OCR Text |
Show Autoenpli Sin ula. While visiting this country, Dickens ono raoin'ng receiving a letter purporting purport-ing to havo beon wrltton by an English Eng-lish laboring man and his wlfo, In which, In rough phraseology, they stated that they beard a great deal respecting re-specting the beautiful books he had written, and the good he had Jone for "us poor folks," and askod his permission permis-sion to name their little baby boy after him, promising to so educate him that he might fully appreciate tho works of tho novelist. Dickens 6cnt a, letter stating that ho was proud to know that his nnrte had teen conferred on tho child in recollection of his writings, and wlBhlng that tho Uttlo ono ralgnt becomo all that his parents hoped to I eeo him, adding that If ho could ever I learn that ho had been tho means Jf awakening In tho little ono any now love for his fellow-creatures, and a de-slro de-slro to help them with his sympathy. ! ho should feel much pleasure In the knowledge. This first letter, It. appears, ap-pears, was morcly a suhtcrfugojon the part of tho son of on officer In the army, ar-my, who was desirous of obtaining tho autograph of tho novelist for his collection. col-lection. He was ashamed of the mean trick bo played upon Dickens, but from It ho gained a far higher approplatlon of the character of tho writer than ho otherwlso might have had. |