himwhen
you
woke.’
‘What
a
beaming
face
you
have
,
Jane
!
’
said
Louisa
,
as
her
young
sister
—
timidly
still
—
bent
down
to
kiss
her
.
‘Have
I
?
I
am
very
glad
you
think
so
.
I
am
sure
it
must
be
Sissy’s
doing.’
The
arm
Louisa
had
begun
to
twine
around
her
neck
,
unbent
itself
.
‘You
can
tell
father
if
you
will.’
Then
,
staying
her
for
a
moment
,
she
said
,
‘It
was
you
who
made
my
room
so
cheerful
,
and
gave
it
this
look
of
welcome
?
’
‘Oh
no
,
Louisa
,
it
was
done
before
I
came
.
It
was
—
’
Louisa
turned
upon
her
pillow
,
and
heard
no
more
.
When
her
sister
had
withdrawn
,
she
turned
her
head
back
again
,
and
lay
with
her
face
towards
the
door
,
until
it
opened
and
her
father
entered
.
He
had
a
jaded
anxious
look
upon
him
,
and
his
hand
,
usually
steady
,
trembled
in
hers
.
He
sat
down
at
the
side
of
the
bed
,
tenderly
asking
how
she
was
,
and
dwelling
on
the
necessity
of
her
keeping
very
quiet
after
her
agitation
and
exposure
to
the
weather
last
night
.
He
spoke
in
a
subdued
and
troubled
voice
,
very
different
from
his
usual
dictatorial
manner
;
and
was
often
at
a
loss
for
words
.
‘My
dear
Louisa
.
My
poor
daughter.’
He
was
so
much
at
a
loss
at
that
place
,
that
he
stopped
altogether
.
He
tried
again
.
‘My
unfortunate
child.’
The
place
was
so
difficult
to
get
over
,
that
he
tried
again
.
‘It
would
be
hopeless
for
me
,
Louisa
,
to
endeavour
to
tell
you
how
overwhelmed
I
have
been
,
and
still
am
,
by
what
broke
upon
me
last
night
.
The
ground
on
which
I
stand
has
ceased
to
be
solid
under
my
feet
.
The
only
support
on
which
I
leaned
,
and
the
strength
of
which
it
seemed
,
and
still
does
seem
,
impossible
to
question
,
has
given
way
in
an
instant
.
I
am
stunned
by
these
discoveries
.
I
have
no
selfish
meaning
in
what
I
say
;
but
I
find
the
shock
of
what
broke
upon
me
last
night
,
to
be
very
heavy
indeed.’
She
could
give
him
no
comfort
herein
.
She
had
suffered
the
wreck
of
her
whole
life
upon
the
rock
.
‘I
will
not
say
,
Louisa
,
that
if
you
had
by
any
happy
chance
undeceived
me
some
time
ago
,
it
would
have
been
better
for
us
both
;
better
for
your
peace
,
and
better
for
mine
.
For
I
am
sensible
that
it
may
not
have
been
a
part
of
my
system
to
invite
any
confidence
of
that
kind
.
I
had
proved
my
—
my
system
to
myself
,
and
I
have
rigidly
administered
it
;
and
I
must
bear
the
responsibility
of
its
failures
.
I
only
entreat
you
to
believe
,
my
favourite
child
,
that
I
have
meant
to
do
right.’
He
said
it
earnestly
,
and
to
do
him
justice
he
had
.
In
gauging
fathomless
deeps
with
his
little
mean
excise-rod
,
and
in
staggering
over
the
universe
with
his
rusty
stiff-legged
compasses
,
he
had
meant
to
do
great
things
.
Within
the
limits
of
his
short
tether
he
had
tumbled
about
,
annihilating
the
flowers
of
existence
with
greater
singleness
of
purpose
than
many
of
the
blatant
personages
whose
company
he
kept
.
‘I
am
well
assured
of
what
you
say
,
father
.
I
know
I
have
been
your
favourite
child
.
I
know
you
have
intended
to
make
me
happy
.
I
have
never
blamed
you
,
and
I
never
shall.’
He
took
her
outstretched
hand
,
and
retained
it
in
his
.
‘My
dear
,
I
have
remained
all
night
at
my
table
,
pondering
again
and
again
on
what
has
so
painfully
passed
between
us
.
When
I
consider
your
character
;
when
I
consider
that
what
has
been
known
to
me
for
hours
,
has
been
concealed
by
you
for
years
;
when
I
consider
under
what
immediate
pressure
it
has
been
forced
from
you
at
last
;
I
come
to
the
conclusion
that
I
cannot
but
mistrust
myself.’
He
might
have
added
more
than
all
,
when
he
saw
the
face
now
looking
at
him
.
He
did
add
it
in
effect
,
perhaps
,
as
he
softly
moved
her
scattered
hair
from
her
forehead
with
his
hand
.
Such
little
actions
,
slight
in
another
man
,
were
very
noticeable
in
him
;
and
his
daughter
received
them
as
if
they
had
been
words
of
contrition
.
‘But
,
’
said
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
slowly
,
and
with
hesitation
,
as
well
as
with
a
wretched
sense
of
happiness
,
‘if
I
see
reason
to
mistrust
myself
for
the
past
,
Louisa
,
I
should
also
mistrust
myself
for
the
present
and
the
future
.
To
speak
unreservedly
to
you
,
I
do
.
I
am
far
from
feeling
convinced
now
,
however
differently
I
might
have
felt
only
this
time
yesterday
,
that
I
am
fit
for
the
trust
you
repose
in
me
;
that
I
know
how
to
respond
to
the
appeal
you
have
come
home
to
make
to
me
;
that
I
have
the
right
instinct
—
supposing
it
for
the
moment
to
be
some
quality
of
that
nature
—
how
to
help
you
,
and
to
set
you
right
,
my
child.’
She
had
turned
upon
her
pillow
,
and
lay
with
her
face
upon
her
arm
,
so
that
he
could
not
see
it
.
All
her
wildness
and
passion
had
subsided
;
but
,
though
softened
,
she
was
not
in
tears
.
Her
father
was
changed
in
nothing
so
much
as
in
the
respect
that
he
would
have
been
glad
to
see
her
in
tears
.
‘Some
persons
hold
,
’
he
pursued
,
still
hesitating
,
‘that
there
is
a
wisdom
of
the
Head
,
and
that
there
is
a
wisdom
of
the
Heart
.
I
have
not
supposed
so
;
but
,
as
I
have
said
,
I
mistrust
myself
now
.
I
have
supposed
the
head
to
be
all-sufficient
.
It
may
not
be
all-sufficient
;
how
can
I
venture
this
morning
to
say
it
is
!
If
that
other
kind
of
wisdom
should
be
what
I
have
neglected
,
and
should
be
the
instinct
that
is
wanted
,
Louisa
—
’
He
suggested
it
very
doubtfully
,
as
if
he
were
half
unwilling
to
admit
it
even
now
.
She
made
him
no
answer
,
lying
before
him
on
her
bed
,
still
half-dressed
,
much
as
he
had
seen
her
lying
on
the
floor
of
his
room
last
night
.
‘Louisa
,
’
and
his
hand
rested
on
her
hair
again
,
‘I
have
been
absent
from
here
,
my
dear
,
a
good
deal
of
late
;
and
though
your
sister’s
training
has
been
pursued
according
to
—
the
system
,
’
he
appeared
to
come
to
that
word
with
great
reluctance
always
,
‘it
has
necessarily
been
modified
by
daily
associations
begun
,
in
her
case
,
at
an
early
age
.
I
ask
you
—
ignorantly
and
humbly
,
my
daughter
—
for
the
better
,
do
you
think
?
’
‘Father
,
’
she
replied
,
without
stirring
,
‘if
any
harmony
has
been
awakened
in
her
young
breast
that
was
mute
in
mine
until
it
turned
to
discord
,
let
her
thank
Heaven
for
it
,
and
go
upon
her
happier
way
,
taking
it
as
her
greatest
blessing
that
she
has
avoided
my
way.’
