I.

My impression is[4] that I was a schoolfellow of Dickens for nearly two years. He left[5] before me, I think about fifteen years of age. The school, called (S. 7, N. 3, _B_) _the_ Wellington Academy, was in _the_ Hampstead Road at the north-east corner of Granby Street. The school-house was afterwards taken down[6] on account of the London and North-Western Railway. It was considered at the time[7] a very superior sort of school, one of the best indeed[8] in that part of London; but it was most shamefully mismanaged[9], and the boys[10] made but very little progress. The proprietor, Mr. Jones, was a Welshman[11]; a most[12] ignorant fellow, and a mere tyrant, whose chief employment was[13] to scourge the boys. Dickens has[14] given a very lively account of this place in his paper _entitled_ “Our School,” but it is very mythical in many respects, and[15] more especially in the compliment he pays in it to himself. I do not remember that Dickens distinguished himself in any way[16], or carried off _any_ prizes. My belief is[17] that he did not learn Greek or Latin there, and you will remember[18] there is no allusion to the classics in _any of_ his writings. He was a handsome, curly-headed lad[19], full of animation and animal spirits, and[20] probably was connected with every mischievous prank in the school.

[1] +an.+

[2] +über.+

[3] +~Charles Dickens~, geboren den 7. Febr. 1812 zu Portsmouth, gestorben den 9. Juni 1870 auf seinem Landsitze bei London, begann seine schriftstellerische Thätigkeit unter dem angenommenen Namen Boz, welcher ihn schnell berühmt machte. Er begründete seinen Ruf als englischer Humorist durch die+ ‘Sketches of London’ (1836), +und namentlich durch die+ ‘Pickwick Papers’ (1837), +welches unstreitig das beliebteste, aber auch vielleicht das beste seiner zahlreichen Werke ist. Er gründete 1845 die Zeitung+ ‘Daily News’, +sowie 1850 die Zeitschrift+ ‘Household Words’, +welche seit 1860 den Titel+ ‘All the year round’ +führt. Er besuchte zweimal, im Jahre 1842 und 1868, die Vereinigten Staaten von Nord Amerika, von wo er das zweite Mal durch seine vielbesuchten Vorlesungen aus seinen eigenen Werken eine reiche Ernte heimführte. Von seinen späteren Werken sind+ ‘Oliver Twist’, ‘Nicholas Nickleby’, ‘David Copperfield’, ‘Dombey and Son’, ‘Martin Chuzzlewit’, +und+ ‘A Christmas Carol’ +die bekanntesten und besten. Es mag interessant sein, hier zu bemerken, daß seit dem Tode des berühmten und höchst beliebten Verfassers (d. h. in 16 Jahren) von seinen Werken 4,539,000 Bände verkauft worden sind.+

[4] = I remember still, that, etc. Place the advl. circumstance of time ‘for — years’ before ‘a — Dickens’.

[5] Supply ‘the school’ here; before me = earlier than I; I think = and as I think.

[6] to take down (of buildings), +nie´derreißen+.

[7] +damals+; I consider this a very superior sort of school, +ich halte dies für eine ganz vorzügliche Schule.+

[8] one — indeed = and was indeed (+auch wirklich+) one of the best.

[9] This institution is most shamefully mismanaged, +diese Anstalt wird ganz außerordentlich schlecht verwaltet+.

[10] boys = school-boys or pupils, +Schüler+; to make little progress, +geringe Fortschritte machen+.

[11] +Waliser.+

[12] most = highly, +höchst+; ‘fellow’, here = man; ‘mere’, here = real, +wahr+.

[13] +darin bestand+ (comp. S. 87, N. 6); to scourge = to chastise, +züchtigen+.

[14] Insert ‘to us’ after the auxiliary; of, +über+; place = institution; ‘paper’, here +Schrift+, f. Place ‘in — School’ after ‘to us’.

[15] +und zwar besonders in Bezug auf die Schmeicheleien, die er sich selbst darin zollt.+

[16] in any way = ever, +je+; to carry off prizes, +Schulpreise erhalten+. Use the verbs in the Pluperfect Subjunctive, accord. to App. § 33; the auxiliary, however, must be used but once, and this at the very end.

[17] = I believe; not ... or = neither ... nor.

[18] = and you know. Is there no allusion to the classics? +bezieht er sich nie auf die klassische Litteratur?+

[19] = He was a handsome boy with curly hair. Full — spirits = +voller Leben und Lebenskraft+.

[20] = who; to be connected with an action, +bei einer Handlung beteiligt sein+; a mischievous prank, +ein mutwilliger Possenstreich+.

_Section 180._

A LETTER FROM DR. HENRY DANSON TO MR. JOHN FORSTER, ON CHARLES DICKENS’S SCHOOL-LIFE.