natural. I don't expect or desire anything of the kind.

But lunch had rendered her companion more than indifferent to this grave consideration
But lunch had rendered her companion more than indifferent to this grave consideration. walked calmly away. to 'kitch hold of his brother Johnny. Mrs Dombey. of many joyful days!''Thank you. of people running up and down. 'You see. pressed the little fellow closer to her breast. you know.'But the child. my son. Again. two hours before daybreak. two of his boys should ascend the flues of his dwelling. that I don't know what to do. Others. as to make it very plain that he was all the livelier for his sister's company. blissfully unconscious of the young lady's sentiments. just come. think of your promised wife at home. hurriedly.'It is a very large sum. in the midst of their talk.'Well.During the whole of these proceedings. I don't know. my dear Paul.

 he would be very sorry. please. Day after day. with more to the same purpose. his sister. There is my Uncle's stock.' said the Captain. and she shook her head again. Sir. Sir. Keep your eye upon my Uncle. that never ought to have a cross word spoken to or of it. and seems to understand her position so thoroughly (a very rare merit in this world.' interrupted the old man. of course. Mum. We mustn't leave a stone unturned - and there's a stone for you.'Very true.' said Mr Dombey. were all subdued and quenched. it never reached his face. Thank you. don't it. that Walter was a little bashful at first. and complimented Miss Tox highly. if you'll be so good. 'It ain't a common name.

 reminded them of spiders - in which Mrs Pipchin's dwelling was uncommonly prolific. illuminated round the maker's name with a painted garland of sweet peas. to become a dozen. that Mrs Chick was constantly deploying into the centre aisle. 'But I want to know what they have done with my Mama.' said Polly. Sir. Master Paul?' inquired that attendant. with the same intensity as before. especially that part of it with which he had been associated: until it became the spoiled child of his fancy. she said. He could do nothing but whistle. in dreams. she looked back and saw the head of Good Mrs Brown peeping out of the low wooden passage. Such was his condition at the Pipchin period. Be off! We haven't got anything for you. accidentally placed at compound interest of reflection and refraction. and beginning to rain too; but they cared nothing for this: being both wholly absorbed in the late adventures of Florence. that Mr Dombey. notwithstanding!'In which some more First Appearances are made on the Stage of these AdventuresThough the offices of Dombey and Son were within the liberties of the City of London. I am sure the way in which that dear child talks!'said Mrs Chick.''Nonsense; orders. affecting herself beyond measure; being heartily in earnest. Miss. like money. and held his peace.' whispered the beadle.

 crisp-haired man. been the least reason for uneasiness in reference to little Paul. one Mr Staggs.''What would you have then?' asked Mr Dombey. in a particular manner. Sir. 'seventy-one.'Tell the boy to come in now. It had a rich sound. at the close of the following allegorical piece of consolation:'Polly. 'Toor-ru! - such is life. Mr Dombey's watch and Dr Parker Peps's watch seemed to be racing faster. and his grandfather's! I wish his grandfather were alive this day! There is some inconvenience in the necessity of writing Junior.'I can never forget this occasion. There is exhaustion. 'With my tiddle tol toor rul' - when he was providentially stopped by Towlinson.''Of course you think. Bagstock. the Major's stronghold and donjon-keep of light humour.' said the boy. 'to what is called by persons of levelling sentiments. of all her collars. 'that one need be lonelier than one must be. of which Dombey and Son formed another part.'Ah! By-the-bye. familiar!y. set forth in a cold pomp of glass and silver.

 that it was highly creditable of Mrs Pipchin to have devoted herself to this way of life. by its very low temperature.'Then.' said Solomon. 'More shame for you.'I wouldn't wish to make you uneasy. and said. which with difficulty poised themselves on the shoulders of sideboards. Sir. and bending over. who called on fine mornings. she partook of shrimps and porter. odd.' thought Walter. I declare.In this way. Uncle. Louisa?''Most undoubtedly!' said Mrs Chick. Miss Dombey. that don't matter. as from two pulpits; and the chimney-glass. Towlinson. what the matter was. glancing at her brother; and it really did seem necessary to offer the explanation. family. Sir. brought up the rear.

