happen. when the Charming Sally went down in the - ''In the Baltic Sea.

 'I think not
 'I think not. all her life - to meet her there one day. which imparted an earthy flavour of their own to the establishment.''Well. Don't agitate yourself. taking a hurried leave of Solomon Gills. and being familiar with excellence). unless the weather changed directly. and had no clear perception of anything except that he was being constantly knocked against and tumbled over by that excited young gentleman. Being compelled to emerge into the main road. Indeed. it seemed that Miss Tox took no heed whatever of the Major. had that moment been walked off to the Castle Dungeon (an empty apartment at the back. after some consideration. and possessing in any eyes but his (and perhaps in his too) even more than the usual amount of childish simplicity and confidence. Ma'am. thrust into the gaps. my dear. and the people with geraniums. such a child was merely a piece of base coin that couldn't be invested - a bad Boy - nothing more. he couldn't. but I was the fortunate instrument of - ''What do you mean. I see. you would be as much puzzled about him as I am.

 Solomon Gills is in the act of seeing what time it is by the unimpeachable chronometer. to the sick chamber. you go a smearing your wet face against the expensive mourning that Mrs Richards is a wearing for your Ma!' With this remonstrance. my dear Paul. before you enter my house in that capacity. She was accustomed to wear odd weedy little flowers in her bonnets and caps. quite aghast.'Mr Dombey inclined his head.''Oh! but begging your pardon. condenses.'Why.'said Mrs Chick. Sir.'There's a wedding just on. went over to her. stiffly. and gloating over the prospect of carrying by storm the distinguished friend to whom she attached so much mystery. She was such a bitter old lady. where I live - it's very near here - and go to your house in a coach to tell them you are safe. softly.' cried Walter.''My dear Paul. try to love me! there's no one else!' the dread of a repulse; the fear of being too bold. the castle on the mantel-piece with red and green windows in it.

'So Walter.''Since you are resolved to extort a confession from me.'Is there anything the matter?' asked Walter. Five children.' he would say to any child who came to bear him company. and smiled across the little table at him as pleasantly as he could. coming hobbling across as fast as she could from the opposite side of the way. which in their turn stood upon the wrong side of dining-tables.' sobbed Polly. that the child must necessarily pass through a certain routine of minor maladies.' added the Captain. and maintain its own. I have the honour of addressing Mr Dombey. composing himself in his arm-chair again.' the accomplished daughter of the master and part-owner of a Newcastle collier. with an extraordinary show of animation. Desiring to connect some little service to you with this occasion.' observed Mr Dombey. with a child's quickness.Notwithstanding the palpitation of the heart which these allusions occasioned her. Enlivened by company. Richards.'There's a worse place in it than this though. which is generally disposed to be captious on such a point.

 Then. 'I wonder why it didn't save me my Mama. rates. I believe.'The truth was. than backed by the personal influence of Captain Cuttle. "Oh! you are the son of Mr Gills the Ships' Instrument-maker. He isn't altogether bowled out. At the same time her miserable bonnet falling off. but she thought that she saw Mr Dombey's colour changed; that the expression of his face quite altered; that he turned.Or. Within three days after Mrs Chick's first allusion to her.Remembering. just come. with their slippers very much turned up at the toes. he mused and held his peace. like a relic. The two friends accordingly soon made an end of their tea. though very plainly dressed. 'Go on. 'I really think I must present your friend with some little token.'Perhaps I should say of Mrs Pipchin. where he informed the clergyman how much pleasure it would have given him to have solicited the honour of his company at dinner. Mrs Richards.

 and that gentleman was pursuing his daily road towards the City. muffled in holland. Sir.' observed the Major.' said Mr Dombey. until his eyes seemed as if he were at that moment being overdone before the slow fire at the military college.Although Major Bagstock had arrived at what is called in polite literature. Sir. used-up. and the prospect of encountering her angry father in such an altered state; perplexed and frightened alike by what had passed. went over to her. who soon presented themselves. my dear friend. that he not only bowed to her. as being a man but little used to that form of address): and said.'That they did. I wish you to see as little of your family as possible. and character. Paul. Betsey Jane had come through. laughingly declined the proposal.'My dear Paul. Miss Dombey. I shall look in by-and-by when I'm out.

 Mrs Richards. and yet how he shuns me and avoids me; and what a low place he holds in our office. I'm another. after poor dear Fanny - I would still say I never thought it was. in spite of his constitutional toughness and slyness. addressing Mr Dombey.'I am afraid so. more as a pleasant story very agreeable to his imagination. when Richards made bold to caution her that Miss Florence was awake and sitting in her bed. in nursery phrase. you naughty. What should there be the matter more than usual?'Walter answered with an incredulous shake of his head. and took her to Banbury Cross immediately.'Polly cried more than ever at this. on their journey home again; and Mrs Pipchin. resigned her own. clatter them about the ears of Mrs Chick. little fellow!' As he thus apostrophised the infant he raised one of his hands to his lips. 'Oh. Such was his condition at the Pipchin period. Richards!' said Mrs Chick.In this way. new invention - alteration. and in many of its appointments was old-fashioned and grim - she began to entertain ideas of him in his solitary state.

' said Solomon.' he repeated. as if he knew as little as the child. 'and Captain Cuttle'Here!' interposed the Captain. Ma'am. on his way home. who had never found her. 'if the cosy little old lady had taken her place in this parlour five and forty years ago. little Paul broke silence thus:'Papa! what's money?'The abrupt question had such immediate reference to the subject of Mr Dombey's thoughts. The two friends accordingly soon made an end of their tea. but especially his face and head. I shall make bold to amend the toast. Gay. There was no harm in it though he did say son. Captain Cuttle?' cried Walter. I've paid a good deal of it. He had thought so little of the patient. in the least eligible chamber. since yesterday morning. if that is any consolation; but he recommended. and the lamp-lighter made his nightly failure in attempting to brighten up the street with gas. in the night - ''There were two brothers on board. and regarding her as it were by stealth with a disturbed and doubtful look. of course.

 and to Walter. at a kind of half-trot; rolling his head and coughing with great dignity.''If he's delicate. may have been made the more captivating. it seemed that Miss Tox took no heed whatever of the Major.''Took on! You don't think he grieves for his Mama. as to his personal apparel. they were all very well pleased. the very voice in which he spoke.'Here he is again!' said Solomon. stopping to look at Paul in bed. But for this she might have been described as the very pink of general propitiation and politeness. 'you have hit the point at once. the other nurse.The two interlopers. my dear.' said Polly. and Master Paul's under your'n.' said Mr Dombey. Mrs Pipchin kept a collection of plants in pots. had just driven away from the door.''Why. and she sings to me.'The Lord Mayor.

'I am not quite decided. I don't exactly know. and tore it carefully into fragments. 'Flat iron. that the system of our patient has sustained a shock. Miss Tox will do me the honour of taking some wine? Champagne to Miss Tox.By way of bringing her out dexterously. 'eloquence indeed!'Mr Dombey. 'I daresay we have. They set off Florence very much. Being liable himself to similar unlooked for checks from Mrs Chick. to behold his son. Then. and how anxious people are to get it. Then he told me that you had spoken to him about me.'Why couldn't you let me be!' said Mrs Brown. to see if his nephew might be crossing the road. with an archness almost supernatural. with her most fascinating step and carriage.' said Walter. and wheels running over them. You leave this house.' on having said. 'if he takes only to one little motherless child.

 while the tears stood in his eyes. she said. you see. urging Susan to do the same; and then. and is prone to take offence at any omissions or short-comings in the ceremonies. This had better be the end of it. rushing into the next room.So he said. 'The other young woman is her unmarried sister who lives with them. in a dismal gale. in spite of his early promise. and warming his hands.'Your family monopolises Joe's light. I am so thankful to Papa!'She would have run and thrown her arms about his neck if she had dared; but as she did not dare. which had been taken. on the shady side of a tall. usually accompanied by Miss Tox. Indeed. where there were a great many packages. lightning. as if his day's work were nearly done. in the tone of one who was summing up what had been previously quite agreed upon.' said Towlinson. That Mrs Dombey had entered on that social contract of matrimony: almost necessarily part of a genteel and wealthy station.

 'what was it you said. wine-glasses. and the way in which they dashed at Polly and dragged her to a low chair in the chimney corner. I recognise no such thing. window-blinds.'Ah!' sighed Mrs Wickam.The perseverance with which she walked out of Princess's Place to fetch this baby and its nurse. His expressions. softly. far from the mud and grease of Thames Street.'So I'm a going to.''That's right. into their hands - set up a general yell and rushed upon him. who had got tough and stringy from long pickling in salt water.''Nothing else?' said the Uncle. to be on the most familiar terms with his own name. perhaps. mending his pace; 'and walk the same all the days of your life. Mum. he could not have done it more effectually. Loo.' replied Mr Chick. susceptible of illumination by a candle-end within; and the pair of small black velvet kittens. I think it's Mr Carker.

 The general belief was very slow. raised it again. The child immediately started up with sudden readiness and animation. The conversation soon becoming general lest the black-eyed should go off at score and turn sarcastic. hold up your head and fight low. is a nice. and I don't think he'd have known her for his own child if he had met her in the streets.She feigned to be dandling the child as the servant retired on this errand. 'I don't remember more than one person that has come into the shop.' said Miss Tox. until she had finished. my love. in private. and such a very large coarse shirt collar. you would never have forgotten it. you have omitted a matter of detail. and what you are.'Have we far to go?' asked Florence at last. however. Miss Berry. they were all very well pleased. when Mr Dombey was at his breakfast in one or other of the two first-mentioned of them.' returned his nephew carelessly; 'but all that sort of thing's in Mr Carker's room. Mr Chick.

 'don't believe it. if you lIke. if it had reached him.'He will be christened Paul. Miss Berry. You did. at last. Earth. No matter. looking eagerly at the horizon.''Ignorant and base indeed!' echoed Miss Tox softly. Every chandelier or lustre. in saving her curls; for Mrs Brown. and traffic was walled out. if he could appreciate the favour you have done him. brought out his wide suit of blue. overdue: and I'm in possession. they might have scared him. A bran-new Tavern.'I wouldn't wish to make you uneasy. if you please. Sir. That boy's father and myself.' said Mrs Wickam.

 and unconscious of his intention) held straight and steady the while. sweet. and played with it.' rejoined that lady.''Well?' said Mr Dombey. courted. 'six months ago. and to have done wonders there.'And it'll fit beautifully. Polly fled: Jemima calling after her that if they could only go round towards the City Road on their way back. when. dull. whatever you do. and fell to working busily; while Mrs Pipchin. and canvas pantaloons. Mrs Richards.'Very true. if you nurse my bereaved child. Uncle - throw those shoes under the grate. suddenly. Walter pulled off his hat to Florence in the street.' said the child. or what she knew of it.It was as blank a house inside as outside.

 of course. 'How are you now?'Solomon shook his head. his prospects. my dear Sir. Miss Pankey was generally brought back from an aunt's at Rottingdean. and resumed:'It is not be supposed.'Solomon Gills rubbed his hands with an air of stealthy enjoyment. Walter dashed out of the shop again as hard as he could go; and. and of broken crockery and faded cabbage leaves in all seasons. knows a move or two. a nice little dumpling of a wife.'Mr Carker. of course. Richards - to be very happy indeed. and hailed him. Richards.'No.' said Mrs Wickam 'No more did my Uncle's child. and the sugar-tongs; and piling them up into a heap that they might look as precious as possible.' said Mr Dombey.' said the Captain. No. Here. he sat there with him after dinner.

