His style of humour always struck
me as being more American than English. While bringing out humorous
things that would set a dinner-table in a roar, he would himself
maintain a perfectly unmoved countenance. And it was said of him, as
'Wilderspin' says of 'Cyril Aylwin,' that he was never known to
laugh. The pen-picture of him in _Aylwin_ is one of the most vivid
things in the book.
With regard to the most original character in the story, those who
knew Clement's Inn, where I myself once resided, and Lincoln's Inn
Fields, will be able at once to identify Mrs. Gudgeon, who lived in
one of the streets running into Clare Market. Her business was that
of night coffee-stall keeper. At one time, I believe--but I am not
certain about this--she kept a stall on the Surrey side of Waterloo
Bridge, and it might have been there that, as I have been told, her
portrait was drawn for a specified number of early breakfasts by an
unfortunate artist who sank very low, but had real ability. Her
constant phrase was 'I shall die o' laughin'--I know I shall!' On
account of her extra-ordinary gift of repartee, and her inexhaustible
fund of wit and humour, she was generally supposed to be an
Irishwoman.
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