Part 36 (2/2)

And thus for a fortnight matters went on That any but the weakest and silliest of people could have seen in one interview that Lord Verisopht, though he was a lord, and Sir Mulberry Hawk, though he was a baronet, were not persons accustomed to be the best possible companions, and were certainly not calculated by habits, reat lustre in the society of ladies, need scarcely be remarked But with Mrs Wititterly the two titles were all sufficient; coarseness becaarity softened itself down into the uise of an easy absence of reserve, attainable only by those who had had the good fortune to h folks

If the mistress put such a construction upon the behaviour of her new friends, what could the coainst them? If they accustomed themselves to very little restraint before the lady of the house, with how much more freedom could they address her paid dependent! Nor was even this the worst As the odious Sir Mulberry Hawk attached hiuise, Mrs Wititterly began to grow jealous of the superior attractions of Miss Nickleby If this feeling had led to her banish-room when such company was there, Kate would have been only too happy and willing that it should have existed, but unfortunately for her she possessed that native grace and true gentility of ive to fereatest charm; if these be valuable anywhere, they were especially so where the lady of the house was a mere animated doll The consequence was, that Kate had the doublean indispensable part of the circle when Sir Mulberry and his friends were there, and of being exposed, on that very account, to all Mrs Wititterly's ill-huone She became utterly and completely miserable

Mrs Wititterly had never thrown off the ard to Sir Mulberry, but when she was more than usually out of temper, attributed the circumstance, as ladies sometimes do, to nervous indisposition However, as the dreadful idea that Lord Verisopht also was somewhat taken with Kate, and that she, Mrs Wititterly, was quite a secondary person, dawned upon that lady's radually developed itself, she becahly proper and nation, and felt it her duty, as a married lady and a moralperson' without delay

Accordingly Mrs Wititterly broke ground next

'Miss Nickleby,' said Mrs Wititterly, 'I wish to speak to you very gravely I am sorry to have to do it, upon my word I am very sorry, but you leave me no alternative, Miss Nickleby' Here Mrs Wititterly tossed her head-not passionately, only virtuously-and remarked, with some appearance of excite on again

'Your behaviour, Miss Nickleby,' resu me-very far I am very anxious indeed that you should do well, but you o on as you do'

'Ma'aitatein that way, Miss Nickleby, don't,' said Mrs Wititterly, with so the bell'

Kate looked at her, but said nothing

'You needn't suppose,' resu atwhat I aious duty You needn't direct your glances towards me,' said Mrs Wititterly, with a sudden burst of spite; 'I am not Sir Mulberry, no, nor Lord Frederick Verisopht, Miss Nickleby, nor aain, but less steadily than before; and resting her elbow on the table, covered her eyes with her hand

'If such things had been done when I was a young girl,' said Mrs Wititterly (this, by the way, must have been some little time before), 'I don't suppose anybody would have believed it'

'I don't think they would,' murmured Kate 'I do not think anybody would believe, without actually knowing it, what I see dooo, Miss Nickleby, if you please,' said Mrs Wititterly, with a shrillness of tone quite surprising in so great an invalid 'I will not be answered, Miss Nickleby I am not accustomed to be answered, nor will I per with some apparent inconsistency FOR an answer

'I do hear you, reater surprise than I can express'

'I have always considered you a particularly well-behaved young person for your station in life,' said Mrs Wititterly; 'and as you are a person of healthy appearance, and neat in your dress and so forth, I have taken an interest in you, as I do still, considering that I owe a sort of duty to that respectable old female, your mother For these reasons, Miss Nickleby, Iyou to mind what I say, that Iyour very forward behaviour to the gentle,' said Mrs Wititterly, closing her chaste eyes as she spoke; 'it is i upwards and clasping her hands; 'is not this, is not this, too cruel, too hard to bear! Is it not enough that I should have suffered as I have, night and day; that I should al been brought into contact with such people; but e!'

'You will have the goodness to recollect, Miss Nickleby,' said Mrs Wititterly, 'that when you use such terethat which is untrue'

'I do,' said Kate with honest indignation 'Whether youof others, is alike to rossly, wilfully untrue Is it possible!' cried Kate, 'that anyone of my own sex can have sat by, and not have seen the misery these men have caused me? Is it possible that you,freedom that their every look bespoke? Is it possible that you can have avoided seeing, that these libertines, in their utter disrespect for you, and utter disregard of all gentlemanly behaviour, and al thens upon a friendless, helpless girl, ithout this huht have hoped to receive fro like womanly aid and sympathy? I do not-I cannot believe it!'

