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I.'.1l[ARTIN'v0HUZZLEWI1lg
:- ’It,was in this positionof affairs that Tom’s account of
the strange behaviour of the decayed clerk, on the night
.of ’the,.tea-party, becamerof greatumoment, and finally
‘convinced-them that to arrive at a more accurate knowl-
edge of the workings of that old man’s mind and mem-
.,ory, would be to take a most important stride in their
.pursuit;of the truth. -So, having first satisfied tliem-
‘ selves that no communication had ever taken place be-
tween Lewsome and Mr. Chuffey (which would have ac-
Lcoiinted at once for any suspicious the. latter might en-
tertain), they unanimously resolved that the old clerk
was the man they wanted. v - .
2 .But, like the unanimous resolution of a public meet-
ing, which will. oftentimes, declare that this or that
grievance is not to be borne a moment longer, which is
Vnevertlieless borne for a century or two afterwards,
without any modification, they only reached in this the
conclusion that they were all of one mind. For, it was
, one thing to want Mr. Chuffey, and another thing to get
‘at him ; and to do that without alarming him, or with-
out alarming Jonas, or without being discomfited by the
difficulty of striking, in an instrument so out of tune and
. so unused, the note they sought, was an end as far from
their reach as ever. I i .
.- The question then became,.who of those about the old
clerk had had most influence with him, that night? Tom
said hisiyouiigg mistress clearly. But Tom and all of
them shrunk from the thought of entrapping her, and
making her the innocent means of bringing retribution
on her.cruel husband. VVas there nobody else? VVliy
yes. ‘In a very different way, Tom said, he was influ-
enced by Mrs. Gamp, the nurse ; who had once had the
, control of him, as he understood,‘ for some time.
They caught at this immediately. Here was a new
Sway out, developed in a quarter until then overlooked.
John lVest1ock knew Mrs. Gamp ; he had given her em-
ployment; he was acquainted with her place of' resi-
dence : forthat good ladylhad obligingly furnished him,
at ‘parting, with a pack of Iier professional cards, for
general distribution. It was decided that Mrs. Gamp
,should belapproaclied without :delay; and that the
depths" of that discreet matrou’s knowledge of Mr. Chut-
fcy, and means of bringing them, or one of them, into
communication with him, should be carefully sounded.
, On this service, Martin and John VVestlock determined
to proceed that night ; waiting on Mrs. Gamp first,.at her
lodgings ;.'and taking their chance of finding her in the
repose of private life, or of having to seek heriout, else-
.,where, in the exercise of her professional duties. . Tom
returned home, that he mi lit lose no opportunity of
.;having an interview with i adgctt, by being absent in
the event of his reappearance. ,And Mr. Tnpley ’re-
mained (by his own particular desire) for the time being
in Furnival’s Inn, to look after Lewsome; who might
safely fliave been left to ' himself,‘ however, for any
‘thought he seemed to entertain of giving them the slip.
C Before they partedon their several errands, they caused
Lliiin to read aloud, in the presence of them all, the paper
, which he had about him, andtho declaration he, had at-
‘ tacliedto it,’ which was to the effect that he had written
it voluntarily, in the fear of death, and in the torture of
‘his mind.‘ Andwlien he had done so, l.:l)C)' all signed it.
and taking it from him, of his free will, locked it in a
place of safety. V . - ,-
. ; , Martin also wrote. by John's advice, a. letter the trus-
.tees of. the famous Grammar School, boldly claim-ing the
-‘successful design as his, and charging Mr. Becksiiiff with
' the fraud he had committed. In this proceeding also,
John was liotlyinterestcd: observing with his usual ir-
reverence, that Mr. Pecksniff had been a successful rascal
all his life through, and that it would be a lastiugsourco
of happiness to him (J olin) if he could help to do him Jus-
Ztice inthc smallest particular. . L .' K. V ,
2 : A busy day I 'But Martin had no lodgings yet; so when
these matters were disposed of, he excused himself from
dining with John lVestlock and was fain to wander out
alone, and ‘look 'for.some. He succeeded. 11301‘ if-'P<‘-=13
trouble, in engaging two garrets for himself and Mark,
situated in a court .in the Strand, not, far from Temple
', Bar. .Tlieir:lnggage, which was waiting for,them at a
coach"-oflice, lieconveyed. to ‘this pew place, of refuge ;
and it was with a glow of satisfaction, .whicli as a selfish
man he never could have known and never had, that,
thinking howmuch pains and trouble he had saved Mark,
and how pleased and astonished Mark would be,‘ he after-
wards walked up and down, in the Temple, eating a meat .
