0:00

A Dead

0:22

Finger by Sabin Beringuld

0:28

Why the National Gallery should not

0:30

attract so many visitors as, say,

0:33

the British Museum, I cannot explain.

0:36

The latter does not contain much

0:38

that one would suppose appeals to

0:40

the interest of the ordinary sightseer.

0:43

What knows such of

0:45

prehistoric flints and scratched

0:47

bones, or Assyrian sculpture,

0:50

or Egyptian hieroglyphics? The

0:53

Greek and Roman statuary is cold

0:55

and dead. The paintings

0:57

in the National Gallery glow with colour

1:00

and are instinct with life, yet

1:02

somehow a few listless wanderers saunter

1:04

yawning through the National Gallery, whereas

1:07

swarms pour through the halls of

1:09

the British Museum, and talk and

1:11

pass remarks about the objects they

1:14

are exposed, of the date and

1:16

meaning of which they have not

1:18

the faintest conception. I

1:21

was thinking of this problem, and endeavouring

1:23

to unravel it, one morning

1:25

whilst sitting in the room for

1:28

English masters at the great collection

1:30

in Trafalgar Square. At

1:32

the same time another thought forced itself

1:34

upon me. I had

1:36

been through the rooms devoted to foreign schools,

1:38

and had then come into that given over

1:42

to Reynolds, Morland, Gainsborough, Constable and Hogarth.

1:45

The morning had been for a

1:47

while propitious, but towards noon a

1:49

dense, umber-tinted fog had come on,

1:51

making it all but impossible to

1:54

see the pictures, and quite impossible

1:56

to do them justice. I

1:58

was tired, and so, seated myself on

2:01

one of the chairs, and fell

2:03

into the consideration, first of all,

2:05

of why the National Gallery

2:07

is not as popular as it should

2:09

be, and secondly, how

2:12

it was that the British school had

2:14

no beginnings like those of Italy and

2:16

the Netherlands. We

2:19

can see the art of the painter

2:21

from its first initiation in the Italian

2:23

Peninsula and among the Flemings.

2:26

It starts on its progress like a child,

2:28

and we can trace every stage of its

2:31

growth. Not so

2:33

with English art. It

2:35

springs to life in full and

2:37

splendid maturity. Who

2:39

were there before Reynolds and Gainsborough

2:41

and Hogarth? The great

2:44

names of those portrait and subject

2:46

painters who have left their canvases

2:48

upon the walls of our country

2:50

houses were those of foreigners, Holben,

2:53

Kneller, Van Dyck and Lely

2:55

for portraits, and Moneuia for

2:57

flower and fruit pieces. Landscapes,

3:00

figure subjects, were all

3:03

importations, none homegrown.

3:06

How came that about? Was

3:09

there no liminer that was native? Was

3:12

it that fashion trampled on

3:14

homegrown pictorial beginnings as it

3:16

flouted and spurned native music?

3:20

Here was food for contemplation, dreaming

3:23

in the brown fog. Looking

3:26

through it without seeing its beauties

3:28

at Hogarth's painting of Lavinia Fenton

3:30

as Polly Peachem, without

3:32

wondering how so indifferent a beauty could

3:34

have captivated the Duke of Bolton and

3:37

held him for thirty years, I

3:39

was recalled to myself and my surroundings

3:41

by the strange conduct of a lady

3:44

who had seated herself on a chair

3:46

near me, also discouraged

3:48

by the fog and awaiting

3:50

its dispersion. I

3:52

had not noticed her particularly. At

3:55

the present moment I do not remember particularly

3:57

what she was like. and

4:00

recollect, she was middle-aged

4:02

and was quietly yet

4:04

well-dressed. It was not

4:06

her face nor her dress that attracted my

4:09

attention and disturbed the current

4:11

of my thoughts. The

4:13

effect I speak of was produced

4:15

by her strange movements and behaviour.

4:19

She had been sitting listless, probably

4:21

thinking of nothing at all, or

4:23

nothing in particular, even

4:25

in turning her eyes round and finding

4:27

that she could see nothing of the

4:29

paintings. She began to study

4:31

me. This did

4:34

concern me greatly. A cat

4:36

may look at the king, but to

4:38

be contemplated by a lady is a

4:40

compliment sufficient to please any gentleman. It

4:44

was not gratified vanity that troubled

4:46

my thoughts, but the

4:48

consciousness that my appearance produced, first

4:50

of all a startled surprise, then

4:53

undisguised alarm, and

4:56

finally indescribable

4:59

horror. Now

5:01

a man can sit quietly leaning

5:04

on the head of his umbrella

5:06

and glow internally, warmed and illumined

5:08

by the consciousness that he is

5:11

being surveyed with admiration by a

5:13

lovely woman, even when

5:15

he is middle-aged and not fashionably

5:17

dressed. But no man

5:20

can maintain his composure when he

5:22

discovers himself to be an object

5:24

of aversion and terror. What

5:27

was it? I passed my

5:29

hand over my chin and upper lip, thinking

5:31

it not impossible that I might have forgotten

5:33

to have shaved that morning, and

5:35

in my confusion not considering that

5:37

the fog would prevent the lady

5:40

from discovering neglect in this particular

5:42

had it occurred, which it had

5:44

not. I am a

5:46

little careless, perhaps, about shaving when in

5:48

the country, but when in town never.

5:52

The next idea that occurred to me

5:54

was a smut had

5:56

a London black curdled in that

5:58

dense pea soup atmosphere. fear, descended

6:00

on my nose and blackened it. I

6:03

hastily drew my silk handkerchief from my

6:06

pocket, moistened it, and passed it over

6:08

my nose and then each cheek. I

6:11

then turned my eyes into the corners

6:13

and looked at the lady, to see

6:15

whether by this means I had got

6:18

rid of what was objectionable in my

6:20

personal appearance. Then

6:22

I saw that her eyes, dilated with

6:24

horror, were riveted not

6:26

on my face, but

6:29

on my leg. My

6:32

leg! What on

6:34

earth could that harmless member have in it

6:36

so terrifying? The morning had

6:38

been dull, there had been rain in the

6:40

night, and I admit that on leaving my

6:42

hotel I had turned up the

6:45

bottoms of my trousers. That

6:48

is proceeding not so uncommon,

6:50

not so outrageous as to

6:52

account for the stony stare

6:54

of this woman's eyes. If

6:57

that were all, I would turn my

7:00

trousers down. Then

7:02

I saw her shrink from the chair

7:04

on which she sat, to one further

7:06

removed from me, but still

7:08

with her eyes fixed on my

7:10

leg, about the level of my knee.

7:14

She had let fall her umbrella, and was

7:16

grasping the seat of her chair with both

7:18

hands as she backed from me.

7:21

I need hardly say that I

7:24

was greatly disturbed in mind and

7:26

feelings, and forgot all about

7:28

the origin of the English schools of

7:30

painters, and the question why the British

7:32

Museum is more popular than the National

7:34

Gallery. Thinking

7:36

that I might have been spattered by

7:38

a handsome whilst crossing Oxford Street, I

7:41

passed my hand down my side hastily

7:43

with a sense of annoyance, and

7:45

all at once touched

7:48

something cold, clammy, that

7:50

sent a thrill to my heart and made me start

7:53

and take a step forward. At

7:55

the same moment the lady, with a cry

7:57

of horror, sprang to her feet, and with

7:59

red raised hands fled from the room,

8:01

leaving her umbrella where it had fallen.

8:05

There were other visitors to the picture-gallery

8:08

besides ourselves, who had been passing through

8:10

the saloon, and they turned at her

8:12

cry, and looked in surprise after her.

8:16

The policemen stationed in the room came to

8:18

me, and asked what had happened. I

8:21

was in such agitation that I hardly knew

8:23

what to answer. I told

8:25

him that I could explain what had occurred

8:27

little better than himself. I

8:29

had noticed that the lady had worn

8:31

an odd expression, and had

8:34

behaved in most extraordinary fusion, and

8:36

that he had best take charge of her umbrella

8:38

and wait for her to return to claim it.

8:42

This questioning by the official was

8:44

vexing, as it prevented me

8:46

from at once and on the spot

8:49

investigating the cause of her alarm and

8:51

mine. Hers at something she must

8:53

have seen on my leg, and mine

8:55

at something I had distinctly felt

8:57

creeping up my leg. The

9:01

numbing and sickening effect of me, of the touch

9:03

of the object I had not seen, was not

9:06

to be shaken off at once. Indeed,

9:08

I felt as though my hand were

9:11

contaminated, and that I could have no

9:13

rest till I had thoroughly washed the

9:15

hand, and, if possible, washed

9:17

away the feeling that had been

9:19

produced. I

9:21

looked on the floor, and examined my leg,

9:24

but saw nothing. As

9:26

I wore my overcoat, it was probable

9:29

that in rising from my seat the

9:31

skirt had fallen over my trousers, and

9:33

hidden the thing whatever it was. I

9:36

therefore hastily removed my overcoat and shook

9:39

it. Then I looked

9:41

at my trousers. There

9:43

was nothing whatever on my leg, and

9:45

nothing fell from my overcoat when shaken.

9:48

Accordingly, I reinvested myself,

9:51

and hastily left the gallery,

9:54

then took my way as speedily as I

9:56

could, without actually running, to

9:59

Charing Cross St. and down the narrow

10:01

way leading to the Metropolitan, where I

10:03

went into Faulkner's bath and hairdressing establishment,

10:06

and asked for hot water to thoroughly

10:08

wash my hand and well soap it.

