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i I GREA T ‘EX PE’ UTA TI ONE’.
after him andlaid hold of him.’ In another minute we
-were ontsidethc gate, and it was locked, and Estella was
"gone." VVhen we stood in ‘the daylight alone again, Joe
-backed up against a wall, and said to Uie,""Ast0nish-
ing l”w - And there he remained so long, saying, “ Aston-
ishing I” at intervals, so often, that I began to think his
senses were never coming back.‘. At length he prolonged
his remark into “ Pip, I do assure you this is as-'r0x-ish-
in !” and so,’ by ,degrees, became conversational and
able to walk away. ' > V‘ '
I have reason to think that J oe’s intellects were bright-
ened by the encounter they had passed-through, and
that on our way to Pumblechook’s, he invented a subtle
and deep design.’ My reason is to be found in what
took‘ place in %Mr.>Pumblechook’s parlour: where, on
our presenting. ourselves, my sister sat in conference
with that detested seedsman.
V‘ “ ‘Veil I” cried my sister, addressing us‘ both at once.
“And what’s happened to you? I wonder you con-
descend to come back to such poor society as this, I am
sure I do I" ‘ , , ,
“ "Miss Havisham,” said Joe, with a fixed lookat me
like an effort of remembrance, “made it wery partick’ler
that we.should give her-were it compliments or re-
spects, Pip?” -' l i ' r '
in“ Compliments,” I said.
., ;.“IVhich that‘ were my own belief,” answered Joe
-“her compliments to Mrs. J. Gargery-’’ ‘ .
“Much good. they’ll do me I” observed my sister;
but rather gratified too. -
“ And wishing,” pursued Joe, with another fixed look
at me, like another effort of remembrance, “that the
state of Miss Havisham’s elth were sitch as would have
-allowed, were it, Pip ?” , . ,
" “ Of her having the pleasure," I added.
“Of ladies’ company,” said Joe. ’ Andidrew a long
breath. '
“ ‘Veil i” cried my sister, with a mollified glance at
Mr. -Puinblecliook, “ She might have hadthe polite’-
ness to send that message at first, but it's better late,
than‘ never.‘ And what did she give young Rantipole
here?” ' '
“ She giv’ him," said Joe, “nothing.”
- Mrs. Joe was going to break out, but Joe went on.
i“ What she giv,” said Joe, “she giv’ to his friends.
‘And by his friends,’ were her explanation, ‘ I mean into
the hands of his sister, Mrs. J. Gargery.’ Them’ were
her words ; ‘ Mrs. J. Gargery.’ She mayn’t have know’d,”
added Joe, with an appearance of reflection, “ whethcrit
were Joe or Jorge.” ‘ ' V , “
‘My sister looked at Pumhlechook : who smoothed the
elbows of his wooden armchair, and nodded at her and
at the fire, as if he had known all about it beforehand.
“And how much have you got?” asked my sister,
laughing. < Positively, laughing I
“ ‘What would present company say to ten pound?”
demanded Joe. ' ‘ ‘ ,
“ They’d say,” returned my sister curtly, “ pretty
well. ’ Not too much, but pretty well.” '
“ It's more than that, then,” said Joe.
That fearful Impostor, Pumblechook, immediately nod-
ded, and said, as he rubbed the arms of his chair : “It's
more than that, Mum.” . ’ I
“ IVhy you don’t mean to say--” began my sister.
“ Yes I do, Mum,” said Pumblechook; “ but wait a
bit. Go on, Joseph. Good in you I Go on i”
“ VVhat would present company say,” proceeded Joe,
“ to twenty pound?" ' ' ‘
' “ Handsome would be the word,” returned my sister.
“ ‘Veil, then,” said Joe, “it’s more than twenty
ponnd.” ' ' ‘
‘That abject hypocrite, Pumblechook, nodded again;
and said, with a patronizing laugh, “ lt’s more than that,
Mum. Good again I Follow her up, Joseph I” '
“Then to make an end of it,” said Joe, delightedly
handing the bag to my sister ; “ it’s five-and-twenty
pound.” . ‘
“ It’s five-and-twenty pound, Mum,” echoed that basest
of swindlers, Pumblechook, rising to shake hands with
her ; " and it's no more than your merits (as I said when
615
If the villain had stopped here, his case would have
been sutiiciently awful, but he blackenedhis guilt by
proceeding to take me into custody,‘with ‘a right of pat-
ronage that left all his former criminality far behind. ,
“ N ow you see, Joseph and wife,” said Pumblechook,
as he took me by the arm above the elbow. “ I am one
of them that always go right through with what they’ve
begun. This boy must be bound out of hand. That’s
my way. Bound out of hand.” ‘ e " ' V
“ Goodness knows, Uncle Pumblechook,” said my
sister (grasping the money), “‘ we’re deeply beholden to
ou.” .
