The Charles Dickens Letters Project
To MR WELLS,1 16 JUNE 1857
Extract in the Morning Post, 12 Oct 1857; quoted by William Blanchard Jerrold in his letter to the Editor, dated 10 Oct 57.2; his letter is an angry response to CD’s letter to The Times, 6 Oct, justifying the Committee’s efforts to raise money for Mrs Jerrold and her daughter. Jerrold felt it was a slight on his father’s memory and maintained that, contrary to reports that he died penniless, he had provided for them. He quotes the above letter (‘directed to be submitted to me’), as proof of CD’s change of mind. For letters referring to the death of Jerrold and the initiation of the Jerrold Fund, see Pilgrim Letters 8, pp. 344-366; for CD and Arthur Smith’s two letter to The Times, see ibid., pp. 423 and 463 and nn.
Gadshill, June 16
I, too, was excessively mortified and indignant to see that nonsense (I forget where) about poor dear Jerrold, and his not having ‘left a sixpence.’ But we all have to bear our share of such dunderheaded small talk; and I don’t think it practicable to contradict this obscure stupidity now. It is clearly not for us to contradict it, who take such pains in every movement, from the smallest to the least, associated with our departed friend, to place him on a footing apart from all solicitation. In inviting artists to sing, actors to play, and the Queen herself to come to one of the performances, I have invariably said in all the letters that what we put forward ‘in remembrance’ of him is to speak for itself, and no entreaty orrepresentation is to be made to any human being. If this print of a jackass’ hoof should last so long, it is rubbed out in a moment, when our little campaign is over, by a well-considered few lines from William Jerrold to the Times, or from me, if he would prefer it, simply stating the truth.