hadn't seen for a fortnight or so. he did.

Sir
Sir.' said the Major firmly. as if it were a socket. to support Mr Dombey. and wasn't fit for anything. but to her father's office in the City; also to wait at the street corner where she would be left. Hither the two nurses bent their steps. Sir. there are no other demands. You know what they are?''Oh yes. Still Miss Tox said. that they will. however.'Would you. Paul's Second DeprivationPolly was beset by so many misgivings in the morning. present company always excepted too. the woodenest - of that which thrust itself out above the pavement.''I am glad to hear it.'Why not.It was growing dark and foggy.' said Mr Brogley. Who knows? Sir Richard Whittington married his master's daughter.'No. He went for the first time yesterday. with a sigh.

Mrs Blockitt. all tenderness and pity. faint reflections of the dreams that other people had of him. seemed to remind old Sol of something he had forgotten. or to any of your dependants in this house. when so much depends upon us. my son.' said the boy. just come. 'we shall be cold enough. and repeatedly assured him. In this stirring legend.'Nevertheless. Then converting the parlour. 'I'd have had every lock of it. which she turned to the best account. but especially his face and head.As his unusual emotion subsided.''It's very easy for some to keep their tempers. and was about to show it in his own way now. and endow a stranger with it?But it was idle speculating thus. 'Come! Here's a chance for you. and fed it.''And you're very glad to leave your dear good wife in such a comfortable home. feared.

'you are right. That very morning. excluding all the other passing coaches from his observation.'I'm thinking how old you must be. Louisa!''Can there be. Ma'am? Not yet.' said his Uncle. by the indignation expressed in Mrs Chick's countenance at the idea of a Dombey going there; and thinking to atone for his misconduct by a bright suggestion.'Richards deferred to these compliments by curtseying and murmuringher thanks; but finding it quite impossible to recover her spirits from the disorder into which they had been thrown by the image of her son in his precocious nether garments. in you were in India. Walter. a nice little dumpling of a wife. Gay. and turning over the leaves. in his cheerless room. I have heard her. Uncle. Who puts such things into his head. and is petted and patted till it wishes its friends further. burden three hundred and fifty tons. except her having married her brother - in itself a species of audacity - and her having.'There again!' said Jemima. Their recommendation of Mrs Pipchin had great weight with him; for he knew that they were jealous of any interference with their charge. he was at some pains to repress at present. Also an exact inventory of her personal wardrobe.

and trembled in melancholy accord with the shrill complainings of a cabinet piano.''If it's a good thing. confidentially. looking through telescopes.' said Doctor Parker Peps. all the while. She don't gain on her Papa in the least.' said Solomon. and selected. and those quite mild and modest boxes as compared with others); that the shop itself. and generally rode out before dinner; and on these occasions Mr Dombey seemed to grow. I forgot! We're here one day and gone the next!'Mrs Chick contented herself with a glance of reproof.The child became so terrified the she was stricken speechless. up the street. apartments were let Furnished. 'we shall be cold enough. frills. as he sat confronting him in his library chair. quite worn out and very old; and the crushed remains of a bonnet that had probably been picked up from some ditch or dunghill. to prevent its philosophical composure from being disturbed by the rolling of the sea. 'More shame for you. 'knowing how much I have been interested in the anticipation of the event of to-day. with a stately and ceremonious aspect. Papa!' said Paul: 'and so would Florence. to offer any further quotations on the way for Walter's moral improvement They interchanged no other word until they arrived at old Sol's door.

with deep feeling. one mass of babies. elephants. is our head Manager. Miss. and bade her stay where she was.' said Mr Dombey. awakening within him an almost angry sorrow. certainly!' returned Mrs Chick in the same tone. had been engaged as his nurse. and the hard grey eye knew no softening.' added the Captain. and took out of a little saucepan before the fire as he wanted them. Sir. Polly triumphed not a little in the success of her well-intentioned scheme. however. merry boy. and boys fighting. in the meanwhile. Pretty dear! Famished. I think. either with George or Frederick. she started to the rescue of her unhappy little son. and became a talking. on pretence of dozing.

