Well, in the sense that MT could hardly utter a conventionally pompous phrase in passing, such as that one, without a facetious glint in his eye, somewhere, I'm sure.  I'd guess that "White" was as much shorthand for "respectable" as it was a literal racial designation - as in, e.g.,  " that's mighty white of you." 


On Nov 30, 2011, at 11:25 PM, [log in to unmask] wrote:

>> I figure "white" just goes along with "highly respectable" in the 
>> conventional rhetorical litany of attributes accorded a woman one is proud 
>> to have in one's company, at that declarative time  But...who WAS that 
>> white woman?
> 
> Olivia Langdon, I'd assume. I think he was courting her by that time, and I 
> seem to recall they went to see Dickens at least once together. And in a 
> more subjective vein, he really does sound like a proud suitor in this 
> passage -- to my ears, anyway.
> 
> As for the use of "white," I've always taken that as something of a joke.
> 
> -- Bob G.