DICKENS' ORIGINALS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 237, 6 October 1928, Page 1 (Supplement)

DICKENS' ORIGINALS.

[TRACING FAMOUS CHARACTERS HEAL UFB ITEIEELY 3>BAWN ; ;■ ■' TOON. ; ;..,.' .- : ■ . SURMISES AND FACTS. (Bjr CHAKLES "WILSOIf.) ( —— '— The Dickens controversy in England SvM no doubt revive old theories and contentions concerning the originals, real or supposed, of many of the characters in ■the novel. I lave long known.a pamphlet on the origin of Sam Weller, alleging that the' novelist made use of the popularity of one Samuel Vale, a comedian of the time,- -who, in the character of Simon Splallerdash in a farce-called "The Boarding House," fired off a lot-of , quaint .sayings, real Wellerisms, some quite as good as Dickens' own. ' Thus his "Come on,, as the man said to the tight boot." : '. . >■"■ "I am. all of a perspiration as the snutton chop said to the gridiron." j "I am down on you, as the extinguisher said to the'rushlight." ' That was in 1822, arid 15' years later came the eame v style of joke in'Tiek--wick." But long before that Andrew 3?airservice had got off the same kind of thing in Scott's "Rob Roy,'? when he said: "Chver mony maisters--as the paddock said to' the harrow when every tooth gave her a tig." Othep Piclavickians.—Sergeant Buzivs, it is well known, was modelled upon s a real personage, Sergeant Bompas, and Justice Stajleigh, also of the BardellKckwiek'case, was, in real- life, Mr. Justice Gazelee. Pe'rker,' that good legal friend of old Mr. Wardle, is said to have been drawn from Ellis, of Ellis and Blackmore, for whom Dickens, was a,law clerk. The ; dissipated Lowter was a fellowlaw clerk.. ■- ' "'■'■.

-;Toramy Twaddles in "David Copper-! field," known to.lave been in somb- respect, Dickens' friend.'Judg Talfourd, who, as boy,' Sad been at school;.with him. Talfourd was a playwright and. his classical drama'-"Ion" was-at one. time a popular play, i '■: Leigh Hunt .as Skimpole. -411 great novelists have, been more'or 1 less guilty of introducing real person; ages into their stories; and Dickens not infrequently sinned in this way. There is nd/question that he did' so in 'the cases of Leigh , Hunt, who . figures in "Bleak House" as Harold Skimpole, and Uandor,.who, in the same- novel was "satirised as Lawrence Boythorn. In the case of Hunt there is ho question that le" was. in real life almost totally, destitute, of what/many people may be pardoned for considering a proper' regard for financial ■ obligations. Sirs. Carlyle las tokl how, when living near the ITunts af Chelsea, she always k'ept a guinea in a box handy, for a response to. Hunt's borrowing propensities'. There ; can be no doubt, also,' that Hunt, trespassed sadly-on the- generosity of both Byron and Shelley. But all this did - not justify Dickens in poking, rather cruel satire.at one. who, with all;his faults, , yras one of the best-hearted and wellmeaning of. men. Later in life Dickens ■svfpte to Hunt .'disavowing any intention of hurting his feelings. The fact is that Skimpple is a composite, Jitter.- "Where Dickens, erred- was that ihe allowed the Huntian characteristics -—or -some of thein-j-to come too prominently to the'.front , . He had done the same thing with his own father, with' ■ whose curious indifference to the ordinary every, day rules'as to monetary Micawber had much in with ■ Skimpole, and his own mother he had' caricatured >as Mrs. NickJeby, that : good woman being so Wind to her own vagaries that she is credited with haying declared that she "could ..not understand' where on,earth Charles could have found 'such a character." ■■ ■ ■'■■■■• •■'.■ . ;■' ■ " -/,

...','■•• '."•' Pecksniff.. ... ■ - Percy Ktzgeraid and other -well-in-formed people who have 1 , written on *, Dickens have identified Mr. Pecksniff in "Martin Chuzzjewit" with Samuel Car- ' ter Hall, although there have been those who have contended that ' Sir Robert Peel, and even Lord Brougham, contributed some small details to what may have been a'composite'portrait. Curiously enough, I have; a slight;": very slight; remembrance of Mr. and ' Mrs .'{ Hall, who, in my very 'early 'teens, once ,'rented some rooms at an old lady's house and used, to visit in my native town, a Yorkshire watering place, Harrogate. .Even at this great distance-'of time I can remember the stately appearance of both, the gentleman , , wearing .' a "high . black "stock" which belonged to an even iearlier period. The Halls must have been very prolific authors, for I see one com- - mentator has-credited them with , writing i or editing: some .300 volumes, many of them of. the "drawing room table" type, >with those steel engravings which in my youth had such a vogue. -Hall did fairly well in. life, receiving a £1000 testimonial when-he retired from the "Art Journal," and a, civil list pension of £150 : a year. When he went on. a lecturing tour 'to the States ; he, was hailed .by some papers "a's "the ; of Pecksniff." . says ■ he. had all the "oily -.inanner of Pecksniff," his frequent deliverance of highly nioral sentiments. , Mr. Pugh says: "To say that there was never such a man as Pecksniff is. no doubt, true enough; yet'it is equally true that- there' (are thousands of men ]ik'e.hiin." ■ . ' ■ . > . •' : - . • The law's Delay. Eeeently I happened across an article . -which Sir Edward- , Clarke, K.C., con-tributed-to the "Cornhill Magazine" (in May, 1914) ..under' the heading/"Charles Diektos and the Law." : ; , x '■'-■ " In,this article, amongst much other . .curions information, Clarke tells us that Dickens practised as a "shorthand ■writer to the proctors" at 5, Bell Yard, Doctors Commons, and sometimes-' did work in the Court of Chancery. Those who, says Clarke, "may imagine that the descriptions of procedure in the case of Jarndyce v. Jarndyce in "Bleak Hpuse' savour of gross exaggeratiop or caricature are mistaken." "There is," he says,, "an admirable essay written, by jj great Judge—-Lord Bowen—'The Administration of the 1837 to ISS7,' which.is buried"m a little known book by Mr. Humphrey Ward on the reign of Queen Victoria, published'■ by Smith, Elder and'Cp'., in*the Jubilee-Year.-As showing,that Dickens did not exaggerate the law's'delays in the Court of Chancery, Sir- Edward tella, us, that 'in January, 1839; there were no fewer than 5G6 cases" awaiting . trial before ' the Chancellor or Vice-Chancellor, and those few ready to be next taken had been ripe •nd ready for trial for three years." No •wonder poor .young Richard Jarndyce grew weary of the law's delays in his .;.' case and that the wretched Miss Flite .- jee imuT. ■■■'■ ■/' .''---■•■'■'■-•'■ •'■ *'•;"* '•-■■■■[-.'• : \