Part 57 (1/2)

'You, sir,' said Snawley, addressing the terrified Srateful, unlovable boy You won't let me love you when I want to Won't you come ho back

'He never loved nobody,' bawled Squeers, through the keyhole 'He never loved me; he never loved Wackford, who is next door but one to a cherubim How can you expect that he'll love his father? He'll never love his father, he won't He don't knohat it is to have a father He don't understand it It an't in him'

Mr Snawley looked steadfastly at his son for a fullhis eyes with his hand, and oncehis hat in the air, appeared deeply occupied in deploring his black ingratitude Then drawing his ar it under one arm, and his own under the other, walked slowly and sadly out

'Your ro for a moment, 'is destroyed, I take it No unknown; no persecuted descendant of a ree; but the weak, imbecile son of a poor, petty tradesman We shall see how your sympathy melts before plaintowards the door

'And trust ive hi, were all against it These ht down, sir, lowered, crushed, as they shall be soon The protracted and wearing anxiety and expense of the law in its most oppressive form, its torture frohts, with these I'll prove you, and break your haughty spirit, strong as you deem it now And when you make this house a hell, and visit these trials upon yonder wretched object (as you will; I know you), and those who think you now a young-fledged hero, we'll go into old accounts between us two, and see who stands the debtor, and comes out best at last, even before the world'

Ralph Nickleby withdrew But Mr Squeers, who had heard a portion of this closing address, and was by this tinity al to the parlour door, and actually cutting sorimaces, expressive of his triumphant confidence in the downfall and defeat of Nicholas

Having concluded this war-dance, in which his short trousers and large boots had borne a very conspicuous figure, Mr Squeers followed his friends, and the family were left to meditate upon recent occurrences

CHAPTER 46

Throws soht upon Nicholas's Love; but whether for Good or Evil the Reader must determine After an anxious consideration of the painful and e position in which he was placed, Nicholas decided that he ought to lose no ti hi alone with Mr Charles Cheeryble at the close of next day, he accordingly related Smike's little history, and entleman would, under such circu the extre between parent and child, and upholding the latter in his disobedience; even though his horror and dread of his fatherso repulsive and unnatural, as to render those who countenanced hieneral detestation and abhorrence

'So deeply rooted does this horror of the man appear to be,' said Nicholas, 'that I can hardly believe he really is his son Nature does not see of affection for him, and surely she can never err'

'My dear sir,' replied brother Charles, 'you fall into the very co upon Nature, matters hich she has not the smallest connection, and for which she is in no way responsible Men talk of Nature as an abstract thing, and lose sight of what is natural while they do so Here is a poor lad who has never felt a parent's care, who has scarcely known anything all his life but suffering and sorrow, presented to a man who he is told is his father, and whose first act is to signify his intention of putting an end to his short ter him from the only friend he has ever had-which is yourself If Nature, in such a case, put into that lad's breast but one secret proed him towards his father and away from you, she would be a liar and an idiot'

Nicholas was delighted to find that the old gentleht say so more to the same purpose, made no reply

'The same mistake presents itself to me, in one shape or other, at every turn,' said brother Charles 'Parents who never showed their love, complain of want of natural affection in their children; children who never showed their duty, co in their parents; law-makers who find both so h of life's sun to develop thes over parents and children too, and cry that the very ties of nature are disregarded Natural affections and instincts, hty's works, but like other beautiful works of His, they must be reared and fostered, or it is as natural that they should be wholly obscured, and that new feelings should usurp their place, as it is that the sweetest productions of the earth, left untended, should be choked eeds and briers I e could be brought to consider this, and reht ti one'

After this, brother Charles, who had talked hireat heat, stopped to cool a little, and then continued: 'I dare say you are surprised, my dear sir, that I have listened to your recital with so little astonishment That is easily explained Your uncle has been here this '

Nicholas coloured, and drew back a step or two

'Yes,' said the old gentle his desk emphatically, 'here, in this roo, nor justice But brother Ned was hard upon hi-stone'

'He came to-' said Nicholas

'To complain of you,' returned brother Charles, 'to poison our ears with calumnies and falsehoods; but he came on a fruitless errand, and went aith some wholesome truths in his ear besides Brother Ned, my dear My Nickleby-brother Ned, sir, is a perfect lion So is Tim Linkinwater; Tim is quite a lion We had Tim in to face him at first, and Tim was at him, sir, before you could say ”Jack Robinson”'

'How can I ever thank you for all the deep obligations you i silence upon the subject, hted At least you shall not be wronged nobody belonging to you shall be wronged They shall not hurt a hair of your head, or the boy's head, or your mother's head, or your sister's head I have said it, brother Ned has said it, Tim Linkinwater has said it We have all said it, and we'll all do it I have seen the father-if he is the father-and I suppose he must be He is a barbarian and a hypocrite, Mr Nickleby I told him, ”You are a barbarian, sir” I did I said, ”You're a barbarian, sir” And I'lad I told hilad indeed!'

