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. 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! Two tumblers, and a custard-cup without a handle. Yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish; but prostrate, too, in their humility. 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. It would have been flat heresy to do so. Scrooge had observed this change, but never spoke of it, until they left a childrens Twelfth Night party, when, looking at the Spirit as they stood together in an open place, he noticed that its hair was grey. Spirit, said Scrooge submissively, conduct me where you will. Scrooges nephew revelled in another laugh, and as it was impossible to keep the infection off; though the plump sister tried hard to do it with aromatic vinegar; his example was unanimously followed. . Alas for Tiny Tim, he bore a little crutch, and had his limbs supported by an iron frame! Bobs voice was tremulous when he told them this, and trembled more when he said that Tiny Tim was growing strong and hearty. And it comes to the same thing.. Forgive me if I am wrong. Hearing abstractly about "the poor" does nothing but irritate Scrooge; however, seeing one particular kindhearted family struggling to have a merry Christmas makes poverty and want real to him. I went forth last night on compulsion, and I learnt a lesson which is working now. Sit ye down before the fire, my dear, and have a warm, Lord bless ye!, No, no! Is there a peculiar flavour in what you sprinkle from your torch? asked Scrooge. Bobs voice was tremulous when he told them this, and trembled more when he said that Tiny Tim was growing strong and hearty. His family cannot afford any of the treatments, or even the nutrition, that might save his life. Scrooge sees the family make much of a simple goose for dinner. And I no more believe Topper was really blind than I believe he had eyes in his boots. Oh, Man! Five minutes, ten minutes, a quater of an hour went by, yet nothing came. A merry Christmas and a happy new year!hell be very merry and very happy, I have no doubt!. Study Questions, Activities, and Resources, 172. And bide the end!. The Daughters of the Late Colonel: IV, 179. He works Bob Cratchit very hard . say he will be spared., If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, none other of my race, returned the Ghost, will find him here. Study Questions, Activities, and Resources, 93. After tea they had some music. He is obviously distressed by it and protests the spirit's words. on which one drinks the health of such an odious, stingy, hard, unfeeling man as Mr. Scrooge. For his pretending not to know her; his pretending that it was necessary to touch her head-dress, and further to assure himself of her identity by pressing a certain ring upon her finger, and a certain chain about her neck; was vile, monstrous! You have never seen the like of me before! exclaimed the Spirit. It has been done in your name, or at least in that of your family, said Scrooge. He knows and cares nothing about Cratchit's life and family. So surely as they raised their voices, the old man got quite blithe and loud; and so surely as they stopped, his vigour sank again. The Spirit stood beside sick beds, and they were cheerful; on foreign lands, and they were close at home; by struggling men, and they were patient in their greater hope; by poverty, and it was rich. Not coming upon Christmas Day!. ", Thus chastised, Scrooge, "bent before the Ghost's rebuke," lifts his head as he hears his name. The Song of the Shirt: Mrs Biddell and an early victory in the Victorian court of public opinion. For they said, it was a shame to quarrel upon Christmas Day. Stave Three: The second of the three spirits 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. He adds that Scrooge very much knew that Marley was dead, having been . Somehow he gets thoughtful, sitting by himself so much, and thinks the strangest things you ever heard. Martha, who was a poor apprentice at a milliners, then told them what kind of work she had to do, and how many hours she worked at a stretch, and how she meant to lie abed to-morrow morning for a good long rest; to-morrow being a holiday she passed at home. The mention of his name cast a dark shadow on the party, which was not dispelled for full five minutes. I wish I had him here. Deny it! cried the Spirit, stretching out its hand towards the city. 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. Mrs. Cratchit calls Mr. Scrooge an "odious, stingy, hard, unfeeling man," and if Bob hadn't reminded her that it was Christmas Day and to calm herself in front of the children, she would never. See!. I mean to give him the same chance every year, whether he likes it or not, for I pity him. How it bared its breadth of breast, and opened its capacious palm, and floated on, outpouring, with a generous hand, its bright and harmless mirth on everything within its reach! It was his own room. Bless those women; they never do anything by halves. 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. It was his own room. Study Questions, Activities, and Resources, 213. He watches as Bob Cratchit takes Tiny Tim's, . Study Questions, Activities, and Resources, 175. You know he is, Robert! Tiny Tim drank it last of all, but he didnt care twopence for it. Taken from the following passage inStave 3 (The Second Of The Three Spirits) ofA Christmas Carol: Mr. One half hour, Spirit, only one!. ", Scrooge wants to profit in a different way, he recognises that there are things that are just as valuable as money. Likewise at the game of How, When, and Where, she was very great, and to the secret joy of Scrooges nephew, beat her sisters hollow: though they were sharp girls too, as could have told you. Think of that! Here is a new game, said Scrooge. 