10:11

I bathed my hand in water as hot

10:13

as I could endure it, employed carbo-lic soap,

10:16

and then, after having a

10:18

good brush down, especially on my left

10:21

side, where my hand had encountered the

10:23

object that had so affected me, I

10:25

left. I had

10:27

entertained the intention of going to the

10:30

Princess's theatre that evening, and of securing

10:32

a ticket in the morning, but all

10:34

thought of theatre-going was gone from me.

10:37

I could not free my heart from the

10:39

sense of nausea and cold that

10:41

had been produced by the touch. I

10:44

went into Gatties to have lunch, and

10:46

ordered something, I forget what, but

10:49

when served I found that my appetite

10:51

was gone. I could eat

10:53

nothing. The food inspired me

10:55

to disgust. I thrust

10:58

it from me untasted, and, after

11:00

drinking a couple of glasses of claret,

11:02

left a restaurant and returned to my

11:05

hotel. Feeling

11:07

sick and faint, I threw my overcoat

11:09

over the sofa-back, and cast myself

11:11

on my bed. I

11:14

do not know that there was any

11:16

particular reason for my doing so, but

11:19

as I lay, my eyes

11:21

were on my greatcoat. The

11:24

density of the fog had passed away,

11:26

and there was light again, not of

11:28

first quality, but sufficient for a Londoner

11:31

to swear by, so that I

11:33

could see everything in my room, though

11:35

through a veil. I

11:39

do not think my mind was occupied in any

11:41

way. About the

11:43

only occasions on which, to my knowledge,

11:46

my mind is actually passive or inert,

11:48

is when crossing the channel in

11:51

the foam from Dover to Calais,

11:53

when I am always in every

11:55

weather abjectly seasick and

11:57

thoughtless. As

12:00

I now lay on my

12:02

bed, uncomfortable, squeamish, without

12:04

knowing why, I was

12:07

in the same inactive mental condition,

12:11

but not for long. I

12:14

saw something that startled me. First,

12:18

it appeared to me as if the

12:21

lappet of my overcoat pocket were in

12:23

movement, being raised. I

12:25

did not pay much attention to this, as

12:27

I supposed that the garment was sliding down

12:29

onto the seat of the sofa from the

12:32

back, and that this a displacement of gravity

12:34

caused the movement I observed. But

12:37

this, I soon saw, was

12:39

not the case. That

12:41

which moved the lappet was something

12:44

in the pocket that

12:46

was struggling to get out. I

12:49

could see now that it was working

12:51

its way up the inside,

12:54

and that when it reached the opening,

12:56

it lost balance and fell down again.

12:59

I could make this out by the projections

13:01

and indentations in the cloth. These

13:04

moved as the creature, or whatever

13:07

it was, worked its

13:09

way up the lining. A

13:11

mouse, I said, and forgot my

13:14

seediness. I was interested, the

13:16

little rascal. How ever did he

13:18

contrive to seat himself in my pocket? And

13:21

I have worn that overcoat all the morning. But

13:24

no, it was

13:26

not a mouse. I

13:30

saw something quite poke

13:32

its way out from under the lappet,

13:35

and in another moment an object was

13:37

revealed, that, though revealed, I

13:40

could not understand, nor could

13:42

I distinguish what it was. Now

13:46

roused by curiosity, I raised

13:48

myself on my elbow. When

13:51

doing this, I made some noise as the

13:53

bed creaked. Instantly,

13:56

the something dropped on the floor

13:58

lay outstretched for a moment. moment

14:00

to recover itself, and

14:02

then began, with

14:04

the motions of a maggot, to

14:07

run along the floor. There

14:11

is a caterpillar called the Measurer,

14:13

because when it advances, it

14:15

draws its tail up to where its head

14:17

is, and then throws forward its full length,

14:20

and again draws up its

14:22

extremity, forming at each time a

14:24

loop, and with each step

14:26

measuring its total length. The

14:29

object I now saw on the

14:31

floor was advancing precisely like the

14:34

Measuring Caterpillar. It had

14:36

the colour of a cheese maggot, and

14:38

in length was about three and a

14:40

half inches. It was not,

14:42

however, like a caterpillar,

14:44

which is flexible throughout its

14:46

entire length, but

14:49

this was, as it seemed to me,

14:51

jointed in two places, one

14:53

joint being more conspicuous than the other. For

14:57

some moments I was so

14:59

completely paralyzed by astonishment that

15:01

I remained motionless, looking

15:03

at the thing, as it

15:05

crawled along the carpet, a

15:08

dull green carpet with darker green,

15:10

almost black flowers in it. It

15:14

had, as it seemed to me,

15:16

a glossy head distinctly marked, but

15:19

as the light was not brilliant

15:21

I could not make out very

15:23

clearly, and, moreover, the rapid movements

15:25

prevented close scrutiny. Presently,

15:28

with a shock still more startling than

15:30

that produced by its apparition at the

15:32

opening of the pocket of my greatcoat,

15:36

I became convinced that what

15:38

I saw was a finger,

15:40

a human

15:42

forefinger, and

15:44

that the glossy head was no other than

15:47

the nail. The

15:49

finger did not seem to have been amputated.

15:52

There was no sign of blood or laceration

15:54

where the knuckle should be, but

15:56

the extremity of the finger, Or

15:59

root rather, faded. The the way to indistinctness

16:01

and I was unable to make out the

16:03

root of the finger. I

16:05

could see no hands, nobody behind

16:08

the finger. Nothing whatever. Accept the

16:10

finger the had a little token

16:12

of warm life in it, Know

16:14

coloration as though blood circulated in

16:16

it and this think it was

16:19

in motion, Creeping along the cottage

16:21

towards a wardrobe that stood against

16:23

the war. By. The

16:25

fireplace. I sprang off

16:27

the bed and to suit it, Evidently

16:30

the singles alarmed for eatery doubled

16:32

its pace. Reached. The wardrobe

16:35

and went under it. By.

16:37

The time I had arrived at the

16:39

article of furniture is it disappeared. I

16:42

lit a vest, a match and held

16:44

it beneath the wardrobe. This was raised

16:46

above the carpet by about two inches

16:48

on turned seat. Of but I

16:51

could see nothing more of the finger. I

16:53

got my umbrella and dig

16:55

beneath and direct forwards and

16:57

backwards. right and left and

17:00

raked out flu and nothing

17:02

more solid. Who.

17:06

I packed my portmanteau next day

17:08

in return to my home in

17:10

the country. All desire for amusement

17:12

in town was gone and the

17:14

faculty to transact business had departed

17:16

is. A lanka

17:18

and qualms had come over me and

17:20

my head was in a maze. I

17:23

was unable to fix my thoughts on

17:25

anything. At times I was

17:27

disposed to believe that my wits what

17:30

is hurting me or this is it

17:32

I was on the verge of a

17:34

severe illness. Any hulu, whether likely to

17:36

go off my head or not or

17:39

take to my bed home was the

17:41

only place for me and home would

17:43

I spared accordingly. On

17:45

reaching my country habitation my

17:47

servant as usual took my

17:50

portamento to my bedroom and

17:52

strapped not on. i

17:54

object to his throwing out the contents of

17:56

my glanced back not that there is anything

17:59

in it's he not see, but that

18:01

he puts my things when I cannot find

18:03

them again. My clothes

18:05

he is welcome to place them where he

18:07

likes and where they belong, and this latter

18:09

he knows better than I do. But

18:11

then I carry about with

18:13

me other things than a dress-suit

18:16

and changes of linen and flannel.

18:19

There are letters, papers, books,

18:22

and the proper destinations of these are

18:24

known only to myself. A

18:26

servant has a singular and evil knack

18:29

for putting away literary matter and odd

18:31

volumes in such places that it takes

18:33

the owner half a day to find

18:35

them again. Although

18:38

I was uncomfortable in my

18:40

head in a whirl, I opened

18:42

and unpacked my own portmanteau.

