Life of Charles DickensMarzials, Frank T. (Frank Thomas), Sir
General
Life of Charles Dickens
Marzials, Frank T. (Frank Thomas), Sir
Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870; Novelists, English -- 19th century -- Biography
whom he has just left, and seems, by note of exclamation and italics,
to call upon the world to witness, "what _gentlemen_, what noblemen of
nature they seemed!"
And Brother Jonathan, how did _he_ regard his young guest? Well,
Jonathan, great as he was, and greater as he was destined to be, did
not possess the gift of prophecy, and could not of course foresee the
scathing satire of "American Notes" and "Martin Chuzzlewit." But
still, amid all his enthusiasm, I think there must have been a feeling
of uneasiness and disappointment. Part, as there is no doubt, of the
fervour with which he greeted Dickens, was due to his regarding
Dickens as the representative of democratic feeling in aristocratic
England, as the advocate of the poor and down-trodden against the
wealthy and the strong; "and"--thus argued Jonathan--"because we are
a democracy, therefore Dickens will admire and love us, and see how
immeasurably superior we are to the retrograde Britishers of his
native land." But unfortunately Dickens showed no signs of being
impressed in that particular way. On the contrary, as we have seen,
such comparison as he made in his own mind was infinitely to the
disadvantage of the United States. "We must be cracked up," says
Hannibal Chollop, in "Martin Chuzzlewit," speaking of his fellow
countrymen. And Dickens, even while feted and honoured, would not
"crack up" the Americans. He lectured them almost with truculence on
their sins in the matter of copyright; he could scarcely be restrained
from testifying against slavery; he was not the man to say he liked
manners and customs which he loathed. Jonathan must have been very
doubtfully satisfied with his guest.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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