minous
eyes, his thick shock of wiry grey hair, and a little cape of faded
black silk over his shoulders, he looked like an old French abbe. He was
buoyant and pleasant as ever; and was busy upon a vindication of Chaucer
and Spenser from Cardinal Wiseman, who had attacked them for alleged
sensuous and voluptuous qualities.

[166] In a paper in _All the Year Round_.

[167] "O! Here's the boy, gentlemen! Here he is, very muddy, very
hoarse, very ragged. Now, boy!--But stop a minute. Caution. This boy
must be put through a few preliminary paces. Name, Jo. Nothing else that
he knows on. Don't know that everybody has two names. Never heerd of
sich a think. Don't know that Jo is short for a longer name. Thinks it
long enough for _him. He_ don't find no fault with it. Spell it? No.
_He_ can't spell it. No father, no mother, no friends. Never been to
school. What's home? Knows a broom's a broom, and knows it's wicked to
tell a lie. Don't recollect who told him about the broom, or about the
lie, but knows both. Can't exactly say what'll be done to him arter he's
dead if he tells a lie to the gentleman here, but believes it'll be
something wery bad to punish him, and serve him right--and so he'll tell
the truth. 'This won't do, gentlemen,' says the coroner, with a
melancholy shake of the head. . . . '_Can't exactly say_ won't do, you
know. . . . It's terrible depravity. Put the boy aside.' Boy put aside; to
the great edification of the audience;--especially of Little Swills, the
Comic Vocalist."

[168] By W. Challinor Esq. of Leek in Staffordshire, by whom it has been
obligingly sent to me, with a copy of Dickens's letter acknowledging the
receipt of it from the author on the 11th of March 1852. On the first of
that month the first number of _Bleak House_ had appeared, but two
numbers of it were then already written.

CHAPTER II.

HOME INCIDENTS AND HARD TIMES.

1853-1854-1855.

_Bleak House_ Sale--Proposed
Titles--Restless--Tavistock House--Last Child
born--Death of Friends--Liking for
Boulogne--Banquet at
Birmingham--Self-changes--Overdoing
it--Projected Trip to Italy--First Public
Readings--Argument against Paid
Readings--Children's Theatricals--Small
Actors--Henry Fielding Dickens--Dickens and the
Czar--Titles for a New Story--"Hard Times"
chosen--Difficulties of Weekly Publication--Mr.
Ruskin on _Hard Times_--Ex