18:45

As I was thus engaged, I saw

18:48

something curled up in my collar-box, the

18:50

lid of which had got broken in

18:52

by a boot-heel impinging on it. I

18:56

had pulled off the damaged cover to see if my

18:58

collars had been spoiled, when

19:00

something curled up inside suddenly rose

19:02

on end and leapt, just

19:05

like a cheese-jumper, out of the box,

19:08

over the edge of the Gladstone bag, and

19:11

scurried away across the floor in a manner

19:14

already familiar to me. I

19:17

could not doubt for a moment what it was. Here

19:20

was the finger again. It

19:22

had come with me from London to

19:24

the country. Whether

19:27

it went on its run over the floor,

19:29

I do not know. I

19:31

was too bewildered to observe. Somewhat

19:34

later, towards evening, I seated

19:37

myself in my easy chair, took up a

19:39

book, and tried to read it. I

19:41

was tired with the journey and the knocking

19:43

about in town, and the discomfort and alarm

19:45

produced by the apparition of the finger. I

19:48

felt worn out. I was

19:50

unable to give my attention to what I read, and

19:53

before I was aware, was asleep. Roused

19:56

for an instant by the fall of the

19:58

book from my hands, I speeded relaxed

20:00

into unconsciousness. I

20:03

am not sure that a doze in an

20:05

armchair ever does good. It

20:07

usually leaves me in a semi-stupid condition

20:10

and with a headache. Five

20:12

minutes in a horizontal position on my bed

20:15

is worth thirty in a chair. That

20:18

is my experience. In

20:20

sleeping in a sedentary position the head

20:22

is a difficulty. It drops

20:24

forward or lols on one side or the

20:26

other, and has to be brought back into

20:28

a position in which the line of the

20:31

center of gravity runs through the trunk, otherwise

20:33

the head carries the body over in

20:36

a sort of general capsize out of

20:38

the chair onto the floor. I

20:42

slept on the occasion of which I

20:44

am speaking pretty healthily, because

20:46

deadly weary, but I was brought to

20:48

waking not by my head falling over

20:50

the arm of the chair and my

20:53

trunk tumbling after it, but

20:55

by a feeling of cold extending from

20:57

my throat to my heart. When

21:00

I awoke I was in a

21:03

diagonal position, with my right ear

21:05

resting on my right shoulder and

21:07

exposing the left side of my throat, and

21:10

it was here where the jugular

21:12

vein throbs that I felt

21:14

the greatest intensity of cold. At

21:17

once I shrugged my left shoulder, rubbing my

21:19

neck with the collar of my coat in

21:21

so doing. Finally something

21:24

fell off upon the floor,

21:28

and I again saw the finger. My

21:31

disgust, horror, were intensified when

21:33

I perceived that it was

21:35

dragging something after it, which

21:38

might have been an old stocking, and which

21:40

I took at first glance for something of

21:42

the sort. The

21:44

evening sun shone in through my window

21:46

in a brilliant golden ray that lighted

21:48

the object as it scrambled along. With

21:52

this illumination I was able

21:54

to distinguish what the object was. It

21:57

is not easy to describe it, but I

21:59

will tell you. will make the attempt. The

22:02

finger I saw was solid

22:04

and material. What

22:06

it drew after it was neither, or

22:10

was in a nebulous protoplasmic

22:12

condition. The finger

22:14

was attached to a hand that was

22:16

curdling into matter and in process of

22:18

acquiring solidity. Attached

22:21

to the hand was an arm in

22:23

a very filmy condition, and

22:25

this arm belonged to a human

22:28

body in a still more vaporous

22:30

immaterial condition. This

22:32

was being dragged along the floor by

22:34

the finger, just as a silkworm might

22:36

pull after it the tangle of its

22:38

web. I could see

22:40

legs and arms and head and

22:43

coat-tails tumbling

22:46

about and interlacing and disentangling

22:48

again in a promiscuous manner.

22:51

There were no bone, no muscle, no

22:53

substance in the figure. The

22:55

members were attached to the trunk,

22:57

which was spineless, but they had

22:59

evidently no functions, and were

23:01

wholly dependent on the finger, which pulled

23:04

them along in the jumble of parts

23:06

as it advanced. In

23:08

such confusion did the whole vaporous

23:10

matter seem that I think, I

23:13

cannot say for certain it was so, but

23:15

the impression left on my mind was

23:17

that one of the eyeballs

23:19

was looking out at a nostril and

23:22

a tongue lolling out of one of the ears.

23:26

It was, however, only for a moment that

23:28

I saw this germ body. I

23:30

cannot call by another name that, which had

23:32

not more substance than smoke. I

23:35

saw it only so long as it was

23:37

being dragged athwart as the ray of sunlight.

23:40

The moment it was pulled jirkely out of

23:42

the beam into the shadow beyond, I

23:45

could see nothing of it, only

23:47

the crawling finger. I

23:50

had not sufficient moral energy or physical

23:52

force in me to rise, pursue, and

23:54

stamp on the finger, and grind it

23:56

with my heel into the floor. Both

23:59

seemed to be drained out of me. What

24:02

became of the finger, whither it

24:04

went, how it managed to secrete

24:06

itself, I do not know. I

24:09

had lost the power to inquire. I

24:12

sat in my chair, chilled, staring

24:14

before me into space. Please,

24:17

sir, a voice said, there is

24:19

Mr. Square below, electrical engineer. Eh?

24:23

I looked dreamily around. My

24:25

valet was at the door. Please,

24:27

sir, the gentleman would be glad to be

24:29

allowed to go over the house and see

24:31

that all the electrical apparatus is in order.

24:34

Oh, indeed, yes, show

24:36

him up. I

24:40

had recently placed the lighting of my house

24:42

in the hands of an electrical engineer, a

24:45

very intelligent man, a Mr. Square,

24:47

for whom I had contracted a

24:49

sincere friendship. He had

24:52

built a shed with a dynamo out of

24:54

sight, and had entrusted the laying of the

24:56

wires to subordinates, as he had been busy

24:58

with other orders, and could not personally watch

25:01

every detail. But he was

25:03

not the man to let anything pass unobserved,

25:05

and he knew that electricity was not a

25:08

force to be played with. Bad

25:11

or careless workmen will often

25:13

insufficiently protect the wires, or

25:15

neglect the insertion of the lead which serves

25:18

as a safety valve in the event of

25:20

the current being too strong. Things

25:23

may be set on fire, human

25:25

beings fatally shocked by the neglect

25:27

of a bad or slovenly workman.

25:30

The apparatus for my mansion was

25:32

but just completed, and Mr.

25:34

Square had come to inspect it and to make sure

25:36

that all was right. He

25:39

was an enthusiast in the subject of

25:41

electricity, and saw for it a vast

25:43

perspective the limits of which could not

25:45

be predicted. All forces,

25:48

said he, are correlated. When

25:50

you have a force in one form, you may just

25:52

turn it into this or that, as you like. In

25:55

one form it's motive power, in

25:58

another it's light in another heat. Now

26:01

we have electricity for illumination. We

26:04

employ it, but not as freely as

26:06

in the States, for propelling vehicles. Why

26:09

should we have horses drawing our buses?

26:11

We should use only electric trams. Why

26:14

do we burn coal to warm our shins? There

26:17

is electricity which throws out

26:19

no filthy smoke as does

26:21

coal. Why should

26:23

we let the tides waste their energies in

26:26

the Thames, in other estuaries?

26:29

There we have nature supplying us,

26:32

free, gratis, and for nothing, with

26:34

all the force we want for

26:36

propelling, for heating, for lighting. I

26:39

will tell you something more, my dear sir,

26:41

said Mr Square. I have

26:44

mentioned but three modes of force, and

26:46

have instanced but a limited number of

26:48

uses to which electricity may be turned.

26:51

How is it with photography? Is

26:54

not electric light becoming an artistic

26:56

agent? I bet you,

26:58

said he, before long it will

27:00

become a therapeutic agent as well.

27:04

Oh, yes, I have heard of certain

27:06

imposters with their life-belts. Mr

27:09

Square did not relish this little dig I

27:11

gave him. He winced, but returned

27:13

to the charge. We don't know

27:16

how to direct it all right. That's all,

27:18

said he. I haven't taken the

27:20

matter up, but others will, I bet, and

27:22

we shall have electricity used as freely as

27:24

now. We use powders and pills. I

27:27

believe in doctor stuffs myself. I

27:30

hold. The disease lays hold of a man

27:33

because he lacks physical force to resist it.

27:35

Now, is it not obvious that you are beginning

27:38

at the wrong end when you attack the disease?

27:41

What you want is to supply

27:43

force, make up for

27:45

the lack of physical power, and

27:47

force is force wherever you find

27:49

it. Here motive, they are illuminating,

27:51

and so on. I

27:54

don't see why a physician should

27:56

not utilise the tide rushing out

27:58

on the London Bridge for restoring

28:00

the feeble vigour of all who

28:02

are languid and pray to disorder

28:04

in the metropolis. It will

28:06

come to that, I bet. And that

28:08

is not all. Force is

28:11

force everywhere, political,

28:13

moral force, physical force,

28:15

dynamic force, heat, light,

28:18

tidal waves, and so on. Are

28:21

all one. All is one.

28:24

Any time we shall know how

28:27

to galvanise into aptitude and moral

28:29

energy all the limp

28:31

and crooked consciences and wills that

28:33

need taking in hand, as such

28:35

there always will be in modern

28:38

civilisation. I don't know how to

28:40

do it. I don't know how it will be

28:42

done. But in the future

28:44

the priest as well as the

28:46

doctor will turn electricity on as

28:48

his principal. Nay, he's

28:50

only agent. And

28:53

he can get his force anywhere, out of the

28:55

running stream, out of the wind, out

28:57

of the tidal wave. I'll

28:59

give you an instance, continued Mr

29:02

Square, chuckling and rubbing his hands,

29:04

to show you the great possibilities

29:06

in electricity used in a crude

29:08

fashion. In a

29:10

certain great city away far west

29:12

in the States, a go-ahead place

29:14

too, more so than New York,

29:16

they had electric trams all up

29:18

and down and along the roads

29:21

to everywhere. The Union

29:23

men working for the company demanded that

29:25

non-unionists should be turned off, but

29:27

the company didn't see it. Instead it

29:29

turned off the Union men. It

29:32

had up its sleeve a sufficiency of the

29:34

others and filled all places at once. Union

29:37

men didn't like it and passed word that

29:39

at a given hour on a certain day

29:42

every wire was to be cut. The

29:45

company knew this by means of its

29:47

spies and turned on ready for them,

29:49

three times the power into all the

29:51

wires. At the

29:53

fixed moment up the poles

29:55

went the strikers to cut the cables. And

29:59

down they came. a dozen times quicker

30:01

than they went up, I bet! Then

30:04

there came wires to the hospitals

30:06

from all quarters for stretches to

30:08

carry off the disabled men, some

30:10

with broken arms. Legs,

30:13

ribs, two or three had their necks

30:15

broken. I reckon the

30:17

company was wonderfully merciful. It didn't put

30:19

on sufficient force to make cinders of

30:21

them there and then. Possibly

30:24

opinion might not have liked it. Stop

30:28

the strike, did that! Great

30:30

moral effect! All done

30:32

by electricity. In this

30:35

manner Mr. Square was wont to rattle

30:37

on. He interested me, and I

30:39

came to think that there might be something in

30:41

what he said, that his suggestions

30:43

were mere nonsense. I

30:46

was glad to see Mr. Square enter my room,

30:48

shown in by my man. I

30:50

did not rise from my chair to shake

30:52

his hand, for I had not sufficient energy

30:54

to do so. In

30:56

a languid tone I welcomed him and signed

30:58

him to take a seat. Mr.

