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V upon thatlscore.
‘EIARTIN1 CIHUZZLEWIT. .. ‘
Z‘ "I’m a nice‘ man,’ I. don’t think, as“Jolin‘,used ‘to-‘say
(John was a kind, merry-hearted fellow :;I wishihe had
liked Pecksnili better) to be feclinglow, on account’ of
the’ distance between us, when'I ought to'be thinking,
instead,‘ of my extraordinary.‘ good luck in having ever ‘
I must have been born with a silver’ Spoon in I
got here. .
my mouth, I am‘ sure, to have ever come across Peck-
snitf. Andhere have I fallen again‘into my usual good-
luck with thenew-pupil I ‘Such an‘ affable, generous,
free fellow, as he is, I never saw." ' lVhy, we were’ com-
panions directlyfand he'a‘ relation of Pecksniff’s' too,
and‘, a clever, dashing youth who might cut’ hisway
through the world as if it were a cheese I Here he comes
while the words are on ‘my lips,” said Tom : “ walking
down the lane as if the lanebelonged to ' him.” ‘I ' ' ‘
"‘ In truth, the new pupil, not at alldisconcerted by [the
honour of having Miss Mercy Pecksniff on his’ arm; or
by the atfectionate adieux of that young lady, approached
as Mr. Pinch spoke,‘ followed‘ by’ Miss Charity and ‘Mr.
Pecksniif. ‘ As the coach appeared at the same moment,
Torn lost. no time in entreating the gentleman‘ last men-
tioned, to undertakethe delivery of his letter. ' " :
' "‘Ohl” said Mr. Pecksniff, glancing at the3super'-
scription. .“ For yoursister, Thomas. Yes, ohyes, it
shall be delivered,’ Mr. Pinch. fMake your mind easy
She shall certainly have ‘ it, Mr.
Pinch.” =' ,., L? ' " ' 7 "
‘,‘jHe made the promise with so much condcscension and
. patronage, that Tom felt he had askedfa great deal (this
ad not occurred to his mind before), and thanked him
earnestly. The Miss Pecksnifis, according to a custom
'they’had,‘ were amused beyond description, at the men-
tiouof Mr. I’inch’s sister. Qh the fright! The bare
idea of a Miss Pinch 1 Good heavens l I '
, . Tom was greatly pleased to scethem so merry, for he
;took"it as a token, of their favour, and ood-humoured
regard. . Therefore he laughed too and ru bed his hands,
‘and wished them a pleasant journeygand safe return, and
‘was'quite brisk. Even when the coach lradrolled away
with the olive-branches in the boot and the family of
iloyes inside,’ he.‘ stood ‘waving his hand and bowing:
.so,much gratified bythe unusually courteous demeanour
of, the young ladies, that he was quite regardless, for
'the‘r'n'oment, of Martin Chuzzlewit, who stood leaning
thoughtfully against the finger-post,‘and who after dis-
posing of his fair charge had hardly lifted his eyes from
the ground. ' ‘ ‘ ' ‘
,‘'.‘.The perfect silence which ensued upon the b11stle and
departure of the coach, together with the sharp air of
,the’ wintry aft‘emo‘on,’. roused them ‘both at thoV'same
xtimejz‘ They turned,‘ as by mutual’ consent, and moved
‘off, arm-in-arm. ‘I '
“ ‘f How melancholy", you arc’ l ”Vsaid Tom ; “ what is the
‘ matter‘?’.’ . V
1 “Nothing worth speaking ‘of,”.said,Martin. "‘Vel'V '
little more than was the matter yesterday, and much
more, I hope, than will be the matter to-morrow.‘ I am
-out ofs irits, l’inclr.’f ‘ ‘ " ’ ‘ ’ " “
‘j’ 9‘ “'9 I,” cried Tom, “now do you know I am in capi-
tal spirits to-day, and scarcely. ever felt more disposed
to be good company. ‘ It was a very kind thing in your
predecessor, John, to write to me, wasqit not?” ‘ -
, f‘VV1;y, yes," said Martin carelessly: “ I should have
'.tlro1iglrt he would have had enough to do'to enjoy him-
self, without thinking of you, Pinch.” ‘ ‘ v r
' “Just what I felt to be so very likely,’’ Tom rejoined : I
,( 'fbut. no, he keeps his word, and says,‘ ‘My dear Pinch,
' I often think of you,’ and all sorts of kind and consider-
3ate things of that description.” 9 ' ‘ ‘
.1 “He ;must be a devilish good-natured fellow,”Vsaid
Martin, somewhat peevishly: “because l1o.can’t’m‘ean
jgthat, you know.” ' ‘<‘ ‘ ‘. ’ <
"‘ I don’t suppose he can, chi” said Tom,look1ng wist-
.fully in his companion's face. “He saysso toipleuse
frne,'you think?” ‘ ‘ . ' , , .