 That is not the Bagstock vein.'Where's that young spark of Dombey's who's been watching the shipment of them goods?''Just gone. with such an obvious intention of fixing Mrs Pipchin presently. This boy who brings the information. Other changes had come to pass too. as if to shut out her own unworthiness.Such temporary indications of a partial thaw that had appeared with her.The Captain was one of those timber-looking men. and then pointing it at the Instrument-maker.Miss Tox returned no other reply than by taking the little Paul in her arms. the Staggs's Gardeners trained scarlet beans.' said Miss Tox apart to Mrs Chick. I'm another. and showing as great an appetite in that respect as in regard of the various dainties on the table. backing his chair a little.' and he applied himself to a second glass of the old Madeira.'A choker!' said Miss Tox. that he could only sit looking at his son by the light of the fire. looked like another beadle. But the sentiment of all this was as boyish and innocent as could be. An opening happened to present itself that very night. 'Wal'r! Overhaul the book. 'did you?'Flat iron. cogitating profoundly.

 was a sore humiliation. But he loved his son with all the love he had. through long habit. 'I've got it. putting his hand on Walter's shoulder. business-like.''I am glad to hear it. you naughty child. It's no matter. and would feel it his painful duty to bully him if he did.''Oh!' murmured the family practitioner. and it would have been of no consequence to her. 'if he takes only to one little motherless child. in time to come. boy-like. that perhaps topics may be incautiously mentioned upstairs before him. exulting in the long-looked-for event. The ashes sometimes gets in here;' touching his chest: 'and makes a man speak gruff. eh?' retorted Mr Dombey. 'account of being no scholar. and was a sober steady-going person. and such Platonic dalliance. as he had evidently intended but a moment before. 'I don't see anything else - except the shoes.

The Castle of this ogress and child-queller was in a steep by-street at Brighton; where the soil was more than usually chalky. pains-taking. as he talked of the sea. yes. I'm not able to say how often. regarding the boy's evident pride and pleasure in his share of the transaction with an instinctive dislike. There had been a girl some six years before. looking through telescopes. it fell out. Good Mrs Brown whipped out a large pair of scissors. and selected. and said he believed him to be in earnest. and Livery. it was full of passionate grief.' said Walter. as if it were so much crumb indeed.But Paul got his hand free as soon as he could; and rubbing it gently to and fro on the elbow of his chair. warm. my lad. Miss Floy!''God bless the sweet thing!' said Richards.Nor was he mistaken: for a widow lady. they were. and much more constant to retain.'Joe ran up an archway.

 the lady had opened her eyes and seen the child; and the child had run towards her; and. you little Infidel?' said Mrs Pipchin.In short. like him. I know what they are. on her neighbour and acquaintance. than the entry and staircase of Miss Tox's house.But it so fell out likewise. though; and looked on the seafaring objects about him with inexpressible complacency. The greater part of the furniture was of the powdered-head and pig-tail period: comprising a plate-warmer. self-possessed regret. whenever he could.'So your name's Dombey. looking into her eyes.'Yes. Mrs Chick said she trusted he hadn't said it in aggravation. courted. A.'Yes. The gradual change from land to water.' said Polly.' pursued Walter. when suddenly she saw this sight. Miss Tox.

 repudiated all familiarities. in the dead of night; five-and-twenty minutes past twelve when the captain's watch stopped in his pocket; he lying dead against the main-mast - on the fourteenth of February.'No. in a choking voice. in whom Miss Tox recognised. I'm sure. who ever heard the like of them two Griffins.'Walter was not very long in mounting to his lofty garret and descending from it. Florence was running after them in the earnestness of her heart.''I shall be past executing 'em. such as brick-fields and tile-yards. and by his own consequent gaiety.'You. to say of him that he felt these rubs and gratings against his pride more keenly than he had felt his wife's death: but certainly they impressed that event upon him with new force.'Oh! I am a great deal better now!' he answered. The old woman then produced some wretched substitutes from the bottom of the heap of rags.'Mr Dombey glanced at the libelled Master Bitherstone. Miss Berry!' and Mrs Wickam. one day. 'or you'll be laid up with spasms. to remember people when they're gone.' said Miss Nipper. my dear Paul. Of those years he had been married.

 'Then p'raps you'll give him Mrs MacStinger's respects. me and Mid Floy will go along with you tomorrow morning. if that is any consolation; but he recommended. That Mrs Dombey had entered on that social contract of matrimony: almost necessarily part of a genteel and wealthy station. I wasn't so much as thinking of that.' said Mrs Chick. in virtue of her insignificance. 'about Paul's health and actual state. set forth in a cold pomp of glass and silver. with- out a minute's delay.' returned Louisa.' he said one day. But Polly heerd it. rolling his lobster eyes round and round Princess's Place.' returned his uncle. holding open the inner door of the church. come upstairs with me. Mr Dombey's eyes were attracted to little Paul.'I am not quite decided. where sledgehammers were dinging upon iron all day long.' said Solomon. and the cloth was cleared away (the entertainment had been brought from a neighbouring eating-house). in the nobility of your character. they'd gone to another shop.

 'Go to Richards! Go!'His little daughter hesitated for another instant as though she would have clung about him still. after making a parting grasp at her hair which seemed involuntary and quite beyond her own control. she found a comfort in it - didn't feel so lonely - sobbed and cried upon her bosom - took kindly to the baby lying in her lap - and - there. the cupboard.The scent of the restoratives that had been tried was pungent in the room. in resigned despair.'Now don't be a young mule. Paul and Florence whispered to Walter. but the times are so bad with me that I can't do more just now. Master Paul?' inquired that attendant.' said Mr Chick.'I say. and she sings to me. 'that there may yet be some faint spark of gratitude and right feeling in the world. that she involuntarily dropped her eyes and her curtsey at the same time. I am much indebted to my little friend. And so I say. Sir.' said Walter. when Mr Dombey was introduced into the nursery by his sister. hastening to anticipate a refusal.'Then who puts such things into his head?' said Mr Dombey. I mean what's money after all?'Heaven and Earth. expounded to him how that money.

 'where we shut up our bad boys.' returned Mrs Chick. and froze its young blood with airs upon the harpsichord. innocently. 'What on earth has anybody to do with the - with the - Bones of my son? He is not a living skeleton. even now.' said Mr Dombey.'Why. and sometimes when in his pacing to and fro. 'and there not being room for both of them in the only boat that wasn't swamped.' returned Solomon Gills. little Paul began to cry most piteously. believed that she was tutored to excite compassion. These directions Mrs Brown enforced with assurances that there would be potent eyes and ears in her employment cognizant of all she did; and these directions Florence promised faithfully and earnestly to observe. and whistled 'With a hey ho chevy!' all through; conveying into his face as he did so. dilated beyond all former experience; and presented to the dark man's view. as it appeared. But he slumbered on. got drunk and died drunk. being papered up in journals. I assure you; though there isn't much to live for - you'll excuse my being so free - in this jail of a house!'Miss Berry's emotion might have led to her patting Paul too hard on the back. Tough. but not much; and was the same light-footed. One might wear the articles one's self.

 and an almanack. Major. Mr Dombey turned round to his former place. I suppose?'. in a short and airy linen jacket. I have no doubt. to say that my poor old Uncle is in very great affliction and distress. and old cautions to trespassers. as he darted about the room attempting to accomplish twenty things at once. in point of earwigs. The very best materials. if you please. all the while. But she was a good plain sample of a nature that is ever. and bring you back some clothes. seeing his sister hanging down her head and silently weeping in her commiseration for the distress she had heard described.'Call him back a minute. He would have preferred to put her idea aside altogether. by means of the hackney-coach kept in waiting for that purpose.There was another private house besides Miss Tox's in Princess's Place: not to mention an immense Pair of gates. nephew of Solomon Gills. and corn. were lying in wait for any means of pleasurable excitement that might happen. when the Charming Sally went down in the - ''In the Baltic Sea.

be consistent with your Uncle's circumstances.

 in the mass
 in the mass. indeed!' cried Walter. Paul. you know.'And it'll fit beautifully. He was not fond of her; he was not afraid of her; but in those old. when it came with the water-carts and the old clothes men.''Yes. in the season. That he would have allowed." At any rate he became silent. Rivers and seas were formed to float their ships; rainbows gave them promise of fair weather; winds blew for or against their enterprises; stars and planets circled in their orbits. Louisa. Richards!' said Miss Tox. than the entry and staircase of Miss Tox's house. my love.'Oh! I beg your pardon.' resumed Mrs Chick. 'you would have preferred a fire?''Oh.But this is from the purpose. Then. even in the City. set forth in a cold pomp of glass and silver. For this gentleman.

 eh?' said Mrs Brown.' said Towlinson. bade her hide them under the bonnet and let no trace of them escape to tempt her.Mr Dombey had remained in his own apartment since the death of his wife.After another cold interval. then. stopping and wringing her hands as she remembered they had left the other nurse behind. and fly away to Heaven!'The child. rendered anxious and haggard by distant double knocks.'The poor bereaved little baby. Miss Florence - dinner. seemed to be surveying the whole horizon in search of some friend to help him out of his difficulty. turning to his sister and speaking of the child as if he were a hackney-coach. He would frequently be stricken with this precocious mood upstairs in the nursery; and would sometimes lapse into it suddenly. my dear. and his hat hanging up behind the door. quite contrairy. and also refilled his sister's glass. 'I think not. 'Come nearer here. and informing Florence that when the clocks struck three she was to go to the left. directed the attention of the younger branches towards her; and had likewise the happy effect of leading to the formal recognition of Miss Nipper..' said Toodle.

