They consider, forsooth, that his book is low--but he is not going
to waste words about them--one or two of whom, he is told, have
written very duncie books about Spain, and are highly enraged with
him, because certain books which he wrote about Spain were not
considered duncie. No, he is not going to waste words upon them,
for verily he dislikes their company, and so he'll pass them by,
and proceed to others.
The Scotch Charlie o'er the water people have been very loud in the
abuse of Lavengro--this again might be expected; the sarcasms of
the Priest about the Charlie o'er the water nonsense of course
stung them. Oh! it is one of the claims which Lavengro has to
respect, that it is the first, if not the only work, in which that
nonsense is, to a certain extent, exposed. Two or three of their
remarks on passages of Lavengro, he will reproduce and laugh at.
Of course your Charlie o'er the water people are genteel
exceedingly, and cannot abide anything low. Gypsyism they think is
particularly low, and the use of gypsy words in literature beneath
its gentility; so they object to gypsy words being used in Lavengro
where gypsies are introduced speaking--"What is Romany forsooth?"
say they. Very good! And what is Scotch? has not the public been
nauseated with Scotch for the last thirty years? "Ay, but Scotch
is not"--the writer believes he knows much better than the Scotch
what Scotch is and what it is not; he has told them before what it
is, a very sorry jargon.
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