31:01

Square looked at me with some surprise. Why,

31:03

what's the matter? He said, You seem

31:06

unwell. Not got the flu, have

31:08

you? I beg your pardon. The

31:10

influenza! Every third

31:13

person's crying out that he has it,

31:15

and the sale of eucalyptus is enormous.

31:17

Not that eucalyptus is any good. Influenza

31:21

microbes indeed! What care they

31:23

for eucalyptus? You've

31:26

gone down some steps of the ladder of life

31:28

since I saw your last squire, and you

31:31

account for that. I

31:33

hesitated about mentioning the

31:35

extraordinary circumstances that had

31:37

occurred, but Square was

31:39

a man who would not allow any beating

31:41

about the bush. He was

31:43

downright in straight, and in

31:46

ten minutes had got the entire story out of

31:48

me. Rather boisterous

31:50

for your nerves, that, a

31:52

crawling finger, said he, it's

31:55

a queer story taken on end. Then

31:58

he was silent, considering. After

32:01

a few minutes he rose and said, I'll

32:03

go and look at the fittings, and then I'll

32:05

turn this little matter of yours over again, and

32:08

see if I can't knock the bottom out of it. I'm

32:11

kind of fond of these sort of things." Mr.

32:14

Square was not a Yankee, but he

32:16

had lived for some time in America,

32:19

and affected to speak like an American.

32:22

He used expressions, terms of speech

32:24

common in the States, but had

32:26

none of the transatlantic twang. He

32:29

was a man absolutely without affectation

32:32

in every other particular. This

32:34

was his sole weakness, and it was harmless.

32:38

The man was so thorough in all he

32:40

did that I did not expect his return

32:42

immediately. He was certain

32:44

to examine every portion of the dynamo-engine,

32:47

and all the connections and burners. This

32:50

would necessarily engage him for some hours.

32:53

As the day was nearly done, I knew he

32:55

could not accomplish what he wanted that evening, and

32:58

accordingly gave orders that a room should be prepared

33:00

for him. Then

33:03

as my head was full of pain and my

33:05

skin was burning, I told my

33:07

servant to apologize for my absence from dinner,

33:10

and tell Mr. Square that I was really forced

33:12

to return to my bed by sickness, and

33:14

that I believed I was about to

33:17

be prostrated by an attack of influenza.

33:20

The valet, a worthy fellow, who has been

33:22

with me for six years, was

33:25

concerned at my appearance and urged me to

33:27

allow him to send for a doctor. I

33:30

had no confidence in the local practitioner,

33:33

and if I sent for another from the nearest

33:35

town I should offend him, and a

33:37

row would perhaps ensue, so I declined. If

33:41

I were really in for an influenza attack,

33:43

I knew about as much as any doctor

33:45

how to deal with it. Quinine!

33:48

Quinine! That

33:50

was all! I bade my man light

33:52

a small lamp, lower it so as

33:54

to give sufficient illumination to enable me

33:56

to find some lime juice at my

33:58

bedhead, in my pocket handkerchief. chief, and

34:00

to be able to read my watch. When

34:03

he had done this, I bade him leave me.

34:07

I lay in bed, burning, wracked with

34:09

pain in my head, and with my

34:11

eyeballs on fire. Whether

34:13

I fell asleep, or went off

34:15

my head, I cannot

34:18

tell. I may have

34:20

fainted. I have no recollection

34:22

of anything after having gone to bed, and

34:24

taking a sip of lime juice, that tasted

34:26

to me like soap, till I was

34:28

roused by a sense of pain in my ribs. A

34:31

slow, annoying, torturing pain, waxing

34:34

momentarily more intense. In

34:37

half-consciousness I was partly dreaming, and

34:39

partly aware of actual suffering. The

34:42

pain was real, but in my

34:44

fancy I thought that the

34:46

great maggot was working its way into

34:49

my side, between my ribs. I

34:51

seemed to see it. It

34:54

twisted itself half round, then reverted

34:56

to its former position, and again

34:58

twisted itself, moving like a

35:01

brattle, not like a

35:03

gimlet which later formed a complete

35:05

revolution. This, obviously,

35:07

must have been a dream,

35:09

hallucination only, as I

35:11

was lying on my back, and my eyes

35:14

were directed towards the bottom of the bed,

35:16

and the coverlet and blankets and sheet intervened

35:18

between my eyes and my side. But

35:21

in fever one sees without eyes, and

35:24

in every direction, and through all obstructs.

35:28

Roused thoroughly by an excruciating twinge,

35:30

I tried to call out, and

35:33

succeeded in throwing myself over on my

35:35

right side that which was in pain.

35:38

At once I felt the thing withdrawn

35:40

that was crawling, if I may use

35:42

the word, in between my ribs.

35:46

And now I saw, standing

35:48

beside the bed, a figure

35:50

that had its arm under the bedclothes

35:52

and was slowly removing it. The

35:55

hand was leisurely drawn from under

35:57

the coverings and rested on the

35:59

idea. down coverlet with

36:01

the forefinger extended. The

36:04

figure was that of a man

36:07

in shabby clothes, with a sallow,

36:09

mean face, a retreating

36:11

forehead, with hair cut after the

36:13

French fashion, and a

36:15

moustache, dark. The

36:18

jaws and chin were covered with a bristly

36:20

growth as if shaving had been neglected for

36:22

a fortnight. The figure did

36:24

not appear to be thoroughly solid, but

36:27

to be of the consistency of curd,

36:30

and the face was of the complexion of

36:32

curd. As I looked

36:34

at this object, it withdrew,

36:37

sliding backward in an odd sort of

36:39

manner, and as though

36:41

over-weighted by the hand which was

36:43

the most substantial, indeed

36:45

the only substantial portion of

36:48

it. Though the

36:50

figure retreated stooping, yet

36:52

it was no longer huddled along by

36:54

the finger as if it had

36:57

no material existence. If

36:59

the same, it has acquired

37:01

a consistency and a solidity which

37:03

it did not possess before. How

37:06

it vanished I do not know nor fither

37:08

it went. The door opened and

37:11

Square came in. What,

37:13

he exclaimed with cheery voice, influenza

37:15

is it? I don't

37:17

know. I think it's that finger

37:19

again. Four. Now

37:22

look here, said Square. I'm not going

37:25

to have that cuss at its pranks

37:27

any more. Tell me all about it.

37:30

I was now so exhausted, so feeble, that

37:32

I was not able to give a connected

37:34

account of what had taken place. But

37:37

Square put to me just a few

37:39

pointed questions and elicited the main facts.

37:42

He pieced them together in his own orderly

37:45

mind so as to form a connected whole.

37:48

There's a feature in the case, said

37:50

he, that strikes me as remarkable and

37:52

important. At first a

37:54

finger only, then a hand, then

37:56

a nebulous figure attached to the

37:59

hand without back bone

38:01

without consistency. Lastly,

38:04

a complete form with consistency

38:06

and with back bone, but

38:09

the latter in a gelatinous condition, and

38:11

the entire figure over-weighted by the hand,

38:13

just as hand and figure were previously

38:15

over-weighted by the finger. Simultaneously

38:19

with this compacting and consolidating

38:21

of the figure came

38:23

your degeneration and loss of vital

38:25

force and, in a word of

38:28

health, what you lose

38:30

is that object acquires. And

38:33

what it gains, it gains

38:35

by contact with you. That's

38:38

clear enough, is it not? I dare say,

38:40

I don't know, I can't think. Suppose

38:43

not? The faculty of thought is drained

38:45

out from you. Very well. I

38:48

must think for you, and I will. Force

38:51

is force, and see if I can't

38:53

deal with your visitent in such a

38:55

way as will prove just as truly

38:58

a moral dissuasive. Is

39:00

that employed on the union men,

39:02

on strike in—never mind where it

39:04

was? That's not the point. Will

39:07

you kindly give me some lime

39:09

juice, I entreat it? I

39:12

sipped the acid draught, but without

39:14

relief. I listened to square,

39:17

but without hope. I wanted to

39:19

be left alone. I was weary of

39:21

my pain, weary of everything, even of life. It

39:25

was a matter of indifference to me whether

39:27

I recovered or slipped out of existence. It

39:30

will be here again shortly, said the engineer. As

39:33

the French say, le apétit

39:36

viens en mangent. It

39:38

has been at you thrice. It

39:40

won't be content without another pack, and

39:42

if it does get another, I guess

39:45

it will pretty well about finish you.

39:48

Mr. Square rubbed his chin, and then

39:51

put his hands into his trouser-pookets. It

39:53

also was a trek acquired in the States,

39:56

an inelegant one. His

39:58

hands were not actively— occupied went into

40:01

his pockets. Inevitably they

40:03

gravitated thither. Ladies

40:06

did not like Square. They

40:08

said he was not a gentleman. But

40:10

it was not that he said or

40:12

did anything off-colour. Only he

40:14

spoke to them, looked at them, walked with

40:17

them, always with his hands in his pockets.

40:19

I have seen a lady turn her

40:21

back on him deliberately because of this

40:24

trick. Standing

40:26

now with his hands in his pockets. She

40:29

studied my bed and said contemptuously,

40:32

Old-fashioned and bad for poster

40:34

oughtn't to be allowed, I

40:36

guess, and holds them all

40:39

the way round. I was

40:41

not in a condition to dispute this. I

40:44

like a for-poster with curtains at head

40:46

and feet. Not that I

40:48

ever draw them, but it gives a sense

40:50

of privacy that is wanting in one of

40:52

your half-tester beds. If

40:54

there is a window at one's feet, one

40:56

can lie in bed without the glare in

40:59

one's eyes, and yet without darkening the room

41:01

by drawing the blinds. There is

41:03

much to be said for a for-poster, but

41:05

this isn't the place in which to say

41:07

it. Mr. Square

41:09

pulled his hands out of his pockets and began

41:11

fiddling with the electric point near the head of

41:14

my bed, attached a wire,

41:16

swept it in a semicircle along

41:18

the floor, and then thrust the

41:20

knob at the end into my hand in the bed.

