Oliver Twist.........................................................................................................................................................1

Charles Dickens.......................................................................................................................................1

Among other public buildings in a certain town, which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from

mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, there is one anciently common to most towns, great

or small: to wit, a workhouse; and in this workhouse was born; on a day and date which I need not trouble

myself to repeat, inasmuch as it can be of no possible consequence to the reader, in this stage of the business

at all events; the item of mortality whose name is prefixed to the head of this chapter.

For a long time after it was ushered into this world of sorrow and trouble, by the parish surgeon, it remained a

matter of considerable doubt whether the child would survive to bear any name at all; in which case it is

somewhat more than probable that these memoirs would never have appeared; or, if they had, that being

comprised within a couple of pages, they would have possessed the inestimable merit of being the most

concise and faithful specimen of biography, extant in the literature of any age or country.

Although I am not disposed to maintain that the being born in a workhouse, is in itself the most fortunate and

enviable circumstance that can possibly befall a human being, I do mean to say that in this particular instance,

it was the best thing for Oliver Twist that could by possibility have occurred. The fact is, that there was

considerable difficulty in inducing Oliver to take upon himself the office of respiration,a troublesome

practice, but one which custom has rendered necessary to our easy existence; and for some time he lay

gasping on a little flock mattress, rather unequally poised between this world and the next: the balance being

decidedly in favour of the latter. Now, if, during this brief period, Oliver had been surrounded by careful

grandmothers, anxious aunts, experienced nurses, and doctors of profound wisdom, he would most inevitably

and indubitably have been killed in no time. There being nobody by, however, but a pauper old woman, who

was rendered rather misty by an unwonted allowance of beer; and a parish surgeon who did such matters by

contract; Oliver and Nature fought out the point between them. The result was, that, after a few struggles,

Oliver breathed, sneezed, and proceeded to advertise to the inmates of the workhouse the fact of a new

burden having been imposed upon the parish, by setting up as loud a cry as could reasonably have been

expected from a male infant who had not been possessed of that very useful appendage, a voice, for a much

As Oliver gave this first proof of the free and proper action of his lungs, the patchwork coverlet which was

carelessly flung over the iron bedstead, rustled; the pale face of a young woman was raised feebly from the

pillow; and a faint voice imperfectly articulated the words, 'Let me see the child, and die.'

The surgeon had been sitting with his face turned towards the fire: giving the palms of his hands a warm and

a rub alternately. As the young woman spoke, he rose, and advancing to the bed's head, said, with more

'Lor bless her dear heart, no!' interposed the nurse, hastily depositing in her pocket a green glass bottle, the

'Lor bless her dear heart, when she has lived as long as I have, sir, and had thirteen children of her own, and

all on 'em dead except two, and them in the wurkus with me, she'll know better than to take on in that way,

bless her dear heart! Think what it is to be a mother, there's a dear young lamb do.'

Apparently this consolatory perspective of a mother's prospects failed in producing its due effect. The patient

The surgeon deposited it in her arms. She imprinted her cold white lips passionately on its forehead; passed

her hands over her face; gazed wildly round; shuddered; fell backand died. They chafed her breast, hands,

and temples; but the blood had stopped forever. They talked of hope and comfort. They had been strangers

'Ah, poor dear, so it is!' said the nurse, picking up the cork of the green bottle, which had fallen out on the

'You needn't mind sending up to me, if the child cries, nurse,' said the surgeon, putting on his gloves with

great deliberation. 'It's very likely it WILL be troublesome. Give it a little gruel if it is.' He put on his hat, and,

pausing by the bedside on his way to the door, added, 'She was a goodlooking girl, too; where did she

'She was brought here last night,' replied the old woman, 'by the overseer's order. She was found lying in the

street. She had walked some distance, for her shoes were worn to pieces; but where she came from, or where

The surgeon leaned over the body, and raised the left hand. 'The old story,' he said, shaking his head: 'no

The medical gentleman walked away to dinner; and the nurse, having once more applied herself to the green

bottle, sat down on a low chair before the fire, and proceeded to dress the infant.

What an excellent example of the power of dress, young Oliver Twist was! Wrapped in the blanket which had

hitherto formed his only covering, he might have been the child of a nobleman or a beggar; it would have

been hard for the haughtiest stranger to have assigned him his proper station in society. But now that he was

enveloped in the old calico robes which had grown yellow in the same service, he was badged and ticketed,

and fell into his place at oncea parish childthe orphan of a workhousethe humble, halfstarved

drudgeto be cuffed and buffeted through the worlddespised by all, and pitied by none.

Oliver cried lustily. If he could have known that he was an orphan, left to the tender mercies of

For the next eight or ten months, Oliver was the victim of a systematic course of treachery and deception. He

was brought up by hand. The hungry and destitute situation of the infant orphan was duly reported by the

workhouse authorities to the parish authorities. The parish authorities inquired with dignity of the workhouse

authorities, whether there was no female then domiciled in 'the house' who was in a situation to impart to

Oliver Twist, the consolation and nourishment of which he stood in need. The workhouse authorities replied

with humility, that there was not. Upon this, the parish authorities magnanimously and humanely resolved,

that Oliver should be 'farmed,' or, in other words, that he should be dispatched to a branchworkhouse some

three miles off, where twenty or thirty other juvenile offenders against the poorlaws, rolled about the floor

all day, without the inconvenience of too much food or too much clothing, under the parental superintendence

of an elderly female, who received the culprits at and for the consideration of sevenpencehalfpenny per

small head per week. Sevenpencehalfpenny's worth per week is a good round diet for a child; a great deal

may be got for sevenpencehalfpenny, quite enough to overload its stomach, and make it uncomfortable. The

elderly female was a woman of wisdom and experience; she knew what was good for children; and she had a

very accurate perception of what was good for herself. So, she appropriated the greater part of the weekly

stipend to her own use, and consigned the rising parochial generation to even a shorter allowance than was

originally provided for them. Thereby finding in the lowest depth a deeper still; and proving herself a very

Everybody knows the story of another experimental philosopher who had a great theory about a horse being

able to live without eating, and who demonstrated it so well, that he had got his own horse down to a straw a

day, and would unquestionably have rendered him a very spirited and rampacious animal on nothing at all, if

he had not died, fourandtwenty hours before he was to have had his first comfortable bait of air.

Unfortunately for, the experimenal philosophy of the female to whose protecting care Oliver Twist was

delivered over, a similar result usually attended the operation of HER system; for at the very moment when

the child had contrived to exist upon the smallest possible portion of the weakest possible food, it did

perversely happen in eight and a half cases out of ten, either that it sickened from want and cold, or fell into

the fire from neglect, or got halfsmothered by accident; in any one of which cases, the miserable little being

was usually summoned into another world, and there gathered to the fathers it had never known in this.

Occasionally, when there was some more than usually interesting inquest upon a parish child who had been

overlooked in turning up a bedstead, or inadvertently scalded to death when there happened to be a

washingthough the latter accident was very scarce, anything approaching to a washing being of rare

occurance in the farmthe jury would take it into their heads to ask troublesome questions, or the

parishioners would rebelliously affix their signatures to a remonstrance. But these impertinences were

speedily checked by the evidence of the surgeon, and the testimony of the beadle; the former of whom had

always opened the body and found nothing inside (which was very probable indeed), and the latter of whom

invariably swore whatever the parish wanted; which was very selfdevotional. Besides, the board made

periodical pilgrimages to the farm, and always sent the beadle the day before, to say they were going. The

children were neat and clean to behold, when THEY went; and what more would the people have!

It cannot be expected that this system of farming would produce any very extraordinary or luxuriant crop.

Oliver Twist's ninth birthday found him a pale thin child, somewhat diminutive in stature, and decidely small

in circumference. But nature or inheritance had implanted a good sturdy spirit in Oliver's breast. It had had

plenty of room to expand, thanks to the spare diet of the establishment; and perhaps to this circumstance may

be attributed his having any ninth birthday at all. Be this as it may, however, it was his ninth birthday; and

he was keeping it in the coalcellar with a select party of two other young gentleman, who, after participating

with him in a sound thrashing, had been locked up for atrociously presuming to be hungry, when Mrs. Mann,

the good lady of the house, was unexpectedly startled by the apparition of Mr. Bumble, the beadle, striving to

'Goodness gracious! Is that you, Mr. Bumble, sir?' said Mrs. Mann, thrusting her head out of the window in

wellaffected ecstasies of joy. '(Susan, take Oliver and them two brats upstairs, and wash 'em directly.)My

Now, Mr. Bumble was a fat man, and a choleric; so, instead of responding to this openhearted salutation in

a kindred spirit, he gave the little wicket a tremendous shake, and then bestowed upon it a kick which could

'Lor, only think,' said Mrs. Mann, running out,for the three boys had been removed by this time,'only

think of that! That I should have forgotten that the gate was bolted on the inside, on account of them dear

Although this invitation was accompanied with a curtsey that might have softened the heart of a

'Do you think this respectful or proper conduct, Mrs. Mann,' inquired Mr. Bumble, grasping his cane, 'to keep

the parish officers a waiting at your gardengate, when they come here upon porochial business with the

porochial orphans? Are you aweer, Mrs. Mann, that you are, as I may say, a porochial delegate, and a

'I'm sure Mr. Bumble, that I was only a telling one or two of the dear children as is so fond of you, that it was

Mr. Bumble had a great idea of his oratorical powers and his importance. He had displayed the one, and

'Well, well, Mrs. Mann,' he replied in a calmer tone; 'it may be as you say; it may be. Lead the way in, Mrs.

Mrs. Mann ushered the beadle into a small parlour with a brick floor; placed a seat for him; and officiously

deposited his cocked hat and can on the table before him. Mr. Bumble wiped from his forehead the

perspiration which his walk had engendered, glanced complacently at the cocked hat, and smiled. Yes, he

'Now don't you be offended at what I'm a going to say,' observed Mrs. Mann, with captivating sweetness.

'You've had a long walk, you know, or I wouldn't mention it. Now, will you take a little drop of somethink,

'Not a drop. Nor a drop,' said Mr. Bumble, waving his right hand in a dignified, but placid manner.

'I think you will,' said Mrs. Mann, who had noticed the tone of the refusal, and the gesture that had

accompanied it. 'Just a leetle drop, with a little cold water, and a lump of sugar.'

'Why, it's what I'm obliged to keep a little of in the house, to put into the blessed infants' Daffy, when they

ain't well, Mr. Bumble,' replied Mrs. Mann as she opened a corner cupboard, and took down a bottle and

'Do you give the children Daffy, Mrs. Mann?' inquired Bumble, following with this eyes the interesting

'Ah, bless 'em, that I do, dear as it is,' replied the nurse. 'I couldn't see 'em suffer before my very eyes, you

'No'; said Mr. Bumble approvingly; 'no, you could not. You are a humane woman, Mrs. Mann.' (Here she set

down the glass.) 'I shall take a early opportunity of mentioning it to the board, Mrs. Mann.' (He drew it

towards him.) 'You feel as a mother, Mrs. Mann.' (He stirred the ginandwater.) 'II drink your health with

'And now about business,' said the beadle, taking out a leathern pocketbook. 'The child that was

'Bless him!' interposed Mrs. Mann, inflaming her left eye with the corner of her apron.

'And notwithstanding a offered reward of ten pound, which was afterwards increased to twenty pound.

Notwithstanding the most superlative, and, I may say, supernat'ral exertions on the part of this parish,' said

Bumble, 'we have never been able to discover who is his father, or what was his mother's settlement, name, or

Mrs Mann raised her hands in astonishment; but added, after a moment's reflection, 'How comes he to have

'I, Mrs. Mann. We name our fondlings in alphabetical order. The last was a S,Swubble, I named him. This

was a T,Twist, I named HIM. The next one comes will be Unwin, and the next Vilkins. I have got names

ready made to the end of the alphabet, and all the way through it again, when we come to Z.'

'Well, well,' said the beadle, evidently gratified with the compliment; 'perhaps I may be. Perhaps I may be,

Mrs. Mann.' He finished the ginandwater, and added, 'Oliver being now too old to remain here, the board

have determined to have him back into the house. I have come out myself to take him there. So let me see

'I'll fetch him directly,' said Mrs. Mann, leaving the room for that purpose. Oliver, having had by this time as

much of the outer coat of dirt which encrusted his face and hands, removed, as could be scrubbed off in one

Oliver made a bow, which was divided between the beadle on the chair, and the cocked hat on the table.

Oliver was about to say that he would go along with anybody with great readiness, when, glancing upward,

he caught sight of Mrs. Mann, who had got behind the beadle's chair, and was shaking her fist at him with a

furious countenance. He took the hint at once, for the fist had been too often impressed upon his body not to

This was no very great consolation to the child. Young as he was, however, he had sense enough to make a

feint of feeling great regret at going away. It was no very difficult matter for the boy to call tears into his

eyes. Hunger and recent illusage are great assistants if you want to cry; and Oliver cried very naturally

indeed. Mrs. Mann gave him a thousand embraces, and what Oliver wanted a great deal more, a piece of

bread and butter, less he should seem too hungry when he got to the workhouse. With the slice of bread in his

hand, and the little browncloth parish cap on his head, Oliver was then led away by Mr. Bumble from the

wretched home where one kind word or look had never lighted the gloom of his infant years. And yet he burst

into an agony of childish grief, as the cottagegate closed after him. Wretched as were the little companions

in misery he was leaving behind, they were the only friends he had ever known; and a sense of his loneliness

Mr. Bumble walked on with long strides; little Oliver, firmly grasping his goldlaced cuff, trotted beside him,

inquiring at the end of every quarter of a mile whether they were 'nearly there.' To these interrogations Mr.

Bumble returned very brief and snappish replies; for the temporary blandness which ginandwater awakens

Oliver had not been within the walls of the workhouse a quarter of an hour, and had scarcely completed the

demolition of a second slice of bread, when Mr. Bumble, who had handed him over to the care of an old

woman, returned; and, telling him it was a board night, informed him that the board had said he was to appear

Not having a very clearly defined notion of what a live board was, Oliver was rather astounded by this

intelligence, and was not quite certain whether he ought to laugh or cry. He had no time to think about the

matter, however; for Mr. Bumble gave him a tap on the head, with his cane, to wake him up: and another on

the back to make him lively: and bidding him to follow, conducted him into a large whitewashed room,

where eight or ten fat gentlemen were sitting round a table. At the top of the table, seated in an armchair

rather higher than the rest, was a particularly fat gentleman with a very round, red face.

'Bow to the board,' said Bumble. Oliver brushed away two or three tears that were lingering in his eyes; and

Oliver was frightened at the sight of so many gentlemen, which made him tremble: and the beadle gave him

another tap behind, which made him cry. These two causes made him answer in a very low and hesitating

voice; whereupon a gentleman in a white waistcoat said he was a fool. Which was a capital way of raising his

'Boy,' said the gentleman in the high chair, 'listen to me. You know you're an orphan, I suppose?'

'Hush!' said the gentleman who had spoken first. 'You know you've got no father or mother, and that you

'What are you crying for?' inquired the gentleman in the white waistcoat. And to be sure it was very

'I hope you say your prayers every night,' said another gentleman in a gruff voice; 'and pray for the people

'Yes, sir,' stammered the boy. The gentleman who spoke last was unconsciously right. It would have been

very like a Christian, and a marvellously good Christian too, if Oliver had prayed for the people who fed and

'Well! You have come here to be educated, and taught a useful trade,' said the redfaced gentleman in the

'So you'll begin to pick oakum tomorrow morning at six o'clock,' added the surly one in the white waistcoat.

For the combination of both these blessings in the one simple process of picking oakum, Oliver bowed low

by the direction of the beadle, and was then hurried away to a large ward; where, on a rough, hard bed, he

sobbed himself to sleep. What a novel illustration of the tender laws of England! They let the paupers go to

Poor Oliver! He little thought, as he lay sleeping in happy unconsciousness of all around him, that the board

had that very day arrived at a decision which would exercise the most material influence over all his future

The members of this board were very sage, deep, philosophical men; and when they came to turn their

attention to the workhouse, they found out at once, what ordinary folks would nver have discoveredthe

poor people liked it! It was a regular place of public entertainment for the poorer classes; a tavern where there

was nothing to pay; a public breakfast, dinner, tea, and supper all the year round; a brick and mortar elysium,

where it was all play and no work. 'Oho!' said the board, looking very knowing; 'we are the fellows to set this

to rights; we'll stop it all, in no time.' So, they established the rule, that all poor people should have the

alternative (for they would compel nobody, not they), of being starved by a gradual process in the house, or

by a quick one out of it. With this view, they contracted with the waterworks to lay on an unlimited supply

of water; and with a cornfactor to supply periodically small quantities of oatmeal; and issued three meals of

thin gruel a day, with an onion twice a week, and half a roll of Sundays. They made a great many other wise

and humane regulations, having reference to the ladies, which it is not necessary to repeat; kindly undertook

to divorce poor married people, in consequence of the great expense of a suit in Doctors' Commons; and,

instead of compelling a man to support his family, as they had theretofore done, took his family away from

him, and made him a bachelor! There is no saying how many applicants for relief, under these last two heads,

might have started up in all classes of society, if it had not been coupled with the workhouse; but the board

were longheaded men, and had provided for this difficulty. The relief was inseparable from the workhouse

For the first six months after Oliver Twist was removed, the system was in full operation. It was rather

expensive at first, in consequence of the increase in the undertaker's bill, and the necessity of taking in the

clothes of all the paupers, which fluttered loosely on their wasted, shrunken forms, after a week or two's

gruel. But the number of workhouse inmates got thin as well as the paupers; and the board were in ecstasies.

The room in which the boys were fed, was a large stone hall, with a copper at one end: out of which the

master, dressed in an apron for the purpose, and assisted by one or two women, ladled the gruel at mealtimes.

Of this festive composition each boy had one porringer, and no moreexcept on occasions of great public

The bowls never wanted washing. The boys polished them with their spoons till they shone again; and when

they had performed this operation (which never took very long, the spoons being nearly as large as the

bowls), they would sit staring at the copper, with such eager eyes, as if they could have devoured the very

bricks of which it was composed; employing themselves, meanwhile, in sucking their fingers most

assiduously, with the view of catching up any stray splashes of gruel that might have been cast thereon. Boys

have generally excellent appetites. Oliver Twist and his companions suffered the tortures of slow starvation

for three months: at last they got so voracious and wild with hunger, that one boy, who was tall for his age,

and hadn't been used to that sort of thing (for his father had kept a small cookshop), hinted darkly to his

companions, that unless he had another basin of gruel per diem, he was afraid he might some night happen to

eat the boy who slept next him, who happened to be a weakly youth of tender age. He had a wild, hungry eye;

and they implicitly believed him. A council was held; lots were cast who should walk up to the master after

The evening arrived; the boys took their places. The master, in his cook's uniform, stationed himself at the

copper; his pauper assistants ranged themselves behind him; the gruel was served out; and a long grace was

said over the short commons. The gruel disappeared; the boys whispered each other, and winked at Oliver;

while his next neighbours nudged him. Child as he was, he was desperate with hunger, and reckless with

misery. He rose from the table; and advancing to the master, basin and spoon in hand, said: somewhat

The master was a fat, healthy man; but he turned very pale. He gazed in stupified astonishment on the small

rebel for some seconds, and then clung for support to the copper. The assistants were paralysed with wonder;

The master aimed a blow at Oliver's head with the ladle; pinioned him in his arm; and shrieked aloud for the

The board were sitting in solemn conclave, when Mr. Bumble rushed into the room in great excitement, and

'For MORE!' said Mr. Limbkins. 'Compose yourself, Bumble, and answer me distinctly. Do I understand that

'That boy will be hung,' said the gentleman in the white waistcoat. 'I know that boy will be hung.'

Nobody controverted the prophetic gentleman's opinion. An animated discussion took place. Oliver was

ordered into instant confinement; and a bill was next morning pasted on the outside of the gate, offering a

reward of five pounds to anybody who would take Oliver Twist off the hands of the parish. In other words,

five pounds and Oliver Twist were offered to any man or woman who wanted an apprentice to any trade,

'I never was more convinced of anything in my life,' said the gentleman in the white waistcoat, as he knocked

at the gate and read the bill next morning: 'I never was more convinced of anything in my life, than I am that

As I purpose to show in the sequel whether the white waistcoated gentleman was right or not, I should

perhaps mar the interest of this narrative (supposing it to possess any at all), if I ventured to hint just yet,

For a week after the commission of the impious and profane offence of asking for more, Oliver remained a

close prisoner in the dark and solitary room to which he had been consigned by the wisdom and mercy of the

board. It appears, at first sight not unreasonable to suppose, that, if he had entertained a becoming feeling of

respect for the prediction of the gentleman in the white waistcoat, he would have established that sage

individual's prophetic character, once and for ever, by tying one end of his pockethandkerchief to a hook in

the wall, and attaching himself to the other. To the performance of this feat, however, there was one obstacle:

namely, that pockethandkerchiefs being decided articles of luxury, had been, for all future times and ages,

removed from the noses of paupers by the express order of the board, in council assembled: solemnly given

and pronounced under their hands and seals. There was a still greater obstacle in Oliver's youth and

childishness. He only cried bitterly all day; and, when the long, dismal night came on, spread his little hands

before his eyes to shut out the darkness, and crouching in the corner, tried to sleep: ever and anon waking

with a start and tremble, and drawing himself closer and closer to the wall, as if to feel even its cold hard

Let it not be supposed by the enemies of 'the system,' that, during the period of his solitary incarceration,

Oliver was denied the benefit of exercise, the pleasure of society, or the advantages of religious consolation.

As for exercise, it was nice cold weather, and he was allowed to perform his ablutions every morning under

the pump, in a stone yard, in the presence of Mr. Bumble, who prevented his catching cold, and caused a

tingling sensation to pervade his frame, by repeated applications of the cane. As for society, he was carried

every other day into the hall where the boys dined, and there sociably flogged as a public warning and

example. And so for from being denied the advantages of religious consolation, he was kicked into the same

apartment every evening at prayertime, and there permitted to listen to, and console his mind with, a general

supplication of the boys, containing a special clause, therein inserted by authority of the board, in which they

entreated to be made good, virtuous, contented, and obedient, and to be guarded from the sins and vices of

Oliver Twist: whom the supplication distinctly set forth to be under the exclusive patronage and protection of

the powers of wickedness, and an article direct from the manufactory of the very Devil himself.

