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No. 806 CHESTNUT STREE.I'








THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP.
CEHARLES DICKENS.
(Boz.)
WITH  THIRTY-TWO  ILLUSTRATIONS.
FROM DESIGNS BY GEORGE CATTERMOLE AND H. K. BROWNS
IN TWO. VOLUMES.
VOL. I,








PREFACE.
WIHEN the author commenced this Work, he proposed
to himself three objects.
First. To establish a periodical, which should enable
him to present, under one general head, and not as
separate and distinct publications, certain fictions which
he had it in contemplation to write.
Secondly. To produce these Tales in weekly numbers;
hoping that to shorten the intervals of conmmunication
between himself and his readers, would be to knit more
closely the pleasant relations they had held, for Forty
Months.
Thirdly. In the execution of this weekly task, to have
as much regard as its exigencies would permit, to each
story as a whole, and to the possibility of its publication
at some distant day, apart from the machinery in which
it had its origin.
The characters of Master Humphrey and his three
friends, and the little fancy of the clock, were the result
of these considerations. When he sought to interest his
readers in those who talked, and read, and listened, he
revived Mr. Pickwick and his humble friends; not with
(21)




22                  PREFACE.
any intention of reopening an exhausted and abandoned
mine, but to connect them in the thoughts of those whose
favorites they had been, with the tranquil enjoyments of
Master Humphrey.
It was never the author's intention to make the fMeinbers of Master Humphrey's Clock active agents in the
stories they are supposed to relate. Having brought
himself in the commencement of his undertaking to feel
an interest in these quiet creatures, and to imagine them
in their old chamber of meeting, eager listeners to all he
had to tell, the author hoped-as authors will-to succeed
in awakening some of his own emotions in the bosoms
of his readers. Imagining Master Humphrey in his
chimney-corner, resuming night after night the narrative,
-say, of the Old Curiosity Shop-picturing to himself
the various sensations of his hearers-thinking how Jack
Redburn might incline to poor Kit, and perhaps lean too
favorably even toward the lighter vices of Mr. Richard
Swiveller-how the deaf gentleman would have his
favorite, and Mr. M1iles his-and how all these gentle
spirits would trace some faint reflection of their past
lives in the varying current of the tale-he has insensibly
fallen into the belief that they are present to his readers
as they are to him, and has forgotten that like one whose
vision is disordered he may be conjuring up bright
figures where there is nothing but empty space.
The author would fain hope that there are not many
who would disturb Master Humphrey and his friends in




PRIEFACE.                    23
their seclusion; who would have them forego their
present enjoyments, to exchange those confidences with
each other, the absence of which is the foundation of
their mutual trust. For when their occupation is gone,
when their tales are ended, and but their personal
histories remain, the chimney-corner will be growing
cold, and the clock will be about to stop forever.
One other word in his own person, and he returns to
the more grateful task of speaking for those imaginary
people whose little world lies within these pages.
It may be some consolation to the well-disposed ladies
or gentlemen who, in the interval between the conclusion
of his last work and the commencement of this, originated
a report that he had gone raving mad, to know that it
spread as rapidly as could be desired, and was made the
subject of considerable dispute; not as regarded the fact,
for that was as thoroughly established as the duel between
Sir Peter Teazle and Charles Surface in the School for
Scandal; but with reference to the unfortunate lunatic's
place of confinement; one party insisting positively on
Bedlam, another inclining favorably toward St. Luke's,
and a third swearing strongly by the asylum at iEanwell;
while each backed its case by circumstantial evidence of
the same excellent nature as that brought to bear by Sir
Benjamin Backbite on the pistol shot, which struck
against the little bronze bust of Shakspeare over the fireplace, grazed out of the window at a right angle, and




24                  P R E F AC E.
wounded the postman, who was coming to the door with
a double letter from Northamptonshire.
It will be a great affliction to these ladies and gentlemen to learn —and he is so unwilling to give pain, that
he would not whisper the circumstance on any account
did he not feel in a manner bound to do so, in gratitude
to those among his friends who were at the trouble of
being angry with the absurdity-that their invention
made tile author's home unusually merry, and gave rise
to an extraordinary number of jests, of which he will
only add, in the words of the good Vicar of Wakefield,
" Icannot say whether we had more wit among us than
usual; but I am sure we had more laughing." -




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
TO FAlE PAGE
THE OLD CURIOSITY SHrOP........................ o.    31
QUILP SURPRIS.ING HIS WIFE S VISITERS.......................  62
NELL IN QUILP'S COUNTING-HOUSE..........................  74
SWIVELLER CAUSING A SENSATION AT MRS. WACKLES'............ 97
MRS. NUBBLES' FAMILY CIRCLE............................... 113
QUILP MAKES A MISTAKE................................. 134
MR. GARLAND CHARGES KIT TO RETURN..................... 148
LITTLE NELL AND HER GRANDFATHER LOOKING BACK ON LONDON. 153
NELL AND HER GRANDFATHER MAKING NOSEGAYS.............. 187
KIT AND BARBARA BECOME ACQUAINTED...................... 210
MR. SWIVELLER BEWAILING HIS HARD LOT.................... 212
THE SCHOOLMASTER'S HOSPITALITY........................... 225
MRS. JARLEY TAKING TEA ON THE HEAD OF A DRUM......... 238
THE OLD GRANDFATHER ENTICED TO THE GAMING TABLE....... 266
SWIVELLER AND THE SINGLE GENTLEMAN......................  305
MISS BRASS AND HER " SMIALL SERVANT".....................   322
KIT EXPRESSING HIS GRATITUDE TO THE GARLANDS............ 351
THE OLD GRANDFATHER IN THE HANDS OF SHARPERS......... 367
NELL AT THE INN.................................. 397
QUILP'S UNEXPECTED RETURN HOMIE........................ 424
MRS. QUILP VISITS HER HUSBAND AT HIS COUNTING-HOUSE....... 436
(25)




26             LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS.
TO FACE PAG(]
MR. AND MISS BRASS PASSING A PLEASANT EVENING WITH MR.
QUILP..................................................  441
THE SCHOOLIMASTER SHOWS NELL HIS HOUSE.................. 446
NELL AND HER GRANDFATHER WEEDING IN THE CHURCH-YARD.,. 469
SWIVELLlER AND CHUCKSTER INTERROGATING KIT...............  481
SWIVELLER PLAYING CRIBBAGE WITH THE "'MARCHIONESS"...... 492
KIT'S FRIENDS VISIT HIM IN JAIL........................... 522
SWIVELLER CARRIES OFF MRS. NUBBLES...................  540
SWIVELLER RECOVERING FROM HIS ILLNESS.............    543
ABEL GARLAND ASTONISHED BY THE "MARCHIONESS"........... 555
THE DEATH-BED OF LITTLE NELL........................ 612
THE OLD MAN WATCHING OVER NELL S~ GRAVE...e        ee......... 621.




THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP,
CHAPTER TtHE FIIRST.
NIGrH is generally my time for walking.  In the summer I
often leave home early in the m~orning, and roam about fields and
lanes all day, or even escape for days or weeks together, but
saving in the country, I seldom go out until after dark, though
Heaven be thanked, I love its light and feel the cheerfulness it
sheds upon the earth, as much as any creature living.
I have fallen insensibly into this habit, both because it favors
my infirmity and because it affords me greater opportunity of
speculating on the characters and occupations of those who
fill the streets.  The glare and hurry of broad noon are not
adapted to idle pursuits like mine; a glimpse of passing
faces caught by the light of a street lamp or a shop window is
often better for my purpose, than their full revelation in the daylight, and, if I must add the truth, night is kinder in this respect than day, which too often destroys an air-built castle at the
moment of its completion, without the smallest ceremony or remorse.
That constant pacing to and fro, that never-ending restlessness, that incessant treading of feet, wearing the rough stones
smooth and glossy-is it not a wonder how the dwellers in narrow ways can bear to hear it I Think of a sick man in such a
place as Saint Martin's Court, listening to the footsteps, and
in the mid.st of pain and weariness obliged, despite himself (as
though it were a task he must perform) to detect the child's
step from the man's, the slipshod beggar from the booted ex(27)




28          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
qnisite, the lounging from the busy, the dull heel of the sauntering outcast from the quick tread of on expectant pleasure-seeker
— think of the hum and noise being always present to his senses,
and of the stream of life, that will not stop, pouring on, on, on,
through all his restless dreams, as if he were condemned to lie
dead but conscious, in a noisy chnrch-yard, and had no hope of
rest for centuries to come.
Then the crowds forever passing and repassing on the bridges
(on those which are free of toll at least) where many stop on fine
evenings looking listlessly down upon the water, with some
vague idea that by-and-by it runs between green banks which
grow wider and wider until at last it joins the broad vast seawhere some halt to rest from heavy loads and think, as they
look over the parapet, that to smoke and lounge away one's life,
and lie sleeping in the sun upon a hot tarpaulin, in a dull, slow
sluggish barge, mnst be hapziness unalloyed-and where some,
and a very different class, pause with heavier loads than they,
remembering to have heard or read in some old time that drowning was not a hard death, but of all means of suicide the easiest
and best.
Covent Garden Miarket at sunrise too, in the spring or summer, when the fragrance of sweet flowers is in the air, overpowering even the unwholesome steams of last night's debauchery, and
driving the dusky thrush, whose cage has hung outside a garret
window all night long, half mad with joy! Poor bird I the
only neighboring thing at all akin to the other little captives,
some of whom, shrinking from the hot hands of drunken purchasers, lie drooping on the path already, while others, soddened
by close contact, await the time when they shall be watered and
freshened up, to please more sober company, and make old clerks
who pass on their road to business, wonder what has filled their
breasts with visions of the country.
But my present purpose is not to expatiate upon my walks.
An adventure which I am about to relate, and to which I shall
recur at intervals, arose out of one of these rambles, and thus I
have been led to speak of them by way of preface.
One night I had roamed into the city, and was walking
slowly on in my usual way, musing upon a great many things,
when I was arrested by an inquiry, the purport of which did not




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   29
refach me, but which seemed to be addressed to myself, and was
pr:eferred in a soft sweet voice that struck me very pleasantly.
I turned hastily round and found at my elbow a pretty little
girl, who begged to be directed to a certain street at a considerable distance, and indeed in quite another quarter of the town.
" It is a very long way firom here," said I, "my child."
"I know that, sir, " she replied timidly.  " I am afraid it is a
very lon'g way, for I came from there to-night.7"
"' Alone?" said I, in somue surprise.
" Oh, yes, I don't mind that, but I am a little frightened now,
for I had lost my road."
" And what made you ask it of me?  Suppose I should tell
you wrong."
"I am sure you will not do that," said the little creature,
"you are such a very old gentleman, and walk so slow yourself. "
I can not describe how much I was impressed by this appeal
and the energy with which it was made, which brought a tear
into the child's clear eye, and made her slight figure tremble as
she looked up into my face.
"Comle," said I, " I'll take you there."
She put her hand in mine as confidingly as if she had known
me from her cradle, and we trudged away together: the little
creature accommodating her pace to mine, and rather seeming
to lead and take care of me than I to be protecting her.  I observed that every now and then she stole a curious look at my
face, as if to make quite sure that I was not deceiving her, and
that these glances (very sharp and keen they were too) seemed
to increase her confidence at every repetition.
For my. part, my curiosity and interest were at least equal to
the child's, for child she certainly was, although I thought it
probable from what I could make out, that her very small and
delicate frame imparted a peculiar youthfulness to her appearance.  Thougmh more scantily attired than she might h.ave been,
she was dressed with perfect neatness, and betrayed no marks
of poverty or neglect.
" Who has sent you so far by yourself?" said I.
" Somebody who is very kind to me, sir."
"And' what have you been doing?"'




30          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
"That, I must not tell," said the child, firmly.
There was something in the manner of this reply which caused
me to look at the little creature with an involuntary expression
of surprise; for I wondered what kind of errand it might be
that occasioned her to be pi'epared for questioning. Her quick
eye seemed to read my thoughts, for as it met mine she added
that there was no harm  in what she had been doing, but it
was a grea-t secret-a secret which she did not even know herself.
This was said with no appearance of cunning or deceit, but
with an unsuspicious frankness that bore the impress of truth.
She walked on as before, growing more familiar with me as we
proceeded and talking cheerfully by the way, but she said no
more about her home, beyond remarking that we were going
quite a new road, and asking if it were a short one.
While we were thus engaged, I revolved in my mind a hundred different explanations of the riddle and rejected them
every one.  I really felt ashamed to take advantage of the ingenuousness or grateful feeling of the child for the purpose of
gratifying my curiosity. I love these little people; and it is not
a slight thing when they, who are so fresh from God, love us.
As I had felt pleased at first by her confidence I determined to
deserve it, and to do credit to the nature which had prompted
her to repose it in me.
There was no reason, however, why I should refrain from seeing the person who had inconsiderately sent her to so great a
distance by night and alone, and as it was not improbable that
if she found herself near home she might take farewell of me
and deprive me of the opportunity, I avoided the most frequented
ways and took the most intricate, and thus it was not until we
arrived in the street itself that she knew where we were. Clapping her hands with pleasure and running on before me for a
short distance, my little acquaintance stopped at a door, and
remaining on the step till I came up, knocked at it when I joined
her.
A part of this door was of glass unprotected by any shutter,
which I did not observe at first, for all was very dark and silent
within, and I was anxious (as indeed the child was also) for an
answer to our summons. When she had knocked twice or thrice




asir  ii  i   ~....
ii;;    i~'                                                                                       i
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X.`... i....
THE OLD CURTOSITY SHOP.








THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                 31
there was a noise as if some person were moving inside, and at
length a faint light appeared through the glass which, as it approached very slowly, the bearer having to make his way
through a great many scattered articles, enabled me to see both
what kind of person it was who advanced and what kind of
place it was through which he came.
It was a little old man with long gray hair, whose face and
figure as he held the light above his head and looked before
him as he approached, I could plainly see. Though much altered
by age, I fancied I could recognize in his spare and slender
form something of that delicate mould which I had noticed in
the child.  Their b.ight blue eyes were certainly alike, but
his face wias so deeply furrowed, and so very full of care, that
here all resemblance ceased.
The place through which he made his way at leisure was one
of those receptacles for old and curious things which seem to
crouch in odd corners of this town and to hide their musty treasures from the public eye in jealousy and distrust. There were
suits of mail standing like ghosts in armor here and there, fantastic carvings brought from monkish cloisters, rusty weapons
of various kinds, distorted figures in china and wood and iron
and ivory; tapestry and strange furniture that might have been
designed in dreams. The haggard aspect of the little' old man
was wonderfully suited to the place; he might have groped
among old churches and tombs and deserted houses and gathered all the spQils with his own hands. There was nothing
in the whole collection but was in keeping with himself; nothimg that looked older or more worn than he.
As he turned the key in the lock, he surveyed me with some
astonishment which was not diminished when he looked from
me to my companion. The' door being opened, the child addressed him as grandfather, and told him the little story of our
companionship.
"Why bless thee, child," said the old man, patting her on the
head, " how couldst thou miss the way-what if I had lost thee,
Nell!"
"I would have found my way back to you, grandfather," said
the child boldly; " never fear."
The old man kissed her, and then turning to me and begging




32          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
me to walk in, I did so. The door was closed and locked.
Preceding me with the light, he led me through the place I had
already seen from without, into a small sitting-room behind, in
which was another door opening into a kind of closet, where I
saw a little bed that a fairy might have slept in, it looked so
very small and was so prettily arranged. The child took a
candle and tripped into this little room, leaving the old man
and me together.
"You must be tired, sir," said he as he placed a chair near
the fire, "how can I thank you?"
" By taking more care of your grandchild another time, my
good friend," I replied.
" More care!" said the old man in a shrill voice, " more care
of Nelly! why who ever loved a child as I love Nell?"
He said this with snch evident surprise that I was perplexed
what answer to make, and the more so because, coupled with
something feeble and wandering in his manner, there were in his
face marks of deep and anxious thought, which convinced me
that he could not be, as I had been first inclined to suppose, in
a state of dotage or imbecility.
" I don't think you consider-" I began.
" I don't consider!" cried the old man interrupting me, "I
don't consider her I! ah how little you know of the truth. Little
Nelly, little Nelly I"
It would be impossible for any man, I care not what his form
of speech might be, to express more affection than the dealer in
curiosities did in these four words.  I waited for him to speak
again, but he rested his chin upon his hand, and shaking his
head twice or thrice, fixed his eyes upon the fire.
While we were sitting thus in silence, the door of the closet
opened, and the child returned, her light brown hair hanging
loose about her neck, and her face flushed with the haste she
had made to rejoin us.  She busied herself immediately in proparing supper, and while she was thus engaged I remarked that
the old man took an opportunity of observing me more closely
than he had done yet.  I was surprised to see that all this time
every thing was done by the child, and that there appeared to
be no other persons but ourselves in the house.  I took advantage of a moment when she was absent to venture a hint on this




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  83
point, to which the old man replied that there were few grown
persons as trustworthy or as careful as she.
" It always grieves me," I observed, roused by what I took to
be his selfishness, "it always grieves me to contemplate the
initiation of children into the ways of life, when they are scarcely
more than infants.  It checks their confidence and simplicitytwo of the best qualities that Heaven gives them-and dem-ands
that they share our sorrows before they are capabre of entering
into our enjoyments."
" It will never check hers," said the old man looking steadily
at me, " the springs are too deep. Besides, the children of the
poor know but few pleasures. Even the cheap delights of
childhood must be bought and paid for."
1" But-forgive me for saying this —you are surely not so very
poor"-said I.
"She is not my child, sir," returned the old man.  "1Her
mother was, and she was poor.  I save nothing-not a pennythough I live as you see, but" —he laid his hand upon my arm
and leant forward to whisper " She shall be rich one of these
days, and a fine lady. Don't you think ill of me, because I use
her help. She gives it cheerfully as you see, and it would break
her heart if she knew that I suffered anybody else to do for me
what her little hands could undertake.  I don't consider!"-he
cried with sudden querulousness, " why, God knows that this one
child is the thought and object of my life, and yet he never
prospers me-no, never."
At this juncture, the subject of our conversation again returned and the old man motioning me to approach the table,
broke off, and said no more.
We had scarcely begun our repast when there was a knock
at the door by which I had entered, and Nell bursting into a
hearty laugh, which I was rejoiced to hear, for it was childlike
and full of hilarity, said it was no doubt dear old Kit come
back at last.
"Foolish Nell!" said the old man fondling with her hair.
"She always laughs at poor Kit."
The child lanughed again more heartily than before, and I
could not help smiling from pure sympathy.  The little old man
2




$4          TIHE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
took up a candle and went to open the door.  When he came
back, Kit was at his heels.
Kit was a shock-headed shambling awkward lad with an uncommonly wide mouth, very rod cheeks, a turned-up nose, and
certainly the most comical expression o' face t ever saw.  Ie
stopped short at the door on seeing a sKranger, twirled in his
hand a perfectly round old hat without troy vestige of a brim,
and resting himself now on one leg and now on the Qther and
changing them  constantly, stood in the doorway, looking into
the parlor with the most extraordinary leer I ever beheld. I2
entertained a grateful feeling toward the boy from  that minute,
for I felt that he was the comedy of the child's life.
"'A long way, wasn't it, Kit?" said the old man.
"' Why then, it was a goodish stretch, master," returned Kit.
"Did you find the house easily?"'Why then, not over and above easy, master," said 1Kit.
"' Of course you have come back hungry?"
" Why then, I do consider myself rather so, master," was the
answer.
The lad had a remarkable manner of standing sideways as he
spoke, and thrusting his head forward over his shoulder, as if
he could not get at his voice without that accompanying action.
I think he would have amused one anywhere, but the child's
exquisite enjoyment of his oddity, and the relief it was to find
that there was something she associated with merriment in a.
place that appeared so unsuited to her, were quite irresistible.
It was a great point too, that Kit himself was flattered by the
sensation he created, and after several efforts to preserve his
gravity, burst into a loud roar, and so stood with his mouth wide
open and his eyes nearly shut, laughing violently.
The old man had again relapsed into his former abstraction
and took no notice of what passed, but I remarked that when
her laugh was over, the child's bright eyes were dimmed with
tears, called forth by the fullness of heart with which she
welcomed her uncouth favorite after the little anxiety of the
night.  As for Kit himself (whose laugh had been all the time
one of that sort which very little would change into a cry), he
carried a large slice of bread and meat and a mug of beer into




TIHE  OLD  CURIOSITY  StIOP.                 35
a corner, and applied himself to disposing of them with great
voracity.
" Al!" said the old man turning to me with a sigh as if I
had spoken to him but that moment, "you don't know what you
say when you tell me that I don't consider her."
"You must not attach too great weight to a remark founded
on first appearances, my friend," said I.
"i No," returned the old man, thoughtfully, "no.  Come
hither, Nell."
The little girl hastened from her seat, and put her arm about
his neck.
"Do I love thee, Nell?" said he.  "Say-do I love thee,
Nell, or no?"
The child only answered by her caresses, and laid her head
upon his breast.
"Why dost thou sob," said the grandfather, pressing her
closer to him  and glancing toward me,  "Is it because thou
know'st I love thee, and dost not lile' that I should seem to
doubt it by my question?  Well, well-then let' us say I love
thee dearly."
" Indeed, indeed you do," replied the child with great earnestness.  " Kit knows you do."
Kit, who in dispatching his bread and meat had been swallowing two-thirds of his knife at every mouthful with the coolness of a juggler, stopped short in his operations on being thus
appealed to, and bawled " Nobody isn't such a fool as to say he
doosn't," after which he incapacitated himself for further conversation by taking a most prodigious sandwich at one bite.
"She is poor now"-said  the old man, patting the child's
cheek, " but I say again that the time is coming when she shall
be rich.  It has been a long time coming, but it must come at
last; a very long time, but it surely must come. It has come
to other men who do nothing but waste and riot.  When will
it come to me'"' I am ve'ry happy as I am, grandfather," said the child.
"Tush, tush!'" returned the old man, " thou dost not know
-how should'st thou!"  Then he muttered again between his
teeth, "The time must come, I am very sure it must.  It will
be all the better for coming late;" and then he sighed and fell




186         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
into his former musing state, and still holding the child between
his knees, appeared to be insensible to every thing around him.
By this time it wanted but a few minutes of midnight, and I
rose to go, which recalled him to himself.
" One moment, sir," he said.  " Now, Kit —near midnight,
boy, and you still here I Get home, get home, and be true
to your time in the morning, for there's work to do.  Goodnight I There, bid him good-night, Nell, and let him be gone."
"Good-night, Kit," said the child, her eyes lighting up with
merriment and kindness.
" Good-night, Iliss Nell," returned the boy.
"And thank this gentleman," interposed the old man, "but
for whose care I might have lost my little girl to-night."
" No, no, master," said Kit, "that won't do, that won't."
" What do you mean?" cried the old man.
"I'd have found her, master," said Kit," I'd have found her.
I'd bet that I'd find her if she was above ground, I would, as
quick as anybody, master. Ha ha ha!"
Once more opening his mouth and shutting his eyes, and
laughing like a stentor, Kit gradually backed to the door, and
roared himself out.
Free of the room the boy was not slow in taking his departure; when he had gone, and the child was occupied in clearing
the table, the old man said:
"I haven't seemed to thank you, sir, enough for what you
have done to-night, but I do thank you humbly and heartily
and so does she, and her thanks are better worth than mine. I
should be sorry that you went away and thought I was unmindful of your goodness, or careless of her-I am not indeed."
I was sure of that, I said, from what I had seen.  "But," I
added, " may I ask you a question?"'
"Ay, sir," replied the old man, " what is it?"
"This delicate child," said I, "with so much beauty and
intelligence-has she nobody to care for her but you, has she
no other companion or adviser?"
"No," he returned looking anxiously in my face, " no, and she
wants no other."
"But are you not fearful," said I, " that you may misunderstand a charge so tender?  I am sure you mean well, but are




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  37
you quite certain that you know how to execute such a trust
as this? I am an old man, like you, and I am actuated by an
old man's concern in all that is young and promising. Do you
not think that what I have seen of you and this little creature
to-night must have an interest not wholly free from pain?"
"Sir," rejoined the old man after a moment's silence, "I
have no right to feel hurt at what you say.  It is true that in
many respects I am the child, and she the grown person-that
you have seen already. But waking or sleeping, by night or
day, in sickness or health, she is the one object of my care, and
if you knew of how much care, you would look on me with difforent eyes, you would indeed.  Ah! it's a weary life for an
old man-a weary, weary life —but there is a great end to gain
and that I keep before me."
Seeing that he was in a state of excitement and impatience,
I turned to put on an outer coat which I had thrown off on
entering the room, purposing to say no more.  I was surprised
to see the child standing patiently by with a cloak upon her
arm, and in her hand a hat and stick.
" Those are not mine, my dear," said I.
"No," returned the child, quietly, " they are grandfather's."
" But he is not going out to-night?"
"Oh yes he is," said the child, with a smile.
" And what becomes of you, my pretty one?"
"Me I I stay here of course. I always do."
I looked in astonishment toward the old man, but he was, or
feigned to be, busied in the arrangement of his dress.  From
him I looked back to the slight gentle figure of the child.
Alone! In that gloomy place all the long, dreary night.
She evinced no consciousness of my surprise, but cheerfully
helped the old man with his cloak, and when he was ready took
a candle to light us out.  Finding that we did not follow as
she expected, she looked back with a smile and waited for us.
The old man showed by his face that he plainly understood the
cause of my hesitation, but he merely signed to me with an
inclination of the head to pass out of the room before him, and
remained silent.  I had no resource but to comply.
When we reached the door, the child setting down the candle, turned to say good-night and raised her face to kiss me.




88          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
Then she ran to the old man, who folded her in his arms and
bade God bless her.
" Sleep soundly, Nell," he said in a low voice, " and angels
guard thy bed.  Do not forget thy prayers, my sweet."
" No indeed," answered the child fervently, "they make me
feel so happy!"
"That's well; I know they do; they should,"' said the old
man.  " Bless thee a hundred times.  Early in the morning I
shall be home."
"You'll not ring twice," returned the child. "The bell
wakes me, even in the middle of a dream."
With this, they separated. The child opened the door (now
guarded by a shutter which I had heard the boy put up before
he left the house) and with another farewell, whose clear and
tender note I have recalled a thousand times, held it until we
had passed out. The old man paused a moment while it was
gently closed and fastened on the inside, and satisfied that this
was done, walked on at a slow pace.  At the street-corner he
stopped, and regarding me with a troubled countenance, said
that our ways were widely different and that he must take his
leave. I would have spoken, but summoning up more alacrity
than might have been expected in one of his appearance, he
hurried away. I could see that twice or thrice he looked back
as if to ascertain if I were still watching him, or perhaps to
assure himself that I was not following at a distance. The obscurity of the night favored his disappearance, and his figure
was soon beyond my sight.
I remained standing on the spot where he had left me, unwilling to depart, and yet unknowing why I should loiter there.
I looked wistfully into the street we had lately quitted, and after
a time directed my steps that way.  I passed and repassed the
house, and stopped and listened at the door; all was dark, and
silent as the grave.
Yet I lingered about, and could not tear myself away, thinking of all possible harm that might happen to the child-of
fires and robberies and even murder-and feeling as if some evil
must ensue if I turned my back upon the place.  The closing
of a door or window in the street brought me before the curiosity-dealer's once more; I crossed the road and looked up at




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   39
the house to assure myself that the noise had not come from
there.  No, it was black, cold, and lifeless, as before.
There were few passengers astir; the street was sad and dismal, and pretty well my own.  A few stragglers from the theatres hurried by, and now and then I turned aside to avoid some
noisy drunkard as he reeled homeward, but these interruptions
were not frequent and soon ceased.  The clocks struck one.
Still I paced up and down, promising myself that every time
should be the last, and breaking faith with myself on some new
plea as often as I did so.
The more I thought of what the old man had said, and of his
looks and bearing, the less I could account for what I had seen
and heard. I had a strong misgiving that his nightly absence
was for no good purpose.  I had only come to know the fact
through the innocence of the child, and though the old man
was by at the time and saw my undisguised surprise, he had
preserved a strange mystery upon the subject and offered no
word of explanation.  These reflections naturally recalled again
more strongly than before his haggard face, his wandering manner, his restless anxious looks.  His affection for the child might
not be inconsistent with villainy of the worst kind; even that
very affection was in itself an extraordinary contradiction, or
how could he leave her thus?  Disposed as I was to think
badly of him, I never doubted that his love for her was real.
I could not admit the thought, remembering what had passed
between us, and the tone of voice in which he had called her
by her name.
" Stay here of course,' the child had said in answer to my
question, "I always do I"  What could take him from home
by night, and every night! I called up all the strange tales I
had ever heard of dark and secret deeds committed in great
towns and escaping detection for a long series of years; wild
as many of these stories were, I could not find one adapted to
this mystery, which only became the more impenetrable, in proportion as I sought to solve it.
Occupied with such thoughts as these, and a crowd of others
all tending to the same point, I continued to pace the street
for two long hours; at leng'th the rain began to descend heavily, and then ovelrpowered by fatigue tloughll no less interested




40          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
than I had been at first, I engaged the nearest coach and so got
home.  A  cheerful fire was blazing on the hearth, the lamp
burnt brightly, my clock received me with its old familiar welcome; every thing was quiet, warm and cheering, and in happy
contrast to the gloom and darkness I had quitted.
I sat down in my easy-chair; and falling back upon its ample
cushions, pictured to myself the child in her bed: alone, unwatched, uncared for (save by angels), yet sleeping peacefully.
So very young, so spiritual, so slight and fairy-like a creature
passing the long dull nights in such an uncongenial place-I
could not dismiss it from my thoughts.
We are so much in the habit of allowing impressions to be
made upon us by external objects, which should be produced
by reflection alone, but which, without such visible aids, often
escape us; that I am not sure I should have been so thoroughly
possessed by this one subject, but for the heaps of fantastic
things I had seen huddled together in the curiosity-dealer's
warehouse.  These, crowding upon my mind, in connection
with the child, and gathering round her as it were, brought her
condition palpably before me. I had her image, without any
effort of imagination, surrounded and beset by every thing that
was foreign to its nature, and furthest removed fiom the sympathies of her sex and age.  If these helps to my fancy had all
been wanting, and I had been forced to imagine her in a common chamber, with nothing unusual or uncouth in its appearance, it is very probable that I should have been less impressed
with her strange and solitary state.  As it was, she seemed to
exist in a kind of allegory; and having these shapes about her,
claimed my interest so strongly, that (as I have already remarked) I could not dismiss her from my recollection, do what
I would.
"It would be a curious speculation," said I, after some restless turns across and across the room, "to imagine her in her
future life, holding her solitary way among a crowd of wild
grotesque companions; the only pure, fresh, youthful object in
the throng.  It would be curious to find   7 ",
I checked myself here, for the theme was carrying me along
with it at a great pace, and I already saw before me a region
on which 1 was little disposed to enter. I agreed with myself




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  41
that this was idle musing, and resolved to go to bed, and court
forgetfulness.
But all that night, waking or in my sleep, the same thoughts
recurred and the same images retained possession of my brain.
I had ever before me the old dark murky rooms-the gaunt
suits of mail with their ghostly silent air-the faces all awry,
grinning from wood and stone-the dust and rust, and worm
that lives in wood- and alone in the midst of all this lumber
and decay and ugly age, the beautiful child in her gentle
slumber, smiling through her light and sunny dreams




CHAPTER THE SECOND.
AFTER combating, for nearly a week, the feeling which impelled me to revisit the place I had quitted under the circumstances already detailed, I yielded to it at length; and determiling that this time I would present myself by the light of
day, bent my steps thither early in the afternoon.
I walked past the house, and took several turns in the street,
with that kind of hesitation which is natural to a man whllo
is conscious that the visit he is about to pay is unexpected,
and may not be very acceptable.  However, as the door of the
shop was shut, and it did not appear likely that I should be
recognized by those within, if I continued merely to pass up
and down before it, I soon conquered this irresolution, and
found myself in the Curiosity Dealer's warehouse.
The old man and another person were together in the back
part, and there seemed to have been high words between them,
for their' voices which were raised to a very loud pitch suddenly
stopped on my entering, and the old man advancing hastily
toward me, said: in a tremulous tone that he was very glad I
had come.
"You interrupted us at a critical moment," he said, pointing
to the man whom  I had found in company with him; "this
fellow will murder me one of these days.  He would have done
so, long ago, if he had dared."
"Bah! You would swear away my life if you could," returned the other, after bestowing a stare and a frown oil me;
"we all know that!"
"I almost think I could," cried the old man, turning feebly
upon him.  "If oaths, or prayers, or words, could rid me of
you, they should.  I would be quit of you, and wo'uld Ibe relieved if you were dead."
"  know it," returned the other.  "I said so, didn't I? Btt
(42)




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   43
neitmler oaths, nor prayers, nor words, will kill me, and therefore I live, and mean to live."
"And his mother died!" cried the old man, passionately
clasping his hands and looking upward; " and this is Heaven's
justice!"
The other stood lounging with his foot upon a chair, and regarded him with a contemptuous sneer.  He was a young mran
of one-and-twenty or thereabouts; well made, and certainly
handsome, though the expression of his face was far from prepossessing, having in common with his manner and even his
dress, a dissipated, insolent air which repelled one.
"Justice or no justice," said the young fellow, " here I am
and here I shall stop till such time as I think fit to go, unless
you send for assistance to put me out —which you won't do, 1
know.  I tell you again that I want to see my sister."
" Your sister!' said the old man, bitterly.
"Ah! You can't change the relationship," returned the
other.  "If you could, you'd have done it long ago.  I want
to see my sister, that you keep cooped up here, poisoning her
mind with your sly secrets and pretending an affection for her
that you may work her to death, and add a few scraped shillings
every week to the money you can hardly count.  I want to see
her; and I will."
" Here's a moralist to talk of poisoned minds I Here's a generous spirit to scorn scraped-up shillings!" cried the old man,
turning from him to me.  " A profligate, sir, who has forfeited
every claim not only upon those who have the misfortune to be
of his blood, but upon society, which knows nothing of him but
his misdeeds.  A  liar too," he added, in a lower voice as he
drew closer to me, "who knows how dear she is to me, and
seeks to wound me even there, because there is a stranger by."'
"Strangers are nothing to me, grandfather," said the young
fellow catching at the words, " nor I to them, I hope. The best
they can do, is to keep an eye to their business and leave me to
mine.  There's a friend of mine waiting outside, and as it seems
that I may have to wait some time, I'll call him in, with your
leave. "
Saying this, he stepped to the door, and looking down the
street beckoned several times to some unseen person, who, to




44          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
judge from the air of impatience with which these signals were
accompanied, required a great quantity of persuasion to induce
~him to advance.  At length there sauntered up, on the opposite side of the way-with a bad pretense of passing by accident-a figure conspicuous for its dirty smartness, which after a
great many frowns and jerks of the head, in resistance of the
invitation, ultimately crossed the road and was brought into the
shop.
"There.  It's Dick Swiveller," said the young fellow, pushing him in.  " Sit down, Swiveller."
" But is the old main agreeable?" said Mr. Swiveller in an
under-tone.
" Sit down," repeated his companion.
Mr. Swiveller complied, and looking about him with a propitiatory smile, observed that last week was a fine week for the
ducks, and this week was a fine week for the dust; he also observed that while standing by the post at the street corner, he
had observed a pig with a straw in his mouth issuing out of
the tobacco-shop, from which appearance he augured that another fine week for the ducks was approaching, and that rain
would certainly ensue. He furthermore took occasion to apologize for any negligence that might be perceptible in his dress,
on the ground that last night he had had " the sun very strong
in his eyes;" by which expression he was understood to convey
to his hearers, in the most delicate manner possible, the information that he had been extremely drunk.
"But what," said Mr. Swiveller with a sigh, " what is the odds
so long as the fire of soul is kindled at the taper of conwiviality, and the wing of friendship never moults a feather I What
is the odds so long as the spirit is expanded by means of rosy
wine, and the present moment is the least happiest of our existence!"
"You needn't act the chairman here," said his friend, half
aside.
"Fred I" cried Mr. Swiveller, tapping his nose, " a word to
the wise is sufficient for them-we may be good and happy
without riches, Fred. Say not another syllable. I know my
cue; smart is the word.  Only one little whisper Fred-is the
old rlin friendly?"




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   45
" Never you mind," replied his friend.
"Right again, quite right," said Mr. Swiveller, "caution is
the word, and caution is the act."  With that, he winked as if
in preservation of some deep secret, and folding his arms and
leaning back in his chair, looked up at the ceiling with profound gravity.
It was perhaps not very unreasonable to suspect from what
had already passed, that Mr. Swiveller was not quite recovered
fiom the effects of the powerful sunlight to which he had made
allusion; but if no such suspicion had been awakened by his
speech, his wiry hair, dull eyes, and sallow face, would still
have been strong witnesses against him.  His attire was not,
as he had himself hinted, remarkable for the nicest arrangement, but was in a state of disorder which strongly induced
the idea that he had gone to bed in it. It consisted of a brown
body-coat with a great many brass buttons up the front and
only one behind, a bright check neckerchief, a plaid waistcoat,
soiled white trousers, and a very limp hat, worn with the wrong
side foremost, to hide a hole in the brim. The breast of his
coat was ornamented with an outside pocket, from which there
peeped forth the cleanest end of a very large and very ill-favored handkerchief; his dirty wristbands were pulled down as far
as possible and ostentatiously folded back over his cuffs; he
disp.layed no gloves, and carried a yellow cane having at the
top a bone hand with the semblance of a ring on its little finger
and a black ball in its grasp.  With all these personal advantages (to which may be added a strong savor of tobacco-smolke,
and a prevailing greasiness of appearance) Mr. Swiveller leant
back in his chair with his eyes fixed on the ceiling, and occasionally pitching his voice to the needful key, obliged the company with. a few bars of an intensely dismal air, and then, in
the middle of a note, relapsed into his former silence.
The old man sat himself clown in a chair, and, with folded
hands, looked sometimes at his grandson and sometimes at his
strange companion, as if he were utterly powerless and had no
resource but to leave them  to do as they pleased.  The young
man reclined against a table at no great distance from  his
friend, in apparent indifference to every thing that had passed;
and I —who felt the difficulty of any interference, notwithstand



46          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
ing that the old man had appealed to me, both by words and
looks-made the best feint I could of being occupied in examining some of the goods that were disposed for sale, and paying
very little attention to the persons before me.
The silence was not of long duration, for Air. Swiveller, after
favoring us with several melodious assurances that his heart
was in the highlands, and that he wanted but his Aral) steed
as a preliminary to the achievement of great feats of valor and
loyalty, removed his eyes from the ceiling and subsided into
prose again.
" Fred," said Mr. Swiveller, stopping short as if the idea had
suddenly occurred to him, and speaking in the same audible
whisper as before, "is the old min friendly?"
" What does it matter?" returned his friend peevishly.
" No, but is he?" said Dick.
" Yes, of course.  What do I care whether he is or not."
Emboldened as it seemed by this reply to enter into a more
general conversation, Mr. Swiveller plainly laid himself out to
captivate our attention.
He began by remarking that soda water, though a good thing
in the abstract, was apt to lie cold upon the stomach unless
qualified with ginger, or a small infusion of brandy, which
latter article he held to be preferable in all cases, saving for
the one consideration of expense.  Nobody venturing to.dispute these positions, he proceeded to observe that the human
hair was a great retainer of tobacco-smoke, and that the yonug
gentlemen of Westminster and Eton, after eating vast quantities
of apples to conceal any scent of cigars from  their anxious
friends, were usually detected in consequence of their heads
possessing this remarkable property; whence he concluded that
if the Royal Society would turn their attention to the circumstance and endeavor to find in the resources of science a means
of preventing such untoward revelations, they might indeed be
looked upon as benefactors to mankind.  These opinions being
equally incontrovertible with those he had already pronounced,
he went oni to inform us that Jamaica rum, though unquestionably an agreeable spirit of great richness and flavor, had the
drawback of remaining constantly present to the taste next
day; and nobody being venturous enough to argue this point




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   47
either, he increased in confidence and became yet more companionable and communicative.
"It's a devil of a thing,. gentlemen," said IMr. Swiveller,
"when relations fill out and disagree.  If the wing of friendship should never moult a feather, the wing of relationship
should never be clipped but be always expanded and serene.
aVWhy should a grandson and grandfather peg away at each
other with mutual wiolence when all might be bliss and concord?  Why not jine hands and forgit it?"
"Hold your tongue,s" said his friend.
" Sir," replied Mr.. Swiveller, " don't you interrupt the chair.
Gentlemen, how does the case stand upon the present occasion?
Hiere is a jolly old grandfather-I say it with the utmost Yespect-.and here is a wild young grandson.  The jolly old
grandfather says to the wild young grandson,' I have brought
you up and educated you, Fred; I have put you in the way of
getting on in life; you have bolted a little out of the course as
young fellows often do; and you shall never have another
chance, nor the ghost of half a one.' The wild young grandson. makes answer to this and says,' You're as rich as rich can
be; you have been at no uncommon expense on my account,
you're saving up piles of money for my little sister that lives
with you in av secret, stealthy, hugger-muggering kind of way
and with no manner of enjoyment —why can't you stand a trifle
for your grown-up relation?' The jolly old grandfather unto
this, retorts, not only that he declines to fork out with that
cheerful readiness which is always so agreeable and pleasant in
a gentleman of his time of life, but that he will blow up, and
call names, and make reflections whenever they meet. Then
the plain question is, an't it a pity that this state of things
should continue, and how much better would it be for the olC
gentleman to hand over a reasonable amount of tin, and make it
all right and comfortable."
Having delivered this oration with a great many waves and
flourishes of the hand, MIir. Swiveller abruptly thrust the head
of his cane into his mouth as if to prevent himself from impairing the effect of his speech by adding one other word.
"Why do you hunt and persecute me, God help me?" said
the old man turning to his grandson.  " Why do you brin;




48          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.,
your profligate companions here? How often am I to tell
you that my life is one of care and self-denial, and that I am
poor?"
" flow often am I to tell you," returned the other, looking
coldly at him, " that I know better?"
" You have chosen your own path," said the old man. "Follow it.  Leave Nell and I to toil and work."
" Nell will be a woman soon,"' returned the other, " and, bred
in your faith, she'll forget her brother unless he shows himself
sometimes."
" Take care,' said the old man with sparkling eyes, " that
she does not forget you when you would have her memory keenest. Take care that the day don't come when you walk barefoot in the streets, and she rides by in a gay carriage of her
own."
" You mean when she has your money," retorted. the other.
"H iow like a poor man he talks!"
"And yet," said the old man dropping his voice and speaking
like one who thinks aloud, " how poor we are, and what a life
it is I The cause is a young  hild's, guiltless of all harm or
wrong, but nothing goes,et' with it I Hope and patience,
hope and patience."
These words were uttered in too low a tone to reach the ears
of the young men. Mr. Swiveller appeared to think that they
implied some mental struggle consequent upon the powerful
effect of his address, for he poked his friend with his cane and
whispered his conviction that he had administered " a clincher,"
and that he expected a commission on the profits.  Discovering
his mistake after a while, he appeared to grow rather sleepy and
discontented, and had more than once suggested the propriety
of an immediate departure when the door opened, and the child
hc.7self appeareld.




CHAPTER THE THIRD.
THE child was closely followed by an elderly man of remark
ably hard features and forbidding aspect, and so low in stature
as to be quite a dwarf, though his head and face were large
enough for the body of a giant.  His black eyes were restless,
sly, and cunning;  his mouth and chin, bristly with the stuble
of a coarse hard beard; and his complexion was one of that
kind which never looks clean or wholesome.  But what added
most to the grotesque expression of his face, was a ghastly smlile,
which, appearing to be the mere result of habit and to have no
connection with anly mirthful or complacent feeling, constantly
revealed the few discolored fangs that were yet scattered in his
mouth, and gave him the aspect of a panting dog.  His dress
consisted of a large high-crowned hat, a worn cdark suit, a pair
of capacious shoes, and a dirty white neckerchief sufficiently
limp and crumpled to disclose the greater portion of his wiry
throat.  Such hair as he had was of a grizzly black, cut short
and straight upon his temples, and hanging in a frowzy fringe
about his ears.  His hands, which were of a rough coarse grain,
were very dirty; his finger-nails were crooked, long, and yellow.
There was ample time to note these particulars, for besides
that they were sufficiently obvious without very close observation, some mometnts elapsed before any one broke silence.  The
child advanced timidly toward her brother and put her hand in
his, the dwarf (if we may call him  so) glanced keenly at all
present, and the curiosity-dealer, who plainly had not expected
his uncouth visitor, seemed disconcerted and embarrassed.
" Ah!"' said the dwarf, who with his hands stretched out
above his eyes had been surveying the young man attentively,
"that should be your grandson, neighbor I"
Say rather that he should not be," replied the old man.
"But he is."
"And that?" said the dwarf, pointing to Dick Swiveller.
3                                           (49)




60          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
"Some friend of his, as welcome here as he," said the old
man.
" And that?" inquired the dwarf wheeling round and pointing straight at me.
"A gentleman who was so good as to bring Nell home the
other night, when she lost her way coming from your house."
The little man turned to the child as if to chide her or express his wonder, but as she was talking to the young man, held
his peace, and bent his head to listen.
"Well, Nelly," said the' young fellow  aloud.  " Do they
teach you to hate me, eh?"'
"No, no.  For shame.  Oh, no?" cried the child.
"To love me, perhaps?" pursued her brother with a sneer.
"To do neither,'" she returned.  "They never speak to me
about you.  Indeed they never do."
" I dare be bound for that,"' he said, darting a bitter look at
the grandfather.  "I dare be bound for that, Nell.  Oh! I
believe you there!"
"But I love you dearly, Fred," said the child.
" No doubt!'9
" I do indeed, and always will," the child repeated with great
emotion, " but oh I if you would leave off vexing him and making him unhappy, then I could love you more."
" I see!" said the young man, as he stooped carelessly over
the child, and having kissed her, pushed her from him: "There
-get you away now you have said your lesson.  You needn't
whimper.  We part good friends enough if that's the matter."
He remained silent, following her with his eyes, until she had
gained her little room and closed the door; then turning to the
dwarf, said abruptly.
"iHarkee, Mr. — 
"' gMeaning me?" returned the dwarf.  " Quilp is my name.
You might re'memher.  It's not a long one-Daniel Quilp."7
" Harkee, Mr. Quilp, then," pursued the other.  " You have
some influence with my grandfather there."
" Some," said Mr. Quilp emphatically.
"And are in a few of his mysteries and secrets."
"A few," replied Quilp, with equal dryness.
" Then let me tell him once for all, through you, that I will




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                     51
come into and go out of this place as often as I like, so long as
he keeps Nell here; and that if he wants to be quit of me, he
must first be quit of her.  WVThat have I done to be made a bugbear of, and to be shunned and dreaded as if I brouglht the
plague?  He'll tell you that I lhave no natural affection; and
that I care no more for Nell, for her own salke, than I do for
him.  Let him say so.  I care for the whim then, of coming
to and fio and reminding her of my existence.  I will see
her when I please.  That's my point.  I came here to-clday to
maintain it, and I'll come here again fifty times with the same
object and always with the same success.  I said I would stop
till I had gained it.  I have done so, and now my visit's ended.
Come, Dick."
" Stop!" cried!Mr. Swiveller, as his companion turned toward
the door.  " Sir!I"
" Si r, I am your humble servant," said Mr. Quilp, to whom
the monosyllable was addressed.
"Before I leave the gay and festive scene, and halls of dazzling light, sir," said Mr. Swiveller, " I will, with your permission, attempt a slight remark.  I came here, sir, this day, under
the impression that the old mini was friendly."
"Proceed, sir," said Daniel Quilp; for the orator had made
a sudden stop.
" Inspired by this idea and the sentiments it awakened, sir,
and feeling as a mutual friend that badgering, baiting, and
bullying, was not the sort of thing calculated to expand the souls
and promote the social harmony of the contending parties, I
took upon myself to suggest a course which is the course to be
adopted on the present occasion.  Will you allow me to whisper half a syllable, sir?"
Without waiting for the permission he sought, Mr. Swiveller
stepped up to the dwarf, and leaning on his shoulder, and
stooping down to get at his ear, said in a voice which was perfectly audible to all present,
"The watch-word to the old min is-fork."
"Is what?" demanded Qnilp.
"Is fork, sir, fork," replied IMr. Swiveller slapping his pocket.
"You are awake, sir?"
The dwarf nodded.  Mr. Swiveller drew back and nodded




B ~62       %-'THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
likewise, then drew a little further back and nodded again, and
so on.  By these means he in time reached the door, where he
gave a great cough to attract the dwarf's attention and gain an
opporttutnlity of expressillng, inll dumb show, the closest confidence
and most inviolable secrecy.  Having performed the serious
pantomime that was necessary for the due conveyance of these
ideas, he cast himself upon his friend's track, and vanished.
" Humph I'" said the dwarf with a sour look and a shrug of
his shoulders, "so much for dear relations.  Thank God, I acknowledge none! Nor need you either," he added turning to
the old man, " if you were not as weak as a reed, and nearly as
senseless. s
" What would you have me do?" he retorted in a kind of
helpless desperation.  ":It is easy to talk and sneer.  What
would you have me do?"
" What would I do, if I was in your case?" said the dwarf.
" Something  violent, no doubt.'
" You're righlt there," returned  the little man, highly gratified by the compliment, for such he evidently considered it; and
grinning like a devil as he rubbed his dirty hands together.
"'Ask Mrs. Quilp, pretty Mtrs. Quilp, obedient, timid, loving
IMrs. Quilp.  But that reminds me-I have left her all alone,
and she will be anxious, and know not a moment's peace till I
return.  I know she's always in that condition when I'm away,
though she doesn't dare to say so, unless I lead her on and tell
her she may speak fireely and I won't be angry with her.  Oh I
well-trained MN[rs. Quilp!1
The creature appeared quite horrible with his mons.trous head
and little body, as he rubbed his hands slowly round, and round
and round again-with something fantastic even in his manner of
performing tlis slight action.-ald, dropping his shaggy brows
and cockingl his chin in the air, glanced upward with a stealthy
look of exultation that an imp might have copied and appropriated to himself.
"Here," he said, putting his hand into his breast and sidling
up to the old man as he spoke; "I brought it myself for fear of
accidents, as being in gold, it was something large and heavy
for Nell to carry in her bag.  She need be accustomed to such




THi    ULI)  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  53
loads betimes, though neighbor, for she will carry weight when
you are dead."
" Heaven send she may I  I hope so," said the old man with
something' like a groan.
" Hope so!1 echoed the dwarf, approaching' close to his ear' neizghbor, I would I knew  in what good investment all these
supplies are sunk.  Buat you are a cteep mani, and keep your
secret close."
" My secret!" said the other with a hagogard look.  "' Yes,
you're right-I-I —leep it close-very close."'
lie said no more, but taking the money turned away with a
slow uncertain step, and pressed his hand upon his head like a
weary and dejected man.  The dwarf watched him  sharply,
while he passed into the little sitting-room and locked it in an
iron safe above the chimney-piece; and after musing for a short
space, prepared to take his leave, observing that unless he made
good haste, Mlrs. Quilp would certainly be in fits on his return.
"And so, neighbor," he added, " I'll turn my face homeward,
leaving my love for Nelly and hoping she may never lose her
way again, though her doing so has procured me an honor I
didn't expect."  With that he bowed and leered at me, and with
a keen glance around which seemed to comprehend every object
within his range of vision, however small or trivial, went his
way.
I had several times essayed to go myself, but the old man hac
always opposed it and entreated me to remain. As he renewed
his entreaties on our being left alone, and adverted with many
thanks to the former occasion of our beilng together, I willingly
yielded to his persuasions, and sat down, pretending to examine
some curious miniatures aind a few old medals which he placed
before me.  It needed no great pressing to induce me to stay,
for if my curiosity had been excited on the occasion of my first
visit, it certainly was not diminished now.
Nell joined us before long, and bringing some needlework to
the table, sat by the old manl's side. It was pleasant to observe
the fresh flowers in the room, the pet bird with a green boughl
shading his little cage, the breath of freshness and youth which
seemed to rustle through the old dull house and hover round the
child.  It was curious but not so pleasant, to turn from  the




54          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
beauty and grace of the girl, to the stooping figure, care-worn
face, and jaded aspect of the old man. As he grew weaker and
more feeble, what would becom.e of this lonely little creature;
poor protector as he was, say that he died —what would her
fate be, then?
Tihe old man almost answered my thoughts, as he laid his
hand on hers, and spole aloud.
" I'll be of better cheer, Nell," he said; "there must be good
fortune in store for thee-I do not ask it for myself, but thee.
Such miseries must fall on thy innocent head without it, that I
cannot believe but that, being tempted, it will come at last 1"
She looked cheerfully into his face, but made n-o answer.
" xWhen I thignk," said he " of the many years-many in thy
short life-that thou hast lived alone with me: of thy monotonous existence, knowing no companions of thy own age nor any
childish pleasures; of the solitude in which thou hast grown to
be what thou art, and in which thou hast lived apart from nearly
all thy kind but one old man; I sometimes fear I have dealt
hardly by thee, Nell."
" Grandfather!'" cried the child in unfeigned surprise.
"Not in intention-no, no," said he.  "I have ever looked
forward to the time that should enable thee to mix among the
gayest and prettiest, and take thy station with the best.  But
I still look forward, Nell, I still look forward, and if I should
be forced to leave thee, meanwhile, how have I fitted thee for
struggles with the world? The poor bird yonder is as well
qualified to encounter it, and be turned adrift upon its mercies
-Hark I I hear Kit outside.  Go to him, Nell, go to him."
She rose, and hurrying away, stopped, turned back, and put
her arms about the old man's neck, then left him and hurried
away againl-but faster this time, to hide her falling tears.
" A word in your ear, sir," said the old man in a hurried
whisper.  "I have been rendered uneasy by what you said the
other night, and canll only plead that I have done all fo.r the
best-that it is too late to retract, if I could (though I cannot)
— and that I hope to triumph yet.  All is for her sake.  I have
borne great poverty myself, and would spare her the sufferings
that poverty carries with it.  I would spare her the miseries
that brought her mother, my own dear child, to an early grave.




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   55
I would leave her-not with resources which could be easily
spent or squandered away, but with what would place her beyond the reach of want forever.  You mark me, sir?  She
shall have no pittance, but a fortune-Hush I I can say no
more than that, now or at any other time, and she is here
ga'in!"
The eagerness with which all this was poured into my ear,
the trembling of the hand with which he clasped my arm, the
strained and starting eyes he fixed upon me, the wild vehemence
and agitation of his manner, filled me with amazement. All
that I had heard and seen, and a great part of what he had
said himself, led me to suppose that he was a wealthy man.  I
could form no comprehension of his character, unless he were
one of those miserable wretches who, having made gain the sole
end and object of their lives, and having succeeded in amassing
great riches, are constantly tortured by the dread of poverty,
and beset by fears of loss and ruin.  Many things he had said
which I had been at a loss to understand, were quite reconcilable with the idea thus presented to me, and at length I
concluded that beyond all doubt he was one of this unhappy
race.
The opinion was not the result of hasty consideration, for
which indeed there was no opportunity at that time, as the child
came back directly, and soon occupied herself in preparations
for giving Kit a writing lesson, of which it seemed he had a
couple every week, and one regularly on that evening, to the
great mirth and enjoyment both of himself and his instructress.
To relate how it was a long time before his modesty could be
sXo far prevailed upon as to admit of his sitting down in the
)a.llor, in the presence of an unknown gentleman-hoow when:Ce did sit down he tucked up his sleeves and squared his elbows,A, put his face close to the copy-book and squinted horribly
at the lines-hoew froln the very first moment of having the pen
in his hand, he began to wallow in blots, and to daub himself
with ink up to the very roots of his hair-how if he did by
accident form a letter properly, he immediately smeared it out
again with his arm in his preparations to make another —hew
at every fresh mistake, there was a fresh burst of merriment
from the child and a louder and not less hearty laugh from poor




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
Kit himself-and how there was all the way through, notwithstanding, a gentle wish on her part to teach, and an anxious
desire on his to learn-to relate all these particulars would no
doubt occupy more space and time than they deserve.  It will
be suffiient to say thlat the lesson was given-that evening
passed and nig'ht came on-that thle old man again grew res-tless and impatient-that he quitted the house secretly at the
same hour as before-and that the child was once more left
alone within its gloomy walls.
And now that I have carried this history so far in my own
character and introduced these personages to the reader, I shall
for the convenience of the narrative detach myself from its further course, and leave those who have prominent and necessary
parts in it to speak and act for themselves.




C H A P T E R  T - E  F  OU -, fT H.
iMf. and Mfrs. Quilp resided on Tower Hill; and in'her
bower on Tower Hill Mirs. Quill was left to pine the absence
of her lord, when he quitted her on the business which he has
been already seen to transact.
Mr. Quilp could scarcely be said to be of any particular
trade or calling, though his pursuits were diversified and his
occupations numerous.  He collected the rents of whole colonies of filthy streets and alleys by the water-side, advanced
money to the seamen and petty officers of merchant vessels, had
a share in the ventures of divers mates of East Indiamen, smoked
his smuggled cigars under the very nose of the Custom House,
and made appointments on Change with men in glazed hats
and round jackets pretty well every day.  On the Surrey side
of the river was a small rat-infested dreary yard called " Quilp's
WVharf," in which were a little iwooden counting-house burrowing all awry in the dust as if it had fallen from the clouds and
plowed into the ground; a few fragments of rusty anchors;
several large iron rings; some piles of rotten wood; and two
or three heaps of old sheet copper, crumbled, cracked, and
battered.  On Quilp's Wharf, Daniel Quilp was a ship-breaker,
yet to judge from these appearances he must either have been a
ship-breaker on a very small scale, or hyave broken his ships up
very small indeed. Neither did the place present any extraordinary aspect of life or activity, as its only human occupant
was an amphibious boy in a canvas suit, whose sole change of
occupation was from sitting on the head of a pile and throwing
stones into the mud when the Rtide was out, to standimga with
his hands in his pockets gazing listlessly on the motion and on
the bustle of the river at high-water.
The dwarf's lodogino' on Tower H-ill comprised, besides the
needful accommodation for himself and Mrs. Quilp, a small
sleeping-closet for that lady's mother, who resided with the
couple and waged perpetual war with 7Daniel; of whom, notwith(fis)




68           THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
standing, she stood in no slight dread. Indeed, the -ugly creature
contrived by some means or other —whether by his ugliness or
his ferocity or his natural cunning is no great matter-to impress with a wrholesome fear of his anuger, most of those with
whomi he was brought into daily contact alid communication.
Over nobody had he such complete ascendency as Mrs. Qnilp,
herself-a pretty, little, mild-spoken, blue-eyed woman, who
having allied herself in wedlock to the dwcarf in one of those
strangue infatuations of wlvich examples are by no means scarce,
performed a sound practical penance for her folly, every day of
her life.
It has been said that Mrs. Quilp was pining in her bower.
In her bower she was, but not alone, for besides the old lady
her mother, of whom  mention has recently been made, there
were present some half-dozen ladies of the neighborhood who
had happened by a strange accident (and also by a little understanding among themselves) to drop in one after another, just
about tea-time.  This being a season favorable to conversation,
and the room being a cool, shady, lazy kind of place, with some
plants at the open window shuttin'g out the dust, and interposing pleasantly enough between the tea-table within and the old
Tower without, it is no wonder that the ladies felt an inclination
to talk and linger, especially when there are taken into account
the additional inducements of fresh butter, new bread, shrimps,
and water-cresses.
Now, the ladies being tog'ether under these circumstances, it
was extremely natural that the discourse should turn npon the
propensity of mankind to tyrannize over the weaker sex, and
the duty that devolved upon the weaker sex to resist that tyranny and assert their rights and dignity.  It was natural for
four reasons; filrstly, because Mrs. Quilp beinD  a young woman
and notoriously under the dominion of her huslband, ought to be
excited to rebel; secondly, because lMrs. Quilp's parent was
known to be laudably shrewish in her disposition and iiclined
to resist male authority; thirdly, because eachl visitor wished to
show  for herself how  superior she was in this respect to the
generality of her sex; and fourthly, because the Company being
accustomed to scandalize each other in pairs were deprived of
their usual subject of conversation now that they were all as



THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                      59
sembled in close friendship, and had consequently no better
employment than to attack the common enemy.'Moved by these considerations, a stout lady opened the proceedings by inquiring, with an air of great concern and sympathy, how Mr. Qnilp was; whereunto Mr. Qnilp's wife's mother
replied sharply, " Oh! he was well enough —nothing much was
ever the matter with him-and ill weeds were sure to thrive.'
All the ladies then sighhed in concert, shook their heads gravely,
and loolked at Mirs. Quilp as at a martyr.
"Al!'" said the spokeswoman, "IG wish you'd give her a
little of your advice, Mrs. Jiniwin"-i-Mrs. Quilp had been a
Miss Jiniwin, it should be observed-" nobody knows better
than you, Ma'am, what us women owe to ourselves."
" Owe indeed, Ia'anm l" replied Mrs. Jiniwin.  " When my
poor husband, her dear father, was alive, if he had ever ventur'd a cross word to sne, I'd have  -" the good old lady did
not finish the sentence, but she twisted off the head of a shrimp
with a vindictiveness which seemed to imply that the action was
in some degree a substitute for words.  In this light it was
clearly understood by the other party who immediately replied
with great approbation, "You quite enter into my feelings,
Ma'am, and it's just what I'd do myself."
" But you have no call to do it," said Mrs. Jiniwin. " Luckily for you, you have no more occasion to do it than I had."
" No woman need have, if she was true to herself," rejoined
the stout lady.
"6 Do you hear that, Betsy?" said -Mrs. Jiniwin, in a warning
voice.  "How often have I said the, very same words to you,
and almost gone clown on my knees when I spoke'elm?"
Poor Mrs. Quilp, who had looked in a state of helplessness
from one face of condolence to another, colored, smiled, and
shook her head doubtfully.  Thlls was the signal for a general
clamor, which beginnilg in a low  murmur gradually swelled
into a great noise in which everybody spole at once, and all
said that she being a young woman had no riglt to set up her
opinions agaiust the experiences of those who knew so much
better; that it was very wronlg of her not to take the advice of
people who had nothing at heart but her good; that it was
next door to being downright ungrateful to conduct herself in




60         CTHE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
that manner; that if she had no respect for herself she ought
to have some for other women, all of whom she compromised by
her meekness; and that if she had no respect for other women,
the time would come when other rwomen would have no respect
for her, and she would be very sorry for thllat, they could tell
her.  1-Having' dealt out these admonitions, the ladies fell to a
more powerful assault than they had yet made upon the mixed
tea, new bread, fresll butter, shrimps, and water-cresses, and
said that their vexation rwas so great to see her going on like
that, that they could hardly bring themselves to eat a single
morsel.
" It's all very fine to talk," said Mrs. Quilp, with much simplicity, "but I know that if I was to die to-morrow, Quilp
could marry any body he pleased-now  that he could, I
know!"
There was quite a scream of indignation at this idea. 3Marry
whom he pleased! They would like to see him  dare to think
of marrying any of them; they would like to see the faintest
approach to such a thing.  One lady (a widow) was quite certain she should stab him if he hinted at it.
"Very well," said Mrs. Quilp, nodding her head, " as I said
just now, it's very easyto talk, but I say again that I know-that
I'm sure-Quilp has such a way with him when he likes, that the
best-looking woman here couldn't refuse him if I was dead,
and she was free, and he chose to make love to her.  Come I!"
Every body bridled up at this remark, as much as to say "I
know you mean me.  Let him try —that's all."'  And yet for
some hidden reason they were all angry with the widow, and
each lady whispered in helr neighbor's ear that it was very plain
the said widow thought herself the person referred to, and what
a puss she was!
"Mother knows,"  said AIrs. Qailp, " that what I say is quite
correct, for she often said so before we were mCarried.   Didn't
you say so, mother?"
This inquiry involved thle respected lady in rather a delicate
position, for sIhe certainly had been an active party in making
her daughter Mrs. Quilp, and, besides, it was not supporting
the family credit to encourage the idea that she had married a
man whom  nobody else would have.  On the other hand, to




THE  OLD  CURIIOSITY  SHOP.                     61
exaggerate the captivating qualities of her son-in-law would be
to weaken the cause of revolt,' in which all her energies were
deeply engaged.  Beset by these opposing considerations, Mrs.
Jiniwin admitted the powers of insinuation, but deniced the
right to govern, and with a timely complimellnt to the stout
lady, bronght back the discussion to the point from which it
had strayed.
"Oh  it's a sensible and proper thing indeed, what Mrs.
George has said 1' exclaimed the old lady.  "If women are
only true to themselves!-But Betsy isn't, and more's the
shame and pity."
"Before I'd let a man order me about as Quilp orders her,"
said Mrs. George; " before I'd consent to stand in awe of a
man as she does of him, I'd-I'd kill myself, and write a letter
first to say he did it!"
This remark being loudly commendedCand approved of, another lady (from the IMinories) put in her word:
"Mr. Quilp may be a very nice man,'," said this lady, " and
I suppose there's no doubt he is, because Mirs. Quilp says he
is, and Mrs. Jiniwin says lie is, and they ought to know, or nobody does.  But still he is not quite a-what one calls a handsome man, nor quite a young man neither, which mnight be a
little excuse for him if any thing could be; whereas his wife
is young, and is good-looking, and is a woman-which is the
great thing after all."
This last clause being delivered with extraordinary pathos
elicited a corresponding murmlur from the hearers, stimulated
by which the lady went on to remark that if such a husband
was cross and unreasonable with suIch a wife, then"If he is!" interposed the mother, putting down her teacup, and brushimng the crumbs out of her lap, preparatory to
makilng a solemn declaration.  " If lie is!  He is the greatest
tyrant that ever lived, she daren't call her soul her own, he
makes her tremble with  a word and even with a look, lie
frilghtens her to death, and she hasn't the spirit to give him a
wordl back, no, not a single word."
Notwithstandingo that the fact had been notorious beforehaind to all the tea-drinkers, and had been discussed and expatiated on at every tea-drinking in the neighborhood for the




632         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP~
last twelve months, this official communication was no sooner
made than they all began to talk at once, and to vie with each
other in vehemence and volubility.  iiTrs. George remarked
that people would talk, that people had often said this to her
before, that Mirs. Simmons then and there present had told
her so twenty times, that she.had always said, "No, Henrietta
Simmons, unless i see it with my own eyes and hear it with
-my own ears, I never will believe it."  Mirs. Simmons corroborated this testimony and added strong evidence of her own.
The lady from  the Ilinories recounted a successful course of
treatment under which she had placed her own husband, who,
from  manifesting one month after marriage unequivocal symptoms of the tiger, had by this means become subdued into a
perfect lamb.  Another lady recounted  her own  personal
struggle and final triumph, in the course whereof she had
found it necessary to call in her mother and two aunts, and
to weep incessantly night and dclay for six weeks. iA third,
who in the general confusion could secure no other listener,
fastened herself upon a young woman still unmarried who
happened to be amongst them, and conjured her as she valued
her own peace of mind and happiness to profit by this solemn
occasion, to take example from the weakness of Mrs. Quilp,
and from. that time forth to  direct her whole thouglhts to
taming- and subduing the rebellious spirit of man.  The
noise was at its height, and half the company had elevated
their voices into a perfect shriek in order to drown the voices
of the other half, when  Mrs. Jiniwin was seen to change
color and shake her forefinger stealthily, as if exhorting them
to silence.  Then, and not until then, Daniel Quilp himself,
the cause and occasion of all this clamor, was observed to
be in the room, looking on  and listening with profound
attention.
"Go on, ladies, go on," said Daniel.  "Mrs. Quilp, pray
ask the ladies to stop to supper, and have a couple of lobsters and something light and palatable."
"I-I-didn't ask them  to tea, Quilp," stammered his
wife.  " It's quite an accident."
" So much the better, IMrs. Quilp; these accidental parties
are always the pleasantest," said the dwarf, ruhbibg   his handis




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~~~~6i i ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~j~~~~~i;:II IiI 1-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SI=~ ~ ~ ~ ~ j
cS ~  ~    ~    UL         URRSN         I     IF7,VSTR








THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                     63
so hard that he seemed to be engaged in manufacturing, of
the dirt with which they were encrusted, little charges for
popguns.  "What I  Not going, ladies, you are not going,
Asurely 1"
His fair enemies tossed their heads sliglhtly as they sought
their respective bonnets and shawls, but left all verbal contention
to Mrs. Jiniwin, who finding herself in the position of chalnpion,
made a faint strufgqle to sustain the character.
"And why not stop to supper, Quilp,1" said the old lady, "if
my daughter had a mind?"'
"To be sure, " rejoined Daniel.  "' Why not?"7
"There's nothing dishonest or wrong in a supper, I hope?'
said Mrs. Jiniwin.
"Surely not," returned the dwarf.  "Why should there be?
Nor any thing unwholesome either, unless there's lobster-salad
or prawns, which I'm told are not good for digestion."
"And you wouldn't like your wife to be attacked with that,
or any thing else that would make her uneasy, would you?"
said Mrs. Jiniwin.
"Not for a score of worlds," replied the dwarf with a grin.
" Not even to have a score of mother's-in-law at the same time —
and what a blessing that would be!"
"' My daughter's your wife, Mr. Quilp, certainly," said the old
lady with a giggle, meant for satirical and to imply that he
needed to be. reminded of the fact; "your wedded wife."
" So she is, certainly.  So she is," observed the dwarf.
"And she has a right to do as she likes, I hope, Quilp," said
the old lady trembling, partly with anger, and partly with a
secret fear of her impish son-in-law.
" Ilope she has!" he replied. " Oh! don't you know she has?
Don't you know she has, Mrs. Jiniwin?"
"I know she ought to have, Quilp, and would have if she was
of my way of thinking."
" Why an't you of your mother's way of thinking, my dear?'"
said the dwarf, turning round and addressing his wife; "wihy
don't you always imitate your mother, my dear?  She's the
ornament of her sex-your father said so every day of his life,
I am sure he did."
"Her father was a blessed creetur, Q uilp, and worth twenty




L64$        THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
thousand of some people," said Mrs. Jiniwin; " twenty hundred
million thousand."
"I should like to have known him," remarked the dwarf. " I
dare say he was a blessed creature then; but I'm sure he is now.
It was a happy release. I believe he had suffered a loi.,g time?7"
The old lady gave a gasp but nothing came of it; Quilp resumed, with the same malice in his eye and the same sarcastic
politeness on his tongue.
"You look ill, Mrs. Jiniwin; I know you have been exciting
yourself too much-talking perhaps, for it is your weakness.
Go to bed.  Do go to bed."
" I shall go when I please, Quilp, and not before."
"But please to go now.  Do please to go now," said the
dwarf.
The old woman looked angrily at him, but retreated as he
advanced, and falling back before him suffered him to shut the
door upon her and bolt her out among the guests, who were by
this time crowding down stairs.  Being left alone with his wife,
who sat trembling in a corner with her eyes fixed upon the
ground, the little man planted himself before her, at some distancee, and folding his arms looked steadily at her for a long
tiime without speaking.
" Oh you nice creature!" were the words with which he broke
sileece; smacking his lips as if this were no figure of speech,
and she were actually a sweetmeat. "Oh you precious darling I
oh vou de-licious charmer!"'
iMrs. Quilp sobbed; and knowing the nature of her pleasant
lord, appeared quite as much alarmed by these compliments, as
she would have been by the most extreme demonstrations of
violence.
" She's such," said the dwarf, with a ghastly grin,-" such a
jewel, such a diamond, such a pearl, such a ruby, such a golden
casket set with gems of all sorts I She's such a treasure I I'm
so fond of her 1'
The poor little woman shivered from head to foot; and raising
her eyes to his face with an imploring look, suffered them to
droop agjain, and sobbed once more.
"The best of her is," said the dwarf, advancing with a sort
of skip, which, what with the crookedness of his legs, the ug!i



THiE  OLID  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   65
ness of his face, and the mockery of his manner, was perfectly
goblin-like;-" the best of her is that she's so meek and she's
so mild, and she never has a will of her own, and she has such
an insinuatin-g mother!1"
Uttering  these latter wor~ds with a gloating maliciousness,
within a hundred degrees of which no one but himself could
possibly approach, Mr. Quilp planted his two hands on his
knees, and straddling his legs out very wide apart, stooped
slowly down, and down, and down, until, by screwing his head
very much on one side, he came between his wife's eyes and the
loor.
"Mrs. Quilp I"
1"Yes, Quilp.o"
"Am I nice to look at?  $hould I be the handsomest creature
in the world if I had but whiskers 7  Am I quite a lady's man
as it is?-am I, Mrs. Quilp?"1
Mrs. Quilp dutifully replied, "Yes, Quilp;" and fascinated
by his gaze, remained looking timidly at him, while he treated her
with a succession of such horrible grimaces, as none but himself
and nightmares had the power of assuming.  During the whole
of this performance, which was somewhat of the longest, he pre&erved a dead silence, except when, by an unexpected skip or
leap, he rnade his wife start backward with an irrepressible
shriek.  Then he chuckled~
"' Mrs. Quilp,"' he said at last.
"' Yes, Quilp,7" she meekly replied.
Instead of pursuing the theme he had in his mind, Quilp rose,
folded his arms again, and looked at her more sternly than before,
while she averted her eyes and kept them on the ground.
"  rs. Quilp.9"
Yes, Quilp."7
"If ever you listen to these beldlames again, I'll bite you."
With this laconic tlhreat, which he accoimpanied with a snarl
that gave him the appearance of being particularly in earnest,
-ilr. Quilp bade her clear the teaboard away, a;d brilng the
rum.  The spirit being set before him in a huge case-bottle,
which had originally comne out of some ship's locker, lie ordered
cold water and the box of eigars; and these being supplied, he
settled himself in an arm-chair wlth his large head and face




st66       T1HE  L0  D  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
squeezed up against the back, and his l-ttle legs planted on thlu
table.
"Now, Mrs. Qnilp,"' be said, "I feel in a smoking hunmor,
and shall probably blaze away all night.  But sit where you.
are, if you please, in case I want you.'"
His wife returned no other reply than the customary " Ye,Quilp,"' and the small lord of the creation took his first cigar,
and mixed his first glass of grog.'rhe sun went down and the
stars peeped out, the Tower turned from its own proper colors
to gray and from gray to black, the room became perfectly dark
and the end of the cigar a deep fiery red, but still 3Mr. Quilp
went on smoking and drinking in the same position, and staring
listlessly out of window  with the dog-like smile always on
his face, save when 1rs. Quilp made some involuntary movement of restlessness or fatigue; and then it expanded into a
grin of delight.




