The Expedition of Humphry Clinker

THE EXPEDITION OF HUMPHRY CLINKER 201
always require more pains, attention, and practice, to acquire both
the words and the music, than to learn the words only; and yet no
body would deny, that the one was imperfect without the other;
he therefore apprehended, that the Scotchman and the Swiss were
better understood by learners, because they spoke the words only,
without the music, which they could not rehearse. One would
imagine this check might have damped the North-Briton; but it
served only to agitate his humour for disputation.—He said, if every
nation had its own recitative or music, the Scots had theirs, and
the Scotchman who had not yet acquired the cadence of the English,
would naturally use his own in speaking their language; therefore,
if he was better understood than the native, his recitative must be
more intelligible than that of the English; of consequence, the dialect
of the Scots had an advantage over that of their fellow subjects,
and this was another strong presumption that the modern English
had corrupted their language in the article of pronunciation.
The lieutenant was, by this time, become so polemical, that
every time he opened his mouth out flew a paradox, which he main-
tained with all the enthusiasm of altercation; but all his paradoxes
savoured strong of a partiality for his own country. He undertook
to prove that poverty was a blessing to a nation; that oatmeal was
preferable to wheat-flour; and that the worship of Cloacina, in
temples which admitted both sexes, and every rank of votaries pro-
miscuously, was a filthy species of idolatry that outraged every idea
of delicacy and decorum. I did not so much wonder at his broach-
ing these doctrines, as at the arguments, equally whimsical and
ingenious, which he adduced in support of them.
In fine, lieutenant Lismahago is a curiosity which I have not yet
sufficiently perused; and therefore I shall be sorry when we lose
his company, though, God knows, there is nothing very amiable in
his manner or disposition.—As he goes directly to the south-west
division of Scotland, and we proceed in the road to Berwick, we
shall part to-morrow at a place called Felton-bridge; and, I dare
say, this separation will be very grievous to our aunt Mrs. Tabitha,
unless she has received some flattering assurance of his meeting
her again. If I fail in my purpose of entertaining you with these
unimportant occurrences, they will at least serve as exercises of
patience, for which you are indebted to
Yours always,
Morpeth, July 13. J. MELFORD