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‘and Mrs. Gummidge was but poorly, and little Eni’ly.
DDAVID OOPPERFIELD. . ' I 183
l
:evidently afraid of meftoo, and "entertained the proba- '
bility of my running away again soon ;' if lmight judge > ‘
‘from the repeated hints she threw out, that the coach
-fare to Yarmoutlrwas always to ' be had of her" for the
‘asking. . - L . - " I -. ‘ ’
She gave me a piece of intelli ence which affected me
very much, namely, that there iad been a sale of the
furniture at our old home, and that Mr. and Miss Murd-
stone were gone away, and the house was shut up, to be
let or sold.‘ God knows I had had no part in it while
they remained there, but it pained me to think of the
dear old place as altogether abandoned; of the weeds
growing tall in the arden, and the fallen leaves lying
thick and wet upon t 10 paths. Iimagined how the winds
of winter would howl round it, how the cold rain would
beat upon the window.glnss,‘liow the moon would make
ghosts on the walls of the empty rooms, watching their
solitude all night. I thought afresh of the grave in the
churchyard, underneath the tree: and it seemed as if
the house were dead too, new, and all connected with my
father and mother were faded away.
There was no other news in'Peggotty’s letters. Mr.
Barkis was an excellent husband, she said, though still
a little near; but we all had our faults, and she had plenty
(though I am sure I don’t know what they were) ; and
he’ sent his duty, and my little bedroom was always ready
for me. Mr. Peggotty was well, and Ham was well,
wouldu’t send her love, but said that Peggotty might
send it, if she liked.
All this intelligence I dutifully imparted to my aunt,
only.rescrving to myself the mention of little Em’ly,
to whom I instinctive] felt that she would not very ton-
derly incline. iVhile was yet new at Dr. Strong’s, she
made several excursions over to Canterbury to see me,
and always at unseasonable hours : with a view. I sup-
pose, of taking me by surprise. But, finding me well
employed, and bearing a. good character, and hearing on
all hands that I rose fast in the school, she soon discons
tinned these visits. I saw her on a Saturday. every
third or fourth week, when I went over to Dover for a
treat; and I saw Mr. Dick every alternate VVedncsduy,
when he arrived by stage-coach at noon, to stay until
next morning. ‘
On these occasions Mr. Dick never travelled without a
leatliern writing-desk, containing a supply of stationery
and the Memorial; in relation to which document he
had a notion that time was beginning to press now, and
that it really must be got out of hand.
Mr. Dick was very partial to ginger-bread. To render
his visits the more agreeable, my aunt had instructed
me to open a credit for him at a cake-shop, which was
hampered with the stipulation that he should not be
served with more than one sliilling's worth in the course
of any one day. 'l‘his, and the reference of all his little
bills at the county inn where he slept, to my aunt, be-
fore they were paid, induced me to suspect that he was,
only allowed to rattle his money, and not to spend it. I
found on further investigation that this was so, or at
least there was an agreement between him and my aunt
that he should account to her for all his disbursements.
As he had no idea of deceiving her, and always desired
to please her, he was thus made chary of launching into
expense. On this point, as well as on all other possible
points, Mr. Dick was convinced that my aunt was the
wisest and most wonderful of women ; as he repeatedly
told me with infinite secrecy, and always in a whisper.
“"I‘rotWood," said Mr. Dick, with an air of mystery,
after imparting this confidence to me one VVednesday;
il‘whp’s the man that hides near our house and frightens
er? '
“ Friglitcns my aunt, sir?”
Mr. Dick nodded. “I thought nothing would have
frightened licr,?’ he said, “ for she's-” here he wliis-
pered softly, “don’t mention it-tlie wisest and most
wonderful of women.” Ilavinrr said which, he drew
back, to observe the effect wliicli this description of her
made upon me.
