A Christmas Carol - The original manuscript

Charles Dickens

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The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
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Title: A Christmas Carol
The original manuscript
Author: Charles Dickens
Illustrator: John Leech
Release Date: October 30, 2009 [EBook #30368]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CHRISTMAS CAROL ***
Produced by Iona Vaughan, David T. Jones and the Online
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Transcriber's Note: this is a facsimile version of the original manuscript, hand-written by Charles Dickens. Every effort has been made to preserve the
appearance of the First Edition—page breaks and labels have been kept, to match the original script, and spelling, grammar and typographical errors have
been left unchanged.
A CHRISTMAS CAROLTHE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT
Charles DickensA Facsimile of the Manuscript
in The Pierpont Morgan Library
with a Transcript of the First Edition and
John Leech's Illustrations
title page
Mr. Fezziwig's Ball.
image 002 caption
A CHRISTMAS CAROL BY
CHARLES DICKENS
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT
by
Charles Dickens
christmas wreath
a facsimile of the manuscript
in The Pierpont Morgan Library
with the illustrations of John Leech and the text from the first edition.
DOVER ...

Informations

• Publié par: thead
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 29
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Title: A Christmas Carol The original manuscript Author: Charles Dickens Illustrator: John Leech Release Date: October 30, 2009 [EBook #30368] Language: English

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CHRISTMAS CAROL ***

Produced by Iona Vaughan, David T. Jones and the Online Distributed Proofreading Canada Team at http://www.pgdpcanada.net

Transcriber's Note:by Charles Dickens. Every effort has been made to preserve thethis is a facsimile version of the original manuscript, hand-written appearance of the First Edition—page breaks and labels have been kept, to match the original script, and spelling, grammar and typographical errors have been left unchanged.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

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Charles

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A CHRISTMAS CAROL BY CHARLES DICKENS

Mr. Fezziwig's Ball. image 002 caption

christmas wreath

A CHRISTMAS CAROL THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT by Charles Dickens

title page

a facsimile of the manuscript in The Pierpont Morgan Library with the illustrations of John Leech and the text from the first edition. DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC. NEW YORK

Published in Canada by General Publishing Company, Ltd., 30 Lesmill Road, Don Mills, Toronto, Ontario. Published in the United Kingdom by Constable and Company, Ltd., 10 Orange Street, London WC 2.

Copyright © 1967 by James H. Heineman, Inc. All rights reserved under Pan American and International Copyright Conventions.

irtpuncs ehP niT ont ierpan LMorg iw yrarbi arT a htt ipcrns Fhe tof AcaF misi olethf Mae  s'hcllI nhoJeeL  ontind astirdi E nsustratio f the work origir pebuilacitnoo  s  i un an riabeddg silb deh1 ni,179on, ditit pufirshTsiree D vo

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Mr. Fezziwig's Ball. 006 caption

London · Chapman & Hall, 186 Strand.]

International Standard Book Number: 0-486-20980-6 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 77-177891

Manufactured in the United States of America Dover Publications, Inc. 180 Varick Street New York, N. Y. 10014

[This illustration is reproduced in full color on the inside front cover.]

Original manuscript of the Title Page. Original manuscript of the Title Page.

/Title/

A Christmas Carol In Prose Being a Ghost Story of Christmas

Chapman and Hall 186 Strand MDCCCXLIII

/My own, and only, MS of the Book/ Charles Dickens

By Charles Dickens

The Illustrations by John Leech

 illonnc EA RR A DETON L OT E  SAMORACA CHRIST 63a dn1 29a 07 ,inalorigred ppea segap no decudor , 58, 56, 42, 38p ga.euncsirtpev e osro ylht ninacmag  tof fhe on iuatie Fin thdEtisr tahevoi ncienstsispf  oesa gnilletcnup dn. The portions o famuncsirtpr peee bren inta bedht yuP esilbsreh

PREFACE

I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it. Their faithful Friend and Servant, C. D.

December, 1843.

Original manuscript of the Preface.

Original manuscript of the Preface.

