Stranica 35 [35]
OCR
OLIVER IWISI; oa CHAPTER THE FIRST Treats of the place where Oliver Twist was born, and of the circumstances attending his Birth. Amone other public buildings in a certain town which shall be nameless, is one which is common to most towns great or small, to wit, a workhouse; and in this work| gasping on a little flock mattress, rather unequally poised between this world and | favour of the latter. Now, if during this brief period Oliver had been surrounded by careful grandmothers, anxious aunts, experienced nurses, and doctors of profound wisdom, he would most inevitably inasmuch as it can be of no quence to the reader, in this stage of the business at all events, the item of mortality whose name is prefixed to the head of this chapter. For a long time after he was ushered into this world of sorrow and trouble, by the pari-h surgeon, it remained a matter of considerable doubt whether the child would survive to bear any name at all; in which case it is somewhat more than probable that these memoirs would never have appeared, or, if they had, being comprised within a couple of pages, they Seal have possessed the inestimable merit of being the most concise and faithful specimen of biography extant in the literature of any age or country. Although I am uot disposed to maintain that the most fortunate and enviable circumstance that can possibly befal a human being, I do mean to say that in this particular instance it was the best thing for Oliver Twist that could by possibility have oceurred. The fact is, that there was considerable difficulty in inducing Oliver to take upon himself the office of respiration, —a troublesome practice, but one which eustom has rendered necessary to our easy existence,—and for some time he lay 2 | dered rather misty by an unwonted allowance of beer, and a parish surgeon who did such matters by contract, Oliver and nature fought out the point between them. | The result was, that, after a few struggles, Oliver breathed, sneezed, and proceeded — to advertise to the inmates of the workhouse the fact of a new burden having been imposed upon the parish, by setting | up as loud a cry as could reasonably have been expected from a male infant who had not been possessed of that very useful appendage, a voice, for a much longer space _of time than three minutes and a quarter. As Oliver gave this first testimony of the free and proper action of his lungs, the patchwork coverlet, which was carelessly flung over the iron bedstead, rustled ; the pale face of a young female was raised feebly from the pillow; and a faint voice imperfectly articulated the words 6 Let me see the child, and die.” The surgeon had been sitting with his face turned towards the fire, giving the | palms of his hands a warm, and a rub, alternately; but as the young woman spoke, he rose, and, advancing to the bed’s head, said with more kindn ss than might have been expected of him — | (13)
