A DICKENS MEMORY.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 2661, 26 May 1908, Page 7

A DICKENS MEMORY.

This is part of a dialogue, which appears in the current "Cornhill," between Frith, the artist and his son. Filius—Dickens was very fond of Edwin Landseer, wasn't he ? Pater—Very ; always used to call him Lanny. You remember my portrait of Dickens in the Forster collection ? Filius-spf course. it When. Dickens was clean slaved, and then suddenly for some unknown reason he begto to.grow'a moustache, I tdld Forltef, 'arid asked what I was to do % ~ it^ - ' just, a-, fancy of his," Forster' aaid. "He'li have it off; it's merely a fawy. We'll wait." However, Dickens not only stuck to his moustache but began growing a beard as well, and as Forster didn't want to wait any longer and there was 110 sign of a shave, I began painting him, beard and all. Filius—That would be about 'SB ? Pater—Just; a'baut. B knotv ho was writing "A Tale of Two Cities." I saw the manuscript on his desk, beginning, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Some mornings he scarrely wrote more than half a dozen lines ; f walking, about the room and making tjhe most dreadful faces. (Looking puzzled) Let me see ; what was it I was going to tell you ? Filius—Something about Dickens and Landseer ? , •••' \Vi': \f \ Pater—Oh, yes ! Well, one day when Dickens was sitting the servant came up to tell me Sir Edwin Landseer was below. Dickens said, Let's have him up ; he hasn't seen my beard and 'moustache yet."-. Charles Landseer and Edwin had been abroad for some time together in Italy, and they hadn't all met for months. Edwin came up and took no notice of the beard, dndatlast Dickens said, "Well, Lanity, what' about all this'J* Do you like it ? Think it's an improvement ?" "Oh, a great imimprovement," Landseer said, quite gravely. "It hides so much more of your face." Dickens. wasn't the least offended ; he'd let Lanny say anything. Filius—Dickens seems to have been singularly free from the deficiencies usually attributed to the literary character. I mean in the way of envy and hatred of contemporaries, self-advertisement, desire to talk of himself and his own performances, and so on. J • J.v- - Pater—From his talk you'd never have known he'd ever written a line. I remember once saying to him, quite innocently, of someone or other, "Oh, he's a sort of Mrs. Harris." He didn't appear to notice it ; never moved a muscle.