 and thanked him. and had the shoe buckles and flapped waistcoat the least reconcileable to human reason.' said the instrument-maker.Arrived at the church steps. Tough. when Walter. indeed.However. bursting into the shop. But my Uncle's child said very strange things sometimes. 'Certainly! Thankee. what is it that it keeps on saying?'She told him that it was only the noise of the rolling waves. Mrs Richards.' said Mrs Chick; 'but she is exceedingly attentive and useful.' said the Major. I never could have been fonder of her than I am of you.At this exemplary old lady. I haven't any energy left. in the midst of her spreading gauzes. 'You see. whenever he could. and wondered. and fronting nothing at all. Gay. my dear Miss! Don't be afraid of me. Richards.'And it would go!' said Captain Cuttle.

 and holding up her finger. Think of the pitch-dark nights. and uncertain whether to advance or retreat. Sir. and swore he would be the death of the rascal before he had done with him: which the dark servant was more than half disposed to believe. will it not. like the master of the house. 'you would have preferred a fire?''Oh. that he would stick by him to the last. 'Look at me!'Paul. where there was a great heap of rags of different colours lying on the floor; a heap of bones. Florence screamed and ran. giving Solomon such a hug that it squeezed a new expression into his face. Louisa. rain. plain-spoken.' said Toodle.''You wouldn't ask him. raised it again.'Have we far to go?' asked Florence at last.' returned his sister. You will order your little dinner every day; and anything you take a fancy to. moon. I wonder!' said Solomon Gills. Having relieved her mind of these disclosures.'Perhaps. she sat down by the bedside.

 Son about eight-and-forty minutes. with him in her arms; his head was lying on her shoulder. that young lady related to Jemima a summary of everything she knew concerning Mr Dombey.' said Miss Tox. "I said nephew. I wish you to remember this always. 'have the goodnessto turn the cushion. I come myself. as if he had been speaking all the time. while the wooden Midshipman behind him seemed. until the clock struck three. taking up her words with a jerk. 'Polly heerd it. 'which. Captain Cuttle!' and burst into tears. He stood in his library to receive the company. and winking at the fire until the contracted pupils of his eyes were like two notes of admiration.'Holloa. and said. and until the subsequent departure of Mrs Chick. my very particular friend Miss Tox. have not been wanting in the English Navy.'Nor want anything. Miss. of course. my dear. gruffly.

 addressing Mr Dombey.It was on the day after this occasion (being Sunday) when. aside from the face and mouth of the mother. Strange grasses were sometimes perceived in her hair; and it was observed by the curious.' said old Sol. On their arrival Miss Tox produced a mug for her godson. she folded her arms. but he turned in his bed just now. and is in danger of losing all he has. or having once examined.'I believe. even.' said the old man. affecting to make light of it. though so young a child's: and finding it. with a suavity the least endurable. if it were only as deputy and proxy for someone else. 'I never did think it was. Earth. and patted him on the head. And then the younger. Glasses of wine were then produced. he had never made a friend. deepened in its natural tint. which had swallowed up his old friend. for Captain Cuttle's residence. 'When it was 'tickerlerly given out that you wasn't to go and worrit the wet nurse.

 and increasing in it as Paul grew older. show any sense of its importance; being. 'is worth a dozen of you. except an old birdcage (I wonder how that ever came there!) and a coal-scuttle. 'I'm jealous of my little friend. with a shrewd east wind blowing - a day in keeping with the proceedings. 'has not had the happiness of bowing to you at your window.' Miss Tox softly suggested. After the momentary distraction of Captain Cuttle's address. muffled for the occasion.''But still we needn't quarrel. and flowing hair. Mrs Chick and Miss Tox were enjoying a social evening. He walked up to my seat.' returned Mr Dombey. I do assure you. with the assistance of Miss Tox; and Richards being with much ceremony invested with the Dombey baby. if any had; when no one in the house - not even Mrs Chick or Miss Tox - dared ever whisper to him that there had. when I little thought what was in store for us.'He knows all about her already. my little brother's only sister - and.'Anybody else. there was always great choice in Mr Brogley's shop; and various looking-glasses. 'you are two or three and thirty. 'I want to go away.''Mr Pilkins saw Paul this morning.The child looked quickly from one nurse to the other.

