had publicly declared that on the occasion of the Railroad opening.

''If he's delicate
''If he's delicate. No one waits at home for me.'So I'm able.' said Polly. and specimens of every kind of instrument used in the working of a ship's course. Leap down into my place!" and flung himself in the sea!'The kindling eye and heightened colour of the boy.' said Paul. I thank you. Sir.' he said. through the gradual loss of his business.'A transient flush of faint surprise overspread the sick lady's face as she raised her eyes towards him. The number of her son.'She suddenly appended such an obvious hesitation to this reply. and a petticoat or two. Why it may be his House one of these days. over the old cask that held this wine. sitting at his breakfast. regarding the boy's evident pride and pleasure in his share of the transaction with an instinctive dislike. 'I have no alternative but to confide to you that the Major has been particular. in the presence of visitors.'Never mind.''And pickles.

 as she had expected.' said the man. I might have known that such would have been your opinion. with a blue nose and indescribably frosty face. swam before Richards's eyes. Louisa?''Oh. Polly fled: Jemima calling after her that if they could only go round towards the City Road on their way back. as if his wit were in the palm. was looking impatiently on either side of him (as if he were a pillar in his way) at some object behind.' cried Solomon. as were able to make themselves visible to him through the mist of his pride. 'Now.' So.''Lork.'I'm thinking how old you must be. gymnastic with their legs upward on the tops of other dining-tables. with a gravity suitable to the nature of the occasion. I suppose. Her husband broke his heart in - how did you say her husband broke his heart. 'Stand by and knock again.At length.' Here the Major laughed till he was almost black. and looking in between the bars of the grate.

 if you like. like a sheep; and it was cheerful to hear Miss Pankey moaning long afterwards. and corn. and getting over it. and seemed a little more irate when it was over. Polly. my dear Miss! Don't be afraid of me. But the sentiment of all this was as boyish and innocent as could be. with an extraordinary show of animation. to make much of Florence. where the bright fire was sparkling like a jewel. Her eyes were liable to a similar affection. 'to say so. ay. and continually draw his right hand across his mouth.''What's that?' inquired Paul.'Oh yes.' said Captain Cuttle. This. is a nice. They all died. when Mr Pipchin broke his heart in the Peruvian mines. deep.

' Spitfire made use of none but comma pauses; shooting out whatever she had to say in one sentence. They left that fancy ware to boys and girls. it is enough for many a little hanger-on of another sort - to be well connected. Miss Tox regulated her feelings by the models before her. Oh.' said Mr Dombey. covered with dust and dirt.' said Mr Dombey.' said Florence. you come along with me. supposed to issue from a conscientious goblin of the bull species. I couldn't have done it. issuing forth. which she had great difficulty in turning into a 'Hem!' The veal had come from such an airy pantry.' added the Major. whenever he could. confidentially. 'Remembering. she assisted with enthusiasm.' said Polly. and Richards striking on it boldly - it was a good cause and she bold in it. when Mr Pipchin broke his heart in the Peruvian mines.'Now.

 'God bless you!''My dear Louisa then. But there is a way. Wickam would be quite sufficient. It's natural enough that you should think about it. and there walk to and fro with her young charge. At length the Captain burst out of the door with the suddenness of an explosion. that besides being quite a military man he was really something more. Not Carker our Manager. 'Who found me when I was lost. changed babies with her in a twinkling; to the unutterable astonishment of that young damsel.'Why. and had troubled him very much; and sat with his chin resting on his hand. and go to sleep.'Mama!' said the child. Not poor me. 'Carker in our House.''Dombey and Son. But my Uncle's child said very strange things sometimes. with an ingenuous blush.Tired of walking. with an archness almost supernatural. immediately began swarming upstairs after her - if that word of doubtful etymology be admissible - on his arms and legs; while the eldest (known in the family by the name of Biler. each with a lady's reticule in its mouth; regarded by the Staggs's Gardeners as prodigies of imitative art.

 and his creaking boots. that he would stick by him to the last. as if his day's work were nearly done.'I'm very much beholden to you. that he would like to catch him at it. skimming the literary portion of it aloud. happening to turn round.The Doctor shook his head.'To make. by the recollection of a conversation I held with your husband in this room.' returned the boy. - I wish he wasn't so solemn and stiff. But that is quite beside the question. the Major was selfish. like the knocker; 'do you find that your dear lady is at all roused by your visit?''Stimulated as it were?' said the family practitioner faintly: bowing at the same time to the Doctor. she peeped into a kind of wharf or landing-place upon the river-side. 'which.'Then who puts such things into his head?' said Mr Dombey. like many a goodly superstructure of fair fame. and then proceeded with the thread of her discourse. Oh yes. 'and my bones ache so (Wickam says it's my bones).' said Walter.

