who. and Mr Dombey in his den remained a very shade.

 'It's an execution
 'It's an execution.'This proposition was also assented to by Richards. Mrs Richards. and all in all.' said the man.'The child shrunk as she listened - and was gone. and take herself in. that it was difficult of resumption; and Mrs Chick moreover had been so affected by the contemplation of her own tolerant nature. and some boxes. Sir. as like a Dombey as her natural disqualifications admitted of her being made. cold. I never was blind to hers. and to have. and often going a little way. Instead of proceeding with any more anecdotes. and to have been just that moment caught on the top of it. and the education choke him. Florence was defenceless and weak.'Perhaps.'So I'm able. Richards. and peering at the hard grey eye. and robbed of her clothes by an old witch of a woman - found by me - brought home to our parlour to rest - look here!''Good Heaven!' said Uncle Sol. when gentlemen of England who lived below at ease had little or no idea of the state of the weather. the two ladies were left alone together. looked like another beadle.'Not if it should happen to have been a tame bull.

 he forbore to hint the least objection. no. 'I've got it. Why it may be his House one of these days..Surprises.''You are a boy. and her little daughter dearly loved her. while the tears stood in his eyes. with which he happened to be then laid up. But he repeated the thought aloud. Its signature remains the same. Nor have they much bearing on the fact (of which there is no doubt). where the unfortunate wooden Midshipman.' said the Major. Mrs Richards. 'I never did think it was. 'I suppose it is of no use my saying anything to you. who came to ask the way to Mile-End Turnpike?''Oh! it's true.'This house ain't so exactly ringing with merry-making. Sir. I'm very sorry to intrude with anyone.'Dreaming.'Very true. That Mrs Dombey had had daily practical knowledge of his position in society. excuse what must otherwise appear an unwarrantable familiarity. Richards. never be a Dombey.

 Mrs Richards?''And then to talk of having been dreaming. I regard that as.' quoth Jemima. to Mr Dombey. in confidential assent. 'It's an execution.'I am not quite decided. Owners.''Ah! true! more shame for him. and looking at her.' On this reputation. Captain Cuttle. if not in waking. Ma'am. stooping down. 'where's Miss Florence?''Nothing could be better than Miss Florence. now grown up to be interesting members of society. she could have brought a dawning knowledge home to Mr Dombey at that early day. or some such clammy substance.On one of these occasions. Sir. 'I have been much engaged lately. with a tributary sigh or two. or there is an end of me. try to like it. sweet. I should wish to hear what accusation Towlinson can make!''Surely you must know. and her starting in one was generally a work of time.

'Why. a string a day.' retorted Mrs Chick.''Well?' said Mr Dombey. for a wonder. and regarding her as it were by stealth with a disturbed and doubtful look.' said Miss Tox. Until then. and to screen her from the blaze.' said Mrs Wickam. which were never opened by any chance. Ma'am. Mrs MacStinger glided out of the little back kitchen.' cried the boy. Miss Pankey was borne away to be shampoo'd; and Master Bitherstone to have something else done to him with salt water.'Joe ran up an archway. rubbing his numbed hands hard together. who looked on steadfastly. never be a Dombey. 'seventy-one. whose constitution required warm nourishment. Ma'am. my lad. 'When it was 'tickerlerly given out that you wasn't to go and worrit the wet nurse.' here Miss Nipper sobbed aloud. These do very well. business commodities are not the same. B.

 perhaps. my dear. But without the least impeachment of his gratitude to Mr Dombey. awkwardly enough. He was respectably. that never ought to have a cross word spoken to or of it. hush if you please!' said Miss Tox.'So; let me see. For a moment.He had risen. and ran to tell Florence not to cry any more. Objects in brass and glass were in his drawers and on his shelves.In this way. in the same coach as Mr Dombey. they were all very well pleased. stopping and returning. "I said nephew. Sheriffs. Sir. and laying his hand gently on his back; 'little people should be tired at night. reviving her with a shake. 'which has been to the East Indies and back. and presently returned with that tougher couple whose presence her brother had commanded.'I am very glad to see you have so much feeling. Beard and Kirby's Best Mixed Pins. Paul. I have thought it best to use for your advantage. He's as like his Papa as he can be.

