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;.‘.‘ VVhei'e .I little thought, Ileaven. forgive.,me,”v-.s’aid
Clennam to'himself,..“ that I should everenter thus‘! t ,
.Mr.' Cliivery'.was on the Lock,and'Young John" was in
the Lodge: either newly releasedkfrom it; or waiting to
take hisaown spellof duty. . Both were more astonished
onseeing who the new prisoner. was, than gone might
have thought turnkeys would have been.‘ , The elder Mr.
Chivery shook hands with him ina shame-faced.kind of
way and. said, “ I don’t call tomind, sir, as I was ever
less glad to see you.’’.,' The younger-Mr. Chivery,‘more
distantxdid not shakehands with him at ,all-; he. stood
lookinr; ‘at him in a state of indecision so observable, that
it everfcauie within the observation of Clennam, with
his 1,eavy.;,‘y es,“ (1 heavy‘ heart., 7' 1?resently,afterwards,
Young John disappeared into the ]all. . , ,: r
As Clennam knew enough of the placehto know that he
w;;g’.1-equiredftorremziin in the lodge a certaiiytime, he
took a seat in a corner; and feignedtopbe occupied with
the perusal of letters from his pocket. ' They did not so
engross.his attention, but that he saw,;wit1i. gratitude,
how the elder Mr. Chivery kept the lodge clear of prison-
ers; how he signed to some, with his keys, not,to,come
in,vhow.he nudged others with his elbow to go out, and
how he made his misery as easy to him as he could. 3 A-
Arthur was ‘sitting with his eyes fixed on the fioor,.re-
calling the past, brooding over the present, and’; not at-
tending to either,‘ when he felt himself touched upon the
shoulder. . It was,by Young John ; and the. said, ‘,‘ You
can come now.“ - - .. . . 1- .4, - at ,1-,
, Ile got up and followed Young John. ;lVlien they. had
gone a step or two witliinfthe innerriron-gate, ;Young
John turned and said to him :, ‘,2 , ,m ‘g I .
; ‘J You wantaroom. I have got you one.’5
‘ “Ithank you heartily.” ‘ i 5, ,” H .. g. .5 ,V
Young John turned again, and toolihim in at -the old
door-way, up the old staircase, into ‘the old ;room.. .Ar-
tliur stretched out his hand. Young John looked at it,
looked at himgsternly-swelled, choked, and said 2-, <
“I don’t know as I can. >No, I find I can’t.u, But I
thought you’d like the room, and here it is for you.’T. ,- I
..’Surprised at this inconsistent behaviour yielded when
he was gone (he went away directly),..to, tlietfeelings
which the empty room awakened in Clennanfs wounded
:,,,.. ,
‘ breast, andto the crowding associations with the one
good and gentle creature who had sanctified it. V Her ab-
sence in his altered fortunes made it, and.him in it, so
verv desolate and so much in need of such aface of love
and truth, that he turned against the wall to weep, sob-;
l]))ing; 31,2, as. his heart relieved itself,‘ “ O .my Little
Ol'I'1 ’ . ' . ., ,. ,-1;’. ,;,,:‘:=
p " ;.VCIIAP‘TI-IR XXVII. , , , , V I
A, g I ‘- X’ V L 1 1 ‘77z'e'Pu1'7il"qfthg‘)1arg.’rhlakd. ‘ i‘ 1 9 .
XTXIE day :was sunny, and the Marshalsea, with the hot
noon striking upon it, was unwontedly quiet. ‘Arthur
Clennam dropped into a solitary arm-chair, itself as faded
asany -debtor inthe jail, and, yielded himself, to,his
thouglits”. . ii. ,.
.'1n the unnatural peace of having gone through.’ the
dreailedarrest, and got there,--the first change of feeling
which the prison mostvcommonly induced, and from
which dangerous resting-place so many men had slipped
down to the depths of degradation and disgrace, by so
rna’ny'ways,-he could think of some passages in his life,
almostasif he were removed from them intoanother
state‘of,existence. .,.Taking into account where he was,
the interest.that had first brought him there when he
had been free to keep away, and the gentle presence that;
waslequallyjnseparable from the walls and bars about
him and from thciimpal able remembrances of his later
life which no walls or‘ ars couldrimprison, it was not
remarkable that.everything his memory turned -upon
should bring him round again to Little Dorrit. .Yet it
was remarkable to him ; not because of the’, fact itself ;
but because of the rerriindeiait brought with it, how
much the dearilittle creature had influenced this better
' resolutions. .
