He also assured me that Dickens's humour was absolutely vulgar,
cheap and out of date.
"I am not surprised that you should think so," I said to him. "You are
from Murcia, you are a lawyer and a Maurista; naturally, you like
Ricardo Leon, and it is equally natural that you should not like
Dickens."
Persons who imagine that it is of no consequence whether Milan is a
seaport or not, who believe that Nietzsche is a drivelling ass, and who
make bold to tell us that Dickens is a cheap author--in one word, young
gentlemen lawyers who are partisans of Maura, are the people who provide
copy for our press. How can the Spanish press be expected to be
different from what it is?
AMERICANS
Unquestionably, Spaniards suffer much from the uncertainty of
information and narrowness of view inevitable to those who live apart
from the main currents of life.
In comparison with the English, the Germans, or the French, whether we
like it or not, we appear provincial. We are provincials who possess
more or less talent, but nevertheless we are provincials.
So it is that an Italian, a Russian, or a Swede prefers to read a book
by a mediocre Parisian, such as Marcel Prevost, to one by a writer of
genuine talent, such as Galdos; it also explains why the canvases of
second rate painters such as David, Gericault, or Ingres are more highly
esteemed in the market than those of a painter of genius like Goya.
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