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NOTES ON ISSUE 9: GLOSSARY
PART 1 OF 3
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Glancing at his hands, which were
discoloured by his late work…
Doctor Manette’s hands are probably discolored as a result of contact
with the materials out of which he makes shoes – glues, waterproofing
agents like pitch, tanned leathers, and so forth. The Dictionary
of Daily Wants (1859) gives the following directions for the
preparation of leather:
The principal object of the art of
converting skin into leather is to render it strong, tough, and
durable, and to prevent its destruction by putrefaction. The skins are
first cleansed of hair and cuticle, and then impregnated either with
vegetable tar and extract, as in the production of tanned leather, or
with alum and other salts, as for tawed leather. These processes are
sometimes combined, and tanned leather often undergoes the further
operation of currying, or impregnating with oil…. [T]hick sole leather
is tanned; white kid for gloves is tawed; the upper leather for boots
and shoes is tanned and curried; and fine Turkey leather is tawed, and
afterwards slightly tanned. (620)
“I
believe,” returned Doctor Manette, “that there had been a strong and
extraordinary revival of the train of thought and remembrance that was
the first cause of the malady. Some intense associations of a most
distressing nature were vividly recalled, I think. It is probable that
there had long been a dread lurking in his mind, that those
associations would be recalled – say, under certain circumstances –
say, on a particular occasion. He tried to prepare himself, in vain;
perhaps the effort to prepare himself, made him less able to bear it.
Doctor Manette’s account of his condition (which he and Mr. Lorry
discuss as though it were another’s) draws on 18th-century theories of
psychology derived from John Locke and developed by David Hartley and
others (Maxwell 462). Locke discusses the psychological power of the
association and mis-association of ideas in An Essay Concerning
Human Understanding (1690), in a chapter called “Of the
Association of Ideas”:
Some of
our Ideas have a
natural Correspondence and Connexion one with another: It
is the Office and Excellency of our Reason to trace these,
and hold them together in that Union and Correspondence which
is founded in their peculiar Beings. Besides this there is
another Connexion of Ideas wholly owing to Chance or Custom; Ideas
that in themselves are not at all of kin, come to be so united
in some Men’s Minds, that ‘tis very hard to separate
them, they always keep in company, and the one no sooner at
any time comes into the Understanding but its Associate appears
with it; and if they are more than two which are thus united,
the whole gang always inseparable shew themselves together….
That there are such Associations of [Ideas] made by Custom
in the Minds of most Men, I think no Body will question who
has well consider’d himself or others; and to this,
perhaps, might be justly attributed most of the Sympathies
and Antipathies observable in Men, which work as strongly,
and produce as regular Effects as if they were Natural, and
are therefore called so, though they at first had no other
Original but the accidental Connexion of two Ideas,
which either the strength of the first Impression, or future
Indulgence so united, that they always afterwards kept company
together in that Man’s Mind, as if they were but one
Idea. I say most
of the Antipathies, I do not say all, for some of them are
truly natural, depend upon our original Constitution, and
are born with us; but a great part of those which are counted
Natural, would have been known to be from unheeded, though,
perhaps, early Impressions, or wanton Phancies at first, which
would have been acknowledged the Original of them if they
had been warily observed. A grown Person surfeiting with Honey,
no sooner hears the Name of it, but his Phancy immediately
carries Sickness and Qualms to his Stomach, and he cannot
bear the very Idea
of it; other Ideas
of Dislike and Sickness, and Vomiting presently accompany
it, and he is disturb'd, but he knows from whence to date
this Weakness, and can tell how he got this Indisposition….
This wrong Connexion in our Minds of Ideas
in themselves, loose and independent of one another, has such
an influence, and is of so great force to set us awry in our
Actions, as well Moral as Natural, Passions, Reasonings, and
Notions themselves, that, perhaps, there is not any one thing
that deserves more to be looked after….
