Bless those women; they never do anything by halves. Id give him a piece of my mind to feast upon, and I hope hed have a good appetite for it., My dear, said Bob, the children! In time the bells ceased, and the bakers were shut up; and yet there was a genial shadowing forth of all these dinners and the progress of their cooking, in the thawed blotch of wet above each bakers oven; where the pavement smoked as if its stones were cooking too. But even here, two men who watched the light had made a fire, that through the loophole in the thick stone wall shed out a ray of brightness on the awful sea. I went forth last night on compulsion, and I learnt a lesson which is working now. Ebenezer Scrooge (/ b n i z r s k r u d /) is the protagonist of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella A Christmas Carol.At the beginning of the novella, Scrooge is a cold-hearted miser who despises Christmas.The tale of his redemption by three spirits (the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come) has become a defining . Ha, ha! laughed Scrooges nephew. By the time the Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge to see the Cratchit family celebrating their meager Christmas, Scrooge's heart has begun to be softened. And so it was! Are there no workhouses?. If you had fallen up against him (as some of them did), on purpose, he would have made a feint of endeavouring to seize you, which would have been an affront to your understanding, and would instantly have sidled off in the direction of the plump sister. This boy is Ignorance. It was a remarkable quality of the Ghost (which Scrooge had observed at the bakers), that notwithstanding his gigantic size, he could accommodate himself to any place with ease; and that he stood beneath a low roof quite as gracefully and like a supernatural creature, as it was possible he could have done in any lofty hall. Scrooge was the Ogre of the family. Nor was it that the figs were moist and pulpy, or that the French plums blushed in modest tartness from their highly-decorated boxes, or that everything was good to eat and in its Christmas dress; but the customers were all so hurried and so eager in the hopeful promise of the day, that they tumbled up against each other at the door, crashing their wicker baskets wildly, and left their purchases upon the counter, and came running back to fetch them, and committed hundreds of the like mistakes, in the best humour possible; while the Grocer and his people were so frank and fresh that the polished hearts with which they fastened their aprons behind might have been their own, worn outside for general inspection, and for Christmas daws to peck at if they chose. And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. Without venturing for Scrooge quite as hardily as this, I dont mind calling on you to believe that he was ready for a good broad field of strange appearances, and that nothing between a baby and rhinoceros would have astonished him very much. There was nothing of high mark in this. More than eighteen hundred, said the Ghost. They are Mans, said the Spirit, looking down upon them. View all our archive of over 600 Charles Dickens quotations, View quotations by character (sorted by work). Forgive me if I am wrong. Their sentiments are not missed by the miser who realizes he is the "Ogre of the family.". More than eighteen hundred, said the Ghost. But, they were happy, grateful, pleased with one another, and contented with the time; and when they faded, and looked happier yet in the bright sprinklings of the Spirits torch at parting, Scrooge had his eye upon them, and especially on Tiny Tim, until the last. Oh, a wonderful pudding! Look, look, down here! exclaimed the Ghost. Is it a foot or a claw?, It might be a claw, for the flesh there is upon it, was the Spirits sorrowful reply. Spirit, said Scrooge submissively, conduct me where you will. In half a minute Mrs Cratchit enteredflushed, but smiling proudlywith the pudding, like a speckled cannon-ball, so hard and firm, blazing in half of half-a-quartern of ignited brandy, and bedight with Christmas holly stuck into the top. God love it, so it was! The very gold and silver fish, set forth among these choice fruits in a bowl, though members of a dull and stagnant-blooded race, appeared to know that there was something going on; and, to a fish, went gasping round and round their little world in slow and passionless excitement. Himself, always. After Bob Cratchit toasts Mr. Scrooge as "the founder of the feast," the person who made their Christmas dinner possible, Mrs. Cratchit follows with a sarcastic toast of her own. No change, no degradation, no perversion of humanity, in any grade, through all the mysteries of wonderful creation, has monsters half so horrible and dread. With a dimpled, surprised-looking, capital face; a ripe little mouth, that seemed made to be kissedas no doubt it was; all kinds of good little dots about her chin, that melted into one another when she laughed; and the sunniest pair of eyes you ever saw in any little creatures head. This girl is Want. He rejoices to remember a "visit" from the storybook character Ali Baba. Uncle Scrooge!. This boy is Ignorance. It was succeeded by a breathless pause, as Mrs Cratchit, looking slowly all along the carving-knife, prepared to plunge it in the breast; but when she did, and when the long expected gush of stuffing issued forth, one murmur of delight arose all round the board, and even Tiny Tim, excited by the two young Cratchits, beat on the table with the handle of his knife, and feebly cried Hurrah! Oh, a wonderful pudding! The Ghost was greatly pleased to find him in this mood, and looked upon him with such favour, that he begged like a boy to be allowed to stay until the guests departed. Bob had but fifteen Bob a-week himself; he pocketed on Saturdays but fifteen copies of his Christian name; and yet the Ghost of Christmas Present blessed his