Reading Experience Database
1450-1945

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Record 17577

Reading Experience:

Evidence:
'[Rev Charles Burney's] Abridgement of Pearson's Exposition of the Creed, is printed, though not yet published. He gave to my father & me each a Copy. His Motto, I think a most happy one, taken from some work of the great Bentley's - "The most excellent Bishop Pearson - the very dust of whose writings is gold". - I have read above half the volume; it is all fudge to call it a book for the use of [underlined] young persons [end underlining] - Unless they are such Young Persons as Moll, who reads Lock on Human Understanding in two days, & says it is easy, & fancies she understands it - And the same farce she played regarding Butler's Analogy, the toughest book (allowed by learned men) in the English language, which she spoke of with the familiar partiality I would speak of Tom Hickerthrift, & bamboozled me into trying to read - and, Good Lord! when I had pored over a dozen pages & shook my ears, and asked myself - "Well, Sal, how dost like it? Dost understand one word?" "O, yes; all the [underlined] words [end underlining], but not one of their meanings when put together." "Why, then, Sal; put the book away; and say nothing about it; but say thy prayers in peace, & leave the reasons [underlined] why [end underlining] thou art impelled to say them, and all the [underlined] fatras [end underlining] of analyzation, to those who have more logical brains, or more leisure to read what they do not comprehend". But, however, a great part of Dr Charles's abridgement, I flatter myself I [underlined] do [end underlining] understand; and what is too deep for me, Moll may explain. He has retained a heap of hard words, which send me to Dr Johnson's dictionary continually - Some of them, are expressive, & worth reviving, others, we have happier substitutes for, and it was ungraceful to admit them, and shewed a false and pedantic taste'.
Century: 1800-1849
Date: Until: 29 Dec 1809
Country: England
Time: n/a
Place: city: London
specific address: Chelsea College
   
Type of Experience (Reader):
silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
Type of Experience (Listener):
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

Reader/Listener/Reading Group:

Reader:Sarah Harriet Burney
Age Adult (18-100+)
Gender Female
Date of Birth 29 Aug 1772
Socio-economic group: Professional / academic / merchant / farmer
Occupation: writer
Religion: n/a
Country of origin: England
Country of experience: England
Listeners present if any:
(e.g. family, servants, friends, workmates)
n/a
Additional comments: n/a

 

Text Being Read:

Author: Charles Burney
Title: The exposition of the Creed, by J. Pearson... abridged for the use of young persons
Genre: Other religious
Form of Text: Print: Book, printed book not yet published
Publication details: n/a
Provenance: owned

 

Source Information:

Record ID: 17577  
Source - Print  
  Author: Sarah Harriet Burney
  Editor: Lorna J. Clark
  Title: Letters of Sarah Harriet Burney, the
  Place of Publication: Athens GA / London
  Date of Publication: 1997
  Vol: n/a
  Page: 108
  Additional comments: n/a

Citation: Sarah Harriet Burney, Lorna J. Clark (ed.), Letters of Sarah Harriet Burney, the (Athens GA / London, 1997), p. 108, http://can-red-lec.library.dal.ca/Arts/reading/recorddetails2.php?id=17577, accessed: 29 March 2024

Additional comments:

letter to Charlotte Barrett, 29th December 1809. Author was Charles Burney Jr, son of the music historian, and SHB's half brother.

 

 

Reading Experience Database version 2.0.  Page updated: 27th Apr 2016  3:15pm (GMT)