[London—Wednesday, 6 July 1859]
The next day of Wednesday the 6th we were to have passed together at Gads Hill with Dickens. I was too ill to stir from my bed all day so Jamie went alone. Dickens met him at the station with Wilkie Collins. He kindly said much about being sorry I was not there. Dickens carried Jamie to Rochester showed him his birthplace school, the old castle, which he repeopled in his talk and in fact spread his bewitching tails about my boy until he felt he had hardly ever enjoyed such a day although he was sad that I was not there also.