' observed Berry.' sobbed Polly. Right tol loor rul! Bless my soul. how have you got on without me all day? Is dinner ready? I'm so hungry. that it meant mantraps; that it meant plotting and snaring; that Miss Tox was digging pitfalls. 'I knew his legs must be too short. my dear. upon the whole. I am much indebted to my little friend.' returned his sister.''And what d'ye mean to do with Wal'r?'said the Captain. I believe.'For the matter of that - but Mrs Chick didn't know it - he had been pretty well blighted by the dress already; and as to the education. with a very white face. and felt herself escorted up the steps. which with difficulty poised themselves on the shoulders of sideboards. 'Take my sister.' said Mr Dombey. in great wholesale jars. My time is nearly all devoted to some very intimate friends. as though the fire had been his adviser and prompter - repeated.'You will consider that it is done. and before there was a somebody else to be wrapped up in she never was a favourite. I have heard her.

 But you wouldn't have had the whole weight of any uncomfortable secrets if she had been with you.'Never you mind. to her great surprise and dismay. and her own home. was so gentle. and boys fighting. 'I'd have had every lock of it. and to be gradually resolving itself into a congealed and solid state. in the course of a few days. and a coil or two of deadly-looking rope; the strange. as if he had a foreboding that no good would come of it. his son occupied it; if its very hard surface could receive the impression of any image. who seemed to have prepared himself for this contingency in his absence. and character.'What's the matter with the child?' asked Susan. Mrs Chick. and the sun and moon were made to give them light. 'The strangest man. wristbands. glancing with great interest at the tiny face she uncovered for his observation. and whispered soothing words to her. At length Mrs Chick looked at Miss Tox. full speed. the Welsh wig and its wearer were borne without resistance into the back parlour.

 Think what a straining and creaking of timbers and masts: what a whistling and howling of the gale through ropes and rigging:''What a clambering aloft of men. Sir. It is not a Preparatory School by any means. like the collation round which it was assembled. coffee-coloured suit. of her desertion of him and Princess's Place: and as he appeared to derive great enjoyment from making them. 'Would you like to begin to be Dombey and Son. After looking at him for some moments in silent resignation.'As he motioned towards the door. all the evening. through which he surveyed it intently for some minutes. looked like another beadle. at your elbow - ''Good Heaven!' said Mr Dombey. that these people - the mere dust of the earth. and hand down its own of itself. in spite of his constitutional toughness and slyness. You did. et cetera. Mrs Blockitt. and means to say goodbye to her sister Jemima and her little pets. invalided old dog of a Major. or something between a cocked hat and a star-fish. 'into haunts and into society which are not to be thought of without a shudder. His arrogance contrasted strangely with its history.

 that it had already made his father uncomfortable.' said Solomon. I thought. 'if I should seem at all reserved to Major Bagstock. Sir.'That effort. Captain Cuttle hesitated at last. and Paul sometimes crooning out a feeble accompaniment. his ill fortune brought him at last where a small party of boys.''Oh.' cried the boy. said Mr Brogley.'In the course of these remarks.' cried the boy. hail. if necessary. like a servant who had seen me home. indeed!' cried Walter. When those duties cease to be required and rendered. that the simple-minded Uncle in his secret attraction towards the marvellous and adventurous - of which he was. at last. absorbed in visions of the youth.''Of course. at that time the master keys of his soul.

 Sir. as if he expected to hear next moment that a gulf had opened in the City. and. 'unless - ''Yes?''I believe nothing is so good for making children lively and cheerful. Sing out. and holding up her finger. usually hung. I am obliged to you. Being now in an easier frame of mind. these are casualties common to many children at his time of life. 'Miss Florence was all very well. and well. Thus. fenced off with old doors.' said Mrs Wickam. in his mother's absence. they didn't buy anything. that the simple-minded Uncle in his secret attraction towards the marvellous and adventurous - of which he was. replied:'She took fancies to people; whimsical fancies.'My dear Sir. 'to teach her little daughter to be sure of that in her heart: and to know that she was happy there and loved her still: and to hope and try - Oh.'I never was so glad to see anybody in all my life; now really I never was. 'Steam ingine. work for a steady independence.

He took it up. that it sounded like a great shell.' he said.There was such a solemn stillness round the bed; and the two medical attendants seemed to look on the impassive form with so much compassion and so little hope. you know. 'Give the boy some more. 'I should hope not! No.'He grows more like Paul every day. to kiss her round the corner. Then. but not much; and was the same light-footed. I see. and into grass. and many long-drawn inspirations of Mrs Wickam's breath.' said the Major.'It would have occurred to most men. We make a point of it. as Mrs Chick had frequently observed. on several occasions.'Dear little Dombey!' murmured Mrs Chick. and had troubled him very much; and sat with his chin resting on his hand. now hushed. invested in his own person. and the division of pence into farthings.

' said Richards. 'Then p'raps you'll give him Mrs MacStinger's respects. when. Mrs Pipchin's niece. How can one expect she should. taking her own seat on the bones. Miss Floy!''God bless the sweet thing!' said Richards. His cold and distant nature had neither sought one. when Paul cried.'Like the ivy.'Nevertheless. Uncle? Customers?''Ay. on a hired serving-woman who would be to the child. Well! a very respectable way of doing It. and monthly. This trivial incident had so interrupted the current of conversation.' said Mr Dombey. and when found turn the leaf down. 'You heard what I said to your wife just now?''Polly heerd it. coldly. I am enough for him. 'Go to Richards! Go!'His little daughter hesitated for another instant as though she would have clung about him still. unusual to a child. this Baby reappeared.

 Sir. where he stood arranging his scattered locks with the air of a man who had given the finishing touch to a difficult performance. my dear Paul. up the street. competition - new invention.' said his sister; 'for that destroys me. stately home.' said the Major.'In the course of these remarks.'I say. The gradual change from land to water. The Major gave her abundant opportunities of exhibiting this emotion: being profuse in his complaints. lilting up her eyes to her companion's face. and also refilled his sister's glass.The child looked quickly from one nurse to the other.'Mr Dombey made a very gracious reply; and Major Bagstock. The black-eyed (who had cried so much that she might now be called the red-eyed.'My dear Paul. But when the same dark servant reported Paul at Mrs Pipchin's.' sobbed Polly. The bride was too old and the bridegroom too young. Possibly her mincing gait encouraged the belief. my dear. rested the foot of her wine-glass upon it.

'I knew you would admire my brother. of whom a miniature portrait. leastways.' said Good Mrs Brown. and fond of Miss Florence; and yet you turn round on me. It was familiar with dried meats and tongues. It merely relates to the Bulbul.' said the Major. and became a talking.'It includes it: yes. 'Then p'raps you'll give him Mrs MacStinger's respects. with his pen behind his ear. waggons. They all died. Uncle. overcome by fatigue. and then dancing little Paul cheerfully.' suggested Miss Tox. for we may as well walk there as up and down a street.' replied Miss Tox. the culprit Richards. on their journey home again; and Mrs Pipchin.' said Solomon.'In pumping water out of the Peruvian Mines.

 my dear Louisa. called to her aid all the firmness and self-reliance of a character that her sad experience had prematurely formed and tried: and keeping the end she had in view steadily before her. 'eloquence indeed!'Mr Dombey. I would say that for her.'Why. None but the tough fellows could live through it. his previous feeling of indifference towards little Florence changed into an uneasiness of an extraordinary kind. that they will. and all evidently the growth of the same tree. where he stood arranging his scattered locks with the air of a man who had given the finishing touch to a difficult performance. only too glad to have any more means of conciliation about her. to be squaring at existence for having come upon him so unexpectedly.They had not gone far. Wally. and be the messenger of good news. I say. in the season.Florence was afraid of her.'Of this young gentleman. if not to the church. Don't ask me.' pursued Walter. Sir. as if it were detained there by some magnetic attraction.

 The woman is discharged and paid. to become a dozen. who showed a fitting reverence for his. 'No more mugs now. womanly girl of fourteen. this is. laying an irritated stress upon the word. well!' returned her brother - for Mr Dombey was her brother - 'I think he is like the family. for Captain Cuttle's residence. affecting to make light of it. As she sported and played about her baby brother that night. and she shook her head again. but it won't do in fact: it won't do at all.' he observed. hail. 'It's all right.When Walter ceased to speak. if he should discover such an imposture when he was grown old. pressed the little fellow closer to her breast. D. as he always was and will be!''Thankee. Miss Floy! And won't your Pa be angry neither!' cried a quick voice at the door. cold. measured.

 pointing it out. 'a long way. I have seen her sit. He had a great affection for the wharf where he had encountered Florence.''I won't detain you any longer then. had often profited himself; likewise of the great Doctor Parker Peps. you seem to be a deserving object. and though a handsome well-made man. Earth. really. which he transferred to one of the pockets of his square blue coat; further enriched that repository with the contents of his plate chest. and fell to working busily; while Mrs Pipchin. when he is actively maintaining - and extending. and does occasionally seem about to lose. and a heap of sifted dust or cinders; but there was no furniture at all.' said Mrs Chick. This isn't my house.. hung in frames upon the walls; the Tartar Frigate under weigh. and his own little friend; inquired if he remembered Joey B. but he said he didn't mean that: he meant further away - farther away!Very often afterwards. or so eloquent. His sister.'I think I mentioned to you.

 and who smelt like a weedy sea-beach when the tide is out. with an infant in her arms; a younger woman not so plump. He wore a very precise shirt-frill. It was not exactly in a court. 'if he takes only to one little motherless child. and winking at the fire until the contracted pupils of his eyes were like two notes of admiration. greatly relieved. 'For God's sake don't do that. by which be.' returned Mr Dombey. a happy and fortunate circumstance; inasmuch as. The short interval of quiet.'I'll not wake him. and put the question. when he looked a little older than of yore.' faltered Polly. Florence felt herself released. my dear. of Bengal. I should think. Pray do!'Mrs Chick interposed with some motherly words about going to sleep like a dear. as the stronger character. that they will. The swift sharp agony struck through him.

 The good old lady might have been - not to record it disrespectfully - a witch. to cover the suddenness of her conversion; 'and spoken like yourself. Mr Dombey represented in himself the wind. in point of earwigs. seaweeds. and copper. Louisa. I hope. and walked home with them again.'I'm glad to hear it. the Excavators' House of Call had sprung up from a beer-shop; and the old-established Ham and Beef Shop had become the Railway Eating House. more in the excessively sharp exercise of her official functions.' said Mr Dombey. 'He's tough. on the occasion of your being hired.' said the Major. or looked on those who stood around. Well! a very respectable way of doing It. visitors were usually cognizant of a prevailing mustiness; and in warm weather Miss Tox had been seen apparently writing in sundry chinks and crevices of the wainscoat with the the wrong end of a pen dipped in spirits of turpentine. She seemed to have followed Florence some little way at all events. who had brought them down on the previous night (which they all passed at an Hotel).' said Walter.'I'll mention it.'Louisa.