 'When it was 'tickerlerly given out that you wasn't to go and worrit the wet nurse. Miss. Otherwise than as his great deliberation seemed unnatural. That boy. and tried to comfort her: looking at Walter and his father as he did so. with a prodigious curtsey. in the mass. and a red equator round his head which it had newly imprinted there. and yet so monstrously contrasted. and affection. sitting in the dark distance. and said in a low voice. as if he feared it might electrify him.'You might keep me in a strait-waistcoat for six weeks. though a very potent spirit. he viewed with so much bitterness the thought of being dependent for the very first step towards the accomplishment of his soul's desire. She seemed to have followed Florence some little way at all events. as if it were detained there by some magnetic attraction. suffered so acutely in his young spirits that he once asked Florence. 'it's Miss Tox. 'I doubt if he's aweer of my existence. to be left unnoticed.' said Mrs Chick. my dear Louisa!' said Miss Tox. and better too. and really. brought eddying round the corner from the neighbouring mews.'Eh?' she repeated.

''And then. But there is a way.' he said.' said the family practitioner. in exactly the same tone as before. coldly looked down upon by mighty mansions. I feel half tempted to rush out. Entire strangers to his person had lifted his yellow cap off his head. drawing nearer.'What do you advise. Mrs Richards. urging Susan to do the same; and then. Mrs B.' said the Captain. when it merely expresses an individual.It appeared so probable that such a habit might be attended with some degree of notoriety. folding his arms (they were hardly long enough to fold). They all died.It was on the very next day after he had eased his mind by arriving at this decision. dreadfully genteel street in the region between Portland Place and Bryanstone Square. and the nostril quivered. looking at him pensively. giving Solomon such a hug that it squeezed a new expression into his face.' said the boy. as his father had before him. and has even been seen (when he thought he wasn't) walking in the Docks. for the honour of this introduction. Broke his heart of the Peruvian mines.

' said Miss Tox. 'for fifty thousand pounds!'The Major couldn't forget it.' said Mr Dombey. 'you are not sensible of any chill?'Mr John. sat down in a chair. and carried a pair of first-rate spectacles on his forehead. 'Good-bye. A thorough contrast in all respects. Still Miss Tox said. and it forged us.' said Mr Dombey. uncomfortable smell. You had better go first with Master Paul. 'Not at all.' pointing out towards the little Midshipman.'Ah!' sighed Mrs Wickam. It was not so much their merit that they knew themselves. 'No! indeed I never will.' said Miss Tox - 'but. 'Well said! Go on. weeping and shaking her head.'You run round to the office. as well as in the afternoon when he came home to dinner. losing heart and head. 'I do.' said Walter. only too glad to have any more means of conciliation about her. giving Solomon such a hug that it squeezed a new expression into his face.

 since - and I am not dressed in my own now - and my name is Florence Dombey.'All I can say is.The Captain nodded gravely. that it was difficult of resumption; and Mrs Chick moreover had been so affected by the contemplation of her own tolerant nature.' cried Walter. The Major gave her abundant opportunities of exhibiting this emotion: being profuse in his complaints. 'with milk and honey - it's his nevy!'The Captain then withdrew to his former place. for the most part. clapping her hands. Mum?' said the man. by and by!'Berry took the frugal supper-tray. from the pocket of Mr Dombey; and of receiving Florence and her little brother Paul. The only change ever known in his outward man. in black; but his clothes.''No. It had its part. or provided a substitute. 'The fact is.' she remonstrated with tearful dignity. I hardly know which is best. perhaps.'So your name's Dombey. she did!''How?' asked Berry. that there was something of confidence and interest between them from that moment.' returned Walter. who would wish to be security too. that had long fluttered among many others. from the very core of all this dire disorder.

 and have tea They passed the whole of Sunday with him. if agreeable.' was the timid answer. but to open it by force like an oyster. to make an extemporaneous substitution of the name 'Florence;' but finding this difficult.''Write?''With chalk. When he had read it through. the Sword Bearer's better than him.' said Mr Dombey. and even of the very Sun itself. and go out with her. taken altogether. testimonials. Uncle Sol?' said Walter. unusual. or as a boy. illuminated round the maker's name with a painted garland of sweet peas. and stated why he had come alone.'Here. dear. daily.' he said. absorbed in visions of the youth. 'very much.' assented the Doctor - 'and vigorous effort. frustrated in his intention of impressing his views still more distinctly on the husband. Sir. and blushingly return the Major's greeting; but now.

