is the son of Mr. John H. Ball, the well-known
contractor, who removed old Rochester Bridge; he is also a
brother-in-law of the late gifted tenor, Mr. Joseph Maas, to whom a
handsome memorial tablet, consisting of a marble medallion of the
deceased, over which is a lyre with one of the strings broken, has since
been erected on the east wall of the south transept of Rochester
Cathedral. By Mr. Ball's considerate courtesy and that of his daughters,
we are allowed to see many interesting relics of Charles Dickens and
Gad's Hill.[15] When Mr. Ball's father removed the old bridge in 1859,
it will be remembered that he offered to present the novelist with one
of the balustrades as a souvenir, the offer being gracefully and
promptly accepted, as the following letter testifies:--

"GAD'S HILL PLACE,
"HIGHAM BY ROCHESTER, KENT.
"_Thursday, eighth June, 1859._

"SIR,

"I feel exceedingly obliged to you for your kind
and considerate offer of a remembrance of old
Rochester Bridge; that will interest me very much.
I accept the relic with many thanks, and with
great pleasure.

"Do me the favor to let it be delivered to a
workman who will receive instructions to bring it
away, and once again accept my acknowledgments.

"Yours faithfully,
"CHARLES DICKENS.

"MR. JOHN H. BALL."

The present Mr. William Ball, then a young lad, was the bearer of the
gift, and on being asked by us why he didn't ask to see the great
novelist, replies, "Yes, I ought to have done so, but I was afraid of
the dogs!"

The balustrade, which was placed on the back lawn at Gad's Hill, was
mounted on a square pedestal, on the sides of which were representations
of the four seasons, and a sun-dial crowned the capital. Something like
it, but a little modified, appears in one of Mr. Luke Fildes's beautiful
illustrations to the original edition of _Edwin Drood_, entitled
"Jasper's Sacrifices." Three more of the balustrades now ornament Mr.
Ball's garden at Hillside.

Mr. Ball the elder was invited to send in a tender for the construction
of the tunnel at Gad's Hill previously mentioned, but it was not
accepted, as appears from a letter addressed to him by Mr. Alfred L.
Dickens (Char