which are altogether a new sensation. Do
any readers remember, when perusing the Waverley novels in their youth,
a certain longing (as the height of their ambition, possibly gratified
in after-life) to see Abbotsford, the home of the "Wizard of the North"?
_That_ is a feeling akin to the one which possesses us on the present
occasion, a feeling of veneration almost amounting to awe as we recall,
and seem to realize, not only the presence of Charles Dickens himself,
but of the many eminent literary, artistic, and histrionic
characters--his contemporaries--who assembled here, and shared the
hospitality of the distinguished owner. "Dickens penetrates here--where
does not his genial sunshine penetrate?"

Turning over the leaves of the visitors' book, Major Budden calls our
attention to the signatures of Americans, who constitute by far the
majority of visitors. Among the more recent appears the name of that
accomplished actress, Miss Mary Anderson--herself a great admirer of
Charles Dickens--who came accompanied by a party of friends. We also
found her name, with the same party, in the visitors' book at Richard
Watts's Charity in Rochester. Major Budden spoke also of the great
enthusiasm always exhibited by our American friends in regard to
Dickens, some of whom had told him more than once that it was the custom
to instruct their children in a knowledge of his works: they read them,
in fact, in the schools.

The library, or study, is a very cosy little room, made famous by Mr.
Luke Fildes's picture of "The Empty Chair." It is situated on the west
side of the porch, looking to the front, with the shrubbery in the
distance; and among the most conspicuous objects contained in it are the
curious counterfeit book-backs devised by Dickens and his friends, and
arranged as shelves to fit the door of the room. They number nearly
eighty, and a selection is given below of a few of the quaintest titles,
viz.:--

The Quarrelly Review. 4 vols.

King Henry the Eighth's Evidences of Christianity. 5 vols.

Noah's Arkitecture. 2 vols.

[Illustration: PG from the Drawing of S. L. Fildes

"The empty chair" Gad's Hill Ninth of June 1870.]

Chickweed.

Groundsel (by the Author of Chickweed).

Cockatoo on Perch.

History of a Short Chancery Suit. 21 vols.

Cats' Lives. 9 vols.

Hansard's Guide to Refreshing Sleep (many volumes).

The Wisdom of our Ancestors--I. Ignorance. II. Superstition. III. The
Block. IV. The Stake. V. The