CIIAPTER  TFE  FiTIoI
WnIETfIER Mr. Qulilp took any sleep by snatches of a few
winks at a time, or whether lie sat with his eyes wide open all
night long, certain it is that he kept his cigar alight, and kindled
every fresh one from the ashes of that which was nearly consumed, without requiring the assistance of a candle.  Nor did
the striking of the clocks, hour after hour, appear to inspire
himi with any sense of drowsiness or any natural desire to go to
rest, but rather to increase his wakefulness, which he showed, at
every such indication of the progress of the night, by a suppressed cackling in his throat, and a motion of his shoulders,
like one who laughs heartily but at the same time slyly and by
stealth.
At length the day broke, and poor 1Mrs. Quilp, shivering with
the cold of early morning and harassed by fatigue and want of
sleep, was discovered sitting patiently on her chair, raising her
eyes at intervals in mute appeal to the compassion and clemency of her lord, and gently reminding him by an occasional
couglh that she was still unpardconed and that her Denianece had
been of long duration.  But her dwarfish spouse still smoked
his cigar and drank his rum without heeding her; and it was
not until the sun had some time risen, and the activity and noise
of city day were rife in the street, that he deigned to recognize
her presence by any word or sign.  HIe might not have done
so even then, but for certain impatient tappings at the door,
which seemed to denote that some pretty hard knuckles were
actively engaged upon the other side.
"Why dear me!" he said, looking round wTith a malicious
grin, "it's day! open the door, sweet Mrs. Quilp!"
Ilis obedient wife withdrew the bolt, and her lady mother
entered.
Now lMrs. Jiniwin bounced into the room with great impetuosity, for supposing her son-in-law to be still a-bed, she had
come to relieve her feelings by pronouncing a strong opinion
(60)




68          THE  OLD) CURIOSITY  SHOP.
upon his general conduct and character.  Seeing that he was
up and dressed, and that the room appeared to have been occupied ever since she quitted it on the previous evening, she
stopped short, in some embarrassmealit.
Nothing escaped the hawk's eye of the ugly little man, who
perfectly understanding what passed in the old lady's mind,
turned uglier still in the fullness of his satisfaction, and bade her
good morning with a leer of triumph.
"Why Betsy," said the old woman, " you haven't been ayou don't mean to say you've been a-"
"Sitting' up all night?" said Quilp, supplying the conclusion
of the sentence.  " Yes she has!"
"All night!"' cried Ifrs. JiniwiD.
"Aye, all night.  Is the dear old lady deaf?'T said Quilp,
with a smile of which a frown was part.  " Who says man and
wife are bad company?  Ha, ha! The time has flown."
"You're a brute!" exclaimed Mrs. Jiniwinl.' Come, come," said Quilp, willfully misunderstanding her, of
course, "you mustn't call her names.  She's married now, you
klnow.  And though she did beguile the time and keep me from
my bed, you must not be so tenderly careful of me as to be out
of humor with her. Bless you for,a deai: old lady. Here's
your health!"
"I am much obliged to you," returned the old woman, testifying by a certain restlessness in her hands a vehement desire to
shake her matronly fist at her son-in-law.  "Oh! I'm  very
much obliged to you i"
" Grateful soull!" cried the dwarf.  "{Mrs. Quilp."'
"Yes, Quilp,"' said the timid sufferem.
"Help your mother to get breakfast, aMrs. Quilp.  I am
going to the wharf this morning —the earlier, the better; so be
quick."
Mrs. Jiniwin made a faint demonstration of rebellion by sitting down in a chair near the door and folding her arms as if in
a resolute determination to do nothing   But a few whispered
words front her danughter, and a kind inquiry from her son-inlaw whether she felt faint, with a hint that there was abundance
of cold water in the next apartment, routed these symptoms




THE   OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   69
effectually, and she applied herself to the prescribed preparations
w-ith sullen diligence.
Whil;e they were in progress, Mr. Quilp withdrew to the adjoining room, and turning back his coat-collar, proceeded to
smear his countenance with a damp towel of very unwholesome
appearance, which made his complexion rather more cloudy than
it was before.  But while he was thus engaged, his caution and
inquisitiveness did not forsake him, for with a face as sharp and
cunning  as ever lie often stopped, even in this short process, and
stood listening for any conversation in the next room, of which
he might be the theme.
"Ah!" he said after a short effort of attention, "it was not
the towel over my ears, I thought it wasn't.  I'm a little hunchy
villain and a monster, am I, Mrs. Jiniwin? Oh I"
The pleasure of this discovery called up the old doglike smile
in full force.  When he had quite done with it, he shook himself
in a very doglike manner, and rejoined the ladies.
MIr. Quilp now walked up to the front of a looking-glass, and
was standing there putting on his neckerchief when Mrs. Jiniwin,
happening to be behind him, could not resist the inclination she
felt to shake her fist at her tyrant son-in-law.  It was the gesture of an instant, but as she did so and accompanied the action
with a menacing look, she met his eye in the glass, catching her
in the very act.  The same glance at the mirror conveyed to her
the reflection of a horribly grotesque and distorted face with the
tongue lolling out; and the next instant the dwarf, turning
about with a perfectly bland and placid look, inquired in a tone
of great affection,
"How are you now, my dear old darling?"
Slight and ridiculous as the incident was, it made him appear
such a little fiend, and withall such a keen and knowing one,
*that the old woman felt too much afraid of him tb utter a single
word, and suffered herself to be led with extraordinary politeness to the breakfast-table.  I-Here he by no means diminished
the impression he had just produced, for he ate hard eggs, shell
and all, devoured gigantic prawns ewith the heads and tails on,
chewed tobacco and water-cresses at the same time and with
extraordinary greediness, drank boiling tea without winking, bit
his fork and spoon till they bent again, and in short performed




70          TtIE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHIOP.
so many horrifying and uncommon acts that the women were
nearly frightened out of their wits, and began to doubt if he
were really a human creature.  At last having gone throughm
these proceedings and many others which were equally a part
of his system, Mr. Quilp left them, reduced to a very obedient
and humble state, and betook himself to the river-side, where
he took boat for the wharf on which he had bestowed his name.
It was flood tide when Daniel Quilp sat himself down in the
wherry to cross to the opposite shore.  A fleet of barges were
coming lazily on, some sideways, some head first, some stern
first; all in a wrong-headed, dogged, obstinate way, bumping
up against the larger craft, running under the bows of steamboats, getting into every kind of nook and corner where they
had no business, and being crunched on all sides like so maeny
walnut-shells; while each with its pair of long sweeps strnggling and splashing in the water looked like some lnmbiering
fish in pain.  In some of the vessels at anchor all hands were
busily engaged in coiling ropes, spreading out sails to dry,
taking in or discharging their cargoes; in others no life was
visible but two or three tarry boys, and perhaps a barking dog
running  to and fro upon the deck or scrambling up to look
over the side and bark the louder for the view.  Coining slowly
on through the forest of masts was a great steamship, beating
the water in short impatient strokes with her heavy paddles as
though she wanted room to breathe, and advancing in her hug-e
bulk like a sea-monster among the minnows of the Thames. OlX
either hand were long black tiers of colliers; between them
vessels slowly working out of harbor with sails glistening in the
sun, and creaking noise on board, re-echoed from  a hundred
quarters.  The water and all upon it was in active motion,
dancing and buoyant and bubbling up; while the old gray
Tower and piles of building on the shore, with many a churchspire shooti-'g up between, looked coldly on, and seemed to
disdain their chafing, restless neighbor.
Daniel Quilp, who was not much affected by a bright morn.
ing save in so far as it spared him the trouble of carrying an
umbrella, caused himself to be put ashore hard by the wharf,
and proceeded thither through a narrow lane which, partaking
of the amphibious character of its frequenters, had as much




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  71
water aas mud in its composition, and a very liberal supply of
both.  Arrived at his destination, the first object that presented
itself to his view was a pair of very imperfectly shod feet elevated in the air with the soles upward, which remarkable appearance was referable to the boy, who being of an eccentric spirit
and having a natural taste for tumbling, was now standing on
his head and contemplating the aspect of the river under these
uncommon circumstances.  He was speedily brought on his
heels by the sound of his master's voice, and as soon as his head
was in its right position, Mr. Quilp, to speak expressively in the
absence of a better verb, " punched it" for him.
"Come, you let me alone," said the boy, parrying Quilp's
hand with both his elbows alternately.  "You'll get something
you won't like if you don't, and so I tell you."
"You dog," snarled Quilp, " I'll beat you with an iron rod,
I'll scratch you with a rusty nail, I'll pinch your eyes, if you
talk to me-I will. 9
With these threats he clenched his hand again, and dexterously diving in between the elbows and catching the boy's
head as it dodged from side to side, gave it three or four good
hard knocks.  Having now carried his point and insisted on it,
he left off.
" You won't do it again," said the boy, nodding his head and
drawing back, with the elbows ready in case of the worst;
6 now -"
I' Stand still, you dog," said Quilp.  "I won't do it again,
because I've done it as often as I want.  Here.  Take the
key."
"Wbhy don't you hit one of your size?", said the boy approaching very slowly.
" Where is there one of my size, you dog?7" returned Quilp.
"Take the key, or I'll brain you with it" —indeed he gave him
a smart tap with the handle as he spoke.  "Now, open the
counting-house. "
The boy sulkily complied, muttering at first, but desisting
when lie looked round and saw that Quilp was following him
witit a steady look.  And here it may be remarked, that
between this boy and the dwarf there existed a strange kind of
mutual liking.  How born or bred, or how nourished upon




72         THE  OLD  CURIIOSITY  SHOP.
blows and threats unpon one side, and retorts and defiances
on the other, is not to the purpose.  Quilp would certainly
suffer nobody to contradict him but the boy, and the boy would
assuredly not have submitted to be so knocked about by anybody but Quilp, when he had the power to run away at any
time he chose.
"Now,', said Quilp, passing into the wooden-house, "you
mind the wharf.  Stand upon your head again, and I'11 cut one
of your feet off."
The boy made no answer, but directly Quilp had shut himself in, stood on his head before the door, then walked on his
hands to the back and stood on his head there, and then to the
opposite side and repeated the performance.  There were
indeed four sides to the counting-house, but he avoided that
one where the window was, deeming it probable that Quilp
would be looking out of it.  This was prudent, for in point of
fact the dwarf, knowing his disposition, was lying in wait at a
little distance from the sash armed with a large piece of wood,
which being rough and jagged and studded in many parts with
broken nails, might possibly have hurt him.
It was a dirty little box, this counting-house, with nothing in
it but an old ricketty desk and two stools, a hat-peg, an ancient
almanack, an inkstand with no ink and the stump of one pen,
and an eight-day clock which hadn't gone for eighteen years at
least and of which the minute-hand had been twisted off for a
tooth-pick. Daniel Quilp pulled his hat over his brows, climbed
on to the desk (which had a flat top), and stretching his short
length upon it went to sleep with the ease of an old practitioner;
intending, no doubt, to compensate himself for the deprivation of last night's rest, by a long and sound nap.
Sound it might have been, but long it was not, for he had
not been asleep a quarter of an hour when the boy opened the
door and thrust in his head, which was like a bundle of badly.
picked oakum.  Quilp was a light sleeper and started up
directly.
" Here's somebody for you," said the boy
"Who?7"
"I don't know."
" Ask 1" said Quilp, seizing the trifle of wood before men



THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                    73
tioned and throwing it at him with such dexterity that it was
well the boy disappeared before it reached the spot on which
he })ad stood.  "Ask, you clog."
Not caring to venture within range of such missiles again,
the boy discreetly sent in his stead the first cause of the interruption, who now presented herself at the door.
"What, Nelly I'7 cried Quilp.
" Yes,' —said the child, hesitating whether to enter or retreat,
for the dwarf just roused, with his dishevelled hair hanging all
about him, and a yellow hankerchief over his head, was something fearful to behold; "it's only me, sir."
"Come  in," said Quilp, without getting off the desk.
" Come in.  Stay.  Just look out into the yard, and see
whether there's a boy standing on his head."'
"No, sir,"e replied Nell.  " He's on his feet."
" You're sure he is?" said Quilp.  " WlTell.  Now, come in
and shut the door.  What's your message, Nelly?"
The child handed him a letter; Mr. Quilp, without changing
his position further than to turn over a little more on his side
and rest his chil on his hand, proceeded to make himself acquainted w.ith its contents.




CHAPTERE THE SIXTI1H.
LITTLE NELL stood timidly by, with her eyes raised to the
countenance of Mr. Quilp, as he read the letter, plainly showing
by her looks that while she entertained some fear and distrust
of the little man, she was much inclined to laugh at his uncouth
appearance and grotesque attitude.  And yet there was visible
on the part of the child a painful anxiety for his reply, and a
consciousness of his power to render it disagreeable or distressing, which was strongly at variance with this impulse and restrained it more effectually than she could possibly have done
by any efforts of her own.
That Mr. Quiltp was himself perplexed, and that in no small
degree by the contents of the letter, was sufficiently obvious.
Before he had got the first two or three lines through he began to
open his eyes very wide and to frown most horribly, the next two
or three caused him to scratch his head in an uncommonly vicious
manner, and when he came to the conclusion he gave a long,
dismal whistle, indicative of surprise and dismay.  After folding and laying it down beside him, he bit the nails of all his ten
fingers with extreme voracity; and taking it up sharply, read it
again.  The second perusal was to all appearance as unsatisfactory as the first, and plunged him into a profound reverie,
from which he awakened to another assault upon his nails, and
a long stare at the child, who with her eyes turned toward the
ground, awaited his further pleasure.
"Halloa here 1" he said at length, in a voice, and with a
suddenness, which made the child start as though a gull had been
fired off at her ear.  "Nelly 1"2
"Yes, sir. "7
"Do you know what's inside this letter, Nell?11
No, sir I"
"Are you sure, quite sure, quite certain, 1pon your soul?"
" Quite sure, sir."
(Y-4?




;:.~    ~::,-,,~:~,~:,  i ~
NWSLL IN QUILP'S. COUNTING HOUSE








THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                    75
"Do you wish you may die if you do know, hey?"' said the
Iwarf.
"Indeed I don't know," returned the child.
" Well!7' muttered Quilp as he marked her earnest look  "I
believe you.  Humph! Gone already?  Gone in four-andtwenty hours I What the devil has he done with it, that's the
mystery I"
This refection set him scratching his head and biting his nails
once more. While he was thus employed his features gradually
relaxed into what was with him a cheerful smlile, but which in
any other man would have been a ghastly grin of pain, and when
the child looked up again, she found that he was regarding her
with extraordinary favor and complacency.
"You look very pretty to-day, Nelly, charmingly pretty. Aie
you tired, Nelly?"
" No, sir.  I'm in a hurry to get back, for he will be anxious
while I am away."
" There's no hurry, little Nell, no hurry at allj' said Quilp.
H' How should you like to be my number two, Nelly?"
" To be what, sir?"
" My number two, Nelly, my second —my Mrs. Quilp "1 said
the dwarf.
The child looked frightened, but seemed not to understand
him, which Mr. Qunilp observing, hastened to explain his meafiing more distinctly.
"To be Mrs. Quilp the second, when lirs. Quilp the first is
dead, sweet, Nell," said Quilp, wrinkling up his eyes and luring
her toward him with his bent forefinger, " to be my wife, my little
cherry-cheeked red-lipped wife.  Say that Mrs. Quilp lives five
years or only four, you'll be just the proper age for me, Ha ha l
be a good girl Nelly, a very good girl, and see if one of these
days you don't conie to be Mlrs. Quilp of Tower Hill."
So far from being sustained and stimulated by this delightful
prospect, the child shrunk from  him  in great agitation, and
trembled violently,  MaLr. Quilp, either because frighlltening anybody afforded him a constitutional delight, or because it was
pleasant to contemplate the death of Mirs. Quilp number one,
and the elevation of Mirs. Quillp number two to her post and
title, or because he was determined for purposes of his own to




G76         T1I1tE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHIOP.
be agrleeable and good-humored at that particular time, on3y
laughed, and feigned to take no heed of her alarm.
"You shall come with me to Tower IHill, and see Mrs. Quilp;
that is, directly," said the dwarf.  " She's very fond of you,
Nell, though not so fond as I am.  You shall come home with
me."'
" I must go back, indeed,'" said the child.  "l e told me to
return directly I had the answer."
" But you haven't it, Nelly," retorted the dwarf, " and won't
have it, and can't have it, until I have been home, so you see
that to do your errand, you must go with me.  Rleach me yonder hat, my dear, and we'll go directly."  With that, Mr.
Quilp suffered himself to roll gradually off the desk until his
short legs touched the ground, when he got upon them and led
the way from  the counting-house to the wharf outside, where
the first objects that presented themselves were the boy who
had stood on his head and another young gentleman of about his
own stature, rolling in the mud together, locked in a tight embrace, and cuffing each other with mutual heartiness.
"It's Kit I" cried Nelly, clasping her hands, " poor Kit who
came with Me I oh, pray stop them, Mr. Quilp!"
" I'll stop'em," cried Quilp, diving into the little countinghouse and returning with a thick stick.  "I'11 stop'em.  Now
my boys, fight away.  I'll fight you both, I'll take both of you,
both together, both together I"
With which defiances the dwarf flourished his cudgel, and
dancing round the combatants and treading upon them  and
skipping over them, in a kind of frenzy, laid about him, now on
one and now on the other, in a most desperate manner, always
aiming at their heads and dealing such blows as none but the
veriest little savage would have inflicted.  This being warmer
work than they had calculated upon, speedily cooled the courage of the belligerents, who scrambled to their feet and called
for quarter.
"I'll beat you to a pulp, you dogs," said Quilp, vainly endeavoring to get near either of them for a parting blow.  "I'll
bruise you till you're copper-colored, I'll break your faces till
you haven't a profile between you, I will."
" Come, you drop that stick, or it'll be worse for you," said




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                    77
ils boy, dodging round him  and watching an opportunity to'ush in; "yon drop that stick."'"Come a little nearer, and I'll drop it on your skull. youl
lo.g,2 said Quilp, with gleaming eyes; "a little nearer —nearer
Buat the boy declined the invitation until his master twas apxamrently a little off his guard, when he darted in, and seizing;he weapon, tried to wrest it from his grasp.  Quilp, who was
is strong as a lion, easily kept his hold until the boy was tugging' at it with his utmost power, when he suddenly let it go
mnd sent him reeling backward, so that he fell violently upon
his head.  The success of this maneuvre tickled 3Mr. Quilp
beyond description, and he laughed and stamped upon the
ground as at a most irresistible jest.:" Never mind,"' said the boy, nodding his head and rubbing
it at the same time; "you see if ever I offer to strike anybody
again because they say you're a uglier dwarf than can be seen
anywhere for a penny, that's all."
"' Do you mean to say I'm not, you clog'?" returned Quilp.
"No!" retorted the boy.
"Then what do you filght on my wharf for, you villain?'" said
Quilp.
"3Because he said so," replied the boy, pointing to Kit, "not
because you ant."
"Then why did he say," bawled 7Kit, "that Miss Nelly was
ugly, and that she and my master was obliged to do whatever
his master liked?  Why did he say that?"'
"He said what he did because he's a fool, and you said what
you did because you're very wise and clever-almost too clever
to live unless you're very careful of yourself Kit," said Quilp,
with great suavity in his manner, but still more of quiet malice
about his eves and monuth.  " Here's sixpence for you, Kit.
Always speak the truth.  At all times, Kit, speak the truth.
Lock the counting-house you cdog, andl bring me the key."
The other boy, to whom this order was addressed, did as he
was told, and was rewarded for his partisanship in behalf of his
master, by a dexterous rap on the nose with the key, which
brought the water into his eyes. Then -Mr. Quilp departed with
the child and [Kit in a boat, and the boy revenged himself by




78          THE  OLD  CURIIOSITY  SHOP.
dancing on his head at intervals on the extreme verge of the.
wharf, during the whole time they crossed the river.
There was only AIrs. Qujilp at lome, and she, little expectinu
the return of lher lord, was just composing herself for a refresh.
ing' slumber when the sound of his footsteps roused her.  ShE
had barely time to seem to be occupied in some needlework,
when he entered, accompanied by the child; having left Kii
down stairs.
"Here's Nelly Trent, dear lMrs. Quilp," said her husband,.
"A  glass of wine, my dear, and a biscuit, for she has had
a long walk.  She'll sit with you, my soul, while I write a
letter. 
MIrs. Quilp looked tremblingly in her spouse's face to know
what this unusual courtesy might portend, and obedient to the
summons she saw in his gesture, followed him into the next
room.
" ilind what I say to you," whispered Quilp.  "See if you
can get out of her any thing about her grandfather, or what
they do, or how they live, or what he tells her.  I've my reasons for knowing, if I can.  You women talk more freely to
one another than you do to us, and you have a soft, mild way
with you, that'll win upon her.  Do you hear?"
"Yes, Quilp.'"
Go, thenl.  What's the matter now?"
"Dear Quilp," faltered his wife, "I love the child-if you
could do without making me deceive her~ -"
The dwarf muttering a terrible oath, looked round as if for
some weapon with which to inflict condign punishment upon
his disobedient wife.  The submissive little woman hurriedly
entreated him not to be angry, and promised to do as he bade
her.
"Do you hear me," whispered Quilp, nipping and pinching
her arm; " worm yourself into her secrets; I know you can. I'm
listening, recollect.  If you're not sharp enough, I'll creak the
door, and wo betide you if I have to creak it much.  Go!'1
MIrs. Quilp departed according to order, and her amiable
husband, ensconcing himself behind the partly opened door, and
applying his ear close to it, began to listen with a face of great
craftiness and attention.




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOPo.                 79
_Proor Mrs. Quilp was thinking, however, in what manner to
begin or what kind of inquiries she could make; and it was
aot until the door, c-realking' ii a very urgent manner, warneG
her to proceed without further consideration, that the sound of
her voice was heatrd.
"How very often you have come backward and forward
lately to Mr. Quilp, my dear."
" I have said so to grandfather, a hundred times," returned
Nell innocently.
"And what has he said to that?'
"Only sighed, and dropped his head, and seemed so sad and
wretched that if you could have seen him I am sure you must
have cried; you could not have helped it more than I, I know,
H:Eow that door creaks 1"
" It often does," returned -Mrs. Quilp- with an uneasy glance
toward it.  "But your grandfather-he used not to be so
wretched?"
" Oh no 1" said the child eagerly, " so different I We were
once so happy and he so cheerful and contented I You. cannot
think what a sad change has fallen on us since."
I am very, very sorry, to hear you speak like this, my dear 1'
said MIrs. Quilp.  And she spoke the truth.
"' Thank you," returned the child, kissing her cheek, "you
are always kind to me, and it is a pleasure to talk to you. I
can speak to no one else about him, but poor Kit.  I am very
happy still, I ought to feel happier perhaps than I do, but you
cannot think how it grieves mue sometimes to see him alter so."
" He'll alter again, Nelly," said Mikrs. Quilp, " and be what he
was before.'"
" Oh if God would only let thl.at come about?" said the child
with streaming eyes; " but it is a long time now, since he first
began to-I thought I saw that door moving i"
"It's the wind," said Mrs. Quilp faintly.  "Began to-?"
"To be so tihoughtful and dejected, and to forget our old way
of spending the time in the long evenings," said the child.  " I
used to read to him by the fireside, and he sat listening, and
when I stopped and we began to talk, he told me about my
mother, and how she once looked and spoke just like me when
she was a little child.  Then he used to take me on his knee,




80          THTE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
and try to make me understand that she was not lying in her.
grave, but had flown to a beautiful country beyond the sky,
where nothing died or ever grew oldc-we were very happy
once f'7
" Nelly, iTellv!' —said the poor woman, " I can't bear to see
one as young as you, so sorrowful.  Pray don't cry.")
" I do so very seldom," said Nell,." but I have kept this to
myself a long time, and I am not quite well I think, for the
tears come into my eyes and I cannot keep them back.  I don't
mind telling you my grief, for I know you will not tell it to any
one again."
Mrs. Quilp turned away her head and made no answer.
" Then,"' said the child, " we often walked in the fields and
among the green trees, and when we came home at night, we
liked it better for being tired, and said what a happy place it
was.  And if it was dark and rather dull, we used to say, what
did it matter to us, for it only made us remember our last walk
with greater pleasure, and look forward to our next one.  But
now we never have these walks; and though it is the same
house it is darker and much more gloomy than it used to be,
indeed."
She paused here, but though the door creaked more than
once, OIrs. Quilp said nothing.
"Mind you don't suppose," said the child earnestly, "that
grandfather is less kind to me than he was.  I think he loves
me better every day, and is kinder and more affectionate than
he was the day before. You do not know how fond he is of
me!"
" I'm sure he loves you dearly," said Mrs. Quilp.
"' Indeed, indeed he does!"' cried Nell, " as dearly as I love
him. But I have not told you the greatest change of all, and
this you must never breathe again to any one.  He has no sleep
or rest, but that which he takes by day inl his easy chair; for
every night, and nearly all night long, he is away from home."
" Nelly I"
"' Hush I"s said the child, laying her finger on her lip and
looking round.  " When he comes home in the morning, which
is generally just before day, I let him in.  Last night he was
very late, and it was quite light. I saw that his face was deadly




THE  OLD  CURtOSITY  STHOP.                   81
ale, that his eyes were bloodshot, and that his legs trembled
s he walked.  When I had gone to bed again, I heard himn'roan.  I got up and ran back to him, and heard him  say,
efore he knew that I was there, that he could not bear his life
uneh longer, and if it was not for the child, would wish to die.
ghat shall I do! Oh! what-; shall I do 1"
The fountains of her heart were open;the child, overpowred by the weight of her sorrows and anxieties, by the first
onfidence she had ever shown, and the sympathy with Arwhich
er little tale had been received, hid her face in the arms of her
elpless friend, and burst into a passion of tears.
In a few moments Mr. Quilp returned, and expressed the
tmost surprise to find her in this condition, which he did very
aturally and with admirable effect, for that kind of acting had
een rendered fkmiliar to him by long practice, and he was
uite at horne in it.
" She's tired you see, Mrs. Quilp,"1 said the dwarf, squinting: a hideous nmanner to imply that his wife was to follow his
lad.  "It's a long way from her home to the wharf, and then
lie was alarmed to see a couple of young scoundrels figh-ticg,
nd was timorous on the water besides.  All this together has
een too much for her.  Poor Nell!"
IMr. Quilp unintentionally adopted the very best means he
oteld have devised for the recovery of his young visitor, by pating her on the head.  Such an application from  any other
and might not have produced a remarkable effect, but the
hild shrunk so quickly from his touch and felt such an instincive desire to get out of his reach, that she rose directly and
eclared herself ready to return.
"But you'd better wait, and dine with Mrs. Quilp and me,"
lid the dwarf.
"I have been away too long, sir, already," returned Nell,
rying her eyes.
"Well," said Mr. Quilp, "if you will go, you will, tNelly.
Tere's the note.  It's only to say that I shall see him. to-rnorDw or maybe next ciay, and that I couldn't do that little busiess for him this morning.  Good-by, Nelly.  Elere, you sir;
ike care of her, d'ye hear?"
Kit, who appeared at the summons, deigned to make no reply




82          TIE. OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
to so needless an injunction, and after staring at Quilp in t.
threatening manner as if he doubted whether he might not have
been the cause of Nelly shedding -tears, and felt moore ltlhan half
disposed to revenge the fact upon him on'the mere suspicion
turned about and followed his young mistress, who had by thii
time taken her leave of iMrs.,uilp and departed.
Youn're a keen questioner, an't you, I[Mrs. Quilp?'" said the
dwarf turning upon her as soon as they were left alone.
" Whlat more could I do?" returned his wife nildly.
"What more could you. do l" sneered Quilp, "couldn't yvo
have done something less? couldn't you have done what yoi
had to do without appearing in your favorite part of the croco
dile, you minx?"'
"I'm very sorry for the child, Quilp," said his wife. " Surel1
I've done enough. I've led her on to tell her secret when shE
supposed we were alone: and you were by, God forgive me.'
"You led her on! You did a great deal, truly!" said Quilp
"What did I tell you about making me creak the door?  It',
lucky for you that from what she let fall, I've got the clue I
want, for if I hadn't, I'd have visited the failure upon you, I
can tell you."
Mrs. Quilp being fully persuaded of this, made no reply
Her husband added with some exultation,
" But you may thank your fortunate stars —the same starn
that made you Mrs. Quilp —you may thank them that I'm upoi
the old gentleman's track and have got a new light.  So let m(
hear no more about this matter now or at any other time, am!
don't get any thing too nice for dinner, for I shan't be home t
it."
So saying, Mr. Quilp put his hat on and took himself off, an(
Mrs. Quilp, who was afflicted beyond measure by the recollee
tion of the part she had just acted, shut herself up in her chain
ber, and smothering her head in the bed-clothes, bemoaned he:
fault more bitterly than many less tender-hearted persons woukl
have mourned a much greater offense; for, in the majority ol
cases, conscience is an elastic and very flexible article, whiol
will bear a deal of stretching and adapt itself to a great varicet
of circumstances.  Some people by prudent management anti




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  83
leaving it off piece by piece like a flannel waistcoat in warm
weather, even contrive, in time, to dispense with it altogether,
but there be others who can -assume the garment and throw it
off at pleasure; and this being the greatest and most convey
nient improvement7 is the one most in vogue.




CHAPTERC THE fSET NETI.
"FRED, y  said Mi2r. Swiveller, "remember the once popular
melody of' Begone dull care;' fan the sinking flame of hilarity
with the wing of friendship; and pass the rosy wine."
NIr. Richard Swiveller's apartments were in the neigborhood
of Drury Lane, and in addition to this conveniency of situation
had the advantage of being over a tobacconist's shop, so that he
was enabled to procure a refreshing sneeze at any time by
merely stepping out upon the staircase, and was saved the
trouble and expense of maintaining a snuff-box.  It was in
these apartments that Mr. Swiveller made use of the expressions above recorded for the consolation and encouragement of
his desponding friend; and it may not be uninteresting or imnproper to remark that even these brief observations partook in
a double sense of the figurative and poetical character of MIr.
Swiveller's mind, as the rosy wine was in fact represented by
one glass of cold gin-and-water which was replenished as occasion required from a bottle and jug upon the table, and was
passed from one to another in a scarcity of tumblers which, as
Mir. Swiveller's was a bachelor's establishment, may be acknowledged without a blush.  By a like pleasant fiction his single
chamber was always mentioned in the plural number.  In its
disengaged times, the tobacconist had announced it in his window as "apartments 1" for a single gentleman, and lMr. Swiveller, following up the hint, never failed to speak of it as his
rooms, his lodgings, or his chambers, conveying to his hearers
a notion of indefinite space, and leaving their imaginations to
wander through long suites of lofty halls, at pleasure.
In this flight of fancy, Mr. Swiveller was assisted by a deceptive piece of furniture, in reality a bedstead, but in semblance a
bookcase, which occupied a prominent situlation in his chamber
and seemed to defy suspicion and challenge inquiry.  There is
no doubt that by day Mr. Swiveller firmly believed this secret
convenience to be a bookcase and nothing more, that he closed
(84)




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHI-OP.                    85
his eyes to the bed, resolutely denied the existence of the blankets, and spurned the bolster from  his thoughts.  No word of
its real use, no hint of its niglltly service, no allusion to its peculiar properlties, had ever passed between him and his imost intimate friends.   Implicit faith in the dclecep!ion iwas the first'article of his creed.  To be the friend  of Swiveller you must
reject all circumstantial evidence, all reason, observation, aand
experience, and repose a blind belief in the bookaee.  It was
his pet weaknless and le cherished it.
"  red I" said iir. Swiveller, finding that his former adjuration had been prodnctive of no effect.  "Pass the rosy."
Young  Trent with an impatient gesture pushed the glass
toward him, and fell again into the moody attitude from which
he had been unwillingly roused.
"I'll give you, Fred,"' said his friend, stirring the mixture, "a
little sentiment appropriate to the occasion.   Here's MIay
the.   "
" Pshaw!"' interposed the other.  "You worry me to death
with your chattering.  You can be merry under any circumstances. "
" Why, Mr. Trent," returned Dick, " there is a proverb which
talks about being merry and wise.  There are some people who
can be merry and can't be wise, and some who can be wise (or
think they can) and can't be merry.  I'm  one of the first sort.
If the proverb's a good'un, I suppose it's better to keep to half
of it than none; at all events, I'd rather be merry and not wise,
than like you, neither one nor t'other.'"
" Bah!" muttered his friend, peevishly.
"With all my heart," said  11Mr. Swiveller.  "In the polite
circles I believe this sort of thing isn't usually said *to a gentle-.
man in his own aplartlients, but never mind that.'Take yourself at home."  Adding to this retort an observation to the
effect that his frieind appeared to be rather " cranky"' in point
of temper, Richard Swiveller finished the rosy and applied
himself to the composition of another glassfull, in which, after
tastitng it with great relish, he proposed a toast to an imaginary
company.
" Gentlemen, I911 give you if you please Success to the ancient
family of the Swivellers, and good luck to Mr. lichard in par



THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
ticular-Mr. Richard, gentleman" said Dick with great emphasis,
" who spends all his money on his friends and is Bah'd! for his
pains.  Hear, hear 1"
"' Dick!" said the other, returning to his seat after having
paced the room twice or thrice, " will you talk seriously for
two minutes, if I show you a way to make your fortune with
very little trouble 1"
6Y You've shown me so many," returned Dick; " and nothing
has come of any one of'em but empty pockets-"
" You'll tell a different story of this one, before a very long
time is over," said his companion drawing his chair to the
table.  "You saw my sister Nell?"
"What about her?" returned Dick.
" She has a pretty face, has she not?"
"Why, certainly,'" replied Dick. "II must say for her that
there's not any very strong family likeness between her and
you. "
" Has she a pretty face?" repeated his friend impatiently.
"Yes," said Dick, "she has a pretty face, a very pretty face.
What of that.i'
"I'll tell you," returned his friend.  "It is very plain that the
old man and I will remain at daggers-drawn to the end of our
lives, and that I have nothing to expect from  him.  You see
that, I suppose?"
" A bat might see that, with the sun shining," said Dick.
"It's equally plain that the money which the old flint-rot
him-first taught me to expect that I should share with her at
his death, will all be hers, is it not?"
"I should say it was," replied Dick; " unless the way in
which I put the case to him, made an impression.  It may
have done so.  It was powerful, Fred.'1lere is a jolly old
grandfather' —that was strong, I thought-very friendly and
natural.  Did it strike you in that way?"
"It didn't strike him," returned the other, "so we needn't
discuss it.  Now look here.  Nell is nearly fourteen."
" Fine girl of her age, but small," observed Richard Swiveller
parenthetically.
" If I am to go on, be quiet for one minute," returned Trent,




THE  OLD  CUR IOSITY  SHOP.                  87
fretting at the very slight interest the other appeared lo take in
the conversation.  " Now, I'm coming to the point."
" That's right," said Dick.
The girl has strong affections, and brought up as she has been,
may, at her age, be easily influenced and persuaded.  If I take
her in hand, I will be bound, by a very little coaxing and threatenilng, to bend her to my will.  Not to beat about the bush
(for the advantages of the scheme would take a week to tell)
what's to prevent your marrying her?1"
Richard Swiveller, who had been looking over the rim of the
tumbler while his companion addressed the foregoing remarks to
him with great energy and earnestness of manner, no sooner
heard these words than he evinced the utmost consternation,
and with difficulty ejaculated the monosyllable,
"'What 1"
" I say, what's to prevent," repeated the other with a steadiness of manner the effect of which upon his companion he was
well assured by long experience, " what's to prevent your marrying her?"
" And she'nearly fourteen'!" cried Dick.
"'I don't mean marrying her now," returned the brother angrily; "asay in two years' time, in three, in four.  Does thq
old man look like a long liver?"
" He don't look like it,'" said Dick shaking his head, " but
these old people-there's no trusting'em, Fred.  There's an
aunt of mine down in Dorsetshire, that was going to die when
I was eight years old, and hasn't kept her word yet. They're
so aggravating, so unprincipled, so spiteftul —unless there's
apoplexy in the family, Fred, you can't calculate upon'em, and
even then they deceive you just as often as not."
"Look at the worst side of the question then," said Trent,
as steadily as before, and keeping his eyes upon his friend.
"Suppose he lives."
"To be sure," said Dick.  "There's the rub."'
"I say," resumed his friend, "suppose he lives, and I persuaded, or if the words sounds more feasible, forced, Nell to a
secret marriage with you, What do you think would come of
that?P'




THE  OLD  CuURIOSiTY  SHOP.
" A'family and an annual income of nothing to keep'em oln,9
said Richard Swiveller, after some reflection.
" I tell you," returned the other with an increased earnestness, which, whether it were real or assumed,  had the same effect
on his companion, " that he lives for her, that his whole energies
and thouglhts are bounld up in her, that he iwould no more disinherit her for an act of disobedience t!than he wot81ud take mie into
his fiavor again for any anet of obedieince or virtue thIat I conl.d
possibly be guilty of.  He could not do it.'You or any other
man with eyes in his head may see that, if he chooses."
"' It seems improbable, certainly," said Dick, musing.
" It seems improbable because it is improbable,"' his friend
returned.  " If you would furnish himl with an additional intucement to forgive you, let there be an irreconcilable breach,
a most deadly quarrel, between you and me —let there be a pretense of such a thiing, I mean, of course-and  e'll c do so fast
enough.  1As to Nell, constant dropping will wear away a stone 
vou know you may trust to me as far as she is concerned.  So,
whether he lives or dies, what does it come to?  That you become the sole inheritor of the wealth of this rich old hunks, that
you and I spend it together, and that you get into the bargain
a beautiful young wife."7
" I suppose there's no doubt about his being rich," said Dick~
"Doubt!  Did you hear what he let fall the other day when
we were there? Doubt I What will you doubt next, Dick?"
It would be tedious to pursue the conversation thiough al its
artful windings, or to develope the gradual approaches by which
the heart of Richard Swiveller was gained.  It is sfficient to
know that vanity, interest, poverty, and every spendthrift consideration urged him to look upon the proposal with favor, and
that where all other inducements were wannrting, the habitual
carelessness of his disposition stepped in and still weighed down
thie scale on the sanme side.  To these im;ul]ses miust be addled
the colmpl)ete ascencdney which his frice1-id  cad long been accustomIed tlo e        wxt rise o e  li.. —il  UiScendianiey exerted  in ithe
begiiomii-g sorely at th~e expenise of thle  ulfortlun-.'e Diclk's purse
and prospects, but still maintained without the slightest relaxation, notwithstanding that Dick suffered for all his friend's vices,
affd was in nine cases out of ten looked upon as his designing




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                     89
tempter when he was indeed nothing but his thoughtless, lightheaded tool.
The motives on the other side were something  deeper than
any which PRichard Swiveller entertained or understood, but
these being left to their own dlevelopment, require no present
elucidation.  The,ne)otiation was colnclided very pleansa.antly,
and aMr. Swiveller was in the act of statigo' ill floKwerv terms
that he had no insurmountable objection to mmarryilg anyblody
plentif'lly endowed  with mloney or movables, who could be induced to take him, when he was interrupted in his observations
by a knock at the door, and the consequent necessity of crying
"Come in."
The door was opened, but nothing came in except a soapy
arm and a strong gush of tobacco.  The gush of tobacco came
from  the shop down stairs, and the soapy arm  proceeded from
the body of a servant girl, who being then and there engaged
in cleaning the stairs had just drawn it out of a warin pail to
take in a letter, which letter she now held in her hand, proclaiming aloudl with that quick perception of sirnames peculiar to her
class that it was for MIister Snivelling.
Dick looked rather pale and foolish when he glanced at the
direction, and still more so when he came to look at the inside,
observing that this was one of the inconveniences of being a
lady's man, and that it was very easy to talk as they had beeD
talking, but he had quite forgotten hero
"  _er.  Who?" demanded Trent.
"Sophy Wackles,>" said Dicko.
"Who's she?"
" She's all my fancy painltec  her, sir, that's wbhat she is,
said Mr. Swiveller, taking a long pull at "the rosy" and lcookilng
gravely at his firiend.  " She is lovely, she's divine., Yon  know
her."
"I remember,"7 said his companion carelessly.  "'What of
her?"
"Wilhy, sir," returned Dick, "' between M/iss Sophi a  raeckles
and the lumlble individlual -who has now the honor to address
you, warm  and tender sentiments have been engendered, sentiments of the most honorable and inspiring kind.  The Goddess




90          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
Diana, sir, that calls aloud for the chase, is not more particular
in her behavior than Sophia Wackles; I calln tell you that."
"Am I to believe there's any thing real in what you say?"
demanded his friend; "you don't mean to say that any lovemakinlg has been going on?1'
"Love-making, yes.  Promising, no,"'7said Dick.  "T here
can be no action for breach, that's one comfort.  I've never
committedi  myself in writing, Fred."
" And what's in the letter, pray?,"
"A reminder, Fred, for to-night-a small party of twenty,
making two hundred light fantastic toes in all, supposing every
lady and gentleman to have the proper complement. I must go,
if it's only to begin breaking off the affair-I'll do it, don't you
be afraid. I should like to know whether she left this herself.
If she did, unconscious of any bar to her happiness, it's affecting,
Flred.'
To solve this question, Mr. Swiveller summoned the handmaid and ascertained that Miss Sophy Waclles had indeed left
the letter with her own hands; that she had come accompanied, for
decorum's sake no doubt, by a younger Miss  Tackles; and that
on learning that Mr. Swiveller was. at home and being requested
to walk up stairs, she was extremely shocked and professed that
she would rather die.  Mr. Swiveller heard this account with a
degree of admiration not altogether consistent with the project
in which he had just concurred, but his friend attached very
little importance to his behavior in this respect, probably because
he knew that he had influence sufficient to control Richard
Swiveller's proceedings in this or any other matter, whenever
he deemed it necessary, for the advancement of his own purposes,
to exert it.




CHAPTER THE EI GH T Ho
BUSINESS disposed of, Air. Swiveller was inwarrdly retminded
of its being nigh dinner-time, and to the intent that his health
might not be endcanered  by longer abstinence, dispatched a message to the nearest eating-house requiring an immediate supply
of boiled beef and greens for two.  Writh this demand, however,
the eating-house (having experience of its customer) declined
to comply, churlishly sending back for answer, that if Mr.
Swiveller stood in need of beef, perhaps he would be so obliging
as to come there and eat it, bringing with him, as grace before
meat, the amount of a certain small account which had been
long outstanding.  Not at all intimidated by this rebuff, but
rather sharpened in wits and appetite, Mir. Swiveller forwarded
the same message to another and more distant eating-house,
adding to it, by way of rider, that the gentleman was induced to
send so far, not only by the great fame and popularity its beef
had acquired, but in consequence of the extreme toughness of
the beef retailed at the obdurate cook's shop, which rendered
it quite unfit not merely for gentlemanly food, but for any human consumption.  The good effect of this politic course was
demonstrated by the speedy arrival of a small pewter pyramid,
curiously constructed of platters and covers, whereof the boiled
beef-plates formed the base, and a foaming quart-pot the apex; the
structure being resolved into its component parts, afforded all
things requisite and necessary for a hearty meal, to which Mr.
Swiveller and his friend applied themselves with great keenness
and enjoyment.
" May the present moment," said Dick, sticking his fork into
a large carbuncular potato, " be the worst of our lives! I like
this plan of sending'em with the peel on; there's a charm in
drawing a potato from its native element (if I may so express
it) to which the rich and powerful are strangers.  Ah I' ilan
wants but little here below, nor wants that little long 1' How
true that is!-after dinner."
(91)




92           THE  OLD  CURIOSITY   SHOP.
"I hope the eating-house keeper will want but little, and
that he may not want that little long,"7 returned his companion 
"but I suspect you've no means of paying for this!"7
"I shall be passing precently, and I'll call," said Dick, winking his eye significantly.  " The waiter's quite helipless.  The
goods are gone, Fred, and there's an ecnd of it."7
In point of fact, it would seem that the waiter felt this wholesome truth, for when he returned -for the empty plates and dislhes
and was informed by Mra Swiveller with dignified carelessness,
that he would call and settle when he should be passing presently, he displayed sonme perturbation of spirit, and muttered
a few remarks about " payment on delivery,"' and " no trust,"
and other'unpleasant subjects, but was fain to content himself
with inquirilng at what hour it was likely the gentleman would
call, in order that, being personally responsible for the beef,
greens, and sundries, lie might take care to be in the way at the
time.  MIJr. Swiveller, after mentally calculating his engagements to a nicety, replied that he should look in at from two
minutes before six to seven minutes past; and the man disappearing with this feeble consolation, Richard Swiveller took a
greasy memorandum-book from his pocket and made an entry
therein.
"Is that a reminder, in case you should forget to call?" said
Trent, with a sneer.
"sNot exactly, Fred," replied the imperturbable Richard,
continuing to write with a business-like air, " I enter in this
little book the names of the streets that I can't go down while
the shops are open.  This dinner to-day closes Long Acre.  I
bought a pair of boots in Great Queen-street last week, and
made that no thoroughfare too.  There's only one avenute to
the Strand left open now, and I shall have to stop up that too
nighlt with a pair of gloves.  The roads are closinii  so fast iln
every directiol, that in about a month's time, unless my aunt
sends me a remittan ce, I shall have to go three or four miles
out of town to get over the way.,"
"There is no1 fetLr of her failing, in the end?"' said Trent.
"WVhy, I hope not," returned Mr. Swiveller, " but the average number of letters it takes to soften her is six, and this time
we have got as far as eight without any effect at all.  I'll write




THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP.                         93
another to-morrow morning.  I mean to blot it a good deal,
and shake some water over it out of the pepper-castor, to mamk
it look penitent.'I'm in such a state of mind that I hardly
know what I write' —blot-' if you could see me at this nminute
shedding tears for my past misconciuct' —pepp er-castor~ —' my
hand trembles when I thinkil-blot again-if that don't produce
the effect, it's all over."
By this time, Mr. 1Swiveller had finish-ed his entry, and he now
replaced his pelneil in its little sheath and closed the book, in a
perfectly grave and serious frame  bf mind.  H-1is friend cliscovered that it was time for him to fulfill some other engagement,
andL Richard Swiveller was accordingly left alone, in comlpany
wit  the rosy wine and his own meditations touching  lMiss
Sophy Wackles.
" It's rather sudden," said Dick, shaking his head with a look
of infinite wisdom, and running on (as he was accustomed to do)
with scraps of verse as if they were only prose in a hurry;
" when the heart of a nian is depressed with fears, the mnist is
dispelled when Miss Wiackles appears; she's a very nice girl.
SlShe's like the red, red rose that's newly sprung in June-there's no
denying that —she's also like a melody that's slweetly played  in
tunne.  It's really very sudden.  Not that there's any need, on
account of Fred's little sister, to turn cool directly, but it's better not to go too far.  If I begin to cool at all I must begin at
once, I see that.  There's the chance of an action for breach,
that's one reason.  There's the chance of Sophy's getting
another husband, that's another.  There's the chance of —no,
there's no chance of that, but it's as well to be on the safe
side.:"
This undeveloped consideration was the possibility which
Richard Swiveller souoght to conceal even from himself, of his
riot being proof against the charms of Miss Wackles, and in
some unguarded moment, by linking his fortunes to hers forever, of putting it out of his own power to further the notable
scheme to whiclh lie  had so readily become a party.  For all
these reasons, he decided to pick a quarrel with Miss Wackles
witlhout delay, and casting about for a pretext determined in
favor of groundless jealousy.  Having made up his mind on this'important point, he circulated the glass (from his right hand to




94          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
his left, and back again) pretty freely, to enable him to act his
part with the greater discretion, and then, after making some
slight inmproveiments in'his toilet, beat his steps toward the spot
hallowed by the fair object of his meditations.
This spot was at Chelsea, for there M/liss Sophia Wackles
resided with her widowed mnother and two sisters, in conjunction
with whom she maintained a very small day-school for you.ng
ladies of proportionate dimensions; a circumstance which was
made known to the neighborhood by an oval board over the
front first-floor window, whereon appeared in circumambient
fourishes, the words "Ladies', Seminary;" and which was further published and proclaimed at intervals between the hours
of half-past nine and ten in the morning, by a straggling and
solitary young lady of tender years standing on the scraper on
the tip of her toes and making futile attempts to reach the
knocker with a spelling-book.  The several duties of instruction
in this establishment were thus dischargMd.  English grammar,
composition, geography, and the use of the dumb-bells, by Miss
Melissa Wackles; writing, arithmetic, dancing, music, and
general fascination, by Miss Sophy Wackles; the art of needlework, marking, and samplery, by Miss Jane Wackles; corporal
punishment, fasting, and other tortures and' terrors, by Mrs.
Waekles.  Mliss Melissa Wackles was the eldest daug'hter, Miss
Sophy the next, and AMiss Jane the youngest.  BIiss Melissa
might have seen five-and-thirty summers or thereabouts, and
verged  on the autumnal; Miiss Sophy was a fresh, goodhunmored, buxom  girl of twenty; and Miss Jane numbered
scarcely sixteen years.  AMrs. Wackles was an excellent but
rather venomous old lady of three-score.
To this Ladies' Seminary then, Richard Swiveller hied, with
designs obnoxious to the peace of the fair Sophia, who, arrayed
in virgin white, embellished by.no ornament but one blushing
rose, received him on his arrival, in the midst of very eleganlt
not to say brilliant preparations; such as the embellishment
of the room with the little flower-pots which always stood on
the window-sill outside save in windy weather when they blew
into the area, the choice attire of the day-scholars who were
allowed to grace the festival, the unwonted curls of MIiss Jane
Wackles who had kept her head during the whole of the pre



THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   95
ceding day screwed up tight in a yellow play-bill, and the
solemn gentility and stately learning of the old lady and her
eldest daughter, which struck Mr. Swiveller as being unlcommon,
but made no further impressio-n upon him.
The truth island as there is no accounting for tastes. even
a taste so strange as this may be recorded without being looked
upon as a willfulf and malicious invention-the truth is, that
neither Mirs. Wtacliles nor her eldest daughter had at any time
greatly favored the pretensions of Miro Swiveller, being' accustomed  to miake slight mention of him as " gay young manl,"'
and to sigh and shake their heads ominously whenever his nalme
was mentioned.  Mr. Swiveller's conduct in respect to M~iiss
Sophy having been of that vague and dilatory kind which is
usually looked upon as betokening no fixed matrimonial intentions, the young lady herself began in course of time to deem
it highly desirable that it should be brought to an issue one
way or other.  Hence she had at last consented to play off
against Richard Swiveller a stricken market-gardener known
to be ready with his offer on the smallest encouragement, and
hence-as this occasion had been specially assigned for the purpose-that great anxiety on her part for Richard Swiveller's
presence which had occasioned her to leave the note he has
been seen to receive.  "If he has any expectations at all or
any means of keeping a wife well," said iMrs. WTackles to her
eldest daughter, "he'll state'em to us now or never."-" If he
really cares about me," thought AMiss Sophy, "he must tell me
so, to-night."'
But all these sayings and doings and thinkings being unknown to Mr. Swiveller, affected him not in the least; he was
debating in his mind how he could best turn jealous, and wishing that Sophy were for that occasion only far less pretty than
she was, or that she were her own sister, which would have
served his turn as well, when the company came, and amolig
them the market-gardener, whose name was Cheggs.  But Mir.
Cheggs came not alone or unsupported, for he prudently
brought along With hlim his sister, MIiss Cheggs, who making
straight to Bliss Sophy, and taking her by both hands, and
kissing her on both cheeks, hoped in an audible whisper that
they had not come too early.




96          T fTHE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
"Too early, no!" replied Miss Sophy.
"' Oh my dear t" rejoined aTiss Cheggs in the same whisper
as before, "I've been so tormented, so worried, that it's a
mercy we were not here at fourl o'clock in the afternoon. Alick
lhas been in such7, a state of impatience to come! You'cld hardly
believe that he was dressed before dinner-time and has been
looking at the clock and teasing mue ever since.  It's all your
fault, you naugthty thing."
Hereupon Miss Sophy blushed, and AMr. Chegg's (who was
bashfiil before ladies) blushed too, and Atiss Sophy's mother
anCd sisters, to prevent Mr. Cheggs from blushing more, lavished
civilities and attentions upon him, and left Richard Swiveller
to take care of himself.  Here was the very thing he wanted,
here was good cause, reason and foundation for pretending to
be angry; but having this cause reason and foundation which
he had come expressly to seek, not expecting to find, Richard
Swiveller was angry in sound earnest, and wondered what the
devil Cheggs meant by his impudence.
However, Mr. Swiveller had Miss Sophy's hand for the first
quadrille (country-dances being low, were utterly proscribed)
and so gained an advantage over his rival, who sat despondingly
in a corner and conltemplated the glorious figure of the young
lady as she moved through the mazy dance.  Nor* was this the
only start Mr. Swiveller had of the market-gardener, for determining to show the family what quality of a man they trifled
with, and influenced perhaps by his late libations, he performed
such feats of agility and such spins and twirls as filled the
company with astonishmlent, and in particular caused a very
long gentleman, who was dancing with a very short scholar, to
stand quite transfixed by wonder and admiration.  Even Mfrs.
Wackles forgot for the moment to snub three small young ladies
who were inclined to be happy, and could not repress a risiong
thought that to have such a dancer as that in the family would
be a pride indeed.
A-t this momentons crisis, 5,liss Che:g's proved herself a vigorous and useful ally, for not confining herself to expressing by
scornful smiles, a contempt for Mr. Swiveller's accomplishments,
she took every opportunity of whispering into Miss Sophy's ear
expressions of condolence and sympathy on her being worried by




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~~~~~~~~~~...~i W~gL~i~ CASI~  ~k $Ei~ATIO   ~T MRS  WA








.THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                     97
suce a ridicnlous creature, declaring that she was frightened to
death lest Alick should fall upon, and beat him, in th.e fullness
of his wratlh, and enmttretin  Miliss Sophy to  observe how the
eyes of the said Alick gleamed with love and fury; passions, it
may be observed, which being too much for his eyes rushed into
his nose also, and suffi'lsed it with a crimson glowo
"Yoeu must dance with iliss Clheggs," said Miss Sophy to
Dick Swiveller, after she had herself danced twice  with AL.v
Cnegogs, and made great show of encourlaing  h!is advances.' She's such a nice g'irl-and her brother's quite delightful. "
" Quite delightful, is he?"' muttered Dick. " Quite delightfal
too, I should say, from the manner in which he is looking.this way."'
Here Miss Jane (previously instructed for the purpose) interposed her many curls, and whispered her sister to observe how
jealous 3Mr. Cheggs was.
" Jealous I  Like his impudence!" said iEichard Swiveller.
" His impudence, Mr. Swiveller 1" said AMiss Jane, tossing her
head. " Take care he don't hear you, sir, or you may be sorry for
it."
t' Oh prayt  Jwn.e-" said Miss Sopbhy.
"Nonsense!" replied her sister. "Whliy shouldln't Mitr. Cheggs
be jealous if he likes? I like that,' certainly.  IMr. Cheggs has as
good a right to be jealous as any body else has, and pelrhaps lihe
mnay have a better right soon, if he hasn't already.  You know
best about that, Sophy!"
Though this was a concerted plot between Miss Sophy and
her sister, originating in humane intentions and having for its
object the inducilng Mir. Swiveller to declare himself in time,
it failed in its effect; for Miss Jane, being one of those young
ladies who are prematurely shrill and shrewish, gave such undue
importanee to her part that AMr. Swiveller retired in a dudgeon,
resigning his Alistress to 3iMr. Cheggs and conveying a defiance
into his lool-ks wh1ich that gentle.lnan indlignlantly returned.
"Did you speak to me, sir?" said Ar. Clheggs, folloMwin,   g
hin into a corner.  ";Iave the kitldness to sile, ilr, in order
that we may not be suspected.  Did you speak, sir?r
Mr. Swiveller looked with a supercilious smile at AlMr. Cheggs's
toes, then raised his eyes from  them to his auncle, from that to
bis shin, from that to hLs knee, and so on very gradually, keep..d




98         2T11E  OLD  CURTlOSITY  SHOP.
ing up his right leg, until he reached his waistcoat, when Ien
raised his eyes from button to button until he reached his chin,
and traveling straight up the middle of his nose, canme at last to
his eyes,: wheil he said ab-ruptly,
"N<'No, sir, I didn't."J
"Hem!" said Mr. Cheggs, glancing over his shoulder, )"have
the goodness to smile again, sir. Perhaps you wished to speak
to me, sir.'
N' BTo, sir, i didn't do that either."
"Perhaps you may have nothing to say to me wnot, skr," said
~Mr. Cheggs fiercely.
At these words Richard Swiveller withdrew his eyes from  ir.
Cheggs's face and traveling down the middle of his nose, and
down his waistcoat, and dclown his right leg, reached his toes
again, and carefully surveyed them; this done, he crossed over,
and coming up the other leg' and thence approaching by the
waistcoat as before, said when he had got to his eyes, "No, sir,
I haven't.'
"Oh, indeed, sir I" said Mr. Cheggs. " I am glad to hear itQ
You know where I am to be found, I suppose, sir, in case you
should hav-e any thing to say to me?92
" I can easily inquire, sir, when I want to knowo."
"There is nothing more we need say, I believe, sir?1"
"'Nothing more, sir. "-With that they closed the tremen
dous dialogue by frowning mutually.  Mr. Cheggs hastened
to tender his hand to Mliss $ophy, and Mr. Swiveller sat himself down in a corner in a very moody state.
Hard by this corner,  frs. Wackles and MIiss Waekles were
seated, looking on at the dance; and unto Mrs. and MJiss
Wackles, Miss Cheggs occasionally darted when her partner was
occupied with his share of the figure, and made some remark or
other, which was gall and wormwood to Riichard Swiveller's
soul.  Looking into the eyes of Mrs. and Miss Wackles for encouragment, and sitting very upright and uncomfortable on a
couple of hard stools were two of the day-scholars; and when:Miss Wackles smiled and Mrs. Wackles snailed, the two little
girls on the stools sought to curry favor by smiliing likewise, in
gracious acknowledgment of which attention  the old lady
frowned them down instantly, and said that if they dared to be




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  99
guilty of such an impertinence again, they should be sent under
convoy to their respective homes.  This threat caused one of
the young ladies, she being of a weak and trembling temperament, to shed tears, and for this offense they were both filed off
minmediately, with a dreadful promptitude that struck terror
into the souls of all the pupils.
" I've got such news for you," said Miss Cheggs approaching
once more, "Alick has been saying such things to Sophy.
TJpon my word, you know it's quite serious and in earnest, that's
clear. "
" What's he been saying, my dear?" demanded Mrs. Wackles.
"All manner of things," replied Miss Cheggs, "you can't
think how out he has been speaking 172
Richard Swiveller considered it advisable to hear no more,
but taking advantage of a pause in the dancing, anid the approach of Mr. Cheggs to pay his court to the old lady, swaggered with an extremely careful assumption of extreme carelessness toward the door, passing on the way Miss Jane Wackles,
who in all the glory of her curls was holding a flirtation (as
good practice when no better was to be had) with a feeble old
gentleman who lodged in the parlor.  Near the door sat Miss
Sophy, still fluttered and confused by the attentions of Mr.
Cheggs, and by her side Richard Swiveller lingered for a moment to exchange a few parting words.
" My boat is on the shore and my bark is on the sea, but before I pass this doo I pass this door I will say farewell to thee," murmured
]Dick, looking gloomily upon her.
"Are you going?" said Miss Sophy, whose heart sunk within
her at the result of her stratagem, but who affected a light indifference notwithstanding.
"Am I going I" echoed Dick bitterly.  "Yes, I am. What
then?"
" Nothing, except that it's very early," said Miss Sophy; "but
you are your own master, of course. "
"I would that I had been my own mistress too," said Dick,
"' before I had ever entertained a thought of you. Miss Wackles,
I believed you true, and I was blest in so believing, but now I
mourn that e'er I knew, a girl so fair yet so deceiving."
Miss Sophy bit her lip and affected to look with great in



100         THE  OLD  CURIPOSITY  SHOP.
terest after {Mr. Cheggs, who was quaffing lemonade in the dis$
tance.
"I caine here," said Dick, rather oblivious of the purpose
with which he had really come, " with my bosom expanded, my
heart dilated, and my sentiments of a correspondindg description.
I go away witlh feelings that may be conceived but cannot be
described, feelilng within myself the desolating- truth that my
best affections lhave experienced this night a stifler!"': I am sure I don't know  what you mean, Mr. Swiveller,"
said Miss Sophy with downcast eyes.  "I'm  very sorry if "-1
" Sorry, Ma'am!" said Dick, " sorry in the possession of a
Cheggs I But I wish you a very good-night, concluding with
this slight remark, that therei is a young lady growing up at
this present moment for me, who has not only great personal
attractions but great wealth, and who has requested her next
of kin to propose for my hand, which, having a regard for some
members of her family, I have consented to promise.  It's a
gratifying- circumstance which you'll be glad to hear, that a
young and lovely girl is growing into a woman expressly on
my account, and is now saving up for me.  I thought I'd mention it.  I have now merely to apologize for trespassing so
long upon your attention.  Good-night."'
"There's one good thing springs out of all this," said iRichard
Swiveller to himself when he had reached home and was hanging
over the candle with the extinguisher in his hand, " which is,
that I now go heart and soul, neck and heels with Fred in all
his scheme about little Nelly, and right glad he'll be to find me
so strong upon it.  He shall know all about that to-morrow,
and in the mean time, as it's rather late, I'11 try and get a wink
or two of the balmy."
" The balmy" came almost as soon as it was courted.  In a
very few minutes Mr. Swiveller was fast asleep, dreaming that
he had married Nelly Trent and come into the property, and
that his first act of power was to lay waste the market-garden
of 3IMr. Cheg'gs and turn it into a briclk-field.




CHAPTER THE NINTH.
TiE  child, in her confidence with Mrs. Quilp, had but feebly
described the sadness and sorrow of her thoughts, or the heaviness of the cloud which overhung her home, and cast dark
shadows on its hearth.  Besides that it was very difficult to
impart to any person not intimately acquainted with the life she
led, an adequate sense of its gloom and loneliness, a constant
fear of in some way committing or injuring the old man to whom
she was so tenderly attached, had restrained her even in the
midst of her heart's overflowing, and made her timid of allusion
to the main cause of her anxiety and distress.
For, it was not the monotonous days unchequered by variety
and uncheered by pleasant companionship, it was not the dark
dreary evenings or the long solitary nights, it was not the absence of every slight and easy pleasure for which young hearts
beat high, or the knowing nothing of childhood but its weakness
and its easily woullded spirit, that had wrulng such tears fi'om
Nell. To see the old man struck down beneath the pressure of
some hidden grief, to mark his wavering and unsettled state, to
be agitated at times with a dreadful fear that his mind was
wandering, and to trace in nlis words and looks the dawning of
despondent madness; to watch and wait and listen for confirmiation of these things clay after day, and to feel and know that,
come what might, they were alone in the world with no one to
help or advise or care about them-these were causes of depression and anxiety that might have sat heavily on an older
breast with many influences at work to cheer and gladdclen it,
but how heavily on the mild of a young child to wrlhom they
were ever present, and who was constantly surrounded by all
that could keep such thoughts in restless action I
And yet, to the old man's vision, Nell was still the same.
rthenl he could for a moment diseng'age his minid from the phantom that haunted and broodcle  on it -always, there wNas his youlg
companion with the sam-e smile for him, the same earnest words,
(101)




102         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
the same merry laugh, the same love and care that sinking deep
into his soul seemed to have been present to him through his
whole life.  And so he went on, content to read the book of
her heart from the page first presented to him, little dreaming
of the story that lay hidden in its other leaves, and murmuring
within himself that at least the child wlas happy.
She had been once.  She had gone singing through the dim
rooms, and moving with gay and lightsome step among their
dusty treasures, making them older by her young life, and sterner
and more grim by her gay and cheerful presence.  But now the
chambers were cold and gloomy, and when she left her own
little room to while away the tedious hours, and sat in one of
them, she was still and motionless as their inanimate occupants,
and had no heart to startle the echoes-hoarse from their long
silence-with her voice.
In one of these rooms was a window looking into the street,
where the child sat, many and many a long evening, and often
far into the night, alone and thoughtful.  None are so anxious
as those who watch and wait, and at these times, mournful
fancies came flocking on her mind, in crowds.
She would take her station here at dusk, and watch the people
as they passed up and down the street, or appeared at the windows of the opposite houses, wondering whether those rooms
were as lonesome as that in which she sat, and whether those
people felt it company to see her sitting there, as she did only
to see them  look out and draw in their heads again.  There
was a crooked stack of chimneys on one of the roofs, in which
by often looking at them she had fancied ugly faces that were
frowning over at her and trying to peer into the room, and she
felt glad when it grew too dark to make them out, though she
was sorry too, when the man came to light the lamps in the
street, for It made it late, and very dull inside. Then she would
draw in her head to look round the room  and see that every
thing was in its place and hadn't moved; and looking out into
the street again, would perhaps see a man passing with a coffin
on his back, and two or three others silently following him to a
house where somebody lay dead, which made her shudder and
think of such things until they suggested afresh the old man's
altered face and manner, and a new train of fears and specula



T I E  OLD  CU  IOSITY  SHOP.                I08
Lions.  If he were to die-if sudden illness had happened to
him, and he were never to conme whome again, alive-if, one nigllht,
le should come home, and kiss and bless her as usual, and after
she had gone to bed and had fallen asleep and was perhaps
dreaming pleasantly, and smiling in her sleep, he should kill
himself and his blood come creeping, creeping, on the ground
to her own bed-room  door-These thoughts were too terrible
to dwell upon, and again she would have recourse to the street,
now trodden by fewer feet and darker and more silent than before.  The shops were closing fast, and lighbts began to shine
from the upper windows, as the neighbors went to bed.  By
degrees these dwindled away and disappeared, or were replaced
here and there by a feeble rush-candle which was to burn all
night.  Still thlere was one late shop at no great distance whichl
sent forth a ruddy glare upon the pavement even yet, and looked
bright and companionable.  But iln a little til-e this closed, the
light was extinguished, and all was gloomy and quiet, except
when some stray footstep sounded on the pavement, or a neighbor, out later than his wont, knocked lustily at his house-door
to rouse the sleeping inilates.
When the niglht had worn away thus far (and seldom  now
until it had) the child would close the window, and steal softly
down stairs, thinking  as she went that if one of those hideous
faces below, which often mingled with her dreams, were to meet
her by the way, rendering itself visible by some strange light
of its own, how terrified she would be.  But these fears' vanished before a well-trimmed lamp and the familiar aspect of
her own room.  After praying fervently and with many bursting tears for the old man, and the restoration of his peace of
mind and the happiness they hvad once enljoyed, she would lay
her head upon the pillow and sob herself to sleep, often starting up again, before the daylight came, to listen for the bell,
and respond to the imiaginary summinons which had roused her
from her slumber.
One night, the third after TNely's interview with lMrs. Quilp,
the old man, who had been weak and ill all day, said he should
not leave home.  The child's eyes sparkled at the intelligence,
but her joy subsided when they reverted to his worn and sickly
f"ce.




104         TIHE  OLD  CU:IO 8ITY  SHOP.t
" Two days," he said; "two whole, clear days have passed,
and there is no reply.  What did he tell thee, 2Nell?"
"Exactly what I told you, dear grandfather, indeed."
"True," said the old man, faintly.   "Yes.  But tell me
again, Nell.  Aly head fails me.  What was it that he told
thee?  Nothing more than that he would see me to-morrow or
next day?  That was in the note.'"
" Nothing more," said the child.  " Shall I go to him again
to-morrow, clear grandfather?  Very early?  I will be there
and back before breakfast."
The old man shook his head, and sighing mournfully, drew
her toward hinm.
"'Twould be of no use, my dear, no earthly use.  But if he
deserts me, Nell, at this moment-if he deserts me now, when
I should, with his assistance, be recompensed for all the tinle
and money I have lost, and all the agony of mind I have undergone, which makes me what yon see, I amn ruiued, andworse-far worse than that —have ruined thee, for whom I ventured all.  If we are beggars-!"1
" That if we are," said the child boldly.  "L'et us be beggars, and be happy."
" Beggars-and happy I" said the old man.  "Poor child i"l
"Dear grandfather," cried the girl with an energy which
shone in her flushed face, trembling voice, and impassioned gesture, " I amn not a child in that, I think, but even if I am, oh
hear me pray that we may beg, or work in open roads or fields,
to earn a scanty living, rather than live as we do now."
" Nelly 1" said the old man.
"Yes, yes, rather than live as we do now," the child repeated,
more earnestly than before.  " If you are sorrowful, let lme know
why and be sorrowful too; if you waste away and are paler and
weaker every day, let me be your nurse and try to comfort you.
If you are poor, let us be poor together, but let me be with
you, do let me be with you, do not let me see such change and
not know why, or I shall break my heart and die.  Dear grandfather, let us leave this sad place to-morrow, and beg our way
from door to door."
The old man covered his frace with his hanrds, and hid it in
ite pillow of the couch on which ihe lay.




