Christopher Crayon's Recollections: The Life and Times of the late James Ewing Ritchie as told by himselfRitchie, J. Ewing (James Ewing)
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Christopher Crayon's Recollections: The Life and Times of the late James Ewing Ritchie as told by himself
Ritchie, J. Ewing (James Ewing)
Great Britain -- Social conditions -- 19th century; Ritchie, J. Ewing (James Ewing), 1820-1898
As a writer, unpleasant experiences have been few. I have had letters
from angry correspondents, but not more than two or three of them. One
of the most amusing was from a clergyman now deceased—a very great man in
his own opinion—a controversialist whom none could withstand. Once upon
a time he had a controversy with the late Mr. Charles Bradlaugh, a man of
whom I knew a little, and for whose honesty I had a high regard. I was
present at the discussion, and in my account of it intimated that, in my
humble opinion, the clergyman was hardly the man to grapple with Mr.
Bradlaugh. I had a letter from the clergyman thanking me in the name of
all the devils in hell—of whom he informed me I should shortly be one—for
the article I had written. On another occasion a distinguished
Congregational minister attacked me bitterly in a journal that soon came
to grief, which was intended to supersede the newspaper with which it is
my pride to have been connected more than thirty-five years. I commenced
an action against him for libel; the reverend divine paid damages into
court, and I dropped the action. I had no wish to harm the worthy
divine, for such undoubtedly he was, by getting him branded as a
convicted libeller. I only wanted to teach him that while in the pulpit
a man was free to say what he liked, it was quite a different thing to
rush hastily and angrily into print. One letter amused me rather. My
usual signature was “Christopher Crayon.” Once, as I had a paper under
that signature, I had written another with a different signature, which
appeared in the same issue, and immediately a correspondent wrote to
complain that the latter article was but a poor imitation of “Christopher
Crayon.” Once a reviewer on a leading London morning newspaper referred
to me as a young lady. I refer to that soft impeachment simply as an
illustration of the carelessness with which London reviewers often write.
I can quite understand such blunders. A reviewer has so many books to
look at, and such little time allowed him for the right discharge of his
duty, that it is no wonder he often errs.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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