ofthe
gentleman
,
that
it
is
quite
unnecessary
,
and
that
they
keep
their
distant
relation
at
a
comfortable
distance
.
”
“
Or
he
keeps
us
,
”
suggested
Richard
.
“
By
my
soul
!
”
exclaimed
Mr.
Boythorn
,
suddenly
firing
another
volley
,
“
that
fellow
is
,
and
his
father
was
,
and
his
grandfather
was
,
the
most
stiff-necked
,
arrogant
,
imbecile
,
pig-headed
numskull
,
ever
,
by
some
inexplicable
mistake
of
Nature
,
born
in
any
station
of
life
but
a
walking-stick
's
!
The
whole
of
that
family
are
the
most
solemnly
conceited
and
consummate
blockheads
!
—
But
it
's
no
matter
;
he
should
not
shut
up
my
path
,
if
he
were
fifty
baronets
melted
into
one
,
and
living
in
a
hundred
Chesney
Wolds
,
one
within
another
,
like
the
ivory
balls
in
a
Chinese
carving
.
The
fellow
,
by
his
agent
,
or
secretary
,
or
somebody
,
writes
to
me
,
‘Sir
Leicester
Dedlock
,
Baronet
,
presents
his
compliments
to
Mr.
Lawrence
Boythorn
,
and
has
to
call
his
attention
to
the
fact
that
the
green
pathway
by
the
old
parsonage-house
,
now
the
property
of
Mr.
Lawrence
Boythorn
,
is
Sir
Leicester
's
right
of
way
,
being
in
fact
a
portion
of
the
park
of
Chesney
Wold
;
and
that
Sir
Leicester
finds
it
convenient
to
close
up
the
same.’
I
write
to
the
fellow
,
‘Mr
.
Lawrence
Boythorn
presents
his
compliments
to
Sir
Leicester
Dedlock
,
Baronet
,
and
has
to
call
his
attention
to
the
fact
that
he
totally
denies
the
whole
of
Sir
Leicester
Dedlock
's
positions
on
every
possible
subject
,
and
has
to
add
,
in
reference
to
closing
up
the
pathway
,
that
he
will
be
glad
to
see
the
man
who
may
undertake
to
do
it.’
The
fellow
sends
a
most
abandoned
villain
with
one
eye
,
to
construct
a
gateway
.
I
play
upon
that
execrable
scoundrel
with
a
fire-engine
,
until
the
breath
is
nearly
driven
out
of
his
body
.
The
fellow
erects
a
gate
in
the
night
.
I
chop
it
down
and
burn
it
in
the
morning
.
He
sends
his
myrmidons
to
come
over
the
fence
,
and
pass
and
repass
.
I
catch
them
in
humane
man-traps
,
fire
split
peas
at
their
legs
,
play
upon
them
with
the
engine
—
resolve
to
free
mankind
from
the
insupportable
burden
of
the
existence
of
those
lurking
ruffians
.
He
brings
actions
for
trespass
;
I
bring
actions
for
trespass
.
He
brings
actions
for
assault
and
battery
;
I
defend
them
,
and
continue
to
assault
and
batter
.
Ha
,
ha
,
ha
!
”
To
hear
him
say
all
this
with
unimaginable
energy
,
one
might
have
thought
him
the
angriest
of
mankind
.
To
see
him
,
at
the
very
same
time
,
looking
at
the
bird
now
perched
upon
his
thumb
,
and
softly
smoothing
its
feathers
with
his
forefinger
,
one
might
have
thought
him
the
gentlest
.
To
hear
him
laugh
,
and
see
the
broad
good-nature
of
his
face
then
,
one
might
have
supposed
that
he
had
not
a
care
in
the
world
,
or
a
dispute
,
or
a
dislike
,
but
that
his
whole
existence
was
a
summer
joke
.
“
No
,
no
,
”
he
said
,
“
no
closing
up
of
my
paths
,
by
any
Dedlock
!
Though
I
willingly
confess
,
”
here
he
softened
in
a
moment
,
“
that
Lady
Dedlock
is
the
most
accomplished
lady
in
the
world
,
to
whom
I
would
do
any
homage
that
a
plain
gentleman
,
and
no
baronet
with
a
head
seven
hundred
years
thick
,
may
.
A
man
who
joined
his
regiment
at
twenty
,
and
,
within
a
week
,
challenged
the
most
imperious
and
presumptuous
coxcomb
of
a
commanding
officer
that
ever
drew
the
breath
of
life
through
a
tight
waist
—
and
got
broke
for
it
—
is
not
the
man
to
be
walked
over
,
by
all
the
Sir
Lucifers
,
dead
or
alive
,
locked
or
unlocked
.
Ha
,
ha
!
ha
,
”
“
Nor
the
man
to
allow
his
junior
to
be
walked
over
,
either
?
”
said
my
Guardian
.
“
Most
assuredly
not
!
”
said
Mr.
Boythorn
,
clapping
him
on
the
shoulder
with
an
air
of
protection
,
that
had
something
serious
in
it
,
though
he
laughed
.
“
He
will
stand
by
the
low
boy
,
always
.
Jarndyce
,
you
may
rely
upon
him
!
But
,
speaking
of
this
trespass
—
with
apologies
to
Miss
Clare
and
Miss
Summerson
for
the
length
at
which
I
have
pursued
so
dry
a
subject
—
is
there
nothing
for
me
from
your
men
,
Kenge
and
Carboy
?
”
“
I
think
not
,
Esther
?
”
said
Mr.
Jarndyce
.
“
Nothing
,
Guardian
.
”
“
Much
obliged
!
”
said
Mr.
Boythorn
.
“
Had
no
need
to
ask
,
after
even
my
slight
experience
of
Miss
Summerson
's
forethought
for
every
one
about
her
.
”
(
They
all
encouraged
me
;
they
were
determined
to
do
it
.
)
“
I
enquired
because
,
coming
from
Lincolnshire
,
I
of
course
have
not
yet
been
in
town
,
and
I
thought
some
letters
might
have
been
sent
down
here
.
I
dare
say
they
will
report
progress
to-morrow
morning
.
”
I
saw
him
so
often
,
in
the
course
of
the
evening
,
which
passed
very
pleasantly
,
contemplate
Richard
and
Ada
with
an
interest
and
a
satisfaction
that
made
his
fine
face
remarkably
agreeable
as
he
sat
at
a
little
distance
from
the
piano
listening
to
the
music
—
and
he
had
small
occasion
to
tell
us
that
he
was
passionately
fond
of
music
,
for
his
face
showed
it
—
that
I
asked
my
Guardian
,
as
we
sat
at
the
backgammon
board
,
whether
Mr.
Boythorn
had
ever
been
married
.
“
No
,
”
said
he
.
“
No.
”
“
But
he
meant
to
be
?
”
said
I
.
“
How
did
you
find
out
that
?
”
he
returned
,
with
a
smile
.
“
Why
,
Guardian
,
”
I
explained
,
not
without
reddening
a
little
at
hazarding
what
was
in
my
thoughts
,
“
there
is
something
so
tender
in
his
manner
,
after
all
,
and
he
is
so
very
courtly
and
gentle
to
us
,
and
—
”
Mr.
Jarndyce
directed
his
eyes
to
where
he
was
sitting
,
as
I
have
just
described
him
.
I
said
no
more
.
“
You
are
right
,
little
woman
,
”
he
answered
.
“
He
was
all
but
married
,
once
.
Long
ago
.
And
once
.
”
“
Did
the
lady
die
?
”
“
No
—
but
she
died
to
him
.
That
time
has
had
its
influence
on
all
his
later
life
.
Would
you
suppose
him
to
have
a
head
and
a
heart
full
of
romance
yet
?
”
“
I
think
,
Guardian
,
I
might
have
supposed
so
.
But
it
is
easy
to
say
that
,
when
you
have
told
me
so
.
”
“
He
has
never
since
been
what
he
might
have
been
,
”
said
Mr.