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  8IHO0P.                 105
"Let us be beggars," sa.id the child passing an arm round
his neck, "I have no fear but we shall have enough, I am sure
we shall.  Let us walk through country places, and sleep in
fields and under trees, and never think of money again, or any
thing that can make you sad, but rest at nights and have the
sun and wind upon our faces in the clday, and thank God together.  Let us never set foot in dark rooms or melancholy houses
any more, but wander up and down wherever we like to go, and
when you are tired, you shall stop to rest in the pleasantest
place that we can find, and I will go and beg for both."'
The child's voice was lost in sobs as she dropped upon the
old man's neck; nor did she weep alone.
These were not words for other ears, nor was it a scene for
other eyes.  And yet other ears and eyes were there and greedily
taking in' all that passed, and moreover, they were the ears and
eyes of no less a personage than Mr. IDaniel Quilp, who, havingl
entered unseen when the child first placed herself at the old
man's side, refrained —actuated, no doubt, by motives of the
purest delicacy-from interrupting the conversation, and stood
looking on with his accustomed grin.  Standing, however, being
a tiresome attitude to a gentleman already fatigued with walking, and the dwarf being one of that. kind of persons who
usually make themselves at home, he soon cast his eyes upon. a
chair, into which he skipped with uncommon agility, and perching himself on the back with his feet upon the seat, was thus
enabled to look on and listen with greater comfort to himself,
besides gratifying at the same time that taste for doing something fantastic and monkey-like, which on all occasions, had
strong possession of him.  Here, then, he sat, one leg cocked
carelessly over the other, his chin resting on the palm  of his
band, his head turned a little on one side, and his ugly features
twisted into a complacent grimace.  And in this position, the
old man, happening in course of time to look that way, at
length chanced to see him, to his unbounded astonishment.
The child uttered a suppressed  shriek on beholding this
agreeable figure; in their first surprise both she and the old
man, not knowing  what to say, and -half doubtinlg its reality,
looked shrinkiingly at it.  Not at all disconcerted by this reception, Daniel Quilp preserved the samle.attitude, merely nodding




106         TIE  OLD  CURIIOSITY  SHIOP.
twice or thrice with great condescension.  At length the old
man pronounced his ntname, and inquired how he came tlere.
" Through the door," said Quilp pointing over his shoulder
with his thumb.  " I'm not quite small enough to get through
key-holes.  I wish I was.  I want to have some talk with you,
particularly, and in private-with nobody present, neighbor.
Good-by, little Nelly."
Nell looked at the old man, who nodded to her to retire, and
kissed her cheek.
" Ah I" said the dwarf, smacking his lips, " what a nice kiss
that was-just upon the rosy part.  AW0hat a capital kiss 1"
_Nell was none the slower in going away for this remark.
Quilp looked after her with an admiring leer, and when she had
closed the door, fell to complimenting the old man upon  her
charms.
" Suh a fresh, blooming, modest little bud, neiglhbor,"' said
Quilp, nursing his short leg, and making his eyes twinkle very
much; " such a chubby, rosy, cosy, little Nell!"
The old man answered by a forced smile, and was plainly
struggling with a feeling of the keenest and most exquisite
im patience.  It was not lost upon Quilp, who delighted in torturing him, or indeed any body else when he could.
" She's so," said Quilp, speaking very slowly, and feigning to
be quite absorbecl in the subject, " so small, so compact, so
beautifully modelled, so fair, with such blue veins and such a
transparent skin, and such little feet, and such winning ways —
but bless me, you're nervous.  Why neighbor, what's the matter?  I swear to you," continued the dwarf dismounting from
the chair and sitting cown in it, with a careful slowness of gesture very different from the rapidity with which he had sprung
utp unheard, "I swear to you that I had no idea old blood ran
so fast or kept so warm. I thought it was sluggish in its course,
and cool, quite cool.  I am pretty sure it ought to be.  Yours
must be out of order, neiglhbor."
"I believe it is," groaned the old man, clasping his head with
both hands.' There's burning fever here, and somlething now
and then to which I fear to give a name."
The dwarf said never a word, but watched his companion as
he paced restlessly up. and down the room, and presently re



THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOtP                   107
turned to his seat.  I-Iere he remained with his head bowed
upon his breast for some time, and then suddenly raising lt,
said,
" Once, and once for all, have you brought me any money?"7
" No I" returned Quilp.
" Then," said the old man, clenching his hands desperately,
and lookingD upward, "the child and I are lost I"
" Neighbor,'" said Quilp glancing sternly at him, and beatingo
his hand twice or thrice upon the table to attract his wandering
attention, "let me be plain with you, and play a fairer game
than when you held all the cards, and I saw but the backs and
nothing more.  You have no secret from me now."
The old man looked up, tremblingg.
"You are surprised," said Qnuilp.  "Well, perhaps that's
natural.  You have no secret from me now, I say; no, not one.
For now I know that all those sums of money, that all those
loans, advances, and supplies that you have had friom me, have
found their way to-shall I say the word?"
" Aye!"' replied the old man, " say it, if you will.1"
"To the gaming-table,"' rejoined Quilp, " your nightly haunt.
This was the precious scheme to make your fortune, was ito
this was the secret certain source of wealth in which I was to
have sunk my money (if I had been the fool you took me for);
this was your inexhaustible mrine of gold, your El Dorado, eh?"'
"'Yes,7  cried the old man, turning upon him with gleaming
eyes, " it was. It is. It will be till I die."7
" That I should have been blinded," said Quill)p looking contemptously at him, "by a mere shallow gambler!1"
"I am no gambler," cried the old man fiercely.  "I call
HIeaven to witness that I never played for gain of mine, or love
of play; that at every piece I staked, I whispered to myself
that orphan's name and called on Heaven to bless the venture,
which it never did.  Whom did it prosper?  Who were those
with whom I played?  Nten who lived by plunder, profligacy,
and riot, squandering their gold in doing ill and proplagating
vice and evil.  _y wininings would  have been from them, my
winnings would have been bestowed to the last fartlhing on a
young sinless child whose life they would have sweetenledl anI1
macle happy.  What would they have contracted?  The means




108         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHTOP.
of corruption, wretchedness, and misery.  Who would not have
hoped in such a cause-tell me that; now who would not have
hoped as I did?"
"When did you first begin this mad career?'" asked Quilp,
lis tauntitng  inclination subdued for a moment by the old man's
grief and wildness.
" When did I first begin?" he rejoined, passing his hand
across his brow.  " When was it, that I first began?  When
should it be but when I began to think how little I had saved,
how long a time it took to save at all, how short a time I might
have at my age to live, and hobw she would be left to the rough
mercies of the world, with barely enough to keep her friom  the
sorrows that wait on poverty; then it was that I began to thilnk
about it."
"After you first came to me to get your precious grandson
packed off to sea?" said Quilp.
"Shortly after that," replied the old man.  " I thought of it
a long time, and had it in my sleep for months.  Then I began.
I found no pleasure in it, I expected none.  What has it ever
brought to me but anxious days and sleepless nights, but loss of
health and peace of mind, and gain of feebleness and sorrow 1"
i"You lost what money you had laid by, first, and then came
to me.  While I thought you were makiing your fortune (as you
said you were) you were making yourself a beggar, eh?  Dear
me i  And so it comes to pass that I hold every security you
could scrape together, and a bill of sale upon the —upon the
stock and property," said Quilp standing up and loolking about
him, as if to assure himself that none of it had been taken away.
"But did you never wil?"
"Never!" groaned the old man.  "Never won back my
loss "
"I thought," sneered the dclwarf, " that if a man played long
enough he was sure to win at last, or at the worst not to comie
off a loser."
" And so he is," cried the old man, suddenly rousing himself
from his state of despondency, aiid lashed inlto the most Violent
excitement,  " so he is; I have felt that from  the first, I have
always kunown it. I've seen it. I never felt it half so strongly as
I feel it now.  Qtuilp, I have dreamed three nights of winiing




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   109
tthe same large sum, I never could dream that dream before,
though I have often'tried.  Do not desert me now I have this
clhance.  I have no resource but you, give me some hell), let me
try this one last hope."'
Tlie dwarf shrilugoec his shoulders and shook his head.
" See Quilp, goodc teldelel-hlearted (uilp," said the old nrlen,
drawing some scraps of paper from his p1ocket with a tremblllnlg'
hand, and claspinll  the dlwarf's arm, " only see here~   Look,et
hese figures, the result of long calculation, and painful and
hard experience.  I mzts't win, I only want a little help once
more, a few pounds, but two score pounds, dear Quilp."
"The last advance was seventy," said the dwarf; "and it
went in one night."
" I know it did," answered the old man, " but that was the
very worst fortune of all, and the time had not come then.
Qgnilp, consider, consider," the old man cried, trembling so
much the while that the papers in his hand fluttered as if they
were shaken by the wind, " that orphan child.  If I were alone,
I could die with gladness perhaps even anticipate that doom
which is dealt out so unequally, coming as it does on the proud
and happy in their strength, and shunning the needy and
afflicted and all who court it in their despair-but what I have
done, has been for her.  Help me for her sake, I imuplore younot for mine, for hers!"
"I'm sorry I've got an appointment in the city,' said Quilp
looking at his watch with perfect self-possession, " or I should
have been very glad to have spent half an hour with you while
you composed yourself —very glad."
" Nay, Quilp, good Quilp," gasped the old man, catching at
his skirts-" you and I have talked together more than once of
her poor mother's story.  The fear of her coming to poverty
has perhaps been bred in me by that.  Do not be hard upon
me, but take that into account.  You are a great gainer by me.
Oh spare me the money for this one last hope 1"
" I couldn't do it, really," said (Quilp with unusual politeness,
"though I tell you what-and this is a circumstance worl;hll
bearing in mind as showing how the sharpest among us may be
taken in sometimes-I was so deceived by the penurious way
in which you lived, alone with Nelly —"




110         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
"All clone to save money for tempting fortune, and makle her
triumph greater," cried the old man.
" Yes, yes, I understand that now,'" said Quilp; " but I was
going to say, I was so deceived by that, your miserly way, she
reputation you1 had 1c   n.og those who kinew yoU of being rich,
and your repeated assurances that you would make of iny
advances treble and quadruple the interest you paid mle, that
I'd have advanced you even now what you want, on your simnple
note of hand, though I had been led to suspect something
wrong, if I hadn't unexpectedly become acquainted with your
secret way of life."
" Who is it," retorted the old man clesperately, "that notwithstanding all my caution, told you that?  Come.  Let me
know the name —the person."
The crafty dwarf, bethinking himself that his giving up the
child would lead to the disclosure of the artifice he had employed, which as nothing was to be gained by it, it was as well to
conceal, stopped short in his answer and said, " Now, who do
you think?"
" It was Kit, it must have been the boy; he played the spy
and you tampered with him?" said the old man.
"' [How came you to think of him?" said the dwarf in a tone of
great commiseration.  " Yes, it was Kit.  Poor Kit 1"
So saying, he nodded in a friendly manner, and took his leave,
stopping when lie had passed the outer door a little distance,
and grinning with extraordinnry delight.
"Poor Kit!" muttered Quilp.  "I think it was Kit who said
I was an uglier dwarf than could be seen anywhere for a penny,
wasn't it.  Ha ha ha! Poor Kit!"
And with that he went his way, still chuckling as he went.




C I- A P   i    T I E   TEN  1.
DANIEL QTJILP neither entered nor left the old manls house,
unobserved.  In the shadow  of an archway nearly opposite,
leading to one of the many passages which diverged from the
main street, there lingered one who having taken up his position when the twilight first came on, still maintained it with
undiminished patience, and leaning against the wall with the
manner of one who had a long time to wait, and being well
used to it, was quite resigned, scarcely changed his attitude for
the hour together.
This patient lounger attracted little attention from  any of
those who passed, and bestowed as little upon them.  His eyes
were constantly directed toward one ohject, the window at which
the child was accustomed to sit.  If lie withdrew them for a
moment, it was only to glance at a clock in some neighboring
shop, and then to strain his sight once more in the old quarter
with increased earnestness and attention.
It has been remarked that this personage evinced no weariness in his place of concealment; nor did he, long as his waiting
was.  But as the time went on, he manifested some anxiety and.
surprise, glancing at the clock more frequently and at the window less hopefully than before. At length the clock was hidden
from his sight by some envious shutters, then the church steeples
proclaimed eleven at night, then the quarter past, and then the
conviction seemed to obtrude itself upon his mind that it was of
no use tarrying there any longer.
That the conviction was an unwelcome one, and that he was
by no means willing to yield to it, was apparent from his reluctance to quit the spot; from the tardy steps with which he
often left it, still looking over his shoulder at the same window;
and froln the precipitation with which lie as often returned,
when a fancied noise or the changing and imperfect light induced
him to suppose it had been softly raised.  At length he gave
the matter up as hopeless for that night, and suddenly breaking
(111)




112         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
into a run as though to force himself away, scampered off at his
utmost speed, nor ornce ventured to look behind him lest he
should be tempted back again.
WNVithout relaxing his pa.ce or stoppinug to take breath, this
mysterious individual d ashed  on throug-   a great many alleys
and narrow ways until he at lengthil arrived in a square paved
court, whlen' he subsided into a walk, and makinlg for a small
house from the  rindow of which a lichlt was shinilog, lifted tl-e
latch of the door alnd passed in.
"Bless us i" cried a woman turning sharply round, " who's
that? oh  it's you, Kit!"
"Yes, mother, it's me.'"
"Why, how tired you look, my dear!"
" Old master an't gone out to-night," saidcl  it; " and so she
hasn't been at the window at all."  With which words, he sat
down by the fire and looked very mournful and discontented.
The room in which Kit sat himself down in this condition
was an extremely poor and homely place, but with that air of
comfort about it, nevertheless, which-or the spot must be a
wretched one indleed-cleanlilness and order can always impart
in some degree.  Late as the Dutch clock showed it to be, the
poor woman was still hard at work at an ironing table; a youtng
child lay sleeping in a cradle near the fire; and another, a
sturdy boy of two or three years old, very wide awake, with a very
tight niglht-cap on his head, and a night-gown very mulch too small
for him on his body, was sitting bolt upright in a clothes-basket staring over the rim with his great round eyes, ald lookini
as if he had thoroughly made up his mind never to go to sleep
any more; which as he had already declined to take his natural rest and had been brought out of bed in consequence, opened
a cheerful prospect for his relations and friends.  It was ratler
a queer looking family; Kit his mother and the children, being
all strongly alike.
Kit was disposed to be out of temper, as the best of us are
too oftenr-but he looked at the youngest child who was sleeping soundly, and from him to his other brother in the clothesbasket, and from him to their mother, who had been at work
without complaint since morning, and thought it would be a
better and kinder thing to be good-humored.  So he rocked




— >  b  B 2  =   A=-=E                         -—; w_..r-4~ —
MRS~. NUBL —      AMLY   IRLE








THE' OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   113,he cradle with his foot, made a face at the rebel in the clothesbasket, which put him in high good-humor directly, and stoutly
determined to be talkative and make himself agreeable.
" Ah mother!" said Kit, taking out his clasp-knife and falling upon a great piece of bread and meat which she had had
ready for hir  houors before, " what a one you are 1 There an't
many such as you, I know. "
" I hope there are many a great deal better, Kit," said Mrs.
Nubbles; " and that there are, or ought to be, accordin' to what
&he parson at chapel says."
"Much he knows about it,"9 returned Kit contemptuously.
"Wait till he's a widder and works like you do, and gets as
little, and does as much, and keeps his spirits up the same, and
then I'll ask him what's o'clock and trust him for being right
to half a second.'
" Well,9' said Mrs. Nubbles evading the point, "your beer's
down there by the fender, Kit."
"I see," replied her son, taking up the porter pot, " my love
to you, mother.  And the parson's health too, if you like.  I
don't bear him any malice, not I!"'
"Did you tell me just now that your master hadn't gone out
to-night?" inquired Mrs. Nubbles.
" Yes," said Kit, " worse luck."
"You should say better luck, I think," returned his mother,
4'"because Miss Nelly won't have been left alone."
"Ah!" said Kit, " I forgot that.  I said worse luck, because I've been watching ever since eight o'clock, and seen
nothing of her."
" I wonder what she'd say," cried his mother, stopping in her
work and looking round, "if she knew that every night, when
she-poor thing-is sitting alone at that window, you are
watching in the open'street for fear any harm  should come to
her, and that you never leave the place or come home to your
bed though you're ever so tired, till such time as you think shels
safe in hers. "'Never mind what she'd say," replied Kit, with somethinlg
like a blush on his uncouth face; " she'll never know nothing,
and consequently, she'll never say nothing."
2Mrs. Nubbles ironed away in silence for a minute o.: two, and.,




114          TIE   OLD  CURIOSITY  SHTOP.
coming to the fireplace -for another iron, glanced stealthily at
Kit while she rubbed it on a board and dusted it with a duster,
but said nothingo until she had returned to her table taain, when
holding the iron at an alarmling' short distance friom her cheek,
to test its temperature, and looking round with a smile, she ob.served:
4' I know what some people would say, Kit —"
"Nonsense," interposed Kit, with a perfect apprellension of
what was to follow.
"iNo, but they would indeed.  Some people would say that
you'd fallen in love with her, I know they would."
To this, Kit only replied by bashfully bidding his mnother
"get out," and forming sundry strange figures with his legs and
arms, accompanied by sympathetic contortions of his face. Not
deriving from these means the relief which he sought, he bit of
an immense mouthful fronl the bread and meat, and took a
quick drink of the porter, by which artificial aids lhe choiked
himself and effected a diversion of the subject.
"Speaking seriously though, Kit," said his mother, talking
up the theme afresh, after a time, "for of course I wAas oinly in
joke just now, it's very good and thoughtful, and like you, to
do this, and never let anybody know it, though some day I hlope
she may come to know it, for I'm sure she would be very grate.
ful to you and feel it very much.  It's a cruel thing to keep the
dear child shut up there.  I don't wonder that the old gentleman wants to keep it from you."
" He don't think it's cruel, bless you," said Kit, " and don't
mean it to be so, or he wouldn't do it-I do consider, mnothier,
tha;t he wouldn't do it for all the gold and silver in the world.
No, no, that he wouldn't.  I know hiMm better than that."
" Then what does he do it for, and why does he keep it so
close from you?" said Mrs. Nubbles.
" That I don't know,'" returned her son. " If he hadn't tried
to keep it so close though, I should never have iound it out,
for it was his getting me away at night and sendinga mne off so
much earlier than he used to, that first made me curious to know
what was going on.  7Hark! what's that?"
"It's only somebody outside."
" It's somebody crossing over here,' s;Vaid Vit, standing up to




THE  OLD  CUIRIOSITY  SHOP.                  115
listen,' and coming very fast too.  Ile can't have gone out
after I left, and the house caught fire, mother!"
The boy stood for a mloment, really bereft, by the apprehension he had conjured up, of the power to move.  Thie footsteps
dchew nearer, the door was opened with a hasty hand, and the
child herself, pale and breathless, and hastily wrapped in a few
disordclere  garnments, hurried into the room.
" Miss Nelly   What is the matter?" cried mother and son
together.
"I must not stay a moment," she returned; "grandfather
has been taken very ill, I[ found him in a fit upon the floor-"
"I'll run for a doctor," said Kit, seizing his brimless hat.
"I'll be there directly, I'11-"
"No, no,' cried Nell, "there is one there, you're not
wanted, you —you-must never come near us any more I"
"What!" roared Kit.
"Never again," said the child.  "Don't ask me why, for I
don't know.  Pray don't ask me -why.  Pray doll't be sorry.
Pray don't be vexed with me.  I have nothing to do with it
indeed 1"
Kit looked at her with his eyes stretched wide, and opened
and shut his mouth a great many times, but couldn't get out
one word.
"Hie complains and raves of you," said the child. "I don't
know what you have done, but I hope it's nothing very bad."
" I clone'" roared Kit.
" He cries that you're the cause of all his misery," returned
the child, with tearful eyes; " he screamled and called for you;
they say you must not come near him or he will die. You must
not return to us any more.  I came to tell you.  I thought it
would be better that I should come than somebody quite strange.
Oh, Kit, what have you dlone? you, in whom I trusted so much,
and who were almost the only friend I had i'"
The unfortunate Kit looked at his young mistress harder ancl
harder, and with eyes growing wider and wider, but was perfectly motionless and silent.
"I have brought his money for the week," said the child,
looking to the woman and laying it on the table-" and-and
-a little more, for he was always good and kind to me. I hope




116         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
he will be sorry and do well somewhere else and not take this
to heart too much. It grieves me very much to part with him
like this, but there is no help.  It must be done.  Goodnight!"
YWith the tears streaming down her face, and her slight figure
trembling with the agitation of the scene she had left, the shock
she had received, the errand she had just discharged, and a
thousand painful and affectionate feelings, the child hastened
to the door, and disappeared as rapidly as she bad come.
The poor woman, who had no cause to doubt her son, but
every reason for relying on his honesty and truth, was staggered
notwithstanding by his not having advanced one word in his
defense.  Visions of gallantry, knavery, robbery; and of the
nightly absences from  home, for which he had accounted so
strangely, having been occasioned by some unlawful pursuit;
flocked into her brain and rendered her afraid to question him.
She rocked herself upon a chair, wringing her hands and weeping bitterly, but Kit made no attempt to comfort her, and remained quite bewildered.  The baby in the cradle woke up and
cried, the boy in the clothes-basket fell over on his back with
the basket upon him and was seen no more, the mother wept
louder yet, and rocked faster, but Kit, insensible to all the din
and tumult, remained in a state of utter stupefaction.




CHAPTER THE ELEVE;NTHIo
QUIET and solitude were destined to hold uninterrupted rutle
no longer, beneath the roof that sheltered thle child.  [Next
mornilng  the old man was in a rag'i-lu  fever accompianiecd with
delirium, and sinkingr under the influence of this disorder ite
lay for many weeks in imminent peril of hins life.  There was
watching enough now, but it was the watching of strangers who
made of it a greedy trade, and  who, in the intervals tf
their attendance upon the sick man huddled together with a
ghastly good-fellowship, and ate and drank and made merry;
for disease and death were their ordinary household gods.
Yet in all the hurry and crowding of sach a time, the child
was more alone than she had ever been before; alone in spirit,
alone in her devotion to him  who was wasting away upon his
burning bed, alone in her unfeigned  sorrow, and her unpur.
chased sympathy.  Day after day and night after night, found
her still by the pillow of the unconscious sufferer, still anticipating his every want, and still listening to those repetitions
of her name and those anxieties and cares for her, which were
ever uppermost among his feverish wanderings.
The house was no longer theirs.  Even the sick chamber
seemed to be retained on the uncertain tenure of Mr. Quilp's
favor.  The old man's illness had not lasted many days when
he took formal possession of the premises and all upon them,
in virtue of certain legal powers to that effect, which few understood and none presumed to call in question.  This important step secured, with the assistance of a manl of law whom
he brought with him for the purpose, the dwarf proceeded to
establish himself and his coadjutor in the house, as an assertion
of his claim against all comers; and then set about making his
quarters comfortable after his own fashion.
To this end, Mr. Quilp encamped in the back parlor, having
first put an effectual stop to any further business by shutting
up the shop.  Having looked out fromn among the old furnLi(117)




118         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
ture the handsomest and most commodious chair hpe could
possibly find, which he reserved for his own use, and an especially hideous and uncomfortable one, which he considerately
appropriated to the accommodation of his friend, he cansed them
to be carried into this rooml and took up his position in great
state.  The apartment was very far removed from the old man's
chamber, but Mdr. Qluilp deemed it prudent, as a precaution
agailst infection from fever, and a means of wholesome fumigation, not only to smoke himself without cessation, but to insist upon it that his legal friend did the like.  M[oreover, he
sent an express to the wharf for the tumbling boy, who arriving
with all dispatch was enjoined to sit himself down in another
chair just inside the door, continually to smoke a great pipe
which the dwarf had provided for the purpose, and not take it
from his lips under any pretense whatever, were it only for one
minute at a time, if he dared.  These arrangements completed,
IMr. Quilp looked round him with chuckling satisfaction, and
remarked that he called that comfort.
The legal gentleman, whose melodions name was Brass,
might have called it comfort also but for two drawbacks; one
was that he could by no exertion sit easily in his chair, the seat
of which was very hard, angular, slippery, and sloping; the
other that tobacco-smoke always caused him great internal discomposure and annoyance. But as he was quite a creature of
Mr. Quilp's, and had a thousand reasons for conciliating his
good opinon, he tried to smile, and nodded his acquiescence
with the best grace he could assume.
This Brass was an attorney of no very good repute from
Bqvis Miarks in the city of London; he was a tall, meagre man,
with a nose like a wen, a protruding forehead, retreating, eyes,
and hair of a deep red.  lIe wore a long black surtout reaching
nearly to his ancles, short black trousers, highl shoes, and cotton
stockings of a blueish gray.  i-e had a clinging manner but a
very harsh voice, and his blandest smiles w-ere so extremely
forbidding, that to have had his company under the least repulsive circumstances one would have wished himu to be out of
temper that he might only scowl.
Quilp looked at his legal adviser, and seeing thea  he was
winking very much in the anguish of his pipe, that he s)me



THE  OLD  CU UIOtSITY  SHOP.                  119
times shuddered when he happened to inhale its full flavor, and
that he constantly fanned the smoke firom him, was quite overjoyedl and rubbed his huands- with glee.
Smoke away you dog," said Quillp, turnlng to the boy;'fill
your pipe agpain, and. smokle it fast, down to to the last whiff, or
I'll put the sealing'-waxed end of it in -the fire and rub it red hot
upon your tonogue."
Luckily the boy was case-hardened, and would have smoked
a small limekiln if any body had treated him with it.  Wherefore, he only muttered a brief defiance of his master, and did as
he was ordered.
"Is it good, Brass, is it nice, is it fragrant, do you feel like
the Grand Turk?" said Quilp.
AMr. Brass thought that if he did, the Grand Turk's feelings
were by no means to be envied, but he said it was famous, and
he had no doubt he felt very like that potentate.
" This is the way to keep off fever," said Quilp, " this is the
way to keep off every calamity of life.  We'll never leave off
all the time we stop here-smoke away, you dog, or you shall
swallow the pipe."o
" Shall we stop here long, Mr. Quilp?' incquired  his legal
friend;cl   when the dwarf had given his boy this last gentle admonition.
" We must stop, I suppose, till the old gentleman up stairs is
dead," returned Quilp.
"He, he, he!" laughed 1ir. Brass. " Oh! very good!"
"Smoke away!" cried Quilp.  "Never stop I You  can
talk as you smoke.  Don't lose time."
" I-Te, he, he!'i cried Brass faintly, as he again applied himself to the odious pipe. "But if he should get better, Mr. Quilp I"
"T['hen we shall stop till he does, and no longer," returned
the dwarf.
"I-ow kind it is of you, sir, to wait till then I" said Brass.' Some people, sir, would have sold or removed the goods -oh
dear, the very instant the law allowed'em..  Somie people, sir,
would have been all flintiness and granite.  SoIic  people, sir,
would have-"
" Some people would have spared themselves the jabbering
qf such a parrot as you," inteirposed the dwarLf




120          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
"Ioe, he, he i" cried Brass.  "You have such spirits!l"
The smoking sentinel at the door interposed in this place, and
without taking his pipe from his lips, growled 
" Here's the gal a comtil' down."7
" The what, you dog?"' said Quilp.
" The gal," returned tile boy.  " Are you dearf?7
" Oh!" said Quilp, dcl'awing in his blheath with great relish as
if he were taking soup.  "You and I will have such a settling,
presently, there's such a scratching and bruising in store for
you, my clear young friend.  Alia! Nelly I How is he now, my
duck of diamonds?"
" He's very bad," replied the weeping child.
" What a pretty little Nell!" cried Quilp.
" Oh beautiful, sir, beautiful indeed,1" said Brass.  "Quite
charming. 
"Has she come to sit upon Quilp's knee," said the dwarf, in
what he meant to be a soothing tone, "or is she going to bed
in her own little room  inside here-which is poor Nelly going
to do?"'
"What a remarkably pleasant way he has with children I"
muttered Brass as if in confidence between himself and the ceiling; "upon my word, it's quite a treat to hear him. "7
" I'm not going to stay at all," faltered Nell. " I want a few
things out of that room, and then II — won't come down here
any more."
" And a very nice little room  it is.t" said the dwarf, looking
into it as the child entered  "Quite a bower.  You're sure
you're not going to use it, you're sure your not coming back,
Nelly?"'
"No," replied the child, hurrying away with the few articles of dress she had come to remove; "never again, never
again."
" She's very sensitive," said Quilp looking after her. b' Very
sensitive; that's a pity.  Thle bedstead is much about my size.
I thlink 11 sh11zl iale it Ilmy little r0oo111m."
Mir. Brass encouraging this idea, as he would have encouraged any other emanating from  the same source, the dwarf
walked in to try the effect, which he did by throwing himself
on his back upon the bed with his pipe in his mouth, and thean




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                    12'1
kicking up his legs and smoking violently. Mir. Brass applauding this picture very much, and the bed being soft and comfortable, Mr. Quilp determined to use it, both as a sleeping-place
by night, and as a kind of Divan by day, and in order that it
might be converted  to the latter purpose at once, reiaineel
where he was, alnd smoked his pipe out.  Tile legal gen'tlelma l
being by this time rather. giddy and perplexed in his ideas (for
this was one of the operations of the tobacco upon his nervous
system), took the opportunity of slinking away into the open air,
where in course of time he recovered sufficiently to return with
a countenance of tolerable composure.  He was soon led on by
the malicious dwarf to smoke himself into a relapse, and in that
state stumbled upon a settee, where he slept till morning.
Such were Mr. Quilp's proceedings on entering upon his new
property.  He was for some days restrained by business from
performing any particular pranks, as his time was pretty well
occupied between taking, with the assistance of Mr. Brass, a
minute inventory of all the goods in the place, and going abroad
upon his other concerns, which happily engaged him for several
hours at a time. His avarice and caution being now thoroughly
awakened, however, he was never absent from the house one
night, and his eagerness for some termination, good or bad, to
the old man's disorder, increasing rapidly as the time passed
by, soon began to vent itself in open murmurs and exclamations
of impatience.
Nell shrunk timidly from all the dwarf's advances toward conversation and fled from the very sound of his voice; nor were the
lawyer's smiles less terrible to her than Quilp's grimaces.  She
lived in such continual dread and apprehension of meeting one
or other of them upon the stairs, or in the passages, if she stirred
from her grandfather's chalmber, that she seldom  left it for a
moment until late at night, when the silence encouraged her to
venture forth, and breathe the purer air of some empty room.
One night she had stolen to her usual window and was sitting there very sorrowfuilly, for the old man had been worse
that day, when she thought she heard her name pronounced by
a voice in the street, and looking down, recognized Kit, whose
endeavors to attract her attention had roused her fromn her sad
Ecflections.




122         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
"Miss Nell!" said the boy in a low voice.
" Yes," replied the child, doubtful whether she ought to hold
any communication with the supposed culprit, but inclining to
her old favorite still, " what do you want?"2
"I have wanited to say a word to you for a long time,' the
boy replied, " but the people below have driven me awa:>v;y acnd
wouldn't let me see you.  YTou don't believe-I hope you don't
really believe-that I deserve to be cast off as I have been, do
you, Miiss?"
"I must believe it," returned the child.  "Or why would
grandfather have been so angry with you?"
"I don't know," replied 1Kit.  "I'm sure I've never deserved
it from him, no, nor from you.  I can say that with a true and
honest heart any way.  And then to be driven from  the door,
when I only came to ask how old master was-!"
" They never told me that," said the child.  "I didn't know
it, indeed.  I wouldn't have had them do it for the world."
"' Thank'ee, Mliss,"' returned Kit, "it's comfortable to hear
you say that.  I said I never would believe that it was your
doing."
"That was right!" said the child eagerly.
"Mliss Nell,"' cried the boy, coming under the window and
speaking in a lower tone, "there are new masters down stairs.
It's a change for you."
"It is indeed," replied the child.
"And so it will be for him when he gets better," said the
boy, pointing toward the sick room.
" -If he ever does," added the child, unable to restrain her
tears.
" Oh, he'll do that, he'll do that," said Kit. "I'm  sure he
will.  You mustn't be cast down, Miiss Nell.  Now donlt be,
pray. 
These words of encouragement and consolation were few and
roughly said, but thle  affected the child and made her for the
moment weep the more.
" He'll be sure to get better new," said the boy anxiously,
"' if you don't give way to low spirits and turn ill yourself, which
would make him worse and throw him back just as he was re



THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   123
covering.  When he does, say a good word-say a kind word
for me, Miss Nell."'
" They tell me I must not even mention your name to him for
a long, long time," rejoined the child. " I dare not; and even
if I miight, what good would a kind word do you, -it?  We
shall be very poor.,VWe shall scarcely have breacd to eat. "
" t's not that I may be taken back,' said "the boy, " that 1
ask the favor of you.  It isn't for the sake of food and wNages
that I've been waiting about so long in hopes to see you. Don't
think that I'd come in a time of trouble to talk of such things
as them."'
The child looked gratefully and kindly at him, but waited
that he might speak again.
" No, it's not that," said Kit, hesitating, "it's something
very different from that.  I haven't got much sense I know, but
if he could be brought to believe that I'd been a faithful servant to him, doinm' the best I could, and never meaning harm,
perhaps he mightn'tl"
Here Kit faltered so long that the child entreated him to
speak out, and quickly, for it was very late and time to shut the
windo xw.
"Perhaps he mightn't think it over venturesome of me to say
-well then, to say this,"-cried Kit with sudden boldness.
" This home is gone from you and him.'M other and I have
got a poor one, but that's better than this with all these people
here, and why not come there, till he's had time to look about
and find a better!"
The child did not speak.  Kit, in the relief of having made his
proposition, found his tongue loosened, and spoke out in its
favor witlh his utrmost eloquence.
" You think7," said the boy, " that it's very small and inconvenient.  So it is, but it's very clean.  Perhaps you think it
would be noisy, but there's not a quieter court than ours in all
the town.  Don't be afriaid of the children; the baby hardly
ever cries, and the other one is very good-besides, P'd mind
J'em.  They wouldn't vex you imuch, I'm  sure.  Do try, Miss
Nell, do try.  The little front room nup-stairs is very pleasant.
You can see a piece of the church-clock through the chimneys
and almost tell the time; mother says it would be just the thing




124         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
for you, and so it would, and you'd have her to wait upon you
both, and me to run of errands.  We don't mean money, bless
you; you're not to think of that. Will you try him, Miss Nell?
Only say you'll try him.  I)o try to make old master come, and
ask him first what I have done-will you only promise that,
B'liss Nell?"
Before the child could reply to this earnest solicitation, the
street-door opened, and Tir. Brass thrusting  out his nightcapped head, called in a surly voice, " Who's there!"  Kit immediately glided away, and Nell, closing the window softly,
drew back into the room.
Before Mr. Brass had repeated his inquiry many times, MAr.
Quilp, also embellished with a night-cap, emerged from the
same door and looked carefully up and down the street, and up
at all the windows of the house from the opposite side.  Finding that there was nobody in sight, he presently returned into
the house with his legal friend, protesting (as the child heard
from the staircase), that there was a league and plot against
him, that he was in danger of being robbed and plundered by a
band of conspirators who prowled about the house, at all seasons, and that he would delay no longer but take immediate
steps for disposing of the property and returning to his own
peaceful roof.  Having growled forth these and a great many
other threats of the same nature, he coiled himself once more
in the child's little bed, and Nell crept softly up the stairs.
It was natural enough that her short and unfinished dialogue
with Kit should leave a strong impression on her mind, and influence her dreams that night and her recollections for a long,
long time.  Surrounded by unfeeling creditors, and mercenary
attendants upon the sick, and meeting in the height of her
anxiety and sorrow with little regard or sympathy even from
the women about her, it is not surprising that the affectionate
heart of the child should have been touched to the quick by one
kind and generous spirit, however uncouth the temple in which
it dwelt.  Thank I-leaven that the temples of such spirits are
not made with hands, and that they may be more worthily hung
with poor patchwork than with purple and fine linen.




CHAPTEPE THE TWELFTH.
AT length the crisis of the old mansll  disorder was past, and
he began to mend.  By very slow and feeble degrees his consciousness came back, but the mind was weakened and its fanctions were impaired.  He was patient, and quiet; often sat
brooding, but not despondently, for a long space; was easily
amused, even by a sunbeam on the wall or ceiling; made no
complaint that the days were long or the nights tedious; and
appeared indeed to have lost all count of time and every sense
of care or weariness.  He would sit for hours together with
Nell's small hand in his, playing with the fingers and stopping
sometimes to smooth her hair or kiss her brow, and when he
saw that tears were glistening in her eyes would look, aimazed,
about him for the cause, and forget his wonder even while he
looked.
The child and he rode out: the old man propped up with
pillows, and the child beside him.  They were hand in hand as
usual.  The noise and motion in the streets fatigued his brain
at first, but he was not surprised, or curious, or pleased, or irritated. He was asked if he remembered this, or that.' Oh yes,'
he said,'quite well-why not?' Sometimes he turned his head
and looked with earnest gaze and outstretched'neck after some
stranger in the crowd, until he disappeared from sight, but to
the question why he did this, he answered not a word.
He was sitting iii his easy chair one day, and Nell upon a
stool beside him, when a man outside the door inquired if he
might enter.' Yes,' he said without emotion;'it was Quilp, he
knew.  Quilp was master there.  Of course he might come in.'
And so he did.
" I'm  glad to see you well again at last, neighbor," said the
dwarf, sitting down opposite to him.  "You're quite strong
now?"1
"Yes," said the old man feebly, "yes."
"I don't want to hurry you, you know, neighbor," said the
(125)




126          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
dwarf raising his voice, for the old man's senses were duller than
they had been; " but as soon as you can arrange your future
proceedings, the better."
"Surely,"' said the old mian.  " The better for all parties."'
"You see,"' piursued   Quilp after a short pause, " the goods
being once removed, this house would be uncoimlfortable i uninhabitable in fact."7
"You say true," returned the old man.  "Poor Nell too,
what woulcl she do?7'
" Exactly,' bawled the dwarf nodding his head; "that's very
well observed.  Then, will you consider about it, neighbor?1'
" I will certainly," replied the old man.  "We shall not stop
here. "
"So I supposed," said the dwarf.  "I have sold the thinmgs.
They have not yielded quite as much as they might have done,
but pretty well-pretty well.  To-day's Tuesday.  When shall
they be moved?  There's no hurry-shall we say this ahternoo00?"
" Say Friday morning,7' returned the old man.
Very gool," saic  the dwarf.  " So be it,-w ith the understanding that I can't go beyond that day, neighbor, on any
account."'
" Good,"' returned the old man,  " I shall remlember it.'.
Mr. Qnlilp seemed rathler puzzled by the strange, even, spiritless wavr in which all this wa's said; but as the old man nodded
his head and repeated " On Friday morninag.  I shall remenmber
it," he had no excuse for dwelling upon the subject any faurlther,
and so took a friendly leave AwitA  many expressions of good will
andcl many compliments to his friend on his looking so remarkably
well; and went below stairs to report progress to Mr. Brass.
All that day and all the next, the old man remained in this
state.  He wandered up and down the house and into and out
of the various rooims, as if with some vague intent of biddino-g
them  adieu, but he referred neither by direct allusions noi' in
any other manner to the interview of the mornin'i  or the necessity of finding some other shelter.  An indistinct idea hie hald
that the child was desolate and in want of Lelp, for lie often
drew her to his bosom and bade her ble of g:ood cheer, sayiing
that they would not desert each other' but h:S scoi,d iab Iole




TIlE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHIOP.                  127
to contemplate their real position more distinctly, and was still
the listless, passionless creature, that suffering of mind and body
had left him.
We call this a state of childcishness, but it is the same poo:r
hollow mocklery of it, fllat death is of sleep.  Where, in the
dell eves of doting  men, are the laughhing light and life of chilcidhood, the gayety that has known no chleck, the frankness thfat
has felt no chill, the hope that has never withered, the joys thal
fade in blossoming?  Where, in the sharp lineaments of rigid
and nnsightly death, is the calm beauty of slumber, telling of
rest for the waking hours that are past, and gentle hopes and
loves for those which are to come?  Lay death and sleep clown,
side by side, and say who shall find the two akin.  Send forth
the child and childish man together, and blush for the pride
that libels oar own old happy state, and gives its title to aa
uigly and distorted image.
Thursda.y arrived, and there was no alteration in the old ma.:o
But a change came upon him that evening as he and the child
sat silently together.
In a snmall dull yard below his window  there was a treegreen and flourishing enough, for such a place-and as thl.e air
stirred among its leaves, it threw a rippling shadow  on the
white wall.  The old man sat watching the shadows as they
trembled in this patch of light until the sun went down, and
when it was night and the moon was slowly rising he still sat
in the same spot.
To one who had been tossing on a restless bed so long, even
these few green leaves and this tranquil light, although it rlanguished among chiimneys and house-tops, were pleasant things.
They suggested quiet places afar off, and rest, and peace.
The child thought more than once that he was moved, and
had forborne to speak.  But now he shed tears —tears that it
lightened her aching' heart to see —and malking as though lie
would fall upon his knees, besoughllt her to forgive him.
"Forgive you-what?" said Nell, interposing to prevent his
purpose.  " Oh, grandfather, what should I forgive?"
" All that is past, all that has come upon thee, Nell, all tlla
was done in that uneasy dream;"' returned the old mnin.




128         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
"Do not talk so," said the child.  "Pray do not.  Let us
speak of something else."
"Yes, yes, we will," he rejoined.  "And it sliall be of what
we talked of long ago —many months —months is it, or weeks,
or days? which is it, Nell?"
"I do not understand you," —said the child.
"It has come back upon me to-day, it has all come back
since we have been sitting here.  I bless thee for it, Nell!"
For what, dear grandfather?"
":For what you said when we were first made beggars, Nell.
Let us speak softly.  HIush l for if they knew our purpose
down stairs, they would cry that I was mad and take thee from
me.  We will not stop here another day.  We will go far away
from here. "
" Yes, let us go," said the child earnestly.  "Let us begone
from this place, and never turn back or think of it again.  Let
us wander barefoot through the world, rather than linger here."
" We will,"-answered the old man, " we will travel afoot
through fields and woods, and by the side of rivers, and trust
ourselves to God in the places where He dwells.  It is far better to lie down at night beneath an open sky like that yondersee how bright it is —than to rest in close rooms which are
always full of care and weary dreams.  Thou and I together,
Nell, may be cheerful and happy yet, and learn to forget this
time, as if it had never been."
"' We will be happy," cried the child.  " We never can be
here."
" No, we never can again-never again —that's truly said,"
rejoined the old man.  " Let us steal away to-morrow morning,early and softly that we may not be seen or heard -and leave
no trace or track for them to follow by.  Poor Nell, thy check
is pale and thy eyes are heavy with watching and weeping —
with watching and weeping for me-I know-for me; but thou
wilt be well again, and merry too, when we are far away.'Tomorrow mornintg, dear, we'll turn our faces from this scene of
sorrows, and be as free and happy as the birds."
And then the old man clasped his hands above her head, and
said in a few broken words that from that time forth they would




TItE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   129
wander up and down together, and never part more until Death
took one or other of the twain.
The child's hea-rt beat high with hope and confidence.  She
had no thought of hunger, or cold, or thirst, or suffering.  She
saw in this, but a return of the simple pleasures they had once
enjoyed, a relief from the gloomy solitude in which she had
lived, an escape from the heartless people by  whoem she had been
surrounded in her late time of trial, the restoration of the old
man's health and peace, and a life of tranquil happiness.  Sun,
and stream, and meadow, and summer days, shone brightly in
her view, and there was no dark tint in all the sparkling
Iicture.
The old man had slept for some hours soundly in his bed, and
she was yet busily engaged in preparing for their flight.  There
were a few articles of clothing for herself to carry, and a few for
him; old garments, such as became their fallen fortunes, laid
out to wear; and a staff to support his feeble steps, put ready
for his use.  But this was not all her task, for now she must
visit the old rooms for the last time.
A.'kndEhow different the parting with them was fiom  any she
had expected, and most of all from that which she had oftenest
pictured to herself.  How could she ever have thought of bidcling them  farewell in triumph, when the recollection of the
many hours she had passed among them  rose to her swelling
heart, and made her feel the wish a cruelty, lonely and sad
though many of those hours had been.!  She sat down at the
window where she had spent so many evenings-darker far than
this-and every thought of hope or cheerfulness that had occured to her in that place came vividly upon her mind, and
blotted out all its dull and mournful associations in an instant.
Her own little room too, where she had so often.knelt down
and prayed at night-prayed for the time which she hoped was
dawning now-the little room where she had slept so peacefully,
and dreamed such pleasant dreams-it was hard not to be able
to glance roulnd it once more, and to be forced to ].eave it without one kind look or grateful tear.  There were some trifles
there-poor useless things —that she would have liked to take
away; but that was impossible.
This brought to mind her bird, her poor bird, who hung there
8




130        lTHE  OLD  CURIOSIT.Y  SHtOP.
yet.  She wept bitterly fo:r thle loss of this little creatureuntil the idea occurred to her-she did not know how or why
it camle into her head —that it mli.lt )by somie meanls fall"ilto
the hall-ds of Kit, who  -oulda k<,  it fur her sake, and think
perhaps t1hat slhe had left it behind in the hope that he miglht
have it, and as an assurlance that sihe,vwas gratefutl to hiam.  She
was calmed and comforted by the thought, and went to rest
With a lighter heart.
Fromn many dreams of rambling through light and sunny
places, but with some vague oblject unattained which ran indistinctly through them all, she awoke to find that it was yet
night, and that the stars were shining brightly in the sky.  At
length the day began to glimmer and the stars to grow pale
and dim.  As soon as she was sure of this, she arose, ancd
dressed herself for the journey.
The old man was yet asleep, and as she was unwilling to
disturb him, she left him to slumber on until the sun rose.  I-e
was anxious that they should leave the house without a minute's
loss of time, and was soon ready.
The child then took him  by the hand, and they trod lightly
and cautiously down the stairs, trembling whenever a board
creaked, and often stopping  to listen.  The old tman had forgotten a kliil of wallet which contained the light burden lihe had
to carry, and the going back a few steps to fetch it seemed aan
interminable delay.
At last they reached the passage on the ground floor, where
the snoring of Mr. Quilp and his legal friend sounded more terrible in their ears than the roars of lions.  The bolts of the
door were rusty, and difficult to unfasten without noise.  When
they were all drawn back it was found to be locked, and, worst
of all, the key was gone.  Then the child remembered for the
first time one of the nurses having told her that Quilp always
locked both the house-doors at night, and kept the keys on the
table in his bedroom.
It was not without great fear and trepidation that liStle NTedl
slipped off her shoes and gliding through the store-room of old
curiosities, where IMr. Brass-the ugliest piece of goods in all
the stock-lay sleeping ont a mattress, passed into her own little
ehamber.




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   131
Here she stood for a few moments quite transfixed with terror
at the sight of ~Ar. Quilp, who was hanging so far out of bed
that he almost seemlled to be standing on his head, and who,
either from tile uneasiness of this posture, or in one of hlis ag3ree
able habits, was gespinll and growling  witbl his mon1thL wide
open, and the whites (or rather the dirty yellows) of his eyes
distinctly visible.  It was no time, however, to ask whether
any thing ailed him, so possessing herself of the key after one
hasty glance about the room, and repassing the prostrate IV r.
Brass, she rejoined the old man in safety.  They got the door
open without noise, and passing into the street, stood still.
"G Which way?" said the child.
The old man looked irresolutely and helplessly, first at her,
then to the right and left, then at her again, and shook his head.
It was plain that she was thenceforth his guide and leader.
The child felt it, but had no doubts or misgiving, and putting
her hand in his, led him gently away.
It was the begiinning of a day in June; the deep blue sky
unsullied by a cloud, and teeming with brilliant light.  The
streets were as yet nearly free from passengers, the houses and
shops we-re closed, and the healthful air of morning fell like
breath from angels, on the sleeping town.
The old man and the child passed on through the glad
silence, elate with hope and pleasure. They were alone together,
once again; every object was bright and fresh; nothing reminded them, otherwise than by contrast, of the monotony and
constraint they had left behind; church towers and steeples,
frowning and dark at other times, now shone and dazzled in the
sun; each humble nook and corner rejoiced in light; and the
sky, dimmed by excessive distance, shed its placid smile on
every thing beneath.
Forth from  the city, while it yet slumbered, went the two
poor adventurers, wandering they knew not whither.




CHEAPTER THE THIRITEENTH.
D)ANIEL QUILP of Tower -ill, and Sampson Brass of Bevis
iMarks, in the city of London, Gentleman, one of her iMajesty's
attorneys of the Courts of King's Bench and Common Pleas at
Westminster and a solicitor of the High Court of Chancery,
slumbered on unconscious and unsuspicious of any mischance,
until a knocking at the street door, often repeated and gradually mounting up from a modest single rap into a perfect battery of knocks, fired in long discharges with a very short interval between, caused the said Daniel Quilp to struggle into a horizontal position, and to stare at the ceiling with a drowsy indifference, betokening that he heard the noise and rather wondered at the same, but couldn't be at the trouble of bestowing
any further thought upon the subject.
As the knocking, however, instead of accommodating itself
to its lazy state, increased in vigor and became more importunate, as if in earnest remonstrance against his falling asleep
again, now that he had once opened his eyes, Daniel Quilp
began by degrees to comprehend the possibility of there being
somebody at the door, and thus he gradually came to recollect
that it was Friday morning, and he had ordered Mrs. Quilp to
be in waiting upon him at an early hour.
Mr. Brass, after writhing about in a great many strange attitudes, and often twisting his eyes into an expression like that
which is usually produced by eating gooseberries very early in
the season, was by this time awake also, and seeing that Mr.
Quilp invested himself in his every-day garments, hastened to
do the like, putting on his shoes before his stockings, and
thrusting his legs into his coat sleeves, and making such other
small mistakes in his toilet as are not uncommon to those who
dress in a hurry, and labor under the agitation of having been
suddenly roused.
While the attorney was thus engaged, the dwarf was groping
under the table, muttering desperate imprecations upon himself
(132)




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                 133
tand mankind in general and all inanimate objects to boot, whice
suggested to Mr. Brass the question, " What's the matter?1'
" The key," said the dwarf, looking viciously at him, " the
door-key,-that's the matter.  D'ye kilow any thing of it?"
" How should I know any thing of it, sir?'" returned Mr.
Brass.
",How should you," repeated Quilp, with a sneer.  "You're
a nice lawyer, an't you?  Ugh, you idiot!"
Not caring to represent to the dwarf in his present humor,that
the loss of a key by another person could scarcely be said to
affect his (Brass's) legal knowledge in any material degree, Air.
Brass humibly suggested that it must have been forgotten over
night, and was doubtless at that moment in its native key-hole.
Notwithstanding that Mr. Quilp had a strong conviction to the
contrary, founded on his recollection of having carefully taken
it out, he was fain to admit that this was possible, and therefore went grumnbling to the door, where, sure enough, he found
it.
Now, just as [Mr. Quilp laid his hand upon the lock and
saw with great astonishment that the fastenings were undone,
the knocking came again with most irritating violence, and the
day-light, which had been shining through the key-hole, was
intercepted on the outside by a human eye.  The dwarf was
very much exasperated, and wanting somebody to wreak his
ill-humor upon, determined to dart out suddenly and favor Mrs.
Q nilp with a gentle acknowledgment of her attention in making
that hideous uproar.
With this view he drew back the lock very silently and softly,
and opening the door all at once, pounced out upon the person
on the other side, who had at that moment raised the knocker
for another application, and at whom the dwarf ran head first,
throwing out his hands and feet together and biting the air in
the fullness of his malice.
So, far, however, from rushing upon somebody who offered
no resistance and implored his mercy, Mr. Quilp was no sooner
in the arms of the individual whom he had taken for his wife
than he found himself complimented with two staggering 11blows
on the hea(d, and two more, of the same quality, in the chltest,
and closing with his assailant, such a shower of buffets raided




134         THE  OLD  CURiLIOSITY  S1O1P.
down upon his person as sufficed to convince him that he was
in skillful and experienced hands.  Nothing daunted by this reception, he clung tight to his opponent, and bit and hammered
away with such goodcl-will and heartiness, that it was at least a
couple of minutes before he was dislodged.  Then, and not
until then, Daniel Quilp found himself, all flushed and disheveled, in the middle of the street, with VIr. lichard Swiveller
performing a kind of dance round him, and requiring to know
"whether he wanted any more.'
"There's plenty more of it at the same shop,"' said Ailr.
Swiveller, by turns advancing and retreating in a threatening
attitude, " a large and extensive assortment always on handcountry orders executed with promptitude and dispatch-will
you have a little more, sir- dont say no, if you'd rather not."
"I thought it was somebody else," said Quilp rubbing his
shoulders; " why didn't you say who you were?1"
" Why didn't you say who you were?'1 returned Dick, "instead of flying out of the house like a Bedlamite?"7
" It was you that-that knocked,"7 said the dwarf, getting up
with a short groan, "was it?,"
"Yes, I'm the man,"' replied Dick.  "That lady had begun
when I came, but she knocked too soft, so I relieved her."
As he said this, he pointed toward Milrs. Quilp, who stood
trembling at a little distance.
" HIumph 1" muttered the dwarf, darting an angry look at
his wife, " I thought it was your fault.  And you, sir,-don't
you know there has been somebody ill here, that you knock as
if you'd beat the door down?"
" Damme 1" answered Dick, "that's why I did it. I thought
there was somebody dead here."
" You  came for some purpose, I suppose," said Quilp.
" What is it you want?'"
"I want to know how the old gentleman is," rejoined MIr.
Swiveller, " and to hear from Nell herself, with whom I should
like to have a little talk.  I'm a friend of the family, sir, —at
least I'm the friend of one of the family, and that's the same
thing."
"You'd better walk in then," said the dwarf.  "Go on, sir;
go on.  Now Mrs. Quilp-after you, ma'am.7'




~,~?~,: ~ir ~, i,,[~'   ": ~i~ i'f  ~   i       i~
JILP MA~'i A MISTAKEo








THIE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SIJOP.                  185
FMrs. Quilp hesitated, but Mr, Quilp insisted.  And it was
in~ot a contest of politeness, or by any means a matter of form,
for she knew very well that her husband wislhed  to enter the
house in this order that he mig'ht have a favorable opportunity
of inflicting a few pinches on her arms, which were seldom free
from  impressions of his fingers in black and blue colors.  M[r.
Swiveller who was not in the secret was a little surprised to
hear a suppressed scream,  and, looking round,  to see Mrs.
Quilp following him with a sudden jerk, but he did not remark
on these appearances, and soon forg'ot them.
"Now, Mrs. Quilp," said the dwarf, when they had entered
the shop, "go you up stairs, if you please, to iNelly's room, and
tell her that she's wanted.'"
"You seeml to make yourself at home here," said Dick, who
was unacquainted with NMr. Quilp's authority.
"I act at home, young gentlem-ana,    returned the dwarf.
Dick was pondering what these words might mean, and stilt
more what the presence of Mir. Brass might mean, when Mrs.
Quilp came hurrying down stairs, declaring that the rooms
above were empty.
" Empty, you fool!"' said the dwarf.
"I give you my word, Quilp," answered his trembling wife,
"that I have been into every room, and there's not a soul in
any of them.'"
"And that," said Mfr. Brass, clapping his hands once with
an emphasis, "explains the mystery of the key!"
Quilp looked frowningly at him, and frowningly at his wife,
and frowningly at Richard Swiveller; but receiving no enlightment from  any of them, hurried  up stairs, whence he soon
hurried down again, confirming the report which  had been
already made.
"It's a strange way of going," he said, glancing at Swiveller,
"very strange not to communicate with me who am such a close
and intimate friend of his.  Ah I he'll write to me no doubt, or
he'll bid Nelly write-yes, yes, that's what he'll do.  Nelly's
very fond of me.  Pretty Nell!"
Mr. Swiveller looked, as he was, all open-mouthed astonishment.  Still glancing furtively at him, Quilp turned to Mr.




186         THEIF  OLD  CURlIOSITY  8SlOP.
Brass ancl  observed with assumed carelessness that -this need
not interfere with the remloval of the goods
"For indeed," lie added, "6 we knew that they'd go away today, but not that they'd go so early or so quietly.  But they
have their reasons, they have their reasons.'." Where in the devil's name are they gone?" said the
wondering Dick.
Quilp shook his head and pursed up his lips in a manner
which implied that he knew very well, but was not at liberty
to say.
" A nd what,"7 said Dick, looking at the confusion about him,
"' what do you mean by moving the goods?'"
"That I have bought'era, sir,' rejoined Quilp.  " Eh?
What then?"'
" Has the sly old fox made his fortune then, and gone to live
in a tranqiuil cot in a pleasant spot with a distant view of the
changing   sea?" said Dick in great bewilderment.
" Keeping his place of retirement very close, that he may not
be visited too often by affectionate grandsons and their devoted
friends, eh?" added the dwarf, rubbing his hands hard; "I say
nothing, but is that your meaning, sir?"
riichard  Swiveller was utterly aghast at this unexpected
alteration of circumstances, which threatened the comnplete overthrow of the project in which he bore so conspicuous a part,
and seemed to nip his prospects in the buid.  Having only received from prederick Trent, late on tlhe previous night, information of the old man's illness, he had come upon a visit of
condolence and inquiry to Nell, prepared with the first installment of that long train of fascinations which was to fire her
heart at last.  And here, when he had been thinking of all
kinds of graceful and insinuating approaches, and meditating
on the fearful retaliation which was slowly workin(g against
Sophy Wackles —here were Nell, the old man, and all the
noney gone, melted away, decamped he knew not whither, as
if with a foreknowledge of the scheme and a resolution to
defeat it in the very outset, before a stop was taken.
In his secret heart, Daniel Quilp was both surprised and
troubled by the flight which had been ninde.  It had not
escaped his lieen eye that some indispec1abllt je articles of clothing




'iTHE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                 137
were gone with the fugitives, and knowing the old man's weak
state of mind, he marveled what that course of proceeding
might be in which he had so readily procured the concurrencee
of the child.  It must not be supposed (or it would be a gross
injustice to'ar. Quilp) that he was tortured by any disinterested
anxiety on behalf of either.  His uneasiness arose from a misgiving that the old man had some secret store of money which
he had not suspected, and the bare idea of its escaping his
clutches, overwhelmed him with mortification and self-reproach.
In this frame of mind, it was some consolation to him to find
that Richard Swiveller was, for different reasons, evidently irritated and disappointed by the same cause.  It was plain,
thought the dwarf, that he had come there on behalf of his
friend, to cajole or frighten the old man out of some small fraction of that wealth of which they supposed him  to have an
abundance.  Therefore it was a relief to vex his heart Kwith a
picture of the riches the old man hoarded, and to expatiate on
his cunning in removing himself even beyond the reach of importunity.
"Well,'" said Dick, with a blank look, " I suppose it's of no
use my staying here."
" Not the least in the world," rejoined the dwarf.
" You'll mention that I called, perhaps?" said Dick.
Mr. Quilp nodded; and said he certainly would, the very first
time he saw them.
" And say," added Mr. Swiveller, " say, sir, that I was wafted
here upon the pinions of concord, that I came to remove, with
the rake of friendship, the seeds of mutual wiolence and heartburning, and to sow in their place, the germls of social harmony.
Will you have the goodness to charge yourself with that commission, sir?"
" Certainly!" rejoined Quilp.
"Will you be kind enough to add to it, sir," said Dick, producing a very small limp card, " that that is my addressi and
that I am to be found at home every morning.  Two distinct
knocks, sir, will produce the slavey at any time. My particular
friends, sir, are accustomed to sneeze when the door is opened,
to give her to undlerstan d lthat they acle my frieonds and have no




i38         TiHE   OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
interested motives in asking if I'm at home.  I beg your pardonl; will you allow me to look at that card afgain?"'
"Oh! by all means,"' rejoined Quil.p.
"By a slight and not unnatural mistake, sir," said Dick, subztituting another in its stead, " I had handed you the pass-ticket
of a select convivial circle called the Glorious Apollers, of
which I have the honor to be Perpetual Grand.  That is the
proper document, sir.  Good morning."
Quilp bade him  good-day; the Perpetual Grand Master of
the Glorious Apollers, elevating his hat in honor of Mrs. Quilp,
dropped it carelessly on the side of his head again, and disappeared with a flourish.
By this time certain vans had arrived for the conveyance of
the goods, and divers strong men in carpet caps were balancing'
chests of drawers and other trifles of that nature upon their
heads, and performing muscular feats which heightened their
complexions considerably. Not to be behind hand in the bustle,
ir. Quilp went to work with surprising vigor; bustling and
driving the people about, like an evil spirit; setting, Mrs. Quilp
upon all kinds of arduous and impracticable tasks; carrying
great weights up and down with no apparent effort; kicking
the boy from the wharf whenever he could get near him; and
inflicting with his loads, a great many sly bumps and blows
upon the shoulders of Mr. Brass, as le stood upon the doorsteps to answer all the inquiries of curious neighbors, rwhich was
his department.  His presence and exanmple difflused such alacrity among the persons employed, that in a few hours the house
was emptied of every thing, but pieces of matting, empty
porter-pots, and scattered friagments of straw.
Seated like an African chief, on one of these pieces of matting,
the dwarf was regaling himself in the parlor with bread and
cheese and beer, when he observed, without appearing to do so,
that a boy was prying in at the outer door.  Assured that it
was Kit, though he saw little more than his nose, 2Mr. Quilp
hailed him by his name: whereupon Kit came in and demanded
what he wanted.
" Come here, you sir," said the dwarf.  "Well, so your old
master and young mistress have gone."
WVhere?" rejoined Kit, looking round.




THlE  OLD  CURI'OSIT  SHOP.                  139
"'Do you mean to say you don't know where?" answered
Quilp, sharply.  " Where have they gone, eh?"
"I don't know,'' said Kit.
"Come,"1 retorted Quilp, "let's have no more of this.  Do
you mean to say that you don't know they went away by stealth
as soon as it was light this morning?'1
"iNo," said the boy, in evident surprise.
"' You don't know that?" cried Quilp.  " Don't I know that
you were hanging about the house the other night like a thief,
eh? Weren't you told then?">
"No," replied the boy.
"You were not?," said Quilp.  1" What were you told then,
wllhat were you talking about?"
IKit, who knew no particular reason why he should keep the
matter secret now, related the purpose for which he had come
on that occasion and the proposal he had made.
"Oh I" said the dwarf, after a little consideration.  "Then
I think they'll come to you yet."
"Do you think they will?" cried Kit, eagerly
"Aye, I think they will," returned the dwarf.  " aow, whlen
they do, let me know, d'ye hear?  Let me know, and I'll give
you something.  I want to do'em a kindness, and I can't do'em a klindness unless I know where they are.  You hear what
I say?"'
Kit might have returned some answer which would not have
been agreeable to his irascible questioner, if the boy from  the
wharf, who had beetn skulking about the room in search of any
thing that might have been left about by accident, had not
happened to cry, "LHere's a bird.  What's to be done with
this?"
" Wring its neck," rejoined Quilp.
"Oh no, don't do that," said K it, stepping forward.' Give
it to me."
" Oh yes, I dare say," cried the other boy.  "Come, you let
the cage alone, and let me wring its neck, will you.  He said I
was to do it.  You let the cage alone, will you."'
"Give it here, give it to me, you dogs," roared Quilp. " Fight
for it, you cdogs, or I'll wring its neck myself.7"
Without further persuasion, the two boys fell upon each other,




A40         T ~ETHE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
tooth and nail, while Quilp holding up the cage in one hand,
and chopping the ground with his knife in an ecstacy, urged
them  on by his taunts and cries to fight more fiercely.  They
were a pretty equal match; and rolled about together, exchanging blows which were by no means child's play, until at length
Kit, planting a well-directed hit in his adversary's chest, disengaged himself, sprung nimbly up, and snatching the cage from
Quilp's hands, made off with his prize.
iHe did not stop once until he reached home, where his bleeding face occasioned great consternation, and caused the' elder
child to howl dreadfully.
" Goodness gracious, Kit, what is the matter, what have you
been doing?" cried Mrs. Nubbles.
"Never you mind, mother," answered her son, wiping his face
on the jack-towel behind the door.  " I'm not hurt, don't you
be afraid for me.  I've been a fightin' for a bird and won him,
that's all.  Hold your noise, little Jacob.  I -never see such a
naughty boy in all my days!"
" You have been fighting for a bird!I' exclaimed his mother.
"Ah I Fightin' for a bird," replied Kit, " and here he isMlIiss Nelly's bird, mother, that they was a goin' to wring the
neck of.  I stopped that though-ha, ha, ha  They wouldn't
wring his neck and me by, no, no.  It wouldn't do, mother, it
wouldn't-do at all.  Ha, ha, ha I"
Kit laughing so heartily, with his swoln and bruised face
looking out of the towel, made little Jacob laungh, and then his
mother laughed, and then the baby crowed and kicked with great
glee, and then they all laughed in concert, partly because of
IKit's triumph, and partly because they were very fond of each
other.  When this fit was over, Kit exhibited the bird to both
children as a great and precious rarity-it was only a poor
linnet-and looking about the wall for an old nail, made a
scaffolding  of a chair and table and twisted it out with great
exultation.'Let me see," said the boy, "I think I'll hang him in the
winder, because it's more light and cheerful, and he can see the
sky there, if he looks up very much.  He's such a one to sing,
I can tell you!"'
So, the scaffolding was made again, and Kit, climbing' up with




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   141
a poker for a hammer, knocked in the nail and hung up the cage
to the immeasurable delight of the whole family.  When it had
been adjusted and straightened a great many times, and lie had
walked backward into the fire-place in his admiration of it, the
arrangement was pronounced to be perfect.
" And now, mother," said the boy, "before I rest aly more,
I'll go out and see if I can find a horse to hold, and then I caln
buy some birdseed, and a bit of something nice for you into the
bargain."




