same masters, and took their lessons together. After the Whites'
departure, Mr. Macready paid Charles Dickens a visit, occupying the
vacant _appartement_.

During this winter Charles Dickens was, however, constantly backwards
and forwards between Paris and London on "Household Words" business, and
was also at work on his "Little Dorrit."

While in Paris he sat for his portrait to the great Ary Scheffer. It
was exhibited at the Royal Academy Exhibition of this year, and is now
in the National Portrait Gallery.

The summer was again spent at Boulogne, and once more at the Villa des
Moulineaux, where he received constant visits from English friends, Mr.
Wilkie Collins taking up his quarters for many weeks at a little cottage
in the garden; and there the idea of another play, to be acted at
Tavistock House, was first started. Many of our letters for this year
have reference to this play, and will show the interest which Charles
Dickens took in it, and the immense amount of care and pains given by
him to the careful carrying out of this favourite amusement.

The Christmas number of "Household Words," written by Charles Dickens
and Mr. Collins, called "The Wreck of the _Golden Mary_," was planned by
the two friends during this summer holiday.

It was in this year that one of the great wishes of his life was to be
realised, the much-coveted house--Gad's Hill Place--having been
purchased by him, and the cheque written on the 14th of March--on a
"Friday," as he writes to his sister-in-law, in the letter of this date.
He frequently remarked that all the important, and so far fortunate,
events of his life had happened to him on a Friday. So that, contrary to
the usual superstition, that day had come to be looked upon by his
family as his "lucky" day.

The allusion to the "plainness" of Miss Boyle's handwriting is
good-humouredly ironical; that lady's writing being by no means famous
for its legibility.

The "Anne" mentioned in the letter to his sister-in-law, which follows
the one to Miss Boyle, was the faithful servant who had lived with the
family so long; and who, having left to be married the previous year,
had found it a very difficult matter to recover from her sorrow at this
parting. And the "godfather's present" was for a son of Mr. Edmund
Yates.

"The Humble Petition" was written to Mr. Wilkie Collins during that
gentleman's visit to Paris.

The explanation of the remark to Mr. Wills (6th April), that he had pa