' ' ; i . . -. .
pie for his dinner. . .
.i:.
CHAPTER XLIX.
In which Mrs. Harris, assicferl by a Teapot, is the cizuselqf a. I)iri.si'on.
(tween Frien s. I ’ H
MRS. GAiuP‘s apartment in Kingsgate-street, High Hol-
born, wore, metaphorically speaking, a robe of state. It
was swept and garnished for the reception of a visitor.
That visitor was Betsey Prig: Mrs. Prig of Bartleiny’s;
or as some said Barklemy’s, or as some said,Bardlemy’s :
for by all these endearing and familiar appcllations, had
the hospital of Saint Bartholomew become a household
word among the sisterhood which Betsey.Prig, adorned.
Mrs. Gamp’s apartment was not a spacious one, but, to
a contented mind, a closet is ii. palace ; and the first floor
front at Mr. Sweedlepipe’s may have been, in the imagi-
nation of Mrs. Gamp, a stately pile. If it were not ex-
actly that, to restless intellects, it at, least comprised, as
much accommodation as any person, not san nine to in-
sanity, could have looked for, in a room of its imensions.
For only keep the bedstead always in your mind; and
you were safe. That was the grand secret. Remember-
ing the bedstead, you might even stoop to look under the
little round table for anything you had dropped, without
hurting yourself much against the chest of drawers, or
qualifying as a patient of Saint Bartholomew, by falling
into the fire. . . . . .
Visitors were much assisted in their cautious efforts to
preserve an unilagging recollection of this piece of furni-
ture, by its size ; which was great. , It was not a turn-up
bedstead, nor yet a French bedstead, nor yet a four-post
bedstead, but what is poetically called a tent ; the sack-
ing wliercof, was low and bul y, insoinucli that Mrs.
Gamp’s box would not go undcrit, but stopped half way,
in ii manner which while it did violence to the reason,
likewise endangered the legs, of a stranger. The frame
too, which would have supported the canopy and hangings
if there had been any, was ornamented with divers pip-
pins carved in timber, which on the slightest provocation
and frequently on none at all, came tumbling down ; har-
assing the pcaceful guest with inexplicable terrors. -
The bed itself wiis decorated with a patchwork quilt of
great antiquity ; and at the upper end, upon the side near-
est to the door, hung. a scanty CllI'l.alI1-Of,l)lll6,CllCCl(,
which prevented the Zcphyrs that were abroad in Kings-
ate-strect from Visiting Mrs. Gamp’s head too roughly.
‘onic rusty gowns and other articles of that lady's ward-
robe dcpended from the posts: and these had so adapted
themselves by long usage to her figure, that more than
one impatient husband coming in precipitately, at about
the time of twilight, had been for an instant stricken
dumb by the supposed discovery that Mrs. Ganip had
hanged herself. One gentleman, coming on the, usual
hasty errand, had sai indeed, , that they looked like
guardian angels “watching of her in her sleep.” But
that, as Mrs. Gamp said, “was his first ;" and io never
repeated the sentiment . though he often repeated his
‘ visit. .
The, chairs in Mrs. Gamp’s apartment were extremely
large, and broad-backed, which was more than asuflicient
reason for their. being but two in number. They were
both elbow-chairs, of ancient mahogany ; and were chief-
ly valuable for the slippery nature of their seats, which
had been originally horse-hair, but were now covered
with a shiny substance of ii. bluish tint, from which the
vi sitor.began to slide away with a disma 'ed countenance,
immediately after sitting down.,.VVliat 3 rs. Gnmp wanted
in chairs she made up in bandboxes; of which she had a
great collection, devoted to the reception of various mis-
cellaneous valuables, which were not, however, as well
protected as the ood woman, by it pleasant fiction, seemed
to think : for, t ougli every bandbox had a. carefully
closed lid, "not one ainongthem had a bottom‘: owing to
which cause, the property withimwas merely, as it were,
extinguished. Theclzcst of drawers havingbecn origi-
nally made to stand upon the top of. another chest, had