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134
felt that any recognition short of niaepenco would 'be
mere brutality and hardness of heart. V
Therefore I gave him one of my three bri ht shillings,
which he received with much humility an Ivcncration,
and spun up with his thumb, directly afterwards, to try
the goodness of.
It was alittle disconcerting to me, to find, when I was
being helped a behind the coach, that I was supp0Scd
to have eaten a l the dinner without any assistance. I
disoovoredt is, from overliearing the lady in the bow-
window, so ' to the guard, “ Take care of that child,
George, or ie’ll burst i" and from observing that the
women-servants who were about the place came out to
look and giggle at me as a young phenomenon. My un-
fortunate friend the waiter, who had nite recovered his
spirits, did not a )pL‘1ll' to be disturbed y this, but joined
in the general a miration without being at all confused.
If I had any doubt of him, I suppose this half-awakened
it‘; butl am inclined to believe that with the simple
confidence of a child, and the natural reliance of a child
upon superior years (qualities I am very sorry an chil-
dren should prematurely change for worldly ‘Vin. om), I
had no serious mistrust of him on the whole, even then.
I feltit rather hard, Ivinust own, to be made without
deserving it, the subject of jokes between the coachman
and guard as to the coach drawing heavy behind, on ac-
count of my sitting there, and as to the greater expedi-
ency of my travelling by waggon. The story of my
supposed appetite getting wind among the outside was-
scngers, they were merry upon it likewise, and a red
me whether I was going to be paid for, at school, as two
brothers or three, and .whether I was contracted for, or
went upon the regular terms ; with other pleasant ques-
tions. But the worst of it was, tliatl knew I should be
ashamed to eat anything when an opportunity ofIered and
that, after a rather light dinner, I should remain hungr .
all night-for I had left my cakes behind, at the hate ,
in my hurry. My apprehensions were realized. ‘Vixen
we stopped for sup yer I could’nt muster coura e to take
any, though I should have liked it verv nine 1, but sat
by the fire and said I didn't want anything. This did
not save me from more jokes, either: for a husky-voiced
gentleman with a rough face, who had been eating out
of a sandwich box neari all the way, except when he
had been drinking out o a bottle, said I was like a boa-
constrictor who took enough at one meal to last him a
long time; after which he actually brought arash out
upon himself with boiled beef.
‘No started from Yarmoutli at three o’clock in the
afternoon, and we wcredue in London about eight next
morning. It was Midsummer weather. and the evening
was very pleasant. VVhen we )ftSSO(l. through it village,
I pictured to myself what the insides of the houses were
like, and what the inhabitants were about; and when
boys came running after us. and ot up behind and
swung there for a little way, I won cred whether their
fathers were alive, and whether they were happy at
home. Iliad plenty to think of, therefore, besides my
mind runnin continually on the kind of place I was'go-
ing to--whic was an awful speculation. Sometimes, I
remember, I resigned myself to thoughts of home and
Peggott ; and to endeavouring. in a confused blind way,
to recall how I had felt, and what sort of [1 boy I used
be, before I bit Mr. Murdstone : which I couldn’t. satisfy
myself about by any means, I seemed to have bitten him
in such remote. antiquity.
The night was not so pleasant as the evening, for it
got chilly; and being put between two gentlemen (tho
rough-faced one and another) to prevent my tumbling
off the coach, I was nearly smothered hv their faliin
asleep, and completely blocking me up. They squeezed
me so hard sometimes, that I could not help crying out
"011. if you please i"4WIllCll they didn't like at all
because it woke them. Opposite me was an elderlv lady
in agreat fur cloak, who looked in the dark more like a
haystack than a lady, she was wra ped up to sucliadc.
rec. This lady had a basket with her. and she hadn't
'n0wn what to do with it for a long time, until she
found that on‘ account of my legs being short, it could
go underneath me." ‘It cram ed and hurt me so, that it
made me perfectly miserab e; but if I’ moved in the
least, and made a glass that was in the basket yank;
seven shillings? '1 Should Is-le'cp at night in onset’ t
OIIARLES DICKENS’ ‘- WOIBIIS.