‘O
my
child
,
my
child
!
’
he
said
,
in
a
forlorn
manner
,
‘I
am
an
unhappy
man
to
see
you
thus
!
What
avails
it
to
me
that
you
do
not
reproach
me
,
if
I
so
bitterly
reproach
myself
!
’
He
bent
his
head
,
and
spoke
low
to
her
.
‘Louisa
,
I
have
a
misgiving
that
some
change
may
have
been
slowly
working
about
me
in
this
house
,
by
mere
love
and
gratitude
:
that
what
the
Head
had
left
undone
and
could
not
do
,
the
Heart
may
have
been
doing
silently
.
Can
it
be
so
?
’
She
made
him
no
reply
.
‘I
am
not
too
proud
to
believe
it
,
Louisa
.
How
could
I
be
arrogant
,
and
you
before
me
!
Can
it
be
so
?
Is
it
so
,
my
dear
?
’
He
looked
upon
her
once
more
,
lying
cast
away
there
;
and
without
another
word
went
out
of
the
room
.
He
had
not
been
long
gone
,
when
she
heard
a
light
tread
near
the
door
,
and
knew
that
some
one
stood
beside
her
.
She
did
not
raise
her
head
.
A
dull
anger
that
she
should
be
seen
in
her
distress
,
and
that
the
involuntary
look
she
had
so
resented
should
come
to
this
fulfilment
,
smouldered
within
her
like
an
unwholesome
fire
.
All
closely
imprisoned
forces
rend
and
destroy
.
The
air
that
would
be
healthful
to
the
earth
,
the
water
that
would
enrich
it
,
the
heat
that
would
ripen
it
,
tear
it
when
caged
up
.
So
in
her
bosom
even
now
;
the
strongest
qualities
she
possessed
,
long
turned
upon
themselves
,
became
a
heap
of
obduracy
,
that
rose
against
a
friend
.
It
was
well
that
soft
touch
came
upon
her
neck
,
and
that
she
understood
herself
to
be
supposed
to
have
fallen
asleep
.
The
sympathetic
hand
did
not
claim
her
resentment
.
Let
it
lie
there
,
let
it
lie
.
It
lay
there
,
warming
into
life
a
crowd
of
gentler
thoughts
;
and
she
rested
.
As
she
softened
with
the
quiet
,
and
the
consciousness
of
being
so
watched
,
some
tears
made
their
way
into
her
eyes
.
The
face
touched
hers
,
and
she
knew
that
there
were
tears
upon
it
too
,
and
she
the
cause
of
them
.
As
Louisa
feigned
to
rouse
herself
,
and
sat
up
,
Sissy
retired
,
so
that
she
stood
placidly
near
the
bedside
.
‘I
hope
I
have
not
disturbed
you
.
I
have
come
to
ask
if
you
would
let
me
stay
with
you
?
’
‘Why
should
you
stay
with
me
?
My
sister
will
miss
you
.
You
are
everything
to
her.’
‘Am
I
?
’
returned
Sissy
,
shaking
her
head
.
‘I
would
be
something
to
you
,
if
I
might.’
‘What
?
’
said
Louisa
,
almost
sternly
.
‘Whatever
you
want
most
,
if
I
could
be
that
.
At
all
events
,
I
would
like
to
try
to
be
as
near
it
as
I
can
.
And
however
far
off
that
may
be
,
I
will
never
tire
of
trying
.
Will
you
let
me
?
’
‘My
father
sent
you
to
ask
me.’
‘No
indeed
,
’
replied
Sissy
.
‘He
told
me
that
I
might
come
in
now
,
but
he
sent
me
away
from
the
room
this
morning
—
or
at
least
—
’
She
hesitated
and
stopped
.
‘At
least
,
what
?
’
said
Louisa
,
with
her
searching
eyes
upon
her
.
‘I
thought
it
best
myself
that
I
should
be
sent
away
,
for
I
felt
very
uncertain
whether
you
would
like
to
find
me
here.’
‘Have
I
always
hated
you
so
much
?
’
‘I
hope
not
,
for
I
have
always
loved
you
,
and
have
always
wished
that
you
should
know
it
.
But
you
changed
to
me
a
little
,
shortly
before
you
left
home
.
Not
that
I
wondered
at
it
.
You
knew
so
much
,
and
I
knew
so
little
,
and
it
was
so
natural
in
many
ways
,
going
as
you
were
among
other
friends
,
that
I
had
nothing
to
complain
of
,
and
was
not
at
all
hurt.’
Her
colour
rose
as
she
said
it
modestly
and
hurriedly
.
Louisa
understood
the
loving
pretence
,
and
her
heart
smote
her
.
‘May
I
try
?
’
said
Sissy
,
emboldened
to
raise
her
hand
to
the
neck
that
was
insensibly
drooping
towards
her
.
Louisa
,
taking
down
the
hand
that
would
have
embraced
her
in
another
moment
,
held
it
in
one
of
hers
,
and
answered
:
‘First
,
Sissy
,
do
you
know
what
I
am
?
I
am
so
proud
and
so
hardened
,
so
confused
and
troubled
,
so
resentful
and
unjust
to
every
one
and
to
myself
,
that
everything
is
stormy
,
dark
,
and
wicked
to
me
.
Does
not
that
repel
you
?
’
‘No
!
’
‘I
am
so
unhappy
,
and
all
that
should
have
made
me
otherwise
is
so
laid
waste
,
that
if
I
had
been
bereft
of
sense
to
this
hour
,
and
instead
of
being
as
learned
as
you
think
me
,
had
to
begin
to
acquire
the
simplest
truths
,
I
could
not
want
a
guide
to
peace
,
contentment
,
honour
,
all
the
good
of
which
I
am
quite
devoid
,
more
abjectly
than
I
do
.
Does
not
that
repel
you
?
’
‘No
!
’
In
the
innocence
of
her
brave
affection
,
and
the
brimming
up
of
her
old
devoted
spirit
,
the
once
deserted
girl
shone
like
a
beautiful
light
upon
the
darkness
of
the
other
.
Louisa
raised
the
hand
that
it
might
clasp
her
neck
and
join
its
fellow
there
.
She
fell
upon
her
knees
,
and
clinging
to
this
stroller’s
child
looked
up
at
her
almost
with
veneration
.
‘Forgive
me
,
pity
me
,
help
me
!
Have
compassion
on
my
great
need
,
and
let
me
lay
this
head
of
mine
upon
a
loving
heart
!
’
‘O
lay
it
here
!
’
cried
Sissy
.
‘Lay
it
here
,
my
dear.’
CHAPTER
II
VERY
RIDICULOUS
Mr.
James
Harthouse
passed
a
whole
night
and
a
day
in
a
state
of
so
much
hurry
,
that
the
World
,
with
its
best
glass
in
his
eye
,
would
scarcely
have
recognized
him
during
that
insane
interval
,
as
the
brother
Jem
of
the
honourable
and
jocular
member
.
He
was
positively
agitated
.
He
several
times
spoke
with
an
emphasis
,
similar
to
the
vulgar
manner
.
He
went
in
and
went
out
in
an
unaccountable
way
,
like
a
man
without
an
object
.
He
rode
like
a
highwayman
.
In
a
word
,
he
was
so
horribly
bored
by
existing
circumstances
,
that
he
forgot
to
go
in
for
boredom
in
the
manner
prescribed
by
the
authorities
.
After
putting
his
horse
at
Coketown
through
the
storm
,
as
if
it
were
a
leap
,
he
waited
up
all
night
:
from
time
to
time
ringing
his
bell
with
the
greatest
fury
,
charging
the
porter
who
kept
watch
with
delinquency
in
withholding
letters
or
messages
that
could
not
fail
to
have
been
entrusted
to
him
,
and
demanding
restitution
on
the
spot
.
The
dawn
coming
,
the
morning
coming
,
and
the
day
coming
,
and
neither
message
nor
letter
coming
with
either
,
he
went
down
to
the
country
house
.