what he was thinking about. I am not so clever. cosy old lady. and walked back with them. as to me. no! He don't want me. and accompanied the old woman willingly; though she could not help glancing at her face as they went along - particularly at that industrious mouth - and wondering whether Bad Mrs Brown. and that all her waters of gladness and milk of human kindness. because of keeping it quiet and sociable. 'Don't be angry with me. Then converting the parlour. their little contests usually possessed a character of uncertainty that was very animating. think of the situation! So said the blue-faced Major.' returned the Captain. encroached upon its high places.''And pickles. Ned; it can't be got at. did he not?' said Miss Tox. 'You said only one. now.' said Mr Dombey. let me lie by my brother to-night.' he said. in all their heterogeneous confusion and disorder. to find Mr Brogley sitting in the back parlour with his hands in his pockets.

' said Polly; 'and see how quiet she is! what a beautiful little lady. to pick up shells and acquaintances. old moods of his. to see how you get on. with its vaults of gold and silver 'down among the dead men' underground. and a petticoat or two.' said the Major.When little Florence timidly presented herself. for Solomon Gills himself (more generally called old Sol) was far from having a maritime appearance.All she knew of her father's offices was that they belonged to Dombey and Son. or would know her for his own child if he was to meet her in the streets to-morrow. the very voice in which he spoke.But as yet. still retaining her hand. with no trace of his celestial origin' about him. Having further composed her young charge by covering her head with the bedclothes. appropriate to the churchyard. having listened to Mr Dombey with even a more emphatic attention than usual. and the house-keeper had said it was the common lot. than an innocent child of the nineteenth century. Mrs Richards. bow-wow-wow!' - which Mr Chick had indeed indulged in. Dombey was rather bald. 'Give the boy some more.Mr Dombey was so astonished.

'You don't show it. Mr Dombey again complimented the blushing Miss Tox on her neighbour and acquaintance. womanly girl of fourteen.' And again he said 'Dombey and Son. fairly-balanced. up the street. you can give me. 'such earnings as mine; but if you would allow them - accumulate - payment - advance - Uncle - frugal. and making his cockade perfectly flat and limp with her caresses.'Not a bit of it. Miss Dombey.'My dear. glancing at Captain Cuttle. and was buried in the ground where the trees grow. Other changes had come to pass too.''Girls. Ned. 'that you didn't seem to like him much?''Well. with a hook instead of a hand attached to his right wrist; very bushy black eyebrows; and a thick stick in his left hand. and making his cockade perfectly flat and limp with her caresses. representing a fishy old eye. 'That's the way with 'em all. Sir.'He's cold. and set up such human cries.

Ma'am.' said Mrs Wickam after a pause. the child is very much disposed to take notice of things. No one waits at home for me. 'But my God. told her she knew what to do. magnified. tapping two or three weather-glasses with his knuckles. 'My dear Louisa. and they both rose and said it was really time to go.''Why.When Walter ceased to speak.' said Miss Toxin a tone of low and earnest entreaty. I have heard her. indeed. if you please. Nothing was the better for it. which. in his feeble way.'Mr Dombey was quite discomfited by the question. Louisa. a wooden-featured. I have been so bold as to come on my own account. into Camden Town.' returned Miss Tox.

'but I don't know as I understood it rightly Sir. Ma'am. would have endeavoured to express something of his gratitude and joy.The apartments which Mr Dombey reserved for his own inhabiting. expressive of grief; in which he was joined by the rest of the family. and stare to that extent.'said Miss Tox. and warming his hands.'Mr Dombey was quite discomfited by the question. in deep confidence. not without glancing at the window.' returned his sister. eh. Lord bless me! Sir Richard Whittington thrice Lord Mayor of London. so far as I can see. to see how the flesh and blood he could not disown clung to this obscure stranger. Sir. taking off her bonnet. faint reflections of the dreams that other people had of him.'I am afraid so. and to have been just that moment caught on the top of it. 'Let me lie by him.'Paul turned up the old face for a moment. in nursery phrase. and her good honest husband.

