The Great Brassey Keeps his Word, by Samuel Smiles

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“No, indeed, I don’t [replied Brassey]; I supposed he was complimenting me in some way, or thanking me for something.”

“He was complimenting you, sir, to some tune,* and asking, as a souvenir of his happy engagement under the Great Brassey, that you would of your goodness make him a present of the shop, iron, tools, and all belonging!”

“Did he, though! I did not understand that.”

“No sir, but you kept on saying, ‘Oui, oui, oui,’ and the fellow’s delighted, as he well may be, they’re worth £50 or £60.”*

“Oh, but I didn’t mean that, I didn’t mean that. Well, never mind, if I said it, he must have them.”

It must be borne in mind, that at that time, at best, Mr Brassey knew very little French, and his staff were well aware of the fact.

by Samuel Smiles 1812-1904

From The Life of George Stephenson and of His Son Robert Stephenson (1868) by Samuel Smiles (1812-1904).

* A phrase meaning ‘extravagantly, to a remarkable degree’.

* According to the Measuring Worth website, £50 in 1854 would be equivalent to almost £5,000 today. This would have to be paid out of Brassey’s own pocket.

Précis

Brassey’s assistants told him that the blacksmith had not only been singing his praises, he had been asking him to make him a present of the railway’s forge, stock, tools and all, worth a tidy sum. Brassey was taken aback, but declared that he had given his word and was obliged to keep his promise.

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

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