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Show CONDENSED f I CLASSICS I ! ! DOMBEY AND SON f ? ? & By CHARLES DICKENS 'k ' .j. Condensation by .;. X Miss Carolyn Ticknor 1 -X":m:X"M"X::---:::-:":: "The child Is father of the man" wan nev better tlluHtr:ited thau in the rone of Charlea Plckcna. Hln HrsI frlcnda were book. Knoil bookN. He rend booka of travel mid the "Arxhian Xlprhta." Cetvnntea, Fielding and Smollett. Smol-lett. And ua a clilld he learned to knovr and to love F.nerlnntf the Hbb-lnnd Hbb-lnnd of plennnnt country lanes, hedjre-bordered, hedjre-bordered, thnt ran to the aea or to quiet, green open apucea before Htutely cathedraln. And he knev, too, the horror of mean London streets and numbing; drudirery. For tvro years of hit childhood he pnsred labels npon blacking bottlea, lived In nn utile vfith tvro rngatuufllua, and when he eaw his parents once a week he had to so to prlnon, where bin father wan confined for debt. Some of this London that he knew la in ''Oliver Twtat.' and It crops ont In other tales. Moat of it, however, la in "David Cop-perflcld." Cop-perflcld." where bla fnther Is depleted as tlie immortal Mlcawber. The joy of life and the bitterness, the kindliness of men and the cruelty these thlnars were burned Into the mind j and soul of the sensitive boy. They arc in the books of the man. TrIIS story opens In the gloomy mansion of Mr. Dombey, head of the house of Dombey & Son, who is exulting in the birth of "little Paul," heir to his name and wealth. This great event is followed by the death of Mrs. Dombey, who breathes her Inst, clasping her little daughter. Florence, to her heart. This child, neglected by her proud, cold father, tries vainly to win his love, but he. with all his hopps and his affection centered upon his son, finds no place in his heart for Florence. All the advantages that wealth can offer are heaped on little Paul, who is a delicate child, old far beyond his years, and totally unfitted to fulfill his father's expectations. While gentle and loving to those about him, Paul's adoration for his sister, Florence, surpasses sur-passes nil his other interests, a fact which rankles in the breast of his father who would be first in the affection af-fection of his son. Wishing to hasten Paul's education, Mr. Dombey sends him to Dr. Blim-ber's Blim-ber's school, famed for. Its method of crushing out each boyish trait and making learned prigs of all Its pupils. pu-pils. Here the boy finds a friend and champion in Toots, the head boy of the school, who falls a victim to the charms of Florence, but in the end consoles himself by marrying her faithful maid, the sprightly Susan Nipper. The story of Paul's life at Dr. Blim-ber's, Blim-ber's, where his weak frame is tried beyond endurance, and finally breaks down, is a pathetic one, although it is enlivened by much that is amusing amus-ing and absurd In the descriptions of the school and of the Blimber family. fam-ily. Fatally 111, the boy is carried home to the big house, where all the skill in London, coupled with his sister's devotion, cannot save him, and after lingering awhile, he slips away from the grand future his father has' so carefully arranged. The deathbed scene where little Paul leaves the big house forever, Is one of the most famous fa-mous In fiction. Clasped In his sister's arms, the dying dy-ing , boy murmurs: "How fast the river runs . . . it's very near the sea. I hear the waves." . . . "And now there was a shore before him Who stood on the bank." He sees his mother there awaiting him and whispers: whis-pers: "The light about her head is shining on me as I go." The bereaved father, in an agony of grief and blasted hopps. turns coldly from the heart-breaking appeal of his sorrowing daughter, who pleads for some response in this dark hour. Bidding Bid-ding her seek her own apartments, he shuts himself up in his rooms alone. Beside the dark threads in thl story, are woven many bright ones which center In the humble dwelling of old Solomon Gills, maker of ships' instruments, and his devoted nephew. Walter Gay. who with their good .friend. Captain Cuttle, form a delightful delight-ful trio. The captain, who wears a hook in nlncp of his right hand, and suffers patiently under the insults and abuses of his landlady, the terrible Mrs. MncStlnirer. Is one of Dickens' best beloved characters. Walter, who has a modest position in the great house of Dombey. watches watch-es with sympathy and admiration the career of flie neglected daughter of his employer, and npon one occasion has the 1oy of rescuing her wlie:: she is lost in T.opdon. From the night when the frightened child Is warmed and enmfo-ted at the slmi of the "Wooden Midshipman." Florence holds Fncle Sol an Walter in warmest re-card. re-card. When later, during rani's Illness, Ill-ness, Walter comes to plead for a loan to save his uncle's property, the sympathetic sym-pathetic boy at once becomes his champion cham-pion and secures the money from his father. From this time on Paid takes a special Interest In Waller and on his death-bed begs thnt he shall be remembered. re-membered. This message Florence brings to Walter, pledging to him thenceforth her sisterly affection. The fortunes of the house of Dombey Dom-bey are guided principally by the clever clev-er