There
,
the
report
was
,
Mr.
Bounderby
away
,
and
Mrs.
Bounderby
in
town
.
Left
for
town
suddenly
last
evening
.
Not
even
known
to
be
gone
until
receipt
of
message
,
importing
that
her
return
was
not
to
be
expected
for
the
present
.
In
these
circumstances
he
had
nothing
for
it
but
to
follow
her
to
town
.
He
went
to
the
house
in
town
.
Mrs.
Bounderby
not
there
.
He
looked
in
at
the
Bank
.
Mr.
Bounderby
away
and
Mrs.
Sparsit
away
.
Mrs.
Sparsit
away
?
Who
could
have
been
reduced
to
sudden
extremity
for
the
company
of
that
griffin
!
‘Well
!
I
don’t
know
,
’
said
Tom
,
who
had
his
own
reasons
for
being
uneasy
about
it
.
‘She
was
off
somewhere
at
daybreak
this
morning
.
She’s
always
full
of
mystery
;
I
hate
her
.
So
I
do
that
white
chap
;
he’s
always
got
his
blinking
eyes
upon
a
fellow.’
‘Where
were
you
last
night
,
Tom
?
’
‘Where
was
I
last
night
!
’
said
Tom
.
‘Come
!
I
like
that
.
I
was
waiting
for
you
,
Mr.
Harthouse
,
till
it
came
down
as
I
never
saw
it
come
down
before
.
Where
was
I
too
!
Where
were
you
,
you
mean.’
‘I
was
prevented
from
coming
—
detained.’
‘Detained
!
’
murmured
Tom
.
‘Two
of
us
were
detained
.
I
was
detained
looking
for
you
,
till
I
lost
every
train
but
the
mail
.
It
would
have
been
a
pleasant
job
to
go
down
by
that
on
such
a
night
,
and
have
to
walk
home
through
a
pond
.
I
was
obliged
to
sleep
in
town
after
all.’
‘Where
?
’
‘Where
?
Why
,
in
my
own
bed
at
Bounderby’s.’
‘Did
you
see
your
sister
?
’
‘How
the
deuce
,
’
returned
Tom
,
staring
,
‘could
I
see
my
sister
when
she
was
fifteen
miles
off
?
’
Cursing
these
quick
retorts
of
the
young
gentleman
to
whom
he
was
so
true
a
friend
,
Mr.
Harthouse
disembarrassed
himself
of
that
interview
with
the
smallest
conceivable
amount
of
ceremony
,
and
debated
for
the
hundredth
time
what
all
this
could
mean
?
He
made
only
one
thing
clear
.
It
was
,
that
whether
she
was
in
town
or
out
of
town
,
whether
he
had
been
premature
with
her
who
was
so
hard
to
comprehend
,
or
she
had
lost
courage
,
or
they
were
discovered
,
or
some
mischance
or
mistake
,
at
present
incomprehensible
,
had
occurred
,
he
must
remain
to
confront
his
fortune
,
whatever
it
was
.
The
hotel
where
he
was
known
to
live
when
condemned
to
that
region
of
blackness
,
was
the
stake
to
which
he
was
tied
.
As
to
all
the
rest
—
What
will
be
,
will
be
.
‘So
,
whether
I
am
waiting
for
a
hostile
message
,
or
an
assignation
,
or
a
penitent
remonstrance
,
or
an
impromptu
wrestle
with
my
friend
Bounderby
in
the
Lancashire
manner
—
which
would
seem
as
likely
as
anything
else
in
the
present
state
of
affairs
—
I’ll
dine
,
’
said
Mr.
James
Harthouse
.
‘Bounderby
has
the
advantage
in
point
of
weight
;
and
if
anything
of
a
British
nature
is
to
come
off
between
us
,
it
may
be
as
well
to
be
in
training.’
Therefore
he
rang
the
bell
,
and
tossing
himself
negligently
on
a
sofa
,
ordered
‘Some
dinner
at
six
—
with
a
beefsteak
in
it
,
’
and
got
through
the
intervening
time
as
well
as
he
could
.
That
was
not
particularly
well
;
for
he
remained
in
the
greatest
perplexity
,
and
,
as
the
hours
went
on
,
and
no
kind
of
explanation
offered
itself
,
his
perplexity
augmented
at
compound
interest
.
However
,
he
took
affairs
as
coolly
as
it
was
in
human
nature
to
do
,
and
entertained
himself
with
the
facetious
idea
of
the
training
more
than
once
.
‘It
wouldn’t
be
bad
,
’
he
yawned
at
one
time
,
‘to
give
the
waiter
five
shillings
,
and
throw
him.’
At
another
time
it
occurred
to
him
,
‘Or
a
fellow
of
about
thirteen
or
fourteen
stone
might
be
hired
by
the
hour.’
But
these
jests
did
not
tell
materially
on
the
afternoon
,
or
his
suspense
;
and
,
sooth
to
say
,
they
both
lagged
fearfully
.
It
was
impossible
,
even
before
dinner
,
to
avoid
often
walking
about
in
the
pattern
of
the
carpet
,
looking
out
of
the
window
,
listening
at
the
door
for
footsteps
,
and
occasionally
becoming
rather
hot
when
any
steps
approached
that
room
.
But
,
after
dinner
,
when
the
day
turned
to
twilight
,
and
the
twilight
turned
to
night
,
and
still
no
communication
was
made
to
him
,
it
began
to
be
as
he
expressed
it
,
‘like
the
Holy
Office
and
slow
torture.’
However
,
still
true
to
his
conviction
that
indifference
was
the
genuine
high-breeding
(
the
only
conviction
he
had
)
,
he
seized
this
crisis
as
the
opportunity
for
ordering
candles
and
a
newspaper
.
He
had
been
trying
in
vain
,
for
half
an
hour
,
to
read
this
newspaper
,
when
the
waiter
appeared
and
said
,
at
once
mysteriously
and
apologetically
:
‘Beg
your
pardon
,
sir
.
You’re
wanted
,
sir
,
if
you
please.’
A
general
recollection
that
this
was
the
kind
of
thing
the
Police
said
to
the
swell
mob
,
caused
Mr.
Harthouse
to
ask
the
waiter
in
return
,
with
bristling
indignation
,
what
the
Devil
he
meant
by
‘wanted’
?
‘Beg
your
pardon
,
sir
.
Young
lady
outside
,
sir
,
wishes
to
see
you.’
‘Outside
?
Where
?
’
‘Outside
this
door
,
sir.’
Giving
the
waiter
to
the
personage
before
mentioned
,
as
a
block-head
duly
qualified
for
that
consignment
,
Mr.
Harthouse
hurried
into
the
gallery
.
A
young
woman
whom
he
had
never
seen
stood
there
.
Plainly
dressed
,
very
quiet
,
very
pretty
.
As
he
conducted
her
into
the
room
and
placed
a
chair
for
her
,
he
observed
,
by
the
light
of
the
candles
,
that
she
was
even
prettier
than
he
had
at
first
believed
.
Her
face
was
innocent
and
youthful
,
and
its
expression
remarkably
pleasant
.
She
was
not
afraid
of
him
,
or
in
any
way
disconcerted
;
she
seemed
to
have
her
mind
entirely
preoccupied
with
the
occasion
of
her
visit
,
and
to
have
substituted
that
consideration
for
herself
.
‘I
speak
to
Mr.
Harthouse
?
’
she
said
,
when
they
were
alone
.
‘To
Mr.
Harthouse.’
He
added
in
his
mind
,
‘And
you
speak
to
him
with
the
most
confiding
eyes
I
ever
saw
,
and
the
most
earnest
voice
(
though
so
quiet
)
I
ever
heard.’
‘If
I
do
not
understand
—
and
I
do
not
,
sir’
—
said
Sissy
,
‘what
your
honour
as
a
gentleman
binds
you
to
,
in
other
matters
:
’
the
blood
really
rose
in
his
face
as
she
began
in
these
words
:
‘I
am
sure
I
may
rely
upon
it
to
keep
my
visit
secret
,
and
to
keep
secret
what
I
am
going
to
say
.