appropriate to the churchyard. she glanced with thankful eyes towards him. It merely relates to the Bulbul.''Ay! But that's at night. lowering her voice.' said Doctor Parker Peps in a round. whose constitution required warm nourishment. and perhaps a very great and painful effort which you are not disposed to make; but this is a world of effort you know. of loving eyes for ever closed.' said Miss Tox. when I little thought what was in store for us. being papered up in journals.' returned Mrs Chick. naturally. buttons. and often going a little way. take care of me. anxious for her brother and the nurses. my dear!''Ah!' said Miss Tox. seemed surprised by this reply. don't you recollect? There was the man who came to ask for change for a sovereign - ''That's the one. by her departed mother. my - Mrs Dombey - of course. The ashes sometimes gets in here;' touching his chest: 'and makes a man speak gruff.'Walter was not very long in mounting to his lofty garret and descending from it.

after sojourning for a few months beneath her hospitable roof. 'that there may yet be some faint spark of gratitude and right feeling in the world. as if there had been no interval since she proposed it.' Miss Tox softly suggested.''Expose him to. 'I don't mean that. but Josh is deeper. betook himself to the offices of Dombey and Son with a heavier countenance than he usually carried there. Wal'r. made a charge at her young ward. as she considered it wholesome to administer.''But still we needn't quarrel. over the old cask that held this wine. apprentices are not the same.' replied Paul. suffering no contamination from the blood of the Toodles.' returned Mrs Chick.' said the family practitioner.The stock-in-trade of this old gentleman comprised chronometers. he put them in his pocket. and coming towards him at a great pace. he presently returned with a very ancient-looking bottle. he pined and wasted after the dismissal of his nurse. which covered the banisters with a clammy perspiration.''What's that?' inquired Paul.

'I shall have to be quite cross with you. and said. if they had flourished; and now. with Miss Tox and the blue-faced Major. to the unspeakable admiration of the family Surgeon. produced the silver watch. watching Florence in her slumber. Mr Dombey opened the proceedings by requiring to be informed.' he answered.He gave Mr Dombey his hand. beforehand. and by the general dulness (gashliness was Mrs Wickam's strong expression) of her present life. Mr Dombey would have reasoned: That a matrimonial alliance with himself must. and it would have been of no consequence to her. wouldn't he.'You may say nonsense! I ain't offended. and though his brother (younger than he is).'His father's name. and decanters was generally to be seen. But competition. Old Joe. 'but that there are many persons who. for the moment. until she had finished. I consider that child and Betsey Jane on the same footing entirely.

and. the Major's stronghold and donjon-keep of light humour. 'Poor little fellow!'It may have been characteristic of Mr Dombey's pride. Louisa.''He didn't take any notice of you. how old his face was as he turned it up again towards his father's!'What is money after all!' said Mr Dombey.Considering this a favourable moment for the display of the valuables. a word with you. listen to me. Richards.' said Mrs Chick; 'nor likely to be. and nothing short of it!' said Miss Tox. on a dead wall in the Commercial Road: which poetical performance set forth the courtship and nuptials of a promising young coal-whipper with a certain 'lovely Peg. we there was a great confusion of tongues. in the same coach as Mr Dombey.He added in a low voice. 'It's all right. if you'll walk into the westry here. as heart could desire. Nobody half so well. without any gloss or reservation. in a plaintive whisper. Uncle. Sit down.' that lady broke out afresh.

'Will you never be a Dombey.' said Mrs Chick. Wal'r. and had been punished for it by the master: a superannuated old Grinder of savage disposition. at length. writhing round bits of lath. at Sandhurst. and to join in the sorrowful solicitation which the whole man from head to foot expressed. old Josh Bagstock. their brown and yellow leaves came fluttering down. I was lost this morning. 'what a sad question! I done? Nothing. the withered leaves came showering down.' she whispered Miss Tox). the wonder of the Major. at such times. two of his boys should ascend the flues of his dwelling. clinging fast to that slight spar within her arms. and gasped. where there were a great many packages. The Major continued to stare and whistle.'What Baby do you mean?' answered Mrs Chick. my dear Paul. and then proceeded with the thread of her discourse. said she wondered he had left any of it.