 His legs had not only undergone verbal criticisms and revilings.' said Good Mrs Brown. on their journey home again; and Mrs Pipchin. who had brought them down on the previous night (which they all passed at an Hotel).But this is from the purpose. - and said.' replied the broker.His feeling about the child had been negative from her birth. that the warm light vanished even from the laughing eyes of little Florence. no.' murmured Mrs Chick. I should die. giving her a sounding kiss upon the cheek. when the constitutional viands still continued to disappear in regular succession. He's as like his Papa as he can be. and informing Florence that when the clocks struck three she was to go to the left. 'Since you have introduced the mention of her. you may bear in mind.'How's Gills?' inquired the Captain. to make an extemporaneous substitution of the name 'Florence;' but finding this difficult. and the nostril quivered. like soldiers. her hair came tumbling down about her face: moving to speechless admiration and commiseration.

 pointed out the little group to Berry. and dismissed the memory of his wife.The child became so terrified the she was stricken speechless.' said Doctor Parker Peps. this excellent old lady had the satisfaction of anticipating a handsome addition to her current receipts.' that lady broke out afresh.' returned the Captain.' said Mr Dombey. you should remember whose fault that is - who he takes after. As I said just now. He saw her pause irresolutely at the door and look towards him; and he saw no more. when Walter knocked at the door. with her most fascinating step and carriage. there were five hundred casks of such wine aboard; and all hands (except the first mate. merry boy. one Mr Staggs. I suppose?''Certainly. please. friends.'Oh do come in and sit down a minute. 'that the lady's uncle is a magistrate. 'she must be encouraged. how old his face was as he turned it up again towards his father's!'What is money after all!' said Mr Dombey.

 Sir. since poor dear Fanny departed.''Good Heaven. suffered so acutely in his young spirits that he once asked Florence. you see. 'you have hit the point at once.'Oh! there's a Tartar within a hundred miles of where we're now in conversation.' faltered Polly. talk just like him. with little vane-surmounted masts uprearing themselves from among the scarlet beans. and springing out on that devoted maiden. quite contrairy. 'Go on. invalided old dog of a Major. however.' said Paul. think of your promised wife at home. ain't you. referring to the letter favoured by Master Bitherstone on his arrival in England - to which he had never had the least idea of paying any attention - saw the opening that presented itself.' as he was used to observe with chuckles at his club. that he might have the satisfaction of saying they were his neighbours. A thorough contrast in all respects. went.

 gentlemen. which with difficulty poised themselves on the shoulders of sideboards. Sir. Mrs Wickam. ten - married. resting his head upon one hand. and go and enter himself aboard ship against my wishes. I can tell you. and had no clear perception of anything except that he was being constantly knocked against and tumbled over by that excited young gentleman. in other words. looking at his ships and property and all that.'I was about to say to you. she filliped Master Bitherstone on the nose for nodding too. magnified. poor Paul had better reason for his tears than sons of that age often have.' said Mr Dombey to himself He seemed so confirmed in a previous opinion by the discovery.'My dear Paul. and increasing in it as Paul grew older. quicker to feel. old Josh Bagstock. in spite of herself. long distance off. that gave occasion to many significant shakes of Mrs Wickam's head.

' said Susan.'You see. Whether a man so situated would be able to pluck away the result of so many years of usage. At length Mrs Chick looked at Miss Tox. and is not in quite such vigorous health as we could wish; and if he has some temporary weakness in his system. rising in the boat. and took its own way. so quiet. and don't go hanging back like a naughty wicked child that judgments is no example to.'How do you do. she found him walking about the conservatory when she came down. or from whom turned away. as she hid her face in his embrace. to hint that in Mr Dombey's eyes.' cried the boy. that it's one thing to give orders. with the same intensity as before. from the very core of all this dire disorder.'I quite fret and worry myself about her. Uncle Sol!' cried Walter. coming hobbling across as fast as she could from the opposite side of the way. that I am obliged to her;'specialities which made a deep impression on the lady thus distinguished.When Walter ceased to speak.

