Re: The BOZ Internet List
Charles Dickens (cdickens@RMPLC.CO.UK)
Fri, 8 May 1998 17:15:09 -0100
My dear Mr Glendinning,
It pains me to have shocked you, but I do not see why a writer, cunningly
crafting his story, should be deemed impious for plying his trade. You are
of course right when you impute to me unshakeable faith in Our Saviour. But
you are wrong when you suppose that I sought to keep secret "The Life of Our
Lord," as it has become known. It was just that I wrote it for my children,
and felt it unsuitable for publication. In 1934, my son Henry decided it was
time for it to be published, in order to raise money for members of the
family in straightened circumstances. That is not an objective I should
wish to gainsay.
Faithfully yours,
Charles Dickens
____________________________________________________________________________
________
>My Dear and Most Inimitable Boz:
>
>I am shocked by your prosaic explanation! I realize the religious
>establishments of your day were less *religious* and more *established*
>institutions of business and, as such, held in scorn by one more used to
>putting his faith into action rather than words.
>
>I think, if I may be counted as one so bold to try and understand the
>mind of one of my most admired human beings, you are protecting your
>private relationship with "Our Lord and Saviour" (words used by you in
>the final "chapters" of your last will and testament. However, the
>fruits of that relationship are more than evident in your devout
>philanthropy. One truly *can't* hide one's light under a bushel -- a
>deed done before men is truly a city on a hill.
>
>I used the term "private relationship" because I just learned yesterday
>what your last published work was: "The Life of Our Lord," which was
>written for your children and kept in secret for more than 80 years --
>being first published in London in 1934.
>
>Hide it as you will, I think there's more of gravity than of grave in
>you...
>
>...and I do you HONOR, sir!
>
>
>Humbly tugging his forelock,
>
>Charles Glendinning
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>>From cdickens@rmplc.co.uk Thu May 7 03:33:57 1998
>>Received: from stingray-filt-40.rmplc.co.uk
>(stingray-filt-40.rmplc.co.uk [194.154.10.168])
>> by mx1.rmplc.co.uk (8.8.8/8.8.8) with SMTP id KAA02573;
>> Thu, 7 May 1998 10:28:08 GMT
>>Message-Id: <199805071028.KAA02573@mx1.rmplc.co.uk>
>>X-Sender: cdickens@mail.rmplc.co.uk
>>X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Version 1.4.4
>>Mime-Version: 1.0
>>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>>Date: Thu, 07 May 1998 11:30:49 -0100
>>To: "Paul Germaine" <germaine100@hotmail.com>
>>From: cdickens@rmplc.co.uk (Charles Dickens)
>>Subject: Re: The BOZ Internet List
>>Cc: Boz List <boz@maelstrom.stjohns.edu>
>>
>>My Dear Mr Glendinning,
>>
>> Your thoughts are ingenious but my thinking was simpler than you
>surmise.
>>I wanted Scrooge to endure what seemed to him a protracted ordeal, but
>to
>>emerge from it in time to practise the lessons it taught him. He would
>have
>>been unable to keep Christmas as it ought to be kept, had his ordal
>lasted
>>until 27th of December.
>>
>>Faithfully yours,
>>
>>
>>Charles Dickens
>>__________________________________________________________________________
______
>>
>>>Dear Mr McCarthy:
>>>
>>>...by any other name I would still smell as sweet.
>>>
>>>I have a question for you which I shall also pose to Mr. Boz: In
>>>"Christmas Carol," when the ghost of Jacob Marley tells Ebeneezer
>>>Scrooge he will be visited by three spirits, he says the visits will
>>>occur over three days. When Ebeneezer wakes up from his encounter
>with
>>>the ghost of Christmas-yet-to-come, it is miraculously Christmas Day,
>>>"...the spirits have done it all in one night!"
>>>
>>>It seems to me this is symbolic of Christ when He said, "As Jonah was
>>>three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so shall the
>son
>>>of man..."
>>>
>>>Is there anything to this or is there another explanation?
>>>
>>>--Charles Glendinning
>>>
>>>
>>>>From mccarthy@humanitas.ucsb.edu Fri May 1 12:32:24 1998
>>>>Received: from localhost (mccarthy@localhost)
>>>> by humanitas.ucsb.edu (8.8.8/HSSC.UCSB-1.3) with SMTP id MAA23150
>>>> for <germaine100@hotmail.com>; Fri, 1 May 1998 12:32:21 -0700 (PDT)
>>>>Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 12:32:20 -0700 (PDT)
>>>>From: Patrick McCarthy <mccarthy@humanitas.ucsb.edu>
>>>>Reply-To: Patrick McCarthy <mccarthy@humanitas.ucsb.edu>
>>>>To: Paul Germaine <germaine100@hotmail.com>
>>>>Subject: Re: The BOZ Internet List
>>>>In-Reply-To: <19980430204629.17735.qmail@hotmail.com>
>>>>Message-ID:
>>><Pine.SOL.3.95.980501123041.22541B-100000@humanitas.ucsb.edu>
>>>>MIME-Version: 1.0
>>>>Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
>>>>
>>>>Sorry, Charles Glendinning,
>>>>
>>>> I misspelled your name without re-checking.
>>>>
>>>>Patrick McCarthy
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>______________________________________________________
>>>Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
>>>
>>>
>>
>>======================
>>Charles Dickens
>>charles_dickens@rmplc.co.uk
>>Author
>>
>>
>
>
>______________________________________________________
>Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
>
>
======================
Charles Dickens
charles_dickens@rmplc.co.uk
Author