I have a fear of the 19th century. I’m not sure why, it just gives me the heebie-jeebies. It seems like such a bleak time, what with all the bleak industrial settings, and Jack-The-Rippers and Ottoman Empires and swarthy immigrants and Elephant Men. I can’t even watch “A Christmas Carol” without feeling nauseous and perturbed. Sometimes I wish the 19th century would just go away. I tried, one Christmas, to wish it away. I just thank God that I live in a country where the 19th century doesn’t exist.