41:22

Keep your eye open, said he, and

41:25

your hand shut and covered. If

41:27

that finger comes again tickling

41:29

your ribs, try it with the

41:32

point. I'll manage the switch from

41:34

behind the curtain." Then

41:36

he disappeared. I was

41:38

too indifferent in my misery to turn my head

41:40

and observe where he was. I

41:43

remained inert with the knob in

41:45

my hand and my eyes closed,

41:47

suffering, and thinking of nothing

41:49

but the shooting pains through my head

41:51

and the aches in my loins and

41:53

back and legs. Some

41:55

time probably elapsed before I felt the finger

41:58

again at work at my ribs. ribs. It

42:01

groped, but no longer bored. I

42:04

now felt the entire hand not a

42:06

single finger, and the hand

42:09

was substantial, cold, and clammy. I

42:12

was aware, how I know not, that

42:15

if the finger-point reached the region

42:17

of my heart on the left

42:19

side, the hand would, so to

42:21

speak, sit down on it

42:23

with the cold palm over it, and

42:26

that then immediately my heart

42:28

would cease to beat, and

42:31

it would be, as Square might express it,

42:33

gone coon with me. In

42:37

self-preservation I brought up

42:39

the knob of the electric wire against the hand,

42:41

against one of the ringers, I think, and

42:44

at once was aware of a rapping, squealing

42:46

noise. I turned my

42:48

head languidly, and saw the form, now

42:51

more substantial than before, capering

42:53

in an ecstasy of pain,

42:56

endeavouring fruitlessly to withdraw its arm

42:58

from under the bedclothes and the

43:00

hand from the electric point. At

43:03

the same moment Square stepped out from behind

43:05

the curtain with a dry laugh, and said,

43:08

I thought we should fix him. He has

43:10

the coil about him, and can't escape. Now

43:13

let us drop to particulars, but

43:16

I shan't let off till I know

43:18

all about you. The

43:20

last sentence was addressed not to me, but

43:23

to the apparition. Thereupon he

43:25

bade me take the point away from the

43:28

hand of the figure being, whatever it was,

43:31

but to be ready with it at a

43:33

moment's notice. He then

43:35

proceeded to catacize my visitor, who

43:38

moved restlessly within the circle of wire

43:41

but could not escape from it. It

43:44

replied in a thin, squealing voice that sounded

43:46

as if it came from a distance, and

43:48

had a querulous tone in it. I

43:51

do not pretend to give all that was said.

43:54

I cannot recollect everything that

43:56

passed. My memory was affected

43:58

by my illness as well. well as my body,

44:01

yet I prefer giving the scraps that I

44:03

recollect to what Mr. Square told me he

44:05

had heard. Yes,

44:07

I was unsuccessful. Always

44:12

was. Nothing answered with me. The

44:14

world was against me. Society

44:16

was. I hate society. I

44:19

don't like work neither. Never

44:21

did. But I like agitating

44:23

against what is established. I

44:25

hate the royal family, the landed

44:27

interests, the parsons, everything that is

44:30

except the people that is the

44:32

unemployed. I always did. I

44:34

couldn't get work as suited me. When

44:37

I died, they buried me in a cheap

44:39

coffin, dirt cheap, and gave me a nasty

44:41

grave, cheap, and the service

44:43

rattled away cheap and no monument. Didn't

44:46

want none. Oh, there are

44:49

lots of us. All discontented.

44:51

Discontent. That's the passion it

44:54

is. It gets into the

44:56

veins. It fills the brain. It occupies

44:58

the heart. It's a

45:00

sort of divine cancer that takes

45:02

possession of the entire man and

45:05

makes him dissatisfied with everything and

45:07

hates everybody. But

45:09

we must have our share of happiness at some

45:11

time. We all crave

45:13

for it in one way or other. Some

45:16

think there's a future state of blessedness, and

45:19

so have hope and look to attain it,

45:21

for hope is a cable and anchor that

45:24

attaches to what is real. But

45:26

when you have no hope of that sort, don't

45:30

believe in any future state. You

45:32

must look for happiness in life here. We

45:35

didn't get it when we're alive, so

45:38

we seek to procure it after we

45:40

are dead. We can do

45:42

it if we can get out

45:44

of our cheap and nasty coffins. But

45:47

not until the greater part of us is

45:49

molded away. If a

45:51

finger or two remains, that can

45:53

work its way up to the surface. Those

45:56

cheap deal coffins go to pieces quick

45:59

enough. Then the only solid

46:01

part of us left can pull the rest of

46:03

us that has gone to nothing after it. Then

46:06

we grope about after the

46:08

living the well to do if we can get

46:10

at them, the honest working

46:13

poor if we can't, we hate

46:15

them too because they are content

46:17

and happy. If we

46:19

reach any of these and can touch them,

46:21

then we can draw their vital

46:23

force out of them into ourselves

46:25

and recuperate at their expense. That

46:28

was about what I was going to do with

46:31

you, getting on

46:33

famous, nearly solidified into

46:35

a new man and given

46:37

another chance of life. But

46:40

I've missed it this time, just

46:42

like my luck. Miss

46:44

everything. Always have, except

46:48

misery and disappointment.

46:52

Get plenty of that. What

46:54

are you all? asked Square. Anarchists

46:57

out of employ. Some

47:00

of us go by that name,

47:02

some by other designations. But

47:04

we are all one and own

47:06

allegiance to but one monarch.

47:10

Sovereign discontent. We

47:12

are bred to have a distaste for manual

47:14

work and we grow up loafers, crumbling

47:17

at everything and quarreling with society that

47:19

is around us and the providence that

47:21

is above us. What

47:23

do you call yourselves now? Call

47:26

ourselves nothing. We

47:28

are the same in another condition, that is all.

47:31

Folk called us once anarchists,

47:34

nihilists, socialists, levelers.

47:38

Now they call us the influenza. The

47:41

learned talk of microbes and

47:43

bacillion bacteria. Microbes,

47:46

bacillion bacteria be plowed. We

47:48

are the influenza. We

47:51

the social failures. The

47:53

generally discontented. Coming

47:56

up out of our cheap and nasty

47:58

graves in the form of physical. We are the

48:00

influenza." "'There

48:05

you are,' exclaimed Square triumphantly.

48:07

"'Did I not say that

48:10

all forces were correlated? If

48:13

so, then all negotiations, deficiencies

48:15

of force are one in

48:18

their several manifestations. Talk

48:20

of divine discontent as a force impelling

48:23

to progress rubbish! It

48:25

is a paralysis of energy. It

48:28

earns all it absorbs to acid, to

48:30

envy, spite, gall. It

48:33

inspires nothing but rots the whole moral

48:35

system. Here you have

48:37

it, moral, social, political discontent

48:39

in another form. Nay, aspect,

48:42

that is all. What

48:45

anarchism is in the body politic?

48:47

That influenza is in the

48:50

body physical. Do you see that?"

48:53

"'Yes,' I believe I answered, and

48:55

dropped away into the land of

48:57

dreams. I

48:59

recovered. What Square

49:01

did with this thing? I

49:04

know not, but believe that

49:06

he reduced it again to its former

49:09

negative and self-decomposing

49:11

condition." That

49:36

was A Dead Finger by

49:38

Sabine Baring Gould. Easy

49:41

to call him Sabine Baring Gould,

49:44

but I made sure I checked the

49:46

pronunciation. I do that more and

49:48

more these days, because what I've

49:50

realized is that there are many people out

49:52

there who know a lot more than me

49:55

about many things, and I forget

49:57

I'm wrong. I haven't got a lot of room for

49:59

manoeuvre. a bit of checking. This

50:02

is the part of the thing because

50:05

you haven't realized. This is the part

50:07

of the episode where by, where with,

50:09

where for and to. I

50:12

start to talk about the story and

50:14

the author. And this

50:16

is the author. I just say a little bit.

50:18

I've learned about him. I make comments about the

50:20

story which arise to me. So think of it

50:23

as having a conversation

50:25

with your, the single

50:27

uncle you had who always used to

50:29

come round and after a couple of

50:31

drinks would drone on about something that he

50:33

didn't really know anything about. But you kind of

50:35

were really fond of him. And so you put

50:37

up with him and that's what I would like

50:39

to, I would love you to

50:41

have that attitude towards me. Now, by

50:44

this time you will all realize if you haven't

50:46

before, whether you want to listen to this or

50:48

not. If you do not want to

50:52

listen to it, please stop. Do

50:54

not put either of us through this. So

50:56

you need to write a comment at the

50:58

end and go, nonsense waffle.

51:00

Yeah, fine. Just stop listening to it.

51:03

Okay. For those who love the nonsense waffle

51:05

and there are 95% of people who replied

51:08

to a

51:10

poll to say that they did. That's it.

