Blackwood's Edinburgh magazine, Vol. 76, No. 467, September 1854Various
History
Blackwood's Edinburgh magazine, Vol. 76, No. 467, September 1854
Various
England -- Periodicals; Scotland -- Periodicals
On the whole, we are inclined to think that the American public will not
derive much enlightenment on the subject of Scotland and the Scots from
the revelations of Mrs Stowe. We can assure them that the general
aspect, tone, and sentiments of society here do not at all correspond
with what is represented in her pages. It is not the fact that the
greater part of our time is occupied by delivering or listening to
wish-washy platform speeches, or even to such as have “the promising
fault of too much elaboration or ornament,” on the subjects of
tee-totalism, olive-leavery, or any of the other mild absurdities of the
day. It is not the fact that we have lost all grateful memory for the
warlike deeds of our ancestors, or for the poets who have worthily
recorded them. And, above all, it is not the fact that Mrs Stowe had a
fair opportunity of forming a judgment, on almost any point, of the
views entertained by the bulk of the more educated classes of society.
We do not say this at all in disparagement of the parties among whom she
moved, and by whom she was so hospitably entertained. We have every
respect for their worth, position, and acquirements; and we are well
aware that among the ministers of various denominations to whom she was
introduced, and of whom she speaks affectionately, there are many whose
talent, learning, and devotion have made their names known beyond the
waters of the Atlantic. It must have been peculiarly gratifying to her
to receive the congratulations of the late venerable Dr Wardlaw of
Glasgow, of Dr John Brown of Edinburgh, whom she rightly calls “one of
the best exegetical scholars in Europe,” and other lights of the United
Presbyterian and Congregationalist Churches. In Edinburgh, Glasgow, and
Aberdeen she received much civic kindness and attention; but we are at a
loss, after reading her book, to discover much trace of her intercourse
with general society beyond a very limited coterie. True, she refers to
some persons “from ancient families, distinguished in Scottish history
both for rank and piety,”—and especially to a “Lady Carstairs,” of whose
corporeal existence we can find no trace in any Book of Dignity within
our reach. All that, however, is of little moment; and we never should
have thought of alluding to such circumstances, were it not that, so
very much having been said in America on the subject of Mrs Stowe’s
reception in Scotland, her account of what she saw may naturally be
received as an accurate picture of the country. We have no doubt
whatever of her general accuracy in describing what she saw. We are very
proud to think that she was received with much enthusiasm and
cordiality; and nothing could be more genuine than the expression of
feeling on the part of the working-classes. Her book undoubtedly struck
most deeply in the popular mind; producing a sensation which we have
never seen equalled, inasmuch as it extended through every grade of
society.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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