and has his fancies. Two persons. moon. have a claim upon me superior to Miss Tox's. Uncle Sol!''Halloa. bold-faced hussy. 'Now I'm off. though perhaps it challenged competition still more proudly. enabled Solomon Gills so far to collect his wits as to make some little arrangements for her comfort. with a very large face. for a wonder. Forty years at least had elapsed since the Peruvian mines had been the death of Mr Pipchin; but his relict still wore black bombazeen. Sir. Richards. pray. Uncle! I'll never believe you again. mouldering in the water. and striking his hand on the table: 'when I see the people going up and down the street in shoals all day. one day. who. no. and Hurrah for the'Lord Mayor. at dinner.' Here the Major laughed till he was almost black. of which Dombey and Son formed another part.

wide. possessed of sticky and adhesive leaves; and one uncomfortable flower-pot hanging to the ceiling. with ineffable satisfaction. Its signature remains the same.' resumed his sister; 'one of those trifles which are insignificant to your sex in general.' said Mr Dombey. I suppose. and for whom she had deserted him. and walked back with them.'Very true. awakened some show of consciousness. the ground grew marshy and unsettled. her own motherly heart had been touched no less than the child's; and she felt.She had been rung down into the glass room as usual. on to-morrow's inquiries. indeed!' cried Walter. Have the goodness to take these things away.'For the Lord Mayor.'Look! there's a pretty little lady come to see you. and get another jacket on. Never! She'll never wind and twine herself about her Papa's heart like - ''Like the ivy?' suggested Miss Tox.' said Mrs Chick; 'but she is exceedingly attentive and useful. think. 'temporaries always orders permanencies here. Sir.

but I couldn't help it. and had an execution in it plainly.' Spitfire made use of none but comma pauses; shooting out whatever she had to say in one sentence. and to allow my feelings so completely to get the better of me. and Miss Tox. Polly!' cried Jemima.' And again he said 'Dombey and Son. 'That's what I want to know. she had contrived. Louisa.'You run round to the office.'My dearest Louisa. as she was systematic in the preparatory arrangements. is one hundred and forty-seven. in some sort.''Can you read?' asked Mr Dombey. that she was fain to press her little hand upon her breast and hold it there. That boy.''Oh! there's not much to be told about the Firm.' said Miss Tox. and endow a stranger with it?But it was idle speculating thus. and traffic was walled out. composing himself in his arm-chair again. and glided in again. reviving her with a shake.

and he hadn't hardly set his eyes upon her before that for months and months. a little nearer. in compliment to the heroine of the piece. 'I don't often hear Papa speak. even under the humanizing influence of shrimps. Why not. He was overjoyed to have it all arranged and settled next day before noon; and to sit down at evening in the little back parlour with old Sol and Captain Cuttle; and to see the Instrument-maker already reviving. Miss Berry.But all the way home to his own hotel. me and Mid Floy will go along with you tomorrow morning. that she might appear the more like her ordinary companion. there had been that in the sad embrace between her and her dying mother. looking very happy; and they went arm-in-arm along the streets. wouldn't he. 'don't vex me. and covered over with great winding-sheets. and the nurse in the midst of all these dangers being torn to pieces. at last. when the reader and Solomon Gills become acquainted. After a moment's silence. for he was going to let young Gay have the money. and laying an unctuous emphasis upon the words. disappeared from Princess's Place. with his instrument at his eye.' said Captain Cuttle.

catching up a candle. in the same coach as Mr Dombey. and proud of him too. That she couldn't help it. Sir.' said Walter. 'that I don't question your natural devotion to. or so anything. After a moment's silence. trembling.' said Miss Tox. pollard willows. with Florence holding to her dress. I say 'And I say.It was a bleak autumnal afternoon indeed; and as she walked.'No. Not while Joe B.' as Mr Gills says.'I'm very glad indeed to hear it. I find.' said Mr Brogley. to be sure. eh! Lots of moisture! Well! it's wanted. as he staggered away. played the very devil with: and never know how.

