CHARLES DICKENS. 179 



public. His place in the illustration of the serial was supplied 

 by Mr. Hablot K. Browne. His biogi-apher, Mr. John 

 Forster, who met him about this time, was charmed with his 

 youthfulness and candid open countenance. He describes 

 his forehead as good, a firm nose with full wide nostril, eyes 

 beaming with intellect and cheerful humour. His whole face 

 and bearing bore the stamp of quick, keen, practical power. 

 Leigh Hunt said of it that it had ' the life and soul in it of 

 fifty human beings.' His connection with the reporters* 

 gallery was finished in 1836. In December of this year he 

 wrote two pieces, the ' Strange Gentleman ' and the ' Village 

 Coquettes,' for the St. James' Theatre. On the 2d April of the 

 same year, he had married Catherine, eldest daughter of Mr. 

 George Hogarth, who had been a fellow-worker on the Chroiiide. 

 The success of Pickwick was assured ; it arose in parts from 

 the comparatively small number of 400 to 40,000 copies. 

 This success led Mr. Bentley, the publisher, to ask him to 

 undertake the editorship of a new magazine which was to 

 be started in January 1837. For this magazine he was to 

 supply a serial story, and soon afterwards to write two other 

 tales. Mr. Macrone, who had purchased the copyright of the 

 first series of Sketches by Boz, now threatened to issue it in 

 a serial form in the same way as Pickwick. This was only 

 prevented by Messrs. Chapman & Hall buying up the copy- 

 right, with Dickens' consent, at the exorbitant price of 

 ^2000. The intimacy now begun with Mr. John Forster was 

 of the greatest use to him ; beyond a close friendship only 

 closed with death, the latter read over the proof-sheets of his 

 novels, making many important corrections, and often saving 

 their author much trouble and anxiety when pressed with 

 other work. 



