THE DOVER ROAD 



253 



the house as I passed, and its seared red brick walls, 

 blocked windows, and strong green ivy clasping even the 

 stacks of chimneys with its twigs and tendons, as if with 

 sinewy old arms, made up a rich and attractive mystery." 

 This mystery held him to the end. On the occasion 

 of his last visit to Rochester, June 6th, 1870, he was seen 

 leaning on a fence in front of the house, gazing at it, 

 rapt, intent, as if drawing inspiration from its clustering 



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y>^ 



•.ain-> >-^r. 11 



Summerhill. 



chimneys, its storied walls so rich with memories of the 

 past. It was anticipated, it was hoped, that the next 

 chapter of Edwin Drood would bear the fruits of this 

 reverie. The next chapter was never written. 



The Dover Road after leaving Rochester, runs through 

 Chatham, celebrated for its dockyard, for its lines, in 

 which Mr. Pickwick playfully chased his hat till it intro- 

 duced him to the Wardles, and gave a new start by 

 doing so to his adventures ; celebrated also for a gentle- 