51:12

I'm talking to you now. So

51:15

let's talk about this story. This story, a

51:17

dead finger was first published in the Cornhill

51:19

magazine, a popular literary

51:22

periodical of the time in January,

51:24

1902. And it was later included

51:26

in Baring Gould's collection, a book

51:28

of ghosts published in 1904. So

51:32

what did I think about this story? Well,

51:34

I thought it was like a fever

51:36

dream. It was a

51:38

very odd story or,

51:41

and I don't think this is likely he had taken

51:43

a ton, a heroic

51:45

dose of illicit substances,

51:48

but I don't think that's

51:50

true. And I'm not sure he did write it in

51:52

the fever dream, although somebody may know more about him

51:54

and say, Oh yeah, it came from the tape. Got

51:57

the idea when he had scarlet fever one time. Let's

52:00

think about the time frame. We've

52:02

done other weird stories before. The

52:05

last one we did was Guillemot-Pessan

52:07

who was French and his

52:09

stories are weird in a similar kind of

52:12

pre-surrealist way and why I say

52:14

pre-surrealist? Because the surrealist didn't weren't

52:17

the thing till the 1920s and

52:19

I think the surrealist manifesto came

52:21

out in 1924 so this is

52:23

like 20 years before that. However,

52:25

it does have that odd

52:28

juxtaposition almost as this dream material

52:30

was coming to him and it's

52:32

you know how dreams are odd

52:35

and bizarre and they don't fit with

52:37

the real world and the

52:39

surrealists made a great play

52:41

of this but of course the other reason

52:43

to say why I don't think Beringueld

52:46

was a surrealist which I'm not

52:48

in any circumstances suggesting that but

52:51

even related to them or influenced

52:53

by ideas that were floating around

52:55

at the time is that he

52:57

was deeply deeply conservative

53:01

and this shows in all aspects

53:03

of his really interesting life but

53:06

anything new he's not gonna like it.

53:09

So I don't think he's a surrealist but

53:11

I just think it's kind of weird. Talking

53:14

about that he was a very accomplished and

53:16

interesting man and was a clergyman after his

53:18

main job. And like I

53:20

don't know if you've come across Montague Summers who

53:22

wrote mainly so-called

53:24

factual books about vampires.

53:26

He was a priest as well, an

53:29

Anglican priest you know and

53:32

a similar period

53:34

and both of those men are

53:37

deeply conservative

53:40

really very reactionary figures. What

53:44

struck me as really interesting is that you've heard

53:46

the story so there's no spoilers that

53:48

the cause of the ghost is

53:51

the spirit,

53:53

the representation of

53:56

the undeserving poor. And

53:58

so Beringueld in this is a is

54:00

an anti Charles Dickens in many

54:02

ways because you know in

54:04

Dickens' ghost stories the ghosts serve

54:09

to advance what you might

54:11

call a progressive, that

54:13

is to say that the

54:16

poor are suffering from

54:19

the predations

54:21

of the wealthy, whereas

54:25

this is the other way around, it's

54:27

clearly the poor, it's their own fault

54:30

and it strikes me and you know

54:32

I'm not making so obviously I'm not

54:34

espousing any particular point any particular political

54:38

standpoint but it has I've observed in

54:40

life that people who are generally

54:44

on the left tend and

54:46

this isn't always true but

54:49

they tend to come from poorer backgrounds

54:51

they have not if you like or

54:53

they have less because in our western

54:56

societies are so much more wealthy than

54:58

our ancestors and also in other communities

55:00

around the world so have

55:03

nots tend to be left that is to say

55:05

I haven't got it I want it you've got

55:08

it I want it you

55:10

know that's a left and so their

55:12

view would be everything

55:14

the things that have gone wrong in my life

55:16

are to do with the system the system is

55:18

rigged against me and that may

55:21

be true because to an

55:23

extent all most of these things have some truth in them

55:25

because if you are let's say born

55:28

in a sink council estate and what

55:30

I mean by that is the really

55:33

deprived public housing and it's all relative

55:35

with lots of crime lots of mold

55:38

on the ceilings you're not got any money you

55:40

can't have the heating on you don't have anything

55:43

to eat and the only things you can

55:45

afford are low nutrition crap so

55:47

your health's poor you take comfort

55:49

the only way you know in

55:51

in smoking drink and drugs so

55:53

your health is poor so this

55:55

is this is a this is

55:57

a familiar picture so you

56:00

may look and then compare

56:02

somebody like M.R. James who

56:05

came from a wealthy background, went to

56:07

the most prestigious public school in England,

56:09

went to the most potentially

56:12

prestigious university,

56:15

the Oxford people will be

56:17

up in arms about that. But

56:19

they didn't start in the

56:21

same place. So

56:23

it may there may be some justice to

56:26

review that says, you know,

56:28

this system is rigged against me. Everything,

56:31

this is what the ghost says, everything's against

56:33

me. Let's flip it on the other side then.

56:35

So the people on the other side who tend

56:37

to be halves,

56:42

as is human nature, they don't want to give

56:44

it away. You ask me, right, you've worked since

56:46

you were 15 years old. Are you not on

56:48

the streets? You've got a house you can afford

56:50

to do this podcasting thing. Why don't

56:53

you give all your money away? No,

56:55

thanks. If I give it away, I'll give

56:58

it to my friends and my family. I don't necessarily want to

57:00

give it to, you

57:03

know, I may feel that I should do

57:06

give to charity, but this isn't about

57:08

me being virtuous. It's about looking at the

57:11

right wing view, which tends to be everything

57:14

I've got, I've got through my hard work.

57:17

It's mine. Why should I give it to you?

57:19

If I if I want to give it to

57:21

you, then I will. And,

57:23

you know, charitable causes, et cetera. And

57:25

there's a police. I always wonder,

57:29

given the amount of sirens that go

57:31

past in this small city, if there

57:33

really are that many emergencies, you

57:36

know, they go by every seven minutes.

57:38

Are there are there that many life

57:40

or death situations where the police

57:42

and the other people need to put their sirens

57:45

on? And having worked in the health service, I

57:47

know I've been in the back of ambulances for

57:49

people who were texting on their phones. There was

57:51

no wrong with them. I'm talking about mental health

57:53

people here. But even people, you know, you've got

57:55

this and we call an ambulance and you've got

57:57

anyway, I digress as usual. And

58:00

I'm probably riling people now. So

58:03

what I'm wanting to say is it's always

58:05

amused me that people,

58:10

you know, if you're on the left, it's like, I want that. I

58:12

haven't got it. It's the system. And

58:14

the people on the right, it's mine. I'm not giving

58:16

it to you. I've done it for my own hard

58:18

work. And that isn't true either. You know, if you

58:20

were born into a privileged position, it isn't all your

58:22

hard work. And also say

58:25

you start a company and it does well. You

58:28

know, the fact that your workers were

58:30

paid for, the roads were paid for,

58:33

not by you. You know, their

58:35

education wasn't, you didn't do it. Their

58:37

health, you didn't do it, you know. So

58:40

I think I'm saying a plague on both your houses.

58:43

I think I'm adopting a centrist position is

58:45

to say that probably the extremes of both

58:47

sides are bad. And that was what my Nana

58:49

used to tell me. Moderation in all things,

58:51

she said. She was a Methodist, of course.

58:54

But there's something in it. But this

58:56

is a bit of a digression because Baring

58:59

Gould, somebody, I was Googling this and

59:01

he's the only, and somebody called him

59:03

a lefty hater. And

59:05

said the only person who hates lefties

59:07

more than Baring Gould is Dennis Wheatley.

59:09

I thought that was amusing. Again,

59:14

let us then, as we would with

59:16

Philip Larkin or Seneca or

59:19

any of these dudes, Mark Twain, Henry

59:22

James, whatever, whatever, we're going

59:24

to remove there as

59:27

much as we can. We're going to look at the

59:29

story for the story without

59:32

kind of canceling them before we

59:34

get there. I don't like

59:36

your politics. I'm not going to read your

59:38

stuff. Let's look at the story. So the

59:40

story was returning to the very point. Weird.

59:44

And I think it was

59:46

very witty. I

59:48

think that his portrait of

59:50

Mr. Square, the American influenced,

59:52

although without the transatlantic twang,

59:55

Mr. Thank goodness for me, my accents, Mr.

59:59

Square, he was It was really, really

1:00:01

funny. And also the picture

1:00:03

of the protagonist

1:00:06

who becomes increasingly vapid

1:00:09

and neurotic almost

1:00:12

and I'm like I think that

1:00:14

Beringgold is caricaturing both

1:00:17

of these, the

1:00:20

practical men of the world, those

1:00:22

things about electricity and the please

1:00:24

give me some juice. The sort

1:00:26

of pathetic taste to his bed

1:00:28

at the slightest. I just read

1:00:30

an Agatha Christie story of course with again

1:00:33

a complicated character

1:00:36

which was the case of the perfect

1:00:38

maid, fantastic. Nip over to the detective

1:00:40

channel, my detective, classic detective stories channel.

1:00:43

And that's a great story, it's coming

1:00:45

out. It's not that nice and I haven't yet,

1:00:47

but it'll be on. But I've

1:00:49

got plenty of other stories like that. Anyway, so she

1:00:51

in that story is again a neurotic, a

1:00:54

hypochondriac really. And

1:00:57

so I thought that

1:00:59

Beringgold's pictures

1:01:01

of both these characters are really funny. There

1:01:04

were some of the really interesting ideas

1:01:07

in it. The first is Mr Square

1:01:09

with his espousal of the powers of

1:01:11

electricity. Another thought occurs to

1:01:13

me which I will park and maybe come back to.

1:01:19

He is very perspicacious,

1:01:22

isn't he? He's very far-seeing. This

1:01:25

idea of electrical power

1:01:27

from the waves,

1:01:29

the tides, the sun, the moon, and not the

1:01:31

moon, he doesn't say that, that just popped out

1:01:34

of my head from somewhere. You

1:01:37

know, he's right, isn't he? This is 1904, 1902. It

1:01:42

was published in the collection in 1904. How?