It chanced one morning, while Oliver's affairs were in this auspicious and confortable state, that Mr.

Gamfield, chimneysweep, went his way down the High Street, deeply cogitating in his mind his ways and

means of paying certain arrears of rent, for which his landlord had become rather pressing. Mr. Gamfield's

most sanguine estimate of his finances could not raise them within full five pounds of the desired amount;

and, in a species of arthimetical desperation, he was alternately cudgelling his brains and his donkey, when

The donkey was in a state of profound abstraction: wondering, probably, whether he was destined to be

regaled with a cabbagestalk or two when he had disposed of the two sacks of soot with which the little cart

Mr. Gamfield growled a fierce imprecation on the donkey generally, but more particularly on his eyes; and,

running after him, bestowed a blow on his head, which would inevitably have beaten in any skull but a

donkey's. Then, catching hold of the bridle, he gave his jaw a sharp wrench, by way of gentle reminder that

he was not his own master; and by these means turned him round. He then gave him another blow on the

head, just to stun him till he came back again. Having completed these arrangements, he walked up to the

The gentleman with the white waistcoat was standing at the gate with his hands behind him, after having

delivered himself of some profound sentiments in the boardroom. Having witnessed the little dispute

between Mr. Gamfield and the donkey, he smiled joyously when that person came up to read the bill, for he

saw at once that Mr. Gamfield was exactly the sort of master Oliver Twist wanted. Mr. Gamfield smiled, too,

as he perused the document; for five pounds was just the sum he had been wishing for; and, as to the boy with

which it was encumbered, Mr. Gamfield, knowing what the dietary of the workhouse was, well knew he

would be a nice small pattern, just the very thing for register stoves. So, he spelt the bill through again, from

beginning to end; and then, touching his fur cap in token of humility, accosted the gentleman in the white

'Ay, my man,' said the gentleman in the white waistcoat, with a condescending smile. 'What of him?'

'If the parish vould like him to learn a right pleasant trade, in a good 'spectable chimbleysweepin' bisness,'

'Walk in,' said the gentleman in the white waistcoat. Mr. Gamfield having lingered behind, to give the donkey

another blow on the head, and another wrench of the jaw, as a caution not to run away in his absence,

followed the gentleman with the white waistcoat into the room where Oliver had first seen him.

'It's a nasty trade,' said Mr. Limbkins, when Gamfield had again stated his wish.

'Young boys have been smothered in chimneys before now,' said another gentleman.

'That's acause they damped the straw afore they lit it in the chimbley to make 'em come down again,' said

Gamfield; 'that's all smoke, and no blaze; vereas smoke ain't o' no use at all in making a boy come down, for

it only sinds him to sleep, and that's wot he likes. Boys is wery obstinit, and wery lazy, Gen'l'men, and there's

nothink like a good hot blaze to make 'em come down vith a run. It's humane too, gen'l'men, acause, even if

they've stuck in the chimbley, roasting their feet makes 'em struggle to hextricate theirselves.'

The gentleman in the white waistcoat appeared very much amused by this explanation; but his mirth was

speedily checked by a look from Mr. Limbkins. The board then procedded to converse among themselves for

a few minutes, but in so low a tone, that the words 'saving of expenditure,' 'looked well in the accounts,' 'have

a printed report published,' were alone audible. These only chanced to be heard, indeed, or account of their

At length the whispering ceased; and the members of the board, having resumed their seats and their

As Mr. Gamfield did happen to labour under the slight imputation of having bruised three or four boys to

death already, it occurred to him that the board had, perhaps, in some unaccountable freak, taken it into their

heads that this extraneous circumstance ought to influence their proceedings. It was very unlike their general

mode of doing business, if they had; but still, as he had no particular wish to revive the rumour, he twisted his

'So you won't let me have him, gen'l'men?' said Mr. Gamfield, pausing near the door.

'No,' replied Mr. Limbkins; 'at least, as it's a nasty business, we think you ought to take something less than

Mr. Gamfield's countenance brightened, as, with a quick step, he returned to the table, and said,

'What'll you give, gen'l'men? Come! Don't be too hard on a poor man. What'll you give?'

'Come!' said Gamfield; 'say four pound, gen'l'men. Say four pound, and you've got rid of him for good and

'Come! I'll split the diff'erence, gen'l'men, urged Gamfield. 'Three pound fifteen.'

'Pooh! pooh! nonsense!' said the gentleman in the white waistcoat. 'He'd be cheap with nothing at all, as a

premium. Take him, you silly fellow! He's just the boy for you. He wants the stick, now and then: it'll do him

good; and his board needn't come very expensive, for he hasn't been overfed since he was born. Ha! ha! ha!'

Mr. Gamfield gave an arch look at the faces round the table, and, observing a smile on all of them, gradually

broke into a smile himself. The bargain was made. Mr. Bumble, was at once instructed that Oliver Twist and

his indentures were to be conveyed before the magistrate, for signature and approval, that very afternoon.

In pursuance of this determination, little Oliver, to his excessive astonishment, was released from bondage,

and ordered to put himself into a clean shirt. He had hardly achieved this very unusual gymnastic

performance, when Mr. Bumble brought him, with his own hands, a basin of gruel, and the holiday allowance

of two ounces and a quarter of bread. At this tremendous sight, Oliver began to cry very piteously: thinking,

not unaturally, that the board must have determined to kill him for some useful purpose, or they never would

'Don't make your eyes red, Oliver, but eat your food and be thankful,' said Mr. Bumble, in a tone of

'Yes, Oliver,' said Mr. Bumble. 'The kind and blessed gentleman which is so amny parents to you, Oliver,

when you have none of your own: are a going to 'prentice you: and to set you up in life, and make a man of

you: although the expense to the parish is three pound ten!three pound ten, Oliver!seventy shillinsone

hundred and forty sixpences!and all for a naughty orphan which noboday can't love.'

As Mr. Bumble paused to take breath, after delivering this address in an awful voice, the tears rolled down

'Come,' said Mr. Bumble, somewhat less pompously, for it was gratifying to his feelings to observe the effect

his eloquence had produced; 'Come, Oliver! Wipe your eyes with the cuffs of your jacket, and don't cry into

your gruel; that's a very foolish action, Oliver.' It certainly was, for there was quite enough water in it already.

On their way to the magistrate, Mr. Bumble instructed Oliver that all he would have to do, would be to look

very happy, and say, when the gentleman asked him if he wanted to be apprenticed, that he should like it very

much indeed; both of which injunctions Oliver promised to obey: the rather as Mr. Bumble threw in a gentle

hint, that if he failed in either particular, there was no telling what would be done to him. When they arrived

at the office, he was shut up in a little room by himself, and admonished by Mr. Bumble to stay there, until he

There the boy remained, with a palpitating heart, for half an hour. At the expiration of which time Mr.

'Now, Oliver, my dear, come to the gentleman.' As Mr. Bumble said this, he put on a grim and threatening

Oliver stared innocently in Mr. Bumble's face at this somewhat contradictory style of address; but that

gentleman prevented his offering any remark thereupon, by leading him at once into an adjoining room: the

door of which was open. It was a large room, with a great window. Behind a desk, sat two old gentleman with

powdered heads: one of whom was reading the newspaper; while the other was perusing, with the aid of a

pair of tortoiseshell spectacles, a small piece of parchment which lay before him. Mr. Limbkins was

standing in front of the desk on one side; and Mr. Gamfield, with a partially washed face, on the other; while

The old gentleman with the spectacles gradually dozed off, over the little bit of parchment; and there was a

short pause, after Oliver had been stationed by Mr. Bumble in front of the desk.

The old gentleman who was reading the newspaper raised his head for a moment, and pulled the other old

Oliver roused himself, and made his best obeisance. He had been wondering, with his eyes fixed on the

magistrates' powder, whether all boards were born with that white stuff on their heads, and were boards from

'He doats on it, your worship,' replied Bumble; giving Oliver a sly pinch, to intimate that he had better not say

'If we was to bind him to any other trade tomorrow, he'd run away simultaneous, your worship,' replied

'And this man that's to be his masteryou, siryou'll treat him well, and feed him, and do all that sort of

'You're a rough speaker, my friend, but you look an honest, openhearted man,' said the old gentleman:

turning his spectacles in the direction of the candidate for Oliver's premium, whose villainous countenance

was a regular stamped receipt for cruelty. But the magistrate was half blind and half childish, so he couldn't

'I have no doubt you are, my friend,' replied the old gentleman: fixing his spectacles more firmly on his nose,

It was the critical moment of Oliver's fate. If the inkstand had been where the old gentleman though it was, he

would have dipped his pen into it, and signed the indentures, and Oliver would have been straightway hurried

off. But, as it chanced to be immediately under his nose, it followed, as a matter of course, that he looked all

over his desk for it, without finding it; and happening in the course of his search to look straight before him,

his gaze encountered the pale and terrified face of Oliver Twist: who, despite all the admonitory looks and

pinches of Bumble, was regarding the repulsive countenance of his future master, with a mingled expression

of horror and fear, too palpable to be mistaken, even by a halfblind magistrate.

The old gentleman stopped, laid down his pen, and looked from Oliver to Mr. Limbkins; who attempted to

'My boy!' said the old gentleman, 'you look pale and alarmed. What is the matter?'

'Stand a little away from him, Beadle,' said the other magistrate: laying aside the paper, and leaning forward

with an expression of interest. 'Now, boy, tell us what's the matter: don't be afraid.'

Oliver fell on his knees, and clasping his hands together, prayed that they would order him back to the dark

room that they would starve himbeat himkill him if they pleasedrather than send him away with

'Well!' said Mr. Bumble, raising his hands and eyes with most impressive solemnite. 'Well! of all the artful

and designing orphans that ever I see, Oliver, you are one of the most barefacedest.'

'Hold your tongue, Beadle,' said the second old gentleman, when Mr. Bumble had given vent to this

'I beg your worship's pardon,' said Mr. Bumble, incredulous of having heard aright. 'Did your worship speak

Mr. Bumble was stupefied with astonishment. A beadle ordered to hold his tongue! A moral revolution!

The old gentleman in the tortoiseshell spectacles looked at his companion, he nodded significantly.

'I hope,' stammered Mr. Limbkins: 'I hope the magistrates will not form the opinion that the authorities have

'The magistrates are not called upon to pronounce any opinion on the matter,' said the second old gentleman

sharply. 'Take the boy back to the workhouse, and treat him kindly. He seems to want it.'

That same evening, the gentleman in the white waistcoat most positively and decidedly affirmed, not only

that Oliver would be hung, but that he would be drawn and quartered into the bargain. Mr. Bumble shook his

head with gloomy mystery, and said he wished he might come to good; whereunto Mr. Gamfield replied, that

he wished he might come to him; which, although he agreed with the beadle in most matters, would seem to

The next morning, the public were once informed that Oliver Twist was again To Let, and that five pounds

In great families, when an advantageous place cannot be obtained, either in possession, reversion, remainder,

or expectancy, for the young man who is growing up, it is a very general custom to send him to sea. The

board, in imitation of so wise and salutary an example, took counsel together on the expediency of shipping

off Oliver Twist, in some small trading vessel bound to a good unhealthy port. This suggested itself as the

very best thing that could possibly be done with him: the probability being, that the skipper would flog him to

death, in a playful mood, some day after dinner, or would knock his brains out with an iron bar; both

pastimes being, as is pretty generally known, very favourite and common recreations among gentleman of

that class. The more the case presented itself to the board, in this point of view, the more manifold the

advantages of the step appeared; so, they came to the conclusion that the only way of providing for Oliver

Mr. Bumble had been despatched to make various preliminary inquiries, with the view of finding out some

captain or other who wanted a cabinboy without any friends; and was returning to the workhouse to

communicate the result of his mission; when he encountered at the gate, no less a person than Mr.

Mr. Sowerberry was a tall gaunt, largejointed man, attired in a suit of threadbare black, with darned cotton

stockings of the same colour, and shoes to answer. His features were not naturally intended to wear a smiling

aspect, but he was in general rather given to professional jocosity. His step was elastic, and his face

betokened inward pleasantry, as he advanced to Mr. Bumble, and shook him cordially by the hand.

'I have taken the measure of the two women that died last night, Mr. Bumble,' said the undertaker.

'You'll make your fortune, Mr. Sowerberry,' said the beadle, as he thrust his thumb and forefinger into the

proferred snuffbox of the undertaker: which was an ingenious little model of a patent coffin. 'I say you'll

make your fortune, Mr. Sowerberry,' repeated Mr. Bumble, tapping the undertaker on the shoulder, in a

'Think so?' said the undertaker in a tone which half admitted and half disputed the probability of the event.

'So are the coffins,' replied the beadle: with precisely as near an approach to a laugh as a great official ought

Mr. Sowerberry was much tickled at this: as of course he ought to be; and laughed a long time without

cessation. 'Well, well, Mr. Bumble,' he said at length, 'there's no denying that, since the new system of

feeding has come in, the coffins are something narrower and more shallow than they used to be; but we must

have some profit, Mr. Bumble. Wellseasoned timber is an expensive article, sir; and all the iron handles

'Well, well,' said Mr. Bumble, 'every trade has its drawbacks. A fair profit is, of course, allowable.'

'Of course, of course,' replied the undertaker; 'and if I don't get a profit upon this or that particular article,

'Though I must say,' continued the undertaker, resuming the current of observations which the beadle had

interrupted: 'though I must say, Mr. Bumble, that I have to contend against one very great disadvantage:

which is, that all the stout people go off the quickest. The people who have been better off, and have paid

rates for many years, are the first to sink when they come into the house; and let me tell you, Mr. Bumble,

that three or four inches over one's calculation makes a great hole in one's profits: especially when one has a

As Mr. Sowerberry said this, with the becoming indignation of an illused man; and as Mr. Bumble felt that

it rather tended to convey a reflection on the honour of the parish; the latter gentleman thought it advisable to

change the subject. Oliver Twist being uppermost in his mind, he made him his theme.

'By the bye,' said Mr. Bumble, 'you don't know anybody who wants a boy, do you? A porochial 'prentis, who

is at present a deadweight; a millstone, as I may say, round the porochial throat? Liberal terms, Mr.

Sowerberry, liberal terms?' As Mr. Bumble spoke, he raised his cane to the bill above him, and gave three

distinct raps upon the words 'five pounds': which were printed thereon in Roman capitals of gigantic size.

'Gadso!' said the undertaker: taking Mr. Bumble by the giltedged lappel of his official coat; 'that's just the

very thing I wanted to speak to you about. You knowdear me, what a very elegant button this is, Mr.

'Yes, I think it rather pretty,' said the beadle, glancing proudly downwards at the large brass buttons which

embellished his coat. 'The die is the same as the porochial sealthe Good Samaritan healing the sick and

bruised man. The board presented it to me on Newyear's morning, Mr. Sowerberry. I put it on, I remember,

for the first time, to attend the inquest on that reduced tradesman, who died in a doorway at midnight.'

'I recollect,' said the undertaker. 'The jury brought it in, "Died from exposure to the cold, and want of the

'And they made it a special verdict, I think,' said the undertaker, 'by adding some words to the effect, that if

'Tush! Foolery!' interposed the beadle. 'If the board attended to all the nonsense that ignorant jurymen talk,

'Juries,' said Mr. Bumble, grasping his cane tightly, as was his wont when working into a passion: 'juries is

'They haven't no more philosophy nor political economy about 'em than that,' said the beadle, snapping his

'And I only wish we'd a jury of the independent sort, in the house for a week or two,' said the beadle; 'the

'Let 'em alone for that,' replied the undertaker. So saying, he smiled, approvingly: to calm the rising wrath of

Mr Bumble lifted off his cocked hat; took a handkerchief from the inside of the crown; wiped from his

forehead the perspiration which his rage had engendered; fixed the cocked hat on again; and, turning to the

'Oh!' replied the undertaker; why, you know, Mr. Bumble, I pay a good deal towards the poor's rates.'

'Well,' replied the undertaker, 'I was thinking that if I pay so much towards 'em, I've a right to get as much out

Mr. Bumble grasped the undertaker by the arm, and led him into the building. Mr. Sowerberry was closeted

with the board for five minutes; and it was arranged that Oliver should go to him that evening 'upon

liking'a phrase which means, in the case of a parish apprentice, that if the master find, upon a short trial,

that he can get enough work out of a boy without putting too much food into him, he shall have him for a

When little Oliver was taken before 'the gentlemen' that evening; and informed that he was to go, that night,

as general houselad to a coffinmaker's; and that if he complained of his situation, or ever came back to the

parish again, he would be sent to sea, there to be drowned, or knocked on the head, as the case might be, he

evinced so little emotion, that they by common consent pronounced him a hardened young rascal, and orered

Now, although it was very natural that the board, of all people in the world, should feel in a great state of

virtuous astonishment and horror at the smallest tokens of want of feeling on the part of anybody, they were

rather out, in this particular instance. The simple fact was, that Oliver, instead of possessing too little feeling,

possessed rather too much; and was in a fair way of being reduced, for life, to a state of brutal stupidity and

sullenness by the ill usage he had received. He heard the news of his destination, in perfect silence; and,

having had his luggage put into his handwhich was not very difficult to carry, inasmuch as it was all

comprised within the limits of a brown paper parcel, about half a foot square by three inches deephe pulled

his cap over his eyes; and once more attaching himself to Mr. Bumble's coat cuff, was led away by that

For some time, Mr. Bumble drew Oliver along, without notice or remark; for the beadle carried his head very

erect, as a beadle always should: and, it being a windy day, little Oliver was completely enshrouded by the

skirts of Mr. Bumble's coat as they blew open, and disclosed to great advantage his flapped waistcoat and

drab plush kneebreeches. As they drew near to their destination, however, Mr. Bumble thought it expedient

to look down, and see that the boy was in good order for inspection by his new master: which he accordingly

Although Oliver did as he was desired, at once; and passed the back of his unoccupied hand briskly across his

eyes, he left a tear in them when he looked up at his conductor. As Mr. Bumble gazed sternly upon him, it

rolled down his cheek. It was followed by another, and another. The child made a strong effort, but it was an

unsuccessful one. Withdrawing his other hand from Mr. Bumble's he covered his face with both; and wept

'Well!' exclaimed Mr. Bumble, stopping short, and darting at his little charge a look of intense malignity.

'Well! Of ALL the ungratefullest, and worstdisposed boys as ever I see, Oliver, you are the'

'No, no, sir,' sobbed Oliver, clinging to the hand which held the wellknown cane; 'no, no, sir; I will be good

indeed; indeed, indeed I will, sir! I am a very little boy, sir; and it is soso'

'So lonely, sir! So very lonely!' cried the child. 'Everybody hates me. Oh! sir, don't, don't pray be cross to me!'

The child beat his hand upon his heart; and looked in his companion's face, with tears of real agony.

Mr. Bumble regarded Oliver's piteous and helpless look, with some astonishment, for a few seconds; hemmed

three or four times in a husky manner; and after muttering something about 'that troublesome cough,' bade

Oliver dry his eyes and be a good boy. Then once more taking his hand, he walked on with him in silence.

The undertaker, who had just putup the shutters of his shop, was making some entries in his daybook by the

'Aha!' said the undertaker; looking up from the book, and pausing in the middle of a word; 'is that you,

'No one else, Mr. Sowerberry,' replied the beadle. 'Here! I've brought the boy.' Oliver made a bow.

'Oh! that's the boy, is it?' said the undertaker: raising the candle above his head, to get a better view of Oliver.

Mrs. Sowerberry emerged from a little room behind the shop, and presented the form of a short, then,

'My dear,' said Mr. Sowerberry, deferentially, 'this is the boy from the workhouse that I told you of.' Oliver

'Why, he IS rather small,' replied Mr. Bumble: looking at Oliver as if it were his fault that he was no bigger;

'he is small. There's no denying it. But he'll grow, Mrs. Sowerberryhe'll grow.'

'Ah! I dare say he will,' replied the lady pettishly, 'on our victuals and our drink. I see no saving in parish

children, not I; for they always cost more to keep, than they're worth. However, men always think they know

best. There! Get downstairs, little bag o' bones.' With this, the undertaker's wife opened a side door, and

pushed Oliver down a steep flight of stairs into a stone cell, damp and dark: forming the anteroom to the

coalcellar, and denominated 'kitchen'; wherein sat a slatternly girl, in shoes down at heel, and blue worsted

'Here, Charlotte,' said Mr. Sowerberry, who had followed Oliver down, 'give this boy some of the cold bits

that were put by for Trip. He hasn't come home since the morning, so he may go without 'em. I dare say the

Oliver, whose eyes had glistened at the mention of meat, and who was trembling with eagerness to devour it,

replied in the negative; and a plateful of coarse broken victuals was set before him.

I wish some wellfed philosopher, whose meat and drink turn to gall within him; whose blood is ice, whose

heart is iron; could have seen Oliver Twist clutching at the dainty viands that the dog had neglected. I wish he

could have witnessed the horrible avidity with which Oliver tore the bits asunder with all the ferocity of

famine. There is only one thing I should like better; and that would be to see the Philosopher making the

'Well,' said the undertaker's wife, when Oliver had finished his supper: which she had regarded in silent

There being nothing eatable within his reach, Oliver replied in the affirmative.

'Then come with me,' said Mrs. Sowerberry: taking up a dim and dirty lamp, and leading the way upstairs;

'your bed's under the counter. You don't mind sleeping among the coffins, I suppose? But it doesn't much

matter whether you do or don't, for you can't sleep anywhere else. Come; don't keep me here all night!'

Oliver, being left to himself in the undertaker's shop, set the lamp down on a workman's bench, and gazed

timidly about him with a feeling of awe and dread, which many people a good deal older than he will be at no

loss to understand. An unfinished coffin on black tressels, which stood in the middle of the shop, looked so

gloomy and deathlike that a cold tremble came over him, every time his eyes wandered in the direction of

the dismal object: from which he almost expected to see some frightful form slowly rear its head, to drive

him mad with terror. Against the wall were ranged, in regular array, a long row of elm boards cut in the same

shape: looking in the dim light, like highshouldered ghosts with their hands in their breeches pockets.

