directed to a veritable "Lawn House," which is
the last house on the left as you approach "Fort House." It must have
changed in respect of its surroundings since forty years have passed,
and although there is nothing outside to indicate it as such, it seems
fair to assume that this was the house described in the _Life_ as "a
small villa between the hill and the cornfield." The present occupier,
who has no recollection of Dickens ever having been there, courteously
allows us to see the hall and dining-room. The house is of course a
great improvement upon "No 12, High Street."

A few steps from "Lawn House" lead us to the drive approaching "Fort
House," pleasantly surrounded by a sloping lawn and shrubbery. John
Forster, alluding to it in the _Life_, says:--

"The residence he most desired there, 'Fort House,' stood prominently at
the top of a breezy hill on the road to Kingsgate, with a cornfield
between it and the sea, and this in many subsequent years he always
occupied."

Alas! the cornfield is no more, but "Fort House," or "Bleak House," as
it is indifferently termed locally, remains intact. It is the most
striking object of the place, standing on a cliff overlooking the sea,
the harbour, and the town (made familiar by several photographs and
engravings), with its curious verandahs and blinds, as seen in the
vignette of J. C. Hotten's interesting book, _Charles Dickens: The Story
of His Life_. An excellent photograph is published in the town, of which
we are glad to secure a copy.

[Illustration: "Bleak House" Broadstairs]

In the sixth chapter of _Bleak House_ it is called "an old-fashioned
house with three peaks in the roof in front, and a severe sweep leading
to the porch." In the same chapter there is a minute account of the
interior, too lengthy to be quoted; but the description does not
resemble Fort House. We are kindly permitted by the occupier to see the
study in which the novelist worked, a privilege long to be remembered.
This room is approached by "a little staircase of shallow steps" from
the first floor, as described in _Bleak House_; but it will be borne in
mind that the "Bleak House" of the novel is placed in Hertfordshire,
near St. Albans, and _not_ at Broadstairs, although many persons still
believe that Fort House is the original of the story. From the study we
have a lovely view of the sea--the balmy breeze of a summer's day
lightly fanning the waves, and just sufficing to move the delicate