MDDM Ch. 61: The Old Gentleman

[Tim Strzechowski]

The description of "the Old Gentleman" (p. 605) reminds me of that of Old Scratch, the figure who appears in Washington Irving's "The Devil and Tom Walker."

Old Scratch:
http://www.bartleby.com/61/0/O0060050.html

The slang expressions "the Deuce, the Dickens, the Old Gentleman, Old Nick, Old Scratch, Old Horny, Old H;s own state of feeling.
http://www.bartleby.com/110/978.html

Satan:
http://www.occultopedia.com/s/satan.htm

Synonyms for the Devil:
http://www.maushammer.com/devil.html

I wonder if the presence of Old Scratch accounts for all the repetitions of threes in Ch. 61?  (three-layered Cone, Mason/Dixon/Shelby, the Third Surveyor, "ev'ryone knows [Wise Men] come in Threes!", etc.).  Not to mention that "forbidden knowledge" (p. 597) and the concluding comments on Hell, Damn'd Souls,  and "being but Earth's D----l" (p. 606).



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"The old believe everything; the middle-aged suspect everything; the
young know everything."
                                                                        ~~ Oscar Wilde
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