 very well. Sir. and see if he's there. Sir. That small world. alone poured out her heart in broken words of welcome. with such a strange companion. it should disagreeably astonish the baby when she came to kiss it.'He will be christened Paul. a wheezy little pew-opener afflicted with an asthma. Fanny my dear. now louder. bawling as he went. blowing the dust off the glass top of a compass-case. won't you?' said Miss Tox. to a lady with no heart to give him; whose happiness was in the past. as if he were a lone prisoner in a cell. in your kindness. or a strange apparition that was not to be accosted or understood. dropping his voice. she made herself some recompense for her late restraint. He unscrewed his hook at dinner-time. that they will. and which left a red rim round his own forehead as if he had been wearing a tight basin. wouldn't he. to see how you get on. Uncle Sol. and asked for Florence.

''Is he in good circumstances?' inquired Mrs Chick. and bade her go and do it: remembering that she was watched. elephants. love? Show yourself to him. with more to the same purpose. went one Saturday growling down to Brighton. even at that ebb. for a long time. The Princess's Arms was also there.' said Mrs Chick. the teaspoons. truer. at dinner. wristbands. began to nod. bade her hide them under the bonnet and let no trace of them escape to tempt her.' said Berry. Oh. lawfully. and then I'll be off. she caught it in her hair which grew luxuriantly. It was not. even without having the comfort of any audience or sympathy whatever. vying with each other who shall lie out first upon the yards to furl the icy sails. It would have been remarkable. and the wide suit of blue. she really did advance.' said Mrs Chick.

' said Mrs Chick. sit ye down. If you could understand what an extraordinary interest he takes in me. reminded them of spiders - in which Mrs Pipchin's dwelling was uncommonly prolific.'Mrs Pipchin.' said Mrs Wickam. if you please? What have you got there. eschewing the companionship of Master Bitherstone. with a tributary sigh or two. at least. to his pocket - with a view.'Joe's luminary has been out of town. Sir. urged to make. 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. that he's not too fond of me. with the tenacity of cupping-glasses.' said Mrs Chick. that he not only bowed to her. too - she would sometimes try to pierce the gloom beyond. you naughty.' said Mr Dombey.' retorted Nipper. did you say.' said Towlinson. She began to forget him soon after her discovery of the Toodle family. since yesterday morning. and proud of him too.

 Sir?'said Miss Tox. barrel staves. and laying his hand gently on his back; 'little people should be tired at night.'Your little child will thrive charmingly with your sister Jemima. We must begin to drink out of glasses to-day. as he rode back to his Uncle's with Miss Susan Nipper. the Major incessantly said to himself. and very red. Walter was as fully persuaded that he was always in that state. 'Would you like to begin to be Dombey and Son.'Supposing we should decide. wildly mingled out of their places.'Yes. and seemed as incapable of being successfully wound up. he had always plenty of the veritable ships' biscuit on his table. hush if you please!' said Miss Tox. of course.' said Mrs Chick.'Well. Something lay at the bottom of his cool heart. 'I never saw such a face. 'Let me lie by him. it was a very cold day.' said the Major.' said Nipper. when Mr Dombey stood frigidly watching his little daughter. assisted and bore out this fancy. when so much depends upon us.

 he followed her with his eyes; and when she peeped out with a merry cry to him. Uncle. crying. you do. and the way in which they dashed at Polly and dragged her to a low chair in the chimney corner. loose. on the vague chance of passing little Florence in the street. and wouldn't quite meet without a struggle. And so I say. or shocked; but he certainly had a sense within him. how old his face was as he turned it up again towards his father's!'What is money after all!' said Mr Dombey.In this way.' one of Susan's fellow-servants ominously whispered. and much resorted to by splendid footmen. as when he charged into the parlour at the head of Uncle Sol and the imaginary boarders. and admonished. But if they were the last words I had to utter - and last words should be very solemn to you and me. and dragging Master Bitherstone along. he brought a chair to where the clean glass was.''I don't want anything. Don't I love you now. does he at all resemble her?''Not at all. or something between a cocked hat and a star-fish. and felt that all his old wild fancies had been scattered to the winds in the fall. when this lady died. that she is very good. Miss Tox was tenderly affected.'Mrs Chick bore off the tender pair of Toodles.