and "cat-like" manager, James Car- ker, with gleaming teeth and a perpetual per-petual smile, the instrument and confidant con-fidant of Dombey, who by his flattery and cunning has gained almost complete com-plete control over his master s husl- j ness. Working always to satisfy his I own ambitions, he mistrusts the growing grow-ing partiality for Walter Gay and sends him on a voyage to the Indies experiencing keen satisfaction whci the youth is shipwrecked and reported drowned. This lose adds one more sorrow to those already the portion of Florence, whose father emerging from the gloom of his apartment seeks to divert his mind by going on a journey with his friend. Major I'.agstoek, a garrulous old society beau. They travel to Leant Ington, where Mr. Dombey is Introduced Intro-duced to some of the major's friends, and meets Mrs. Skewton and her widowed wid-owed daughter, the cold and beautiful Edith Granger, who at once attracts his fancy. Edith is proud, scornful, imperious, and for these traits the proud and dominating man admires her the more. He offers her wealth and position, and she, needing these things, accepts him, scorning meanwhile both the man and his offering, but willing to satisfy the irritating demands of her scheming mother with whom her life is unendurable. unen-durable. . A loveless marriage follows and the haughty wife asserts her own strong will, refuses to further the social ambitions am-bitions of her husband, and enrages him by showering affection upon Florence. Flor-ence. At last, goaded by Dombey's effort to break her spirit, and ready to be revenged upon him for his endeavor to humiliate her by orders sent her through his agent, Carker, she consents con-sents to fly from her home at the entreaty en-treaty of her husband's paid minion, who from the first has fallen a victim to her beauty. Having revenged herself her-self upon her husband by thus humiliating humil-iating him, Edith proceeds to cast off Carker, whom she despises; she meets him at Dijon by appointment, and in the moment when he is glorying in the attainment of his desire, turns on him, denounces him and before he can stop her, rushes from the apartment, making good her escape, while he is left to confront his pursuer, her enraged en-raged husband, who has tracked them to Dijon. Foiled nnd entrapped, Carker flees back to England, eluding his pursuer, only to be again tracked to his hiding place. When he believes himself safe from detection, he suddenly spies Dombey advancing toward him across the platform of a railway station, and dodging in affright on to the tracks behind him Carker Is killed by an oncoming on-coming train. In the hour of her father's humilia-i tiou, Florence once more turns to him with loving protes'ations, but he, enraged en-raged at the remembrance that she has ever won the love he has sought vainly, casts her off with an oath and strikes her brutally. Partially stunned and feeling herself her-self homeless and fatherless, Florence rushes half-crazed into the streets of London, and fainting with exhaustion finds shelter at the "Wooden Midshipman," Midship-man," now in the charge of Captain Cuttle. Following the sudden disappearance disap-pearance of old Sol Gills, the captain has taken possession of the place, not knowing if his friend, whose life had become Insupportable without his beloved be-loved nephew, was alive or dead. Tenderly welcomed to this humble home, Florence remains in hiding until un-til the unexpected arrival of Walter, who suddenly appears upon the scene returning from a series of perilous adventures. Walter, the brother, la speedily transformed into Walter, the lover, and the young couple are united, unit-ed, to the delight of Captain Cuttle, also of old Sol Gills, who reappears from , journeying to foreign parts in vain search for some news of Walter. Meanwhile, the fortunes of the house of Dombey, weakened by Car-ker's Car-ker's doubtful transactions, and also by the loss of his shrewd guidance, go down In ruin, leaving the proud head of the firm broken in health and spirit, with home and fortune wrecked. Then tenderly forgiving all, Florence Flor-ence goes to her father and takes him to her home, where after a long illness, ill-ness, he arises a changed man, repentant repent-ant of the past, and only caring to devote his last days to his daughter and her two children ; Paul who reminds re-minds him of his lost son, and little Florence, dearest of all to his penitent peni-tent heart. This work, which was first Issued in serial form in IS'7. met with Immediate Im-mediate success. Its pnges contain e wealth of Incident and character, of fun, satire and pathos. Florence Is one of Dickens' loveliest creations and Dr. Blimber's school is describee in his 'finest vein. Kind Captain Cuttle Cut-tle Is famous the world over, as are Mr. Toots, Mrs. Pipehin and old Joe Bagstock. The death-bed scene of little lit-tle Paul reveals the author's stead fast faith in immortality, and ha5 done much to comfort sorrowinf hearts throughout the world. Copyright. 1!19. hy the Post PuMishln: Co. (Tile Fopton Poptl. Cnr-vrichl in th I'nitcd Kincrdom. th" PomiTiicr.s. Up Col ntpp and dppemfnrips. under thn enpv- j rlpht act. hy the Post lHibilshinp. Co. Boston. Mass., U. S. A. All rly'nis re served. j |