Jarndyce
,
“
and
now
you
see
him
in
his
age
with
no
one
near
him
but
his
servant
,
and
his
little
yellow
friend
.
—
It
's
your
throw
,
my
dear
!
”
I
felt
,
from
my
Guardian
's
manner
,
that
beyond
this
point
I
could
not
pursue
the
subject
without
changing
the
wind
.
I
therefore
forbore
to
ask
any
further
questions
.
I
was
interested
,
but
not
curious
.
I
thought
a
little
while
about
this
old
love
story
in
the
night
,
when
I
was
awakened
by
Mr.
Boythorn
's
lusty
snoring
;
and
I
tried
to
do
that
very
difficult
thing
—
imagine
old
people
young
again
,
and
invested
with
the
graces
of
youth
.
But
I
fell
asleep
before
I
had
succeeded
,
and
dreamed
of
the
days
when
I
lived
in
my
godmother
's
house
.
I
am
not
sufficiently
acquainted
with
such
subjects
,
to
know
whether
it
is
at
all
remarkable
that
I
almost
always
dreamed
of
that
period
of
my
life
.
With
the
morning
,
there
came
a
letter
from
Messrs.
Kenge
and
Carboy
to
Mr.
Boythorn
,
informing
him
that
one
of
their
clerks
would
wait
upon
him
at
noon
.
As
it
was
the
day
of
the
week
on
which
I
paid
the
bills
,
and
added
up
my
books
,
and
made
all
the
household
affairs
as
compact
as
possible
,
I
remained
at
home
while
Mr.
Jarndyce
,
Ada
,
and
Richard
,
took
advantage
of
a
very
fine
day
to
make
a
little
excursion
.
Mr.
Boythorn
was
to
wait
for
Kenge
and
Carboy
's
clerk
,
and
then
was
to
go
on
foot
to
meet
them
on
their
return
.
Well
!
I
was
full
of
business
,
examining
tradesmen
's
books
,
adding
up
columns
,
paying
money
,
filing
receipts
,
and
I
dare
say
making
a
great
bustle
about
it
,
when
Mr.
Guppy
was
announced
and
shown
in
.
I
had
had
some
idea
that
the
clerk
who
was
to
be
sent
down
,
might
be
the
young
gentleman
who
had
met
me
at
the
coach-office
;
and
I
was
glad
to
see
him
,
because
he
was
associated
with
my
present
happiness
.
I
scarcely
knew
him
again
,
he
was
so
uncommonly
smart
.
He
had
an
entirely
new
suit
of
glossy
clothes
on
,
a
shining
hat
,
lilac-kid
gloves
,
a
neckerchief
of
a
variety
of
colours
,
a
large
hot-house
flower
in
his
button-hole
,
and
a
thick
gold
ring
on
his
little
finger
.
Besides
which
,
he
quite
scented
the
dining-room
with
bear's-grease
,
and
other
perfumery
.
He
looked
at
me
with
an
attention
that
quite
confused
me
,
when
I
begged
him
to
take
a
seat
until
the
servant
should
return
;
and
as
he
sat
there
,
crossing
and
uncrossing
his
legs
in
a
corner
,
and
I
asked
him
if
he
had
had
a
pleasant
ride
,
and
hoped
that
Mr.
Kenge
was
well
,
I
never
looked
at
him
,
but
I
found
him
looking
at
me
,
in
the
same
scrutinizing
and
curious
way
.
When
the
request
was
brought
to
him
that
he
would
go
up-stairs
to
Mr.
Boythorn
's
room
,
I
mentioned
that
he
would
find
lunch
prepared
for
him
when
he
came
down
,
of
which
Mr.
Jarndyce
hoped
he
would
partake
.
He
said
with
some
embarrassment
,
holding
the
handle
of
the
door
,
“
Shall
I
have
the
honor
of
finding
you
here
,
Miss
?
”
I
replied
yes
,
I
should
be
there
;
and
he
went
out
with
a
bow
and
another
look
.
I
thought
him
only
awkward
and
shy
,
for
he
was
evidently
much
embarrassed
;
and
I
fancied
that
the
best
thing
I
could
do
,
would
be
to
wait
until
I
saw
that
he
had
everything
he
wanted
,
and
then
to
leave
him
to
himself
.
The
lunch
was
soon
brought
,
but
it
remained
for
some
time
on
the
table
.
The
interview
with
Mr.
Boythorn
was
a
long
one
—
and
a
stormy
one
too
,
I
should
think
;
for
,
although
his
room
was
at
some
distance
,
I
heard
his
loud
voice
rising
every
now
and
then
like
a
high
wind
,
and
evidently
blowing
perfect
broadsides
of
denunciation
.
At
last
Mr.
Guppy
came
back
,
looking
something
the
worse
for
the
conference
.
“
My
eye
,
miss
,
”
he
said
in
a
low
voice
,
“
he
's
a
Tartar
!
”
“
Pray
take
some
refreshment
,
sir
,
”
said
I
.
Mr.
Guppy
sat
down
at
the
table
,
and
began
nervously
sharpening
the
carving-knife
on
the
carving-fork
;
still
looking
at
me
(
as
I
felt
quite
sure
without
looking
at
him
)
,
in
the
same
unusual
manner
.
The
sharpening
lasted
so
long
,
that
at
last
I
felt
a
kind
of
obligation
on
me
to
raise
my
eyes
,
in
order
that
I
might
break
the
spell
under
which
he
seemed
to
labour
,
of
not
being
able
to
leave
off
.
He
immediately
looked
at
the
dish
,
and
began
to
carve
.
“
What
will
you
take
yourself
,
miss
?
You
'll
take
a
morsel
of
something
?
”
“
No
,
thank
you
,
”
said
I
.
“
Sha
n't
I
give
you
a
piece
of
anything
at
all
,
miss
?
”
said
Mr.
Guppy
,
hurriedly
drinking
off
a
glass
of
wine
.
“
Nothing
,
thank
you
,
”
said
I
.
“
I
have
only
waited
to
see
that
you
have
everything
you
want
.
Is
there
anything
I
can
order
for
you
?
”
“
No
,
I
am
much
obliged
to
you
,
miss
,
I
'm
sure
.
I
've
every
thing
I
can
require
to
make
me
comfortable
—
at
least
I
—
not
comfortable
—
I
'm
never
that
:
”
he
drank
off
two
more
glasses
of
wine
,
one
after
another
.
I
thought
I
had
better
go
.
“
I
beg
your
pardon
,
miss
?
”
said
Mr.
Guppy
,
rising
,
when
he
saw
me
rise
.
“
But
would
you
allow
me
the
favor
of
a
minute
's
private
conversation
?
”
Not
knowing
what
to
say
,
I
sat
down
again
.
“
What
follows
is
without
prejudice
,
miss
?
”
said
Mr.
Guppy
,
anxiously
bringing
a
chair
towards
my
table
.
“
I
do
n't
understand
what
you
mean
,
”
said
I
,
wondering
.
“
It
's
one
of
our
law
terms
,
miss.
You
wo
n't
make
any
use
of
it
to
my
detriment
,
at
Kenge
and
Carboy
's
,
or
elsewhere
.
If
our
conversation
should
n't
lead
to
anything
,
I
am
to
be
as
I
was
,
and
am
not
to
be
prejudiced
in
my
situation
or
worldly
prospects
.
In
short
,
it
's
in
total
confidence
.
”
“
I
am
at
a
loss
,
sir
,
”
said
I
,
“
to
imagine
what
you
can
have
to
communicate
in
total
confidence
to
me
,
whom
you
have
never
seen
but
once
;
but
I
should
be
very
sorry
to
do
you
any
injury
.
”
“
Thank
you
,
miss.
I
'm
sure
of
it
—
that
's
quite
sufficient
.
”
All
this
time
Mr.
Guppy
was
either
planing
his
forehead
with
his
handkerchief
,
or
tightly
rubbing
the
palm
of
his
left
hand
with
the
palm
of
his
right
.