“ The first time he came," said Mr. Dick. “ was-let
me see-sixteen hundred and fortysninc was the date of
King Cliarles’s execution. I think you said sixteen hun-
I
"Yes, sir.” > V >
“I don't know how it can be,” said Mr. Dick, sorely
puzzled and shaking his head. ' " I don’t think I am as
old as that.” I . '
I -I“ i1Vas it in that year that the man appeared, sir?” I
as cc . r ' .
“ Why, really,” said Mr. Dick, ‘'1 don’t see’ how it
can have been in that year, Trotwood. Did you get that
date outiof history?” ' v
“ Yes, sir.” , I
'‘I suppose history never lies, does it?” said Mr.
Dick, with a gleam of hope.
“ Oh dear, no, sir I’’ I replied, most decisively. I was
ingenuous and young, and I thought so; ' i p
“ I can’t make it out,” said Mr. Dick,’ shaking his
head.‘ “ Thcre’s something wrong, somewhere. IIow-
ever, it was very soon after the mistake-was made of
putting some of the trouble out of King Cliarles’s head
into my head, that the man first came. ‘I was walking
out with Miss Trotwood after tea, just at dark, and there
he was, close to our house.” ‘ i i
“ iVall<ing about?” I inquired. ‘ ’
“ VValking about?” repeated Mr. Dick.“ “ Let me see.
I must recollect a bit. N-no, no ; liewas not‘ walking‘
about.”
I asked, as the shortest way to get at it, what he icas
d .
he came up behind her, and wliispcred. Then she turned
round and fainted, and I stood still and looked at him,
and he walked away; but that he should have been
hiding ever since (in the ground or somewhere), is the
most extraordinary thing !” '
“ Has he been hiding ever since?” I asked. ‘
“To be sure he has,” retortcd lilr. Dick, nodding his
head gravely. “Never came out, till last night! “'e
were walking last night, and he came up'behind her
again, and I knew him again.”
“ And did he fri litcn my aunt again?”
“All of a shiver, ’ said Mr. Dick, counterfeiting that
affection and making his teeth chatter. “ Held by the
palings. Cried. But Trotwood, come here,” getting
me close to him, that he might whisper very softly;‘
- “ why did she give him money, boy, in thcmooiiliglit ?”
“ lie was a beggar, perhaps.”
Mr. Dick shook his head, as utterly renouncing the
suggestion ; and having replied a great many times, and
with great confidence, “No beggar, no beggar, no beg-
gar, sir i ” went on to say, that from his window he had
afterwards, and late at night, seen my aunt give this
person money outside the garden rails in the moonlight,
who then slunk away--into the ground again, as ho
thought probable-and was seen no more: while my
aunt came hurriedly and secretly back into the house,
and had. even that morning, been quite different from
her usual self; which preyed on Mr. Dick's mind. '
Iliad not the least belief, in the outset of this story,
that the unknown was anything but a delusion of Mr.
Dick's, and one of the line of tiat ill-fated Prince who
occasioned him so much difliculty; but after some res‘
liection I began to entertain the question whether an at-
tempt, or threat of an attempt, might have been twice
made to take poor Mr. Dick himself from under my
aunt’s protection, and whether my aunt, the strength of
whose kind feelings towards him I knew from herself,
might have been induced to pay a price for his peace
and quiet. As I was already much attached to Mr. Dick,
and very solicitous for his welfare,‘ my fears favoured
this supposition ; and for a long time his .“'cdncsd.ay
mu-dly ever came round, without my entertaining a inis-
giving that he would not be on the coach-box as usual.
There he always appeared, however, grey.-lieaded, laugh-
ing, and happy ; and he never had anything more to tell
of the man who could frighten my aunt.
These VVednesdays were the happiest days of Mr.
Dick's life; they we're far from being the least hap y
of mine. He soon became known to every boy in tin
school ; and though he never took an active part in any
game but kite-iiying, was as deeply interested in all our
sports as any one among us. How often have I seen
him, intent upon a match at marbles or peg-top, look-
dred and forty-nine?"
s
ing on with a face of unutterablc interest, and hardly
0111"‘. ,
“ II'ell, he wasn’t there at all,” said Mr. Dick, "until