelist for rounding off and completing the details necessary for the -presentment of his ideal. As long as the King's Head exists, therefore, it -will always remain famous as "the Maypole of _Barnaby Rudge_," and reflect -pleasant memories to all who know the book. - -In 1841 Dickens, writing to his friend and biographer, John Forster, -inviting him to take a trip to Chigwell, said: "Chigwell, my dear fellow, -is the greatest place in the world. Name your day for going. Such a -delicious old inn, opposite the churchyard--such a lovely ride--such -beautiful forest scenery--such an out-of-the-way, rural, place--such a -sexton! I say again name your day." In quoting this alluring invitation in -his biography of the novelist, John Forster adds: "The day was named at -once, and the whitest of stones marks it, in now sorrowful memory. -Dickens's promise was exceeded by our enjoyment; and his delight in the -double recognition of himself and of Barnaby, by the landlord of the nice -old inn, far exceeded any pride he would have taken in what the world -thinks the highest sort of honour." - -As _Barnaby Rudge_ had been published by this time, the novelist must have -made many a trip to the King's Head previously, for the early chapters of -the story in which the inn is introduced had been written long before. - -Time has played very few tricks either with the building or with Chigwell, -for they are practically the same to-day as they were at the period in -which Dickens was writing. The inn can still be said to be a delicious old -one, and, if one rides to it as Dickens did, his description of the forest -scenery and the nature of the out-of-the-way, rural place will be found -as true to-day as when he discovered it, nearly a century ago: facts which -many a pilgrim to it since can substantiate. - -[Illustration: THE KING'S HEAD, CHIGWELL - -_Drawn by L. Walker_] - -The description of the Maypole in the opening chapter of _Barnaby Rudge_ -has been quoted often, but we make no apology for quoting it again, for no -more enticing way of introducing it could be imagined. Besides which it -incidentally suggests its past history as well as affirms its present -picturesqueness: - -"The Maypole was an old building, with more gable ends than a lazy man -would care to count on a sunny day; huge zigzag chimneys, out of which it -seemed as though even smoke could not choose but come in more than -naturally fantastic shapes, imparted to it in its tortuous progress; and -vast stables, gloomy, ruinous, and empty. The place was said to have been -built in the days of King Henry the Eighth; and there was a legend, not -only that Queen Elizabeth had slept there one night while upon a hunting -excursion, to wit, in a certain oak-panelled room with a deep bay window, -but that next morning, while standing on a mounting-block before the door, -with one foot in the stirrup, the Virgin Monarch had then and there boxed -and cuffed an unlucky page for some neglect of duty.... Whether these, and -many other stories of the like nature, were true or untrue, the Maypole -was really an old house, a very old house, perhaps as old as it claimed to -be, and perhaps older, which will sometimes happen with houses of an -uncertain, as with ladies of a certain, age. Its windows were old -diamond-pane lattices, its floors were sunken and uneven, its ceilings -blacked by the hand of Time, and heavy with massive beams. Over the -doorway was an ancient porch, quaintly and grotesquely carved; and here on -Summer evenings the more favoured customers smoked and drank--aye, and -sang many a good song, too, sometimes--reposing in two grim-looking -high-backed settles, which, like the twin dragons of some fairy tale, -guarded the entrance to the mansion. In the chimneys of the disused rooms -swallows had built their nests for many a long year, and, from earliest -Spring to latest Autumn, whole colonies of sparrows chirped and twittered -in the eaves. There were more pigeons about the dreary stable-yard and -outbuildings than anybody but the landlord could reckon up. The wheeling -and circling flights of runts, fantails, tumblers and pouters were perhaps -not quite consistent with the grave and sober character of the building, -but the monotonous cooing, which never ceased to be raised by some among -them all day long, suited it exactly, and seemed to lull it to rest. - -"With its overhanging stories, drowsy little panes of glass, and front -bulging out and projecting over the pathway, the old house looked as if it -were nodding in its sleep. Indeed, it needed no great stretch of fancy to -detect in it other resemblances to humanity. The bricks of which it was -built had originally been a deep dark red, but had grown yellow and -discoloured like an old man's skin; the sturdy timbers had decayed like -teeth; and here and there the ivy, like a warm garment to comfort it in -its age, wrapt its green leaves closely round the time-worn walls." - -That is a charming pen-picture of the Maypole's outward appearance, and -beyond a little exaggeration as regards some details almost perfectly fits -the "delicious" old inn to-day. Some topographers have seen fit to quarrel -with the picture because the porch was never there as described by Dickens -and because the gable ends could easily be counted without trouble, and -because in their hurried visit they had failed to discover the old bricks -and the warm garment of ivy wrapping its green leaves closely round the -time-worn walls. But that is being meticulous, not to say pedantic, and if -a visit is made to the back of the building this delightful simile can be -thoroughly appreciated. Indeed, no more appropriate words could be found -to describe its appearance to-day than those written by the novelist many -years ago. - -Cattermole, who drew a picture of the inn for the book, went woefully -wrong. He did not even follow Dickens's words, but drew a picture more -representing an old English baronial mansion than an inn. Even granting -that, before the Maypole was an inn it was a mansion, Cattermole very -much overstepped the mark. History tells us that about 1713 the King's -Head was used for sittings of the Court of Attachments, and that farther -back in 1630 "the Bailiff of the Forests was directed to summon the -Constables to appear before the Forest Officers, for the purposes of an -election," at the "house of Bibby," which probably was no other than what -became the King's Head at Chigwell. "In this quaint and pleasant inn," we -are informed, "may still be seen the room in which the Court of -Attachments was held." This evidently is the Chester Room to which we -shall refer later. The same writer also mentions "an arched recess in the -cellar, made to hold the wine which served for the revels of the Officers -of the Forest, after the graver labours of the day." - -Let us follow the story of _Barnaby Rudge_ through, and see how everything -in it focusses on the Maypole Inn. - -The story dates back to 1775, and opens with John Willet, the burly -large-headed landlord with a fat face, sitting in his old seat in the -chimney-corner before a blazing fire surrounded by the group of regular -habitués. Here this company assembled each night in the recess of the -huge wide chimney with their long clay pipes and tankards to discuss the -local history and events. Here Solomon Daisy told his Maypole story. "It -belongs to the house," says John Willet, "and nobody but Solomon Daisy has -ever told it under this roof, or ever shall, that's more." This room, long -since turned to the more modern use of an up-to-date kitchen, was the -scene of many an incident in the book. Its cosy chimney-corner and -high-back settles are no more, but the scene can be adjusted easily, even -though a gas stove stultifies the vision somewhat. It was the resort of -all and sundry in those days. Gabriel Varden credited himself with great -resolution if he took another road on his way back from the Warren in -order that he should not break his promise to Martha by looking in at the -Maypole. - -It was a bold resolution, for the Maypole was as a magnet, and we are -often told of how its cheery lights in the evenings were a lure to those -within sight of them; for when Gabriel did go, as related on one occasion, -and left the door open behind him, there was disclosed "a delicious -perspective of warmth and brightness--when the ruddy gleam of the fire, -streaming through the old red curtains of the common room, seemed to bring -with it, as part of itself, a pleasant hum of voices, and a fragrant -odour of steaming grog and rare tobacco, all steeped, as it were, in the -cheerful glow." There he would find a company in snug seats in the -snuggest of corners round a broad glare from a crackling log, and from a -distant kitchen he would hear a gentle sound of frying, with musical -clatter of plates and dishes, and a savoury smell that made even the -boisterous wind a perfume--on such occasions Gabriel, we are told, would -find his "firmness oozing rapidly away. He tried to look stoically at the -tavern, but his features would relax into a look of fondness. He turned -his head the other way, and the cold black country seemed to frown him -off, and to drive him for a refuge into its hospitable arms." - -We can well imagine it, for who could resist its clean floor covered with -crisp white sand, its well-swept hearth, its blazing fire, such as this -friendly meeting place possessed? That was but one of its many attractive -rooms. - -Up the "wide dismantled staircase" was the best apartment, in which John -Chester had his momentous interview with Geoffrey Haredale. This is known -to-day, as we have already said, as the Chester Room. "It was spacious -enough in all conscience, occupying the whole depth of the house, and -having at either end a great bay window, as large as many modern rooms -... although the best room in the inn, it had the melancholy aspect of -grandeur in decay, and was much too vast for comfort." This room exists -to-day, and one can readily realise, on reading Dickens's meditation on -its dullness and its chilly waste, how desolate it must have been as a -living-room in a mansion, such as the Maypole once was. "God help the man -whose heart ever changes with the world, as an old mansion when it becomes -an inn," Dickens exclaims. - -[Illustration: THE CHESTER ROOM - -_Drawn by L. Walker_] - -The best bedroom to which Mr. Chester repaired for the night after his -interview with Mr. Haredale was nearly as large and possessed "a great -spectral bedstead, hung with faded brocade, and ornamented, at the top of -each carved post, with a plume of feathers that had once been white, but -with dust and age had now grown hearse-like and funereal"; but the room, -John Willet informed his guest, was "as warm as a toast in a tankard." And -so Mr. Chester was left to his rest in the Maypole's ancient bed. - -These apartments, stately and grand as they were, could not compare or -compete in comfort with the bar, the bar parlour and other corners -frequented by the more menial coterie of the inn. Even the stables were -pleasant in their way, and, when Hugh, the ostler--Maypole Hugh as he was -called--was ordered to take Mr. Chester's horse, John Willet assured his -guest that "there's good accommodation for man and beast," which was true -then and is true to-day. - -Later came Lord George Gordon, John Grueby and Mr. Gashford on their "No -Popery" mission, all looking like "tagrag and bobtail," asking if there -are any inns thereabouts. "There are no inns," replied Mr. Willet, with -strong emphasis on the plural number; "but there's a inn--one inn--the -Maypole Inn. That's a inn indeed. You won't see the like of that inn -often." After being assured that his visitors were really the persons -they represented themselves to be, John Willet recovered so far as to -observe that there was ample accommodation at the Maypole for the party; -"good beds, neat wines, excellent entertainment for man and beast; private -rooms for large and small parties; dinners dressed upon the shortest -notice; choice stabling, and a lock-up coach-house; and, in short, to run -over such recommendatory scraps of language as were painted up on various -portions of the building, and which in the course of forty years he had -learnt to repeat with tolerable correctness." And so they were "put up" -for the night, and they could desire nothing better. - -Without following the story in its relation to the horrors of the Gordon -Riots, we record in passing that both Maypole Hugh and Barnaby joined the -throng on leaving their cosy quarters of the inn. - -Passing over the frequent visits of such characters as Mr., Mrs. and Dolly -Varden, Miss Haredale and others, we reach the stage in the story when the -rioters arrived at the inn on their way to burn and raid the Warren in the -neighbourhood. They encounter John Willet at the Porch, and immediately -demand drink. - -Their ringleader was no other than Maypole Hugh, who confronted his late -master with "These lads are thirsty and must drink. Bustle, Jack, bustle! -Show us the best--the very best--the over-proof that you keep for your own -drinking, Jack!" Then ensued a mad scene. The rabble entered the bar--"the -sanctuary, the mystery, the hallowed ground: here it was, crammed with -men, clubs, sticks, torches, pistols; filled with a deafening noise, -oaths, shouts, screams, hootings; changed all at once into a bear-garden, -a madhouse, an infernal temple; men darting in and out, by door and -window, smashing the glass, turning the taps, drinking liquor out of china -punch-bowls, sitting astride of casks, smoking private and personal pipes, -cutting down the sacred grove of lemons, hacking and hewing of the -celebrated cheese ... noise, smoke, light, darkness, frolic, anger, -laughter, groans, plunder, fear, and ruin." Finally binding John to a -chair they left him alone in his dismantled bar and made for the Warren, -which they burned to the ground. - -In despair, Mr. Haredale seeks his niece and servants at the Maypole, only -to find the spectacle of John Willet in the ignominious position the -rioters left him, with his favourite house stripped and pulled about his -ears. Damaged as the "Maypole" was in many ways, it never actually drops -out of the story's interest; but during the trend of events in London we -naturally hear little of it. - -John Willet had flown in despair from it, and took up his abode in the -Black Lion in London for safety's sake, where eventually he again met his -son Joe, now a one-armed hero back from the wars. - -Here in his solitude we find him sitting over the fire, "afar off in the -remotest depths of his intellect," with a lurking hint or faint suggestion -"that out of the public purse there might issue funds for the restoration -of the Maypole to its former high place among the taverns of the earth." -What actually did happen, however, was the marriage of his son Joe to -Dolly, whose father gave her a handsome dowry, enabling the happy couple -to return to the Maypole, reopen it, and there install themselves as host -and hostess. And so they brought back to the inn all its famous glory, -earning for it the epithet that there was no such country inn as the -Maypole in all England. - -Barnaby returned to live with his mother on the farm established there, -and Grip was his cherished companion throughout the rest of his life. John -Willet retired into a small cottage in the village, where the fire-place -was widened and enlarged for him, and where a boiler was hung up for his -edification, and, furthermore, in the little garden outside the front door -a fictitious Maypole was planted; so that he was quite at home directly. -To this new abode came his old friends and cronies of the old -chimney-corner of the Maypole to chum over the things that once were. - -No doubt they talked of the old days in the old inn, and occasionally -turned in to its enticing haven and challenged anyone to find its equal by -asking, as was asked before, "What carpet like its crunching sand, what -merry music as its crackling logs, what perfume like its kitchen's dainty -breath, what weather genial as its hearty warmth?" And we are sure that -they all endorsed its historian's benediction--"Blessings on the old -house, how sturdily it stood." - -We have attempted to bring to mind the atmosphere of the Maypole as it was -in the days of the story of _Barnaby Rudge_, and to recall the characters -and incidents associated with it. The pilgrim to this notable Dickens -shrine to-day, remembering these things, will find that time has dealt -kindly with the old inn. It is changed, of course, in many ways, but it is -still the old Maypole, with its bar, its Chester room, its stables, its -cellars running under the adjoining cottages, and its ivy still clinging -to the old worn bricks at the back. Its windows are still diamond-paned, -and its floors are still uneven and sunken in places; its heavy beams run -across the ceiling. One can even hear the sparrows chirp and see the other -birds disport themselves in their revels. The building has many gables, -and its stories overhang and bulge over the pathway as if the old house -was nodding in its sleep just as the novelist described it. - -And, in the churchyard opposite, the scene of Barnaby and his mother -sitting upon a tombstone and eating their frugal meal can easily be -visualized. - -Still set in a rural and beautiful district of England's verdant lanes, -long may the Maypole survive! - -It is interesting to note that in 1899 "The Charles Dickens Lodge" was -consecrated in the Maypole, and still holds its meetings there. The Lodge -is held in what was undoubtedly the "best bedroom" of the inn, and the -banquet follows in the Chester Room. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -BARNABY RUDGE (_continued_) AND THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP - - THE BOOT--THE BLACK LION--THE CROOKED BILLET--THE RED LION, BEVIS - MARKS--GRAY'S INN COFFEE-HOUSE--AND OTHERS - - -There are very few instances in Dickens's descriptions of London that were -not the outcome of his own actual observations. But in writing _Barnaby -Rudge_, the action of which took place thirty years or so before he was -born, he was forced to rely a good deal on tradition and history books. -Yet, so particular was he about facts and details, it would be very -difficult to find him tripping even in his geography. - -In regard to the inns and taverns of the book, we find, as we have shown, -how intimately he knew the Maypole, and we believe it to be true, although -in a lesser degree, in regard to the Boot, the headquarters of the Gordon -Rioters, which, next to the Maypole, is the most notable inn in the book. -Having lived in the neighbourhood where for over a century and a half this -old inn or its predecessors stood, he no doubt visited it and absorbed the -atmosphere of its past. - -It is first mentioned in Chapter XXXVIII, where we are told that, after -being enrolled as "No Popery" men, Dennis and Hugh left Gashford's house -together and spent two hours in inspecting the Houses of Parliament and -their purlieus. "As they were thirsty by this time, Dennis proposed that -they should repair together to the Boot, where there was good company and -strong liquor. Hugh yielding a ready assent, they bent their steps that -way with no loss of time." - -The Boot, we are told, was "a lone house of public entertainment, situated -in the fields at the back of the Foundling Hospital; a very solitary spot -at that period, and quite deserted after dark. The tavern stood at some -distance from any high road, and was approached only by a dark and narrow -lane; so that Hugh was much surprised to find several people drinking -there, and great merriment going on." - -[Illustration: The Old Boot Inn. 1780. - -_From an old Engraving_] - -Here it was that Sim Tappertit, as chief or captain of the United -Bulldogs, swaggered about with majestic air, among his fellow -conspirators, creating a great impression by his dignity and assumed -demeanour of importance, whilst plots and acts of menace were hatched out. -In those days the fields were known as Lamb Conduit Fields, which district -has become now a very thickly populated neighbourhood between Euston Road -and Gray's Inn Road, with the name still perpetuated in Lambs Conduit -Street. There is a Boot Tavern still standing to-day at 116 Cromer Street, -and there is no reason to doubt that it is the successor of the Boot -mentioned in _Barnaby Rudge_ as the headquarters of the Gordon Rioters, -which actually stood at that spot in 1780. Situated as it was then, the -solitary surroundings became a refuge at night for rioters in lanes, under -the hay-stacks, or near the warmth of brick-kilns, when they were not in -the tavern planning desperate deeds in the name of the Protestant -Association of England, sanctioned by Lord George Gordon. The present Boot -was rebuilt in 1801 by Peter Speedy, and five generations of the family -have owned it for something like 150 years. Even as far back as 1630 we -learn that a Thomas Cleave invested £50 in the Boot Tavern, the interest -on which was to be spent weekly on thirteen penny loaves, to be -distributed to the poor at the door of St. Pancras' Church every Sunday -morning. - -Among the original illustrations to the book is one of the Boot engraved -from a drawing by George Cattermole, who made it from a contemporary -etching, which we reproduce here. In comparing it with Cattermole's -picture it will be observed that it differs very slightly in detail, but -is turned the other way round. This, no doubt, is accounted for by the -fact that the drawing was made on wood and when engraved and printed the -picture became reversed. The stream running in front of the inn is the -Fleet, which still flows underground. - -A correspondent in _The Times_ on the 25th October, 1895, writing on the -subject said that Dickens confirmed to him with his own lips in the Boot -itself about the year 1867 "that this was the identical inn he had in his -mind's eye when he conceived _Barnaby Rudge_." - -Unhappily the frontage has been aggressively modernised. Luckily the -present landlord, Mr. Harry Ford, has retained the sign of "Ye Olde Boote" -and is proud of the tavern's traditions. - -The three or four other inns of the book do not figure so realistically in -it as do the Maypole and the Boot. The half-way house between Chigwell -and London referred to in Chapter II, although unnamed, was no doubt the -Green Man at Leytonstone, still standing near the present-day railway -station. - -The Black Lion in Whitechapel, where Joe Willet took his frugal dinner -after having settled his father's bills with the vintner in Thames Street, -and where on another occasion, having determined to enlist in the Army, he -met the recruiting sergeant, may have existed in those days, but that -cannot be determined definitely. There certainly was a Black Lion Yard -there, and maybe, at one time, an inn of that name stood close by, -exhibiting the sign, which, we are told, was painted by the artist under -instructions from the landlord "to convey into the features of the lordly -brute whose effigy it bore as near a counterpart of his own face as his -skill could compass." The result was "rather a drowsy, tame and feeble -lion; and as these social representatives of a savage class are usually of -a conventional character (being depicted, for the most part, in impossible -attitudes, and of unearthly colour) he was frequently supposed by the most -ignorant and uninformed among the neighbours to be the veritable portrait -of the host as he appeared on the occasion of some great funeral ceremony -or public mourning." - -This inn was the scene too of the meeting of Dolly Varden and Joe when the -valiant soldier returned from the defence of the "Salwanners" minus an -arm; and of the interview of the youthful couple when they came to that -very pleasant understanding, after an enjoyable supper. - -The Crooked Billet, the headquarters of the recruiting sergeant, where -Joe, "disconsolate and downhearted, but full of courage," was enrolled -"among the gallant defenders of his native land," was in Tower Street, so -we are told; and we read that, having taken the King's shilling, he was -"regaled with a steaming supper of boiled tripe and onions, prepared, as -his friend assured him more than once, at the express command of his Most -Sacred Majesty the King." After he had done ample justice to it he was -"conducted to a straw mattress in a loft over the stable, and locked in -there for the night." - -Until 1912 there actually was an old weather-beaten public-house with that -name at No. 1 Little Tower Hill, at the corner of Shorter Street. It was a -very fine specimen of eighteenth-century architecture, although the -frontage was not as old as the rest of the structure. As it would have -been standing at the period of the story, no doubt this was the house -Dickens had in mind. It was demolished, with other buildings, to conform -to the necessity of city improvements. - -The noted coffee-house in Covent Garden to which Mr. Chester repaired -after leaving the locksmith's might be any one of the many that flourished -in that district at the time, such as "Tom's," "White's," "Wills's," and -"Button's." "Tom's" was perhaps the most fashionable, and for that reason -more likely to be favoured by Mr. Chester, as he would be only too proud -to think he would be numbered among such folk as Dr. Johnson, Sir Joshua -Reynolds, Garrick, Defoe, and all those famous men who resorted to it in -its palmiest days. It was situated at No. 17 Russell Street. - -Turning to _The Old Curiosity Shop_, we can find but few inns or taverns -that have any real importance to the story. Of those that are mentioned by -name, no detailed description is given, nor is any very vital incident or -character associated with them. - -In Chapter XXI, however, where Quilp invites Dick Swiveller to partake of -liquid refreshment with him, we get the real Dickens touch: "As we are -companions in adversity," he said, "shall we be companions in the surest -way of forgetting it? If you had no particular business, now, to lead you -in another direction, there is a house by the waterside where they have -some of the noblest Schiedam--reputed to be smuggled, but that's between -ourselves--that can be got in all the world. The landlord knows me. -There's a little summer-house overlooking the river where we might take a -glass of this delicious liquor with a whiff of the best tobacco ... and be -perfectly happy, could we possibly contrive it; or is there any particular -engagement that peremptorily takes you another way, Mr. Swiveller, eh?" -There remained nothing more to be done but to set out for the house in -question. The summer-house of which Mr. Quilp had spoken was "a rugged -wooden box, rotten and bare to see, which overhung the river's mud and -threatened to slide down into it. The tavern to which it belonged was a -crazy building, sapped and undermined by the rats, and only upheld by the -bars of wood which were reared against its walls, and had propped it up so -long that even they were decaying and yielding with their load, and of a -windy night might be heard to creak and crack as if the whole fabric were -about to come toppling down. The house stood--if anything so old and -feeble could be said to stand--on a piece of waste ground, blighted -with the unwholesome smoke of factory chimneys.... Its internal -accommodation amply fulfilled the promise of the outside. The rooms were -low and damp, the clammy walls were pierced with chinks and holes, the -rotten floors had sunk from their level, the very beams started from their -place and warned the timid stranger from their neighbourhood." - -[Illustration: THE RED LION, BEVIS MARKS - -_Drawn by G. M. Brimelow_] - -Dickens gives no name to this tavern so minutely and wonderfully -described, where Quilp and Dick drank with so much freedom. Yet, although -it cannot be identified, the word-picture is too good to pass unheeded. -However, many years ago there were scores of such which would answer to -the description, on the Surrey side of the Thames, and no doubt Dickens -hit upon one of them for Quilp's favourite resort near by his wharf. They -have long since disappeared. - -No sign is mentioned either of Dick Swiveller's favourite inn "across the -street," from Sampson Brass's office in Bevis Marks, where he obtained his -"modest quencher." There is, however, at No. 17, the Red Lion Tavern that -claims that honour and acquaints the world of the fact from its -sign-board. It is quite an old-fashioned public-house, and has scarcely -been altered since it numbered so bright and merry a soul as Dick among -its frequenters. - -There is, however, one tavern mentioned in the story that leaves us in no -doubt about its identification. It will be remembered how annoyed, indeed -how desperate, Sampson Brass gets with the Single Gentleman for -encouraging the Punch and Judy shows to the house. "I wish I only knew who -his friends were," muttered Sampson, as another appeared in Bevis Marks. -"If they'd just get up a pretty little commission _de lunatico_ at the -Gray's Inn Coffee-House and give me the job, I'd be content to have the -lodgings empty for awhile, at all events." - -The building which was once known as Gray's Inn Coffee-House stands -to-day, although its front has been stuccoed and turned into chambers. It -is the next house on the east from the Holborn gate of Gray's Inn. It is -referred to at length in Chapter LIX of _David Copperfield_, when David, -reaching London, plans to call on Traddles in his chambers in the Inn. He -puts up at Gray's Inn Coffee-House. Having ordered a bit of fish and a -steak he stood before the fire musing on the waiter's obscurity: - -"As I followed the chief waiter with my eyes, I could not help thinking -that the garden in which he had gradually blown to be the flower he was -was an arduous place to rise in. It had such a prescriptive, -stiff-necked, long-established, solemn, elderly air. I glanced about the -room, which had had its sanded floor sanded, no doubt, in exactly the same -manner when the chief waiter was a boy, if he ever was a boy, which -appeared to be improbable; and at the shining tables, where I saw myself -reflected, in unruffled depths of old mahogany; and at the lamps, without -a flaw in their trimmings or cleaning; and at the comfortable green -curtains, with their pure brass rods, snugly enclosing the boxes; and at -the two large coal fires, brightly burning; and at the rows of decanters, -burly as if with the consciousness of pipes of expensive old port wine -below; and both England and the law appeared to me to be very difficult -indeed to be taken by storm. I went up to my bedroom to change my wet -clothes; and the vast extent of that old wainscoted apartment (which was -over the archway leading to the inn, I remember) and the sedate immensity -of the four-post bedstead, and the indomitable gravity of the chests of -drawers, all seemed to unite in sternly frowning on the fortunes of -Traddles, or on any such daring youth. I came down again to my dinner; and -even the slow comfort of the meal, and the orderly silence of the place, -were eloquent on the audacity of Traddles, and his small hopes of a -livelihood for twenty years to come." - -We wonder if the staid men who conduct their business in those rooms -to-day are conscious that they occupy one of London's historic old -coffee-taverns and a noted Dickens landmark to wit. - -The Jolly Sandboys Inn, mentioned at the beginning of Chapter XVIII of -_The Old Curiosity Shop_, is doubtless a purely imaginary one. It was "a -small road-side inn of pretty ancient date, with a sign representing three -sandboys increasing their jollity with as many jugs of ale and bags of -gold, creaking and swinging on its post on the opposite side of the road." -But, as we have no definite information as to the identical spot Codlin -and Short had reached at that moment, no attempt can be made to identify -it. - -The same remarks apply to the Valiant Soldier, the public-house where Nell -and her grandfather took shelter from the storm, in Chapter XXIX, and -where the old man gambled away Nell's last coin in a game of cards. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT - - THE BLUE DRAGON--THE HALF MOON AND SEVEN STARS--TWO SALISBURY - INNS--THE BLACK BULL, HOLBORN - - -The Blue Dragon is an inn whose name, through the magic pen of Dickens, -has become as familiar as that of the veritable Pecksniff himself, and -almost as important. Dickens found evident delight in describing it and -its beaming mistress, Mrs. Lupin, but was careful not to disclose its real -whereabouts beyond saying that it was located in a "little Wiltshire -village within easy journey of the fair old town of Salisbury." It is -first introduced in Chapter II of _Martin Chuzzlewit_ in that wonderful -description of an angry wind, which, among the other extraordinary and -wilful antics it indulged in, gave "the old sign before the ale-house door -such a cuff as it went that the Blue Dragon was more rampant than usual -ever afterwards." In the following chapter we are allowed to become more -intimate with this sign and learn what "a faded, and an ancient dragon he -was; and many a wintry storm of rain, snow, sleet, and hail had changed -his colour from a gaudy blue to a faint lack-lustre of grey. But there he -hung; rearing, in a state of monstrous imbecility, on his hind legs; -waxing, with every month that passed, so much more dim and shapeless that -as you gazed at him on one side of the sign-board it seemed as if he must -be gradually melting through it, and coming out upon the other. He was a -courteous and considerate dragon, too; or had been in his distincter days; -for in the midst of his rampant feebleness he kept one of his fore paws -near his nose, as though he would say, 'Don't mind me--it's only my fun'; -while he held out the other in polite and hospitable entreaty." - -No less delightful is Dickens's picture of the mistress of the Blue -Dragon, who "was in outward appearance just what a landlady should be: -broad, buxom, comfortable and good-looking, with a face of clear red and -white, which, by its jovial aspect, at once bore testimony to her hearty -participation in the good things of the larder and cellar, and to their -thriving and healthful influences. She was a widow, but years ago had -passed through her state of weeds, and burst into flower again--and in -full bloom she had continued ever since; and in full bloom she was now; -with roses in her ample skirts, and roses on her bodice, roses in her cap, -roses in her cheeks--aye, and roses, worth the gathering too, on her lips -for that matter ... was comely, dimpled plump, and tight as a gooseberry." - -To this inn and the care of its jovial landlady unexpectedly came old -Martin Chuzzlewit and Mary Graham in a rusty old chariot with post-horses. -The old man, suffering horrible cramps and spasms, was accommodated in the -best bedroom, "which was a large apartment, such as one may see in country -places, with a low roof and a sunken flooring, all downhill from the door, -and a descent of two steps on the inside so exquisitely unexpected that -strangers, despite the most elaborate cautioning, usually dived in head -first, as into a plunging bath. It was none of your frivolous and -preposterously bright bedrooms, where nobody can close an eye with any -kind of propriety or decent regard to the association of ideas; but it was -a good, dull leaden drowsy place, where every article of furniture -reminded you that you came there to sleep, and that you were expected to -go to sleep." - -Here old Martin was put to bed in the old curtained four-poster, and was -soon discovered by Mr. Hypocrite Pecksniff, who knew the Blue Dragon and -its bar well and had come in from his house not far away. In short time -followed the other relatives until all the beds in the inn and village -were at a premium. These relatives included Mr. and Mrs. Spottletoe, -Anthony Chuzzlewit and his son Jonas, the widow of a deceased brother and -her two daughters, a grand-nephew, George Chuzzlewit, all of whom we -assume slept at the inn; whilst Montague Tigg and Chevy Slime put up at -the Half Moon and Seven Stars, where they ran up a bill they could not pay -and so tried the Blue Dragon. The King's Arms in the village was no doubt -the original of the Half Moon and Seven Stars. - -Throughout the first portion of the book the Blue Dragon is the meeting -place of many of the characters, with Mrs. Lupin the friend of most of -them. Therefore within its walls many scenes and incidents of the story -take place, apart from the visits of old Martin and Mary Graham. - -One of its chief claims to affection, however, is its intimate association -with Mark Tapley, the ostler there, and his attraction to Mrs. Lupin, in -connection with which we need only recall the scene on the night of his -departure for America and that on his ultimate and unexpected return. - -On this latter occasion he arrived at the Blue Dragon wet through and -found Mrs. Lupin alone in the bar. Wrapped up in his great coat, she did -not know him at first, but soon recognised him as he vigorously caught her -in his arms and showered kisses upon her. He excused his final burst by -saying "I ain't a-kissing you now, you'll observe. I have been among the -patriots: I'm kissing my country." This exuberance ultimately led to the -marriage of Mark to the buxom widow and the conversion of the sign of the -Blue Dragon into that of the Jolly Tapley, a sign, Mark assured us, of his -own invention: "Wery new, conwivial and expressive." - -And so with such a warm-hearted and homely couple to guide the fortunes of -the Blue Dragon, we may assume that its comfort and hospitality continued -to be a byword in the village and surrounding country. - -The Blue Dragon has been carefully identified as the George Inn at -Amesbury, eight miles north of Salisbury, and not far from Mr. -Pecksniff's house, for which an old mansion on the Wilsford Road near the -village is made to stand. - -It is true that at Alderbury there is a Green Dragon, and, although it may -reasonably be assumed that Dickens knew of this and appropriated the sign -and changed its colour, he did not otherwise adopt the inn for the scene -of those incidents we have referred to, for it was not commodious enough -for the purpose. Whereas the George at Amesbury fulfils all the -requirements of the story and was at the time a coaching inn and a -hostelry capable of supplying all the wants and all the accommodation -demanded by old Martin Chuzzlewit and the retinue that pursued him -wherever he went. - -H. Snowden Ward, who made a minute study of this district in relation to -the Blue Dragon, became convinced by means of ordnance maps and coach -routes that Amesbury answered in every detail the requirements of the -little Wiltshire village described by Dickens. He found that the turnpike -house where Tom Pinch left his box still existed, and the church where he -played the organ was rightly situated, and, though there was no walk -through the wood from the house selected as Pecksniff's, there was a path -through a little plantation making a short cut to the north-west corner -of the churchyard. - -[Illustration: THE GEORGE, AMESBURY - -_Drawn by C. G. Harper_] - -Amesbury also fits geographically into the story in regard to the route of -the London coach which carried Tom Pinch and others on their journeys to -London, and the George Inn still stands a famous Dickens landmark there, -where visitors can be shown the identical bedroom occupied by old Martin -Chuzzlewit, and where they can otherwise indulge the sentiment of being -in the Blue Dragon once presided over by the very attractive, comely and -dimpled Mrs. Lupin when in her bloom, and utterly ignore the disparagement -and contempt poured upon it by that unprincipled adventurer, Montague -Tigg. - -Leaving the "little Wiltshire village" with as much reluctance as Mark -Tapley did on one occasion, let us visit the "fair old town of Salisbury" -in the company of Tom Pinch, who, it will be remembered, was commissioned -to drive there to meet and bring back Martin Chuzzlewit, the new pupil. -Mr. Pecksniff's horse, which resembled, it was said, his own moral -character in so far that "he was full of promise, but of no performance," -was harnessed to the hooded vehicle--"it was more like a gig with a tumour -than anything else"--and simple-hearted Tom, with his gallant equipage, -pursued his way to the cathedral town, which he had a shrewd notion was a -very desperate sort of place. Having put up his horse at an inn and given -the hostler to understand that he would look in again in the course of an -hour or two to see it take its corn, he set forth to view the streets. -Salisbury was noted for its inns then, and the day being market day--still -a notable sight to-day--he watched the farmers standing about in groups on -the tavern steps. Later, as the evening drew in, he returned to the -parlour of the tavern where he had left his horse, "had his little table -drawn out close before the fire, and fell to work upon a well-cooked steak -and smoking hot potatoes, with a strong appreciation of their excellence, -and a very keen sense of enjoyment. Beside him, too, there stood a jug of -most stupendous Wiltshire beer; and the effect of the whole was so -transcendent that he was obliged every now and then to lay down his knife -and fork, rub his hands and think about it. By the time the cheese and -celery came, Mr. Pinch had taken a book out of his pocket, and could -afford to trifle with the viands, now eating a little, now drinking a -little, now reading a little." - -Whilst thus comfortably and happily occupied, a stranger appeared in the -room, who turned out to be Martin Chuzzlewit, for whom he was waiting. On -becoming friends a bowl of punch was ordered which in due course came "hot -and strong," and "after drinking to each other in the steaming mixture -they became quite confidential." When the time came to depart, Tom settled -his bill and Martin paid for the punch, and, "having wrapped themselves -up, to the extent of their respective means, they went out together to the -front door, where Mr. Pecksniff's property stopped the way," and started -on their way back. - -Dickens makes no mention of the inn where this meeting took place, but H. -Snowden Ward identified it as the old George Hotel in the High Street. We -cannot vouch for the accuracy of this, although we are not inclined to -dispute it. It may have been the inn Dickens had in his mind's eye, but it -must have been a recollection of an earlier visit to Salisbury, for at the -time he was writing _Martin Chuzzlewit_ the George had lost its licence -and would have been unable to supply the "jug of most stupendous Wiltshire -beer" or the bowl of hot strong punch with which Tom Pinch and Martin -regaled themselves. It may be the waiter sent for it as is done to-day. -However, if the assumption that this is the tavern where the two met draws -visitors to it, there can be no regrets, for it is surely one of the most -ancient hostelries in the country. It dates back to 1320 and retains its -fine Gothic arches of oak, its timbered roofs and ceilings, its massive -oak supports to the cross-beams in several rooms, its splendid example of -an oak Jacobean staircase, its four-poster bedsteads, old fire-places, and -ancient furniture. In one of the rooms there is also a portion of a very -ancient wall of Roman bricks in herringbone work, where in 1869 were -found Roman coins, some of which are to be seen in the hotel to-day. - -[Illustration: THE GEORGE INN, SALISBURY - -_Photograph by T. W. Tyrell_] - -It is no longer a coaching inn. The court-yard where the strolling players -of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries gave their dramatic -performances is now the garden, and the entrance for the coaches has been -narrowed to an ordinary hotel entrance. In doing this, the rooms on each -side were widened, and in this process the massive rough-hewn oaks that -support the cross-beams of the ceilings, and which at one time formed part -of the walls, became isolated, and stand now like trees growing out of the -earth. - -Such an ancient inn naturally has many historic stories and traditions -associated with it, and these are not overlooked by the present proprietor -in a little brochure available to visitors. Shakespeare, we are informed, -acted in its court-yard, Oliver Cromwell slept in the inn when passing -through the city to join his army on the 17th October, 1645, whilst Samuel -Pepys makes mention of it in his diary where he records his welcome to a -silk bed and a very good diet. - -This inn is referred to again in Chapter XXXI, when Tom Pinch, having -parted from Mr. Pecksniff, tramped on foot to Salisbury and "went to the -inn where he had waited for Martin," and ordered a bed, which, we are told -"was a low four-poster shelving downward in the centre like a trough." He -slept two nights at the inn before starting on his ride to London, so -graphically described by Dickens, meeting Mrs. Lupin at the finger-posts -where she had brought the box of good things which he shared with the -coachman on the journey. - -Where was situated the Baldfaced Stag, where four fresh horses were -supplied to the admiring gaze of the topers congregated about the door, -cannot be determined. But the inn where Tom alighted in London, and where, -in one of the public rooms opening from the yard, he fell fast asleep -before the fire, although not named, was probably the "Swan with Two -Necks," which stood in Lad Lane (now Gresham Street) until 1856. It was a -famous coaching inn whence the Exeter and other coaches set out and -returned. - -There was another inn at Salisbury where John Westlock entertained Tom -Pinch and Martin to dinner one evening. It is described as "the very first -hotel in the town." Tom and Martin had walked in from Pecksniff's on a -very cold and dry day and arrived at the inn with such flushed and burning -faces and so brimful of vigour that the waiter "almost felt assaulted by -their presence." Dickens describes the hostelry in these words: "A Famous -Inn! the hall a very grove of dead game and dangling joints of mutton; and -in one corner an illustrious larder, with glass doors, developing cold -fowls and noble joints, and tarts wherein the raspberry jam coyly withdrew -itself, as such a precious creature should, behind a lattice-work of -pastry. And behold, on the first floor, at the court end of the house, in -a room with all the window-curtains drawn, a fire piled half-way up the -chimney, plates warming before it, wax candles gleaming everywhere, and a -table spread for three, with silver and glass enough for thirty--John -Westlock." - -What a greeting for hungry souls after a long tramp in the brisk cold -country air. "I have ordered everything for dinner that we used to say -we'd have, Tom," said their host, and an excellent idea of a dinner it -was, too--"like a dream," as he added. - -"John was wrong there," the narrator goes on, "because nobody ever dreamed -such soup as was put upon the table directly afterwards; or such fish; or -such side-dishes; or such a top and bottom; or such a course of birds and -sweets; or, in short, anything approaching the reality of entertainment -at ten-and-sixpence a head, exclusive of wines. As to _them_, the man who -can dream such iced champagne, such claret, port or sherry, had better go -to bed and stop there." - -It was a right royal, jolly dinner, and they were very merry and full of -enjoyment all the time; "but not the least pleasant part of the festival -was when they all three sat about the fire, cracking nuts, drinking wine, -and talking cheerfully." They parted for the night, "John Westlock full of -light-heartedness and good humour, and poor Tom Pinch quite satisfied." -After breakfast next morning the two young men returned to Pecksniff's and -John Westlock to London. - -Again Dickens does not give a name to this hotel. He tells us it was not -the same one where Tom Pinch met Martin on the occasion referred to -previously; but he does tell us that it was the very first hotel in the -town and that it was a famous inn. That has given the clue to many -students of the book who have identified it as the White Hart, a very old -house where many coaches stopped and were horsed in the coaching days of -the period of the story. The White Hart was certainly famous and quite -capable of providing such a dinner as John Westlock gave his two friends. -It is called an hotel to-day and is evidently very proud of its tradition -and stories. Here are one or two anecdotes relating to its past taken from -local histories. - -In the year 1618 King James came to Sarum and it was just before this -visit that Sir Walter Raleigh passed through the city. He was on his way -from Plymouth after the failure of his last voyage to Guiana and reached -Salisbury on the evening of Monday, the 27th July, in company with his -wife, Sir Lewis Stukeley and Manourie, a French empiric. His forebodings -were of the gloomiest and he feared to meet the King whose early arrival -was expected. He therefore resorted to stratagem, and feigned sickness, -hoping by this means to gain time to employ the intercession of friends, -arrange his affairs and perhaps awaken the King's compassion. He feigned -sickness, then insanity, and by means of unguents provided by Manourie -acquired the appearance of suffering from a loathsome skin disease. Three -local physicians were called in and pronounced the disease incurable. This -treatment and his exertions produced at the end of the second day an acute -sense of hunger, and, in the words of the chronicler, "Manourie -accordingly procured from the White Hart inn a leg of mutton and some -loaves, which Raleigh devoured in secret and thus led his attendants to -suppose that he took no kind of sustenance." It was in Salisbury at this -time that he wrote his apology for his last voyage to Guiana. The Court -arrived before he left, but he did not see the King and gained a temporary -respite. - -On the 9th October, 1780, the celebrated Henry Laurens, President of the -American Congress, arrived at the White Hart on his way to London, where -he was committed to the Tower. - -The Duke and Duchess of Orleans with a numerous retinue arrived at the -White Hart on the 13th September, 1816. - -On October 25th, 1830, the Duchess of Kent and Princess Victoria, with -their suite, arrived at the White Hart from Erlestoke Park. They were -attended by a guard of honour from the Salisbury Troop of Yeomanry. - -The White Hart is probably the most famous in the city to-day. Its outside -appearance is more like a small replica of the National Gallery, with its -stone pillars and stucco work. Prominently placed over the entrance is a -graceful White Hart with its neck encircled with the gold band of -tradition. - -A fitting inn, John Westlock, for your royal repast! - -The exciting and romantic days of coaching were beginning to ebb away at -the time _Martin Chuzzlewit_ was published; but so wonderfully does -Dickens describe the scenes on the road, and so exhilarating are his -word-pictures, the spirit of those times can better be visualized from its -pages than from any history of the period. Not only are those days not -allowed to be forgotten, but inns that have since been wiped out of -existence have had their name and fame indelibly marked on the tablets of -time for ever. - -[Illustration: THE BLACK BULL, HOLBORN - -_Drawn by L. Walker_] - -Such is the case of the Black Bull that once stood in Holborn. It was here -that the two estimable females, Sairey Gamp and Betsey Prig, -professionally attended Mr. Lewsome in his illness. Mr. Lewsome, it will -be remembered, was the young man who sold the drugs to Jonas Chuzzlewit -with which old Anthony was poisoned, and who after the death of the latter -made a voluntary confession of the fact, impelled to do so by the torture -of mind and dread of death he himself endured by his severe sickness. - -This is Mrs. Gamp's announcement of her appointment: - -"There _is_ a gent, sir, at the Bull in Holborn, as has been took ill -there, and is bad abed. They have a day-nurse as was recommended from -Bartholomew's; and well I knows her, Mr. Mould, her name bein' Mrs. Prig, -the best of creeturs. But she is otherwise engaged at night, and they are -in wants of night-watching; consequent she says to them, having reposed -the greatest friendliness in me for twenty year, 'The soberest person -going, and the best of blessings in a sick room, is Mrs. Gamp. Send a boy -to Kingsgate Street,' she says, 'and snap her up at any price, for Mrs. -Gamp is worth her weight and more in goldian guineas.' My landlord brings -the message down to me, and says, 'Bein' in a light place where you are, -and this job promising so well, why not unite the two?'" - -Dickens then describes how Mrs. Gamp went to her private lodgings in -Kingsgate Street close to the tavern, "for a bundle of robes and wrappings -comfortable in the night season; and then repaired to the Bull in Holborn, -which she reached as the clocks were striking eight. - -"As she turned into the yard, she stopped; for the landlord, landlady, and -head chambermaid, were all on the threshold together, talking earnestly -with a young gentleman who seemed to have just come or to be just going -away. The first words that struck upon Mrs. Gamp's ear obviously bore -reference to the patient; and, it being expedient that all good attendants -should know as much as possible about the case on which their skill is -brought to bear, Mrs. Gamp listened as a matter of duty." - -At a suitable moment she ventured the remark, "Ah! a rayal gentleman!" -and, advancing, introduced herself, observing: - -"The night nurse from Kingsgate Street, well beknown to Mrs. Prig the -day-nurse, and the best of creeturs.... It ain't the fust time by many -score, ma'am," dropping a curtsy to the landlady, "that Mrs. Prig and me -has nursed together, turn and turn about, one off, one on. We knows each -other's ways, and often gives relief when others failed." - -Regarding herself as having now delivered her inauguration address, Mrs. -Gamp curtsied all round, and signified her wish to be conducted to the -scene of her official duties. The chambermaid led her, through a variety -of intricate passages, to the top of the house; and, pointing at length to -a solitary door at the end of a gallery, informed her that yonder was the -chamber where the patient lay. That done, she hurried off with all the -speed she could make. - -"Mrs. Gamp traversed the gallery in a great heat from having carried her -large bundle up so many stairs, and tapped at the door, which was -immediately opened by Mrs. Prig, bonneted and shawled and all impatience -to be gone." - -Having learned from Mrs. Prig that the pickled salmon was quite delicious, -that the cold meat tasted of the stables, that the drinks were all good, -that "the physic and them things is on the drawers and mankleshelf," and -other valuable bits of information, thanked her and entered upon her -occupation. "A little dull, but not so bad as might be," Mrs. Gamp -remarked. "I'm glad to see a parapidge in case of fire, and lots of roofs -and chimley-pots to walk upon." Mrs. Gamp was looking out of the window at -the time, and the observations she made then applied to the view seen from -the same window during a visit to it just before the inn was destroyed. - -Having unpacked her bundle and settled things to her liking she came to -the conclusion that it was time for supper and promptly rang for the maid. - -"I think, young woman," said Mrs. Gamp to the assistant chambermaid, in a -tone expressive of weakness, "that I could pick a little bit of pickled -salmon, with a nice little sprig of fennel, and a sprinkling of white -pepper. I takes new bread, my dear, with jest a little pat of fresh -butter, and a mossel of cheese. In case there should be such a thing as a -cowcumber in the 'ouse, will you be so kind as bring it, for I'm rather -partial to 'em, and they does a world of good in a sick-room. If they -draws the Brighton Tipper here, I takes _that_ ale at night, my love; it -bein' considered wakeful by the doctors. And whatever you do, young woman, -don't bring more than a shilling's-worth of gin and water warm when I -rings the bell a second time; for that is always my allowance, and I never -takes a drop beyond!" - -"A tray was brought with everything upon it, even to the cucumber; and -Mrs. Gamp accordingly sat down to eat and drink in high good humour. The -extent to which she availed herself of the vinegar, and supped up that -refreshing fluid with the blade of her knife, can scarcely be expressed in -narrative." - -This was the occasion, and the Black Bull the place, where Mrs. Gamp gave -utterance to her famous piece of philosophy: "What a blessed thing it -is--living in a wale--to be contented." - -Without following Mrs. Gamp through the details of her effort to help the -patient to convalescence--albeit those efforts were peculiar to herself -and have a unique interest on that account--we need only record that, in -spite of her assurance that, "of all the trying invalieges in this walley -of the shadder, that one beats 'em black and blue," Mr. Lewsome was -eventually able to be moved into the country and Mrs. Gamp was deputed to -accompany him there by coach. - -"Arriving at the tavern, Mrs. Gamp (who was full-dressed for the journey, -in her latest suit of mourning) left her friends to entertain themselves -in the yard, while she ascended to the sick-room, where her -fellow-labourer, Mrs. Prig, was dressing the invalid," who was ultimately -assisted downstairs to the coach, just then on the point of starting. - -"It was a troublesome matter to adjust Mrs. Gamp's luggage to her -satisfaction; for every package belonging to that lady had the -inconvenient property of requiring to be put in a boot by itself, and to -have no other luggage near it, on pain of actions at law for heavy damages -against the proprietors of the coach. The umbrella with the circular patch -was particularly hard to be got rid of, and several times thrust out its -battered brass nozzle from improper crevices and chinks, to the great -terror of the other passengers. Indeed, in her intense anxiety to find a -haven of refuge for this chattel, Mrs. Gamp so often moved it, in the -course of five minutes, that it seemed not one umbrella but fifty. At -length it was lost, or said to be; and for the next five minutes she was -face to face with the coachman, go wherever he might, protesting that it -should be 'made good' though she took the question to the House of -Commons. - -"At last, her bundle, and her pattens, and her basket, and everything -else, being disposed of, she took a friendly leave of Poll and Mr. -Bailey, dropped a curtsy to John Westlock, and parted as from a cherished -member of the sisterhood with Betsey Prig. - -"'Wishin' you lots of sickness, my darling creetur,' Mrs. Gamp observed, -'and good places. It won't be long, I hope, before we works together, off -and on, again, Betsey: and may our next meetin' be at a large family's, -where they all takes it reg'lar, one from another, turn and turn about, -and has it businesslike.'" - -And so the coach rolled out of the Bull yard with Mrs. Gamp and her charge -comfortably seated within, amidst a cloud of bustle and commotion, -terminating events which have left their mark for all time on the history -of the famous Dickensian tavern. - -Although the Black Bull during its existence in so important a -thoroughfare as Holborn must have been the centre of much activity in the -coaching days, the resort of many notables and the scene of important -events, there seem scanty records of its past history available. - -We find but few references to it in the annals of London beyond the fact -that it was a busy coaching inn from the seventeenth century until the -passing of the coaches from the road in the nineteenth century, when its -association with the notorious Mrs. Gamp gave it its chief claim to fame. - -[Illustration: THE SIGN OF THE BLACK BULL] - -How far its history dates back it is difficult to say. It may even have -been one of those many fair houses and inns for travellers referred to by -Stow as existing on the north side of Oldbourne in the middle of the -sixteenth century. In the days when access to the city of London was not -possible after sundown, the Black Bull and many others, situated outside -the boundary, catered for those late comers who could not enter the gates. -No doubt these inns were established to meet such contingencies, and -perforce did a good trade. They were all very similar in general -appearance and in accommodation. The Black Bull was the terminus and -starting place for coaches, and its court-yard, like most of the others, -was large and surrounded by galleries. It had, of course, many flights of -stairs, and a variety of intricate passages up to the top of the building. -But it had a more distinctive and prominent sign than the rest of them in -this district, which, perhaps, made it more conspicuous. This was the very -fine specimen of a black bull, with gilt horns and hoofs, and a golden -band round its body. Its perfection of workmanship stamped it as that of -some renowned artist. Resting on a bracket fixed to the front of the -building, it naturally attracted attention immediately, and it was to be -seen as late as 1904 when the building was finally demolished to make room -for a different kind of business altogether. By that time all the romance -of the coaching era had left the tavern, and its court-yard had long -before been put to other uses. - -This building of Mrs. Gamp's day was erected in 1825, but many such had -flourished earlier on the same site, although we believe the splendid -effigy which adorned its exterior first appeared in that year. Prior to -that date the inn was known as the Bull and Gate, unless Fielding enlarged -its designation unwittingly when he tells us in 1750 that Tom Jones, on -entering London after his exciting encounter with highwaymen between -Barnet and the metropolis, put up at the "Bull and Gate in Holborn." -Whatever it may have been called in Fielding's days, its fame will survive -in history as the Black Bull of Holborn, immortalized by association with -Sairey Gamp. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -DOMBEY AND SON - - THE BEDFORD, BRIGHTON--THE ROYAL, LEAMINGTON--LONG'S HOTEL, BOND - STREET--AND OTHERS - - -Although a good deal of _Dombey and Son_ is enacted at Brighton, only one -of its famous hotels plays any prominent part in the story, and that is -the Bedford. It is first mentioned during a conversation between Major -Bagstock and Mr. Dombey, when the former asks "Are you remaining here, Mr. -Dombey?" "I generally come down once a week, Major," returned that -gentleman; "I stay at the Bedford." "I shall have the honour of calling at -the Bedford, sir, if you'll permit me," said the Major, and in fulfilment -of his promise he did so. - -On another occasion, "Mr. Dombey, bringing down Miss Tox and Mrs. Chick to -see the children, and finding the Major again at Brighton, invited him to -dinner at the Bedford, and complimented Miss Tox highly beforehand on her -neighbour and acquaintance." The Major was considered to possess an -inexhaustible fund of conversation, and showed as great an appetite in -that respect "as in regard of the various dainties on the table, among -which he may be said to have wallowed." After dinner, they had a long -rubber of whist, before they took a late farewell of the Major, who -retired to his own hotel, which, by the way, is not mentioned. - -On the following day, when Mr. Dombey, Mrs. Chick and Miss Tox were -sitting at breakfast, Florence came running in to announce in great -excitement the unexpected arrival of Walter and Captain Cuttle, who had -come to ask the favour of a loan of three hundred pounds or so of Mr. -Dombey to liquidate the financial embarrassment of their old friend Sol -Gills. It will be recalled how Captain Cuttle offered as security his -silver watch, the ready money he possessed, his silver teaspoons, and -sugar-tongs; and "piling them up into a heap that they might look as -precious as possible" delivered himself of these words: - -"Half a loaf's better than no bread, and the same remark holds good with -crumbs. There's a few. Annuity of one hundred pound prannum also ready to -be made over." The simple and transparent honesty of Captain Cuttle -succeeded in the task he set himself, Mr. Dombey arranging the little -matter for him. - -The Bedford can rightly claim the honour of having been the house where -this memorable scene in the story of Captain Cuttle took place. In those -days it was a prominent and fashionable hotel, and remains so to-day. - -Dickens frequently stayed at Brighton and very often at the Bedford, where -he wrote a good deal of _The Haunted Man_ and portions of other stories. - -The Princess's Arms, spoken of as being "much resorted to by splendid -footmen," which was in Princess's Place, where Miss Tox inhabited a dark -little house, cannot be identified. Indeed, search for Princess's Place in -old directories of Brighton has entirely failed, and it must be assumed -that no such place ever existed there. - -At the time Dickens was writing _Dombey and Son_ in 1846, the Royal Hotel -at Leamington, where Mr. Dombey stayed with Major Bagstock, and where -Edith Granger, who became his second wife, visited him with her mother on -one occasion, did not exist, having been demolished about 1841-2 to -make way for railway improvements. But he knew the hotel in its palmy and -aristocratic days, for in 1838 he and his artist friend, Phiz, made a -bachelor excursion in the autumn of that year into the Midlands by coach, -their first halt being Leamington, and the hotel they put up at there was -Copp's Royal Hotel, which stood at the corner of Clemens Street and High -Street. In writing to his wife of his arrival there, he said: "We found a -roaring fire, an elegant dinner, a snug room, and capital beds all ready -for us at Leamington, after a very agreeable (but very cold) ride." From -here they visited Kenilworth, Warwick, and Stratford, and the outcome of -the jaunts is reflected in the story. - -[Illustration: THE BEDFORD HOTEL, BRIGHTON - -_From an old Engraving_] - -[Illustration: THE ROYAL HOTEL, LEAMINGTON - -_From a contemporary lithograph_] - -Some writers, in referring to the incidents in _Dombey and Son_ associated -with the Royal Hotel, have either assumed that it is still there, or, -having discovered that there is no hotel with that name in the town, have -given the Regent the credit of being the original of Mr. Dombey's Royal -Hotel. Neither is correct. The Royal Hotel of _Dombey and Son_ was the -Royal Hotel of Dickens's visit to Leamington in 1838, and his descriptions -of it in the book must have been made from memory, for in 1846, when he -was writing of it in the novel, the hotel had already been demolished. - -Leamington always boasted one peculiarity which it claimed did not belong -to any other watering-place: the "truly select nature and high rank of -respectability of the greater part of its frequenters." For the reception -of such notables several really first-class hotels were provided. - -The Regent was the most fashionable for a period, owing to the fact that -it was the resort of Royalty; but Copp's Royal Hotel was a keen rival, and -when in 1828 it was "re-erected on a scale of magnificence almost -unprecedented, displaying a grand front, cased in Roman cement to imitate -stone ... in the style of Grecian architecture," it even outshone the -Regent. - -The building was rusticated to the height of the first story and a balcony -on a level with the second floor ran the whole extent of the hotel. Its -appearance is fully described in an old and very rare guide-book, and so -minutely described that it is worth quoting: - -"The wings, which are both slightly projected, are embellished with four -fluted pilasters of the Corinthian order, which, springing from the level -of the second floor and terminating at the top of the third, support a -rich entablature extending the whole length of the building. Each wing is -surmounted by four ornamental vases, and, at the extreme height of the -centre, beneath the ornamental scroll, is a tablet containing the name of -the hotel. The principal entrance is in the centre, beneath a portico -projecting ten feet from the building, supported by duplicated pillars of -the Doric order, fluted and surmounted by the Royal Arms, richly carved in -stone. The interior of this building for chasteness of design, richness of -material, and correctness of execution is, we believe, equal to any in the -Kingdom. The entrance hall ... is lighted by a beautiful window of -coloured glass, in the centre of which, on a fawn-coloured mosaic ground, -are the Royal Arms, richly emblazoned, surrounded by an ornamental gold -scroll on a purple ground containing medallions representing the principal -views in the vicinity. The sideboards are supported and adorned by -appropriate Grecian ornaments. On the right of the public dining-room, -upwards of fifty feet by twenty-four feet, the ceiling is supported by -pillars and pilasters of Doric order. A geometrical staircase of -twenty-one steps conducts you to the public drawing-room, of the same -noble dimensions as the dining-room; on the same floor are a number of -private sitting-rooms, papered with rich French paper, of vivid colouring, -representing subjects classical, mythological, etc. The bedrooms are -fitted up with every attention to comfort and convenience.... Detached are -extensive lock-up coach houses, stabling, etc." - -This meticulous description of it does not suggest that the Royal Hotel -was one which would have appealed very much to Dickens, but it was the -ideal spot for Major Bagstock and Mr. Dombey, and so we find that eight -years later the novelist makes use of his knowledge of it, and it becomes -the headquarters of his two characters during their visit to the -fashionable watering-place, whilst its rooms furnish the background for a -series of scenes to be found in the pages of _Dombey and Son_. - -It will be recalled that Major Bagstock persuaded Mr. Dombey that he -wanted a change, and suggested that he should accompany him to Leamington. -Mr. Dombey consented, became the Major's guest and the two travelled down -by train, making the Royal Hotel their headquarters, "where the rooms and -dinner had been ordered," and where the Major at their first meal "so -oppressed his organs of speech by eating and drinking that when he retired -to bed he had no voice at all, except to cough with, and could only make -himself intelligible to the dark servant by gasping at him. He not only -rose next morning, however, like a giant refreshed, but conducted himself, -at breakfast, like a giant refreshing." - -At this meal they arranged their daily habits. The Major was to take the -responsibility of ordering everything to eat and drink; and they were to -have late breakfast together every morning, and a late dinner together -every day. They occupied, no doubt, a suite of the private rooms referred -to above, for there is no reference to the large dining-room, nor would it -have suited the personal and special requirements of the two men and the -friends they brought there. - -It will be remembered that, whilst these two friends were taking a -constitutional, they encountered the Major's acquaintances, Mrs. Skewton -and her daughter Edith, and Dombey was formally introduced. On taking -their departure from the fair enchantress, the Major volunteered the fact -that he was "staying at the Royal Hotel with his friend Dombey," and -invited the ladies to join them "one evening when you are good," as he -put it to Mrs. Skewton. - -Having met once or twice in the pump-room and elsewhere, and the men -having called upon the ladies, the latter were invited to breakfast at the -Royal Hotel, prior to a drive to Kenilworth and Warwick. In the meantime, -Carker had arrived to transact some business with his master, and in the -evening the three men dined together. At a fitting moment the wine was -consecrated "to a divinity whom Joe is proud to know, and at a distance -humbly and reverently to admire. Edith," went on the Major, "is her name; -angelic Edith!" "Angelic Edith," cried the smiling Carker, "Edith, by all -means," said Mr. Dombey. And thus, in a private dining-room of the Royal -Hotel was pledged the toast of Dombey's future wife--the second Mrs. -Dombey. - -The breakfast was punctually prepared next morning, and Dombey, Bagstock -and Carker excitedly awaited the ladies' arrival. A pleasant time ensued -and ultimately all set out on the little trip which proved so momentous a -one for Mr. Dombey. For had he not made an appointment with Edith for the -next day, "for a purpose," as he told Mrs. Skewton? At any rate, the three -men returned to the Royal Hotel in good spirits, the Major being in such -high glee that he cried out, "Damme, sir, old Joe has a mind to propose an -alteration in the name of the hotel, and that it should be called the -Three Jolly Bachelors in honour of ourselves and Carker." - -After keeping his appointment with Edith, and having been accepted, Mr. -Dombey and the Major left Leamington, and the Royal Hotel has no further -place in the story. - -When Mr. Toots, having come into a portion of his worldly wealth and -furnished his choice set of apartments, determined to apply himself to the -science of life, he engaged the Game Chicken to instruct him in "the -cultivation of those gentle arts which refine and humanise existence." The -Game Chicken, we are informed, was always to be heard of at the bar of the -Black Badger. Towards the end of the book, when Toots and the Chicken part -company, the latter seems to have chosen another house of call. "I'm afore -the public, I'm to be heard on at the bar of the Little Helephant...." -Whether these two taverns existed, or where, history does not relate. - -Cousin Feenix, on his arrival from abroad expressly to attend Mr. Dombey's -wedding, stayed at Long's Hotel in Bond Street. No incident of any great -moment takes place within its walls, except that Lord Feenix slept and -was shaved there. - -Long's Hotel does not now exist, but was a fashionable and well-known -house in those days when Lord Feenix was a man about town. It stood at the -junction of Clifford Street and Bond Street, and was a square-standing -corner building. - -It was frequented by the leading lights of the aristocracy and of the -literary world in its flourishing days, and it is recorded that Byron -lived there for a time. That he and Sir Walter Scott dined there together -on one occasion is an outstanding fact of its history. - -From Cousin Feenix's fashionable hotel we turn to a very different kind of -house in the King's Arms, Balls Pond way, where Mr. Perch seemed to be a -well-known figure. Mr. Perch had an air of feverish lassitude about him -that seemed referable to drams, "and which, in fact, might no doubt have -been traced to those numerous discoveries of himself in the bars of -public-houses." The King's Arms was one of these, in whose parlour he met -the man "with milintary frogs," who took "a little obserwation" which he -let drop about Carker and Mrs. Dombey, and worked it up in print "in a -most surprising manner" in the Sunday paper, a journalistic method that -apparently is not an invention of modern times. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -DAVID COPPERFIELD - - THE ROYAL HOTEL, LOWESTOFT--THE PLOUGH, BLUNDERSTONE--THE VILLAGE - MAID, LOUND--THE YARMOUTH INNS--THE BLUE BOAR--THE RED LION--TWO - CANTERBURY INNS--THE PIAZZA HOTEL--JACK STRAW'S CASTLE--THE SWAN, - HUNGERFORD STAIRS--AND OTHERS - - -Before Dickens commenced to write _David Copperfield_, he visited all the -districts of its early scenes to obtain local colour, and to learn -something of the geography of Blunderstone, Lowestoft and Yarmouth. He was -a guest of Sir Morton Peto's at Somerleyton and was invited there -ostensibly to see Lowestoft, a town then just emerging into prominence as -a watering-place, in the hope that he might introduce it into one of his -books. On another occasion he, with John Leech and Mark Lemon, visited -Yarmouth and stayed at the Royal Hotel on the Marine Parade. He either -did not care very much for Lowestoft, or else found that Yarmouth was more -suitable to the purpose of his book, for we only find one small incident -in it associated with the first-named town. - -This occurred on one autumn morning when Mr. Murdstone took little David -on to the saddle of his horse and rode off with him to Lowestoft to see -some friends there with a yacht. "We went to an hotel by the sea, where -two gentlemen were smoking cigars in a room by themselves," says David. -"Each of them was lying on at least four chairs and had a large rough -jacket on. In a corner was a heap of coats and boat-cloaks, and a flag, -all bundled up together." - -Here Mr. Murdstone was chaffed about David, whom his friends referred to -as "the bewitching Mrs. Copperfield's incumbrance," and he warned them to -take care as "somebody's sharp." "Who is?" asked Quinion. "Only Brooks of -Sheffield," replied Mr. Murdstone, which caused much amusement, and -whenever any reference was made to David he was always styled "Brooks of -Sheffield." Sherry was ordered in with which to drink to Brooks, and David -was made to partake of the wine with a biscuit, and drink to the toast of -"Confusion to Brooks of Sheffield." - -After this incident they all walked about the cliffs, looked at things -through a telescope, and then returned to the hotel to an early dinner, -and David and his future father-in-law afterwards wended their way back to -Blunderstone. - -The hotel in which all this took place was probably the Royal, which -stands to-day facing the pier and harbour, but it has evidently been -rebuilt, or very much altered structurally. - -Blunderstone has a village ale-house called the Plough, from which started -Barkis the carrier on his daily trip to Yarmouth. David speaks of this -inn, and pictures the parlour of it as the room where "Commodore Trunnion -held that club with Mr. Pickle." It is still a comfortable ale-house and a -centre of attraction to visitors of the unspoiled village where David was -born. - -On the occasion of David's drive in the carrier's cart to Yarmouth for a -stay with Daniel Peggotty in order to be out of the way for his mother's -marriage to Mr. Murdstone, we are introduced to the road between the -village and the famous seaside town, so frequently used by Barkis and so -often referred to in the course of the story. - -[Illustration: THE PLOUGH INN, BLUNDERSTONE - -THE BUCK INN - -THE DUKE'S HEAD - -YARMOUTH - -_Photographs by T. W. Tyrrell_] - -The first halt was made at a public-house where a long wait occurred -whilst a bedstead was delivered there. This inn was probably the Village -Maid, at Lound, a name that may also have suggested that of the Willing -Mind, the public-house where Mr. Peggotty went occasionally for short -spells, as he put it to Mrs. Gummidge. But no public-house with that name, -or anything like it, existed in Yarmouth, and it must, therefore, be -assumed that no particular one was intended. - -Arriving at Yarmouth, David found Ham awaiting him at the public-house -which was the stopping place of the Blunderstone carrier. Although Dickens -does not mention its name, the Buck Inn undoubtedly was the identical -house where Barkis came to a halt on such occasions, and it still exists -in the Market Square. At the end of his visit, David, arm-in-arm with -Little Em'ly, made for the same inn once again to meet Barkis for the -homeward journey in his cart. - -The inn, however, at Yarmouth which has more importance attaching to it -than any other is that where David met the friendly waiter whilst waiting -for the coach to take him to London, and where he procured the sheet of -paper and ink-stand to write his promised note to Clara Peggotty assuring -her that "Barkis is willing." - -There is little doubt that the inn referred to here was the Duke's Head. -It was the principal coaching inn of the town, and we know that Dickens -knew it well. On his arrival there in Barkis's cart, David observed that -"the coach was in the yard shining very much all over, but without any -horses to it as yet; and it looked in that state as if nothing was more -unlikely than its ever going to London." To the coffee-room, which was a -long one with some maps in it, David was conducted by William the waiter, -who assisted him to get through his meal, and told him the horrible tale -of the man who died from drinking a glass of ale that was too old for him. -But that incident of David and the friendly waiter is too well known to -need recapitulation here. - -Before leaving Yarmouth, there is one more inn that claims attention. When -David and Steerforth later on in the story visited the Peggottys, the -hotel they stayed at has been identified as the Star Hotel, an old -mansion, with moulded ribbed ceilings and the sides of the rooms panelled -with oak. It has been added to since those days, but the old part still -remains. It was in this house that Miss Mowcher was first introduced into -the story. - -It is also believed that the Feathers at Gorleston is the "decent -ale-house" on the road to Lowestoft where David Copperfield, as stated in -Chapter XXXI, stopped to dine, when out for a walk whilst on a visit to -Yarmouth. - -But let us return to David on the coach waiting to start for Salem House, -Blackheath, via London. Having suffered a good deal of chaff from the -maids and others over the huge dinner he was supposed to have eaten, the -coach started on its journey, during which the jokes about his appetite -continued. He reached his destination at last, having approached London -"by degrees, and got, in due time, to the inn in the Whitechapel -district," he says, "for which we were bound. I forget whether it was the -Blue Bull or the Blue Boar; but I know it was the Blue Something, and that -its likeness was painted up on the back of the coach." Here, more solitary -than Robinson Crusoe, he went into the booking-office, and, "by invitation -of the clerk on duty, passed behind the counter, and sat down on the scale -at which they weighed the luggage." Thus he waited until called for by Mr. -Mell, when the clerk "slanted me off the scale, and pushed me over to -him, as if I were weighed, bought, delivered, and paid for." - -This inn was the Blue Boar, an old coaching inn long demolished, where the -daily coach from Yarmouth made its halting place. There is still a relic -of it in the shape of a sculptured effigy of a boar, with gilded tusks and -hoofs, built into the wall of a tobacco factory marking the site of the -inn. - -In Chapter XI of the book, describing David's start in life on his own -account, there are one or two inns and taverns mentioned where he partook -of meals and other refreshment. He tells us he had "a plate of bread and -cheese and a glass of beer, from a miserable old public-house opposite our -place of business, called the Lion, or the Lion and something else that I -have forgotten." This has not definitely been identified, but may have -been the White Swan at Hungerford Stairs, referred to later. On another -occasion he went into a public-house one hot evening and said to the -landlord, "What is your best--your _very best_--ale a glass?" -"Twopence-halfpenny is the price of the Genuine Stunning ale," was the -reply. "Then," says I, producing the money, "just draw me a glass of the -Genuine Stunning, if you please, with a good head to it." Having served -him, the landlord invited his wife to join him in surveying the little -customer and "the landlord's wife, opening the little half-door of the -bar, and bending down, gave me my money back, and gave me a kiss that was -half-admiring and half-compassionate, but all womanly and good, I am -sure." - -This incident actually occurred to Dickens himself when a lad in the -blacking factory, for he has admitted it to be so, in his own words, -recorded in Forster's "Life," Book 1, Chapter XI. He there states that on -the occasion in question he "went into a public-house in Parliament -Street, which is still there, though altered, at the corner of the short -street leading into Cannon Row." The public-house where it took place was -the Red Lion at 48 Parliament Street, and is situated at the corner of -Derby Street. There is a Red Lion public-house there to-day--not the same -one Dickens visited--that was demolished in 1899--but on the same spot. It -is more pretentious than the old one, but keeps its red lion rampant as a -sign, and has a bust of the novelist, standing within a niche in the front -of the building as a hall-mark of its Dickensian association. - -The "little public-house close to the river, with an open space before it, -where some coal-heavers were dancing," referred to in the same chapter, -was the Fox under the Hill[1] in the Adelphi. - -There are two inns in Canterbury associated with the book, the county inn -where Mr. Dick stayed when on his visits to David Copperfield every -alternate Wednesday, and the "little inn" where Mr. Micawber stayed on his -first and subsequent visits to the ancient city. - -The county inn was without doubt the Royal Fountain Hotel in St. -Margaret's Street, for it was invariably referred to in the coaching days -as _the_ county inn of the city, in the same manner that David speaks of -it in the seventeenth chapter of David Copperfield, where he tells us that -he "saw Mr. Dick every alternate Wednesday when he arrived by stage-coach -at noon, to stay until next morning.... Mr. Dick was very partial to -gingerbread. To render his visits more agreeable, my aunt had instructed -me to open a credit for him at a cake shop, which was hampered with the -stipulation that he should not be served with more than one shilling's -worth in the course of any one day. This, and the reference of all his -little bills at the county inn where he slept, to my aunt, before they -were paid, induced me to suspect that he was only allowed to rattle his -money, and not to spend it." - -On these occasions, Mr. Dick would be constantly in the company of David, -and on the Thursday mornings he would accompany him from the hotel to the -coach office before going back to school. And so the Royal Fountain Hotel -has added to its traditions that of being the hotel where Mr. Dick slept. -Dickens does not describe it in detail, and does not even refer to it -again in the book; but on the 4th of November, 1861, which he describes as -a "windy night," Dickens himself stayed there after giving a reading of -_David Copperfield_ at the theatre. Writing to his daughter Mamie on that -date he says, "a word of report before I go to bed. An excellent house -to-night, and an audience positively perfect. The greatest part of it -stalls, and an intelligent and delightful response in them, like a touch -of a beautiful instrument. 