Instances of this kind [the mis-association of ideas] are
so plentiful every where, that if I add one more, it is only
for the pleasant oddness of it. It is of a young Gentleman,
who having learnt to Dance, and that to great Perfection,
there happened to stand an old Trunk in the Room where he
learnt. The Idea
of this remarkable piece of Household-stuff, had so mixed
it self with the turns and steps of all his Dances, that though
in that Chamber he could Dance excellently well, yet it was
only whilst that Trunk was there, nor could he perform well
in any other place, unless that, or some such other Trunk
had its due position in the Room. If this Story be suspected
to be dressed up with some comical Circumstances, a little
beyond precise Nature; I answer for my self, that I had it
some Years since from a very sober and worthy Man, upon his
own knowledge, as I report it…. (394-400)
The peculiarity described in the last
paragraph – a debility arising from a particular association or
mis-association of ideas – is something like Doctor Manette’s. Under
“certain circumstances,” the old trauma of the Bastille is recalled,
and he succumbs to the madness that previously resulted from the
experience. However, because the malady seems to be caused by an
association of ideas, only the revival of those ideas would be likely
to bring it on. Thus it is that the Doctor says, “with the firmness of
self-conviction, ‘that [nothing] but the one train of association would
renew it.’”
“The occupation resumed under the influence of this
passing affliction so happily recovered from,” said Mr. Lorry, clearing
his throat, “we will call – Blacksmith’s work. Blacksmith’s work.”
Blacksmiths are metal-workers who fashion iron or other black metals
(as “whitesmiths” are those who work on tin or white metals [Oxford
English Dictionary]). Mr. Lorry may choose to substitute
“blacksmith’s work” for Doctor Manette’s cobbling because both trades
are
manual and artisanal; also, blacksmiths sometimes make shoes (metal
ones for horses). There is thus a general resemblance between Doctor
Manette’s profession and the profession attributed to the fictional
sufferer.
“I quite understand it to be a nice question. And
yet I think – ”
“Nice,” in the 18th and 19th centuries, usually meant “[f]astidious,
dainty, difficult to please, esp[ecially] in respect of food or
cleanliness; also in good sense, refined, having refined tastes” (OED).
Alternate meanings are similar, stressing the particularity,
scrupulousness, or sensitivity of the person or thing described. Thus
the “nice question” is not a pleasing or kind one (as modern usage
would suggest), but rather one of particular delicacy, requiring tact.
“…as a plodding man of business who only deals with
such material objects as guineas, shillings, and bank-notes – may not
the retention of the thing, involve the retention of the idea?”
The “material objects” with which Mr. Lorry is concerned are monetary.
A guinea is worth slightly more than an English pound, at 21 shillings
(a pound is equal to 20 shillings). And bank notes, both in Mr. Lorry’s
time and Dickens’, were promissory notes something like checks or
traveler’s checks – “A promissory note given by a banker … payable at a
fixed date and to a specified person” (OED). (18th- and
19th-century bank notes were not, as now, simply paper money.) By the
mid-19th century, the Bank of England had a monopoly on the issue of
bank notes. The Dictionary of Daily Wants (1859) gives an
account of bank notes at the time Dickens was writing, including a
description of the notes, methods of circulation, and insurance against
loss or theft:
BANK
NOTE. – A species of promissory note issued by the Bank of England,
payable on demand. Gold and silver can always be obtained for notes
upon any day in the week from ten [until] four. A bank note is a legal
tender for the payment of any amount above £5. If a bank note be
destroyed by fire or otherwise, and satisfactory proof be given to the
directors of the Bank of England of the fact, together with sufficient
security to indemnify them in the event of their being afterwards
called upon to pay it, a note of equal value to the one destroyed will
be given by the authorities…. When a person loses a bank note, or has
one stolen from him, he should immediately forward the particulars of
the note to the Bank of England, and advertise in the public papers
that the payment of the note is stopped; and should it be presented at
the bank, notice of the fact will be sent to the loser, and the note
detained to allow time for inquiry.
If a person finds a bank note, and after advertising for the owner
unsuccessfully, applies it to his own use, he cannot be proceeded
against criminally should the owner afterwards establish his claim, but
is nevertheless compelled to refund the amount.
The following precautions in connection with bank notes are
worthy of observation. When a bank note is remitted by letter, one half
should be sent first by itself, with a request for an acknowledgment
of its receipt; when this comes to hand, the second half may be
forwarded. Bank notes should not be left lying carelessly about a room,
on chairs, tables, drawers, &c., as they are liable to be swept
into the fire, or out of the window; neither should they be carried
loosely in the pocket…. Country notes [issued by banks outside London]
should not be taken in payment in London, unless made payable at some
London bankers. When a bank note is taken in payment, the name and
address of the person who pays it, together with the date of payment,
should be written on it; at the same time a memorandum should be taken
of the amount, number, and date of the note. (93)
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