My foot is in the house,
My bath is on the sea,
And before I take a souse,
Here's a single note to thee.

These lines are a reminiscence of Byron's ode to Tom Moore,
written from Venice on July 10, 1817:

My boat is on the shore,
And my bark is on the sea,
But before I go, Tom Moore,
Here's a double health to thee!

The words were set to music by Bishop. This first verse had a
special attraction for Dickens, and he gives us two or three
variations of it, including a very apt one from Dick Swiveller
(see p. 126).

Henry F. Chorley, the musical critic, was an intimate friend
of Dickens. On one occasion he went to hear Chorley lecture on
'The National Music of the World,' and subsequently wrote him
a very friendly letter criticizing his delivery, but speaking
in high terms of the way he treated his subject.

In one of his letters he makes special reference to the
singing of the Hutchinson family.[5] Writing to the Countess
of Blessington, he says:

I must have some talk with you about these American
singers. They must never go back to their own country