That Charles Dickens visited a Mormon emigrant ship in London in 1863, and soon after published some complimentary remarks about “the pick and flower of England” that he had seen there, is familiar to both Latter-day Saints and to Dickens scholars. Illustrated with this drawing in his 4 July 1863 magazine The Uncommercial Traveler (soon reprinted in book form), Dickens tells of a visit to the Amazon one month earlier, his interview with George Q. Cannon who had arranged for passenger accommodations, and his impressions of the Mormon emigrants he saw and spoke with. I’ve posted the full essay here; the part we most like to quote is his concluding paragraph:

What is in store for the poor people on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, what happy delusions they are labouring under now, on what miserable blindness their eyes may be opened then, I do not pretend to say. But I went on board their ship to bear testimony against them if they deserved it, as I fully believed they would; to my great astonishment, they did not deserve it; and my predispositions and tendencies must not affect me as an honest witness, I went over the Amazon’s side, feeling it impossible to deny that, so far, some remarkable influence had produced a remarkable result, which better-known influences have often missed.

Here’s what Dickens has to say about George Q. Cannon, the “Mormon Agent”:

The Mormon Agent who had been active in getting them together, and in making the contract with my friends the owners of the ship to take them as far as New York on their way to the Great Salt Lake, was pointed out to me. A compactly-made handsome man in black, rather short, with rich brown hair and beard, and clear bright eyes. From his speech, I should set him down as American. Probably a man who had “knocked about the world” pretty much. A man with a frank open manner, and unshrinking look; withal a man of great quickness. I believe he was wholly ignorant of my uncommercial individuality, and consequently of my immense uncommercial importance.

George Q. Cannon records a few lines about the Amazon’s departure in his journal. It’s all business, and quickly moves on from the sailing of the Amazon to the arrival of new missionaries two weeks later. Not a word about Dickens, either by name or even an allusion to a famous figure (and he was famous long before 1863; I’ve picked up enough allusions in Brigham Young’s correspondence to know that Dickens was read aloud by office clerks to Brigham and his associates whenever a new installment of the current novel was delivered in the mail). I’ve wondered what Cannon thought of Dickens’ visit, if he even thought of it at all.

As of last night, though, I know. Cannon did write something about that interview with Dickens, and he wrote about it more than a week before the appearance of The Uncommercial Traveler carrying Dickens’ essay, an account that I cannot find elsewhere in internet sources:

The “Amazon” is the finest vessel I have sent out this Season, and everything connected with her departure (with the exception of being a few days later than I could have wished) passed off in a most satisfactory manner.

The Company as a whole were much superior to the average of our Emigration in appearance, and were so much superior to the ordinary Emigrants as to excite general admiration. The Government Officers, and others who visited the ship out of curiosity, of whom there were a great number, clergymen, public men &c, were loud in their praise of their appearance. I received many compliments on these points. Mr. Charles Dickens, the novelist, spent several hours on board on the day when the people passed the Government Inspectors. He appeared to be very much pleased with the people and had a great many questions to ask of me, appearing to be much interested in us, and free from prejudice. I did not know, when I chartered the “Amazon,” that I was fulfilling a prediction of Bro. Kelsey’s, uttered some years ago in London, to the effect that a ship or ships would yet leave the Port laden with Saints. Should the Emigration be open another Season and nothing occur to produce a change in my views I think I shall try and charter a vessel to sail from London. In many respects such a plan offers advantages to the people in the South of England.

So there you have it, remarks from both sides of the interview.