The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-04-09
AN AMERICAN IN EUROPE.
Observations Upon the Life and Politics
Of twenty-five Years Ago.
BY THE LArB
JAMES SHEPHERD PIKE.

u
I.
The frat time I ever saw Mr.. Carlyle was at
one Of Dickens's readings at st. Georges Hall
IN London. He sat on . front bench directly
IN face OF the speaker. I knew him from his
photograph. The reading amused him ex-
csssively. At times his hilarity was bound
less. He laughed aloud. and thrashed his hat
about with q charmin abandon that infected
: and eonvulsed the whole audience. Going out
he remarked to his com panion. II fs q won
r, asfful creature with q book"
Mr.. Carlyle was dressed in o long snuff.col-
cred ~overcoat with an old-fashioned velvet
collar. The carb might have belonged to his
grandfather. He wore a thick cloth vest. we'll
buttoned up. n high standing collar. and an
: ancient black stock loosely buckled round his
neck. His hat was felt. with q eugar-loai
crown. and he kept Il on one knee. atop Of his
crossed legs. He had n full shock o., iron-gray
= hair. with whiskers and moustaches to match.
the twol latter cropped close. giving his face an
expression approaching the haggard. He
seemed rather under tho medium size. and
had the general aspect OF the rccluse and tho
scholar.
On my frst visit to him subsequently. I
found him at his residence in Cheyno row. In
the upper part Of London. near the Thames.
was conducted by n honsemaid IN a flight
Of stairs. into a little parlor above. Tho table
was spread. md q teakottlc was simmering on
/, ito crate OF tho open fire. after tho Dutch
fashion.
d On entering l found Mrs. Carlyle sitting on
/. . chintz- covered sofa near the fro. and Mr..
Carlyle opposite. talking to q gentleman on
American affairs. He asked whit part OF my
country I was from. and I confessed to be a
/, Yankee ofthe straitest sect. which he appeared
to consider was about tho best thing ! could
say for myself. Forthwith he ran of q stream
Of talk In broad Scotch upon the word Yankee.
and then descanted upon the struggle be-
tween the English and French a hundred
years ago to determine which should possess
tho AMI rican continent. He referred to Gov.
pownnll and his writings on tho subject. and
branchcd of on Pitt, whom he eulogized en-
phatically. He gave the details OF the strug-
Rlc Pitt had to mako In America and In Ger
many. proceeding without any break or stop
Page for eome fifteen or twenty minutes.
Then he described Pitts place Of residence in
his latter days. and his last sick and equity
years. when he was served with chickens all
the time. which tho servants were afraid would
mover be cooked just right. and they accord
inRly Kept one constantly on the spit. while
the old man sat UP bolstered BY cushions and
pillows: and thereat Carlyle laughed heartily.
Pitts house Was Just up the river. n few
miles of. and still to be seen. Then he hud a
story to tell OF how Pitt got tired and moved
OF and was very poor. and how he had 10000
left him and grew uneasy. and got tho man
who had taken his house to vacate the prom
ises and let him 20 back. Thra!e's old place
was situated not q great way from there. and
Mr.. Carlyle told the story Of how that was
built and by whom. one Roupell. who had Q
curious and eccentric history. which he gave.
Then. in reply to a remark upon the substan-
tial appearance OF old London. he said the
house no lived In was built In 100. and he had
bricks In his yard OF the time OF Henry VIII. as
good as ever. All good bricks. he declared.
81 would last forever. since terra Gotta was 1000
d years old and rs good as new. But modern
J, bpilders wero 1.-The children OF damnation and
worthy only OF hell fire. rs they built edi1css
y on leased ground. the leases expiring in sixty
years, and the bricks OF which they wore con-
structed were 30 made az to fall into IN I'M
distinsuishnblo heap OF ruins at the end Of that
I period" He blasted this way Of doing. and
said 1t was the way Of all modern doings.
being the natural offspring Of the corruption
Of modern human life. London was an enor-
nous place. growing out Of all bounds. and to
4 end nobody could tell how: increasing ut the
rate OF 43. O0 a year. till now 1t was well up
TO three millions. from all parts Of the globe:
Jews. spectators. adventurous.
men. who found It the great centre which bet
ter served their purpose than any other place.
being midway between America and the rest
Of the world.
An inquiry about n gentleman led him
TO say he knew his father and mother
and his uncle. His mother was very hand
some and became very religious. and had q
great deal OF intellect. and learned Hebrew
and what not. And the father was a strong
minded. scholarly man. very unique.
Carlyle gave an amusing account Of his own
Qrgt visit to pnrls mada in comnnnv with him
: He WAS q great linguiSt and talked French
to Carlyle like o native. He got on bravely till
they crossed the Channel. when the French
began gradually to fail with the stupid natives
Oft Continent. and by the time they got to
Paris he Ind lost It entirely. and fell back on
his English. which tho Parisians understood q
good deal bettor than they did his French. His
companion would sometimes got angry at
< French stupidity and talk in sanscrit. and re-
fuse to speak In any other language.
He smoke o! "Quashee." and related n ludi-
2 erons story OF what n man who had lnte'y been
to see him told him about a transaction In
the West Indies under negro government.
It Was mainly to illustrate the imbeeility OF
Quashco as q governing animal.
Then no dropped the remark that perhaps
Quashee after all enjoyed himself better in
freedom than II he was governed as he ought
TO be. Stimulated by some suggestion. he en-
Y lhrged Upon human condition generally.
which having arrived Mt tho stage Of uni
yersal suffrage and stump ~oratory. Ind be-
I. como d nero struggling. weltering mass Of
:. confusion and corruption. To an inquiry on
tho point OF how things were to be mended.
his wife made the remark that tho proposition
OF the lrishman to rebuild tho jail seemed to
4 Sppiy 10 the case. This was to make the new
jail out Of the stones OF the old one. and Keen
the prisoners In the old building till the new
one was completed. At which turn Carlyle
laughed heartily.
He thought the earnest minds. OF which
there were a few In the w~orld-sinco he had
n himself known two or three In his acquaint-
Anoe OF four or Ave hundred people in Scot
j land. who preferred to serve God Almighty AT
the expense Of ererything else. even life ITSELF
might form a nucleus and evolve something.
v There were different sorts OF liberty. There
waA the liberty Of God Almighty. which Was a