The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1897-04-17
AS MULLER SAW THEM
The Great Phllologlst Relates Stories Of
ThaCkeray, Ruskin and Tennyson.
RATHER a SCATTERING OF IDOLS
Thackeray Made Horrible Pun but
He Displayed Better Manners thnn
the Othcrs-Rnslkinf Lost His Tenn.
per iD a Heated Controversy with
Emorson-Tennyson' Manners.

The Literary Recollections, Of Prof.
Max Muller, which have been appear
Ing serially in Cosmopolis. The follow
ing serially in Cosmopolis are interest
ing. The following Is a "Reminiscences Of
Theckeray:
THACKERAY'S PEN.
One Of my earliest dinners I rennem-
Der at Oxford was to meet Thackeray
Thackeray was then writing "Esmonq."
and Mr. Stoddard- u fellow OF St
Johns college-asked me to meet him at
dinner. We were only four, and we
were all very much awed by Thack-
eray'S presence, particularly /, not being
able as yet to express myself in English
We sat silently for some time, no one
ventured to make the first remark, the
soup was over, and there was a fine
John Dore on the table waiting to be
splayed. We were hoping for some bril-
liant sally from Thackeray, but moth
Ing came. At last Thackeray turned
his large specialized eyes on me and
said:
Are you going to eat your own an
cestor?' I stared, everybody else star
ed. At last we gave it up, and Thacke-
ray, looking very grave and learned,
surely you are the son of the Dorian
Muller-the Muller who wrote that aw
fully learned book on the Dorians; and
was not John Dore the ancestor or all
the Dorians?' There was general OH
after this horrible pun was afraid of
saying anything.
RUSSIN AND EMERSON
OF Ruskin he tells the following anec-
dote:
l remember once taking Emerson TO
lunch with him in his rooms in Corpus
Christi college. Emerson was an old
friend Of his, and in many respects a
cognate soul. But some quite indifrcr-
ent subject turned up, n heated discus
SION ensued, and Ruskin was so upset
tnat he had to quit the room and leave
us alone. Emerson was most unhappy
ana did all he could to make peace
put he had to leave without u reconcil-
iation.
~ remembrance that hardly fatters
Ar. Ruskins power OF control.
Here is picture OF TennySon:
TENNYSON's EARTHLY SIDE.
another though less frequent visitor
70 OXFORD was TennySon. His first Wis
az 10 our house was rather alarming
we lived In a small house in High
street nearly opposite MagdaIcn college
and our establishment was not caIculat-
ed to receive sudden guests, particular
~ poet laureate. He stepped in one
DAY during the long vacation, when Ok
lord was almost empty. Wishing to
snow the great man all civility, we ask
ed him to dinner that night and to break
fast next morning
AT that time almost all the shops
were IN the market. which closed at l
O'Clock. My wife. a young housekecp-
er, did her best for our unexpected
guest. He was known to be gourmand,
ana ut dinner he was evidently put
out by finding the sauce with the sal
mon was not the one he preferred. He
was pleased, however. with the wing
OF chicken, and said 1t was the only
advantage he got from being poet lau-
reate, that he generally received the
Hver-wtng of a chicken.
me next morning at breakfast we had
tather plumed ourselves on having been
ahie to get dish OF outlets, and were
not little surprised. when our guest
arrived, TO see him whip off tie cover
or the hot dish. and hear the eXclama-
uon: Mutton chops! the staple of
every bad inn In England" However
these were but minor matters, though
not without Importance in the ewes
oi young wife to whom Tennyson had
peen like one Of the lmmortals.