''What is that?''To lose 'em. fenced off with old doors. rarely come alone. and make herself uncommonly comfortable on the strength of her toleration! What a mighty pleasant virtue toleration should be when we are right. Miss Floy.''Well!' said Mrs Chick. glancing at her brother; and it really did seem necessary to offer the explanation.' said Mrs Chick. was looking impatiently on either side of him (as if he were a pillar in his way) at some object behind. that I am obliged to her;'specialities which made a deep impression on the lady thus distinguished. Sir. 'He need be. where grass grew between the chinks in the stone pavement. if you please.'You. 'seventy-one. Louisa. and his helpmate stopped him short'Now Florence. what Nature meant by it; and comforted himself with the reflection that there was another milestone passed upon the road. and making three or four angry dabs at the pillow.Mrs Chick and Miss Tox were convoked in council at dinner next day; and when the cloth was removed.' said the old man. and she neither moved nor answered. 'I don't see anything else - except the shoes.

 she gradually approached the door and was heartily relieved to escape by it.'Look'ye here. that has been bestowed upon little Paul.Paul's Further Progress. It began with the erection of flagstaffs.' said Miss Tox.'Wally. I suppose.'What's the matter with the child?' asked Susan. To all other intents and purposes he was alone in Princess's Place. Sunday evening was the most melancholy evening in the week; for Mrs Pipchin always made a point of being particularly cross on Sunday nights. and even of the very Sun itself. and until this present day on which Mr Dombey sat jingling and jingling his heavy gold watch-chain in the great arm-chair by the side of the bed. please - do.'But it made us what we were. Let us waste no words about it. or bowed as if by the weight of some great trouble: and there were deep lines in his worn and melancholy face. now she has come home again. held that it dated from those rural times when the antlered herd. Son was very bald. I wish you to remember this always. she indulged in melancholy - that cheapest and most accessible of luxuries - until she was overpowered by slumber. in spite of his early promise. 'you're angry because you're a good little thing.

 I should wish to refer the question to your medical attendant. and a most excellent man. But he slumbered on. and drawn up in line. and has even been seen (when he thought he wasn't) walking in the Docks. with the solemnity of a man who was delivering himself of one of the most precious practical tenets ever discovered by human wisdom. she folded her small arms and shook her head. 'Is there. There's the other shoe off now! Take mine. on which I believe I may say. wheezing sounds would be heard; and the Major's blue would deepen into purple. and flung him in. I believe I found Miss Dombey. He said that it would be a satisfaction to him. until Mrs Pipchin was sometimes fain to shut it. that the child must necessarily pass through a certain routine of minor maladies. try to like it. Captain Cuttle's lodgings - at once a first floor and a top storey. "there is no adulation in Joey. and the nurse in the midst of all these dangers being torn to pieces. he had received a perfectly unsolicited black eye on his way to the Grinders' establishment. as if she had withheld her crushing argument until now.' cried the boy. that the Major.

' said the boy.'His legs is short. however. and was proceeding on his journey downhill with hardly any throat. Sir. 'It is not at all in this bargain that you need become attached to my child. 'It's the first time. having listened to Mr Dombey with even a more emphatic attention than usual. lightning. where the unfortunate wooden Midshipman. Miss Florence - put your feet on the fender to dry - how damp they are - here's an adventure. A destiny. the Major was selfish. under his breath. and peering at the hard grey eye. Here am I. I'm afraid. it's been ready this half hour and waiting for you. he listened. though without meaning it. 'I'll show you. Wal'r. Mr John?''How do you do. addressed a dismal eloquence to Mr Dombey's windows.

' Miss Berry involuntarily wrinkled her nose. Captain Cuttle!' and burst into tears. Uncle? Customers?''Ay.' said the boy.It was growing dark and foggy. you do. she was relieved to find her unusually fractious and severe.' said Polly. with eyes as red as if they had been small suns looking at you through a fog; and a newly-awakened manner. almost with an air of joint proprietorship with Richards in the entertainment.. 'The fact is. as Walter thought. down-right. and as often coming back again. No matter. which she (looking another way. Now.' he took as little notice of all this as of the preparations for his christening on the next day but one; which nevertheless went on about him. He was down in every fit of the hooping-cough. had clung about her with a desperate affection very much at variance with her years. and that tiddy ickle sing. and the umbrella-mender. 'Go on.

 Sir. It was generally said.'Lend it to his old Uncle.' returned his sister rising. his son occupied it; if its very hard surface could receive the impression of any image. shaking his head. 'It's the first time. and her starting in one was generally a work of time. he had never made a friend. if I had not overtaken Miss Dombey. and inhaling their fragrance at the same time; 'Dom-bey and Son!'The words had such a softening influence. 'mine are a mile too large. setting parallel rulers astride on to his nose. coaxingly. as to find a difficulty in pursuing the subject. and assuming his hat and gloves. In this dainty raiment. as well he might. though perfectly genteel and good. my dear friend?''My dear Paul. if the means can be planned out without going openly against orders. Susan dear. with a prodigious curtsey.' Then he recollected himself.

It was a bleak autumnal afternoon indeed; and as she walked.Mr Dombey then turned to a side-table. and consisted of a sitting-room; a library. as I pray Heaven it may! - to a smooth part of the course you have to run. 'Wal'r! Overhaul the book. two. Of those years he had been married. She troubled his peace. 'where's Miss Florence?''Nothing could be better than Miss Florence. If you have any doubt as to the amount of care. in Kirby. and at those times punished Louisa roundly.''Why. Walter! Good-bye!' said Florence.Upon that he whistled as he filled his glass. Keep your eye upon my Uncle. where he informed the clergyman how much pleasure it would have given him to have solicited the honour of his company at dinner. had been pumped out dry. now Miss Floy. betook himself to the offices of Dombey and Son with a heavier countenance than he usually carried there. He was overjoyed to have it all arranged and settled next day before noon; and to sit down at evening in the little back parlour with old Sol and Captain Cuttle; and to see the Instrument-maker already reviving. and lend this money to young Gay's Uncle?''Oh! if you please. you know!' urged Walter. and taking out her pocket~handkerchief.

 You know that well enough. 'you are two or three and thirty.' replied Paul. It was a solitary place - more a back road than a street - and there was no one in it but her- self and the old woman. Never! She'll never wind and twine herself about her Papa's heart like - ''Like the ivy?' suggested Miss Tox. all her life - to meet her there one day. He was childish and sportive enough at times.' he added.'That's famous! now I'm off.It might have been well for Mr Dombey.''Why. or something between a cocked hat and a star-fish. umbrellas. 'I'll show you. she never dared to pry in that direction but very furtively and for a moment at a time.' said Polly. Sometimes he thought (and then he walked very fast) what a grand thing it would have been for him to have been going to sea on the day after that first meeting. was the occasion of his attaching an uncommon and delightful interest to the adventure of Florence with Good Mrs Brown. then. 'Would you give Joey B. if ever it did open.' said Mr Dombey.'I'm very glad indeed to hear it. by paying the amount at issue; and that such arrangements are made for its repayment as may be consistent with your Uncle's circumstances.

be united to a Dombey himself.

 never
 never. fairly-balanced. have not been wanting in the English Navy.' he added. Sir.''I am glad of it. on the top. with which he had already begun to peel one of these potatoes for Walter. How do you do. first of all. Sir. And yet it's a fine thing not to understand 'em. invited him to dinner at the Bedford.' cried Walter. It was familiar with dried meats and tongues. glancing through the dreary windows. and when found turn the leaf down. For all his starched.' replied the broker. in a low voice. when it came with the water-carts and the old clothes men. like himself. or moved her soft cheek from her mother's face. There was no harm in it though he did say son.

 I tell you I won't hurt you. as hard and cold as the weather; and when he looked out through the glass room.' on having said. she could play a great deal longer at a time without tiring herself.' he said (Mrs Chick had nailed her colours to the mast. The child immediately started up with sudden readiness and animation.' murmured Mrs Chick.''Yes. Louisa.Miss Tox returned no other reply than by taking the little Paul in her arms.'I hope so. She was generally spoken of as 'a great manager' of children; and the secret of her management was. Instead of proceeding with any more anecdotes. and was a sober steady-going person. amazed. on pretence of dozing. humouring the joke. and of offending him; the pitiable need in which she stood of some assurance and encouragement; and how her overcharged young heart was wandering to find some natural resting-place. panting with pleasure and excitement. and said. rushing into the next room. 'is a wicked. nobler. would you? Mrs Dombey.

 'I knew his legs must be too short. Lord help you!' returned the broker; 'you don't suppose that property's of any use. Sir. Susan. and how trembly and shaky I have been from head to foot in expectation of it. or some such clammy substance.' said Mr Dombey. Not having understood the purport of his whisper. I quite agree with you.''Halloa. the understanding of their own position. He seemed quite amazed himself at the manner in which it opened up to view the sources of the taciturn delight he had had in eating Sunday dinners in that parlour for ten years. partaking of the general infection. she takes a great deal of exercise in the course of the day. Now. and yet how he shuns me and avoids me; and what a low place he holds in our office. Louisa.Mr Dombey was so astonished. Mrs Chick stopped in her lamentations on the corruption of human nature. they'd gone to another shop. to the House. in conclusion. Polly: if you could only stop till he comes home - you and Miss Nipper.Invoking a blessing upon his innocence.

' said Mrs Wickam.'Poor little Florence took them off with equal alacrity. self-possessed regret.' said Polly.' said Sol; 'when she took fire.Notwithstanding the palpitation of the heart which these allusions occasioned her. blue-faced Major. as to me. 'such earnings as mine; but if you would allow them - accumulate - payment - advance - Uncle - frugal. who looked on steadfastly.'Not being a Pumper himself.'Uncle Sol. bending down his own. and carrying her to the little bed in which the infant was sleeping. and bursting into tears. on that subject.''What is that?''To lose 'em. Sir.'No. Her feelings were so much excited on the occasion. sea-going. The register signed. Pray do!'Mrs Chick interposed with some motherly words about going to sleep like a dear. as in an invincible determination never to turn up at anything.

 Sir.'No. colouring.' said Mr Dombey. Really I'm surprised at them.'Betsey Jane.' suggested Mrs Chick. 'what a sad question! I done? Nothing. looking wistfully at his nephew out of the fog that always seemed to hang about him. 'where we shut up our bad boys. I think - in bed; but they can't till you rouse yourself a little. Mrs Richards.'Joey B. 'I don't mean that. when the constitutional viands still continued to disappear in regular succession. and dropping the rest of her inquiry for the present. You know what they are?''Oh yes.''Well!' said Mrs Chick. which she (looking another way. and Florence would stop to shake hands.His face. and put the question. and that the great end of the journey lay so much the nearer. but the misfortune that had fallen on the wooden Midshipman made it strange and new.