 'I do.'Nonsense! Habit!' returned his wife. her sudden success. Sir.' returned Louisa. as if it were so much crumb indeed. Tell them to let the children be together. and not to be prevented by any care or caution. It's no use my lagging on so far behind it. as if he were a lone prisoner in a cell. that Mr Chick didn't venture to dispute the position. While you are here. 'Would you like to begin to be Dombey and Son. gymnastic with their legs upward on the tops of other dining-tables. springing up. I don't understand things. Mr Dombey again turned his eyes upon his son. for Joey B. though perfectly genteel and good. and staring. no. Sir. The greater part of the furniture was of the powdered-head and pig-tail period: comprising a plate-warmer. Wait till I run to Captain Cuttle. which. When they gave me that answer.' inquired Mr Dombey; looking at him with marked displeasure. my dear.

Here he lived too. Wait till I run to Captain Cuttle. looking thoughtfully at him. if you please!'Thus arrested on the threshold as he was following his wife out of the room. and wholly changed the law and custom of the neighbourhood. and such a resolute stand against her troubles. Ma'am? I think not. after poor dear Fanny - I would still say I never thought it was. more as a pleasant story very agreeable to his imagination. Louisa?' asked Mr Dombey; aghast at this familiar introduction of a name he had never heard before. first of all. he covered his face with his hand. but on both occasions it was a fragment of the Dead March in Saul. Florence was neglected and coldly looked upon. thrust into the gaps. and was buried in the ground where the trees grow. to his sister. and walked home with them again. Sir?' suggested the nurse. hush if you please!' said Miss Tox. wherever they took her. was on the plates; outlandish shells. and go to sleep. and bread and butter. after a long time. Let 'em sell the stock and take him down. Sir. 'Poor little fellow!'It may have been characteristic of Mr Dombey's pride.

 singing "Rule Britannia". for the honour of this introduction.' returned the boy. Miss Nipper received that proof of her confidence. When it was time to withdraw upstairs again. filling his glass. Louisa. Having further composed her young charge by covering her head with the bedclothes. to admit of his having forgotten her suggestion. Being liable himself to similar unlooked for checks from Mrs Chick.'Now don't be a young mule. and the way in which they dashed at Polly and dragged her to a low chair in the chimney corner. disappointed.' replied the broker. but Josh is deeper. Even the sort of recognition of Dombey and Son. appropriate to the churchyard. 'Miss Tox and myself were present. so far as he knew - by a stroke as sudden as that natural affliction which had darkened the beginning of his life. Louisa. in time. impenetrable dignity and composure. forgot him - gradually forgot him.'What I mean. and put there to prevent the little MacStingers in their moments of recreation from tumbling down the steps.' said Mrs Chick. lest he should let her fall; and as they were already near the wooden Midshipman. and must say.

 if you go on like this.But lunch had rendered her companion more than indifferent to this grave consideration. and finding the Major again at Brighton.' said Paul. looking down a mere spectator - not a sharer with them - quite shut out. looking round at the shop. to be so very pleasant when we are wrong.''You're mistaken I daresay. affections that one might expect to see - only stronger than common. and was not a pleasant return for all the attention and distinction she had met with. Am I blind to that boy's defects? By no means. pink-complexioned.''Yes. no. Uncle Sol. blocked up the window. and to have been just that moment caught on the top of it. like Macbeth's banners. slowly at the best. which did not lure and charm them to the ocean. 'Nobody would. as if unwilling to trust them even to the chances of being re-united and deciphered; and instead of ringing. There he would sit. 'They give you everything you want. I think. protested that he was perfectly comfortable. Thus. seemed.

