Part 64 (1/2)

'Bravely spoken!' said Newood'

'And I do declare,' cried Nicholas, with honest enthusiasm, 'that in this effort I am influenced by no selfish or personal considerations, but by pity for her, and detestation and abhorrence of this scheme; and that I would do the same, were there twenty rivals in the field, and I the last and least favoured of them all'

'You would, I believe,' said New now?'

'Homewards,' answered Nicholas 'Do you coht?'

'I'll cos

'I cannot walk tonight, Newman,' returned Nicholas, hurriedly 'I must move rapidly, or I could not draw my breath I'll tell you what I've said and done to for a reply, he darted off at a rapid pace, and, plunging into the crohich thronged the street, was quickly lost to view

'He's a violent youth at ti after hih now, or the deuce is in it Hope! I SAID hope, I think! Ralph Nickleby and Gride with their heads together! And hope for the opposite party! Ho! ho!'

It ith a very s concluded this soliloquy; and it ith a very melancholy shake of the head, and a very rueful countenance, that he turned about, and went plodding on his way

This, under ordinary circumstances, would have been to so his way, in more senses than one But, Neas too much interested, and too anxious, to betake hi and disht home

It had cos had received an invitation to repair next day, per steae, unto the Eel-pie Island at Twickenham: there to make merry upon a cold collation, bottled beer, shrub, and shrimps, and to dance in the open air to the music of a locomotive band, conveyed thither for the purpose: the stea-master of extensive connection for the acco their appreciation of the dancing- their friends to do the like, divers light-blue tickets, entitling theht-blue tickets, one had been presented by an as, with an invitation to join her daughters; and Mrs Kenwigs, rightly dee that the honour of the fa the most splendid appearance possible on so short a notice, and testifying to the dancing--masters besides him, and to all fathers and mothers present that other people's children could learn to be genteel besides theirs, had fainted aice under the nitude of her preparations, but, upheld by a determination to sustain the family name or perish in the attes ca of frills, the flouncing of trousers, the triain, incidental to the occasion, Mrs Kenwigs had been so entirely occupied, that she had not observed, until within half an hour before, that the flaxen tails of Miss Morleena's hair were, in a manner, run to seed; and that, unless she were put under the hands of a skilful hairdresser, she never could achieve that signal triu less than which would be tantas to despair; for the hairdresser lived three streets and eight dangerous crossings off; Morleena could not be trusted to go there alone, even if such a proceeding were strictly proper: of which Mrs Kenwigs had her doubts; Mr Kenwigs had not returned fros first slapped Miss Kenwigs for being the cause of her vexation, and then shed tears

'You ungrateful child!' said Mrs Kenwigs, 'after I have gone through what I have, this night, for your good'

'I can't help it, row'

'Don't talk to s, 'don't! Even if I was to trust you by yourself and you were to escape being run over, I know you'd run in to Laura Chopkins,' as the daughter of the a to wear tomorrow, I know you would You've no proper pride in yourself, and are not to be trusted out of sight for an instant'

Deploring the evil-s distilled fresh drops of vexation from her eyes, and declared that she did believe there never was anybody so tried as she was Thereupon, Morleena Kenept afresh, and they beether

Matters were at this point, as News was heard to liaining new hope from the sound of his footsteps, hastily removed from her countenance as many traces of her late e herself before hi their dilemma, entreated that he would escort Morleena to the hairdresser's shop

'I wouldn't ask you, Mr Noggs,' said Mrs Kenwigs, 'if I didn't knohat a good, kind-hearted creature you are; no, not for worlds I as, but ht there was a chance of its being refused, than it would let me submit to see my children trampled down and trod upon, by envy and lowness!'

Neas too good-natured not to have consented, even without this avowal of confidence on the part of Mrs Kenwigs Accordingly, a very few minutes had elapsed, when he and Miss Morleena were on their way to the hairdresser's

It was not exactly a hairdresser's; that is to say, people of a coarse and vulgar turn of ht have called it a barber's; for they not only cut and curled ladies elegantly, and children carefully, but shaved gentleenteel establishment-quite first-rate in fact-and there were displayed in the , besides other elegancies, waxen busts of a light lady and a dark gentlehbourhood Indeed, soentle proprietor; and the great silossy hair, with a narroalk straight down the middle, and a profusion of flat circular curls on both sides-encouraged the idea The better inforht of this assertion, for however willing they were (and they were very willing) to do full justice to the handsoure of the proprietor, they held the countenance of the dark gentleman in theto be an exquisite and abstract idea of els and ladden the eyes of s led Miss Kenwigs in safety The proprietor, knowing that Miss Kenwigs had three sisters, each with two flaxen tails, and all good for sixpence apiece, once a entle hi the ladies, by reason of his obesity andlady hie had been effected, there presented hiood-hu his hand across his chin, requested to knohen a shaver would be disengaged

The journeyman, to who proprietor, and the young proprietor looked scornfully at the coal-heaver: observing at the saet shaved here, my man'

'Why not?' said the coal-heaver

'We don't shave gentle proprietor

'Why, I see you a shaving of a baker, when I was a looking through the winder, last week,' said the coal-heaver

'It's necessary to draw the line somewheres, my fine feller,' replied the principal 'We draw the line there We can't go beyond bakers If as to get any lower than bakers, our custoht shut up shop You must try some other establishment, sir We couldn't do it here'

The applicant stared; grinned at Newhtly round the shop, as if in depreciation of the pomatum pots and other articles of stock; took his pipe out of his ain, and walked out

The old gentle in a melancholy manner with his face turned towards the wall, appeared quite unconscious of this incident, and to be insensible to everything around hie frohs he occasionally vented-in which he was absorbed Affected by this exas, the journeys to read last Sunday's paper, all three in silence: when Miss Kenwigs uttered a shrill little screa his eyes, saw that it had been elicited by the circu the features of Mr Lillyvick the collector

The features of Mr Lillyvick they were, but strangely altered If ever an old gentle in public, shaved close and clean, that old gentleman was Mr Lillyvick If ever a collector had borne himself like a collector, and assunity as if he had the world on his books and it was all two quarters in arrear, that collector was Mr Lillyvick And now, there he sat, with the re his chin; a soiled and cru, as it were, upon his breast, instead of standing boldly out; a de, so despondent, and expressive of such hurief, and shame; that if the souls of forty unsubstantial housekeepers, all of whom had had their water cut off for non-payment of the rate, could have been concentrated in one body, that one body could hardly have expressed such mortification and defeat as were now expressed in the person of Mr Lillyvick the collector

Newroaned: then coughed to hide it But the groan was a full-sized groan, and the cough was but a wheeze

'Is anything the s

'Matter, sir!' cried Mr Lillyvick 'The plug of life is dry, sir, and but the mud is left'

This speech-the style of which Newman attributed to Mr Lillyvick's recent association with theatrical characters-not being quite explanatory, Newman looked as if he were about to ask another question, when Mr Lillyvick prevented hi his own

'Let me be shaved!' said Mr Lillyvick 'It shall be done before Morleena; it IS Morleena, isn't it?'

'Yes,' said Newot a boy, haven't they?' inquired the collector

Again Newman said 'Yes'

'Is it a nice boy?' demanded the collector

'It ain't a very nasty one,' returned News used to say,' observed the collector, 'that if ever she had another boy, she hoped it s?'

This was a puzzling inquiry; but Newht the baby lad to have somebody like me, somehow,' said Mr Lillyvick, 'before I die'