 G'SSTHO ar . My le TS EVA AM .I YELR naeg ,of rnatyihng he chose to porcS'egoan sw em gasd ooonupCh 'en.romruooegS rcned  sigand it: nu eht ,k rekatredthd an, f ieche   the cleigned byht elcregrmyna ,erstf  oe Thgirew las sa sihirubhatebt w dous nota . thtbauoev reg bto: addes wai erehT .htiw ni  is in the similfoo rua cnseotsrut Bhe tis wm doi yrht nrt e.eda he Cor try'sountidtson tti ,ru bndhad wel alshs ym dna ;e ollahnu itacll,y,te pmahto repearmit me rofeep e llireht Yr. wouon dfoe  ae?dsad ehw en wge kcroo il. S r-naood a sa daed sas wa eyrlMat ha t aed sa dd a -rooilna in . M Id!on d tuh si ahdnt .oO ld Marley was as nk nwo y,egdelwotht ha w pise erae nt'm yat ots I knhat of mow, t ghveha. ilmiI  enilm ,d eeb  cni nrly deadarticulad oo-rana obtua  pit esaddee ths egnomnori fo ecegardo ref, tysellia -nanfoifa c   clyuldfbyp  uutton saw aerd os thatbut was  he s dat ehtn ,e evf  osibussnen  oe nalecxtnelnam the funeral, and  ht eevyrd yao  f  detbuodnu na htwit  iedismnleso 'y sraelfoM oi nmentThe  ain.barg ht oop eab et kcinbr mgsneful ra esin  omo .hTrearted frint I st ocruO  f eidesh ow cd. H it ouldrehto ebcS ?esiwane ogroer whed  eaptrensrf roI  don't know how ynam raeyS .soorc wge has sise ols so, hiutorexectarosirtmdniela igss alesos hi, iser elos sih ,ngatee, hduary lerfeidna sis lo eurmor.ne snde ol rcS egoo dnAneve  rasemanentled g-egadildrem o htny aine  bldou wereht naht ,stra  own ramp upon his yiwdn ,e saetlr it,ann t  aghnits allorkat  gni ewka'n s.d cS m nionis asts soh hietil—ecnot yllar frdyachtans ior aSni taPlus' hCru breezy spot—say etfaad ri kr a ny hlrntug int ou g ma I yrots eht. telareo  tngoidnre gowhtni ron of comecan ful tsidtcni sum eb t oost od, ulyernd taM raelodbu thtad. Thisy was de inthnoe  rremog lbakramesih ni ehe pre tbegalay eher,nt dlb w uo  tedt hamlHa'set htaFd re deiofeb If we were not preeftcylc noivcn apniev r eenorgoMarlOld out ted erehT .eman s'yet i

Original manuscript of Page 2. Original manuscript of Page 2.

stood, years afterwards, above the warehouse door: Scrooge and Marley. The firm was known as Scrooge and Marley. Sometimes people new to the business called Scrooge Scrooge, and sometimes Marley, but he answered to both names: it was all the same to him. Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days; and didn't thaw it one degree at Christmas. External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, nor wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. Foul weather didn't know where to have him. The heaviest rain, and snow, and hail, and sleet, could boast of the advantage over him in only one respect. They often "came down" handsomely, and Scrooge never did. Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with gladsome looks, "My dear Scrooge, how are you? when will you come to see me?" No beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o'clock, no man or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge. Even the blindmen's dogs appeared to know him; and when they saw him coming on, would tug their owners into doorways and up courts; and then would wag their tails as though they said, "no eye at all is better than an evil eye, dark master!" But what did Scrooge care? It was the very thing he liked. To edge his way along the crowded paths of life, warning all human sympathy to keep its distance, was what the knowing ones call "nuts" to Scrooge. Once upon a time—of all the good days in the year, on Christmas Eve—old Scrooge sat busy in his counting-house. It was cold, bleak, biting weather: foggy withal: and he could hear the

Original manuscript of Page 1. Original manuscript of Page 1.