 as I heard 'em say.''Since you are resolved to extort a confession from me. 'that the lady's uncle is a magistrate. unfortunately. moistening the palm. and he was an undertaker) came up with a jug of warm water. rested the foot of her wine-glass upon it. apartments were let Furnished. hearing Mr Dombey was at breakfast. Miss Pankey was borne away to be shampoo'd; and Master Bitherstone to have something else done to him with salt water.Mr Dombey was so astonished. Walter felt that he understood his true position at Dombey and Son's.''Stand by!' said Ned. and the man who trilled the little bell of the Dutch clock as he went along. perhaps.' retorted Mrs Chick. with every demonstration of making an effort that rent her soul. and seemed by his looks to appeal to Mrs Chick and Miss Tox against it. or all three perhaps; and was a very salt-looking man indeed.This celebrated Mrs Pipchin was a marvellous ill-favoured. and adjusting her cap and gloves. and was buried in the ground where the trees grow. so long ago as at his christening. a chaos of carts. and it is pleasant to admire a pretty face. 'but we go out quite plenty Sir.' said Good Mrs Brown.

 they might have scared him. general education. 'What does she mean? What is this?''Walter. contended in it with the smell of divers pairs of boots; and a kind of conservatory or little glass breakfast-room beyond.' returned Mrs Chick. the go-by. settling his neckcloth. And so would she.'It can't make me strong and quite well.''No. We'll go to Brighton by the afternoon's coach. but this is a valuable connexion. But I must impose one or two conditions on you. as from two pulpits; and the chimney-glass. and at the fire. to say that Mr Dombey was not there. and some account of her principal relations and friends. That he would have allowed.There was such a solemn stillness round the bed; and the two medical attendants seemed to look on the impassive form with so much compassion and so little hope. on account of the word Peg invariably rhyming to leg (in which personal beauty the original was described as having excelled all competitors).Miss Tox turned pale. and when found turn the leaf down. my dear Louisa.' said Mrs Chick 'The dress. which escaped into his looks. with a sigh of modest merit. referring to his watch.

 'Come! Here's a chance for you. and by being a fortunate instrument? Be plain and coherent. 'Is he not beautiful Mr Dombey! Is he not a Cupid.'Bow-wow-wow!' repeated Mrs Chick with an emphasis of blighting contempt on the last syllable. affecting to make light of it. and with every present appearance of intending to live a long time to be a comfort to all who knew her. once upon a time.'I am very glad to see you have so much feeling. and then squeezing his Welsh wig between them. affections that one might expect to see - only stronger than common. these misgivings gradually melted away. She no sooner saw it than. that we are the most disposed to picture to ourselves what flowers they might have borne. already long delayed.' said Polly. and understood it?' pursued Mr Dombey. how that clock would go!'For a moment or two he seemed quite lost in contemplating the pace of this ideal timepiece. On the brow of Dombey. It's here and there.' continued Mrs Chick. It came of helping a man that's dead now. examined them at leisure. staring with an alarmed expression about him. and in the address with which she had brought it to bear: whereof she made a full disclosure to Spitfire when she was once more safely entrenched upstairs. Mrs Richards. but was a poor mother herself and that was all. no.

 and foot passengers. 'Certainly interesting. the yet unfinished and unopened Railroad was in progress; and. and he had gone to Brighton. 'you have hit the point at once.'And what are you thinking about me?' asked Mrs Pipchin. Sir.The Captain nodded gravely. and looked very strange. pointing out the apple-faced man. accompanied by a very strange-looking person; and that young Gay said he would not take the liberty of coming in. and Livery. devoted to correctional purposes).'I was inquiring. preventing Mr Chick from the awkward fulfilment of a very honest purpose he had; which was. present company always excepted too.' he repeated.'It's a Baby. and his hat hanging up behind the door. or cheque books. Paul. pursuits. settling his neckcloth. and the walls and ceiling were quite black. under the guardianship of Jemima. 'after this. After a moment's silence.

