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Untitled Article
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Untitled Article
It was getting late , very near midnight ; godpapa Pivot had departed some time , and Mrs . S . wished to get the children to bed , who kept lingering . At last , said Fred , — ' It is true , the poor devils ( he spoke of his hussars ) the poor devils must be tired . ' So he gave the word of command , and they marched into barracks , and then he marched to bed . But Mary begged her mother to grant another little minute , and , as she was a very good , careful girl , it was granted . Her mother put out all the lights , except one shaded lamp which hung from the ceiling , and , bidding her not to stop more than another minute , kissed her and went to her bed-room .
As soon as Mary was alone , she hastened to the nutcracker , which laid wrapped in her pocket handkerchief ; and , placing it carefully on the table , she unrolled it and examined its wounds . Nutcracker was very pale , and looked so piteously that Mary felt quite moved . ' Nutcracker , my little friend , ' said she , in a low voice , * do not be angry with my brother Fred on account of the harm he did you ; his love of military affairs has made him rather stern , but he is , nevertheless , a good boy , I assure you . I promise to take care of you , great care of you , until you are set to rights again , and that will be godpapa Pivot ' s affair , for he understands those things better *
Mary would have said more , but , when she pronounced the name of her godpapa , the eyes of Nutcracker sparkled , and he made a strange grimace . Mary closed her eyes involuntarily , and when she opened them again , Nutcracker appeared with his usual smile . Perhaps the light of the lamp , agitated by a puff of air , gave that expression to the face of Nutcracker which startled the little girl . * What a silly girl I am to frighten myself so / said Mary ; so she put her friend Nutcracker under her arm , and , going to the cabinet , thus addressed her new doll :
' I must beg of you , Miss Clara , to give up your bed to poor Nutcracker , who is sadly wounded , and to accommodate yourself as well as you can upon the sofa ; you must consider that you are in good health and strong , as your red cheeks plainly show , and that very few dolls have such a sofa as that to use '
Miss Clara appeared indignant and melancholy , and answered not
a word . ' I am sure it is very good of me to use such ceremony with you , ' said Mary ; so she drew the bed towards her and placed the nutcracker in it , covering him carefully up to his nose . * I don't like him to be near that ill-natured Miss Clara / said she , and lifting the bed , she placed it upon the shelf above , close to the village in which the hussars of Frederick were cantoned . Mary shut the cabinet , and was going up to bed , when suddenly she heard a noise , crackling , scratching , gliding , moving , behind the door , —behind the chairs , —behind the cabinet . The clock , on a bracket
against the wall , ticked louder and louder , but did not strike . The gilded owl , which was on the top of it , stretched out its ugly head , and strange words were heard muttered . 4
Hour , hour , hour—go by—go by—go by—pass—pendulum swing softly—the king of the rats is coming—bam , bam , bam , —sing the old song , bam , bam—strike , clock , strike—strike this instant / The clock struck , bam , bam , bam , twelve times .
Untitled Article
The Nutcracker . 13
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Jan. 2, 1835, page 13, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2641/page/13/
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