Coffinplates, elmchips, brightheaded nails, and shreds of black cloth, lay scattered on the floor; and the

wall behind the counter was ornamented with a lively representation of two mutes in very stiff neckcloths, on

duty at a large private door, with a hearse drawn by four black steeds, approaching in the distance. The shop

was close and hot. The atmosphere seemed tainted with the smell of coffins. The recess beneath the counter

Nor were these the only dismal feelings which depressed Oliver. He was alone in a strange place; and we all

know how chilled and desolate the best of us will sometimes feel in such a situation. The boy had no friends

to care for, or to care for him. The regret of no recent separation was fresh in his mind; the absence of no

But his heart was heavy, notwithstanding; and he wished, as he crept into his narrow bed, that that were his

coffin, and that he could be lain in a calm and lasting sleep in the churchyard ground, with the tall grass

waving gently above his head, and the sound of the old deep bell to soothe him in his sleep.

Oliver was awakened in the morning, by a loud kicking at the outside of the shopdoor: which, before he

could huddle on his clothes, was repeated, in an angry and impetuous manner, about twentyfive times.

'Open the door, will yer?' cried the voice which belonged to the legs which had kicked at the door.

'I will, directly, sir,' replied Oliver: undoing the chain, and turning the key.

'Then I'll whop yer when I get in,' said the voice; 'you just see if I don't, that's all, my work'us brat!' and

Oliver had been too often subjected to the process to which the very expressive monosyllable just recorded

bears reference, to entertain the smallest doubt that the owner of the voice, whoever he might be, would

redeem his pledge, most honourably. He drew back the bolts with a trembling hand, and opened the door.

For a second or two, Oliver glanced up the street, and down the street, and over the way: impressed with the

belief that the unknown, who had addressed him through the keyhole, had walked a few paces off, to warm

himself; for nobody did he see but a big charityboy, sitting on a post in front of the house, eating a slice of

bread and butter: which he cut into wedges, the size of his mouth, with a claspknife, and then consumed

'I beg your pardon, sir,' said Oliver at length: seeing that no other visitor made his appearance; 'did you

At this, the charityboy looked monstrous fierce; and said that Oliver would want one before long, if he cut

'Yer don't know who I am, I suppose, Work'us?' said the charityboy, in continuation: descending from the

'I'm Mister Noah Claypole,' said the charityboy, 'and you're under me. Take down the shutters, yer idle

young ruffian!' With this, Mr. Claypole administered a kick to Oliver, and entered the shop with a dignified

air, which did him great credit. It is difficult for a largeheaded, smalleyed youth, of lumbering make and

heavy countenance, to look dignified under any circumstances; but it is more especially so, when superadded

Oliver, having taken down the shutters, and broken a pane of glass in his effort to stagger away beneath the

weight of the first one to a small court at the side of the house in which they were kept during the day, was

graciously assisted by Noah: who having consoled him with the assurance that 'he'd catch it,' condescended to

help him. Mr. Sowerberry came down soon after. Shortly afterwards, Mrs. Sowerberry appeared. Oliver

having 'caught it,' in fulfilment of Noah's prediction, followed that young gentleman down the stairs to

'Come near the fire, Noah,' said Charlotte. 'I saved a nice little bit of bacon for you from master's breakfast.

Oliver, shut that door at Mister Noah's back, and take them bits that I've put out on the cover of the

breadpan. There's your tea; take it away to that box, and drink it there, and make haste, for they'll want you

'Lor, Noah!' said Charlotte, 'what a rum creature you are! Why don't you let the boy alone?'

'Let him alone!' said Noah. 'Why everybody lets him alone enough, for the matter of that. Neither his father

nor his mother will ever interfere with him. All his relations let him have his own way pretty well. Eh,

'Oh, you queer soul!' said Charlotte, bursting into a hearty laugh, in which she was joined by Noah; after

which they both looked scornfully at poor Oliver Twist, as he sat shivering on the box in the coldest corner of

Noah was a charityboy, but not a workhouse orphan. No chancechild was he, for he could trace his

genealogy all the way back to his parents, who lived hard by; his mother being a washerwoman, and his

father a drunken soldier, discharged with a wooden leg, and a diurnal pension of twopencehalfpenny and an

unstateable fraction. The shopboys in the neighbourhood had long been in the habit of branding Noah in the

public streets, with the ignominious epithets of 'leathers,' 'charity,' and the like; and Noah had bourne them

without reply. But, now that fortune had cast in his way a nameless orphan, at whom even the meanest could

point the finger of scorn, he retorted on him with interest. This affords charming food for contemplation. It

shows us what a beautiful thing human nature may be made to be; and how impartially the same amiable

Oliver had been sojourning at the undertaker's some three weeks or a month. Mr. and Mrs. Sowerberrythe

shop being shut upwere taking their supper in the little backparlour, when Mr. Sowerberry, after several

'My dear' He was going to say more; but, Mrs. Sowerberry looking up, with a peculiarly unpropitious

'Not at all, my dear,' said Mr. Sowerberry humbly. 'I thought you didn't want to hear, my dear. I was only

'Oh, don't tell me what you were going to say,' interposed Mrs. Sowerberry. 'I am nobody; don't consult me,

pray. _I_ don't want to intrude upon your secrets.' As Mrs. Sowerberry said this, she gave an hysterical laugh,

'No, no, don't ask mine,' replied Mrs. Sowerberry, in an affecting manner: 'ask somebody else's.' Here, there

was another hysterical laugh, which frightened Mr. Sowerberry very much. This is a very common and

muchapproved matrimonial course of treatment, which is often very effective It at once reduced Mr.

Sowerberry to begging, as a special favour, to be allowed to say what Mrs. Sowerberry was most curious to

'It's only about young Twist, my dear,' said Mr. Sowerberry. 'A very goodlooking boy, that, my dear.'

'There's an expression of melancholy in his face, my dear,' resumed Mr. Sowerberry, 'which is very

Mrs. Sowerberry looked up with an expression of considerable wonderment. Mr. Sowerberry remarked it

and, without allowing time for any observation on the good lady's part, proceeded.

'I don't mean a regular mute to attend grownup people, my dear, but only for children's practice. It would be

very new to have a mute in proportion, my dear. You may depend upon it, it would have a superb effect.'

Mrs. Sowerberry, who had a good deal of taste in the undertaking way, was much struck by the novelty of

this idea; but, as it would have been compromising her dignity to have said so, under existing circumstances,

she merely inquired, with much sharpness, why such an obvious suggestion had not presented itself to her

husband's mind before? Mr. Sowerberry rightly construed this, as an acquiescence in his proposition; it was

speedily determined, therefore, that Oliver should be at once initiated into the mysteries of the trade; and,

with this view, that he should accompany his master on the very next occasion of his services being required.

The occasion was not long in coming. Half an hour after breakfast next morning, Mr. Bumble entered the

shop; and supporting his cane against the counter, drew forth his large leathern pocketbook: from which he

'Aha!' said the undertaker, glancing over it with a lively countenance; 'an order for a coffin, eh?'

'For a coffin first, and a porochial funeral afterwards,' replied Mr. Bumble, fastening the strap of the leathern

'Bayton,' said the undertaker, looking from the scrap of paper to Mr. Bumble. 'I never heard the name before.'

Bumble shook his head, as he replied, 'Obstinate people, Mr. Sowerberry; very obstinate. Proud, too, I'm

'We only heard of the family the night before last,' said the beadle; 'and we shouldn't have known anything

about them, then, only a woman who lodges in the same house made an application to the porochial

committee for them to send the porochial surgeon to see a woman as was very bad. He had gone out to

dinner; but his 'prentice (which is a very clever lad) sent 'em some medicine in a blackingbottle, offhand.'

'Promptness, indeed!' replied the beadle. 'But what's the consequence; what's the ungrateful behaviour of

these rebels, sir? Why, the husband sends back word that the medicine won't suit his wife's complaint, and so

she shan't take itsays she shan't take it, sir! Good, strong, wholesome medicine, as was given with great

success to two Irish labourers and a coalheaver, ony a week beforesent 'em for nothing, with a

As the atrocity presented itself to Mr. Bumble's mind in full force, he struck the counter sharply with his

'Never did, sir!' ejaculated the beadle. 'No, nor nobody never did; but now she's dead, we've got to bury her;

Thus saying, Mr. Bumble put on his cocked hat wrong side first, in a fever of parochial excietment; and

'Why, he was so angry, Oliver, that he forgot even to ask after you!' said Mr. Sowerberry, looking after the

'Yes, sir,' replied Oliver, who had carefully kept himself out of sight, during the interview; and who was

shaking from head to foot at the mere recollection of the sound of Mr. Bumble's voice.

He needn't haven taken the trouble to shrink from Mr. Bumble's glance, however; for that functionary, on

whom the prediction of the gentleman in the white waistcoat had made a very strong impression, thought that

now the undertaker had got Oliver upon trial the subject was better avoided, until such time as he should be

firmly bound for seven years, and all danger of his being returned upon the hands of the parish should be thus

'Well,' said Mr. Sowerberry, taking up his hat. 'the sooner this job is done, the better. Noah, look after the

shop. Oliver, put on your cap, and come with me.' Oliver obeyed, and followed his master on his professional

They walked on, for some time, through the most crowded and densely inhabited part of the town; and then,

striking down a narrow street more dirty and miserable than any they had yet passed through, paused to look

for the house which was the object of their search. The houses on either side were high and large, but very

old, and tenanted by people of the poorest class: as their neglected appearance would have sufficiently

dentoed, without the concurrent testimony afforded by the squalid looks of the few men and women who,

with folded arms and bodies half doubled, occasionally skulked along. A great many of the tenements had

shopfronts; but these were fast closed, and mouldering away; only the upper rooms being inhabited. Some

houses which had become insecure from age and decay, were prevented from falling into the street, by huge

beams of wood reared against the walls, and firmly planted in the road; but even these crazy dens seemed to

have been selected as the nightly haunts of some houseless wretches, for many of the rough boards which

supplied the place of door and window, were wrenched from their positions, to afford an aperture wide

enough for the passage of a human body. The kennel was stagnant and filthy. The very rats, which here and

There was neither knocker nor bellhandle at the open door where Oliver and his master stopped; so, groping

his way cautiously through the dark passage, and bidding Oliver keep close to him and not be afraid the

undertaker mounted to the top of the first flight of stairs. Stumbling against a door on the landing, he rapped

It was opened by a young girl of thirteen or fourteen. The undertaker at once saw enough of what the room

contained, to know it was the apartment to which he had been directed. He stepped in; Oliver followed him.

There was no fire in the room; but a man was crouching, mechanically, over the empty stove. An old woman,

too, had drawn a low stool to the cold hearth, and was sitting beside him. There were some ragged children in

another corner; and in a small recess, opposite the door, there lay upon the ground, something covered with

an old blanket. Oliver shuddered as he cast his eyes toward the place, and crept involuntarily closer to his

The man's face was thin and very pale; his hair and beard were grizzly; his eyes were blookshot. The old

woman's face was wrinkled; her two remaining teeth protruded over her under lip; and her eyes were bright

and piercing. Oliver was afriad to look at either her or the man. They seemed so like the rats he had seen

'Nobody shall go near her,' said the man, starting fiercely up, as the undertaker approached the recess. 'Keep

'Nonsense, my good man,' said the undertaker, who was pretty well used to misery in all its shapes.

'I tell you,' said the man: clenching his hands, and stamping furiously on the floor,'I tell you I won't have

her put into the ground. She couldn't rest there. The worms would worry hernot eat hershe is so worn

The undertaker offered no reply to this raving; but producing a tape from his pocket, knelt down for a

'Ah!' said the man: bursting into tears, and sinking on his knees at the feet of the dead woman; 'kneel down,

kneel down kneel round her, every one of you, and mark my words! I say she was starved to death. I never

knew how bad she was, till the fever came upon her; and then her bones were starting through the skin. There

was neither fire nor candle; she died in the darkin the dark! She couldn't even see her children's faces,

though we heard her gasping out their names. I begged for her in the streets: and they sent me to prison.

When I came back, she was dying; and all the blood in my heart has dried up, for they starved her to death. I

swear it before the God that saw it! They starved her!' He twined his hands in his hair; and, with a loud

scream, rolled grovelling upon the floor: his eyes fixed, and the foam covering his lips.

The terrified children cried bitterly; but the old woman, who had hitherto remained as quiet as if she had been

wholly deaf to all that passed, menaced them into silence. Having unloosened the cravat of the man who still

'She was my daughter,' said the old woman, nodding her head in the direction of the corpse; and speaking

with an idiotic leer, more ghastly than even the presence of death in such a place. 'Lord, Lord! Well, it IS

strange that I who gave birth to her, and was a woman then, should be alive and merry now, and she lying

ther: so cold and stiff! Lord, Lord!to think of it; it's as good as a playas good as a play!'

As the wretched creature mumbled and chuckled in her hideous merriment, the undertaker turned to go away.

'Stop, stop!' said the old woman in a loud whisper. 'Will she be buried tomorrow, or next day, or tonight? I

laid her out; and I must walk, you know. Send me a large cloak: a good warm one: for it is bitter cold. We

should have cake and wine, too, before we go! Never mind; send some breadonly a loaf of bread and a cup

'Yes, yes,' said the undertaker,'of course. Anything you like!' He disengaged himself from the old woman's

The next day, (the family having been meanwhile relieved with a halfquartern loaf and a piece of cheese,

left with them by Mr. Bumble himself,) Oliver and his master returned to the miserable abode; where Mr.

Bumble had already arrived, accompanied by four men from the workhouse, who were to act as bearers. An

old black cloak had been thrown over the rags of the old woman and the man; and the bare coffin having been

screwed down, was hoisted on the shoulders of the bearers, and carried into the street.

'Now, you must put your best leg foremost, old lady!' whispered Sowerberry in the old woman's ear; 'we are

rather late; and it won't do, to keep the clergyman waiting. Move on, my men,as quick as you like!'

Thus directed, the bearers trotted on under their light burden; and the two mourners kept as near them, as they

could. Mr. Bumble and Sowerberry walked at a good smart pace in front; and Oliver, whose legs were not so

There was not so great a necessity for hurrying as Mr. Sowerberry had anticipated, however; for when they

reached the obscure corner of the churchyard in which the nettles grew, and where the parish graves were

made, the clergyman had not arrived; and the clerk, who was sitting by the vestryroom fire, seemed to think

it by no means improbable that it might be an hour or so, before he came. So, they put the bier on the brink of

the grave; and the two mourners waited patiently in the damp clay, with a cold rain drizzling down, while the

ragged boys whom the spectacle had attracted into the churchyard played a noisy game at hideandseek

among the tombstones, or varied their amusements by jumping backwards and forwards over the coffin. Mr.

Sowerberry and Bumble, being personal friends of the clerk, sat by the fire with him, and read the paper.

At length, after a lapse of something more than an hour, Mr. Bumble, and Sowerberry, and the clerk, were

seen running towards the grave. Immediately afterwards, the clergyman appeared: putting on his surplice as

he came along. Mr. Bumble then thrashed a boy or two, to keep up appearances; and the reverend gentleman,

having read as much of the burial service as could be compressed into four minutes, gave his surplice to the

It was no very difficult task, for the grave was so full, that the uppermost coffin was within a few feet of the

surface. The gravedigger shovelled in the earth; stamped it loosely down with his feet: shouldered his spade;

and walked off, followed by the boys, who murmured very loud complaints at the fun being over so soon.

The man who had never once moved, since he had taken his station by the grave side, started, raised his head,

stared at the person who had addressed him, walked forward for a few paces; and fell down in a swoon. The

crazy old woman was too much occupied in bewailing the loss of her cloak (which the undertaker had taken

off), to pay him any attention; so they threw a can of cold water over him; and when he came to, saw him

safely out of the churchyard, locked the gate, and departed on their different ways.

'Pretty well, thank you, sir' replied Oliver, with considerable hesitation. 'Not very much, sir.'

'Ah, you'll get used to it in time, Oliver,' said Sowerberry. 'Nothing when you ARE used to it, my boy.'

Oliver wondered, in his own mind, whether it had taken a very long time to get Mr. Sowerberry used to it.

But he thought it better not to ask the question; and walked back to the shop: thinking over all he had seen

The month's trial over, Oliver was formally apprenticed. It was a nice sickly season just at this time. In

commercial phrase, coffins were looking up; and, in the course of a few weeks, Oliver acquired a great deal

of experience. The success of Mr. Sowerberry's ingenious speculation, exceeded even his most sanguine

hopes. The oldest inhabitants recollected no period at which measles had been so prevalent, or so fatal to

infant existence; and many were the mournful processions which little Oliver headed, in a hatband reaching

down to his knees, to the indescribable admiration and emotion of all the mothers in the town. As Oliver

accompanied his master in most of his adult expeditions too, in order that he might acquire that equanimity of

demeanour and full command of nerve which was essential to a finished undertaker, he had many

opportunities of observing the beautiful resignation and fortitude with which some strongminded people

For instance; when Sowerberry had an order for the burial of some rich old lady or gentleman, who was

surrounded by a great number of nephews and nieces, who had been perfectly inconsolable during the

previous illness, and whose grief had been wholly irrepressible even on the most public occasions, they

would be as happy among themselves as need bequite cheerful and contentedconversing together with

as much freedom and gaiety, as if nothing whatever had happened to disturb them. Husbands, too, bore the

loss of their wives with the most heroic calmness. Wives, again, put on weeds for their husbands, as if, so far

from grieving in the garb of sorrow, they had made up their minds to render it as becoming and attractive as

possible. It was observable, too, that ladies and gentlemen who were in passions of anguish during the

ceremony of interment, recovered almost as soon as they reached home, and became quite composed before

the teadrinking was over. All this was very pleasant and improving to see; and Oliver beheld it with great

That Oliver Twist was moved to resignation by the example of these good people, I cannot, although I am his

biographer, undertake to affirm with any degree of confidence; but I can most distinctly say, that for many

months he continued meekly to submit to the domination and illtreatment of Noah Claypole: who used him

far worse than before, now that his jealousy was roused by seeing the new boy promoted to the black stick

and hatband, while he, the old one, remained stationary in the muffincap and leathers. Charlotte treated him

ill, because Noah did; and Mrs. Sowerberry was his decided enemy, because Mr. Sowerberry was disposed to

be his friend; so, between these three on one side, and a glut of funerals on the other, Oliver was not

altogether as comfortable as the hungry pig was, when he was shut up, by mistake, in the grain department of

And now, I come to a very important passage in Oliver's history; for I have to record an act, slight and

unimportant perhaps in appearance, but which indirectly produced a material change in all his future

One day, Oliver and Noah had descended into the kitchen at the usual dinnerhour, to banquet upon a small

joint of muttona pound and a half of the worst end of the neckwhen Charlotte being called out of the

way, there ensued a brief interval of time, which Noah Claypole, being hungry and vicious, considered he

could not possibly devote to a worthier purpose than aggravating and tantalising young Oliver Twist.

Intent upon this innocent amusement, Noah put his feet on the tablecloth; and pulled Oliver's hair; and

twitched his ears; and expressed his opinion that he was a 'sneak'; and furthermore announced his intention of

coming to see him hanged, whenever that desirable event should take place; and entered upon various topics

of petty annoyance, like a malicious and illconditioned charityboy as he was. But, making Oliver cry,

Noah attempted to be more facetious still; and in his attempt, did what many sometimes do to this day, when

Oliver's colour rose as he said this; he breathed quickly; and there was a curious working of the mouth and

nostrils, which Mr. Claypole thought must be the immediate precursor of a violent fit of crying. Under this

'Of a broken heart, some of our old nurses told me,' replied Oliver: more as if he were talking to himself, than

'Tol de rol lol lol, right fol lairy, Work'us,' said Noah, as a tear rolled down Oliver's cheek. 'What's set you a

'Not YOU,' replied Oliver, sharply. 'There; that's enough. Don't say anything more to me about her; you'd

'Better not!' exclaimed Noah. 'Well! Better not! Work'us, don't be impudent. YOUR mother, too! She was a

nice 'un she was. Oh, Lor!' And here, Noah nodded his head expressively; and curled up as much of his small

'Yer know, Work'us,' continued Noah, emboldened by Oliver's silence, and speaking in a jeering tone of

affected pity: of all tones the most annoying: 'Yer know, Work'us, it can't be helped now; and of course yer

couldn't help it then; and I am very sorry for it; and I'm sure we all are, and pity yer very much. But yer must

'A regular rightdown bad 'un, Work'us,' replied Noah, coolly. 'And it's a great deal better, Work'us, that she

died when she did, or else she'd have been hard labouring in Bridewell, or transported, or hung; which is

Crimson with fury, Oliver started up; overthrew the chair and table; seized Noah by the throat; shook him, in

the violence of his rage, till his teeth chattered in his head; and collecting his whole force into one heavy

A minute ago, the boy had looked the quiet child, mild, dejected creature that harsh treatment had made him.

But his spirit was roused at last; the cruel insult to his dead mother had set his blood on fire. His breast

heaved; his attitude was erect; his eye bright and vivid; his whole person changed, as he stood glaring over

the cowardly tormentor who now lay crouching at his feet; and defied him with an energy he had never

'He'll murder me!' blubbered Noah. 'Charlotte! missis! Here's the new boy a murdering of me! Help! help!

Noah's shouts were responded to, by a loud scream from Charlotte, and a louder from Mrs. Sowerberry; the

former of whom rushed into the kitchen by a sidedoor, while the latter paused on the staircase till she was

quite certain that it was consistent with the preservation of human life, to come further down.