1:01:46

Wow, amazing. And

1:01:48

of course, it also made me think of

1:01:50

the theory of everything. You know, physicists have

1:01:53

been battling to try and tie all

1:01:55

the known forces, gravity, and electrical force,

1:01:57

and all the others, into one. one

1:02:01

unified and they go up the string theory again there

1:02:03

are people out there know a lot more about this

1:02:05

than me but and

1:02:08

they failed so far and they

1:02:11

always fail and maybe that it

1:02:13

isn't true but you know they're doing their best

1:02:15

fair play to them and but

1:02:17

it seems that Mr Square has already got

1:02:20

one everything is electricity

1:02:22

and but further than

1:02:25

just the gravitational in the electrical

1:02:27

field he is actually he's talking

1:02:29

about moral energy and

1:02:31

he thinks that is and so he

1:02:33

sees how doctors and priests will be

1:02:36

able to correct problems in their patients

1:02:39

or their parishioners through applying

1:02:41

electricity and this is his

1:02:43

whole theory that how he's going to sort

1:02:46

the ghost out so how far um Beringgold

1:02:48

actually believed this is really interesting and

1:02:50

when we look at the idea of vitalism

1:02:53

which was a theory that

1:02:55

came in the middle to the

1:02:57

late 18th century and

1:02:59

I've looked this up so

1:03:02

uh Johan Friedrich Blumenbach and

1:03:04

Hans Drich um they

1:03:06

have this idea that there is one force which

1:03:09

is the life force that the thing that makes us

1:03:11

live and goes through the animals and the plants as

1:03:14

well is the life force and it is a force

1:03:17

like electricity and the two

1:03:19

get conflated and so we

1:03:21

have this idea that um

1:03:24

life is created by electricity and

1:03:26

of course we see this in

1:03:28

1819 in Frankenstein the monster is

1:03:30

animated through electricity so this was

1:03:33

a this was

1:03:35

a prevalent idea or a popular

1:03:37

idea in the late 18th and

1:03:40

early 19th centuries and

1:03:43

it's developed or um

1:03:46

taken on by um Franz

1:03:48

Anton Mesmer. Mesmer is in will have

1:03:50

heard of him born 1734 died 1815

1:03:53

and he was a german physician with

1:03:55

an interest in astronomy astronomy astronomy that's

1:03:58

something to do with lack of holes I think Greek.

1:04:00

So he theorized the process of

1:04:02

natural energy, this vitalism, and he

1:04:04

called it animal magnetism. And it

1:04:06

was about not so much that

1:04:09

not just that we're animated by

1:04:11

this force, but that it's

1:04:14

transferred and that it could be manipulated

1:04:17

through mesmerism, of

1:04:19

course, developed into

1:04:21

hypnotism. And the original

1:04:23

idea, I don't think any proponents of

1:04:26

hypnotism say that it was something to

1:04:28

do with the hypnotist, the mesmerist manipulating

1:04:32

this electrical force.

1:04:36

So he would, mesmerism would sit in

1:04:38

front of patients with his knees touching

1:04:41

the patient's knees, pressing the patient's thumbs

1:04:43

in his hands, looking fixedly into the

1:04:45

patient's eyes. He made passes, moving his

1:04:47

hands from the patient's shoulders down along

1:04:49

their arms. He then puts the fingers

1:04:52

on the patient's hypochondrium, the area below

1:04:54

the diaphragm, hypochondriac.

1:04:57

Sometimes holding his hands there for hours,

1:04:59

many patients felt peculiar sensations or had

1:05:01

convulsions that were regarded as crises and

1:05:03

were supposed to bring about the cure.

1:05:06

So this is really interesting because it's

1:05:08

very similar to that faith healing idea

1:05:10

where they push them and then they're

1:05:13

cured. So it

1:05:17

is not dissimilar to

1:05:19

EMDR, EMDR, the eye

1:05:21

programming, which clearly has

1:05:23

effects. And

1:05:25

there are various theories about reprogramming

1:05:27

the hypothalamus or something. But as

1:05:29

far as I can tell, that's

1:05:32

all balderdash. And it's

1:05:34

just another form. Again, there's

1:05:36

some therapists out there can be saying, how

1:05:38

dare you? It's another form to me, or

1:05:40

at least we should entertain the idea. That

1:05:42

it's another form of mesmerism. We've

1:05:45

digressed a little bit, an interesting digression, I think.

1:05:48

The point I wanted to make was, of course, that mesmerism

1:05:50

and this idea of vitalism was was

1:05:54

pretty repudiated By

1:05:56

the beginning of the 20th century, when. The

1:06:00

Bearing Gold wrote the story so in,

1:06:02

but he seems to kind of still

1:06:04

be advocating for in Away or a

1:06:06

Mr. Square is. we have to always

1:06:09

be careful that and we don't make

1:06:11

the mistake to think that a characters

1:06:13

views at the office views or some

1:06:15

such a lot. but it isn't true.

1:06:17

You know at at a creative writer

1:06:20

puts words that he or she doesn't

1:06:22

believe in them in the mouths of

1:06:24

that character soaks. But it's interesting that

1:06:26

clearly this is given. is it by

1:06:29

Mr. Square and not. Not challenge to

1:06:31

toll in the story by bearing gold

1:06:33

so I kind of thinking maybe did

1:06:35

think it's. And. As he did think

1:06:37

it's. The same. This, as in

1:06:39

every other aspect of his life,

1:06:42

he was old fashioned and conservative.

1:06:44

The. Other thing I want to say

1:06:46

was that ten. He

1:06:49

talks about the to sing materializes

1:06:51

like heard at slowly and this

1:06:54

of course if you look at

1:06:56

some. Spirit. To

1:06:58

Listen and Them Mediums in

1:07:00

the late nineteenth and early

1:07:02

twentieth century. active plans and

1:07:04

was the big things at

1:07:06

The Plus I'm is this

1:07:08

card like material that exudes

1:07:10

from the medium and that

1:07:12

the spirits used to materialize

1:07:14

themselves and this was found

1:07:16

to be massively fraudulent. May

1:07:19

not be surprised to hear that at, but

1:07:21

it was the idea that this stuff if

1:07:24

you look patches of act applies. Mrs. Khan

1:07:26

occurred like stuff but gradually changes and becomes

1:07:28

more more solid until it they ghost materialize

1:07:30

And it's so. I mean, I think this

1:07:32

is what we're seeing here, that whether he

1:07:34

intended own purpose and was a believer in

1:07:37

it's. A don't know. I

1:07:39

don't know about the honestly, but. The. All

1:07:41

a he's just absorbed it from his

1:07:43

cultural milieu. Year of the time he

1:07:45

was writing, there we go. So let

1:07:47

me say something about the man himself.

1:07:51

so he was it a born

1:07:53

into an upper class family and

1:07:55

exited devon as the eldest son

1:07:57

edward bearing gold a justice of

1:07:59

the peace and deputy less tenant

1:08:01

of Devon, and Sophia Charlotte Bond,

1:08:03

daughter of Admiral Francesca Dolphin Bond.

1:08:06

His privileged background offered him

1:08:08

a robust education. Initially through

1:08:10

private tutors during the

1:08:12

family's extensive travels across Europe, he later

1:08:15

attended King's College School in London and

1:08:17

King's School in Warwick in 1852. He

1:08:19

went to Clare College, Cambridge, where he

1:08:22

got his PA in 1857 and his

1:08:24

Masters in 1860. He

1:08:26

was a true polymath, though, whose

1:08:29

notable achievements spanned various fields. As an

1:08:31

author, he wrote over 1200 publications,

1:08:35

including novels such as Mahala, a

1:08:37

story of the salt marshes, the

1:08:39

Broome Squire, and the Folklore Study.