“
If
you
would
excuse
my
taking
another
glass
of
wine
,
miss
,
I
think
it
might
assist
me
in
getting
on
,
without
a
continual
choke
that
cannot
fail
to
be
mutually
unpleasant
.
”
He
did
so
,
and
came
back
again
.
I
took
the
opportunity
of
moving
well
behind
my
table
.
“
You
would
n't
allow
me
to
offer
you
one
,
would
you
,
miss
?
”
said
Mr.
Guppy
,
apparently
refreshed
.
“
Not
any
,
”
said
I
.
“
Not
half
a
glass
?
”
said
Mr.
Guppy
;
“
quarter
?
No
!
Then
,
to
proceed
.
My
present
salary
,
Miss
Summerson
,
at
Kenge
and
Carboy
's
,
is
two
pound
a-week
.
When
I
first
had
the
happiness
of
looking
upon
you
,
it
was
one-fifteen
,
and
had
stood
at
that
figure
for
a
lengthened
period
.
A
rise
of
five
has
since
taken
place
,
and
a
further
rise
of
five
is
guaranteed
at
the
expiration
of
a
term
not
exceeding
twelve
months
from
the
present
date
.
My
mother
has
a
little
property
,
which
takes
the
form
of
a
small
life
annuity
;
upon
which
she
lives
in
an
independent
though
unassuming
manner
,
in
the
Old
Street
Road
.
She
is
eminently
calculated
for
a
mother-in-law
.
She
never
interferes
,
is
all
for
peace
,
and
her
disposition
easy
.
She
has
her
failings
—
as
who
has
not
?
—
but
I
never
knew
her
do
it
when
company
was
present
;
at
which
time
you
may
freely
trust
her
with
wines
,
spirits
,
or
malt
liquors
.
My
own
abode
is
lodgings
at
Penton
Place
,
Pentonville
.
It
is
lowly
,
but
airy
,
open
at
the
back
,
and
considered
one
of
the
'
ealthiest
outlets
.
Miss
Summerson
!
In
the
mildest
language
,
I
adore
you
.
Would
you
be
so
kind
as
to
allow
me
(
as
I
may
say
)
to
file
a
declaration
—
to
make
an
offer
!
”
Mr.
Guppy
went
down
on
his
knees
.
I
was
well
behind
my
table
,
and
not
much
frightened
.
I
said
,
“
Get
up
from
that
ridiculous
position
immediately
,
sir
,
or
you
will
oblige
me
to
break
my
implied
promise
and
ring
the
bell
!
”
“
Hear
me
out
,
miss
!
”
said
Mr.
Guppy
,
folding
his
hands
.
“
I
cannot
consent
to
hear
another
word
,
sir
,
”
I
returned
,
“
unless
you
get
up
from
the
carpet
directly
,
and
go
and
sit
down
at
the
table
,
as
you
ought
to
do
if
you
have
any
sense
at
all
.
”
He
looked
piteously
,
but
slowly
rose
and
did
so
.
“
Yet
what
a
mockery
it
is
,
miss
,
”
he
said
,
with
his
hand
upon
his
heart
,
and
shaking
his
head
at
me
in
a
melancholy
manner
over
the
tray
,
“
to
be
stationed
behind
food
at
such
a
moment
.
The
soul
recoils
from
food
at
such
a
moment
,
miss.
”
“
I
beg
you
to
conclude
,
”
said
I
;
“
you
have
asked
me
to
hear
you
out
,
and
I
beg
you
to
conclude
.
”
“
I
will
,
miss
,
”
said
Mr.
Guppy
.
“
As
I
love
and
honor
,
so
likewise
I
obey
.
Would
that
I
could
make
Thee
the
subject
of
that
vow
,
before
the
shrine
!
”
“
That
is
quite
impossible
,
”
said
I
,
“
and
entirely
out
of
the
question
.
”
“
I
am
aware
,
”
said
Mr.
Guppy
,
leaning
forward
over
the
tray
,
and
regarding
me
,
as
I
again
strangely
felt
,
though
my
eyes
were
not
directed
to
him
,
with
his
late
intent
look
,
“
I
am
aware
that
in
a
worldly
point
of
view
,
according
to
all
appearances
,
my
offer
is
a
poor
one
.
But
,
Miss
Summerson
!
Angel
!
—
No
,
do
n't
ring
!
—
I
have
been
brought
up
in
a
sharp
school
,
and
am
accustomed
to
a
variety
of
general
practice
.
Though
a
young
man
,
I
have
ferreted
out
evidence
,
got
up
cases
,
and
seen
lots
of
life
.
Blest
with
your
hand
,
what
means
might
I
not
find
of
advancing
your
interests
,
and
pushing
your
fortunes
!
What
might
I
not
get
to
know
,
nearly
concerning
you
?
I
know
nothing
now
,
certainly
;
but
what
might
I
not
,
if
I
had
your
confidence
,
and
you
set
me
on
?
”
I
told
him
that
he
addressed
my
interest
,
or
what
he
supposed
to
be
my
interest
,
quite
as
unsuccessfully
as
he
addressed
my
inclination
;
and
he
would
now
understand
that
I
requested
him
,
if
he
pleased
,
to
go
away
immediately
.
“
Cruel
Miss
,
”
said
Mr.
Guppy
,
“
hear
but
another
word
!
I
think
you
must
have
seen
that
I
was
struck
with
those
charms
,
on
the
day
when
I
waited
at
the
Whytorseller
.
I
think
you
must
have
remarked
that
I
could
not
forbear
a
tribute
to
those
charms
when
I
put
up
the
steps
of
the
'
ackney-coach
.
It
was
a
feeble
tribute
to
Thee
,
but
it
was
well
meant
.
Thy
image
has
ever
since
been
fixed
in
my
breast
.
I
have
walked
up
and
down
,
of
an
evening
,
opposite
Jellyby
's
house
,
only
to
look
upon
the
bricks
that
once
contained
Thee
.
This
out
of
to-day
,
quite
an
unnecessary
out
so
far
as
the
attendance
,
which
was
its
pretended
object
,
went
,
was
planned
by
me
alone
for
Thee
alone
.
If
I
speak
of
interest
,
it
is
only
to
recommend
myself
and
my
respectful
wretchedness
.
Love
was
before
it
,
and
is
before
it
.
”
“
I
should
be
pained
,
Mr.
Guppy
,
”
said
I
,
rising
and
putting
my
hand
upon
the
bell-rope
,
“
to
do
you
,
or
anyone
who
was
sincere
,
the
injustice
of
slighting
any
honest
feeling
,
however
disagreeably
expressed
.
If
you
have
really
meant
to
give
me
a
proof
of
your
good
opinion
,
though
ill-timed
and
misplaced
,
I
feel
that
I
ought
to
thank
you
.
I
have
very
little
reason
to
be
proud
,
and
I
am
not
proud
.
I
hope
,
”
I
think
I
added
,
without
very
well
knowing
what
I
said
,
“
that
you
will
now
go
away
as
if
you
had
never
been
so
exceedingly
foolish
,
and
attend
to
Messrs.
Kenge
and
Carboy
's
business
.
”
“
Half
a
minute
,
miss
!
”
cried
Mr.
Guppy
,
checking
me
as
I
was
about
to
ring
.
“
This
has
been
without
prejudice
?
”
“
I
will
never
mention
it
,
”
said
I
,
“
unless
you
should
give
me
future
occasion
to
do
so
.
”
“
A
quarter
of
a
minute
,
miss
!
In
case
you
should
think
better
—
at
any
time
,
however
distant
,
that
's
no
consequence
,
for
my
feelings
can
never
alter
—
of
anything
I
have
said
,
particularly
what
might
I
not
do
—
Mr.
William
Guppy
,
eighty-seven
,
Penton
Place
,
or
,
if
removed
,
or
dead
(
of
blighted
hopes
or
anything
of
that
sort
)
,
care
of
Mrs.