'Copperfield' wound up in a real burst of -feeling and delight." - -This letter was headed "Fountain Hotel, Canterbury." Dickens visited the -city again in the summer of 1869, driving there from Gads Hill with some -American friends, and made the Fountain Hotel his halting place, whilst he -and his companions explored the city. They drove into Canterbury just as -the bells of the cathedral were ringing for afternoon service, George -Dolby informs us, and "turned into the by-street in which the Fountain -Hotel is situated, where the carriages and horses were to be put up," and -where the party took tea prior to starting back for home. - -"The inns in England are the best in Europe, those in Canterbury are the -best in England, and the Fountain wherein I am now lodged as handsomely as -I were in the King's palace, the best in Canterbury." So wrote the -Ambassador of the Emperor of Germany to his master on the occasion of his -visit to this country to attend the marriage ceremony of Edward the First -to his second Queen, Margaret of France, in Canterbury Cathedral on the -12th of September, 1299. - -The Royal Fountain Hotel, as it is now called, is one of the oldest inns -in England; indeed, it is so old as to claim that the wife of Earl Godwin, -when she came to meet her husband on his return from Denmark in the year -1029, stayed there. It also claims to have been the temporary residence of -Archbishop Lanfranc whilst his palace was being built in 1070; and there -is a legend associated with it that the four knights who murdered Thomas ą -Becket made it their rendezvous in 1170. - -To-day the inn still retains its old-world atmosphere, although certain of -its apartments and appurtenances have been made to conform to modern -requirements. Its passages and stairs are narrow and winding, antique -furniture, brasses, and copper utensils are in great evidence, and the -huge kitchen with its wide fire-place and open chimney still reminds us of -the old days. Upstairs is a spacious room measuring some forty or fifty -feet in length, in the centre of which is one of those priceless tables -made in separate pieces going the whole length of the room, looking, when -we last saw it, with scores of chairs set around it, like a gigantic -elongated board-room table waiting for a meeting to begin. This room is -used for banquets, and often the Mayor holds his official dinners there. -But it would seem that the chief claimants to its use is "The Canterbury -Farmers' Club and East Kent Chamber of Agricultural Commerce," for its -walls are covered with portraits in oils of some of the past presidents, -whilst a long list of them dating from 1855-1919 hangs in a prominent -position. - -The "little inn" where Mr. and Mrs. Micawber stayed on the occasion when -they thought it was so advisable that they should see the Medway in the -hope of finding an opening in the coal trade for Mr. Micawber is the Sun -Inn in Sun Street, once the stopping-place for the omnibus which plied -between Canterbury and Herne Bay. - -It will be remembered that David was taking tea with the Heeps when -suddenly Mr. Micawber appeared. David, rather apprehensive of what his old -friend might say next, hurried him away by asking, "Shall we go and see -Mrs. Micawber, sir?" and they both sallied forth, Mr. Micawber humming a -tune on the way. "It was a little inn where Mr. Micawber put up, and he -occupied a little room in it, partitioned off from the commercial room, -and strongly flavoured with tobacco smoke. I think it was over the -kitchen, because a warm greasy smell appeared to come up through the -chinks of the floor, and there was a flabby perspiration on the walls. I -know it was near the bar, on account of the smell of spirits and jingling -of glasses. Here, recumbent on a sofa, underneath a picture of a -race-horse, with her head close to the fire and her feet pushing the -mustard off the dumb-waiter at the other end of the room, was Mrs. -Micawber." - -Undaunted by the fact that his resources were extremely low, Mr. Micawber -pressed David to dine with him, and the repast was accordingly arranged. -David describes it as "a beautiful little dinner. Quite an elegant dish -of fish; the kidney end of a loin of veal, roasted; fried sausage-meat, a -partridge, and a pudding. There was wine and there was strong ale; and -after dinner Mrs. Micawber made us a bowl of hot punch with her own hands. -Mr. Micawber was uncommonly convivial.... He got cheerfully sentimental -about the town and proposed success to it, observing that Mrs. Micawber -and himself had been made extremely snug and comfortable.... As the punch -disappeared, Mr. Micawber became still more friendly and convivial. Mrs. -Micawber's spirits becoming elevated, too, we sang 'Auld Lang Syne.'... In -a word, I never saw anybody so thoroughly jovial as Mr. Micawber was, down -to the very last moment of the evening, when I took a hearty farewell of -himself and his amiable wife." - -[Illustration: "The Little Inn" Canterbury - -_Drawn by F. G. Kitton_] - -The "little inn" is the scene of another incident in the book, as narrated -in Chapter LII, where Uriah Heep is exposed. David, Mr. Dick, Traddles, -and Betsey Trotwood are invited down to Canterbury "to assist at an -explosion." Arriving by the Dover Mail, they all put up at this inn on the -recommendation of Mr. Micawber, and there awaited his arrival. It is -recorded that they got into the hotel with some trouble in the middle of -the night, and "went shivering at that uncomfortable hour" to their -respective beds, through various close passages, "which smelt as if they -had been steeped for ages in a solution of soup and stables." In the -morning David took a stroll, and states how he "looked at the old house -from the corner of the street ... the early sun was striking edgewise on -its gables and lattice-windows, touching them with gold, and some beams of -its old peace seemed to touch my heart." - -They all breakfasted together, full of anxiety and impatience for Mr. -Micawber's appearance, which was punctually timed at the first chime of -the half-hour. - -This "little inn," with its gables and lattices telling of its age, still -occupies the angle of the peaceful streets close to the Cathedral Close. -But Dickens's designation of it is hardly fitting, for it is quite a -commodious building with stabling for about a dozen horses. It is, -perhaps, a trifle smaller than when Dickens knew it, for the rooms on the -ground-floor corner and one side are used as a jeweller's and a butcher's -shop respectively. - -The inn still boasts of its "splendid accommodation for all," and is -determined that its identification with Dickens should not be overlooked. -On one side of the building is a hanging sign bearing the words: - - THE SUN INN - BUILT 1503 - THE "LITTLE INN" - OF DICKENS FAME - -whilst in case this should be missed by pilgrims, it has, painted up on -the wall the other side: - - SUN HOTEL - FORMERLY KNOWN AS - "THE LITTLE INN" - MADE FAMOUS BY - CHAS. DICKENS - IN HIS TRAVELS THRO' KENT - BUILT 1503 - -It would seem that the proprietor who was responsible for these words was -a little uncertain of the exact association of his "Little Inn" with -Dickens. But, being determined to receive some of the reflected glory of -the novelist's fame, and evidently ignorant of the book in which his -"Little Inn" figured, played for safety in the use of a general, rather -than a specific phrase. - -The inn is worth a visit, for it is still quaint, attractive, and -picturesque. Although actually built, as we are told, in 1503, we -understand that it was altered in the seventeenth century. Anyway, it is -sufficiently old to be in keeping with its ancient surroundings. - -Turning to London, there is the Piazza Hotel in Covent Garden, mentioned -by Steerforth in Chapter XXIV, where he was going to breakfast with one of -his friends, which was no doubt the well-known coffee-house at the -north-eastern angle of Covent Garden Piazza. It was the favourite resort -of the actors and dramatists of the period. Sheridan and John Kemble often -dined together in its coffee-room, and there is a record of them -disagreeing on a certain matter. Sheridan, in a letter replying to one -from Kemble, told him he attributed his letter "to a disorder which I know -ought not to be indulged. I prescribe that thou shalt keep thine -appointment at the Piazza Coffee-House to-morrow at five, and, taking four -bottles of claret instead of three, to which in sound health you might -stint yourself, forget that you ever wrote the letter, as I shall that I -ever received it." - -Dickens stayed there himself in 1844 and again in 1846, two letters from -him to his wife being dated from there. - -The Piazza facade where stood the coffee-house was taken down to build the -Floral Hall, which is reputed to have been modelled on the Crystal Palace. - -In Chapter XXXV, David Copperfield, after a plunge in the old Roman bath -in Strand Lane, went for a walk to Hampstead, and got some breakfast on -the Heath. The inn where he took his repast, although not named, no doubt -was Jack Straw's Castle. This is the only allusion to the famous hostelry -in Dickens's books that we know of, but the novelist frequented it in his -earlier writing years, when he was very fond of riding and walking, and -indulged those forms of recreation to his profit during that hard-worked -period of his literary career. - -In those brilliant days of Pickwick he would wander in all directions out -of the London streets, and invite Forster to accompany him on these jaunts -by sending him brief commands to join him. One of these ran: "You don't -feel disposed, do you, to muffle yourself up and start off with me for a -good brisk walk over Hampstead Heath? I know a good 'ous where we can have -a red-hot chop for dinner, and a glass of good wine." And off they went, -leading, as Forster says, to their "first experience of Jack Straw's -Castle, memorable for many happy meetings in coming years." - -On another occasion, whilst writing _The Old Curiosity Shop_, Maclise -accompanied them, but this time they drove to the Heath and then walked to -the "Castle." Here Dickens read to his friends a number of the new story. -Again, in 1844, he wrote: "Stanfield and Mac have come in, and we are -going to Hampstead to dinner. I leave Betsey Prig as you know, so don't -you make a scruple about leaving Mrs. Harris. We shall stroll leisurely -up, to give you time to join us, and dinner will be on the table at Jack -Straw's at four." A few months later, it is recorded, they dined there -again, and it is evident that the old inn was a favourite haunt of the -novelist on such occasions, and the Dickens traditions have so clung to it -that during the flight of time they have become, as such traditions do, -somewhat exaggerated. To-day, visitors are not only shown the chair he sat -on, but have pointed out to them the bedroom he used to sleep in. There is -no record, however, that he ever stayed the night there, or any reason -for believing that he did, seeing how easy it was for him and his friends -to get there and back from town. But Jack Straw's Castle has good reasons -for being proud of its literary associations; for, in addition to those of -Dickens and his famous friends, such names as Washington Irving, -Thackeray, Du Maurier, Lord Leighton, and a host of others may be -mentioned as frequenting it. To say nothing of the fact that "The Castle" -is mentioned in Richardson's _Clarissa Harlowe_. - -[Illustration: JACK STRAW'S CASTLE, as it was in 1835 - -_Drawn by L. Walker from an old engraving_] - -Apart, however, from its literary associations, Jack Straw's Castle has a -romantic history. It is generally agreed that its name is derived from -that of the notorious peasant leader of the rising in the reign of Richard -II. And this may be so in spite of the fact that its present designation -is not older than the middle of the eighteenth century. - -The Peasants' Revolt took place in 1381, and we are told that it is more -than likely that the Hampstead villeins took part in the famous march to -London. One authority says that "the St. Albans men, in their advance to -join Jack Straw at his headquarters at Highbury, might or might not have -passed through Hampstead. If a contingent of adherents was ready to join -them at Hampstead, they probably took the village into their route, -especially as it would give them particular pleasure to make an offensive -demonstration against the Knights Hospitallers, who had a temple there and -were the objects of bitter hatred. The attack of the mob upon the house of -the Knights Hospitallers at Highbury is a well-known incident of the -rising. Whether they visited Hampstead or not, they passed at no great -distance from it--near enough to bring the Hampstead villeins within their -influence. May it not be that the events of these few days provided the -reason for the local name of Jack Straw's Castle? The mere fact of there -being Hampstead sympathisers with Jack Straw who held their meetings at a -certain house would be sufficient excuse to gain that house the title of -Jack Straw's Castle." - -Sir Walter Besant thought that, although there is no direct evidence of -Jack Straw being connected with the hostelry named after him, "it is quite -possible that the Heath formed a rendezvous for the malcontents of his -time." In early days there had been an earthwork on the site, which might -have given rise to the name "Castle." Referring to this point, Professor -Hales, who leans to the opinion that Jack Straw was no more than a generic -appellation, and instances the fact of there being an inn called Jack -Straw's Castle in a village near Oxford, says: "'Jack Straw's Castle' is -so commanding and important that there can be little doubt there would be -erected upon it some kind of earthwork or fort at a very early period. -Traces of both the Neolithic and the Bronze Age man have been found on and -near the Heath, and, possibly enough, both these races raised or held on -the spot some rude fortification which subsequent times would call a -'Castle.' This being so, we have only to infer, from facts already stated, -that the place was used as a tryst for the local partisans of Jack Straw -to arrive at the origin of the name of 'Jack Straw's Castle'--that is, the -Castle of the Jack Strawites." - -To-day, Jack Straw's Castle is the favoured resort of the district, and -perhaps the Dickens traditions act as the strongest lodestone to visitors, -and do more to sustain its popularity than any others. At any rate, the -Dickensian pilgrim on his ramble through Hampstead places great store on -Jack Straw's Castle for the simple and justifiable reason that it had such -attractions for the great novelist. - -The "little, dirty, tumble-down public-house" at the foot of Hungerford -Stairs, where the Micawber family were lodged the night before their -departure for Australia, was called the Swan. It was there at the time -Dickens worked in the factory as a boy, and appears in contemporary -pictures of Hungerford Stairs. The Micawbers occupied one of the wooden -chambers upstairs, with the tide flowing underneath. We read that Betsey -Trotwood and Agnes were there, "busily making some little extra comforts -in the way of dress for the children. Peggotty was quietly assisting with -the old insensible work-box, yard measure, and bit of wax candle before -her that had outlived so much." In that ramshackle old inn was enacted -that last wonderful scene with Mr. Micawber, when he insisted on making -punch in England for the last time. Having obtained the assurance that -Miss Trotwood and Miss Wickfield would join him in the toast, he -"immediately descended to the bar, where he appeared to be quite at home; -and in due time returned with a steaming jug," and quickly served out the -fragrant liquid in tin mugs for his children, and drank from his own -particular pint pot himself. - -There are three other inns calling for brief reference. The Gray's Inn -Coffee-House, where David Copperfield stayed on his return from abroad, -was first mentioned in _The Old Curiosity Shop_, and is dealt with in our -chapter devoted to that book; the Golden Cross at Charing Cross, a -prominent feature in Chapter XIX, is commented upon at length in "The Inns -and Taverns of Pickwick"; and the coffee-house in Doctors' Commons where -Mr. Spenlow conducted David Copperfield to discuss a certain delicate -matter (Chapter XXXVIII) demolished in 1894. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -BLEAK HOUSE, LITTLE DORRIT, HARD TIMES - - SOL'S ARMS--THE DEDLOCK ARMS--THE LONDON COFFEE--HOUSE--PEGASUS' - ARMS--ETC. - - -There are very few inns of any importance mentioned in _Bleak House_, and -only one that plays any prominent part in the story. The one at Barnet, -where Esther Summerson hired the carriage to drive to Mr. Jarndyce's -house, was no doubt meant to be the Red Lion, and is dealt with in the -first chapter of the present volume; while the White Horse Cellar, where -she alighted on her entry into London from Reading, claims attention in -"The Inns and Taverns of Pickwick." - -Of the two other taverns, Sol's Arms, where the inquest on Nemo was held, -and the Dedlock Arms at Chesney Wold, the former is the chief. - -The original of Sol's Arms was the old Ship Tavern which once stood at the -corner of Chichester Rents off Chancery Lane. It is first referred to in -Chapter XI as the place of the coroner's inquest. "The coroner is to sit -in the first-floor room at the Sol's Arms, where the Harmonic Meetings -take place twice a week, and where the chair is filled by a gentleman of -professional celebrity, faced by Little Swills the comic vocalist.... The -Sol's Arms does a brisk stroke of business all the morning." - -According to Allbut, Dickens took the name from a tavern in the Hampstead -Road where the harmonic meetings of the Sol's Society were held, and it -certainly seems that he adapted its characteristics to the Ship. - -At the appointed hour the coroner arrived, and was conducted by the beadle -and the landlord to the Harmonic Meeting Room, "where he puts his hat on -the piano, and takes a Windsor chair at the head of the long table, formed -of several short tables put together, and ornamented with glutinous rings -in endless involutions, made by the pots and glasses. As many of the jury -as can crowd together at the tables sit there. The rest get among the -spittoons and pipes, or lean against the piano." - -All in readiness, the famous inquest on Nemo, with poor Joe as a witness, -took place, after which the Sol's Arms gradually "melts into the shadowy -night, and then flares out of it strong in gas." - -That was a special event for the Sol's Arms, which generally speaking was -just a tavern frequented by lawyers' clerks and the inhabitants of -Chichester Rents and its neighbourhood. It, no doubt, was Krook's habitual -place of call, it certainly was patronized by Mrs. Piper and Mrs. Perkins, -and Mr. Guppy must often have looked in; but its chief claim to fame was -its being the meeting place of the Harmonic Company, of whom Little Swills -was so distinguished a member. - -Although Chichester Rents, which exists to-day, is not the same Chichester -Rents as when the Old Ship Tavern was there, and Krook lived there, with -Miss Flite as a lodger, one is easily reminded of these things, and of the -inquest, of Poor Joe, and of the great Little Swills, when one wanders -through this district of Dickens Land. - -It is common knowledge that Chesney Wold, the country seat of the Dedlocks -of the story, was Rockingham Castle, the home of the Hon. Richard Watson -and Mrs. Watson, to whom Dickens dedicated _David Copperfield_. There is, -therefore, no difficulty in tracing the Dedlock Arms. The village of -Chesney Wold was the village of Rockingham. In Rockingham is an old inn -bearing the date of 1763, known as Sonde's Arms, which stands for the -Dedlock Arms of the story. - -_Little Dorrit_ is almost as devoid of reference to inns and taverns that -count as _Bleak House_. In few cases the references are as a rule but -passing ones. Perhaps the most interesting is to the Coffee-House on -Ludgate Hill, where Arthur Clennam stayed, for it remains almost as it was -in those days. - -In the third chapter of the first book, Dickens gives one of those telling -pen-pictures of London for which he had no rival. It is of rather a dull -and doleful hue, and depicts the aspect the city presents on a Sunday: -"gloomy, close and stale." Arthur Clennam had just arrived from Marseilles -by way of Dover and its coach "The Blue-Eyed Maid," and "sat in the window -of a coffee-house on Ludgate Hill, counting one of the neighbouring bells, -making sentences and burdens of songs out of it in spite of himself, and -wondering how many sick people it might be the death of in the course of -the year. At the quarter, it went off into a condition of deadly-lively -importunity, urging the populace in a voluble manner to Come to church, -Come to church, Come to church! At the ten minutes, it became aware that -the congregation would be scanty, and slowly hammered out in low -spirits, They _won't_ come, they _won't_ come, they _won't_ come! At -the five minutes it abandoned hope, and shook every house in the -neighbourhood for three hundred seconds, with one dismal swing per second, -as a groan of despair. 'Thank heaven!' said Clennam when the hour struck, -and the bell stopped." - -[Illustration: THE LONDON COFFEE HOUSE, LUDGATE HILL - -_From an old Engraving_] - -The particular coffee-house in whose window Clennam sat was the famous old -London Coffee-House, and the particular church whose bells prompted his -reflections, so microscopically described by the novelist, must have been -St. Martin's next door. There can be little doubt of this, for we are told -that Clennam "sat in the same place as the day died, looking at the dull -houses opposite, and thinking, if the disembodied spirits of former -inhabitants were ever conscious of them, how they must pity themselves for -their old places of imprisonment.... Presently the rain began to fall in -slanting lines between him and those houses, and people began to collect -under cover of the public passage opposite, and to look hopelessly at the -sky as the rain dropped thicker and faster." - -That "public passage opposite" must have been what is now the entrance to -Ludgate Square. - -With these facts to guide us, we can supply the name and location of the -coffee-house on Ludgate Hill. It exists to-day, nestling close to St. -Martin's Church, on the west side, and, but for the substitution of a -plate-glass shop-front, is to all intents and purposes unchanged in its -outward appearances from what it was when Clennam sat in meditation at one -of its windows. - -The illustration from an old engraving by S. Jenkins, after a drawing by -G. Shepherd, shows the coffee-house and church as they were in 1814; and, -if comparison of the picture of the former building is made with the -present structure, it will be seen that it is practically identical, -except so far as the ground floor is concerned. - -The house was first opened as a coffee-house in 1731 by one James Ashley, -and its vast cellars stretched under Ludgate Hill to the foundations of -the city walls. In those days, it was "within the Rules of the Fleet -Prison, and was noted for the sales held there of booksellers' stocks and -literary copyrights," and used to afford hospitality to the juries from -the Old Bailey sessions when they disagreed. The grandfather of John -Leech, the illustrator of _A Christmas Carol_ was the landlord of the -tavern for some years, and later the father of the famous _Punch_ artist -became the tenant, and filled it with the merry crowd associated with Mr. -Punch's early days. Leech was followed as landlord by Mr. Lovegrove from -the Horn Tavern in Doctors' Commons. - -There is a casual mention of the famous old George Inn in the Borough High -Street, in Chapter XXII of Book 1 of _Little Dorrit_, where Tip Dorrit is -spoken of as going into the inn to write a letter; and also passing -references to Garraway's and the Jerusalem Coffee-House, as occasional -resorts of Mr. Flintwinch. Full details concerning the George and -Garraway's will be found in "The Inns and Taverns of Pickwick." - -The Jerusalem Coffee House was one of the oldest in the city of London, -and was famous for its news-rooms, where merchants and captains connected -with the commerce of India, China and Australia could see and consult the -files of all the most important papers from those countries, as well as -the chief shipping lists. - -The hotel in Brook Street, Grosvenor Square, where Mr. Dorrit stayed when -he reached London from the Continent, was probably Mivart's, and is dealt -with in the chapter devoted to Nicholas Nickleby. - -Coketown, of _Hard Times_, is generally supposed to be Manchester. We -suspect it to be a composite picture, with a good deal of Preston in it, -and other manufacturing towns as well. It is not possible, therefore, to -identify the one or two inns which figure in the story. - -The hotel where Mr. James Harthouse stayed when he went there with an -introduction to Mr. Bounderby might be any hotel in any town; and there -seems no means of tracing the original of the "mean little public-house -with red lights in it" at Pod's End, where Sissy Jupe brought Gradgrind -and Bounderby. Dickens describes it "as haggard and as shabby as if, for -want of custom, it had itself taken to drinking and had gone the way all -drunkards go, and was very near the end of it." - -The name he gives to the public-house was the Pegasus' Arms. The Pegasus' -leg, he informs us, might have been more to the purpose; but, underneath -the winged horse upon the sign-board, the Pegasus' Arms was inscribed in -Roman letters. Beneath that inscription, again, in a flowing scroll, the -painter had touched off the lines: - - Good malt makes good beer, - Walk in, and they'll draw it here; - Good wine makes good brandy, - Give us a call, and you'll find it handy. - -These lines were taken from an old inn-sign, the Malt Shovel, which once -stood at the foot of Chatham Hill. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -A TALE OF TWO CITIES AND GREAT EXPECTATIONS - - THE ROYAL GEORGE, DOVER--YE OLD CHESHIRE CHEESE--THE THREE JOLLY - BARGEMEN--THE CROSS KEYS, WOOD STREET--HUMMUM'S, COVENT GARDEN--THE - SHIP AND LOBSTER, GRAVESEND--THE FOX UNDER THE HILL, DENMARK HILL - - -Notwithstanding the fact that _A Tale of Two Cities_ is to some persons -Dickens's best book, or the one that many prefer to any other, it is the -most barren for our purpose. Apart from the fact that its scenes are laid -chiefly in another country, those that concern our own supply little -enough material in the way of taverns that can be identified. - -In Chapter IV of Book 1, Dickens gives a fine description of the London -Mail Coach's journey to Dover, but no incident associated with an inn is -touched upon on the way, and not until the journey is terminated at Dover -is an inn mentioned by name. - -"When the mail got successfully to Dover, in the course of the forenoon," -we are told, "the head drawer at the Royal George Hotel opened the coach -door, as his custom was. He did it with some flourish of ceremony, for a -mail journey from London in winter was an achievement to congratulate an -adventurous traveller upon." - -Here Mr. Lorry, the only passenger left, shaking himself of straw, -alighted from the coach and engaged a room for the night, where he awaited -the arrival of Lucy Manette for the momentous interview which was to -terminate in their voyage to Calais. - -We cannot, however, discover that there was any hotel with the name of the -Royal George in Dover at that or any other period; but Robert Allbut, -hunting for one to serve its purpose, hit upon the King's Head Hotel, -which he says was the old coaching-house for the London Mail, and -therefore must have been the hostelry Dickens had in mind. Other -authorities mention the Ship, long since disappeared, upon whose site now -stands the Lord Warden Hotel, where Dickens often stayed himself, and -occasionally mentions in his writings. Taking into consideration the date -of the story, one may rightly assume that the Ship was the hotel at which -Mr. Lorry's coach deposited him. It was the Ship no doubt that Byron sang -of in the following verse: - - Thy cliffs, dear Dover! harbour and hotel; - Thy custom-house, with all its delicate duties; - Thy waiters running mucks at every bell; - Thy packets, all whose passengers are booties - To those who upon land or water dwell; - And last, not least, to strangers uninstructed, - Thy long, long bills, whence nothing is deducted. - -But it has long ago gone, and in its place the fashionable Lord Warden now -stands. - -Ye Old Cheshire Cheese, that popular tavern in Fleet Street, was never, we -believe, ever mentioned in any one of Dickens's books by name, nor can we -discover that it was alluded to or described even under an assumed name. -It is known that he visited it, and the menu card bearing a picture of -what is known as Dr. Johnson's room, with Dickens and Thackeray seated at -the table presided over by the shade of the lexicographer itself, is -familiar to visitors. - -[Illustration: THE OLD CHESHIRE CHEESE] - -Dickens students, however, are of opinion that the Cheshire Cheese is the -tavern where Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton dined after the trial at the -Old Bailey, described in Chapter IV of Book 2. The evidence offered for -this is as follows: - -Darnay tells Carton that he is faint for want of food. - -"Then why the devil don't you dine? I dined myself while those numskulls -were deliberating which world you should belong to--this, or some other." -"Let me show you the nearest tavern to dine well in," replied Carton. - -"Drawing his arm through his own, he took him down Ludgate Hill to Fleet -Street, and so, up a covered way, into a tavern. Here they were shown a -little room, where Charles Darnay was soon recruiting his strength with a -good plain dinner and good wine: while Carton sat opposite to him at the -same table, with his separate bottle of port before him, and his full -half-insolent manner upon him." - -The Cheshire Cheese no doubt was the tavern Dickens was thinking of when -he wrote the foregoing passages. It certainly was the resort of the -literary and legal professions in those days, as it has been since. It is -too well known to warrant any detailed account of it here. Besides, its -two-and-a-half-century history is too packed with anecdote and story to -allow of adequate description in our limited space. An excellent book is -issued by the proprietors fully dealing with its past, and copiously -illustrated. - -There seems to be a growing desire on the part of Dickens students to -prove that Cooling, the hamlet in Kent near to Gads Hill is not the spot -where are laid certain scenes of _Great Expectations_, in spite of the -fact that Dickens told Forster it was. We do not propose to argue the -matter here. The chief point at issue seems to be that there is no -blacksmith's forge at Cooling, whereas there is at Chalk and at Hoo, two -other villages in the district that claim the honour. Yet at Chalk there -are no "graveyard lozenges," but at Hoo we believe there happens to be -both lozenges in the churchyard and a forge in the village. - -On the other hand, we are told there _was_ a blacksmith's forge at Cooling -in Dickens's time. If, therefore, we accept Cooling as Joe Gargery's -village, the Horseshoe and Castle Inn there would stand for the Three -Jolly Bargemen where Joe Gargery and Pip used to while away certain hours -of the evening, as described in Chapter X of the book. - -It is first referred to on the occasion when Pip had promised "at his -peril" to bring Joe home from it. "There was a bar at the Jolly -Bargemen," Pip tells us, "with some alarmingly long chalk scores in it on -the wall at the side of the door" which seemed never to be paid off. They -had been there ever since he could remember, and had grown more than he -had. There was a common-room at the end of the passage with a bright large -kitchen fire, where Joe smoked his pipe in company with Mr. Wopsle. It was -here that Pip again encountered his convict who stirred his drink with the -file Pip had borrowed for him earlier in the story, and where he was -presented with a shilling wrapped in "two fat sweltering one-pound notes -that seemed to have been on terms of the warmest intimacy with all the -cattle markets in the country." - -It is the scene of many incidents in the story. Indeed, it was the meeting -place of all the men of the village, to whom Mr. Wopsle read the news -round the fire, and where all the gossip of the district was retailed. - -The Horseshoe and Castle is a typical village inn, in all appearances like -a doll's house, built of wood in a quite plain fashion, lying a little -back from the road. It was in this inn that Mr. Jaggers unexpectedly -appeared one day enquiring for Pip, which ultimately resulted in the -change in Pip's fortune and his journey to London. - -Pip's journey from "our town," as he calls it, to the Metropolis, was, we -read, "a journey of about five hours. It was a little past midday when the -four-horse stage-coach by which I was passenger got into the ravel of -traffic frayed out about the Cross Keys, Wood Street, Cheapside, London." - -This incident of the early life of Pip, related in 1860, was a -reminiscence of Dickens's early childhood, which he recalls in _The -Uncommercial Traveller_, when he tells us that, as a small boy, he "left -Dullborough in the days when there were no railroads in the land," and he -left it in a stage-coach. "Through all the years that have since passed," -he goes on, "have I ever lost the smell of the damp straw in which I was -packed--like game--and forwarded, carriage paid, to the Cross Keys, Wood -Street, Cheapside, London.... The coach that carried me away was -melodiously called Timpson's Blue-Eyed Maid, and belonged to Timpson at -the coach office up street." In speaking of Dullborough and "our town," it -is known that Dickens was referring to Rochester. - -The Cross Keys was a notable coaching inn of those days, and the Rochester -coaches started and ended their journey there. It was demolished over -fifty years ago. Although Dickens does not give us one of his pleasant -pen-pictures of it, he refers to it occasionally in other of his stories, -such as _Little Dorrit_ and _Nicholas Nickleby_. - -Another one-time famous London inn, referred to in _Great Expectations_, -but no longer existing, is Hummum's, in Covent Garden. - -When Pip received that note one evening on reaching the gateway of the -Temple, warning him not to go home, he hired a chariot and drove to -Hummum's, Covent Garden. He spent a very miserable night there. In those -times, he tells us, "a bed was always to be got there at any hour of the -night, and the chamberlain, letting me in at his ready wicket, lighted the -candle next in order on his shelf, and showed me straight into the bedroom -next in order. It was a sort of vault on the ground floor at the back, -with a despotic monster of a four-post bed in it, straddling over the -whole place, putting one of its arbitrary legs into the fire-place, and -another into the doorway, and squeezing the wretched little washing-stand -in quite a Divinely Righteous manner." - -He goes on to wail of his doleful night. The room smelt of cold soot and -hot dust, the tester was covered in blue-bottle flies, which he thought -must be lying up for next summer. "When I had lain awake a little while, -those extraordinary voices, with which silence teems, began to make -themselves audible. The closet whispered, the fire-place sighed, the -little washing-stand ticked, and one guitar-string played occasionally in -the chest of drawers." - -He then thought of the unknown gentleman who once came to Hummum's in the -night and had gone to bed and destroyed himself and had been found in the -morning weltering in his blood. Altogether a dismal, doleful and miserable -experience of Hummum's. But no doubt Pip's liver or nerves were the cause -of it, not the hotel. - -Another reference to it is made in _Sketches by Boz_ in the chapter -describing the streets in the morning. Speaking of the pandemonium which -reigns in Covent Garden at an early hour after daybreak, the talking, -shouting, horses neighing, donkeys braying, Dickens says "these and a -hundred other sounds form a compound discordant enough to a Londoner's -ears, and remarkably disagreeable to those of country gentlemen who are -sleeping at Hummum's for the first time." - -There is an hotel standing in Covent Garden with the same name to-day, -but, although it is on the same spot, it is not the Hummum's of which Pip -speaks. That was demolished long ago, and was the scene of a marvellous -ghost story told in Boswell's Johnson concerning Parson Ford. - -The Ship at Gravesend, mentioned as the waterside inn where Pip and his -assistants managed to row the convict Magwitch, with the idea of smuggling -him out of the country, is known as the Ship and Lobster. - -[Illustration: THE SHIP AND LOBSTER, GRAVESEND - -_Drawn by C. G. Harper_] - -Having run alongside a little causeway made of stones, Pip left the rest -of the occupants of the boat and stepped ashore, and found the light they -had observed from the river to be in the window of a public-house. "It was -a dirty place enough, and I daresay not unknown to smuggling adventurers; -but there was a good fire in the kitchen, and there were eggs and bacon to -eat and various liquors to drink. Also there were two double-bedded -rooms--'such as they were,' the landlord said.... We made a very good meal -by the kitchen fire, and then apportioned the bedrooms.... We found that -the air was carefully excluded from both as if air was fatal to life; and -there were more dirty clothes and bandboxes under the beds than I should -have thought the family possessed. But we considered ourselves well off, -notwithstanding, for a more solitary place we could not have found." - -Outside this inn Magwitch was again captured, and transferred to a galley, -where Pip eventually joined him and accompanied him to his destination. - -Dickens knew Gravesend well, and his description of the Ship and Lobster -is a faithful one. It is situated on the shore at Denton, a village -adjoining the town, not far from the official Lighterman's at Denton -Wharf. At one time it flourished as a popular tea-garden resort. - -There are two other inns in the book that must not be overlooked. The Blue -Boar at Rochester, where Pip stayed when he visited his old town, which -was the Bull Inn there, and is dealt with in "The Inns and Taverns of -Pickwick"; and the tavern where Wemmick's wedding-breakfast was held. This -is said to be the Fox under the Hill, nearly at the top of Denmark Hill. -It is now a modern public-house, but sixty or seventy years ago it was an -old wayside inn--a pleasant little tavern, and a favourite resort, -especially on Sunday evenings in the summer, for the youthful population -of Walworth and Camberwell. - -We close this chapter with the brief account of the festive occasion: - -"Breakfast had been ordered at a pleasant little tavern, a mile or so away -upon the rising ground beyond the green[2] and there was a bagatelle board -in the room, in case we should desire to unbend our minds after the -solemnity. It was pleasant to observe that Mrs. Wemmick no longer unwound -Wemmick's arm when it adapted itself to her figure, but sat in a -high-backed chair against the wall, like a violoncello in its case, and -submitted to be embraced as that melodious instrument might have done. We -had an excellent breakfast, and, when anyone declined anything on the -table, Wemmick said, 'Provided by contract you know; don't be afraid of -it!' I drank to the new couple, drank to the Aged, drank to the Castle, -saluted the bride at parting, and made myself as agreeable as I could." - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -OUR MUTUAL FRIEND - - THE SIX JOLLY FELLOWSHIP-PORTERS--THE THREE MAGPIES--THE SHIP, - GREENWICH--THE WHITE LION--THE ANGLERS' INN--THE EXCHEQUER - COFFEE-HOUSE - - -The outstanding tavern in _Our Mutual Friend_ is that with the -pleasant-sounding name of The Six Jolly Fellowship-Porters, the favoured -resort of Rogue Riderhood, Gaffer Hexam, and their boon companions, which -is so closely associated with the unravelling of the mystery of John -Harmon. It exists to-day as the Grapes, and continues to be the favoured -resort of river watermen whose business keeps or brings them to the -picturesque Reach. - -When Dickens was engaged on his book, it is said that he wrote some -chapters in a house adjoining the Grapes, overlooking the river. The -Dropsical Tavern, as he calls it, was then known as the Bunch of Grapes, -which, by a process of clipping, became first the Grapes Inn, and then -finally the Grapes, by which it is known at the present time. Its front -entrance is at 76 Narrow Street, Limehouse, and occupies little more space -(as noted by the novelist) than to allow for its front door. Although the -front of the building has been modernised, it still remains as narrow and -tall as when Dickens likened it to "a handle of a flat iron set upright on -its broadest end." The inn has been very little altered in other respects -since he so minutely described it. Certainly, an ordinary public-house bar -has cut off a portion of the original bar, and, if in those days "the -available space in it was not much larger than a hackney-coach," its area -is even smaller to-day, but yet quite comfortable enough to "soften the -human breast." - -It is in describing this bar that Dickens gives the clue to the -identification of the tavern. "No one," he says, "could have wished the -bar bigger, that space was so girt in by corpulent little casks, and by -cordial bottles radiant with fictitious _grapes in bunches_, and by lemons -in nets, and by biscuits in baskets, and by polite beer-pulls that made -low bows when customers were served with beer ... and by the landlady's -own small table in a snugger corner near the fire...." Many of these -alluring etceteras have given place to others, perhaps less enticing, and -among those that have gone are the cordial bottles with the "grapes in -bunches" on them. We have learned, however, from the present genial -hostess, Mrs. Higgins, that at one time, not only did the cordial bottles -bear the engraved sign of a bunch of grapes, but certain of the windows -also were so embellished, and it was only a few years ago, when the front -was altered, that these disappeared. - -It is not, however, necessary merely to rely on this piece of -identification to assure us that the Grapes Inn was the original of the -Six Jolly Fellowship-Porters, for a visit to it with Chapter VI of _Our -Mutual Friend_ for a guidance leaves no doubt in the mind. Therein we read -that "the Six Jolly Fellowship-Porters, already mentioned as a tavern of a -dropsical appearance, had long settled down into a state of hale -infirmity. In its whole constitution it had not a straight floor, and -hardly a straight line; but it had outlasted, and clearly would yet -outlast, many a better-trimmed building, many a sprucer public-house. -Externally, it was a narrow, lopsided wooden jumble of corpulent windows -heaped one upon another as you might heap as many toppling oranges, with -a crazy wooden verandah impending over the water; indeed, the whole house, -inclusive of the complaining flag-staff on the roof, impended over the -water, but seemed to have got into the condition of a faint-hearted diver -who has paused so long on the brink that he will never go in at all." - -That is how Dickens describes the river frontage of the Six Jolly -Fellowship-Porters, and his words apply just as accurately to the Grapes -Inn. As one stands on the crazy wooden verandah, which is reached from the -foreshore by steep wooden steps, one can call to mind the scene in the -book describing Gaffer Hexam landing the "found drowned," and then, by -turning into the "tap and parlour" behind, "which gave on to the river, -and had red curtains to match the noses of the regular customers," one -finds oneself in the room where the inquest on John Harmon was held, with -Gaffer Hexam as witness before the coroner's jury, Mr. Mortimer Light wood -as "eminent solicitor," and Mr. Inspector watching the proceedings on -behalf of the Home Office. The room is not used for such purposes to-day, -but is put to the more pleasant one of social intercourse between workers -on the great waterway during and after their labours, who, if you are so -disposed, will welcome you there, and discourse on the mystery of tides -and ships. If you accept them as fellow-creatures you may be invited to a -game of darts, meanwhile regaling yourself with the modern substitutes for -"those delectable drinks" known in the days when Miss Abbey Potterson -reigned supreme on her throne as sole proprietor and manager of the -Fellowship-Porters, as Purl, Flip, and Dog's Nose. These watermen reach -this haven, if the tide is out, by means of the wooden steps; when the -tide is high and the house is "all but afloat," the small row-boats are -brought into use and the occupants approach the inn like veritable -gondoliers and moor their craft outside whilst they refresh themselves -within. - -[Illustration: THE GRAPES INN, LIMEHOUSE - -_Photograph by T. W. Tyrrell_] - -Beyond this room is the small one which served as Miss Abbey Potterson's -haven. "This haven," Dickens says, "was divided from the rough world by a -glass partition and a half-door with a leaden sill upon it for the -convenience of resting your liquor; but over this half-door the bar's -snugness so gushed forth that, albeit customers drank there standing, in a -dark and draughty passage where they were shouldered by other customers -passing in and out, they always appeared to drink under an enchanting -delusion that they were in the bar itself." - -The glass partition and the half-door, over which Gaffer Hexam is seen -leaning in Marcus Stone's picture in the book, is still there, but is not -now used for the same purpose. It is the private entrance to the back of -the modern public bar. - -What Dickens said of the antiquity of the Fellowship-Porters is true of -the Grapes Inn. "The wood forming the chimney-pieces, beams, partitions, -floors, and doors of the Six Jolly Fellowship-Porters seemed in its old -age fraught with confused memories of its youth. In many places it had -become gnarled and riven, according to the manner of old trees; knots -started out of it, and here and there it seemed to twist itself into some -likeness of boughs. In this state of second childhood, it had an air of -being in its own way garrulous about its early life. Not without reason -was it often asserted by the regular frequenters of the Porters that, when -the light shone full upon the grain of certain panels, and particularly -upon an old corner cupboard of walnut wood in the bar, you might trace -little forests there, and tiny trees like the parent tree in full -umbrageous leaf." Unfortunately, most of these oak panels and beams are -now hidden from view by varnished match-boarding, but some of the panels -and some of the beams remain exposed to confirm Dickens's fanciful -picture. - -Miss Abbey Potterson, the mistress of this establishment, was "a tall, -upright, well-favoured woman, though severe of countenance, and had more -the air of a schoolmistress than mistress of the Six Jolly -Fellowship-Porters." Here she ruled supreme, and at the closing time she -ordered one after the other to leave with such admonitions as "George -Jones, your time is up! I told your wife you should be punctual," and so -all wished Miss Abbey good night and Miss Abbey wished good night to all. -She knew how to manage the rough class of river-men who frequented her -house, and was the more respected for it. "Being known on her own -authority as Miss Abbey Potterson," Dickens tells us, "some waterside -heads, which (like the water) were none of the clearest, harboured muddled -motions that, because of her dignity and firmness, she was named after, or -in some sort related to, the Abbey at Westminster. But Abbey was only -short for Abigail, by which name Miss Potterson had been christened at -Limehouse Church some sixty years and odd before." - -Without recording all the references in the book to the -Fellowship-Porters, we note that, towards the end of it, John and Bella -paid an official visit to the police station and visited afterwards the -Six Jolly Fellowship-Porters with Mr. Inspector for purposes of -identification. During this visit, Mr. Inspector gives this very good -character to the inn, "a better-kept house is not known to our men. What -do I say? Half so well a kept house is not known to our men. Show the -Force the Six Jolly Fellowship-Porters, and the Force--to a -constable--will show you a piece of perfection." This, no doubt, was -Dickens's own opinion, too. - -The Grapes to-day serves the same purpose as did the Six Jolly -Fellowship-Porters in the story, and is of as good repute. It is the house -of call of the watermen from the river in the day-time and from the road -after work is done, and it seems to be conducted by the present hostess -much as it was by Miss Abbey Potterson, not so rigidly perhaps, but with -the same good-natured friendliness which is reflected in the attitude and -behaviour of all the frequenters. There does not even seem the necessity -for a Bob Glibbery; at any rate, we have not met his successor on the -occasions of our visits there. Nor does his room down "towards the bed of -the river," where he was ordered to proceed to his supper, exist at the -present time. That must have been somewhere contiguous to the secret -smuggling arches which ran under the building from the river, now filled -in. - -[Illustration: LIMEHOUSE REACH - -_Drawn by L. Walker_] - -The Grapes Inn is a place to visit. If one can choose a fine summer's -evening to sit under "the corpulent windows" on the "crazy wooden -verandah" and watch the busy river with its myriads of craft floating by, -one can enjoy the view and atmosphere much as did Whistler, Napier Hemy, -and Dickens himself. - -In J. Ashby Sterry's "A River Rhymer," is a set of verses entitled "Down -Limehouse Way," two of which may be appropriately quoted here: - - Close by I mind an inn you'll find, - Where you will not refuse - To rest a bit, as there you sit, - And gaze on river views-- - 'Tis very old--with windows bold, - That bulges o'er the tide; - Whence you can spy ships passing by - Or watch the waters glide! - You can sit in the red-curtained bay - And think, while you're puffing a clay, - 'Tis no indecorum - To drink sangarorum-- - While musing down Lime'us way! - - You'll find this spot--now does it not - Recall and keep alive - The varied crew Charles Dickens drew - In eighteen sixty-five? - Here Hexam plied his trade and died, - And Riderhood conspired; - While things they'd pop at Pleasant's shop, - When cash might be required! - Here under Miss Abbey's firm sway, - Who made all her clients obey, - Was ruled with discretion - And rare self-possession - The "Porters" down Lime'us way! - -The name of the Fellowship-Porters which Dickens adopted for the sign of -Miss Abbey Potterson's public-house was that of one of the old City -Guilds. For over 800 years the City of London successfully claimed and -exercised the sole right to unload grain vessels arriving in the Thames, -and realised enormous revenues from the privilege. In 1155, the Guild or -Brotherhood of Fellowship-Porters was incorporated and a charter was -granted. It was reincorporated in 1613, and appointed by the City to carry -or store corn, salt, coals, fish, and fruit of all kinds. - -The Fellowship-Porters at one time numbered 3,000 members, and the Guild -had the power granted by act of Council in 1646 to choose twelve rulers, -the Lord Mayor and Aldermen reserving the right to appoint one of the -number. The company had a hall of its own which stood near to the -Waterman's Hall in St. Mary's Hill, Billingsgate, but had no livery or -arms, and ranked the nineteenth in the order of procedure. Membership -carried with it the freedom of the City by payment of £2 18s. 6d., and -five guineas to Fellowship Hall--these fees being demanded before they -could work as dock labourers. When Millwall Docks were built, the City -challenged the docks on the matter of their privilege, and the case went -to the Law Courts. It was then discovered that the Charter could not be -produced, it having been destroyed by the Great Fire of London, so it was -supposed. This blow ruined the Guild, and some thirty years ago the -organization was wound up, the then present members being deprived of -work, pensions, and everything else their Charter entitled them to as -Freemen of the City. - -Another notable tavern in _Our Mutual Friend_ is the Ship, at Greenwich, -where two memorable little dinners were given. The first was the occasion -when, Bella Wilfer having been presented with a purse and a fifty-pound -bank-note by Mr. Boffin, took her dear old father, the cherub, to -Greenwich by boat on a secret expedition, as she called it, and -entertained him to dinner there. - -First calling for her father at his City office, where the messenger -described her to her father as "a slap-up gal in a bang-up chariot," she -handed him the purse with instructions, not to be disregarded, to "go to -the nearest place where they keep everything of the very very best, ready -made; you buy and put on the most beautiful suit of clothes, the most -beautiful hat, and the most beautiful pair of bright boots (patent -leather, Pa, mind!) that are to be got for money; and you come back to -me." After half an hour he came back "so brilliantly transformed that -Bella was obliged to walk round him in ecstatic admiration twenty times -before she could draw her arm through his and delightfully squeeze it." - -She then ordered him to "take this lovely woman out to dinner." The -question came, "Where shall we go, my dear?" "Greenwich!" said Bella -valiantly. "And be sure you treat this lovely woman with everything of the -best." And off they went in quest of the boat to take them down the river, -and eventually arrived at the Ship Tavern. The little expedition down the -river to reach it, we are told, "was delightful, and the little room -overlooking the river into which they were shown for dinner was -delightful. Everything was delightful. The park was delightful, the lunch -was delightful, the dishes of fish were delightful, the wine was -delightful. Bella was more delightful than any other item in the -festival." And, as they sat together looking at the ships and steamboats -making their way to the sea with the tide that was running down, "the -lovely woman imagined all sorts of voyages for herself and Pa." So -enchanted did Pa become that he was as willing "to put his head into the -Sultan's tub of water as the beggar-boys below the window were to put -_theirs_ in the mud"; and so the happy moments flew by and the time came -to ring the bell, and pay the waiter, and return to London. - -Later on in the same identical room in the same identical tavern -overlooking the Thames, the same delightful couple, with John Rokesmith, -partook of another delightful dinner. Earlier in the day Bella Wilfer had -become Mrs. John Rokesmith and celebrated the event with breakfast at -Bella's cottage at Blackheath, and with a dinner at the Ship Tavern later, -Bella's father being the only other guest. - -"What a dinner! Specimens of all the fishes that swim in the sea surely -had swum their way to it, and, if samples of the fishes of divers colours -that made a speech in the 'Arabian Nights,' and then jumped out of the -frying pan, were not to be recognised, it was only because they had all -become of one hue by being cooked in the batter among the whitebait. And -the dishes being seasoned with Bliss--an article which they are sometimes -out of at Greenwich--were of perfect flavour, and the golden drinks had -been bottled in the golden age and hoarding up their sparkles ever since." - -The whole function was a sheer delight, a crowning success; but the full -appreciation of its charm cannot be indicated by short quotations; it must -be read in detail to be thoroughly enjoyed. The scene inspired J. Ashby -Sterry to again drop into poetry: - - A wedding banquet here must dwell - Within one's brightest recollection; - Where Bella, John and Pa, as well, - Made merry o'er the choice refection! - The sparkling wine, the happy pair, - With all their aged affection; - The bland "Archbishop's" tender care, - And Rumpty Wilfer's smart oration!