Part 18 (2/2)

'My baby, my blessed, blessed, blessed, blessed baby!' screa every blessed louder than the last 'My own darling, sweet, innocent Lillyvick-Oh letthe utterance of these frantic cries, and the wails and las rushed upstairs to the room whence the sounds proceeded; at the door of which, he encountered Nicholas, with the child in his arms, who darted out with such violence, that the anxious father was thron six stairs, and alighted on the nearest landing-place, before he had found time to open his mouth to ask as thedown; 'here it is; it's all out, it's all over; pray compose yourselves; there's no harm done;' and with these, and a thousand other assurances, he delivered the baby (whos, and ran back to assist Mr Kenwigs, as rubbing his head very hard, and looking much bewildered by his tuence, the coree recovered froular instances of a total want of presence oftis's sister, instead of Mrs Kenwigs; and the worthy Mr Lillyvick had been actually seen, in the perturbation of his spirits, to kiss Miss Petowker several ti were going forward

'It is a s; 'the little girl, atching the child, being tired I suppose, fell asleep, and set her hair on fire'

'Oh you s, ier at the sht be thirteen years old, and was looking on with a singed head and a frightened face

'I heard her cries,' continued Nicholas, 'and ran down, in ti else You may depend upon it that the child is not hurt; for I took it off the bed ht it here to convince you'

This brief explanation over, the infant, who, as he was christened after the collector! rejoiced in the nas, was partially suffocated under the caresses of the audience, and squeezed to his ain The attention of the company was then directed, by a natural transition, to the little girl who had had the audacity to burn her hair off, and who, after receiving sundry setic of the ladies, was mercifully sent home: the ninepence, hich she was to have been rewarded, being escheated to the Kenwigs family

'And whatever we are to say to you, sir,' exclai Lillyvick's deliverer, 'I a at all,' replied Nicholas 'I have done nothing to found any very strong claiht have been burnt to death, if it hadn't been for you, sir,' simpered Miss Petowker

'Not very likely, I think,' replied Nicholas; 'for there was abundance of assistance here, which er'

'You will let us drink your health, anyvays, sir!' said Mr Kenwigstowards the table

'-In my absence, by all means,' rejoined Nicholas, with a s journey, and should be reater check upon your merriment, than a promoter of it, even if I kept awake, which I think very doubtful If you will allow ain, when he found nothing serious had occurred Good-night'

Excusing hi in the festivities, Nicholas took a s and the other ladies, and retired, aftera very extraordinary i entles 'Don't you think so, Mr Lillyvick?'

'Yes,' said the collector, with a dubious shrug of his shoulders, 'He is gentleentleainst his

'No, my dear,' replied the collector, 'no I trust he may not turn out-well-nolife to the baby!'

'Your nas, with a sweet ss, willing to propitiate the collector 'I hope a baby as will never disgrace his Godfather, and as may be considered, in arter years, of a piece with the Lillyvicks whose nas is of the sa as I do-that I consider his being called Lillyvick one of the greatest blessings and Honours of s,' ,' said Mr Kenwigs, correcting hi that I hope, one of these days, I may be able to deserve'

This was a politic stroke of the Kenwigses, because it reat head and fountain of the baby's ientleman felt the delicacy and dexterity of the touch, and at once proposed the health of the gentleht, by his coolness and alacrity

'Who, I don't reat concession, 'is a good-looking young h, with manners that I hope his character may be equal to'

'He has a very nice face and style, really,' said Mrs Kenwigs

'He certainly has,' added Miss Petowker 'There's so in his appearance quite-dear, dear, what's that word again?'

