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257
Cranford
·
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
15
She
read
one
of
the
conversations
between
Rasselas
and
Imlac,
in
a
high-pitched,
majestic
voice:
and
when
she
had
ended,
she
said,
“I
imagine
I
am
now
justified
in
my
preference
of
Dr
Johnson
as
a
writer
of
fiction.”
The
Captain
screwed
his
lips
up,
and
drummed
on
the
table,
but
he
did
not
speak.
She
thought
she
would
give
him
a
finishing
blow
or
two.
[Picture:
Endeavouring
to
beguile
her
into
conversation]
“I
consider
it
vulgar,
and
below
the
dignity
of
literature,
to
publish
in
numbers.”
“How
was
the
Rambler
published,
ma’am?”
asked
Captain
Brown
in
a
low
voice,
which
I
think
Miss
Jenkyns
could
not
have
heard.
“Dr
Johnson’s
style
is
a
model
for
young
beginners.
My
father
recommended
it
to
me
when
I
began
to
write
letters—
I
have
formed
my
own
style
upon
it;
I
recommend
it
to
your
favourite.”
“I
should
be
very
sorry
for
him
to
exchange
his
style
for
any
such
pompous
writing,”
said
Captain
Brown.
Miss
Jenkyns
felt
this
as
a
personal
affront,
in
a
way
of
which
the
Captain
had
not
dreamed.
Epistolary
writing
she
and
her
friends
considered
as
her
forte.
Many
a
copy
of
many
a
letter
have
I
seen
written
and
corrected
on
the
slate,
before
she
“seized
the
half-hour
just
previous
to
post-time
to
assure”
her
friends
of
this
or
of
that;
and
Dr
Johnson
was,
as
she
said,
her
model
in
these
compositions.
She
drew
herself
up
with
dignity,
and
only
replied
to
Captain
Brown’s
last
remark
by
saying,
with
marked
emphasis
on
every
syllable,
“I
prefer
Dr
Johnson
to
Mr
Boz.”
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