The Life of Charles Dickens Volume N . 2 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1907 Excerpt: ... the audience possessed of a better know'ledge of character than any I have seen. But I recollect 'Doctor Belcombe to have told me long ago that they first found 'out Charles Mathews's father, and to the last understood him '(he used to say) better than any other people.... The let is 'enormous for next Saturday at Manchester, stalls alone four 'hundred I shall soon be able to send you the list of places 'to the 15th of November, the end. I shall be, O most heartily 'glad, when that time comes But I must say that the intelli'gence and warmth of the audiences are an immense sustainment, 'and one that always sets me up. Sometimes before I go down 'to read (especially when it is in the day), I am so oppressed by having to do it that I feel perfectly unequal to the task. But 'the people lift me out of this directly; and I find that I have 'quite forgotten everything but them and the book, in a quarter 'of an hour.' The reception that awaited him at Manchester had very special warmth in it, occasioned by an adverse tone taken in the comment of one of the Manchester daily papers on the letter which by a breach of confidence had been then recently printed. 'My 'violated letter' Dickens always called it ante, 255). 'When I 'came to Manchester on Saturday I found seven hundred stalls 'taken When I went into the room at night 2500 people had paid, and more were being turned away from every door. The welcome they gave me was astounding in its affectionate recog'nition of the late trouble, and fairly for once unmanned me. 'I never saw such a sight or heard such a sound. When they Man 0 CHESTER: 'had thoroughly done it, they settled down to enjoy themselves; 1858. 'and certainly did enjoy themselves most heartily to the last 'minute.' Nor, for the rest of his English...