AP TE -RI T  E FO     T E N T 
As it was very easy for IKit to persuade himself that thle old
house was in his way, his way being anywhere, he tried to look
upon his passing it once more as a matter of imperative and
disagreeable necessity, quite apart from any desire of his own,
to which he could not choose but yield.  It is not uncommon
for people who are much better fed and taught than Christopher
Nubbles had ever been, to make duties of their inclinations in
nmatters of more doubtful propriety, and to take great credit for
the self-denial with which they gratify themselves.
There was no need of any caution this time, and no fear of
being detained by having to play out a return match with Daniel
Quilp's boy.  The place was entirely deserted, and looked as
dusty and dingy as if it had been so for months.  A rusty padlock was fastened on the door, ends of discolored blinds and
curtains flapped drearily angainst the half-opened upper windows,
and the crooked holes cut in the closed shutters below, were
black with the darkness of the inside.  Some of the glass in the
wincldw he had so often watched, had been broken in the rough
hurry'of the morning, and that room looked more deserted and
dull than any.  A  group of idle urchins had taken possession
of the door-steps: some were plying the knocker and listening
with delighted dread to the hollow sounds it spread through the
dismantled house; others were clustered about the keyhole,
watching half in jest and half in earnest for "' the ghost," which
an hour's gloom, added to the mystery that hung about the late
inhabitants, had already raised. Standing all alone in the midst
of the business and bustle of the street, the house looked a
picture of cold desolation: and Kit, who remembered the cheerful fire that used to burn there on a winter's night and the no less
cheeful laugh that made the small room  ring, turned quite
mournfully away.
It must be specially observed in justice to poor Kit that he
was by no means of a sentimental turn, and perhaps had never
(142)




*THE  OLD  CURIOSITY TIIOP,                   148
heard that adjective in; all his life.  T-e was only a soft-hearted,
grateful fellow, and had nothing genteel or polite about him 
consequently instead of goif:g hJome aga;in in his og1ief to kick
the children and albuse his mother, (for when youlr fii elyj strung'
people are out of sorts they must nhave e-verytody ls se unhlappy
likewise), he turned  is t'houlglhts to t.e w ulgar e     pedient of
making them more comifortable if he could.
Bless us, what a number of gQntlemenl   on horseback there
were riding up and Clown, and how few of them wanted their
horses held   A good city speculator or a -parliamentary commissioner could have told to a fraction, from the crowds that
were cantering about, what sum of money was realized in. London
in the course of a year by holding horses alone. And undoubtedly it would have been a very large one, if only a twentieth part
of the gentlemen without grooms had had occasion to alight;
but they hadn't; and it is often an ill-natured circumstance like
this, which spoils the most inlgellious estimate in the world.
Iit walked about, now witli quick steps and now with slow;
now lingering as some rider slackened his horse's pace and looked
about him; and now darting at full speed up a by-street as lhe
caught a glimpse of some distant horseman going lazily up the
shady side of the road, and promising to stop, at every door.
But on they all went, one after another, and there was not a
penny stirring.  "I wonder," thought the boy, " if one of these
gentlemen knew there was nothing inl tlhe cupboard at home,
whether he'd stop on purpose, and make believe that he wanted
to call somewhere, that I Omight earn a trifle?"
He was quite tired out with pacing' the streets, to say nothing of repeated disappointments, and was sitting down upon a
step to rest, when there approached toward hiam  a little clattering jingling four-wheeled chaise, drawn by a little obstinatelooking rough-coated pony, and dcliven by a little fat placidfaced old gentleman.  Beside the little old gentleman sat a
little old lady, plump and placid like himself, and the pony
was coming along at his own pace and doing exactly as he
pleased with the whole concern.  If the old gentlenman remonstrated by shaking the reins, the pony replied by shaking his
head.  It was plain that the utmost the pony would consent
to do, was to go in his own way up any street that the old geo



144         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
tleman particularly wished to traverse, but that it was an understanding between them that he must do this after his own
ashlioll or not ait all.
As they passed where he sat, Kit looked so wistfully at the
little turn-out, that the old gentleman looked at him, and Kit
rising and putting his hand to his hat, the old gentleman intimated to the pony that he wished to stop, to vwhich proposal
the pony (whlo  seldom objected to that part of his duty) graciously acceded.
"I beg your pardon, sir," said Kit.  "I'm sorry you stopped,
sir.  I only meant, did you want your horse minded."'
"'I'm going to get down in the next street," returned the old
gentleman.  "If you like to come on after us, you may have the
job."
Kit thanked him, and joyfully obeyed.  The pony ran off
~at a sharp angle to inspect a lamp-post on the opposite side of
the way, and then went off at a tangent to another lamp-post
on the other side.  Having satisfied himself that they were of
the same pattern and materials, he came to a stop, apparently
absorbed in meditation.
"W' Bill you go on, sir," said the old gentleman gravely, "or
are we to wait here for you till it's too late for our appointment. "
The pony remained immovable.
"Oh you naughty Whisker," said the old lady.  "Fie upon
you! I am ashamed of such conduct."
The pony appeared to be touched by this appeal to his feelings, for he trotted on directly, though in a sulky manner, and
stopped no more until he came to a door whereon was a brass
plate with the words "Witherden-Notary."  Here the old
gentleman got out and helped out the old lady, and then took
from under the seat a nosegay resembling in shape and dimensions a full-sized warming-pan with the handle cut short off.
This, the old lady carried into the house with a staid and stately
air, and the old gentleman (who had a club-foot) followed close
upon her.
They went, as it was easy to tell from  the sound of their
voices, into the front parlor, which seemed to be a kind of office.
The day being very warm and the street a quiet one, the win



THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                 145
dows were wide open, and it was easy to hear through the
renetian blinds all that passed inside.
At first there was a great shaking of hands and shuffling of
feet, succeeded by the presentation of the nosegay, for a voice,
supposed by the listener to-be that of iMr. Witherden the notary,
was heard to exclaim a great many times, " Oh, delicious!"
i4 Oh, fragrant indeed!1" and a nose, also supposed to be the
property of that gentleman, was heard to inhale th'e scent with
a snuffle of exceeding pleasure.' I brought it in honor of the occasion, sir," said the old lady.
"Ah i an occasion indeed, ma'am; an occasion which does
honor to me, ma'am, honor to me," rejoined Mr. Witherden the
notary.  ",I have had many a gentleman articled to me, ma'am,
maany a onle.  Some of them are now rolling in riches unmindful
of their old companion and friend, ma'am, others are in the
habit of calling upon me to this day and saying,' Mr. Witherden, some of the pleasantest hours I ever spent in my life were
spent in this office —were spent, sir, upon this very stool;' but
there was never one among the number, ma'am, attached as I
have been to many of them, of whom I augured such bright
things as I do of your only son"'
" Oh dear!" said the old lady.  "How happy you do make
us when you tell us that, to be sure!"
" I tell you, ma'am,"' said Mr. Witherden, "what I think as
an honest man, which, as the poet observes, is the noblest work
of God.  I agree with the poet in every particular, ma'amn.
The mountainous Alps on the one hand, or a humming-bird on
the other, is nothing in point of workmanship, to an honest
iman-or woman-or woman.'
"Any thing that Mi[r. Witherden can say of me," observed
a small quiet voice, " I can say with interest of him, I am sure."
"It's a happy circumstance, a truly happy circumstance,"
said the Notary, " to happen too upon his eight-and-twentieth
birth-day, and I hope I know how to appreciate it.  I trust,
nMr. Garland, my dear sir, that we may mutually congratulate
each other upon this "auspicious occasion."
To this the old gentleman replied that he felt assured they
might.  There appeared to be another shaking of hands in con,
sequence and when it was over, the old gentleman,aid that
9




1G46        THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP,
though he said it who should not, he believed no son had ever
been a greater comfort to his parents than Abel Garland had
been to his.
"1hMarrying as his mother and I did, late in life, sir, after
waiting for a great many years until we were well enough off —
coming together when we were no longer young, and then being blessed with one child who has always been dutiful and
affectionate-why it's a source of great happiness to us both,
sir."
"Of course it is, I have no doubt of it,' returned the notary
in a sympathizing voice.  "It's the contemplation of this sort
of thing, that makes me deplore my fate in being a bachelor.
There was a young lady once, sir, the daughter of an outfitting
warehouse of the first respectability-but that's a weakness.
Chuckster, bring in Mr. Abel's articles."
"' You see,:Mr.Witherden," said the old lady, " that Abel has
not been brought up like the run of young men.  IHe has always
had a pleasure in our society, and always been with us.  Abel
has never been absent from us for a day; has he, my dear?"
"Never, my dear," returned the old gentleman, "except
when he went to Margate one Saturday with iMr. Tomkinly that
had been a teacher at that school he went to, and came back
upon the Monday; but he was very ill after that you remember,
my dear; it was quite a dissipation."
" He was not used to it, you know,"' said the old lady, " and
he couldn't bear it, that's the truth.  Besides he had no comfort in being there without us, and had nobody to talk to or
enjoy himself with."
" That was it, you know," interposed the same small quiet voice
that had spoken once before.  "I was quite abroad, mother,
quite desolate, and to think that the sea was between us-oh, I
never shall forget what I felt when I first thought that the sea
was between us!"
"Very natural under the circumstances," observed the notary.' Mr. Abel's feelings did credit to his nature, and credit to your
nature, ma'am, and his father's nature, and human nature.  I
trace the same current now, flowing through all his quiet and
unobtrusive proceedings.  I am  about to sign my name, you
observe, at the foot of the articles which iMr. Chuckster will




THE  OL D  CURIOSITY  SHOP                  147
witness; and, placing my finger upon this blue wafer with the
vandyked corners, I am  constrained to remark in a distinct
tone of voice-don't be alarmed, ma'am, it's merely a form of
law —that I deliver this, as my act and deed..  M1r. Abel will
place his name against the other wafer, repeating the samle cabalistic words, and the business is over.  Ha, ha, haI  You
see how easily these things are done!'
There was a short silence, apparently, while Mr. Abel went
through the prescribed form, and then the shaking of hands and
shuffling of feet were renewed, and shortly afterward, there was
a clinking of wine-glasses and a great talkativeness on the part
of everybody.  In about a quarter of an hour Mir. Chuclster
(with a pen behind his ear and his face inflamed with wine) appeared at the door, and condescending to address Kit by the
jocose appellation of "Young Snob," informed him that the
visitors were coming out.
Out they came forthwith; MNr. Witherden, who was short,
chubby, fresh-colored, brisk and pompous, leading the old lady
with extreme politeness, and the father and son following them,
arm in arm.  Mlir. Abel, who had a quaint, old-fashioned air
about him, looked nearly of the same age as his father, and
bore a wonderful resemblance to him in face and figure, though
wanting something of his full, round, cheerfulness, and substitnting in its place a timid reserve.  In all other respects, in the
neatness of the dress, and even in the club-foot, he and the old
gentleman were precisely alike.
Having seen the old lady safely in her seat, and assisted in
the arrangement of her cloak and a small basket which formed
an indispensable portion of her equipage, Mr. Able got into a
little box behind, which had evidently been made for his
express accommodation, and smiled at every body present by
turns, beginning with his mother and ending with the pony.
There was then a great to-do to make the pony hold up his
head that the bearing-rein might be fastened; at last even this
was effected; and the old gentleman, taking his seat and the
reins, put his hand in his pocket to find a sixpence for Kit.
He had no sixpences, neither had the old lady, nor Mr. Abel,
nor the notary, nor Mr. Chuckster.  The old gentleman thought




1L48        THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
a shilling too much, but there was no shop in the street to get
change at, so he gave it to the boy.
" There," he said jokingly, "I'n coming here again next
Monday at the same time, and mind you're here my lad to work
it out.'"
"Thank you, sir," said Kit.  "I'll be sure to be here."
He was quite serious, but they all laughed heartily at his
saying so, especially iMr. Chuckster, who roared outright and
appeared to relish the joke amazingly. As the pony, with a
presentiment that be was going home, or a determination that
he would not go anywhere else (which was the same thing)
trotted away pretty nimbly, Kit had no time to justify himself,
and went his way also. Having expended his treasure in such
purchases as he knew would be most acceptable at home, not
forgetting some seed for the wonderful bird, he hastened back
as fast as he could, so elated with his success and great goodfortune, that he had more than half expected Nell and the old
maa would have arrived before him




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C]HAPTER THE FIFTEENTH.
OFTEN, while they were yet pacing the silent streets of the
town on the morning of their departure, the child trembled with
a mingled sensation of hope and fear as in some far-off figure,
imperfectly seen in the clear distance, her fancy traced a likeness to honest Kit.  But although she would gladly have given
him her hand and thanked him for what he had said at their
last meeting, it was always a relief to find, when they came'nearer to each other, that the person was not he, but a stranger;
for even if she had not dreaded the effect which the sight of him
might have wrought on her fellow-traveler, she felt that to bid
farewell to anybody now, and most of all to him who had been
so faithful and so true, was more than she could bear.  It was
enough to leave dumb things behind, and objects that were insensible both to her love and sorrow. To have parted from her
only other friend upon the threshold of that wild journey, would
have wrung her heart indeed.
Why is it that we can better bear to part in spirit than in
body, and while we have the fortitude to act farewell have not
the nerve to say it? On the eve of long voyages or an absence
of many years, friends who are tenderly attached will separate
with the usual look, the usual-pressure of the hand, planning one
final interview for the morrow, while each one well knows that
it is but a poor feint to save the pain of uttering that one word,
and that the meeting will never be.  Should possibilities be
worse to bear than certainties?  We do not shun our dying
friends; the not having' distinctly taken leave of one among
them, whom we left in all kindness and affection, will often imbitter the whole remainder of a life.
The town was glad with morning light; places that had
shown. ugly and distrustful all night long, now wore a smile;
and sparkling sunbeams dancing on chamber windows, and
twinkling through blind and curtain before sleeper's eyes, shed
light even into dreams, and chased away the shadows of the
fl I   l\




150          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHIOP.
night.  Birds in hot rooms, covered up close and dark, felt it
was morning, and chafed and grew restless in their little cells;
bright-eyed mice crept back to their tiny homes and nestled
timidly together; the sleek house-cat, forgetful of her prey, sat
winking at the rays of sun starting through Beyhole alnd cranny
in the door, and longIed for her stealthy run and warmn sleek bask
outside.  The nobler beasts confined in dens stood motionless
behind their bars, and gazed on fluttering bouglhls and sunshine
peeping through some little window, with eyes in which old
forests gleamed-then trod impatiently the track their prisoned
feet had worn-and stopped and gazed again.  Men in their
dungeons stretched their cramped cold limbs and cursed the
stone that no bright sky could warm.  The flowers that sleep by
night, opened their gentle eyes and turned them  to the day.
The light, creation's mind, was everywhere, and all things owned
its power.
The two pilgrims, often pressing each other's hands, or exchanging a smile or cheerful look, pursued their way in silence.
Bright and happy as it was, there was something solemn in the
long, deserted streets, from which like bodies without souls all
habitual character and expression had departed, leaving but one
dead uniform repose, that made them all alike.  All was so
still at that early hour, that the few pale people whom they met
seemed as much unsuited to the scene, es the sickly lamp which
had been here and there left burning was powerless and faint in
the full glory of the sun.
Before they had penetrated very far into the labyrinth of
men's abodes which yet lay between them and the outskirts, this
aspect began to melt away, and noise and bustle to usurp its
place.  Some straggling carts and coaches rumbling by, first'broke the charm, then others came, then others yet more active,
then a crowd,  The wonder was at first to see a tradesman's
window- open, but it was a rare thing soon to see one closed;
then smole rose slowly from  the chimneys, and sashes were
thrown up to let in air, and doors were opened, aund servant
girls, looking lazily in all directions but their brooms, scattered
brown clouds of dust into the eyes of shrinking passengers, or
listened disconsolately to milkmen who spoke of country fairs,
and told of wagons in the mews, with awnings and all things




TtHE  OLD  CURIOSI T'  SHOP.                 151
complete and gallant swains to boot, which another hour would
see upon their journey.
Tlhis quarter passed, they came upon the haunts of commerce
and great traffic, where many people were resorting, and business was already rife.  The old man. looked about him with a
startled and bewildered gaze, for -these were places that he
hoped to shun.  lie pressed his finger on his lip, and drew the
child along by narrow  courts and winding ways, nor did he
seem at ease until they had left it far behind, often casting a
backward look toward it, murmurinig that ruin and self-murder
were crouching in every street, and would follow if they scented
them; and that they could not fly too fast.
Again this quarter passed, they came upon a straggling
neighborhood, wheie the mean houses parcelled off in rooms, and
windows patched with rags and paper, told of the populous
poverty that sheltered there.  The shops sold goods that only
poverty could buy, and sellers and buyers were pinched and
griped alike.  Here were poor streets where faded gentility
essayed with scanty space and shipwrecked means to make its
last feeble stand, but tax-gatherer and creditor came there as
elsewhere, and the poverty that yet faintly struggled was hardly
less squalid and manifest than that which had long ago submited and given up the game.
This was a wide, wide track-for the humble followers of the
camp of wealth pitch their tents round about it for many a mile
-but its character was still the same.  Damp rotten houses,
many to let, and many yet building, many half built and mouldering away-lodgings, where it would be hard to tell which
needed pity most, those who let or those who came to takechildren, scantily fed and clothed, spread over every street, and
sprawling in the dust-scolding- mothers, stamping  their slipshod feet with noisy threats upon the pavement-shalbby fathers,
hurrying with dispirited loolks to the occupation which brought
them' daily breacd,"7 and little more-lmangling-wormen, washerwomen, cobblIers, tailors, ebandlers, driving their trades in parlors and kitchens and bacAkroolns and garrets, and sometimes all
of them under the same roof-lbrick-fields, skirting gardens paled
with staves of old casks, or timber pillaged from  houses burnt
dlown and blackened and blistered by -the flames-mounds of




152          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
dock-weed, nettles, coarse grass and oyster shells, heaped in
rank confusion —small dissenting chapels to teach, with no lack
of illustration, the miseries of Earth, and plenty of new churches
erected with a little superfluous -wealth, to show the way to
H[eaven.
At length these streets, becoming more straggling yet, dwindled
and dwindled away, until there were only small garden patches
bordering the road, with many a summer-house innocent of
paint and built of old timber or soame fragments of a boat, green
as the tough cabbage-stalks that grew about it, and grottoed
at the seams with toad-stools and  tight-sticking snails.  To
these succeeded pert cottages, two and two, with plots of ground
in front, laid out in angular beds with stiff box borders and
narrow paths between, where footstep never strayed to make
the gravel rough.  Then came the public-house, freshly painted
in green and white, with tea-gardens and a bowling-green,
spurning  its old neighbor with the horse-trough where the
wagons stopped; then fields; and then some houses, one by
one, of goodly size with lawns, some even with a lodge where
dwelt a porter and his wife.  Then came a turnpike; then
fields again with trees and haystacks; then a hill; and on the
top of that the traveler might stop, and —looking back at old
Saint Paul's looming through the smoke, its cross peeping above
the cloud (if the day were clear) and glittering in the sun; and
casting his eyes upon the Babel out of which it grew until he
traced it down to the furthest outposts of the invading army
of bricks and mortar whose station lay for the present nearly at
his feet-might feel at last that he was clear of London.
Near such a spot as this, and in a pleasant field, the old man
and his little guide (if guide she were, who knew not whither
they were bound) sat down to rest. She had had the precaution
to furnish hier basket with some slices of bread and meat, and
here they made their frulal breakfast.
The. fireshness of the day, the singing of the birds, the beauty
of the wavinrg grass, the deep green leaves, the wild flowers,
and the thousand  exquisite scents and sounds that floated in
the air,-deep joys to most of us, but most of all to those
whose life is in a crowd or who live solitarily in great cities as in
the bucket of a human well,-sunik into their breasts and made




1~~~~~~~~~~~qSyria 2L,
LITTLENELL AD HER  RANDFAHER LOKING BCK ON  ONDON








THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   153
them very glad.  The child had repeated her artless prayers
once that morning, more earnestly perhaps than she had ever
done in all her life, but as she felt all this, they rose to her lips
again.  The old man took off his hat-he had no memory for
the words-but he said Amen, and that they were very good.
There had been an old copy of the Pilgrilm's Progress, wTith
strange plates, upon a shelf at home, over which she had often
pored whole evenings, wondering whether it was tirue in every
word, and where those distant countries with the curious names
might be.  As she looked back upon the place they had left,
one part of it came strongly on her mind.
" Dear grandfather," she said, " only that this place is prettier
and a great deal better than the real one, if that in the book is
like it, I feel as if we were both Christian, and laid down on
this grass all the cares and troubles we brought with us; never
to take them up again."
"No-never to' return-never to return'"-replied the old
man, waving his hand toward the city.  "Thou and I are free
of it now, Nell.  They shall never lure us back."
"Are you tired?" said the child, "are you sure you don't
feel ill from this long walk?"
"I shall never feel ill again, now that we are once away," was
his reply.  " Let us be stirring, Nell.  We must be further
away-a long, long way further. We are too near to stop,
and be at rest.  Come!"
There was a pool of clear water in the field, in which the
child laved her hands and face, and cooled her feet before
setting forth to walk again.  She would have the old man refresh himself in this way too, and making hirn sit clown upon
the grass, cast the water on him with her hands, and dried it
with her simple dress.
I"  can do nothing for myself, my darling," said the grandfather.  "I don't know how it is; I could once, but the time's
gone.  Don't leave me, Nell; say that thoullt lnot leave me.
I loved thee all the while, indeed I did.  If I lose thee too,
my clear, I must die!"9
lte laid his head upon her shoulder and moaned piteously.
The time had been, and a very -few days before, when the
child could not have restrained her tears and must have wept




'154        15THE  O;LD  CURIOSITY  SHOI-IP.
with him.  But now she soothed him  with gentle and tender
words, smiled at his thinking they could ever part, and rallied
him cheerfully upon the jest.  He was soon calmed and fell
asleep, singing' to himself in a low voice, like a little child.
lHe awoke refreshed, and they continued their journey. The
road was pleasant, lying between beautiful pastures and fields
of corn, above -whvlich, poised high in the clear blue sky, the
lark trilled out her happy song.  The air came laden with the
fragrance it caught upon its way, and the bees, upborne upon
its sented breath, hummed forth their dlrowsy satisfaction as
they floated by.
They were now in the open country; the houses were very few
and scattered at long intervals, often miles apart.  Occasionally
they came upon a cluster of poor cottages, some with a chair or
low board put across the open door to keep the scrambling
children from the road, others shut up close, while all the family
were working in the fields.  These were often the commencement of a little village: and after an interval came a wheelwright's shed or perhaps a blachsmith's forge; then a thriving
farm with sleepy cows lying about the yard, and horses peering
over the low wall and scampering away when harnessed horses
passed upon the road, as thoug'h in triumph at their freedom.
There were dull pigs too, turning up the ground in search of
dainty food, and grunting their monotonous grumblings as they
prowrled about, or crossed each other in their quest; plump
pigeons, skimming round the roof, or strutting on the eaves;
and ducks and geese, far more graceful in their own conceit,
waddling awkwardly about the edges of the pond or sailing
glibly on its surface.  The farm-yard passed, then came the
little inn; the humbler beer-shop; and the villafge tradesman's;
then the lawyer's and the parson's at whose dread names the
beershop trembled; the church then peeped out modestly from
a clump of trees; then there were a few more cottages; then
the cage, and pound, and not unfrequently, on a bank by the
wayside, a deep old dusty well.  Tihen came the trim-hedgoed
fields on either hand, and the open road again.,
They walked all day, and slept that night at a small cottage
where beds were let to travelers.  Next morning they were




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                    1 5
afoot again, and though jaded at first and very tired, recovered
before long and proceeded briskly forward.
They often stopped to rest, but only for a short space at a
time, and still kept on, having- had but slight refieshmient siilc
the morning.  It was nearly five o'clock in the afternoon, when,
drawing   near another cluster of laborers' huts, the  child
looked wistfully at each, doubtful at which to ask for permissioa
to rest awhile, and buy a draught of milk.
It was-not easy to determine, for she was timid and fearful of
being repulsed.  Here wvas a crying child, and there a noisy
wife.  In this, the people seemed too poor; in that, too many.
At length she stopped at one where the family were seated
round a table-chiefly because there was an old man sitting in
a cushioned chair beside the hearth, and she thought he was a
grandfather and would feel for hers.
There were besides, the cottager and his wife, and three
young sturdy children, brown as berries.  The request was no
sooner preferred, than -granted.  The eldest boy ran out to
fetch some milk, the second dragged two stools toward the door,
and the youngest crept to his mother's gown, and looked at the
strangers from beneath his sunburnt hand.
"God save you, master," said the old cottager in a thin piping
voice; "are you traveling far?"'
" Yes, sir, a long way" —replied the child; for her grandfather
appealed to her.
" From London?" inquired the old man.
The child said yes.
Ah i He had been in London many a time —used to go there
often  once, with wagons.  It was nigh two-and-thirty year
since he had been there last, and he did hear say there were
great changes. Like enough! I-He had changed himself since then.
Two-and-thirty year was a long time and eighty-four a great
age, though there was some he had known that had lived to
very hard upon a hundred —and not so hearty as he, neitherno, nothing like it.
" Sit thee down, master, in the elbow chair," said the old man
knocking his stick upon the brick floor, and trying to do so
sharply.  " Take a pinch out'o that box; I don't take much
myself, for it comes dear but I find it wakes me up sometimes,




156         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
and ye're but a boy to me.  I should have a son pretty nigh as
old as you if he'd lived, but they listed him  for a so'ger —he
come back home though, for all he had but one poor leg,.  He
always said he'd be buried near the sun-dial lie used to climb
upon when he was a baby, did my poor boy, and his words come
true —you can see the place with your own eyes; we've kept
the turf up ever since."
lie shook his head, and looking at his daughter with watery
eyes, said she needn't be afraid that he was going to talk about
that any more. He didn't wish to trouble nobody, and if he had
troubled any body by what he said, he asked pardon, that was all.
The milk arrived, and the child producing her little basket
and selecting its best fragments for her grandfather, they made
a hearty meal.  The furniture of the room was very homely of
course-a few rough chairs and a table, a corner cupboard with
their little stock of crockery and delf, a gaudy tea-tray, representing a lady in bright-red, walking out with a very blue parasol, a few common colored scripture subjects in frames upon the
wall and chimney, an old dwarf clothes-press and an eight-day
clock, with a few bright saucepans and a kettle, comprised the
whole.  But every thing was clean and neat, and as the child
glanced round, she felt a tranquil air of comfort and content to
which she had long been unaccustomed.
"  How far is it to any town or village?" she asked of the
husband.
" A matter of good five mile, my dear," was the reply, "but
you're not going on to-night?"
"' Yes, yes, Nell," said the old man hastily, urging her too by
signs.  " Further on, further on, darling; further away if we
walk'till midnight. "
" There's a good barn hard by, master," said the man, or
there's travelers' lodgilnlgs, I know, at the Plow and Harrer.
Excuse me, but you do seem a little tired, and unless you're
very anxicals to get on-"7
"Yes, yes, we are,'" returned the old man fretfully.  " Further
away, dear Nell, pray further away.')
" We must go oil indeed," said the child, yielding to his restless wish.  " We thank you. very much, but we cannot stop so
soon.  I'm quite ready, grandfather."




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                 157
But the woman had observed, from the young wanderer's
gait, that one of her little feet was blistered and sore, and being
a woman and a mother too, she would not suffer her to go until
she had washed the place and applied some  simnple remedy,
which she did so carefully and with such a gentle hand —roughgrained and hard though it was, with work-that the child's
heart was too full to admit of her saying more than a fervent
" God bless you!7 nor could she look back nor trust herself to
speak, until they had left the cottage some distance behind.
When she turned her head, she saw that the whole family, even
the old grandfather, were standing in the road watching them
as they went, and so, with many waves of the hand, and cheering nods, and on one side at least not without tears, they parted
company.
They trudged forward, more slowly and painfuly than they
had done yet, for another mile or thereabouts, lvhen they heard
the sound of wheels behind them, and looking round observed
an empty cart approaching pretty briskly.  The driver on
coming up to them stopped his horse and looked earnestly at
Nell.
"Didn't you stop to rest at a cottage yonder?" he said.
"Yes, sir," replied the child.
" Ah! They asked me to look out for you,'" said the man.
I'm going your way. Give me your hand —jump up, master."
This was a great relief, for they were very much fatigued and
could'scarcely crawl along.  To them the jolting cart was a
luxurious carriage, and the ride the most delicious in the world.
Nell had scarcely settled herself on a little heap of straw in one
corner, when she fell asleep, for the first time that day.
She was awakened by the stopping of the cart, which was
about to turn up a by-lane.  The driver kindly got down to
help her out, and pointing to some trees at a very short distance
before them, said that the town lay there, and that they had
better take the path which they would see, leading through the
church-yard. Accordingly, toward this spot they directed -their
weary steps.




~HAPT], THIE  SIXTE ENT  E
TrIE sun was setting when they reached the wieket-gate at
which the path began, and, as the rain falls upon the.just and
unjust alike, it shed its warmz tint even upon the resting-places
of thei dead, andcbade them be of good hope for its rising on
the morrow.  The church was old and gray, with ivy clinging
to the walls, and round the porch.  Shunning the tombs, it
crept about the mounds, beneath which slept poor humble men,
twining for themn the first wreaths they had ever won, but
wreaths less liable to wither and far more lasting in their kind,
than some which were graven deep in stone and marble, and
told in pomporrs terms of virtues meekly hidden for many a
year, and only revealed at last to executors and mourning
legatees.
The clergyman's horse, stumbling with a dull blunt sound
among the graves, was cropping the grass; at once deriving
orthodox consolation from the dead parishioners, and enforcing
last Sunday's text that this was what all flesh came to; a lean
ass who had sought to expound it also, without being qualified
and ordained, was pricking his ears in an empty pound hard
by, and looking with hungry eyes upon his priestly neighbor.
The old man and the child quitted the gravel path, and
strayed among the tombs; for there the ground was soft, and
easy to their tired feet.  As they passed behind the church,
they heard voices near at hand, and presently came on those
who had spoken.
They were two men who were seated in easy attitudes upon
the grass, and so busily engaged as to be at first unconscious of
intruders.  It was not difficult to divine that they were of a'class of itinerant showmen-exhibitors of the freaks of Punch
— for, perched cross-legged upon a tomb-stone behind them,
was the figure of that hero himself, his nose and chin as hooked
and his -face as beaming as usual.  Perhaps his imperturbable
character was never more strikingly developed, for he preserved
(158)




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  159
his usual equable smile notwithstanding that his body was
dangling in a most uncomfortable position, all loose and limp
and shapeless, while his long peaked cap, unequally balanced
against his exceedingly slight legs, threatened every instant to
bring him toppling down.
In part scattered upon the ground at the feet of the two men,
and in part jumbled together in a long flat box, were the other
persons of the Draima.  The hero's wife and one child, the
hobby-horse, the doctor, the foreign gentleman, who not being
familiar with the lanLguage is unable in the representation to
express his ideas otherwise than by the utterance of the word
" Shallabalah" three distinct times, the radical neighbor who
will by no means admit that a tin bell is an organ, the execntioner, and the devil, were all here. Their owners had evidently
come to that spot to make some needful repairs in the stage
arrangements, for one of them was engafged in binding together
a small gallows with thread, while the other was intent upon.
fixing a new black wig, with the aid of a small hammer and
some tacks, upon the head of the radical neighbor, who had
been beaten bald.
They raised their eyes when the old man ancd his yomung
compafnion were close upon them, and pausing in theils work,
returned their looks of curiosity.  One of them, the actual exhibitor no doubt, was a little, merry-faced man with a twinkling
eye and a red nose, who seemed to have unconsciously imbibed
something of his hero's character.  The other-that was he
who took the money-had rather a careful and cautious look,
which was perhaps inseparable from his occupation also.
The merry man was the first to greet the strangers with a
nod; and following the old man's eyes, he observed that perhaps that was the first time he had ever seen a Punch off the
stage.  (Punch, it may be,remarked, seemed to be pointing
with the tip of his cap to a most flourishing epitaph, and to be
chuckling over it with all his heart.)
" Why do you come here to do this?" said the old man, sitting down beside them, and looking at the figures with extreme
delight.
"Why, you see," rejoined the little man, " we're putting up




160         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
for to-night at the public-house yonder, and it wouldn't do to
let'em see the present company undergoing repair."
" No!" cried the old man, making signs to Nell, to listen,
" why not, eh? why not?"
"Because it would destroy all the delusion, and take away all
the interest, wouldn't it?" replied the little man. " Would you
care a ha'penny for the Lord Chancellor if you know'd him in
private and without his wig? certai nly not."
"Good!".said the old man, venturing to touch one of the
puppets, and drawing away his hand with a shrill laugh. "Are
you going to show'em to-night? are you?"
" That is the intention, governor," replied the other, "and
unless I'm  much mistaken, Tommy Codlin is a calculating at
this minute, what we've lost through your coming upon us.
Cheer up, Tommy, it can't be much."
The little man accompanied these latter words with a wink,
expressive of the estimate he had formed of the traveler's
finances.
To this Mr. Codlin, who had a surly, grumbling manner, replied; as he twitched Punch off the tombstone and flung him
into the box,
"I don't care if we haven't lost a farden, but you're too
free. If you stood in front of the curtain and see the public's
faces as I do, you'd know human natur' better."
"Ah! it's been the spoiling of you, Tommy, your taking to
that branch," rejoined his companion. " When you played the
ghost in the reg'lar drama in the fairs, you believed in every
thing-except ghosts.  But now you're a universal mistruster.
Inever see a man so changed."
"Never mind,"' said Mr. Codlin, with the air of a discontented philosopher.  "I know better now, and p'raps Ilm sorry
for it." 
Turningsover the figures in the box like one who knew and
despised them, Mr. Codlin drew  one forth and held it up for
the inspection of his friend:
" Look here; here's all this Judy's clothes falling to pieces
again.  You haven't got a needle and thread, I suppose?"
The little man shook his head, and scratched it ruefully as
he contemplated the severe indisposition of a principal per



THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  161
former.  Seeing that they were  at a loss, the child  said
timidlyc"I have a needle, sir, in my basket, and thread too.  Will
you let me try to mend it for you?  I think I can do it neater
than you could."
Even Mr. Codlin had nothing to urge against a proposal so
seasonable.  Nelly, kneeling down beside the box, was soon
busily engaged in her task, and accomplisbing it to a miracle.
While she was thus engaged, the merry little man looked at
her with an interest which did not appear to be diminished
when he glanced at her helpless companion.  When she had
finished her work he thanked her, and inquired whither they
were traveling.
" N —no further to-night, I think," said the child, looking
toward her grandfather.
"I' f you're wanting a place to stop at," the man remarked,' I should advise you to take up at the same house with us.
That's it-the long, low, white house there.  It's very cheap."
The old man, notwithstanding his fatigue, would have remained in the church-yard all night if his new acquaintance had
stayed there too.  As he yielded to this suggestion a ready
and rapturous assent, they all rose and walked away together;
le keeping close to the box of puppets in which he was quite
absorbed, the merry little man carrying it slung over his arm by
a strap attached to it for the purpose, Nelly having hold of her
grandfather's hand, and Mr. Codlin sauntering slowly behind,
casting up at the church-tower and neighboring trees such
looks as he was' accustomed in town practice to direct to
drawing-room  and nursery windows, when seeking for a profitable spot on which to plant the show.
The public-house was kept by a fat old landlord and landlady, who malde no objection to receiving their guests, but
praised Nelly's beauty and were at once prepossessed in her behalf.  There was no other comlpany in the kitchen but the two
showmen, and the child felt very thankful that they had fallen
upon such good  quarters.   The  landlady was very much
astonished to learn that they had come ill the way from Londonr
and appeared to have no little curiosity touching their furthe,
aestination.  The child parried her inquiries as well as she
10




162         T   THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
could, and with no great trouble, for finding, that they appeared
to give her pain, the old lady desisted.
"These two gentlemen have ordered supper in an hour's
time," she said, taking her into the bar; "and your best plan
will be to sup with them.  Meantime you shall have a little
taste of something that'll do you good, for I'm sure you must
want it after all you've gone through to-day.  Now, don't look
after the old gentleman, because when you've drank that, he
shall have some too.'"
As nothing could induce the child to leave him alone, however, or to touch any thing in which he was not the first and
greatest sharer, the old lady was obliged to help him first.
When they had been thus refreshed, the whole house hurried
away into an empty stable where the show stood, and where,
by the light of a few flaring candles stuck round a hoop which
hung by a line from the ceiling, it was to be forthwith exhibited.
And now Mr. Thomas Codlin, the misanthrope, after blowing
away at the Pan's pipes until he was intensely wretched, took
his station on one side of the checked drapery which concealed
the mover of the figures, and putting his hands in his pockets
prepared to reply to all questions and remarks of Punch, and to
make a dismal feint of being his most intimate private friend,
of believing in him to the fullest and most unlimited extent, of
knowing that he enjoyed day and night a merry and glorious
existence in that temple, and that he was at all times and under
every circumstance the same intelligent and joyful person that
the spectators then beheld him.  All this Mr. Codlin did with
the air of a man who had made up his mind for the worst and
was quite resigned; his eye slowly wandering about during the
briskest repartee to observe the effect upon the audience, and
particularly the impression made upon the landlord and landlady, which might be productive of very important results in
connection with the supper.
Upon this head, however, he had no cause for any anxiety,
for the whole performance was applauded to the echo, and
voluntary contributions were showered in with a liberality which
testified yet more strongly to the general delight.  Among the
laughter none was more loud and frequent than the old man's,




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                 163
Nell's was unheard, for she, poor child, with her head drooping
on his shoulder, had fallen asleep, and slept too soundly to be
roused by any of his efforts to awaken her to a participation in
his glee.
The supper was very good, but she was too tired to eat, and
yet would not leave the old man until she had kissed him in his
bed.  He, happily insensible to every care and anxiety, sat
listening with a vacant smile and admiring face to all that his
new friends said; and it was not until they retired yawning to
their room, that he followed the child up stairs.
It was but a loft partioned into two compartments, where
they were to rest, but they were well pleased with their lodging
and had hoped for none so good. The old man was uneasy
when he had lain down, and begged that Nell would come and
sit at his bedside as she had done for so many nights.  She
hastened to him, and sat there till he slept.
There was a little window, hardly more than a chink in the
wall, in her room, and when she left him, she opened it, quite
wondering at the silence.  The sight of the old church and the
graves about it in the moonlight, and the dark trees whispering
among themselves, made her more thoughtful than before. She
closed the window again, and sitting down upon the bed,
thought of the life that was before them.
She had a little money, but it was very little, and when that
was gone, they must begin to beg.  There was one piece of
gold among it, and an emergency might come when its worth
to them would be increased a hundred fold. It would be
best to hide this coin, and never produce it unless their case
was absolutely desperate, and no other resource was left them.
Her resolution taken, she sewed the piece of gold into her
dress, and going to bed with a lighter heart sunk into a deep
slumber




CHAPTEER THE SEVENTEENTH.
ANOTIJER bright day shining in through the small casement,
and claiming fellowship with the kindred eyes of the child,
awoke her.  At sight of the strange room and its unaccustomoed
objects she started up in alarm, wondering how she had been
moved from the familiar chamber in which she seemed to have
fallen asleep last night, and whither she had been conveyed.
But another glance around called to her mind all that had lately
passed, and she sprung from her bed, hoping and trustful.
It was yet early, and the old man being still asleep, she
walked out into the church-yard, brushing the dew from the long
grass with her feet, and often turning aside into places where it
grew longer than in others, that she might not tread upon the
graves.  She felt a curious kind of pleasure in lingering among
these houses of the dead, and read the inscriptions on the tombs
of the good people (a great number of good people were buried
there), passing on' from one to another with increasing interest.
It was a very quiet place, as such a place should be, save for
the cawing of the rooks who had built their nests among the
branches of some tall old trees, and were calling to one another,
high up in air.  First one sleek bird, hovering near his ragged
house as it swung and dangled in the wind, uttered his hoarse
cry, quite by chance as it would seem, and in a sober tone as
though he were but talking to himself.  Another answered, and
he called again, but louder than before; then another spoke and
then another; and each time the first, aggravated by contradiction, insisted on his case more strongly.  Other voices,
silent till now, struck in from boughs lower down, and higher up,
and mid-way, and to the right and left, and from the tree-tops;
and others, arriving hastily from the gray church turrets and
old belfry window, joined the clamor which rose and fell, and
swelled and dropped again, and still went on; and all this
noisy contention amidst a skimming to and fro, and lighting on
fresh branches and frequent change of place, which satirized
(164)




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                 165
the old restlessness of those who lay so still beneath the moss
and turf below, and the useless strife in which they had worn
away their lives.
Frequently raising her eyes to the trees whence these sounds
came down, and feeling as though they made the place more
quiet than perfect silence would have done, the child loitered
from grave to grave, now stopping to replace with careful
hands the bramble which had started from some green mound
it helped to keep in shape, and now peeping through one of
the low latticed windows into the church, with its worm-eaten
books upon the desks, and baize of whitened green mouldering
from the pew sides and leaving the naked wood to view. There
were the seats where the poor old people sat, worn spare, and
yellow like themselves; the rugged, font where children had
their names, the homely altar where they knelt in after life, the
plain black tressels that bore their weight on their last visit to
the cool old shady church.  Every thing told of long use and
quiet slow decay; the very bell-rope in the porch was frayed
into a fringe, and hoary with old age.
Sh.e was looking at a humble stone which told of a young
man who had died at twenty-three years old, fifty-five years ago,
when she heard a faltering step approaching, and looking round
saw a feeble woman bent with the weight of years, who tottered
to the foot of that same grave and asked her to read the writing
on the stone.  The old woman thanked her when she had done,
saying that she had had the words by heart for many a long,
long year, but could not see them now.
"Were you his mother?" said the child.
" I was his wife, my dear."
She the wife of a young man of three-and-twenty I Ah, true I
It was fifty-five years ago.
"You wonder to hear me say that," remarked the old woman,
shaking her head.  " You're not the first.  Older folk than you
have wondered at the same thingr before now.  Yes, I was his
wife.  Death doesn't change us more than life, my dear."
" Do you come here often?" asked the child.
"I sit here very often in the summer time," she answered;
"I used to come here once to cry and mourn, but that was a
weary while ago, bless God I "
t0O




1 6 8       THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
"I pluck the daisies as they grow, and take them home,'
said the old woman after a short silence.  "I like no flowers so
well as these, and haven't for five-and-fifty year.  It's a long
time, and I'm getting very old!"
Then growing garrulous upon a theme which was new to one
listener though it were but a child, she told her how she had
wept and moaned and prayed to die herself, when this happened;
and how when she first came to that place, a young creature
strong in love and grief, she had hoped that her heart was
breaking as it seemed to be. But that time passed by, and although she continued to be sad when she came there, still she
could bear to come, and so went on until it was pain no longer,
but a solemn pleasure, and a duty she had learnt to like. And
now thiat five-and-fifty years were gone, she spoke of the dead
man as if he had been her son or grandson, with a kind of pity
for his youth, growing out of her own old age, and an exalting
of his strength and manly beauty as compared with her own
weakness and decay; and yet she spoke about him as her husband too, and thinking of herself in connection with him, as she
used to be and not as she was now, talked of their meetin!g in
another world as if he were dead but yesterday, and she, separated from her former self, were thinking of the happiness of
that comely girl who seemed to have died with him.
The child left her gathering the flowers that grew upon the
grave, and thoughtfully retraced her steps.
The old man was by this time up and dressed.  Mir. Codlin,
still doomed to contemplate the harsh realities of existence, was
packing among his linen the candle-ends which had been saved
from the previous night's performance; while his companion
received the compliments of all the loungers in the stable-yard,
who, unable to separate him from  the master-mind of Punch,
set him down as next in importance to that merry outlaw, and
loved him scarcely less. When he had sufficiently acknowledged his popularity he came into breakfast, at which meal they
all sat down together.
" And where are you going to-day?" said the little man, addressing himself to Nell.
"Indeecl I hardly know -we have not determined yet," replied
the child.




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                 167
"We're going on to the races," said the little man.  "If
that's your way and you like to have us for company, let us
travel together. If you prefer going alone, only say the word
and you'll find that we shan't trouble you."
" We'll go with you," said the old man. "Nell, —with them,
with them."
The child considered for a moment, and reflecting that she must
shortly beg, and could scarcely hope to do so at a better place
than where crowds of rich ladies and gentlemen were assembled
together for purposes of enjoyment and festivity, determined to
accompany these men so far.  She therefore thanked the little
man for his offer, and said, glancing timidly toward his friend,
that if there was no objection to their accompanying them as far
as the race town"Objection!" said the little man.  "Now be gracious for
once, Tommy, and say that you'd rather they went with us.  I
know you would.  Be gracious, Tommy."'
"Trotters,"' said Mr. Codlin, who talked very slowly and eat
very greedily, as is not uncommon with philosophers and misanthropes; "you're too free."'"'Why what harm can it do?1" urged the other.
"lNo harm at all in this particular case, perhaps," replied
Mr. Codlin; "but the principle's a dangerous one, and you're
too free, I tell you."
"Well, are they to go with us or not?"9
"Yes, they are," said Mr. Codlin; "but you might have
made a favor of it, mightn't you?"
The real name of the little man was Harris, but it had gradually merged into the less euphonious one of Trotters, which,
with the prefatory adjective, Short, had been conferred upon
him by reason of the small size of his legs.  Short Trotters,
however, being a compound name, inconvenient of use in friendly
dialogue, the gentleman on whom it had been bestowed was
known  among his intimates either as "Short," or "Trotters,"
and was seldom accosted at full length as Short Trotters, except in formal conversations and on occasions of ceremony.
Short, then, or Trotters, as the reader pleases, returned unto
the remonstrance of his friend Mr. Thomas Codlin, a jocose
answer, calculated to turn aside his discontent; and applying




1G68        TITHE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
himself with great relish to the cold boiled beef, the tea, and
bread and butter, strongly impressed upon his companions that
they should do the like.  Mr. Codlin indeed required no such
persuasion, as he had already eat as much as he could possibly
carry and was now moistening his clay with strong ale, whereof
he took deep draughts with a silent relish and invited nobody
to partake, —thus again strongly indicating his misanthropical
turn of mind.
Breakfast being at length over, Mr. Codlin called for the bill,
and charging the ale to the company generally, (a practice also
savoring of misanthropy) divided the sum-total into two fair and
equal parts, assigning one moiety to himself and friend, and the
other to Nelly and her grandfather.  These being duly discharged and all things ready for their departure, they took farewell of the landlord and landlady and resumed their journey.
And here Mr. Codlin's false position in society and the effect
it wrought upon his wounded spirit, were strongly illustrated;
for whereas he had been last night accosted by Mr. Punch as
" master," and had by inference left the audience to understand
that he maintained that individual for his own luxurious entertainment and delight, here he was, now, painfully walking
beneath the burden of that same Punch's temple, and bearing
it bodily upon his shoulders on a sultry day and along a dusty
road.  In place of enlivening his patron with a constant fire of
wit or the cheerful rattle of his quarter-staff on the heads of his
relations and acquaintance, here was that beaming Punch utterly
devoid of spine, all slack and drooping in a dark box, wmith his
legs doubled up round his neck, and not one of his social qualities remaining.
Mr. Codlin trudged heavily on, exchanging a word or two at
intervals with Short, and stopping to rest and growl occasionally. Short led the way; with the flat box, the private luggage
(which was not extensive) tied up in a bundle, and a brazen
trumpet slung from his shoulder-blade.  Nell and her grandfather walked next him  on either hand, and Thomas Codlia
brought up the rear.
When they came to any town or village, or even to a detached
house of good appearance, Short blew a blast upon the brazen
trumpet and carolled a friaglment of a sonrg in that hilarious tone




TIE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  169
common to Punches and their consorts.  If people hurried to
the windows, Mr. Codlin pitched the temple, and hastily unfurling the drapery and concealing Short therewith, flourished hysterically on the pipes and performed an air.  Then the entertainment began as soon as might be; Mr. Codlin having the
responsibility of deciding on its length and of protracting or
expediting the time for the hero's final triumph over the enemy
of mankind, according as he judged that the after-crop of halfpence would be plentiful or scant.  When it had been gathered
in to the last farthing, he resumed his load and on they went
again.
Sometimes they played out the toll across a bridge or ferry,
and once exhibited by particular desire at a turnpike, where -the
collector, being drunk in his solitude, paid down a shilling to
have it to himself.  There was one small place of rich promise
in which their hopes were blighted, for a favorite character in
the play having gold-lace upon his coat and being a meddling,
wooden-headed fellow; was held to be a libel on the beadle, for
which reason the authorities enforced a quick retreat; but they
were generally well received, and seldom left a town without a
troop of ragged children shouting at their heels.
They made a long day's journey, despite these interruptions,
and were yet upon the road when the moon was shining in the
sky.  Short beguiled the time with songs and jests, and made
the best of every-thing that happened.  Mr. Codlin, on the
other hand, cursed his fate, and all the hollow things of earth
(but Punch especially), and limped along with the theatre on
his back, a prey to the bitterest chagrin.
They had stopped to rest beneath a finger-post where four
roads met, and!Mr. Codlin in his deep misanthropy had let
down the drapery and seated himself in the bottom of the show,
invisible to mortal eyes and disdainful of the company of his
fellow-creatures, when two monstrous shadows were seen stalking toward them firom a turning in the' road by which they had
come.  The child was at first quite terrified by the sight of
these gaunt giants-for such they looked as they advanced with
lofty strides beneath the shadow of the trees —but Short, telling
her that there was nothing to fear, blew a blast upon the trumpet,
which was answered by a cheerful shout.




170        THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
"It's Grinder's lot, an't it?" cried Mr. Short, in a loud key.
"Yes," replied a couple of shrill voices.
"Come on then," said Short.  "Let's have a look at you. I
thought it was you 1'
Thus invited, "Grinder's lot," approached with redoubled
speed and soon came up with the little party.  MIr. Grinder's
company, familiarly termed a lot, consisted of a young gentleman and a young lady on stilts, and Mr. Grinder himself, who
used his natural legs for pedestrian purposes, and carried at
his back a drum.  The public costume of the young people
was of the Highland kind, but the night being damp and cold,
the young gentleman wore over his kilt, a man's pea-jacket,
reaching to his ankles, and a glazed hat; the young lady too
was muffled in an old cloth pelisse, and had a handkerchief
tied about her head.  Their Scotch bonnets, ornamented with
plumes of jet-black feathers, lMr. Grinder carried on his instrument.
" Bound for the races, I see," said Mr. Grinder, coming up
out of breath.  "So are we.  How are you, Short?"  With
that they shook hands in a very friendly manner.  The young
people being too high up for the ordinary salutations, saluted
Short after their own fashion.  The young gentleman twisted
up his right stilt and patted him on the shoulder, and the young
lady rattled her tambourine.
" Practice?" said Short, pointing to the stilts.
" No," returned Grinder.  "It comes either to walkin' in
7em or carryin' of'em, and they like walkin' in'em best. It's
wery pleasant for the prospects.  Which road are you takin'?
We go the nighest."
"Why, the fact is," said Short, " that we were going the
longest way, because then we could stop for the night, a mile
and a half on.  IBut three or four miles gained to-night is so
many saved to-morrow, and if you keep on, I think our best
way is to do the same."
"Where's your partner?"7 inquired Grinder.
" Here he is," cried Mr. Thomas Codlin, presenting his head
and face in the proscenium of the stage, and exhibiting an expression of countenance not often seen there; "and he'll see




THE  OLD  CURlIOSITY  SHOP.                 171
his partner boiled alive before he'll go on to-night. That's
what he says."
"Well, don't say such things as them, in a speer which is
dewoted to something plhasanter," urged Short.  "Respect
associations, Tommy, even if you do cut up rough."
" Rough or smooth," said Mr. Codlin, beating his hand on
the little foot-board, where Punch, when suddenly struck with
the symmetry of his legs and their capacity for silk stockings, is
accustomed to exhibit them to popular admiration, "rough or
smooth, I won't go further than the mile and a half to-night.
I put up at the Jolly Sandboys, and nowhere else.  If you like
to come there, come there.  If you like to go on by yourself, go
on by yourself, and do without me if you can."
So saying, Mr. Codlin disappeared from the scene, and immediately presenting himself outside the theatre, took it on his
shoulders at a jerk, and made off with most remarkable agility.
Any further controversy being now out of the question, Short
was fain to part with Air. Grinder and his pupils and to follow
his morose companion.  After lingering at the finger-post for a
few minutes to see the stilts frisking away in the moonlight and
the bearer of the drum toiling slowly after them, he blew a few
notes upon the trumpet as a parting salute, and hastened with
all speed to follow Mr. Codlin.  With this view he gave his
unoccupied hand to Nell, and bidding her be of good cheer as
they would soon be at the end of their journey for that night,
and stimulating the old man with a similar assurance, led theim
at a pretty swift pace toward their destination, which he was
the less unwilling to make for, as the moon was now overcast
and the clouds were threatening rain.




CHAPTER THE EIGHTEENTH.
THE Jolly Sandboys was a small roadside inn of pretty ancient date, with a sign, representing three Sandboys increasing
their jollity with as many jugs of ale and bags of gold, creaking
and swinging on its post on the opposite side of the road. As
the travelers had observed that day many indications of their
drawing nearer and nearer to the race town, such as gipsy
camps, carts laden with gambling booths and their appurtenances, itinerant showmen of various kinds, and beggars and trampers of every degree, all wending their way in the same direction,
M{r. Codlin was feariful of finding the accommodations forestalled; this fear increasing as he diminished the distance between himself and the hostelry, he quickened his pace, and notwithstanding the burden he had to carry, maintained a round
trot until he reached the threshold.  Here he had the gratification of finding that his fears were without foundation, for the
landlord was leaning against the door-post, looking lazily at the
rain, which had by this time begun to descend heavily, and no
tinkling of cracked bell, nor boisterous shout, nor noisy chorus,
gav.e note of company within.
"All alone?" said Mr. Codlin, putting down his burden and
wiping his forehead.
"All alone as yet," rejoined the landlord, glancin,  at the slky,
"but we shall have more company to-night, I expect.  Here,
one of you boys, carry that show into the barn.  Maake haste
in out of the wet, Tom; when it came on to rain, I told'em to*
make the fire up, and there's a glorious blaze in the kitchen, I
can tell yout.1
Mr. Codlin followed with a willing mind, and soon found
that the landlord had not commended his preparations without
good reason.  A  mig'hty fire was blazing on the hearth, and
roaring up the wide chimney with a cheerful sound, which a
large iron cauldron, bubbling and simmering in the heat, lent
its pleasant aid to swell.  There was a deep red ruddy blush
(Fl c),




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   173
Upon the room, and when the landlord stirred the fire, sending
the flames skipping and leaping up-when he took off the lid
of the iron pot and there ruslecl  out a savory smell, while the
bubbling sound grew deeper and more rich, and an unctuous
steam camle floating out, hanging in a delicious mist above their
heads-when he did this, Mr. Codlin's heart was touched. He
sat down in the chiimney-col eer and smiled.
Mr. Codlin sat smiling in the chimniey-corner, eyeinT the
landlord as with a roguish look he held the cover in his hand,
and, feigning that his doing so was needful to the welfare of the
cookery, suffered the delightful steam  to tickle the nostrils of
his guest.  The glow of the fire was upon the landlord's bald
head, and'upon his twinkling eye, and upon his watering mouth,
and upon his pimpled face, and upon his round fat figure. Mir.
Codlin drew his sleeve across his lips, and said in a murmuring
voice, " What is it?"
"It's a stew of tripe," said the landlord, smacking his lips,
"and cow-lheel," smacking them again, "and bacon," smacking
them  once more, " and steak," smacking them  for the fourth
time, " and peas, cauliflowers, new potatoes, and sparrow-grass,
all workingl up together in one delicious gravy."'  Having come
to the climax, he smacked his lips a great many times, and
taking a long hearty sniff of the fragrance that was hoverinlg
about, put on the cover again, with the air of one whose toils
on earth were over.
"At what time will it be ready?" asked Mr. Codlin, faintly.
" It'll be done to a turn," said the landlord, looking up at
the clock-and the very clock had a color in its fat white face,
and looked a clock for Jolly Sandboys to consult —"it'll be
done to a turn at twenty-two minutes before eleven."
"Then," said Mr. Codlin, " fetch me a pint of warm ale, and
don't let any body bring into the room, even so much as a biscuit'till the time arrives."
Nodding his approval of this decisive and manly course of
procedure, the landlord retired to draw the beer, and presently
returning with it, applied himself to warm the same in a small
tin vessel shaped funnel-wise, for the convenience of sticking it
far down in the fire and getting at the bright places.  This was
soon done, and he handed it over to Mr. Codlin with that




174         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
creamy froth upon the surface which is one of the happy circumstances attendant upon mulled malt.
Greatly softened by this soothing beverage, Mr. Codlin now
bethought him of his companions, and acquainted mine host
of the Sandboys that their arrival might be shortly looked for.
The rain was rattling against the windows and pouring down
in torrents, and such was Mr. Codlin's extreme amiability of
mind, that he more than once expressed his earnest hope that
they would not be so foolish as to get wet.
At length they arrived, drenched with the rain and presenting a most miserable appearance, notwithstanding that Short
had sheltered the child as well as he could under the skirts of
his own coat, and they were nearly breathless from  the haste
they had made. But their steps were no sooner heard upon the
road than the landlord, who had been at the outer door anxiously
watching for their coming, rushed into the kitchen and took the
cover off.  The effect was electrical.  They all came in with
smiling faces though the wet was dripping from their clothes
upon the floor, and Short's first remark was, " What a delicious
smell!1"
It is not very difficult to forget rain and mud by the side of
a cheerful fire, and in a bright room.  They were furnished
with slippers and such dry garments as the house or their own
bundles afforded, and ensconcing themselves, as Mr. Codlin had
already done, in the warm  chimney-corner, soon forgot their
late troubles or only remembered them as enhancing the delights
of the present time.  Overpowered by the warmth and comfort
and the fatigue they had undergone, Nelly and the old man had
not long taken their seats here, when they fell asleep.
"Who are they?" whispered the landlord.
Short shook his head, and wished he knew himself.
"' Don't you know?" asked the host, turning to Mr. Codlin.
"Not I," he replied.  " They're no good, I suppose."
"They're no harm," said Short.  " Depend upon that.  I
tell you what-it's plain that the old man an't in his right
mind-"
"If you haven't got any thing newer than that to say,"
growled Mr. Codlin, glancing at the clock, "you'd better let
us fix our minds upon the supper, and not disturb us."




THIE  OLD  CU IIOSITY  SH-OP.              175' Hear me out, won't you?" retorted his friend.  "It's very
plain to me, besides, that they're not used to this way of life.
Don't tell me that that handsome child has been in the habit of
prowling about as she's done these last two or three days. I
know better." 
" Well, who does tell you she has?" growled Mlr. Codlin,
again glancing at the clock and from it to the cauldron, " can't
you think of any thing more suitable to present circumstances
than saying things and then contradicting'em?"
"I wish somebody would give you your supper," returned
Short, " for there'll be no peace till you've got it.  I-Iave you
seen how anxious the old man is to get on-always wanting to
be furder away-furcler away.  Have you seen that?"
" Ah! what then?" muttered Thomas Codlin.
" This, then," said Short. " He has given his friends the slip.
Mind what I say,-he has given his friends the slip, and persuaded this delicate young creetur all along of her fondness for
him to be his guide and traveling companion —where to, he
knows no more than the man in the moon. Now I'm not a
going to stand that."
" You're not a going to stand thatl" cried Mr. Codlin,
glancing at the clock again and pulling his hair with both
hands in akind of frenzy, but whether occasioned by'his companion's observation or the tardy pace of Time, it was difficult
to determine.  " Here's a world to live in!"
"I,"' repeated Short emphatically and slowly, "am  not
a-going to stand it.  I am not a-going to see this fair young
child a falling into bad hands, and getting among people that
she's no more fit for, than they are to get among angels as their
ordinary chums. Therefore when they dewelope an intention
of parting company from us, I shall take measures for detaining
of'em, and restoring'em to their friends, who I dare say have
had their disconsolation pasted up on every wall in London by
this time."
" Short," said Mr. Codlin, who with his head upon his hands
and his elbows on his knees had been shaking himself impatiently from side to side up to this point and occasionally stamping on the ground, but who now looked up with eager eyes;
"it's possible that there may be uncommon good sense in what




176         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
you've said. If there is, and there should be a reward, Short,
remember that we're partners in every thing!"
Htis companion had only time to nod a brief assent to this
position, for the child awoke at the instant.  They had drawn
close together during the previous whispering, and now hastily
separated and were rather awkwardly endeavoring to exchange
some casual remarks in their usual tone, when strange footsteps
were heard without, and fresh comn pany entered.
These were no other than four very dismal dogs, who came
pattering in one after the other, headed by an old bandy dog of
particularly mournful aspect, who, stopping when the last of
his followers had got as far as the door, erected himself upon
his hind legs and looked round at his companions, who immediately stood upon their hind legs, in a grave and melancholy
row.  Nor was this the only remarkable circumstance about
these dogs, for each of them wore a kind of little coat of some
gaudy color trimmed with tarnished spangles, and one of them
had a cap upon his head, tied very carefully under his chin,
which hlad fallen clown upon his nose and completely obscured
one eye: add to this, that the gaudy coats were all wet through
and discolored with rain, and that the wearers were splashed
and dirty, and some idea may be formed of the unusual appearaiice of these new visitors to the Jolly Sandboys.
Neither Short nor the landlord nor Thomas Codlin, however,
were the least surprised, merely remarking that these were
Jerry's dogs, and that Jerry could not be far behind.  So there
the dogs stood, patiently winking and gaping and looking extremely hard at the boiling pot, until Jerry himself appeared,
when they all dropped down at once and walked about the
room in their natural manner.  This posture it must be confessed did not much improve their appearance, as their own
personal tails and their coat tails —both capital things in their
way-did not agree together.
Jerry, the manager of these dancing dogs, was a tall, blackwhiskered man in a velveteen coat, who seemed well known
to the landlord and his guests and accosted them with great
cordiality.  Disencumbering himself of a barrel-organ which he
placed upon a chair, and retaining in his hand a small whip




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHIOP.                   177
wherewith to awe his company of comedians, he came up to the
fire to dry himself, and entered into conversation.
"Your people don't usually travel in character, do they?"1
said Shoit, poititing to the dresses of the dogs. " It must come
exlensive if they do."7
"No," replited Jerry, "no, it's not the custom with us.  But
we've been playinmg   a little on the road to-day, and we come out
with a new wardrobe at thle races, so I didn't think it worth
while to stop to undress.  Down, Pedro!"
This was addressed to the dog' with the cap on, who heinge  a
new member of the company and not quite certain of' his duty,
kept his unobscured eye anxiously on his master, and was perpetually starting upon his hind legs when there was no occasion,
and falling down agaill.
"I've got a animal here," said Jerry, putting his hand into
the capacious pocket of his coat, and diving into one corner as
if he were feeling for a small orange or an apple or some suc h
article, "a animal here, wot I think you know something of,
Short. "
" Ah!" cried Short, "let's hlave a look at him.'"
"  ere he is," said Jerry, producing   a little terrier from  his
pocket.'"He was once a Toby of yours, warnilt he?"
In some versions of the great drlamlla of Putnch there is a,
small dog-a modern innovation —supposed to be the private
property of that gentleman, whose name is always Toby.  This
Toby has been stolen in youth from  another gentlemlan, and
fraudulently sold to the confiding hero, who having no guile himself has no suspicion that it lurks in others; but Toby, entertaining a grateful recollection of his old master and scornitng
to attach himself to any new patrons, not only refases to smoke
a pipe at the bidding of Punch, but to mark his old fidelity
mnore strongly, seizes him by the nose and wrings'the same with
violence, at which ilstance of caninlle attachment the spectators.are deeply affected.  This was the character which the little
terrier in question had once sustained; if there had been any
doubt upon the subject he would speedily have resolved it by
his conduct; for not onily did he, on seeing Short, give tle
strongest tolkens of recognition, but catching sight of the flat;
box he barked so furiously at the pasteboard nose which he
11




178         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
knew was inside, that his master was obliged to gather him up
and put him into his pocket again, to the great relief of the
whole company.
The landlord now busied himself in laying the cloth, in which
process Mr. Codlin obligingly assisted by setting forth his own
knife and fork in the most convenient place and establishing
himself behind them.  When every thing was ready, the landlord took off the cover for the last time, and then indeed there
burst forth such a goodly promise of supper, that if he had
offered to put it on again, or had hinted at postponement, he
would certainly have been sacrificed on his own hearth.
However, he did nothing of the kind, but instead thereof
assisted a stout servant girl in turning the contents of the
cauldron into a large tureen; a proceeding which the dogs,
proof against various hot splashes which fell upon their noses,
watched with terrible eagerness. At length the dish was lifted
on the table, and mugs of ale having been previously set round,
little Nell ventured to say grace, and supper began.
At this juncture the poor dogs were standing on their hind
legs quite surprisingly; the child, having pity on them, was
about to cast some morsels of food to them before she tasted it
herself, hungry though she was, when their master interposed.
" No my dear, no, not an atom from any body's hand but
mine, if you please.  That dog," said Jerry, pointing out the
old leader of the troop, and speaking in a terrible voice, "lost
a halfpenny to-day.  He goes without his supper."
The unfortunate creature dropped upon his fore-legs directly,
wagged his tail, and looked imploringly at his master.
"You must be more careful, sir," said Jerry, walking coolly
to the chair where he had placed the organ, and setting the
stop. "Come here.  Now, sir, you play away at that, while
we have supper, and leave off if you dare."
The dog immediately began to grind most mournful music.
His master having shown him the whip resumed his seat and
called up the others, who, at his directions, formed in a row,
standing upright as a file of soldiers.
"Now, gentlemen," said Jerry, looking at them attentively.
"The dog whose name's called, eats.  The dogs whose names
an't called, keep quiet.  Carlo!"




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                 179
The lucky individual whose name was called, snapped up the
morsel thrown toward him, but none of the others moved a
muscle.  In this manner they were fed at the discretion of their
master.  Meanwhile the dog in disgrace ground hard at the
organ, sometimes in quick time, sometimes in slow, but never
leaving off for an instant.  When the knives and forks rattled
very much, or any of his fellows got an unusually large piece
of fat, he accompanied the music with a short howl, but he immediately checked it on his master looking round, and applied
himself with increased diligence to the Old Hundredth.




CHAPTEIR THE NINETEENTH.
2UPPER, was not yet over, when there arrived at the Jolly
S&radboys, two more travelers bound for the same haven as the
res, who had been walking in the rain for some hours, and came
in shining and heavy with water.  One of these was the proprnetor of a giant, and a little lady without legs or arms, who
hac jogged forward in a van; the other, a silent gentleman,
who earned his living by showing tricks upon the cards, and
who had rather deranged the natural expression of his counterhance by putting small leaden lozenges into his eyes and bringing them out at his mouth, which was one of his professional
accomplishments. The name of the first of these new-comers was
Vuffin; the other, probably as a pleasant satire upon his ugliness,
was called Sweet William.  To render them as comfortable as
he could, the landlord bestirred himself nimbly, and in a very
short time both gentlemen were perfectly at their ease.
"How's the Giant?" said Short, when they all sat smoking
round the fire.
"Rather weak upon his legs," returned Mr.Tuffin.  "I begin
to be afraid he's going at the knees."
" That's a bad look-out," said Short.
"Aye I Bad indeed," replied Mr.Yuffin, contemplating the
fire with a sigh.  " Once get a giant shaky on his legs, and the
public will care no more about him than they do for a dead
cabbage-stalk. "
" What becomes of the old giants?" said Short, turning to
him again after a little reflection.
" They're usually kept in carawans to wait upon the dwarfs,"
said Mr. Vuffin.
".The maintaining of'em must come expensive, when they
can't be shown, eh?" remarked Short, eyeing him doubtfully.
"It's better that, than letting them go upon the parish or
about the streets," said Mr.Vuffin.  "Once make a giant common and giants will never draw again.  Look at wooden legs.
(180)




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                    181
If there was only one man with a wooden leg, what a property
he'd be."
" So he would!" observed the landlord and Short both together.  " That's very true. "
"Instead of which,"' pursued 3Ir.Yuffin, " if you was to advertise Shakspeare played entirely by wooden legs, it's my belief you wouldn't draw a sixpence."'
" I don't suppose you would," said Short.  And the landlord
said so too.
"This shows, you see," said Mr.Vuffin, waving' his pipe with
an argumentative air, "tlhis shows the policy of keeling the
used-up Giants still in the carawans, where they get food and
lodging for nothing, all their lives, and in general, very glad
they are to stop there. There was one giant-a bluclk'un-as left
his carawan some year ago, and took to carrying coach-bills
about London, making himself as cheap as crossing-sweepers.
HIe died.  I make no insinuation against anybody in particular," said Mlr. Vuffin, lookingl solemnly round, " but he was
ruining the trade;-and he died. "
The landlord drew his breath hard, and looked at the owner
of the dogs, who nodded and said gruffly, that he remembered.
"I know  you do, Jerry," said Mr. Vnffin, with profound
meaning.  " I know you remember it, Jerry, and the univrersal
opinion was, that it served him  right.  Why, I remember the
time when old Maunders as had three and twenty wans —I remember the time when old iMaunders   had in his cottage in Spa
Fields in the willter time, when the season was over, eight male
and female dwarfs setting clown to dinner every day, who was
waited on by eight old giants in green coats, red smalls, blue
cotton stockings, and big'h-lows: T1and there was one dwarf Vas
had grown elderly and wicious, who whenever his giaat wasln't
quick enough to please him, used to stick pins in his legs, not
beinlg able to reach pln  any higher.  I know that's a fact, for
liaunlders told it me hinmself.'"
"What about -the dwarfs, when they get old?" inquired the
landlord.
"The older a dwarf is, the better worth he is," returned MIr.
Vuffin; "a gray-headed dwarf, well wrinkled, is beyond all
suspicion.  Jbut a giant weak in the legs and not standing up.