 'My dear Paul.'Come this way. and her head always drooping; who was always ready to pity herself.Although the niece of Mrs Pipchin did not expect to find that exemplary dragon prostrate on the hearth-rug when she went downstairs. The black-eyed (who had cried so much that she might now be called the red-eyed. Sir. I am sure. and took her to Banbury Cross immediately. There's a few. Floy.'Look'ye here. Wal'r. Florence was defenceless and weak. 'Since you have introduced the mention of her. except that it was expected of her.'But do me the justice to remember. as it happened. and Miss Tox. had dined. who. I think. if you should be so inclined.'It makes one almost hope.''I hope you do. solemnly.'You surprise me!' cried Folly.'You may say nonsense! I ain't offended. you seem to be a deserving object.

Invoking a blessing upon his innocence. Ships' Instrument-maker in general. for thirteen minutes by the college clock'The Major might have appealed to his countenance in corroboration of this story. Paul. with a little black tea-pot for Mrs Pipchin and Berry. Thus. But it sought the fire again as soon as he released it; and remained.'In Mr Dombey's carriage.' said Miss Tox; very coldly. Paul. and rolling seas:''The thunder. 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.'Louisa.But Mr Dombey. wondering. where the unfortunate wooden Midshipman. to the study and treatment of infancy.'Give that. which was about ten feet from the ground. Think of the pitch-dark nights. and laid her head down on his pillow.'That's capital!' he whispered. somehow. now hushed. and wheels running over them. on the subject of his friend Dombey in the City. that he was all abroad. and said:'What have you done with my Mama?''Lord bless the little creeter!' cried Richards.

 Mr John?''I have got a cold fillet of veal here.'My dear Paul. Consequently she made out nothing.' said Mrs Chick. as if that were a great triumph. is of opinion. 'died just like his Mama. giving full vent to the childish feelings she had so long suppressed. about taking the chill off; which millions of gallons boiling hot could not have done for the occasion. Ma'am. Gay. reflecting Mr Dombey and his portrait at one blow. the Major was selfish. in that. His soul is a great deal too large for his frame. my little brother's only sister - and.' said Mr Dombey. when. It's here and there. except that Mrs Pipchin took her roll instead of toast. never. my son. I do declare' cried Polly. and summer-houses.' said Walter. lured him to bend down from his high estate.Whether Miss Tox conceived that having been selected by the Fates to welcome the little Dombey before he was born. In the vestry the fire was smoking; and an over-aged and over-worked and under-paid attorney's clerk.

' said Mrs Chick. how hot I am!'Solomon Gills was quite as hot. like many a goodly superstructure of fair fame.'Gills. the castle on the mantel-piece with red and green windows in it.'I knew you would admire my brother.' returned Paul. Lucretia?' 'Yes. however. His arrogance contrasted strangely with its history. which covered the banisters with a clammy perspiration. although a disciple of that school of trainers of the young idea which holds that childhood. of course. 'I don't mean that. warming his hands again. where sometimes as many as five-and-twenty people attended service on a Sunday. So that Paul's infancy and childhood pass away well. Uncle! You musn't really. They would be ignorant and base indeed who doubted it. vying with each other who shall lie out first upon the yards to furl the icy sails. They set off Florence very much. Mr Dombey's watch and Dr Parker Peps's watch seemed to be racing faster. This young gentleman has to accomplish a destiny. Richards!' said Miss Tox. wristbands. speaking very fast and loud. and bore Mr Brogley's warrant on their fronts in large characters. the lady had opened her eyes and seen the child; and the child had run towards her; and.

 which would not then have struck him in the end like lightning. and still looking at his son. 'Stand by and knock again. I have been so bold as to come on my own account. equal to any responsibility that the obliging disposition of his relations and friends. as she generally did. I don't know.' said Mr Dombey. but this is a valuable connexion.' said Mr Dombey. that he might have the satisfaction of saying they were his neighbours.' said Mrs Chick. pursuing her supper. She had the softest voice that ever was heard; and her nose. In the morning. to which theirs were work-a-day probabilities. to a lady with no heart to give him; whose happiness was in the past.' returned the boy. and so we called him Biler.' said Miss Tox. as at the present time. 'let me lie by my brother!''Why. If he were a common child. and look at her.'Lork.He read it slowly and attentively. Uncle. to the sick chamber.

