The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1892-11-24
THEY 0ISLIKED AMERICANS.
Famous Foreign Authors Who Railc,
Against Tia.

Famous Foreign Authors who Rallied
Against Us.
As is usual with the literary men of
England, or at least it was so while the
venerable poet was still in the prime of
life, Tennyson cherished a very fervent
DISLIKE of Americans, due no doubt to
the Ubiquitous and dishonest lack of
international copyright law in the
United States, says Lucy Hooper. One
cannot blame the author who has seen
his best works disseminated far and
wide through a land that boasts of a
larger proportion of readers than any
other, without receiving any compensa-
ton for the works aforesaid. They one
and all abominate us, and have always
done so.
Macaulay loathed US Thackeray
with difficulty restrained his caustic pen
from writing bitter diatribes against
us. Dickens said pretty things about
us in print and in public, but left on
record in his letters how cordially he
detested America and the Americans,
and how distressed he was at the fail
ure of his hopes of seeing our nation go
to wrack and ruin. Alexander Dumas
will never forgive US for the thousands
of which he has been defrauded by the
impossibility of securing any royalties
on la Dame aux Camellias" for its
countless representations in our land.
Only the greatest of them all, Victor
Hugo, seemed to find in the extension
of his fame amongst an alien people,
speaking different language from his
own, full compensation for his pecu-
mary losses brought about by our lack
of an international copyright law. And
the travelling American who came to
deposit at his feet homage more or
less sincere always met with a courte-
Gus reception.
1t is recorded of Carlyle that a trans
Atlantic admircr once ventured to ring
at the door of the house in Chelsea and
Carlyle himself came to respond TO the
call Utterly taken abacll by the unex-
pected apparition of his idol, the caller
stammered forth in confusion: Isis
Mr.. Carlyle at home?" mol" thun-
dered the sage as he slammed the door
in the would-bo intruder's face. Some
thing of the kind took place with an
American lady, the daughter of a dis
tinguished statesman and the wife of a
New England millionaire, one of the
war governors of the secession conflict,
in regard to Tennyson. She was travel
ing in England just after the close of
the civil war, and CHANGED to visit the
part of England in which Tennyson was
then residing.
She wrote him q very courteous note,
asking permission to call to see him.
but she failed to set forth in full her
claim to distinction as the daughter of
one noted American and the wife of an
other. Sh, received from the poet a
reply couched in terms of repellant in
science, setting forth his dislike to Wis.,
itors and his especial detestation of the
United States and all its citizens. After
this letter had been forwarded to its
destination, he accidentally learned who
and what the lady in question really
was. Forthwith he wrote to her a sec.
ond time. expressing his regret at not
having sooner become acquainted with
the fact that she was the daughter of
one celebrated American and the wife of
another. and asking her to fix herself
the day and the hour at which she would
come and see him. The answer that he
received was at once spirited and digni-
fed. IF | was not to be admitted to
your presence" wrote our country
woman, simply Is an American lady
and a sincere admirer of your genius,
prefer not to come at ALL" And she
staid away. Tribune.