his character hitherto unknown, and, I may add, unsuspected.
The centenary of his birth hastened a work long contemplated,
and a first reading (after many years) brought to light an
amount of material far in excess of what I anticipated, while a
second examination convinced me that there is, perhaps, no great
writer who has made a more extensive use of music to illustrate
character and create incident than Charles Dickens. From an
historical point of view these references are of the utmost
importance, for they reflect to a nicety the general condition
of ordinary musical life in England during the middle of the
last century. We do not, of course, look to Dickens for a
history of classical music during the period--those who want
this will find it in the newspapers and magazines; but for the
story of music in the ordinary English home, for the popular
songs of the period, for the average musical attainments of
the middle and lower classes (music was not the correct thing
amongst the 'upper ten'), we must turn to the pages of Dickens'
novels. It is certainly strange that no one has hitherto thought
of tapping this source of information. In and about 1887 the
papers teemed with articles that outlined the history of music
during the first fifty years of Victoria's reign; but I have
not seen one that attempted to derive first-hand information
from the sources referred to, nor indeed does the subject of
'Dickens and Music' ever appear to have received the attention
which, in my opinion, it deserves.

I do not profess to have chronicled _all_ the musical references,
nor has it been possible to identify every one of the numerous
quotations from songs, although I have consulted such excellent
authorities as Dr. Cummings, Mr. Worden (Preston), and Mr. J.