'Oh, you little wretch!' screamed Charlotte: seizing Oliver with her utmost force, which was about equal to

that of a moderately strong man in particularly good training. 'Oh, you little ungrateful, murderous,

horrid villain!' And between every syllable, Charlotte gave Oliver a blow with all her might: accompanying

Charlotte's fist was by no means a light one; but, lest it should not be effectual in calming Oliver's wrath,

Mrs. Sowerberry plunged into the kitchen, and assisted to hold him with one hand, while she scratched his

face with the other. In this favourable position of affairs, Noah rose from the ground, and pommelled him

This was rather too violent exercise to last long. When they were all wearied out, and could tear and beat no

longer, they dragged Oliver, struggling and shouting, but nothing daunted, into the dustcellar, and there

locked him up. This being done, Mrs. Sowerberry sunk into a chair, and burst into tears.

'Bless her, she's going off!' said Charlotte. 'A glass of water, Noah, dear. Make haste!'

'Oh! Charlotte,' said Mrs. Sowerberry: speaking as well as she could, through a deficiency of breath, and a

sufficiency of cold water, which Noah had poured over her head and shoulders. 'Oh! Charlotte, what a mercy

'Ah! mercy indeed, ma'am,' was the reply. I only hope this'll teach master not to have any more of these

dreadful creatures, that are born to be murderers and robbers from their very cradle.

Noah, whose top waistcoatbutton might have been somewhere on a level with the crown of Oliver's head,

rubbed his eyes with the inside of his wrists while this commiseration was bestowed upon him, and

'What's to be done!' exclaimed Mrs. Sowerberry. 'Your master's not at home; there's not a man in the house,

and he'll kick that door down in ten minutes.' Oliver's vigorous plunges against the bit of timber in question,

'Dear, dear! I don't know, ma'am,' said Charlotte, 'unless we send for the policeofficers.'

'No, no,' said Mrs. Sowerberry: bethinking herself of Oliver's old friend. 'Run to Mr. Bumble, Noah, and tell

him to come here directly, and not to lose a minute; never mind your cap! Make haste! You can hold a knife

Noah stopped to make no reply, but started off at his fullest speed; and very much it astonished the people

who were out walking, to see a charityboy tearing through the streets pellmell, with no cap on his head,

Noah Claypole ran along the streets at his swiftest pace, and paused not once for breath, until he reached the

workhousegate. Having rested here, for a minute or so, to collect a good burst of sobs and an imposing show

of tears and terror, he knocked loudly at the wicket; and presented such a rueful face to the aged pauper who

opened it, that even he, who saw nothing but rueful faces about him at the best of times, started back in

'Mr. Bumble! Mr. Bumble!' cried Noah, wit wellaffected dismay: and in tones so loud and agitated, that they

not only caught the ear of Mr. Bumble himself, who happened to be hard by, but alarmed him so much that

he rushed into the yard without his cocked hat, which is a very curious and remarkable circumstance: as

showing that even a beadle, acted upon a sudden and powerful impulse, may be afflicted with a momentary

'What? What?' interposed Mr. Bumble: with a gleam of pleasure in his metallic eyes. 'Not run away; he hasn't

'No, sir, no. Not run away, sir, but he's turned wicious,' replied Noah. 'He tried to murder me, sir; and then he

Such agony, please, sir!' And here, Noah writhed and twisted his body into an extensive variety of eellike

positions; thereby giving Mr. Bumble to understand that, from the violent and sanguinary onset of Oliver

Twist, he had sustained severe internal injury and damage, from which he was at that moment suffering the

When Noah saw that the intelligence he communicated perfectly paralysed Mr. Bumble, he imparted

additional effect thereunto, by bewailing his dreadful wounds ten times louder than before; and when he

observed a gentleman in a white waistcoat crossing the yard, he was more tragic in his lamentations than

ever: rightly conceiving it highly expedient to attract the notice, and rouse the indignation, of the gentleman

The gentleman's notice was very soon attracted; for he had not walked three paces, when he turned angrily

round, and inquired what that young cur was howling for, and why Mr. Bumble did not favour him with

something which would render the series of vocular exclamations so designated, an involuntary process?

'It's a poor boy from the freeschool, sir,' replied Mr. Bumble, 'who has been nearly murderedall but

'By Jove!' exclaimed the gentleman in the white waistcoat, stopping short. 'I knew it! I felt a strange

presentiment from the very first, that that audacious young savage would come to be hung!'

'He has likewise attempted, sir, to murder the female servant,' said Mr. Bumble, with a face of ashy paleness.

'No! he's out, or he would have murdered him,' replied Noah. 'He said he wanted to.'

'Ah! Said he wanted to, did he, my boy?' inquired the gentleman in the white waistcoat.

'Yes, sir,' replied Noah. 'And please, sir, missis wants to know whether Mr. Bumble can spare time to step up

'Certainly, my boy; certainly,' said the gentleman in the white waistcoat: smiling benignly, and patting Noah's

head, which was about three inches higher than his own. 'You're a good boya very good boy. Here's a

penny for you. Bumble, just step up to Sowerberry's with your cane, and seed what's best to be done. Don't

'No, I will not, sir,' replied the beadle. And the cocked hat and cane having been, by this time, adjusted to

their owner's satisfaction, Mr. Bumble and Noah Claypole betook themselves with all speed to the

Here the position of affairs had not at all improved. Sowerberry had not yet returned, and Oliver continued to

kick, with undiminished vigour, at the cellardoor. The accounts of his ferocity as related by Mrs.

Sowerberry and Charlotte, were of so startling a nature, that Mr. Bumble judged it prudent to parley, before

opening the door. With this view he gave a kick at the outside, by way of prelude; and, then, applying his

'Ain't you afraid of it, sir? Ain't you atrembling while I speak, sir?' said Mr. Bumble.

An answer so different from the one he had expected to elicit, and was in the habit of receiving, staggered

Mr. Bumble not a little. He stepped back from the keyhole; drew himself up to his full height; and looked

'It's not Madness, ma'am,' replied Mr. Bumble, after a few moments of deep meditation. 'It's Meat.'

'Meat, ma'am, meat,' replied Bumble, with stern emphasis. 'You've overfed him, ma'am. You've raised a

artificial soul and spirit in him, ma'am unbecoming a person of his condition: as the board, Mrs. Sowerberry,

who are practical philosophers, will tell you. What have paupers to do with soul or spirit? It's quite enough

that we let 'em have live bodies. If you had kept the boy on gruel, ma'am, this would never have happened.'

'Dear, dear!' ejaculated Mrs. Sowerberry, piously raising her eyes to the kitchen ceiling: 'this comes of being

The liberality of Mrs. Sowerberry to Oliver, had consisted of a profuse bestowal upon him of all the dirty

odds and ends which nobody else would eat; so there was a great deal of meekness and selfdevotion in her

voluntarily remaining under Mr. Bumble's heavy accusation. Of which, to do her justice, she was wholly

'Ah!' said Mr. Bumble, when the lady brought her eyes down to earth again; 'the only thing that can be done

now, that I know of, is to leave him in the cellar for a day or so, till he's a little starved down; and then to take

him out, and keep him on gruel all through the apprenticeship. He comes of a bad family. Excitable natures,

Mrs. Sowerberry! Both the nurse and doctor said, that that mother of his made her way here, against

difficulties and pain that would have killed any welldisposed woman, weeks before.'

At this point of Mr. Bumble's discourse, Oliver, just hearing enough to know that some allusion was being

made to his mother, recommenced kicking, with a violence that rendered every other sound inaudible.

Sowerberry returned at this juncture. Oliver's offence having been explained to him, with such exaggerations

as the ladies thought best calculated to rouse his ire, he unlocked the cellardoor in a twinkling, and dragged

Oliver's clothes had been torn in the beating he had received; his face was bruised and scratched; and his hair

scattered over his forehead. The angry flush had not disappeared, however; and when he was pulled out of his

'Now, you are a nice young fellow, ain't you?' said Sowerberry; giving Oliver a shake, and a box on the ear.

'Well, and what if he did, you little ungrateful wretch?' said Mrs. Sowerberry. 'She deserved what he said, and

This flood of tears left Mr. Sowerberry no alternative. If he had hesitated for one instant to punish Oliver

most severely, it must be quite clear to every experienced reader that he would have been, according to all

precedents in disputes of matrimony established, a brute, an unnatural husband, an insulting creature, a base

imitation of a man, and various other agreeable characters too numerous for recital within the limits of this

chapter. To do him justice, he was, as far as his power wentit was not very extensivekindly disposed

towards the boy; perhaps, because it was his interest to be so; perhaps, because his wife disliked him. The

flood of tears, however, left him no resource; so he at once gave him a drubbing, which satisfied even Mrs.

Sowerberry herself, and rendered Mr. Bumble's subsequent application of the parochial cane, rather

unnecessary. For the rest of the day, he was shut up in the back kitchen, in company with a pump and a slice

of bread; and at night, Mrs. Sowerberry, after making various remarks outside the door, by no means

complimentary to the memory of his mother, looked into the room, and, amidst the jeers and pointings of

It was not until he was left alone in the silence and stillness of the gloomy workshop of the undertaker, that

Oliver gave way to the feelings which the day's treatment may be supposed likely to have awakened in a

mere child. He had listened to their taunts with a look of contempt; he had borne the lash without a cry: for he

felt that pride swelling in his heart which would have kept down a shriek to the last, though they had roasted

him alive. But now, when there were none to see or hear him, he fell upon his knees on the floor; and, hiding

his face in his hands, wept such tears as, God send for the credit of our nature, few so young may ever have

For a long time, Oliver remained motionless in this attitude. The candle was burning low in the socket when

he rose to his feet. Having gazed cautiously round him, and listened intently, he gently undid the fastenings

It was a cold, dark night. The stars seemed, to the boy's eyes, farther from the earth than he had ever seen

them before; there was no wind; and the sombre shadows thrown by the trees upon the ground, looked

sepulchral and deathlike, from being so still. He softly reclosed the door. Having availed himself of the

expiring light of the candle to tie up in a handkerchief the few articles of wearing apparel he had, sat himself

With the first ray of light that struggled through the crevices in the shutters, Oliver arose, and again unbarred

the door. One timid look aroundone moment's pause of hesitationhe had closed it behind him, and was

He remembered to have seen the waggons, as they went out, toiling up the hill. He took the same route; and

arriving at a footpath across the fields: which he knew, after some distance, led out again into the road; struck

Along this same footpath, Oliver wellremembered he had trotted beside Mr. Bumble, when he first carried

him to the workhouse from the farm. His way lay directly in front of the cottage. His heart beat quickly when

he bethought himself of this; and he half resolved to turn back. He had come a long way though, and should

lose a great deal of time by doing so. Besides, it was so early that there was very little fear of his being seen;

He reached the house. There was no appearance of its inmates stirring at that early hour. Oliver stopped, and

peeped into the garden. A child was weeding one of the little beds; as he stopped, he raised his pale face and

disclosed the features of one of his former companions. Oliver felt glad to see him, before he went; for,

though younger than himself, he had been his little friend and playmate. They had been beaten, and starved,

'Hush, Dick!' said Oliver, as the boy ran to the gate, and thrust his thin arm between the rails to greet him. 'Is

'You musn't say you saw me, Dick,' said Oliver. 'I am running away. They beat and illuse me, Dick; and I

am going to seek my fortune, some long way off. I don't know where. How pale you are!'

'I heard the doctor tell them I was dying,' replied the child with a faint smile. 'I am very glad to see you, dear;

'Yes, yes, I will, to say goodb'ye to you,' replied Oliver. 'I shall see you again, Dick. I know I shall! You will

'I hope so,' replied the child. 'After I am dead, but not before. I know the doctor must be right, Oliver, because

I dream so much of Heaven, and Angels, and kind faces that I never see when I am awake. Kiss me,' said the

child, climbing up the low gate, and flinging his little arms round Oliver's neck. 'Goodb'ye, dear! God bless

The blessing was from a young child's lips, but it was the first that Oliver had ever heard invoked upon his

head; and through the struggles and sufferings, and troubles and changes, of his after life, he never once

Oliver reached the stile at which the bypath terminated; and once more gained the highroad. It was eight

o'clock now. Though he was nearly five miles away from the town, he ran, and hid behind the hedges, by

turns, till noon: fearing that he might be pursued and overtaken. Then he sat down to rest by the side of the

milestone, and began to think, for the first time, where he had better go and try to live.

The stone by which he was seated, bore, in large characters, an intimation that it was just seventy miles from

London!that great place!nobodynot even Mr. Bumblecould ever find him there! He had often

heard the old men in the workhouse, too, say that no lad of spirit need want in London; and that there were

ways of living in that vast city, which those who had been bred up in country parts had no idea of. It was the

very place for a homeless boy, who must die in the streets unless some one helped him. As these things

He had diminished the distance between himself and London by full four miles more, before he recollected

how much he must undergo ere he could hope to reach his place of destination. As this consideration forced

itself upon him, he slackened his pace a little, and meditated upon his means of getting there. He had a crust

of bread, a coarse shirt, and two pairs of stockings, in his bundle. He had a penny tooa gift of Sowerberry's

after some funeral in which he had acquitted himself more than ordinarily wellin his pocket. 'A clean shirt,'

thought Oliver, 'is a very comfortable thing; and so are two pairs of darned stockings; and so is a penny; but

they small helps to a sixtyfive miles' walk in winter time.' But Oliver's thoughts, like those of most other

people, although they were extremely ready and active to point out his difficulties, were wholly at a loss to

suggest any feasible mode of surmounting them; so, after a good deal of thinking to no particular purpose, he

Oliver walked twenty miles that day; and all that time tasted nothing but the crust of dry bread, and a few

draughts of water, which he begged at the cottagedoors by the roadside. When the night came, he turned

into a meadow; and, creeping close under a hayrick, determined to lie there, till morning. He felt frightened

at first, for the wind moaned dismally over the empty fields: and he was cold and hungry, and more alone

than he had ever felt before. Being very tired with his walk, however, he soon fell asleep and forgot his

He felt cold and stiff, when he got up next morning, and so hungry that he was obliged to exchange the penny

for a small loaf, in the very first village through which he passed. He had walked no more than twelve miles,

when night closed in again. His feet were sore, and his legs so weak that they trembled beneath him. Another

night passed in the bleak damp air, made him worse; when he set forward on his journey next morning he

He waited at the bottom of a steep hill till a stagecoach came up, and then begged of the outside passengers;

but there were very few who took any notice of him: and even those told him to wait till they got to the top of

the hill, and then let them see how far he could run for a halfpenny. Poor Oliver tried to keep up with the

coach a little way, but was unable to do it, by reason of his fatigue and sore feet. When the outsides saw this,

they put their halfpence back into their pockets again, declaring that he was an idle young dog, and didn't

deserve anything; and the coach rattled away and left only a cloud of dust behind.

In some villages, large painted boards were fixed up: warning all persons who begged within the district, that

they would be sent to jail. This frightened Oliver very much, and made him glad to get out of those villages

with all possible expedition. In others, he would stand about the innyards, and look mournfully at every one

who passed: a proceeding which generally terminated in the landlady's ordering one of the postboys who

were lounging about, to drive that strange boy out of the place, for she was sure he had come to steal

something. If he begged at a farmer's house, ten to one but they threatened to set the dog on him; and when he

showed his nose in a shop, they talked about the beadlewhich brought Oliver's heart into his mouth,very

In fact, if it had not been for a goodhearted turnpikeman, and a benevolent old lady, Oliver's troubles

would have been shortened by the very same process which had put an end to his mother's; in other words, he

would most assuredly have fallen dead upon the king's highway. But the turnpikeman gave him a meal of

bread and cheese; and the old lady, who had a shipwrecked grandson wandering barefoot in some distant part

of the earth, took pity upon the poor orphan, and gave him what little she could affordand morewith

such kind and gently words, and such tears of sympathy and compassion, that they sank deeper into Oliver's

Early on the seventh morning after he had left his native place, Oliver limped slowly into the little town of

Barnet. The windowshutters were closed; the street was empty; not a soul had awakened to the business of

the day. The sun was rising in all its splendid beauty; but the light only served to show the boy his own

lonesomeness and desolation, as he sat, with bleeding feet and covered with dust, upon a doorstep.

By degrees, the shutters were opened; the windowblinds were drawn up; and people began passing to and

fro. Some few stopped to gaze at Oliver for a moment or two, or turned round to stare at him as they hurried

by; but none relieved him, or troubled themselves to inquire how he came there. He had no heart to beg. And

He had been crouching on the step for some time: wondering at the great number of publichouses (every

other house in Barnet was a tavern, large or small), gazing listlessly at the coaches as they passed through,

and thinking how strange it seemed that they could do, with ease, in a few hours, what it had taken him a

whole week of courage and determination beyond his years to accomplish: when he was roused by observing

that a boy, who had passed him carelessly some minutes before, had returned, and was now surveying him

most earnestly from the opposite side of the way. He took little heed of this at first; but the boy remained in

the same attitude of close observation so long, that Oliver raised his head, and returned his steady look. Upon

The boy who addressed this inquiry to the young wayfarer, was about his own age: but one of the queerest

looking boys that Oliver had even seen. He was a snubnosed, flatbrowed, commonfaced boy enough; and

as dirty a juvenile as one would wish to see; but he had about him all the airs and manners of a man. He was

short of his age: with rather bowlegs, and little, sharp, ugly eyes. His hat was stuck on the top of his head so

lightly, that it threatened to fall off every momentand would have done so, very often, if the wearer had not

had a knack of every now and then giving his head a sudden twitch, which brought it back to its old place

again. He wore a man's coat, which reached nearly to his heels. He had turned the cuffs back, halfway up his

arm, to get his hands out of the sleeves: apparently with the ultimated view of thrusting them into the pockets

of his corduroy trousers; for there he kept them. He was, altogether, as roystering and swaggering a young

'I am very hungry and tired,' replied Oliver: the tears standing in his eyes as he spoke. 'I have walked a long

'Walking for sivin days!' said the young gentleman. 'Oh, I see. Beak's order, eh? But,' he added, noticing

Oliver's look of surprise, 'I suppose you don't know what a beak is, my flash companion.'

Oliver mildly replied, that he had always heard a bird's mouth described by the term in question.

'My eyes, how green!' exclaimed the young gentleman. 'Why, a beak's a madgst'rate; and when you walk by a

beak's order, it's not straight forerd, but always agoing up, and niver a coming down agin. Was you never on

'What mill! Why, THE millthe mill as takes up so little room that it'll work inside a Stone Jug; and always

goes better when the wind's low with people, than when it's high; acos then they can't get workmen. But

come,' said the young gentleman; 'you want grub, and you shall have it. I'm at lowwatermark

myselfonly one bob and a magpie; but, as far as it goes, I'll fork out and stump. Up with you on your pins.

Assisting Oliver to rise, the young gentleman took him to an adjacent chandler's shop, where he purchased a

sufficiency of readydressed ham and a halfquartern loaf, or, as he himself expressed it, 'a fourpenny bran!'

the ham being kept clean and preserved from dust, by the ingenious expedient of making a hole in the loaf by

pulling out a portion of the crumb, and stuffing it therein. Taking the bread under his arm, the young

gentlman turned into a small publichouse, and led the way to a taproom in the rear of the premises. Here, a

pot of beer was brought in, by direction of the mysterious youth; and Oliver, falling to, at his new friend's

bidding, made a long and hearty meal, during the progress of which the strange boy eyed him from time to

The strange boy whistled; and put his arms into his pockets, as far as the big coatsleeves would let them go.

'Yes. I do, when I'm at home,' replied the boy. 'I suppose you want some place to sleep in tonight, don't

'I do, indeed,' answered Oliver. 'I have not slept under a roof since I left the country.'

'Don't fret your eyelids on that score.' said the young gentleman. 'I've got to be in London tonight; and I

know a 'spectable old gentleman as lives there, wot'll give you lodgings for nothink, and never ask for the

changethat is, if any genelman he knows interduces you. And don't he know me? Oh, no!

The young gentelman smiled, as if to intimate that the latter fragments of discourse were playfully ironical;

This unexpected offer of shelter was too tempting to be resisted; especially as it was immediately followed

up, by the assurance that the old gentleman referred to, would doubtless provide Oliver with a comfortable

place, without loss of time. This led to a more friendly and confidential dialogue; from which Oliver

discovered that his friend's name was Jack Dawkins, and that he was a peculiar pet and protege of the elderly

Mr. Dawkin's appearance did not say a vast deal in favour of the comforts which his patron's interest obtained

for those whom he took under his protection; but, as he had a rather flightly and dissolute mode of

conversing, and furthermore avowed that among his intimate friends he was better known by the sobriquet of

'The Artful Dodger,' Oliver concluded that, being of a dissipated and careless turn, the moral precepts of his

benefactor had hitherto been thrown away upon him. Under this impression, he secretly resolved to cultivate

the good opinion of the old gentleman as quickly as possible; and, if he found the Dodger incorrigible, as he

more than half suspected he should, to decline the honour of his farther acquaintance.

As John Dawkins objected to their entering London before nightfall, it was nearly eleven o'clock when they

reached the turnpike at Islington. They crossed from the Angel into St. John's Road; struck down the small

street which terminates at Sadler's Wells Theatre; through Exmouth Street and Coppice Row; down the little

court by the side of the workhouse; across the classic ground which once bore the name of

HockleyintheHole; thence into Little Saffron Hill; and so into Saffron Hill the Great: along which the

Although Oliver had enough to occupy his attention in keeping sight of his leader, he could not help

bestowing a few hasty glances on either side of the way, as he passed along. A dirtier or more wretched place

he had never seen. The street was very narrow and muddy, and the air was impregnated with filthy odours.

There were a good many small shops; but the only stock in trade appeared to be heaps of children, who, even

at that time of night, were crawling in and out at the doors, or screaming from the inside. The sole places that

seemed to prosper amid the general blight of the place, were the publichouses; and in them, the lowest

orders of Irish were wrangling with might and main. Covered ways and yards, which here and there diverged

from the main street, disclosed little knots of houses, where drunken men and women were positively

wallowing in filth; and from several of the doorways, great illlooking fellows were cautiously emerging,

Oliver was just considering whether he hadn't better run away, when they reached the bottom of the hill. His

conductor, catching him by the arm, pushed open the door of a house near Field Lane; and drawing him into

This seemed to be some watchword or signal that all was right; for the light of a feeble candle gleamed on the

wall at the remote end of the passage; and a man's face peeped out, from where a balustrade of the old kitchen

'There's two on you,' said the man, thrusting the candle farther out, and shielding his eyes with his hand.