182         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
right I-keep him  in the carawan, but never show him, never
show him, for any persuasion that can be offered."
While Mr. TVuffin and his two friends smoked their pipes and
beguiled the time with such conversation as this, the silent gen
tleman sat in a warm corner swallowing or seeming to swallow,
sixpennyworth of halfpence for practice, balancing a feather upon
his nose, and rehearsing other feats of dexterity of that kind,
without paving any regard whatever to the company, who in
their tarn left him utterly unnoticed.  At length the weary child
prevailed upon her grandfather to retire, and they withdrew,
leaving the company yet seated around the fire, and the dogs
fast asleep at a humble distance.
After biddi-ng  the old man good-night, Nell retired to her
poor garret, but had scarcely closed the door, when it was gently
tapped at.  She opened it directly, and was a little startled
by the sight of Mr. Thomas Codlin, whom she had left to all
appearance, fast asleep down stairs.
"What is the matter?"' said the child.
" Nothing's the matter, my dear," returned her visitor. " I'm
your friend.  Perhaps you haven't thought so, but it's me that's
your friend- not him."
"Not who?" the child inquired.
" Short, my dear.  I tell you what," said Codlin, "for all his
having a kind of way with him that you'd be very apt to like,
I'm the real, open-hearted man. I mayn't look it, but I am
indeed."
The child began to be alarmed, considering that the ale had
taken effect upon Mr. Cocdlin, and that this commendation of
himself was the consequence.
" Short's very well and seems kind," resumed the misanthrope,
"but he overdoes it. Now I don't."
Certainly if there were any fault in Mr. Codlin's usual denortment, it was that he rather underdid his kindness to those
about him, than overdid it.  But the child was puzzled anll
could not tell what to say.
" Take my advice," said Codlin; "don't ask me why, but
take it. As long as you travel with us, keep as near me as you
can.  Don't offer to leave us-not on any account-but always
stick to me and say that I'm  your friend.  Will you bear that




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                 188
in mind my dear, and always say that it was me that was your
friend?"
" Say so where, —and when?" inquired the child innocently.
" Oh, nowhere in paJrticular,"' replied Codlin, a little put out
as it seemed by the question; " I'm only anxious that you
should think  me so, and do me justice.  You can't think what
an interest I have in you. Why didn't you tell me your little
history-that about you and the poor old gentleman?  I'm the
best adviser that ever was, and so interested in you-so much
more interested than Short.  I think they're breaking up down
stairs; you needn't tell Short, you know, that we've had this
little talk together.  God bless you.  Recollect the friend.
Codlin's the friend, not Short.  Short's very well as far as he
goes, but the real friend is Codlin-not Short."
Eking out these professions with a number of benevolent and
protecting looks and great fervor of manner, Thomas Codlin
stole away on tiptoe, leaving the child in a state of extreme surprise.  She was still rqminating upon'his curious behavior,
when the floor of the crazy stairs and landing cracked beneath
the tread of the the other travelers who were passing to their
beds. When they had all passed, and the sound of their footsteps had died away, one of them returned, and after a little
hesitation and rustling in the passage, as if he were doubtful
what door to knock at, knocked at hers
"Yes?" said the child from within.
" It's me-Short" —a voice called through the keyhole. " I
only wanted to say that we must be off early to-morrow morning, my dear, because unless we get the start of the dogs and
the conjuror, the villages won't be worth a penny. You'll be
sure to be stirring early and go with us?  I'll call you."
The child answered in the affirmative, and returning his
" good-night" heard him creep away.  She felt some uneasiness
at the anxiety of these men, increased by the recollection of their
whispering together down stairs and their slight confusion when
she awoke, nor was she quite free from the misgiving that they
were not the fittest companions she could have stumbled on.
Her uneasiness, however, was nothing, weighed against her
fatigue; and she soon forgot it in sleep.
Very early text morning Short fulfilled  his promise, and




184           THIE  OLD  CURIOSIT Y  SHOP.
Knocking softly at her door entreated that she would  get up
directly, as the proprietor.of the clogs was still snoring, and if
they lost no time they might getl a.rood deal in advance both
of 1lil m and the conjull:r, ho   -tas tasillking' il his sleei,  and f mcll
what he could be ieard to say, appeared  to be balianciln  a don(key in his dreams.  She started  from  hler bed without del:1y,
anld roused the old man with so much expedition that they were
both readyj as soon as Shlort lnhimself, to that gentleman's una
speakable gratification and relief.
After a very unceremoonilus and  scramblinCg   bealakfast of
which the staple commloditia es weree 1)acou aindl bread  ni' bieel,
they took leave of the landlord and issued fr'om the dooi  of0 ti0
Jolly Saindboys.  The morilNg' was fine anld waram, th7e groullCd
cool to the feet after the late rain, the hledges gayer and m nre
green, the air clearl, and every thing' fresh and healtihful    Surrounded by these influelces, they walked on pleasantly enoug i.
They had not gone very far, when the child was atain struck
by the altered behavior of Mr. Thomas Codlin, who instead of
plodding on sulkily by himself as he had heretofore done, kept
close to her, and when he had an opportunity of looking at her
unseen by his companion, watned her by certain wry faces and
jerks of the head not to put any trust in Short, but to reserve
all confidences for Codlin.  Neither did he confine hinself to
looks anid gestures, for when sihe and herI  g)randfather were walking on beside the aforesaid Short, and that little man. \xwas tallkig with his acncustomed che-erfulness on a -variet.y of indiffirent
sl bejects, Thomlas Codlia testified his je-lousy a-n1L dit. r[st by
follow-in. m   close at her heels, andcl occasioia liy at(l nontisllhin   her
ankles witllh the legs of the theatre iin a very abrLuAt; and painful
n a II ncr.
-All these proceedings ntlrally macde the chil'd n       xolxe at!ili'uii
and suspicious, and she soon observed thalt wlhenever theyi' hi  ted
to perform outside a village alehouse or otlteir plce,.  Codliil,
whiile he went throu-l h his share of the ellert.ailnlet, kepti-'};is
eye steadirly upon her and the old mal, or wit h la; o 0     f gOati it
friendshllip and considieration invited the latter to leanl upon his
arm, anid so held him tigolt until the representa tito n was over and
they again  went foirward.   Even Short seelled to change in this
respect, antd to mingle with his good-nature something of a de



TH:E OLD CURIOSITY  SHOP.                         185
sire to keep them  ill safe custody.  This increased the child's
misgivings, and made her yet mlore anxious and uneasy.
Meanwhile, they were drawing' near the town where the races
were to begin next clay; for, from passing numerous g;roips of
gipsies and trampers on the road, wending theirl way toward it,
atd strnatgling' out froim  every by-way and cross-eounltry lane,
they gradually fell into a stream  of people, some walkingr by the
side of covered carts, others with horses, others with donlkeys,
others toiling on with heavy loads upon their bac.ks, bunt all
tendin-, to the sanme point.  The public-houses by the wray-side,
frorm  beino  em-pty and noiseless as those in the reimoter parts
had been, now sent out boisterous shouts and clou'Ids of smo1ke:
and, from the misty windows, clusters of broad red faces looked
down upon the road.  On every piece of waste or common
ground,  some small gaimbler drove his noisy trade, and bellowecd
to the idle passers-by to stop and try their chance; the crowd
grew thicker and more noisy; gilt gingerbread in blanket-,stlls
exposed its glories to the dust; and often a four-horse carriage,
dashing by, obscured all objects in the gritty cloud it raised,
and left them, stunned and blinded, far behind.
it was dark before they reached the the town itself, and long indeed the few last miles had been.  Here all was tumult and
confusion; the streets were filled with throngs of people-manlly
strangers were there, it seemed, by the looks they cast about —
the church bells rang' out their noisy peals, and  nlag's streamIled
from  windows anld house-tops.  In the large inn yards waiters
flitted to anlc fro and 1an mcainst each other, horses cIattered on
the uneven stones, ca-rriaoge steps fell rattling' down, and sickleninl  smells from many dinners came in a heavy lukewarm breath
upon'  the sense.  In the smaller public-houses, fiddles with all
their miglht acnd main were squeaking out the tune to staago-eriig
feet; druillken mlen, oblivious of the burden of their sonl, joinecl
in a senseless howl, which drowned  the tinkling, of thle feeble
bell and made thlem  savage for their drikll; vagabond grolups
assembled round tbhe doors to see the stroller womtnal duclile, and
add their uproalr to tle shrill flageolet anid deafenrlin  drum.
Throug'h this delirious scene the child, frig htened anld repelled
by all she saw, led on her bewildered charge, clinging close to
her conductor, and trembling lest in the press she should be




186         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
separated from him and left to find her way alone.  Quickening
their steps to get clear of all the roar and riot, they at length
passed thro-ugh the town and made for the race-course, which
was upon an; open heath, situated on all eminence, a full mile
distant from its furthest bounds.
Althougl  there were many people here, none of the best
favored or best clad, busily erecting tents and driving stakes
into the ground, and hurrying to and fro with dusty feet and
many a grumbled oath-although there were tired children
cradiled on heaps of straw between the wheels of carts, crying
themselves to sleep —and poor lean horses and donkeys just
turned loose, grazing among the men and women, and pots and
kettles, and half-lighted fires, and ends of candles flaring and
wasting in the air-for all this, the child felt it an escape from
the town and drew her breath more freely.  After a scanty supper, the purchase of which reduced her little stock so low, that
she had only a few half-pence with which to buy a breakfast on
the morrow, she and the old man lay down to rest in a corner
of a tent, and slept, despite the busy preparations that were
going on around them all night long.
And now they had come to the time when they must beg their
bread.  Soon after sunrise in the morning she stole out from
the tent, and rambling into some fields at a short distance,
plucked a few wild roses and such humble flowers, purposing to
make them into little nosegays and offer them to the ladies in
the carriages when the company arrived.  Her thoughts were
not idle while she wa s thus employed; when she returned and
was seated beside the old main in one corner of the tent, tying
her flowers together, while the two men lay dozing' in another
corner, she plucked him by the sleeve, and slightly glancing toward them said in a low voice" Grandfather, don't look at those I talk of, and don't seem
as if I spoke of any thing but what I am about.  What was
that you told me before we left the old house?  That if they
knew what we were going to do, they would say that you were
mad, and part us?"
The old man turned to her with an aspect of wild terror; but
she checked him by a look, and bidding him hold some flowers




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  S-IOP.                 187
while she tied them  up, and so bringing her lips closer to his
ear, said"I know that was what you told me.  You needn't speak,
dear.  I recollect it very well.  It was not likely that I should
forget it.  Grandfather, these men suspect that we have
secretly left our friends, and mean to carry us before some gentleman and have us taken care of- and sent back.  If you let
your hand tremble so, we call never get away from them, but
if you're only quiet now, we shall do so easily."
" How?" mattered the old eman. " Dear Nelly, how? They
will shut me up in a stone room, dark and cold, and chain me
up to the wall, Nell-flog me with whips, and never let me see
thee more!'
"You're trembling again,"' said the child.  " Keep close to
me all day.  Never mind them, don't look at them, but me.  I
shall find a time when we can steal away.  When I do, mind
you come with me, and do not stop or speak a word.  Hush!
That's all."
" Halloa I what are you up to, my dear?" said Mr. Codlin,
raising his head, and yawning.  Then observing that his companion was fast asleep, he added in an earnest whisper, " Codlin's the friend, remember-not Short. "
"Mlaking some nosegays," the child replied; "I am going
to try and sell some these three days of the races. Will you
have one-as a present, I mean?"
Mr. Codlin would have risen to receive it, but the child
hurried toward him and placed it in his hand.  He stuck it in
his button-lole with an air of ineffable complacency, for a misanlthrope, and  leering exultingly at the unconscious Short,
muttered, as he laid himself down again, "Tom  Codlin's the
friend by G- I"
As the morning wore on, the tents assumed a gayer and
more brilliant appearance, and long lines of carriages came
rolling softly on the turf.  Men who had lounged about all
night in smock-frocks and leather leggings, came out in silken
vests and hats and plumes, as jugglers or mountebanks; or in
gorgeous liveries as a soft-spoken servants at gambling-booths;
or in sturdy yeoman' dress as decoys at unlawful games. Blackeyed gipsy girls hooded in showy'handkerchiefs sallied forth to




188         TH1E  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
tell fortunes, and pale slender women with consumptive faces
lingered upon the footsteps of ventriloquists and conjurors, and
counted the sixpences with anxious eyes long before they were
gained.  As many of the children as could be kept withia
bounds, were stowed away, with all the other signs of dirt and
poverty, among the donkeys, carts, and horses; and as many
as could not be thus disposed of ran in and out in all intricate
spots, crept between people's legs and carriage wheels, and
came forth unharmed from under horses' hoofs.  The dancingdogs, the stilts, the little lady and the tall man, and all the
other attractions, with organs out of number and bands innumerable, emerged from the holes and corners in which they
had passed the nighlt, and flourished boldly in the sun.
Along the uncleared course, Short led his party, sounding
the brazen trumpet and reveling in the voice of Punch; and at
his heels went'Thomas Codlin, bearing the show as usual, and
keeping his eye on Nelly and her grandfather, as they ratlher
lingered in the rear.  The child bore upon her arm  the little
basket with her flowers, and sometimes stopped, with timid and
modest looks, to offer them  at some gay carriage; but, alas I
there were many bolder beggars there, gipsies who promised
husbands, and other adepts in their trade, and although some
ladies smiled gently as they shook'their heads, and others cried
to the gentlemen beside them, " See, what a pretty face!" they
let the pretty face pass on, and never thought that it looked
tired or hungry.
There was but one lady who seemed to understand the child,
and she was one who sat alone in a handsome carriage, while
two young men in dashilng clothts, who had just dismoulluted
fiom it, talked andl lanughed loudly at a little distlance, appearing
to' forget her, quite.  There were many ladies all around, but
th'ey turned their backs, or looked;another way, or at the two
young men (not unfavorably at lhem2), and left her to hershclf.
She motioned away a gipsy-womnan urgent to tell her fortune,
saying( that it was told already, and had been for some years,
but called the child toward her, and taking, her flowers put
money into her trembling hand, and bade her go home and
keep at home for God's sake.
Iany a time they went up and down those long, long lines,




:5~~~~~~~~~~~:~-r:~~~~~~~~~~~7~~........
NELAN   ERGANFTHRMAIG  OWAS








TYES  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                189
seeing every thing but the horses and the race; when the bell
rung to clear the course, going back to rest among the carts
and donkeys, and not coming out again until the heat was over.
lany a time, too, was Punch displayed in the full zenith of his
humor, but all this whlile the eye of Thomas Codlin was upon
them, and to escape without notice was impracticable.
At length, late in the day, Mr. Codlin pitched the show in
a convenielt spot, and the spectators were soon in the very
triumph of the scene.  The child, sitting down with the old
man close behind it, had been thinking how strange it was that
horses who were such fine honest creatures should seem to make
vagabonds of all the men they drew about them, when a loud
lauigh at some extemporaneous witticism of Mr. Short's, having
allusion to the circumstances of the day, roused her from her
meditation and caused her to look around.
If they were ever to get away unseen, that was the very
moment.  Short was playing the quarter-staves vigorously arid
knocking the characters in the fury of the combat against the
sides of the show, the people were looking on with laughing
faces, and Mr. Codlin had relaxed into a griln smile as his
roving eye detected hands going into waistcoat-pockets and
groping secretly for sixpences.  If they were ever to get away
unseen, that was the very moment.  They seized it, and fled.
They made a path through booths and carriages and throngs
of people, and never once stopped to look behind. The bell
was ringing and the course was cleared by the time they reached
the ropes, but they dashed across it insensible to the shouts and
screeching that assailed them for breaking in upon its sanctity,
and creeping under the brow of the hill at a quick pace, made
for the open fields.




CHAPTER THE TWENTIETIH.
DAY after day as he bent his steps homeward, returning from
some new effort to procaure employment, Kit raised his eyes to
the window of the little room he had so much commended to
the child, and hoped to see some indication of her presence.  His
own earnest wish, coupled with the assurance he had received
from Quilp, filled him with the belief that she would yet arrive
to claim the humble shelter he had offered, and from the death
of each day's hope, another hope sprung up to live to-morrow.
"' I think they must certainly come to-morrow, eh mother?"
said Kit, laying aside his hat with a weary air and sighing as
he spoke. " They have been gone a week. They surely couldn't
stop away more than a week, could they now?"
The mother shook her head, and reminded him how often he
had been disappointed already.
" For the matter of that," said Kit, " you speak true and
sensible enough, as you always do, mother.  Still, I do consider
that a week is quite long enough for'em to be rambling about;
don't you say so?"
" Quite long enough, Kit, longer than enough, but they may
not come back for all that."
Kit was for a moment disposed to be vexed by this contradiction, and not the less so from having anticipated it in his
own mind and knowing how just it was. But the impulse was
only momentary, and the vexed look became a kind one before
it had crossed the room.
" Then what do you think, mother, has become of'em? You
don't think they've gone to sea anyhow?"
" Not gone for sailors, certainly," returned the mother with a
smile.  " But I can't help thinking that they have gone to some
foreign country."
" I say," cried Kit with a rueful face, "don't talk like that,
mother." 
"I am afraid they have, and that's the truth," she said  "It's
(190)




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                191
the talk of all the neighbors, and there are some even that
know of their having been seen on board ship, and can tell you
the name of the place they've gone to, which is more than I
can, my dear, for it's a very hard one."
" I don't believe it," said Kit.  " Not a word of it. A set
of idle chatter-boxes, how should they know I"'
"They may be wrongl of course," returned the mother, " I
can't tell about that thoullgh  I don't think it's at all unlikely that
they're in the right, for the talk is that the old gentleman had
put by a little money that nobody knew of, not even that ugly
little man you talk to me about-what's his name-Quilp; and
that he and Miss Nell have gone to live abroad where it can't
be taken from them, and they will never be disturbed.  That
don't seem very far out of the way now, do it?"
K-it scratched his head mournfully, in reluctant admission that
it did not, and clambering up to the old nail took down the
cage and set himself to clean it and to. feed the bird.  His
thoughts reverting from this occupation to the little old gentleman who had given him the shilling, he suddenly recollected
that that was the very day-nay, nearly the very hour-at which
the little old gentleman had said he should be at the notary's
house again.  I-le no sooner remembered this, than he hung up
the cage with great precipitation, and hastily explaining the
nature of his errand, went off at full speed to the appointed
place.
It was some two minutes after the time when he reached the
spot, which was a considerable distance from his home, but by
great good luck the little old gentleman had not yet arrived;
at least there was no pony-chaise to be seen, and it was not
likely chat he had come and gone again in.-so short a space.
Greatly relieved to find that he was not toQ late, Kit leant
against a lamp-post to take breath, and waited the advent of
the pony and his charge.
Sure enough, before long, the pony came trotting round the
corner of the street, looking as obstinate as pony might, and
picking his steps as if he were spying about for the cleanest
places, and would by no means dirty his feet or hurry himself
inconveniently. Behind the pony sat the little old gentleman,




192          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
and by the old gentleman's side sat the little old lady, carrying
just such a nosegay as she, had brouglt before.
The old gentleman, the old lady, the pony, and the chaise,
came up the street in perfect unanimity, until they arrived
within some half-a-dozen doors of the notary's house, when the
pony, deceived by a brass-plate beneath a tailor's knocker, came
to a halt, and maintained by a sturdy silence, that that was the
house they waanted.
" Now, sir, will you have the goodness to go on; this is not
the place," said the old gentleman.
The pony looked with great attention into a fire-plug which
was near him, and appeared to be quite absorbed in contemplating it.
"Oh dear, such.a naughty Whisker!" cried the old lady.
" After being so good too, and coming along so well! I am
quite ashamed of him.  I don't know what we are to do with
him, I really don't."
The pony having thoroughly satisfied himself as to the nature
and properties of the fire-plug, looked into the air after his old
enemies the flies, and as there happened to be one of them tickling his ear at that moment he shook his head and whisked his
tail, after which he appeared full of thought but quite comlfortable and collected.  The old gentleman having exhausted his
powers of persuasion, alighted to lead him, whereupon the pony,
perhaps because he held this to be a sufficient concession, perhaps
because he happened to catch sight of the other brass-plate, or
perhaps because he was ill a spiteful humor, darted off with the
old lady and stopped at the right house, leaving the old gentleman to come panting on behind.
It was then that Kit presented himself at the pony's head,
and touched his hat with a smile.
"WMhy, bless me," cried the old gentleman, "the lad is here I.
My dear, do you see?'"
"I said I'd be here, sir," said Kit, patting Whisker's neck.
" I hope you've had a pleasant ride, sir.  He's a very nice little
pony."
" My dear," said the old gentleman.  "This is an uncommon
lad; a good lad, I'm sure."




TIIE  OLD   CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  19 3
1' T am sure he is," rejoined tlie old lady. " -A very good lad,
and I amn sure he is a good son."
Kit acknowleldged these expressions of confidence by touching
his halt alin.d.bl. lshlii.g very Inuch. The old genltleialla  t-h1en
handed the old lady (ut,, and after loolking  at him witht an aplproving  smile they went into the house-talking about him as
they went, Kit could not help feeling.  Presently Mr. Witherden, smlelling very hard at tRhe nosegay, came to the window
and looked at him, and after that iMr. Abel came and looked at
him, and after that the old gentleman and lady came and looked
at him  again, and after that they all came and looked at him
together, which Kit, feeling very murch embarrassed by, made a
pretense of not observing.  Therefore he patted the pony more
and more; and this liberty the pony most handsomely permitted.
The fa-ces had not disappeared from the window many moIments, when iar. Chucklster, in his official coatl, andi with his That
hanging on his llead just as it had h1appened to fall from its peg,
appeared upon the pavement,,and telling him  he was watnted
inside, bade him go in and he would mind the chaise the while.
In giving him this direction, Mr. Chuckster remarked that lie
wished he might be blessed if he could make out whether he
(Kit) was "precious raw" or " precious deep," but intimated
by a distrustfnl. shake of the head, that he, inclined to the latter
opinion.
Kit entered the office in a great tremor, for he was not used
to going among strange ladies and gentlemen, and the tin boxes
and bundles of dusty papers had in his eyes an awful and vene-'able air.  Mr. Witherden too was a bustling gentleman who
talked loud and fast, and all eyes were upon him, and he was
very shabby.
" Well, boy," said Mfr. Witherden; " you came to work out
that shillino-   not to get another, hey?"
"No indeed, si', " replied Kit, taking courage to look up. " I
never thonght, of slile  a thii(rg."
"Fatlher a'live?" said the notary.
IDead, sir.di
"M Mother?"
6 Yes, silr."1
6,'I.l'ried again —-eh )?
12




194         T'HE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
Kit made answer, not without some indignation, that she was
a widow with three children, and that as to her marrying again,
if the gentleman knew her he wouldn't think of such a thing.
At this reply Mr. Witherden buried his nose in the flowers
again, and whispered behind the nosegay to the Qld gentleman
that he believed the lad was as honest a lad as need be.
"' 3Now," said M'17r. Garland, when they had made some further
inquiries of him, "I'm not going to give you any thing-s"
" Thank you, sir," Kit replied; and quite seriously too, for
this announcement seemed to free him from the suspicion which
the notary had hinted.
" But," resumed the old gentleman, "' perhaps I may want to
know something more about you, so tell me where you live and
I'll put it down in my pocket-book."
Kit told him, and the old gentleman wrote down the address
with his pencil.  He had scarcely done so, when there was a
great uproar in the street, and the old lady hurrying to the
window, cried that Whisker had run away, upon which Kit
darted out to the rescue, and the others followed.
It seemed that IMr. Chuckster had been standing with his
hands in his pockets, looking carelessly at the pony, and occasionally insulting him with such admonitions as " Stand still,"
-" Be quiet,' —"  oa-a-a," and the like, which by a pony of
spirit cannot be borne.  Consequently, the pony being deterred
by no considerations of duty or obedience, and not having before him the slightest fear of the human eye, had at length started
off, and was that moment rattling down the street,-Mr. Chuckster, with his hat off and a pen behind his ear, hanging on in the
rear of the chaise and making futile attempts to draw it the
other way, to the unspeakable admiration of all beholders.
Even in running away, however, Whlisker was perverse, for he
had not gone very far when he suddenly stopped, and before
assistance could be rendered, commenced backing at nearly as
quick a pace as he had gone forward.  By these means Mr.
Chuckster was pushed and hustled to the office again, in a mnos
inglorious manner, and arrived in a state of great exhaustion
and discomfiture.
The old lady then stepped into her seat, and Mr. Abel (whom
they had come to fetch) into his.  The old gentleman, after




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                195
reasoning with the pony on the extreme impropriety of his conduct, and making the best amends in his power to Mr. Chuckster,
took his place also, and they drove away, waving a farewell to
the notary and his clerk, and more than once turning to nod
kindly to Kit as he watched them from the road.




Cl APTErI  TiHE  TWENTY-FIRS.! T.
KIIr turned away and very soon forgot the pony, and the
chaise, and the little old lady, and the little old gentlereman, and
the little young gentleman to boot, in thinking what could have
become of his late master and his lovely grandchild, who were
the fountain head of all his meditations.  Still casting about
for some plausible means of accounting for their non-appearance,
and of persuading himself that they must soon return, he bent
his steps toward home, intending to finish the task which the
sudden recollection of his contract had interrupted, and then to
sally forth once more to seek his fortune for the day.
When he camle to the corner of the court in which he lived,
lo and behold there was the pony again! Yes, there he was,
looking more obstinate than ever; and alone in the chaise,
keeping a steady watch upon his every wink, sat Mr. Abel, who
lifting up his eyes by chance and seeing Kit pass by, nodded to
him as though he would have nodded his head off.
Kit wondered to see the pony again, so near his own home
too, but it never occurred to him for what purpose the pony
might have come there, or where the old lady and the old gen:
tleman had gone, until he lifted the latch of the door, and walking in, found them seated in the room in conversation with his
nmother, at which unexpected sight he pulled off his hat and
made his best bow in some confusion.
"We are here before you, you see, Christopher," said Mr.
Garland, smiling.
"Yes, sir," said Kit; and as he said it he looked toward his
mother for an explanation of the visit.
"The gentleman's been kind enough, my dear," said she, in reply to this mute interrogation," to ask me whether you were in
a good place or in any place at all, and when I told him no, you
were not in any, he was so good as to say that-"
"That we wanted a good lad in our house,'" said the old gentleman and the old lady both together, " and that perhaps we
(196)




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   197
might think of it, if we found every thing as we would wish it
to be."
As this thinking' of it, plainly meant the thinking of enpaging' Kit, he immediately partook of his mother's anxiety and fell
into a great flutter; for the little old couple were very methodical and cautious, and asked so many questions that he began to be afraid there was no chance of his success.
"You see, my good woman," said Mrs. Garland to Kit's
mother, " that it's necessary to be very careful and particular
in such a matter as this, for we're only three in family, and are
very quiet regular folks, and it would be a sad thin(o if we made
any kind of mistake, and found things different from what we
hoped and expected."
To this, Kit's mother replied, that certainly it was quite true,
and quite right, and quite proper, and H-eaven forbid that she
should shrink, or have cause to shrink, from  any incquiry into
her character or that of her son, who was a very good son
though she was his mother, in which respect, she was bold to say,
he took after his father, who was not only a good son to his
mother, but the best of husbands and the best of fathers besides,
which Kit could and would corroborate she knew, and so would
little Jacob and the baby likewise if they were old'enough,
which unfortunately they were not, though as they didn't know
what a loss they had had, perhaps it was a great deal better
that they should be as young as they were; and so Kit's mother
wound up a long story by wiping her eyes with her apron, and
patting little Jacob's head, who was rocking the cradle and
staring with all his might at the strange lady and gentleman.
When Kit's mother had done speaking, the old lady struck
in again, and said that she was quite sure she was a vei'y honest
and very respectable person or she never would have expressed
herself in that manner, and that certainly the appearance of the
children and the cleanliness of the house deserved great praise
and did her the utmost credit, whereat Kit's mother dropped a
courtesy and became consoled.  Then the good woman entered
into a long and minute account of Kit's life and history from
the earliest period down to that time, not omitting to make
mention of his miraculous fall out of a back-parlor window when
an infant of tender years, or his uncommon sufferings in a state




198        THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
of measles, which were illustrated by correct imitations of the
plaintive manner in which he called for toast and water, day
and night, and said " Don't cry, mother, I shall soon be better;"
for proof of which statements reference was made to Mrs. Green,
lodger, at the cheesemnonger's round the corner, and divers other
ladies and gentlemen in various parts of England and Wales
(and one Mr. Brown who was supposed to be then a corporal
in the East Indies, and who would of course be found with very
little trouble), within whose personal knowledge the circumstance
had occurred.  This narration ended, Mr. Garland put some
questions to Kit respecting his qualifications and general acquirements, while Mrs. Garland noticed the children, and hearing from Kit's mother certain remarkable circumstances which
had attended the birth of each, related certain other remarkable
circumstances which had attended the birth of her own son, Mr.
Abel, from which it appeared that both Kit's mother and herself had been, above and beyond all other women of what condition or age soever, peculiarly hemmed in with perils and
dangers. Lastly, inquiry was made into the nature and extent
of Kit's wardrobe, and a small advance being made to improve
the same, he was formally hired at an annual -income of Six
Pounds, over and above his board and lodging, by Mr. and
Mrs. Garland, of Abel Cottage, Finchley.
It would be difficult to say which party appeared most pleased
with this arrangement, the conclusion of which was hailed with
nothing but pleasant looks and cheerful smiles on both sides.
It was settled that Kit should repair to his new abode on the
next day but one, in the morning; and finally, the little old
couple, after bestowing a bright half-crown on little Jacob and
another on the baby, took their leaves; being escorted as far
as the street by their new attendant, who held the obdurate
pony by the bridle while they took their seats, and saw them
drive away with a lightened heart.
"Well, mother," said Kit, hurrying back into the house, " I
think my fortune's about made now."
"I should think it was, indeed, Kit," rejoined his mother.
" Six pound a year! Only think I"
"Ah I" said Kit, trying to maintain the gravity which the




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                 199
consideration of such a sum demanded, but grinning with delight in spite of himself.  " There's a property!"
Kit drew a long breath when he had said this, and putting his
hands deep inlto his pockets as if there were one year's wages,at least in each, looked at his mother, as though he saw through
her, and down an immense perspective of sovereigns beyond.
" Please God, we'9lI make such a lady of you for Sundays,
mother I such a scholar of Jacob, such a child of the baby, such
a room of the one up stairs I Six pound a year!"
"6 Hem!" croaked a strange voice.  "What's that about six
pound a year?  What about six pound a year?"  And as the
voice made this inquiry, Daniel Quilp walked in with Richard
Swiveller at his heels.
"Who said he was to have six pound a year?" said Quilp,
looking sharply round.  "Did the old man say it, or did little
Nell say it?  And what's he to have it for, and where are
they, eh?"
The good woman was so much alarmed by the sudden apparition of this unknown piece of ugliness, that she hastily caught
the baby from its cradle and retreated into the furthest corner
of the room; while little Jacob, sitting upon his stool with his
hands on his knees, looked full at him iln a species of fascination,
roaring lustily all the time.  Richard Swiveller took an easy
observation of the family over'Mr. Quilp's head, and Quilp
himself, with his hands in his pockets, smiled in an exquisite enjoyment of the commotion he occasioned.
" Don't be frightened, mistress," said Quilp, after a pause.
"Y' our son knows me; I don't eat babies; I don't like'em.
It will be as well to stop that young screamer though, in case I
should be tempted to do him a mischief.  Holloa, sir!  Will
you be quiet?"
Little Jacob stemmed the course of two tears which he was
squeezing out of his eyes, and instantly subsided into a silent
horror.
" iind you don't break out again, you villain," said Quilp,
looking sternly at him, "or I'll make faces at you and throw you
into fits, I will. NOW, you sir, why haven't you been to me, as
you promised?"




200         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
"What should I come for?" retorted Kit.  "I hadn'-t any
business with you, no more than you. had with me."
" Here, mistress, said Quilp, turnhing quickly away, and appealing from -,it to'his mother.  "   lWhen did his old nmaster
come or send here last?  Is he here now?  If not, whlere's lihoe
gone?1"'" He has not been here at all," slhe replied.  "I wish we
klnew wlhere they have gone, for it would make my son a good
deal easier in his mind, and me too.  If you're the gentlemau
namlled Mr. Quilp, I should have thought you'd have known,
altd so I toldt hii  only this very day."
"  umph!" muttered Quilp, evidently disappointed to believe
that this was true.  " That's what you tell this gentleman, too,
is it?"
" If the ~gentleman comes to ask the same question, I can't
tell him any thing else, sir; and I only wish I could, for our
own sakes,"' was the reply.
Quilp glanced at IeichaIrd Swiveller, and observed that having
met him  on the threshold, he assumed that he had come in
searchl-  of some intelligence of the fugitives.  He supposed hoe
was right?
" Yes," said lick, "that was the object of the present expedition.  I fanlcied it possible —but let us go ring fancy's knell.
1'1l begin it."
"You seem disappointed," observed Quilp.
"A baffler, sir, a baffler, that's all," returned Dick.  "I have
entered upon a speculation which has proved a baffler; and a
Being of brig'htness and beauty will be offered up a sacrifice at
Chegg's's altar.  That's all, sir. "
The dwarf eyed Richard with a sarcastic smile, but Richard,
who had been taking a rather strong lunch with a friend, observed him not, and continned to deplore his fate with mournful
and despondent looks.  Quilp plainly discerned that there was
some secret reason for this visit and his uncommon disappointment, and, in the hope that there might be means of mischief
lurking beneath it, resolved to worm it out.  He had no sooner
adopted this resolution, than he conveyed as much honesty into
his face as it was capable of expressing, and sympathized with
Mlr. Swiveller exc;eedingly.




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   201
"I'm disappointed myself," said Quilp, " out of mere friendly
feeling for them; but yon have real reasons, private reasons I have
no doubt, for your disappointment, and therefore it comes heavier than mine."'
" Why, of course it does," Dick observed testily
"Upon my word, I'm very sorry, very sorry.  I'm rather cast
down myself.  As we are companions in adversity, shall we be
companions in the surest way of forgetting it?  If you had no
particular businless, now, to lead you in another direction,''
urged Quilp, plucking him by the sleeve and looking slyly up
into his face out of the corners of his eyes, " there is a house
by the water-side, where they 1have some of the noblest Scheidam-reputed to be smiuggled, but that's between ourselves —
that can be got in all the world.  The landlord knows me.
There!s a little summrner-house overlooking the river, where we
might take a glass of this delicious liquor with a whlliff of the
best tobacco-it's in this case, and of the rarest quality, to my
certain knowledge —and be perfectly snug and halppy, could we
possibly contrive it,; or is there any very particular engagemenlt
that peremptorily takes you another way, Mr. Swiveller, eh 1"
As the dwarf spoke, Dick's face relaxed into a compliant
smile, and his brows slowly unbent.  By the time he had finished, Dick was looking down at Quilp in the same sly manner
as Quilp was looking up at him, and there remained nothino
more to be done but to set out for the house in question.. This
they did, straightway.  The moment their backs were turned,
little Jacob thawed, and resumed his crying from  the point
where Quilp had fiozen him.
The summer-house of which Mr. Quilp had spoken was a
rugged wooden box, rotten and bare to see, which overhung
the river's mud, and threatened to slide down into it.  The tavern to which it belonged was a crazy building, sapped and undermined by the rats, and only upheld by great bars of wood
which were reared against its walls, and had propped it up so long
that even they were decaying and yielding with their load, and
of a windy night might be heard to creak and crack as if the
whole fabric were about to come toppling down.  The house
stood —if any thing so old and feeble could be said to standon a piece of waste ground, blighted with the unwholesome smoke




202         TIHE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
of factory chimneys, and echoing the clank of iron wheels and
rush of troubled water.  Its internal accommodations amply
fulfilled the promise of the outside.  The rooms were low and
damp, the clammy walls were pierced with chinks and holes, the
rotten floors had sunk from their level, the very beams started
from their places and warned the timid stranger from their
neighborhood.
To this inviting spot, entreating him to observe its beauties
as they passed along, Mr. Quilp led Richard Swiveller, and on
the table of the summer house, scored deep with many a gallows
and initial letter, there soon appeared a wooden keg full of the
vaunted liquor.  Drawing it off into the glasses with the skill
of a practiced hand, and mixing it with about a third part of
water, Mr. Quilp assigned to Richard Swiveller his portion, and
lighting his pipe from an end of candle in a very old and battered lantern, drew  himself together upon a seat and puffed
away.
"Is it good?" said Quilp, as Richard Swiveller smacked his
lips, "is it strong and fiery?  Does it make you wink, and
choke, and your eyes water, and your breath come short-does
it?"
" Does it?" cried Dick, throwing away a part of the contents
of his glass, and filling it up with water, "why man you don't
mean to tell me that you drink such fire as this?"
" No!" rejoined Quilp, " not drink it I Look here. And here.
And here again. Not drink it I'
As he spoke, Daniel Quilp drew off and drank three small
glass-fulls of the raw spirit, and then with a horrible grimace
took a great many pulls at his pipe, and swallowing the smoke,
discharged it in a heavy cloud from his nose.  This feat accomplished he drew himself together in his former position, and
laughed excessively.
"Give us a toast!" cried Quilp, rattling on the table in a
dexterous manner with his fist and elbow alternately, in a kind
of tune, " a woman, a beauty. Let's have a beauty for our
toast and empty our glasses to the last drop.. Her name,
come!"
" If you want a name," said Dick, "here's Sophy Wackles."
"Sophy Wackles,"  screamed  the  dwarf. "Miss  Sophy




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                 203
Wackles that is-Mrs. Richard Swiveller that shall be-that
shall be-ha ha ha 1"
"Ah I" said Dick, "you might have said that a few weeks
ago, but it won't do now, my buck.  Immolating herself upon
the shrine of Cheggs- -"
"Poison Cheggs, cut Cheggs's ears off,"' rejoined Quilp. " I
won't hear of Cheggs.  Her name is Swiveller or nothing. I'll
drink her health again, and her father's, and her mother's; and
to all her sisters and brothers —the glorious family of the
Wacklesses-all the Wacklesses in one glass-down with it to
the dregs I"
" Well," said }Richard Swiveller, stopping short in the act of
raising the glass to his lips and looking at the dwarf in a species
of stupor as he flourished his arms and legs about: "you're a
jolly fellow, but of all the jolly fellows I ever saw or heard of,
you have the queerest and most extraordinary way with you,
upon my life you have."
This candid declaration tended rather to increase than restrain iMr. Quilp's excentricities, and Richard Swiveller, astonished to see him in such a roystering vein, and drinking not a
little himself, for company, —began imperceptibly to hecome
more companionable and confiding, so that, being judiciously
led on by Mr. Quilp, he grew at last very confiding indeed.
Having once got him into this mood, and knowing now the keynote to strike whenever he was at a loss, Daniel Quilp's task was
comparatively an easy one, and he was soon in possession of the
whole details of the scheme contrived between the easy Dick
and his more designing friend.
"Stop!" said Quilp.  "That's the thing, that's the thing.
It can be brought about, it shall be brought about.  There's my
hand upon it; I'm your friend from this minute."
" What! do you think there is still a chance?" inquired Dick,
in surprise at this encouragement.
"A  chance!" echoed the dwarf, " a certainty   Sophy
Wackles may become a Cheggs or any thing else she likes, but
not a Swiveller.  Oh you lucky dog!  He's richer than any
Jew alive; you're a made man.  I see in you now nothing but
Nelly's husband, rolling in gold and silver.  I'll help you.  It
shall be done.  Mind my words, it shall be done."




204         TIIE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
" But' how?" said Dick.
" There's plenty of time," rejoined the dwarf, " and it shall
be dclone.  We'll sit down and talk it over again all the way
through.  Fill your glass while I'm gone.  I shall be back directly-directly. "
With these hasty words, Daniel Quilp withdrew into a dismantled skittle-ground behind the public-house, and, throwing
himnself upon the ground, actually screamed and rolled about in
uncontrolable delight.
iHere's sport!" he cried, " sport ready to my hand, all invented and arranged, and only to be enjoyed.  It was this
shallow-pated fellow who made my bones ache t'other day, was
it?  It was his friend and fellow-plotter, Mr. Trent, that once
made eyes at Mrs. Quilp, and leered and looked, was it? After
laboring for two or three years in their precious scheme, to find
that they've got a beggar at last, and one of them tied for lif! 
Ha, ha, ha I He shall marry Nell. He shall have her, and I'll
be the first man, when the knot's tied hard and fast, to tell'eal
what they've gained and what I've helped'em to. Here will
be a clearing of old scores, here will be a time to remind'era
what a capital friend I was, and how I helped'em to the heiress.
Ha, ha, ha 1"
In the height of his ecstasy, Mr. Quilp had like to have met
with a disagreeable check, for, rolling very near a broken dogkennel, there leapt forth a large, fierce dog, who, but that his
chain was of the shortest, would have given him a disagreeable
salute. As it was, the dwarf remained upon his back in perfect safety, taunting the dog with hideous faces, and triumphing
over him in his inability to advance another inch, though there
were not a couple of feet between them.
" Why don't you come and bite me, why don't you come and
tear me to pieces, you coward?" said Quilp, hissing and worrying the animal till he was nearly mad. "You're afraid, you
bully, you're afraid, you know you are."
The dog tore and strained at his chain with starting eyes and
furious bark, but there the dwarf lay, snapping his fingers with
gestures of defiance and contempt.  When he had sufficiently
recovered from his delight, he rose, and with his arms a-kimbo,
achieved a kind of demon-dance round the kennel, just without




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                205
the limits of the chain, driving the dog quite wild. Having by
this means composed his spirits and put himself in a pleasant
train, he returned to his unsuspicious companion, whom he
found looking "at the tide with exceeding gravity, and thinking
of that same gold and silver which Miir. Quilp had mentioned.




CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SEC OND.
TIuE remainder of that day and the whole of the next, were
a busy time for the Nubbles family, to whom every thing connected with Kit's outfit and departure was matter of as great
moment as if he had been about to penetrate into the interior
of Africa, or to take a cruise round the world. It would be
difficult to suppose that there ever was a box which was opened
and shut so many times within four-and-twenty hours, as that
which contained his wardrobe and necessaries; and certainly
there never was one which to two small eyes presented such a mine
of clothing, as this mighty chest with its three shirts and proportionate allowance of stockings and pocket-handlkerchiefs,
disclosed to the astonished vision of little Jacob.  At last it
was conveyed to the carrier's at whose house, at Finchley, Kit
was to find it next day; and the box being gone, there remained
but two questions for consideration: firstly, whether the carrier
would lose, or dishonestly feign to lose, the box upon the road:
and secondly, whether Kit's mother perfectly understood how to
take care of herself in the absence of her son.
" I don't think there's hardly a chance of his really losing it,
but carriers are under great temptation to pretend they lose
things, no doubt," said Mrs. Nubbles, apprehensively, in reference to the first point.
"No doubt about it," returned Kit, with a serious look;
" upon my word, mother, I don't think it was right to trust it
to itself.  Somebody ought to have gone with it, I'm afraid."
" We can't help it now," said his mother; " but it was foolish
and wrong.  People oughtn't to be tempted."
Kit inwardly resolved that he would never tempt a carrier
any more, save with an empty box; and having formed this
christian determination, he turned his thoughts to the second
question.
"You know you must keep up your spirits, mother, and not
be lonesome because I'm not at home.  I shall very often be
(206)




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  207
able to look in when I come into town, I dare say, and I shall
send you a letter sometimes, and when the quarter comes round,
I can get a holiday of course; and then see if we don't take
little Jacob to the play, and let him know what oysters means."
"I hope plays mayn't be sinful, IKit, but I'm almost afraid,"
said Mrs. Nubbles.
"I know who has been putting that into your head," rejoined
her son disconsolately; "that's Little Bethel again.  Now I
say, inother, pray don't take to going there regularly, for if I
was to see your good-humored face that has always made home
cheerful, turned into a grievous one, and the baby trained to
look grievous too, and to call itself a young sinner (bless its
heart.) and a child of the devil, (which is calling its dead father
names); if I was to see this, and see little Jacob looking grievous likewise, I should so take it to heart that I'm sure I should
go and list for a soldier, and run my head on purpose against
the first cannon-ball I saw coming my way."
" Oh, Kit, don't talk like that.">
" I would indeed, mother, and unless you want to make me
feel very wretched and uncomfortable, you'll keep that bow on
your bonnet, which you'd more than half a mind to pull off last
week.  Can you suppose there's any harm in looking as cheerful
and being as cheerful as our poor circumstances will permit?
Do I see any thing in the way I'm made, which calls upon me
to be a sniveling, solemn, whispering chap, sneaking about as
if I couldn't help it, and expressing myself in a most unpleasant
snuffle? on the contrairy, don't I see every reason why I
shouldn't? Just hear this I Ha, ha, ha! An't that as nat'ral
as walking, and as good for the health?  Ha, ha, ha! An't
that as nat'ral as a sheep's bleating, or a pig's grunting, or a
horse's neighing, or a bird's singing?  Ha, ha, ha I Isn't it,
mother?"
There was something contagious in Kit's laugh, for his mother,
who had looked grave before, first subsided into a smile, and
then fell to joining in it heartily, which occasioned Kit to say
that he knew it was natural, and to laugh the more.  Kit and
his mother, laughing together in a pretty'loud key, woke the
baby, who, finding that there was something very jovial and
agreeable in progress, was no sooner in its mother's arms than




208         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHTOP.
it began to kick and laugh, most vigorously. This new ill nst.ration of his argument so tickled Kit, that lie fell backward in his
chair in a, state of exhaustion, pointing at the baby and shaking
his sides till he rocked aogain. After recovering twice or thrice,
and as often relapsing, he wiped his eyes and said grace; and
a very cheeful meal their scanty supper was.
With more kisses, and huigs, and tears, than many young
gentlemen who start upon their travels, and leave well-stocked
homes behind them, would deem within the bounds of probability, (if matter so low could be herein set down) Kit left the
house at an early hour next morning, and set out to walk to
Finchley; feeling a sufficient pride in his appearance to have warranted his excommunication from. Little Bethel from that time
forth, if he had ever been one of that mournful congregation.
Lest anybody should feel a curiosity to know how Kit was
clad, it may be briefly remarked that he wore no livery, but was
dressed in a coat of pepper-and-salt with waistcoat of canary
color, and nether garments of iron gray; beside these glories,
he shone in the luster of a new pair of boots and an extremely
stiff and shiny hat, which on being struck anywhere with the
knuckles, sounded like a drum.  And in this attire, rather wondering that he attracted so little attention, and attributing the
circumstance to the insensibility of those who got up early, he
made his way toward Abel Cottage.
Without encountering any more remarkable adventure on the
road, than meeting a lad in a brimless hat, the exact counterpart
of his old one, on whom be bestowed half the sixpence he possessed, Kit arrived in course of time at the carrier's house, where,
to the lasting honor of human nature, he found the box in safety.
R.eceiving fronm the wife of this immaculate man, a direction to
Mr. Garland's, he took the box upon his shoulder and repaired
thither directly.
To be sure, it was a beautiful little cottage, with a thatched
roof and little spires at the gable ends, and pieces of stained
glass in some of the windows, almost as large as pocket-books.
On one side of the house was a little stable, just the size for the
pony, with a little room  o.ver it, just the size for Kit.  White
curtains were fluttering, and birds in cages that looked as bright
as if they were made of gold, were singing at the windows;




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                 209
plants were arranged on either side of the path, and clustered
about the door; and the garden was bright with flowers in full
bloom, which shed a sweet odor all round, and had a charming
and elegant appearance.  Every thing, within the house alnd
without, seemed to be the perfection of neatness and order.  In
the garden there was not a weed to be seen, and to judge from
some dapper gardening-tools, a basket, and a pair of gloves.
which were lying in one of the walks, old Mr. Garland had been
at work in it that very morning.
Kit looked about him, and admired, and looked again, and
this a great many times before he could make up his mind to
turn his head another way and ring the bell. There was abundance of time to look about him again though, when he had rung
it, for nobody came, so after ringing twice or thrice, he sat down
upon his box, and waited.
He rung the bell a great many times, and yet nobody came.
But at last, as he was sitting upon the box, thinking about
giants' castles, and princesses tied up to pegs by the hair of
their heads, and dragons bursting out from behind gates, and
other incidents of the like nature, common in story-books to
youths of low degree on their first visit to strange houses, the
door was gently opened, and a little servant-girl, very tidy,
modest, and demure, but very pretty too, appeared.
"I suppose you're Christopher, sir," said the servant-girl.
Kit got off the box, and said yes, he was.
"I'm afraid you've rung a good many times perhaps," she
rejoined, "but we couldn't hear you, because we've been catching the pony."
Kit rather wondered what this meant, but as he couldn't stop
there, asking questions, he shouldered the box again and followed the girl into the hall, where through a back door he
descried Mr. Garland leading Whisker in triumph up the garden, after that self-willed pony had (as he afterward learned)
dodged the family round a small paddock in the rear, for one
hour and three-quarters.
The old gentleman received him very kindly and so did the
old lady, whose previous good opinion of him was greatly enhanced by his wiping his boots on the mat until the soles of his
feet burnt again.  He was then taken into the parlor to be in13




010         TiiE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
speeted in his new clothes; and when he had been surveyed
several times, and had afforded by his appearance unlimited
satisfaction, he was taken into the stable (where the the pony received him with uncommon complaisance); and thence into the
little chamber he had already observed, which was very clearn
and comfortable; and thence into the garden, in which the old
gentleman told him he would be taught to employ himself, and
where he told him besides, what great things he meant to do to
m-1ake him comfortable and happy, if he found he deserved it.
All these kindnesses, Kit acknowledged with various expressions of gratitude, and so many touches of the new hat, that the
brim suffered considerably.  When the old gentleman had said
all he had to say in the way of promise and advice, and Kit had
said all he had to say in the way of assurance and thankfulness,
he was handed over again to the old lady, who, sumnmoning the
little servant-girl (whose name was Barbara), instructed her to
take him down stairs and give him something to eat and drink,
after his walk.
Down stairs, therefore, Kit went; and at the bottom  of the
stairs there was such a kitchen as was never before seen or
heard of out of a toy-shop window, with every thing in it as
bright and glowing, and as precisely ordered too, as Barbara
herself.  And in this kitchen, Kit sat himself down at a table
as white as a table-cloth, to eat cold meat, and drink small ale,
and use his knife and fork the more awkwardly, because there
was an unknown Barbara looking on and observing him.
It did not appear, however, that there was any thing remarkably tremendous about this strange Barbara, who having lived
a very quiet life, blushed very much and was quite as embarrassed and uncertain what she ought to say or do, as Ki-t could
possibly be.  When he had sat for some little time, attentive
to the ticking of the sober clock, he ventured to glance cuIi
ously at the dresser, and there, among the plates and dishes,
were Barbara's little work-box with a sliding lid to shut in the
balls of cotton, and Barbara's prayer-book, and Barbara's hymnbook, and Barbara's Bible.  Barbara's little looking-glass hung
in a good light near the window, and Barbara's bonnet was on
a nail behind the door.  From all these imute signs and tokens
of her presence, lie naturally glanced at Barbara herself, who




e~ ~ -I — — e ~ -   ~ _- D,   n     H
KIT AND BAMBARA, BE.COME ACQUA-INTED.








THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                 211
sat as mute as they, shelling peas into a dish; and just when
Kit was looking at her eyelashes and wondering-quite in the
simplicity of his heart-what color her eyes might be, it perversely happened that Barbara raised her head a little to look
at him, when both pair of eyes were hastily withdrawn, and Kit
leant over his plate, and Barbara over her pea-shells, each in
extreme confusion at having been detected by the other.




CH A PTEII THE  TWENITY-T Ill Do
MR. RICHARD  SWIVELLER wending homeward from  the
Wilderness (for such was the appropriate name of Quilp's
choice retreat), after a sinuous anid cork-screw fashion, with
many checks and stumbles; after stopping suddenly and staring
about him, then as suddenly running forward for a few paces,
and as suddenly halting again and shaking his head; doing
every thing with a jerk and nothing by premeditation; Mr.
Richard Swiveller wending his way homeward after this fashion,
which is considered by evil-minded men to be symbolical of intoxication, and is not held by such persons to denote that state
of deep wisdom and reflection in which the actor knows himself to be, began to think that possibly he had misplaced his confidence and that the dwarf might not be precisely the sort of person to whom to entrust a secret of such delicacy and importance.
And being led and tempted on by this remorseful thought into
a condition which the evil-minded class before referred to would
term the maudlin state or stage of drunkenness, it occurred to
Mir. Swiveller to cast his hat upon the- ground, and moan, crying
aloud that he was an unhappy orphan, and that if he had not
been an unhappy orphan, things had never come to this.
"Left an infant by my parents, at an early age," said Mr.
Swiveller, bewailing his hard lot, " cast upon the world at my
tenderest period, and thrown upon the mercies of a deluding
dwarf, who can wonder at my weakness! Here's a miserable
orphan for you.  Here," said Mr. Swiveller, raising his voice
to a high pitch and looking sleepily round, "is a miserable
orphan 1"
"Then," said somebody hard by, "let me be a father to
you."
Mr. Swiveller swayed himself to and fro to preserve his balance, and, looking into a kind of haze which seemed to surround
him, at last perceived two eyes dimly twinkling through the
mist, which he observed after a short time were in the neighbor(212)




— L                             -
jo, Q~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~j
IMr! I Je,  i  ii
I 1  f~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MIR. SWIVELLER BEWAILING HIS HIARD LO0T.








THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  213
hood of a nose and mouth. Casting his eyes clown toward that
quarter in which, with reference to a man's face, his legs are
usually to be found, he observed that the face had a body attached; and when he looked more intently he was satisfied that
the person was J.r5l. Quilp, who indeed had been in his company
all the time, but whom he had some vague idea of havingw left a
mile or two behind.
"You have deceived an orphan, sir," said Mr. Swiveller
solemnly.
"  I I'm a second father to you," replied Quilp.
"You my father, sir I" retorted Dick.  " Being all right my 
self, sir, I request to be left alone-instantly, sir."
" What a funny fellow you are I" cried Quilp.
A" Go, sir," returned Dick, leaning against a post and waving
his hand.  "6Go, deceiver, go, some day, sir, p'raps you'll waken
from  pleasure's dream  to know the grief of orphans forsaken.
Will you go, sir?"'
The dwarf taking no heed of this adjuration, Mr. Swiveller
advanced with the view of inflicting upon him condign chastisement.  But forgetting his purpose or changing his mind before
he came close to him, he seized his hand and vowed eternal
friendship, declaring with an agreeable frankness that from that
time forth they were brothers in every thing but personal appearance.  Then he told his secret all over again, with the addition of being pathetic on the subject of Miss Wackles, who,
he gave Mr. Quilp to understand, was the occasion of any slight
incoherency he might observe in his speech at that moment,
which was attributable solely to the strength of his affection
and not to rosy wine or other fermented liquor. And then they
went on arm-in-arm, very lovingly together.
" I'm as sharp,"' said Quilp to him, at parting, " as sharp as
a ferret, and as cunning as a weazel.  You bring Trent to me;
assure him that I'm his friend though I fear he a little distrusts
me (I don't know why, I have not deserved it); and you've
both of you made your fortunes-in perspective."7
"That's the worst of it,"2 returned Dick.  " These fortunes
in perspective look such a long way off."
"But they look smaller thlan they really are on that account."




214         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
said Quilp pressing his arm.  "You'll have no conception of
the value of your prize until you draw close to it. Mark that."
"D'ye think not?" said Dick.
"Aye, I do; and I am certain of what I say, that's bette1r,"
returnecl the dwarf.  " You bring Trenmt to me. Tell him I
am Iis - friend and yours-why shouldn't I be?"
"There's no reason why you shouldn't, certainly," replied
Dick, "and perhaps there are a great many why you should
-at least there would be nothing strange in your wanting to
be my friend, if you were a choice spirit, but then you know
you're not a choice spirit."
" I not a choice spirit I" cried Quilp.
"'Devil a bit, sir," returned Dick.  "A man of your appearance couldn't be.  If you're any spirit at all, sir, you're an evil
spirit.  Choice spirits," added Dick, smiting himself on the
breast, "are quite a different looking sort of people, you may
take your oath of that, sir."
Quilp glanced at his free-spoken friend with a mingled expression of cunning and dislike, and wringing his hand almost
at the same moment, declared that he was an uncommon character and had his warmest esteem. With that they parted;
Mr. Swiveller to make the best of his way home and sleep
himself sober; and Quilp to cogitate upon the discovery he
had made, and exult in the prospect of the rich field of enjoyment and reprisal it opened to him.
It was not without great reluctance and misgiving that Mr.
Swiveller, next morning, his head racked by the fumes of the
renowned Schiedam, repaired to the lodging of his friend Trent
(which was in the roof of an old house in an old ghostly inn),
and recounted by very slow degrees what had yesterday taken
place between him and Quilp. Nor was it without great surprise and much speculation on Quilp's probable motives, nor
without many bitter comments on Dick Swiveller's folly, that
his friend received the tale.
"I don't defend myself, Fred," said the penitent Lichard;
"but the fellow has such a queer way with him and is such an
artful dog, that first of all he set me upon thinking whether
there was any harm in telling him, and while I was thinking,
screwed it out of me. If you had seen him drink and smoke,




TlIbh  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                215
as I did, you couldn't have kept any thing from him.  lie's a
Salamander, you know, that's what he is."
Without inquirinag whether Salamanders were of necessity
good confidential agents, or whether a fire-proof man was as
a  natter of course trustworthy, F'redecrick Trent threw hEmself into a chair, and, buryinag his head in his hands, endeavored
to fathom the motives which had led Quilp to insinuate himself into Richard Swiveller's confidence;-for that the disclosure
was of his seeking, and had not been spontaneously revealed
by Dick, was sufficiently plain from  Quilp's seeking his compary and enticing him away.
The dwarf had twice encountered him when he was endeavoring to obtain intelligence of the fugitives.  This, perhaps, as
he had not shown any previous anxiety about them, was enough
to awaken suspicion in the breast of a creature so jealous and
distrustful by nature, setting aside any additional impulse to
curiosity that he might have derived from  Pick's incautious
marnner.  But knowing the scheme they had planned, why
should he offer to assist it? This was a question more dclfficult of solution; but as knaves generally overreach themselves
by imputing their own designs to others, the idea immediately
presented itself that some circumstances of irritation between
Quilp and the old man, arising out of their secret transactions,
and not unconnected perhaps with his sudden disappearance,
now rendered the former desirous of revenging himself upon
him by seeking to entrap the sole object of his love and anxiety
into a connection of which he knew he had a dread and hatred.
As Frederick Trent himself, utterly regardless of his sister, had
this object at heart only second to the hope of gain, it seemed
to him the more likely to be Quilp's main principle of action.
Once investing the dwarf with a design of his own in abetting
them, which the attainment of their purpose would serve, it was
easy to believe him  sincere and hearty in the cause; and as
there could be no doubt of his proving a powerfl  an1c useful
auxiliary, Trent determined to accept his invitation and go to
his house that nig'liht, and if what he said and did confirmed him
in the impression lie had formed, to let him share the labor of
their plan, but not the profit.
Having revolved these things in his mind and arrived at this




216         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
conclusion, he communicated to Mr. Swiveller as much of his
meditations as he thought proper (Dick would have been perfectly satisfied with less), and giving him the dlay to recover
himself from his late su-lamandering, accompanied him at evening to Mr. Quilp's house.
Mightily glad Mr. Quilp was to see themn, or mightily glad
he seemeld to be; and fearfully polite Mr. Quilp was to lrs.
Quilp and Mrs. Jiniwin; and very sharp was the look he cast
on his wife to observe how she was affected by the recognition
of young Trent.  ~Mrs. Quilp was as innocent as her own
mother of any emotion, painful or pleasant, which the sight of
him awakened, but as her husband's glance made her timid and
confused, and uncertain what to do or what was required of
her, Mr. Quilp did not fail to assign her embarrassment to the
cause he had in his mind, and while he chuckled at his pene.
tration was secretly exasperated by his jealousy.
Nothing of this appeared, however.  On the contrary, Mr.
Quilp was all blandness and suavity, and presided over the casebottle of rum  with extraordinary open-heartedness.
"Why, let me see," said Quilp.  "' It must be a matter of
nearly two years since we were first acquainted.'"
" Nearer three, I[ think," said Trent.
"Nearer three 1" cried Quilp.  "How fast time flies.  Does
it seem as long as that to you, Mrs. Quilp?"
"Yes, I think it seems full three years, Quilp,'" was the unfortunate reply.
" Oh, indeed; maam,"' thought Quilp, " you have been pining,
have you?  Very good, ma'am."
"It seems to me but yesterday that you went out to Demerara in the Mary Anne," said Quilp; " but yesterday, I declare.
rWell, I like a little wildness.  I was wild myself once."
Mr. Quilp accompanied this admission with such an awful
wink, indicative of old rovings and backslidings, that M rs.
Jiniwin was indignant, and could not forbear from remarkinog'
under her breath that he might at least put off his confessions
until his wife was absent; for which act of boldness and insubordination, ir. Qulilp -first stared her out of countenance and
then drank her health ceremoniously.
"' I thought you'd come back directly, Fred. I always thought




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                 217
that," said Quilp, setting down his glass.  "And when the
Mtary Anne returned with you on board, instead of a letter to
say what a contrite heart you had, and how happy you were in
the situation that had been provided for you, I was amused —.
exceedingly amused. H-a, ha, ha I"'
The young man smiled, but not as thougrh the theme were
the most agreeable one that could have been selected for his entertainment; and for that reason Quilp pursued it.
"I always will say,"' he resumed, I" that when a rich relation
having two young people-sisters or brothers, or brother and
sister —dependent on him, attaches himself exclusively to one,
and casts off the other, he does wrong."'
The young man made a movement of impatience, but Quilp
went on as calmly as if he were discussing  some abstract
question in which nobody present had the slightest personal
interest.
"It's very true," said Quilp, "that your grandfather urged
repeated forgiveness, ingratitude, riot, and extravagance, and
all that; but as I told him,'these are common faults.''But
he's a scoundrel,' said he.' Granting that,' said I (for the sake
of argument, of course),'a great many young  noblemen
and gentlemen are scoundrels too I"  But he wouldn't be convinced."'
"I wonder at that, Mr. Quilp," said the young man, sarcastically.
"Well, so did I at the time," returned Quilp, "but he was
always obstinate. lHe was in a manner a friend of mine, but
he was always obstinate and wrong-headed. Little Nell is a
nice girl, a charming girl, but you're her brother, Frederick.
You're her brother after all; as you told him the last time you
met, he can't alter that."'
" He would if he could, confound him for that and all other
kindnesses,"9 said the young man, impatiently.  "But nothinug
can come of this subject now, and let us have done with it in
the Devil's name."
"Agreed,y" returned Quilp, "agreed on my part, readily.
MWhy have I alluded to it?  Just to show you, Frederick, that
I have always stood your friend.  You little knew who was
your friend and who your foe; now, did you?  You thought I




218         TiHE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
was against you, and so there has been a coolness between us;
but it was all on your side, entirely on your side.  Let's shake
hands again, 1Fred. "
IWith his head sunk down betweenl his shoulders, and a hideous
grin overspreadiung his face, the dwarf stooCd up and stretched
his short a'in. acr-oss the table.  Afiter a mIoentIs hesitation,
the young manH stretched out his to meet it; Quilp clutched his
fingers in a grip that for the moment stopped the current of the
blood within them, and pressing his other hand upon his lip
and frowning toward the unsuspicious Richard, released them
and sat down.
This action was not lost upon Trent, who, knowing that
Richard Swiveller was a mere tool in his hauds and knew no
more of his designs than he thought proper to communicate,
saw that the dwarf perfectly understood their relative position,
and fully entered into the character of his friend.  It is something to be appreciated, even in knavery.  This silent homage
to his superior abilities, no less than a sense of the power with
which the dwarf's quick perception had already invested him,
inclined the young man toward that ugly worthy, and determined him to profit by his aid.
It being now Mr. Quilp's cue to change the subject with all
convenient expedition, lest Richard Swiveller, in his heedlessness, should reveal any thing which it was inexpedient for the
women to know, he proposed a game at four-handed cribbage;
and partners being cut for, Mrs. Quilp fell to Frederick Trent,
and Dick himself to Quilp.  Mrs. Jiniwin being very fond of
cards, was carefully excluded by her son-in-law from any participation in the game, and had assigned to her the duty of occasionally replenishing the glasses from the case-bottle; Mr. Quilp
from that moment keeping one eye constantly upon her, lest she
should by any means procure a taste of the same, and thereby
tantalizing the wretched old lady (who was as much attached
to the case-bottle as to the cards) in a double degree and most
ingenious manner.
But it was not to fMrs. Jiniwin alone that 2ir. Quilp's attention was restricted, as several other matters required his constant
vigilance. Among his various eccentric habits he had a humorous one of always cheating at cards, which rendered neces



THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   219
sary on his part, not only a close observance of the game, and
sleight-of-hand in counting and scoring, but also involved the
constant correction, by looks, and frowns, and kicks under the
table, of iRicliard Swiveller,  who beilng bewildered by the ram.
pidity with which his cards were told, and the ris-e at which the
pegs traveled dovwn the board, could not be prevented fromi
someinces e-xpressin g' his surprise and incredulity. MTlrs. Quilp,
too, was the partner of young Trent, and for every look that
passed between them, and every word they spoke, and every
card they played, the dwarf had eyes and ears; not occupied alone with what was passing above the table, but with
signals that might be exchanging beneath it, which he laid all
kinds of traps to detect; besides often treading on his wife's
toes to see whether she cried out or remained silent under the
infliction, in which latter case it would have been quite clear
that Trent had been treading on her toes before. Yet, in the
midst of all these distractions, the one eye was upon the old
lady alway;s, and if she so much as stealthily advanced a teaspoon toward a neighboring glass (which she often did), for the
purpose of abstracting but one sup of its sweet contents, Quilp's
hand would overset it in the very moment of her triumph, and
Quilp's mocking voice implore her to regard her precious
health.  And in any one of these his many cares, from first to
last, Quilp never flagged nor faltered.
At length, when they had played a great many rubbers and
drawn pretty freely upon the case-bottle, Mr. Quilp warned his
lady to retire to rest, and that submissive wife complying, and
being followed by her indignant mother, Mr. Swiveller fell
asleep.  The dwarf beckoning his remaining companion to the
other end of the room, held a short conference with him in
whispers.
"I t's as well not to say more than one can help, before our
worthy friend," said Quilp, making a grimace toward the slumbering Dick.  "Is it a bargain between us, Fred?  Shall he
marry little rosy Nell by-and-by?77
" You have some end of your own to answer, of course?~ returned the other.
" Of course I have, dear Fred,' said Quilp, grinning to think
how little he suspected what the real end was.  " It's retalia



220         THB  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP
tion, perhaps; perhaps whim.  I have influence, Fred, to help
or oppose.  Which way shall I use it?  There are a pair of
scales, and it goes into one. 7
"Throw it into mine, then," said Fred.
" It's done, Fred,"g replied Quilp, stretching out1 his cler*hed
hand, and opening it as if he had let some weight fall out.l'I "t's
in the scale from this time, and turns it, Fred.  Mind that."
" Where have they gone?"' asked Trent.
Quilp shook his head, and said that point remained to be
discovered, which it might be, easily. When it was, they would
begin their preliminary advances. He would visit the old man,
or even Richard Swiveller might visit him, and by affecting a
deep concern in his behalf and imploring him to settle in some
worthy home, lead to the child's remembering him with gratitude
and favor.  Once impressed to this extent, it would be easy, he
said, to win her in a year or two, for she supposed the old man
to be poor, as it was a part of his jealous policy (in common
with many other misers) to feign to be so, to those about him.
"He has feigned it often enough to me, of late," said Trent.
" Oh! and to me, too i" replied the dwarf.  " Which is more
extraordinary, as I know how rich he really is."
" I suppose you should," said Trent.' I think I should, indeed," rejoined the dwarf; and in that,
at least, he spoke the truth.
After a few more whispered words, they returned to the table,
and the young man rousing Richard Swiveller, informed him
that he was waiting to depart.  This was welcome news to
Dick, who started up directly. After a few words of confidence
in the result of their project had been exchanged, they bade the
grinning Quilp good-night.
Quilp crept to the window as they passed in the street below,
and listened. Trent-was pronouncing an encomium upon his wife,
and they were both wondering by what enchantment she had
been brought to marry such a misshapen wretch as he.  The
dwarf after watching their retreating shadows with a wider
grin than his face had yet displayed, stole softly in the dark to
bed.
In this hatching of their scheme, neither Trent nor Quilp had
had one thought about the happiness or misery of poor inno



THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   221
cent Nell. It would have been strange, if the careless profligate,
who was the butt of both, had been harassed by any such consideration; for his high opinion of his own merits and deserts rendered
the project rather a laudable one than otherwise; and if he had
been visited by so unwonted a guest as reflection, he wouldbeing a brute only in the gratification of his appetites —have
soothed his conscience with the plea that he did not mean to
beat or kill his wife, and would therefore, after all said and done
be a very tolerable, average husband.