' ' etiiiii else’ as it was sure to do), she gave
l;El;(‘31ltll‘lsl3t .:lO':I12lle5l- !1:oko’with her 1‘ mt,’ and said, “ Come,
donut Wu: jidget. [your bones are young enough, I'm
mliotllast the’ sun rose, and then my companions seemed
to sleep easier.’ 'I‘he'diiIiculties under which they had
laboured all night, and wliicli‘-had found utterance in the
most terrificgasps and snorts, are not to bc.conc.eived,
As the sun get higher, their slee ‘became lighter, and
so they graduall ' one by one awo re. I recollcctrbclng
verv much surprised by the feint cvcrybodv made, then,
of not having been to sleep at all, and bytlio uncommon
indignation with which ‘ every one repelled the charge.
I labour under the'samo kind of astonishment to t iis
day, having invariably observed that of all human weak-
nesses the one to which our common nature is the least
disposedto confess (I cannot imagine why), is the weak-
ness of having gone to sleep in a coach. '
“'liat an amazing place London was to me when I saw
it in the distance, and how I believed all the adventures
of all myfavorite heroes .to be constantly enacting and
re-enacting there, and how I vaguely made it out in my
own mind to be ' fuller of wonders and wickedness than
all the cities of the eartli,"I need not stop here to relate.
'VVo a proaclied iit’ .b ' degrees, and got, in due time’,
to the an in‘ tho lVhitecliapel‘ district, for which we
were bound. I forget whether it was the ‘ Blue Bull, or
Blue Bear ; but it was Blue Something, and that its lilie-
ness was painted uponithe backcf the coach. . . i
The guard's c 'clighted on me as he was gcttmgdorrn,
and he said at t in booking-oiiice door : ' ' I
“ Is there anybody here for a yoongster booked ‘in the
name of Murdstone, from Bloonderstone, Sooliolk,‘ to be
left till called for?" ' V ' ‘
Nobody answered. "
“ Try Co iperiield, if you please, sir,” said I, looking
hclplesslyilown.‘ ' < ', ' V ' ‘ '
" Is tlu-.re' anybodyhere for a yoongstcr, booked in the
name of ' Murdstone, from Bloonderstone,: Sooffolk, but
owning to the name of Copperfieldpto be left till called
for?" said the guard.‘ “ Come i" [9 there anybody? ” v
No. There was ‘nobody. I looked ‘anxiously. around;
but the inquiry ninde no iinpressionion any of the by.)
standcrs, if :I’except nman in gaitors, -wit.h‘onc eye, who
suggested that they had better put a brass collar round ‘
my neck, and tie me up lathe stable. - H v
, A ladder was brought, and I got ‘down after the lady,
who was like-a ha 'stack :?not during .lO?Sl.lX‘, until her
basket was "remove . The ‘coach was clear of passengers
by that time, the luggage was very soon cleared out, the
horses had been taken out before the ‘luggage, and now
the coach itself was wheeled and backedtoiil by some
Iiostlors, out of the ‘way. ' Still, nobody appeared; ‘ to
claim the dustyyoungster from Blunderstone, Sulloilc.’
Moro solitary than Robinson Crusoe,’ who had nobody
to look at lilm, and see that he was solitary,tI went into
the booking-otllce, and,‘by invitation of the clerk on ‘duty,
passed behind the counter, and‘:-:at down 'on the scale at
which they weighed the luggage, . Here, as I sat looking
at the parcels, paclgagcs, and"books,"and iiihaliiig the
smell 0 stables (ever since associated with that morning),
a procession of most tremendous.considerations be an to
march ‘through my mind; ‘ Supposing ‘nobody- s iould
ever fetch me, how long would they consent to keep ‘me
there? “fould they keep‘ me long enough ‘to splend
oso
wooden binns, with the other luggage, and wash myself
at the pump in the yard in the morning ; or should I be
turned out over n ght; and? expected’ totcome again to
be left till callc for, iwheri tho‘ oilico.'ope‘iied ncxttdny-‘1
Supposing there was no mistake in the case, and Mr.
Murdstono had=deviscd :this lab to”gct rid of iiie,’ what
should I do? -If they allowed me to remain‘ there until
my seven shillings were spent, I couldn’t hope to remain
there when Ibegan to starve“ (Phat would obviously be
inconvreuient and unpleasant to the custonicrspbesides
entailing on the 1lluo.iVhatovcr it was, :the risk of fun.
eral expenses. If I started off at once, and tried to walk
V1.91’-' 1101110. how‘-could I ever find my way,"1i'ow could I
et or hope to walk so for, how could make'surg' of any
one but Pcggotty, evcnaf I got back ‘I, ' If I; found out the
nearest proper DJ-lI.lIOI‘ll.l0S,' and odcrcd myself to go’ fora
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