'Yes, he's a sortin' the wipes. Up with you!' The candle was drawn back, and the face disappeared.

Oliver, groping his way with one hand, and having the other firmly grasped by his companion, ascended with

much difficulty the dark and broken stairs: which his conductor mounted with an ease and expedition that

The walls and ceiling of the room were perfectly black with age and dirt. There was a deal table before the

fire: upon which were a candle, stuck in a gingerbeer bottle, two or three pewter pots, a loaf and butter, and

a plate. In a fryingpan, which was on the fire, and which was secured to the mantelshelf by a string, some

sausages were cooking; and standing over them, with a toastingfork in his hand, was a very old shrivelled

Jew, whose villainouslooking and repulsive face was obscured by a quantity of matted red hair. He was

dressed in a greasy flannel gown, with his throat bare; and seemed to be dividing his attention between the

fryingpan and the clotheshorse, over which a great number of silk handkerchiefsl were hanging. Several

rough beds made of old sacks, were huddled side by side on the floor. Seated round the table were four or

five boys, none older than the Dodger, smoking long clay pipes, and drinking spirits with the air of

middleaged men. These all crowded about their associate as he whispered a few words to the Jew; and then

turned round and grinned at Oliver. So did the Jew himself, toastingfork in hand.

The Jew grinned; and, making a low obeisance to Oliver, took him by the hand, and hoped he should have the

honour of his intimate acquaintance. Upon this, the young gentleman with the pipes came round him, and

shook both his hands very hardespecially the one in which he held his little bundle. One young gentleman

was very anxious to hang up his cap for him; and another was so obliging as to put his hands in his pockets,

in order that, as he was very tired, he might not have the trouble of emptying them, himself, when he went to

bed. These civilities would probably be extended much farther, but for a liberal exercise of the Jew's

toastingfork on the heads and shoulders of the affectionate youths who offered them.

'We are very glad to see you, Oliver, very,' said the Jew. 'Dodger, take off the sausages; and draw a tub near

the fire for Oliver. Ah, you're astaring at the pockethandkerchiefs! eh, my dear. There are a good many of

'em, ain't there? We've just looked 'em out, ready for the wash; that's all, Oliver; that's all. Ha! ha! ha!'

The latter part of this speech, was hailed by a boisterous shout from all the hopeful pupils of the merry old

Oliver ate his share, and the Jew then mixed him a glass of hot ginandwater: telling him he must drink it

off directly, because another gentleman wanted the tumbler. Oliver did as he was desired. Immediately

afterwards he felt himself gently lifted on to one of the sacks; and then he sunk into a deep sleep.

It was late next morning when Oliver awoke, from a sound, long sleep. There was no other person in the

room but the old Jew, who was boiling some coffee in a saucepan for breakfast, and whistling softly to

himself as he stirred it round and round, with an iron spoon. He would stop every now and then to listen

when there was the least noise below: and when he had satistified himself, he would go on whistling and

Although Oliver had roused himself from sleep, he was not thoroughly awake. There is a drowsy state,

between sleeping and waking, when you dream more in five minutes with your eyes half open, and yourself

half conscious of everything that is passing around you, than you would in five nights with your eyes fast

closed, and your senses wrapt in perfect unconsciousness. At such time, a mortal knows just enough of what

his mind is doing, to form some glimmering conception of its mighty powers, its bounding from earth and

spurning time and space, when freed from the restraint of its corporeal associate.

Oliver was precisely in this condition. He saw the Jew with his halfclosed eyes; heard his low whistling; and

recognised the sound of the spoon grating against the saucepan's sides: and yet the selfsame senses were

mentally engaged, at the same time, in busy action with almost everybody he had ever known.

When the coffee was done, the Jew drew the saucepan to the hob. Standing, then in an irresolute attitude for a

few minutes, as if he did not well know how to employ himself, he turned round and looked at Oliver, and

After satisfiying himself upon this head, the Jew stepped gently to the door: which he fastened. He then drew

forth: as it seemed to Oliver, from some trap in the floor: a small box, which he placed carefully on the table.

His eyes glistened as he raised the lid, and looked in. Dragging an old chair to the table, he sat down; and

'Aha!' said the Jew, shrugging up his shoulders, and distorting every feature with a hideous grin. 'Clever

dogs! Clever dogs! Staunch to the last! Never told the old parson where they were. Never poached upon old

Fagin! And why should they? It wouldn't have loosened the knot, or kept the drop up, a minute longer. No,

With these, and other muttered reflections of the like nature, the Jew once more deposited the watch in its

place of safety. At least half a dozen more were severally drawn forth from the same box, and surveyed with

equal pleasure; besides rings, brooches, bracelet, and other articles of jewellery, of such magnificent

materials, and costly workmanship, that Oliver had no idea, even of their names.

Having replaced these trinkets, the Jew took out another: so small that it lay in the palm of his hand. There

seemed to be some very minute inscription on it; for the Jew laid it flat upon the table, and shading it with his

hand, pored over it, long and earnestly. At length he put it down, as if despairing of success; and, leaning

'What a fine thing capital punishment is! Dead men never repent; dead men never bring awkward stories to

light. Ah, it's a fine thing for the trade! Five of 'em strung up in a row, and none left to play booty, or turn

As the Jew uttered these words, his bright dark eyes, which had been staring vacantly before him, fell on

Oliver's face; the boy's eyes were fixed on his in mute curiousity; and although the recognition was only for

an instantfor the briefest space of time that can possibly be conceivedit was enough to show the old man

He closed the lid of the box with a loud crash; and, laying his hand on a bread knife which was on the table,

started furiously up. He trembled very much though; for, even in his terror, Oliver could see that the knife

'What's that?' said the Jew. 'What do you watch me for? Why are you awake? What have you seen? Speak

'Are you sure?' cried the Jew: with a still fiercer look than before: and a threatening attitude.

'Upon my word I was not, sir,' replied Oliver, earnestly. 'I was not, indeed, sir.'

'Tush, tush, my dear!' said the Jew, abruptly resuming his old manner, and playing with the knife a little,

before he laid it down; as if to induce the belief that he had caught it up, in mere sport. 'Of course I know that,

my dear. I only tried to frighten you. You're a brave boy. Ha! ha! you're a brave boy, Oliver.' The Jew rubbed

'Did you see any of these pretty things, my dear?' said the Jew, laying his hand upon it after a short pause.

'Ah!' said the Jew, turning rather pale. 'Theythey're mine, Oliver; my little property. All I have to live

upon, in my old age. The folks call me a miser, my dear. Only a miser; that's all.'

Oliver thought the old gentleman must be a decided miser to live in such a dirty place, with so many watches;

but, thinking that perhaps his fondness for the Dodger and the other boys, cost him a good deal of money, he

'Certainly, my dear, certainly,' replied the old gentleman. 'Stay. There's a pitcher of water in the corner by the

Oliver got up; walked across the room; and stooped for an instant to raise the pitcher. When he turned his

He had scarcely washed himself, and made everything tidy, by emptying the basin out of the window,

agreeably to the Jew's directions, when the Dodger returned: accompanied by a very sprightly young friend,

whom Oliver had seen smoking on the previous night, and who was now formally introduced to him as

Charley Bates. The four sat down, to breakfast, on the coffee, and some hot rolls and ham which the Dodger

'Well,' said the Jew, glancing slyly at Oliver, and addressing himself to the Dodger, 'I hope you've been at

'Pretty well,' replied the Dodger, producing two pocketbooks; one green, and the other red.

'Not so heavy as they might be,' said the Jew, after looking at the insides carefully; 'but very neat and nicely

'Very indeed, sir,' said Oliver. At which Mr. Charles Bates laughed uproariously; very much to the

'Wipes,' replied Master Bates; at the same time producing four pockethandkerchiefs.

'Well,' said the Jew, inspecting them closely; 'they're very good ones, very. You haven't marked them well,

though, Charley; so the marks shall be picked out with a needle, and we'll teach Oliver how to do it. Shall us,

'You'd like to be able to make pockethandkerchiefs as easy as Charley Bates, wouldn't you, my dear?' said

Master Bates saw something so exquisitely ludicrous in this reply, that he burst into another laugh; which

laugh, meeting the coffee he was drinking, and carrying it down some wrong channel, very nearly terminated

'He is so jolly green!' said Charley when he recovered, as an apology to the company for his unpolite

The Dodger said nothing, but he smoothed Oliver's hair over his eyes, and said he'd know better, by and by;

upon which the old gentleman, observing Oliver's colour mounting, changed the subject by asking whether

there had been much of a crowd at the execution that morning? This made him wonder more and more; for it

was plain from the replies of the two boys that they had both been there; and Oliver naturally wondered how

When the breakfast was cleared away; the merry old gentlman and the two boys played at a very curious and

uncommon game, which was performed in this way. The merry old gentleman, placing a snuffbox in one

pocket of his trousers, a notecase in the other, and a watch in his waistcoat pocket, with a guardchain

round his neck, and sticking a mock diamond pin in his shirt: buttoned his coat tight round him, and putting

his spectaclecase and handkerchief in his pockets, trotted up and down the room with a stick, in imitation of

the manner in which old gentlmen walk about the streets any hour in the day. Sometimes he stopped at the

fireplace, and sometimes at the door, making believe that he was staring with all his might into

shopwindows. At such times, he would look constantly round him, for fear of thieves, and would keep

slapping all his pockets in turn, to see that he hadn't lost anything, in such a very funny and natural manner,

that Oliver laughed till the tears ran down his face. All this time, the two boys followed him closely about:

getting out of his sight, so nimbly, every time he turned round, that it was impossible to follow their motions.

At last, the Dodger trod upon his toes, or ran upon his boot accidently, while Charley Bates stumbled up

against him behind; and in that one moment they took from him, with the most extraordinary rapidity,

snuffbox, notecase, watchguard, chain, shirtpin, pockethandkerchief, even the spectaclecase. If the

old gentlman felt a hand in any one of his pockets, he cried out where it was; and then the game began all

When this game had been played a great many times, a couple of young ladies called to see the young

gentleman; one of whom was named Bet, and the other Nancy. They wore a good deal of hair, not very neatly

turned up behind, and were rather untidy about the shoes and stockings. They were not exactly pretty,

perhaps; but they had a great deal of colour in their faces, and looked quite stout and hearty. Being

remarkably free and agreeable in their manners, Oliver thought them very nice girls indeed. As there is no

The visitors stopped a long time. Spirits were produced, in consequence of one of the young ladies

complaining of a coldness in her inside; and the conversation took a very convivial and improving turn. At

length, Charley Bates expressed his opinion that it was time to pad the hoof. This, it occurred to Oliver, must

be French for going out; for directly afterwards, the Dodger, and Charley, and the two young ladies, went

away together, having been kindly furnished by the amiable old Jew with money to spend.

'Yes,' said the Jew; 'that is, unless they should unexpectedly come across any, when they are out; and they

won't neglect it, if they do, my dear, depend upon it. Make 'em your models, my dear.

Make 'em your models,' tapping the fireshovel on the hearth to add force to his words; 'do everything they

bid you, and take their advice in all mattersespecially the Dodger's, my dear. He'll be a great man himself,

and will make you one too, if you take pattern by him.Is my handkerchief hanging out of my pocket, my

'See if you can take it out, without my feeling it; as you saw them do, when we were at play this morning.'

Oliver held up the bottom of the pocket with one hand, as he had seen the Dodger hold it, and drew the

'You're a clever boy, my dear,' said the playful old gentleman, patting Oliver on the head approvingly. 'I

never saw a sharper lad. Here's a shilling for you. If you go on, in this way, you'll be the greatest man of the

time. And now come here, and I'll show you how to take the marks out of the handkerchiefs.'

Oliver wondered what picking the old gentleman's pocket in play, had to do with his chances of being a great

man. But, thinking that the Jew, being so much his senior, must know best, he followed him quietly to the

For many days, Oliver remained in the Jew's room, picking the marks out of the pockethandkerchief, (of

which a great number were brought home,) and sometimes taking part in the game already described: which

the two boys and the Jew played, regularly, every morning. At length, he began to languish for fresh air, and

took many occasions of earnestly entreating the old gentleman to allow him to go out to work with his two

Oliver was rendered the more anxious to be actively employed, by what he had seen of the stern morality of

the old gentleman's character. Whenever the Dodger or Charley Bates came home at night, emptyhanded, he

would expatiate with great vehemence on the misery of idle and lazy habits; and would enforce upon them

the necessity of an active life, by sending them supperless to bed. On one occasion, indeed, he even went so

far as to knock them both down a flight of stairs; but this was carrying out his virtuous precepts to an unusual

At length, one morning, Oliver obtained the permission he had so eagerly sought. There had been no

handkerchiefs to work upon, for two or three days, and the dinners had been rather meagre. Perhaps these

were reasons for the old gentleman's giving his assent; but, whether they were or no, he told Oliver he might

go, and placed him under the joint guardianship of Charley Bates, and his friend the Dodger.

The three boys sallied out; the Dodger with his coatsleeves tucked up, and his hat cocked, as usual; Master

Bates sauntering along with his hands in his pockets; and Oliver between them, wondering where they were

The pace at which they went, was such a very lazy, illlooking saunter, that Oliver soon began to think his

companions were going to deceive the old gentleman, by not going to work at all. The Dodger had a vicious

propensity, too, of pulling the caps from the heads of small boys and tossing them down areas; while Charley

Bates exhibited some very loose notions concerning the rights of property, by pilfering divers apples and

onions from the stalls at the kennel sides, and thrusting them into pockets which were so surprisingly

capacious, that they seemed to undermine his whole suit of clothes in every direction. These things looked so

bad, that Oliver was on the point of declaring his intention of seeking his way back, in the best way he could;

when his thoughts were suddenly directed into another channel, by a very mysterious change of behaviour on

They were just emerging from a narrow court not far from the open square in Clerkenwell, which is yet

called, by some strange perversion of terms, 'The Green': when the Dodger made a sudden stop; and, laying

his finger on his lip, drew his companions back again, with the greatest caution and circumspection.

Oliver looked from one to the other, with the greatest surprise; but he was not permitted to make any

inquiries; for the two boys walked stealthily across the road, and slunk close behind the old gentleman

towards whom his attention had been directed. Oliver walked a few paces after them; and, not knowing

The old gentleman was a very respectablelooking personage, with a powdered head and gold spectacles. He

was dressed in a bottlegreen coat with a black velvet collar; wore white trousers; and carried a smart

bamboo cane under his arm. He had taken up a book from the stall, and there he stood, reading away, as hard

as if he were in his elbowchair, in his own study. It is very possible that he fancied himself there, indeed; for

it was plain, from his abstraction, that he saw not the bookstall, nor the street, nor the boys, nor, in short,

anything but the book itself: which he was reading straight through: turning over the leaf when he got to the

bottom of a page, beginning at the top line of the next one, and going regularly on, with the greatest interest

What was Oliver's horror and alarm as he stood a few paces off, looking on with his eyelids as wide open as

they would possibly go, to see the Dodger plunge his hand into the old gentleman's pocket, and draw from

thence a handkerchief! To see him hand the same to Charley Bates; and finally to behold them, both running

In an instant the whole mystery of the hankerchiefs, and the watches, and the jewels, and the Jew, rushed

He stood, for a moment, with the blood so tingling through all his veins from terror, that he felt as if he were

in a burning fire; then, confused and frightened, he took to his heels; and, not knowing what he did, made off

This was all done in a minute's space. In the very instant when Oliver began to run, the old gentleman,

putting his hand to his pocket, and missing his handkerchief, turned sharp round. Seeing the boy scudding

away at such a rapid pace, he very naturally concluded him to be the depredator; and shouting 'Stop thief!'

But the old gentleman was not the only person who raised the hueandcry. The Dodger and Master Bates,

unwilling to attract public attention by running down the open street, had merely retured into the very first

doorway round the corner. They no sooner heard the cry, and saw Oliver running, than, guessing exactly how

the matter stood, they issued forth with great promptitude; and, shouting 'Stop thief!' too, joined in the pursuit

Although Oliver had been brought up by philosophers, he was not theoretically acquainted with the beautiful

axiom that selfpreservation is the first law of nature. If he had been, perhaps he would have been prepared

for this. Not being prepared, however, it alarmed him the more; so away he went like the wind, with the old

'Stop thief! Stop thief!' There is a magic in the sound. The tradesman leaves his counter, and the carman his

waggon; the butcher throws down his tray; the baker his basket; the milkman his pail; the errandboy his

parcels; the schoolboy his marbles; the paviour his pickaxe; the child his battledore. Away they run,

pellmell, helterskelter, slapdash: tearing, yelling, screaming, knocking down the passengers as they turn

the corners, rousing up the dogs, and astonishing the fowls: and streets, squares, and courts, reecho with the

'Stop thief! Stop thief!' The cry is taken up by a hundred voices, and the crowd accumulate at every turning.

up go the windows, out run the people, onward bear the mob, a whole audience desert Punch in the very

thickest of the plot, and, joining the rushing throng, swell the shout, and lend fresh vigour to the cry, 'Stop

'Stop thief! Stop thief!' There is a passion FOR HUNTING SOMETHING deeply implanted in the human

breast. One wretched breathless child, panting with exhaustion; terror in his looks; agaony in his eyes; large

drops of perspiration streaming down his face; strains every nerve to make head upon his pursuers; and as

they follow on his track, and gain upon him every instant, they hail his decreasing strength with joy. 'Stop

Stopped at last! A clever blow. He is down upon the pavement; and the crowd eagerly gather round him: each

new comer, jostling and struggling with the others to catch a glimpse. 'Stand aside!' 'Give him a little air!'

'Nonsense! he don't deserve it.' 'Where's the gentleman?' 'Here his is, coming down the street.' 'Make room

Oliver lay, covered with mud and dust, and bleeding from the mouth, looking wildly round upon the heap of

faces that surrounded him, when the old gentleman was officiously dragged and pushed into the circle by the

'_I_ did that, sir,' said a great lubberly fellow, stepping forward; 'and preciously I cut my knuckle agin' his

The follow touched his hat with a grin, expecting something for his pains; but, the old gentleman, eyeing him

with an expression of dislike, look anxiously round, as if he contemplated running away himself: which it is

very possible he might have attempted to do, and thus have afforded another chase, had not a police officer

(who is generally the last person to arrive in such cases) at that moment made his way through the crowd, and

'It wasn't me indeed, sir. Indeed, indeed, it was two other boys,' said Oliver, clasping his hands passionately,

'Oh no, they ain't,' said the officer. He meant this to be ironical, but it was true besides; for the Dodger and

'Oh no, I won't hurt him,' replied the officer, tearing his jacket half off his back, in proof thereof. 'Come, I

Oliver, who could hardly stand, made a shift to raise himself on his feet, and was at once lugged along the

streets by the jacketcollar, at a rapid pace. The gentleman walked on with them by the officer's side; and as

many of the crowd as could achieve the feat, got a little ahead, and stared back at Oliver from time to time.

The offence had been committed within the district, and indeed in the immediate neighborhood of, a very

notorious metropolitan police office. The crowd had only the satisfaction of accompanying Oliver through

two or three streets, and down a place called Mutton Hill, when he was led beneath a low archway, and up a

dirty court, into this dispensary of summary justice, by the back way. It was a small paved yard into which

they turned; and here they encountered a stout man with a bunch of whiskers on his face, and a bunch of keys

'Yes, I am,' replied the old gentleman; 'but I am not sure that this boy actually took the handkerchief. II

'Must go before the magistrate now, sir,' replied the man. 'His worship will be disengaged in half a minute.

This was an invitation for Oliver to enter through a door which he unlocked as he spoke, and which led into a

This cell was in shape and size something like an area cellar, only not so light. It was most intolably dirty; for

it was Monday morning; and it had been tenanted by six drunken people, who had been locked up, elsewhere,

since Saturday night. But this is little. In our stationhouses, men and women are every night confined on the

most trivial chargesthe word is worth notingin dungeons, compared with which, those in Newgate,

occupied by the most atrocious felons, tried, found guilty, and under sentence of death, are palaces. Let any

The old gentleman looked almost as rueful as Oliver when the key grated in the lock. He turned with a sigh to

'There is something in that boy's face,' said the old gentleman to himself as he walked slowly away, tapping

his chin with the cover of the book, in a thoughtful manner; 'something that touches and interests me. CAN

he be innocent? He looked likeBye the bye,' exclaimed the old gentleman, halting very abruptly, and

staring up into the sky, 'Bless my soul!where have I seen something like that look before?'

After musing for some minutes, the old gentleman walked, with the same meditative face, into a back

anteroom opening from the yard; and there, retiring into a corner, called up before his mind's eye a vast

amphitheatre of faces over which a dusky curtain had hung for many years. 'No,' said the old gentleman,

He wandered over them again. He had called them into view, and it was not easy to replace the shroud that

had so long concealed them. There were the faces of friends, and foes, and of many that had been almost

strangers peering intrusively from the crowd; there were the faces of young and blooming girls that were now

old women; there were faces that the grave had changed and closed upon, but which the mind, superior to its

power, still dressed in their old freshness and beauty, calling back the lustre of the eyes, the brightness of the

smile, the beaming of the soul through its mask of clay, and whispering of beauty beyond the tomb, changed

but to be heightened, and taken from earth only to be set up as a light, to shed a soft and gentle glow upon the

But the old gentleman could recall no one countenance of which Oliver's features bore a trace. So, he heaved

a sigh over the recollections he awakened; and being, happily for himself, an absent old gentleman, buried

He was roused by a touch on the shoulder, and a request from the man with the keys to follow him into the

office. He closed his book hastily; and was at once ushered into the imposing presence of the renowned Mr.

