"A misplaced and mis-married man; always, as it were, playing hide and seek with the world; and never finding what Fortune seems to have hidden when he was born."

"Certain women in Africa who have lost children, carry little wooden images of children on their heads, and always put their food to the lips of those images, before tasting it themselves. This is in a part of Africa where the mortality among children (judging from the number of these little memorials) is very great."

Two more entries are the last which he made. "Available names" introduces a wonderful list in the exact following classes and order; as to which the reader may be left to his own memory for selection of such as found their way into the several stories from Little Dorrit to the end. The rest, not lifted into that higher notice by such favour of their creator, must remain like any other undistinguished crowd. But among them may perhaps be detected, by those who have special insight for the physiognomy of a name, some few with so great promise in them of fun and character as will make the "mute inglorious" fate which has befallen them a subject for special regret; and much ingenious speculation will probably wait upon all. Dickens has generally been thought, by the curious, to display not a few of his most characteristic traits in this particular field of invention.

First there are titles for books; and from the list subjoined were taken two for Christmas numbers and two for stories, though Nobody's Fault had ultimately to give way to Little Dorrit.

"THE LUMBER ROOM.
SOMEBODY'S LUGGAGE.
TO BE LEFT TILL CALLED FOR.
SOMETHING WANTED.
EXTREMES MEET.
NOBODY'S FAULT.
THE GRINDSTONE.
ROKESMITH'S FORGE.
OUR MUTUAL FRIEND.
THE CINDER HEAP.
TWO GENERATIONS.
BROKEN CROCKERY.
DUST.
THE HOME DEPARTMENT.
THE YOUNG PERSON.
NOW OR NEVER.
MY NEIGHBOURS.
THE CHILDREN OF THE FATHERS.
NO THOROUGHFARE."

Then comes a batch of "Christian names": Girls and Boys: which stand thus, with mention of the source from which he obtained them. These therefore can hardly be called pure invention. Some would have been reckoned too extravagant for anything but reality.

"Girls from Privy Council Education lists.

"LELIA.
MENELLA.
RUBINA.
IRIS.
REBECCA.
ETTY.
REBINAH.
SEBA.
PERSIA.
ARAMANDA.
DORIS.
BALZINA.
PLEASANT.
GENTILLA.

"Boys from Privy Council Education lists.