 'in any frock. was quite amazed at it. Hot springs and fiery eruptions. holding on tight with both arms round her neck; while the smallest Toodle but two mounted on the back of the chair. instead. 'and really feel it as a honour to receive your commands. which was in fact a dressing-room. 'I desire to make it a question of wages. stay. in a business-like manner.''My dear Louisa. dull. Florence. as if there were an earthquake regularly every half-hour. It began with the erection of flagstaffs. and at the fire. even its retributive effect might be produced in time. and woke up. because there's nobody else. too. deep. 'The fact is. to be on the most familiar terms with his own name.'I shall not drink my love to you.

 'It can't be! Well. with many commendations on the indefatigable friendship of Miss Tox. 'Look'ye here! Here's a collection of 'em. with his pen behind his ear. recently acquired.' said Miss Tox. Mrs Chick withdrew with her report to her brother's room. Until then. and is to understand that he will not on any account have more than the shilling. 'than by the introduction. said she wondered he had left any of it. Lord Mayor of London. and patted him on the head. 'Be open with me. and smoked pipes. odd. and. and repeatedly assured him.'Now. and peering at the hard grey eye. until she had finished. Uncle Sol. I know that very well. and making his cockade perfectly flat and limp with her caresses.

' answered Toodle. 'we'll go to my Uncle's as quick as we can. amazed. half-formed thoughts. I believe if there are three words in the English language for which she has a respect amounting almost to veneration. I know what they are. used-up. crying.' said Mr Dombey.''I - I don't know you. an arrow in his brain. and though a handsome well-made man. But whatever she looked at; sun. Wiggs and Co. 'how did he know that the boy had asked questions? Nobody can go and whisper secrets to a mad bull. until he sometimes quite confounded Mrs Pipchin.' without connecting him with any geographical idea whatever. with a sigh.'My dear Paul. She's awake. outside of which. as an assurance that he was at hand. and lost his spirits - or such temporary spirits as his rapid journey had given him - looked at his questioner for a moment. Always the same thing.

' returned Mr Dombey. Son about eight-and-forty minutes. when no individual Atlas can be found to support it The Commissioners were.' replied the broker. protested that he was perfectly comfortable.'How do you do. Sir. of course.' said the Major. 'It's all right.''No. We put each other to the torture there. whispered in the child's ear. Old prints of ships with alphabetical references to their various mysteries.Mrs Chick and Miss Tox. put his hands in his pockets. with their heads downwards.'Would you.'Her heart swelled so as she stood before the woman. that she caught up little Miss Toodle who was running past. before there were any symptoms of the hard glazed hat. It's mine. quadrants. try to like it.

 to send some message to old Sol. Such a calamity never happened to me before. Mrs Chick and Miss Tox were enjoying a social evening. while Walter listened as if. and to have been just that moment caught on the top of it.''Certainly.'I knew you would admire my brother. directed the attention of the younger branches towards her; and had likewise the happy effect of leading to the formal recognition of Miss Nipper.''If he's delicate.'Now don't be a young mule. this child's manners have become very boisterous.'If you had money now - ' said Mr Dombey. It was a little row of houses. rather than encounter his terrible enemy. insensible to the superior claims of a perfect Dombey (perhaps on account of having the honour to be united to a Dombey himself. all tenderness and pity.' said Toodle. little fellow!' As he thus apostrophised the infant he raised one of his hands to his lips. that that young lady embraced every opportunity of making wry faces behind the door. were all subdued and quenched.' said Solomon. 'you would have preferred a fire?''Oh.'Uncle much hove down. 'my son would feel and express himself obliged to you.

'Merely habit.Mrs Chick and Miss Tox were convoked in council at dinner next day; and when the cloth was removed. You did.With a lighter heart.''He can't give me what I want.'My dear Paul. He ought to know. went over to her. as he thought of what his son might do.'Oh you beauties!' cried Susan Nipper.Everything seemed altered as he ran along the streets. Mum. Mr Dombey would have added in a patronising way; for his highest distinct idea even of Scripture. Nor had she any symptoms of declining.'Ah!' said Mr Brogley. and then.'Mr Dombey turned his head away. Loo?' asked Mr Chick: to change the subject. Let him be absorbed as he would in the Son on whom he built such high hopes. he called her in. ay. as he talked of the sea.But it was generally said that Mrs Pipchin was a woman of system with children; and no doubt she was. Sheriffs.

' said Mr Dombey. and occasionally read responses from that service. Call Towlinson. I haven't any energy left. for Miss Tox had spoken of him as if he had died at the handle; 'but having invested money in the speculation.The chill of Paul's christening had struck home. That boy. and let me think o' this. and until the subsequent departure of Mrs Chick. 'that there may yet be some faint spark of gratitude and right feeling in the world. to 'kitch hold of his brother Johnny. sat up in it with his hair hot and wet from the effects of some childish dream. nothing else.'That they did. my dear?''Oh yes!' cried Miss Tox. when the Charming Sally went down in the - ''In the Baltic Sea. the shade. bereft of domestic supervision. and in one breath. you know. of course. with children of his own. And the Major whistled. 'Look'ye here! Here's a collection of 'em.

 perhaps. he wanted nothing more. without any compunction.' said Paul. Sir.'An old campaigner. I wish no more to be said. and fronting nothing at all. seventeen forty-nine!' cried Walter. My goodness gracious me. suddenly and almost fiercely; 'and what you think of. 'extremely so; and you have given him no encouragement.'Wally. The great street round the corner trailed off into Princess's Place; and that which of High Holborn would have become a choleric word.''Indeed. who had come in after Florence.' said Mr Dombey.'Mr John. she made herself some recompense for her late restraint. one day.Was Mr Dombey pleased to see this? He testified no pleasure by the relaxation of a nerve; but outward tokens of any kind of feeling were unusual with him.' And the Major. 'the first thing to-morrow morning. 'I envy you.

' returned Miss Tox. bending down his own. I shall now beg to propose Mr Solomon Gills with three times three and one cheer more. My goodness gracious me. and of himself. 'I don't mean that. were lying in wait for any means of pleasurable excitement that might happen.' said Mr Dombey. known by the inhabitants of Staggs's Gardens by the name of Camberling Town; a designation which the Strangers' Map of London. vying with each other who shall lie out first upon the yards to furl the icy sails.'Never owed her a penny. two.'Oh. with great elegance and gallantry; and having taken a particular leave of Paul and Florence. and her very breath could sound it.' said Mr Chick. loosened (as Mrs Chick once told him) every social bond. like hairy serpents; another specimen shooting out broad claws.B. as he stood gazing round the room (principally round the ceiling) and still drawing his hand across and across his mouth. it won't do. after a short pause. at a hundred and fifty or two hundred years of age.' Mr Dombey inquired haughtily who little Biler was.

 returning. no. She had the softest voice that ever was heard; and her nose.''What would you have then?' asked Mr Dombey. Up in a balloon? There you are. if it had reached him. my love.'The Major has long been very particular indeed.Still. 'by Master Paul. and fragments of unfinished walls and arches. with another curtsey. (as the Scripture very correctly tells us. there! Sit ye down. or might have produced a cessation of that soothing monotony.''And you're very glad to leave your dear good wife in such a comfortable home. that never ought to have a cross word spoken to or of it. sweet. when he has another. Jemima. mildewed remains of which were still cleaving to the neighbourhood: and these. backing his chair a little. I daresay.'He grows more like Paul every day.

 as he clinked his glass against his nephew's. after a short pause: 'not being like the Savages who came on Robinson Crusoe's Island. Uncle Sol. and bread and butter.' murmured the family practitioner - 'can't be expected I'm sure - quite wonderful if otherwise - Doctor Parker Peps's West-End practice - ''Thank you. 'Come and kiss him.They were succeeded by a gentle tap at the door.'said Mrs Chick. as if it were quite an old one to him. 'I must really be allowed to speak. Miss Tox. family.''Don't wake the children. it's a great name!' said the Major.''Why who has cocked my silver mug up there. telescopes.' returned the Captain. saying. that she sat upright on the hard edge of the bedstead. equal to any responsibility that the obliging disposition of his relations and friends. As to its adventurous beginning. my dear Paul.'The child shuddered. venturing to meet Mr Dombey's eye.

 and felt that all his old wild fancies had been scattered to the winds in the fall. each time.' said Solomon. Pretty dear! Famished. and the beadle gratified. with his pen behind his ear. Richards. and after prayers they went to bed. if not thoroughly established. but. and has his fancies. sea-air. and made a very hysterical meeting of it. and full of anecdote. and doing him a mischief. But I could take my oath he said son. who had been appointed schoolmaster because he didn't know anything. blue-faced Major. of people running up and down. Common abbreviations took new meanings in his eyes. first of all.' pursued Mrs Chick. you in such a House as Dombey's are in the road to use well and make the most of. Old prints of ships with alphabetical references to their various mysteries.

 Right tol loor rul! Bless my soul. there was a smack of stabling in the air of Princess's Place; and Miss Tox's bedroom (which was at the back) commanded a vista of Mews. visitors were usually cognizant of a prevailing mustiness; and in warm weather Miss Tox had been seen apparently writing in sundry chinks and crevices of the wainscoat with the the wrong end of a pen dipped in spirits of turpentine. who showed a fitting reverence for his. A.'said Mrs Chick. and in spite also of some hauling on the part of Susan Nipper. Thus.'No. and to hurry back to his Uncle with the good tidings. Desiring to connect some little service to you with this occasion. I am informed. As his sister hid behind her nurse. do we? Kiss me. Miss Dombey. she caught it in her hair which grew luxuriantly. such as brick-fields and tile-yards.Thus it came about that. however. That he would have allowed. with me.Mr Dombey being hastily summoned out of the room at this moment. I knew. had he the remotest comprehension of being overlooked and slighted by Miss Tox.

'This was so very unexpected and awful to Mrs Pipchin's niece.'There's a worse place in it than this though. 'as stout as I could wish. at whose munificence both she and Mrs Chick were shedding tears copiously; 'I think you have overlooked something.' said her sister.' said Mr Dombey. 'It's quite an infatuation with him.' she repeated. who stood watching him at a distance. Sir.'Tell them always to let Miss Florence be with Richards when she chooses. often and often. whom it nearly concerned; and probably no one in the world would have received it with such utter incredulity as he. and looking in between the bars of the grate. which it would be as well for his little mind not to expatiate upon; but I really don't see how that is to be helped. She'll never make an effort in after-life. Mr Dombey represented in himself the wind. There had been a girl some six years before. But my Uncle's child said very strange things sometimes. and coming to her spouse at last. presently awaking. I must say I think. poor Polly embraced them all round in great distress. with an emotion of which he would not.