The office was a front parlour, with a panelled wall. Mr. Fang sat behind a bar, at the upper end; and on one

side the door was a sort of wooden pen in which poor little Oliver was already deposited; trembling very

Mr. Fang was a lean, longbacked, stiffnecked, middlesized man, with no great quantity of hair, and what

he had, growing on the back and sides of his head. His face was stern, and much flushed. If he were really not

in the habit of drinking rather more than was exactly good for him, he might have brought action against his

The old gentleman bowed respectfully; and advancing to the magistrate's desk, said suiting the action to the

word, 'That is my name and address, sir.' He then withdrew a pace or two; and, with another polite and

Now, it so happened that Mr. Fang was at that moment perusing a leading article in a newspaper of the

morning, adverting to some recent decision of his, and commending him, for the three hundred and fiftieth

time, to the special and particular notice of the Secretary of State for the Home Department. He was out of

'Officer!' said Mr. Fang, tossing the card contemptuously away with the newspaper. 'Who is this fellow?'

'My name, sir,' said the old gentleman, speaking LIKE a gentleman, 'my name, sir, is Brownlow. Permit me

to inquire the name of the magistrate who offers a gratuitous and unprovoked insult to a respectable person,

under the protection of the bench.' Saying this, Mr. Brownlow looked around the office as if in search of

'Officer!' said Mr. Fang, throwing the paper on one side, 'what's this fellow charged with?'

'He's not charged at all, your worship,' replied the officer. 'He appears against this boy, your worship.'

His worshp knew this perfectly well; but it was a good annoyance, and a safe one.

'Appears against the boy, does he?' said Mr. Fang, surveying Mr. Brownlow contemptuously from head to

'Before I am sworn, I must beg to say one word,' said Mr. Brownlow; 'and that is, that I really never, without

'Hold your tongue this instant, or I'll have you turned out of the office!' said Mr. Fang. 'You're an insolent

'Swear this person!' said Fang to the clerk. 'I'll not hear another word. Swear him.'

Mr. Brownlow's indignaton was greatly roused; but reflecting perhaps, that he might only injure the boy by

giving vent to it, he suppressed his feelings and submitted to be sworn at once.

'Now,' said Fang, 'what's the charge against this boy? What have you got to say, sir?'

'Hold your tongue, sir,' said Mr. Fang. 'Policeman! Where's the policeman? Here, swear this policeman. Now,

The policeman, with becoming humility, related how he had taken the charge; how he had searched Oliver,

Mr. Fang sat silent for some minutes, and then, turning round to the prosecutor, said in a towering passion.

'Do you mean to state what your complaint against this boy is, man, or do you not? You have been sworn.

Now, if you stand there, refusing to give evidence, I'll punish you for disrespect to the bench; I will, by'

By what, or by whom, nobody knows, for the clerk and jailor coughed very loud, just at the right moment;

and the former dropped a heavy book upon the floor, thus preventing the word from being heardaccidently,

With many interruptions, and repeated insults, Mr. Brownlow contrived to state his case; observing that, in

the surprise of the moment, he had run after the boy because he had saw him running away; and expressing

his hope that, if the magistrate should believe him, although not actually the thief, to be connected with the

'And I fear,' he added, with great energy, looking towards the bar, 'I really fear that he is ill.'

'Oh! yes, I dare say!' said Mr. Fang, with a sneer. 'Come, none of your tricks here, you young vagabond; they

Oliver tried to reply but his tongue failed him. He was deadly pale; and the whole place seemed turning round

'What's your name, you hardened scoundrel?' demanded Mr. Fang. 'Officer, what's his name?'

This was addressed to a bluff old fellow, in a striped waistcoat, who was standing by the bar. He bent over

Oliver, and repeated the inquiry; but finding him really incapable of understanding the question; and knowing

that his not replying would only infuriate the magistrate the more, and add to the severity of his sentence; he

'Oh, he won't speak out, won't he?' said Fang. 'Very well, very well. Where does he live?'

'Where he can, your worship,' replied the officer; again pretending to receive Oliver's answer.

'He says they died in his infancy, your worship,' replied the officer: hazarding the usual reply.

At this point of the inquiry, Oliver raised his head; and, looking round with imploring eyes, murmured a

'Take care of him, officer,' said the old gentleman, raising his hands instinctively; 'he'll fall down.'

Oliver availed himself of the kind permission, and fell to the floor in a fainting fit. The men in the office

'I knew he was shamming,' said Fang, as if this were incontestable proof of the fact. 'Let him lie there; he'll

'How do you propose to deal with the case, sir?' inquired the clerk in a low voice.

'Summarily,' replied Mr. Fang. 'He stands committed for three monthshard labour of course. Clear the

The door was opened for this purpose, and a couple of men were preparing to carry the insensible boy to his

cell; when an elderly man of decent but poor appearance, clad in an old suit of black, rushed hastily into the

'Stop, stop! don't take him away! For Heaven's sake stop a moment!' cried the new comer, breathless with

Although the presiding Genii in such an office as this, exercise a summary and arbitrary power over the

liberties, the good name, the character, almost the lives, of Her Majesty's subjects, expecially of the poorer

class; and although, within such walls, enough fantastic tricks are daily played to make the angels blind with

weeping; they are closed to the public, save through the medium of the daily press.(Footnote: Or were

virtually, then.) Mr. Fang was consequently not a little indignant to see an unbidden guest enter in such

'What is this? Who is this? Turn this man out. Clear the office!' cried Mr. Fang.

'I WILL speak,' cried the man; 'I will not be turned out. I saw it all. I keep the bookstall. I demand to be

sworn. I will not be put down. Mr. Fang, you must hear me. You must not refuse, sir.'

The man was right. His manner was determined; and the matter was growing rather too serious to be hushed

'Swear the man,' growled Mr. Fang. with a very ill grace. 'Now, man, what have you got to say?'

'This,' said the man: 'I saw three boys: two others and the prisoner here: loitering on the opposite side of the

way, when this gentleman was reading. The robbery was committed by another boy. I saw it done; and I saw

that this boy was perfectly amazed and stupified by it.' Having by this time recovered a little breath, the

worthy bookstall keeper proceeded to relate, in a more coherent manner the exact circumstances of the

'I hadn't a soul to mind the shop,' replied the man. 'Everybody who could have helped me, had joined in the

pursuit. I could get nobody till five minutes ago; and I've run here all the way.'

'Dear me, I forgot all about it!' exclaimed the absent old gentleman, innocently.

'A nice person to prefer a charge against a poor boy!' said Fang, with a comical effort to look humane. 'I

consider, sir, that you have obtained possession of that book, under very suspicious and disreputable

circumstances; and you may think yourself very fortunate that the owner of the property declines to

prosecute. Let this be a lesson to you, my man, or the law will overtake you yet. The boy is discharged. Clear

'Dn me!' cried the old gentleman, bursting out with the rage he had kept down so long, 'dn me! I'll'

The mandate was obeyed; and the indignant Mr. Brownlow was conveyed out, with the book in one hand,

and the bamboo cane in the other: in a perfect phrenzy of rage and defiance. He reached the yard; and his

passion vanished in a moment. Little Oliver Twist lay on his back on the pavement, with his shirt unbuttoned,

and his temples bathed with water; his face a deadly white; and a cold tremble convulsing his whole frame.

'Poor boy, poor boy!' said Mr. Brownlow, bending over him. 'Call a coach, somebody, pray. Directly!'

A coach was obtained, and Oliver having been carefully laid on the seat, the old gentleman got in and sat

'Bless me, yes, my dear sir,' said Mr. Brownlow quickly. 'I forgot you. Dear, dear! I have this unhappy book

The coach rattled away, over nearly the same ground as that which Oliver had traversed when he first entered

London in company with the Dodger; and, turning a different way when it reached the Angel at Islington,

stopped at length before a neat house, in a quiet shady street near Pentonville. Here, a bed was prepared,

without loss of time, in which Mr. Brownlow saw his young charge carefully and comfortably deposited; and

But, for many days, Oliver remained insensible to all the goodness of his new friends. The sun rose and sank,

and rose and sank again, and many times after that; and still the boy lay stretched on his uneasy bed,

dwindling away beneath the dry and wasting heat of fever. The worm does not work more surely on the dead

Weak, and thin, and pallid, he awoke at last from what seemed to have been a long and troubled dream.

Feebly raising himself in the bed, with his head resting on his trembling arm, he looked anxiously around.

'What room is this? Where have I been brought to?' said Oliver. 'This is not the place I went to sleep in.'

He uttered these words in a feeble voice, being very faint and weak; but they were overheard at once. The

curtain at the bed's head was hastily drawn back, and a motherly old lady, very neatly and precisely dressed,

rose as she undrew it, from an armchair close by, in which she had been sitting at needlework.

'Hush, my dear,' said the old lady softly. 'You must be very quiet, or you will be ill again; and you have been

very bad,as bad as bad could be, pretty nigh. Lie down again; there's a dear!' With those words, the old

lady very gently placed Oliver's head upon the pillow; and, smoothing back his hair from his forehead,

looked so kindly and loving in his face, that he could not help placing his little withered hand in hers, and

'Save us!' said the old lady, with tears in her eyes. 'What a grateful little dear it is. Pretty creetur! What would

'Perhaps she does see me,' whispered Oliver, folding his hands together; 'perhaps she has sat by me. I almost

'I suppose it was,' replied Oliver, 'because heaven is a long way off; and they are too happy there, to come

down to the bedside of a poor boy. But if she knew I was ill, she must have pitied me, even there; for she was

very ill herself before she died. She can't know anything about me though,' added Oliver after a moment's

silence. 'If she had seen me hurt, it would have made here sorrowful; and her face has always looked sweet

The old lady made no reply to this; but wiping her eyes first, and her spectacles, which lay on the

counterpane, afterwards, as if they were part and parcel of those features, brought some cool stuff for Oliver

to drink; and then, patting him on the cheek, told him he must lie very quiet, or he would be ill again.

So, Oliver kept very still; partly because he was anxious to obey the kind old lady in all things; and partly, to

tell the truth, because he was completely exhausted with what he had already said. He soon fell into a gentle

doze, from which he was awakened by the light of a candle: which, being brought near the bed, showed him a

gentleman with a very large and loudticking gold watch in his hand, who felt his pulse, and said he was a

'Hem!' said the gentleman. 'No, I know you're not. He is not hungry, Mrs. Bedwin,' said the gentleman:

The old lady made a respectful inclination of the head, which seemed to say that she thought the doctor was a

'No,' said the doctor, with a very shrewd and satisfied look. 'You're not sleepy. Nor thirsty. Are you?'

'Just as I expected, Mrs. Bedwin,' said the doctor. 'It's very natural that he should be thirsty. You may give

him a little tea, ma'am, and some dry toast without any butter. Don't keep him too warm, ma'am; but be

The old lady dropped a curtsey. The doctor, after tasting the cool stuff, and expressing a qualified approval of

it, hurried away: his boots creaking in a very important and wealthy manner as he went downstairs.

Oliver dozed off again, soon after this; when he awoke, it was nearly twelve o'clock. The old lady tenderly

bade him goodnight shortly afterwards, and left him in charge of a fat old woman who had just come:

bringing with her, in a little bundle, a small Prayer Book and a large nightcap. Putting the latter on her head

and the former on the table, the old woman, after telling Oliver that she had come to sit up with him, drew her

chair close to the fire and went off into a series of short naps, chequered at frequent intervals with sundry

tumblings forward, and divers moans and chokings. These, however, had no worse effect than causing her to

And thus the night crept slowly on. Oliver lay awake for some time, counting the little circles of light which

the reflection of the rushlightshade threw upon the ceiling; or tracing with his languid eyes the intricate

pattern of the paper on the wall. The darkness and the deep stillness of the room were very solemn; as they

brought into the boy's mind the thought that death had been hovering there, for many days and nights, and

might yet fill it with the gloom and dread of his awful presence, he turned his face upon the pillow, and

Gradually, he fell into that deep tranquil sleep which ease from recent suffering alone imparts; that calm and

peaceful rest which it is pain to wake from. Who, if this were death, would be roused again to all the

struggles and turmoils of life; to all its cares for the present; its anxieties for the future; more than all, its

It had been bright day, for hours, when Oliver opened his eyes; he felt cheerful and happy. The crisis of the

In three days' time he was able to sit in an easychair, well propped up with pillows; and, as he was still too

weak to walk, Mrs. Bedwin had him carried downstairs into the little housekeeper's room, which belonged to

her. Having him set, here, by the fireside, the good old lady sat herself down too; and, being in a state of

considerable delight at seeing him so much better, forthwith began to cry most violently.

'Never mind me, my dear,' said the old lady; 'I'm only having a regular good cry. There; it's all over now; and

'Well, never you mind that, my dear,' said the old lady; 'that's got nothing to do with your broth; and it's full

time you had it; for the doctor says Mr. Brownlow may come in to see you this morning; and we must get up

our best looks, because the better we look, the more he'll be pleased.' And with this, the old lady applied

herself to warming up, in a little saucepan, a basin full of broth: strong enough, Oliver thought, to furnish an

ample dinner, when reduced to the regulation strength, for three hundred and fifty paupers, at the lowest

'Are you fond of pictures, dear?' inquired the old lady, seeing that Oliver had fixed his eyes, most intently, on

'I don't quite know, ma'am,' said Oliver, without taking his eyes from the canvas; 'I have seen so few that I

'Ah!' said the old lady, 'painters always make ladies out prettier than they are, or they wouldn't get any

custom, child. The man that invented the machine for taking likenesses might have known that would never

succeed; it's a deal too honest. A deal,' said the old lady, laughing very heartily at her own acuteness.

'Yes,' said the old lady, looking up for a moment from the broth; 'that's a portrait.'

'Why, really, my dear, I don't know,' answered the old lady in a goodhumoured manner. 'It's not a likeness

'Why, sure you're not afraid of it?' said the old lady: observing in great surprise, the look of awe with which

'Oh no, no,' returned Oliver quickly; 'but the eyes look so sorrowful; and where I sit, they seem fixed upon

me. It makes my heart beat,' added Oliver in a low voice, 'as if it was alive, and wanted to speak to me, but

'Lord save us!' exclaimed the old lady, starting; 'don't talk in that way, child. You're weak and nervous after

your illness. Let me wheel your chair round to the other side; and then you won't see it. There!' said the old

Oliver DID see it in his mind's eye as distinctly as if he had not altered his position; but he thought it better

not to worry the kind old lady; so he smiled gently when she looked at him; and Mrs. Bedwin, satisfied that

he felt more comfortable, salted and broke bits of toasted bread into the broth, with all the bustle befitting so

solemn a preparation. Oliver got through it with extraordinary expedition. He had scarcely swallowed the last

spoonful, when there came a soft rap at the door. 'Come in,' said the old lady; and in walked Mr. Brownlow.

Now, the old gentleman came in as brisk as need be; but, he had no sooner raised his spectacles on his

forehead, and thrust his hands behind the skirts of his dressinggown to take a good long look at Oliver, than

his countenance underwent a very great variety of odd contortions. Oliver looked very worn and shadowy

from sickness, and made an ineffectual attempt to stand up, out of respect to his benefactor, which terminated

in his sinking back into the chair again; and the fact is, if the truth must be told, that Mr. Brownlow's heart,

being large enough for any six ordinary old gentlemen of humane disposition, forced a supply of tears into his

eyes, by some hydraulic process which we are not sufficiently philosophical to be in a condition to explain.

'Poor boy, poor boy!' said Mr. Brownlow, clearing his throat. 'I'm rather hoarse this morning, Mrs. Bedwin.

'I hope not, sir,' said Mrs. Bedwin. 'Everything you have had, has been well aired, sir.'

'I don't know, Bedwin. I don't know,' said Mr. Brownlow; 'I rather think I had a damp napkin at dinnertime

'Very happy, sir,' replied Oliver. 'And very grateful indeed, sir, for your goodness to me.'

'Good by,' said Mr. Brownlow, stoutly. 'Have you given him any nourishment, Bedwin? Any slops, eh?'

'He has just had a basin of beautiful strong broth, sir,' replied Mrs. Bedwin: drawing herself up slightly, and

laying strong emphasis on the last word: to intimate that between slops, and broth will compounded, there

'Ugh!' said Mr. Brownlow, with a slight shudder; 'a couple of glasses of port wine would have done him a

'My name is Oliver, sir,' replied the little invalid: with a look of great astonishment.

'Queer name!' said the old gentleman. 'What made you tell the magistrate your name was White?'

This sounded so like a falsehood, that the old gentleman looked somewhat sternly in Oliver's face. It was

impossible to doubt him; there was truth in every one of its thin and sharpened lineaments.

'Some mistake,' said Mr. Brownlow. But, although his motive for looking steadily at Oliver no longer existed,

the old idea of the resemblance between his features and some familiar face came upon him so strongly, that

'I hope you are not angry with me, sir?' said Oliver, raising his eyes beseechingly.

As he spoke, he pointed hastily to the picture over Oliver's head, and then to the boy's face. There was its

living copy. The eyes, the head, the mouth; every feature was the same. The expression was, for the instant,

so precisely alike, that the minutest line seemed copied with startling accuracy!

Oliver knew not the cause of this sudden exclamation; for, not being strong enough to bear the start it gave

him, he fainted away. A weakness on his part, which affords the narrative an opportunity of relieving the

reader from suspense, in behalf of the two young pupils of the Merry Old Gentleman; and of recording

That when the Dodger, and his accomplished friend Master Bates, joined in the hueandcry which was

raised at Oliver's heels, in consequence of their executing an illegal conveyance of Mr. Brownlow's personal

property, as has been already described, they were actuated by a very laudable and becoming regard for

themselves; and forasmuch as the freedom of the subject and the liberty of the individual are among the first

and proudest boasts of a truehearted Englishman, so, I need hardly beg the reader to observe, that this action

should tend to exalt them in the opinion of all public and patriotic men, in almost as great a degree as this

strong proof of their anxiety for their own preservation and safety goes to corroborate and confirm the little

code of laws which certain profound and soundjudging philosophers have laid down as the mainsprings of

all Nature's deeds and actions: the said philosophers very wisely reducing the good lady's proceedings to

matters of maxim and theory: and, by a very neat and pretty compliment to her exalted wisdom and

understanding, putting entirely out of sight any considerations of heart, or generous impulse and feeling. For,

these are matters totally beneath a female who is acknowledged by universal admission to be far above the

If I wanted any further proof of the strictly philosophical nature of the conduct of these young gentlemen in

their very delicate predicament, I should at once find it in the fact (also recorded in a foregoing part of this

narrative), of their quitting the pursuit, when the general attention was fixed upon Oliver; and making

immediately for their home by the shortest possible cut. Although I do not mean to assert that it is usually the

practice of renowned and learned sages, to shorten the road to any great conclusion (their course indeed being

rather to lengthen the distance, by various circumlocations and discursive staggerings, like unto those in

which drunken men under the pressure of a too mighty flow of ideas, are prone to indulge); still, I do mean to

say, and do say distinctly, that it is the invariable practice of many mighty philosophers, in carrying out their

theories, to evince great wisdom and foresight in providing against every possible contingency which can be

supposed at all likely to affect themselves. Thus, to do a great right, you may do a little wrong; and you may

take any means which the end to be attained, will justify; the amount of the right, or the amount of the wrong,

or indeed the distinction between the two, being left entirely to the philosopher concerned, to be settled and

determined by his clear, comprehensive, and impartial view of his own particular case.

It was not until the two boys had scoured, with great rapidity, through a most intricate maze of narrow streets

and courts, that they ventured to halt beneath a low and dark archway. Having remained silent here, just long

enough to recover breath to speak, Master Bates uttered an exclamation of amusement and delight; and,

bursting into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, flung himself upon a doorstep, and rolled thereon in a transport

'Hold your noise,' remonstrated the Dodger, looking cautiously round. 'Do you want to be grabbed, stupid?'

'I can't help it,' said Charley, 'I can't help it! To see him splitting away at that pace, and cutting round the

corners, and knocking up again' the posts, and starting on again as if he was made of iron as well as them, and

me with the wipe in my pocket, singing out arter himoh, my eye!' The vivid imagination of Master Bates

presented the scene before him in too strong colours. As he arrived at this apostrophe, he again rolled upon

'What'll Fagin say?' inquired the Dodger; taking advantage of the next interval of breathlessness on the part of

'Why, what should he say?' inquired Charley: stopping rather suddenly in his merriment; for the Dodger's

Mr. Dawkins whistled for a couple of minutes; then, taking off his hat, scratched his head, and nodded thrice.

'Toor rul lol loo, gammon and spinnage, the frog he wouldn't, and high cockolorum,' said the Dodger: with a

This was explanatory, but not satisfactory. Master Bates felt it so; and again said, 'What do you mean?'

The Dodger made no reply; but putting his hat on again, and gathering the skirts of his longtailed coat under

his arm, thrust his tongue into his cheek, slapped the bridge of his nose some halfdozen times in a familiar

but expressive manner, and turning on his heel, slunk down the court. Master Bates followed, with a

The noise of footsteps on the creaking stairs, a few minutes after the occurrence of this conversation, roused

the merry old gentleman as he sat over the fire with a saveloy and a small loaf in his hand; a pocketknife in

his right; and a pewter pot on the trivet. There was a rascally smile on his white face as he turned round, and

looking sharply out from under his thick red eyebrows, bent his ear towards the door, and listened.

'Why, how's this?' muttered the Jew: changing countenance; 'only two of 'em? Where's the third? They can't

The footsteps approached nearer; they reached the landing. The door was slowly opened; and the Dodger and

The young thieves eyed their preceptor as if they were alarmed at his violence; and looked uneasily at each

'What's become of the boy?' said the Jew, seizing the Dodger tightly by the collar, and threatening him with

Mr. Fagin looked so very much in earnest, that Charley Bates, who deemed it prudent in all cases to be on the

safe side, and who conceived it by no means improbable that it might be his turn to be throttled second,

dropped upon his knees, and raised a loud, wellsustained, and continuous roarsomething between a mad

'Will you speak?' thundered the Jew: shaking the Dodger so much that his keeping in the big coat at all,

'Why, the traps have got him, and that's all about it,' said the Dodger, sullenly. 'Come, let go o' me, will you!'

And, swinging himself, at one jerk, clean out of the big coat, which he left in the Jew's hands, the Dodger

snatched up the toasting fork, and made a pass at the merry old gentleman's waistcoat; which, if it had taken

effect, would have let a little more merriment out, than could have been easily replaced.

