Dombey and Son

by Charles Dickens

T

hen, all day long, there is a retinue of mouldy gigs and chaise-carts in the street; and herds of shabby vampires, Jews and Christians, overrun the house, sounding the plate-glass mirrors with their knuckles, striking discordant octaves on the Grand Piano, drawing wet forefingers over the pictures, breathing on the blades of the best dinner-knives, punching the squabs of chairs and sofas with their dirty fists, tousling the feather beds, opening and shutting all the drawers, balanc­ing the silver spoons and forks, looking into the very threads of the drapery and linen, and dispar­aging everything. There is not a secret place in the whole house. Fluffy and snuffy strangers stare into the kitchen-range as curiously as into the attic clothes-press. Stout men with napless hats on, look out of the bedroom windows, and cut jokes with friends in the street. Quiet, calculating spirits withdraw into the dressing rooms with catalogues and make marginal notes thereon with stumps of pencils. Two brokers invade the very fire-escape, and take a panoramic survey of the neigh­bourhood from the top of the house. The swarm and buzz, and going up and down, endure for days. (...)

            Then there is a palisade of tables made in the best drawing-room; and on the capital, French-polished, extending, telescopic range of Spanish mahogany dining-tables with turned legs, the pulpit of the auctioneer is erected; and the herds of shabby vampires, Jew and Christian, the strangers fluffy and snuffy, and the stout men with the napless hats, congregate about it and sit upon everything within reach, mantelpieces included, and begin to bid.

Notes and exercises:

1.   The words in group A below have an “e” whereas the words in group B are spelt without it:

A.

foreleg	foretell	forethought	forewarn	forehand
forefinger	forecast	forecourt	fore-foot	forehead
forebode	forecastle	foredoom	forefront	forejudge
foreboding	foreclose	fore-end	forego	foremost
forecabin	foreclosure	forefather	forearm	foretaste
foreground	foreman	foremost	foreword	foreknow
forerunner	foresee	foreshadow	foresight	foreknowledge

B.

forbid	forbear	forbearance	forfend	forsooth
forbade	forbore	forfeit	forgather	forward
forbidden	forborne	forfeiture	forgive	forgave

2.   The verb “to tousle” (to put the hair into disorder by pulling it about, to make untidy: a girl with a tousled hair) has an alternative spelling: to touzle.

3.   The word “drawers” [dro:z] can be the plural of the noun “drawer” (a box-like container which slides in and out of a piece of furniture), or it can mean (always in the plural) “an old-fashioned undergarment for the lower part of the body; knickers.”

4.   The following words of French origin end in “–gue”: catalogue, vague, vogue, plague, fatigue, intrigue, dialogue, monologue, pedagogue.

5.   The following words end in “–eer”: auctioneer, engineer, pioneer, mutineer, buccaneer, mountaineer.

6.         Word study:

retinue       a number of persons (servants, officers, etc.) travelling with a person of high rank

mould        1) a container into which molten metal is poured to cool into a desired shape; 2) a woolly or  furry growth of fungi appearing upon moist surfaces; 3) mouldy (fig.)—out-of-date, old-fashioned

squab         a soft seat or cushion, especially as a seat in a car

7.   Translate the following expressions and use them in sentences of your own:

mouldy gigs, to mould somebody like wax, to mould one’s conduct on that of great men, people of special mould, cast in a different mould, cast in the same mould, moulded over, a man of mould;

punching the squabs, to get a punch on the nose, to punch out a nail, paper punch, there wasn’t much punch in his remarks, a punch bowl, pleased as Punch, proud as Punch;

balancing the silver spoons and forks, a balance beam, a balance bridge, precision balance, spring-balance, balance of forces, balance of power, to throw off one’s balance, out of balance, balance of trade, balance of payment, to strike a balance, balance in hand, balance due, bank balance, the balance of advantage lies with him, to be in the balance, to hold the balance, to tip the balance, the accounts do not balance;

to go up and down, to cut down on one’s expenses, to look down on people, the offer was turned down, the house burnt down, the engine keeps breaking down, the old houses will be pulled down, the office was shut down