1:08:43

I talked about Montague Summers before. Montague Summers

1:08:45

famously wrote about vampires. Sabine

1:08:48

Gould's classic book in this case was

1:08:50

The Book of Werewolves, 1865. He's

1:08:54

really famous for his

1:08:56

hymn writing. So really

1:08:58

famous hymns like Onward Christian Soldiers

1:09:01

and Now the Day is Over,

1:09:03

he wrote in separation

1:09:05

from that. He also wrote songs

1:09:09

and ballads of the West and he collected

1:09:11

folk music and he was deeply attached

1:09:14

to the folk traditions. He

1:09:17

co-authored English folk songs for

1:09:19

schools in 1907 with the

1:09:22

famous Cecil Sharp. He

1:09:24

was also a dedicated

1:09:26

archaeologist and preservationist,

1:09:30

organizing the first scientific archaeological

1:09:32

excavations of Dartmouth, Grimms Pound

1:09:34

with Robert Bernard, and

1:09:36

contributing to the systematic recording and

1:09:38

restoration of prehistoric sites. So

1:09:40

you can see the breadth of the man

1:09:42

and this is not, and although he dabbled

1:09:44

in all these fields, he made significant contributions

1:09:48

to them. He wasn't playing

1:09:50

at it. When he did his archaeology, he

1:09:52

did it properly. When he wrote his hymns,

1:09:54

he wrote good ones. When he did his

1:09:56

folklore studies, they were properly done. and

1:10:00

highly regarded. So what

1:10:03

a great guy. But he was. It's really

1:10:05

interesting he managed to be a vicar, a

1:10:07

clergyman at the same time, suggesting perhaps they

1:10:09

didn't have any work to do. I

1:10:12

think the vicars these days have 20 parishes to cover

1:10:15

in the Anglican Church, so they

1:10:17

don't maybe get the time that

1:10:20

these gentlemen, clergymen of the Victorian

1:10:22

period had to pursue their other

1:10:25

aspects. You may not be surprised that

1:10:28

he was an Anglican. He

1:10:31

was a backward-looking Anglican. Again,

1:10:33

this theme in all of

1:10:35

these things, collecting folk, songs,

1:10:38

archaeology, his deep

1:10:40

commitment to the Christianity

1:10:43

that had been a feature of life for

1:10:45

2,000 years. His

1:10:49

books, he's interesting his books are werewolves, but I

1:10:51

think that's like his interest in folk traditions, to

1:10:53

be honest. So there's nothing

1:10:56

progressive about the guy, and that isn't a

1:10:58

criticism, it's an observation. And

1:11:01

he was a backward-looking

1:11:04

Anglican. So in his

1:11:07

early days he very much looked

1:11:09

at the Anglican churches being a

1:11:11

continuation of Celtic Christianity. So what

1:11:13

you may know is that Britain

1:11:17

became first Christian during the Roman occupation,

1:11:19

and then the Romans left in 412, leaving

1:11:22

a system of bishoprics

1:11:25

based. So the whole issue of

1:11:27

parishes and provinces and bishops and

1:11:29

archbishops is based on Roman civil

1:11:31

administration. Basically when Christianity came it

1:11:34

got grafted on to the Roman

1:11:37

civil administration. So this was how they

1:11:39

managed their provinces, and each province had

1:11:41

an archbishop, and then the

1:11:43

sub-probacy had bishops, and then the

1:11:45

little local areas, parishes, had vicars,

1:11:49

you know, priests. And Christianity

1:11:52

went, and across the urban Roman Empire

1:11:54

this structure remained, but it

1:11:56

collapsed in Britain due

1:11:59

to the income. of the Anglo-Saxons,

1:12:01

those vandals, and

1:12:03

they're not vandals, they're closely related to the

1:12:05

vandals, and they smashed everything up

1:12:08

and destroyed the culture that was

1:12:10

here. They were colonizers, let's get

1:12:12

that clear. I say that with a tongue

1:12:14

in my cheek. It's

1:12:17

nevertheless true in very strict sense,

1:12:19

but I'm playing with the modern usage of the word.

1:12:24

So the Anglo-Saxons come in and they destroy

1:12:26

everything, but in the

1:12:29

mountainous wild west and north

1:12:31

of Britain and Ireland, which

1:12:33

was Christianized from Britain, we

1:12:36

have what became the Celtic Christianity,

1:12:39

which was more nature-based, was built more

1:12:41

round because they didn't have towns as

1:12:43

such, was built round monks

1:12:46

who would go out and sit in caves and

1:12:50

very much like Indian sadhus and stuff

1:12:52

like that. Then collections

1:12:55

of monks became abbeys

1:12:58

and so that it was

1:13:00

a monastic Christianity. It

1:13:02

may be more spiritual. I don't know, I'm not getting into

1:13:05

that really. Then what

1:13:07

happened was the Romans came back, not

1:13:09

the Romans, but the Roman Church came back through

1:13:12

the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in Kent

1:13:14

and re-established a system

1:13:17

of bishops and archbishops and

1:13:19

things, potentially still on

1:13:21

some historical basis, but I'm not

1:13:23

an expert in that at all. This is just

1:13:25

to give you the idea that's Celtic Christianity. Then

1:13:27

we get to Henry VIII in the 1500s

1:13:30

and he breaks with Rome. He isn't

1:13:32

actually a Protestant. He's

1:13:35

a Catholic, but he has his own reasons,

1:13:37

a psychopath, and he has his own reasons

1:13:39

for his own advancement

1:13:41

of breaking with Rome. But in religious

1:13:44

terms, he remained a Catholic. However, there

1:13:46

were Protestant reformers at that time and

1:13:48

they grabbed hold of this break with

1:13:50

Rome to Protestantise the English Church. So

1:13:54

the English Church became a

1:13:56

Protestant Church. Well, in fact, if

1:13:58

you're familiar with that, Anglican or

1:14:00

Episcopal, you will

1:14:03

see they're very, very similar, still in

1:14:05

form to Catholic services. Not quite the

1:14:07

same, but there's a lot and the

1:14:09

result the high church which was more

1:14:11

Catholic and the low church which was

1:14:14

more evangelical. So the

1:14:16

evangelicals and the austere

1:14:18

Protestants didn't want any of the fancy stuff,

1:14:21

smashed all the stained glass windows, do not

1:14:23

want statues. The

1:14:25

most you might get is a plain wooden

1:14:27

cross on a plain table and not even

1:14:29

that. So that

1:14:32

is the evangelical side. He did not like

1:14:35

the... His

1:14:37

view was the eelican

1:14:39

church because what's very

1:14:41

important in Christianity is apostolic

1:14:43

succession. So the idea

1:14:46

that Christ gives the

1:14:48

keys to Peter and in

1:14:50

unbroken succession, each bishop is anointed

1:14:52

by a bishop without going right

1:14:54

directly back to Christ. So

1:14:56

without a break, that's the theory. And

1:14:59

so once the Anglican church had

1:15:01

broken from the Catholic church, the

1:15:04

Roman Catholic church, you

1:15:06

could argue that this was broken. So

1:15:08

bearing Gould, and he's not

1:15:11

alone, there is an Anglican movement for

1:15:13

this, is to say, no, yes, okay,

1:15:15

we broke his room, but they were

1:15:17

corrupt and we were reestablishing our lineage

1:15:19

to the pure Celtic church,

1:15:21

which can trace its lineage right

1:15:24

back through to Christ. So

1:15:27

that's what he's doing there. And later

1:15:29

on, he became part of the

1:15:31

Tractarian movement, also known as the

1:15:34

Oxford movement. And so this was,

1:15:36

and bearing Gould's religious views, was

1:15:38

shaped by a desire to revive

1:15:40

and maintain the Catholic elements within

1:15:42

Anglicanism. The

1:15:44

Tractarianism, which was a native of the Oxford movement, emerged

1:15:46

in the early 19th century. So

1:15:49

the figures like John Henry Newman and

1:15:51

John Keble, emphasizing the

1:15:53

importance of traditional liturgy, apostolic

1:15:55

succession and the sacraments, the

1:15:58

movement started to excuse

1:16:00

me, the movement sought to restore

1:16:02

the rich ritualistic practices of the early

1:16:04

church, challenging the more Protestant focus

1:16:06

that had prevailed since the Reformation.

1:16:08

So he was, so Beringuels there,

1:16:11

no surprise. He was

1:16:13

critical of evangelicalism, viewing

1:16:16

it as a departure from the rich

1:16:18

traditions and theological depth of Anglo-Catholicism. In

1:16:20

his work, The Evangelical Revival 1920, he

1:16:24

wrote condescendingly about key evangelical figures

1:16:26

like John Wesley and George Whitefield

1:16:28

and the movement they inspired. Beringuels

1:16:31

believed that evangelicalism, with its

1:16:33

emphasis on personal conversion and

1:16:35

simplistic piety, lacked the historical

1:16:37

continuity and sacramental focus that

1:16:39

he valued in the Church

1:16:41

of England. He saw

1:16:43

evangelicalism as overly emotional. I think that's

1:16:45

that kind of, you know, the faith

1:16:48

healing and the almost, well,

1:16:51

some people may consider them hysterical

1:16:54

practices, speaking in tongues and things like

1:16:57

that. Doctor

1:16:59

and doctrinally shallow, but

1:17:01

he would say that, wouldn't he? He is, as we

1:17:04

said, a absolute

1:17:08

exemplar of conservatism

1:17:10

in every sense. So we

1:17:13

talked about the story, which was weird and

1:17:15

interesting and funny and unusual

1:17:18

because instead of the Dickensian view

1:17:20

of the ghosts as being basically

1:17:22

freedom fighters for the poor, you

1:17:25

know, they're not. But you know what I mean, certainly in Dickens

1:17:27

they are. He's

1:17:30

the other side. And I thought it's always worth seeing

1:17:32

the other side, you know. And I

1:17:34

think he was a polymath. He really was

1:17:36

a very talented man. And his

1:17:39

views, his deep conservative views,

1:17:41

they weren't just, they

1:17:44

weren't unthought through. And

1:17:47

so I thought it was worth including. I don't,

1:17:49

when I discuss these things, please understand,

1:17:52

I'm not trying to offend anyone. I'm

1:17:54

not actually being

1:17:57

polemical. I'm not saying, yes, this is

1:17:59

the truth. And anybody else who thinks

1:18:01

he's wrong, I don't even know if this is the

1:18:03

truth. I'm just interested in the ideas and I know

1:18:05

many, many of you are. So

1:18:08

if you do feel like penning a critical

1:18:10

commentary about what you suppose my

1:18:13

views are, don't. And

1:18:15

with that, I'll go back and walk the

1:18:17

dogs. Actually, I'm not going to walk the

1:18:20

dogs because Sheila's come back from Spain. So

1:18:22

she's been away in Spain doing some kind of new

1:18:25

age thing on a mountain of zela night, so

1:18:27

she says, but

1:18:29

she saw some white white, she got a

1:18:32

board, came across wild boars and snakes. And

1:18:34

it sounds like she had a great old

1:18:36

time. I was walking the dogs, mainly walking

1:18:38

the dogs and recording podcasts. And

1:18:40

she's doing it now. So I don't know what to do with my time. Guess

1:18:43

what? I'll record a podcast. You think I've come up

1:18:45

with something more creative, wouldn't you? What else are you

1:18:47

going to do, Tony? I'll record

1:18:50

a podcast. Anyway, I hope you're all well.

1:18:52

I'm actually fine. But

1:18:54

I do just want to thank you for your support

1:18:56

because it keeps me going and it means a lot

1:18:58

to me. So thanks for listening. Thank you.