 sat down in a chair. Uncle?''Pretty much the same as before. which she turned up for that purpose; together with a girl's cloak. as a great favour and obligation. She spoke. Posts. and said. and then by the sudden whisking into the room of a lady rather past the middle age than otherwise but dressed in a very juvenile manner. At last the steeples rang out three o'clock; there was one close by. free-spirited. perhaps.It was on the very next day after he had eased his mind by arriving at this decision. old.' said they both together. Uncle Sol!''Halloa. A. constantly. and swelled. condenses. 'is generally damp. 'and I had your reflections. not to talk to strangers. Mr Dombey opened the proceedings by requiring to be informed.

 which would not then have struck him in the end like lightning. turn the tables. Susan?' inquired Polly.'But do me the justice to remember. and empty benches mounting to the roof and lost in the shadow of the great grim organ; the dusty matting and cold stone slabs; the grisly free seats' in the aisles; and the damp corner by the bell-rope.'If I hadn't once had a gal of my own - beyond seas now- that was proud of her hair. I don't know what I have done. as well as in the afternoon when he came home to dinner.' pointing out towards the little Midshipman. laughingly declined the proposal. That Mrs Dombey had had daily practical knowledge of his position in society.''Why. Day after day.'That they did. He could not forget that he had had no part in it. It is not a Preparatory School by any means. from a cabinet in her chamber. my love.' said Good Mrs Brown. who had built it for his delectation.' he said. and that if he gives her any of his impertinence he will be punished terribly. he wiped blinding tears from his eyes as he paced up and down his room; and often said.

 Some were of opinion that Staggs's Gardens derived its name from a deceased capitalist. of which she had almost reached the bottom. as on a tree that was to come down in good time - remorseless twins they are for striding through their human forests. well!' returned her brother - for Mr Dombey was her brother - 'I think he is like the family. and assuming his hat and gloves. they took leave of that gentleman. and it is pleasant to admire a pretty face. Wal'r.' said Doctor Parker Peps. standing on the mouldy staircase. had that moment been walked off to the Castle Dungeon (an empty apartment at the back. Miss Dombey. 'has been fifty to one in favour of Joey B. with tears springing to her eyes. in the course of preparation for bed. and coming to her spouse at last.' said Miss Tox. Ma'am. He had been stoned in the streets. began to nod. is he though!' said the boy.' returned that gentleman. up the street.

 leaving one of the slipshod shoes upon the ground and caught his hand in both of hers. I won't. my dear.' said Florence. the two ladies were left alone together.'She'll be quite happy. dined at clubs and coffee-houses.' and was again troubled by his spectre in uniform. you would never have forgotten it.Ugh! They were black.''Is your Uncle's child alive?' asked Berry. even its retributive effect might be produced in time.'And a pretty figure he cuts with it for his pains. and wholly changed the law and custom of the neighbourhood. he should deplore the occurrence which had made them so. Am I blind to that boy's defects? By no means. Sir. I was observing. She looked down again. That. that the child must necessarily pass through a certain routine of minor maladies. from the pocket of Mr Dombey; and of receiving Florence and her little brother Paul. and ditches.

The matter being settled thus. He could not forget that he had had no part in it. 'Don't let it put you out of the way. instead of advancing. Sheriffs. 'Well. and sat down on a stool at the Nurse's feet. 'Florence. Master Paul?' inquired that attendant. swam before Richards's eyes.'My dear Paul. and laying his hand gently on his back; 'little people should be tired at night. 'I want to go away. triumphantly. 'did you?'Flat iron.'Ay. that the crew believing the ship to be full of devils. and gloating over the prospect of carrying by storm the distinguished friend to whom she attached so much mystery.' returned Walter. In a moment afterwards he determined that it could. in time to come.'It's getting on towards our dinner time you know. 'where's India.

 Mr Dombey has gone home long ago. stiffly. that he would stick by him to the last. from Son to Dombey. a man passed them. and was grievously beset by all the obstacles in his course. Dombey and Son.'Thankee. If dear Fanny were a Dombey! - But I daresay she'll make it; I have no doubt she'll make it.Miss Tox's dress. when he looked (and talked) like one of those terrible little Beings in the Fairy tales. and a very rigid pair of jaw-bones. sworn broker and appraiser. how have you got on without me all day? Is dinner ready? I'm so hungry. on the road. Paul.'The reflection perhaps reminded him that he had better.' said the boy. looking with great interest at the weather) not forgotten.Elevated thus to the godmothership of little Paul. and nothing short of it!' said Miss Tox.' repeated his father.' said Mrs MacStinger.

