white mice.


_As a Singer_

Most of the writers about Dickens, and especially his personal
friends, bear testimony both to his vocal power and his love
of songs and singing. As a small boy we read of him and his
sister Fanny standing on a table singing songs, and acting them
as they sang. One of his favourite recitations was Dr. Watts'
'The voice of the sluggard,' which he used to give with great
effect. The memory of these words lingered long in his mind,
and both Captain Cuttle and Mr. Pecksniff quote them with
excellent appropriateness.

When he grew up he retained his love of vocal music, and showed
a strong predilection for national airs and old songs. Moore's
_Irish Melodies_ had also a special attraction for him. In
the early days of his readings his voice frequently used to
fail him, and Mr. Kitton tells us that in trying to recover
the lost power he would test it by singing these melodies to
himself as he walked about. It is not surprising, therefore,
to find numerous references to these songs, as well as to
other works by Moore, in his writings.

From a humorous account of a concert on board ship we gather
that Dickens possessed a tenor voice. Writing to his daughter
from Boston in 1867, he says:

We had speech-making and singing in the saloon of the