I
will
rely
upon
it
,
if
you
will
tell
me
I
may
so
far
trust
—
’
‘You
may
,
I
assure
you.’
‘I
am
young
,
as
you
see
;
I
am
alone
,
as
you
see
.
In
coming
to
you
,
sir
,
I
have
no
advice
or
encouragement
beyond
my
own
hope.’
He
thought
,
‘But
that
is
very
strong
,
’
as
he
followed
the
momentary
upward
glance
of
her
eyes
.
He
thought
besides
,
‘This
is
a
very
odd
beginning
.
I
don’t
see
where
we
are
going.’
‘I
think
,
’
said
Sissy
,
‘you
have
already
guessed
whom
I
left
just
now
!
’
‘I
have
been
in
the
greatest
concern
and
uneasiness
during
the
last
four-and-twenty
hours
(
which
have
appeared
as
many
years
)
,
’
he
returned
,
‘on
a
lady’s
account
.
The
hopes
I
have
been
encouraged
to
form
that
you
come
from
that
lady
,
do
not
deceive
me
,
I
trust.’
‘I
left
her
within
an
hour.’
‘At
—
!
’
‘At
her
father’s.’
Mr.
Harthouse’s
face
lengthened
in
spite
of
his
coolness
,
and
his
perplexity
increased
.
‘Then
I
certainly
,
’
he
thought
,
‘do
not
see
where
we
are
going.’
‘She
hurried
there
last
night
.
She
arrived
there
in
great
agitation
,
and
was
insensible
all
through
the
night
.
I
live
at
her
father’s
,
and
was
with
her
.
You
may
be
sure
,
sir
,
you
will
never
see
her
again
as
long
as
you
live.’
Mr.
Harthouse
drew
a
long
breath
;
and
,
if
ever
man
found
himself
in
the
position
of
not
knowing
what
to
say
,
made
the
discovery
beyond
all
question
that
he
was
so
circumstanced
.
The
child-like
ingenuousness
with
which
his
visitor
spoke
,
her
modest
fearlessness
,
her
truthfulness
which
put
all
artifice
aside
,
her
entire
forgetfulness
of
herself
in
her
earnest
quiet
holding
to
the
object
with
which
she
had
come
;
all
this
,
together
with
her
reliance
on
his
easily
given
promise
—
which
in
itself
shamed
him
—
presented
something
in
which
he
was
so
inexperienced
,
and
against
which
he
knew
any
of
his
usual
weapons
would
fall
so
powerless
;
that
not
a
word
could
he
rally
to
his
relief
.
At
last
he
said
:
‘So
startling
an
announcement
,
so
confidently
made
,
and
by
such
lips
,
is
really
disconcerting
in
the
last
degree
.
May
I
be
permitted
to
inquire
,
if
you
are
charged
to
convey
that
information
to
me
in
those
hopeless
words
,
by
the
lady
of
whom
we
speak
?
’
‘I
have
no
charge
from
her.’
‘The
drowning
man
catches
at
the
straw
.
With
no
disrespect
for
your
judgment
,
and
with
no
doubt
of
your
sincerity
,
excuse
my
saying
that
I
cling
to
the
belief
that
there
is
yet
hope
that
I
am
not
condemned
to
perpetual
exile
from
that
lady’s
presence.’
‘There
is
not
the
least
hope
.
The
first
object
of
my
coming
here
,
sir
,
is
to
assure
you
that
you
must
believe
that
there
is
no
more
hope
of
your
ever
speaking
with
her
again
,
than
there
would
be
if
she
had
died
when
she
came
home
last
night.’
‘Must
believe
?
But
if
I
can’t
—
or
if
I
should
,
by
infirmity
of
nature
,
be
obstinate
—
and
won’t
—
’
‘It
is
still
true
.
There
is
no
hope.’
James
Harthouse
looked
at
her
with
an
incredulous
smile
upon
his
lips
;
but
her
mind
looked
over
and
beyond
him
,
and
the
smile
was
quite
thrown
away
.
He
bit
his
lip
,
and
took
a
little
time
for
consideration
.
‘Well
!
If
it
should
unhappily
appear
,
’
he
said
,
‘after
due
pains
and
duty
on
my
part
,
that
I
am
brought
to
a
position
so
desolate
as
this
banishment
,
I
shall
not
become
the
lady’s
persecutor
.
But
you
said
you
had
no
commission
from
her
?
’
‘I
have
only
the
commission
of
my
love
for
her
,
and
her
love
for
me
.
I
have
no
other
trust
,
than
that
I
have
been
with
her
since
she
came
home
,
and
that
she
has
given
me
her
confidence
.
I
have
no
further
trust
,
than
that
I
know
something
of
her
character
and
her
marriage
.
O
Mr.
Harthouse
,
I
think
you
had
that
trust
too
!
’
He
was
touched
in
the
cavity
where
his
heart
should
have
been
—
in
that
nest
of
addled
eggs
,
where
the
birds
of
heaven
would
have
lived
if
they
had
not
been
whistled
away
—
by
the
fervour
of
this
reproach
.
‘I
am
not
a
moral
sort
of
fellow
,
’
he
said
,
‘and
I
never
make
any
pretensions
to
the
character
of
a
moral
sort
of
fellow
.
I
am
as
immoral
as
need
be
.
At
the
same
time
,
in
bringing
any
distress
upon
the
lady
who
is
the
subject
of
the
present
conversation
,
or
in
unfortunately
compromising
her
in
any
way
,
or
in
committing
myself
by
any
expression
of
sentiments
towards
her
,
not
perfectly
reconcilable
with
—
in
fact
with
—
the
domestic
hearth
;
or
in
taking
any
advantage
of
her
father’s
being
a
machine
,
or
of
her
brother’s
being
a
whelp
,
or
of
her
husband’s
being
a
bear
;
I
beg
to
be
allowed
to
assure
you
that
I
have
had
no
particularly
evil
intentions
,
but
have
glided
on
from
one
step
to
another
with
a
smoothness
so
perfectly
diabolical
,
that
I
had
not
the
slightest
idea
the
catalogue
was
half
so
long
until
I
began
to
turn
it
over
.
Whereas
I
find
,
’
said
Mr.
James
Harthouse
,
in
conclusion
,
‘that
it
is
really
in
several
volumes.’
Though
he
said
all
this
in
his
frivolous
way
,
the
way
seemed
,
for
that
once
,
a
conscious
polishing
of
but
an
ugly
surface
.
He
was
silent
for
a
moment
;
and
then
proceeded
with
a
more
self-possessed
air
,
though
with
traces
of
vexation
and
disappointment
that
would
not
be
polished
out
.
‘After
what
has
been
just
now
represented
to
me
,
in
a
manner
I
find
it
impossible
to
doubt
—
I
know
of
hardly
any
other
source
from
which
I
could
have
accepted
it
so
readily
—
I
feel
bound
to
say
to
you
,
in
whom
the
confidence
you
have
mentioned
has
been
reposed
,
that
I
cannot
refuse
to
contemplate
the
possibility
(
however
unexpected
)
of
my
seeing
the
lady
no
more
.
I
am
solely
to
blame
for
the
thing
having
come
to
this
—
and
—
and
,
I
cannot
say
,
’
he
added
,
rather
hard
up
for
a
general
peroration
,
‘that
I
have
any
sanguine
expectation
of
ever
becoming
a
moral
sort
of
fellow
,
or
that
I
have
any
belief
in
any
moral
sort
of
fellow
whatever.’
Sissy’s
face
sufficiently
showed
that
her
appeal
to
him
was
not
finished
.
‘You
spoke
,
’
he
resumed
,
as
she
raised
her
eyes
to
him
again
,
‘of
your
first
object
.
I
may
assume
that
there
is
a
second
to
be
mentioned
?
’
‘Yes.’
‘Will
you
oblige
me
by
confiding
it
?
’
‘Mr
.
