THE "LEATHER BOTTLE," COBHAM, KENT



The charming Kentish village of Cobham was familiar to Dickens
in his early boyhood days, as was the whole delightful countryside
surrounding it. That he loved it throughout his whole life there is
ample evidence in his letters. It was inevitable, therefore, that
his enthusiasm for it should find vent in his stories, and the first
references to its green woods and green shady lanes are to be found
in charming phrases in The Pickwick Papers, with the "Leather
Bottle" as the centre of attraction.

The inn is first named in the book in Mr. Tupman's pathetic letter to
Mr. Pickwick written on a certain historic morning at Dingley Dell:

"MY DEAR PICKWICK,
"You, my dear friend, are placed far beyond the reach of many
mortal frailties and weaknesses which ordinary people cannot over
come. You do not know what it is, at one blow, to be deserted by a
lovely and fascinating creature, and to fall a victim to the artifices
of a villain, who hid the grin of cunning beneath the mask of
friendship. I hope you never may.
"Any letter, addressed to me at the 'Leather Bottle,' Cobham,
Kent, will be forwarded--supposing I still exist. I hasten from the
sight of the world, which has become odious to me. Should I hasten
from it altogether, pity--forgive me. Life, my dear Pickwick, has
become insupportable to me. The spirit which burns within us, is a
porter's knot, on which to rest the heavy load of worldly cares and
troubles; and when that spirit fails us, the burden is too heavy to