Book Christmas 13
- SML
- Dec 13, 2015
- 1 min read
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens has packed numerous Christmas scenes into his books, but this one has a wry humor that many of his more treacly holiday parties don't. In this, young Pip recounts the arrival of a ridiculous relative to Christmas dinner, an event many of us can surely relate to:
"Mrs. Joe," said Uncle Pumblechook, a large hard-breathing middle-aged slow man, with a mouth like a fish, dull staring eyes, and sandy hair standing upright on his head, so that he looked as if he had just been all but choked, and had that moment come to, "I have brought you as the compliments of the season -- I have brought you, Mum, a bottle of sherry wine -- and I have brought you, Mum, a bottle of port wine."
Every Christmas Day he presented himself, as a profound novelty, with exactly the same words, and carrying the two bottles like dumb-bells. Every Christmas Day, Mrs. Joe replied, as she now replied, "O, Un—cle Pum-ble—chook! This is kind!" Every Christmas Day, he retorted, as he now retorted, "It's no more than your merits. And now are you all bobbish, and how's Sixpennorth of halfpence?" meaning me.
We dined on these occasions in the kitchen, and adjourned, for the nuts and oranges and apples to the parlor; which was a change very like Joe's change from his working-clothes to his Sunday dress.
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