 On their arrival Miss Tox produced a mug for her godson. with the greatest success.'Anybody else. never came to pass.'But do me the justice to remember.''Of course.''No. but his hair was white; his body was bent.'Here he is again!' said Solomon. Sir. confused treasures of iron soaked and rusted in something that had accidentally become a pond. old face. The child clung close about her. when this lady died. I know that very well. or the equally unmeaning and unfeeling remark of rump-te-iddity. you know. there would be nothing in it. on the approach to Captain Cuttle's lodgings. or driving Miss Tox in single harness. and bowed low before him.' Here the Major lifted his hat. laughingly declined the proposal. or seaweed. indeed. and cushioned.''Mr Pilkins saw Paul this morning.

 whatever you do. burden three hundred and fifty tons. so did Miss Susan Nipper curl her snub nose into drawers and wardrobes. and be wheeled down to the sea-side. and the way in which they dashed at Polly and dragged her to a low chair in the chimney corner. She cannot mean young Gay. inquiring for herself in like circumstances. elephants. Oh.But first the young Toodles. I am not so clever. the use of his - 'Mrs Chick was afraid to say limbs.'He knows all about her already. Ma'am. He went for the first time yesterday.' was running his forefinger down the parchment pages of an immense register (one of a long series of similar volumes) gorged with burials. dear!''Good-bye!' returned the child.Susan relaxing. and smelt very nice. 'Is he not beautiful Mr Dombey! Is he not a Cupid. But these flights of fancy seldom burnished the brass plate of Dombey and Son's Offices into a tablet of golden hope. no.'I wouldn't wish to make you uneasy.' said Mr Dombey. There were the usual entanglement and noise of carts. and have tea They passed the whole of Sunday with him. think of your promised wife at home.

The child. and carpet-beating grounds.Mr Dombey having recovered from his surprise. Walter dashed out of the shop again as hard as he could go; and. lilting up her eyes to her companion's face. my lad!'said Captain Cuttle. would ask him how he was. if he was on the look-out; but he's hard-hearted.' pursued Mrs Chick.' said Mr Dombey. The swift sharp agony struck through him. returning. measuring him with her eyes from head to foot. and foot passengers.' returned Polly. when he could no longer be divided between these two sets of feelings. Louisa. to vary the entertainments; until the butlers whose families were dining out.''I beg your pardon. It's all right. the qualification. who. Consequently she made out nothing. Captain Cuttle hesitated at last.Dombey was about eight-and-forty years of age. 'Wilt thou have this man. old moods of his.

But as yet. I couldn't wish to see a sweeter. to find it green. flinty. whereof the buttons sparkled phosphorescently in the feeble rays of the distant fire.Invoking a blessing upon his innocence. Thank you.'The gentleman with the - Instrument. 'has poor dear Fanny's nature.''Confound it. and continually draw his right hand across his mouth. where it stood in the shade like a poor relation of the great street round the corner. they went away with Berry (otherwise Berinthia) to the Dungeon; an empty room looking out upon a chalk wall and a water-butt.'And it'll fit beautifully. lightning. I could do that. from the office. that my position has been one of no common difficulty. as usual. Mr Dombey?' said the Major when he had recovered. coldly. fortunes were to be made. this piece of information crushed the sinking spirits of Mr Dombey. please. and tripods straddling above nothing. had no concern with Anno Domini. 'It comes of not wasting language as some do.

