Court of Chancery and of the Ecclesiastical Courts,
the delays of the Public Offices, the costliness of divorce, the state
of the dwellings of the poor, and the condition of the cheap schools in
the North of England, furnished him with what he seemed to consider, in
all sincerity, the true moral of a series of fictions."

* * * * *

We bid a kindly adieu to the "dear old City" where so many genial
friends have been made, so many happy hours have been passed, so many
pleasant memories have been stored, and for the time leave

"the pensive glory,
That fills the Kentish hills,"

to take our seats in the train for London, with the intention of paying
a brief visit to South Kensington, where, in the Forster Collection of
the Museum, are treasured the greater portion of the manuscripts which
constitute the principal works of Charles Dickens. It will be remembered
that the Will of the great novelist contained the following simple but
important clause:--"I also give to the said John Forster (whom he
previously referred to as 'my dear and trusty friend') such manuscripts
of my published works as may be in my possession at the time of my
decease;" and that Mr. Forster by his Will bequeathed these priceless
treasures to his wife for her life, in trust to pass over to the Nation
at her decease. Mrs. Forster, who survives her husband, generously
relinquished her life interest, in order to give immediate effect to his
wishes; and thus in 1876, soon after Mr. Forster's death, they came into
the undisturbed possession of the Nation for ever.

Besides the manuscripts there are numbers of holograph letters, original
sketches (including "The Apotheosis of Grip the Raven") by D. Maclise,
R.A., and other interesting memorials relating to Charles Dickens. _The
Handbook to the Dyce and Forster Collections_ rightly says that:--"This
is a gift which will ever have the highest value, and be regarded with
the deepest interest by people of every English-speaking nation, as long
as the English language exists. Not only our own countrymen, but
travellers from every country and colony into which Englishmen have
spread, may here examine the original manuscripts of books which have
been more widely read than any other uninspired writings throughout the
world. Thousands, it cannot be doubted, who have been indebted for many
an hour of pleasurable enjoyment when in health, for many an hou