CHAIPTER1  THE  TWENTY-FOURT   io
IT was not until they were quite exhausted and could no
longer maintain the pace at which they had fled from the raceground, that the old man and the child ventured to stop, and
sit down to rest upon the borders of a little wood. Here, though
the course was hidden from their view, they could yet faintly
distinguish the noise of distant shouts, the hum of voices, and
the beating of drums.  Climbing the eminence which lay between them and the spot they had left, the child could even
discern the fluttering flags and white tops of booths; but no
person was approaching toward them, and their resting-place
was solitary and still.
Some time elapsed before she could reassure her trembling
companion, or restore him to a state of moderate tranquillity.
His disordered imagination represented to him a crowd of persons stealing toward them beneath the cover of the bushes, lurking in every ditch, and peeping from the boughs of every rustling tree.  He was haunted by apprehensions of being led captive to some gloomy place where he would be chained and
scourged, and worse than all, where Nell never could come to
see him, save through iron bars and gratings in the wall.  13-is
terrors affected the child.  Separation from her grandfather was
the greatest evil she could dread; and feeling for the time as
though, go where they would, they were to be hunted down,
and could never be safe but in hiding, her heart failed her, and
her courage drooped.
In one so young, and so unused to the scenes in which she
had lately moved, this sinking of the spirit was not surprising.
But, Nature often enshrines gallant and noble hearts in weak
bosoms-oftenest, God bless her, in female breasts-and when
the child, casting' her tearful eyes upon the old man, remeihbered how weak he was, and how destitute and helpless he would
be if she failed him, her heart swelled within her, and animated
her with new strength and fortitude.
(222)




TtFE, OLD  CURIOSI Y  SHOP.                 22e,
"We are quite safe now, and have nothing to fear indeed,
dear grandfather, " she said.
"iNothing to fear!" returned the old man.  " iothing to fear
if they took me from thee I Nothing to fear if they parted us I
Nobody is true to me.  No, not one.  Not even.TNell!"
" Oh! Do not say that," replied the child, "for if ever anybody was true at heart, and earnest, I am.  I am1 sure you know
I am."
"Then how," said the old man, looking fearfully round, "how
can you bear to think that we are safe, when they are searching
for me everywhere, and may come here, and steal upon us, even
while we're talking?7"
"Because I'm  sure we have not been followed," said the
child.  "Judge for yourself, dear grandfather; look round, and
see how quiet and still it is.  We are alone together, and may
ramble where we like.  Not safe! Could I feel easy-did I
feel at ease-when any danger threatened you?"7
"True, true,"' he answered, pressing her hand, but still looking anxiously about.  "What noise was that?"9
" A bird," said the child, "flying into the wood, and leading
the way for us to follow.  You remember that we said we
would walk in woods and fields and by the sides of rivers, and
how happy we would be-you remember that?   But here,
while the sun shines above our heads, and every thing is bright
and happy, we are sitting sadly down, and losing time.  See
what a pleasant path; and there's the bird-the same bird-now
he flies to another tree and stays to sing.  Come 1"
When they rose up from  the ground, and took the shady
track which led them through the wood, she bounded on before;
printing her tiny footsteps in the moss, which rose elastic fron
so light a pressure and gave it back as mirrors throw off breath
and thus she lured the old man on, with many a backward look
and merry beck, now pointinting stealthily to some lone bird as it
perched and twittered on a branch that strayed across their
path, now stopping to listen to the songs that broke the happy
silence, or watch the sun as it trembled through the leaves, and
stealing in among the ivied trunks of stout old trees, opened
long paths of light. As they passed onward, parting the hbong'lhs
that clustered in their way, the serenity which;the child had first




224        THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
assumed, stole into her breast in earnest; the old mani cast no
longer fearful looks behind, but felt at ease and cheerful, for the
further they passed into the deep green shade, the more they
felt that the tranquil mind of God was there, and shed its peace
on them.
At length the path becoming clearer and less intricate,
brought them to the end of the wood, and into a public road.
Taking their way along it for a short distance, they came to a
lane, so shaded by the trees on either hand that they met together over-head, and arched the narrow way. A broken fingerpost announced that this led to a village three miles off; and
thither they resolved to bend their steps.
The miles appeared so long that they sometimes thought they
must have missed their road. But at last to their great joy, it
led downward in a steep descent, with overhanging banks over
which the footpaths led; and the clustered houses of the village peeped out from the woody hollow below.
It was a very small place. The men and boys were playing
at cricket on the green; and as the other folk were looking on,
they wandered up and down, uncertain where to seek an humble
lodging. There was but one old man in the little garden before
his cottage, and him they were timid of approaching, for he
was the schoolmaster, and had " School" written up over his
window in black letters on a white board. He was a pale, simple-looking man, of a spare and meagre habit, and sat among'
his flowers and beehives, smoking his pipe in the little porch
before his door.
" Speak to him, dear," the old man whispered.
"I am almost afraid to disturb him," said the child timidly.
"' He does not seem to see us. Perhaps if we wait a little, he
may look this way."
They waited, but the schoolmaster cast no look toward them,
and still sat, thoughtful and silent, in the little porch.  He hlad
a kind face.  In his plain old suit of black, he looked pale and
meagre.  They fancied, too, a lonely air about him  and his
house, but perhaps that was because the other people formed a
merry company upon the green, and he seemed the only solitary
man in all the place.
They were tired, and the child would have been bold enough




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   225
to adcdress even a schoolmaster, but for something in his manner
which seemed to denote that he was uneasy or distressed.  As
they stood hesitating at a little distance, they saw that he sat
for a few minutes at a time like one in a brown study, then laid
aside his pipe and took a few turns in his garden, then approached the gate and looked toward the green, then took up
his pipe again with a sigh, and sat down thoughtfully as before.
As nobody else appeared and it would soon be dark, Nell at
length took courage, and when he had resumed his pipe and seat,
ventured to draw near, leading her grandfather by the hand.
The slight noise they made in raising the latch of the wicketgate, caught his attention.  He looked at them  kindly but
seemed disappointed too, and slightly shook his head.
Nell dropped a courtesy, and told him they were poor travelers who sought a shelter for the night which they would gladly
pay for, so far as their mea'ns allowed.  The schoolmaster
looked earnestly at her as she spoke, laid aside his pipe, and
rose up directly.
"If you could direct us anywhere, sir," said the child, "we
should take it very kindly."'
"'You have been walking a longr way," said the schoolmaster.
"A long way, sir," the child replied.
"'You're a young traveler, my child," he said, laying his
band gently on her head.  "' Your grandchild, friend?9''" Aye, sir," cried the old man,'" and the stay and comfort of
my life."
"Come in," said the schoolmaster
Without further preface he conducted them  into his little
school-room, which was parlor and kitchen likewise, and told
them they were welcome to remain under his roof till morning.
Before they had done thanking him, he spread a coarse white
cloth upon the table, with knives and platters; and bringing
out some bread and cold tmeat and a jug of beer, besought them
to eat and drink.'rhe child loo0ed round the room  as she took her seat.
There -were a couple of forms, notched and cut tand inked all
over; a small deal desk perched on four legs, at which no doubt
the master sat; a few dog's-eared books upon a high shelf; and
beside thiem a motley collection of peg-tops, balls, kites, fishing



226         TiHE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
lines, marbles, half-eaten apples, and other confiscated property
of idle urchins.  Displayed on hooks upon the wall in all their
terrors, were the cane and ruler; and near them, on a small
shelf of its own, the dunce's cap, made of old newspapers and
decorated with glaring wafers of the largest size.  But the great
ornament of the walls, were certain moral sentences fairly copied in good round text, and well-worked sums in simple addition and multiplication, evidently achieved by the same hand,
which were plentifully pasted all round the room: for the double
purpose, as it seemed, of bearing testimony to the excellence of
the school, and kindling a worthy emulation in the bosoms of
the scholars.
" Yes,' said the old schoolmaster, observing that her attention was caught by these latter specimens.  6" That's beautiful
writing, my dear."'" Very, sir,'" replied the child modestly, "is it yours?11
"Mine P!' he returned, taking out his spectacles and putting them
on, to have a better' view of the triumphs so dear to his heart.
"I couldn't write like that, now-a-days.  No.  They're all
done by one hand; a little hand it is, not so old as yours, but a
-very clever one."'
As the schoolmaster said this, he saw that a small blot of ink
had been thrown on one of the copies, so he took a penknife
friom his pocket, and going up to the wall, carefully scraped it
out.  When he had finished, he walked slowly backward frora
the writing, admiring it as one might contemplate a beautiful
picture, but with something of sadness in his voice and manner
which quite touched the child, though she was unacquainted
with its cause."
"A little-hand indeed,"7 said the poor schoolmaster.  "Far
beyond all his companions, in his learning and his sports too.
how did he ever come to be so fbnd of me I That I should
love him is no wonder, but that he should love mne-" and there
the schoolmaster stopped, and took off his spectacles to wipe
them, as though they had grown dim.
"I hope there is nothing the matter, sir," said tNell, anxiously.
" Not, much, my dear," returned the schoolmaster.  " I hoped
to have seen him on the green to-night.  He was always foremost among them. But he'll be there to-morrow "




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                 227
" Eas he been ill?" asked the child, with a child's quick
sympathy.
" Not very.  They said he was wandering in his head yesterday, dear boy, and so they said the day before. But that's a
part of that kind of disorder; it's not a bad sign-not at all a
bad sign."
The child was-silent.  He walked to the door, and looked
wistfully out. The shadows of night were gathering, and all
was still.
" If he could lean upon anybody's arm, he would come to me,
I know,'" he said, returning into the room.  " He always came
into the garden to say good-night.  But perhaps his illness has
only just taken a favorable turn, and it's too late for him to come
out, for it's very damp and there's a heavy dew. It's much better he shouldn't come to-night."
The schoolmaster lighted a candle, fastened the window-shutter, and closed the door.  But after he had done this, and sat
silent a little time, he took down his hat, and said he would go
and satisfy himself, if Nell would sit up till he returned. The
child readily complied, and he went out.
She sat there half-an-hour or more, feeling the place very
strange and lonely, for she had prevailed upon the old man to
go to bed, and there was nothing to be heard but the ticking
of an old clock, and the whistling of the wind among the trees.
When he returned, he took his seat in the chimney-corner, but
remained silent for a long time. At length he turned to her,
and speaking very gently, hoped she would say a prayer that
night for a sick child.
" My favorite scholar I" said the poor schoolmaster, smoking
a pipe he had forgotten to light, and looking mournfully round
upon the walls.  " It is a little hand to have done all that and
waste away with sickness.  It is a very, very little hand 1"




CH[APTER THE TWENTY-FIFTHt.
AFTER a sound night's rest in a chamber in the thatched roof,
in which it seemed the sexton had for some years been a lodger,
but which he had lately deserted for a wife and cottage of his
own, the child rose early in the morning and descended to the
room where she had supped last night.  As the schoolmaster
had already left his bed and gone out, she bestirred herself to
make it neat and comfortable, and had just finished its arrangement when the kind host returned.
He thanked her many times, and said that the old dame who
usually did such offices for him had gone to nurse the little
scholar whom he had told her of. The child asked how he was,
and hoped he was better.
"No,"' rejoined the schoolmaster shaking his head sorrowfully, "no better.  They even say he is worse."
" I am very sorry for that, sir," said the child.
The poor schoolmaster appeared to be gratified by her
earnest manner, but yet rendered more uneasy by it, for he
added hastily that anxious people often magnified an evil and
thought it greater than it was; " for my part," he said, in his
quiet, patient way, " I hope it's not so.  I don't think he can
be worse.'
The child asked his leave to prepare breakfast, and her grandfather coming down stairs they all three partook of it together.
While. the meal was in progress, their host remarked that the
old man seemed much fatigued, and evidently stood in need of
rest.
" If the journey you have before you is a long one," he said,
" and don't press you for one day, you're very welcome to pass
another night here.  I should really be glad if you would,
frtiend. 7
He saw that the old man looked at iNell, uncertain whether
to accept or decline his offer; and added,
"I shall be glad to have your young companion with me for
(2s8)




TH'E  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                229
one day.  If you can do a charity to a lone man, and rest your
self at the same time, do so.  If you must proceed upon your
journey, I wish you well through it, and will walk a little way
with you before school begins."
"What are we to do, Nell?" said the old man irresolutely;
" say what we're to do, dear."
It required no great persuasion to induce the child to answer
that they had better accept the invitation and remain.  She
was hapy to show her gratitude to the kind schoolmaster by
busying herself in the performance of such household duties as
his little cottage stood in need of. When these were done, she
took some needlework from her basket, and sat herself down
upon a stool beside the lattice, where the honeysuckle and
woodbine entwined their tender stems, and stealing into the
room  filled it with their delicious breath.  Her grandfather
was basking in the sun outside, breathing the perfume of the
flowers, and idly watching the clouds as they floated on before
the light summer wind.
As the schoolmaster, after arranging the two forms in due
order, took his seat behind his desk and made other preparations for school, the child was apprehensive that she might be
in the way, and offered to withdraw to her little bed-roonm.
But this he would not allow, and as he seemed pleased to have
her there, she remained, busying herself with her work.
" Have you many scholars, sir?" she asked.
The poor schoolmaster shook his head, and said that they
barely filled the two forms.
" Are the others clever, sir?" asked the child, glancing at
the trophies on the wall.
" Good boys," returned the schoolmaster, "good boys enoutgh,
my dear, but they'll never do like that."
A small white-headed boy with a sunburnt face appeared at
the door while he was speaking, and stopping there to make
a rustic bow, came in and took his seat upon one of the forms.
The white-headed boy then put an open book, astonishingly
dog's-eared, upon his knees, and thrusting' his hands into his
pockets began counting the marbles with which they were filled;
displaying in the expression of his face a remarkable capacity
of totally abstracting his mind from the spelling on which his




2,20       THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
eyes was fixed.  Soon afterward another white-headed little
boy came straggling in, and after him a red-headed lad, and
after him two more with white heads, and then one with a flaxen
poll, and so on until the forms were occupied by a dozen boys
or thereabouts, with heads of every color but gray, and ranging
in their ages from four years old to fourteen years or more; for
the legs of the youngest were a long way from the floor when
he sat upon the form, and the eldest was a heavy good-tempered foolish fellow, about half a head taller than the schoolmaster.
At the top of the first form-the post of honor in the school
-was the vacant place of the little sick scholar, and at the
head of the row of pegs on which those who came in hats and
caps were wont to hang them up, one was left empty.  No boy
attempted to violate the sanctity of seat or peg, but many a one
looked from  the empty spaces to the schoolmaster, and whispered his idle neighbor behind his hand.
Then began the hum of conning over lessons and getting them
by heart, the whispered jest and stealthy game, and all the noise
and drawl of school; and in the midst of the din sat the poor
schoolmaster, the very image of meekness and simplicity, vainly
attempting to fix his mind upon the duties of the day, and to
forget his little friend. But the tedium of his office reminded
him more strongly of the willing scholar, and his thoughts were
rambling from his pupils-it was plain.
None knew this better than the idlest boys, who growing bolder
with impunity, waxed louder and more daring; playing odd-oreven under the master's eye, eating apples openly and without rebuke, pinching each other in sport or malice without the
least reserve, and cutting their autographs in the very legs of
his desk.  The puzzled dunce, who stood beside it to say his
lesson out of book, looked no longer at the ceiling for forgotten words, but drew closer to the master's elbow and boldly
cast his eye upon the page; the wag of the little troop squinted
and made grimaces (at the smallest boy of course), holding
no book before his face, and his approving audience knew no
constraint in their delight. If the master did chance to rouse
himself and seem alive to what was going on, the noise sub.
sided for a moment and no eyes met his but wore a studious and




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  231
a deeply humble look; but the instant he relapsed again, it
broke out afresh, and ten times louder than before.
Oh! how some of those idle fellows longed to be outside, and
how they looked at the open door and window, as if they half
meditated rushling violently out, plunging into the woods, and
being wild boys and savages from that time forth.  WVhat rebellious thoughts of the cool river, and some shady bathingplace beneath willow trees with branches dipping in the water,
kept tempting and urging that sturdy boy, who, with his shirtcollar unbuttoned and flung back as far as it could go, sat fanning his flushed face with a spelling-book, wishing himself a
whale, or a tittlebat, or. a fly, or any thing but a boy at school
on that hot, broiling day I Heat! ask that other boy, whose
seat being nearest to the door, gave him opportunities of gliding
out into the garden and driving his companions to madniless by
dipping his face into the bucket of the well and then rolling on
the grass. —-ask him if there were ever suah a day as that, when
even the bees were diving deep down into the cups of flowers
and stopping there, as if they had made up their iminds to retire
from business and be manufacturers of honey no more.  The
day was made for laziness, and lying onil one's back in green
places, and staring at the sky till its brightness forced one to
shut one's eyes and go to sleep; and was this a time to be poring
over musty books in a dark room, slighted by the very sun itself?
Monstrous I
Nell sat by the window occupied with her work, but attentive
still to all that passed, though sometimes rather timid of the
boisterous boys.  The lessons over, writing-time began; and
there being but one'desk and that the master's, each boy sat at
it in turn and labored at his crooked copy, while the master
walked about.  This was a quieter time; for he would conme
and look over the writer's shoulder, and tell him mildly to observe
how such a letter was turned in such a copy on the wall, praise
such an up-stroke here and such a down-stroke there, and bid
him take it for his model.  Then he would stop and. tell them
what the sick child had said last night, and how he had longed
to be among them  once again; and such was the poor schoolmaster's gentle and affectionalte lm:ner, that the boys seemed
quite remorseful that they had worried'him so mulch, and were




282         THE  OLD) CURlIOSIT  SHOP.
absolutely quiet; eating no apples, cutting no names, inflicting
no pinches, and making no grimaces, for full two minutes afterward.
" I think, boys," said the schoolmaster when the clock struck
twelve, "that I shall give an extra half-holiday this afternoon."
At this intelligence, the boys, led on and headed by the tall
boy, raised a great shout, in the midst of which the master was
seen to speak, but could not be heard. As he held up his hand,
however, in token of his wish that they should be silent, they
were considerate enough to leave off, as soon as the longest
winded among them were quite out of breath.
"Yon  must promise me first," said the schoolmaster, "that
you'll not be noisy, or at least, if you are, that you'll go away
and be so-away out of the village, I mean.  I'm sure you
wouldn't disturb your old playmate and companion.1"
There was a general murmur, (and perhaps a very sincere
one, for they were but boys) in the negative; and the tall boy,
perhaps as sincerely as any of them, called those about him to
witness that he had only shouted in a whisper.
" Then pray don't forget, there's my dear scholars," said the
schoolmaster, " what I have asked you, and do it as a favor to
me.  Be as happy as you can, and don't be unmindful that you
are blessed with health.  Good-by all!'
"Thank'ee, sir," and " good-by, sir,"' were said a great many
times in a great variety of voices, and the boys went out very
slowly and softly. But there was the sun shining and there were
the birds singing, as the sun only shines and the birds only sing
on holidays and half-holidays; there were the trees waving to all
free boys to climb and nestle among their leafy branches; the
hay, entreating them  to come and scatter it to the pure air;
the green corn, gently beckoning toward wood and stream; the
smooth ground, rendered smoother still by blending lights and
shadows, inviting to runs and leaps, and long walks, God knows
whither. It was more than boys could bear, and with a joyous
whoop, the whole cluster took to their heels and spread themselves about, shouting and laughinlg as they went.' It's natural, thank Heaven " said the poor schoolmaster
looking after them.  "[ I am very g'lad they didn't mind me 1In
It is diticullt however to please every body, as most of us would




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHiOP.                 233
have discovered, even without the fable which bears that moral;
and in the course of the afternoon several mothers and aunts of
pupils looked in to express their entire disapproval of the schoolmaster's proceeding.  A few confined themselves to hints, such
as politely inquiring what red-letter day or saint's day the almanac said it was; a few (these were the profound village
politicians) argued that it was a slight to the throne and an affront to church and state, and savored of revolutionary principles, to grant a half-holiday upon any lighter occasion than
the birthday of the monarch; but the majority expressed their
displeasure on private grounds and in plain terms, arguing that
to put the pupils on this short allowance of learning was nothing but all act of downright robbery and fraud: and one old
lady, finding that she could not inflame or irritate the peaceable
schoolmaster by talking to him, bounced out of his house and
talked at him  for half-an-hour outside his own window, to
another old lady, saying that of course he would deduct this
half-holidacy from his weekly charge, or of course he would
naturally expect to have an opposition started against himl;
there was no want of idle chaps in that neighborhood (here the
old lady raised her voice), and some chaps who were too idle
even to be schoolmasters, might soon find that there were other
chaps put over their heads, and so she would have them  take
care, and look pretty sharp about them.  But all these taunts
and vexations failed to elicit one word from the meek schoolmaster, who sat with the child by his side,-a little more de.jected perhaps, but quite silent and uncomplaining.
Toward night an old woman came tottering up the garden
as speedily as she could, and meeting the schoolmaster at the
door, said he was to go to Dame West's directly, and had best
run on before her.  He and the child were on the point of goinlg out together for a walk, and without relinquishing her hand,
the schoolmaster hurried away, leaving the messenger to follow
as she might.
They stopped at a cottage-door, and the schoolmaster knocked
softly at it with his hand. It was opened without loss of time.
They entered a room where a little group of women were gathered about one older than the rest, who was crying very bitterly,
and sat wringing her hands and rocking herself to and fro.




231         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHIOP.
"Oh dame!" said the schoolmaster drawing near her chair,
"is it so bad as this?"
"He's going fast," cried the old woman; "my grandson's
dying.  It's all along of you.  You shouldn't see him now, but
for his being so earnest on it.  This is what his learning has
brought him to.  Oh dear, dear, dear, what can I do!"
"Do not say that I am in any fault," urged the gentle schoolmaster.  "I am not hurt, dame.  [No, no.  You are in great
distress of mind, and don't mean what you say.  I am sure yotu
don't. 
"11 do," returned the old woman.  "I mean it all.  If he
hadn't been poring over his books out of fear of you, he would
have been well and merry now, I know he wouldc."
The schoolmaster looked round among the other women as
if to entreat some one among themin to say a kind word for him,
but they shook their heads and murmured to each other that
they never thought there was much good in learning, and that
this convinced them.  Without saying a word in reply, or giving them a look of reproach, he followed the old woman who
had summoned him  (and who had now rejoined them) into
another room, where his infant friend, half-dressed, lay stretched
upon a bed.
He was a very young boy; quite a little child. His hair still
hung in curls about his face, and his eyes were very bright; but
their light was of Heaven, not earth.  The schoolmaster took a
seat beside him, and stooping over the pillow, whispered his
name. The boy sprung up, stroked his face with his hand, and
threw his wasted arms around his neck, crying out that he was
his dear kind friend.
"I hope I always was.  I meant to be, God knows," said the
poor schoolmaster.
" Who is that?" said the boy, seeing Nell.'" I am afraid to
kiss her, lest I should make her ill.  Ask her to shake hands
with me."
The sobbing child came closer up, and took the little languid
hand in hers.  Releasing his again after a time, the sick boy
laid him gently down.
"You remember the garden, I-larry," whispered the schoolmaster, anxious to rouse him, for a dullness seemed gathering




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                 235
upon the child, "and how pleasant it used to be in the evening
time? You must make haste to visit it again, for I think the
very flowers have missed you, and are less gay than they used to
be. You will come soon, my dear, very soon now,-won't you?"7
The boy smiled faintly-so very, very faintly-and put his
hand upon his friend's gray head.  He moved his lips too, but
no voice came from them; no, not a sound.
In the silence that ensued, tlie hum of distant voices borne
upon the evening air came floating through the open window.
"What's that?" said the sick child, opening his eyes.
"The boys at play upon the green. "
He took a handkerchief from his pillow, and tried to wave it
above his head. But the feeble arm dropped powerless down.
" Shall I do it?"' said the schoolmaster.
" Please wave it at the window," was the faint reply.  " Tie
it to the lattice.  Some of them  may see it there.  Perhaps
they'll think of me, and look this way."
IHe raised his head, and glanced from the fluttering signal to
his idle bat, that lay with slate and book and other ioyish
property upon a table in the room.  And then he laid him
softly down once more, and asked if the little girl were there,
for he could not see her,
She stepped forward, and pressed the passive hand that lay
upon the coverlet.  The two old friends and companions-for
such they were, though they were man and child-held each
other in a long embrace, and then the little scholar turned his
face toward the wall, and fell asleep.
The poor schoolmaster sat in the same place, holding the
small cold hand in his, and chafing it.  It was but the hand of
a dead child.  He felt that; and yet he chafed it still, and
could not lay it down.




CHAPTEIR THE TWENTY-SIXTH.
ALMOST broken-hearted, Nell withdrew with the schoolmaster
from the bedside and returned to his cottage.  In the midst of
her grief and tears she was yet careful to conceal their real
cause from  the old man, for the dead boy had been a grandchild, and left but one aged relative to mourn his premature
decay.
She stole away to bed as quickly as she could, and when
she was alone, gave free vent to the sorrow with which her
breast was overcharged. But the sad scene she had witnessed,
was not without its lesson of content and gratitude; of content
with the lot which left her health and freedom; and gratitude
that she was spared to the one relative and friend she loved,
and to live and move in a beautiful world, when so many young
creatures-as young and full of hope as she —were stricken
down and gathered to their graves.  How many of the mounds
in that old church-yard where she had lately strayed, grevw
green above the graves of children! And though she thought
as a child herself, and did not perhaps sufficiently consider to
what a bright and happy existence those who die young are
borne, and how in death they lose the pain of seeing others
die around them, often bearing to the tomb  some strong
affection of their hearts (which makes the old die many times
in one long life), still she thought wisely enough, to draw a
pllain and easy, moral from what she had seen that night, and to
store it deep in her mind.
Her dreams were of the little scholar: not coffined, and
covered up, but mingling with angels, and smiling happily.
The sun darting his cheerful rays into the room, awoke her;
and now there remained but to take leave of the poor schoolmaster, and wander forth once more.
By the time they were ready to depart, school had begun.
In the darkened room, the din of yesterday was going on again 
(2S36)




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                237
a little sobered and softened down, perhaps, but only a very
little, if at all. The schoolmaster rose from his desk and walked
with them to the gate.
It was with a trembling and reluctant hand, that the child
held out to him the money which the lady had given her at the
races for her flowers: faltering in her thanks as she thought
how small the suiu was, and blushing as she offered it. But he
bade her put it up, and stooping to kiss her cheek, tirned back
into his house.
They had not gone half-a-dozen paces when he was at the
door again; the old man retraced his steps to sliake hands, and
the child did the same.
" Good fortune and happiness go with you!" said the poor
schoolmaster.  "I am quite a solitary man, now.  If you ever
pass this way again, you'll not forget the little village-school."
"We shall never forget it, sir," rejoined Nell; "nor ever
forget to be grateful to you for your kindness to us."
"I have heard such words from the lips of children very
often," said the schoolmaster, shaking his head, and smiling
thoughtfully, " but they were soon forgotten.  I had attached
one young friend to me, the better friend for being young-but
that's over-God bless you!"
They bade him farewell very many times, and turned away,
walking slowly and often looking back, until they could see
him no more. At length they had left the village far behind,
and even lost sight of the smoke among the trees.  They
trudged onward now, at a quicker pace, resolving to keep the
main road, and go wherever it might lead them.
But main roads stretch a long, long way. With the exception
of two or three inconsiderable clusters of cottages which they
passed, without stopping, and one lonely road-side public-house
where they had some bread and cheese, this highway led them
to nothing-late in the afternoon-and still lengthened out,
far in the distance, the same dull, tedious, winding course,
that they had been pursuing all day. As they had no resource,
however, but to go forward, they still kept on, though at a
much slower pace, being very weary and fatigued.
The afternoon had worn away into a beautiful evening, when
they arrived at a point where the road made a sharp turn and




238         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
struck across a common.  On. the border of this common, and
close to the hedge which divided it from the cultivated fields, a
Caravan was drawn up to rest; upon which by reason of its
situation, they came so suddenly that they conld not have
avoided it if they would.
It was not a shabby, dingy, dusty cart, but a smart little house
upon wheels, with white dirmity curtains festooning the windows,
and window-shutters of green picked out with panels of a staring
red, in which happily-contrasted colors of the whole concern
shone brilliant.  Neither was it a poor caravan drawn by a
single donkey or emaciated horse, for a pair of horses in pretty
good condition were released' from the shafts and grazing on
the frouzy grass.  Neither was it a gipsy caravan, for at the
open door (graced with a bright brass knocker) sat a christian
lady, stout and comfortable to look upon, who wore a large
bonnet trembling with bows.  And that it was not an unprovided or destitute caravan, was clear from this lady's occupation,
which was the very pleasant and refreshing one of taking tea.
The tea-things, including a bottle of rather suspicious character
and a cold knuckle of ham, were set forth upon a drum, covered
with a white napkin; and there, as if at the most convenient
round-table in all the world, sat this roving lady, taking her
tea and enjoying the prospect.
It happened that at that moment the lady of the caravan had
her cup (which, that every thing about her might be of a stout
and comfortable kind, was a breakfast cup) to her lips, and
that having her eyes lifted to the sky in her enjoyment of the
full flavor of the tea, not unmingled possibly with just the
slightest dash or gleam of something out of the suspicious bottle-but this is mere speculation and not distinct matter of
history-it happened that being thus agreeably engaged, she
did not see the travelers when they first came up.  It was not
unntil she was in the act of setting down the cup, and drawing
a long breath after the exertion of causing its contents to disappear, that the lady of the caravan beheld an old man and a
young child walking slowly by, and glancing at her proceedings with eyes of modest but hungry admiration.
" Hey i" cried the lady of the caravan, scooping the crumbs
out of her lap and swallowing the same before wiping her lips.




-~?~~ — ~       ~i~~~~;.! i"C'", "-~~l~ II~N:  I~..
IV,,.l- _~f
IMRS. JARLE~ TAKING'TEA ON' THE HEAD OF A. DRUM.








THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                 289
"Yes, to  be sure.  rWho won the Ht-elter-Skelter Plate,
child?"
"Won what, ma'am?" asked TNell.
" The Helter-Skelter Plate at the races, child-the plate that
was run for on the second day."
"On the second day, ma'am?"'
"Second day   Yes, second day," repeated the lady, with
an air of impatience.  " Can't you say who won the HelterSkelter Plate, when you're asked the question civilly?"'
" I don't know, ma'am.'a
"Don't know!"' repeated the lady of the caravan; "w' hy, you
were there.  I saw you with my own eyes."
Nell was not a little alarmed to hear this, supposing that the
lady might be intimately acquainted with the firm of Short and
Codlin; but what followed tended to reassure her.
" And very sorry I was," said the lady of the caravan, "to
see you in company with a Punch; a low, practical, wulgar
wretch, that people should scorn to look at."
"I was not there by choice," returned the child; "we didn't
know our way, and the two men were very kind to us, and
let us travel with  them.  Do  you-do  you know  them,
ma'amn?"7
"':  now'em, child!'" cried. the lady of the caravan, in a sort
of shriek.  " Know them!  But you're young and inexperienced, and that's your excuse for asking sich a question.  Do I
look as if I know'd'em, does the caravan look as if it know'd'em?"
"No, ma'am,  no,' said the child, fearing she had committed
some grievous fault.  " I beg your pardon."
It was granted immediately, though the lady still appeared
much ruffled and discomposed by the degrading sipposition.
The child then explained that they had left the races on the
first day, and were traveling to the next town on that road,
where they purposed to spend the night. As thle countenance
of the stout lady began to clear up, she ventured to inquire how
far it was.  The reply-which the stout lady did not come to,
until she had thoroughly explained that she went to the races
on the first day in a gig, and as an expedition of pleasure, and




240         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
that her presence there had no connection with any matters
of business or profit-was, that the town was eight miles off.
This discouraging information a little dashed the child, who
could scarcely repress a tear as she glanced along the darkening road.  Her grandfather made no complaint, but he sighed
heavily as he leaned upon his staff, and vainly tried to pierce
the dusty distance.
Tilhe lady of the caravan was in the act of gathering her tea
equipage together preparatory to clearing the table, but noting
the child's anxious manner, she hesitated and stopped.  The
child courtesiecd, thanked her for her information, and giving her
hand to the old man had already got some fifty yards or so,
away, when the lady of the caravan called to her to return.
1" Come nearer, nearer still"-said she, beckoning to her to
ascend the steps.  "Are you hungry, child?"
"_Not very, but we are tired, and it's-it is a long way" —
"Well, hungry or not, you had better have some tea," rejoined
her new acquaintance.  " I suppose you are agreeable to that,
old gentleman?"7
The grandfather humbly pulled off his hat and thanked her.
The lady of the caravan then bade him come up the steps likewise, but the drum proving an inconvenient table for two, they
descended again, and sat upon the grass, where she handed
down to them the tea-tray, the bread and butter, the knuckle of
ham, and in short every thing of which she had partaken hervelf, except the bottle which she had already embraced an opportunity of slipping into her pocket.
" Set'em  out near the hind wheels, child, that's the best
place,'' —said  their friend, superintending the arrangements
from above.  "iNow hand up the teapot for a little more hot
water, and a pinch of fresh tea, and then both of you eat and
drinkas much as you can, and don't spare any thing; that's all
I ask of you."
They might perhaps have carried out the lady's wish, if it had
been less freely expressed, or even if it had not been expressed
at all.  But as this direction relieved them from any shadow of
delicacy or uneasiness, they made a hearty meal and enjoyed it
to the utmost.
While they were thus engaged, the lady of the caravan




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   241
alighted on the earth, and with her hands clasped behind her,
and her large bonnet trembling excessively, walked up and
down in a measured tread and very stately manner, surveying
the caravan from time to time with an air of calml  delight, and
deriving particular gratification from the red panels and the
brass knocker.  When she had taken this gentle exercise for
some time, she sat down upon the steps and called " George;"
whereupon a man in a carter's frock, who had been so shrouded
in a hedgf up to this time as to see every thing that passed
without being seen himself, parted the twigs that concealed him,
and appeared in a sitting attitude, supporting on his legs a baking-dish and a half-gallon stone bottle, and bearing in his right
hand a knife, and in his left a fork.
"Yes, Missus, "-said George.' ow did you find the cold pie, George?"'
"It warn't amiss, mum. "
" And the beer," said the lady of the caravan, with an appearance of being more interested in this question than the last;
"is it passable, George?7'
"It's more flatterer than it might be," George returned,
"but it ain't so bad for all that."
To set the mind of his mistress at rest, he took a sip (amounting in quantity to a pint or thereabouts) from the stone bottle,
and then smacked his lips, winked his eye, and nodded his head.
No doubt with the same amiable desire, he immediately resumed his knife and fork, as a practical a-ssurance that the beer
had wrought no bad effect upon his appetite.
The lady of the caravan looked on approvingly for some time,
and then said,
"Have you nearly finished?"
"Wery nigh, Mum."  And indeed, after scraping the dish all
round with his knife and carrying the choice brown morsels to
his mouth, and after taking such a scientific pull at the stone
bottle that, by degrees almost imperceptible to the sight, his
head went further and further back until he lay nearly at his
full lenglth -upon the ground, this gentleman declared himself
quite disengaged, and caine forth from his retreat.
"I hope I haven't hurried you, George," said his mistress,
who appeared to have a great sympathy with his late pursuit.
15




242.        TH{E  OLD  CURIOSITY  SH0P.
"If you have," returned the follower, wisely reserving himself for any favorable contingency that might occur, "we must
make up for it next time, that's all."
" We are not a heavy load, George?'9
"That's always what the ladies say," replied the man, loolking a long way round, as if he were appealing to Nature ir
general against such monstrous propositions.  " If you see a
woman a driving, you'll always perceive that she never will keep
her whip still; the horse can't go fast enough for her.  If cattle have got their proper load, you never can persuade a woman
that they'll not bear something more.  What is the cause of
this here!"
"Would  these two travelers make much di'fference to the
horses, if we took them with us?"9 asked his mistress, offering
no reply to the philosophical inquiry, and pointing to Noll and
the old man who were painfully preparing to resume their journey on foot.
" They'd make a difference in course," said George dogfedly.
"Would they make much difference?7" repeated his mistress.
"'They can't be very heavy."
" The weight o' the pair, Mium," said George, eyeing t. hem
with the look of a man who was calculating within half an
ounce or so, "would be a trifle under that of Oliver Cromwell."
Nell was very much surprised that the man should be so accurately acquainted with the weight of one whom she had read
of in books as having lived considerably before their time, but
speedily forgot the subject in the joy of hearing that they were
to go forward in the caravan, for which she thanked its ladyV
with unaffected earnestness.  She helped with great readiness
and alacrity to put away the tea-things and other matters that
were lying about, and, the horses being by that time harnessed,
mounted into the vehicle, followed by her delighted grandfather.  Their patroness then shut the door and sat herself down
by her drum at an open window; and the steps being struck
by'George and stowed under the carriage, away they went,
with a great noise of flapping and creaking and straining; and
the bright brass knocker, which nobody ever knocked at, knocking one perpetual double knock of its own accord as they jolted
heavily along.




CIIAiPTER  THiE  VTWE'NTY-SEVEiNT T.
WHEN they had traveled slowly forward for some short distance, Nell ventured to steal a look round the caravan and
observe it more closely,  One half of it-that moiety in which
the comfortable proprietress was then seated-was carpeted, and
so partitioned off at the further end as to accommodate a sleepingplace, constructed after the fashion of a berth on board ship,
which was shaded, like the little windows, with fair white curtains, and looked comfortable enough, though by what kind of
gymnastic exercise the lady of the caravan ever contrived to get
into it, was an unfathomable mystery. The other half served for a
kitchen, and was fitted up with a stove, whose small chimney
passed through the roof. It held also, a closet or larder, several
chests, a great pitcher of water, and a few cooking-utensils and
articles of crockery.  These latter necessaries hung upon the
walls, which, in that portion of the establishment devoted to the
lady of the caravan, were ornamented with such gayer and
lighter decorations as a triangle and a couple of well-thumbed
tambourines.
The lady of the caravan sat at one window in all the pride
and poetry of the musical instruments, and little Nell and her
grandfather sat at the other in all the humility of the kettle and
saucepans, while the machine jogged on and shifted the darkening prospect very slowly.  At first the two travelers spoke little,
and only in whispers, but as they grew more familiar with the
place, they ventured to converse with greater freedom, and talked
about the country- through which they were passing, and the
different objects that presented themselves, until the old man
fell asleep; which the lady of the caravan observing, invited
Nell to come and sit beside her.
" Well, child," she said, "how do you like this way of traveling?"
Nell replied that she thought it was very pleasant indeed, to
which the lady assented in the case of people who had their
(243)




244         THEE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SH'OP.
spirits.  For herself, she said, she was troubled with a lowness
in that respect, which required a constant stimulant; though
whether the aforesaid stimulant was derived fiom the suspicious
bottle of which nmention has been already made, or from other
sources, she did not say.
" That's the happiness of you young people," she continued.'You don't know what it is to be low in your feelings.  You
always have your appetites too, and what a comfort that is."
Nell thought that she could sonmetimes dispense with her own
appetite very conveniently; and thought, moreover, that there
was nothing either in the lady's personal appearance or in her
manner of taking tea, to lead to the conclusion that her natural
relish for meat and drink had at all failed her.  She silently
assented, however, as in duty bound, to what the lady had said,
and waited until she should speak again.
Instead of speaking, however, she sat looking at the child for
a long time in silence, and then getting up, brought out from a
corner a large roll of canvas about a yard in width, which she
laid upon the floor and spread open with her foot until it nearly
reached fromn one end of the caravan to the other.
"There, child," she said, "read that."
Nell walked down it, and read aloud, in enormous black
letters, the inscription, "JARLEY'S WAX-WORK."
"Read it again," said the lady, complacently.
" Jarley's Wax-WVork," repeated Nell.
"That's me," said the lady.  " I am Mrs. Jarley. "
Giving the child an encouraging look, intended to reassure
her and let her know, that, although she stood in the presence
of the original Jarley, she must not allow herself to be utterly
overwhelmed and borne down, the lady of the caravan unfolded
another scroll, whereon was the inscription, " One hundred
figures the full size of life," and then another scroll, on which
was written, " The only stupendous collection of real wax-work
in the world," and then several smaller scrolls with such inscriptions as "Now exhibiting within"'7-" The genuine and only
Jarley" —" Jarley's unrivaled collection"-" Jarley is the delight of the Nobility and Gentry" —" The Royal Faimily are the
patrons of Jarley."  When she had exhibited these leviathans
of public announcement to the astonished child, she brought




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                    245
forth specimens of the lesser fry in the shape of hand-bills, some
of which were couched in the form of parodies on popular melodies, as "Believe me if all Jarley's wax-work so rare"-" I saw
thy show  in youthful prime —" Over the water to Jarley;'
while, to consult all tastes, others were composed with a view
to the lighter and more facetious spirits, as a parody on the
favorite air of " If I had a donkey," beginning
If I know'd a donkey weot wouldn't go
To see M/rs. JARLEY'S wax-work show,
Do you think I'd acknowledge him? Oh, ino, no!
Then run to Jarley's-besides several compositions in prose, purporting  to be
dialogues between the Emperor of China and an oyster, or the
Archbishop of Canterbury and a dissenter on the subject of
church-rates, but all having the same moral, namely, that the
reader must make haste to Jarley's, and that children and servants were admitted at half-price.  MlWhen she had brought all
these testimonials of her important position in society to bear
upon her young companion, Mrs. Jarley rolled them  up, and
having put them carefully away, sat down again, and looked at
the child in triumph.
"Never go into the company of a filthy Punch any more,"
said Mrs. Jarley, "after this."
"I never saw any wax-work, ma'am," said Nell.  "Is it funnier than Punch?"
" Funnier!" said Mrs. Jarley, in a shrill voice.  "It is not
funny at all."
" Oh!" said Nell, with all possible humility.
"It isn't funny at all," repeated Mrs. Jarley.  "It's calm
and-what's that word again-ciritcal?-no-n classical, that's
it-it's calm  and classical.  No low beatings and knockings
about, no jokings and squeakings, lilke your precious Punches,
but always the same, with a constantly unchanginog air of coldness and gentility; and so like life, that if wax-work only spoke
and walked about, you'd hardly know the difference.  I won't go
so far as to say, that, as it is, I've seen wax-work quite like life,
but I've certainly seen some life that was exactly like waxwork."'




246         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
" Is it here, ma'am?" asked Nell, whose curiosity was awakened by this description.
" Is what here, child?'
6 The wax-work, ma1'amn"iu,'"  hy bless you, child, what are you thinlking of-bhow could
suCh a collection be here, where you see every thinl' except
the inside of one little cupboard and a few boxes?  It's gone
on in the other wans to the Assembly-rooms, and there it'll be
exhibited the day after to-morrow.  You are going to the
same town, and you'll see it I dare say. It's natural to expect
that you'll see it, and I've no doubt you will. I suppose you
couldn't stop away if you was to try ever so  much. "
" I shall not be in the town, I think, ma'alm," said the child.
" Not there I" cried Mrs. Jarley. " Then where will you be?77
" I-I-don't quite know.  I am not certain."
"You don't mean to say that your traveling about the country without knowing where you're going to?"' said the lady of
the caravan.  "What curious people you are! What line are
you in?  You looked to me at the races, child, as if you were
quite out of your element, and had got there by accident."
"We were there quite by accident,' returned Nell, confused
by this abrupt questioning.  "We are poor people, ma'anm,
and are only wandering about.  We have nothing to do; I
wish we had. "
" You amaze me more and more," said Mrs. Jarley, after remaining for some time as mute as one of her own figures.
"'Why, what do you call yourselves?  Not beggars?"
" Indeedcl, ma'am, I don't know what else we are," returned
the child.
"Lord bless me," said the lady of the caravan.  " I never
heard of such a thing.  Who'd have thought it!'
She remained se long silent after this exclamation, that Nell
feared she felt her having been induced to bestow her protection
and conversation upon one so poor, to be an outrage upon her
dignity that nothing could repair.  This persuasion was rather
confirmed than otherwise, by the tone in which she at length
broke silence and said,
"And yet you can read.  A nd write too, I shouldn't wonder?"




TH E  OLD  CURIIOSITY  SHOP.                   247
6 Yesp ma9am," said the child, fearful of giving new offense
by the confession.
6, Well, and what a thing that is," returned I'rs. Jarley.  "i'
Nell saicd " incleedl' in a tone which imight imply either that
she was reasonably surprised to find the genuine and only Jarley, whio was the delight of the Nobility and Gentry and the
peculiar pet of the:Royal Family, destitute of these familiar
arts; or that she presumed so great a lady could scarcely stand
in need of such ordinary accomplishments.  In whatever way
Mrs. Jarley received the response, it did not provoke her to further
questioning, or tempt her into any more remarks at the time,
for she relapsed into a thoughtful silence, and remained in that
state so long that Nell withdrew to the other window, and rejoined her grandfather, who was now awake.
At length the lady of the caravan shook off her fit of meditation, and, summoning the driver to come under the window at
which she was seated, held a long conversation with him  in a
low tone of voice, as if she were asking his advice on an importalt point, and discussing the pros and cons of some very
weighty matter.  This conference at length concluded, she
drew in her head again, and beckoned Nell to approach.
"'And the old gentleman, too,'" said Mrs. Jarley; "for I
want to have a word with him.  Do you want a good situation
for your grand-daughter, master? If you do, I can put her in
the way of getting one.  What do you say?"'
" I can't leave her,"' answered the old man.  "We can't separate.  What would become of ime without her."
"I should have thought you were old enough to take care
of yourself, if you ever will be," retorted MIrs. Jarley, sharply.
"But he never will be," said the child, in an earnlest whisper.
" I fear he never will be again.  Pray do not speak harshly to
him.  We are very thankfulll    to you, she added aloud; "but
neilther of us could part from the other if all the wealth of the
world were halved between us."'
tMrs. Jarley was a little disconcerted by this reception of her
proposal, and looked at the old man, who tenderly took Nell's
hand and detained it in his own, as if she could have very well
dispensed with his company or even his earthly existence. After




248         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
an awkward -pause, she thrust her head out of the window again,
and had another conference with the driver upon some point, on
which they did not seemn to agree'quite so readily as on their
former topic of discussion; but they concluded at last, and she
addressed the grandfather again.
" If you're really disposed to emp.loy yourself," said Mrs.
Jarley, "there would be plenty for you to do in the way of
helping to dust the figures, and take the checks, and so forth.'What I want your grand-daughter for, is to point'em  out to
the company; they would be soon learnt, and she has a way
with her that people wouldn't think unpleasant, though she does
come after me; for I've been always accustomed to go round
with visitors myself, which I should keep on doing now, only that
my spirits make a little ease absolutely necessary.  It's not a
common offer, bear in mind," said the lady, rising into the tone
and manner in which she was accustomed to address her audiences; " it's Jarley's wax-work, remember.  The duty's very
light and genteel, the company particularly select, the exhibition
takes place in assembly-rooms, town-halls, large rooms at inns,
or auction galleries.  Thiere is none of your open-air wagrancy
at Jarley's, recollect; there is no tarpaulin and sawdust at
Jarley's, remember.  Every expectation held out in the handbills is realized to the utmost, and the whole forms an effect of
imposing brilliancy hitherto unrivaled in this kingdom.  Remember that the price of admission is only sixpence, and that
this is an opportunity which may never occur again.
Descending from  the sublime when she had reached this
point, to the details of common life,  Mrs. Jarley remarked that
with reference to salary she could pledge herself to no specific
sum until she had suficiently tested.Nell's abilities, and narrowly
watched her in the performance of her duties.  But board and
lodging', both for her and her grandfather, shle bound herself to
provide, and shle furthermore passed her word that the board
should always be good in quality, and in quantity plentiful.
Nell and her grancdfather consulted together, and while they
were so engaged, Mrs. Jarley with her hbands behind her walked
np ancl down the caravan, as she had walked after tea on the
dull earth, with uncommon dignity and self-esteem.  Nor will
this appear so slight a circumstance as to be unworthy of men



THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                 249
tion, when it is remembered that the caravan was in uneasy,
motion all the time, and that none but a person of great natural stateliness and acquired grace could have forborne to
stagger.
" Now, child," cried Mrs. Jarley, coming to a halt as Nell
turned toward her.
"We are very much obliged to you, ma'am," said Nell, " and
tlhankfully accept your offer."
" And you'll never be sorry for it," returned Mrs. Jarley.
"I'm pretty sure of that.  So as that's all settled, let us have
a bit of supper."
In the meanwhile, the caravan blundered on as if it too had
been drinking strong beer and was drowsy, and came at last
upon the paved streets of a town which were clear of passengers, and quiet, for it was by this time near midnight and the
townspeople were all abed. As it was too late an hour to
repair to the exhibition room, they turned aside into a piece of
waste ground that lay just within the old town-gate, and drew
up there for the night, near to another caravan, which, notwithstanding that it bore on the lawful pannel the great name of
Jarley, and was employed besides in conveying from place to
place the wax-work which was its country's pride, was designated by a groveling stamp-office as a " Common Stage Wagon,"
and numbered too-seven thousand odd hundred-as though
its precious freight were mere flour or coals I
This ill-used machine being empty (for it had deposited its
burden at the place of exhibition, and lingered here until its
service were again required) was assigned to the old man as
his sleeping-place for the night; and within its wooden walls,
Nell made him up the best bed she could, from the materials at
hand.  For herself, she was to sleep in M rs. Jarley's own traveling-carriage, as a signal mark of that lady's favor and conlidence.
She had taken leave of her grandfather and was returningl
to the other wagon, when she was tempted by the pleasanut
coolness of the night to linger for a little while in the air. The
Ioon was shining down upon the old gateway of the town
leaving the low archway very black and dark; and with a
mingled sensation of curiosity and fear, she slowly approached




25Q0        THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  $SHOP.
the gate, and stood still to look up at it, wondering to see how
dark, and grim, and old, and cold, it looked.
There wa s an empty niche from which some old statue had
fallen or beeln carried awnay hundreds of years ago, and she was
thhi~tkiil   what stran oe people it must hlave looked down upon
whIen it stooCd thl ere, and how many hralrd str ugoles migt -Lhave
talken place, and how many murders might have been done,
upon that silent spot, when there suddcenly emnerged froim the
black shade of the arch, a man.  The instant he appeared, she
recognized him-Who could have failed to recognize, in that
instant, the ugly misshapen Quilp I
The street beyond was so narrow, and the shadow of the
houses on one side of the way so deep, that he seemed to have
risen out of the earth.  But there lhe was. The child withdrew
into a dark corner, and saw him pass close to her.  He had a
stick in his hand, and when he had got clear of the shadow of the
gateway, he leant upon it, loo ked'back-directly, as it seemed,
toward where she stood-and beckoned.
To her? oh no, thank God, not to her; for as she stood, in
an extremity of fear, hesitating whether to scream for help, or
come from  her hiding-place and fly, before he should draw
nearer, there issued slowly forth from, the arch another figurethat of a boy-who carried on his back a trunk.
"Faster, sirrah I" said Quilp, looking up at the old gateway,
and showing in the moonlight like some monstrous image that
had come down from  its niche and was casting a backward
glance at its old house, " faster 1"7'" It's a dredful heavy load, sir," the boy pleaded.  "I've
come on very fast, considering."
" You have come fast, considering!' retorted Quilp; "you
creep, you dog, you crawl, you measure distance like a worm.
There are the chimes noT, half-past twelve."
He stopped to listen, and then turning upon the boy with a
suddenness and ferocity that made hid m start, asked at wlhat hour
that London coach passed the corner of the road.  The boy
replied, at one.
"Come on then,'7 said Quilp, " or I shall be too late. Faster
— do you hear me?  Faster."
The boy made all the speed he could, and Quilp led onward,
constantly turning baclk to threaten him, and urge him to greater




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                    251
haste.  Nell did not dare to move until they were out of sight
and hearing, and then hurried to where she had left her granld
father, feelilng as if the very passing of the dwarf so near him
must have filled him with alarm and terror.  But he was sleeping soundly, and sie softl y withdrew.
As sle was makinlg ie0' waay to her own bed, she determined
to say nlothilng of thlli alvenlture, as upon whatever erranr!  the
dwarf had come (and she feared it must have been in seajl-:I' of
them), it was clear by his inq'uiry aboat the London coach that
he was on his way homewaird, and as he had passed through
that place, it was but reasonable to suppose that they were
safer from  his inquiries there, than they could be elsewhere.
These reflections did not remove her own alarm, for she had
been too much terrified to be easily composed, and felt as if she
were hemmed in by a legion of Quilps, and the very air itself
were filled with them.
The delight of the Nobility and Gentry and the patronized
of Rloyalty had, by some process of self-abridgment known only
to herself, got into her traveling-bed, where she was snoring
peacefully, while the large bonnet, carefully dispjosed upon the
drum, was revealing its glories by the light of a dim lamp that
swung from the roof.  The child's bed was already made upon
the floor, and it was a great comfort to her to hear the steps
removed as soon as she had entered, and to know that all easy
communication between persons outside and the brass knockerwas by this means effectually prevented.  Certain  guttural
sounds, too, which from time to time ascended through the floor
of the caravan, and a rustling of straw  in the same direction,
apprized her that the driver was couched upon the ground beneath, and gave her an additional feeling of security.
Notwithstanding these protections, she could get none but
broken sleep by fits and starts all night, for fear of Quilp, who
throughout her uneasy dreanms was somehow connected with the
wax-work, or was'wax-ywork himself, or was Mirs. Jarley and
wax-work too, or was himself, 2Irs. Jarley, Wax-work, and a
barrel organ all in one, and yet not exactly any of them either.
At length, toward break. of day, that deep sleep came upon her
which succeeds to weariness and over-watching, and which has
no consciousness but one of overpowering and irresistible enjoymeant




CHAPTER THE TWENTY-EIGHT H.
SLEEP hung upon the eyelids of the child so long, that, when
she awoke, Mirs. Jarley was already decorated with her large
bonnet, and actively engaged in preparing breakfast.  She received Nell's apology for being so late, with perfect goodhumor, and said that she should not have roused her if she had
slept on until noon.
"Because it does you good," said the lady of the caravan,
"when you're tired, to sleep as long as ever you can, and get
the fatigue quite off; and that's another blessing of your time
of life —you can sleep so very sound."
"' Have you had a bad night, ma'am?" asked Nell.
"I seldom have any thing else, child,"' replied Mrs. Jarley,
with the air of a martyr.  "I sometimes wonder how I bear
it."
Remembering the snores which had proceeded from that cleft
in the caravan in which the proprietress of the wax-work passed
the night, Neli rather thought she must have been dreaming
of lying awake. However, she expressed herself very sorry to
hear such a dismal account of her state of health, and shortly
afterward sat down with her grandfather and AMrs. Jarley, to
breakfast. The meal finished, Nell assisted to wash the cups
and saucers, and put them in their proper places, and these
household duties performed, Mrs. Jarley arrayed herself in an
exceedingly bright shawl for the purpose of making a progress
through the streets of the town.
"The wan will come on to bring the boxes," said tlrs. Jarley, " and you had better come in it, child.  I amn  obliged to
walk, very much against my will; but the people expect it of
me, and public characters can't be their own masters and mistresses in such matters as these.  How do I look, child?1'
Nell returned a satisfactory reply, and Mrs. Jarley, after
sticking a great many pins into various parts of her figure, and
making several abortive attempts to obtain a full view  of her
(252)




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                 253
own back, was at last satisfied with her appearance, and went
forth majestically.
The caravan followed at no great distance.  As it went jolting throughl the streets, Nell peeped from the window, curious
to see in what kind of place they were, and yet fearful of encounterilng at every turnl the dreaded face of Qnilp.  It was a
pretty large town, with an open square which they were crawling slowly across, and in the middle of which was the TownHall, with a clock-tower and a weathercock. There were houses
of stone, houses of red brick, houses of yellow brick, houses of
lath and plaster; and houses of wood, many of them very old,
with withered faces carved upon the beams, and staring down
stairs into the street.  These had very little winking windows, and
low-arched doors, and, in some of the narrower ways, quite
overhung the pavement.  The streets were very clean, very
sunny, very empty, and very dull.  A  few idle men lounged
about the two inns, and the empty market-place, and the tradesmen's doors, and some old people were dozing in chairs outside
an almshouse wall; but scarcely any passengers who seemed
bent on going anywhere, or to have any object in view, went
by; and if perchance some straggler did, his footsteps echoed
on the hot, bright pavement for minutes afterward.  Nothing
seemed to be going on but the clocks, and they had such drowsy
faces, such heavy lazy hands, and such cracked voices, that they
surely must have been too slow. The very dogs were all asleep,
and the flies, drunk with moist sugar in the grocer's shop, forgot their wings and briskness, and baked to death in dusty
corners of the window.
Rumbling along with most unwonted noise, the caravan
stopped at last at the place of exhibition, where Nell dismounted
amidst an admiring group of children, who evidently supposed
her to be an important item of the curiosities, and were fully
impressed with the belief that her grandfather was a cunning
device in wax.  The chests were taken out with all convenient
dispatch, and taken in to be unlocked by Mrs. Jarley, who, atattended by George and another man in velveteen shorts and a
drab hat ornamented with turnpike tickets, were waiting to dispose their contents (consisting of red festoons and other orma



254          THE  OL.D  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
mental devices in uphostlery work) to the best advantage in the
decoration of the room.
They Call got to work without loss of time, at.nd very busy they
were.  As the stupendous collection were yet concealed by.eloths, lest the envious dust should inljure their coml)lexioens,
2fNell bestirred herself to assist in the embellislllhment of thle rooil,
in which her grandfather also was of great service.  The two
men being well used to it, did a great deal in a short time;
and Mrs. Jarley served out the tin tacks from  a linen pocket
like a toll-collector's, which she wore for the purpose, and encouraged her assistants to renewed exertion.
While they were thus- employed, a tallish gentleman with a
hook nose and black hair, dressed in a military surtout very
short and tight in the sleeves, and which had once been fioggecd
and braided all over but was now sadly shorne of its garniture
and, quite t hreadbare-dressed too in ancient gray pantaloons
fititng tight to the leg, and a pair of pumps in the winter of
their existence-looked in at the door, and smiled affably. Mrs.
Jarley's back being then toward him, the military gentleman
shook his forefinger as a sign that her myrmidons were not to
apprize her of his presence, and stealing up close behind her,
tapped her on the neck, and cried playfully " Bohb I"
" What, Mr. Slum!"9 cried the lady of the wax-work. " Lor I
who'd have thoughto of seeing you here I'
"'Pol mlly soul and honor," said Mr. Slum, " that's a good
remark.  TPon my soul and honor that's a wise remark.  Who
would have thought it    George, my faithful feller, how are
you?"7
George received this advance with a surly indifference, observing that he was well enough for the matter of that, and
hammering lustily all the time.
" I came here," said the military gentleman turning to Mrs.
Jariey,-"'pon my soul and honor I hardly know what I came
here for.  It would puzzle me to tell you, it would, by Gad. I
wanted a little inspiration, a little freshening up, a little change
of ideas, and-'Pon my soul and honor,"' said the military
gentleman, checking himlself and looking  around the room,
"what a devilish classical thing this is I  By Gad, it's quite
M}inervian I!"




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY   SHtOP.                    255
It'll71 look well enougah wbhen it comes to be finished,"7 observed Mrs. Jarley.
" 4Well enough!" said ~Mr. Slum. "W'ill you believe me when
I say it's the delig'ht of my life to have dabbles in poetry, when
I think I've exercised my pen upon this charming theme?  By
the wnay-any orders?  Is there any little thing I can do for
you?"
"It comes so very expensive, sir," replied Mrs. Jarley, " and
I really don't think it does much good."7
"Hush I  No, no!" returned Mr. Slum, elevating his land.
" No fibs.  I'll not hear it.  Don't say it don't do good. Don't
say it.  I know better I"
"I don't think it does,"' said Mirs. Jarley.
" -a, ha!" cried Mr. Slum, "' you're giving way, you're com.ing down.  Ask the perfumers, ask the blacking' makers, ask the
hatters, askl the old lottery-office-keepers —ask any man aumong'em  vwhat my poetry has done for him, and mark imy words, lihe
blesses the name of Slum.  If he's an honest man, he raises hlis
eyes to heaven, and blesses the name of Slumn-mark that I
You are acquainted with Westminster Abbey, Alrs. Jarley?"1
"Yes, surely."
"Then upon my soul and honor ma'am, you'll find in a certain angle of that dreary pile, called Poet's Corner, a few smaller
names than Slum,"' retorted that gentleman, tappin g himself expressively on the forehead to imply that there was some slighll
quantity of brains behind it.  "I've got a little trifle here, now,"
said Mr. Slum, taking off his hat which was full of scraps of
paper, "a little trifle here, thrown off in the heat of the mloment,
which I should say was exactly the thing you wanted to set this
place on fire with.  It's an acrostic-the name at this moment
is Warren, but the idea's a convertible one, and a positive inspiration for Jarley.  Have the acrostic."
"I suppose it's very dear," said Mirs. Jarley.
"Five shillings," returned Mr. Slum, using his pencil as a
tooth-pick.  " Cheaper than any prose."
" I couldn't give more than three," said Mirs. Jarley.
"-And six," retorted Slum.  " Come.  Three-and-six. "
ilrs. Jarley was not proof ag'ail st the pl)oet's insinuating manner, and Mr. Slum entered thle order in a smalll  note-book as a




256          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
three-and-sixpenny one.  Mr. Slum  then withdrew to alter the
acrostic, after taking a most affectionate leave of his patroness,
and promising to return, as soon as he possibly could, with a
fair copy for the printer.
As his presence had not interfered with or interrupted the
preparations, they were now far advanced, and were completed
shortly after his departure. When the festoons were all put
up as tastily as they might be, the stupendous collection was uncovered, and there were displayed, on a raised platform  some
two feet from the floor, running round the room  and parted
from  the rude public by a crimson rope breast high, divers
sprightly effigies of celebrated characters, singly and in groups,
clad in glittering dresses of various climes and times, and
standing more orless unsteadily upon their legs, with their eyes
very wide open, and their nostrils very much inflated, and the
muscles of their legs and arms very strongly developed, and all
their countenances expressing great surprise.  All the gentlemen were very pigeon-breasted and very blue about the beards,
and all the ladies were miraculous figures, and all the ladies
and all the gentlemen were looking intensely nowhere, and staring with extraordinary earnestness at nothing.
When Nell had exhausted her first raptures at this glorious
sight, Mrs. Jarley ordered the room  to be cleared of all but
herself and the child, and, sitting herself down in an arm-chair
in the centre, formally invested her with a willow wand, long
used by herself for pointing out the characters, and was at great
pains to instruct her in her duty.
"'That," said Mrs. Jarley, in her exhibition tone, as Nell
touched a figure at the beginning of the platform, "is an unfortunate Maid of Honor in the Time of Queen Elizabeth, who
died from pricking her finger in consequence of working upon
a Sunday.  Observe the blood which is trickling firom  her
finger; also the gold-eyed needle of the period, with which she
is at work."
All this Nell repeated twice or thrice, pointing to the finger
and the needle at the right times, and then passed on to the
next.
"That, ladies and gentlemen," said Mrs. Jarley, "is Jasper
Packlemerton of atrocious memory who courted and married




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                     257
fourteen wives, and destroyed them all by tickling the soles of
their feet when they were sleeping in the consciousness of innocenece and virtue.  On being brounht to the scaffold and asked
if hle was Sorry for whalt lie had done, he replied yes, he was
soiry for having let cem off so easy, and hoped all Christian
husbands would pardon him the offense.  Let this be a warning
t.o all young ladies to be particular in the character of the gentleman of their choice.  Observe that his fingers is curled as if
in the act of tickling, and that his face is represented with a
wink, as he appeared when committing his barbarous murders."
When Nell knew all about Mr. Packlemerton, and could say
it without faltering, 5'irs. J arley passed on to the fat man, and
then to the thin man, the tall man, the short map, the old lady
who died of dancing' at a hundred and thirty-two, the wild boy
of the woods, the woman who poisoned fourteen families with
pickled walnuts, and other historical characters and interesting
but misguided individuals.  And so well did Nell profit by her
instructions, and so apt was she to remember them, that by the
time they hkad been shut up together for a couple of hours, shle
was in full possession of the history of the whole establishment,
and perfectly competent to the enlightenment of visitors.
irs. Jarley was not slow to express her admiration at this
happy result, and carried her young friend and pupil to inspect
the remaining' arrangements within doors, by virtue of which
the passage had been already converted into a grove of greenbaize hung with  the inscriptions she had already seen (Mr.
Slum's productions), and a highly ornambnted table placed at
ti;e upper end for Mirs. Jarley herself, at which she was to presidcle and take the money, in company with his Majesty King
George the'hird, iMr. Griirmaldi as clown, A[ary Queen of
Scots, an anonymous gentleman of the Quaker persuasion, and
A-ir. Pitt holding in his baad a correct model of the bill for the
imposition of the window  duty.  The preparations without
doors had not been negl'ected either; for a. nun of great personal attractions was tellig her beads  on t/he little portico
over thie door 7 and- a brigand with the blackest possible head
of hair, and the clearest possible comuplexion, was at that
moment going round the town. in  a cart, consultJiDng the m iniai
tare of a ladjy.
1tt




258         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  0SHOP.
It now only remained thlat \Mr. Slumls compositions shota(d
be judiciously distributed; that the pathetic effusions should
find their way to all private houses and tradespeople; and that
the parody commencing " if I know'dcl a donkey," should be
confined to the taverns, and circulated only among the lawyers'
clerks and choice spirits of the place.  When this had been
done, and Mrs. Jarley had waited upon the boarding-schcols in
person, with a handbill composed expressly for them, in which
it was distinctly proved that wax-work refitned the minid, cultivated the taste, and enlarged the sphere of the human understanding, that indefatigable lady sat down to dinner, and drank
out of the suspicious bottle to a flourishing campaign.




CHAPTER THE TWENTY-NIXTI.i
UNQUESTIONABLY Mrs. Jarley had an inventive Genius.  In
the midst of the various devices for attracting visitors to the exhibition, little Nell was not forgotten.  The light cart in which
the Brigand usually made his perambulations being gayly dressed
with flags and streamers, and the Brigand placed therein, contemplating the miniature of his beloved as usual, Nell was accommodated with a seat beside him, decorated with artificial
flowers, and in this state and ceremony rode slowly through the
town every morning, dispersing handbills from a basket, to the
sound of drum and trumpet.  The beauty of the child, coupled
with her gentle and timid bearing, produced quite a sensation
in the little country place.  The Brigand, heretofore a source
of exclusive interest in the streets, became a mere secondary
consideration, and to be important only as a part of the show
of which she was the chief attraction.  Grown-up folks began
to be interested in the bright-eyed girl, and some score of little
boys fell desperately in love, and constantly left inclosures of
nuts and apples, directed in small-text, at the wax-work door.
This desirable impression was not lost upon MA/rs. Jarley, who,
lest Nell should become too cheap, soon sent the Brigand out
alone again, and kept her in the exhibition-room, where she described the figures every half-hour to the great satisfaction of
admiring audiences. And these audiences were of a verysuperior
description, including a great many young ladies' boardingschools, whose favor _Mrs. Jarley had been at great pains to
conciliate, iby altering the face and costume of'IMr. Grilnaldi as
clown to represent IMr. Lincdley Mlurray as he appeared  when
encgaged in the composition of his English Graimmar, and turning a murderess of great renown into Mrs.  annah ll More —both
of which likenesses were admitted by Miss Monflathers, who was
at the head of the head Boarding and Day Establishment in the
town, and who condescended to take a Private View with eight
chosen young ladies, to be quite startling from  their extreme
(259)




260         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
correctness.  Mr. Pitt in a nighlltcap and bedgown, and without his boots, represented the poet Cowper with perfect exactless; and Mary Queen of Scots in a dark wig, white shirt-collar, anld male attire, was such a complete image of Lord Byron
that the young ladies quite screamed when they saw it.  Miss
ITvonfathers, however, rebuked this enthusiasm,, and took occasion to reprove Mrs. Jarley for not keeping her collection more
select, observing that His- Lordship had  held certain free
opinions quite incompatible with wax-work honors, and adding
something about a Dean and Chapter, which AMrs. Jarley did
not understand.
Although her duties were sufficiently laborious, Nell found
in the lady of the caravan a very kind and considerate person, who had not only a peculiar relish for being comfortable
herself, but for making everybody about her comfortable also;
which latter taste, it may be remarked, is, even in persons who
live in much finer places than caravans, a far more rare and uncommon one than the first and is not by any means its necessary
consequence.  As her popularity procured her various little
fees from the visitors on which her patroness never demanded
any toll, and as her grandfather too was well-treated and useful,
she had no cause of anxiety in connection with the wax-work,
beyond that which sprung from her recollection of Quilp, and
her fears that he might return and one day suddenly encounter
them.
Quilp indeed was a perpetual nightmare to the child, who
was constantly haunted by a vision of his ugly face and stunted
figure.  She slept, for their better security, in the room where
the wax-work figures were, and she never retired to this place
at night but she tortured herself-she could not help it-with
imagining a resemblance, in some one or other of their deathlike faces, to the dwarf, and this ancy would sometimes so gain
upon her that she would almost believe he had removed the
figure and stood within the clothes.  Then there were so many
of them with their great glassy eyes-aind, as they stood one
behind the other all about her bed, they looked so like living
creatures, and yet so unlike in their grim stillness and silence,
that she had a kind of terror of them for their own sakes, and
would often lie watching their dusky figures until she was




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   261
obliged to rise and light a candle, or go and sit at the open window and feel a companionship in the bright stars.  At these
times she would recall the old house and the window at whiclh
she used to sit alone; and then she would think of poor Kit
and all his kindness, until the tears came into her eyes, and she
would weep and smile together.
Often and anxiously at this silent-hour, her thouglhts reverted
to her grandfather, and she would wonder how much he remembered of their forimer life, and whether he was ever really
mindful of the change in their condition and of their late helplessness and destitution.  When they were wandering about,
she seldom thought of this, but now she could not help considering what would become of them  if he fell sick, or her own
strength were to fail her.  He was very patient and willing,
happy to execute any little task, and glad to be of use; but he
was in the same listless state, with no prospect of improvement
p-a mere child-a poor, thoughtless, vacant creature-a harmless, fond old man, susceptible of tender love and regard for
her, and of pleasant and painful impressions, but alive to nothing
more.  It made her very sad to know that this was so-so sacd
to see it, that sometimes when he sat idly by, smiling and nodding to her when she looked round, or when he caressed some
little child and carried it to and fro, as he was fond of doing by
the hour together, perplexed by its simple questions, yet patient
under his own infirmity, and seeming almost conscious of it too,
and humbled even before the mind of an infant-so sad it made
her to see him thus, that she would burst into tears, and withdrawing into some secret place, fall down upon her knees and
pray that he might be restored.
But the bitterness of her grief was not in beholding him in
this condition, when he was at least content and tranquil, nor
in her solitary meditations on his altered state, though these
were trials for a young heart.  Cause for deeper and heavier
sorrow was yet to come.
One evening, a holiday night with them, Nell and her grandfather went out to walk.  They had been rather closely confined
for some days, and the weather being warm, they strolled a long
distance.  Clear of the town, they took a footpath which struck
through some pleasant fields, judging that it would terminate




262         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
in the road they quitted and enable them to return that way.
It made, however, a much wider circuit than they had supposed,
and thus they were tempted onward until sunset, when they
reached the track of which they were in search, and stopped to
rest.
It had been gradually getting overcast, and now the sky was
dark and lowering, save where the glory of the departing sul
piled up masses of gold and burning fire, decaying embers of
which gleamed here and there through the black vail, and shone
redly down upon the earth.  The wind behgan to moan in hollow murmurs, as the sun went down carrying glad day elsewhere; and'a train of dull clouds comingi up againstl it, menaced
thunder and lightning.  Large drops of rain soon behan to fall,
and, as the storm clouds came sailing onward, others supplied
the void they left behind, and spread over all the sky.  Then
was heard the low rumbling of distant thunder, then the lightning quivered, and then the darkness of an hour seemed to have
gathered in an instant.
Fearful of taking shelter beneath a tree or hedge, the old
man and the child hurried along the high road, hoping to find
some house in which they could seek a refuge from the storm,
which had now burst forth in earnest, and every moment increased in violence.  Drenclhed with the pelting raiin, confused
by the deafening thunder, and bewildered by the glare of the
forked lightning, they would have passed a solitary house without being aware of its vicinity, had not a man, who was standc
ing at the door, called lustily to them to enter.
" Your ears ought to be better thanl other folks' at any rate,
if you make so little of the chance of being struck blind," he
said, retreating from the door and shading his eyes with his
hands as the jagged lightning came again.  "What were you
going past for, eh?" he added, as he closed the door and led
the way along a passage to a room behind.
"We didn"t see the house, sir, till we heard you callihng,'
Nell replied.
"No wonder,'" said the man, "with this lightning in one's
eyes, by-the-by.  You had b'etter stand by the fire here, and
dry yourselves a bit.  You can call for what you like if you
want any thing.  If you don't want any thitng, you're not obligecl




THiE  OLD  CUI IOSITY  SHOP.                 263
to give an order, don't be afraid of that.  This is a publichouse, that's all.  The Valiant Soldier is pretty well known
hereabouts."
"Is this house called the Valiant Soldier, sir?9' asked Nell.
" I thought every body knew that," replied the landlora,
"' Where have you come friom, if you don't know the Valiant
Soldier as well as the church catechism?  This is the Valiant
Soldier, by James Groves, —Jem Groves-honest Jem Groves,
as is a man of unblemished moral character, and has a good dry
skittle-ground.  If any man has got any thing to say again Jem
Groves, let him say it to Jem Groves, and Jem Groves can accommodate him with a customer on any terms from four pound
a side to forty."'
With these words, the speaker tapped himself on the waistcoat to intimate that he was the Jem  Groves so highly eulogized, spallrred scientifically at a counterfeit Jenm Groves, who
was sparriing at society in general, from a black frame over the
chimney-piece, and applying a half-emptied glass of spirits and
water to his lips, drank Jem Groves's health.
The night being warm, there was a large screen drawn across
the room, for a barrier against the heat of the fire.  It seemed
as if somebody on the other side of the screen had been, insinuating doubts of Mr. Groves's prowess, and had thereby
given rise to these egotistical expressions, for Mr. Groves wound
up his defiance by giving a loud knock upon it with his knuckles
and pausing for a reply from the other side.
" There an't many men," said Mr. Groves, no answer being
returned, " who would ventur' to cross Jem Groves under his
own roof.  There's only one man, I know, that has nerve
enough for that, and that man's not a hundred mile from here,
neither.  But he's worth a dozen men, and I let him say of me
whatever he likes in consequenlce,-he knows that."
In return for this complimentary address, a very gruff, hoarse
voice bade Mr. Groves "hold his noise and light a candle."
And the same voice remarked that the same gentleman " needn't
waste his breath in brag, for most people knew pretty well what
sort of stuff he was made of."
"Nell, they're-they're playing cards," whispered the old
man, suddenly interested. "Don'l you hear them?"'




264         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY    tIOiP.
"Lock sharp with that candle," said the voice; "it's as
much as I can do to see the pips on the cards as it is; and get
this shutter closed as quick as you can, will you?  Your beer
will be the worse for to-night's thunder, I expect.-Game.
Seven-and-sixpence to me, old Isaac.  Hand over."
"Do you hear, Nell, do you hear them?" whispered the old
man again, with increased earnestness, as the money chinked
upon the table.
" I haven't seen such a storm as this,"7 said a sharp, cracked
voice of most disagreeable quality, when a tremendous peal of
thunder had died away, " since the night when old Luke Withers
won thirteen times running, upon the red.  We all said he had
the Devil's luck and his own, and as it was the kind of night for
the Devil to be out and busy, I suppose he was looking over
his shoulder, if any body could have seen him."
" Ah!" returned the gruff voice; "for all old Luke's winning
through thick and thin of late years, I remember the time whea
he was the unluckiest and unfortunatest of men. HIe never took
a dice- ox in his hand, or held a card, but he was plucked,
pigeoned, and cleaned out completely."
"Do you hear what he says?" whispered the old man. "Do
you hear that, Nell?"
The child saw with astonishment and alarm that his whole
appearance had undergone a complete change. His face was
flushed and eager, his eyes were strained, his teeth set, his breath
came short and thick, and the hand he laid upon her arm
trembled so violently that she shook beneath its grasp.
"Bear witness," he muttered, looking upward, " that I always
said it; that I knew it, dreamed of it, felt it was the truth, and
that it must be so I What money have we, Nell? Come,. saw
you with money yesterday.  What money have we?  Give it
to me."
"No, no, let me keep it, grandfather," said the frightened
child.  "Let us go away from  here.  Do not mind the rain.
Pray let us go."
" Give it to me, I say," returned the old man fiercely. "Hush,
hush, don't cry, Nell. If I spoke sharply, my dear, I didn't
mean it.  It's for thy good.  I have wronged thee, Nell, but I
will right thee yet, I will indeed.  \Where is the money?"




THfE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  265
e'Do not take it," said the child.  "Pray do not talke it,
dear.  For both our sakes let me keep it, or let me throw it
away —better let me throw it away, than you take it now.
Let us go; do let us go."7
"Give me the money," returned the old man, " I must have
it.  There-there-that's my dear Nell.  I'll right thee one
day, child, I'll right thee, never fear!"
She took from her pocket a little purse.  He seized it with
the same rapid impatience which had characterized his speech,
and hastily made his way to the other side of the screen.  It
was impossible to restrain him, and the trembling child followed
close behind.
The landlord had placed a light upon the table, and was engaged in drawing the curtain of the window.  The speakers
whom they had heard were two men, who had a pack of cards
and some silver money between them, while upon the screen itself the games they had played were scored in chalk.  The man
with the rough voice was a burly fellow of middle age, with large
black whiskers, broad cheeks, a coarse wide mouth, and bull
neck, which was pretty freely displayed, as his shirt collar was
only confined by a loose red neckerchief.  He wore his hat,
which was of a brownish-,white, and had beside him a thick
knotted stick.  The other man, whom his companion had called
Isaac, was of a more slender figure-stooping, and high in the
shoulders-with a very ill-favored face, and a most sinister and
villainous squint.
" Now old gentleman," said Isaac, looking round. "Do you
know either of us?  This side of the screen is private, sir.7"
"No offense, I hope,"' returned the old man.
"But by G-, sir, there is offense,"' said the other interrupting him, " when you intrude yourself upon a couple of gentlemen
who are particularly engagedl."
"I had no intention to offend," said the old man, looking
anxiously at the cards, "I thought that-"
" But you had no right to think, sir," retorted the other.
"What the devil has a man at your time of life to do with
thinking?"
"Now, bully boy," said the stout man, raising his eyes from
his cards for the first time, "can't you let him speak?"




