Section 181 A Letter From Dr. Henry Danson to Mr. John Forster, on Charles Dickens’s School-Life. — III
We were very strong, too, in theatricals1. We mounted2 small theatres, and got up very gorgeous scenery to3 illustrate “The Miller and his Men,” and other pieces. I remember the4 present Mr. Beverley, the scene painter, assisted us in this (S. 4, N. 5). Dickens was always the leader5 at these plays, which were occasionally presented with much solemnity before an audience6 of boys, and in the presence of the ushers. My brother, assisted by Dickens, got up7 “The Miller and his Men” in a very gorgeous form. Master8 Beverley constructed the mill for us, in such a way9 that it could tumble to pieces with the assistance of crackers. At one representation, the fireworks in the last scene, ending with the destruction of the mill, were so very real10 that the police interfered, and knocked violently at the door. Dickens’s after-taste for theatricals might have had11 its origin in these small affairs.
I quite12 remember Dickens13 one day heading us in Drummond Street in pretending to be poor boys, and asking the passers-by for charity, especially old ladies, one of whom told14 us she had no money for beggar-boys.
On these adventures, and especially when the old ladies were quite staggered15 by the impudence of the demand, Dickens would explode with laughter and then take to his heels.
I met him one Sunday morning shortly after he had left the school, and16 we very piously attended the morning service at Seymour Street chapel. I am sorry to say17 Master18 Dickens did not attend in the slightest degree to the service, but (S. 6, N. 10) incited me to laughter by declaring (S. 111, N. 6) his dinner was ready, and the potatoes would be spoiled19. In fact, he behaved in such a manner20 that it was lucky for us we were not ejected from the chapel.—From J. Forster’s “Life of Charles Dickens.”
Notes
1 in theatralischen Aufführungen.
2 = made; to get up, verfertigen.
3 Say ‘to illustrate (in Scene setzen) the piece’, etc. Men, Leute.
4 = that the; scene painter, Dekorationsmaler, which is best placed before the name.
5 der Tonangeber; at, bei.
6 = assembly; boys = pupils; ushers = assistant masters, Unterlehrer.
7 to get up, in Scene setzen, of which the part ‘in Scene’ is to be treated like the separable particle of a comp. sep. verb. Place the verb immediately after ‘brother’, and supply ‘the piece’ before ‘The — Men’; In — form = very (ganz) gorgeously.
8 = The young.
9 auf solche Weise; with the assistance, mit Hülfe.
10 realistisch; to interfere, sich hineinmischen.
11 might have had = perhaps had. Commence the sentence with ‘Perhaps’. ‘After-taste’, Vorliebe, f.; affairs = performances, Vorstellungen.
12 noch ganz deutlich.
13 = that Dickens led (an´leiten) us one day in Drummond Street to pretend to be (sich gebärden... als) poor boys and to ask the passers-by for (um) alms (milde Gaben).
14 = observed (bemerken).
15 ‘to be quite staggered’, here ganz verblüfft da´stehen; by — demand = through the impudent demand; to explode with laughter, vor Lachen fast bersten; to take to one’s heels, schnell davon laufen; and — heels = and ran then quickly away.
16 = and we went very (ganz) piously to church in Seymour St., to attend the morning service (um dem Morgengottesdienste beizuwohnen).
17 Ich muß leider bekennen.
18 = that the young D. not paid the least attention to the service. To pay attention to a thing, einer Sache Aufmerksamkeit widmen.
19 = would get cold.
20 = He behaved really so. That — us = that we must (Impf.) esteem (schätzen) ourselves lucky, not to be ejected from church.—He was ejected from church, er wurde aus der Kirche geworfen.