“Never mind me, Mum,” returned that diabolical
cornchandler. ,“ A p1easure’s a pleasure all the world
over. ‘But this boy, you know; we must have him
bound. - I said I’d see to it-to tell you the truth.”
The Justices were sitting in the Town Hall near at
hand, and we at once went over to have me bound ap-
prentice to Joe in the Magisterial presence I say. we
went over, but I was pushed over by Pumblechook, ex-
actly as if I had that moment picked a pocket or fired a
rick; indeed, it was the general impression in Court
that I had been taken red-handed ; for, as Pumblechook
shoved me before him through the crowd, I heard some
people say, ‘ “ What’s he done?” and others, “He's a
young ’un, too, ‘but looks bad, don’t he?” One person
of mild and benevolent aspect even gave me a tract orna-
mented ‘ with a woodcut offa malevolent young man
fitted up with a perfect sausage-shop of fctters, and en-
titled To BE READ IN MY CELL. ' '
‘ The Hall was a queer place, I thought,-with higher pews
in it than a church-and with people hanging over the
pews looking on-and with mighty Justices (one with a
powdered head) leaning back in chairs, with folded arms,
or taking snuff, or going to sleep, or writing, or reading
the newspapers-and with some shining black portraits
on the walls, which my unartistic eye regarded as a com-
position of hnrdbakc and sticking-plaistcr. Here, in a
corner, my indentnrcs were duly signed and attested,
and I was “ bound ;” Mr. Pumblechook holding ‘me all
the while as if we had looked in on our waydto the
scaffold, to have those little preliminaries disposed of.
VVhen we had come out again, and had got rid of the
boys who had been put into great spirits by tho expecta-
tion of seeing me publicly tortured, and who were much
disappointed to find that my friends were merely rallving
round me, we went back to Pumblechook’s. And tiere
my sister became so excited‘by the twenty-five guineas,
that nothing would sorveher but we must have a dinner
out of that windfall, at the Bluolioar, and that Pumble-
chook must go over in his chaise-cart, and bring the
‘<1
Ilubbles and Mr. “’opslc. '
It was agreed to be done ; and a most melancholy day
Ipassed. For it inscrutably appeared to stand to reason,
in the minds of the whole company, that I was an ex-
crescence on the entertainment. ' And to make it worse,
they all asked me from time totime-in short, whenever
they had nothing else to do4-why I didn’t enjoy myself?
And what could I- possibly do then, but, say that 'I was
enjoying myself-when I wasn’t l ' ‘ ' . ‘ ‘ ‘
However, they were grown up and had their own way,
and made the most of it. That swindlingPumblcchook,
exalted into the beneficent contriver of the whole occa-
sion actually took the top of the table ; and, when he
addressed them on the subject of my being bound, and
had fiendishly congratulated them on my being liable to
imprisonment if I played at cards, drank strong liquors,
kept late hours or bad company, or indulged in other va-
garies which the form of my indcntures appeared to
contemplate as next to inevitable, he placed me standing
on a chair besides him to illustrate his remarks.
My only other remembrances of the great festival are,
That they wouldn’t let me‘ go to sleep, but whenever
they saw me dropping off, woke me up and. told me to
enjoy myself. That, rather late in the er:cn1ng Mr.“'op-
sle.gare us Collins’s ode, and threw his blood-stain’d
sword in thunder down, with such effect, that a waiter
came in and said, “ The Commercials underneath sent up
their compliments, and it wnsn’t the Tumbler’s Arms."
That, they were all in excellent spirits on the road home,
my opinion wasrasked), and I wish you joy of the
money I" '
1
and sang 0 Lady Fair! Mr. VVopsle taking the bass,
and asserting with a tremendously strong voice (in reply