And I do not forget that, together with its watch-night services and its good resolutions, Victorian England used to wish you “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.” Nowadays the formula is “A Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.” It is a priggish, sophisticated change, a sort of shame-faced implication that there is something vulgar in “being merry.” There isn’t. For my part, I do not want a Happy Christmas: I want a Merry Christmas. And I do not want a fat, prosperous New Year. I want a Happy New Year, which is a much better and more spiritual thing. If, therefore, I do not pour contempt on the Victorian habit of making good resolutions, it is not because I share Malvolio’s view that virtue is a matter of avoiding cakes and ale.* And if I refuse to deride Victorian England because it went to watch-night services it is not because I think there is anything wrong in a dance at the Ritz. It is because, in the words of the old song, I think “It is good to be merry and wise.”*
Abridged
From ‘On Good Resolutions’, in ‘Windfalls’ (1920), a selection of essays by Alfred George Gardiner (1865-1946), who wrote under the pseudonym ‘Alpha of the Plough.’
* From William Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night. Olivia’s steward Malvolio scolds band of revellers for singing and shouting late into the night. Sir Toby retorts: “Art any more than a steward? Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?” That is, Malvolio has a right to be strait-laced if he pleases, but any moral superiority he may possess does not give him a right to make others behave as he does. It does not help that Maria, Olivia’s cousin, is one of the revellers, and Sir Toby thinks Malvolio is getting above himself.
* From an song by an anonymous author, given thus in Songs of England and Scotland London (1835):
It is good to be merry and wise,
It is good to be honest and true,
It is best to be off with the old love,
Before you are on with the new.
Précis
Comparing the way Christmas greetings had changed over the years, Gardiner noticed that the supercilious moderns now preferred prosperity to simple merriment, and neglected carols and good resolutions. The Victorians, Gardiner reflected, had understood the season better, for to be prosperous and content was not so rewarding as to be merry and wise. (53 / 60 words)
Comparing the way Christmas greetings had changed over the years, Gardiner noticed that the supercilious moderns now preferred prosperity to simple merriment, and neglected carols and good resolutions. The Victorians, Gardiner reflected, had understood the season better, for to be prosperous and content was not so rewarding as to be merry and wise.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, besides, if, just, may, must, otherwise, ought.
About the Author
Alfred George Gardiner (1865-1946) was a journalist, editor and political campaigner. In 1887, joined the Northern Daily Telegraph, and moved to the Blackburn Weekly Telegraph two years later as editor. Gardiner was appointed editor of the Daily News in 1902, which he helped to turn into one of the leading liberal newspapers of the day with a dramatically increased circulation. He resigned over a point of policy in 1919, but by this time he had been writing for the Star for four years under the pen-name of ‘Alpha of the Plough’ — like other contributors, he chose a name drawn from astronomy. His essays were regarded highly for their craft and good humour, and several collections were published.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Bad. Boil. Most.
2 Being. Disrespect. Person.
3 Ashamed. Prompt. Should.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
Post Box : Help Available
You are welcome to share your creativity with me, or ask for help with any of the exercises on Clay Lane. Write to me at this address:
See more at Post Box.
If you like what I’m doing here on Clay Lane, from time to time you could buy me a coffee.
Buy Me a Coffee is a crowdfunding website, used by over a million people. It is designed to help content creators like me make a living from their work. ‘Buy Me a Coffee’ prides itself on its security, and there is no need to register.