By this tination, that Nicholas thought he ht venture to put in a word, but the moment he essayed to do so, Mr Cheeryble laid his hand softly upon his arm, and pointed to a chair

'The subject is at an end for the present,' said the old gentlele word I a to speak upon another subject, a confidential subject, Mr Nickleby We ain, we must be cool'

After two or three turns across the roo his chair nearer to that on which Nicholas was seated, said: 'I am about to employ you, my dear sir, on a confidential and delicate er, sir,' said Nicholas, 'but a more trustworthy or zealous one, I may be bold to say, you could not find'

'Of that I am well assured,' returned brother Charles, 'well assured You will giveso, when I tell you that the object of thislady, sir!' cried Nicholas, quite treerness to hearlady,' said Mr Cheeryble, gravely

'Pray go on, sir,' returned Nicholas

'I a how to do so,' said brother Charles; sadly, as it see friend, and with an expression allied to pain 'You accidentally saw a young lady in this roo fit Do you reotten'

'Oh no,' replied Nicholas, hurriedly 'I-I-remember it very well indeed'

'SHE is the lady I speak of,' said brother Charles Like the fareat deal, but was unable to utter a word

'She is the daughter,' said Mr Cheeryble, 'of a lady hen she was a beautiful girl herself, and I was very e word for me to utter now-I loved very dearly You will ss You will not offendas you, I dare say I should have done the same'

'I have no such inclination, indeed,' said Nicholas

'My dear brother Ned,' continued Mr Cheeryble, 'was to have married her sister, but she died She is dead too now, and has been for many years She married her choice; and I wish I could add that her after-life was as happy as God knows I ever prayed it ht be!'

A short silence intervened, which Nicholas made no effort to break

'If trial and calahtly on his head, as in the deepest truth of my own heart I ever hoped (for her sake) it would, his life would have been one of peace and happiness,' said the old gentleh to say that this was not the case; that she was not happy; that they fell into complicated distresses and difficulties; that she came, twelve months before her death, to appeal to ed, sadly altered, broken-spirited froe, and almost broken-hearted He readily availed hiive her but one hour's peace of mind, I would have poured out as freely as water-nay, he often sent her back for more-and yet even while he squandered it, he roundwork of cruel taunts and jeers, protesting that he knew she thought with bitter remorse of the choice she had made, that she had ay young reat friends about hi in short upon her, by every unjust and unkind means, the bitterness of that ruin and disappointacy alone In those tiain until thatwhen you saw her also, but my nephew, Frank-'

Nicholas started, and indistinctly apologising for the interruption, begged his patron to proceed

'-My nephew, Frank, I say,' resuht of her almost in a land Her father lay in some secret place to avoid his creditors, reduced, between sickness and poverty, to the verge of death, and she, a child,-we ht almost think, if we did not know the wisdom of all Heaven's decrees-who should have blessed a better radation, and everythingand delicate creature's heart, for the purpose of supporting him She was attended, sir,' said brother Charles, 'in these reverses, by one faithful creature, who had been, in old times, a poor kitchen wench in the faht have been, for the truth and fidelity of her heart-who ht have been-ah! the wife of Ti this encoy and relish as no words can describe, brother Charles leant back in his chair, and delivered the rereater composure

It was in substance this: That proudly resisting all offers of permanent aid and support from her late mother's friends, because they werethe wretchedwith instinctive delicacy fro in their behalf to that true and noble heart which he hated, and had, through its greatest and purest goodness, deeply wronged by led alone and unassisted to h the utmost depths of poverty and affliction she had toiled, never turning aside for an instant froloo recollections of the past or hopes of the future; never repining for the co the hard lot she had voluntarily incurred That every little accomplishment she had acquired in happier days had been put into requisition for this purpose, and directed to this one end That for two long years, toiling by day and often too by night, working at the needle, the pencil, and the pen, and subnities as wohters too) too often love to inflict upon their own sex when they serve in such capacities, as though in jealousy of the superior intelligence which they are necessitated to enities, in ninety-nine cases out of every hundred, heaped upon persons i in co would put upon his groo in all these capacities and wearying in none, she had not succeeded in the sole aim and object of her life, but that, overwhelmed by accumulated difficulties and disappointments, she had been compelled to seek out herheart, to confide in him at last

'If I had been poor,' said brother Charles, with sparkling eyes; 'if I had been poor, Mr Nickleby, my dear sir, which thank God I am not, I would have denied myself (of course anybody would under such circumstances) the commonest necessaries of life, to help her As it is, the task is a difficult one If her father were dead, nothing could be easier, for then she should share and cheer the happiest home that brother Ned and I could have, as if she were our child or sister But he is still alive nobody can help him; that has been tried a thousand tiood cause, I know'

'Cannot she be persuaded to-' Nicholas hesitated when he had got thus far

'To leave him?' said brother Charles 'Who could entreat a child to desert her parent? Such entreaties, lied upon her-not by me-but alith the same result'

'Is he kind to her?' said Nicholas 'Does he requite her affection?'