THERE are many of our travellers whom we should be very glad to improve:* and thanks to railways, and to our possession of some — though not very much — of the wealth which the foreign dramatic and fictionist artists so liberally attribute to us, we are rapidly polishing off the rust of national prejudice, and ignorance of our brethren abroad. Should an English author or actor be guilty of such laughable mistakes about foreigners as those we have pointed out, woe unutterable would alight on his ignorant head.
Every sort of attraction which brings people of different nations, and even of different counties, together — whether it be a German wool fair, a music meeting, or a Swiss shooting-match — smooths away the acerbities of caste, and strengthens the sympathies of individuals.* Let us, therefore, hope that the myriads of exotics which will be attracted next year to the Great Industrial Conservatory in Hyde Park,* will receive new vigour and fresh intelligence from their temporary transplantation; that they will learn that Englishmen and English women are not quite the monstrosities they at present appear to believe them.
One celebrated example described in Dickens’s travelogue Pictures from Italy was Mr Davis and his party, whom Dickens kept bumping into in Rome; he delightedly catalogued their eccentricities and minor catastrophes, and regretted that he never actually spoke to them. Another was a gentleman who was at pains to establish whether a Holy Week display showing Christ and his Apostles at the Last Supper included a mustard pot on the table.
* The personal touch, man to man, was key to Dickens’s remedy for prejudice; he would have had no patience with campaigns waged by experts and politicians or their definitions of ‘identity.’ In a later article on English ‘Insularities,’ he wrote that we owed our national bad habits “in a great degree to our insular [i.e. island] position, and in a small degree to the facility with which we have permitted electioneering lords and gentlemen to pretend to think for us, and to represent our weaknesses to us as our strength.”
* The Great Exhibition of 1851, at the Crystal Palace in London. Dickens would later express irritation at the hype surrounding it, but mostly in jest. See posts tagged Great Exhibition of 1851 (2).
Précis
Of course, not all Englishmen who ventured abroad were a credit to their homeland, Dickens conceded; but the opportunities afforded by railways meant that this problem was already being remedied. A further boost to mutual understanding was promised by the forthcoming Great Exhibition of 1851, as anything which brought individuals together over a common interest tended to foster human sympathy. (60 / 60 words)
Of course, not all Englishmen who ventured abroad were a credit to their homeland, Dickens conceded; but the opportunities afforded by railways meant that this problem was already being remedied. A further boost to mutual understanding was promised by the forthcoming Great Exhibition of 1851, as anything which brought individuals together over a common interest tended to foster human sympathy.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: because, just, may, must, or, until, whereas, whether.
Archive
Word Games
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 Attribute. Head. Honor.
2 Manner. Modern. Wealth.
3 Majority. Next. Unutterable.
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.)
Verb and Noun Find in Think and Speak
Many words can serve as noun or verb depending on context: see if you can prove this with the examples below. Nouns go well with words such as the/a, or his/her; verbs go well after I/you/he etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 People. 2 Mind. 3 Match. 4 Sense. 5 Fall. 6 Figure. 7 Mistake. 8 Honour. 9 Travel.
Variations: 1.if possible, use your noun in the plural, e.g. cat → cats. 2.use your verb in a past form, e.g. go → went. 3.use your noun in a sentence with one of these words: any, enough, fewer, less, no, some.
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
lks (6)
elks. lakes. leaks. leeks. likes. looks.
You are welcome to share your creativity with me, or ask for help with any of the exercises on Clay Lane. Write to me at this address:
See more at Email Support.
If you like what I’m doing here on Clay Lane, from time to time you could buy me a coffee.
Buy Me a Coffee is a crowdfunding website, used by over a million people. It is designed to help content creators like me make a living from their work. ‘Buy Me a Coffee’ prides itself on its security, and there is no need to register.