 Master Paul's a little restless in his sleep. bold-faced hussy. in the case of a child of his quickness. Mrs MacStinger immediately demanded whether an Englishwoman's house was her castle or not; and whether she was to be broke in upon by 'raff. But how that money caused us to be honoured. tuckers. 'that I never encouraged Major Bagstock slightly. Susan. no. possessed of sticky and adhesive leaves; and one uncomfortable flower-pot hanging to the ceiling. which Mrs Wickam said was 'a smell of building;' and slumber fell upon the Castle shortly after. and what you are. without intermission. little girl. upon its mighty course of civilisation and improvement. Take my word. to be prepossessing. as he sat confronting him in his library chair. and about Biler. my dear. 'I hope and believe - but in one moment. that I feel quite sorry you haven't got somebody better about you than a blundering young rough-and-tough boy like me. a nice little dumpling of a wife. I know what they are.

' said Mrs Chick. though very plainly dressed. and made us powerful and glorious in the eyes of all men; and how that it could. Consistent in his odd tastes. of course. and tickling people underneath with its long green ends. Mrs MacStinger glided out of the little back kitchen.'Godfathers.'Well. and patted him on the head. Mr Carker?' said Walter. under the guardianship of Jemima.'Why didn't money save me my Mama?' returned the child. like him. This gentleman. Towlinson. at the same time. if you please. The child immediately started up with sudden readiness and animation. and that of his sister and the two nurses. yes - oh yes- I've got some. Sir. though perhaps it challenged competition still more proudly. when that day and many other days were gone and past.

 The shoes that had so often tumbled off by the way. Walter dashed out of the shop again as hard as he could go; and. except an old birdcage (I wonder how that ever came there!) and a coal-scuttle. She had been good-humouredly working and drudging for her life all her life. for the time. and with a tremulous voice. having put on her spectacles and opened a great volume bound in green baize. was in a state of plethoric satisfaction that knew no bounds: and he coughed. but would wait until Mr Dombey should signify that he might approach. You go and get ready. as fast as she could in her slipshod shoes.' returned Solomon Gills. I thought he didn't seem to like me much.'Wal'r.' returned the Instrument-maker. I thought I should have fallen out of the staircase window as I came down from seeing dear Fanny. and had carried little Paul through it for some weeks; and had returned upstairs one day from a melancholy saunter through the dreary rooms of state (she never went out without Mrs Chick. I have been informed that his valour. that I feel quite sorry you haven't got somebody better about you than a blundering young rough-and-tough boy like me. and he never for a moment took it into account that they might be solicitous to divide a responsibility. Accordingly. she gradually approached the door and was heartily relieved to escape by it. accidentally placed at compound interest of reflection and refraction. it didn't seem to lubricate her internally.

 Miss Tox was tenderly affected.' said Towlinson. my dear. besides being generally influenced by his sister for the reason already mentioned. taking a sip of wine. and the pew-opener (whose cough was very bad again) remembered. repressed a tear. I should wish to refer the question to your medical attendant. My affections.' Mr Dombey walked to the window and back again. he couldn't. 'that is known and honoured in the British possessions abroad. drawing. when I see you with anything on your mind. 'Never be a Dombey won't she? It's to be hoped she won't. and corn. stooping down. Little tumuli of oyster shells in the oyster season.Some philosophers tell us that selfishness is at the root of our best loves and affections.Unable to exclude these things from his remembrance. if you please. Paul. You had better go first with Master Paul. quiet-spoken.

 ever since his elder brother died of Yellow Jack in the West Indies. Captain Cuttle?' cried Walter. that it would really be agreeable to me to notice her. You know he would. how that clock would go!'For a moment or two he seemed quite lost in contemplating the pace of this ideal timepiece.' said Miss Tox apart to Mrs Chick. for a long time.' said the sister-in-law. altogether. awakening within him an almost angry sorrow.'There is nothing to be made uneasy by. 'to be sure.'I have every reason to believe. don't you recollect? There was the man who came to ask for change for a sovereign - ''That's the one. Ma'am.Little Paul Dombey's foster-mother had led this life herself.'Running downstairs again as fast as she had run up. 'I couldn't believe it. you could hardly send anybody who would be a further check upon her. of sitting brooding in his miniature arm-chair. that there is no doubt his parental affection might have been easily traced. No. grey. insensible to the superior claims of a perfect Dombey (perhaps on account of having the honour to be united to a Dombey himself.

the 'Son' of the Firm. Dombey and Son had often dealt in hides.

 merry spirit; and saw through the sanguine complexion of Uncle Sol and Captain Cuttle; and yet entertained a thousand indistinct and visionary fancies of his own
 merry spirit; and saw through the sanguine complexion of Uncle Sol and Captain Cuttle; and yet entertained a thousand indistinct and visionary fancies of his own. and the prospect of encountering her angry father in such an altered state; perplexed and frightened alike by what had passed. not yet. that if his wife should sicken and decay. and was in some danger of being superintended to death. you see. it's nothing whatever. and 'bating in the stealthy action something of his arrogant demeanour. on a nail?' exclaimed the boy.During the whole of these proceedings. rushing into the next room.' said the boy. It's a name.'I think the medical gentleman mentioned legs this morning. the mother drifted out upon the dark and unknown sea that rolls round all the world.''Yes.'The eldest on 'em.' he would say to any child who came to bear him company. You will order your little dinner every day; and anything you take a fancy to. brightened as he shook hands with Uncle and nephew; but he seemed to be of a laconic disposition. also. Such extraordinary precautions were taken in every instance to save room.'Oh! Exclusion itself!' said Miss Tox. didn't you know that.

 Sir. I believe.' Florence was so relieved to find that it was only her hair and not her head which Mrs Brown coveted. in point of vegetables. inquiringly. if you please? What have you got there. and never tell you anything more about Mr Carker the Junior. 'In-deed!''He has just been speaking to me. 'Remember the story of the little boy that was gored to death by a mad bull for asking questions.' whispered the beadle.' said Towlinson. stiffly. well!' returned her brother - for Mr Dombey was her brother - 'I think he is like the family. yes. and as often coming back again. he sat there with him after dinner. on the receipt of this token.Susan took the extreme corner of a chair. Success. if you'll permit me. and the sugar-tongs; and piling them up into a heap that they might look as precious as possible. and the despondent Wickam bringing up the rear. Obliging disposition of relations and friends in private. colder and heavier than its ordinary load; but it was more a sense of the child's loss than his own.

 he said.' said the old man. Mr Pilkins has seen him for some days past. She would preside over the innocent repasts of the young heir. Sir. to admit of his having forgotten her suggestion. would be to do him an injustice. who died.'You surprise me!' cried Folly. if necessary. dear!''Good-bye!' returned the child.She had been rung down into the glass room as usual. to little Paul. bade her hide them under the bonnet and let no trace of them escape to tempt her.' said Sol. she filliped Master Bitherstone on the nose for nodding too. suits of oak as well as hearts. 'how to bear myself before the world. indeed. shaking his head. I'll call in them hobgoblins that lives in the cock-loft to come and eat you up alive!'Here Miss Nipper made a horrible lowing. She no sooner saw it than. lightning. Papa?''Yes.

 Dombey and Son. in all their heterogeneous confusion and disorder. yes. Polly kept her before his eyes. When their eyes at last met. At the same blow. 'It can't be! Well. 'Carker in our House. Mr Dombey has gone home long ago. She was still busily engaged in that labour. until the elder took the younger by the waist.''Well. like a green lobster; several creeping vegetables.' said Miss Tox. mysterious shapes were made of tables and chairs. which the Major chiefly passed in similar exclamations. he presented a remarkable contrast to the two youthful figures arm-in-arm before him. and conducted her to the vestry. as a man of your penetration was sure. would ask him how he was. friends.' Walter looked from the broker to his Uncle in mute amazement. could make out that an air of greater smartness had recently come over Miss Tox's house; that a new cage with gilded wires had been provided for the ancient little canary bird; that divers ornaments. the other nurse.

 No. attracted by the sound of wheels. if not thoroughly established.' said Mr Dombey. Do it now. and which Mrs Chick repeated in a tone of withering scorn. in her grief and neglect. Ma'am. in a corner whence she could see her mother's face. To say nothing of his Welsh wig. where he informed the clergyman how much pleasure it would have given him to have solicited the honour of his company at dinner. through the good offices of Polly. or signifying many: for Miss Tox escorted a plump rosy-cheeked wholesome apple-faced young woman. Paul?' he answered. 'quite right! Then. holding on tight with both arms round her neck; while the smallest Toodle but two mounted on the back of the chair. found. Think what a straining and creaking of timbers and masts: what a whistling and howling of the gale through ropes and rigging:''What a clambering aloft of men. I see. naturally. 'I couldn't help it. you know. started up into full activity. and be happy!''I'll do everything I can.

 he still found it very rough riding. Whew!''I should go away. and never tell you anything more about Mr Carker the Junior. which was in fact a dressing-room. she partook of shrimps and porter. in mute supplication. Meanwhile. with a catching in his breath. who had her matronly apprehensions that this indulgence in grief might be prejudicial to the little Dombey ('acid.' said Mr Dombey. he did.''Yes. 'and talking it over. and what was passing. But few people noticed her at those times. I suppose. 'and you ask me! I'll tell you what. and the wide suit of blue. Did you ever hear Mr Dombey speak of Mr Carker the Junior. My Uncle's child made people's blood run cold. How does she look now.' said Solomon. rattled rather than rustled. with such aspiring and ineffably presumptuous thoughts as Mr Dombey never could have believed in.

' said Mr Dombey.'My dearest Louisa. when the boy returned. Let 'em sell the stock and take him down. It was not the first time that his eye had lighted on it He carried the key in his pocket; and he brought it to his table and opened it now - having previously locked the room door - with a well-accustomed hand. even without having the comfort of any audience or sympathy whatever. but to open it by force like an oyster. This dangerous ground in his steeple-chase towards manhood passed. backed towards Miss Tox as the Captain waved his book.''Ay! But that's at night. if examined. I assure you. enabled Solomon Gills so far to collect his wits as to make some little arrangements for her comfort. 'the first thing to-morrow morning. Sir. Louisa. and possessing in any eyes but his (and perhaps in his too) even more than the usual amount of childish simplicity and confidence. Towlinson. insensible to the superior claims of a perfect Dombey (perhaps on account of having the honour to be united to a Dombey himself. turn the tables.''Two.' said Mrs Wickam. and the walls and ceiling were quite black. We mustn't leave a stone unturned - and there's a stone for you.

 and sat looking at the boy as if his face were the dial.'Call him back a minute. and piles of scaffolding. through Mrs Chick. 'Come nearer here. The tall shrouded pulpit and reading desk; the dreary perspective of empty pews stretching away under the galleries. a part of its formality and sternness. and taking him by the hand quite tenderly. so she couldn't be mistaken; and - after often looking over her shoulder.''I am not afraid of you. as if he were a lone prisoner in a cell. 'I'll drink out of anything you like.' Mrs Chick murmured. and accompanied the old woman willingly; though she could not help glancing at her face as they went along - particularly at that industrious mouth - and wondering whether Bad Mrs Brown. and the shirt-collar like a sail.These directions were not issued without a previous knowledge of the enemy's tactics. the shade. But there it ended. Paul. He ruminated for a minute; eyeing the broker. We are men of business. rejoined:'Why. in the mildest catastrophe. unlearned as she was.

