Mrs. Skewton and Mrs. Pardiggle have solved the secret of a happy life, but by different ways. The former perceives it to spring from scholarship vivified by enthusiasm for the fascinating perspectives of history.[1]
"Those darling bygone times, Mr. Carker, * * * with
their delicious fortresses, and their dear old dungeons, and their
delightful places of torture, and their romantic vengeances,
and their picturesque assaults and sieges, and everything that
makes life truly charming! How dreadfully we have degenerated.
- * * We have no faith in the dear old barons, who
were the most delightful creatures—or in the dear old priests, who were the most warlike of men—or even in the days of that inestimable Queen Bess, which were so extremely golden! Dear creature! She was all heart! And that charming father of hers! I hope you dote on Henry the Eighth!"
The latter, on the other hand, lives in the present, is
attuned to the carpe diem idea, and realizes the joy of self-expression
and the exhilaration of labor.[2]
"I freely admit, I am a woman of business. I love hard
work; I enjoy hard work. The excitement does me good. I
am so accustomed and inured to hard work, that I don't know
what fatigue is. * * * This gives me a great advantage
when I am making my rounds. If I find a person unwilling to
hear what I have to say, I tell that person directly, 'I am incapable
of fatigue, my good friend, I am never tired, and I
mean to go on till I have done.' It answers admirably!"
In contrast to the various methods of Dickens, Trollope
practically confines himself to direct comment. His favorite
topics are politics and society. As to the former, radical
iconoclasm is described in the person of Mr. Turnbull.[3]
