The Church of St Mary and All Saints in Dunsfold, Surrey. Irving does not say where his church was — presumably near London, for the convenience of the self-made man from the Stock Exchange — only that it was old, peppered with memorials and had a ‘snuffly and well-fed’ vicar. The church pictured here is certainly venerable enough: it was built in about 1270-1290, during the reign of King Edward I (r. 1272-1307); a wooden bell-cage was added in the fifteenth century. Irving’s essay was published in September 1819, four years after he arrived in England hoping to revive the family business, which had been hit hard by the Anglo-American Home Page. Disappointed, he turned to writing and found his métier at last.
Introduction
In 1815, Washington Irving came over to England from the United States of America in a vain effort to rescue the family’s transatlantic trading business, a casualty of the War of 1812. Eager to get the measure of his new neighbours, he attended church one Sunday in an English village, and what he saw confirmed a theory he had been nursing for some time.
I FOUND, as usual, that there was the least pretension where there was the most acknowledged title to respect. I was particularly struck, for instance, with the family of a nobleman of high rank, consisting of several sons and daughters. Nothing could be more simple and unassuming than their appearance. They generally came to church in the plainest equipage, and often on foot. The young ladies would stop and converse in the kindest manner with the peasantry, caress the children, and listen to the stories of the humble cottagers.* They were dressed fashionably, but simply; with strict neatness and propriety, but without any mannerism or foppishness. Their whole demeanour was easy and natural, with that lofty grace, and noble frankness, which bespeak freeborn souls that have never been checked in their growth by feelings of inferiority. There is a healthful hardiness about real dignity, that never dreads contact and communion with others, however humble. It is only spurious pride that is morbid and sensitive, and shrinks from every touch.
* It seems likely that Irving’s instincts would only have been further confirmed by the gracious and unaffected deportment of Elizabeth Feodorovna, sister-in-law of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia. See Dear Elizabeth.
Précis
During a visit to Regency England, American writer Washington Irving attended a country church one Sunday. Watching the congregation closely, he noticed with approval the good manners shown by the family of a peer of the realm, who chatted pleasantly with all classes and kept an unassuming profile while nonetheless setting a proper example of Lord’s Day decorum. (58 / 60 words)
During a visit to Regency England, American writer Washington Irving attended a country church one Sunday. Watching the congregation closely, he noticed with approval the good manners shown by the family of a peer of the realm, who chatted pleasantly with all classes and kept an unassuming profile while nonetheless setting a proper example of Lord’s Day decorum.
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: although, because, despite, just, may, ought, whereas, whether.
Post Box : Ask Nicholas
Grok : Ask Grok
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 Post Box.
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.