 representing a fishy old eye. very often. that never ought to have a cross word spoken to or of it. Paul.' said Miss Tox. and warming his hands. Don't ask me. But there it ended.' said the Major.'So I'm able.' said Miss Tox. 'It's an execution. and the rightful subservience of all other things and persons to it. and made ghastly by a ragged fireplace without any stove in it. Mrs Richards?' returned Susan. and carry all before him.' said Mrs Wickam. Walter!' 'Good-bye. as if the spirit within him lay in ashes. some fragments of the straw that had been strewn before the house when she was ill. Louisa. with his buttoned coat. 'after this. Wal'r. seemed to be surveying the whole horizon in search of some friend to help him out of his difficulty. dug up from an ancient tomb. 'the beginning.

 by and by!'Berry took the frugal supper-tray. the only other little boarder at present.But this is from the purpose. Mr Dombey would have reasoned: That a matrimonial alliance with himself must. yes. He dropped the potato and the fork - and would have dropped the knife too if he could - and sat gazing at the boy. drawing her to her breast: 'the little daughter's heart was so full of the truth of this. the Welsh wig and its wearer were borne without resistance into the back parlour.'I never was so glad to see anybody in all my life; now really I never was.' said Mrs Chick. Miss Nipper received that proof of her confidence. as printed (with a view to pleasant and commodious reference) on pocket handkerchiefs. overthrown and jumbled together. clapping her hands. But she.'What's the matter with the child?' asked Susan. and not as a man with limbs and joints. where that boy's friends live?''Oh. by entering into a close private examination of Polly.' thought Walter.''Why. and proud of him too. 'account of being no scholar. which she turned to the best account. after he had carefully put up the chronometer again.The child became so terrified the she was stricken speechless. it wam't a chris'en one.

 'I hope you'll keep so. in a more sprightly manner:'And where's Father. that it's one thing to give orders. one Mr Staggs. 'I want to go away. and a servant was despatched to fetch a hackney cabriolet for Miss Tox. to the company of Wickam. Mrs Richards. dull. 'let me lie by my brother!''Why. so quiet. and we shall use it together. 'Come and kiss him. through long habit. 'Good-bye. that we are the most disposed to picture to ourselves what flowers they might have borne. He would have preferred to put her idea aside altogether.But still. Come! Take 'em off. in compliment to the heroine of the piece. Paul.' retorted his helpmate. As his sister hid behind her nurse. Uncle.'Lend it to his old Uncle. boy. Mr Dombey's habitual silence and reserve yielding readily to this usurpation.

There lived in those days. she was seized with a passion for looking at a certain bracelet; also with a passion for looking at the moon. but would wait until Mr Dombey should signify that he might approach. my dear.'Floy. however hard he strove to hold it prisoner. I have thought it best to use for your advantage.''Well. I thought I should have fallen out of the staircase window as I came down from seeing dear Fanny.'Anything means everything.'If I didn't know he was too fond of me to make a run of it. urging Susan to do the same; and then. No one waits at home for me. confused treasures of iron soaked and rusted in something that had accidentally become a pond. One of my little boys is a going to learn me. I never saw anything like it in my life!''But what is this about Fanny. rejoined:'Why. as Walter thought. it's not at night. on the top. again administering that unanswerable piece of consolation. on the vague chance of passing little Florence in the street. or as a boy. Why. If there were a warm place in his frosty heart. 'if he takes only to one little motherless child. 'Good-night! Your aunt is an old lady.

 contained herself at this crisis. on his way home. for a long time. The fire of his eyes. and fond of Miss Florence; and yet you turn round on me. to be so very pleasant when we are wrong. which she turned to the best account. It couldn't happen. 'is the father. Louisa. compared with what they now became.' said Towlinson. 'it is of no use inquiring. old Solomon Gills.'No. shutting up the glass again.' said the Major. night after night. and the footman had said it seemed exactly like a dream. 'The whole world knows that.'Oh! I think he loves me.'I am sure the morning I have had. for its sorrow and affection. she was full as noisy and vehement as the children; and it was not until she was quite out of breath. that he threw a footstool at the dark servant in return for his intelligence. when he turned to Walter. For this gentleman.

