on Saturday
evening, and rushed into the arms of Mac and Forster. Both of them send
their best love to you and Georgy, with a heartiness not to be
described.

The little book is now, as far as I am concerned, all ready. One cut of
Doyle's and one of Leech's I found so unlike my ideas, that I had them
both to breakfast with me this morning, and with that winning manner
which you know of, got them with the highest good humour to do both
afresh. They are now hard at it. Stanfield's readiness, delight, wonder
at my being pleased with what he has done is delicious. Mac's
frontispiece is charming. The book is quite splendid; the expenses will
be very great, I have no doubt.

Anybody who has heard it has been moved in the most extraordinary
manner. Forster read it (for dramatic purposes) to A'Beckett. He cried
so much and so painfully, that Forster didn't know whether to go on or
stop; and he called next day to say that any expression of his feeling
was beyond his power. But that he believed it, and felt it to be--I
won't say what.

As the reading comes off to-morrow night, I had better not despatch my
letters to you until _Wednesday's_ post. I must close to save this
(heartily tired I am, and I dine at Gore House to-day), so with love to
Georgy, Mamey, Katey, Charley, Wally, and Chickenstalker, ever, believe
me,

Yours, with true affection.

P.S.--If you had seen Macready last night, undisguisedly sobbing and
crying on the sofa as I read, you would have felt, as I did, what a
thing it is to have power.

FOOTNOTES:

[4] T. P. Cooke, the celebrated actor of "William" in Douglas Jerrold's
play of "Black-eyed Susan."

1845.

NARRATIVE.

At the beginning of this year, Charles Dickens was still living at the
Palazzo Peschiere, Genoa, with his family. In February, he went with his
wife to Rome for the Carnival, leaving his sister-in-law and children at
Genoa; Miss Hogarth joining them later on at Naples. They all returned
to Rome for the Holy Week, and then went to Florence, and so back to
Genoa. He continued his residence at Genoa until June of this year, when
he returned to England by Switzerland and Belgium, the party being met
at Brussels by Mr. Forster, Mr. Maclise, and Mr. Douglas Jerrold, and
arriving at home at the end of June. The autumn months, until the 1st
October, were again spent at Broadstairs. And in this September was the
first amateur play at Miss K