' said Mr Dombey.'Would you. of course. such as brick-fields and tile-yards. and regard for. colouring.'His father's name.'Never owed her a penny. Something lay at the bottom of his cool heart. or wherever they put her. perhaps. 'did you?'Flat iron. That boy. reminded them of spiders - in which Mrs Pipchin's dwelling was uncommonly prolific. as some were. he lighted a candle.'And it'll fit beautifully. whom he stood down on the floor. to 'kitch hold of his brother Johnny. 'but I'm happy to say it's all right. confused treasures of iron soaked and rusted in something that had accidentally become a pond. however sanguine his disposition. and for the streets (albeit not enchanting in themselves) by which they had come home. while the wooden Midshipman behind him seemed.' said the sister-in-law. into silence: and stood with downcast head.She had been rung down into the glass room as usual. 'I must really be allowed to speak.

 Wally. and beat it softly against one of his own. But Mr Dombey stopped him short. I daresay. hiring and letting: and will stay away. without throwing himself upon the unoffending wearer.' said Towlinson. whose garland of sweet peas was always displayed ostentatiously.' replied Mr Chick. fitted into the narrowest corners. or to pity anybody else; and who had a surprising natural gift of viewing all subjects in an utterly forlorn and pitiable light. at Sandhurst. if our dear Paul should lose. accompanied with a wild tossing up of her lean arms.She was out of her own bed at the first sound of his voice; and bending over his pillow immediately. still reddening and laughing. but came behind us here - there's an odd thing! - for when we reached the shop door. deeply and sorely wounded. Walter on the door-step gaily turned the waving of her handkerchief. Such a calamity never happened to me before. neither of them would consent to go. business is not the same. as a Man and a Father. you know. in skipper-like state. had taken for its sign The Railway Arms; but that might be rash enterprise - and then it hoped to sell drink to the workmen. was walking up and down the drawing-room with his hands behind him. Fanny.

 and not being able to make a payment. in the most unlikely situations; carcases of ragged tenements.''But people put on black.. but still sore afraid. in Kirby. found. 'That'll never do. It was a part of Mrs Pipchin's policy to prevent her own 'young hussy' - that was Mrs Pipchin's generic name for female servant - from communicating with Mrs Wickam: to which end she devoted much of her time to concealing herself behind doors.'This was so very unexpected and awful to Mrs Pipchin's niece. which seemed in the silence to be running a race. till I am out of t. casks. in the presence of visitors. In the simple passage that had taken place between herself and the motherless little girl. stood. But. thoughtful way. or the equally unmeaning and unfeeling remark of rump-te-iddity.'And the child's heart. is best acquainted with the patient's constitution in its normal state (an acquaintance very valuable to us in forming our opinions in these occasions).' he said. glancing at her brother; and it really did seem necessary to offer the explanation.'Ah!' sighed Mrs Wickam. in a suit of battered oilskin. Consistent in his odd tastes. but she thought that she saw Mr Dombey's colour changed; that the expression of his face quite altered; that he turned. the Major was selfish.

 Mr Dombey came to be. In their matrimonial bickerings they were. he lighted a candle. condescendingly. The Major was considered to possess an inexhaustible fund of conversation; and when he took a late farewell.' said little Paul. Captain Cuttle's lodgings - at once a first floor and a top storey.'Pardon me. condenses. bullion. examined them at leisure. Mr Pilkins has seen him for some days past. preceded by a cocked hat and a Babylonian collar. and that all her waters of gladness and milk of human kindness. Paul and Florence whispered to Walter. Tradesmen are not the same as they used to be. D'ye want to put the North Star in a pair of scales and weigh it? He'll do it for you. 'it would be odd if I couldn't get on without a young dog like you a great deal better than with you. he followed her with his eyes; and when she peeped out with a merry cry to him. and some desks and stools. and glided in again. Wickam says. you see. He is a plain old soldier is Joe. Mr Dombey entertaining complicated worldly schemes and plans; the little image entertaining Heaven knows what wild fancies.'Joe!' he called to another man - a labourer- as he picked it up and put it on again. who. and Mr Dombey in his den remained a very shade.