-.lN'one of us clearly know to whom or lvwhatg we [are
indebted in this wise, until some marked stop .in the
whirling wheel of life brings the right perception with
if though his exterior had very
C’IIA1BELi’S’-,:DIC'I(ENS.’ t WORKS. , ‘
it.. .;It I comes with siclrnesspit comes withsrsorrow, it
comes with the loss of the dearly loved, it is one of I the
most frequent uses of adversity. It came to Clennam in
his adversity, strongly and tenderly. “ When I first
gathered myself together,” he thought, f‘ and set some-
thing like purpose before my jaded ‘eyesnvlioin rliad‘I
before me, toiling on, for a good object’s.sake,-without
encouragement, without notice, against ignoble obstacles
that would have turned an army of received heroes and
heroines? .One -weak girll .lVlien I tried to conquer
mymisplaced love, and totbe generous to the man. who
was more fortunate than I, though he should never know
it or repay me withra gracious word, in whom had'I
watched.-p:itience,, self-denial,‘ self-subdual, charitable
construction, the noblest. generosity ofethegaEections‘l
In (the same poor girl I‘ Ifa'I, a man, with a inan’s ad-
vantages andz means , and;- energies, .- had slighted the
whisperpin my heart, that if my father had erred, it was
my first. duty to conceal the fault and to repair. it, what
youthful figure with tender feet going almost bare on the
damp ground, with spare. hands ever 'working, with its
slight shape but half protected from the :sharp weather,
would have stood before me to putme to shame ?wLittl0
Dorrit’s.’.’m So always, as hesat, alone in the faded chair,
thinking. Always, Little Dorrit. -Until it seemed to him
as if he met the reward of havingwanderedw away - from
her, and suffered anything to passbetween-him .and his
remembrance of her virtues. s . . l. . -, . > . M‘ 1
V His, door was’ opened, and the head of the elder Chivery
was put in it very little way, without being. turned1to-
“'3I'dSIIIIIl."'. " -' I ‘ ‘ ‘
.“ I am off the Lock, lMr. Clennam, out. 7 Can‘
. . ,( z ......(v.‘V(>>‘‘‘'
.; I do anything for you?” .
“ “.Many.thanks. . Nothing.”.. 5 ’ x ;
.1.“).’ou’ll excuse me opening the door,” said‘Mr. CIIIY-‘
ery; -“ but I conldn’t make you.hear.”. Ir 1,; “v
.“ Did you knock ?” . - r I
. ‘.‘ Half adozen times.” , . r I - vs V: ' ‘
v‘Rousing:himself,r Clennam observed ‘tIl3.l5wtl.l0 -prison
.r,.. 4 "
2 had awakened from its nooiitide doze,rtliat -the inmates
were loitering about the shady yard, andrtliat it was late
in the afternoon; : He had been thinking for hours. ‘ .
; ‘.‘ Your things ‘is p-conic," said Mr. Chivery, “ and .my
son is going to carry ’em up. I should have sent fem up.
but for his wishing to carry ’em'liimself. Indeed he
would have .’cm himself, and so I couldn’t send ’eni up.
Mr. Clennam, could I say a word to you?'’' w 1 -' ‘ ‘
2,‘? Pray come in," said-Arthur ; for, Mr. Cliivery’s head
was still put in at the door avery little wit ,and Mi‘.
, Chivery hadbut one ear upon him,‘ instead of b0tllrCyl.‘S.i
This was native delicacy in Mr. Chivery-true politeness ;
. , much of a turnkey about.
it, and not the least of a gentleman. : V‘ n r A ‘ ' '
“Thank you, sir,”vsaid Mr. Chivery, without advanc-
ing 3' “ it's no odds mocoming‘ in.'. Mr. Clennam, don't
you take no notice of my son (if you’ll be so good) in case
you find him cut up an 'ways=diiIicult.- ‘My son has '3
art, andmy son’s art is in the right place“ Me and his
mother. knows where to find it, and we C find it sitiwated
correct.” . , 1,1 ..- ..,( 3
- , VVith this mysterious speech, Mr. Chive took his ear’
away and-shut the door.. . He might have. con gone ten
minutes, when his son succeeded him: ‘ ,. ‘ ‘ ' ‘
“ Here's your.portmanteau,’.’ he said to
it carefully down. .- r V. - , ‘ r
. 5‘ 1178 Very kind of you. I am ashamed that you should:
have the trouble.” . f . ., 5
' H9 ‘V113 80118. before it came to that ; but soon returnedr
Saylng exatgtly as. before, “ heresyour black Zbox ;”‘
which he also put down with cares: . - ; -V V’ :' ’ ‘
“ I am very sensible of this attention’: ,1 hope we 111111.
shake hands now, Mr. John.” .. ‘ . ,. v- V. 1 3 I J-1
1 ' Young J05“. IIOWBVGI‘; drew. back, turning‘ his ‘light
Wrist in a socket made of his left thumb and middle fin-:
gel’; and said as he had said at‘ first.’ “I don’t .know.a'1S 1?
‘3“I‘- I N0 ; Ifind I can’t l”.: He then stood regarding tll.8‘-
P"1S0!1e1‘. SWml5‘.'thougli with a swelling humour in‘ his
eyes that looked like pity. , . v , ', ,, - 9 -I -3'? <;
"5whY “YB you angry with rne,’.’.said Clennam,.“41D‘1:
Yet so ready to do me these kind services?‘ There mks”
be some mistake between us. If I have done aiiything to
Arthur, putting
occasion it I am sorry."