Harthouse
,
’
returned
Sissy
,
with
a
blending
of
gentleness
and
steadiness
that
quite
defeated
him
,
and
with
a
simple
confidence
in
his
being
bound
to
do
what
she
required
,
that
held
him
at
a
singular
disadvantage
,
‘the
only
reparation
that
remains
with
you
,
is
to
leave
here
immediately
and
finally
.
I
am
quite
sure
that
you
can
mitigate
in
no
other
way
the
wrong
and
harm
you
have
done
.
I
am
quite
sure
that
it
is
the
only
compensation
you
have
left
it
in
your
power
to
make
.
I
do
not
say
that
it
is
much
,
or
that
it
is
enough
;
but
it
is
something
,
and
it
is
necessary
.
Therefore
,
though
without
any
other
authority
than
I
have
given
you
,
and
even
without
the
knowledge
of
any
other
person
than
yourself
and
myself
,
I
ask
you
to
depart
from
this
place
to-night
,
under
an
obligation
never
to
return
to
it.’
If
she
had
asserted
any
influence
over
him
beyond
her
plain
faith
in
the
truth
and
right
of
what
she
said
;
if
she
had
concealed
the
least
doubt
or
irresolution
,
or
had
harboured
for
the
best
purpose
any
reserve
or
pretence
;
if
she
had
shown
,
or
felt
,
the
lightest
trace
of
any
sensitiveness
to
his
ridicule
or
his
astonishment
,
or
any
remonstrance
he
might
offer
;
he
would
have
carried
it
against
her
at
this
point
.
But
he
could
as
easily
have
changed
a
clear
sky
by
looking
at
it
in
surprise
,
as
affect
her
.
‘But
do
you
know
,
’
he
asked
,
quite
at
a
loss
,
‘the
extent
of
what
you
ask
?
You
probably
are
not
aware
that
I
am
here
on
a
public
kind
of
business
,
preposterous
enough
in
itself
,
but
which
I
have
gone
in
for
,
and
sworn
by
,
and
am
supposed
to
be
devoted
to
in
quite
a
desperate
manner
?
You
probably
are
not
aware
of
that
,
but
I
assure
you
it’s
the
fact.’
It
had
no
effect
on
Sissy
,
fact
or
no
fact
.
‘Besides
which
,
’
said
Mr.
Harthouse
,
taking
a
turn
or
two
across
the
room
,
dubiously
,
‘it’s
so
alarmingly
absurd
.
It
would
make
a
man
so
ridiculous
,
after
going
in
for
these
fellows
,
to
back
out
in
such
an
incomprehensible
way.’
‘I
am
quite
sure
,
’
repeated
Sissy
,
‘that
it
is
the
only
reparation
in
your
power
,
sir
.
I
am
quite
sure
,
or
I
would
not
have
come
here.’
He
glanced
at
her
face
,
and
walked
about
again
.
‘Upon
my
soul
,
I
don’t
know
what
to
say
.
So
immensely
absurd
!
’
It
fell
to
his
lot
,
now
,
to
stipulate
for
secrecy
.
‘If
I
were
to
do
such
a
very
ridiculous
thing
,
’
he
said
,
stopping
again
presently
,
and
leaning
against
the
chimney-piece
,
‘it
could
only
be
in
the
most
inviolable
confidence.’
‘I
will
trust
to
you
,
sir
,
’
returned
Sissy
,
‘and
you
will
trust
to
me.’
His
leaning
against
the
chimney-piece
reminded
him
of
the
night
with
the
whelp
.
It
was
the
self-same
chimney-piece
,
and
somehow
he
felt
as
if
he
were
the
whelp
to-night
.
He
could
make
no
way
at
all
.
‘I
suppose
a
man
never
was
placed
in
a
more
ridiculous
position
,
’
he
said
,
after
looking
down
,
and
looking
up
,
and
laughing
,
and
frowning
,
and
walking
off
,
and
walking
back
again
.
‘But
I
see
no
way
out
of
it
.
What
will
be
,
will
be
.
This
will
be
,
I
suppose
.
I
must
take
off
myself
,
I
imagine
—
in
short
,
I
engage
to
do
it.’
Sissy
rose
.
She
was
not
surprised
by
the
result
,
but
she
was
happy
in
it
,
and
her
face
beamed
brightly
.
‘You
will
permit
me
to
say
,
’
continued
Mr.
James
Harthouse
,
‘that
I
doubt
if
any
other
ambassador
,
or
ambassadress
,
could
have
addressed
me
with
the
same
success
.
I
must
not
only
regard
myself
as
being
in
a
very
ridiculous
position
,
but
as
being
vanquished
at
all
points
.
Will
you
allow
me
the
privilege
of
remembering
my
enemy’s
name
?
’
‘
My
name
?
’
said
the
ambassadress
.
‘The
only
name
I
could
possibly
care
to
know
,
to-night.’
‘Sissy
Jupe.’
‘Pardon
my
curiosity
at
parting
.
Related
to
the
family
?
’
‘I
am
only
a
poor
girl
,
’
returned
Sissy
.
‘I
was
separated
from
my
father
—
he
was
only
a
stroller
—
and
taken
pity
on
by
Mr.
Gradgrind
.
I
have
lived
in
the
house
ever
since.’
She
was
gone
.
‘It
wanted
this
to
complete
the
defeat
,
’
said
Mr.
James
Harthouse
,
sinking
,
with
a
resigned
air
,
on
the
sofa
,
after
standing
transfixed
a
little
while
.
‘The
defeat
may
now
be
considered
perfectly
accomplished
.
Only
a
poor
girl
—
only
a
stroller
—
only
James
Harthouse
made
nothing
of
—
only
James
Harthouse
a
Great
Pyramid
of
failure.’
The
Great
Pyramid
put
it
into
his
head
to
go
up
the
Nile
.
He
took
a
pen
upon
the
instant
,
and
wrote
the
following
note
(
in
appropriate
hieroglyphics
)
to
his
brother
:
Dear
Jack
,
—
All
up
at
Coketown
.
Bored
out
of
the
place
,
and
going
in
for
camels
.
Affectionately
,
Jem
.
He
rang
the
bell
.
‘Send
my
fellow
here.’
‘Gone
to
bed
,
sir.’
‘Tell
him
to
get
up
,
and
pack
up.’
He
wrote
two
more
notes
.
One
,
to
Mr.
Bounderby
,
announcing
his
retirement
from
that
part
of
the
country
,
and
showing
where
he
would
be
found
for
the
next
fortnight
.
The
other
,
similar
in
effect
,
to
Mr.
Gradgrind
.
Almost
as
soon
as
the
ink
was
dry
upon
their
superscriptions
,
he
had
left
the
tall
chimneys
of
Coketown
behind
,
and
was
in
a
railway
carriage
,
tearing
and
glaring
over
the
dark
landscape
.
The
moral
sort
of
fellows
might
suppose
that
Mr.
James
Harthouse
derived
some
comfortable
reflections
afterwards
,
from
this
prompt
retreat
,
as
one
of
his
few
actions
that
made
any
amends
for
anything
,
and
as
a
token
to
himself
that
he
had
escaped
the
climax
of
a
very
bad
business
.
But
it
was
not
so
,
at
all
.
A
secret
sense
of
having
failed
and
been
ridiculous
—
a
dread
of
what
other
fellows
who
went
in
for
similar
sorts
of
things
,
would
say
at
his
expense
if
they
knew
it
—
so
oppressed
him
,
that
what
was
about
the
very
best
passage
in
his
life
was
the
one
of
all
others
he
would
not
have
owned
to
on
any
account
,
and
the
only
one
that
made
him
ashamed
of
himself
.
CHAPTER
III
VERY
DECIDED
The
indefatigable
Mrs.
Sparsit
,
with
a
violent
cold
upon
her
,
her
voice
reduced
to
a
whisper
,
and
her
stately
frame
so
racked
by
continual
sneezes
that
it
seemed
in
danger
of
dismemberment
,
gave
chase
to
her
patron
until
she
found
him
in
the
metropolis
;
and
there
,
majestically
sweeping
in
upon
him
at
his
hotel
in
St.