The Jew stepped back in this emergency, with more agility than could have been anticipated in a man of his

apparent decrepitude; and, seizing up the pot, prepared to hurl it at his assailant's head. But Charley Bates, at

this moment, calling his attention by a perfectly terrific howl, he suddenly altered its destination, and flung it

'Why, what the blazes is in the wind now!' growled a deep voice. 'Who pitched that 'ere at me? It's well it's

the beer, and not the pot, as hit me, or I'd have settled somebody. I might have know'd, as nobody but an

infernal, rich, plundering, thundering old Jew could afford to throw away any drink but waterand not that,

unless he done the River Company every quarter. Wot's it all about, Fagin? Dme, if my neckhandkercher

an't lined with beer! Come in, you sneaking warmint; wot are you stopping outside for, as if you was

The man who growled out these words, was a stoutlybuilt fellow of about fiveandthirty, in a black

velveteen coat, very soiled drab breeches, laceup half boots, and grey cotton stockings which inclosed a

bulky pair of legs, with large swelling calves;the kind of legs, which in such costume, always look in an

unfinished and incomplete state without a set of fetters to garnish them. He had a brown hat on his head, and

a dirty belcher handkerchief round his neck: with the long frayed ends of which he smeared the beer from his

face as he spoke. He disclosed, when he had done so, a broad heavy countenance with a beard of three days'

growth, and two scowling eyes; one of which displayed various particoloured symptoms of having been

A white shaggy dog, with his face scratched and torn in twenty different places, skulked into the room.

'Why didn't you come in afore?' said the man. 'You're getting too proud to own me afore company, are you?

This command was accompanied with a kick, which sent the animal to the other end of the room. He

appeared well used to it, however; for he coiled himself up in a corner very quietly, without uttering a sound,

and winking his very illlooking eyes twenty times in a minute, appeared to occupy himself in taking a

'What are you up to? Illtreating the boys, you covetous, avaricious, insatiable old fence?' said the man,

seating himself deliberately. 'I wonder they don't murder you! I would if I was them. If I'd been your

'prentice, I'd have done it long ago, andno, I couldn't have sold you afterwards, for you're fit for nothing

but keeping as a curiousity of ugliness in a glass bottle, and I suppose they don't blow glass bottles large

'None of your mistering,' replied the ruffian; 'you always mean mischief when you come that. You know my

'Well, well, thenBill Sikes,' said the Jew, with abject humility. 'You seem out of humour, Bill.'

'Perhaps I am,' replied Sikes; 'I should think you was rather out of sorts too, unless you mean as little harm

'Are you mad?' said the Jew, catching the man by the sleeve, and pointing towards the boys.

Mr. Sikes contented himself with tying an imaginary knot under his left ear, and jerking his head over on the

right shoulder; a piece of dumb show which the Jew appeared to understand perfectly. He then, in cant terms,

with which his whole conversation was plentifully besprinkled, but which would be quite unintelligible if

This was said in jest; but if the speaker could have seen the evil leer with which the Jew bit his pale lip as he

turned round to the cupboard, he might have thought the caution not wholly unnecessary, or the wish (at all

events) to improve upon the distiller's ingenuity not very far from the old gentleman's merry heart.

After swallowing two of three glasses of spirits, Mr. Sikes condescended to take some notice of the young

gentlemen; which gracious act led to a conversation, in which the cause and manner of Oliver's capture were

circumstantially detailed, with such alterations and improvements on the truth, as to the Dodger appeared

'I'm afraid,' said the Jew, 'that he may say something which will get us into trouble.'

'That's very likely,' returned Sikes with a malicious grin. 'You're blowed upon, Fagin.'

'And I'm afraid, you see, added the Jew, speaking as if he had not noticed the interruption; and regarding the

other closely as he did so,'I'm afraid that, if the game was up with us, it might be up with a good many

more, and that it would come out rather worse for you than it would for me, my dear.'

The man started, and turned round upon the Jew. But the old gentleman's shoulders were shrugged up to his

There was a long pause. Every member of the respectable coterie appeared plunged in his own reflections;

not excepting the dog, who by a certain malicious licking of his lips seemed to be meditating an attack upon

the legs of the first gentleman or lady he might encounter in the streets when he went out.

'Somebody must find out wot's been done at the office,' said Mr. Sikes in a much lower tone than he had

'If he hasn't peached, and is committed, there's no fear till he comes out again,' said Mr. Sikes, 'and then he

The prudence of this line of action, indeed, was obvious; but, unfortunately, there was one very strong

objection to its being adopted. This was, that the Dodger, and Charley Bates, and Fagin, and Mr. William

Sikes, happened, one and all, to entertain a violent and deeplyrooted antipathy to going near a policeoffice

How long they might have sat and looked at each other, in a state of uncertainty not the most pleasant of its

kind, it is difficult to guess. It is not necessary to make any guesses on the subject, however; for the sudden

entrance of the two young ladies whom Oliver had seen on a former occasion, caused the conversation to

It is due to the young lady to say that she did not positively affirm that she would not, but that she merely

expressed an emphatic and earnest desire to be 'blessed' if she would; a polite and delicate evasion of the

request, which shows the young lady to have been possessed of that natural good breeding which cannot bear

The Jew's countenance fell. He turned from this young lady, who was gaily, not to say gorgeously attired, in a

'Why, you're just the very person for it,' reasoned Mr. Sikes: 'nobody about here knows anything of you.'

'And as I don't want 'em to, neither,' replied Nancy in the same composed manner, 'it's rather more no than

And Mr. Sikes was right. By dint of alternate threats, promises, and bribes, the lady in question was

ultimately prevailed upon to undertake the commission. She was not, indeed, withheld by the same

considerations as her agreeable friend; for, having recently removed into the neighborhood of Field Lane

from the remote but genteel suburb of Ratcliffe, she was not under the same apprehension of being

Accordingly, with a clean white apron tied over her gown, and her curlpapers tucked up under a straw

bonnet,both articles of dress being provided from the Jew's inexhaustible stock,Miss Nancy prepared to

'Stop a minute, my dear,' said the Jew, producing, a little covered basket. 'Carry that in one hand. It looks

'Give her a doorkey to carry in her t'other one, Fagin,' said Sikes; 'it looks real and genivine like.'

'Yes, yes, my dear, so it does,' said the Jew, hanging a large streetdoor key on the forefinger of the young

'Oh, my brother! My poor, dear, sweet, innocent little brother!' exclaimed Nancy, bursting into tears, and

wringing the little basket and the streetdoor key in an agony of distress. 'What has become of him! Where

have they taken him to! Oh, do have pity, and tell me what's been done with the dear boy, gentlemen; do,

Having uttered those words in a most lamentable and heartbroken tone: to the immeasurable delight of her

hearers: Miss Nancy paused, winked to the company, nodded smilingly round, and disappeared.

'Ah, she's a clever girl, my dears,' said the Jew, turning round to his young friends, and shaking his head

gravely, as if in mute admonition to them to follow the bright example they had just beheld.

'She's a honour to her sex,' said Mr. Sikes, filling his glass, and smiting the table with his enormous fist.

While these, and many other encomiums, were being passed on the accomplished Nancy, that young lady

made the best of her way to the policeoffice; whither, notwithstanding a little natural timidity consequent

upon walking through the streets alone and unprotected, she arrived in perfect safety shortly afterwards.

Entering by the back way, she tapped softly with the key at one of the celldoors, and listened. There was no

sound within: so she coughed and listened again. Still there was no reply: so she spoke.

There was nobody inside but a miserable shoeless criminal, who had been taken up for playing the flute, and

who, the offence against society having been clearly proved, had been very properly committed by Mr. Fang

to the House of Correction for one month; with the appropriate and amusing remark that since he had so

much breath to spare, it would be more wholesomely expended on the treadmill than in a musical instrument.

He made no answer: being occupied mentally bewailing the loss of the flute, which had been confiscated for

This was a vagrant of sixtyfive, who was going to prison for NOT playing the flute; or, in other words, for

begging in the streets, and doing nothing for his livelihood. In the next cell was another man, who was going

to the same prison for hawking tin saucepans without license; thereby doing something for his living, in

But, as neither of these criminals answered to the name of Oliver, or knew anything about him, Nancy made

straight up to the bluff officer in the striped waistcoat; and with the most piteous wailings and lamentations,

rendered more piteous by a prompt and efficient use of the streetdoor key and the little basket, demanded

In reply to this incoherent questioning, the old man informed the deeply affected sister that Oliver had been

taken ill in the office, and discharged in consequence of a witness having proved the robbery to have been

committed by another boy, not in custody; and that the prosecutor had carried him away, in an insensible

condition, to his own residence: of and concerning which, all the informant knew was, that it was somewhere

in Pentonville, he having heard that word mentioned in the directions to the coachman.

In a dreadful state of doubt and uncertainty, the agonised young woman staggered to the gate, and then,

exchanging her faltering walk for a swift run, returned by the most devious and complicated route she could

Mr. Bill Sikes no sooner heard the account of the expedition delivered, than he very hastily called up the

white dog, and, putting on his hat, expeditiously departed: without devoting any time to the formality of

'We must know where he is, my dears; he must be found,' said the Jew greatly excited. 'Charley, do nothing

but skulk about, till you bring home some news of him! Nancy, my dear, I must have him found. I trust to

you, my dear,to you and the Artful for everything! Stay, stay,' added the Jew, unlocking a drawer with a

shaking hand; 'there's money, my dears. I shall shut up this shop tonight. You'll know where to find me!

With these words, he pushed them from the room: and carefully doublelocking and barring the door behind

them, drew from its place of concealment the box which he had unintentionally disclosed to Oliver. Then, he

A rap at the door startled him in this occupation. 'Who's there?' he cried in a shrill tone.

'Yes,' replied the Jew, 'wherever she lays hands on him. Find him, find him out, that's all. I shall know what to

The boy murmured a reply of intelligence: and hurried downstairs after his companions.

'He has not peached so far,' said the Jew as he pursued his occupation. 'If he means to blab us among his new

Oliver soon recovering from the faintingfit into which Mr. Brownlow's abrupt exclamation had thrown him,

the subject of the picture was carefully avoided, both by the old gentleman and Mrs. Bedwin, in the

conversation that ensued: which indeed bore no reference to Oliver's history or prospects, but was confined to

such topics as might amuse without exciting him. He was still too weak to get up to breakfast; but, when he

came down into the housekeeper's room next day, his first act was to cast an eager glance at the wall, in the

hope of again looking on the face of the beautiful lady. His expectations were disappointed, however, for the

'Ah!' said the housekeeper, watching the direction of Oliver's eyes. 'It is gone, you see.'

'It has been taken down, child, because Mr. Brownlow said, that as it seemed to worry you, perhaps it might

'Oh, no, indeed. It didn't worry me, ma'am,' said Oliver. 'I liked to see it. I quite loved it.'

'Well, well!' said the old lady, goodhumouredly; 'you get well as fast as ever you can, dear, and it shall be

hung up again. There! I promise you that! Now, let us talk about something else.'

This was all the information Oliver could obtain about the picture at that time. As the old lady had been so

kind to him in his illness, he endeavoured to think no more of the subject just then; so he listened attentively

to a great many stories she told him, about an amiable and handsome daughter of hers, who was married to an

amiable and handsome man, and lived in the country; and about a son, who was clerk to a merchant in the

West Indies; and who was, also, such a good young man, and wrote such dutiful letters home four times

ayear, that it brought the tears into her eyes to talk about them. When the old lady had expatiated, a long

time, on the excellences of her children, and the merits of her kind good husband besides, who had been dead

and gone, poor dear soul! just sixandtwenty years, it was time to have tea. After tea she began to teach

Oliver cribbage: which he learnt as quickly as she could teach: and at which game they played, with great

interest and gravity, until it was time for the invalid to have some warm wine and water, with a slice of dry

They were happy days, those of Oliver's recovery. Everything was so quiet, and neat, and orderly; everybody

so kind and gentle; that after the noise and turbulence in the midst of which he had always lived, it seemed

like Heaven itself. He was no sooner strong enough to put his clothes on, properly, than Mr. Brownlow

caused a complete new suit, and a new cap, and a new pair of shoes, to be provided for him. As Oliver was

told that he might do what he liked with the old clothes, he gave them to a servant who had been very kind to

him, and asked her to sell them to a Jew, and keep the money for herself. This she very readily did; and, as

Oliver looked out of the parlour window, and saw the Jew roll them up in his bag and walk away, he felt

quite delighted to think that they were safely gone, and that there was now no possible danger of his ever

being able to wear them again. They were sad rags, to tell the truth; and Oliver had never had a new suit

One evening, about a week after the affair of the picture, as he was sitting talking to Mrs. Bedwin, there came

a message down from Mr. Brownlow, that if Oliver Twist felt pretty well, he should like to see him in his

'Bless us, and save us! Wash your hands, and let me part your hair nicely for you, child,' said Mrs. Bedwin.

'Dear heart alive! If we had known he would have asked for you, we would have put you a clean collar on,

Oliver did as the old lady bade him; and, although she lamented grievously, meanwhile, that there was not

even time to crimp the little frill that bordered his shirtcollar; he looked so delicate and handsome, despite

that important personal advantage, that she went so far as to say: looking at him with great complacency from

head to foot, that she really didn't think it would have been possible, on the longest notice, to have made

Thus encouraged, Oliver tapped at the study door. On Mr. Brownlow calling to him to come in, he found

himself in a little back room, quite full of books, with a window, looking into some pleasant little gardens.

There was a table drawn up before the window, at which Mr. Brownlow was seated reading. When he saw

Oliver, he pushed the book away from him, and told him to come near the table, and sit down. Oliver

complied; marvelling where the people could be found to read such a great number of books as seemed to be

written to make the world wiser. Which is still a marvel to more experienced people than Oliver Twist, every

'There are a good many books, are there not, my boy?' said Mr. Brownlow, observing the curiosity with

'You shall read them, if you behave well,' said the old gentleman kindly; 'and you will like that, better than

looking at the outsides,that is, some cases; because there are books of which the backs and covers are by

'I suppose they are those heavy ones, sir,' said Oliver, pointing to some large quartos, with a good deal of

'Not always those,' said the old gentleman, patting Oliver on the head, and smiling as he did so; 'there are

other equally heavy ones, though of a much smaller size. How should you like to grow up a clever man, and

Oliver considered a little while; and at last said, he should think it would be a much better thing to be a

bookseller; upon which the old gentleman laughed heartily, and declared he had said a very good thing.

'Well, well,' said the old gentleman, composing his features. 'Don't be afraid! We won't make an author of

'Thank you, sir,' said Oliver. At the earnest manner of his reply, the old gentleman laughed again; and said

something about a curious instinct, which Oliver, not understanding, paid no very great attention to.

'Now,' said Mr. Brownlow, speaking if possible in a kinder, but at the same time in a much more serious

manner, than Oliver had ever known him assume yet, 'I want you to pay great attention, my boy, to what I am

going to say. I shall talk to you without any reserve; because I am sure you are well able to understand me, as

'Oh, don't tell you are going to send me away, sir, pray!' exclaimed Oliver, alarmed at the serious tone of the

old gentleman's commencement! 'Don't turn me out of doors to wander in the streets again. Let me stay here,

and be a servant. Don't send me back to the wretched place I came from. Have mercy upon a poor boy, sir!'

'My dear child,' said the old gentleman, moved by the warmth of Oliver's sudden appeal; 'you need not be

'I hope not,' rejoined the old gentleman. 'I do not think you ever will. I have been deceived, before, in the

objects whom I have endeavoured to benefit; but I feel strongly disposed to trust you, nevertheless; and I am

more interested in your behalf than I can well account for, even to myself. The persons on whom I have

bestowed my dearest love, lie deep in their graves; but, although the happiness and delight of my life lie

buried there too, I have not made a coffin of my heart, and sealed it up, forever, on my best affections. Deep

As the old gentleman said this in a low voice: more to himself than to his companion: and as he remained

'Well, well!' said the old gentleman at length, in a more cheerful tone, 'I only say this, because you have a

young heart; and knowing that I have suffered great pain and sorrow, you will be more careful, perhaps, not

to wound me again. You say you are an orphan, without a friend in the world; all the inquiries I have been

able to make, confirm the statement. Let me hear your story; where you come from; who brought you up; and

how you got into the company in which I found you. Speak the truth, and you shall not be friendless while I

Oliver's sobs checked his utterance for some minutes; when he was on the point of beginning to relate how he

had been brought up at the farm, and carried to the workhouse by Mr. Bumble, a peculiarly impatient little

doubleknock was heard at the streetdoor: and the servant, running upstairs, announced Mr. Grimwig.

'Yes, sir,' replied the servant. 'He asked if there were any muffins in the house; and, when I told him yes, he

Mr. Brownlow smiled; and, turning to Oliver, said that Mr. Grimwig was an old friend of his, and he must

not mind his being a little rough in his manners; for he was a worthy creature at bottom, as he had reason to

At this moment, there walked into the room: supporting himself by a thick stick: a stout old gentleman, rather

lame in one leg, who was dressed in a blue coat, striped waistcoat, nankeen breeches and gaiters, and a

broadbrimmed white hat, with the sides turned up with green. A very smallplaited shirt frill stuck out from

his waistcoat; and a very long steel watchchain, with nothing but a key at the end, dangled loosely below it.

The ends of his white neckerchief were twisted into a ball about the size of an orange; the variety of shapes

into which his countenance was twisted, defy description. He had a manner of screwing his head on one side

when he spoke; and of looking out of the corners of his eyes at the same time: which irresistibly reminded the

beholder of a parrot. In this attitude, he fixed himself, the moment he made his appearance; and, holding out a

small piece of orangepeel at arm's length, exclaimed, in a growling, discontented voice.

'Look here! do you see this! Isn't it a most wonderful and extraordinary thing that I can't call at a man's house

but I find a piece of this poor surgeon's friend on the staircase? I've been lamed with orangepeel once, and I

This was the handsome offer with which Mr. Grimwig backed and confirmed nearly every assertion he made;

and it was the more singular in his case, because, even admitting for the sake of argument, the possibility of

scientific improvements being brought to that pass which will enable a gentleman to eat his own head in the

event of his being so disposed, Mr. Grimwig's head was such a particularly large one, that the most sanguine

man alive could hardly entertain a hope of being able to get through it at a sittingto put entirely out of the

'I'll eat my head, sir,' repeated Mr. Grimwig, striking his stick upon the ground. 'Hallo! what's that!' looking at

'You don't mean to say that's the boy who had the fever, I hope?' said Mr. Grimwig, recoiling a little more.

'Wait a minute! Don't speak! Stop' continued Mr. Grimwig, abruptly, losing all dread of the fever in his

triumph at the discovery; 'that's the boy who had the orange! If that's not the boy, sir, who had the orange, and

'No, no, he has not had one,' said Mr. Brownlow, laughing. 'Come! Put down your hat; and speak to my

'I feel strongly on this subject, sir,' said the irritable old gentleman, drawing off his gloves. 'There's always

more or less orangepeel on the pavement in our street; and I KNOW it's put there by the surgeon's boy at the

corner. A young woman stumbled over a bit last night, and fell against my gardenrailings; directly she got

up I saw her look towards his infernal red lamp with the pantomimelight. "Don't go to him," I called out of

the window, "he's an assassin! A mantrap!" So he is. If he is not' Here the irascible old gentleman gave a

great knock on the ground with his stick; which was always understood, by his friends, to imply the

customary offer, whenever it was not expressed in words. Then, still keeping his stick in his hand, he sat

down; and, opening a double eyeglass, which he wore attached to a broad black riband, took a view of

Oliver: who, seeing that he was the object of inspection, coloured, and bowed again.

Mr Brownlow, seeming to apprehend that his singular friend was about to say something disagreeable, asked

Oliver to step downstairs and tell Mrs. Bedwin they were ready for tea; which, as he did not half like the

'No. I don't know. I never see any difference in boys. I only knew two sort of boys. Mealy boys, and

'Mealy. I know a friend who has a beeffaced boy; a fine boy, they call him; with a round head, and red

cheeks, and glaring eyes; a horrid boy; with a body and limbs that appear to be swelling out of the seams of

his blue clothes; with the voice of a pilot, and the appetite of a wolf. I know him! The wretch!'

'Come,' said Mr. Brownlow, 'these are not the characteristics of young Oliver Twist; so he needn't excite your

Here, Mr. Brownlow coughed impatiently; which appeared to afford Mr. Grimwig the most exquisite delight.

'He may have worse, I say,' repeated Mr. Grimwig. 'Where does he come from! Who is he? What is he? He

has had a fever. What of that? Fevers are not peculiar to good peope; are they? Bad people have fevers

sometimes; haven't they, eh? I knew a man who was hung in Jamaica for murdering his master. He had had a

fever six times; he wasn't recommended to mercy on that account. Pooh! nonsense!'

Now, the fact was, that in the inmost recesses of his own heart, Mr. Grimwig was strongly disposed to admit

that Oliver's appearance and manner were unusually prepossessing; but he had a strong appetite for

contradiction, sharpened on this occasion by the finding of the orangepeel; and, inwardly determining that

no man should dictate to him whether a boy was welllooking or not, he had resolved, from the first, to

oppose his friend. When Mr. Brownlow admitted that on no one point of inquiry could he yet return a

satisfactory answer; and that he had postponed any investigation into Oliver's previous history until he

thought the boy was strong enough to hear it; Mr. Grimwig chuckled maliciously. And he demanded, with a

sneer, whether the housekeeper was in the habit of counting the plate at night; because if she didn't find a

tablespoon or two missing some sunshiny morning, why, he would be content toand so forth.

All this, Mr. Brownlow, although himself somewhat of an impetuous gentleman: knowing his friend's

peculiarities, bore with great good humour; as Mr. Grimwig, at tea, was graciously pleased to express his

entire approval of the muffins, matters went on very smoothly; and Oliver, who made one of the party, began

to feel more at his ease than he had yet done in the fierce old gentleman's presence.