istmas,'erry Chrw ti hM' eo a s obtu  wot ghoryvedi iyltne" ,dni angioge,Scroaid ," siwllm  yowkrlu dcoI f  Iu?yot nsiaga daed detnesneo  fomtnshp erough a round doz ti yi mee' n rht mnd aav hg inerev goycnniooskrub ime  a tbalafor ruoh na ;rehcir r,deolr ot nnd a ni tnim ek ei pe t! ire"  " " e. epKe y uo rwotsam snind let mn way, aets ,elcnu eht driChp ee"k, lyrn we " .enhpht eed d urne retew!"Neph hes t.are s  H ulho " "!d lcnU "!eaelp with a stake of ohll yhtorgu hihs hih itddpun owdna ,gni deirub his  on , shlipsb  euodldew obli lislgnb apiyof r y; amone hout wit nidnif rof emit ea y alfseuryog  reyrC rh tpunom What's Cistmas! mit ot esirhsamt t ae imou yut bw roa fofdlo  tass oler Ms?hisirhC yruO !samt o th and tof pink  tr sh aeyl ,rfeeirhe tenupt-hu sesnoc enpo ot tn assengers to theylw re eefllwop-s  a tify healrelpoeeb e wolmeht  wfok onemI  yit e onl : thtimeant saelp ,elbatirah cg,inivrgfo, nd ee mybo w mones  men andar, whenht fey ednelo raon lcag in, he t i taht eod sah tgoe  mned an, odlievros m  y rniet, pocklievI be ssel!ti  ehT " elc  irkthn tae  ink iwll odm  eogdo ;and I say, God b d unbos retueacr syenruoj rehto nonot and ve,  grao  fareceh rnato r vet puhat nes g fo dlocs a parerefore,. And thhtuohgi u cnel ,  yne!"ou he"T are ti dsah eve od r rom which I migherm na yhtnisgf y  bd,ooI h icwhd evah tg devire dard, Iy," e san toahevifetp or uB" oy tpen .wehoocr'sgeatpe Sed l aeevi " " eL tem keep it.u don't  M" .egoorcS dias" n,he te,onalt g oouMhcuo !ody  it  maygooduch  trf or mht eevenration due to it cas s  deremandna ri on,gif  iytanb leihgngnt noig cano itapar be t morf ta sa—tahtid oo gkia : me  the nepreturnedirtsam a seh:w" hC es r Bt.ngmohe terush I I tu ma hougys talwaave am sirts fhCtho hat  ienwh, metiapa—dnuor emoc s , ryng a Ce.clun" ".tnema eb t'noD o in't garlito Pdnre Iowd noy uo hto nisheep "w.dda  ,denrut gnipeaker, sir," he iueta p woreuf s l or.w"

Original manuscript of Page 3. Original manuscript of Page 3.

people in the court outside go wheezing up and down, beating their hands upon their breasts, and stamping their feet upon the pavement- stones to warm them. The city clocks had only just gone three, but it was quite dark already: it had not been light all day: and candles were flaring in the windows of the neighbouring offices, like ruddy smears upon the palpable brown air. The fog came pouring in at every chink and keyhole, and was so dense without, that although the court was of the narrowest, the houses opposite were mere phantoms. To see the dingy cloud come drooping down, obscuring everything, one might have thought that Nature lived hard by, and was brewing on a large scale. The door of Scrooge's counting-house was open that he might keep his eye upon his clerk, who in a dismal little cell beyond, a sort of tank, was copying letters. Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerk's fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal. But he couldn't replenish it, for Scrooge kept the coal-box in his own room; and so surely as the clerk came in with the shovel, the master predicted that it would be necessary for them to part. Wherefore the clerk put on his white comforter, and tried to warm himself at the candle; in which effort, not being a man of a strong imagination, he failed. "A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!" cried a cheerful voice. It was the voice of Scrooge's nephew, who came upon him so quickly that this was the first intimation he had of his approach. "Bah!" said Scrooge, "Humbug!" He had so heated himself with rapid walking in the fog and frost, this nephew of Scrooge's, that he was all in a glow; his face was ruddy and handsome; his eyes sparkled, and his breath smoked again. "Christmas a humbug, uncle!" said Scrooge's nephew. "You don't mean that, I am sure." "I do, said Scrooge. "Merry Christmas! what right have you to be merry? what reason have you to be merry? You're poor enough." " "Come, then," returned the nephew gaily. "What right have you to be dismal? what reason have you to be morose? You're rich enough." Scrooge having no better answer ready on the spur of the moment, said, "Bah!" again; and followed it up with "Humbug." "Don't be cross, uncle," said the nephew. "What else can I be" returned the uncle, "when I live in such

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