James’s
Street
,
exploded
the
combustibles
with
which
she
was
charged
,
and
blew
up
.
Having
executed
her
mission
with
infinite
relish
,
this
high-minded
woman
then
fainted
away
on
Mr.
Bounderby’s
coat-collar
.
Mr.
Bounderby’s
first
procedure
was
to
shake
Mrs.
Sparsit
off
,
and
leave
her
to
progress
as
she
might
through
various
stages
of
suffering
on
the
floor
.
He
next
had
recourse
to
the
administration
of
potent
restoratives
,
such
as
screwing
the
patient’s
thumbs
,
smiting
her
hands
,
abundantly
watering
her
face
,
and
inserting
salt
in
her
mouth
.
When
these
attentions
had
recovered
her
(
which
they
speedily
did
)
,
he
hustled
her
into
a
fast
train
without
offering
any
other
refreshment
,
and
carried
her
back
to
Coketown
more
dead
than
alive
.
Regarded
as
a
classical
ruin
,
Mrs.
Sparsit
was
an
interesting
spectacle
on
her
arrival
at
her
journey’s
end
;
but
considered
in
any
other
light
,
the
amount
of
damage
she
had
by
that
time
sustained
was
excessive
,
and
impaired
her
claims
to
admiration
.
Utterly
heedless
of
the
wear
and
tear
of
her
clothes
and
constitution
,
and
adamant
to
her
pathetic
sneezes
,
Mr.
Bounderby
immediately
crammed
her
into
a
coach
,
and
bore
her
off
to
Stone
Lodge
.
‘Now
,
Tom
Gradgrind
,
’
said
Bounderby
,
bursting
into
his
father-in-law’s
room
late
at
night
;
‘here’s
a
lady
here
—
Mrs.
Sparsit
—
you
know
Mrs.
Sparsit
—
who
has
something
to
say
to
you
that
will
strike
you
dumb.’
‘You
have
missed
my
letter
!
’
exclaimed
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
surprised
by
the
apparition
.
‘Missed
your
letter
,
sir
!
’
bawled
Bounderby
.
‘The
present
time
is
no
time
for
letters
.
No
man
shall
talk
to
Josiah
Bounderby
of
Coketown
about
letters
,
with
his
mind
in
the
state
it’s
in
now.’
‘Bounderby
,
’
said
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
in
a
tone
of
temperate
remonstrance
,
‘I
speak
of
a
very
special
letter
I
have
written
to
you
,
in
reference
to
Louisa.’
‘Tom
Gradgrind
,
’
replied
Bounderby
,
knocking
the
flat
of
his
hand
several
times
with
great
vehemence
on
the
table
,
‘I
speak
of
a
very
special
messenger
that
has
come
to
me
,
in
reference
to
Louisa
.
Mrs.
Sparsit
,
ma’am
,
stand
forward
!
’
That
unfortunate
lady
hereupon
essaying
to
offer
testimony
,
without
any
voice
and
with
painful
gestures
expressive
of
an
inflamed
throat
,
became
so
aggravating
and
underwent
so
many
facial
contortions
,
that
Mr.
Bounderby
,
unable
to
bear
it
,
seized
her
by
the
arm
and
shook
her
.
‘If
you
can’t
get
it
out
,
ma’am
,
’
said
Bounderby
,
‘leave
me
to
get
it
out
.
This
is
not
a
time
for
a
lady
,
however
highly
connected
,
to
be
totally
inaudible
,
and
seemingly
swallowing
marbles
.
Tom
Gradgrind
,
Mrs.
Sparsit
latterly
found
herself
,
by
accident
,
in
a
situation
to
overhear
a
conversation
out
of
doors
between
your
daughter
and
your
precious
gentleman-friend
,
Mr.
James
Harthouse.’
‘Indeed
!
’
said
Mr.
Gradgrind
.
‘Ah
!
Indeed
!
’
cried
Bounderby
.
‘And
in
that
conversation
—
’
‘It
is
not
necessary
to
repeat
its
tenor
,
Bounderby
.
I
know
what
passed.’
‘You
do
?
Perhaps
,
’
said
Bounderby
,
staring
with
all
his
might
at
his
so
quiet
and
assuasive
father-in-law
,
‘you
know
where
your
daughter
is
at
the
present
time
!
’
‘Undoubtedly
.
She
is
here.’
‘Here
?
’
‘My
dear
Bounderby
,
let
me
beg
you
to
restrain
these
loud
out-breaks
,
on
all
accounts
.
Louisa
is
here
.
The
moment
she
could
detach
herself
from
that
interview
with
the
person
of
whom
you
speak
,
and
whom
I
deeply
regret
to
have
been
the
means
of
introducing
to
you
,
Louisa
hurried
here
,
for
protection
.
I
myself
had
not
been
at
home
many
hours
,
when
I
received
her
—
here
,
in
this
room
.
She
hurried
by
the
train
to
town
,
she
ran
from
town
to
this
house
,
through
a
raging
storm
,
and
presented
herself
before
me
in
a
state
of
distraction
.
Of
course
,
she
has
remained
here
ever
since
.
Let
me
entreat
you
,
for
your
own
sake
and
for
hers
,
to
be
more
quiet.’
Mr.
Bounderby
silently
gazed
about
him
for
some
moments
,
in
every
direction
except
Mrs.
Sparsit’s
direction
;
and
then
,
abruptly
turning
upon
the
niece
of
Lady
Scadgers
,
said
to
that
wretched
woman
:
‘Now
,
ma’am
!
We
shall
be
happy
to
hear
any
little
apology
you
may
think
proper
to
offer
,
for
going
about
the
country
at
express
pace
,
with
no
other
luggage
than
a
Cock-and-a-Bull
,
ma’am
!
’
‘Sir
,
’
whispered
Mrs.
Sparsit
,
‘my
nerves
are
at
present
too
much
shaken
,
and
my
health
is
at
present
too
much
impaired
,
in
your
service
,
to
admit
of
my
doing
more
than
taking
refuge
in
tears.’
(
Which
she
did
.
)
‘Well
,
ma’am
,
’
said
Bounderby
,
‘without
making
any
observation
to
you
that
may
not
be
made
with
propriety
to
a
woman
of
good
family
,
what
I
have
got
to
add
to
that
,
is
that
there
is
something
else
in
which
it
appears
to
me
you
may
take
refuge
,
namely
,
a
coach
.
And
the
coach
in
which
we
came
here
being
at
the
door
,
you’ll
allow
me
to
hand
you
down
to
it
,
and
pack
you
home
to
the
Bank
:
where
the
best
course
for
you
to
pursue
,
will
be
to
put
your
feet
into
the
hottest
water
you
can
bear
,
and
take
a
glass
of
scalding
rum
and
butter
after
you
get
into
bed.’
With
these
words
,
Mr.
Bounderby
extended
his
right
hand
to
the
weeping
lady
,
and
escorted
her
to
the
conveyance
in
question
,
shedding
many
plaintive
sneezes
by
the
way
.
He
soon
returned
alone
.
‘Now
,
as
you
showed
me
in
your
face
,
Tom
Gradgrind
,
that
you
wanted
to
speak
to
me
,
’
he
resumed
,
‘here
I
am
.
But
,
I
am
not
in
a
very
agreeable
state
,
I
tell
you
plainly
:
not
relishing
this
business
,
even
as
it
is
,
and
not
considering
that
I
am
at
any
time
as
dutifully
and
submissively
treated
by
your
daughter
,
as
Josiah
Bounderby
of
Coketown
ought
to
be
treated
by
his
wife
.
You
have
your
opinion
,
I
dare
say
;
and
I
have
mine
,
I
know
.
If
you
mean
to
say
anything
to
me
to-night
,
that
goes
against
this
candid
remark
,
you
had
better
let
it
alone.’
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
it
will
be
observed
,
being
much
softened
,
Mr.
