Delphi Complete Works of Jerome K. Jerome (Illustrated) (Series Four) (527 page)

While standing by the graveside thoughts of the rich harvest of his life crowded into the mind. Nobly did he serve his generation, sweetening the moral and religious life of his time. Out of the abundance of his kindly heart he made the pathway of life easier for many poor wayfarers. Though dead, his thoughts and acts survive, and will leave their mark upon the character of unborn generations. The light of his white soul will illuminate the days that are ahead.

The thoughts of millions of people who have felt the magic of Jerome’s kindly humour, or the profound spiritual significance of his plays will go out to the faithful partner of his life, Mrs. Jerome, who was always by her husband’s side in good fortune and ill, and who ministered to his every need in sickness and in health, till death did them part; also to his daughter, Miss Jerome, who for some years acted as her father’s secretary and companion, and now is the comfort of her mother in her widowhood.

Critics have pointed out that in some of Jerome’s short stories, and in “Paul Kelver”, the influence of Dickens can be detected; also that some of his humour is reminiscent of Mark Twain. Surely it is true that most writers are influenced by their predecessors or by their contemporaries, and in the interests of the development of literature it is useful to trace these connections. It is good, for instance, to study the effect that other writers had upon Shakespeare, also the influence that Mozart exercised over the early compositions of Beethoven, or the extent to which Handel gave to his music the breadth and majesty of Purcell.

If it is true that Jerome reveals the influence of Dickens and Mark Twain, it is not suggested that he was a copyist. His individuality is apparent in almost every line he wrote. Jerome was nothing if not himself.

But these memoirs do not profess to be a scientific treatise of Jerome’s art and technique; neither are they a critical review of his writings from the scientific standpoint; nor yet an attempt to fix his position and importance in modern English literature. It is perhaps too early to attempt these things. It has been well said that “the balances in which the works of the masters are weighed vibrate long before they are finally adjusted”.

In October, 1927, a lecture was given to the prisoners in Swansea Gaol by the Rev. T. Mardy Rees on Jerome K. Jerome. The prisoners laughed and cried at the humour and pathos of the selections. An employer of labour accompanying the chairman was profoundly moved by the examples given of Jerome’s kindheartedness. He recognized among the prisoners an old employé who was married and had five children. At the close he said he would pay the man’s fine and give him a job. The lecturer said: “‘He being dead yet speaketh’. A great heart such as Jerome can never die. He was one of the greatest souls of his generation.”

In October, 1928, a remarkable scene was witnessed at St. Paul’s Church, Covent Garden, London. Jerome’s play
The Passing of the Third Floor Back
was performed on a Sunday afternoon. The sacred edifice was crowded until not an inch of standing room was left. Hundreds of people had to be turned away. The rector, the Rev. Hart Davies, expressed himself as delighted with the experiment. The resident population of the parish being only about one thousand, he was glad to do something to attract casual visitors to the church.

The same play has since been performed with similar success in a Manchester church.

In 1924 Sir Oliver Lodge wrote to a meeting of the Walsall Civic Board of Music, at which Mr. Jerome was expected to be present:

This is to express goodwill to the town of Sister Dora and to assure Mr. Jerome K. Jerome of the gratitude which many feel to him for the humorous and serious writings, especially for the play
The Passing of the Third Floor Back,
which must have made many realize the good that lies buried beneath the surface of ordinary humanity, capable of being evoked by a spirit of faith and charity.

OLIVER LODGE.

These testimonies, selected from many, show that Jerome’s works contain the power to quicken the best instincts in our common humanity; they have in them, therefore, an element of permanency, and it is certain that the more widely they become known the more powerful will be their influence for good in the world.

It was not only for his literary attainments that Jerome was regarded as a great man. In addition to his literary genius he possessed a fine character, an unsullied honour, and a strong faith. Linked to these qualities there was also an indefinable something which emanated from him, and which commanded general homage. It is not easy to find an English word that precisely expresses this attribute. The word
personality
is perhaps the nearest. There is nothing so akin to it as the fragrance of flowers; just as sweet scent is taken from flowers to give refreshment to people, so the fragrance of his beautiful life is perhaps Jerome’s greatest gift to the world.

This subtle atmosphere radiates from some men with greater warmth than others. The Duke of Wellington had it in a marked degree. John Keble had it. Sir Johnson Forbes-Robertson when acting the part of “The Stranger” in
The Passing of the Third Floor Back
had it. Jerome had it, and it was unmistakably felt by those who came into contact with him. Its influence was so potent that this chapter cannot be closed with more appropriate words than those of the old Greek philosopher with which it commenced:

“The workman still is greater than his work.”

THE END

The churchyard of St Mary’s, Ewelme — Jerome’s final resting place

Jerome’s grave