four-roomed house! A man who once expressed so much contempt and callous disregard for the welfare of the poorest members of society is now beginning to understand just how hard it is for those at the bottom rung of society's ladder. Its dark brown curls were long and free; free as its genial face, its sparkling eye, its open hand, its cheery voice, its unconstrained demeanour, and its joyful air. Have never walked forth with the younger members of my family; meaning (for I am very young) my elder brothers born in these later years? pursued the Phantom. Suppose somebody should have got over the wall of the back-yard, and stolen it, while they were merry with the goosea supposition at which the two young Cratchits became livid! If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.. Not coming! said Bob, with a sudden declension in his high spirits; for he had been Tims blood horse all the way from church, and had come home rampant. . Whereat Scrooges nieces sister - the plump one with the lace tucker[10]: not the one with the rosesblushed. But they didnt devote the whole evening to music. The Ghost of Christmas Present rose. And Martha warnt as late last Christmas Day by half-an-hour!. They are always in earnest. This garment hung so loosely on the figure, that its capacious breast was bare, as if disdaining to be warded or concealed by any artifice. He hasnt the satisfaction of thinkingha, ha, ha!that he is ever going to benefit US with it.. But it had undergone a surprising transformation. And your brother, Tiny Tim! I know what it is, Fred! Then Bob proposed: A Merry Christmas to us all, my dears. Not to sea? He hasnt the satisfaction of thinkingha, ha, ha!that he is ever going to benefit us with it.. Would it apply to any kind of dinner on this day? asked Scrooge. Do go on, Fred, said Scrooges niece, clapping her hands. Have you had many brothers, Spirit?. This girl is Want. This idea taking full possession of his mind, he got up softly and shuffled in his slippers to the door. Study Questions, Activities, and Resources, 156. In almshouse, hospital, and jail, in miserys every refuge, where vain man in his little brief authority had not made fast the door, and barred the Spirit out, he left his blessing, and taught Scrooge his precepts. I wish I had him here. A decorated cake made for a Twelfth Night (January 5, the eve of Epiphany) celebration. I was only going to say, said Scrooges nephew, that the consequence of his taking a dislike to us, and not making merry with us, is, as I think, that he loses some pleasant moments, which could do him no harm. Stave Three: The second of the three spirits Awaking in the middle of a prodigiously tough snore, and sitting up in bed to get his thoughts together, Scrooge had no occasion to be told that the bell was again upon the stroke of One. He rejects all offerings of Christmas cheer and celebration as 'Humbug!'. Study Questions, Activities, and Resources, 213. That was the cloth. Why, wheres our Martha? cried Bob Cratchit, looking round. The Daughters of the Late Colonel: XII, 189. He also tells the men that the men who wish to die should do it and "decrease the population." Study Questions, Activities, and Resources, 9. Having them shown to him in this way, he tried to say they were fine children, but the words choked themselves, rather than be parties to a lie of such enormous magnitude. In time the bells ceased, and the bakers were shut up; and yet there was a genial shadowing forth of all these dinners and the progress of their cooking, in the thawed blotch of wet above each bakers oven; where the pavement smoked as if its stones were cooking too. Scrooges niece was not one of the blind-mans buff party, but was made comfortable with a large chair and a footstool, in a snug corner, where the Ghost and Scrooge were close behind her. In almshouse, hospital, and jail, in miserys every refuge, where vain man in his little brief authority[12]had not made fast the door, and barred the Spirit out, he left his blessing, and taught Scrooge his precepts. Heres Martha, mother! cried the two young Cratchits. Down in the west the setting sun had left a streak of fiery red, which glared upon the desolation for an instant, like a sullen eye, and frowning lower, lower, lower yet, was lost in the thick gloom of darkest night. "Scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the Spirit, and was overcome with penitence and grief." Cratchits "Scrooge was the ogre of the family" Cratchits "They were not a handsome family" Fred "merry Christmas and a happy New Year to the old man, whatever he is!' said Scrooge's nephew. ', When Scrooge protests against this future, the Spirit mocks him by retorting with Scrooge's cruel remark about the need for the poor to die, anyway, as they will "decrease the surplus population." Instructor: Lauren Boivin. look here. So Martha hid herself, and in came little Bob, the father, with at least three feet of comforter exclusive of the fringe, hanging down before him; and his threadbare clothes darned up and brushed, to look seasonable; and Tiny Tim upon his shoulder. Why, bless your heart alive, my dear, how late you are! said Mrs. Cratchit, kissing her a dozen times, and taking off her shawl and bonnet for her with officious zeal. And perhaps it was the pleasure the good Spirit had in showing off this power of his, or else it was his own kind, generous, hearty nature, and his sympathy with all poor men, that led him straight to Scrooges clerks; for there he went, and took Scrooge with him, holding to his robe; and on the threshold of the door the Spirit smiled, and stopped to bless Bob Cratchits dwelling with the sprinkling of his torch. As they move on with the spirit of Christmas future, the image of the Crachits and Tiny Tim remain with Scrooge who continues to be distressed by what he has seen of Tim's illness.
Tommy Lucchese Family Tree,
What Happened To Jerome On Paternity Court,
Articles S