'What word?' inquired Mr Lillyvick

'Why-dear'What do you call it, when Lords break off door-knockers and beat policemen, and play at coaches with other people's ested the collector

'Ah! aristocratic,' replied Miss Petowker; 'soentleman held their peace, and smiled at each other, as who should say, 'Well! there's no accounting for tastes;' but the ladies resolved unanimously that Nicholas had an aristocratic air; and nobody caring to dispute the position, it was established triu, by this tises (who had for some time previously held their little eyes open with their little forefingers) becoently to be put to bed, the collectorthe couests were surprised and others shocked, and hats and bonnets being groped for under the tables, and in course of ti of hands, and htful evening, and how theyto have heard that it was half-past ten at the very latest, and how they wished that Mr and Mrs Kenwigs had a wedding-day once a week, and how they wondered by what hidden agency Mrs Kenwigs could possibly have reat dealexpressions, Mr and Mrs Kenwigs replied, by thanking every lady and gentle they ht have enjoyed themselves only half as well as they said they had

As to Nicholas, quite unconscious of the i since fallen asleep, leaving Mr News and Smike to empty the spirit bottle between theood-will, that Neas equally at a loss to determine whether he hientleman so heavily, drowsily, and completely intoxicated as his new acquaintance

CHAPTER 16

Nicholas seeks to e unsuccessful, accepts an engagement as Tutor in a Private Fa, was, to look after some room in which, until better times dawned upon hi upon the hospitality of News, ould have slept upon the stairs with pleasure, so that his young friend was accommodated

The vacant apartment to which the bill in the parlourbore reference, appeared, on inquiry, to be a small back-room on the second floor, reclai a soot-bespeckled prospect of tiles and chi of this portion of the house froer was e deputed by the landlord to dispose of the rooms as they becaers didn't run away As a e of which last service he was permitted to live rent-free, lest he should at any time be tempted to run away himself

Of this cha hired a few co broker, and paid the first week's hire in advance, out of a small fund raised by the conversion of some spare clothes into ready money, he sat himself down to ruminate upon his prospects, which, like the prospect outside his ere sufficiently confined and dingy As they by no means improved on better acquaintance, and as familiarity breeds contehts by dint of hard walking So, taking up his hat, and leaving poor Sht as if it had been the costliest palace, he betook hied theh a man may lose a sense of his own i, all utterly regardless of him, it by no means follows that he can dispossess hi sense of the initude of his cares The unhappy state of his own affairs was the one idea which occupied the brain of Nicholas, walk as fast as he would; and when he tried to dislodge it by speculating on the situation and prospects of the people who surrounded hi their condition with his own, and gliding alain

Occupied in these reflections, as he was hfares of London, he chanced to raise his eyes to a blue board, whereon was inscribed, in characters of gold, 'General Agency Office; for places and situations of all kinds inquire within' It was a shop-front, fitted up with a gauze blind and an inner door; and in thehung a long and te vacant places of every grade, from a secretary's to a foot-boy's

Nicholas halted, instinctively, before this tes in life which were so profusely displayed When he had completed his survey he walked on a little way, and then back, and then on again; at length, after pausing irresolutely several tiency Office, he made up his mind, and stepped in

He found hih desk railed off in one corner, behind which sat a lean youth with cunning eyes and a protruding chin, whose performances in capital-text darkened theHe had a thick ledger lying open before hiht hand inserted between the leaves, and his eyes fixed on a very fat old lady in a mob-cap-evidently the proprietress of the establish herself at the fire, see her directions to refer to some entries contained within its rusty clasps

As there was a board outside, which acquainted the public that servants-of-all-ere perpetually in waiting to be hired from ten till four, Nicholas knew at once that so wo upon a form in one corner, were in attendance for that purpose: especially as the poor things looked anxious and weary He was not quite so certain of the callings and stations of two s ladies ere in conversation with the fat lady before the fire, until-having sat himself down in a corner, and remarked that he would wait until the other custoue which his entrance had interrupted

'Cook, To herself as aforesaid

'Cook,' said Toer 'Well!'

'Read out an easy place or two,' said the fat lady

'Pick out very light ones, if you please, young enteel female, in shepherd's-plaid boots, who appeared to be the client