If poor Kate had possessed the slightest knowledge of the world, she certainly would not have ventured, even in the excitement into which she had been lashed, upon such an injudicious speech as this Its effect was precisely what a more experienced observer would have foreseen Mrs Wititterly received the attack upon her veracity with exemplary calmness, and listened with the s But allusion being entlemen, she evinced violent emotion, and this bloas no sooner followed up by the re her seniority, than she fell back upon the sofa, uttering dismal screams

'What is theinto the room 'Heavens, what do I see? Julia! Julia! look up, my life, look up!'

But Julia looked down ly, and screa the bell, and danced in a frenziedperpetual cries for Sir Tu off to ask for any explanation of the scene before hi the page with both fists 'I knew it, Miss Nickleby,' he said, looking round with an air of melancholy triumph, 'that society has been too much for her This is all soul, you know, every bit of it' With this assurance Mr Wititterly took up the prostrate form of Mrs Wititterly, and carried her bodily off to bed

Kate waited until Sir Tumley Snuffih the special interposition of a merciful Providence (thus spake Sir Tuone to sleep She then hastily attired herself for walking, and leaving word that she should return within a couple of hours, hurried away towards her uncle's house

It had been a good day with Ralph Nickleby-quite a lucky day; and as he walked to and fro in his little back-roo up in his own mind all the sums that had been, or would be, netted fro, his mouth was drawn into a hard stern smile; while the firmness of the lines and curves that ht eye, see would increase the profits, they would not fail to be excited for the purpose

'Very good!' said Ralph, in allusion, no doubt, to so of the day 'He defies the usurer, does he? Well, we shall see ”Honesty is the best policy,” is it? We'll try that too'

He stopped, and then walked on again

'He is content,' said Ralph, relaxing into a sainst the power of money-dross, as he calls it Why, what a dull blockhead this fellow must be! Dross to, dross! Who's that?'

'Me,' said New in 'Your niece'

'What of her?' asked Ralph sharply

'She's here'

'Here!'

Newnify that she aiting there

'What does she want?' asked Ralph

'I don't know,' rejoined Newman 'Shall I ask?' he added quickly

'No,' replied Ralph 'Show her in! Stay' He hastily put away a padlocked cash-box that was on the table, and substituted in its stead an empty purse 'There,' said Ralph 'NOW she ri lady to advance, and having placed a chair for her, retired; looking stealthily over his shoulder at Ralph as he lih; but still with so more of kindness in his manner than he would have exhibited towards anybody else 'Well, my-dear What now?'

Kate raised her eyes, which were filled with tears; and with an effort toher head again, she remained silent Her face was hidden fro

'I can guess the cause of this!' thought Ralph, after looking at her for souess the cause Well! Well!' thought Ralph-for the uish of his beautiful niece 'Where is the harm? only a few tears; and it's an excellent lesson for her, an excellent lesson'

'What is thedown

He was rather taken aback by the sudden firmness hich Kate looked up and answered his me to you, sir,' she said, 'is one which should call the blood up into your cheeks, and make you burn to hear, as it does ed, insulted, wounded past all healing, and by your friends'

'Friends!' cried Ralph, sternly 'I have no friends, girl'

'By the men I saw here, then,' returned Kate, quickly 'If they were no friends of yours, and you knehat they were,-oh, thetheh any uests, would have required so excuse; but if you did it-as I now believe you did-knowing them well, it was most dastardly and cruel'

Ralph drew back in utter aarded Kate with the sternest look But she h her face was very pale, it looked hted up as it was, than it had ever appeared before

'There is so in his harshest tones, as so eye re

'I hope there is!' replied Kate 'I should be proud to know it I a, uncle, and all the difficulties and miseries of my situation have kept it down, but I have been roused today beyond all endurance, and come what may, I WILL NOT, as I aer'

'What insults, girl?' demanded Ralph, sharply

'Remember what took place here, and ask yourself,' replied Kate, colouring deeply 'Uncle, you rading companionshi+p as I a to the oldher arry and violent-I beg your pardon if I have seemed so, dear uncle,-but you do not knohat I have suffered, you do not indeed You cannot tell what the heart of a young girl is-I have no right to expect you should; but when I tell you that I a, I am sure you will help me I am sure, I am sure you will!'

Ralph looked at her for an instant; then turned away his head, and beat his foot nervously upon the ground

'I have gone on day after day,' said Kate, bending over hi her little hand in his, 'in the hope that this persecution would cease; I have gone on day after day, compelled to assume the appearance of cheerfulness, when I was most unhappy I have had no counsellor, no adviser, no one to protect me Mauished, and how CAN I-how can I undeceive her-when she is so happy in these little delusions, which are the only happiness she has? The lady hom you placed me, is not the person to whom I could confide matters of so much delicacy, and I have come at last to you, the only friend I have at hand-almost the only friend I have at all-to entreat and implore you to assistfro up and down the room in his old attitude

'You have influence with one of these men, I KNOW,' rejoined Kate, emphatically 'Would not a word from you induce them to desist from this unmanly course?'