Guppy
,
three
hundred
and
two
,
Old
Street
Road
,
will
be
sufficient
.
”
I
rang
the
bell
,
the
servant
came
,
and
Mr.
Guppy
,
laying
his
written
card
upon
the
table
,
and
making
a
dejected
bow
,
departed
.
Raising
my
eyes
as
he
went
out
,
I
once
more
saw
him
looking
at
me
after
he
had
passed
the
door
.
I
sat
there
for
another
hour
or
more
,
finishing
my
books
and
payments
,
and
getting
through
plenty
of
business
.
Then
,
I
arranged
my
desk
,
and
put
everything
away
,
and
was
so
composed
and
cheerful
that
I
thought
I
had
quite
dismissed
this
unexpected
incident
.
But
,
when
I
went
up-stairs
to
my
own
room
,
I
surprised
myself
by
beginning
to
laugh
about
it
,
and
then
surprised
myself
still
more
by
beginning
to
cry
about
it
.
In
short
,
I
was
in
a
flutter
for
a
little
while
;
and
felt
as
if
an
old
chord
had
been
more
coarsely
touched
than
it
ever
had
been
since
the
days
of
the
dear
old
doll
,
long
buried
in
the
garden
.
CHAPTER
X
.
THE
LAW-WRITER
.
ON
the
eastern
borders
of
Chancery
Lane
,
that
is
to
say
,
more
particularly
,
in
Cook
's
Court
,
Cursitor
Street
,
Mr.
Snagsby
,
Law
Stationer
,
pursues
his
lawful
calling
.
In
the
shade
of
Cook
's
Court
,
at
most
times
a
shady
place
,
Mr.
Snagsby
has
dealt
in
all
sorts
of
blank
forms
of
legal
process
;
in
skins
and
rolls
of
parchment
;
in
paper
—
foolscap
,
brief
,
draft
,
brown
,
white
,
whitey-brown
,
and
blotting
;
in
stamps
;
in
office-quills
,
pens
,
ink
,
India-rubber
,
pounce
,
pins
,
pencils
,
sealing-wax
,
and
wafers
;
in
red
tape
,
and
green
ferret
;
in
pocket-books
,
almanacks
,
diaries
,
and
law
lists
;
in
string
boxes
,
rulers
,
inkstands
—
glass
and
leaden
,
penknives
,
scissors
,
bodkins
,
and
other
small
office-cutlery
;
in
short
,
in
articles
too
numerous
to
mention
;
ever
since
he
was
out
of
his
time
,
and
went
into
partnership
with
Peffer
.
On
that
occasion
,
Cook
's
Court
was
in
a
manner
revolutionised
by
the
new
inscription
in
fresh
paint
,
PEFFER
and
SNAGSBY
,
displacing
the
time-honored
and
not
easily
to
be
deciphered
legend
,
PEFFER
,
only
.
For
smoke
,
which
is
the
London
ivy
,
had
so
wreathed
itself
round
Peffer
's
name
,
and
clung
to
his
dwelling-place
,
that
the
affectionate
parasite
quite
overpowered
the
parent
tree
.
Peffer
is
never
seen
in
Cook
's
Court
now
.
He
is
not
expected
there
,
for
he
has
been
recumbent
this
quarter
of
a
century
in
the
churchyard
of
St.
Andrew
's
,
Holborn
,
with
the
wagons
and
hackney-coaches
roaring
past
him
,
all
the
day
and
half
the
night
,
like
one
great
dragon
.
If
he
ever
steal
forth
when
the
dragon
is
at
rest
,
to
air
himself
again
in
Cook
's
Court
,
until
admonished
to
return
by
the
crowing
of
the
sanguine
cock
in
the
cellar
at
the
little
dairy
in
Cursitor
Street
,
whose
ideas
of
daylight
it
would
be
curious
to
ascertain
,
since
he
knows
from
his
personal
observation
next
to
nothing
about
it
—
if
Peffer
ever
do
revisit
the
pale
glimpses
of
Cook
's
Court
,
which
no
law-stationer
in
the
trade
can
positively
deny
,
he
comes
invisibly
,
and
no
one
is
the
worse
or
wiser
.
In
his
lifetime
,
and
likewise
in
the
period
of
Snagsby
's
“
time
”
of
seven
long
years
,
there
dwelt
with
Peffer
,
in
the
same
law-stationering
premises
,
a
niece
—
a
short
,
shrewd
niece
,
something
too
violently
compressed
about
the
waist
,
and
with
a
sharp
nose
like
a
sharp
autumn
evening
,
inclining
to
be
frosty
towards
the
end
.
The
Cook's-Courtiers
had
a
rumour
flying
among
them
,
that
the
mother
of
this
niece
did
,
in
her
daughter
's
childhood
,
moved
by
too
jealous
a
solicitude
that
her
figure
should
approach
perfection
,
lace
her
up
every
morning
with
her
maternal
foot
against
the
bed-post
for
a
stronger
hold
and
purchase
;
and
further
,
that
she
exhibited
internally
pints
of
vinegar
and
lemon-juice
:
which
acids
,
they
held
,
had
mounted
to
the
nose
and
temper
of
the
patient
.
With
whichsoever
of
the
many
tongues
of
Rumour
this
frothy
report
originated
,
it
either
never
reached
,
or
never
influenced
,
the
cars
of
young
Snagsby
;
who
,
having
wooed
and
won
its
fair
subject
on
his
arrival
at
man
's
estate
,
entered
into
two
partnerships
at
once
.
So
now
,
in
Cook
's
Court
,
Cursitor
Street
,
Mr.
Snagsby
and
the
niece
are
one
;
and
the
niece
still
cherishes
her
figure
—
which
,
however
tastes
may
differ
,
is
unquestionably
so
far
precious
,
that
there
is
mighty
little
of
it
.
Mr.
and
Mrs.
Snagsby
are
not
only
one
bone
and
one
flesh
,
but
,
to
the
neighbours
'
thinking
,
one
voice
too
.
That
voice
,
appearing
to
proceed
from
Mrs.
Snagsby
alone
,
is
heard
in
Cook
's
Court
very
often
.
Mr.
Snagsby
,
otherwise
than
as
he
finds
expression
through
these
dulcet
tones
,
is
rarely
heard
.
He
is
a
mild
,
bald
,
timid
man
,
with
a
shining
head
,
and
a
scrubby
clump
of
black
hair
sticking
out
at
the
back
.
He
tends
to
meekness
and
obesity
.
As
he
stands
at
his
door
in
Cook
's
Court
,
in
his
grey
shop-coat
and
black
calico
sleeves
,
looking
up
at
the
clouds
;
or
stands
behind
a
desk
in
his
dark
shop
,
with
a
heavy
flat
ruler
,
snipping
and
slicing
at
sheepskin
,
in
company
with
his
two
'
Prentices
;
he
is
emphatically
a
retiring
and
unassuming
man
.
From
beneath
his
feet
,
at
such
times
,
as
from
a
shrill
ghost
unquiet
in
its
grave
,
there
frequently
arise
complainings
and
lamentations
in
the
voice
already
mentioned
;
and
,
haply
on
some
occasions
,
when
these
reach
a
sharper
pitch
than
usual
,
Mr.
Snagsby
mentions
to
the
'
Prentices
,
“
I
think
my
little
woman
is
a-giving
it
to
Guster
!
”
This
proper
name
,
so
used
by
Mr.
Snagsby
,
has
before
now
sharpened
the
wit
of
the
Cook's-Courtiers
to
remark
that
it
ought
to
be
the
name
of
Mrs.
Snagsby
;
seeing
that
she
might
with
great
force
and
expression
be
termed
a
Guster
,
in
compliment
to
her
stormy
character
.