266         TIHE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
The landlord, who had apparently resolved to remain neutral
until he knew which side of the question the stout man would
espouse, chimed in at this place with, " Ah, to be sure, can't you
let him speak, Isaac List?"
" Can't I let him speak," sneered Isaac in reply, mimicking
as nearly as he could, in his shrill voice, the tones of the landlordc  "Yes, I can let him speak, Jelmmy Groves."
" Well then, do it, will you?"' said the landlord.
ilMr. List's squint assumed a portentous character, which
seemed to threaten a prolongation of this controversy, when his
companion, who had been looking sharply at the old man, put
a timely stop to it.
" Who knows," said he, with a cunning look, " but the gentleman may have civilly meant to ask if he might have the honor
to take a hand with us!"
" I did mean it," cried the old man.  "That is what I mean.
That is what I want now I"
"I thought so," returned the same man.  " Then who knows
but the gentleman, anticipating our objection to play for love,
civilly desired to play for money?"9
The old man replied by shaking the little purse in his eager
hand, and then throwing it down upon th9 table, and gathering
up the cards as a miser would clutch at gold.
" Oh I That indeed-" said Isaac; " if that's what the gentleman meant, I beg the gentleman's pardon.  Is this the gentleman's little purse?  A  very pretty little purse.  Rather a
light purse," added Isaac, throwing it into the air and catching
it dexterously, " but enough to amuse a gentleman for half an
hour or so."
"We'11 make a four-handed game of it, and take in Groves,"
said the stout man.  " Come Jemmy."'
The landlord, who conducted himself like one who was well
used to such little parties, approached the table and took his
seat.  The child, in a perfect agony, drew her grandfather aside,
and implored him, even then, to come away.
" Come; and we may be so happy," said the child.
" We w'ill be happy," replied the old man hastily.  "Let
mice go, Nell.  The means of' happiness are on the cards and in
the dice.  We must rise from little winnings to great. There's




~~~~~~~~~~~17~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~MlqC
Wi                                          z'AirwayI
K ~~~~~~~~~








THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   267
little to be won here; but great will come in time.  I shall but
win back my own, and it's all for thee, my darling."'
"God help us!"' cried the child.  " Oh I what hard fortune
brought us here!'P
"Hush i" rejoined the old man laying his hand upon her
mouth, "' fortuue will not bear chidinog.  We must not reproach
her, or she shuns us; I have found that out."
" Tow, mister," said the stout mall.  " If you're not coming
yourself, give us the cards, will you?7"
"I am coming," cried the old man.  " Sit thee down, Nell.
sit thee down and look on.  Be of good heart, it's all for thee
~-all-every penlny.  I don't tell them, no, no, or else they
wouldn't play, dreading the chance that such a cause must give
me.  Look at them.  See what they are and what thou art.
Who doubts that we must win!"
"The gentleman has thou'ght better of it, aDd isn't coming," 
said Isaac, maklilg as thoulgh he would rise from the table. "I'm
sorry the gentleman's daunted-nothing venture, nothing have
1-but the gentleman knows best."
" Why I am ready.  You have all been slow but me," said
the  old  man.   "I wonder who's more anxious to begin
than I."
As he spoke he drew a, chair to the table; and the other
three closing round it at the same time, the game commenced.
The child sat by, and watched its progress with a troubled
mind.  Reg-ardless of the run of luck, and mindful only of the
desperate passion wlich had its hold upon her grandfather,
losses and gains were to her alike.  Exulting in some'brief
triumph, or cast down by a defeat, there he sat so wild and restless, so feverishly and intensely anxious, so terribly eager, so
ravenous for the paltry stakes, that she could have almost better
borne to see him dead.  And yet she was the innocent cause of
all this torture, and he, gambling with such a savage thirst for
gain as the most insatiable gambler never felt, had not one
selfish thought I
On the contrary, the other three —knaves and gamesters by
their trade —while intent upon their game, were yet as cool and
quiet as if every virtue had been centred in their breasts.
Sometimes one would look up to smile to another, or to snuff




268         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
the feeble candle, or to glance at the lightning as it shot through
the: open window and fluttering curtain, or to listen to some
louder peal of thunder than the rest, with a kind of momentary
impatience, as if it put him  out; but there they sat, with a
calm indifference to every thiug but their cards, perfect philosophers in appearance, and with no greater show of passion or
excitement than if they had been made of stone.
The storm had raged for full three hours; the lightning lad
grown fainter and less frequent; the thunder, from seeming to
roll and break above their heads, had gradually died away into
a deep hoarse distance; and still the game went on, and still
the anxious child was quite forgotten.




CHA!PTER THE THIRTIETH.
AT length the play came to an end, and Mr. Isaac List rose
the only winner.  tlat and the landlord bore their losses with
professional fortitude.  Isaac pocketed his gains with the air
of a man who had quite made up his mind to win, all along,
and was neither surprised nor pleased.
Nell's little purse was exhausted; but, although it lay empty
by his side, and the other players had now risen fiomn the table,
the old man sat poring over the cards, dealing them as they
had been dealt before, and turning up the different hands to
see what each man would have held if they had still been playing.  He was quite absorbed in this occupation, when the
child drew near and laid her hand upon his shoulder, telling him
it was near midnight.
" See the curse of poverty, Nell," he said, pointing to the
packs he had spread out upon the table.  "If I could have
gone a little longer, only a little longer, the luck would have
turned on my side. Yes, it's as plain as the marks upon the
cards.  See here-and there-and here again."
"Put them away," urged the child.  "Try to forget them."
" Try to forget them I" he rejoined, raising his haggard face
to hers, and regarding her with an incredulous stare. "To
forget them I  How are we ever to grow rich, if I forget
them?"
The child could only shake her head.
"No, no, Nell," said the old man, patting her cheek; " they
must not be forgotten.  YWe must make amends for this as soon
as we can.  Patience-patience, and we'll right thee yet, I
promise thee.  Lose to-day, win to-morrow.  And nothing
can be won without anxiety and care-nothing.  Come, I am
ready."'
" Do you know what the time is?" said 3Mr. Groves, who was
smoking with his friends.  "Past twelve o'clock-"
— " And a rainy night," added the stout man.
t269)




270         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
"The Valiant Soldier, by James Groves.   Good beds.
Cheap entertainment for mail and beast," said Mfr. Groves,
quoting his sign-board.  " tHalf-past twelve o'clock."
"It's very late," said the uneasy child.  "I wish we had
gone before.  What will they think of us!  It will be two
o'clock by the time we get back.  What would it cost, sir, if
we stopped here?'9
"Two good beds, one-and-sixpence; supper and beer, one
shilling; total, two shillings and sixpence,'" replied the Valiant
Soldier.
Now, Nell had still the piece of gold sewn in her dress; and
when she came to consider the lateness of the hour, and the
somnolent habits of Mrs. Jarley, and to imagine the state of
consternation in which they would certainly throw that good
lady by knocking her up in the middle of the night-and when
she reflected, on the other hand, that if they remained where
they were, and rose early in the morning, they might get back
before she awoke, and could plead the violence of the storim
by which they had been overtaken, as a good apology for their
absence —she decided, after a great deal of hesitation, to remain.  She therefore took her grandfather aside, and telling
hin that she had still enough left to defray the cost of their
lodging, proposed that they should stay there for the night.
"If I-if I had had but that money before-If I had only
known of it a few minutes ago I' muttered the old man.
" We will decide to stop here if you please," said Nell, turning hastily to the landlord.
" I think that's prudent,"' returned Mr. Groves.  "You shall
have your suppers directly."
Accordingly, when iMr. Groves had smoked his pipe out,
knocked out the ashes, and placed it carefully in a corner of the
fire-place, with the bowl downward, he brought in the bread
and cheese, and beer, with many high encomiums upon their
excellence, and bade his guests to fall to, and make themselves
at home.  TNcell and her grandfather ate sparingly, for both
were occupied with their own reflections; the other gentlemen,
for whose constitutions beer was too weak and tame a liquid,
consoled themselves with spirits and tobacco.
As they would leave the house very early in the morning, the




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   271
ehild was anxious to pay:for tlieir entert;ainment before they
retired to bed.  But as she felt the necessity of concealing her
little hoard from her grandfather, and had to cha.nge the piece
of gold, she took it secretly fiomrn its place of concealment, and
embraced an opportunity of following the landlord when he
went out of the room, and tendered it to him in the little bar.
"rWill you give me change here, if you please?7 said the
child.
Mr. James Groves was evidently surprised, and looked at the
money, and rung it, and looked at the child, and at the moley
again, as though he had a mind to inquire how she came by
it.  The coin being genuine, however, and changed at his
house, he probably felt, like a wise landlord, that it was no
business of his.  At any rate, he counted out the change, and
gave it her.  The child was returning to the room where they
had passed the evening, when she fancied she saw a hfgure just
gliding in at the door.  There was nothing but a long dark
passage between this door and the place where she had changed
the money, and, being very certain that no person had passed
in or out while she stood there, the thought struck her that
she had been watched.
But by whom?  When she re-entered the room, she found
its inmates exactly as she had left them.  The stout fellow lay
upon two chairs, resting his head on his hand, and the squinting
man reposed in a similar attitude on the opposite side of the
table.  Between them sat her grandfather, looking intently at
the winner with a kind of hungry admiration, and hanging
upon his words as if he were some superior being.  She was
puzzled for a moment, and looked round to see if any one else
were there. No. Then she asked her grandifather in a whisper
whether any body had left the room  while she was absent.
i' No," he said, " nobody."
It must have been her fancy then; and yet it was stranre,
that, without any thing in her previous thoughts to lead to it,
she should have imagined this figure so very distinctly.  She
was still wondering and thinking of it, when a girl came to light
her to bed.
The old man took leave of the company at the same time,
and they went up stairs together.  It was a great, rambling




272          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
house, with dull corridors and wide stair-cases which the flaring
caldles seemed to make more gloomy.  She left her grandfather
in his chamber, and followed her guide to another, which was
at the end of a passage, and approached by some half-dozen
crazy steps.  This was prepared for her.  The girl linlgelred a
little while to talk, and tell her grievances.  She had not a
good place, she said; the wages were low, and the work was
hard.  She was going to leave it in a fortnight; the child
couldn't recommend her to another, she supposed?  Indeed,
she was afraid another would be difficult to get after living there,
for the house had a very indifferent character; there was far
too much card-playing, and such like.  She was very much
mistaken if some of the people who came there oftenest were
quite as honest as they might be, but she wouldn't have it known
that she had said so, for the world.  Then there were some
ranmbling allusions to. a rejected sweetheart, who had threatened
to go a.soldiering-a final promise of knocking at the door
early in the morning-and " Goocl-night."
The child did not feel comfortable when she was left al one.
She could not help thinking of the figure stealing through the
passage down stairs; and what the girl had said did not tend
to reassure her.  The men were very ill-looking.  They might
get their living by robbing and murcering' travelers. Who could
tell?
iReasoning herself out of these fears, or losing sight of them
for a little while, there came the anxiety to which the adventures
of the night gave rise.  Here was the old passion awakened
again in her grandfather's breast, and to what further distraction
it might tempt him, Heaven only knew.  Wrhat fears their absence might have occasioned already! Persons might be seekl
ing for them even then.  Would they be forgiven in the morning, or turned adrift again? Oh I why had they stopped in that
stranlge place.  It would have been better, under any circumstances, to have gone on1
At last, sleep gtadually stole upon her-a broken, fitfufl
sleep, troubled by di'eanms of fialling friom hiObl towers, and waking with a start and in great, terror.  A  deeper slumber fol
lowed this-and then-  What iThat figure in the room I
A figure was there.  Yes, she had drawn up the blind to ad



THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP.                         278
mit the light when it should dawn, and there, between the foot
of the bed and the dark casement, it crouched and slunk along,
groping its way with noiseless hands, and stealing round the
bed.  She had no voice to cry for hell), no power to miove, but
lay still, watchin, it.
On it came-on, silently and  stealthily, to the bed's head.
The breath so near her pillow, that she shrunk back into it,
lest those wanidering hglands should light upon her face.  IBack
again it stole to the window-then. turned its head toward her.
The dclark for  was a mere blot upon the lighter darklness of
tile room, beut she saw the t.uraing of the head, and felt a1ld
knew how the eyes looked and the ears listened.  There it remrained, motionless as she.  At len(gth, still keeping the face
toward her, it busied its hands in sowmethinll,   and she heard the
chinlk of money.
Then, on it came again, silent and stealthy as before, and replacing the garments it had taken fronom the bed-side, dropped
upon its hands and knees, and crawled away.  How slowly it
seemed to move, now that she could hear but not see it, creepi.ug along the flooe   I  It reached the door at last, and stood
upon its feet.  The steps creaked beneath its noiseless tread,
and it was gone.
r'The first impulse of the child was to fly fromn the terror of
being by herself in that room-to have somebody by —not to b)e
alone —and then her power of speech would be restored. With
no consciousness of having moved, she gained the door.
There was the dreadful shadow, pausing at the bottom of the
stepls.
She could not pass it; she might have done so, perhaps, in
the darkness, without being seized, but lher blood curdled at
the thought.  The figure stood quite still, and so did she; not
boldly, but of necessity; for going back into the room  was
hardly less terrible than going on.
Tlhe rain beat fast and furiously'without, and ran down in
piashing streams froin the thatched roof,  Some sum mer insect,
with no escape into the air, flew blindly to anId fro, beating his
body against the walls and ceiling, and filling the silent place
with his murmurs.  The figure moved again.  The child invol1'1




274        THE  OLD  CURIOSITY SHOP.
untarily did the same.  Once in her grandfather's room, she
would be safe.
It crept along the passage until it came to the very door she
longed so ardently to reach.  The child, in the agony of being
so near, had almost darted forward with the design of bursting
into the room  and closing it behind her, when the figure
stopped again.
The idea flashed suddenly upon her —what if it entered there,
and had a design upon the old man's life  She turned faint
and sick.  It did. It went in. There was a light inside. The
figure was now within the chamber, and she, still dumb —quite
dumb and almost senseless-stood looking on.
The door was partly open.  Not knowing what she meant to
do, but meaning to preserve him or to be killed herself, she
staggered forward and looked in. What sight was that which
met her view I
The bed had not been lain on, but was smooth and empty.
And at a table sat the old man himself, the only living creature
there, his white face pinched and sharpened by the greediness
which made his eyes unnaturally bright counting the money of
which his hands had robbed her.




CHAPTER THE THILPRTY-FIRST
WTITIH steps more faltering and unsteady than those with
which she had approached the room, the child withdrew from
the door, and groped her way back to her own chamber.  The
terror she had lately felt was nothing compared with that which
now oppressed her.  No strange robber, no treacherous host
coIlnivingl at the plunder of his guests, or stealing to their beds
to kill them in their sleep, no nightly prowler, however terrible
and cruel, could have awakened in her bosom half the dread
which the recognition of her silent visitor inspired.  The grayheaded old man gliding like a ghost into her room  and acting
the thief while he sup pose he supposed her fast asleep, then bearing off his
prize and hanging over it with the ghastly exultation she had
witnessed, was worse —immeasurably worse, and far more dreadful, for the moment, to reflect uponI-than any thing her wildest
fancy could have suggested.  If he should return-there was
no lock or bolt upon the door, and if, distrustful of havinug left
some money yet behind, he should comle back to seek for more
-a vague awe and horror surrounded the idea of his slinkingin again with stealthy tread, and turning his face toward the
empty bed, while she shrank down close at his feet to avoid his
touch, which was almost insupportable.  She sat and listened.
I-ark I A footstep on the stairs, and now the door was slowly
opening.  It was but imagination, yet imagination had all the
terrors of reality; nay, it was worse, for the reality would have
coime and gone, and there an end, but in imagination it was
always coming, and never went away.
The feeling which beset the child was one of dim uncertain horror.  She had no fear of the dear old grandfather, in whose love
for her this disease of the brain had been engendered; but the
man she had seen that night, wrapt in the game of chance, lurking in her room, and counting the money by the glimmering
light, seemed like another creature in his shape, a monstrous
distortion of his image, a something to recoil from, and be the
275)




276         THIS  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
more afraid of, because it bore a likeness to him, and kept close
about her, as he did.  She could scarcely connect her own
affectionate companion, save by his loss, with this old man, so
like and yet so unlike him.  Shle had wept to see himt  dull and
quiet.  }How much greater cause she had for weeping now!
IThe child sat watching and thinking of these things, until the
phantotlm in her mind so increased in gloom and terror, that she
felt it would be a relief to hear the old man's voice, or, if he
were asleep, even to see him, and banish some of the fears that
clustered round his image.  She stole down the stairs and passage again.  The door was still ajar as she had left it, and the
candle burning as before.
She had her own candle in her hand, preparing to say, if he
wele waking, that she was uneasy and could not rest, and had
come to see if his were still alight.  Looking into the room, she
saw him lyinrg calmly oni his bed, and so took courage to enter.
Fast asleep —no passion in the face, no avarice, no anxiety,
no wild desire; all gentle, tranquil, and at peace.  This was
not the gainbler, or the shadow in her rooml; this was not even
the worn and jaded manl whose face had so often met her own
in the gray morning light; this was her dear old friend, her
harmless fellow-traveler, her good, kind gralldfather.
She had no fear as she looked upon his slumbering features,
but she had a deep and weighty sorrow, and it found its relief
in tears.
"God bless him!" said the child, stooping softly to kiss his
placid cheek.  "I see too well now, that they would indeed part
us if they found us out, and shut him up fromr the light of the
sun and sky.  He has only me to help him.  God bless us
both!1'
Lighting her candle, she retreated as silently as she had come,
and, gaining her own room  once more, sat up during the remaiinder of that long, long, miserable night.
At last the day turned her waning candle pale, and she fell
asleep.  She was quickly roused by the girl who had shown
her up to bed; amdl, as soon as she was dressed, prepared to go
down to her granldfather.  But first she searched her pocket
and found that her money was all gone-not a sixpence remained.




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  277
The old man was ready, and in a few seconds they were on
their road.  The child thought he rather avoided her eye, and
appeared to expect that she would tell him of her loss.  She
felt she must do that, or he imight suspect the truth.
" Grandfather," she said ia a tremulous voice, after they had
walked about a mile in silence, " do you think they are honest
people at the house yonder?'"
"1'Why?" returned the old man trembling.  "Do I think
them honest-yes, they played honestly."
"I'll tell you why I ask," rejoined Nell.  " I lost some money
last nig'ht-out of my bedroom I am sure.  Unless it was taken
by somebody in jest-only in jest, dear grandfather, which
would make me laugh heartily if I could but know it —'
" aWilo would take money in jest?" returned the old man in
a hurried manner.  " Those who take money, take it to keep.
Don't talk of jest."
" Then it was stolen out of my room, dear," said the child,
whose last hope was destroyed by the manner of this reply.
" But is there no more, Nell?" said the old man; " no more
any where?  Was it all taken-every farthing of it-was there
nothing left?"
" Nothing," replied the child.
"We must get more," said the old man, "-we must earn it,
NTell, hoard it up, scrape it. together, come by it somehow.
Never mind this loss.  Tell nobody of it, and perhaps we may
regain it.  Don't ask how;-we may regain it, and a great deal
more;-but tell nobody, or trouble may come of it.  And so
they took it out of thy room, when thou wert asleep P" he added
in a compassionate tone, very diferent from the secret, cunning
way in which he had spoken until now.  " Poor Nell, poor little
Nell 1'
The child hung down her head and wept.  The sympathizing
tone in which he spoke, was quite sincere; she was sure of that.
It was not the lightest part of her sorrow to know that this was
done for her.
"Not a word about it to any one but me," said the old man;
"no, not even to me," he added, hastily, "for it can do no
good   All the losses that ever were, are not worth tears from




278          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY   SHOP.
thy eyes, darling.  Why should they be, when we will win them
back?"
"Let them go," said the child, lookingl up.  "Let them go,
once and forever, and I would never shed another tear if every
peInny had been a thousandci pounldso"
"  Tellellll," returned the old lan, c1hecking himself, as
some impetuous answer rose to his lips, " she knows no better.
X should be thankful for it.7"
" But listen to me,'" said the child earnestly, " will you listen
to me?7'
"Aye, aye, I'll listen," returned the old man, still without
loolkinig at her; " a pretty voice.  It has always a sweet sound
to me.  It always had when it was her mother's, poor child."'
"Let me persuade you, then,-oh, do let me persuade you,"9
said the child, " to think no more of gains or losses, and to try
no fortune but the fortune we pursue tofgether.1"
" We pursue this aim together," retorted her grandfather, still
looking away, and seeming to confer with himself.  "XWIhose
image sanctifies the game?"
" Have we been worse off," resumed the'child, "since you
forgot these cares, and we have been. traveling on together?
liave we not been much better and happier without a home to
shelter us, than ever we were in that unhappy house, when
they were on your mind?"'
" She speaks the truth," murmured the old man in the same
tone as before.  " It must not turn me, but it is the truth —no
doubt it is."
" Only remember what we have been since that bright morning when we turned our backs upon it for the last time," said
Nell; " only remember what we have been since we have been
free of all those miseries-what peaceful clays and quiet nights
we have had-what pleasant times we have known —what hap"l:ess we htve enjoyed.  If we have been tired or hungry, we
have been soon refreshed and slept the sounder for it.  Think
what beautiful things we have seen, and how contented we have
felt.  And why was this blessed change?"
He stopped her with a motion of his hand, and bade her talk
to him no more just then, for he waLs busy.  After a time he
kissed her cheek, still motioning her to silence, and walked on,




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  279
looking far before him, and sometimes stopping and gazing with
a puckered browupon the ground, as if ie were painfully trying
to collect his disordered thoughts.  Once she saw tears in his
eyes.  When he hltad gone on thus for some time, he took her
hand in his as he was accustomed to do, with nothing of the
violence or animation of his late manner; and so, by degrees,
so fine that the child could not trace them, settled down into
his usual quiet way, and suffered her to lead him where she
would.
When they presented themselves in the midst of the stupendous collection, they found, as Nell had anticipated, that Mrs.
Jarley was not yet out of bed, and that, although she had suffered some uneasiness on their account over night, and had
indeed sat up for them until past eleven o'clock, she had retired
in the persuasion, that, being overtaken by storm at some
distance from home, they had sought the nearest shelter, and
would not return before morning.  Nell immediately applied
herseli with great assiduity to the decoration and preparation
of the room, and had the satisfaction of completing her task,
and dressing herself neatly, before the beloved of the Royal
Family came down to breakfast.
" We haven't had," said Mrs. Jarley, when the meal was over,
"'more than eight of Miss Monflathers's young ladies all the
time we've been here, and there's twenty-six of'em, as I was
told by the cook when I asked her a question or two and put
her on the free-list.  aVe must try'em with a parcel of new
bills, and you shall take it, my dear, and see what effect that
has upon'er."7
The proposed expedition being one of paramount importance,
Mrs. Jarley adjusted?g~ell's bonnet with her own hands, and
declaring that she certainly did look very pretty, and reflected
credit on the establishment, dismissed her with many commendations, and certain needful directions as to the turnings on the
right which she was to take, and the turnings on the left which
she was to avoid.  Thus instructed, Nell had no difficulty in
finding out Miss Monflathers's Boarding and Day Establishment, which was a large house, with a high wall, and a large
garden-gate with a large brass plate, and a small grating
through which Mliss Iionfiathers's parlor-maid inspected all




'280         TTHE  OLD  CURIOSTTY  SHOP.
visitors before admitting them; for nothing in the shape of a
man-no, not even a,mnilkman —was sufferled, without sp)ecial
license, to pass that gate.  Even the tax-gathlerer,   who was
stout, lnid wore spectacles and a  rod-brriimed  hlt, h-at    d fl ie
taxes hnide4d through the g1ating.     More obdurate than ll?,t
of adamant o-t briss tlhis clate of ~Maiss M:onfiathe-s's frowneel
on all mankind.  The very hurtcher respected it ais a, gate of
mystery, and left off wlistli(oo when ]'e rnll  thle hello.As N;tel a)proa Clhed the aw fTl door, it tnr ed slowly upoT    n it
h-inges with a creaking  nois;e, aod, forth from the solemii -r7ovo
beyond, came a long file of yoiung ladies, two and two, aII1 witha
ol)en books in their hands, and some with paracsols likeewise.
And last of tlhe goodly procession eame Miss LonIf-ilather:s, bearinpg herself a parasol of lilac silk, and suppl-orted.by two Snmilingi
teachllers, each mortally enivious of the other, and devoted  nilto
jMiss AMonfal0 thers.
Cotfused by the looks and whispers of the girls, TNell stood
with downcast eyes and suffered the procession to pass on, unttil
Miss Monflathers, bringingg up the rear, approached her, when
she courtesied  and presented  her little packet; on receipt
whereof, Miss Mionflathers commanded  that the line should
halt.
" You're the wax-work child, are you not?" said Miss Mionflathers.
" Yes, ma'am," replied Nell, coloring deeply, for the young
ladies had collected about her, and she was the centre on which
all eyes were fixed.
" And don't you think you must be a very wicked little childi,"
sa id Miss Monflathers, who was of rather u:,ncelrtain temper, Lmnd
lost no opportunity of impressiheig moral trutlhs upon the tendler
mindls of thle yonulg ladies, " to be a wanx-ork cllild at ill?1"
Poor Nell had never viewed her position iin this liglt,, and
not knowing  what to say, remained silent, blushinl,' more (deevjiy
than before.
"Don't you know," said Miss Monflathers, "thallt it's very
naughty and unfeminine, and a perversion of the properties
wisely and benignantly transmitted to us, with expansive powers
to he roused from  theiri  dormiant state through thle lnmedium of
cultivation?"'




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                       281
The two teachers murmured their respectful approval of this
home-thlrust, and looked at Nell as though they would have said
that tlleme idcleed Miss Monflathers had hit her very hard. Then
they smiled andc  glanced at Miss Monfllathers and theil, tlleir
eves mleetillnc, they exchainged looks which plainly said that each
coiiidei'ed herself smiler in ordinary to Miss  oiondflathers, and
regairdid the other as having no rigllt to smnile, and thtt her so
doing was all m'ct of presumIlmltion and impertinence.
"Don t you feel how  naughty it is of you,'" resumied.Miss
Mommilalthers, " to be a wax-work child, whell you migillt have
tlhe proud consciousness of assisting', to the extent of your illfalnlt
poweirs, the manufactures of your country; of improving' your
mindl by the constant contemplation of the steam-enCgine;; and
of earnincg a comfortable and independent subsistence of froma
two-and-ninep)ence to three shillings  per week?  Don't  you
know that tthe harder you are at work, the happier you are?"a
"' IHow doth the little-' " murmured one of the teachlers, in
quotation from Doctor Watts.
" Eh1?" said Mliss Mlonflathers, turning smartly round.  "Who
said that?"
Of coarse the teacher who had not said it, indicated the rival
who had, whom Miss Monflathers frowningly requested to hold
her peace; by that means throwing the informing Leacher into
raptules of joy.
"The little busy bee," said Miss Monflathers, drawilgr herself
up, "' is applicable only to genteel children.'In books, or work, or healthful play'
is quilte right a- far as they are concerned; and the work metras
pCi.;ting oil velvet, fnleicy needle work, or embroidiery. hin such
eass ais Vthese," pointi!-lg to Nell, with her parasol, " anid in the
case of all poor,people's children, we should read it thus:
Il worll, work, work. In work alway
Let my lih.t ye, lls be plast,
That I nll y give fIr ev'ry day
Some ood account at last.' 
A deep hum of applause rose not only from the two teachers,
but froum all the pupils, who were equally astonlished to hear




282          THEE  OLD  CURIOSITY   SHOP.
Miss Monflathers improvising after this brilliant style; for although she had been long known as a politician, she had never
appeared before as an original poet.  Just then somebody happenled to discover that Nell was crying, and all eyes were again
tu ll t    r toward her.
Tliere were in deed tears in her eves, and drawing   out her
halnckerchief t:o bruslt them away, she happened  to let it fall.
Before she could stoop to pick it up, one young lady of about
fifteen or sixteenl  who had been standinhg a little apart from the
others, ats though she had no recognized  place among them,
sprang forward and put it in her hand.  She was gliding timidly
a'way again, wlhen sihe was arrested by the governess.
"It was It iss Edwards who did that, I lehow," said Miss
Monflathers, predictively.  "Now I am sure that was Mtiss
Edwards.'
It was Miss Edwards, and everybody said it was Miss Edwards, and Mliss Edwards herself admitted that it was.
" Is it not," said Miss Monflathers, putting down her parasol
to take a severer view of the offender, "a most remarkable thing,
Mliss Edwards, that you have an attachment to the lower classes
which always draws you to their sides; or, rather, is it not a
most extraordinary thing that all I say and do will not wean
you from  propensities which your original station in life have
unhappily. Cendered habitual to you, you extremly vulgar-minded
girl?",,i.
" I really intended no harm, ma'am,"' said a sweet voice. "It
was a momentary impulse, indeed."
A' An impulse 1" repeated Miss Monflathers scornfully.  " I
-w onder that you presume to speak of impulses to me" —both
the teachers assented-" I am astonished" —both the teachers
were astonished-" I suppose it is an impulse which induces
you to take the part of every groveling and debased person
that comes in your way" —both the teachers supposed so too.
" But I would have you know, 3Miss Edwards," resumed the
governess in a tone of increased severity, " that you cannot be
permitted-if it be only for the sake of preserving a proper
example and dae.orum in this establishment —thbat you cannot
be permitted, and that you shall not be permitted, to fly in the
face of your superiors in this exceedingly gross manner.  If




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY   SHOP.                   283
you have no reason to feel a becoming pride before wax-work
children, there are young ladies here who have, and you must
either defer to those young ladies or leave the establishment,
iiss Ecldwards."'
This young lady, being motherless and poor, was apprenticed
at the school-taught for nothliing' —teaclhingliotlhers w'bh:at she
learnt, for nothing-boarded for notlabin'-lod(ted for nothlingc
and set down and rated as something immeasurably less than
nothing, by all the dwellers in the house.  Tlle servant-miaids
felt her inferiority, for they were better treated; free to come
and go, and regarded in their stations with much  more respect.
Trlie teachers were infinitely superior, for they had paid to go
to school in their time, and were paid now.  The pupils cared
little for a companion who had no grand stories to tell about
home; no friends to come with post-horses, and be received in
all humility, with cake and wine, by the governess; no deferential servant to attend and bear her home for the holidays;
nothing genteel to talk aboiat, and nothing to display.  But
why was Miss Monfiathers always vexed and irritated with the
poor apprentice-how did that come to pass?
\,hy, the gayest feather in AMiss Monflathers's cap, and the
brightest glory of Miss Monflathers's school, was a baronet's
daughter-the real live datughter of a real live baronet-who,
by some extraordinary reversal of the Laws of Nature, was not
only plain in features but dull in intellect., while the poor apprentice had both a ready wit, and a handsome face and figure.  It
seems incredible.  Here was Miiss Edwavi's, who only paid a
small premium which had been spent long ago, every day outshining and excelling the baronet's daughter, who learned all
the extras (or wat taught them all) and whose half-yearly bill
came to double that of any other young lady's in the school,
makingo no account of the honor and reputation of her pupilage.
Therefore, and because she was a dependant, MAiss Mpnflathers
had a great dislike to Aiss Edwards, ancl was spiteful to her,
and aggravated by her, and, when she had compassion on little
Nell, verbally fell upon and maltreated her as we have already
seen.
1" You will not take the air to-day, MAViss Edwards,"said Miss




284          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
Monflathers.  " Have the goodness to retire to your own room,
and not to leave it without permission."
The poor girl was moving hastily away, when she was suddenly, in nautical phrase, " broughlt-to" by a subdued shriek
fro0m Miss MionDfthers.
~' She has passed me without any salute!" cried the governess, raisintg her eyes to the sky.  " She has actually passed
me without the slighltest acklnoledgment of my presence!"
The young lady turned and courtesied.  NTell could see that
she raised her dark eyes to the face of her superior, and that
her expression, and that her whole attitude for the instant,
was one of mute but most touching appeal against this ungenerous usage.  Miss Monflathers only tossed her head in reply,
and the great gate closed upon a bursting heart.
" As for you, you wicked child," said Miss Monflathers, turning to Nell, " tell your mistress that if she presumes to taklo
the liberty of sending to me any more, I will write to the legislative authorities and have her put in the stocks, or comlpelled
to do penance in a white sheet; and you may depend upona it
that you shall certainly experience the treadmill if you dare to
come here again.  Now ladies, on."
The procession filed off, two and two, with the books and
parasols, and Miss lMonflathers, calling the Baronet's daughter
to walk with her and smooth her ruffled feelings, discarded the
two teachers-who by this time had exchanged their smiles for
looks of sympathy-and left them  to bring up the rear, and
hate each other a little more for being obliged to walk together.




CHAPTER THE THIRTY-SECOND.
MARs. JARLEY'S wrath on first learningr that she had been
threatened with the idigncity of Stocks and Penance, passed all
description.  Tile gelnui-ne and only Jarley exposed to public
scorn, jeered by children, and flouted by beadles!  The delight
of the Nobility an:d Gentry shorn of a bonnet which a Lady'[1ay0oress might have sigfIed to wear, and arrayed in a white
sheet as a spectacle of mortification and humility!  And Miss
Monflathers, the audacious creature who presumed, even in the
dimmest and remotest distance of her imagination, to conjure
up the degrading picture, " I am'a most inclined," said Mrs.
Jarley, bursting with the fullness of her anger and the weakness
of her means of revenge, "to turn atheist when I think of
it."
But instead of adopting this course of retaliation, Mrs. Jarley, on second thoughts, brought out the suspicious bottle, alld
ordering glasses to be set forth upon her favorite drum, and
sinking into a chair behind it, called her satellites about her,
and to them several times recounted word for word the affronts
she had received. This done, she begged them in a kind of
deep despair to drink; then laughed, then cried, then took a
little sip herself, then laughed and cried ag'ain, and took a little
more; and so by degrees the worthy lady went on, increasing
in smiles and decreasing in tears, until at last she could not
laugh enou(gh at Miiss Mi3onflathers, who, from  being an object
of dire vexation, became one of sheer ridicule and absurdity.
"For which of us is best off, I wonder," quoth Mrs. Jarley,
" she or me.  It's only talking when all is said and done, and if
she talks of me in the stocks, why I can talk of her in the stocks,
which is a good deal funnier if we conme to that.  Lord, what
does it matter, after all!"
Having arrived at this comfortable frame of mind (to which
she had been greatly assisted by certain short interjectional remarks of the philosophic George), Mrs. Jarley consoled Nell
(285)




286          THE  GOLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
with  many kind words and requested  as a personal favor
that whenever she thought of Miss Monfiathers she would do
nothing else but laugh at her, all the days of her life.
So ended MIrs. Jarley's wrath, which subsided  long before
the goinlg down of the sun.  Nell's anlxieties, however, were of
a deeper kind, and the cheeks they imposed upon her cheerfulness were not so easily remonved.
Tliat evenilgg,  as she had dreaded, Ther grandfather stole away,
and did not come back until the night was far spent.  Worn
out as she was, and fatigoed in mind and body, she sat up alone,
counting the minutes, until he returned-penniless, brokenspirited, and wretched, but still hotly bent upon his infatuation.
" Get me money," he said wildly, as they parted for the night.
"I must have money, Nell.  It shall be paid thee back with
gallant interest one day, but all the money that comes unto thy
hands, must be mine-not for myself, but to use for thee.  Renember, Nell, to use for thee!"'
What could the child do, with the knowledge she had, but
give him every penny that came into her hands, lest he should
be tempted on to rob their benefactress?  If she told the truth
(so thought the child) he would be treated as a madman; if
she did not supply him with money, he would supply himself;
supplying him, she fed the fire that burnt him up, and put him
perhaps beyond recovery.  Distracted by these thoughts, borne
down by the weight of the sorrow which she dared not tell, tortured by a crowd of apprehensions whenever the old man was
absent, and dreading alike his stay and his return, the color forsook her cheek, her eye grew dim, and her heart was oppressed
and heavy.  All her old sorrows had come back upon her, augmelnted by new fears ancl doubts; by day they were ever present
to her mind; by night they hovered round her pillow, and
haunted her ih dmreams.
It was natural that, in the midst of her afflietion,, she should
often revert to that sweet young lady of whom she had only
caught a hasty glance, but whose sympathy, expressed in one
sliglht brief action, dwelt in her memory like the kindnesses of
years.  She would often think, if she had such a friend as that
to whom to tell her griefs, how much lighter her heart woulcd
be-that if she were but free to hear that voice, she would be




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   287
happier.  Then she would wish that she were something better,
that she were not quite so poor and humble, that she dared address her without fearing a repulse; and then feel *that there
was an immeasurable distance between them, and have no hope
that the young' lady thoug'ht of her any moie.
It was now holiday-time at the schlools, and the young ladies
had gone homle, and Miss Monflathers was reported to be
flourislling in London andc cdlRmlagxing the hearts of middle-aged
gentlemen, but nobody said any thing about Miss Edwards,
whether she had gone home, or whether she had any home to
go to, whether she was still at the school, or any thing about
her.  But one evening, as Nell was returning from a lonely
walk, she happened to pass the inn where the stage-coaches
stopped, just as one drove up, and there was the beautiful girl
she so well remembered, pressing forward to embrace a young
child whom they were helping down firon the roof.
Well, this was her sister, her little sister, much younger than
Nell, whom she had not seen (so the story went afterward) for
five years, and to bring whom to that place on a short visit, slhe
had been saving her poor means all that time.  Nell felt as if
her heart would break when she saw them meet.  They went a
little apart from the knot of people who had congregated about
the coach, and fell upon each other's neck, and sobbed and wept
with joy. Their plain and simple dress, the distance which the
child had come alone, their agitation and delight, and the tears
they shed, would have told their history by themselves.
They became a little more composed in a short time, and went
away, not so much hand in hand as clinging to each other.
"Are yon sure you're happy, sister?" said the child as they
passed where Nell was staainding.  " Quite happy now," she answered.  " But always?" said the child.  " Ah, sister, why do
you turn away your face?"
Nell could not help following at a little distance.  They went
to the house of an old nurse, where the elder sister had engaged
a bed-room  for the child.  "I shall come to you early every
morning," slhe said, "and we can be tog-ether all the day."
-" Why not at night-time too?  Dear sister, Would they be
angry with you for that?"
Whv were the eyes of little Nell wet that night, with tears




288         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
like those of the two sisters?  Why did she bear a grateful
heart because they had met, and feel it pain to think they
would shortly part?  Let us not believe that any. selfish reference-unconlsciotus though it might -have beeni-to her own triahls
awoke this sympathy, but thank God that the innocent joys of
others can strongly m1ove us, and that we, even in our fallen
natutre, have one source of pure emotion which must be prized
in I:Heaven F:By morning's cheerful glow, but oftener still by evening's
gentle light, the child, witli a respect for the short and hap)py
intercourse of these two sisters which forbade her to approach
and say a thankful word, although she yearned to do so, followed
tlhem  at a distance in their walks and  rambles, stopping
when they stopped, sitting on the grass when they sat down,
risinc when they went on, and feeling it a companionship and
delight to be so near them.  Their evening walk was by a river's
side.  Here, every night, the child was too, unseen by them,
unthought of, unregarded; but feeling as if they were her
friends, as if they had confidences and trusts together, as if her
load were lightened and less hard to bear; as if they mingled
their SOl'rows, and found mutual consolation.  It was a weak
fancy perhaps, the childish fancy of a young and lonely creature;
but, night after night, and still the sisters loitered in the same
place, and still the child followed with a mild and softened
heart.
She was much startled, on returning home one night, to find
that Mrs. Jarley had commanded an announcement to be prepared, to the effect that the stupendous collection would only
remain in its present quarters one day louger; in fulfillmlent of
which  threat (for all announcements connected with  public
amunsements are well known to be irrevocable and most exact),
the stupendous collection shut up next day.
"Are we going fiom  this place  directly, ma'am?" said
Nell.'Look here, child," returned iATrs. Jarley.  " That'll inform
you,"  And so saying, Mrs. Jarley produced another announcement, wherein it was stated, that, in consequence of numerous
inquiries at the wax-work door, and in consequence of crowds
having been disappointed in obtaining admission, the Exhibi



THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP.                            289
tion would be continued for one week longer, and would reopen
next day.
For now that the schools are gone, and the regular sightseers exhatlluted,,  said  Mitrs. Jarley,   " we cotme to the G:cneral
Public, and thley want stimulating'."
U~.pon the following day at noon, Mrs. Jarley established herscif behinc the highily-olla mented  table, attended by the distinguishe'd egies before mentioned, and ordered the doors to
be thrown open for the recadidission of a discerninig  and enjlilIhtened public.  But the first day's operations were by no means
of a successful character, inasmruch as the general public, though
they manifested a lively interest in irMrs. Jarley, personally, and
such of her waxen satellites as were to be seen for nothii'g, were
not affected by any impulses moving them  to the payment of
sixpence a head.  Thtus, notwithstanding   that a great many
p)eople continued to stare at the entry and the figures therein
displayed; and remained there with great perseverance, by the
hlour at a time, to hlear the barrel-organ plavecd and to read the
bills; and notwitfhstnnditn g  that they were kitnd enough to recomamend their friends to  patronize the exhibition in the like
lnmanner, utltil the (door-way was re|'nla rly blockaded by half the
poptulation of the town, who, when they went off duty, were
relieved by the other half; it was not found that the treasury
was any the richer, or that the prospects of the establishment
were  at all encoura.ging.
In this depressed state of the classical market, Mrs. Jarley
ma(de extrlaorl(lintary efforts to stimulate the popular taste, anld
whet the popularl curiosity.  Certain machlinery in the body of
t'he nun on the leads over the door was cleaned up anmd put in
motion, so that the figure shook its head paralytically all day
long, to  tlie greaqt admliirition of a drunken, but very Protestaut barber over tile t;a.y, wllho'looked upon the saidl  parilytic
mot;ion as tl7ieal or t!ed de-radiiln  ee'fct -'rontlht upon tite hu
nlan ia rind  by thle cere-noilies of the i-oltish Chtirch, aild (iscour.<ed (up1oti tflit  hmlen with great eloquence t  and aInora!iiy.
The twro cateis constiantly passed in iaiid out of the exhibitionroonm, under Vtrl'ios d(isoguies, protestin?: aloud f tht the sight
was better worth tlhe mnorey than any Olthliln  they hald beheld in
all their lives, amid urging  the bystanders, with tears in their




290          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
eyes, not to neglect such a brilliant gratification.   irs. Jarley
sat in the pay-place, chinking silver moneys from  noon till
night, and solemnly calling upon the crowd to take notice that
the pirice of admission was only sixpence, and that the departtre
of the whole collection, on a short tour amoneg the Crowned
Heads of Europe, was positively fixed for that day week.
"So be in time, be in time, be in timre, said Mrs. Jarley, at
the close of every sulch address.  "LRemember that this is Jarley's stupendous collection of upward of one tHundred Figures;
and that it is the only collection in the world; all others being
impostors and deceptions.  Be in time, be in time, be in
time i"




CiHAPTER THE TI'IRTY-THIRD.
As the course of this tale requires that we should beconie
acquainted, somewhere hereabouts, with a few particulars connected with the domestic economy of Mr. Sampson zBrass, and
as a more convenient place than the present is not likely to
occur for that purpose, the historian takes the friendly reader
by the hand, and springing with him into the air, and cleaving
the same at a greater rate than ever Don Cleophas Leandro
Perez Zambullo and his familiar traveled through that pleasant
region in company, alights with him  upon the pavement of
Bevis Marks.
The intrepid aeronauts alight before a small dark house, once
the residence of Mr. Sampson Brass.
In the parlor window of this little habitation, which is so
close upon the footway that the passenger who takes the wall
brushes the dim  glass with his coat sleeve-much to its improvement, for it is very dirty-in this parlor window in the
days of its occupation by Sampson Brass, there hung, all awry
and slack, and discolored by the sun, a curtain of faded green,
so threadbare from long service as by no means to intercept the
view of the little dark room, but rather to afford a favorable
medium  through which to observe it accurately.  There was
not much to look at.  A rickety table, with spare bundles of
papers, yellow and ragged from long carriage in the pocket,
ostentatiously displayed upon its top; a couple of stools set
face to face on opposite sides of this crazy piece of furniture;
a treacherous old chair by the fire-place, whose withered arms
had hugged full many a client and helped to squeeze him dry;
a second-hand wig box, used as a depository for blanlk writs
and declarations arid other small forms of law, once the sole
contents of the head which belonged to the wig which belonged
to the box, as they were now of the box itself; two or three
common books of practice; a jar of ink, a pounce box, a
stunted  hearth-broom,  a carpet trodden to shreds but still
(291)




292          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY   SHOP.
clinging with the tightness of desperation to its tacks-these,
withl the yellow  wainscot of the walls, tlhe smoke-discolored
ceiling, the dust and cobwebs, were amnong the most prominent
decorationis of the oliice of' Mr. Sampsonl Brass.
But this was nmere still-life, of no greater importance than the
plate, " Brass, Solicitor,"   upon the door, and the bill, " First
floor to let to a single gentleman," which was tied  to the
knocker.  The office commonly held two examples of animated
nature, more to the purpose of this history, and in wxhom it has
a stronger interest and more particular concern.
Of these, one was AMr. Brass himself, who has already
appeared in these passages.  The other was his clerk, assistant,
housekeeper, secretary, confidential plotter, adviser, intriguer,
and bill of cost increaser, Miss Brass-a kind of Amazon at
common law, of whom it luay be desirable to offer a brief descri ption.
AMiss Sally Brass, then, was a lady of thirty-five or thereabouts, of a gaunt and bony figure, and a resolute bearing,
which if it repressed  the softer emotions of love, and kept
admirers at a distance, certainly inspired a feeling akin to awe
in the breasts of those male strangers who had the happiness to
approach her.  In face she bore a striking resemblance to her
brother, Sampson-so exact, indeed, was the likeness between
them, that had it consorted with Miss Brass's maiden modesty
and gentle womanhood to have assumed her brother's clothes
in a frolic and sat down beside him, it would have been difficult
for the oldest friend of the famnily to determine which was
Sampson and which Sally, especially as the lady carried upon
her upper lip certain reddish demonstrations, which, if the imagination had been assisted by her attire, mighlt have been mistaken for a beard.  These were, however, in all probability,
nothing more than eye-lashes in a wrong place, as the eyes of
Miss Brass were quite free from anly such natural imnpertinencies.
In comp)lexion, Miss Brass was sallow-rather a dirty-sallow,
so to speak-but this hue was agreeably relieved by the healthy
glow which mantled in the extreme tip of her lauohing   nose.
IEer voice was exceedingly impressive-deep and rich in quality,
and, once heard, not easily forgotten.  Her  usual driess was a
green gown, in color not unlike the curtain of tile office window,




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                    293
made tight to the figure, and terminating at the throat, where
it was fastened behind by a peculiarly large and massive button.
Feelingl, no doubt, that simplicity and plaillnness are the soul
of elegance, Miss Brass wore no collar or kerchief except upon
~her hlend, which was invariably ornamented with a bro"wn gauze
scarf, like the wing of the fabled vampire, and which, twisted
into any form that happened to suggest itself, formed an easy
and graceful head-dress.
Such was Miss Brass in person. In mind, she was of a strong
and vioorous turn, having from her earliest youth devoted herself with uncommon ardor to the study of the law; not wasting
her speculations upon its eagle flights, which are rare, but tracing
it attentively through all the slippery and eel-like crawlings in
which it commonly pursues its way.  Nor had she, like many
persons of great intellect, confined herself to theory, or stopped
short where practical usefulness begins; inasmuch as she could
ingress, fair-copy, fill up printed forms with perfect accnracy,
and in short, transact any ordinary duty of the office down to
pouncing a skin of parchment or mending a pen.  It is difficult
to understand how, possessed of these combined attractions,
she should remain Miss Brass; but whether she had steeled
her heart against mankind, or whether those who might have
wooed and won her, were deterred by fears that, being learned
in the law, she might have too near her fingers' ends those
particular statutes which regulate what are familiarly termed
actions for breach, certain it is that she was still in a state of
celibacy, and still in daily occupation of her old stool opposite
to that of her brother Sampson.  And equally certain it is, by
the way, that between these two stools a great many people
had come to the ground.
One morning Mir. Sampsoij Brass sat upon his stool copying
some legal process, and viciously digging his pen deep into the
paper, as if he were writing upon the very heart of the party
against whom it was directed; and Miss Sally B3rass -sat upon
her stool making a new pen preparatory to drawing out a little
bill, which was her favorite occupation; and so they sat in silence
for a long time, until Miss Brass broke silence.
" Have you nearly done Sammy?" said Miss Brass; for in




294         - THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
her mild and feminine lips, Sampson became Sammy, and all
things were softened down.
"No," returned her brother. "It would have been all done
though, if you had helped at the right timle."
"Oh, yes indeed," cried Mi'iss Sally; "you want my help,
don't you?-you, too, that are going to keep a clerk!"7
"Am I going to keep a clerk for my own pleasure, or because
of my own wish, you provoking rascal?"' said Mr. Brass, putting
his pen in his mouth, and grinning spitefully at his sister.
"What do you taunt me about going to keep a clerk for?"
It may be observed in this place, lest the fact of Mr. Brass
calling a lady a rascal, should occasion any wonlderment or surprise, that he was so habituated to having her near him in a
man's capacity, that he had gradually accustomed himself to
talk to her as though she were really a man. And this feeling
was so perfectly reciprocal, that not only did Miir. Brass often
call Miss Brass a rascal, or even put an adjective before the
rascal, but Miss Brass looked upon it as quite a matter of
course, and was as little moved as any other lady would be by
being called an angel.
"What do you taunt me, after three hours' talk last night,
with going to keep a clerk, for?" repeated Mr. Brass, grinning
again, with the pen in his mouth, like some nobleman's or gentleman's crest.  "Is it my fault?"
"All I know, is," said Miss Sally, smiling drily, for she delighted in nothing so much as irritating her brother, " that if
every one of your clients is to force us to keep a clerk, whether
we want to or not, you had beter leave off business, strike your
self off the roll, and get taken in execution as soon as you can."
"Have we got any other client like him?" said Brass. "Have
we got another client like him, now-will you answer me that?"
"Do you mean in the face?" said his sister.
" Do I mean in the face!" sneered Sampson Brass, reaching
over to take up the bill-book, and fluttering its leaves rapidly.
"Look here-Daniel Quilp, Esquire-Daniel Quilp, EsquireDaniel Quilp, Esquire-all through.  Whether should I take a
clerk that he recommends, and says'this is the man for you,' or
lose all this-ehl?"




THIE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHIOP.                 295
Miss Sally deigned to make no reply, but smiled again, and
went on with her work.
"But I know what it is,92 resumed Brass after a short silence.
" You're afraid you won't have as long a finger in the business
as you've been used to have. Do you think I don't see through
that?"
"The business wouldn't go on very long, I expect, without
me," returned his sister composedly. " Don't you be a fool and
provoke me, Sammy, but mind what you're doing, and do it."
Sampson Brass, who was at heart in great fear of his sister,
sulkily bent over his writing again, and listened as she said:
"If I determined that the clerk ought not to come, of course
he wouldn't be allowed to come.  You know that well enough,
so don't talk nonsense."
Mr. Brass received this observation with increased meekness,
merely remarking, under his breath, that he didn't like that kind
of joking, and that Miss Sally would be " a much better fellow"
if she forbore to aggravate him.  To this compliment Miss
Sally replied, that she had a relish for the amusement, and had
no intention to forego its gratification.  Mr. Brass, not caring,
as it seemed, to pursue the subject any further, they both plied
their pens at a great pace, and there the discussion ended.
While they were thus employed, the window was suddenly
darkened, as by some person standing close against it. As Mr.
Brass and Mliss Sally looked up to ascertain the cause, the top
sash was nimbly lowered from without, and Quilp thrust in his
head.
" Hallo!" he said, standing on tip-toe on the window-sill,
and looking down into the room. "Is there anybody at home?
Is there any of the Devil's ware here?  Is Brass at a premium,
ell?"
"'ia, ha, ha " laug-hed the lawyer in an affected ecstasy.
" Oh, very good, sir I Oh, very good, indeed I Quite eccentric I
[Dear me, what humor he has!'"
"Is that my Sally?" croaked the dwarf, ogling the fair Miss
Brass.  "Is it Justice with the bandagke off her eyes, and without the sword and scales?  Is it the Strong Arm of the Law?
Is it the Virgin of Bevis?"




296          TIIE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
" 7hat an. amazing flow of spirits I'" cried Brass.  "'Upon
my word, it's quite extraordinary!'
Open the dooi-," said Quilp.  "I've got him; here.  Such,clerk oir you, Bra,,ss; such a prize, s.ech au ace of tlrumlps 3. Be
quick and open the door, or, if there's another lawyer'ear al;d
he shoulld ihappen to look out of window, he'll snap him utp before yot ir eyes, lie will."
It is plooable that the loss of the phclnix of clerks, even to a
rival pr-ectitioner, would not have broken Mr. Br:sts's he(art;
but, pletending great alacrity, he rose f'lon his seat, and -oiliog
to the door, returned, introducing his client, who led by the
hland no less a person than RIichard S.wiveller.
"There she is," said Quilp, stopping short at the door, alcnd
wrinklinilg up his eyebrows as he looked towtard Miss Sally;
thlele is the woman I ought to have married —there is the
beautiful Sarah —there is the female who has all the charms of
her sex.and none of their weaknesses.  Oh, Sally, Sally 1"
To  this  amorous  address  31iss  Brass  briefly  responded
"B other!"
" IHard-hearted as the metal from which she takes her name,7
said Quilp.  " Why don't she change it-melt down the brass,
an1d take another name?"
"Hold your nonsense, Mr. Quilp, do," returned Maiss Sally,
with a grim smile.  " I wonder you're not ashamed of yourself
before a strange young man."7
"The strange young man," said Qnilp, handing Dick Swiveller forward, "is too susceptible hiimself not to understandi me
well.  This is Mr. Swiveller, my intimate friend-a gentlemaa
of good family and great expectations, but who, having rather
involved himself by youthful indiscretion, is content for a time
to fill the humble station of a clerk-humble, but here most enviable.  What a delicious atmosphere!"I
If Mr. Quilp spoke figuratively, and meant to imply that the
air breathed by Miss Sally Brass was sweetened and rarefied
by that dainty creature, he hlad doubtless good reason for what
he said.  But if he spoke of the delights of the atmosphere of
Mr. Brass's office in a literal sense, he had certainly a peciuliar
taste, as it; was of a close and e-arthy kind, and, besides beiing
frequently impregnlatod with strong whilfs of the second-all ld




THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP.                        297
wearing apparel exposed for sale in Duke's Place and Houndsditch, had a decided flavor of rats and mice, and a taint of
mouldiness.  Perhaps some doubts of its pure delipght presented
themselves to Mr. Swiveller, as lie gave vent to one or two short
abrupt sniffs, and looked incredulonusly at the grinninog dwarf.
" Mr. Swiveller," said Quilp, " being pretty well accustomned
to the agricultural pursuit of sowing wild oats, Mlhiss Sally, prudently considers that half a loaf is better than no bread.  To be
out of harml's way he prudently thinks is somethi-n  too, and
therefore he accepts your brother's offer.  Brass, Mr. Swiveller
is yours."
"I am very glad, sir," said Mr. Brass, "very glad indeed.
Mr. Swiveller, sir, is fortunate to have your friendship.  You
may be very proud, sir, to have the friendship of -Mr. Quilp."
Dick murmured something about never wanting a friend or a
bottle to give him, and also gasped forth his favorite allusion to
the wring of friendship and its never moulting a feather; but his
faculties appeared to be absorbed in the contemplation of Miss
Sally Brass, at whom  he stared with blank and rueful looks,
which delighted the watchful dwarf beyond measure. As to the
divine Miss Sally herself, she rubbed her hands as men of business do, and took a few turns up and down the office with her
pen behind her ear.
" I suppose,"I said the dwarf, turning briskly to his legal friend,
"that Mr. Swiveller enters upon his duties at once?  It's
Monday morning. "
" At once, if you please, sir, by all means," returned Brass.
"Miss Sally will teach him  law, the delightful study of the
law, said Quilp; " she'll be his guide, his friend, his comnpanion,
his Blackstone, his Coke upon' Littleton, his Young Lawyer's
Best Companion."'
" IIc is exceedingly eloquent, " said Brass, like a man abstracted,
and looking at the roofs of the opposite houses, with his hands
in his pockets; "he has an extraordinary flow of language.
Beautiful really."
"With Miss Sally," Quilp went on, " and the beautiful fictions
of the law, his days will pass like minutes.  Those charming
creations of the poet, John Doe and Richard Roe, when they




298         THEE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
first dawn upon him, will open a new world for the enlargement
of his mind ald the improvement oi his heart.'
" Oh, beautiful, beautiful! Beau-ti-ful indeed!1' cried Brass.
"It's a treat to hear him!"
" Where will Mr. Swiveller sit?" said Quilp, looking round.
"WThy, we'll buy another stool, sir," returned Brass.  " We
hadn't any thoughts of having a gentleman with us, sir, until
you were kind enough to suggest it, and our accommodation's
not extensive.  We'll look about for a second-hand stool, sir.
In the mean time, if Mr. Swiveller will take my seat, and try
his hand at a fair copy of this ejectment, as I shall be out pretty
well all the mornillng  "
" Walk with me," said Quilp.  "I have a word or two to
say to you on points of business.  Can you spare the time?"
"Can I spare the time to walk with you, sir? You're jolkin,
sir, you're joking with ime," replied the lawyer, putting on his
hat.  " I'm ready, sir, quite ready.  AMy time must be fully
occupied indeed, sir, not to leave me time to walk with you.
It's not every body, sir, who has an opportunity of improving
himself by the conversation of Mr. Qulilp."
The dwarf glanced sarcastically at his brazen friend, and, with
a short dry cough, turned upon his heel to bid adieu to Miss
Sally.  After a very gallant parting on his side, and a very cool
and gentlemanly sort of one on hers, he nodded to Dick Swiveller, and withdrew with the attorney.
- Dick stood at the desk in a state of utter stupefaction, staring with all his might at the beauteous Sally, as if she had been
some curious animal whose like had never lived.  When the
dwarf got into the street, he mounted again upon the windowsill, and looked into the office for a moment with a grinning
face, as a man might peep into a cage.  Dick glanced upward
at him, but without any token of recognition; and long after
he had disappeared, still stood gazing upon Miss Sally Brass,
seeing or thinking of nothing else, and rooted to the spot.
Miss Brass being by this time deep in the bill of costs, took
no notice whatever of Dick, but went scratching on, with a noisy
pen, scoring down the figures with evident delight, and working'
like a steam-engine.  There stood Dick, gazing now at tlhe
green gown, now at the brown head-dress, now at the face, and




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  299
now at the rapid pen, in a state of stupid perplexity, wondering
how he got into the company of that strange monster, and
whether it was a dream  and he would ever wake.  At last
le heaved a deep sigh, and began slowly pulling off his coat.
M1r. Swiveller pulled off his coat, and folded it up with great
elaboration, staring at BMiss Sally all the time; then put on a
blue jacket with a double row of gilt buttons, which he had originally ordered for aquatic expeditions, but had brought with
him that morning for office purposes; and, still keeping his eye
upon her, suffered himself to drop down silently upon Mr.
B3rass's stool.  Then he underwent a relapse, and becoming
powerless again, rested his chin upon his hand, and opened his
eyes so wide, that it appeared quite out of the question that he
could ever close them any more.
When he had looked so long that he could see nothing,, Dick
took his eyes off the fair object of his amazement, turned over
the leaves of the draft he was to copy, dipped his pen into the
inkstand, and at last, and by slow approaches, began to write.
But he had not written a half-a-dozen words when, reaching
over to the inkstand to take a fresh clip, he happened to raise
his eyes, and there was the intolerable brown head-dress-there
was the green gown, there, in short, was Mliss Sally Brass, arrayed in all her charms, and more tremendous than ever.
This happened so often, that Mr. Swiveller by degrees began
to feel strange influences creeping over himl-horrible desires
to annihilate this Sally Brass —mysterious promptings to knock
her head-dress off, and try how she looked without it.  There
was a very large ruler on the table-a large, black, shining
ruler. Mr. Swiveller took it up and began to rub his nose with
it.
From rubbing his nose with the ruler, to poising it in his
hand and giving it an occasional flourish after the tomahawk
manner, the transition was easy and natural.  In some of these
flourishes it went close to M~iss Sally's head; the ragged edges
of the head-dress fluttered with the wind it raised; advance it
but an inch, and that great brown knot was on the ground;
yet still the unconscious maiden worked away, and never raised
her eyes
Well, this was a great relief.  It was a good thing to write




300         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
doggedly and obstinately until he was desperate, and then snatch
up the ruler and whirl it about the brown head-dress with the
consciousness that he could have it off if he liked.  It was a
good thing to draw it back, and rub his nose very hard with it,
if he thought Miss Sally was going to look up, and to recornpense himself with more hardy flourishes when lie found she was
still absorbed.  By these means Mr. Swiveller calmed the agitation of his feelings, until his applications to the ruler became
less fierce and frequent, and he could even write as many as
half-a-dozen consecutive lines without having recourse to itwhich was a great victory.




CHAPTER THE TIHIRTY-FOURITHI
IN course of time, that is to say, after a couple of hours or
so of diligent application, Miss Brass arrived at the conclusion
of her task, alnd recorded the fact by wiping her 1p)en upon the
green gown, and taking a pinch of snuff from a little round tin
box which she carried in her pocket.  Having disposed of this
temperate refreshment, she arose from her stool, tied her papers
into a formal packet with red tape, and taking them  under her
arm, marched out of the office.
Mir. Swiveller had scarcely sprung off his seat and commenced
the performance of a maniac hornpipe, when he was interrupted, in the fullness of his joy at being again alone, by the
opening of the door, and the reappearance of Mliss Sally's
head.
" I am, going out," said Miss Brass.
"Very good, ma'am," returned Dick.  "And don't hurry
yourself on muy account to come back, ma'am," he added inwardly.
" If anybody comes on office business, take their messages,
and say that the gentleman who attends to that matter isn't in
at l)resent, will you?" said Miss Brass.
"I will, ma'am," replied Dick.
"I shan't be very long," said Miss Brass, retiring.
"I'n sorry to bear it, ma'am," rejoined Dick, when she had
shut the door.  "I hope you may be unexpectedly detained,
madam.  If you could manage to be run over, ma'am, but not
seriously, so lmuch the better."
Uttering these expressions of good-will with extreme gravity, Mr. Swiveller sat down in the client7s chair and pondered;
then took a few turns up and down the room  and fell into the
chair again.
" So I'm Brass's clerk, am I?" said Dick.  "Brass's clerk,
eli? And the clerk of Brass's sister-clerk to a female Dragon.
Very good, very good! What shall I be next?  Shall I be a
(301)




302          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
convict in a felt hat and a gray suit, trotting about a dockyard
withl my number neatly embroidered on my uniform, and tile
order of the garter on my leg, restratined fr'om chalilltg my ancle
by a twisted belcher handkerchief?  Shall I be tha,?  Will
that do, or is it too genteel?  Whatever you please, have it
your own way of coul;e."
As he was entirely alone, it may be presumed that, in these
rema'.rks, Mlr. Swiveller addressed himself to his fate or destiny,
whom, as we learn by the precedents, it is the custom'of heroes
to taunt in a very bitter and ironical manner when they find
themselves in situations of an unpleasant nature.  This is the
more probable from the circumstance of Mr. Swiveller directing
his observations to the ceiling, which these bodiless personages
are usually supposed to inhabit-except in theatrical cases,
when they live in the heart of the great chandelier.
" Quilp offers me this place, which he says he can ensure me,"
resumed Dick after a thoughtful silence, and telling off the circumstances of his position, one by one, upon his fingers; "Fred,
who, I could have taken my affidavit, woiild not have heard of
such a thing, backs Quilp, to my astonishment, and urges me to
take it also-stag'gerer, number one.  M1y aunt in the country
stops the supplies, and writes an affectionate note to say that
she has made a new will, and left me out of it-staggerer nlumber two.  No money; no credit; no support from Fred, who
seems to turn steady all at once; notice to quit the old lodgings —staggerers, three, four, five and six. Under an accumulation of staggerers, no man can be considered a free agent.  No
man knocks himself down; if his destiny knocks him down, his
destiny must pick him  up again.  Then I'm  very glad that
mine has brought all this upon itself, and I shall be as careless
as I can, and make myself quite at home to spite it. So go on,
my buck," said Mr. Swiveller, taking his leave of the ceiling with a
significant nod, " and let us see which of us will be tilred first.'"
Dismissing the subject of his downfall with these reflections,
which were no doubt very profound, and are not altogether unknown in certain systems of moral philosophy, Mr. Swiveller
shook off his despondency and assumed the cheerful ease of an
irresponsible clerk.
As a means toward his composure and self-possession, he en



THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  303
tered into a more minute examination of the office than he had
yet had time to make; looked into the wig-box, the books and
ink-bottle; untied and inspected all the papers; carveci a fewx
devices on the table with the sharp blade of l*r. Brasss pesn
knife; and wrote his name on the inside of the wooden coalscuttle.  Ilavilng, as it were, taken -)formal possession of his
clerkship, in virtue of these proceeding%, he opened the wTindorv
and leaned negligently out of it until a beer-boy- ha ppepinmg to
pass, whom he commanded to set clown his tray and to serve
him with a pint of mild porter, which he drank upon the spot
and promptly paid for, with the view of breakiing ground for a
system of future credit and opening a correspondence tending
thereto, without loss of time.  Then three or four little boys
dropped in on legal errands from three or four attorneys of the
Brass grade, whom  3Mr. Swiveller received and dismissed with
about as professional a manner, and as correct and comprehensive an understanding of their business, as would have been
shown by a clown in a pantomime under similar circumstances.
These things done and over, he got upon his stool again and
tried his hand at drawing caricatures of Miss Brass with a pen
and ink, whistling very cheerfully all the time.
He was occupied in this diversion when a coach stopped near
the door, and presently afterward there was a loud double-knock.
As this was no business of Mr. Swiveller's, the person not ringing' the office-bell, he pursued his diversion with perfect composure, notwithstanding that he rather thought there was nobody
else in the house.
In this, however, he was mistaken; for after the knock had
been repeated with increased impatience, the door was opened,
and somebody with a very heavy tread wenlt up the stairs, and
into the room above.  AiAr. Swiveller was wondering  whether
this might be another Miiss Brass, twin sister to the Dragon,
when there came a rapping of knuckles at the office door.
"Come in I" said Dick. "Don't stand upon ceremony. The
business will get rather complicated if I've many more customers.  Come in I"
" Oh, please," said a little voice very low down in the doorway,
"will you come and show the lodgings?"
Dick leant over the table, and descried a small slipshod girl




804     -   THE  OLD  CURIOSITY   SHOP.
in a dirty coarse apron and bib, which left nothing of her visible
but her face and feet.  She might as well have been dressed in
a violin-case.
" Wlhy, who are you?" said Dick.
To which  thle only reply was, " Oh, please will you come and
show the lodgingls?"7
There never was such an old-fashioned child in her looks and
manner.  She  mnust have been at work from her cradle.  She
seemed as much afraid of Dick as Dick was amazed at her.
"I haven't got any thing to do with the lodgings," said Dick.
" Tell'em to call again."
" Oh, but please will you come and show the lodgings,'" returned the girl; " it's eighteen shillings a week and us finding
plate and linen.  Boots and clothes is extra, and fires in wintertime is eightpence a day."
" Why don't you show'em yourself?  You seem to know all
about'em," said Dick.
" Miss Sally said I wasn't to because people wouldn't believe
the attendance was good, if they saw how small I was first."
1" Well, but they'll see how small you are afterward, won't
they?" said Dick.
"Ah I But then they'll have taken'em for a fortnight certain," replied the child with a shrewd look; "and people don't
like moving when they're once settled."
"This is a queer sort of thing," mutteredcl Dick, rising. "What
do you mean to say you are-the cook?"'
" Yes, I do plain cooking;" replied the child.  " I'm housemaid too; I do all the work of the house."
"I suppose Brass and the Dragon and I do the dirtiest part
of it," thougiht Dick. And he might have thoughlit much more,
being in a doubtful and hesitating mood, but that the girl again
urged her request, and  certain mysterious bumping sounds on
the passag'e and staircase seemed to give note of the upplicant's
impat-ience.  Rlichard  Swiveller, therefore, sticking a pen behind each ear, and carryino another in his mouth as a token of
his great importance and devotion to business, hurried out to
meet and treat with the single gentleman.
He was a little surprised to perceive that the bumping sounds
were occasioned by the progress up stairs of the single gentle



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THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  805
man's trunk, which, being nearly twice as wide as the staircase,
and exceedingly heavy withal, it was no easy matter for the
united exertions of the single gentleman and the coachman to
convey up the steep ascent.  But there they were, crushing
each other, and pushing and pulling with all their might, and
getting the trunk tight and fast in all kinds of impossible angles,
and to pass them was out of the question; for which sufficient
reason, Mr. Swiveller followed slowly behind, entering a new
protest on every stair against the house of Mir. Sampson Brass
being thus taken by storm.
To these remonstrances, the single gentleman answered not a
word, but when the trunk was at last got into the bedroom, sat
down upon it and wiped his bald head and face with his handkerchief.  He was very warm, and well he might be; for, not
to mention the exertion of getting the trunk up stairs, he was
closely muffled up in winter garments, though the thermometer
had stood all day at eighty-one in the shade.
" I believe, sir," said iRichard Swiveller, taking his pen out
of his mouth, " that you desire to look at these apartments.
They are very charming apartments, sir.  They command an
uninterrupted view of —of over the way, and they are within
one minute's walk of-of the corner of the street.  There is
exceedingly mild porter, sir, in the immediate vicinity, and the
contingent advantages are extraordinary."
"What's the rent?" said the single gentleman.
"One pound per week," replied Dick, improving on the
terms.
" I'll take'em.
"The boots and clothes are extras," said Dick; "and the
fires in winter times are  -"
"Are all agreed too," answered the single gentleman.
"Two weeks certain,"' said Dick, "are the    "
"Two weeks!"' cried the single gentleman gruffly, eyeing him
from top to toe.  " Two years.  I shall live here for two years.
iHere.  Ten pounds clown.  The bargain's made."
"Why, you see," said Dick, " my namne's not Brass, and.   "
W Who said it was?   fjy nalle's not Brass.  \TWhat then?"
"The name of the master of the house is," said Dick.
"I'm  glad of it," returned the single gentleman; "it's a
15




13606       THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
good name for a lawyer.  Coachman, you may go.  So may
you, sir."
Mvr. Swiveller was so much confounded by the single gentleman riding roughshod over him at this rate, that he stood looking at him almost as hard as he had looked at Miss Sally. The
single gentleman, however, was not in the slightest degree affected by this circumstance, but proceeded with perfect composure to unwind the shawl which was tied round his neck, andthen to pull off his boots.  Freed of these ineumbranuces, he
went on to divest himself of his other clothing, which he folded
up piece by piece, and ranged in order upon the trunk. Then
he pulled down the window-blinds, drew the curtains, wound
up his watch, and, quite leisurely and methodically, got into
bed.
"Take down the bill," were his parting words, as he looked
out from between the curtains; "and let nobody call me till I
ring the bell.9
With that the curtains closed, and he seemed to snore immediately.
"This is a most remarkable and supernatural sort of house!"'
said Mr. Swiveller, as he walked into the office with the bill in
his hand.  " She-dragons in the business, conducting themselves like professional gentlemen; plain cooks of three feet
high appearing mysteriously from under ground; strangers
walking in and going to bed without leave or license in the
middle of the day! If he should be one of the miraculous -fellows that turn up now and then, and has gone to sleep for two
years, I shall be in a pleasant situation.  It's my destiny, however, and I hope Brass may like it.  I shall be sorry if he don't.
But it's no business of mine-I have nothing whatever to do
with it 19




C1HAPTER  TtlE  TitIRTY-FIFTiH.
-MR. BRAss on returning home received the report of his clerk
with much complacency and satisfaction, andc was particular inll
inquiring after the ten-pound note, which proving on examinhation to be a good and lawful note of the Governor and Company
of the Bank of England, increased his good humor considerably.
Indeed he so overflowed with liberality and condescension, that
in the fullness of his heart he invited Mr. Swiveller to partake
of a bowl of punch with him at that remote and indefinite period
which is currently denominated " one of these days," and paid
him many handsome compliments on the uncommon aptitude
for business which his conduct on the first day of his devotion
to it had so plainly evinced.