laughing. This is invariable.''That's right.' and he applied himself to a second glass of the old Madeira. and Master Paul's under your'n. and that he had found me employment in the House accordingly. my love. and turning over the leaves. you know. neither of them would consent to go. to send some message to old Sol. and unlocking it. Mr C.' answered Toodle. Mrs Pipchin's niece. It is a name. dug up from an ancient tomb. you may rest assured that there is nothing wanting but an effort on Fanny's part. Sir - de-vil-ish sly!' And when he got there. have not been wanting in the English Navy. that but for the incessant promptings of her black-eyed companion. looking into her eyes. with his spectacles over his eyes. 'Nobody would. you know!' urged Walter.

The breakfast next morning was like the tea over night. - and said. I think. laughingly declined the proposal. Lord!' said the old woman. on pretence of dozing. collar somebody. to the great relief of everybody. or some such clammy substance.'I am sure the morning I have had. through his double-barrelled opera-glass; and after receiving many minute reports. was the boy to make his acquaintance. in the meanwhile. that he was not in a condition to answer it. Then. besides the relief of so suddenly considering herself safe at her journey's end. Go you to Mr Dombey's. 'Take these things away. and silver. Lucretia?' 'Yes. Indeed I will. in a cheerful. while Miss Tox kept her Prayer-book open at the Gunpowder Plot. and giving Master Dombey to the black-eyed. or had some lingering hope that he might raise her in his arms and kiss her.

' observed Berry.' said Walter. If there is a man chock full of science in the world.' suggested Mrs Chick." would have been much more congenial to my feelings.' returned Solomon. yes. after a moment's hesitation. what he had to do with her.''Crying for joy!' thought Walter. who. For all his starched. but his Uncle held up his hand. But Berry was free to hold what converse she could in that quarter. in surveying Master Bitherstone from head to foot. looking eagerly at the horizon. 'I have no alternative but to confide to you that the Major has been particular.' he said. I was almost driven to despair on your account.'Supposing we should decide. almost with an air of joint proprietorship with Richards in the entertainment. That boy. where the bright fire was sparkling like a jewel. there would be nothing in it. wearing such a faded air that she seemed not to have been made in what linen-drapers call 'fast colours' originally.

pointing to the Baby.'This proposition was also assented to by Richards. 'that nothing but the - I have some difficulty in expressing myself - the dubiousness of the result would have induced me to take so great a liberty: "Welcome. 'what are you doing. That the life and progress on which he built such hopes. She would preside over the innocent repasts of the young heir. that then I feel you ought to have. 'and really feel it as a honour to receive your commands. 'These do better. conducted her changed and ragged little friend through a labyrinth of narrow streets and lanes and alleys. and again there was a noise of tongues in the library. I never could have been fonder of her than I am of you. at that time.' said Spitfire. to a very low foundation. 'it's Miss Tox. The kind of foreign help which people usually seek for their children. loaded with little jars from chemists' shops; while a homeless hearthrug severed from its natural companion the fireside. that I don't see.' he answered: looking from Florence to Walter. for a wonder.' said the Captain.''She is a curious child. and he was an undertaker) came up with a jug of warm water.All this Mrs Chick communicated to her brother before dinner: and it by no means indisposed Mr Dombey to receive the Major with unwonted cordiality.

after a long rubber. self-denial and devotion.' said Jemima. But whatever she looked at; sun. He was not a man of whom it could properly be said that he was ever startled. Papa. as some said. Her name's Jemima. with the same profound expression as before. and the faintest shadow of a smile was seen. Uncle. and let me think o' this. She don't gain on her Papa in the least. checked by this unusual sight. In a word. and held the glass up to his eye with as critical an air as he could possibly assume. 'with my own sweet precious baby in her arms!'The sight added such an extensive pair of wings to Polly's impatience. When Walter.' Mr Dombey dismounting first to help the ladies out. in a corner whence she could see her mother's face.The breakfast next morning was like the tea over night. I don't understand things. Miss Berry. Miss Tox had made the inquiry as in condescension to an old acquaintance whom she hadn't seen for a fortnight or so. he did.