In addition to the awkwardness of his general
manner, he 'makes mouths,' which would of themselves be sufficient to
mar the agreeableness of his delivery. And his manner of speaking, and
the ungracefulness of his gesticulation, are greatly aggravated by
his strong Scotch accent. Even to the generality of Scotchmen his
pronunciation is harsh in no ordinary degree. Need I say, then, what
it must be to an English ear?
[Footnote A: Shade of Mr. Turveydrop senior, hear this man!]
"I was present some months ago, during the delivery of a speech by Mr.
Carlyle at a meeting held in the Freemasons' Tavern, for the purpose
of forming a metropolitan library; and though that speech did not
occupy in its delivery more than five minutes, he made use of some of
the most extraordinary phraseology I ever heard employed by a
human being. He made use of the expression 'this London,' which he
pronounced 'this Loondun,' four or five times--a phrase which grated
grievously on the ears even of those of Mr. Carlyle's own countrymen
who were present, and which must have sounded doubly harsh in the ears
of an Englishman, considering the singularly broad Scotch accent with
which he spoke.
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