les Dickens's brother), of which we are allowed to take a
copy:--

"8, RICHMOND TERRACE,
"WHITEHALL, S.W.
"_August 30th, 1859._

"DEAR SIR,

"I am very sorry that absence from home has
prevented my replying to your note as to the
tender for the Gad's Hill tunnel before.

"I much regret that the amount of your tender is
so much higher than my estimate, that I cannot
recommend my brother to accept it.

"I am,
"Dear Sir,
"Yours faithfully,
"ALFRED L. DICKENS.
"MR. BALL."

Among the Dickens relics at Hillside, we are shown by Mr. Ball the
pretty set of five silver bells presented by his friend Mr. F. Lehmann,
to the novelist, who always used them when driving out in his basket
pony-phaeton. They are fastened on to a leather pad, and make a pleasant
musical sound when shaken. They are of graduated sizes, the largest
being somewhat smaller than a tennis-ball, and appear to be in the key
of C: comprising the Tonic, Third, Fifth, Octave, and Octave of the
Third.

There is also a hall clock with maker's name--"Bennett, Cheapside,
London." This was the "werry identical" clock respecting which Dickens
wrote the following characteristically humorous letter to Sir John
Bennett:--

"MY DEAR SIR,

"Since my hall clock was sent to your
establishment to be cleaned it has gone (as indeed
it always had) perfectly well, but has struck the
hours with great reluctance, and after enduring
internal agonies of a most distressing nature, it
has now ceased striking altogether. Though a happy
release for the clock, this is not convenient to
the household. If you can send down any
confidential person with whom the clock can
confer, I think it may have something on its works
that it would be glad to make a clean breast of.

"Faithfully yours,
"CHARLES DICKENS."

Included among the relics are a very handsome mahogany fire-screen in
three folds, of red morocco, with Grecian key-border, a musical
Canterbury, and a bookcase