Authors, American -- 19th century -- Biography; Leland, Charles Godfrey, 1824-1903
There were not many linguists on the American press in those days, and my
reviews of works in half-a-dozen languages induced some one to pay a high
compliment to the editor. It was Bayard Taylor, I believe, who, hearing
this, declared honestly, and as a friend, that I alone deserved the
credit. This was repeated by some one to Dr. Griswold in such a form
that he thought _I_ had been talking against him, though I had never
spoken to a soul about it. The result was that the Doctor promptly
dismissed me, and I felt hurt. Mr. Kimball met me and laughed, saying,
"The next time you meet the Doctor just go resolutely at him and _replace
yourself_. Don't allow him a word." So, meeting Dr. Griswold a few days
after in Philadelphia, I went boldly up and said, "You must come at once
with me and take a drink--immediately!" The Doctor went like a lamb--not
to the slaughter, but to its milk--and when he had drunk a comforting
grog, I attacked him boldly, and declared that I had never spoken a word
to a living soul as to the authorship of the reviews--which was perfectly
true, for I never broke the golden rule of "contributorial anonymity." So
the Doctor put me on the staff again. But to the end of his life I was
always with him a privileged character, and could take, if I chose, the
most extraordinary liberties, though he was one of the most irritable and
vindictive men I ever met, if he fancied that he was in any way too
familiarly treated.
Kossuth came to America, and I was almost squeezed to death--right
against a pretty German girl--in the crowd at his reception in
Philadelphia. At the dinner in New York I met at Kimball's house Franz
Pulszky, and sat by his wife. I have since seen him many times in Buda-
Pest.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account