Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 October 1894 — SAM WELLER. [ARTICLE]

SAM WELLER.

An English Comedian Who Gave Dickens Ideas for the Character. It would appear that the original Sam Weller of Dickens’- “Pickwick Papers” fame was a certain Sam Vale, an English low comedian, who, in the earlier years of the present century, was very popular in the southern part of England. In the year 1811, and for a few years afterward, he acquired quite a musical reputation in a farce called “The Boarding House,” written by Beasley. In this piece he played the part of Simon Spotterdash, a person who indulged in odd and whimsical sayings. “Come oh, as the man said to the tight boot;” “I am down on you, as the extinguisher said to the candle;” “Let every one take care of himself, as the donkey said when dancing Minong toe chickens,” are faireiliustrations of the witticisms in the course of that play, the resemblancebetween them and some of the sayings of Sam Weller being very marked. In private life Vale was noted for his wit and many good things are credited to him. He was a man of excellent temper,' had no enemies.and the good humor which pervaded all his_sayings, together with toe drollery of his manner, gave; an enhanced value to his witticisms. His sayings were called Sam Valerisms, and bn thn-appearance of the -‘bl’ickwick-Pa-pers,” in 1836, the character of Sam Weller was generally recognized'as a nortraiture of Vale. The comedian died in 1848 at the age of 51,