Bounderby
took
particular
pains
to
harden
himself
at
all
points
.
It
was
his
amiable
nature
.
‘My
dear
Bounderby
,
’
Mr.
Gradgrind
began
in
reply
.
‘Now
,
you’ll
excuse
me
,
’
said
Bounderby
,
‘but
I
don’t
want
to
be
too
dear
.
That
,
to
start
with
.
When
I
begin
to
be
dear
to
a
man
,
I
generally
find
that
his
intention
is
to
come
over
me
.
I
am
not
speaking
to
you
politely
;
but
,
as
you
are
aware
,
I
am
not
polite
.
If
you
like
politeness
,
you
know
where
to
get
it
.
You
have
your
gentleman-friends
,
you
know
,
and
they’ll
serve
you
with
as
much
of
the
article
as
you
want
.
I
don’t
keep
it
myself.’
‘Bounderby
,
’
urged
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
‘we
are
all
liable
to
mistakes
—
’
‘I
thought
you
couldn’t
make
’em
,
’
interrupted
Bounderby
.
‘Perhaps
I
thought
so
.
But
,
I
say
we
are
all
liable
to
mistakes
and
I
should
feel
sensible
of
your
delicacy
,
and
grateful
for
it
,
if
you
would
spare
me
these
references
to
Harthouse
.
I
shall
not
associate
him
in
our
conversation
with
your
intimacy
and
encouragement
;
pray
do
not
persist
in
connecting
him
with
mine.’
‘I
never
mentioned
his
name
!
’
said
Bounderby
.
‘Well
,
well
!
’
returned
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
with
a
patient
,
even
a
submissive
,
air
.
And
he
sat
for
a
little
while
pondering
.
‘Bounderby
,
I
see
reason
to
doubt
whether
we
have
ever
quite
understood
Louisa.’
‘Who
do
you
mean
by
We
?
’
‘Let
me
say
I
,
then
,
’
he
returned
,
in
answer
to
the
coarsely
blurted
question
;
‘I
doubt
whether
I
have
understood
Louisa
.
I
doubt
whether
I
have
been
quite
right
in
the
manner
of
her
education.’
‘There
you
hit
it
,
’
returned
Bounderby
.
‘There
I
agree
with
you
.
You
have
found
it
out
at
last
,
have
you
?
Education
!
I’ll
tell
you
what
education
is
—
To
be
tumbled
out
of
doors
,
neck
and
crop
,
and
put
upon
the
shortest
allowance
of
everything
except
blows
.
That’s
what
I
call
education.’
‘I
think
your
good
sense
will
perceive
,
’
Mr.
Gradgrind
remonstrated
in
all
humility
,
‘that
whatever
the
merits
of
such
a
system
may
be
,
it
would
be
difficult
of
general
application
to
girls.’
‘I
don’t
see
it
at
all
,
sir
,
’
returned
the
obstinate
Bounderby
.
‘Well
,
’
sighed
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
‘we
will
not
enter
into
the
question
.
I
assure
you
I
have
no
desire
to
be
controversial
.
I
seek
to
repair
what
is
amiss
,
if
I
possibly
can
;
and
I
hope
you
will
assist
me
in
a
good
spirit
,
Bounderby
,
for
I
have
been
very
much
distressed.’
‘I
don’t
understand
you
,
yet
,
’
said
Bounderby
,
with
determined
obstinacy
,
‘and
therefore
I
won’t
make
any
promises.’
‘In
the
course
of
a
few
hours
,
my
dear
Bounderby
,
’
Mr.
Gradgrind
proceeded
,
in
the
same
depressed
and
propitiatory
manner
,
‘I
appear
to
myself
to
have
become
better
informed
as
to
Louisa’s
character
,
than
in
previous
years
.
The
enlightenment
has
been
painfully
forced
upon
me
,
and
the
discovery
is
not
mine
.
I
think
there
are
—
Bounderby
,
you
will
be
surprised
to
hear
me
say
this
—
I
think
there
are
qualities
in
Louisa
,
which
—
which
have
been
harshly
neglected
,
and
—
and
a
little
perverted
.
And
—
and
I
would
suggest
to
you
,
that
—
that
if
you
would
kindly
meet
me
in
a
timely
endeavour
to
leave
her
to
her
better
nature
for
a
while
—
and
to
encourage
it
to
develop
itself
by
tenderness
and
consideration
—
it
—
it
would
be
the
better
for
the
happiness
of
all
of
us
.
Louisa
,
’
said
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
shading
his
face
with
his
hand
,
‘has
always
been
my
favourite
child.’
The
blustrous
Bounderby
crimsoned
and
swelled
to
such
an
extent
on
hearing
these
words
,
that
he
seemed
to
be
,
and
probably
was
,
on
the
brink
of
a
fit
.
With
his
very
ears
a
bright
purple
shot
with
crimson
,
he
pent
up
his
indignation
,
however
,
and
said
:
‘You’d
like
to
keep
her
here
for
a
time
?
’
‘I
—
I
had
intended
to
recommend
,
my
dear
Bounderby
,
that
you
should
allow
Louisa
to
remain
here
on
a
visit
,
and
be
attended
by
Sissy
(
I
mean
of
course
Cecilia
Jupe
)
,
who
understands
her
,
and
in
whom
she
trusts.’
‘I
gather
from
all
this
,
Tom
Gradgrind
,
’
said
Bounderby
,
standing
up
with
his
hands
in
his
pockets
,
‘that
you
are
of
opinion
that
there’s
what
people
call
some
incompatibility
between
Loo
Bounderby
and
myself.’
‘I
fear
there
is
at
present
a
general
incompatibility
between
Louisa
,
and
—
and
—
and
almost
all
the
relations
in
which
I
have
placed
her
,
’
was
her
father’s
sorrowful
reply
.
‘Now
,
look
you
here
,
Tom
Gradgrind
,
’
said
Bounderby
the
flushed
,
confronting
him
with
his
legs
wide
apart
,
his
hands
deeper
in
his
pockets
,
and
his
hair
like
a
hayfield
wherein
his
windy
anger
was
boisterous
.
‘You
have
said
your
say
;
I
am
going
to
say
mine
.
I
am
a
Coketown
man
.
I
am
Josiah
Bounderby
of
Coketown
.
I
know
the
bricks
of
this
town
,
and
I
know
the
works
of
this
town
,
and
I
know
the
chimneys
of
this
town
,
and
I
know
the
smoke
of
this
town
,
and
I
know
the
Hands
of
this
town
.
I
know
’em
all
pretty
well
.
They’re
real
.
When
a
man
tells
me
anything
about
imaginative
qualities
,
I
always
tell
that
man
,
whoever
he
is
,
that
I
know
what
he
means
.
He
means
turtle
soup
and
venison
,
with
a
gold
spoon
,
and
that
he
wants
to
be
set
up
with
a
coach
and
six
.
That’s
what
your
daughter
wants
.
Since
you
are
of
opinion
that
she
ought
to
have
what
she
wants
,
I
recommend
you
to
provide
it
for
her
.
Because
,
Tom
Gradgrind
,
she
will
never
have
it
from
me.’
‘Bounderby
,
’
said
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
‘I
hoped
,
after
my
entreaty
,
you
would
have
taken
a
different
tone.’
‘Just
wait
a
bit
,
’
retorted
Bounderby
;
‘you
have
said
your
say
,
I
believe
.
I
heard
you
out
;
hear
me
out
,
if
you
please
.
Don’t
make
yourself
a
spectacle
of
unfairness
as
well
as
inconsistency
,
because
,
although
I
am
sorry
to
see
Tom
Gradgrind
reduced
to
his
present
position
,
I
should
be
doubly
sorry
to
see
him
brought
so
low
as
that
.
Now
,
there’s
an
incompatibility
of
some
sort
or
another
,
I
am
given
to
understand
by
you
,
between
your
daughter
and
me
.
