The reason of a custom, or rather a necessity, which one would think a nation so celebrated for their gastronomical taste would recoil from, is really, it is believed, that the ordinary French porcelain is so very inferior that it cannot endure the preparatory heat for dinner. The common white pottery, for example, which is in general use, and always found at the cafes, will not bear vicinage* to a brisk kitchen fire for half-an-hour. Now, if we only had that treaty of commerce with France which has been so often on the point of completion, the fabrics of our unrivalled potteries, in exchange for their capital wines, would be found throughout France. The dinners of both nations would be improved: the English would gain a delightful beverage, and the French, for the first time in their lives, would dine off hot plates. An unanswerable instance of the advantages of commercial reciprocity.*
* Vicinage is a rare form of the word vicinity, or nearness, favouring the Old French vicenage. Again, Disraeli lets a little foreign delicacy creep in and then knocks it down with English cottage roughness. See Ralph Waldo Emerson on Strong Speech.
* This was the line that John Bright, speaking in favour of the Cobden-Chevalier treaty, read out before the Commons with the utmost glee. At the time when Disraeli published his novel, in 1844, Bright and his friend and mentor Richard Cobden were making a nuisance of themselves trying to get Parliament to embrace free trade, and Disraeli’s praise was tongue-in-cheek. In 1846, the protectionist Corn Laws were repealed amidst tumultuous scenes, and in 1860 the Cobden-Chevalier treaty was Cobden’s crowning glory; it had taken sixteen years but Bright had his gentle revenge on the author of Coningsby. See Bright on The Repeal of the Corn Laws.
Précis
It was their low-quality porcelain, said Disraeli, which cracked in the slightest heat, that prevented French hostesses from matching Lord Monmouth’s dinner parties. If only the hoped-for trade treaty between France and England could bring English pottery to France, and French wine to England! That blessing alone would prove the case for free trade. (54 / 60 words)
It was their low-quality porcelain, said Disraeli, which cracked in the slightest heat, that prevented French hostesses from matching Lord Monmouth’s dinner parties. If only the hoped-for trade treaty between France and England could bring English pottery to France, and French wine to England! That blessing alone would prove the case for free trade.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, although, despite, just, otherwise, ought, until, whereas.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Nation. Only. Use.
2 General. His. House.
3 If. Recoil. Seem.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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