It
is
,
however
,
the
possession
,
and
the
only
possession
,
except
fifty
shillings
per
annum
and
a
very
small
box
indifferently
filled
with
clothing
,
of
a
lean
young
woman
from
a
workhouse
(
by
some
supposed
to
have
been
christened
Augusta
)
;
who
,
although
she
was
farmed
or
contracted
for
,
during
her
growing
time
,
by
an
amiable
benefactor
of
his
species
resident
at
Tooting
,
and
cannot
fail
to
have
been
developed
under
the
most
favorable
circumstances
,
“
has
fits
”
—
which
the
parish
ca
n't
account
for
.
Guster
,
really
aged
three
or
four
and
twenty
,
but
looking
a
round
ten
years
older
,
goes
cheap
with
this
unaccountable
drawback
of
fits
;
and
is
so
apprehensive
of
being
returned
on
the
hands
of
her
patron
Saint
,
that
except
when
she
is
found
with
her
head
in
the
pail
,
or
the
sink
,
or
the
copper
,
or
the
dinner
,
or
anything
else
that
happens
to
be
near
her
at
the
time
of
her
seizure
,
she
is
always
at
work
.
She
is
a
satisfaction
to
the
parents
and
guardians
of
the
'
Prentices
,
who
feel
that
there
is
little
danger
of
her
inspiring
tender
emotions
in
the
breast
of
youth
;
she
is
a
satisfaction
to
Mrs.
Snagsby
,
who
can
always
find
fault
with
her
;
she
is
a
satisfaction
to
Mr.
Snagsby
,
who
thinks
it
a
charity
to
keep
her
.
The
Law-stationer
's
establishment
is
,
in
Guster
's
eyes
,
a
Temple
of
plenty
and
splendor
.
She
believes
the
little
drawing-room
up-stairs
,
always
kept
,
as
one
may
say
,
with
its
hair
in
papers
and
its
pinafore
on
,
to
be
the
most
elegant
apartment
in
Christendom
.
The
view
it
commands
of
Cook
's
Court
at
one
end
(
not
to
mention
a
squint
into
Cursitor
Street
)
,
and
of
Coavins
's
the
sheriff
's
officer
's
backyard
at
the
other
,
she
regards
as
a
prospect
of
unequalled
beauty
.
The
portraits
it
displays
in
oil
—
and
plenty
of
it
too
—
of
Mr.
Snagsby
looking
at
Mrs.
Snagsby
,
and
of
Mrs.
Snagsby
looking
at
Mr.
Snagsby
,
are
in
her
eyes
as
achievements
of
Raphael
or
Titian
.
Guster
has
some
recompenses
for
her
many
privations
.
Mr.
Snagsby
refers
everything
not
in
the
practical
mysteries
of
the
business
,
to
Mrs.
Snagsby
.
She
manages
the
money
,
reproaches
the
Tax-gatherers
,
appoints
the
times
and
places
of
devotion
on
Sundays
,
licenses
Mr.
Snagsby
's
entertainments
,
and
acknowledges
no
responsibility
as
to
what
she
thinks
fit
to
provide
for
dinner
;
insomuch
that
she
is
the
high
standard
of
comparison
among
the
neighbouring
wives
,
a
long
way
down
Chancery
Lane
on
both
sides
,
and
even
out
in
Holborn
,
who
,
in
any
domestic
passages
of
arms
,
habitually
call
upon
their
husbands
to
look
at
the
difference
between
their
(
the
wives
'
)
position
and
Mrs.
Snagsby
's
,
and
their
(
the
husbands
'
)
behaviour
and
Mr.
Snagsby
's
.
Rumour
,
always
flying
,
bat-like
,
about
Cook
's
Court
,
and
skimming
in
and
out
at
everybody
's
windows
,
does
say
that
Mrs.
Snagsby
is
jealous
and
inquisitive
;
and
that
Mr.
Snagsby
is
sometimes
worried
out
of
house
and
home
,
and
that
if
he
had
the
spirit
of
a
mouse
he
would
n't
stand
it
.
It
is
even
observed
,
that
the
wives
who
quote
him
to
their
self-willed
husbands
as
a
shining
example
,
in
reality
look
down
upon
him
;
and
that
nobody
does
so
with
greater
superciliousness
than
one
particular
lady
,
whose
lord
is
more
than
suspected
of
laying
his
umbrella
on
her
as
an
instrument
of
correction
.
But
these
vague
whisperings
may
arise
from
Mr.
Snagsby
's
being
,
in
his
way
,
rather
a
meditative
and
poetical
man
;
loving
to
walk
in
Staple
Inn
in
the
summer
time
,
and
to
observe
how
countrified
the
sparrows
and
the
leaves
are
;
also
to
lounge
about
the
Rolls
Yard
of
a
Sunday
afternoon
,
and
to
remark
(
if
in
good
spirits
)
that
there
were
old
times
once
,
and
that
you
'd
find
a
stone
coffin
or
two
,
now
,
under
that
chapel
,
he
'll
be
bound
,
if
you
was
to
dig
for
it
.
He
solaces
his
imagination
,
too
,
by
thinking
of
the
many
Chancellors
and
Vices
,
and
Masters
of
the
Rolls
,
who
are
deceased
;
and
he
gets
such
a
flavor
of
the
country
out
of
telling
the
two
'
Prentices
how
he
has
heard
say
that
a
brook
“
as
clear
as
crystial
”
once
ran
right
down
the
middle
of
Holborn
,
when
Turnstile
really
was
a
turnstile
leading
slap
away
into
the
meadows
—
gets
such
a
flavor
of
the
country
out
of
this
,
that
he
never
wants
to
go
there
.
The
day
is
closing
in
and
the
gas
is
lighted
,
but
is
not
yet
fully
effective
,
for
it
is
not
quite
dark
.
Mr.
Snagsby
standing
at
his
shop-door
looking
up
at
the
clouds
,
sees
a
crow
,
who
is
out
late
,
skim
westward
over
the
leaden
slice
of
sky
belonging
to
Cook
's
Court
.
The
crow
flies
straight
across
Chancery
Lane
and
Lincoln
's
Inn
Garden
,
into
Lincoln
's
Inn
Fields
.
Here
,
in
a
large
house
,
formerly
a
house
of
state
,
lives
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
.
It
is
let
off
in
sets
of
chambers
now
;
and
in
those
shrunken
fragments
of
its
greatness
,
lawyers
lie
like
maggots
in
nuts
.
But
its
roomy
staircases
,
passages
,
and
antechambers
,
still
remain
;
and
even
its
painted
ceilings
,
where
Allegory
,
in
Roman
helmet
and
celestial
linen
,
sprawls
among
balustrades
and
pillars
,
flowers
,
clouds
,
and
big-legged
boys
,
and
makes
the
head
ache
—
as
would
seem
to
be
Allegory
's
object
always
,
more
or
less
.
Here
,
among
his
many
boxes
labelled
with
transcendant
names
,
lives
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
,
when
not
speechlessly
at
home
in
country-houses
where
the
great
ones
of
the
earth
are
bored
to
death
.
Here
he
is
to-day
,
quiet
at
his
table
.
An
Oyster
of
the
old
school
,
whom
nobody
can
open
.
Like
as
he
is
to
look
at
,
so
is
his
apartment
in
the
dusk
of
the
present
afternoon
.
Rusty
,
out
of
date
,
withdrawing
from
attention
,
able
to
afford
it
.
Heavy
broad-backed
old-fashioned
mahogany
and
horse-hair
chairs
,
not
easily
lifted
,
obsolete
tables
with
spindle-legs
and
dusty
baize
covers
,
presentation
prints
of
the
holders
of
great
titles
in
the
last
generation
,
or
the
last
but
one
,
environ
him
.
A
thick
and
dingy
Turkey-carpet
muffles
the
floor
where
he
sits
,
attended
by
two
candles
in
old-fashioned
silver
candlesticks
,
that
give
a
very
insufficient
light
to
his
large
room
.
The
titles
on
the
backs
of
his
books
have
retired
into
the
binding
;
everything
that
can
have
a
lock
has
got
one
;
no
key
is
visible
.
Very
few
loose
papers
are
about
.
