Selected Short Fiction (66 page)
Read Selected Short Fiction Online
Authors: CHARLES DICKENS
DOCTOR MARIGOLD'S PRESCRIPTIONS
âTo Be Taken Immediately' and âTo Be Taken for Life' formed the framework for
Doctor Marigold's Prescriptions,
the extra Christmas number of
All the Year Round
for 1865 which provides the present text.
Doctor Marigold's Prescriptions
also contained a ghost story entitled âTo Be Taken with a Grain of Salt', omitted from this selection. There has been some uncertainty regarding the authorship of this omitted piece. However, Ruth F. Glancy has resolved the uncertainty and attributed âTo Be Taken with a Grain of Salt' to Dickens (see Glancy,
Dickens's Christmas Books, Chistmas Stories, and Other Short Fiction: An Annotated Bibliography
[New York: Garland, 1985], pp. 437-38].
TO BE TAKEN IMMEDIATELYDoctor Marigold's Prescriptions,
the extra Christmas number of
All the Year Round
for 1865 which provides the present text.
Doctor Marigold's Prescriptions
also contained a ghost story entitled âTo Be Taken with a Grain of Salt', omitted from this selection. There has been some uncertainty regarding the authorship of this omitted piece. However, Ruth F. Glancy has resolved the uncertainty and attributed âTo Be Taken with a Grain of Salt' to Dickens (see Glancy,
Dickens's Christmas Books, Chistmas Stories, and Other Short Fiction: An Annotated Bibliography
[New York: Garland, 1985], pp. 437-38].
1
(p. 344)
Cabbage.
Scraps of material stolen by tailors in the course of cutting out their work and thus slang for a tailor.
(p. 344)
Cabbage.
Scraps of material stolen by tailors in the course of cutting out their work and thus slang for a tailor.
2
(p. 345)
hearts of oak.
From a patriotic song in
Harlequin's Invasion
(1759) by David Garrick. The actual description is âheart of oakâ, rather than âhearts'.
(p. 345)
hearts of oak.
From a patriotic song in
Harlequin's Invasion
(1759) by David Garrick. The actual description is âheart of oakâ, rather than âhearts'.
3
(p. 346) Board of
Guardians.
Local administrators of the Poor Law. The New Poor Law of 1834 was a triumph of the kind of Malthusian zeal to which Dickens was unalterably opposed. In order to discourage pauperism, the workhouses were deliberately conducted with great severity and, as Oliver Twist discovered, the prescribed diet was kept as marginal as possible. At the time of
Doctor Marigold's Prescriptions,
conditions in the workhouses were still notoriously grim; in
Our Mutual Friend,
the novel on which Dickens was working just before he wrote this Christmas number, an elderly woman named Betty Higden, impelled by her horror of parochial charity, stubbornly resists assistance and wanders over the countryside, with money for her burial sewed into her dress, until she dies.
(p. 346) Board of
Guardians.
Local administrators of the Poor Law. The New Poor Law of 1834 was a triumph of the kind of Malthusian zeal to which Dickens was unalterably opposed. In order to discourage pauperism, the workhouses were deliberately conducted with great severity and, as Oliver Twist discovered, the prescribed diet was kept as marginal as possible. At the time of
Doctor Marigold's Prescriptions,
conditions in the workhouses were still notoriously grim; in
Our Mutual Friend,
the novel on which Dickens was working just before he wrote this Christmas number, an elderly woman named Betty Higden, impelled by her horror of parochial charity, stubbornly resists assistance and wanders over the countryside, with money for her burial sewed into her dress, until she dies.
4
(p. 349)
old lady in Threadneedle-street.
A familiar name for the Bank of England, situated in Threadneedle Street. In 1850, Dickens collaborated with his sub-editor H. W. Wills on an article of this tide, reprinted and discussed in Harry Stone's edition of Charles
Dickens' Uncollected Writings from Household Words 1850-1859
, vol. I (Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 1968).
(p. 349)
old lady in Threadneedle-street.
A familiar name for the Bank of England, situated in Threadneedle Street. In 1850, Dickens collaborated with his sub-editor H. W. Wills on an article of this tide, reprinted and discussed in Harry Stone's edition of Charles
Dickens' Uncollected Writings from Household Words 1850-1859
, vol. I (Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 1968).
6
(p. 3 55)
the Favourite Comic of Shivery Shakey, ain't
it
cold.
A popular song, written by J. Beuler, entitled âThe Man That Couldn't Get Warm'. The first verse - quoted by James T. Lightwood in
Charles Dickens and Music
(London: Charles H. Kelly, 1912), p. 94 - warns:
(p. 3 55)
the Favourite Comic of Shivery Shakey, ain't
it
cold.
A popular song, written by J. Beuler, entitled âThe Man That Couldn't Get Warm'. The first verse - quoted by James T. Lightwood in
Charles Dickens and Music
(London: Charles H. Kelly, 1912), p. 94 - warns:
All you who're fond in spite of price
Of pastry, cream and jellies nice
Be cautious how you take an ice
Whenever you're overwarm.
A merchant who from India came,
And Shiverand Shakey was his name,
A pastrycook's did once entice
To take a cooling, luscious ice,
The weather, hot enough to kill,
Kept tempting him to eat, until
It gave his corpus such a chill
He never again felt warm.
Shiverand Shakey O, O, O,
Criminy Crikey! Isn't it cold,
Woo, woo, woo, oo, oo,
Behold the man that couldn't get warm.
Of pastry, cream and jellies nice
Be cautious how you take an ice
Whenever you're overwarm.
A merchant who from India came,
And Shiverand Shakey was his name,
A pastrycook's did once entice
To take a cooling, luscious ice,
The weather, hot enough to kill,
Kept tempting him to eat, until
It gave his corpus such a chill
He never again felt warm.
Shiverand Shakey O, O, O,
Criminy Crikey! Isn't it cold,
Woo, woo, woo, oo, oo,
Behold the man that couldn't get warm.
7
(p. 359)
Over
the
hills and far away.
A traditional refrain; cf. John Gay,
The Beggar's Opera
(1728), I, xiii, air xvi, as well as the nursery rhyme which begins:
(p. 359)
Over
the
hills and far away.
A traditional refrain; cf. John Gay,
The Beggar's Opera
(1728), I, xiii, air xvi, as well as the nursery rhyme which begins:
Tom, he was a piper's son,
He learnt to play when he was young,
And all the tune that he could play
Was, âOver the hills and far away'.
He learnt to play when he was young,
And all the tune that he could play
Was, âOver the hills and far away'.
9
(p. 363)
eight-and-forty printed pages, six-and-ninety columns.
A description of the format in which this and the other extra Christmas numbers of
All the Year Round
originally appeared. The earlier extra Christmas numbers of
Household Words,
beginning in 1852, consisted of thirty-six pages and sold for threepence; they were printed by Bradbury and Evans whose disagreement with Dickens, stemming from the break-up of his marriage in 1858, led to the establishment of
All the Year Round
published jointly by Chapman & Hall and by Dickens himself.
TO BE TAKEN FOR LIFE(p. 363)
eight-and-forty printed pages, six-and-ninety columns.
A description of the format in which this and the other extra Christmas numbers of
All the Year Round
originally appeared. The earlier extra Christmas numbers of
Household Words,
beginning in 1852, consisted of thirty-six pages and sold for threepence; they were printed by Bradbury and Evans whose disagreement with Dickens, stemming from the break-up of his marriage in 1858, led to the establishment of
All the Year Round
published jointly by Chapman & Hall and by Dickens himself.
1
(p. 364)
âI
says
the sparrow, with my bow and arrow.'
From the nursery rhyme which begins:
MAIN LINE. THE BOY AT MUGBY(p. 364)
âI
says
the sparrow, with my bow and arrow.'
From the nursery rhyme which begins:
Who killed Cock Robin?
I, said the Sparrow,
With my bow and arrow,
I killed Cock Robin.
I, said the Sparrow,
With my bow and arrow,
I killed Cock Robin.
âThe Boy at Mugby' was first published as part of
Mugby Junction,
the extra Christmas number of
All the Year Round
for 1866 which provides the present text. See note I to âThe Signalman' (p. 412).
Mugby Junction,
the extra Christmas number of
All the Year Round
for 1866 which provides the present text. See note I to âThe Signalman' (p. 412).
2
(p. 371)
Cooke and Wheatstone electrical machinery.
William Fothergill Cooke (1806-79) and Charles Wheatstone (1802-75) jointly made important contributions to the development of the electric telegraph.
(p. 371)
Cooke and Wheatstone electrical machinery.
William Fothergill Cooke (1806-79) and Charles Wheatstone (1802-75) jointly made important contributions to the development of the electric telegraph.
3
(p. 377)
Bright.
John Bright (1811-89), noted orator, member of parliament, and prominent representative of the emerging manufacturing class which exerted an increasing influence on British politics after the Reform Bill of 1832.
GEORGE SILVERMAN'S EXPLANATION(p. 377)
Bright.
John Bright (1811-89), noted orator, member of parliament, and prominent representative of the emerging manufacturing class which exerted an increasing influence on British politics after the Reform Bill of 1832.
First published in the January, February, and March 1868 issues of the Atlantic
Monthly
which provide the present text; the breaks between serial instalments are indicated here by asterisks. Dickens wrote âGeorge Silverman's Explanation' as well as a piece entitled âHoliday Romanceâ, omitted from this selection, for initial publication in America, where he visited, for the second time, from November 1867 to April 1868. The two works subsequently appeared in
All
the
Year Round,
and âGeorge Silverman's Explanation' was serialized in the 1, 15, and 29 February 1868 issues of the latter journal.
Monthly
which provide the present text; the breaks between serial instalments are indicated here by asterisks. Dickens wrote âGeorge Silverman's Explanation' as well as a piece entitled âHoliday Romanceâ, omitted from this selection, for initial publication in America, where he visited, for the second time, from November 1867 to April 1868. The two works subsequently appeared in
All
the
Year Round,
and âGeorge Silverman's Explanation' was serialized in the 1, 15, and 29 February 1868 issues of the latter journal.
1
(p. 384)
the first James of England.
James I suffers even more severely at Dickens's hands in
A Child's History of England
where he is repeatedly referred to as âhis Sowship'.
(p. 384)
the first James of England.
James I suffers even more severely at Dickens's hands in
A Child's History of England
where he is repeatedly referred to as âhis Sowship'.
2
(p. 389)
you won't wrap it up in a napkin, ... but you'll put it out at good interest.
cf. Luke 19: 20-23.
(p. 389)
you won't wrap it up in a napkin, ... but you'll put it out at good interest.
cf. Luke 19: 20-23.
7
(p. 398)
more Greek and Latin than Lady Jane Grey.
Lady Jane Grey (1537-54), the ill-fated queen of England for nine days after the death of Edward VI, was noted for her devotion to learning and, in particular, for her fluent command of Latin and Greek.
(p. 398)
more Greek and Latin than Lady Jane Grey.
Lady Jane Grey (1537-54), the ill-fated queen of England for nine days after the death of Edward VI, was noted for her devotion to learning and, in particular, for her fluent command of Latin and Greek.
a
Dickens's
Christmas Books (A Christmas Carol, The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Battle of Life,
and
The Haunted Man)
have been edited in two volumes for the Penguin English Library by Michael Slater.
Christmas Books (A Christmas Carol, The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Battle of Life,
and
The Haunted Man)
have been edited in two volumes for the Penguin English Library by Michael Slater.
b
Dickens the Novelist
(Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1968), p. xiii.
(Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1968), p. xiii.
c
Memories of Charles Dickens with an Account of âHousehold Words' and âAll
the Year Round'
and of the Contributors
Thereto (London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent, 1913), p. 113.
the Year Round'
and of the Contributors
Thereto (London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent, 1913), p. 113.
d
âDickens and Interior Monologue',
Philological Quarterly,
vol. 38 (1959), pp. 59 â 60. Stone notes that the hallucinative opening of
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
is more conventionally organized and punctuated than some of Dickens's earlier, occasional writings in
Household Words
and
All the Year Round
and contends persuasively that, even in his last and in many ways experimental novel, Dickens was deliberately refraining from complete use of stylistic devices which he had previously employed in his short fiction: âHe decided to sacrifice technique for the sake of intelligibility, verisimilitude for the sake of easing the reader's way' (p. 59).
Philological Quarterly,
vol. 38 (1959), pp. 59 â 60. Stone notes that the hallucinative opening of
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
is more conventionally organized and punctuated than some of Dickens's earlier, occasional writings in
Household Words
and
All the Year Round
and contends persuasively that, even in his last and in many ways experimental novel, Dickens was deliberately refraining from complete use of stylistic devices which he had previously employed in his short fiction: âHe decided to sacrifice technique for the sake of intelligibility, verisimilitude for the sake of easing the reader's way' (p. 59).
e
âCharles Dickens', in
The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell,
ed. Sonia Orwell and Ian Angus (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1970), vol. 1) p. 493.
The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell,
ed. Sonia Orwell and Ian Angus (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1970), vol. 1) p. 493.
f
Harry Stone discusses the controversy between Dickens and Howitt as well as the Christmas number which resulted from it in âThe Unknown Dickens: With a Sampling of Uncollected Writings', in
Dickens Studies Annual,
ed. Robert B. Partlow, Jr, vol. 1 (Carbondale, Ill.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), pp. 1-22, 275-6.
Dickens Studies Annual,
ed. Robert B. Partlow, Jr, vol. 1 (Carbondale, Ill.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), pp. 1-22, 275-6.
g
The connection between this tale and
A Christmas Carol has
been discussed by John Butt in âDickens's Christmas Books',
Pope, Dickens and Others
(Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1969), pp. 134-5. Harry Stone has argued that the
Carol
as well as the other Christmas Books should be viewed as fairy tales; for example, see âDickens' Artistry and
The Haunted Man', The South Atlantic Quarterly,
vol. 61 (1962), pp. 492-505. Michael Slater's General Critical Introduction to his Penguin English Library edition of the
Chrirtmas Books
(Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1971) offers a valuable survey of their background and characteristics; Robert L. Patten's Introduction to
Pickwick Papers
(Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1972), also in this series, contains an important analysis of the function of âThe Story of the Goblins who stole a Sexton' as well as the other tales introduced within the context of
Pickwick.
A Christmas Carol has
been discussed by John Butt in âDickens's Christmas Books',
Pope, Dickens and Others
(Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1969), pp. 134-5. Harry Stone has argued that the
Carol
as well as the other Christmas Books should be viewed as fairy tales; for example, see âDickens' Artistry and
The Haunted Man', The South Atlantic Quarterly,
vol. 61 (1962), pp. 492-505. Michael Slater's General Critical Introduction to his Penguin English Library edition of the
Chrirtmas Books
(Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1971) offers a valuable survey of their background and characteristics; Robert L. Patten's Introduction to
Pickwick Papers
(Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1972), also in this series, contains an important analysis of the function of âThe Story of the Goblins who stole a Sexton' as well as the other tales introduced within the context of
Pickwick.
h
. âThe “Uncanny”', in
Collected Papers,
authorized translation under the supervision of Joan Riviere, vol. IV (1925; reprinted, London: Hogarth Press, 1953), p. 404.
Collected Papers,
authorized translation under the supervision of Joan Riviere, vol. IV (1925; reprinted, London: Hogarth Press, 1953), p. 404.
i
The Hero in Eclipse in Victorian Fiction,
trans. Angus Davidson (London: Oxford University Press, 1956), pp. 171, 172.
trans. Angus Davidson (London: Oxford University Press, 1956), pp. 171, 172.
j
âThe Fiction of Realism:
Sketches by Boz, Oliver Twist,
and Cruikshank's Illustrations', in
Dickens Centennial Essays,
ed. Ada Nisbet and Blake Nevius (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1971), p. 116.
Sketches by Boz, Oliver Twist,
and Cruikshank's Illustrations', in
Dickens Centennial Essays,
ed. Ada Nisbet and Blake Nevius (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1971), p. 116.
k
For a further discussion of this aspect of Dickens's style, see Dorothy Van Ghent, âThe Dickens World: A View from Todgers's',
Sewanee Review,
voL 58 (1950), reprinted in
The Dickens Critics,
ed. George H. Ford and Lauriat Lane, Jr. (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1961), pp. 213-14.
Sewanee Review,
voL 58 (1950), reprinted in
The Dickens Critics,
ed. George H. Ford and Lauriat Lane, Jr. (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1961), pp. 213-14.
l
âDickens and Interior Monologue',
Philological Quarterly,
voL 38 (1959), pp. 62-4.
Philological Quarterly,
voL 38 (1959), pp. 62-4.
m
â
David Copperfield
,
Collected Essays,
vol. I (London: Hogarth Press, 1966), p. 194.
David Copperfield
,
Collected Essays,
vol. I (London: Hogarth Press, 1966), p. 194.
n
. Charles Dickens
(London: Methuen, 1906), p. 82.
(London: Methuen, 1906), p. 82.
o
âIntroduction', to
David Copperfield
(Boston, 1958), reprinted in
The Dickens Critics,
ed. George H. Ford and Lauriat Lane, Jr (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1961), pp. 354-5.
David Copperfield
(Boston, 1958), reprinted in
The Dickens Critics,
ed. George H. Ford and Lauriat Lane, Jr (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1961), pp. 354-5.
p
The Poetry of Experience: The Dramatic Monologue in Modern Literary Tradition
(1957; reprinted New York: Norton, 1963), p. 85.
(1957; reprinted New York: Norton, 1963), p. 85.
q
ibid, p. 83.
r
George H. Ford,
Dickens and His Readers: Aspects of Novel-Criticism since 1836
(1955; reprinted New York: Norton, 1965), p. 67 and note. I have discussed this monologue at greater length in âThe Equivocal Explanation of he has intentionally complicated a reader's understanding of this situation through his chosen narrative technique. Like Conrad's Jim, Dickens's Silverman seems designed to remain an enigmatic reflection of the ambiguity of human existence. Dickens' George Silverman',
Dickens Studies Annual,
ed. Robert B. Partlow, Jr, vol. III (Carbondale, Ill.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1974), pp. 134-43, 239-40, as well as in
Dickens and the Short Story
(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982), pp. 121-31.
Dickens and His Readers: Aspects of Novel-Criticism since 1836
(1955; reprinted New York: Norton, 1965), p. 67 and note. I have discussed this monologue at greater length in âThe Equivocal Explanation of he has intentionally complicated a reader's understanding of this situation through his chosen narrative technique. Like Conrad's Jim, Dickens's Silverman seems designed to remain an enigmatic reflection of the ambiguity of human existence. Dickens' George Silverman',
Dickens Studies Annual,
ed. Robert B. Partlow, Jr, vol. III (Carbondale, Ill.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1974), pp. 134-43, 239-40, as well as in
Dickens and the Short Story
(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982), pp. 121-31.
s
. Charles Dickens' Uncollected Writings from âHousehold Words' 1850-1859
(Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 1968), vol. II, p. 542.
(Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 1968), vol. II, p. 542.
t
The regulations of the prison relative to the confinement of prisoners during the day, their sleeping at night, their taking their meals, and other matters of gaol economy, have been all altered - greatly for the better - since this sketch was first published. Even the construction of the prison itself has been changed.
u
These two men were executed shortly afterwards. The other was respited during his Majesty's pleasure.
v
Its name and address at length, with other full particulars, all editorially struck out.
w
The remainder of this complimentary sentence editorially struck out.
x
The remainder of this complimentary parenthesis editorially struck out.
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