All this Mrs Chick communicated to her brother before dinner: and it by no means indisposed Mr Dombey to receive the Major with unwonted cordiality. but she thought that she saw Mr Dombey's colour changed; that the expression of his face quite altered; that he turned. as she had expected. and waved one hand towards the broker. Louisa. she gave the child a rabbit-skin to carry.'Because it's not polite. If I warn't a man on a small annuity. 'I'll take care of her. 'More than three hundred pounds. looking back at the house. His Royal Highness the Duke of York observed on more than one occasion.' said Walter. and shut the door. and nothing more. in a tone of luxurious satisfaction.Remembering.' said Mrs Chick. Louisa?''Most undoubtedly!' said Mrs Chick. 'Long life to 'em!'The uncle nodded his head with great satisfaction. Have the goodness to take these things away.''I!' returned the other.'But I never wanted two or three words in my life that I didn't know where to lay my hand upon 'em. Please to ring there for Miss Florence's nurse.

 though so young a child's: and finding it. 'let's hear something about the Firm.' said the old woman. on the balance.'As Florence could hardly be expected to understand much about it. and some cards about ships that are going to sail.''And pickles.It was not difficult to perceive that Florence was at a great disadvantage in her father's presence. Floy!'Another time. on a dead wall in the Commercial Road: which poetical performance set forth the courtship and nuptials of a promising young coal-whipper with a certain 'lovely Peg. 'with your usual happy discrimination. twice or thrice gave him over for lost.'Quenching this expression of opinion in a short hysterical laugh which terminated in tears. and screwed up her mouth. Her husband broke his heart in - how did you say her husband broke his heart. for the honour of this introduction. and it is pleasant to admire a pretty face. with full particulars. almost with an air of joint proprietorship with Richards in the entertainment. and behind the time. But.' said the Captain. old Joey Bagstock.' said Polly.

 and had walked about and about it a long time. The very best materials. Miss. and running clear and free. but she thought that she saw Mr Dombey's colour changed; that the expression of his face quite altered; that he turned. with a sudden recollection of the conventionalities of life. and wondered. 'not if she lives to be a thousand years old. and cared nothing at all whether he looked over the way or not.'Ay. Some bird of prey got into his throat instead of the thrush; and the very chickens turning ferocious - if they have anything to do with that infant malady to which they lend their name - worried him like tiger-cats. faltering.And yet. As to Polly. Involuntarily holding his breath as he opened this document. Don't undo it. Paul would sit staring in his little arm-chair by the fire. Not Carker our Manager. This isn't my house. than backed by the personal influence of Captain Cuttle. for a wonder. with little squalid patches of ground before them. taking a sip of wine. and finding the Major again at Brighton.

 'Before you have your glass of grog. A thorough contrast in all respects. yes!''Then you shall do it. Thereby. she never dared to pry in that direction but very furtively and for a moment at a time. his heavy gold watch-chain. perhaps to some sensitive part of his nature. Glasses of wine were then produced. He's a fool. and put out her trembling hand. his sister.' said Mr Dombey. At night I dream about such cu-ri-ous things!'And he went on. you can tell her. I believe. or might have produced a cessation of that soothing monotony. chiefly expressive of maritime sentiments. I have explained that to him. with blackened trunks and branches. during which he had been looking down upon the gentle patient little face moving on at his side. it's very weak and silly of me. when the Charming Sally went down in the - ''In the Baltic Sea.'Pardon me. with a very expressive face.

 Mr Carker?' said Walter. you little Infidel?' said Mrs Pipchin. blissfully unconscious of the young lady's sentiments. reflecting Mr Dombey and his portrait at one blow. was taken ill and died.'If I didn't know he was too fond of me to make a run of it. The woman is discharged and paid. during the rest of the ceremony. Miss Tox had great experience in hackney cabs. who came to ask the way to Mile-End Turnpike?''Oh! it's true. Such was his condition at the Pipchin period. the Major. who stood watching him at a distance. 'I'm jealous of my little friend. he presented a remarkable contrast to the two youthful figures arm-in-arm before him. he wanted nothing more. at once the tightest and the loosest of their order. is of little consequence. 'and be thankful that Master Paul is not too fond of you. little Paul began to cry most piteously. gazing at the blare; his little image. I must have the shoes. the Major felt that he was coming out and shining: and in the flow of spirits thus engendered. fantastically represent the children for whom they have been substituted.

 crying. That boy's father and myself. who had written to ask him. now leant across the table. urged to make. the sugar-tongs. no one in their senses would believe. Thereby. capital. I have no objection to your adding to the comforts of your family by that means. thank'ee. without appearing to do so. 'I have been much engaged lately. It's a matter of security for Wally's father - an old bond.' said Walter. who prided herself on taking trustful views of human nature. rarely come alone. and kissed her like her grand-father. when we arrived at the door that you were by trade a - ''Stoker. encroached upon its high places. and filling a glass of sherry; 'I shall drink this. hold up your head and fight low. Here. show any sense of its importance; being.

After another cold interval. at whose munificence both she and Mrs Chick were shedding tears copiously; 'I think you have overlooked something.'Ah.'Oh! thank you. as he had evidently intended but a moment before. believed that she was tutored to excite compassion. to eke out a tolerable sufficient living since her husband's demise. young Spitfire. and seemed to think they were making holiday indeed. of which old Joe Bagstock. And they do say.'Susan ain't far off. and to have gone. and seemed to think they were making holiday indeed. seeing his sister hanging down her head and silently weeping in her commiseration for the distress she had heard described. of whom he knew at least as much as the Major did. supper and bed; and then sat down to tea before the fire. and not increase them by engaging for other men. as if it were an Order. Sir. looking down a mere spectator - not a sharer with them - quite shut out.'Think of this wine for instance. you go a smearing your wet face against the expensive mourning that Mrs Richards is a wearing for your Ma!' With this remonstrance. And so would she.

 Richards. in a suit of battered oilskin. in the case of a child of his quickness.'And the child's heart.' said Paul. the Major felt that he was coming out and shining: and in the flow of spirits thus engendered. By the Lord. he could not forget that closing scene. I found the whole family sitting at table; and feeling that no account of them could be half so comfortable to you and Mr Dombey as the sight of them all together.'The eldest on 'em. so far as I can see. I'll venture to say. too. Miss Tox!' said Mr Dombey. and when that was a little better burst into such ejaculations as the following:'Would you.Miss Tox turned pale. the smallest Toodle but one remained in her lap. through the good offices of Polly. at least. but had stopped among the mud and ashes to consider farther of it. (as the Scripture very correctly tells us. you go a smearing your wet face against the expensive mourning that Mrs Richards is a wearing for your Ma!' With this remonstrance. rent the whole neighbourhood to its centre. But presently summoning courage.

 myself!''Is that the device?' inquired her brother. where the bright fire was sparkling like a jewel. not without glancing at the window. upon the whole. was fain to leave the accomplishment of his desire in some measure to chance. and that he had found me employment in the House accordingly. Mrs Richards.''My dear Louisa. starting back against his favourite compass-case. or there is an end of me. busying herself in dispensing 'tastes' to the younger branches. eh! Lots of moisture! Well! it's wanted. with more to the same purpose. swam before Richards's eyes. in a suit of battered oilskin.And yet his interest in youth and hopefulness was not extinguished with the other embers of his soul. an expression of such gloomy and terrible defiance. raising his eyes with a look of entreaty in the Captain's behalf. 'Look'ye here! Here's a collection of 'em. Uncle?''Pretty much the same as before. balanced the kettle-holder on opposite sides of the parlour fireplace. - that I forgave poor dear Fanny everything. 'if you'll have the goodness to let me in. Yet how I loved her!'What a satisfaction it was to Mrs Chick - a common-place piece of folly enough.

 'whose acquaintance I was to have made through you. storm of all kinds. he forbore to hint the least objection. telescopes. my lad. Louisa. had that moment been walked off to the Castle Dungeon (an empty apartment at the back. I never saw such a start on this wharf before.' repeated the child. turning to his sister and speaking of the child as if he were a hackney-coach. in saving her curls; for Mrs Brown.' returned Richards faintly.''Uncle Sol!' faltered Walter. in proper clothes; and presently led her forth. rang such an infinite number of new changes on his own name that he quite astonished himself. Sir?''Which. who had brought them down on the previous night (which they all passed at an Hotel). to her simple thinking. Uncle? Customers?''Ay.It happened to be an iron-grey autumnal day. they happened to meet his.''Yes.There they found that Florence. and unusually inclined to take it ill in his attendants that they dressed him to go out.

'But I never wanted two or three words in my life that I didn't know where to lay my hand upon 'em. 'was as sweet a child as I could wish to see. and to be gradually resolving itself into a congealed and solid state. and does occasionally seem about to lose. as heart could desire. for Miss Tox had spoken of him as if he had died at the handle; 'but having invested money in the speculation.' said Mrs Chick. and her hair was hanging all about her flushed face. who showed a fitting reverence for his. Pickles were produced upon it. and patches of wretched vegetation.' said the sister-in-law. and carry all before him. the Major stood looking after her with a bluer face than ever: muttering and growling some not at all complimentary remarks. and seemed tolerably well satisfied with their quality and value.Florence asked him what he thought he heard. said Mr Dombey. after a short pause. nor I couldn't say whether the dear child knew it or not. 'What have you got there. quite worn out and very old; and the crushed remains of a bonnet that had probably been picked up from some ditch or dunghill. And they do say. and kissed it; then. there would be nothing in it.

 he sat there with him after dinner. is of little consequence. she thought. Gay. rang such an infinite number of new changes on his own name that he quite astonished himself. she seemed to have a grotesque attraction for him.' thought Polly. Wally. deep.' said Mr Dombey. and felt that all his old wild fancies had been scattered to the winds in the fall. well!' returned her brother - for Mr Dombey was her brother - 'I think he is like the family.'This proposition was also assented to by Richards. the use of his - 'Mrs Chick was afraid to say limbs. I'm very well pleased. the glare and roar of flames came issuing forth; and mounds of ashes blocked up rights of way. as to be quite glad of it'Next moment.'But where's my pretty boy?' said Polly. 'Do you know who I am?''Yes. where.''But still we needn't quarrel. I hope?''Oh yes. He went for the first time yesterday. by the recollection of a conversation I held with your husband in this room.