He
has
some
manuscript
near
him
,
but
is
not
referring
to
it
.
With
the
round
top
of
an
inkstand
,
and
two
broken
bits
of
sealing-wax
,
he
is
silently
and
slowly
working
out
whatever
train
of
indecision
is
in
his
mind
.
Now
,
the
inkstand
top
is
in
the
middle
:
now
,
the
red
bit-of
sealing-wax
,
now
the
black
bit
.
That
's
not
it
.
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
must
gather
them
all
up
,
and
begin
again
.
Here
,
beneath
the
painted
ceiling
,
with
foreshortened
Allegory
staring
down
at
his
intrusion
as
if
it
meant
to
swoop
upon
him
,
and
he
cutting
it
dead
,
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
has
at
once
his
house
and
office
.
He
keeps
no
staff
;
only
one
middle-aged
man
,
usually
a
little
out
at
elbows
,
who
sits
in
a
high
Pew
in
the
hall
,
and
is
rarely
overburdened
with
business
.
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
is
not
in
a
common
way
.
He
wants
no
clerks
.
He
is
a
great
reservoir
of
confidences
,
not
to
be
so
tapped
.
His
clients
want
him
;
he
is
all
in
all
.
Drafts
that
he
requires
to
be
drawn
,
are
drawn
by
special-pleaders
in
the
Temple
on
mysterious
instructions
;
fair
copies
that
he
requires
to
be
made
,
are
made
at
the
stationer
's
,
expense
being
no
consideration
.
The
middle-aged
man
in
the
Pew
,
knows
scarcely
more
of
the
affairs
of
the
Peerage
,
than
any
crossing-sweeper
in
Holborn
.
The
red
bit
,
the
black
bit
,
the
inkstand
top
,
the
other
inkstand
top
,
the
little
sand-box
.
So
!
You
to
the
middle
,
you
to
the
right
,
you
to
the
left
.
This
train
of
indecision
must
surely
be
worked
out
now
or
never
.
—
Now
!
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
gets
up
,
adjusts
his
spectacles
,
puts
on
his
hat
,
puts
the
manuscript
in
his
pocket
,
goes
out
,
tells
the
middle-aged
man
out
at
elbows
,
“
I
shall
be
back
presently
.
”
Very
rarely
tells
him
anything
more
explicit
.
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
goes
,
as
the
crow
came
—
not
quite
so
straight
,
but
nearly
—
to
Cook
's
Court
,
Cursitor
Street
.
To
Snagsby
's
,
Law
Stationer
's
,
Deeds
engrossed
and
copied
,
Law-Writing
executed
in
all
its
branches
,
etc.
,
etc.
,
etc.
It
is
somewhere
about
five
or
six
o'clock
in
the
afternoon
,
and
a
balmy
fragrance
of
warm
tea
hovers
in
Cook
's
Court
.
It
hovers
about
Snagsby
's
door
.
The
hours
are
early
there
;
dinner
at
half-past
one
,
and
supper
at
half-past
nine
.
Mr.
Snagsby
was
about
to
descend
into
the
subterranean
regions
to
take
tea
,
when
he
looked
out
of
his
door
just
now
,
and
saw
the
crow
who
was
out
late
.
“
Master
at
home
?
”
Guster
is
minding
the
shop
,
for
the
'
Prentices
take
tea
in
the
kitchen
,
with
Mr.
and
Mrs.
Snagsby
;
consequently
,
the
robe-maker
's
two
daughters
,
combing
their
curls
at
the
two
glasses
in
the
two
second-floor
windows
of
the
opposite
house
,
are
not
driving
the
two
'
Prentices
to
distraction
,
as
they
fondly
suppose
,
but
are
merely
awakening
the
unprofitable
admiration
of
Guster
,
whose
hair
wo
n't
grow
,
and
never
would
,
and
,
it
is
confidently
thought
,
never
will
.
“
Master
at
home
?
”
says
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
.
Master
is
at
home
,
and
Guster
will
fetch
him
.
Guster
disappears
,
glad
to
get
out
of
the
shop
,
which
she
regards
with
mingled
dread
and
veneration
,
as
a
storehouse
of
awful
implements
of
the
great
torture
of
the
law
:
a
place
not
to
be
entered
after
the
gas
is
turned
off
.
Mr.
Snagsby
appears
:
greasy
,
warm
,
herbaceous
,
and
chewing
.
Bolts
a
bit
of
bread
and
butter
.
Says
,
“
Bless
my
soul
,
sir
!
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
!
”
“
I
want
half
a
word
with
you
,
Snagsby
.
”
“
Certainly
,
sir
!
Dear
me
,
sir
,
why
did
n't
you
send
your
young
man
round
for
me
?
Pray
walk
into
the
back
shop
,
sir
.
”
Snagsby
has
brightened
in
a
moment
.
The
confined
room
,
strong
of
parchment-grease
,
is
warehouse
,
counting-house
,
and
copying-office
.
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
sits
,
facing
round
,
on
a
stool
at
the
desk
.
“
Jarndyce
and
Jarndyce
,
Snagsby
.
”
“
Yes
,
sir
.
”
Mr.
Snagsby
turns
up
the
gas
,
and
coughs
behind
his
hand
,
modestly
anticipating
profit
.
Mr.
Snagsby
,
as
a
timid
man
,
is
accustomed
to
cough
with
a
variety
of
expressions
,
and
so
to
save
words
.
“
You
copied
some
affidavits
in
that
cause
for
me
lately
.
”
“
Yes
,
sir
,
we
did
.
”
“
There
was
one
of
them
,
”
says
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
,
carelessly
feeling
—
tight
,
unopenable
Oyster
of
the
old
school
!
—
in
the
wrong
coat-pocket
,
“
the
handwriting
of
which
is
peculiar
,
and
I
rather
like
.
As
I
happened
to
be
passing
,
and
thought
I
had
it
about
me
,
I
looked
in
to
ask
you
—
but
I
have
n't
got
it
.
No
matter
,
any
other
time
will
do
—
Ah
!
here
it
is
!
—
I
looked
in
to
ask
you
who
copied
this
?
”
“
Who
copied
this
,
sir
?
”
says
Mr.
Snagsby
,
taking
it
,
laying
it
flat
on
the
desk
,
and
separating
all
the
sheets
at
once
with
a
twirl
and
a
twist
of
the
left
hand
peculiar
to
law-stationers
.
“
We
gave
this
out
,
sir
.
We
were
giving
out
rather
a
large
quantity
of
work
just
at
that
time
.
I
can
tell
you
in
a
moment
who
copied
it
,
sir
,
by
referring
to
my
Book
.
”
Mr.
Snagsby
takes
his
Book
down
from
the
safe
,
makes
another
bolt
of
the
bit
of
bread
and
butter
which
seems
to
have
stopped
short
,
eyes
the
affidavit
aside
,
and
brings
his
right
forefinger
travelling
down
a
page
of
the
Book
.
“
Jewby
—
Packer
—
Jarndyce
.
”
“
Jarndyce
!
Here
we
are
,
sir
,
”
says
Mr.
Snagsby
.
“
To
be
sure
!
I
might
have
remembered
it
.
This
was
given
out
,
sir
,
to
a
Writer
who
lodges
just
over
on
the
opposite
side
of
the
lane
.
”
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
has
seen
the
entry
,
found
it
before
the
Law-stationer
,
read
it
while
the
forefinger
was
coming
down
the
hill
.
“
What
do
you
call
him
?
Nemo
?
”
says
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
.
“
Nemo
,
sir
.
Here
it
is
.
Forty-two
folio
.
Given
out
on
the
Wednesday
night
,
at
eight
o'clock
;
brought
in
on
the
Thursday
morning
,
at
half
after
nine
.
”
“
Nemo
!
”
repeats
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
.
“
Nemo
is
Latin
for
no
one
.
”
“
It
must
be
English
for
some
one
,
sir
,
I
think
,
”
Mr.
Snagsby
submits
,
with
his
deferential
cough
.
“
It
is
a
person
's
name
.
Here
it
is
,
you
see
,
sir
!
Forty-two
folio
.
Given
out
,
Wednesday
night
,
eight
o'clock
;
brought
in
,
Thursday
morning
,
half
after
nine
.
”
The
tail
of
Mr.
Snagsby
's
eye
becomes
conscious
of
the
head
of
Mrs.
Snagsby
looking
in
at
the
shop-door
to
know
what
he
means
by
deserting
his
tea
.
Mr.
Snagsby
addresses
an
explanatory
cough
to
Mrs.
Snagsby
,
as
who
should
say
,
“
My
dear
,
a
customer
!
”
“
Half
after
nine
,
sir
,
”
repeats
Mr.
Snagsby
.
“
Our
law-writers
,
who
live
by
job-work
,
are
a
queer
lot
;
and
this
may
not
be
his
name
,
but
it
's
the
name
he
goes
by
.
I
remember
now
,
sir
,
that
he
gives
it
in
a
written
advertisement
he
sticks
up
down
at
the
Rule
Office
,
and
the
King
's
Bench
Office
,
and
the
Judges
'
Chambers
,
and
so
forth
.
You
know
the
kind
or
document
,
sir
—
wanting
employ
?
”
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
glances
through
the
little
window
at
the
back
of
Coavins
's
,
the
sheriff
's
officer
's
,
where
lights
shine
in
Coavins
's
windows
.
Coavins
's
coffee-room
is
at
the
back
,
and
the
shadows
of
several
gentlemen
under
a
cloud
loom
cloudily
upon
the
blinds
.
Mr.
Snagsby
takes
the
opportunity
of
slightly
turning
his
head
,
to
glance
over
his
shoulder
at
his
little
woman
,
and
to
make
apologetic
motions
with
his
mouth
to
this
effect
:
“
Tul-king-horn
—
rich
—
in-flu-en-tial
!
”
“
Have
you
given
this
man
work
before
?
”
asks
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
.
“
O
dear
,
yes
,
sir
!
Work
of
yours
.
”
“
Thinking
of
more
important
matters
,
I
forget
where
you
said
he
lived
!
”
“
Across
the
lane
,
sir
.
In
fact
,
he
lodges
at
a
—
”
Mr.
Snagsby
makes
another
bolt
,
as
if
the
bit
of
bread
and
butter
were
insurmountable
—
“
at
a
Rag
and
Bottle
shop
.
”
“
Can
you
show
me
the
place
as
I
go
back
?
”
“
With
the
greatest
pleasure
,
sir
!
”
Mr.
Snagsby
pulls
off
his
sleeves
and
his
grey
coat
,
pulls
on
his
black
coat
,
takes
his
hat
from
its
peg
.
“
Oh
!
here
is
my
little
woman
!
”
he
says
aloud
.
“
My
dear
,
will
you
be
so
kind
as
to
tell
one
of
the
lads
to
look
after
the
shop
,
while
I
step
across
the
lane
with
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
?
Mrs.
Snagsby
,
sir
—
I
sha
n't
be
two
minutes
,
my
love
!
”
Mrs.
Snagsby
bends
to
the
lawyer
,
retires
behind
the
counter
,
peeps
at
them
through
the
window-blind
,
goes
softly
into
the
back
office
,
refers
to
the
entries
in
the
book
still
lying
open
.
Is
evidently
curious
.
“
You
will
find
that
the
place
is
rough
,
sir
,
”
says
Mr.
Snagsby
,
walking
deferentially
in
the
road
,
and
leaving
the
narrow
pavement
to
the
lawyer
;
“
and
the
party
is
very
rough
.
But
they
're
a
wild
lot
in
general
,
sir
.
The
advantage
of
this
particular
man
is
,
that
he
never
wants
sleep
.
He
'll
go
at
it
right
on
end
,
if
you
want
him
to
,
as
long
as
ever
you
like
.
”
It
is
quite
dark
now
,
and
the
gas-lamps
have
acquired
their
full
effect
.
Jostling
against
clerks
going
to
post
the
day
's
letters
,
and
against
counsel
and
attornies
going
home
to
dinner
,
and
against
plaintiffs
and
defendants
,
and
suitors
of
all
sorts
,
and
against
the
general
crowd
,
in
whose
way
the
forensic
wisdom
of
ages
has
interposed
a
million
of
obstacles
to
the
transaction
of
the
commonest
business
of
life
—
diving
through
law
and
equity
,
and
through
that
kindred
mystery
,
the
street
mud
,
which
is
made
or
nobody
knows
what
,
and
collects
about
us
nobody
knows
whence
or
how
:
we
only
knowing
in
general
that
when
there
is
too
much
of
it
,
we
find
it
necessary
to
shovel
it
away
—
the
lawyer
and
the
law-stationer
come
to
a
Rag
and
Bottle
shop
,
and
general
emporium
of
much
disregarded
merchandise
,
lying
and
being
in
the
shadow
of
the
wall
of
Lincoln
's
Inn
,
and
kept
,
as
is
announced
in
paint
,
to
all
whom
it
may
concern
,
by
one
Krook
.
“
This
is
where
he
lives
,
sir
,
”
says
the
law-stationer
.
“
This
is
where
he
lives
,
is
it
?
”
says
the
lawyer
unconcernedly
.
“
Thank
you
.
”
“
Are
you
not
going
in
,
sir
?
”
“
No
,
thank
you
,
no
;
I
am
going
on
to
the
Fields
at
present
.
Good
evening
.
Thank
you
!
”
Mr.
Snagsby
lifts
his
hat
,
and
returns
to
his
little
woman
and
his
tea
.
But
,
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
does
not
go
on
to
the
Fields
at
present
.
He
goes
a
short
way
,
turns
back
,
comes
again
to
the
shop
of
Mr.
Krook
,
and
enters
it
straight
.
It
is
dim
enough
,
with
a
blot-headed
candle
or
so
in
the
windows
,
and
an
old
man
and
a
cat
sitting
in
the
back
part
by
a
fire
.
The
old
man
rises
and
comes
forward
,
with
another
blot-headed
candle
in
his
hand
.
“
Pray
,
is
your
lodger
within
?
”
“
Male
or
female
,
sir
?
”
says
Mr.
Krook
.
“
Male
.
The
person
who
does
copying
.
”
Mr.
Krook
has
eyed
his
man
narrowly
.
Knows
him
by
sight
.
has
an
indistinct
impression
of
his
aristocratic
repute
.
“
Did
you
wish
to
see
him
,
sir
?
”
“
Yes
.
”
“
It
's
what
I
seldom
do
myself
,
”
says
Mr.
Krook
with
a
grin
.
“
Shall
I
call
him
down
?
But
it
's
a
weak
chance
if
he
'd
come
,
sir
!
”
“
I
'll
go
up
to
him
,
then
,
”
says
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
.
“
Second
floor
,
sir
.
Take
the
candle
.
Up
there
!
”
Mr.
Krook
,
with
his
cat
beside
him
,
stands
at
the
bottom
of
the
staircase
,
looking
after
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
.
“
Hi
—
hi
!
”
he
says
,
when
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
has
nearly
disappeared
.
The
lawyer
looks
down
over
the
hand-rail
.
The
cat
expands
her
wicked
mouth
,
and
snarls
at
him
.
“
Order
,
Lady
Jane
!
Behave
yourself
to
visitors
,
my
lady
!
You
know
what
they
say
of
my
lodger
?
”
whispers
Krook
,
going
up
a
step
or
two
.
“
What
do
they
say
of
him
?
”
“
They
say
he
has
sold
himself
to
the
Enemy
;
but
you
and
I
know
better
—
he
do
n't
buy
.
I
'll
tell
you
what
,
though
;
my
lodger
is
so
black-humoured
and
gloomy
,
that
I
believe
he
'd
as
soon
make
that
bargain
as
any
other
.
Do
n't
put
him
out
,
sir
.
That
's
my
advice
!
”
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
with
a
nod
goes
on
his
way
.
He
comes
to
the
dark
door
on
the
second
floor
.
He
knocks
,
receives
no
answer
,
opens
it
,
and
accidentally
extinguishes
his
candle
in
doing
so
.
The
air
of
the
room
is
almost
bad
enough
to
have
extinguished
it
,
if
he
had
not
.
It
is
a
small
room
,
nearly
black
with
soot
,
and
grease
,
and
dirt
.
In
the
rusty
skeleton
of
a
grate
,
pinched
at
the
middle
as
if
Poverty
had
gripped
it
,
a
red
coke
fire
burns
low
.
In
the
corner
by
the
chimney
,
stand
a
deal
table
and
a
broken
desk
:
a
wilderness
marked
with
a
rain
of
ink
.
In
another
corner
,
a
ragged
old
portmanteau
on
one
of
the
two
chairs
,
serves
for
cabinet
or
wardrobe
;
no
larger
one
is
needed
,
for
it
collapses
like
the
cheeks
of
a
starved
man
.
The
floor
is
bare
;
except
that
one
old
mat
,
trodden
to
shreds
of
rope-yarn
,
lies
perishing
upon
the
hearth
.
No
curtain
veils
the
darkness
of
the
night
,
but
the
discolored
shutters
are
drawn
together
;
and
through
the
two
gaunt
holes
pierced
in
them
,
famine
might
be
staring
in
—
the
Banshee
of
the
man
upon
the
bed
.
For
,
on
a
low
bed
opposite
the
fire
,
a
confusion
of
dirty
patchwork
,
lean-ribbed
ticking
,
and
coarse
sacking
,
the
lawyer
,
hesitating
just
within
the
doorway
,
sees
a
man
.
He
lies
there
,
dressed
in
shirt
and
trousers
,
with
bare
feet
.
He
has
a
yellow
look
,
in
the
spectral
darkness
of
a
candle
that
has
guttered
down
,
until
the
whole
length
of
its
wick
(
still
burning
)
has
doubled
over
,
and
left
a
tower
of
winding-sheet
above
it
.
His
hair
is
ragged
,
mingling
with
his
whiskers
and
his
beard
—
the
latter
,
ragged
too
,
and
grown
,
like
the
scum
and
mist
around
him
,
in
neglect
.
Foul
and
filthy
as
the
room
is
,
foul
and
filthy
as
the
air
,
it
is
not
easy
to
perceive
what
fumes
those
are
which
most
oppress
the
senses
in
it
;
but
through
the
general
sickliness
and
faintness
,
and
the
odor
of
stale
tobacco
,
there
comes
into
the
lawyer
's
mouth
the
bitter
,
vapid
taste
of
opium
.
“
Hallo
,
my
friend
!
”
he
cries
,
and
strikes
his
iron
candlestick
against
the
door
.
He
thinks
he
has
awakened
his
friend
.
He
lies
a
little
turned
away
,
but
his
eyes
are
surely
open
.
“
Hallo
,
my
friend
!
”
he
cries
again
.
“
Hallo
!
Hallo
!
”
As
he
rattles
on
the
door
,
the
candle
which
has
drooped
so
long
,
goes
out
,
and
leaves
him
in
the
dark
;
with
the
gaunt
eyes
in
the
shutters
staring
down
upon
the
bed
.
CHAPTER
XI
.
OUR
DEAR
BROTHER
.
A
TOUCH
on
the
lawyer
's
wrinkled
hand
,
as
he
stands
in
the
dark
room
,
irresolute
,
makes
him
start
and
say
“
What
's
that
?
”
“
It
's
me
,
”
returns
the
old
man
of
the
house
,
whose
breath
is
in
his
ear
.
“
Ca
n't
you
wake
him
?
”
“
No.
”
“
What
have
you
done
with
your
candle
?
”
“
It
's
gone
out
.
Here
it
is
.
”
Krook
takes
it
,
goes
to
the
fire
,
stoops
over
the
red
embers
,
and
tries
to
get
a
light
.
The
dying
ashes
have
no
light
to
spare
,
and
his
endeavours
are
vain
.
Muttering
,
after
an
ineffectual
call
to
his
lodger
,
that
he
will
go
down
stairs
and
bring
a
lighted
candle
from
the
shop
,
the
old
man
departs
.
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
,
for
some
new
reason
that
he
has
,
does
not
await
his
return
in
the
room
,
but
on
the
stairs
outside
.
The
welcome
light
soon
shines
upon
the
wall
,
as
Krook
comes
slowly
up
,
with
his
green-eyed
cat
following
at
his
heels
.
“
Does
the
man
generally
sleep
like
this
?
”
inquires
the
lawyer
,
in
a
low
voice
.
“
Hi
!
I
do
n't
know
,
”
says
Krook
,
shaking
his
head
and
lifting
his
eyebrows
.
“
I
know
next
to
nothing
of
his
habits
,
except
that
he
keeps
himself
very
close
.
”
Thus
whispering
,
they
both
go
in
together
.
As
the
light
goes
in
,
the
great
eyes
in
the
shutters
,
darkening
,
seem
to
close
.
Not
so
the
eyes
upon
the
bed
.
“
God
save
us
!
”
exclaims
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
.
“
He
is
dead
!
”
Krook
drops
the
heavy
hand
he
has
taken
up
,
so
suddenly
that
the
arm
swings
over
the
bedside
.
They
look
at
one
another
for
a
moment
.
“
Send
for
some
doctor
!
Call
for
Miss
Flite
up
the
stairs
,
sir
.
Here
's
poison
by
the
bed
!
Call
out
for
Flite
,
will
you
?
”
says
Krook
,
with
his
lean
hands
spread
out
above
the
body
like
a
vampire
's
wings
.
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
hurries
to
the
landing
,
and
calls
“
Miss
Flite
!
Flite
!
Make
haste
,
here
,
whoever
you
are
!
Flite
!
”
Krook
follows
him
with
his
eyes
,
and
,
while
he
is
calling
,
finds
opportunity
to
steal
to
the
old
portmanteau
,
and
steal
back
again
.
“
Run
,
Flite
,
run
!
The
nearest
doctor
!
Run
!
”
So
Mr.
Krook
addresses
a
crazy
little
woman
,
who
is
his
female
lodger
:
who
appears
and
vanishes
in
a
breath
:
who
soon
returns
,
accompanied
by
a
testy
medical
man
,
brought
from
his
dinner
—
with
a
broad
snuffy
upper
lip
,
and
a
broad
Scotch
tongue
.
“
Ey
!
Bless
the
hearts
o
'
ye
,
”
says
the
medical
man
,
looking
up
at
them
after
a
moment
's
examination
.
“
He
's
just
as
dead
as
Phairy
!
”
Mr.
Tulkinghorn
(
standing
by
the
old
portmanteau
)
inquires
if
he
has
been
dead
any
time
?
“
Any
time
,
sir
?
”
says
the
medical
gentleman
.
“
It
's
probable
he
wull
have
been
dead
aboot
three
hours
.
”
“
About
that
time
,
I
should
say
,
”
observes
a
dark
young
man
,
on
the
other
side
of
the
bed
.
“
Air
you
in
the
maydickle
prayfession
yourself
,
sir
?
”
inquires
the
first
.
The
dark
young
man
says
yes
.
“
Then
I
'll
just
tak
'
my
depairture
,
”
replies
the
other
;
“
for
I
'm
nae
gude
here
!
”
With
which
remark
,
he
finishes
his
brief
attendance
,
and
returns
to
finish
his
dinner
.
The
dark
young
surgeon
passes
the
candle
across
and
across
the
face
,
and
carefully
examines
the
law-writer
,
who
has
established
his
pretensions
to
his
name
by
becoming
indeed
No
one
.
“
I
knew
this
person
by
sight
,
very
well
,
”
says
he
.
“
He
has
purchased
opium
of
me
,
for