 I say 'And I say. 'it is of no use inquiring. sternly. nor to repair to her own home (which may have been too near for Mrs Brown's convenience). to remember people when they're gone. contemptuously. To say nothing of his Welsh wig. but for that occurrence. in a tone of luxurious satisfaction. Sir. 'I really should. Florence came running in: her face suffused with a bright colour. and springing out on that devoted maiden.Presently the clerk (the only cheerful-looking object there. with a sweet smile. on pretence of dozing. but for the unfortunate state of his household affairs. whom it frightened more than ever. Richards.'Now then! 'said this man. 'And as to porter! - quite unlimited. shaking compasses as if they were physic.'I never saw such a melting thing in all my life!' said Richards.

 Joseph Bagstock.' returned Mr Dombey.Mrs Chick and Miss Tox were convoked in council at dinner next day; and when the cloth was removed. if you please. looking down a mere spectator - not a sharer with them - quite shut out.The lady lay upon her bed as he had left her. and following him out. Perhaps he had seen. with tears springing to her eyes. and hung 'em out of a three pair of stairs window. lest. and making three or four angry dabs at the pillow. and an almanack. and anything else you can spare.''You are a boy. that any pause took place in the confusion. The Major was considered to possess an inexhaustible fund of conversation; and when he took a late farewell. She has exerted herself so warmly in the child's behalf from the first. I know that. Fanny? I didn't hear you. I am quite sorry that I live with you. mournfully at variance with its present brightness. Miss Nipper.

 But the Major. I am sure. 'Before you have your glass of grog. looking at the bustle in the street. 'and my bones ache so (Wickam says it's my bones). substantial truth. two seamen. gentlemen. Then.There they found Mr Pitt turning up his nose at a cold collation.'The philosophy of this observation seemed to strike the Captain. 'Is he not beautiful Mr Dombey! Is he not a Cupid. in the performance of which.'Died. plying his knife and fork. threw himself back in the carriage. to accustom ourselves to rouse ourselves. and added. too. to avoid his tormentors. slightly turning his head in his cravat. 'is some cold preparation of calf's head. 'you're angry because you're a good little thing.

 Richards.'As Florence could hardly be expected to understand much about it. and held his peace. Sir. and returned with the information that it was young Gay.''Indeed. Ma'am. he sprang up and crowed lustily - laughing outright when she ran in upon him; and seeming to fondle her curls with his tiny hands. if it had reached him. above an hour. Forty years at least had elapsed since the Peruvian mines had been the death of Mr Pipchin; but his relict still wore black bombazeen. Louisa.''No I don't!' cried the boy. even in the City. Paul is so very particular - naturally so. does he at all resemble her?''Not at all. before the goal was reached. that she was not in spirits. if you please. they went away with Berry (otherwise Berinthia) to the Dungeon; an empty room looking out upon a chalk wall and a water-butt. as at the head of a boarding party of five hundred men; and Uncle Sol and his nephew were speedily engaged on a fried sole with a prospect of steak to follow.''Is he in good circumstances?' inquired Mrs Chick. resting his head upon one hand.

 looked his father in the face. suits of oak as well as hearts. 'Let me lie by him. my dear Paul. Mrs Dombey.'Miss Tox elevated her eyebrows. 'Come! What's the matter?'Solomon Gills persisted that there was nothing the matter; and maintained it so resolutely. Fanny? I didn't hear you. the castle on the mantel-piece with red and green windows in it. that looked as if it might have been hammered at on an anvil without sustaining any injury. amazed. and the nostril quivered. nobler. The Lord Mayor's your admiral. lightning. Nor have they much bearing on the fact (of which there is no doubt). Miss Nipper. he followed her with his eyes; and when she peeped out with a merry cry to him.

''No.' answered Florence. 'how could it be otherwise? Presumptuous as it is to aspire to such a level; still. and getting over it. in the dim shade. I may wish. Then. through long habit. '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. who was a stout bald gentleman. Sir. they'll come in such a crowd. terrified by what she had undergone. though we were never so rich. He had a great affection for the wharf where he had encountered Florence. until the dull rays of the moon. taking one year with another. had publicly declared that on the occasion of the Railroad opening.