Blind Date, by Sir Bernard Burke

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“MY sister” was the reply; “my sister, whose miniature hangs there.”

“Is it a faithful representation?” further asked Clive. “It is,” rejoined Maskelyne, “of her face and form; but it is unequal to represent the excellence of her mind and character.”

“Well Maskelyne,” said Clive, taking him by the hand; “you know me well, and can speak of me as I really am. Do you think that girl would be induced to come to India, and marry me? In the present state of affairs, I dare not hope to be able to go to England.”

Maskelyne wrote home,* and so recommended Clive’s suit that the lady acquiesced, went to India, and, in 1753, was married at Madras to Clive,* then rising to the highest distinction.

by Sir Bernard Burke 1814-1892

From ‘The Rise of Great Families’ (1873), by Sir Bernard Burke (1814-1892).

* On March 28th, 1752. The letter is extant.

* At St Mary’s Church in Madras on February 18th, 1753. (Madras is the English name for Chennai.)

Précis

On learning that the letter was from Maskelyne’s sister, Margaret, Clive lost no time in asking his friend if the lady might be persuaded to come out to India and marry him. Maskelyne gladly passed on Clive’s proposal, and within weeks Miss Maskelyne was India-bound. The following January, Robert and Margaret were married in Madras.

Questions for Critics

1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?

2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?

3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?

Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.

Précis

Questions for Critics

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