-- - A scene where fun and pathos blend, - With all the heart and truth that lend - A charm unto "Our Mutual Friend!" - -Alas! the tavern in which these happy hours were spent is a thing of -the past, but its prosperous and palmy days are recorded in Time's annals. - -[Illustration: THE SHIP HOTEL, GREENWICH - -_Drawn by L. Walker_] - -In the days when Greenwich was famous for its whitebait dinners, the town -was noted for its hotels overlooking the waterside. The chief of these was -the Ship, whilst another notable one was the Trafalgar, hard by, -patronised by members of the Cabinet of the day, who led the fashion in -these functions; it being "the correct thing" then, when a little special -festivity was forward, to resort to one of these inns at Greenwich for the -purpose, it is not surprising to learn that on several occasions Dickens -and his literary and artistic coterie followed the custom by arranging -social gatherings in celebration of some event connected with one of the -company either at the Ship or the Trafalgar. As early as 1837 we find him -suggesting Greenwich for a friendly meeting-place. - -But there were two very noteworthy occasions associated with Dickens when -Greenwich was selected for jovial and pleasant parties of close friends. -The first of these took place on the novelist's return from America in -1842, when a few of his kindred spirits adopted this method for welcoming -him back to England. Among the company were Talfourd, Tom Hood, Monckton -Milnes, B. W. Procter, D. Maclise, R.A., Clarkson Stanfield, R.A., Captain -Marryat, "Ingoldsby" Barham, George Cruikshank, and John Forster. "I wish -you had been at Greenwich the other day," he wrote to Felton, "where a -party of friends gave me a private dinner; public ones I have refused. -C---- was perfectly wild at the reunion, and, after singing all manner of -marine songs, wound up the entertainment by coming home (six miles) in a -little open phaeton of mine, _on his head_, to the mingled delight and -indignation of the metropolitan police. We were very jovial, indeed." - -On the other occasion Dickens was the instigator of the feast. This was in -1843, when, on the retirement of John Black from the editorial chair of -the old _Chronicle_, the novelist arranged a dinner in honour of his old -friend at Greenwich, on the 20th of May. Dickens ordered all things to -perfection and the dinner succeeded in its purpose, as in other ways, -quite wonderfully, Forster tells us. Among the entertainers were Sheil and -Thackeray, Fonblanque and Charles Buller, Southwood Smith and William -Johnson Fox, Macready and Maclise, as well as Forster and Dickens. - -These dinners took place at the Ship or the Trafalgar, both well known to -the novelist, as was Greenwich generally, for he frequently refers to the -ancient town and its customs in his writings. - -The Ship Tavern was originally built with a weather-board front, -overlooking the river. But, about the middle of the last century, the -newer and much handsomer structure as seen in our illustration, was -erected upon the site of the original one, and its pretty garden was the -scene of many gay parties, whilst its rooms often rang with merriment from -the festive diners. After the waning of the fashion for whitebait -banquets, it long maintained its popularity with visitors to the Thames -historic town. - -_Our Mutual Friend_ is essentially a story of the Thames, and certainly -the inns and taverns of the book are either on the water's edge or in -close proximity to it. The two already dealt with are below London Bridge, -in the midst of the busy traffic of trade, whilst the remainder are -situated in its more picturesque district where pleasure is sought. - -It will be recalled that, when Mrs. Boffin and the secretary set out in -search of the charming orphan recommended by the Rev. Frank Milvey, they -hired a phaeton and made their way to the abode of Mrs. Betty Higden in -whose care was the child. They discovered that old lady in complicated -back settlements of "Muddy Brentford," and, having left their equipage at -the sign of the Three Magpies, continued their quest on foot. A second -visit to Brentford is recorded later in the book, on which occasion a -carriage was ordered, for Bella and Sloppy were also of the party. "So to -the Three Magpies as before; where Mrs. Boffin and Miss Bella were handed -out, and whence they all went on foot to Mrs. Betty Higden's." - -No other allusion to the inn is made than the bare mention of the name; -but the original inn to which Dickens alludes undoubtedly is the Three -Pigeons, that ancient hostelry at Brentford whose history is associated -with Shakespeare, Ben Jonson and their contemporaries, many of whom -referred to it in their plays and essays. In Goldsmith's _She Stoops to -Conquer_, it will be remembered, Tony Lumpkin sings a song in praise of -it, whilst two scenes of the comedy take place in the inn. - -Lowen, a leading actor in Shakespeare's company, we are told, kept the inn -at the time, and Shakespeare personally instructed him in Henry VIII. It -was a well-known coaching inn then, and at one time its stables occupied -several acres. - -In 1905 it was partially reconstructed, and in 1916 it was closed under -order of the licensing justices of Middlesex. - -[Illustration: THE RED LION HOTEL, HAMPTON - -_Drawn by C. G. Harper_] - -In the chapter describing the flight of Betty Higden we are told that her -pilgrimage took her through Chertsey, Walton, Kingston, and Staines, and -so on to her journey's end. One day she was sitting in a market-place on a -bench outside an inn. Here she became nervous of those who questioned -her, and determined to move on. As she left the spot she had looked over -her shoulder before turning out of the town, and had seen the "sign of the -White Lion hanging across the road, and the fluttering market booths and -the old grey church, and the little crowd gazing after her, but not -attempting to follow her." - -Although the name of this town is not mentioned, there is no doubt that -the description is of Hampton, and that the inn is the Red Lion, whose -picturesque sign still spans the street, with the view of the "old grey -church" behind it. - -The scenes of the fourth book bring us to the district of Henley, although -the name is never mentioned and the locks and inns are given fictitious -names. But it has not been difficult to locate the spots from the -novelist's accurate descriptions. The only inn which plays an important -part in the unravelling of the story in this neighbourhood is given the -name of the Anglers' Inn. All authorities identify this as the Red Lion, -Henley. It was here that Eugene Wrayburn found accommodation when in -pursuit of Lizzie Hexam. The inn is on the west bank of the river and -north of the bridge, and, being a favourite resort of anglers, the name -Dickens gives it is appropriate enough. It was to this inn that Lizzie -Hexam brought the apparently lifeless body of Eugene Wrayburn after her -brave rescue of it from the water, following the murderous attack on him -by Bradley Headstone. - -"She rowed hard--rowed desperately, but never wildly--and seldom removed -her eyes from him in the bottom of the boat.... The boat touched the edge -of the patch of inn lawn sloping gently to the water. There were lights in -the windows, but there chanced to be no one out of doors. She made the -boat fast, and again by main strength took him up, and never laid him down -until she laid him down in the house." - -This patch of green lawn sloping gently to the river coincides with that -of the Red Lion, Henley. It was also in this inn, some weeks later, that -Lizzie and Eugene were married. It was still uncertain if he would -recover, and, in conformity with his wish, the ceremony was performed -round his bed, the Rev. Frank Milvey officiating, Bella and her husband, -Mortimer Lightwood, Mrs. Milvey and Jenny Wren being in attendance. - -The Red Lion is a famous old coaching-inn, as well as a fishing and -boating one of renown. It is not only very old but large. Standing by the -bridge in prominent fashion it appeals to the eye at once: - - 'Tis a finely toned, picturesque, sunshiny, place, - Recalling a dozen old stories; - With a rare British, good-natured, ruddy-hued face, - Suggesting old wines and old Tories. - -to quote once more from Ashby Sterry's rhymes. - -It was on a window in this old inn that Shenstone the poet scratched with -a diamond about 1750 that celebrated stanza of his: - - Who'er has travelled life's dull round, - Where'er his stages may have been, - May sigh to think how oft he found - The warmest welcome at an inn; - ---at least, so tradition has it. But Mr. Charles G. Harper thinks it -doubtful, and feels that the Henley referred to by historians must have -been Henley-in-Arden. - -There is one inn mentioned in the book which has not, that we are aware -of, been identified. It is the Exchequer Coffee-House, Palace Yard, -Westminster, the address given by Mr. Julius Handford to Mr. Inspector on -the occasion when he viewed the body of the drowned man (Bk. 1, Chapter -III). - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD AND THE LAZY TOUR OF TWO IDLE APPRENTICES - - WOOD'S HOTEL, FURNIVAL'S INN--THE TILTED WAGON--THE TRAVELLERS' - TWOPENNY--THE CROZIER, CLOISTERHAM--THE KING'S ARMS, LANCASTER--THE - SHIP, ALLONBY--THE ANGEL, DONCASTER, AND OTHERS - - -It is a curious fact that Wood's Hotel, one of London's old-time inns -which must have been familiar to Dickens in his very early days--even -before he commenced writing his _Pickwick Papers_--did not furnish a scene -in any of his books until it figured in _Edwin Drood_, his last. - -As early as 1834, when on the staff of the "Morning Chronicle," Dickens -lived at 13 Furnival's Inn, and in the following year moved to No 15, -where he commenced _The Pickwick Papers_, and where he took to himself a -wife and where his first child was born. - -During these days Wood's Hotel occupied the north side of the quiet -quadrangle of Furnival's Inn, and Dickens must have known it well. It was -a staid and respectable house with an air about it of domestic comfort, -suitable for country visitors, and where, we are informed, family prayers, -night and morning, were included in the accommodation. - -Its stately building of four stories had dignity added to it by the four -tall white stone pillars in the centre portion of the front reaching to -the third floor. Although stolid-looking, it was not aggressively so, nor -was it altogether unpicturesque, with its grass plot immediately before -the entrance, encircling a statue of the founder of the inn, surrounded by -white posts connected by chains. - -Its imposing appearance from without reflected the comforts which the -inside of a reputable family hotel is expected to provide. At such an -hotel one would naturally look for courteous attention from waiters and -chambermaids, and good meals cleanly served, and at Wood's no -disappointment in these respects was experienced. Indeed, Dickens conveys -that idea in referring to it in _Edwin Drood_. - -Entering through the archway of Furnival's Inn, the hotel caught the eye -immediately, and acted as a relief to the straight, angular, and flat -appearance of the buildings which formed the once famous quadrangle so -intimately associated with Dickens. - -It is believed by some, and was definitely stated to be a fact by a writer -in the American magazine, the "Cosmopolitan," for May, 1893, and again by -a writer in the "Middlesex and Hertfordshire Notes and Queries," July, -1895, that Dickens in his bachelor days had apartments on the second floor -of the hotel in the right-hand corner, and that in the latter years of its -existence the walls of this same room were decorated with pictures of -scenes and characters from his works. - -We have, however, been unable to find any authority for this statement. -But it is quite possible that he frequented the hotel, and we may even -assume that he and his friends, Hablōt K. Browne and Robert Young, who -occupied rooms in Furnival's when they were executing engravings for -Pickwick, would perhaps chat over details in a snug room in the hotel, -when they would be joined by their other friend and engraver, Finden. - -Bearing all these ideas in mind, it is certainly a little strange that -Dickens waited for his last book before he introduced the hotel into his -writings. - -In that book we are told that Mr. Grewgious crossed over to the hotel in -Furnival's Inn from Staple Inn opposite for his dinner "three hundred days -in the year at least," and after dinner crossed back again. On one -occasion, a very important interview between him and Edwin Drood took -place in his chambers, and Edwin was pressed to stay for a meal. "We can -have dinner in from just across Holborn," Grewgious assured him, and -Bazzard, his clerk, was not only invited to join them, but asked if he -would mind "stepping over to the hotel in Furnival's, and asking them to -send in materials for laying the cloth.... For dinner we'll have a tureen -of the hottest and strongest soup available, and we'll have the best made -dish that can be recommended and we'll have a joint (such as a haunch of -mutton) and we'll have a goose, or a turkey, or any little stuffed thing -of that sort that may happen to be in the bill of fare--in short, we'll -have whatever there is on hand." - -Bazzard, after bringing out the round table, accordingly withdrew to -execute the orders. His return with the waiters gives Dickens an -opportunity for one of his humorous descriptive passages which we make no -excuse for quoting in full: - -"Bazzard returned, accompanied by two waiters--an immovable waiter, and a -flying waiter; and the three brought in with them as much fog as gave a -new roar to the fire. The flying waiter, who had brought everything on his -shoulders, laid the cloth with amazing rapidity and dexterity; while the -immovable waiter, who had brought nothing, found fault with him. The -flying waiter then highly polished all the glasses he had brought, and the -immovable waiter looked through them. The flying waiter then flew across -Holborn for the soup, and flew back again, and then took another flight -for the made-dish, and flew back again, and then took another flight for -the joint and the poultry, and flew back again, and between whiles took -supplementary flights for a great variety of articles, as it was -discovered from time to time that the immovable waiter had forgotten them -all. But, let the flying waiter cleave the air as he might, he was always -reproached on his return by the immovable waiter for bringing fog with him -and being out of breath. At the conclusion of the repast, by which time -the flying waiter was severely blown, the immovable waiter gathered up the -table-cloth under his arm with a grand air, and, having sternly (not to -say with indignation) looked on at the flying waiter while he set clean -glasses round, directed a valedictory glance towards Mr. Grewgious, -conveying: 'Let it be clearly understood between us that the reward is -mine, and that _nil_ is the claim of this slave,' and pushed the flying -waiter before him out of the room." - -Thus the waiters of Wood's Hotel, which was the name of the hotel referred -to, although not mentioned by Dickens. Later in the book, we get a more -intimate association with it. After the murder of Edwin Drood, Rosa Bud -hurriedly takes coach from Rochester and presents herself to her guardian -in his chambers. She is tired and hungry, naturally, and Grewgious, -concerned for her welfare, asks her what she will take after her journey. -"Shall it be breakfast, lunch, dinner, tea or supper?" he enquires. - -"Your rest, too, must be provided for," he went on; "and you shall have -the prettiest chamber in Furnival's. Your toilet must be provided for, and -you shall have everything that an unlimited head chambermaid--by which -expression I mean a head chambermaid not limited as to outlay--can -procure." - -[Illustration: WOOD'S HOTEL, FURNIVAL'S INN - -_Drawn by L. Walker_] - -"Rosa thanked him, but said she could only take a cup of tea. Mr. -Grewgious, after several times running out, and in again, to mention such -supplementary items as marmalade, eggs, watercresses, salted fish, and -frizzled ham, ran across to Furnival's without his hat, to give his -various directions. And soon afterwards they were realised in practice, -and the board was spread." - -After a friendly chat over tea, he escorted her to her rooms. He "helped -her to get her hat on again, and hung upon his arm the very little bag -that was of no earthly use, and led her by the hand (with a certain -stately awkwardness, as if he were going to walk a minuet) across Holborn, -and into Furnival's Inn. At the hotel door, he confided her to the -unlimited head chambermaid, and said that while she went up to see her -room he would remain below, in case she should wish it exchanged for -another, or should find that there was anything she wanted." - -Rosa's room was airy, clean, comfortable, almost gay. The Unlimited had -laid in everything omitted from the very little bag (that is to say, -everything she could possibly need) and Rosa tripped down the great stairs -again, to thank her guardian for his thoughtful and affectionate care of -her. - -"'Not at all, my dear,' said Mr. Grewgious, infinitely gratified; 'it is I -who thank you for your charming confidence and for your charming company. -Your breakfast will be provided for you in a neat, compact, and graceful -little sitting-room (appropriate to your figure) and I will come to you at -ten o'clock in the morning. I hope you don't feel very strange indeed in -this strange place.' - -"'Oh no, I feel so safe!' - -"'Yes, you may be sure that the stairs are fireproof,' said Mr. Grewgious, -'and that any outbreak of the devouring element would be perceived and -suppressed by the watchmen.'" - -Having seen Rosa comfortably settled, he left her, assuring the night -porter as he went that, "if someone staying in the hotel should wish to -send across the road to me in the night, a crown will be ready for the -messenger." - -To the hotel next morning Mr. Grewgious went faithfully to time with Mr. -Crisparkle, who had followed Rosa up from Rochester as fast as he could. -Soon also Tartar arrived. After a long consultation between them about Mr. -Landless and the use Tartar's chambers could be put to for certain spying -purposes, Tartar took Rosa and Mr. Grewgious for a row up the river. -Apartments ultimately being found for Rosa elsewhere, she left Wood's -Hotel, and no further reference is made to it in the book. - -In 1898 Furnival's Inn was demolished with its hotel. Upon its site now -stand an insurance company's huge premises. - -In Chapter XV, detailing Neville Landless's long tramp from Cloisterham, -we are told that he stopped at the next road-side tavern to refresh. -Dickens describes it in the following words: - -"Visitors in want of breakfast--unless they were horses or cattle, for -which class of guests there was preparation enough in the way of -water-trough and hay--were so unusual at the sign of the Tilted Wagon that -it took a long time to get the wagon into the track of tea and toast and -bacon; Neville, in the interval, sitting in a sanded parlour, wondering in -how long a time after he had gone the sneezy fire of damp fagots would -begin to make somebody else warm. Indeed, the Tilted Wagon was a cool -establishment on the top of a hill, where the ground before the door was -puddles with damp hoofs and trodden straw; where a scolding landlady -slapped a moist baby (with one red sock on and one wanting) in the bar; -where the cheese was cast aground upon a shelf in company with a mouldy -table-cloth and a green-handled knife in a sort of cast-iron canoe; where -the pale-faced bread shed tears of crumbs over its shipwreck in another -canoe; where the family linen, half-washed and half dried, led a public -life of lying about; where everything to drink was drunk out of mugs, and -everything else was suggestive of a rhyme to mugs: the Tilted Wagon, all -these things considered, hardly kept its painted promise of providing good -entertainment for man and beast." - -Mr. Edwin Harris, in his guide to Dickensian Rochester, has identified the -Coach and Horses on the top of Strood Hill as the original of the Tilted -Wagon. - -The Travellers' Twopenny, where the boy deputy was a "man-servant," as he -explained to Jasper, was originally the White Duck, and afterwards Kit's -lodging-house, and stood in the Maidstone Road at Rochester. It -degenerated into a crazy wooden sort of cheap public-house, and was not -demolished before it was necessary. On its site now stands a business -warehouse. - -The Crozier, the "Orthodox Hotel," where Datchery lodged in the same city, -was the Crown, and is dealt with in "The Inns and Taverns of Pickwick." - -In the late autumn of 1857, Dickens and Wilkie Collins started "on a ten -or twelve days' expedition to out-of-the-way places, to do (in inns and -coast corners) a little tour in search of an article and in avoidance of -railroads." Their selection was the Lake District, but the outcome of -their expedition was not one article merely but a series of five under the -title of _The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices_, written in -collaboration. The two idle apprentices were Francis Goodchild and Thomas -Idle, the first name being the pseudonym of Dickens. - -These misguided young men, they inform us in the narrative, "were actuated -by the low idea of making a perfectly idle trip in any direction. They had -no intention of going anywhere in particular; they wanted to see nothing; -they wanted to know nothing; they wanted to learn nothing; they wanted to -do nothing. They wanted only to be idle ... and they were both idle in the -last degree." In that spirit they set forth on their journey. - -Carrock Fell, Wigton, Allonby, Carlisle, Maryport, Hesket Newmarket, were -all visited in turn, and the adventures of the twain in these spots duly -set forth in the pages of the book. In due course they came to Lancaster, -and, the inn at that town being the most important of the tour, we deal -with it first. - -The travellers were meditating flight at the station on account of Thomas -Idle being suddenly filled with "the dreadful sensation of having -something to do." However, they decided to stay because they had heard -there was a good inn at Lancaster, established in a fine old house; an inn -where they give you bride-cake every day after dinner. "Let us eat -bride-cake," they said, "without the trouble of being married, or of -knowing anybody in that ridiculous dilemma." And so they departed from the -station and were duly delivered at the fine old house at Lancaster on the -same night. - -This was the King's Arms in the Market Street, the exterior of which was -dismal, quite uninviting, and lacked any sort of picturesqueness such as -one associates with old inns; but the interior soon compensated for the -unattractiveness of the exterior by its atmosphere, fittings and customs. -Being then over two centuries old, it had allurement calculated to make -the lover of things old happy and contented. "The house was a genuine old -house," the story tells us, "of a very quaint description, teeming with -old carvings, and beams, and panels, and having an excellent staircase, -with a gallery or upper staircase cut off from it by a curious fence-work -of old oak, or of old Honduras mahogany wood. It was, and is, and will be, -for many a long year to come, a remarkably picturesque house; and a -certain grave mystery lurking in the depth of the old mahogany panels, as -if they were so many deep pools of dark water--such, indeed, as they had -been much among when they were trees--gave it a very mysterious character -after nightfall." - -A terrible ghost story was attached to the house concerning a bride who -was poisoned there, and the room in which the process of slow death took -place was pointed out to visitors. The perpetrator of the crime, the story -relates, was duly hanged, and in memory of the weird incident bride-cake -was served each day after dinner. - -The complete story of this melodramatic legend is narrated to Goodchild by -a spectre in the haunted chamber where he and his companion had been -writing. - -Dickens wove into the story much fancy and not a little eerieness, and it -is said that the publicity given to it in _Household Words_, in which it -first appeared, created so much interest that the hotel was sought out by -eager visitors who love a haunted chamber. As this was situated in an -ancient inn with its antique bedstead all complete, to say nothing of the -curious custom of providing bride-cake at dinner in memory of the -unfortunate bride, the King's Arms, Lancaster, discovered its fame -becoming world-wide instead of remaining local. - -At the time of the visit of Dickens and Wilkie Collins to this rare old -inn, the proprietor was one Joseph Sly, and Dickens occupied what he -termed the state bedroom, "with two enormous red four-posters in it, each -as big as Charley's room at Gads Hill." He described the inn as "a very -remarkable old house ... with genuine rooms and an uncommonly quaint -staircase." A certain portion of the "lazy notes" for the book were, we -are told, written at the King's Arms Hotel. - -[Illustration: THE KING'S ARMS, LANCASTER - -_Drawn by L. Walker_] - -On their arrival, Dickens and Collins sat down to a good hearty meal. The -landlord himself presided over the serving of it, which, Dickens writes in -a letter, comprised "two little salmon trout; a sirloin steak; a brace of -partridges; seven dishes of sweets; five dishes of dessert, led off by a -bowl of peaches; and in the centre an enormous bride-cake. 'We always have -it here, sir,' said the landlord, 'custom of the house.' Collins turned -pale, and estimated the dinner at half a guinea each." - -Mr. Sly became quite good friends with the two distinguished novelists, -and cherished with great pride the signed portrait of Dickens which the -author of _Pickwick_ presented him with. He left the old place in 1879 and -it was soon afterwards pulled down and replaced by an ordinary commercial -hotel. Although the bride-cake custom was abandoned, and the haunted -chamber with its fantastic story swept away, it is interesting to know -that the famous oak bedstead, in which Dickens himself slept, was acquired -by the Duke of Norfolk. - -Mr. Sly, who died in 1895, never tired of recalling the visit of the two -famous authors. He took the greatest pride in his wonderful old inn, and -found real delight in conducting visitors over the building and telling -amusing stories about Dickens and Wilkie Collins. Indeed, he was so proud -of the association that he obtained Dickens's permission to reprint those -passages of _The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices_ relating to the -hostelry, in pamphlet form, with an introductory note saying, "The reader -is perhaps aware that Mr. Charles Dickens and his friend Wilkie Collins, -in the year 1857, visited Lancaster, and during their sojourn stayed at -Mr. Sly's King's Arms Hotel." - -There is a further association with the inn and Dickens to be found in -"Doctor Marigold's Prescriptions." We find it recorded there that Doctor -Marigold and his Library Cart, as he called his caravan, "were down at -Lancaster, and I had done two nights' more than the fair average business -(though I cannot in honour recommend them as a quick audience) in the open -square there, near the end of the street where Mr. Sly's King's Arms and -Royal Hotel stands." - -"Doctor Marigold" was published in 1865, seven years after Dickens's -visit. But he not only remembered the King's Arms, but also Mr. Sly, the -proprietor, who thus became immortalised in a Dickens story. Mr. Sly -evidently was a popular man in the town, and his energy and good nature -were much appreciated. That this was so, the following paragraph bears -witness: - -It is recorded as an historical fact that, on the marriage of H.R.H. the -Prince of Wales, the demonstration made in Lancaster exceeded any held out -of the Metropolis. The credit of this success is mainly due to Mr. Sly, -who proposed the programme, which included the roasting of two oxen whole, -and a grotesque torchlight procession. The manner in which the whole -arrangements were carried out was so satisfactory to the inhabitants of -the town and neighbourhood that, at a meeting held a short time after the -event, it was unanimously resolved to present Mr. and Mrs. Sly with a -piece of plate, of a design suitable to commemorate the event. The sum -required was subscribed in a few days, the piece of plate procured, and -the presentation was made in the Assembly Rooms on the 9th of November by -the High Sheriff, W. A. F. Saunders, Esq., of Wennington Hall, in the -presence of a numerous company. - -In its palmy days the King's Arms was a prominent landmark for travellers -_en route_ to Morecambe Bay, Windermere, the Lakes, and Scotland. It was -erected in 1625, and in the coaching era was the head hotel in the town -for general posting purposes, and was the most suitable place for tourists -to break their journey going North, or in returning. Consequently, it was -one of the most important in the North of England. - -The inn the two idle apprentices entered at Hesket Newmarket "to drink -whiskey and eat oat-cake" is not named, but it has been identified with a -house which is no longer an inn. At the time of the story it was called -the Queen's Head, and was quite a prominent hostelry in the town, the -innkeeper of which is described as having "a ruddy cheek, a bright eye, a -well-knit frame, an immense hand, a cheery, outspeaking voice, and a -straight, bright, broad look. He had a drawing-room, too, upstairs, which -was worth a visit to the Cumberland Fells." - -"The ceiling of this drawing-room," we are further told, "was so crossed -and re-crossed by beams of unequal lengths, radiating from a centre, in a -corner, that it looked like a broken starfish. The room was comfortably -and solidly furnished with good mahogany and horsehair. It had a snug -fireside, a couple of well-curtained windows, looking out upon the wild -country behind the house. What it most developed was an unexpected taste -for little ornaments and knick-knacks, of which it contained a most -surprising number," which Dickens goes on to describe in his own whimsical -manner. - -Hesket has not altered very much, we understand, since those days, and the -inn itself remains, not as an inn, but as a private house, and the room -where the oat-cake and whiskey were served still has its crossed and -re-crossed beams of unequal length. - -From this inn, and under the guidance of the landlord, the two idle -apprentices mounted Carrock--with what disastrous effects to Mr. Idle on -the way down, readers of the story well know. - -On again reaching the inn, under uncomfortable circumstances, they -remained only a few hours, and continued the tour to Wigton in a covered -carriage. Here, Mr. Idle was "melodramatically carried to the inn's first -floor and laid upon three chairs." The King's Arms is said to be the -Wigton inn referred to, but no details are given of it in the book. - -Their next halting place was Allonby, where they put up at the Ship. -Thomas Idle, we are informed, "made a crab-like progress up a clean little -bulk-headed staircase, into a clean little bulk-headed room, where he -slowly deposited himself on a sofa, with a stick on either hand of him, -looking exceedingly grim," and both partook of dinner. The little inn is -described as delightful, "excellently kept by the most comfortable of -landladies and the most attentive of landlords." It still exists, and, "as -a family and commercial hotel and posting-house commanding extensive views -of the Solway Firth and the Scottish Hills," is apparently little altered -since Dickens and Collins visited it. Its Dickensian associations are -cherished by the owner to-day, who shows with pride the room occupied by -the two literary giants. - -After their visit to Lancaster, already referred to, the two idle -apprentices went on to Doncaster, and arrived there in the St. Leger Race -week. They put up at the Angel Hotel, where they had secured rooms, which -Dickens described as "very good, clean and quiet apartments on the second -floor, looking down into the main street." His own room was "airy and -clean, little dressing-room attached, eight water-jugs ... capital sponge -bath, perfect arrangement, exquisite neatness." - -Doncaster during the race week is described as a collection of mad people -under the charge of a body of designing keepers, horse-mad, betting-mad, -vice-mad. But the two novelists managed to find it enticing enough to -remain there a week. - -The Angel Hotel was often called the Royal because Queen Victoria stayed -there in 1851. It was built in 1810, has always been a celebrated hotel, -and was a busy coaching-inn in those days. It remains much as it was when -Thomas Idle lay in the room for a week with his bad ankle and his friend -Francis Goodchild went roaming around the city with his usual observant -eyes. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -SKETCHES BY BOZ AND THE UNCOMMERCIAL TRAVELLER - - THE GOAT AND BOOTS--THE BLUE LION AND STOMACH WARMER--THE RED - HOUSE--THE FREEMASONS' TAVERN--THE EAGLE--OFFLEY'S--THE RAINBOW--THE - ALBION--THE FLOWER-POT--THE BULL'S HEAD--THE DOLPHIN'S HEAD--THE LORD - WARDEN HOTEL--THE CRISPIN AND CRISPIANUS - - -In Dickens's minor writings there are mentioned many inns, taverns and -coffee-houses, some merely fictitious with fanciful names, others whose -fame has been recorded in the social history of their times. _Sketches by -Boz_ is fairly well supplied in this respect, but none of them is -described at any length; indeed, scarcely anything but the names are -mentioned, and those only in passing. In the second chapter of "Our -Parish," we are introduced to the new curate who became so popular with -the ladies that their enthusiasm for him knew no bounds. It culminated, we -are told, when "he spoke for one hour and twenty-five minutes at an -anti-slavery meeting at the Goat and Boots." A proposal was forthwith set -on foot to make him a presentation, and this, in the shape of a splendid -silver ink-stand engraved with an appropriate inscription, was publicly -handed to him at a special breakfast at the aforementioned Goat and Boots, -"in a neat little speech by Mr. Gubbins, the ex-churchwarden, and -acknowledged by the curate in terms which drew tears into the eyes of all -present--the very waiters melted." - -The Goat and Boots was no doubt a highly respectable hostelry, but its -whereabouts is "wropped in mystery." So is the Blue Lion and Stomach -Warmer, except that we are told that it was at Great Winglebury, and we -know that Great Winglebury was a fictitious name for Rochester. But which -was the inn that received this whimsical name at the hands of the novelist -under whose roof Horace Hunter penned his challenge to that base -umbrella-maker Alexander Trott, we are unable to state. On the other hand, -the Winglebury Arms where Alexander Trott was staying at the time was the -Bull Hotel, Rochester.[3] The Red House, Battersea, casually mentioned in -the chapter on "The River" as the "Red-us," was a popular tavern and -tea-gardens in those days and notorious for its pigeon-shooting; indeed, -tradition has it that it took the lead in the quality and quantity of the -sport, and that the crack shots assembled there to determine important -matches. It was also famous as the winning-post of many a boat race from -Westminster Bridge, and was the place "where all the prime of life lads -assembled," the joy and fun of which is vividly described by Dickens in -the chapter referred to. It was a red-bricked building, and a prominent -landmark of what was then known as Battersea Fields, the one-time scene of -many a duel. - -The Cross Keys mentioned in the chapter on "Omnibuses" we have already -referred to when dealing with _Great Expectations_; whilst for particulars -of the Golden Cross, the busy coaching-inn mentioned in "Hackney Coach -Stands," and in "Early Coaches," we must refer the reader to "The Inns and -Taverns of Pickwick." - -The Freemasons' Tavern in the chapter on "Public Dinners" does not receive -much attention from Dickens. He is describing the public dinner given in -aid of the "Indigent Orphans Friends' Benevolent Institution," and no -reference beyond the use of the name is made to the building itself. The -tavern still stands to-day, and no doubt more glorious in its splendour -than it was on the occasion of the public dinner Dickens refers to. It is -used to-day for similar purposes, the ceremony and atmosphere at which -being little changed from what it was then. It is interesting to note that -in the same building a farewell dinner was given Dickens on the eve of his -departure for America in 1867, with Lord Lytton in the chair. - -The chapter devoted to the story of Miss Evans and the Eagle, recalls the -notorious tavern immortalised in the famous jingle: - - Up and down the City Road, - In and out the Eagle, - That's the way the money goes-- - Pop goes the weasel! - -and the chronicle of Miss Jemima Evans's visit to the highly famed -pleasure-resort will contribute more towards retaining the Eagle on the -recording tablets of history than the contemporary rhymster's poetic -effort. It was in 1825 that the Eagle Tavern turned its saloon into what -was the forerunner of the music hall, and was the making of many a -well-known singer. It was to this gay spot in London that Mr. Samuel -Wilkins took Miss Jemima Evans, with whom he "kept company." They were -joined in the Pancras Road by Miss Ivins's lady friend and her young man. -We do not attempt to identify the Crown where they stayed on the way to -taste some stout, and are content with the knowledge that they reached the -rotunda where the concert was held, and to remind our readers of the -impression it had on Miss J'mima Ivins and Miss J'mima Ivins's friend, who -both exclaimed at once "How 'ev'nly!" when they were fairly inside the -gardens. Dickens's description of the place will convey some idea of its -splendour: - -"There were the walks, beautifully gravelled and planted--and the -refreshment boxes, painted and ornamented like so many snuff-boxes--and -the variegated lamps shedding their rich light upon the company's -heads--and the place for dancing ready chalked for the company's feet--and -a Moorish band playing at one end of the gardens--and an opposition -military band playing away at the other. Then, the waiters were rushing to -and fro with glasses of negus, and glasses of brandy and water, and -bottles of ale, and bottles of stout; and ginger-beer was going off in -one place, and practical jokes were going off in another; and people were -crowding to the door of the Rotunda; and, in short, the whole scene was, -as Miss J'mima Ivins, inspired by the novelty, or the stout, or both, -observed, 'One of dazzling excitement.' As to the concert room, never was -anything half so splendid. There was an orchestra for the singers, all -paint, gilding, and plate-glass; and such an organ!... The audience was -seated on elevated benches round the room, and crowded into every part of -it; and everybody was eating and drinking as comfortably as possible." - -[Illustration: THE EAGLE TAVERN PLEASURE GARDENS - -_From an old Print_] - -What happened to our friends there, and how the trouble over the waistcoat -and whiskers was adjusted, is not our business here. The printed account -must be read elsewhere. But we have quoted what is perhaps one of the best -pictures of this famous resort extant. - -Ultimately, the Rotunda was turned into the Grecian Theatre, and was not -demolished until 1901. By then, of course, the real glory of the Eagle had -departed and succeeding generations of Jemima Evanses and their young men -friends had sought other glittering palaces for their pleasures. - -There are two taverns mentioned in the following paragraph appearing in -the chapter on Mr. John Dounce: - -"There was once a fine collection of old boys to be seen round the -circular table at Offley's every night, between the hours of half-past -eight and half-past eleven. We have lost sight of them for some time. -There were, and may be still for aught we know, two splendid specimens in -full blossom at the Rainbow Tavern in Fleet Street, who always used to sit -in the box nearest the fire-place, and smoked long cherry-stick pipes -which went under the table with the bowls resting on the floor." - -Offley's, long ago demolished, was a noted tavern in its day, and, -according to Timbs, enjoyed great and deserved celebrity, though -short-lived. It was situated at No. 23 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, -and its fame rested on Burton ale and the largest supper-room in the -neighbourhood. It had a certain dignity about it, and eschewed "pictures, -placards, paper-hangings, or vulgar coffee-room finery," in order that its -customers should not be disturbed in their relish of the good things -provided. Of these good things may be mentioned Offley's chop, which was -thick and substantial. The House of Commons chop was small and thin, and -Honourable Members sometimes ate a dozen at a sitting. "Offley's chop was -served with shalots shred and warmed in gravy, and accompanied by nips of -Burton ale, and was a delicious after-theatre supper." There was a large -room upstairs with wines really worth drinking, and withal Offley's -presented a sort of quakerly plainness, but solid comfort. There was -singing by amateurs one day a week, and, to prevent the chorus waking the -dead in their cerements in St. Paul's churchyard opposite, the coffee-room -window was double. - -Upon other evenings, there came to a large round table (a sort of -privileged place) a few well-to-do, substantial tradesmen from the -neighbourhood, and this was the little coterie to which Dickens refers. - -The Rainbow, also mentioned in the quotation above, was the second house -in London to sell coffee and was at one time kept by a Mr. Farr, who was -prosecuted for the nuisance caused by the odious smell in the roasting of -the berry. In later years (about 1780) the tavern was kept by Alexander -Moncrieff, grandfather of the author of "Tom and Jerry," and was known as -the Rainbow Coffee-House. In those days the coffee-room had a lofty -bay-window at the south end, looking into the Temple; the room was -separated from the kitchen only by a glazed partition. In the bay was a -table for the elders, amongst whom doubtless were the "grand old boys" -Dickens speaks of as being always there, puffing and drinking away in -great state. Everybody knew them, and it was supposed by some people that -they were both "immortal." - -In the chapter "Making a Night of It," we learn that Mr. Potter, in his -"rough blue coat with wooden buttons, made upon the fireman's principle, -in which, with the addition of a low-crowned, flower-pot, saucer-shaped -hat," created no inconsiderable sensation at the Albion in Little Russell -Street, and divers other places of public and fashionable resort. - -"Making a Night of It" is no doubt mainly reminiscent of a merry evening -in the business life of Dickens, and possibly the Albion was one of the -favourite resorts of his, and of his co-clerk, Potter. In their day, the -Albion was favoured by the theatrical profession and all those associated -with things theatrical, and also by those young men who hung on the skirts -of actors. - -Dickens used the Albion in the 'fifties. In a letter to W. H. Wills (1851) -there are instructions to order a plain cold supper at Simpson's, the -Albion, by Drury Lane Theatre, for the next play night. "I would merely -have cold joints, lobsters, salad, and plenty of clean ice," he says. -"Perhaps there might be one hot dish, as broiled bones. But I would have -only one, and I would have it cheap." The play referred to was "Not so Bad -as we Seem," which Dickens and his friends were rehearsing for the Guild -of Literature and Art. The supper was to be paid for at so much per head, -"not including wines, spirits or beers, which each gentleman will order -for himself." - -Mr. Percy FitzGerald tells of another evening when Dickens took his -friends to the Albion. It was the occasion of Hollingshead's revival of -"The Miller and his Men," and Dickens was determined to be there. He gave -a little dinner party at "the good old Albion," and all were in great -spirits, seated in one of the "boxes" or eating pews as they might be -called, and then crossed over the Drury Lane Theatre afterwards. - -In the chapter devoted to "Mr. Minns and his Cousin," in giving -instructions as to the best way for Mr. Augustus Minns to get to Mr. -Budden's in Poplar Walk, the latter says, "Now mind the direction; the -coach goes from the Flower Pot in Bishopsgate Street, every half-hour. -When the coach stops at the Swan, you'll see, immediately opposite you, a -White House." - -The Flower Pot was a coaching inn of some distinction in those days, for -not only did the coaches ply between it and the north-east of London, but -the inn was also the starting point of the Norwich coach and others to the -eastern counties. The Swan was at Stamford Hill, and, beyond that it was -the scheduled stopping-place for coaches, to and from London, we can find -no record of its history. - -The innumerable references to inns and taverns in _The Uncommercial -Traveller_ are for the most part purely imaginary. Even when it is clear -that Dickens is describing something he actually saw and experienced, he -has taken the precaution, in this book, to disguise the inn's name and -whereabouts. There are several such in the chapter entitled "Refreshments -for Travellers," a chapter made up of a series of complaints and adverse -criticisms verging on the brink of libel. For instance: - -"Take the old-established Bull's Head with its old-established knife-boxes -on its old-established sideboards, its old-established flue under its -old-established four-post bedsteads in its old-established airless rooms, -its old-established frouziness upstairs and downstairs, its -old-established cookery, and its old-established principles of plunder. -Count up your injuries, in its side-dishes of ailing sweetbreads in white -poultices, of apothecaries' powders in rice for curry, of pale stewed bits -of calf ineffectually relying for an adventitious interest on forcemeat -balls. You have had experience of the old-established Bull's Head stringy -fowls, with lower extremities like wooden legs sticking up out of the -dish; of its cannibalistic boiled mutton, gushing horribly among its -capers, when carved; of its little dishes of pastry--roofs of spermaceti -ointment erected over half an apple or four gooseberries. Well for you if -you have yet forgotten the old-established Bull's Head fruity port; whose -reputation was gained solely by the old-established price the Bull's Head -put upon it, and by the old-established air with which the Bull's Head set -the glasses and d'oyleys on, and held that Liquid Gout to the -three-and-sixpenny wax candle, as if its old-established colour hadn't -come from the dyers." - -Had that inn been properly named at the time, the proprietor's ire would -have been raised, with serious consequences. - -Then there is the chapter on "An Old Stage-Coaching House," whose title -seemed to augur well for our purpose. Yet, although it is interesting as -picturing the decay of coaching and how it resulted on a coaching town, -there is nothing by which we can fix the name of the town, and so identify -the Dolphin's Head there. It had been a great stage-coaching town in the -great stage-coaching times, and the ruthless railways had killed and -buried it. That is all we are told about its whereabouts. - -"The sign of the house was the Dolphin's Head. Why only head I don't know; -for the Dolphin's effigy at full length, and upside down--as a dolphin is -always bound to be when artistically treated, though I suppose he is -sometimes right side upward in his natural condition--graced the -sign-board. The sign-board chafed its rusty hooks outside the bow-window -of my room, and was a shabby work. No visitor could have denied that the -dolphin was dying by inches, but he showed no bright colours. He had once -served another master; there was a newer streak of paint below him, -displaying with inconsistent freshness the legend, By J. MELLOWS. - -"Pursuing my researches in the Dolphin's Head, I found it sorely shrunken. -When J. Mellows came into possession, he had walled off half the bar, -which was now a tobacco shop with its own entrance in the yard--the once -glorious yard where the post-boys, whip in hand and always buttoning -their waistcoats at the last moment, used to come running forth to mount -and away. A 'Scientific Shoeing-Smith and Veterinary Surgeon' had further -encroached upon the yard; and a grimly satirical Jobber, who announced -himself as having to let 'A neat one-horse fly, and a one-horse cart,' had -established his business, himself, and his family, in a part of the -extensive stables. Another part was lopped clean off from the Dolphin's -Head, and now comprised a chapel, a wheelwright's, and a Young Men's -Mutual Improvement and Discussion Society (in a loft); the whole forming a -back lane. No audacious hand had plucked down the vane from the central -cupola of the stables, but it had grown rusty and stuck at Nil: while the -score or two of pigeons that remained true to their ancestral traditions -and the place had collected in a row on the roof-ridge of the only -outhouse retained by the Dolphin, where all the inside pigeons tried to -push the outside pigeon off. This I accepted as emblematical of the -struggle for post and place in railway times." - -There are, however, at least three inns we have been able to trace: the -Blue Boar, London (dealt with in a previous chapter), the Crispin and -Crispianus at Strood, and The Lord Warden Hotel at Dover. The latter is -referred to in the chapter entitled "The Calais Night Mail" as follows: - -"I particularly detest Dover for the self-complacency with which it goes -to bed. It always goes to bed (when I am going to Calais) with a more -brilliant display of lamp and candle than any other town. Mr. and Mrs. -Birmingham, host and hostess of the Lord Warden, are my much esteemed -friends, but they are too conceited about the comforts of that -establishment when the Night Mail is starting. I know it is a good house -to stay at, and I don't want the fact insisted upon in all its warm bright -windows at such an hour. I know The Warden is a stationary edifice that -never rolls or pitches, and I object to its big outline seeming to insist -upon that circumstance, and, as it were, to come over me with it, when I -am reeling on the deck of the boat. Beshrew the Warden likewise for -obstructing that corner, and making the wind so angry as it rushes round. -Shall I not know that it blows quite soon enough without the officious -Warden's interference?" - -The Lord Warden was evidently built on the site of the Ship, as we have -already noted in the chapter devoted to _A Tale of Two Cities_. - -The Crispin and Crispianus at Strood is mentioned in the chapter on -"Tramps." The tramp in question is a clockmaker, who, having repaired a -clock at Cobham Hall, and paid freely for it, says, "We should be at -liberty to go, and should be told by a pointing helper to keep round over -yonder by the blasted oak, and go straight through the woods till we -should see the town lights right before us.... So should we lie that night -at the ancient sign of the Crispin and Crispianus, and rise early next -morning to be betimes on tramp again." - -The Crispin and Crispianus is a very old-fashioned inn still standing just -outside Strood. It is a long building with an overhanging upper floor -built with wood. How long the present house has existed we cannot tell, -but its hanging sign speaks of St. Crispin's Day, 1415, and it is said -that it may probably have had its origin from the Battle of Agincourt -fought on that day. Mr. Harper thinks the sign older than that, and -probably was one of the very many religious inn-signs designed to attract -the custom of thirsty wayfarers to Becket's shrine. - -The brothers Crispin and Crispian were members of a noble family in -ancient Rome, who, professing Christianity, fled to Gaul and supported -themselves by shoemaking in the town of Troyes. They suffered martyrdom -in Soissons in A.D. 287. The sign represents the patron saints of the -shoemaking fraternity, as these holy brothers are designated, at work on -their cobblers' bench, and is understood to have been faithfully copied -from a well-known work preserved to this day at the church of St. -Pantaleon at Troyes. - -[Illustration: THE CRISPIN AND CRISPIANUS - -_Drawn by C. G. Harper_] - -The inn's interior is typical of those to be found in country villages, -with its sanded floor of the parlour, and wooden settles with arms at each -corner. One of these corners is said to have been the favourite seat of -Dickens, for it is known that he sometimes called at the inn as he drew -near the end of one of his long walks, either alone or with friends, for -refreshments. It was an inn, as he said elsewhere, that no thirsty man was -known to pass on a hot summer's day. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -CHRISTMAS STORIES AND MINOR WRITINGS - - THE MITRE INN--THE SALISBURY ARMS--THE PEAL OF BELLS--THE - NUTMEG-GRATER--THE DODO--THE PAVILIONSTONE HOTEL--HEN AND - CHICKENS--THE SWAN - - -In the First Branch of "The Holly Tree," in _Christmas Stories_, there are -many inns far and wide referred to, and reminiscences associated with each -recalled. These reminiscences may be personal to Dickens or merely of an -imaginary nature. The Holly Tree Inn itself is real enough, and has been -identified as the George, Greta Bridge, referred to in our chapter on -_Nicholas Nickleby_. There is no doubt, either, that the inn in the -cathedral town where Dickens went to school was the Mitre Inn at Chatham. -"It was the inn where friends used to put up," he says, "and where we used -to go to see parents, and to have salmon and fowls, and to be tipped. It -had an ecclesiastical sign--the Mitre--and a bar that seemed the next -best thing to a bishopric, it was so snug. I loved the landlord's daughter -to distraction--but let that pass. It was in that inn that I was cried -over by my rosy little sister, because I had acquired a black eye in a -fight. And though she had been, that Holly Tree night, for many a long -year where all tears are dried, the Mitre softened me yet." - -[Illustration: THE MITRE INN, CHATHAM - -_From an engraving_] - -The Mitre Inn and Clarence Hotel still exists at Chatham, very much as it -was in Dickens's childhood days when his family lived in Ordnance -Terrace. It was kept in those days by a Mr. Tribe, who was a friend of -John Dickens, and the two families met there and enjoyed many friendly -evenings when Dickens and his sister, as he has told us, mounted on a -dining-table for a stage, would sing some old sea-songs together. He had a -clear treble voice then, but, recalling these incidents many years -afterward, said, "he must have been a horrible little nuisance to many -unoffending grown-up people who were called upon to admire him." - -The Mitre Inn was described in 1838 as being the Manor House, and the -first posting-house of the town. It is also on record that, at the close -of the eighteenth century, Lord Nelson used to reside there when on duty -at Chatham, and that the room he occupied was known as "Nelson's Cabin" -till recent times. William the Fourth, when Duke of Clarence, used to stay -there, hence the added word of Clarence to the sign. - -The Salisbury Arms at Hatfield where Mr. and Mrs. Lirriper went upon their -wedding-day, "and passed as happy a fortnight as ever happy was," adjoined -the little post-office there, and now exists as a private house. Mr. -Lirriper's youngest brother also had a sneaking regard for the Salisbury -Arms, where he enjoyed himself for the space of a fortnight and left -without paying his bill, an omission Mrs. Lirriper rectified in the -innocent belief that it was fraternal affection which induced her -unprincipled brother-in-law to favour Hatfield with his presence. - -It is believed that Dickens and Phiz stayed the night of October the 27th, -1838, at the Salisbury Arms, when they made their excursion to the West -Country. - -The scene of the first four chapters of "A Message from the Sea," is laid -in "Steepways, North Devon, England," the name Dickens gives to Clovelly, -and the story opens with a faithful and unmistakable description of one of -the most beautiful and quaintest villages in England. To it comes Captain -Jorgan to unravel a sea mystery, but no reference is made to his staying -at the inn there. The task he has set himself, however, eventually takes -him to another adjacent village, which Dickens calls Lanrean. There he -puts up at the King Arthur's Arms, to identify which we must first -identify Lanrean. That Dickens had a certain village near Clovelly in -mind, there is little doubt, for he and Wilkie Collins, who collaborated -in writing the story, went there for the purpose. Their description of -Clovelly being so accurate and meticulous, it is only natural that -Lanrean has a prototype, and, if found, the original of King Arthur's Arms -would be forthcoming. - -The original of the Peal of Bells, the village ale-house, in "Tom -Tiddler's Ground," on the other hand, has been discovered, for Mr. -Traveller seeking Mr. Mopes the Hermit, naturally had to go where Mr. -Mopes the Hermit located himself. This we know to have been near -Stevenage, and F. G. Kitton identified the ale-house as the White Hart -there, where Dickens called on his way to see Lucas, the original of Mr. -Mopes, to enquire of the landlord, old Sam Cooper, the shortest route to -his "ruined hermitage" some five miles distant. - -No particular coffee-houses were, we suspect, intended for the Slamjam -Coffee-House or the Admiral Nelson Civic and General Dining Rooms, -mentioned in "Somebody's Luggage"; nor can we hope to identify the George -and the Gridiron, where the waiters supported nature by what they found in -the plates, "which was, as it happened, and but too often thoughtlessly, -immersed in mustard," or what was found in the glasses, "which rarely went -beyond driblets and lemons." - -No name either is given to the inn in "Mugby Junction" where the traveller -arrived at past three o'clock on a tempestuous morning and found himself -stranded. Having got his two large black portmanteaux on a truck, the -porter trundled them on "through a silent street" and came to a stop. When -the owner had shivered on the pavement half an hour, "what time the -porter's knocks at the inn door knocked up the whole town first, and the -inn last, he groped his way into the close air of a shut-up house, and so -groped between the sheets of a shut-up bed that seemed to have been -expressly refrigerated for him when last made." - -It is known that Mugby stood for Rugby, but that is all. The particular -shut-up inn, if it ever had any original, has not, so far as we are aware, -been discovered. - -In _A Christmas Carol_ we are told that Scrooge "took his melancholy -dinner in his usual melancholy tavern; and having read all the newspapers, -and beguiled the rest of the evening with his banker's book, went home to -bed." - -There were many taverns in the city of London at which Scrooge might have -dined, and it may be that Baker's Chop-House in Change Alley, as has been -suggested, was the one he chose. It is no longer a chop-house, having a -year or so back been taken over by a city business company, and the -building added to their premises. But it had been for a century or more a -noted city chop-house, where, up to the last, meals were served on pewter -plates, and other old-time customs were retained. It was one of those city -houses, of which some still exist happily, where the waiters grow old in -the service of their customers. Baker's had at least one such waiter, -known familiarly as James, who pursued his calling there for thirty-five -years, and became famous by having his portrait painted in oils and hung -in the lower room, where it remained until the end of the career of the -house as a tavern. Perhaps old Scrooge was one of his special customers. - -The Nutmeg-Grater, the inn kept by Benjamin Britain in "The Battle of -Life," has no real prototype, but such an inn as described would entice -any country rambler into its cosy interior. It was "snugly sheltered -behind a great elm tree, with a rare seat for idlers encircling its -capacious bole, addressed a cheerful front towards the traveller, as a -house of entertainment ought, and tempted him with many mute but -significant assurances of a comfortable welcome. The ruddy sign-board -perched up in the tree, with its golden letters winking in the sun, ogled -the passer-by, from among the leaves, like a jolly face, and promised -good cheer. The horse trough, full of clear, fresh water, and the ground -below it sprinkled with droppings of fragrant hay, made every horse that -passed prick up his ears. The crimson curtains of the lower rooms, and the -pure white hangings in the little bedrooms above, beckoned Come in! with -every breath of air. Upon the bright green shutters, there were golden -legends about beer and ale, and neat wines, and good beds, and an -affecting picture of a brown jug frothing over at the top. Upon the -window-sills were flowering plants in bright red pots, which made a lively -show against the white front of the house; and in the darkness of the -doorway there were streaks of light, which glanced off from the surface of -bottles and tankards"---- - -An ideal picture of an inn any traveller would love to encounter and -sample. - -_Reprinted Pieces_ would form a happy hunting-ground for tracking down -inns and public-houses mentioned in its pages if one were so minded. Few -of them would prove to be of any importance if discovered, but the task -would have its excitement and interest. - -Take for instance the chapter devoted to the Detective Police. No doubt -the taverns used by the criminals which the police had to visit were real -houses, as the detectives whom Dickens interviewed were real persons. In -this chapter alone there is the Warwick Arms, through which, and the New -Inn near R., Tally-Ho Thompson the horse stealer was tracked and captured; -the "little public-house" near Smithfield, used by journeymen butchers, -and those concerned in "the extensive robberies of lawns and silks"; and -the Setting Moon in the Commercial Road, where Simpson was arrested in a -room upstairs. - -Then there is the extinct inn, the Dodo, in one of the chiefest towns of -Staffordshire--the pivot of the chapter on "A Plated Article." Which is -the town, and which is the inn referred to, we know not. But Dickens's -description of it is very minute: - -"If the Dodo were only a gregarious bird," he says, "if he had only some -confused idea of making a comfortable nest, I could hope to get through -the hours between this and bedtime, without being consumed by devouring -melancholy. But the Dodo's habits are all wrong. It provides me with a -trackless desert of sitting-room, with a chair for every day in the year, -a table for every month, and a waste of sideboard where a lonely China -vase pines in a corner for its mate long departed, and will never make a -match with the candlestick in the opposite corner if it live till -Doomsday. The Dodo has nothing in the larder. Even now I behold the Boots -returning with my sole in a piece of paper; and, with that portion of my -dinner, the Boots, perceiving me at the blank bow-window, slaps his leg as -he comes across the road, pretending it is something else. The Dodo -excludes the outer air. When I mount up to my bedroom, a smell of -closeness and flue gets lazily up my nose like sleepy snuff. The loose -little bits of carpet writhe under my tread, and take wormy shapes. I -don't know the ridiculous man in the looking-glass, beyond having met him -once or twice in a dish-cover--and I can never shave _him_ to-morrow -morning! The Dodo is narrow-minded as to towels; expects me to wash on a -freemason's apron without the trimming: when I ask for soap, gives me a -stony-hearted something white, with no more lather in it than the Elgin -marbles. The Dodo has seen better days, and possesses interminable stables -at the back--silent, grass-grown, broken-windowed, horseless. This -mournful bird can fry a sole, however, which is much. Can cook a steak, -too, which is more. I wonder where it gets its sherry? If I were to send -my pint of wine to some famous chemist to be analysed, what would it turn -out to be made of? It tastes of pepper, sugar, bitter-almonds, vinegar, -warm knives, any flat drinks, and a little brandy. Would it unman a -Spanish exile by reminding him of his native land at all? I think not. If -there really be any townspeople out of the churchyards, and if a caravan -of them ever do dine, with a bottle of wine per man, in this desert of the -Dodo, it must make good for the doctor next day!" - -If the Dodo is undiscoverable, the same need not be said of the -Pavilionstone Hotel, because we know that Dickens gave that name to the -town of Folkestone, in the chapter entitled "Out of Town." The lion of -Pavilionstone, he tells us, is its great hotel, and one sees at once how -he manufactured the name, for its hotel was, and is to-day, called the -Pavilion. - -"A dozen years ago, going over to Paris by South-Eastern Tidal Steamer," -the narrative goes on, "you used to be dropped upon the platform of the -main line Pavilionstone Station (not a junction then) at eleven o'clock on -a dark winter's night, in a roaring wind; and in the howling wilderness -outside the station was a short omnibus which brought you up by the -forehead the instant you got in at the door; and nobody cared about -you, and you were alone in the world. You bumped over infinite chalk, -until you were turned out at a strange building which had just left off -being a barn without having quite begun to be a house, where nobody -expected your coming, or knew what to do with you when you were come, and -where you were usually blown about, until you happened to be blown against -the cold beef, and finally into bed. At five in the morning you were blown -out of bed, and after a dreary breakfast, with crumpled company, in the -midst of confusion, were hustled on board a steamboat, and lay wretched on -deck until you saw France lingering and surging at you with great -vehemence over the bowsprit." - -[Illustration: THE LORD WARDEN HOTEL, DOVER - -_See page 253_] - -[Illustration: THE PAVILION HOTEL, FOLKESTONE - -_From old Engravings_] - -This was written in 1855, and even by then Dickens had to admit that -things had changed considerably for the better. - -"If you are going out to Great Pavilionstone Hotel, the sprightliest -porters under the sun, whose cheerful looks are a pleasant welcome, -shoulder your luggage, drive it off in vans, bowl it away in trucks, and -enjoy themselves in playing athletic games with it. If you are for public -life at our great Pavilionstone Hotel, you walk into that establishment as -if it were your club; and find ready for you your news-room, dining-room, -smoking-room, billiard-room, music-room, public breakfast, public dinner -twice a day (one plain, one gorgeous), hot baths and cold baths. If you -want to be bored, there are plenty of bores always ready for you, and from -Saturday to Monday in particular you can be bored (if you like it) through -and through. Should you want to be private at our Great Pavilionstone -Hotel, say but the word, look at the list of charges, choose your floor, -name your figure--there you are, established in your castle, by the day, -week, month, or year, innocent of all comers or goers, unless you have my -fancy for walking early in the morning down the groves of boots and shoes, -which so regularly flourish at all the chamber doors before breakfast that -it seems to me as if nobody ever got up or took them in.... - -"A thoroughly good inn, in the days of coaching and posting, was a noble -place. But no such inn would have been equal to the reception of four or -five hundred people, all of them wet through, and half of them dead sick, -every day in the year. This is where we shine, in our Pavilionstone -Hotel...." - -The hotel has, alas, made way for something still more imposing. Its -extensive red-brick building, containing hundreds of rooms, with its -spacious gardens in front, would both astonish and disappoint the novelist -if he saw it to-day, for there is no doubt that he was very fond of its -predecessor, very frequently used it, and found hearty welcome there. - -The hotel is again referred to in the sketch entitled "A Flight" in the -same volume, where, however, he calls it the Royal George Hotel. - -In the volume of _Miscellaneous Papers_ there is one describing a visit to -Birmingham and Wolverhampton, under the heading of "Fire and Snow." At the -latter town Dickens stayed at the Swan, which he says "is a bird of a good -substantial brood, worthy to be a country cousin of the hospitable Hen and -Chickens, whose company we have deserted for only a few hours, and with -whom we shall roost again at Birmingham to-night." - -The Hen and Chickens here referred to was an hotel Dickens knew very well -indeed. Apart from his books, Birmingham is very closely connected with -Dickens himself and the various schemes he embarked upon for the welfare -of others. He visited it on several occasions, either for the purpose of -public reading from his works, to give theatrical performances for -charity, or to appear at some national function associated with the city. -These visits were spread over the whole of his life, the last occasion -being on the 7th of January, 1870, when he presented the prizes to the -students of the Birmingham and Midland Institute. - -During his stay in the city, Dickens usually put up at the Old Royal Hotel -in Temple Row, or at the Hen and Chickens in New Street, and it may be -assumed that he knew both hotels well. Only the former, however, is made -the scene of an incident in his novels, and that is, when it is introduced -into _The Pickwick Papers_.[4] He visited Birmingham some dozen times from -1840 to 1870, and on most of the early occasions it is believed that he -stayed at the Old Royal Hotel. But during his later visits he made the Hen -and Chickens Hotel his headquarters. He was there in Christmas week, 1853, -for the series of readings from his books, and before he left the city he -and his friends were entertained at breakfast at the hotel, and a -presentation was made to Mrs. Dickens. - -He was a guest there again in 1861, and on the occasion wrote his -autograph in the album of the proprietress, dated "Last day of the year -1861." - -For some reason he does not describe the hotel in the same manner as he -does the Swan at Wolverhampton. The latter, he tells us, "has bountiful -coal-country notions of firing, snug homely rooms; cheerful windows -looking down upon the clusters of snowy umbrellas in the market-place.... -Neat, bright-eyed waitresses do the honours of the Swan. The Swan is -confident about its soup, is troubled with no distrust concerning codfish, -speaks the word of promise in relation to an enormous chine of roast -beef.... The Swan is rich in slippers--in those good old flip-flap -inn-slippers which nobody can keep on, which knock double knocks on each -stair as their wearer comes downstairs, and fly away over the banisters -before they have brought him to level ground." - -There are many other hotels and taverns mentioned in this collection of -_Miscellaneous Papers_, but usually only by name, the mere list of which -would serve no purpose. - -Those already touched upon or dealt with at length in the course of the -present volume practically exhaust the subject, from which it will be seen -how overwhelmingly attracted Dickens was to every kind of house of -refreshment and in every thing relating thereto. The works of no other -author of genius provide so much material for such a purpose, and no other -writer has treated the subject with so much healthy realism, so much -refreshing good nature and humour, or with such expressions of genuine -joy. - - - - -INDEX - - - A'Becket, Thomas, 154 - - Admiral Nelson, 262 - - Albion, Drury Lane, 247 - - Alderbury, 110 - - Allbut, 170, 179 - - Allonby, 228 - - Amesbury, 109 - - Angel, Doncaster, 237 - - -- Grantham, 53 - - -- Islington, 25, 49 - - Anglers' Inn, 214 - - Ashley, James, 174 - - - Baker's Chop-House, 263 - - Baldfaced Stag, 116 - - _Barnaby Rudge_, 72 - - Barnard Castle, 59 - - Barnet, 22, 131 - - Battersea Fields, 241 - - _Battle of Life_, 264 - - Bawtry, 55 - - Beak Street, 67 - - Bedford Hotel, Brighton, 132 - - Besant, Sir Walter, 165 - - Bevis Marks, 101 - - Birmingham, 37, 271 - - Bishopsgate Street, 67 - - Black Badger, 141 - - Black Bull, Holborn, 121 - - Blackheath, 149, 205 - - Black Lion, Whitechapel, 86, 95 - - _Bleak House_, 169-172 - - Blue Boar, Whitechapel, 150 - - -- Rochester, 188 - - Blue Dragon, 105-112 - - Blue-eyed Maid Coach, 172, 184 - - Blue Lion and Stomach Warmer, 240 - - Blunderstone, 144 - - Bond Street, 66, 142 - - Borough Bridge, 55 - - Boot, 90-94 - - Bottom Inn, near Petersfield, 65 - - Bowes, 62 - - Brentford, 29, 212 - - Brighton, 132 - - -- Tipper, 125 - - Buck Inn, Yarmouth, 147 - - Bull, Rochester, 241 - - Bull and Gate, Holborn, 130 - - Bull's Head, 249 - - Bunch of Grapes, 192 - - Bunyan, John, 36 - - Byron, 142, 180 - - - Camberwell, 189 - - Cannon Row, 151 - - Canterbury, 152 - - -- Farmers' Club, 155 - - Carlisle, 62, 228 - - Carrock Fell, 228 - - Cattermole, George, 78, 94 - - Chalk, 182 - - Charles V of Germany, 34 - - Chertsey, 30, 213 - - Cheshire Cheese, 180 - - Chesney Wold, 169, 171 - - Chichester Rents, 169 - - Chigwell, 72 - - -- Row, 73 - - _Christmas Carol_, 263 - - Christmas Stories, 255-264 - - Claridge's Brook Street, 66 - - _Clarissa Harlowe_, 164 - - Cleave, Thomas, 93 - - Clifford Street, 142 - - Clovelly, 261 - - Coach and Horses, Isleworth, 28 - - -- Petersfield, 65 - - -- Strood, 227 - - Coaching, Romance of, 16 - - Coketown, 175 - - Collins, Wilkie, 19, 227, 261 - - Compter, The, 40 - - _Compter's Commonwealth, The_, 35 - - Cooling, 182 - - Coventry, 37 - - Crispin and Crispianus, 252 - - Cromer, 81, 93 - - Cromwell, Oliver, 115 - - Crooked Billet, Tower St., 96 - - Cross Keys, Wood St., 184, 241 - - Crown, Golden Square, 67 - - Crozier, 227 - - - _David Copperfield_, 102, 144-168 - - Dedlock Arms, 169 - - Defoe, 97 - - Denmark Hill, 189 - - Denton, 188 - - Devil's Punch Bowl, 63 - - Dickens, Charles, Lodge, 88 - - -- and Inns, 15 - - _Dickensian_, 28 - - _Doctor Marigold's Prescriptions_, 233 - - Dodo, 266 - - Dolby, George, 154 - - Dolphin's Head, 251 - - _Dombey and Son_, 132-142 - - Doncaster, 55, 237 - - Dotheboys Hall, 32-38 - - Dover, 178, 252 - - Duke's Head, Yarmouth, 148 - - Du Maurier, 164 - - - Eagle, 242 - - Eaton Socon, 52 - - Edward I, 154 - - _Edwin Drood_, 217-227 - - Eight Bells, Hatfield, 29, 31 - - Eton Slocombe, 52 - - Euston Road, 93 - - Exchequer Coffee-House, 216 - - Exeter, 116 - - - Feathers, Gorleston, 149 - - Fellowship-Porters, 202 - - Fennor, Wm., 34 - - Fielding, Henry, 130 - - Field Lane, 25 - - FitzGerald, Percy, 30, 248 - - Fleet Prison, 174 - - Flower Pot, 248 - - Folkestone, 208 - - -- Royal George, 271 - - Fountain Hotel, Canterbury, 152 - - Ford, Harry, 94 - - Forster, John, 23, 73, 162, 182, 210 - - Foundling Hospital, 90 - - Fox under the Hill, Adelphi, 152 - - -- Denmark Hill, 189 - - Freemasons' Tavern, 241 - - Furnival's Inn, 217, 225 - - - Garraway's, 175 - - Garrick 97 - - General Theatrical Fund, 70 - - George, Amesbury, 109 - - -- Grantham, 53 - - George and Gridiron, 262 - - George Hotel, Salisbury, 114 - - George Inn, Borough, 175 - - -- Market Town, 30 - - George and New Inn, Greta Bridge, 55 - - George Inn, Greta Bridge, 57, 258 - - Goat and Boots, 240 - - Godalming, 62 - - Godwin, Earl, 154 - - Golden Cross, 241 - - Grantham, 53 - - Grapes Inn, 191-201 - - Gravel Inn, Petersfield, 66 - - Gray's Inn Coffee-house, 102, 167 - - Gray's Inn Road, 93 - - _Great Expectations_, 182-190, 241 - - Great Fire of London, 36, 203 - - Great North Road, 23, 26 - - Great Winglebury, 240 - - Grecian Theatre, 244 - - Green Dragon, Alderbury, 110 - - Green Man, Leytonstone, 95 - - Greenwich, 203 - - Gresham Street, 116 - - Greta Bridge, 38, 55-60 - - - Hales, Prof., 165 - - Half Moon and Seven Stars, 108 - - Hampstead, 161 - - Hampton, 28, 213 - - _Hard Times_, 175-177 - - Harper, C. G., 14, 65, 216, 254 - - Hatfield, 29, 30 - - _Haunted Man_, 134 - - Hen and Chickens, Birmingham, 271 - - Henley, 214 - - Henley-in-Arden, 216 - - Henry VIII, 76 - - Herne Bay, 156 - - Hesket Newmarket, 228 - - Highbury, 164 - - Hindhead, 63 - - Holborn, 122 - - _The Holly Tree_, 20, 50, 258 - - Holly Tree Inn, 58, 258 - - Hoo, 182 - - Holyhead Road, 26 - - Horn Tavern, 175 - - Horseshoe and Castle, Cooling, 182 - - Hounslow, 28 - - _Household Words_, 69, 230 - - Hummum's, Covent Garden, 185 - - Hungerford Stairs, 150, 167 - - - Inns and Railways, 15 - - -- -- Motor Cars, 15, 19 - - -- -- Coaching, 15 - - -- Dr. Johnson on, 16 - - Inn on the Portsmouth Road, 63 - - Irving, Washington, 164 - - Isleworth, 28 - - Islington, 25, 49 - - - Jack Straw's Castle, 161 - - James Street, 67 - - Jerusalem Coffee-House, 175 - - Johnson, Dr., 16, 97, 180 - - Jolly Sandboys Inn, 104 - - Jupp, R. B., 68 - - - Kemble, 161 - - Kenilworth, 135, 140 - - Kent, Duchess of, 120 - - King Arthur's Arms, 261 - - King James, 119 - - King's Arms, Amesbury, 108 - - -- Ball's Pond, 142 - - -- Lancaster, 229-235 - - -- Wigton, 236 - - King's Head, Barnard Castle, 59-61 - - -- Hotel, Dover, 179 - - -- Chigwell, 73 - - Kingsgate Street, 122 - - Kingston, 213 - - Kitton, 262 - - Knightsbridge, 28 - - - Lad Lane, 116 - - Lamb Conduit Fields, 93 - - -- -- Street, 93 - - Lancaster, 228 - - Lanfranc, Archbishop, 154 - - Laurens, Henry, 120 - - _Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices_, 227-238 - - Leech, John, 144, 174 - - Leamington, 134 - - Leighton, Lord, 164 - - Lemon, Mark, 144 - - Limehouse, 192 - - _Little Dorrit_, 66, 172-175, 185 - - Little Helephant, 141 - - Little Inn, Canterbury, 155 - - -- Saffron Hill, 26 - - -- Tower Hill, 96 - - London Coffee House, 172 - - _London Lyckpenny, The_, 33 - - London Tavern, Bishopsgate, 67-70 - - Long's Hotel, Bond Street, 141 - - Lord Warden, Dover, 179, 252 - - Lound, 147 - - Lowestoft, 144 - - Ludgate Hill, 172 - - Lydgate, John, 32 - - _Lying Awake_, 70 - - - Maclise, Daniel, 162, 210 - - Malt Shovel, 177 - - Manchester, 175 - - Margaret of France, 154 - - _Martin Chuzzlewit_, 105-131 - - Maryport, 228 - - _Master Humphrey's Clock_, 61 - - Maypole, Chigwell, 72-88 - - _Message from the Sea_, 261 - - Mitre Inn, Chatham, 258 - - Mivart's, Brook Street, 66, 175 - - _Morning Chronicle_, 217 - - Mountain, Mrs. S. A., 37 - - _Mrs. Lirriper's Lodgings_, 31 - - _Mugby Junction_, 262 - - - Nelson, Lord, 36, 260 - - Newark, 54 - - Newgate, 33, 40 - - New Inn, near R, 266 - - _Nicholas Nickleby_, 32-71, 185, 258 - - North Road Cycling Club, 53 - - Nutmeg Grater, 264 - - - Offleys, 245 - - Old Bailey, 174, 180 - - _Old Curiosity Shop_, 97, 162, 168 - - Old Royal, Birmingham, 272 - - _Oliver Twist_, 22-31 - - Orleans, Duke of, 120 - - _Our Mutual Friend_, 46, 191-216 - - - Park Lane, 66 - - Parliament Street, 151 - - Parr, J. S., 28 - - Pavilion, Folkestone, 19, 268 - - Pavilion Hotel, 268 - - Peacock, Islington, 49-52 - - Peal of Bells, 262 - - Peasants' Revolt, 164 - - Pegasus' Arms, 176 - - Pepys, Samuel, 35, 115 - - Petersfield, 63 - - Peto, Sir Morton, 144 - - Phiz, 54, 56, 59, 62, 135, 219, 261 - - Piazza Hotel, Covent Garden, 160 - - _Pickwick Papers_, 71 - - _Plated Article_, 266 - - Plough, Blunderstone, 146 - - Plymouth, 119 - - Portsmouth, 62, 63 - - Preston, 175 - - Princess's Arms, 134 - - Public House, near Grantham, 54 - - _Punch_, 174 - - - Queen Elizabeth, 76 - - Queen's Head, Hesket New-Market, 235 - - -- Islington, 25 - - Quilp's favourite tavern, 98 - - - Rainbow, 245 - - Raleigh, Sir Walter, 119 - - Reading, 169 - - Red House, Battersea, 241 - - Red Lion, Barnet, 22, 169 - - -- Bevis Marks, 99 - - -- Hampton, 213 - - -- Henley, 214 - - -- Parliament Street, 151 - - Regent Hotel, Leamington, 135 - - _Reprinted Pieces_, 265 - - Retford, 55 - - Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 97 - - Richard Coeur-de-Lion, 33 - - Richard II, 164 - - _River Rhymer_, 201 - - Rockingham, 171 - - Roman Bath, Strand Lane, 161 - - Royal George Hotel, Dover, 179 - - Royal Hotel, Leamington, 134 - - -- Lowestoft, 145 - - Rugby, 51, 263 - - Russell Street, 97 - - - St. Albans, 24, 31, 37, 164 - - St. Pancras' Church, 94 - - St. Sepulchre's Church, 32, 40, 41 - - Salem House, Blackheath, 149 - - Salisbury, 109, 112-120 - - Salisbury Arms, Hatfield, 260 - - Saracen's Head, Snow Hill, 32-48 - - Scott, 142 - - Setting Moon, 266 - - Shakespeare, 115, 212 - - Shaw, Wm., 62 - - Sheridan, 161 - - _She Stoops to Conquer_, 212 - - Ship, Allonby, 236 - - -- Chichester Rents, 169 - - -- Dover, 179, 253 - - -- Gravesend, 187 - - -- Greenwich, 203 - - Shorter Street, 81, 96 - - Silver Street, 67 - - Six Jolly Fellowship-Porters, 191-201 - - _Sketches by Boz_, 186, 239-249 - - Slamjam Coffee House, 262 - - Smithfield, 40, 43 - - Smithson, Charles, 59 - - Snow Hill, 32, 38, 39 - - Sol's Arms, 169 - - _Somebody's Luggage_, 262 - - Somerleyton, 144 - - Speedy, Peter, 93 - - Spitalfields, 28 - - Staines, 213 - - Stamford, 53 - - Stanfield, Clarkson, 162, 210 - - Staple Inn, 220 - - Star Hotel, Yarmouth, 148 - - Sterry, J. Ashby, 201, 206, 216 - - Stevenage, 262 - - Stilton, 53 - - Stow, 129 - - Stratford-on-Avon, 135 - - Strood, 254 - - Stukeley, Sir Lewis, 119 - - Sun Inn, Canterbury, 156 - - Swan, Hungerford Stairs, 167 - - -- Stamford Hill, 248 - - -- Wolverhampton, 271 - - Swan with Two Necks, 116 - - Swift, Dean, 36 - - - _Tale of Two Cities_, 178-182 - - Tally Ho! Coach, 37, 51 - - Thackeray, W. M., 164, 180, 210 - - Thames, 81, 95 - - Three Cripples, 19, 26 - - Three Jolly Bachelors, 141 - - Three Jolly Bargemen, 182 - - Three Magpies, Brentford, 212 - - Three Pigeons, Brentford, 212 - - Tilted Wagon, Strood, 226 - - _Tom Brown's Schooldays_, 51 - - Tom's Coffee House, Covent Garden, 97 - - _Tom Jones_, 130 - - _Tom Tiddler's Ground_, 262 - - Tower Street, 96 - - Trafalgar, Greenwich, 209 - - Traveller's Twopenny, 227 - - Tyrrell, T. W., 65 - - - _Uncommercial Traveller_, 40, 184, 249-257 - - Unicorn, Bowes, 62 - - Upper James Street, 67 - - - Valiant Soldier, 104 - - Victoria, Princess, 120 - - Village Maid, Lound, 147 - - - Walton, 213 - - Walworth, 189 - - Ward, H. Snowden, 110, 114 - - Warwick, 135, 140 - - Warwick Arms, 266 - - Watson, Hon. R. and Mrs., 171 - - White Duck, 227 - - White Hart, Salisbury, 118 - - -- Stevenage, 262 - - White Horse, Eaton Socon, 52 - - White Horse Cellar, 169 - - White Lion, Hampton, 214 - - White Swan, Hungerford Stairs, 150 - - Wigton, 228 - - Willing Mind, 147 - - Winglebury Arms, 240 - - Wolverhampton, 271 - - Wood's Hotel, 217-225 - - - Yarmouth, 144 - - York, 62 - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] See _The Inns and Taverns of Pickwick_. - -[2] Camberwell Green. - -[3] See _The Inns and Taverns of Pickwick_. - -[4] See _The Inns and Taverns of Pickwick_. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DICKENSIAN INNS & TAVERNS*** - - -******* This file should be named 42908-8.txt or 42908-8.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/2/9/0/42908 - - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project -Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you -charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you -do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the -rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose -such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and -research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do -practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is -subject to the trademark license, especially commercial -redistribution. - - - -*** START: FULL LICENSE *** - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project -Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at - www.gutenberg.org/license. - - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy -all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. -If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the -terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or -entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement -and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" -or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the -collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an -individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are -located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from -copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative -works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg -are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project -Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by -freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of -this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with -the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by -keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project -Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in -a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check -the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement -before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or -creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project -Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning -the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United -States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate -access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently -whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, -copied or distributed: - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived -from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is -posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied -and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees -or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work -with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the -work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 -through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the -Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or -1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional -terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked -to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the -permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any -word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or -distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than -"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version -posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), -you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a -copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon -request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other -form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided -that - -- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is - owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he - has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the - Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments - must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you - prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax - returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and - sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the - address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to - the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." - -- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or - destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium - and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of - Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any - money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days - of receipt of the work. - -- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set -forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from -both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael -Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the -Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm -collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain -"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or -corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual -property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a -computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by -your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with -your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with -the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a -refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity -providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to -receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy -is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further -opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER -WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO -WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. -If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the -law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be -interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by -the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any -provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance -with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, -promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, -harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, -that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do -or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm -work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any -Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. - - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers -including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists -because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from -people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. -To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 -and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive -Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent -permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. -Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered -throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 -North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email -contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the -Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To -SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any -particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. -To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |