.T HE CHARLOTVFETFOWN GUARDIAN

DECEMBER 19, 1935 - A Christmas Carol A GHOST ~ STORY _ (By Charles Dickens) __1.°£1_1111-_11=‘1_1f2111_1"18‘ 41 vs happy or unhappy; to make our

iveryhow. Away they all want, twzuty couple at once, bands hair round and back again the other way; down the middle and up again; round and round in various stages of affectionate grouping; old mp couple always turning up in the wroril place; new top couple gtarting of; again, as soon m they got there; all top couples at last. and not s bottom one to help them. when this result was brought about old Feuiwil. clapping his hands to stop the dance, cried out, "Well done!" and the iiddler plunged his

~ not face into a pot of poner, es-

pecially provided for that purpose. But scorning rest upon his reap- pearance, he instantly began again, though there were no dancers yet, as if the other fiddler had been carried home, exhausted. on a shut-

ter; and he were a brand new.

man, resolved to beat him out of sight, or perish.

There were mom dances, and there were forfeits, and more dau- ces, and thcre was cake, and there was negus, and there was s great piece o! cold Roast, and there was a great piece of Cold Boiled, and there were mince-pies, and plenty of beer. But the great effect oi the evening came after the Roast and Boiled, when the fiddler (an artful dog, mind! The sort oi man who knew his bminess better than you or I could have told it him!) struck up “Sir Roger de Ccverley.“ Then old Feaaiwig stood out to dance with Mrs. Fezzlwig. Top couple, too; with a good stiii piece oi work cut out m them; three or four and twenty pair of paztners; peo-

_ pie who were not to be trlfled with:

people who would dance, and had no notion of walking.

But if they had been twice as many: ah, four times: old Fezziwig would have been a match for them. and so would Mrs. Flezriwlg. As to her, she was worthy to be his part- ner in every sense oi the term. If that's not high praise tell rne high- er, and I'll use it. A positive light appeared to issue from Fezziwigs calves. They shone in every part pi the dance like moons.’ You couldn‘t have predicted at any given time, what would become of ‘em next.

And when old Fezzlwig and Mrs.|

Fczziwlg had gone all through the dance; advance and retire, hold hands with your partner; bow and courtesy; corkscrew; thread-the- needle, and back again to your place; Fczzlwig “cuff-cut so deft- ly, that he appeared to wink with his legs, and came upon his féet again without a stagger.

when the clock struck eleven, this domestic ball broke up. Ml’. and Mrs. Fezzlwig took their stations, one on either side of the door, and shaking hands with every person individually as he or she went out, wished him or her a Merry Christ- mas. when everybody had retired but, the two ‘pr-entices, they did the same to them; and thus the cheer-

ful voices died away, and the lads,

were left to their beds; which were under a counter in the back-shop.

During the whole oi this time. Scrooge had acted like a man out of his wits. His heart and soul] were in the scene, and with his, former self. I-le corroborated every- thing, remembered everything, gil- ioyd everything, and underwent the strangest agitation. It was not until now when the bright faces of his former self and Dick were turned from them, that he remem- bered the Ghost, and became con- scious that it was locking full up- on him, Iwhile the light upon its head burnt very clear.

“A small matter," said the Ghost, ‘to mflkg these silly folks so full ci gratitude."

"Small!" echoed Scrooge.

The spirit signed to him to list- m to the two apprentices, who were pouring out their hearts in praise oi Fezzlwig: and when ho had done s0, said:

"Why! Is it not? He has spent but s few pounds o!’ your mortal money: three or four perhaps. Is that so much that he deserves this prate?"

"It isn't that," said Scrooge, healed by the remark, and speak- illi.’ unconsciously like his former, not his latter, self. “It isn't that,

Spirit. He has the power to renderyesterday, can even I believo that

(

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se.vice light or burderaome; a, - pleasure or a toil. Say that his power lies in words and locks; in rhings so slight and insignificant that it is impossible to add and count Tm up: what then? The hap- piness he gives is quite as great as i.‘ it cost a iortune."

He felt the Spirit's glance, and stopped. .

“What is the matter?" asked the Ghost.

“Nothing particular," said Scrooge.

"Sornethins. I think?" the Ghost insisted.

“No," said Scrooge, "No. I should like to be ab‘e w say a word or two to my clezk just now! That's all."

His former self turned down the lamps as he gave utterance to the wish: and Scrooge and the Ghost grain stood side by side in the open

“My time grows short," observed the Spirit. "Quick?

This was not addressed to Scrooge, or to any one whom he could see, but it produced an irnm“diate ei- fect. For again Scrooge saw him- self. He was older now; a man in the prime of life. His face chad not the harsh and rigid lines oi later years; but it had begun to wear the signs cf care and avarice. There was an eager, greedy, restless mo- ticn in the eye, which showed the passion that had taken root, where the shadow of the growing trec would iall.- I

He was not alone. but sat by the side of a fair young girl in a

"are you will find a large YI-rdleys. Poitcr and Mares,

various llfllliblllltluug,

Toilet Sets in Silver, Illece and upwards.

C‘ ' ' Chocolates in

51111511" Ulhters and others, Humidors, etc, crous to mention.

i

c

An Excellent ‘Display of Christmas Goods at The Central Drugstore

Special attention has been given p. "ma", w, c mlls stock and we feel we have something out, of the ° Yyllli-hsvaricuslincaweareahowing,

Cow's, l-loubi G511"?- Boilriois in all their best odors "n", no"! “d

Chromium and Inlald Ivory-x

M0111. Ncilsons and Annie L. Hunter's.

Sm k Good P nicely £1.55; in rmtiwfifiwiifim “a 0mm‘

0191"" CM“. All: Trays.

Other articles included Shaver! Sets, Roll; mg c111,", Sm" 11"“1'l>@1"'1°1'==- Walklnr Sticks. Ho: Water Bottles. Splrklit Syinbons. Thermos Kits and Bottle; Cases for ladies and genie and many oflier things

Cull and See them for yofllflglyg], 1191111? 111 11111111111?! pleasing selection.

variety of Toiletries including individually and in “ulhtful bush-all Iiles-

thc leading ‘brandl.

Travelling

foo num-

You will have no dii-

mourning-dress: in whose eyes there were tears, which sparkled in, the light that shone but of-theIwu “’11°i 111 1°" WW confident» Ghost 01 Christmas Past. ‘"1111 11°" Welsh everything by "rt matters little,” she said sbit- G111“ °1"' °11°°1>1118 h". 1i for a ly. “To you, very little. Another idol: 111°11'91" 1°11 We" 111159 511011811 to has displaced me; and if it can1y°ur one 11111111113 91111111919 1° 110 5o. cheer and comfort you in time to d° I 11°11 1111°W 111W Your repent- come, as I woifid have tried to doflame “"11 ‘"31" W°11111 511ml’ 1'01- I have no just cause to grieve." |1°w1 1 111°‘ 111111 1 1916111’ Y°11- W111i

“What idol has displaced you?" '1 11111 11e1111- 11" 111° 10W of him he rejoined. you mo” 11151631 "A golden one." "This is the even-handed dealing 11" of the world?’ he said. ,There is 51.1111 , nothing on which it is s0 hard as| ‘YW may-Hie memory of what poverty; and there is nothing it 15 111151- 11111195 1116 1111i» YOU WEI- professes to condemn with such 1151111 T111111 111 11115- A V9131 111161 severity as the pursuit or wealth." ‘111119-111111 You W111 dismiss the rec- "You fear the world too much,",°11°111°11’°1’ 11. 811N113’. as an un- sha answehed, Kenn, “My your profitable dream, f.om which it ‘other hopes have mowed mm the happened well that you awoke. May ihope o; being bgygnd the chance 0g you be happy in the life you have ,its sordid reproach. I have seen ¢11111°111" .ycur nebicr aspirations fall off cnel 511° 1°11 11101-31111 1-1193! Dflfitd- .by one, until the master-passion, "$111111? 511111 5°P°°8e. “Show mt ream’ 9,1810%” you Have I no“... ‘no more! Conduct me home. Why “What then?" b..- retorted. “Even ‘do you delisht w torture me?" u I have grown m much wyer,‘ "One shadow more!" exclaimed 1what then?. I am not changed to- . ~11“ 911°51- I

head turned from him, she re- ed.

1 “No more!" cried Scrooge. "No

wards you.’ 3m, shook he, head. more. I don't wish to see it. Show “Am 1p" me no more!’ But the relmtless Ghost pinion-

"our contract is an old one. It, m; m,“ when we we", b0“, ccl him in both his arnu, and Zorc-

poor and mum“ to be so, until’ m ed him to observe what happened good season, We could improve our 11-"111- worldly fortune by our patient; in-’ They were iii another scene and dustry. You aie changed. When it place; a mum. not very iarsc or w“ mg“, you we“ mom“- many handsome, but m! of comfort. Near "1 w” a boy," he sgidflmpagyent- the winter fie sat a beautiful young girl, so like the last that Scrooge believed it was the some until he saw hcr, now a comely matron sitting opposite her daughter. The

ly.

"Your own feeling tells you that you were not what you are," she re- turned. "I am. That which prom-

!

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WITH CHRISTMAS EATS

o... meats are cared for under sanitary refrig-

Yonr inspection is invited.

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ised happiness when we were one in heart is fraught with misery now that we are two. i-lcw oiten

and how keenly I have thought of .

this, I will not say. It is enough that I have thought oi it, and can .elcase you.’

"Have I ever sought release?"

"In words? No. Never."

"In what, then?"

"In a changed nature; in an altered spirit; in another atmos- phere oi life; another Hope as its greet end. In everything that made my love of any worth or value in your sight. If this had never been between us,“ said the girl, looking mildly, but with steadniess, upon him; "tell me, would you seek me out and try to win me now? All. no!’

He seemed to yield to the justice of this supposition, in spite of him- self. But he said with a struggle, “You think not."

"I would gladly think otherwise ii I cou‘d," she answered, "Heaven knowsl When I have learned a Truth like this, I know how strong and irresistible it must be. But if you were free today, tomorrow,

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hole in this room was perfectly tumultuous, for there were more zhildren thc.e, than Scrooge in his agitated stat: cf mind could count; and, unlike the celebrated herd in -‘ the poem, they were not forty child- ren conducting themselves like one, but every child was conducting it- se‘! like forty. The consequcn

were uproarious beyond belief; but no one seemed to care; on the con- trary, the mother and daughfer laughed heartily, and enjoyed 1t var-y much; and the latter soon be- 'ginning to mingle in the zports, got 1 plliagfd by the young brlaands 10°51 1ruthlessly. What would I not have 1glvcni to be one of theml Though

Jon would cficfie a doweriess girl- time,

He was about to speak; but with 01' P1111111“. might have called him

,she added in the same breath, ‘laughing

I never could have been so rude,‘

no! no! I wouldn't fcr the wealth of all the world‘ have czushed that braided hair, and tom it down‘. and for the precious little shoe, I wouldrft have plucked it off, God bless my soul! to save my life. As to measuring her waist in sport. as ‘they did, bold young brood, I couldn't have done it; I should have expected my arm to have

and never come straight again. And yet I should have dearly 111K911. own, to have touched her lips; to have questioned her, that the miflm have opened them; to have looked upon the lashes oi her downcast

have let loose waves of hair. 011 inch of which would be a keepsake beyond price: in short, have liked, I do confers, to have’ 1m; the lightest license or a child. and yet been man cncush 1° 111°" its value.

But now a knocking at the door was heard, and such a rush im- mediately ensucd that she with laughing face and plundemi diw was borne towards it, the centre of a flushed and boisterous sfflilp. i081 in time to greet the father, who came home attended by l. mlli laden with Christmas toys and pm- ents. Then the shouting and the ggyuggiipg, and the onslaught that was made on the defeuceless p01’- ter! The scaling him with chairs for ladders to dive into his pocket-B.

ll him oi brown-Film’ parcels- hoid on tight by his cravat. hill him round thq neck, pummel his back, and kick his legs in irreplfl- sibie affection! The shouts of won-

development o.‘ every plckI-IQ W" received! The terrible announce- ment tbat the bebyJiad been taken in the act cf putting a dolls fry- ing-pan into his mouth. and was more than suspected of having swallowed a fictitious turkey, glued on a wooden rfltfbfl The immehlo relief oi finding this a false alarm! The joy, and gratitude and cctasyi They no albindescribable alike. It is enough that by degrees the child-

nn and their emotions got out of

E1'°W11 P11111111 11 1°1 1‘ P11111511m°1m1 his hand relaxed; and had barely

Iiinto a heavy slumber.

CW5. and never raised a blush; 9° TIIE SECOND OF THE THREE

I 5111111111 Awakening in the middle of a

do: and delight with which the’

the parlour, and. by one stair at e

up to {Fem-top of thEH-o-ie; Where they went to bed, and so sub- sided.

And now Scrooge looked on more attentively than ever, when the master of the house, having his daughter leaning fondly on him, sat down with her and her mother at his own fireside; and when he Fhillsht that such another creat- ure, quite es graceful and as full.

father, and been a spring-time in 1-116 haggard winter of his life, his sight grew very dim indeed.

"Belle," said the husband, turn- ing to his wife with a smile, "I saw an old friend of yours this after- noon."

"Who was it?"

"Guess!"

“How can I? Tut, don't I know?” as he laughed, “Mr. Scrooge.’

"Mr. Scoog: it was. I passed his

800d broad field of strange appear- ances. and that nothing between a baby and rhinoceros would have astonished him very much.

