Part 14 (2/2)

'Does she think so?' rejoined Miss Price; 'of course she does'

'She does!' exclaiht have been, for the moment, mistaken for rapture

'Certainly,' replied Miss Price 'If Mr Nickleby has doubted that, 'Tilda,' said the blushi+ng Miss Squeers in soft accents, 'he may set his mind at rest His sentiments are recipro-'

'Stop,' cried Nicholas hurriedly; 'pray hear rossest and wildest delusion, the co laboured under, or co lady half-a-dozen times, but if I had seen her sixty times, or am destined to see her sixty thousand, it would be, and will be, precisely the saht, wish, or hope, connected with her, unless it be-and I say this, not to hurt her feelings, but to impress her with the real state of my own-unless it be the one object, dear toone day able to turn ain, or think of it-even think of it-but with loathing and disgust'

With this particularly plain and straightforward declaration, which he nant and excited feelings could bring to bear upon it, Nicholas waiting to hear no e, and vexation; the rapid succession of bitter and passionate feelings that whirled through her mind; are not to be described Refused! refused by a teacher, picked up by advertisement, at an annual salary of five pounds payable at indefinite periods, and 'found' in food and lodging like the very boys themselves; and this too in the presence of a little chit of ato be one down on his very knees to ask her She could have choked in right good earnest, at the thought of being so hu clear in the midst of her mortification; and that was, that she hated and detested Nicholas with all the narrowness of mind and littleness of purpose worthy a descendant of the house of Squeers And there was one comfort too; and that was, that every hour in every day she could wound his pride, and goad hiht, or insult, or deprivation, which could not but have some effect on the most insensible person, and must be acutely felt by one so sensitive as Nicholas With these two reflections uppermost in her mind, Miss Squeersthat Mr Nickleby was such an odd creature, and of such a violent teive him up; and parted from her

And here itbestowed her affections (or whatever itbetter, represented them) on Nicholas Nickleby, had never once seriously conte of a different opinion from herself in the business Miss Squeers reasoned that she was prepossessing and beautiful, and that her father was master, and Nicholas man, and that her father had saved money, and Nicholas had none, all of which see man should feel only too much honoured by her preference She had not failed to recollect, either, how reeable she could render his situation if she were his friend, and how reeable if she were his eneentleance had it been only for this very obvious and intelligible reason However, he had thought proper to do otherwise, and Miss Squeers was outrageous

'Let hiained her own roo an assault on Phib, 'if I don't set ainst him a little more when she comes back!'

It was scarcely necessary to do this, but Miss Squeers was as good as her word; and poor Nicholas, in addition to bad food, dirty lodging, and the being co round of squalid nity thatcupidity put upon him

Nor was this all There was another and deeper system of annoyance which made his heart sink, and nearly drove him wild, by its injustice and cruelty

The wretched creature, Sht Nicholas had spoken kindly to him in the schoolroom, had followed him to and fro, with an ever-restless desire to serve or help hi such little wants as his humble ability could supply, and content only to be near hi patiently into his face; and a ould brighten up his care-worn visage, and call into it a passing glea; he had an object now; and that object was, to show his attacher-who had treated him, not to say with kindness, but like a hu, all the spleen and ill-huly bestowed Drudgery would have been nothing-Ss inflicted without cause, would have been equally aand weary apprenticeshi+p; but it was no sooner observed that he had become attached to Nicholas, than stripes and blows, stripes and blows, ht, were his only portion Squeers was jealous of the influence which his man had so soon acquired, and his family hated hiround his teeth at every repetition of the savage and cowardly attack

He had arranged a few regular lessons for the boys; and one night, as he paced up and down the dis to think that his protection and countenance should have increased thewhose peculiar destitution had awakened his pity, he paused mechanically in a dark corner where sat the object of his thoughts

The poor soul was poring hard over a tattered book, with the traces of recent tears still upon his face; vainly endeavouring to master some task which a child of nine years old, possessed of ordinary powers, could have conquered with ease, but which, to the addled brain of the crushed boy of nineteen, was a sealed and hopeless ain and again, stimulated by no boyish ambition, for he was the coated about hier desire to please his solitary friend

Nicholas laid his hand upon his shoulder

'I can't do it,' said the dejected creature, looking up with bitter disappointment in every feature 'No, no'

'Do not try,' replied Nicholas

The boy shook his head, and closing the book with a sigh, looked vacantly round, and laid his head upon his ar

'Do not for God's sake,' said Nicholas, in an agitated voice; 'I cannot bear to see you'

'They are more hard with me than ever,' sobbed the boy

'I know it,' rejoined Nicholas 'They are'

'But for you,' said the outcast, 'I should die They would kill me; they would; I know they would'

'You will do better, poor fellow,' replied Nicholas, shaking his head one'

'Gone!' cried the other, looking intently in his face

'Softly!' rejoined Nicholas 'Yes'

'Are you going?' demanded the boy, in an earnest whisper

'I cannot say,' replied Nicholas 'I was speaking hts, than to you'

'Tell o-WILL you?'

'I shall be driven to that at last!' said Nicholas 'The world is before ed Smike, 'is the world as bad and dismal as this place?'

'Heaven forbid,' replied Nicholas, pursuing the train of his own thoughts; 'its hardest, coarsest toil, were happiness to this'

'Should I everwith unusual wildness and volubility

'Yes,' replied Nicholas, willing to soothe hi hiain Say I should be sure to find you'

'You would,' replied Nicholas, with the same hu fresh sorrow on you as I have done here'

The boy caught both the youngthem to his breast, uttered a few broken sounds which were unintelligible Squeers entered at the moment, and he shrunk back into his old corner

CHAPTER 13

Nicholas varies the Monotony of Dothebys Hall by a , which leads to Consequences of so was stealing in at the s of the co hi the prostrate forh in search of some particular object

It needed a quick eye to detect, froiven individual As they lay closely packed together, covered, for wared clothes, little could be distinguished but the sharp outlines of pale faces, over which the soht shed the saaunt ar, but fully exposed to view, in all its shrunken ugliness There were so on their backs with upturned faces and clenched hands, just visible in the leaden light, borecreatures; and there were others coiled up into strange and fantastic postures, such as ain some temporary relief, rather than the freaks of sluest of the children-slept peacefully on, with s perhaps of ho the stillness of the room, announced that some new sleeper had awakened to the ht, the sradually faded aith the friendly darkness which had given theend, who sport on earth in the night season, and rih the world

Nicholas looked upon the sleepers; at first, with the air of one who gazes upon a scene which, though familiar to him, has lost none of its sorrowful effect in consequence; and, afterwards, with ascrutiny, as ahis eye was accustomed to meet, and had expected to rest upon He was still occupied in this search, and had half risen froerness of his quest, when the voice of Squeers was heard, calling froentle to sleep all day, up there-'

'You lazy hounds?' added Mrs Squeers, finishi+ng the sentence, and producing, at the same ti of stays

'We shall be down directly, sir,' replied Nicholas