DICKENS AND THE QUEEN".

Tuapeka Times, Volume XX, Issue 1429, 15 February 1888, Page 5

DICKENS AND THE QUEEN".

Next to ScoH and George Elliott, Dickens was the Queen's favourite novelist. Ib had been her desirß in the early days of' her married life to make his acquaintan.ee personally, but tbe tough of false pride which marred Dickens' character, and rendered him morbidly sensitive as to " patronage," prevented their meeting. In 1857 bhe Queen had been compelled to refuse her name for the dramatic performance of the "Frozen Deep," given for the benefit of Douglas Jerrold, but she offered to allow Dickens and his company of players to select a room in the palace, and perform the play there before her and the Court. Dickens begged leave to decline the honour, as he could nob feel easy about the position of his daughters at a Court under such circumstances. He suggested thab the Queen might come to the Gallery of Illustration a week before the subscrip. tion, with her own friends, and witness a private performance of the play. " This," writes Dickens, " wibh the good sense that seems to acepmpany her good nature on all occasions, she resolved within a few hours to do," So delighted was the Queen with the performance that she senb round a kind message to Dickens, asking him to come and see her, and receive her thanks personally.

" I replied," says Dickens in his account of the affair, " that I waa in my farce dress, and must beg to be excused. Whereupon she sent again, saying that tbe dress • would not be as ridiculous as that,' and repeated the request. 1 sent my duty in reply, but again hoped Her Majesty would have the kindness to excuse my presenting myself in a coslumo and appearance that were nob ray own. I was mightily glad to think, when I awoke this morning, that I had carried tho point." This incident occurred in 1857. In 1858 the Queen made another attempt to bring the great novelist to Court. " I was pub into a state of much perplexity on Sunday " (30th March, 1858), writes Dickens. " I don't know who had spoken to my informant, but it seems that the Queen is bent upon hearing the • Carol ' read, and has expressed her desire to bring it about wibhoub offence, and hesitating about the manner of it, in consequence of my having begged to be excused from going to her when she sent for me after the ' Frozen Deep.' I parried the thing as well as I could, but being asked to be prepared with a considerate and obliging answer, as ib was known the request would be preferred, I said, ' Well, I supposed Colonel Phipps would speak to me about it, and if ib were he who did so, I should assure him of my desire to mccc any wish of Her Majesty, and should express my hope that she would indulge rae by making one of some audience or other, for I thought an audience necessary to the effect.' Thus it stands, bub it bothers rae." This difficulty could not be got over, though the Queen, by buyiug a copy of the " Carol," embellished with the author's autograph, at the sale of Thackeray's library, testified to her interest in the two great humorists of the Victorian age. Indeed, ib was nob till 1870, shortly before Dickens' death, that the great novelist meb the Queen. He had brought from his American tour a great raauy large photographs of the battlefields of the Civil War. Having taken a deep interesb in that sbrnggle, and having followed its de bails closely, Her Majesty, who heard of the photographs through Mr Arthur Helps (Clerk of the Privy Council), expressed a desire bo see them. Dickens, on hearing of this from Mr Helps, ab once senb the photographs to Buckingham Palace, and then received a message from bhe Queen inviting him to see her, that she might thank him in person. — From " The Life and Times of Queen Victoria."