I’ll
give
you
to
understand
,
in
reply
to
that
,
that
there
unquestionably
is
an
incompatibility
of
the
first
magnitude
—
to
be
summed
up
in
this
—
that
your
daughter
don’t
properly
know
her
husband’s
merits
,
and
is
not
impressed
with
such
a
sense
as
would
become
her
,
by
George
!
of
the
honour
of
his
alliance
.
That’s
plain
speaking
,
I
hope.’
‘Bounderby
,
’
urged
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
‘this
is
unreasonable.’
‘Is
it
?
’
said
Bounderby
.
‘I
am
glad
to
hear
you
say
so
.
Because
when
Tom
Gradgrind
,
with
his
new
lights
,
tells
me
that
what
I
say
is
unreasonable
,
I
am
convinced
at
once
it
must
be
devilish
sensible
.
With
your
permission
I
am
going
on
.
You
know
my
origin
;
and
you
know
that
for
a
good
many
years
of
my
life
I
didn’t
want
a
shoeing-horn
,
in
consequence
of
not
having
a
shoe
.
Yet
you
may
believe
or
not
,
as
you
think
proper
,
that
there
are
ladies
—
born
ladies
—
belonging
to
families
—
Families
!
—
who
next
to
worship
the
ground
I
walk
on.’
He
discharged
this
like
a
Rocket
,
at
his
father-in-law’s
head
.
‘Whereas
your
daughter
,
’
proceeded
Bounderby
,
‘is
far
from
being
a
born
lady
.
That
you
know
,
yourself
.
Not
that
I
care
a
pinch
of
candle-snuff
about
such
things
,
for
you
are
very
well
aware
I
don’t
;
but
that
such
is
the
fact
,
and
you
,
Tom
Gradgrind
,
can’t
change
it
.
Why
do
I
say
this
?
’
‘Not
,
I
fear
,
’
observed
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
in
a
low
voice
,
‘to
spare
me.’
‘Hear
me
out
,
’
said
Bounderby
,
‘and
refrain
from
cutting
in
till
your
turn
comes
round
.
I
say
this
,
because
highly
connected
females
have
been
astonished
to
see
the
way
in
which
your
daughter
has
conducted
herself
,
and
to
witness
her
insensibility
.
They
have
wondered
how
I
have
suffered
it
.
And
I
wonder
myself
now
,
and
I
won’t
suffer
it.’
‘Bounderby
,
’
returned
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
rising
,
‘the
less
we
say
to-night
the
better
,
I
think.’
‘On
the
contrary
,
Tom
Gradgrind
,
the
more
we
say
to-night
,
the
better
,
I
think
.
That
is
,
’
the
consideration
checked
him
,
‘till
I
have
said
all
I
mean
to
say
,
and
then
I
don’t
care
how
soon
we
stop
.
I
come
to
a
question
that
may
shorten
the
business
.
What
do
you
mean
by
the
proposal
you
made
just
now
?
’
‘What
do
I
mean
,
Bounderby
?
’
‘By
your
visiting
proposition
,
’
said
Bounderby
,
with
an
inflexible
jerk
of
the
hayfield
.
‘I
mean
that
I
hope
you
may
be
induced
to
arrange
in
a
friendly
manner
,
for
allowing
Louisa
a
period
of
repose
and
reflection
here
,
which
may
tend
to
a
gradual
alteration
for
the
better
in
many
respects.’
‘To
a
softening
down
of
your
ideas
of
the
incompatibility
?
’
said
Bounderby
.
‘If
you
put
it
in
those
terms.’
‘What
made
you
think
of
this
?
’
said
Bounderby
.
‘I
have
already
said
,
I
fear
Louisa
has
not
been
understood
.
Is
it
asking
too
much
,
Bounderby
,
that
you
,
so
far
her
elder
,
should
aid
in
trying
to
set
her
right
?
You
have
accepted
a
great
charge
of
her
;
for
better
for
worse
,
for
—
’
Mr.
Bounderby
may
have
been
annoyed
by
the
repetition
of
his
own
words
to
Stephen
Blackpool
,
but
he
cut
the
quotation
short
with
an
angry
start
.
‘Come
!
’
said
he
,
‘I
don’t
want
to
be
told
about
that
.
I
know
what
I
took
her
for
,
as
well
as
you
do
.
Never
you
mind
what
I
took
her
for
;
that’s
my
look
out.’
‘I
was
merely
going
on
to
remark
,
Bounderby
,
that
we
may
all
be
more
or
less
in
the
wrong
,
not
even
excepting
you
;
and
that
some
yielding
on
your
part
,
remembering
the
trust
you
have
accepted
,
may
not
only
be
an
act
of
true
kindness
,
but
perhaps
a
debt
incurred
towards
Louisa.’
‘I
think
differently
,
’
blustered
Bounderby
.
‘I
am
going
to
finish
this
business
according
to
my
own
opinions
.
Now
,
I
don’t
want
to
make
a
quarrel
of
it
with
you
,
Tom
Gradgrind
.
To
tell
you
the
truth
,
I
don’t
think
it
would
be
worthy
of
my
reputation
to
quarrel
on
such
a
subject
.
As
to
your
gentleman-friend
,
he
may
take
himself
off
,
wherever
he
likes
best
.
If
he
falls
in
my
way
,
I
shall
tell
him
my
mind
;
if
he
don’t
fall
in
my
way
,
I
shan’t
,
for
it
won’t
be
worth
my
while
to
do
it
.
As
to
your
daughter
,
whom
I
made
Loo
Bounderby
,
and
might
have
done
better
by
leaving
Loo
Gradgrind
,
if
she
don’t
come
home
to-morrow
,
by
twelve
o’clock
at
noon
,
I
shall
understand
that
she
prefers
to
stay
away
,
and
I
shall
send
her
wearing
apparel
and
so
forth
over
here
,
and
you’ll
take
charge
of
her
for
the
future
.
What
I
shall
say
to
people
in
general
,
of
the
incompatibility
that
led
to
my
so
laying
down
the
law
,
will
be
this
.
I
am
Josiah
Bounderby
,
and
I
had
my
bringing-up
;
she’s
the
daughter
of
Tom
Gradgrind
,
and
she
had
her
bringing-up
;
and
the
two
horses
wouldn’t
pull
together
.
I
am
pretty
well
known
to
be
rather
an
uncommon
man
,
I
believe
;
and
most
people
will
understand
fast
enough
that
it
must
be
a
woman
rather
out
of
the
common
,
also
,
who
,
in
the
long
run
,
would
come
up
to
my
mark.’
‘Let
me
seriously
entreat
you
to
reconsider
this
,
Bounderby
,
’
urged
Mr.
Gradgrind
,
‘before
you
commit
yourself
to
such
a
decision.’
‘I
always
come
to
a
decision
,
’
said
Bounderby
,
tossing
his
hat
on
:
‘and
whatever
I
do
,
I
do
at
once
.
I
should
be
surprised
at
Tom
Gradgrind’s
addressing
such
a
remark
to
Josiah
Bounderby
of
Coketown
,
knowing
what
he
knows
of
him
,
if
I
could
be
surprised
by
anything
Tom
Gradgrind
did
,
after
his
making
himself
a
party
to
sentimental
humbug
.
I
have
given
you
my
decision
,
and
I
have
got
no
more
to
say
.
Good
night
!
’
So
Mr.
Bounderby
went
home
to
his
town
house
to
bed
.
At
five
minutes
past
twelve
o’clock
next
day
,
he
directed
Mrs.
Bounderby’s
property
to
be
carefully
packed
up
and
sent
to
Tom
Gradgrind’s
;
advertised
his
country
retreat
for
sale
by
private
contract
;
and
resumed
a
bachelor
life
.
CHAPTER
IV
LOST
The
robbery
at
the
Bank
had
not
languished
before
,
and
did
not
cease
to
occupy
a
front
place
in
the
attention
of
the
principal
of
that
establishment
now
.
In
boastful
proof
of
his
promptitude
and
activity
,
as
a
remarkable
man
,
and
a
self-made
man
,
and
a
commercial
wonder
more
admirable
than
Venus
,
who
had