7. Well! There was first a game at blind-mans buff. Any Cratchit would have blushed to hint at such a thing. Study Questions, Activities, and Resources, 60. And now, without a word of warning from the Ghost, they stood upon a bleak and desert moor, where monstrous masses of rude stone were cast about, as though it were the burial-place of giants; and water spread itself wheresoever it listed, or would have done so, but for the frost that held it prisoner; and nothing grew but moss and furze[9], and coarse rank grass. Answer each of the following questions in the form of a sentence. What we're witnessing here is a remarkable change in attitude. Scrooge was the Ogre of the family. Admit it for your factious purposes, and make it worse! Bob Cratchit ' Scrooge was the Ogre of the family. After finally allowing him to leave for the night, Scrooge heads home. Scrooge now has "an interest he had never felt before.". Already a member? Scrooge entered timidly, and hung his head before this Spirit. Here, the flickering of the blaze showed preparations for a cosy dinner, with hot plates baking through and through before the fire, and deep red curtains, ready to be drawn to shut out cold and darkness. The poulterers shops were still half open, and the fruiterers were radiant in their glory. I know what it is!. Hide, Martha, hide!. look here. The poulterers shops were still half open, and the fruiterers were radiant in their glory. If it only puts him in the vein to leave his poor clerk fifty pounds, thats something; and I think I shook him yesterday.. There might have been twenty people there, young and old, but they all played, and so did Scrooge; for wholly forgetting in the interest he had in what was going on, that his voice made no sound in their ears, he sometimes came out with his guess quite loud, and very often guessed quite right, too; for the sharpest needle, best Whitechapel, warranted not to cut in the eye, was not sharper than Scrooge; blunt as he took it in his head to be. A tremendous family to provide for, muttered Scrooge. Never mind so long as you are come, said Mrs Cratchit. Man, said the Ghost, if man you be in heart, not adamant, forbear that wicked cant until you have discovered What the surplus is, and Where it is. Mrs Cratchit made the gravy (ready beforehand in a little saucepan) hissing hot; Master Peter mashed the potatoes with incredible vigour; Miss Belinda sweetened up the apple-sauce; Martha dusted the hot plates; Bob took Tiny Tim beside him in a tiny corner at the table; the two young Cratchits set chairs for everybody, not forgetting themselves, and mounting guard upon their posts, crammed spoons into their mouths, lest they should shriek for goose before their turn came to be helped. Are there no workhouses?. 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. And all for the want of money. They knelt down at its feet, and clung upon the outside of its garment. Hes a comical old fellow, said Scrooges nephew, thats the truth: and not so pleasant as he might be. withered little hand in his, as if he loved the child, and wished to keep him by his side, and dreaded that he might be taken from him. The old man, in a voice that seldom rose above the howling of the wind upon the barren waste, was singing them a Christmas songit had been a very old song when he was a boy!-and from time to time they all joined in the chorus. 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. It was clothed in one simple green robe, or mantle, bordered with white fur. The mention of his name cast a dark shadow on the party, which was not dispelled for full five minutes. "How is Scrooge affected by seeing the Cratchits in A Christmas Carol?" It was his own room. Spirit, said Scrooge submissively, conduct me where you will. And Martha warnt as late last Christmas Day by half-an-hour!. Study Questions, Activities, and Resources, 115. Oh, I have! said Scrooges nephew. Study Questions, Activities, and Resources, 156. The very lamplighter, who ran on before, dotting the dusky street with specks of light, and who was dressed to spend the evening somewhere, laughed out loudly as the Spirit passed, though little kenned the lamplighter that he had any company but Christmas! Describe the two children who emerge from the second spirit's robe in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. And it was a very uncommon kind of torch, for once or twice when there were angry words between some dinner-carriers who had jostled each other, he shed a few drops of water on them from it, and their good humour was restored directly. Study Questions, Activities, and Resources, 146. Himself, always. Also how she had seen a countess and a lord some days before, and how the lord was much about as tall as Peter; at which Peter pulled up his collars so high that you couldnt have seen his head if you had been there. I am sorry for him; I couldnt be angry with him if I tried. Scrooge had observed this change, but never spoke of it, until they left a childrens Twelfth Night party, when, looking at the Spirit as they stood together in an open place, he noticed that its hair was grey. Are there no prisons? said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. After it had passed away, they were ten times merrier than before, from the mere relief of Scrooge the Baleful being done with. At last the dishes were set on, and grace was said. Design changes: Please bear with us if you come across anything that may look a little disjointed. I wish I had him here. And how did little Tim behave? asked Mrs. Cratchit, when she had rallied Bob on his credulity, and Bob had hugged his daughter to his hearts content. 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. (c) Copyright 2012 - 2023 The Circumlocution Office | All Rights Reserved | Built by The Circumlocution Office using WordPress. What did Scrooge say about giving his clerk a day off to celebrate Christmas in Charles Dickens'sA Christmas Carol? The walls and ceiling were so hung with living green, that it looked a perfect grove; from every part of which, bright gleaming berries glistened. Whereat Scrooges nieces sister - the plump one with the lace tucker[10]: not the one with the rosesblushed. I know what it is, Fred! Bob Cratchit said, and calmly too, that he regarded it as the greatest success achieved by Mrs Cratchit since their marriage. All this time, he lay upon his bed, the very core and centre of a blaze of ruddy light, which streamed upon it when the clock proclaimed the hour; and which, being only light, was more alarming than a dozen ghosts, as he was powerless to make out what it meant, or would be at; and was sometimes apprehensive that he might be at that very moment an interesting case of spontaneous combustion, without having the consolation of knowing it. The sky was gloomy, and the shortest streets were choked up with a dingy mist, half thawed, half frozen, whose heavier particles descended in a shower of sooty atoms, as if all the chimneys in Great Britain had, by one consent, caught fire, and were blazing away to their dear hearts content. 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! Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. To a poor one most., Spirit, said Scrooge, after a moments thought, I wonder you, of all the beings in the many worlds about us, should desire to cramp these peoples opportunities of innocent enjoyment., You would deprive them of their means of dining every seventh day, often the only day on which they can be said to dine at all, said Scrooge.
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