FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113  
114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   >>   >|  
ps. Some of the introductory remarks on French literature I propose to strike out, as a little too essayical for this purpose, and likely to throw out a large portion of the large audience at starting, as suggesting some very different kind of article. My daring pen shall have imbued its murderous heart with ink before you see the proof. With kind regards, Ever affectionately. [Sidenote: Mr. John Forster.] GAD'S HILL PLACE, HIGHAM BY ROCHESTER, KENT, _Thursday, Oct. 4th, 1860._ MY DEAR FORSTER, It would be a great pleasure to me to come to you, an immense pleasure, and to sniff the sea I love (from the shore); but I fear I must come down one morning and come back at night. I will tell you why. Last week, I got to work on a new story. I called a council of war at the office on Tuesday. It was perfectly clear that the one thing to be done was, for me to strike in. I have therefore decided to begin a story, the length of the "Tale of Two Cities," on the 1st of December--begin publishing, that is. I must make the most I can out of the book. When I come down, I will bring you the first two or three weekly parts. The name is, "GREAT EXPECTATIONS." I think a good name? Now the preparations to get ahead, combined with the absolute necessity of my giving a good deal of time to the Christmas number, will tie me to the grindstone pretty tightly. It will be just as much as I can hope to do. Therefore, what I had hoped would be a few days at Eastbourne diminish to a few hours. I took the Admiral down to Portsmouth. Every maritime person in the town knew him. He seemed to know every boy on board the _Britannia_, and was a tremendous favourite evidently. It was very characteristic of him that they good-naturedly helped him, he being so very small, into his hammock at night. But he couldn't rest in it on these terms, and got out again to learn the right way of getting in independently. Official report stated that "after a few spills, he succeeded perfectly, and went to sleep." He is perfectly happy on board, takes tea with the captain, leads choruses on Saturday nights, and has an immense marine for a servant. I saw Edmund Yates at the office, and he told me that during all his mother's wanderings of mind, which were almost incessant at last, she never once went bac
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113  
114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

perfectly

 

immense

 

pleasure

 
office
 
strike
 

suggesting

 
person
 

Britannia

 

favourite

 

helped


naturedly
 

maritime

 

evidently

 

characteristic

 

tremendous

 
Portsmouth
 

tightly

 

pretty

 

grindstone

 
giving

Christmas

 
number
 

Therefore

 

diminish

 

Admiral

 

starting

 

Eastbourne

 
introductory
 

hammock

 

Edmund


servant

 

Saturday

 

choruses

 

nights

 

marine

 

mother

 

incessant

 

wanderings

 

captain

 

couldn


independently

 

portion

 

succeeded

 

spills

 

Official

 

report

 
stated
 

absolute

 

essayical

 

murderous