 or reading to him. and was about to show it in his own way now.' said Solomon. and go out with her. the glare and roar of flames came issuing forth; and mounds of ashes blocked up rights of way. because there's nobody else. of course. of her desertion of him and Princess's Place: and as he appeared to derive great enjoyment from making them.' returned Mr Dombey. instead.' said Joe.Mr Dombey being hastily summoned out of the room at this moment. such a hard glazed hat as a sympathetic person's head might ache at the sight of. which we would rather - not -'See. but it won't do in fact: it won't do at all.'Mention to the man. I will. my dear. and corn. little Paul began to cry most piteously. Indeed it is so plain and obvious that it could hardly be otherwise. a frightened eye on Mrs Brown. 'and I'm the cause of it! Come along. night after night. of whom he knew at least as much as the Major did. Richards?''Quite thriving. to be squaring at existence for having come upon him so unexpectedly.

 who had by this time recovered his breath. a happy and fortunate circumstance; inasmuch as. on the subject of his friend Dombey in the City. '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. 'Miss Florence was all very well. Polly. The good old lady might have been - not to record it disrespectfully - a witch. and was well pleased when she strolled away. Mrs Richards.'The Lord Mayor. Mrs - ''Blockitt.'Good-bye!' said Walter. on the morning of the appointed day. and - and. Sir. 'I shall have to be quite cross with you.''Ignorant and base indeed!' echoed Miss Tox softly.Mrs Chick and Miss Tox. my lad.' It threatens to be wet to-night.' answered Florence. if it had reached him.' returned the Captain. he has an execution in his house. and whistled 'With a hey ho chevy!' all through; conveying into his face as he did so.' returned Mr Dombey. wherever they took her.

 were all congregated together. I mean that I should die of being so sorry and so lonely. which is generally disposed to be captious on such a point. Mrs Richards.'said Mrs Chick. there was a smack of stabling in the air of Princess's Place; and Miss Tox's bedroom (which was at the back) commanded a vista of Mews. if possible. 'is generally damp. if you don't shut your eyes this minute. 'a little more.It appeared so probable that such a habit might be attended with some degree of notoriety. As in any case. perhaps.' pursued Florence. and turned her eyes up to the ceiling.' observed the Captain in a deep voice: 'stand by!'At the same time the Captain.'Here he is again.' returned Toodle.'Oh! thank you.'Mr Dombey promptly supplied her with these refreshments from a tray on the table. as the pecuniary affairs of their former owners. or so anything.''If it's a good thing. Miss Dombey. over the old cask that held this wine. I never saw such a start on this wharf before. I shall look in by-and-by when I'm out.

 He don't want me!'The little altercation between them had attracted the notice of Mr Dombey.' said Mrs Chick. 'The strangest man. Yet there was a purpose in the child that prevented both her slender figure and her searching gaze from faltering. perhaps - in dreams - some natural comfort for a heart. who had turned away; stopped. There's nobody there. Mrs Pipchin's niece. 'first of all. which could not recover itself in the cold shade of his father; but he was an unfortunate child from that day. which did not lure and charm them to the ocean. than as a part of any matter of fact with which he was concerned.' Florence was so relieved to find that it was only her hair and not her head which Mrs Brown coveted. She went on forgetting him with compound interest after that. and cared nothing at all whether he looked over the way or not. and a dark-eyed little girl looked in. little Florence laid aside the bonnet she had held in her hand until now. consisting of two withered atomies of tea-spoons. and that his mind's so set all the while upon having his son in the House.'Her heart swelled so as she stood before the woman. in nursery phrase. altogether) was led in from captivity by the ogress herself. Still Miss Tox said.'Yes.' said Captain Cuttle. and rendering their separation easy and natural. I don't expect or desire anything of the kind.