It was a maxim with Mr. Brass that the habit of paying compliments kept a man's tongue oiled without any expense; and,
as that useful member ought never to grow rusty or creak in
turning on its hinges in the case of a practitioner of the law, in
whom it should always be glib and easy, he lost few opportunities of improving himself by the utterance of handsome speeches
and eulogistic expressions.  And this had passed into such a
habit with him, that, if he could not be correctly said to have
his tongue at his fingers' ends, he might certainly be said to
have it anywhere but in his face; which, being, as we have
already seen, of a harsh and repulsive character, was not oiled
so easily, but frowned above all the smooth speeches; one of
nature's beacons, warning off those who navigated the shoals
and breakers of the World, or of that dangerous strait the Law,
and admonishing them to seek less treacherous harbors and try
their fortunes elsewhere.
While Mr. Brass by turns overwhelmed his clerk with compliments, and inspected the ten-pound note, Miss Sally showed
little emotion and that of no pleasurable kind, for as the tendency of her legal practice had been to fix her thoughts on small
gains and gripings, and to whet and sharpen her natural wisdom,
(301)




808         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
she was not a little disappointed that the single gentleman had
obtained the lodgings at such an easy rate, arguing that when
lie was seen to have set his minl upon them, he should have
been at the least charged double or treble the usual termls, and
that, in exact proportion as he pressed forward, Mr. Swiveller
should have hung- back.  But neither the good opinion of Mr.
Brass, nor the dissatisfaction of Miss Sally, wrought any impression upon that young gentleman, who, throwing the responsibility of this and all other acts and deeds thereafter to be done
by him, upon his unlucky destiny, was quite resigned and comfortable: fully prepared for the worst, and philosophically indifferent to the best.
" Good morning, Mr. Richard," said Mr. Brass, on the second day of Mr. Swiveller's clerkship.  "Sally found you a second-hand stool, sir, yesterday evening in Whitechapel.  She's
a rare fellow at a bargain, I can tell you,:Mr. Richard.  You'll
find that a first-rate stool, sir, take my word for it."
"It's rather a crazy one to look at," said Dick.
"You'll find it a most amazing stool to sit down upon, you
may depend," returned Mr. Brass.  "It was bought in the open
street just opposite the hospital, and as it has been standing there
a month or two, it has got rather dusty and a little brown from
being in the sun, that's all."
" I hope it hasn't got any fevers or any thing of that sort in
it," said Dick, sitting himself down discontentedly, between Mr.
Sampson and the chaste Sally.  " One of the legs is longer than
the others."
" Then we get a bit of timber in, sir," retorted Brass.  "Ha,,
ha, ha I We get a bit of timber in, sir, and that's another advantage of my sister's going to market for us. Miss Brass,
Mr. Richard is the -"
" Will you keep quiet?" interrupted the fair subject of these
remarks, looking up from her papers.  " How am I to work if
you keep on chattering?"
"What an uncertain chap you are!" returned the lawyer.
"Sometimes you're all for a chat.  At another time you're
all for work.  A man never knows what humor he'll find you
in."
"I'm in a worlking humor now," said Miss Sally, " so don't




TH:E  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  309
disturb me, if you please.  And don't take him," Miss Sally
pointed with the feather of her pen to Riichard, " off his business.  Hle won't do more than he can help, I dare say."
MIr. Brass had evidently a strong inclination to make an ans
gry reply, but was deterred by prudent or timid considerations,
as he only muttered something' about aggravation and a vaoabond; not associating the termls with any individual, but mentioning themn  as connected with some abstra, ct ideals which
hcappened to occur to him.  They went on writing for a long
time in silence after this-and in such a dull silence that Mr.
Sn-iveller (who required excitement) had several times fallen
asleep, and written divers strange words in an unknown character with his eyes shut, when Miss Sally at length broke in upon
the monotony of the office by pulling out the little tin box,
taking a noisy pinch of snuff; and then expressing the opinion
that Mr. Richard Swiveller had " done it."
" Done what, mIa'am?"' said Richard.
"Do you know,7" returned Miss Brass, " that the lodger isn't
up yet —that nothing has been seen or heard of him  since he
went to bed yesterday afternoon?"'
"Well, ma'am,"' said Dick, "I suppose he may sleep his tenpound out, in peace and quietness, if he likes."
" Ah! Ibegin to think he'll never wake," observed Mciss Sally.
"It's a very remarkable circumstance," said Brass, laying
down his pen; "really, very remarkable.  MIr. Richard, you'll
remember, if this gentleman should be found to have hung himself to the bed-post, or any unpleasant accident of that kind
should happen —you'll remember, Mr. Richard, that this tenpound note was given to you in part payment of two years' rent?
You'll bear that in mind, Mr. Richard; you had better make a
note of it, sir, in case you should ever be called upon to give
evidence. "7
Air. Swiveller took a large sheet of foolscap, and with a
countenance of profound gravity, began to make a very small
note in one corner.
"We can never be too cautious," said Ar. B rass.  "T-)ere
is a deal of wickedness going about the worl(l, a deal of wickedness.  Did the gentleman happen to say, sir-.-ut never mind
that at present, sir; finish that little memorandum first."




810         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP
Dick did so, and handed it to Mir. Brass, who had dismounted
from his stool and was walking up and down the office.
" Oh, this is the memorandum, is it?" said Brass, running his
eye over the docnment. "  ery good.  Now, Mir. Riichard, did
the gentleman say any thing else?",' No. 
"Are you sure, MVdr. Pichard,") said Brass, solemnly, "that
the &entleman said nothing else?"
"Devil a word, sir," replied Dick.
"Think again, sir," said Brass; "it's my duty, sir, in the
position in which I stand, and as an honorable member of the
legal profession, the first profession in this country, sir, or in any
other country, or in any of the planets that shine above us at
night and are supposed to be inhabited-it's my duty, sir, as an
honorable member of that profession, not to put to you a leading question in a matter of this delicacy and importance.  Did
the gentleman, sir, who took the first floor of you yesterday
afternoon, and who brought with him a box of property-a box
of property-say any thing more than is set down in this memorandumt?"
" Come, don't be a fool," said Miss Sally.
Dick looked at her, and then at Brass, and then at Miss Sally
again, and still said " No. "
"Pooh, pooh I Deuce take it, MIr. Richard, how dull you
are I" cried Brass, relaxing into a smile.  "Did he say any
thing about his property?-there."
"That's the way to put it," said Miss Sally, nodding to her
brother.
"Did he say for instance," added Brass, in a kind of comfortable, cozy tone —-" I don't assert that he did say so, mind;
I only ask you, to refresh your memory-did he say, for instance,
that he was a stranger in London-that it was not his humor
or within his ability to give any references-that he felt we had
a right to require them-and that, in case any thing should
happen to him, at any time, he particularly desired that whatever property he had upon the premises should be considered
mine, as some slight recompense for the trouble and annoyance
I should sustain-and were you, in short," added Brass, still




THIE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  311
more comfortably and cozily than before, "were you induced to
accept him on my behalf, as a tenant, upon those conditions?"
"Certainly not," replied Dick.
"Why then, Air. Plichard,"' said Brass, darting at him  a
supercillious and reproachful look, " it's mzy opicnion that you've
mistaken your callingi,  and will never make a lawyer. "
I" ot if you live a thousand years,~" added Miss Sally.
Whereupon the brother andc sister took each a noisy pinch of
snuff from the little tin box, and fell into a gloomy thoughtfulness.
Nothing further passed up to Mr. Swiveller's dinner time,
which was at three o'clock, and seemed about three weeks in
coming. At the first stroke of the hour, the new clerk disappeared.  At the last stroke of five, he reappeared, and the office,
as if by magic, became fragrant with the smell of gin and water
and lemon-peel.
"' Mr. lRichard,' said Brass,' this man's not up yet. Nothing
will wake him, sir.  What's to be done?"'
" I should let him have his sleep out," returned Dick.
" Sleep out!1" cried Brass; "why he has been asleep now,
six-and-twenty hours.  We have been moving chests of drawers
over his head, we have knocked double knocks at the street-door,
we have made the servant-girl fall down stairs several times,
(she's a light weight, and it don't hurt her much,) but nothing
wakes him."
" Perhaps a ladder," suggested Dick, " and getting in at the
first-floor window-   -"
" But then there's a door between; besides, the neighborhood
would be up in arms," said Brass.
" What do you say to getting on the roof of the house through
the trap-door, and dropping down the chimney?"' suggested
Dick.
"That would be an excellent plan,l" said Brass, " if anybody
would be-" and here he looked very hard at iMr. Swiveller —
"would be kind, and friendly, and generous enough to undertake it.  I dare say it would not be any thing like as disagreeable as one supposes.7"
Dick had made the suggestion, thinking that the duty might
possibly fall within Miss Sally's department.  As he said nothing




312         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
further, and declined taking the hint, Mr. Brass was fain to
propose that they should go up stairs together, and make a last
effort to awaken the sleeper by some less violent means, which,
if they failed on this last trial, must positively be succeeded by
stronger measures.  Mr. Swiveller, asseniting, armed hihmself
with his stool and the large ruler, and repaired with his employer to the scene of action, wherae Miss Brass was:.already
ringing a hand-bell with all her might, and yet without producing the smallest effect upon their mysterious lodger.
"There are his boots, Mr. Riichard,"' said Brass.
" Very obstinate looking articles they are too," quoth tRichard
Swiveller. And truly they were as sturdy and bluff a pair of
boots as one would wish to see; as firmly planted on the ground
as if their owner's legs and feet had been in them, and seeming,
with their broad soles and blunt toes, to hold possession of their
place by main force.
"I can't see any thing but the curta.in of the bed,' said Brass,
applying his eye to the keyhole of the door.  "  ls he a strong
man, Mr. Richard?"'Very,"' answered Dick.
"It would be an extremly unpleasant circumstance if he was
to bounce out suddenly," said Brass.  "Keep the stairs clear.
I should be more than a match for him of course, but I'm the
master of the house, and the laws of hospitality must be respected.
IHallo there! Hallo, hallo!"
While Mir. Brass, with his eye curiously twisted into the keyhole, uttered these sounds as a-:means of attractinlg  the lodger's
attention, and while ~Miss Brass plied the hand-bell, Mr. Swiveller put his stool close against the wall by the side of the door,
and mounting on the top and standing' bolt upright, so that if
the lodger did make a rush, he would most probably pass him
in its onward furlly, begani a violent battery with the ruler lupon
the upper panels of the door.  Captivated with his own ingenuity, and confident in thle strength of his position, which he
had taken up after the method of those hardy individuals who
open the pit and gallery doors of theatres on crowded nights,
-Mr. Swiveller rained down such a shower of blows that the
noise of the bell was drowned; and the small servant, who lingered on the stairs below, ready to fly at a moment's notice,




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   813
was obliged to hold her ears lest she should be rendered deaf
for life.
Suddenly the door was unlocked on the inside and fll-ng violently open. The small servant fled to the coal cellar; Miss
Sally dived inlto her own bedroom; Mr. Brass, who was not
remnarkable for personal courage, ran *into the next street, and
finding tlhat nobody followed him, armed with a poker or other
offensive weapon, put his hands in his pockets, walked very slowly
all at once, and whistled.
Mleanwhile Mr. Swiveller, on the top of the stool, drew himself into as flat a shape as possible against the wall and looked,
not unconcernedly, down upon the single gentleman, who appeared at the door growling and cursing in a very awful manner, and, with the boots in his hand, seemed to have an intention of hurling them  down stairs on speculation.  This idea,
however, he abandoned, and he was turning into his room
again, still growling vengefully, when his eyes met those of the
watchful Richard.
"Have you been making that horrible noise?" said the single
gentleman.
i' I have been helping, sir," returned Dick, keeping his eye
upon him, and waving the ruler gently in his right hand, as an
indication of what the single gentleman had to expect if he
attempted any violence.
" How dare you then," said the lodger, "Eh?'9
To this, Dick made no other reply than by inquiring whether
the lodger held it to be consistent with the conduct and character of a gentleman to go to sleep for six-and-twenty hours at a
stretch, and whether the peace of an amiable anci  virtuous
family was to weigh as nothing in the balance.
" Is my peace nothing'?" said the single gentleman.
"Is their peace nothing, sir?" returned Dick.  "I dont wish
to hold out any threats, sir-indeed the law does not allow of
threats, for to threaten is an indictable offense-but, if ever yvou
do that again, take care you're not sat upon by the coroner and
buried in a cross road before you wake. We have been distracted
with fears that you were dead, sir," said Dick, gently sliding to
the ground, " and the short and the long of it is, that wve can



314         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
not allow sinigle gentlemen to come into this establishment and
sleep like double gentlemen without paying extra for it."
"Indeed " cried the lodger.
Tes, sir, ilndeed," returned Dick, yieldingl  to his destiny anld
saying whatever came uppermiost; " an equal quantity of slumber was never got out of one bed and iedstead, and if vyoi're
going to sleep in that way, you must pay for a double-bedded
Instead of being thrown into a greater passion by these
remnarks, the lodger lapsed into a broad grin and looked at Mir.
Swiveller with twinkling eyes.  lie was a brown-faced sun-burnt
man, and appeared browner and more sun-burnt from having a
white nightcap on.  As it was clear that he was a choleric fellow in some respects, Mr. Swiveller was relieved to find him in
such good humor, and, to encourage him  in it, smiled himself.
The lodger, in the testiness of being so rudely roused, had
pushed his nightcap very much on one side of his bald head.
This gave him  a rakish eccentric air which, now that he had
leisure to observe it, charmed Mr. Swiveller exceedingly; therefore, by way of propitiation, lhe expressed his hope that the
gentleman was going to get up, and further that he would
never do so any more.
" Come here, you impundent rascal," was the lodger's answer
as he re-entered his room.
Mr. Swiveller followed him in, leaving the stool outside, but
reserving the ruler in case of a surprise.  lie rather congratulated himself upon his prudence when t'he single gentleman,
without notice or explanation of any kind, double-locked the
door.
" Can you drink any thing?" was his next inquiry.
Mr. Swiveller replied that he had very recently been assuaging
the pangs of thirst, but that he was still open to "a modest
quencher," if the materials were at hand.  Without another
word spoken on either side, the lodger took from his great trunk
a kind of temple, shining as of polished silver, and placed it
carefully on the table.
Greatly interested in his proceedings, Mr. Swiveller observed
him closely. Into one little chamber of this temple he dropped an




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  815
egg, into another some coffee, into a third a compact piece of
raw steak from a neat tin case, into a fourth he poured some
water.  Then, with the aid of a phosphorous-box and some
matches, he procured a light and applied it to a spirit-lamp
which had a place of its own below the temple; then he shut
down the lids of all the little chambers, thenl le opened them;
and then, by some wonderful and unseen agency, the steak was
done, the egg was boiled, the coffee was accurately prepared,
and his breakfast wtas ready.
"Hot water-" said the lodger, handing it to Mr. Swiveller
with as much coolness as if he had a kitchen fire before hiim"'extraordinary rum-sugalr —and a traveling glass.  Mix for
yourself. And make haste."
Dick complied, his eyes wandering all the time from the
temple on the table which seemed to do. every thing,'to the great
trunk which seemed to hold every thing.  The lodger took his
breakfast like a man who was used to work these miracles, and
thought nothing' of them.
"The man of the house is a lawyer, is he not?"' said the
lodger.
Dick nodded.  The rum was amazing.
"' The woman of the house-what's she?1
"A dragon,' said Dick.
The single gentleman, perhaps, because he had met with such
things in his travels, or perhaps because he was a single gentleman, evinced no surprise, but merely inquired "Wife or sister?"' Sister," said Dick.-" So much the better," said the single
gentleman, "he can get rid of her when he likes."
"I want to do as I like, young man," he added, after a short
silence; " to go to bed when. I like, get up when I like, come
in when I like, go out when I like, —to be asked no questions,
and be surrounded by no spies.  In this last respect, servants
are the devil.  There's only one here."
"And a very little one," said Dick.
"Anld a very little one," repeated the lodger.  "Well, the
place will suit me, will it?"
" Yes," said Dick.
"Sharks, I suppose?" said the lodge..
Dick nodded assent, and drained his glass.




816         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
"Let them  know  my humor," said the gentleman, rising.
"If they dis-turb me, they lose a good tenant.  If they know
me to be that, they know enough.  If they try to know more,
it's a notice to quit.  It's better to understand these things at
once.  Good-day.'
"I beg your pardon,"' said Dick, halting in his pas.sage to
the door, which the lodger prepared to open.  " When he who
adores thee has left but thie name1
" What do you mean?'3
"But the name, " said Dick-" has left but the name-in case
of letters or parcels- "
"I never have any," returned the lodger.
" Or in case any body should call."
"Nobody ever calls on me."
"If any mistake should arise from  not having the name,
don't say it was my fault, sir," added Dick, still lingering."Oh blame not the bard  "
"I'll blame inobocly," said the lodg'er, with such irascibility
that in a moment Dick found himself upon the staircase and
the locked door between them.
Mr. Brass and Miss Sally were lurking hard by, having
been, indeed, only routed from the keyhole by Mr. Swiveller's
abrupt exit.  As their utmost exertions had not enabled them
to overhear a word of the interview, however, in consequence
of a quarrel for precedence, which, though limited of necessity
to pushes and pinches and such quiet pantomime, had lasted
the whole time, they hurried him down to the office to hear his
account of the conversation.
This Mr. Swiveller gave them-faithfully as regarded the
wishes and character of the single gentleman, and poetically as
concerned the great truink, of which he gave a description more
remarkable for brilliancy of imiagination than a strict adhlerence
to truth; declaring, with imany strong asseverations, that it contained a specimen of every ]ind of rich food and wine, known
in these times, and in particular that it was of a self-acting
kind, and served up whatever was required, as he supposed, by
clockwork.  He also gave them to understand that the cooking
apparatus roasted a fine piece of sirloin of beef weighing about
six pounds avoirdupoise, in two minutes and a quarter, as he




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY   SHOP.                    817
had himself witnessed, and proved by his sense of taste; and
further that, however the effect was produced, he lhad distinctly
seen wat-er boil acd  bh:lhble up iwvhen thie single gentlenllan
winklled; fronm which faicts he (1r1:. Sw ivveller) wras led to iinfe
that the lodger' was some gr'eat conljiror or chleist, or both,
whose residence undler that roof could lnot fail -at some future
day to shed a great credit and distinction upon the name of
Brass, and add a new interest to the history of Bevis Marks.
There was one point which AMr. Swiveller deemed  it unnecessary to enlarge upon, and that was the fact of the modest
quencher, which, by reason of its intrinsic strength and its
coming close upon the heels of the temperate beverage he had
discussed at dinner,'awakened a slight degree of fever, and
rendered necessary two or three other modest quenchers at the
public-house in the course of the evening.




CI'APTE PR TH E THIRTY-SIXTH.
As the single gentleman, after soime weeks occupation of his
lodgings, still declined to correspond by word or gesture either
with Mi'r. Brass or his sister Sally, but invariably chose Richard
Swiveller as his channel of communication; and as he proved
himself in all respects a highly desirable inmate, paying for every
thing beforehand, giving very little trouble, making no noise,
and keeping early hours; lMr. Richard imperceptibly rose to an
important position in the family, as one who had influence over
this mysterious lodger, and could negotiate with him  for good
or evil, when nobody else durst approach his person.
If the truth must be told, even Mr. Swiveller's approaches
to the single gentleman were of a very distant kind, and met
with small encouragement; but as he never returned from  a
monosyllable conference with the unknown, without quoting such
expressions as " Swiveller, I know I can rely upon you,"-" I
have no hesitation' in saying, Swiveller, that I entertain a regard for you," —" Swiveller, you are my friend, and will stand
by me, I am sure," with many other short speeches of the sanme
familiar and confiding kind, purporting to have been addressed
by the single geutleman to himself, and to form the staple of
their ordinary discourse, neither Mr. Brass nor Miss Sally for a
moment questioned the extent of his influence, but accorded to
him their fullest and most unqualified belief.
But quite apart froml and independent of this source of popUlarity, Mr. Swiveller had another, which promised to be equally
enduring, and to lighten his position considerably.
He found favor in the eyes of Miss Sally Brass.  Let not the
light scorners of female fascination erect their ears to listen to a
new tale of love, which shall serve them for a jest; for Miss
Brass, however accurately formed to be beloved, was not of the
loving kind.  That amiable virgin, having clung to the skirts
of the Law front her earliest youth, having sustained herself by
their aid, as it were, in her first running alone, and maintained
(318)




T HE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHO3P.                    319
a firm grasp upon them ever sinlce, had p.assed her life in a kind
of legal childhood.  She had been remarkable, when a tender
prattler, fors an uncommon talent in counte'rfeitiing the wtalk and(
manner of a bailiff; in which character she had learned to tap
her little playfellows on the shoulder, Iandi to carry ihemi off to
imaginary sponging-hous101s, with a correcness of imitation:
which was the surprise and delight of all who witnessed her ieorformances, and which was olly to be exceeded by her exquisite
manner of putting an execution into her doll's house, and taking
an exact inventory of the chairs and tables. These artless sports
had naturally soothed and cheered the decline of her widowed
father, a most exemplary gentleman, ('called "old Foxey" by
his friends for his extreme sag'acity,) who encouraged therm  to
the utmost, and whose chief regret on findil, that he drew near
to Houl(ndsdit.ch euhrch-yard was, that his daugtlghter could not
take out an attorney's certificate, and hold a tlolce upotn the roell
Filled  with this affectionate and touching  sorrow, he hbad
solemnly confided her to his son Saimpson, as an invaluable
auxiliary; and from  the old geltleman's decease to the period
of which we treat, Aiss Sally Brass had been the prop and pillar of his business.
It was obvious that, having devoted herself firom infancy to
this one pursuit and study, Mliiss Brass could know but little of
the world, otherwise than in counnlction with the law; and that
from  a lady gifted with such hig-h tastes, proficiency in those
gentler and softer arts in which women usually excel, was
scarcely to be loo0ked for.  Miss Sally's accomplishments were
all of a masculine and strictly leg'al lkind.  They began with the
practice of an attorney and they ended with it.  She was in a
state of lawful innocence, so to speak.  The law had been her
nurse, and, as bandy-legs or such physical deformities in children
are held to be consequences of bad nursing, so, if in a mind so
beautiful any moral twist or bandiness could be found, 1Miss
Sally Brass's nurse was alone to blame.
It was upon this young lady, then, that Mr. Swiveller burst
in full freshness as something  new and hitherto undreamed of;,
lighting up the office with scraps of song and merriment, conjuring with inkstands and boxes of wafers, ceatching three oranllges
in one hand, balancing stools upon his chlin lad penkliaives onl




S20         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SH OP.
his nose, and constantly performing a hundred other feats of
equal ingenuity; for with such unbendings did Richard, in Mr.
33riss's absence, relieve tilhe tedium of his conlfineent.  These
social qualities, wilich IMiss Sally first discovered by accident,
gradutally mLade such an impression -upon her, that she would
entreat AMr. Swiveller to relax as though she were not by,
Mwhich Mr. Swiveller, nothing loth, would readily consent to do.
By these means a friendship sprung up between them.  Mr.
Swniveller gradually came to look upon her as her brother Sampson did, and as he would have looked upon any other clerk. He
imparted to her the mystery of going the odd man or plain Newmarket for fruit, ginger-beer, baked potatoes, or even a modest
quencher, of which Miss Brass did not scruple to partake.  He
would often persuade her to undcertake his share of writing in
addition to her own; nay, he would sometimes reward her with
a hearty slap on the back, and protest that she was a devilish
good fellow, a jolly dog, and so forth; all of which compliments Miss Sally would receive in entire good part and with
perfect satisfaction,
One circunmstance troubled Mr. Swiveller's mind very much,
and that was that the small servant always remained somewhere
in the bowels of the earth, under Bevis Marks, and never came
to the surface unless the single gentleman rang his bell, when
she would answer it and immediately disappear again. She
never went out, or came into the office, or had a clean face, or
took off the coarse apron, or looked out of any one of the windows, or stood at the street door for a breath of air, or had any
rest or enjoyment whatever. Nobody ever came to see her, nobody spoke of her, nobody cared about her.  Mr. Brass had
said once, that he believed she was' a love child," (which means
any thing but a child of love,) and that was all the information
Richard Swiveller could obtain.
"It's of no use asking the dragon," thought Dick one day, as
he sat contemplating the features of Miss Sally Brass. " I suspect if I asked any questions on that head, our alliance would
be at an end.  I wonder whether she is a dragon, by-the-by,
or something in the mermaid way.  Shle has rather a scaly appearance.  Bnt mermaids are fond of looking at themselves in




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                    821
the glass, which she can't be.  And they have a habit of combi;lg their hair, which she hasn't.  No, she's a dragon."
"Where are you going, old fellow," said Dick aloud, as MWiss
Sally wiped her pen as usual on the green dress, and uprose
f-:om11 her seat.
6 To dinners" answered the dragon.
"' To dinner!" thought Dick, "that's another circumstance.
I don't believe that small servant ever has any thing to eat."
"Sammy won't be home," said Miss Brass.  "S $top'till I
I come back.  I shan't be long."i
Dick nodded and followed Miss Brass with his eyes to the
1door, and with his ears to a little back parlor, where she and
her brother took their meals.
" Now," said Dick, walking up and down with his hands in!his pockets, " I'd give something-if I had it-to know how
they use that child, and where they keep her.  My mother must
have been a very inquisitive woman; I have no doubt I'm
vlarked with a note of interrogation somewhere.  My feelings
I smother, but thou hast been the cause of this anguish myupon my word," said Mr. Swiveller, checking himself and falling thoughtfully'into the client's chair, " I should like to know
how they use her!"
After running on in this way for some time, Mr. Swiveller
saftly opened the office-door with the intention of darting across
the street for a glass of the mild porter.  At that moment he
caught a parting  glimpse of the brown head-dress of Miss
Brass flitting down the kitchen stairs. " And by Jove!" thought
Dick, " she's going to feed the servant.  [Now or never 1"
First peeping over the handrail and allowing the head-dress
to disappear in the darkness below, he groped his way down,
and arrived at the door of a back kitchen immediately after
Miss Brass had entered the same, bearinmg in her hand a cold
ifAcrg of mulnttn.  It was a very dlark, miserable place, very low,,and ve'ry damp, the walls disfigtlred  by a thousand rents and
Nlotches.  The water was trickling out of a lealky butt, and a
tlost wretched cat was lapping up the drops with the sickly
eageriness of starvation.  The grate, which was a wide one, was
wound and screwed up tight, so as to hold no more than a little
thin sandwich of fire.  Every thing was locked up; the coal20B




822         THE  OLD  CIRIOSITY  SHOP.
eellar, the candle-box, the sailt-box, the meat-safe, were all pac1~
locked.  There was nothing' that a beetle could have lunched
upon. The pinched and meagre aspect of the place would have
killed a chanmelion.  -THe would have known at the first m2OUthful that the air was not eatable, a(,nd must have given up the
ghost in despair.  The small servant stood with humility in presence of iiss Sally, and hung her head.
" Are you there?"' said Miss Sally.
"Yes, ma2am,"' was the answer in a weak voice.
Go further away from the leg' of mutton or you'll be picking it, I know,"  said Miss Sally.
The girl withdrew  into a corner, while;  Miss Brass took a
key fiom her pocket, and opening the safe, brought from it a
dreary waste of cold potatoes, looking as eatable as Stonehenge.
This she placed before the small servant, ordering her to sit
down before it, and then, taking up a great carving-knife, made
a mighty show of sharpening it upon the carving-fork.
" Do you see this?" said Mliss Brass, slicing off about two
square inches of cold mutton after all this preparation, and
holding it out on the point of the fork.
The small servant looked hard enough at it with her hungry
eyes to see every shred of it, small as it was, and answered,' Yes."9
"Then don't you ever go and say," retorted MAiss Sally,
" that you hadn't meat here.  There, eat it up."9
This was soon done.    Now, do you want any more?"' said
Miss Sally.
The hungry creature answered with a faint "iNo."  They
were evidently going through an established form.
" You've been helped once to meat," said' Miss Brass, summing up the facts; "'you have had as much as you can eat,
you're asked if you want any more, and you answer,' no!'
Then don't you ever go and say you were allowanced, mind
that. "
With those woirds, Miss Sally pEut the meat away and locked
the safe, and then drawing near to the small servant, overlooked
her while she finished the potatoes.
It was plain that some extraordinary grudge was working in
Miss Brass's gentle breast, and that it was this which impelled




-Ira,,,11
RS  MAS,51; AND  THE  "SMALT, SERVANT,".








THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                    823
her, without the smallest present cause, to rap the child with
the blade of the knife, now on her hand, now on her head, and
now on her back, as if she found it quite impossible to stand so
close to her without administering a few slight knocks. But
fMr. Swiveller was not a little surprised to see his fellow-clerk,
after walking slowly backward toward the door as if she were
trying to withdraw herself from the room but could not accomplish it, dart suddenly forward, and falling on the small servant,
give her some hard blows with her clenched hand. The victim
cried, but in a snbdued manner, as if she feared to raise her
voice, and Miss Sally, comforting herself with a pinch of snuff,
ascended the stairs, just as Richard had safely reached the
office.




CHAPTER THE THIRTY-SEVENT H.
TIE single gentleman, among his other peculiarities-and he
had a very plentiful stock, of which he every day furnished some
new specimen-took a most extraordinary and remarkable interest in the exhibition of Punch.  If the sound of a Punches
voice, at ever so remote a distance, reached Bevis Marks, the
single gentleman, though in bed and asleep, would start up, and
hurrying on his clothes, make for the spot with all speed, and
presently return at the head of a long procession of idlers, having in the midst the theatre and its proprietors.  Straightway,
the stage would be set up in front of Mr. Brass's house; the
single gentleman would establish himself at the first-floor window; and the entertainment would proceed with all its exciting
accompaniments of fife and drum and shout, to the excessive
consternation of all sober votaries of business in that silent
thoroughfare.  It might have been expected that when the
play was done, both players and audience would have dispersed 
but the epilogue was as bad as the play, for no sooner was the
Devil dead, than the manager of the puppets and his partner
were summoned by the single gentleman to his chamber, where
they were regaled with strong waters from  his private store,
and where they held with him long conversations, the purport
of which no human being could fathom.  But the secret of
these discussions was of little importance.  It was sufficient to
know that while they were proceeding, the concourse without
still lingered round the house; that boys bea t upon the drunm
with their fists, and imitated Punch with their tender voices 
that the office-window was rendered opaque by flattened noses,
and the key-hole of the street-door luminous with eyes; that
every time the single  gentleman  or either of his guests
were seen at the upper window, or so much as the end of
one of their noses was visible, there was a great shout of
execration from the excluded mob, who remained howling and
yelling, and refusing consolation, until the exhibitors were de(324)




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  325
livered up to them to be attended elsewhere.  It was sufficient,
in short, to know that Bevis Malrks was revolutionized by these
popular movements, and that peace and quietness fled from its
precincts.
Nobody was rendered more indignant by these proceedings
than Mr. Sampson Brass, who, as he could by no means afford
to lose so profitable an inmate, deemed it prudent to pocket
his lodger's affront along with his cash, and to annoy the audiences who clustered round his door by such imperfect means of
retaliation as were open to him, and which were confined to
the trickling down of foul water on their heads from unseen watering pots, pelting them with fragments of tile and mortar from the
roof of the house, and bribing the drivers of hackney cabriolets to
come suddenly round the corner and dash in among them precipitately.  It may at first sight be matter of surprise to the
thoughtless few that Mr. Brass, being a professional gentleman,
should not have legally indicted some party or parties, active in
the promotion of the nuisance; but they will be good enough
to remember that as Doctors seldom take their own prescriptions, and Divines do not always practice what they preach, so
lawyers are shy of meddling with the Law on their own account,
knowing it to be an edged tool of uncertain application, very
expensive in the working, and rather remarkable for its properties of close shaving, than for its always shaving the right
person.
"Come," said Mr. Brass, one afternoon, " this is two days
without a Punch.  I'm in hopes he has run through'em all, at
last."
"Why are you in hopes?" returned Miss Sally.  "What
harm do they do?"
"Here's a pretty sort of fellow!" cried Brass, laying down
his pen in despair.  " Now here's an aggravating animal!"
" Well, what harm do they do?" retorted Sally.
" What harm!" cried  Brass.  "Is it no harm  to have
a constant hallooing and hooting under one's very nose, distracting one from business, and making one grind one's teeth
with vexation?  Is it no harm to be blinded and choked up,
and have the king's highway stopped, with a set of screamers
and roarers whose throat!muust be made of-of —"




826         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
"Brass," suggested Mr. Swiveller.
"Alh  of brass," said the lawyer, glancing at his clerk, to assure himself that he had suggested the word in good faith, and
without any sinister intention.  " Is that no harm?"
The lawyer stopped short in his invective, and listening for
a moment, and recognizing the well-known voice, rested his
head upon his hand, raised his eyes to the ceiling, and muttered
faintly, " There's another I"
lip went the single gentleman's window directly.
" There's another I" repeated Brass; " and if I could get a
break and four blood horses to cut into the Marks when the
crowd is at its thickest, I'd give eighteenpence, and never grudge
it."
The distant squeak was heard again.  The single gentleman's
door burst open.  He ran violently down the stairs, out into
street, and so past the window, without any hat, toward the
quarter whence the sound proceeded-bent, no doubt, upon securing the stranger's services directly.
"I wish  I only knew  who his friends were," muttered
Sampson, filling his pocket with papers; "if they'd just get up
a pretty little Commission de lunatico at the Gray's Inn Coffee
House and give me the job, I'd be content to have the lodgings
empty for one while, at all events."
With which words, and knocking his hat over his eyes as if
for the purpose of shutting out even a glimpse of the dreadful
visitation, Mr. Brass rushed from the house and hurried away.
As Mr. Swiveller was decidedly favorable to these performances, upon the ground that looking at a Punch, or indeed
looking at any thing out of window, was better than working,
and as he had been for this reason at some pains to awaken in
his fellow clerk a sense of their beauties and manifold deserts,
both he and Miss Sally rose as with one accord and took up
their positions at the window: upon the sill whereof, as in a
post of honor, sundry young ladies and gentlemen who were
employed in the dry nurture of babies, and who made a point
of being present, with their young charges, on such occasions,
had already established themselves as comfortably as the circumstances would allow.
The glass being dim, Mr. Swiveller, agreeably to a friendly




TiE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   327
Custom which he had established between them, hitched off'he
brown head-dress from Miss Sally's head, and dusted it caret
filly therewith. By the time he had handed it back and its
beautiful wearer had put it on again (which she did with perfect composure and indifference), the lodger returned with the
show and showmen at his heels, and a strong addition to the
body of spectators. The exhibitor disappeared with all speed
behind the d'apery, and his partner, stationing himself by the
side of the Theatre, surveyed the audience with a remarkable
expressiori of melancholy; which became more remarkable still
when he breathed a hornpipe tune into that sweet musical instrument which. is popularly termed a mouth-organ, without at all
changing the mournful expression of the upper part of his face,
though his moutlh and chin were, of necessity, in lively spasms.
The drama. proceeded to its close, and held the spectators enchained in the ctstomary manner.  The sensation which kindles
in large. assemblies, when they are relieved from  a state of
breathless suspense and are again free to speak and move, was
yet ripe, when the lodger, as usual, summoned the men up
stairs.
"Both of you,'" he called from  the window; for only the
actual exhibitor-a little fat man, prepared to obey the summons.  "I want to talk to you.  Come both of you. "
" Come, Tommy," said the little man.
"I an't a talker," replied the other.  "Tell him so.  What
should I go and talk for?"
"' Don't you see the gentleman's got a bottle and glass up
there?" returned the little man.
"And couldn't you have said so at first?" retorted the other
with sudden alacrity.  1" Now, what are you waiting for?  Are
you going to keep the gentleman expecting us all day? haven't
you no manners?'
With this remonstrance, the melancholy man, who was no
other than Mr. Thomas Codlin, pushed past his friend and
brother in the craft, Mr. Harris, otherwise Short or Trotters,
and hurried before him to the single gentleman's apartment.
" Now my men," said the single gentleman; "you have done
very well.  What will you take? tell that little man behind. to
shut the door."




828         THE  OLD  CURLIOSITY  SHOP.
"Shut the door, can't you?" said Mr. Codlin, turning gruffly
to his friend.  "You might have knowed that the gentleman
wanted the door shut, without being told, I think."
AMr. Short obeyed, observing under his breath that his friend
seemed unusually " cranky," and expressing a hope that there
was no dairy in the neighborhood, or his temper would certainly
spoil its contents.
The gentleman pointed to a couple of chairs, and intimated
by an emphatic nod of his head that he expected them to be
seated.  Messrs. Codlin and Short, after looking at each other
with considerable doubt and indecision, at length sat downeach on the extreme edge of the chair pointed out to him —and
held their hats very tight, while the single gentleman filled a
couple of glasses from a bottle on the table beside him, and presented them in due form.
"You're pretty well browned by the sun, both of you," said
their entertainer.  " Have you been traveling?"
Mr. Short replied in the affirmative with a nod and a smile.
Mr. Codlin added a corroborative nod and a short groan, as if
he still felt the weight of the Temple upon his shoulders.
" To fairs, mariets, races, and so forth, I suppose?" pursued
the single gentleman.
"Yes, sir," returned Short, " pretty nigh all over the West
of England."
" I have talked to men of your craft from  North, East, and
South," returned their host in rather a hasty manner; "but I
never lighted on any from the West before."
"It's our reg'lar summer circuit is the West, master," said
Short; "that's where it is.  We take the East of London
in the spring and winter, and the West of England in the summer time.  Many's the hard day's walking in rain and mud, and
with never a penny earned, we've had down in the West."
"Let me fill your glass again."
"Much obleeged to you, sir, I think I will," said Mr. Codlin,
suddenly thrusting in his own and turning Short's aside.  "I'm
tne sufferer, sir, in all the traveling, and in all the staying at
home.  In town or country, wet or dry, hot or cold, Tom Codlin suffers. But Tom Codlin isn't to conmplain for all that. Oh,
no.  Short may complain, but if Codllin grumbles by so much




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOPS.                   29
as a word-oh dear, down with him, down with him  directly.
It isn't his place to grumble. That's quite out of the question."
"Codlin an't without his usefulness,' observed Short with an
arch look, "but he don't. always keep his eyes open.  He falls
asleep sometimes, you know.  IPemember them  last races,
Tommy. "
" Will you never leave off aggravating a man?" said Codlin.
" It's very likely I was asleep when five-and-tenpence was collected, in one round, isn't it?  I was attending to my business,
and couldn't have my eyes in twenty places at once, like a peacock, no mnore than you could.  If I an't a match for an old
man and a young child, you allt neither, so don't throw that
out against me, for the cap fits your head quite as correct as it
fits mine."
"You may as well drop the subject, Tom," said Short.  "I;
isn't particular agreeable to the gentleman, I dare say."'
"Then you shouldn't have brought it up," returned Air.
Codlinl; " and I ask the gentleman's pardon on your account,
as a giddy chap that likes to hear himself talk, and don't much
care what he talks about, so that he does talk."
Their entertainer had sat perfectly quiet in the beginning of
this dispute, looking first at one man and then at the other, as
if he were lying in wait for an opportutlity of putting some
further question, or reverting to that from which the discourse
had strayed. But from the point where AIr. Codlin was charged
with sleepiness, he had shown an increasing interest in the discussion, which now attained a very high pitch.
"You are the two men I want," he said; "the two men I,have been looking for, and searching after.  Where are that old
man and that child you speak of?"
" Sir?" said Short, hesitating, and looking toward his friend.
"The old man and his grandchild who traveled with youwhere are they? It will be worth your while to speak out, I
assure you; much better worth your while than you believe.
They left you, you say,-at those races, as I understand. They
have been traced to that place, and there lost sight of.  Have
you no clue, can you suggest no clue, to their recovery?"
"Did I always say, Thomas," cried Short, turning with a




330,      c0 THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
look of amazement to his friend, "that there was sure to be an
inquiry after them two travelers?"
" Yoto said I" returned M~Ir. Codlin.  "Diid I always say that
that'ere blessed child was the most interesting I ever see! Did I
always say I loved her, and doated on her?  Pretty creetur, I
think I hear her now.'Codlin's my friend,' she says, with a
tear of gratitude a trickling down her little eye;' Codlin's my
friend,' she says —'not Short.  Short's very well,' she says;
I've no quarrel with Short; he means to be kind, I dare say;
but Codlin,' she says,' has the feelings for my money, though
he mayn't look it.' 7
Repeating these words with great emotion, Mr. Codlin rubbed the bridge of his nose with his coat-sleeve, and shaking his
head mournfully from side to side, left the single gentlemlan to
infer that, from the moment when he lost sight of his dear young
charge, his peace of mind and happiness had fled.
"Good God!" said the single gentleman, pacing up and
down the room, " have I found these men at last, only to discover that they can give me no information or assistance! It
would have been better to have lived on in hope from  day to
day, and never to have lighted on them, than to have my expectations scattered."
" Stay a minute," said Short. " A. man of the name of Jerryyou know Jerry, Thomas?"
" Oh, don't talk to me of Jerrys," replied fir. Codlin. " How
can I care a pinch of snuff for Jerrys, when I think of that'ere
darling child' Codlin's my friend,' she says,'dear, good,
kind Codlin, as is always a devising pleasures for me! I don't
object to Short,' she says,'but I cotton to Codlin.' Once,"
said that gentleman reflectively, "6 she called me Father Codlin.
I thought I should have bust!'
" A man of the name of Jerry, sir," said Short, turning from
his selfish colleague to their new acquaintance, "wot keeps a
company of dancing-dogs, told me in a accidental sort of way,
that he had seen the old gentleman in connection with a traveling wax-work, unbeknown to him.  As they'd given us the slip,
and nothing had come of it, and this was down in the country
that he'd been seen, I took no measures about it, and asked no
questions. —But I can, if you like."




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                 831
"Is this man in town?"1 said the impatient gentleman. " Speak
faster."
" No he isn't, but he will be to-morrow, for he lodges in our
house," replied Mr. Short rapidly
" Then bring him here," said the single gentleman. " Here's
a sovereign a-piece. If I can find these people through your
means, it is but a prelude to twenty more.  Return to me tomorrow, and keep your own counsel upon this subject —though
I need hardly tell you that, for you'll do so for your own sakes.
Now give me your address, and leave me."
The address was given, the two men departed, the crowd
went with them, and the single gentleman for two mortal hours
walked in uncommon agitation up and down his room, over the
wondering heads of Mr, Swiveller and Miss Sally Brass.




CHAPTER THE THIRTY-EIGHTH.
KIT —for it happens at this juncture, not only that we have
hreathing time to follow his fortunes, but that the necessities of
these adventures so adapt themselves to our ease and inclination as to call upon us imperatively to pursue the track we
most desire to take —Kit, while the matters treated of in the
last fifteen chapters were yet in progress, was, as the reader may
suppose, gradually familiarizing himself more and more, with
IMr. and Mrs. Garland, lr. Abel, the pony, and Barbara, and
gradually coming to consider them one and all as his particular
private friends, and Abel Cottage, Finchley, as his own proper
home.
Stay-the words are written, and may go, but if they convey
any notion that Kit, in the plentiful board and comfortable
lodging of his new abode, began to think slightingly of the poor
fare and furniture of his old dwelling, they do their office badly
and commit injustice. Who so mindful of those he left at honme
-albeit they were but a mother and two young babies-as
Kit?  What boastful father in the fullness of his heart ever related such wonders of his infant prodigy, as Kit never wearied
of telling Barbara in the evening time, concerning little Jacob?
Was there ever such a mother as Kit's mother, on her son's
showing; or was there ever such comfort in poverty as in the
poverty of Kit's family, if any correct judgment might be arrived at, from his own glowing account?
And let us linger in this place for an instant to remark, that
if ever household affections and loves are graceful things, they
are graceful in the poor.  The ties that bind the wealthy and
the proud to home may be forged on earth, but those which
link the poor man to his humble hearth are of the true metal
and bear the stamp of Heaven.  The man of high descent may
love the halls and lands of his inheritance as a part of himself,
as trophies of his birth and power; his associations with them
are associations of pdicle and wealth and triumph; the poor
(332)




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   883
man's attachment to the tenement he holds, which strangers
have held before, and may to-morrdw occupy again, has a worthier root, struck deep into a purer soil.  His household gods
are of flesh and blood, with no alloy of silver, gold, or precious
stone; he has no property but in the affections of his own heart 
and when they endear bare floors and walls, despite of rags and
toil and scanty meals, that man has his love of home from God,
and his rude hut becomes a solemn place..Oh! if those who rule the destinies of nations would but remember this-if they would but think how  hard it is for
the very poor to have engendered in their hearts that love of
home from which all domestic virtues spring, when they live in
dense and squalid masses where social decency is lost, or rather
never found-if they would but turn aside from  the wide thoroughfares and great houses, and strive to improve the wretched
dwellings in by-ways where only Poverty may wvalk-nmany low
roofs would point more truly to the sky, than the loftiest steeple
that now rears proudly up from the midst of guilt, and crime,
and horrible disease, to mock them by its contrast.  In hollow
voices from Workhouse, Hospital, and Jail, this truth. is preached
from  day to day, and has been proclaimed for years.  It is no
light matter-no outcry from  the working vulgar, no mere
question of the people's health and comforts that may be
whlistled down on \WAednesday nights.  In love of home, the
love of country has its rise; and who are truer patriots or the
best in time of need-those who venerate the land, owning its
wood, and stream, and earth, and all that they produce? or
those who love their country, boasting not a foot of ground in
all its wide domain?
Kit knew nothing about such questions, but lie knew that his
old home was a very poor place and that his new one was very
unlike it, and yet he was constantly looking back with grateful
satisfaction and affectionate anxiety, and often indited squarefolded letters to his -mother, inclosing a shillingr or eighteenpence or such other small remittance, which Mr. Abel's liberality
enabled him to make.  Sometimes, being in the neighborhood,
he had leisure to call upon her, and then great was the joy and
pride of Kit's mother, and extremely noisy the satisfaction of
little Jacob and the baby, and cordial the congratulations of the




334         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
whole court, who listened with admiring ears to the accounts
of Abel cottage, and could never be told too much of its
wronders and magnificence.
Altholgh Kit was in the very highest favor with the old
lady and gentleman, and Mr. Abel and Barbara, it is certain
that no member of the family evinced such a remarkable partiality for him as the self-willed pony, who, from being the most
obstinate and opinionated pony on the face of the earth, was in
his hands the meekest and most tractable of aninals. It is true
that in exact proportion as he became manageable by Kit he
became utterly ungovernable by any body else (as if he had
determined to keep him in the family at all risks and hazards),
and that, even under the guidance of his favorite, he would
sometimes perform a great variety of strange freaks and capers
to the extreme discomposure of the old lady's nerves; but as
Kit always represented that this was only his fun, or a way he
had of showing his attachment to his employers, Mrs. Garland
gradually suffered herself to be persuaded into the belief, in
which she at last became so strongly confirmed, that if in one
of these ebullitions he had overturned the chaise, she would
have been quite satisfied that he did it with the very best intentions.
Besides becoming in a short time a perfect marvel in all
stable matters, Kit soon made himself a very tolerable gardener,
a handy fellow within doors, and an indispensable attendant on
[Mr. Abel, who every day gave him  some new proof of his
confidence and approbation.  Mr.Witherden the notary, too,
regarded him  with a friendly eye; and even Mr. Chuckster
would sometimes condescend to give him a slight nod, or to
honor him with that peculiar form of recognition which is called
"taking a sight," or to favor him with some other salute combining pleasantry with patronage.
One morning [Kit drove Ar. Abel to the Notary's office as
he sometimes did, and having set him down at the house, was
about to drive off to a livery stable hard by, when this same
MiJr. Chuckster emerged from the office-door, and cried " Woaa-a-a-a-a"-dwelling upon the note a long time, for the purpose
of striking terror into the pony's heart, and asserting the
supremacy of man over the inferior animals.




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  STIOP.                     6:,5
"Pull up, Sniobby," cried  Mr. Chuekster, addressing  himself
to Kit.  "You'e wanted inside llelre.
"Has i'Mr. Abel forgotten ally thing, I wonder?" said Kit as
he dismounted.
" Ask no ques-tions, Snobby," returned Mir. Chuckster, " but
go and see.  Woa-a-a then, will you?  If that pony was mi-ne,
I'd break him."'
"You must be very gentle with him, if you please," said Kit,
"' or you'll11 find him  troublesome.  You'd better not keep on
pulling his ears, please.  I know he won't like it."2
To  this remonstrance  Mr. Chuckster deigned  no other
answer, than addressing Kit with a lofty and distant air as
" young feller," and requesting him  to cut, aLnd come again
with all speed.  The " young feller" complying, Mr. Chuckster
put his hands in his pockets, and tried to look as if he were
not iminding the pony, but happened to be lounging there by
accident.
Kit scraped his shoes very carefully, (for he had not yet lost
his reverence for the bundles of papers and the tin-boxes,) and
tapped at the office.-door, which was quickly opened by the
Notary himself.
" Oh! come in, Christopher," said MIir. Witherden.
"Is that the lad?1" asked an elderly gentleman, but of a stout,
bluff figure —who was in the room.
"That's the lad," said Mr. Witherden.  " He fell in with my
client, Mr. Garland, sir, at this very door.  I have reason to
think he is a good lad, sir, and that you may believe what he
says.  Let me introduce Mr. Abel Garlland, sir-his young
master; my articled pupil, sir, and most particular friend.  llMy
most particular friend, sir," repeated the Notary, drawing out
his silk handkerchief and flourishing it about his ftce.
"Your servalnt, sir,"' said the stranjger gentlleman.
"Yours, sir, I anm sure," replied MA[r. Abel mildly.  "Yon
were wishing to speakl to Christolpher, sir?"
"' Yes, I wmis.  Have I your permission?')
"By all mieats.'
" My business is no secret; or I should rather say it need be
no secret here," said the stranger, observing that IMr. Abel
and the Niotary were preparingo to retire.  "It relates to a




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
dealer in curiosities with whom  he lived, and in whom  I am
earnestly arnd warmaly interested.  I have been a stranger to
this country, gentlemen, for very many years, and if I am deficient in form and ceremony, I hope you will forgive me."'No forgivenes s is necessary, sir;-none whatever," replied
the Notary, and so said Mr. Abel.
"I have been making inquiries in the neighborhood in which
his old master lived," said the stranger,' and I learnt that he
had been served by this lad.  I found out his mother's house,
and was directed  by her to this place as the nearest in which I
should be likely to fcnd  him. That's the cause of my presenting
myself here this morninllg' 
" I am very glad of any cause, sir," said the Notary, " which
procures me the honor of this visit."
" Sir," retorted the stranger, " you speak like a mere man of
the world, and I think you something better.  Therefore, pray
do not sink your real character in paying unmeaning compliments to me."
"fHem'" coughed the Notary.  "You're a plain speaker,
Sir."
"iAnd a plain dealer," returned the stranger.  "It may be
my long absence and inexperience that lead me to the conclusion, but if plain speakers are scarce in this part of the world,
I fLncy that plain dealers are still scarcer.  If my speaking
should offend you, sir, my dealing, I hope, will make amends."
MAlr. Witherden seemed a little disconcerted by the elderly
gentleman's mode of conducting the dialogue; and as for Kit,
he looked at him  in open-mouthed astonishment, wondering
what kind of language he would address to him, if he talked in
that free and easy way to a Notary.  It was with no halrshness,
however, though with something of constitutional irritability
and haste, that he turned to Kit and said" If you think, my lad, that I am  pursuing these inquiries
with any other view than that of servinge and reclaiminig those
I am in search of, you do me a very great wrong, and deceive
yourself.  Don't be deceived, I beg of you, but rely upon my
assurance.  The fact is, gentlemen,'" he added, turning again
to the Notary and his pupil, " that I am in a very painful and
wholly unexpected position.  I. came to this city with a darling




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY   SHOP.                    887
object at my heart, expecting to find no obstacle or difficulty
in the way of its attaillment.  I find myself suddenly checked
and stopped short in the execution of my clesign, by a mystery
which I cannot peinetrate.  Every etfort I have mnldie to penetrate it, has only served to render it dcarker and more obscure;
andl I am afraid to stir openly in the matter, lest those whom I
anxiously pursue, should fly still further from nme.  I assure
you that if you could give me any assistance, you would not be
sorry to do so, if you knew how greatly I stand in need of it,
anld what a load it would relieve me fromn."
There was a simplicity in this confidence wlhich occasioned it
to  find a quick re:sponse in the breast of the good-natured
Notary, who replied, in the same spirit, that the stranger had not
mistaken his desire, and that if he could be of service to him,
he would most readily.
Kit was then put' under examination and closely questioned
by the unknown gentleman touching his old master and the
child, their lonely way of life, their retired habits, and strict seclusion.  The nightly absence of the old man, the solitary
existence of the child at those times, his illness and recovery,
Quilp's possession of the house, and their sudden disappearance,
were all the subjects of much questioning and answer.  Finally,
Kit informed the gentleman that the premises were now to let,
and that a board upon the door referred all inquirers to Mr.
Samuel Brass, Solicitor, of Bevis Marks, from whom he might
perhaps learn some further particulars.
" Not by inquiry," said the gentleman shaking his head. "I
live there."'
"Live at Brass's the attorney's!" cried  Mr. Witherden in
some surprise, having professional knowledge of the gentleman
in question.
" Aye," was the reply.  " I entered upon his lodgings t'other
day, cliefly because I had seen this very board.  It matters
little to me where I live, and I had a desperate hope that some
intelligence might be cast in my way there, which would not
reach mne elsewhere.  Yes, I live at Brass's-more shame for
me, I suppose?"
"That's a mere matter of opinion," said the Notary, shrug
21




338         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
ging his shoulders.  " He is looked upon as rather a doubtful
character.'
" Doubtful?" echoed the other.  "I am glad to hear there
is any doubt about it.  I supposed thet had been thoroughly
settled, long ago.  But will you let me speak a word or two
with you in private?'
Air. Witherden consenting, they walked into that gentleman's
private closet, and remained there in close conversatulon for
some quarter of an hour, when they returned into. the outer
office.  The stranger had left his hat in 5AIr. X itherden's room,
and seemed to have established himself in ithis short interval on
quite a friendly footing.
"I'll not detain you any longer now," he said, putting a
crown into Kit's hand, and looking toward the Notary. " Y'o
shall hear from me again.  Not a word of this, you know, except to your master and mistress."
"Mother, sir, would be glad to know-" said Kit faltering.
" Glad to know what?"
"Any thing —so that it was no harm-about Miss Nell."
"Would she?  Well then, you may tell her if she can keep
a secret.  But mind, not a'word of this to anybody else. Don't
forget that.  Be particular."
"I'll take care, sir," said Kit.  "Thankee, sir, and good
morning."
Now, it happened that the gentleman, in his anxiety to impress upon Kit that he was not to tell any body what had passed
between them, followed him out to the door to repeat his caution, and it further happened that at that moment the eyes of
Mr. Richard Swiveller were turned in that direction, and beheld
his mysterious friend and Kit together.
It was quite an accident, and the way in which it came about
was this.  Mr. Chuckster being a gentleman of a cultivated
taste and refined spirit, was one of that Lodge of Glorious
Apollos whereof Mr. Swiveller was Perpetual Grand.  Mr.
Swiveiler passing through the street in the execution of some
Brazen errand, and beholding One of his Glorious Brotherhood
intently gazing on a pony, crossed over to give him that fraternal greeting with which Perpetual Grands are by the very
constitution of their office bound to cheer and encourage their




TIHE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   g39
disciples.  lie had scarcely bestowed upon him his blessing, alnd
followed it with the general remark touching the present state
and prospects of the weather, when lifting ui) his eyes, he beheld
thle single gentleman of Bevis Mlarks in earnest conversation
with Christopher Nutblles.
" Hallo 1" said Dic]k-, " who is that?"
"He called to see mIy Governor this morning," replied Mr.
Chuckster, " and beyolnd that I dou't know him firom Adam."
" At least you know his namle?" said Dick.
To which Mr. Chuc'kster replied, with an elevation of speech
becoming a Glorious Apollo, that he was " everlastingly blessedcl"
if he did.
"All I know, my dear fellow," said Mr. Chnckster, running
his fingers through his hair, " is that le is the cause of my having stood here twenty minutes, for which- I hate him with a
mortal and undying hatred, and would pursue him to the confines of eternity, if I could afford the time.7"
While they where thus discoursing, the subject of their conversation (who had not appeared to recognize Mr. lRichard
Swiveller) re-entered the house, and Kit came down the steps
and joined them;; to whom Mr. Swiveller again propounded his
inquiry with no better success.
" He is a very nice gentleman, sir," said Kit, " and that's all
I know about him."
Mir. Chuckster waxed wroth at this answer, and without applying the remark to any particular case, mentioned as a general truth that it was expedient to break the heads of Snobs,
and to tweak their noses.  Without expressing his concurrence
in this sentiment,  Mr. Swiveller after a few moments of abstraction inquired which way Kit was driving, and being informed,
declared it was his way, and that he would trespass on him for
a lift.  Kit would gladly have declined the proffered honor, but
as Mr. Swiveller was already established in the seat beside him,
he had no mneans of doing so otherwise than by a forcible ejectment, and therefore drove briskly off-so briskly indeed as to
cut short the leave-taking between Mr. Chuckster and his Grand
l4aster, and to occasion the former gentleman sonme inconvenience from having his corins squeezed by the impatient pony.
2As Whisker was tired of sti;anding, and Mr. Swiveller was




840          THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
hind enough to stimulate him still further by shrill whistles, and
various sporting cries, they rattled off at too sharp a i)ace to
admit of much conversation, especially as the pony, incensed by
Mir. Swiveller's admlolnitions, took a pa.rticular fancy for the
mp-p)losts and carcl't wheels, anld evinced a strolng desire to run
on thie pavemeilt and rasp )  liliisel ataiast  brick wxalls.  It was
not, therefore, until they hadc arrived at the steable, alld the
chatlise lhad been extricated fonom  a vlery small doorwaiy ilnto
which the pony dragged it under the impression tUhat he could
take it along witih him into his usual stall, that Air. Swiveller
found tiie to talk.
" It's hard work," said Richard.  " What do you say to some
beer?"
Kit at first declined, but presently  consented, and they
adjourned to the neighboring bar together.
" We'll drink our friend what's-his-name," said Dick, holding
up the bright frothy pot; "-that was talking to you this
morning, you know —I know him —a good fellow, but eccentric
-very-here's what's-his-name."
Kit pledged him.' He lives in my house," said Dick; " at least in the house
occupied by the firm in which I'm a sort of a-mainaging partlier-a difficult fellow  to get any thing out of, but we like him
-we like him."
" I must be going, sir, if you please," said Kit moving
away.
" Don't be in a hurry, Christopher," replied his patron, " we'll
drink your mother."
" Thank you, sir."
"An excellent wonian that mother of yours, Christopher,"'
said Mr. Swiveller.  " Who ran to catch me when I fell, ald
kissed the place to make it well?  A1y mother.  A cltharming
woman.  Hie's a liberal sort of fellow.  We must get himn to do
something jbr your mother.  Does ble know  her, Christoplher?'"
Kit shoxk his head, and glancing slyly at his questialmer,
thanked him, and made off before lhe could say another word.
"Huiph'i   said Mr. Swiveller potidlering', "this is queer.
Nothingl but mysteries in connection with Brass's house.  I'll




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  341
keep my own counsel, however.  Every body and any body has
been in my confidence as yet, but now I think I'll set up in
business for myself. Queer-very queer!"
After pondering deeply and with a face of exceeding wisdom
for some time, i'ir. Swiveller drank some more of the beer, and
summoning a srall boy who htad been watching his proceedings,
poured forth the few remaining drops as a libation upon the
gravel, and bade him carry the empty vessel to the bar with his
compliments, a.nd above all things to lead a sober and temperate life, and abstain from  all intoxicating and exciting, liquors.
Having giving him this piece of moral advice for his trouble
(which as he wisely observed was far better than half-pence) the
Perpetual Grand Master of the Glorious Apollos thrust his hands
into his pockets and sauntered away; still pondering as he went.




CHAPTER THE THIRITY-NINTH.
ALL that day, thongh he waited for AMr. Abel until evening,
Kit kept clear of his mother's house, determined not to anticipate by the slightest approach the pleasures of the morrow, but
to let them  come in their full rush of delight, for to-morrow
was the great and long looked-for epoch ill his life-to-morrow
was the end of his first quarter-the day of receiving for the
first time one-fourth  part of his annual income of Six Pounds
in one vast sum of Thiftty Shillings-to-morrow was to be a.halfholiday devoted to a whirl of entertainments, and little Jacob
was to know what oysters meant, and to see a play.
All manner of incidents combined in favor of the occasion:
not only had Mr. and Mrs. Garland forewarned him that they
intended to make no deduction for his outfit from the great
amount, but to pay it him unbroken in all its gigantic grandeur;
not only had the unknown gentleman increased the stock by the
sum of five shillings, which was a perfect godsend and in itself
a fortune; not only had these things come to pass which nobody could have calculated upon, or in their wildest dreams have
hoped; but it was Barbara's quarter too, Barbara's quarter that
very day-and Barbara had a half-holiday as well as Kit, and
Barbara's mother was going to make one of the party, and to
take tea with Kit's mother, and cultivate her acquaintance.
To be sure Kit looked out of his window very early that
morning to see which way the clonds were flying, and to be
sure Barbara would have been at hers too if she had not sat up
so late over-night, starching and ironing small pieces of muslin,
and crimping them  into frills, and sewing them  on to other
pieces to form  magnificent wholes for next day's wear.  But
they were both up very early for all that, and had small appetites for breakfast anid less for dinner, and were in a, state of
great excitement when Barbara's mother camle in with astonishino  accounts of the fineness of the weather out of doors (but
with a very large umbrella notwithstanding, for people like Bar(342)




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  843
bara's mother seldom make holiday without one), and when the
bell rung for them to go up stairs and receive their quarter's
money in gold and silver.
Well, wasn't'iMr. Garland kind when he said " Christopher,
here's your money, aild you'have earned it well;" and wasn't
vA'[rs. Garland c kind when she said, " Barsbara here's yours, and.
I'mI much pleased iwith you;"7 and didn't Itit signl his name
bold to his receipt, and didn't Bar[bara sign her namne all a
trelnblillg to hers; and wasn't it beautiftul to see how Mrs. Garland poured out Barbara's mother a glass of wine; andl didn't
Barbara's mother speak up when she said, " Here's blessing you,
ma'am, as a good lady, and you, sir, as a good gentleman, and
Barbara, my love to you, and here's toward you, Mr. Christopher;" and wasn't she as long drinking it as if it had been a
tumblerful; and didn't she look genteel standing there with her
gloves on; and wasn't there plenty of laughing and talking
among thema as they reviewed all these matters upon the top of
the coach and didn't they pity the people who hadn't got a holiday!
But Kit's mother again-wouldn't anybody have supposed
she had come of a good stock and been a lady all her life?
There she was, quite ready to receive them, with a display of
tea-things that might have warmed the heart of a china-shop;
and little Jacob and the baby in such a state of perfection that
their clothes looked as good as new, though Heaven knows
they were old enough.  Didn't she say before they had sat
down five minutes that Barbara's mother was exactly the sort of
lady she expected, and didn't Barbara's mother say that
Kit's mother was the very picture of what she had expected,
and didn't Kit's mother compliment Barbara's mother on Barbara, and didn't Barbara's mother compliment Kit's mother on
Kit, and wasn't Barbara herself quite fascinated with little Jacob, and did ever a child show off when he was wanted as that
child did, or make such friends as he made?
"And we are both widows, too!" said Barbara's mother.
We must have been made to know each other."
"I haven't a doubt about it," returned Mrs. Nubbles. "And
what a pity it is we didn't know each other sooner."
"But then you know it's such a pleasure," said Barbara's




844         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHTOP.
mother, "to have it brought about by one's son and daughter,
that it's fully made up for now, an't it?"
To this, IKit's another yielded her full assent, and tracing
things back from  effects to causes, they naturally reverted to
their deceased husbands, respecting whose lives, deaths, and
burials, they compared notes, and discovered sundry circumstances that tallied with wonderful exactness; such as Barbara's
father hlaving been exactly four years and ten months older
than Kit's father, and one of them havinga died on a WTednesday
and the other on a Thursday, and both of them having been of
a very fine make and remarkably good-looking, with other extraordinary coincidences.  These recollections being of a kind
calculated to cast a shadow on the briglhtness of the holiday,
Kit diverted the conversation to general topics, and they were
soon in great force again, and as merry as before.  Among
other things, Kit told them about his old place, and the extraordinary beauty of Nell (of whom he had talked to Barbara a
thousand times already); but the last-named circumrtance failed
to interest his hearers to any thing like the extent he had supposed, and even his mother said (looking accidentally at Barbara at the same time) that there was no doubt Miss Nell was
very pretty, but she was but a child after all, and there were
many young women quite as pretty as she; and Barbara mildly
observed that she should think so, and that she never could help
believing Mr. Christopher must be under a mistake-which Kit
wondered at very much, not being able to conceive what reason
she had for doubting him.  Barbara's mother too observed that
it was very common for young folks to change at about fourteen
or fifteen, and whereas, they had been very pretty before, to
grow up quite plain; which truth she illustrated by many
forcible examples, especially one of a young man who being a
builder with great prospects had been particular in his attentions to Barbara, but whom Barbara would have nothing to say
to, which (though every thing happened for the best) she almost thoug'ht was a pity.  Kit said he thought so too, and so
he did honestly, and he wondered what made Barbara so silent
all at once, and why his mother looked at him as if he shouldn't
have said it.
However, it was high time now to be thinking of the play,




THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                  845
for which great preparation was required in the way of shawls
and bonnets, not to mention one handkerchief full of oranges
and another of applcs, which took some time tying, up, in consequence of the frunit having, a tendency to roll out at the corners.  At length every thinog was ready, and they went off very
fast; Kit's mother c'arrying the baby, who was dreadfully wide
awake, and Kit holdino little Jacob with one hand, and escorting Bartbara with tile other- a state of things which occasioned
the two mothers, who wallked behind, to declare that they looked
quite family folks, and caused Barbara to blush and say "Now
don't, mother."  But Kit said she had no call to mind what
they said; and indeed she need not have had, if she had known
how very far from Kit's thoughts any love-making was. Poor
Barbara I
At last they got to the theatre, which was Astley's; and in
some two minutes after they had reached the yet unopened door,
little Jacob was squeezed flat, and the baby had received divers
concussions, and Barbara's mother's umbrella had been carried
several yards off and passed back to her over the shoulders of
the people, and Kit had hit a man on the head with the handkerchief of apples for " scrowdging" his parent with unnecessary
violence, and there was a great uproar.  But when they were
once past the pay-place, and tearing away for very life with
their checks in their hands; and above all, when they were
fairly in the theatre, and seated in such places that they couldn't
have had better if they had picked them out and taken them
beforehand; all this was looked upon as quite a capital joke,
and an essential part of the entertainment.
Dear, dear, what a place it looked, that Astley's I with all
tile paint, gilding, and looking-glass, the vague smell of horses
suggestive of coming wonders, the curtain that hid such gorgeous mysteries, the clean white sawdust down in the circus, the
company coming in and taking their places, the fiddlers looking
carelessly up at them while they tuned their instruments, as if
they didn't want the play to begin, and knew it all beforehand.
What a glow was that whichl burst upon them  all, when that
long, clear, brilliant row of lights came slowly up; and what
the feverish excitement when the little bell rang and the music
began in good earnest, with strong parts for the drums, and




246         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
sweet effects for the triangles! Well might Barbara's mother
say to Kit's mother that the gallery was the place to see from,
and wonder it wasn't much dearer than the boxes; and well
might Blarbara feel doubtful whether to laugh or cry, in her
flutter of deliglt.
Thena the play itself! the horses which little Jacob believed
from the fitrst to be alive, and the ladies and gentlemnen of whose
reality he could be by no means persuaded, having  never seen or
heard any thing,t at ll like themn-the fliing, which macide Barbara
wink-the forlorn lady, who made her cry-the tyrant, who
made her tremble-the man who sung the song with the lady'smaid and danced the chorus, who made her laugh-the pony
who reared up on his hind legs when he saw the murderer, and
wouldn't hear of walking on all fours again until he was taken
into custody-the clown who ventured on such familiarities with
the military man in boots-the lady who jumped over the nineand-twenty ribbons and came down safe upon the horse's back
-every thing was delig'htful, splendid, and surprising.  Little
Jacob applauded till his hands were sore; Kit cried " an-kor'
at the end of every thing, the three-act piece included; and
Barbara's mother beat her umbrella on the floor, in her eestacies, until it was nearly worn down to the gingl-lham.
In the midst of all these fascinations,  Barbara's thoughts
seemed to have been still running upon what Kit had said at
tea-time, for when they were coming  out of the play, she asked
him, with an hysterical,simper, if Miss Nell was as handsome as
the lady who jumped over the ribbons.
" As handsome as her?" said Kit.  "Double as handsome."
"Oh, Christopher! I'm  sure she was the beautifullest creature ever was," said Barbara.
"Nonsense!" returned Kit.  " She was well enough, I don't
deny that; but think how she was dressed and painted, and
what a difference that made.  Why you are a good deal betterlooking than her, Barbara."
" Oh, Christopher!" said Barbara, looking down.
"You are, any day," said Kit,-" and so's your mother."
Poor Barbara!
What was all this, though-even all this-to the extraordi.
nary dissipation that ensued, when Kit, walking into an oyster



THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.                   347
shop as bold as if he lived there, and not so much as looking at
the counter or the man behind it, led his party into a box —a
private box, fitted up with red curtains, white table-cloth, and
cruet-stand complete —and  ordered a fierce gentleman with
Nlhi.skers, who acted as waiter, and called him, hinll, Christopher
iubblles,  Sirl," to bring three dozen of his largest-sized oysters,
and to look sharp about it.  Yes,'Kit told thlis gentleman to
look sharp, and he not only said he would look sharp, but he
actually did, and presently came running back with the niewest
loaves, and the freshest butter, and the largest oysters ever seen.
Then said Kit to this gentleman, "A pot of beer"-just so-and
the gentleman, instead of replying, "Sir, did you address that
language to me?" only said, " Pot o' beer, sir? yes, sir," and
wenlt off and fetched it; and put it on the table in a small decanter-stand, like those which blind-men's dogs carry about the
streets in their mouths to catch the half-pence in; and both
Kit's mother and Barbara's mother declared as he turned away
that he was one of the slimmest and gracefullest young men she
had ever looked upon.
Then they fell to work upon the supper in earnest; and there
was Barbara, that foolish Barbara, declaring that she couldn't
eat more than two, and wanting more pressing than you would
believe before she would eat four; though her mother and Kit's
mother made up for it pretty well, and ate and laughed and enjoyed themselves so thoroughly that it did Kit good to see them,
and made him laugh and eat likewise from strong sympathy.
But the greatest miracle of the night was little Jacob, who ate
oysters as if he had been born and bred to the business, sprinkled
the pepper and the vinegar with a discretion beyond his years,
and afterward built a grotto on the table with the shells.  There
was the baby too, who had never closed an eye all night, but
had sat as good as gold, trying to force a large orange into his
mouth, and. gazing intently at the lights in the chandelier —there
lie was, sitting up in his mother's lap, staring at the gas without winking, and making indentations in his soft visage with an
oyster-shell, to that degree that a heart of iron must have loved
him.  In short, there never was a more successful supper; and
when Kit ordered in a glass of something hot to finish with, and




848         THE  OLD  CURIOSITY  SHOP.
proposed Mr. and Mrs. Garland before sending it round, there
were not six happier people in all the world.
But all happiness bhas an end —hence the chief pleasure of its
next beginning —and as it was now growing late, they agreed it
was time to turn their faces homeward.  So, after going a little
out of their way to see Barbara and BarbarLas mother safe to a
friend's house, where they were to pass the night, Kit and his
mother left them at the door, with an early appointment for returning to Finchley next morning, and a great many plans for
next quarter's enjoyment.  Then Kit took little Jacob on his
back, and giving his arm to his mother, and a kiss to the baby,
they all trudged merrily home together