“‘iVhy, is it likely,’f‘rejorned Martin, with greater
,:c:],rnest1]eSS, “that 0. young man newly escaped from ‘
this kennel of a place, andyfrcslrto all the delights of
being his own master in London, can have much leisure
or inclination to think favourably of anything or noboby
he has left behind him here? I put it to you, Pinch, is
it natural?" . . V ’ G’ ' ‘ ‘.
975
‘ "After a-short reflection,!Mr.'Pinch replied, in a more
subdued ‘tone,-that to‘ be sure it was unreasonable to
expect any suchthing, and that he hadno doubt Martin
knewbest.' V ’ ‘ V .4 ! ’ = ‘
4 “Of course I know best," Martin observed. ‘ 2 3
f‘ Yes, I feel -that,” said Mr. Pinch, mildly. .“ I said
so.” r'And when he ‘had made this rejoinder,‘they fell
into a blank silence again,"which lasted ‘until they
reacliedhome : by which time it was dark. ' -I . .
Now, Miss Charity Pecksniff, in consideration of the
inconvenience ‘of carrying them-with her in the coach,
and the impossibility of preservin them by artificial
means ‘until the family's return, ind‘ set‘ forth,vin a
couple of plates, the fragments of yesterday's feast. ' In
virtue of which liberal arrangement, they had ‘the hap-
piness to find awaiting them in the parlour two chaotic
heaps of the remains of last night’s pleasure, consisting
of certain filmy bits of. oranges, some mummied sand-
wiches, ‘various disrupted masses of the geological cake,
and, several entire captain's biscuits. That choice liquor
in which to steep these dainties might not be wanting,
the remains of the two bottles of currant wine had been
poureditogether and corked with a curl-paper; so that
every material was at hand for making quite a heavy
night of it.“ ' " ‘ ’ “ I ‘ I .
'Martin Chuzzlewit beheld these roystering ‘prepara-
tions with infinite contempt, and stirring the fire’ into a
blaze (to. the great destruction of Mr. Pecksniffs coals),
sat moodily down before it, in the most comfortable
chair he could find. ‘That he might the better squeeze
himself into the small comer that was left for him, Mr.
Pinchtook up his position on Miss Mercy Pecksniff’s stool,
and setting his glass down upontlie hearth‘-rug and put-
ting his plate upon his knees, began to enjoy himself.
If Diogenes coming to life again could have rolled
l1imself,'tub and all, into Mr. l’ecksnitI's’ arlour, and
could have seen Tom Pinch as he sat on Icrcy Peck-
snitfs stool with his plate and glass before him, he could
not have faced it out, though in his surliest mood, but
must have-smiled good-tempererllyw The perfect ‘and
entire satisfaction of Tom ; his surpassing appreciation of
the husky sandwiches, which crumbled in his mouth like
sawdust;‘tho unspeakable relish with wlnich‘he swal-
lowed the thin wine by drops, and smacked his lips, as
though it were so rich and generous that to lose an atom
of its‘ fruity flavour were a sin ; the look with which he
paused sometimes, with his glass in his hand, proposing
silent toasts to himself; and the anxious shade’ that
came upon‘ his contented face when after wandering
round the room, cxulting in its uninvaded snugness, his
glance encountered the dull brow of his companion ; no
cynic in the world, though in his hatred of its men a very
g)ritli]r]1, could have withstood these things in Thomas
rnc.'1‘- ’ " “- --<-
Some men would have slapped him’ on the back, and
pledged him in a bumper of tho currant wine,‘though
it had‘ been‘ the sharpest vinegar-ay, and like its fla-
vour too; some would have seized him by his honest
hand, and thanked him for the lesson’ that his‘ simple
nature taught them. Some would have laughed-with,
and others would have laughcd‘at him; of which last
class was Martin Chuzzlewit, who, unable to restrain him-
self atglastflau hedloud and long.’ ‘ i ‘ - ,
V‘ “ That's ‘rrig t,”’ said ‘Tom, nodding npprovingly.
“Cheer up! That’s capital 1'’ , ,. '
At which encouragement,‘ 'oung Martin laughed again :
and said, as‘ soon as he bad breath and gravity ‘enough :‘
“ I never saw such a fellow as you are, Pinch.” , r
“ Didn’t you though?” said Tom. “ ‘Veil. W5 very
likely you do find me strange, because I have hard! seen
anything of the world, and you have seen a goo deal
ldaresny?”" . i , .
‘ “Prett . well for my time of life,” rejoined Martin,‘
drawing llS chair still nearer to the fire, and sprendinghis
feetrout on the fender. “Deuce take it, I must talk
openlyto somebody. I'll talk openly to you, Pinch.”
"‘Do l” said Tom. "I shall take it as being very
friendly of you.” '
" I’m not in your way, am I?" inquired Martin,‘ lan-
cin down at Mr. Pinch, whofwas by this time loo ing
at 5112 fire over his leg. =‘ ' A ' ' . ‘ I I
“ Not at all I-” cried Tom. . '