New. being prepared for almost 1111311111118. he was not by’ any means prepared for nothing; and, my“- quentiy when the Bell struck One, 911111 110 B11896 appeared, he was taken with a violent fit of tremb-

quarier of an hour went by, yet

"P1111 1118 Nd. the very core and centre of a. blaze of ruddy light, which streamed upon it when the clock proclaimed the hour; and 11111611. being only light, was more 1111111111118 than a dozen ghosts, as 11° W115 Wwflleds to make out what it meant, or would be at; and was “mam” “Pprehcnsivs that he m18ht be at that very moment an interesting case of spontaneous combustion, without having the consolation of knowing it. At last, however. he began to think-as you or I would have thought at 11151»; for it is always the person not in the predicament who knows what ought to have been done in it, and would unquestionably have dime it too-st last. 1 say. he be- sen to think that the source and secret of this. ghostly light might be in the adjoining room. from whence on further tracing it, it seemed to shine. This idea taking full pos- srsaion of his mind, he got up cftly and shuffled in his slippers to the door.

The moment Scrooges hand was on the lock, a strange voice called him by his name, and bade him enter. He obeyed,

It was his own room. There was no doubt about that. But it had undcrgone a surprising transforma- tion. The walls and_ceiling were so hung with living green, that it look- vd a perfect grove, from every part of which, bright gleaming berries gli"t:ned. The crisp leaves o! holly, mistletoe, and ivy reflected back the light, as if so many little mir-

rors had bten scatered there; and

such a mighty blaze went roaring up the chimney, as that dull petri- factinn oi a hearth had never known in Scrooge} time, or Mar- ley’s, or for many and many s. winter season gone. Heapcd up on the floor, to form a kind of throne, were turkeys, geee, game, poultry. brawn, great joints of meat, suck- ling-pigs, long wreaths of sausages mince-pies, plum-pudfirii-‘s; barrels of oysters, red-hot ciostnuts cherry-checked apples. ji‘ cmn ges, luscious pears, lnuncnsc l'.\.'.“.f‘.l: cakes, and seethinx bowls (I punch, that made the chamber dim with their delicious steam. In ea y state upon this couch, there sat a jolly Giant, glorious to sec; who bore a glowing torch, in shape not unlike Plenty's horn, and held it up, high up, to shed its light on Scrooge as he came peeping round the door.

,.

afllce window; and as it was not shut up, and he had a candle in- side, I could .carcely help seeing him. His partner lies upon the point o1 dzath, I hear; and there hc sat "alone. Quite alone in the world, I do bclieve."

"Spirit!" said Scrooge in a bro-I ken voice, “remove me from this pace.” |

"I told you these were shadows II the things that have b:en,” said the Ghost. “That they are what Zh"y are, do not blame me!’

“Remove me!" Strooge exclaim- x", "I cannot bear it!"

He turned upon the Ghot, and seeing that it looked upon him with a face, in which some strange way here w"r~e fragments of all the Iaces it had shown him, wrestled wlfh ii

"Leave me! Take Haunt me no longer!"

In the struggle, if that can be called a struggle in which the Ghost with no visible resi tB-Hcg on its own part was undisturbed by any etIor. of its adversary, Scrooge observed that its light was burning high and bright; and dimly con- necting that with its influence over him, he seized the extinguisher- cap, and by a sud"en action {H55- ed it down upon his head.

The Spirit dropped beneath it, so that the extinguisher ccvexd its whole t m; but though Scxocge pressed it down with all his force. he could not hide the light, which streamed from under it, in an un- broken flood upon the ground. |

He was concious of being ex-l hausted, and overcome by irresist- ible drowsiness; and, further, oi be- ing in his own bedroom. He gave the cap a parting, squeeze, in which

me back.

time to reel to bed. before he sank

s I srsvs runes

SPIRITS

prodigioucly tough snore, and sit- ting 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 felt that he was restored to conscious- ness in the right nick of time, for the especial purpose of hdding a conference with the second mes- senger despatched to him through Jacob Marley's intervention. But, finding that he turned uncomfort- ably cold when he began to won- der which of his curtains this new spectre would draw back, he put them every one aside with his own hands. and lying down again, es- tablished a sharp lookout ail round the bed. For he wished to challenge the Spirit on the moment of its appearance, and did not wish to be taken .by surprise and made ner- vcus.

Gentlemen of the free-and-easy sort, who plume themselves on be- ing acquainted with a move or two. and being usually equa‘! to the time

of-day. express the wide range of _

their capacity for adventure by ob- serving that t are good for any- thing frcm pi mud-toss to man- slaughter; between wbich opposite

no doubt, there lies a tolarably wide and comprehensive range of subjects. Without ventur- ing for Scrooge quite as hardily as this. I don't mind calling on you tobelievethst newesnadyfor

cioiis manner Mien cf the Institu to

PCome in!" exclaimed the Ghost. "Come ini and know me better man!"

Scrooge entered rung his head before this Spirit. I-Ie was not the ‘dogged Scrooge he had be" ' and though the Spirit's cyts v r- c!" - not like to meet them.