Source identified
Read & copy the quotation
“He replied he was very glad to hear it, and wanted to know whether I had ever come across one, for he hadn’t.”
- Source
- The Diary of a Nobody
- Date
- 1892
- Local voice
- Reported speaker · Borset, reported by Charles Pooter
Meaning of “He replied he was very glad to hear…”
The butterman’s retort reverses Pooter’s claim that a City clerk can be a gentleman, making the insult sharper because it first pretends to welcome the possibility.
Where does it come from?
The Diary of a Nobody, Chapter I, April 6 entry; Project Gutenberg #1026. Pooter reports Borset the butterman’s sarcastic response after Pooter says that a City clerk can be a gentleman: Borset is glad to hear it and asks whether Pooter has ever met one. The retained line is reported fictional dialogue by Borset inside Pooter’s diary, not a statement by either Grossmith author.
Why the local voice matters
Pooter reports Borset’s retort inside the fictional diary.