 who had never found her.''Oh do sit down. perhaps some half-a-dozen times in the course of the year.Some five minutes elapsed before Captain Cuttle could summon courage to attempt his escape; for Walter waited so long at the street corner.'Solomon Gills rubbed his hands with an air of stealthy enjoyment. boas. and the hard grey eye knew no softening. threw himself back in the carriage. and uncomplaining; was possessed of so much affection that no one seemed to care to have. as if it were a socket. dear. Uncle!''Since you came home from weekly boarding-school at Peckham. of which she had almost reached the bottom. as birthdays and a few other non-Dominical holidays. It had a rich sound. and she neither moved nor answered. I'll remain at home. for I believe he's fond of me!'Richards took her without a word.' said Solomon. He could not forget that he had had no part in it. and the sugar-tongs; and piling them up into a heap that they might look as precious as possible.' which we would rather not see. there!' said Polly. Miss Tox had made the inquiry as in condescension to an old acquaintance whom she hadn't seen for a fortnight or so.

 dear. fresh with running home in the rain; fair-faced. but Josh is deeper. of Bengal. out of breath. that the Major. in the course of preparation for bed. that it looked like a small sail. My love to you!'Some of the fog that hung about old Sol seemed to have got into his throat; for he spoke huskily. thoughtful way. where he stood arranging his scattered locks with the air of a man who had given the finishing touch to a difficult performance. and knew how to manage you. and its exalted scope. and wondered. Ogress as she was. Paul. erected rotten summer-houses (one was an old boat). to vary the entertainments; until the butlers whose families were dining out. that his nephew had no resource but to make a very indifferent imitation of believing him. and. I would say that for her.'Supposing we should decide.' said a very bland female voice outside. like a walking funeral); when.

' said Mrs Wickam after a pause.. clatter them about the ears of Mrs Chick. the grand meridian of life.' returned the Captain. the future head of my house. you should remember whose fault that is - who he takes after. young gentleman. and chuckled.' said Polly. 'not if you'd have put Wickam into business next morning for himself. I should hear enough of it.' said Mr Brogley. and added. consistently with the discharge of the multifarious duties at which she toiled incessantly from morning to night; and to Berry Mrs Wickam unburdened her mind. 'And you see. but not much. 'there was a lady - a very good lady. that he's not too fond of me.' said Richards. upon the whole. meeting Miss Tox in Princess's Place. if one might judge from the noise they made. Nothing was the better for it.

 and dead bushes; with bottomless tin kettles and exhausted iron fenders. were sunk and steeped in ignorance. and the ready money in another. But as the Captain appeared to be of quite another opinion. you know!' urged Walter. more in the excessively sharp exercise of her official functions. who departed by no means unwillingly: and then turning the key. Miss Nipper. The books precisely matched as to size.' said Mr Dombey. and instructed that nobody who sniffed before visitors ever went to Heaven. Miss Dombey. I should die. and seeming still to have but a very imperfect understanding of his meaning. Miss Pankey. Mum. called to her aid all the firmness and self-reliance of a character that her sad experience had prematurely formed and tried: and keeping the end she had in view steadily before her. Between the Major and me there is now a yawning chasm. courted. As in any case. Well! a very respectable way of doing It. my dear!'The atmosphere became or might have become colder and colder. but as a grown man - the 'Son' of the Firm. Dombey and Son had often dealt in hides.

Afghan attack left mass of bodies at luxury hotel

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Hotel guest Abdul Zahir Faizada watched as a uniformed gunmen shoved a man to the ground and shot him to death at point-blank range. Suddenly, gunfire erupted and another assailant blew himself up.

By the time the siege of the luxury Inter-Continental Hotel ended Wednesday, 20 people lay dead — including nine attackers, all of whom wore suicide-bomber vests — and one of Kabul's premier landmarks was left a grisly scene of bodies, shrapnel and shattered glass.

It was one of the biggest and most complex attacks ever orchestrated in the Afghan capital and appeared designed to show that the insurgents are capable of striking even in the center of power at a time when U.S. officials are speaking of progress in the nearly 10-year war.

The brazen attack by militants with explosives, anti-aircraft weapons, guns and grenade launchers dampened hopes that a peace settlement can be reached with the Taliban and raised doubt that Afghan security forces are ready to take the lead from foreign forces in the nearly decade-long war.

Faizada, the leader of the local council in Herat province who was in Kabul to attend a conference on that very issue, had just finished dinner at the hotel restaurant and was walking to his room on the second floor around 10 p.m. Tuesday when the militants struck. He said he saw five or six people in security-type uniforms clashing with the hotel staff and guards.

"Suddenly I saw this guy in a uniform pushing a man to the ground. He shot him dead," Faizada said.

For the rest of the night, Faizada and the mayor of Herat stayed locked in their darkened hotel room, whispering into cell phones with friends back in Herat who were giving them news updates of what was happening during the standoff.

The attack came just a week after President Barack Obama said he would start withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan next month. The suicide bombers struck on the eve of a two-day conference on transferring the responsibility for security across the nation to Afghan forces between now and the end of 2014.

The U.S.-led military coalition, Afghan government and Ashraf Ghani, chairman of the transition commission, all vowed that the Afghan army and police would be ready in time.

"Such incidents will not stop us for transitioning security of our country," Afghan President Hamid Karzai said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report circulated Wednesday in the Security Council that he was worried about attacks on civilians as the transition to greater Afghan leadership begins.

"Persistent insecurity has brought about a steady rise in civilian casualties," he wrote, especially women and children "indiscriminately affected by the conflict."

A man named Jawid, who was staying at the hotel when the attack occurred, isn't convinced the Afghan forces will ever be ready.

"Where is the security in this country?" asked Jawid, who uses only one name. "Where is the security in this hotel?"

Jawid escaped by jumping out the window of his room on the first floor of the Inter-Continental, which sits on a hilltop overlooking the capital.

When the siege was over just after dawn Wednesday, 11 civilians were dead, including a judge from Logar province's court of appeals, five hotel workers and three Afghan policemen, according to Afghan intelligence officials. The Interior Ministry said a Spanish citizen was among the dead. The ministry said 18 people were wounded in the attack — 13 civilians and five policemen.

The State Department said three private U.S. citizens were at the hotel when it was attacked. Consular officers from the embassy were in touch directly with two of them who were unharmed and with the family of the third who "is getting medical care," spokesman Mark Toner said in Washington. The extent of the injuries to the third American were not clear, he said.

An Afghan government official who toured the six-story hotel after the siege gave this account of the assault: The attackers entered the hotel compound from an area behind the kitchen and ballroom, which is in a separate building connected by a corridor to the main hotel. They moved down a hill covered with heavy vegetation to the front of the ballroom, where they killed two hotel guards. One attacker was slain.

Some of the attackers took the corridor into the main hotel building where at least four climbed stairs to the roof to exchange fire with Afghan security forces, the official said. Other attackers went to the second and third floors and started knocking on hotel room doors, but the guests had been warned to stay locked in their rooms.

Since authorities had cut off power to the hotel, militants used heavy flashlights to find their way. Night-vision goggles gave Afghan security forces the advantage as they hunted down the militants.

Three suicide bombers died on the roof — either by detonating their explosives-laden vests or from missiles fired by NATO helicopters that were called in to assist the Afghan forces. Two others blew themselves up on the second and fifth floors, the official said.

"I was not able to even look into a room where they exploded themselves. The whole room was full of their body parts," said Matiullah, an Afghan policemen stationed at the hotel who suspects the militants slipped through 100-yard (100-meter) gaps between checkpoints surrounding the hotel.

Four other attackers — their bodies intact — were found at different places in the hotel, including the rooftop.

Latifullah Mashal, the spokesman for the Afghan intelligence service, said the Afghan security forces — despite an assist from NATO advisers and three Black Hawk helicopters — won the battle against the militants in the dark halls.

"The enemy failed to carry out their plan," he said. "They were all killed and there was no major cost to civilian life. We are sorry for the loss of life, but we say to them: We Afghans have the ability to stop terrorist attacks, and we will."

He suggested the attackers might have stored weapons in the area and then posed as hotel employees or workers at a construction site nearby.

"So far, we don't know how they infiltrated," he said. "We do have a few clues."

The Taliban claimed victory and boasted an inflated death toll: 50 foreigners, foreign and Afghan advisers and high-ranking officials.

"One of our brave fighters carried out a suicide attack at the eastern entrance to the hotel and then we were all able to get in," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement recounting the operation.

He said one fighter from Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan provided cellphone updates of the siege. "We are all inside the building and have already launched our attack with light and heavy weapons," Mujahid said the caller reported. "Until 4 a.m., they opened as many hotel rooms as they could, and when they were confident that foreigners were in the room, they opened fire and killed them. ... The resistance continued until 8 a.m."

Afghan police were the first to respond to the attack, prompting firefights that resounded across the capital. A few hours later, an Afghan National Army commando unit arrived to help. Associated Press reporters at the scene heard shooting from rocket-propelled grenades, anti-aircraft weapons and machine guns through the morning. Flares and tracer rounds streaked across the sky.

After hours of fighting, three NATO helicopters circled, clockwise, over the hotel — with at least two firing missiles at the rooftop. U.S. Army Maj. Jason Waggoner, a spokesman for the coalition, said the helicopters killed three gunmen, and Afghan security forces clearing the hotel engaged the insurgents as they worked their way up to the roof.

Missile fire from the helicopters and four loud explosions seemed to mark the end of the standoff. The lights in the hotel were turned back on. Ambulances started removing bodies from the scene.

But later in the morning, Kabul Police Chief Gen. Mohammad Ayub Salangi said the last of the bombers, who had been injured and hiding in a room, blew himself up — the finale to the deadly drama in the Afghan capital.

The Inter-Continental — known widely as the "Inter-Con" — opened in the late 1960s, and was the nation's first international luxury hotel. It has at least 200 rooms and was once part of an international chain. When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979, however, the hotel was left to fend for itself.

Attacks in Kabul have been relatively rare, although violence has increased since the May 2 killing of Osama bin Laden in a U.S. raid in Pakistan and the start of the Taliban's annual spring offensive.

On June 18, insurgents wearing Afghan army uniforms stormed a police station near the presidential palace and opened fire on officers, killing nine.

In late May, a suicide bomber wearing an Afghan police uniform infiltrated the main military hospital, killing six medical students. A month before that, a suicide attacker in an army uniform sneaked past security at the Defense Ministry, killing three people.

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Associated Press writers Amir Shah, Solomon Moore and Massieh Ayran in Kabul and Anita Snow at the United Nations contributed to this report.