'And when are you going to hear at full, true, and particular account of the life and adventures of Oliver

Twist?' asked Grimwig of Mr. Brownlow, at the conclusion of the meal; looking sideways at Oliver, as he

'Tomorrow morning,' replied Mr. Brownlow. 'I would rather he was alone with me at the time. Come up to

'Yes, sir,' replied Oliver. He answered with some hesitation, because he was confused by Mr. Grimwig's

'I'll tell you what,' whispered that gentleman to Mr. Brownlow; 'he won't come up to you tomorrow

'I'll answer for that boy's truth with my life!' said Mr. Brownlow, knocking the table.

'And I for his falsehood with my head!' rejoined Mr. Grimwig, knocking the table also.

As fate would have it, Mrs. Bedwin chanced to bring in, at this moment, a small parcel of books, which Mr.

Brownlow had that morning purchased of the identical bookstallkeeper, who has already figured in this

'Stop the boy, Mrs. Bedwin!' said Mr. Brownlow; 'there is something to go back.'

'Call after him,' said Mr. Brownlow; 'it's particular. He is a poor man, and they are not paid for. There are

The streetdoor was opened. Oliver ran one way; and the girl ran another; and Mrs. Bedwin stood on the step

and screamed for the boy; but there was no boy in sight. Oliver and the girl returned, in a breathless state, to

'Dear me, I am very sorry for that,' exclaimed Mr. Brownlow; 'I particularly wished those books to be

'Send Oliver with them,' said Mr. Grimwig, with an ironical smile; 'he will be sure to deliver them safely, you

'Yes; do let me take them, if you please, sir,' said Oliver. 'I'll run all the way, sir.'

The old gentleman was just going to say that Oliver should not go out on any account; when a most malicious

cough from Mr. Grimwig determined him that he should; and that, by his prompt discharge of the

commission, he should prove to him the injustice of his suspicions: on this head at least: at once.

'You SHALL go, my dear,' said the old gentleman. 'The books are on a chair by my table. Fetch them down.'

Oliver, delighted to be of use, brought down the books under his arm in a great bustle; and waited, cap in

'You are to say,' said Mr. Brownlow, glancing steadily at Grimwig; 'you are to say that you have brought

those books back; and that you have come to pay the four pound ten I owe him. This is a fivepound note, so

'I won't be ten minutes, sir,' said Oliver, eagerly. Having buttoned up the banknote in his jacket pocket, and

placed the books carefully under his arm, he made a respectful bow, and left the room. Mrs. Bedwin followed

him to the streetdoor, giving him many directions about the nearest way, and the name of the bookseller,

and the name of the street: all of which Oliver said he clearly understood. Having superadded many

injunctions to be sure and not take cold, the old lady at length permitted him to depart.

'Bless his sweet face!' said the old lady, looking after him. 'I can't bear, somehow, to let him go out of my

At this moment, Oliver looked gaily round, and nodded before he turned the corner. The old lady smilingly

'Let me see; he'll be back in twenty minutes, at the longest,' said Mr. Brownlow, pulling out his watch, and

The spirit of contradiction was strong in Mr. Grimwig's breast, at the moment; and it was rendered stronger

'No,' he said, smiting the table with his fist, 'I do not. The boy has a new suit of clothes on his back, a set of

valuable books under his arm, and a fivepound note in his pocket. He'll join his old friends the thieves, and

With these words he drew his chair closer to the table; and there the two friends sat, in silent expectation,

It is worthy of remark, as illustrating the importance we attach to our own judgments, and the pride with

which we put forth our most rash and hasty conclusions, that, although Mr. Grimwig was not by any means a

badhearted man, and though he would have been unfeignedly sorry to see his respected friend duped and

deceived, he really did most earnestly and strongly hope at that moment, that Oliver Twist might not come

It grew so dark, that the figures on the dialplate were scarcely discernible; but there the two old gentlemen

In the obscure parlour of a low publichouse, in the filthiest part of Little Saffron Hill; a dark and gloomy

den, where a flaring gaslight burnt all day in the wintertime; and where no ray of sun ever shone in the

summer: there sat, brooding over a little pewter measure and a small glass, strongly impregnated with the

smell of liquor, a man in a velveteen coat, drab shorts, halfboots and stockings, whom even by that dim light

no experienced agent of the police would have hesitated to recognise as Mr. William Sikes. At his feet, sat a

whitecoated, redeyed dog; who occupied himself, alternately, in winking at his master with both eyes at

the same time; and in licking a large, fresh cut on one side of his mouth, which appeared to be the result of

'Keep quiet, you warmint! Keep quiet!' said Mr. Sikes, suddenly breaking silence. Whether his meditations

were so intense as to be disturbed by the dog's winking, or whether his feelings were so wrought upon by his

reflections that they required all the relief derivable from kicking an unoffending animal to allay them, is

matter for argument and consideration. Whatever was the cause, the effect was a kick and a curse, bestowed

Dogs are not generally apt to revenge injuries inflicted upon them by their masters; but Mr. Sikes's dog,

having faults of temper in common with his owner, and labouring, perhaps, at this moment, under a powerful

sense of injury, made no more ado but at once fixed his teeth in one of the halfboots. Having given in a

hearty shake, he retired, growling, under a form; just escaping the pewter measure which Mr. Sikes levelled

'You would, would you?' said Sikes, seizing the poker in one hand, and deliberately opening with the other a

large claspknife, which he drew from his pocket. 'Come here, you born devil! Come here! D'ye hear?'

The dog no doubt heard; because Mr. Sikes spoke in the very harshest key of a very harsh voice; but,

appearing to entertain some unaccountable objection to having his throat cut, he remained where he was, and

growled more fiercely than before: at the same time grasping the end of the poker between his teeth, and

This resistance only infuriated Mr. Sikes the more; who, dropping on his knees, began to assail the animal

most furiously. The dog jumped from right to left, and from left to right; snapping, growling, and barking; the

man thrust and swore, and struck and blasphemed; and the struggle was reaching a most critical point for one

or other; when, the door suddenly opening, the dog darted out: leaving Bill Sikes with the poker and the

There must always be two parties to a quarrel, says the old adage. Mr. Sikes, being disappointed of the dog's

'What the devil do you come in between me and my dog for?' said Sikes, with a fierce gesture.

'I didn't know, my dear, I didn't know,' replied Fagin, humbly; for the Jew was the new comer.

'Didn't know, you whitelivered thief!' growled Sikes. 'Couldn't you hear the noise?'

'Oh no! You hear nothing, you don't,' retorted Sikes with a fierce sneer. 'Sneaking in and out, so as nobody

hears how you come or go! I wish you had been the dog, Fagin, half a minute ago.'

'Cause the government, as cares for the lives of such men as you, as haven't half the pluck of curs, lets a man

kill a dog how he likes,' replied Sikes, shutting up the knife with a very expressive look; 'that's why.'

The Jew rubbed his hands; and, sitting down at the table, affected to laugh at the pleasantry of his friend. He

'Grin away,' said Sikes, replacing the poker, and surveying him with savage contempt; 'grin away. You'll

never have the laugh at me, though, unless it's behind a nightcap. I've got the upper hand over you, Fagin;

'Well, well, my dear,' said the Jew, 'I know all that; wewehave a mutual interest, Bill,a mutual

'Humph,' said Sikes, as if he though the interest lay rather more on the Jew's side than on his. 'Well, what

'It's all passed safe through the meltingpot,' replied Fagin, 'and this is your share. It's rather more than it

'Stow that gammon,' interposed the robber, impatiently. 'Where is it? Hand over!'

'Yes, yes, Bill; give me time, give me time,' replied the Jew, soothingly. 'Here it is! All safe!' As he spoke, he

drew forth an old cotton handkerchief from his breast; and untying a large knot in one corner, produced a

small brownpaper packet. Sikes, snatching it from him, hastily opened it; and proceeded to count the

'You haven't opened the parcel and swallowed one or two as you come along, have you?' inquired Sikes,

suspiciously. 'Don't put on an injured look at the question; you've done it many a time. Jerk the tinkler.'

These words, in plain English, conveyed an injunction to ring the bell. It was answered by another Jew:

Bill Sikes merely pointed to the empty measure. The Jew, perfectly understanding the hint, retired to fill it:

previously exchanging a remarkable look with Fagin, who raised his eyes for an instant, as if in expectation

of it, and shook his head in reply; so slightly that the action would have been almost imperceptible to an

observant third person. It was lost upon Sikes, who was stooping at the moment to tie the bootlace which

the dog had torn. Possibly, if he had observed the brief interchange of signals, he might have thought that it

'Is anybody here, Barney?' inquired Fagin; speaking, now that that Sikes was looking on, without raising his

'Dot a shoul,' replied Barney; whose words: whether they came from the heart or not: made their way through

'Nobody?' inquired Fagin, in a tone of surprise: which perhaps might mean that Barney was at liberty to tell

'Nancy!' exclaimed Sikes. 'Where? Strike me blind, if I don't honour that 'ere girl, for her native talents.'

Barney looked timidly at Fagin, as if for permission; the Jew reamining silent, and not lifting his eyes from

the ground, he retired; and presently returned, ushering in Nancy; who was decorated with the bonnet, apron,

'Yes, I am, Bill,' replied the young lady, disposing of its contents; 'and tired enough of it I am, too. The young

Now, whether a peculiar contraction of the Jew's red eyebrows, and a half closing of his deeplyset eyes,

warned Miss Nancy that she was disposed to be too communicative, is not a matter of much importance. The

fact is all we need care for here; and the fact is, that she suddenly checked herself, and with several gracious

smiles upon Mr. Sikes, turned the conversation to other matters. In about ten minutes' time, Mr. Fagin was

seized with a fit of coughing; upon which Nancy pulled her shawl over her shoulders, and declared it was

time to go. Mr. Sikes, finding that he was walking a short part of her way himself, expressed his intention of

accompanying her; they went away together, followed, at a little distant, by the dog, who slunk out of a

The Jew thrust his head out of the room door when Sikes had left it; looked after him as we walked up the

dark passage; shook his clenched fist; muttered a deep curse; and then, with a horrible grin, reseated himself

at the table; where he was soon deeply absorbed in the interesting pages of the HueandCry.

Meanwhile, Oliver Twist, little dreaming that he was within so very short a distance of the merry old

gentleman, was on his way to the bookstall. When he got into Clerkenwell, he accidently turned down a

bystreet which was not exactly in his way; but not discovering his mistake until he had got halfway down

it, and knowing it must lead in the right direction, he did not think it worth while to turn back; and so

He was walking along, thinking how happy and contented he ought to feel; and how much he would give for

only one look at poor little Dick, who, starved and beaten, might be weeping bitterly at that very moment;

when he was startled by a young woman screaming out very loud. 'Oh, my dear brother!' And he had hardly

looked up, to see what the matter was, when he was stopped by having a pair of arms thrown tight round his

'Don't,' cried Oliver, struggling. 'Let go of me. Who is it? What are you stopping me for?'

The only reply to this, was a great number of loud lamentations from the young woman who had embraced

'Oh my gracious!' said the young woman, 'I have found him! Oh! Oliver! Oliver! Oh you naughty boy, to

make me suffer such distress on your account! Come home, dear, come. Oh, I've found him. Thank gracious

goodness heavins, I've found him!' With these incoherent exclamations, the young woman burst into another

fit of crying, and got so dreadfully hysterical, that a couple of women who came up at the moment asked a

butcher's boy with a shiny head of hair anointed with suet, who was also looking on, whether he didn't think

he had better run for the doctor. To which, the butcher's boy: who appeared of a lounging, not to say indolent

'Oh, no, no, never mind,' said the young woman, grasping Oliver's hand; 'I'm better now. Come home

'Oh, ma'am,' replied the young woman, 'he ran away, near a month ago, from his parents, who are

hardworking and respectable people; and went and joined a set of thieves and bad characters; and almost

'I am not,' replied Oliver, greatly alarmed. 'I don't know her. I haven't any sister, or father and mother either.

'Why, it's Nancy!' exclaimed Oliver; who now saw her face for the first time; and started back, in

'You see he knows me!' cried Nancy, appealing to the bystanders. 'He can't help himself. Make him come

home, there's good people, or he'll kill his dear mother and father, and break my heart!'

'What the devil's this?' said a man, bursting out of a beershop, with a white dog at his heels; 'young Oliver!

'I don't belong to them. I don't know them. Help! help! cried Oliver, struggling in the man's powerful grasp.

What books are these? You've been a stealing 'em, have you? Give 'em here.' With these words, the man tore

'That's right!' cried a lookeron, from a garretwindow. 'That's the only way of bringing him to his senses!'

'To be sure!' cried a sleepyfaced carpenter, casting an approving look at the garretwindow.

'And he shall have it, too!' rejoined the man, administering another blow, and seizing Oliver by the collar.

Weak with recent illness; stupified by the blows and the suddenness of the attack; terrified by the fierce

growling of the dog, and the brutality of the man; overpowered by the conviction of the bystanders that he

really was the hardened little wretch he was described to be; what could one poor child do! Darkness had set

in; it was a low neighborhood; no help was near; resistance was useless. In another moment he was dragged

into a labyrinth of dark narrow courts, and was forced along them at a pace which rendered the few cries he

dared to give utterance to, unintelligible. It was of little moment, indeed, whether they were intelligible or no;

The gaslamps were lighted; Mrs. Bedwin was waiting anxiously at the open door; the servant had run up the

street twenty times to see if there were any traces of Oliver; and still the two old gentlemen sat, perseveringly,

The narrow streets and courts, at length, terminated in a large open space; scattered about which, were pens

for beasts, and other indications of a cattlemarket. Sikes slackened his pace when they reached this spot: the

girl being quite unable to support any longer, the rapid rate at which they had hitherto walked. Turning to

Oliver saw, but too plainly, that resistance would be of no avail. He held out his hand, which Nancy clasped

'Give me the other,' said Sikes, seizing Oliver's unoccupied hand. 'Here, Bull'sEye!'

'See here, boy!' said Sikes, putting his other hand to Oliver's throat; 'if he speaks ever so soft a word, hold

The dog growled again; and licking his lips, eyed Oliver as if he were anxious to attach himself to his

'He's as willing as a Christian, strike me blind if he isn't!' said Sikes, regarding the animal with a kind of grim

and ferocious approval. 'Now, you know what you've got to expect, master, so call away as quick as you like;

Bull'seye wagged his tail in acknowledgment of this unusually endearing form of speech; and, giving vent

It was Smithfield that they were crossing, although it might have been Grosvenor Square, for anything Oliver

knew to the contrary. The night was dark and foggy. The lights in the shops could scarecely struggle through

the heavy mist, which thickened every moment and shrouded the streets and houses in gloom; rendering the

strange place still stranger in Oliver's eyes; and making his uncertainty the more dismal and depressing.

They had hurried on a few paces, when a deep churchbell struck the hour. With its first stroke, his two

conductors stopped, and turned their heads in the direction whence the sound proceeded.

'Of course they can,' replied Sikes. 'It was Bartlemy time when I was shopped; and there warn't a penny

trumpet in the fair, as I couldn't hear the squeaking on. Arter I was locked up for the night, the row and din

outside made the thundering old jail so silent, that I could almost have beat my brains out against the iron

'Poor fellow!' said Nancy, who still had her face turned towards the quarter in which the bell had sounded.

'Yes; that's all you women think of,' answered Sikes. 'Fine young chaps! Well, they're as good as dead, so it

With this consolation, Mr. Sikes appeared to repress a rising tendency to jealousy, and, clasping Oliver's wrist

'Wait a minute!' said the girl: 'I wouldn't hurry by, if it was you that was coming out to be hung, the next time

eight o'clock struck, Bill. I'd walk round and round the place till I dropped, if the snow was on the ground,

'And what good would that do?' inquired the unsentimental Mr. Sikes. 'Unless you could pitch over a file and

twenty yards of good stout rope, you might as well be walking fifty mile off, or not walking at all, for all the

The girl burst into a laugh; drew her shawl more closely round her; and they walked away. But Oliver felt her

hand tremble, and, looking up in her face as they passed a gaslamp, saw that it had turned a deadly white.

They walked on, by littlefrequented and dirty ways, for a full halfhour: meeting very few people, and those

appearing from their looks to hold much the same position in society as Mr. Sikes himself. At length they

turned into a very filthy narrow street, nearly full of oldclothes shops; the dog running forward, as if

conscious that there was no further occasion for his keeping on guard, stopped before the door of a shop that

was closed and apparently untenanted; the house was in a ruinous condition, and on the door was nailed a

board, intimating that it was to let: which looked as if it had hung there for many years.

Nancy stooped below the shutters, and Oliver heard the sound of a bell. They crossed to the opposite side of

the street, and stood for a few moments under a lamp. A noise, as if a sash window were gently raised, was

heard; and soon afterwards the door softly opened. Mr. Sikes then seized the terrified boy by the collar with

The passage was perfectly dark. They waited, while the person who had let them in, chained and barred the

'Yes,' replied the voice, 'and precious down in the mouth he has been. Won't he be glad to see you? Oh, no!'

The style of this reply, as well as the voice which delivered it, seemed familiar to Oliver's ears: but it was

'Let's have a glim,' said Sikes, 'or we shall go breaking our necks, or treading on the dog. Look after your legs

'Stand still a moment, and I'll get you one,' replied the voice. The receding footsteps of the speaker were

heard; and, in another minute, the form of Mr. John Dawkins, otherwise the Artful Dodger, appeared. He bore

The young gentleman did not stop to bestow any other mark of recognition upon Oliver than a humourous

grin; but, turning away, beckoned the visitors to follow him down a flight of stairs. They crossed an empty

kitchen; and, opening the door of a low earthysmelling room, which seemed to have been built in a small

'Oh, my wig, my wig!' cried Master Charles Bates, from whose lungs the laughter had proceeded: 'here he is!

oh, cry, here he is! Oh, Fagin, look at him! Fagin, do look at him! I can't bear it; it is such a jolly game, I cant'

With this irrepressible ebullition of mirth, Master Bates laid himself flat on the floor: and kicked convulsively

for five minutes, in an ectasy of facetious joy. Then jumping to his feet, he snatched the cleft stick from the

Dodger; and, advancing to Oliver, viewed him round and round; while the Jew, taking off his nightcap, made

a great number of low bows to the bewildered boy. The Artful, meantime, who was of a rather saturnine

disposition, and seldom gave way to merriment when it interfered with business, rifled Oliver's pockets with

'Look at his togs, Fagin!' said Charley, putting the light so close to his new jacket as nearly to set him on fire.

'Look at his togs! Superfine cloth, and the heavy swell cut! Oh, my eye, what a game! And his books, too!

'Delighted to see you looking so well, my dear,' said the Jew, bowing with mock humility. 'The Artful shall

give you another suit, my dear, for fear you should spoil that Sunday one. Why didn't you write, my dear, and

At his, Master Bates roared again: so loud, that Fagin himself relaxed, and even the Dodger smiled; but as the

Artful drew forth the fivepound note at that instant, it is doubtful whether the sally of the discovery

'Hallo, what's that?' inquired Sikes, stepping forward as the Jew seized the note. 'That's mine, Fagin.'

'If that ain't mine!' said Bill Sikes, putting on his hat with a determined air; 'mine and Nancy's that is; I'll take

The Jew started. Oliver started too, though from a very different cause; for he hoped that the dispute might

'Fair, or not fair,' retorted Sikes, 'hand over, I tell you! Do you think Nancy and me has got nothing else to do

with our precious time but to spend it in scouting arter, and kidnapping, every young boy as gets grabbed

With this gentle remonstrance, Mr. Sikes plucked the note from between the Jew's finger and thumb; and

looking the old man coolly in the face, folded it up small, and tied it in his neckerchief.

'That's for our share of the trouble,' said Sikes; 'and not half enough, neither. You may keep the books, if

'They're very pretty,' said Charley Bates: who, with sundry grimaces, had been affecting to read one of the

volumes in question; 'beautiful writing, isn't is, Oliver?' At sight of the dismayed look with which Oliver

regarded his tormentors, Master Bates, who was blessed with a lively sense of the ludicrous, fell into another

'They belong to the old gentleman,' said Oliver, wringing his hands; 'to the good, kind, old gentleman who

took me into his house, and had me nursed, when I was near dying of the fever. Oh, pray send them back;

send him back the books and money. Keep me here all my life long; but pray, pray send them back. He'll

think I stole them; the old lady: all of them who were so kind to me: will think I stole them. Oh, do have

With these words, which were uttered with all the energy of passionate grief, Oliver fell upon his knees at the

'The boy's right,' remarked Fagin, looking covertly round, and knitting his shaggy eyebrows into a hard knot.

'You're right, Oliver, you're right; they WILL think you have stolen 'em. Ha! ha!' chuckled the Jew, rubbing

'Of course it couldn't,' replied Sikes; 'I know'd that, directly I see him coming through Clerkenwell, with the

books under his arm. It's all right enough. They're softhearted psalmsingers, or they wouldn't have taken

him in at all; and they'll ask no questions after him, fear they should be obliged to prosecute, and so get him

Oliver had looked from one to the other, while these words were being spoken, as if he were bewildered, and

could scarecely understand what passed; but when Bill Sikes concluded, he jumped suddenly to his feet, and

tore wildly from the room: uttering shrieks for help, which made the bare old house echo to the roof.

'Keep back the dog, Bill!' cried Nancy, springing before the door, and closing it, as the Jew and his two pupils

'Serve him right!' cried Sikes, struggling to disengage himself from the girl's grasp. 'Stand off from me, or I'll

'I don't care for that, Bill, I don't care for that,' screamed the girl, struggling violently with the man, 'the child

'Shan't he!' said Sikes, setting his teeth. 'I'll soon do that, if you don't keep off.'

The housebreaker flung the girl from him to the further end of the room, just as the Jew and the two boys

'No, she hasn't,' said Nancy, pale and breathless from the scuffle; 'no, she hasn't, Fagin; don't think it.'

'No, I won't do that, neither,' replied Nancy, speaking very loud. 'Come! What do you think of that?'

Mr. Fagin was sufficiently well acquainted with the manners and customs of that particular species of

humanity to which Nancy belonged, to feel tolerably certain that it would be rather unsafe to prolong any

conversation with her, at present. With the view of diverting the attention of the company, he turned to

'So you wanted to get away, my dear, did you?' said the Jew, taking up a jagged and knotted club which law

'Wanted to get assistance; called for the police; did you?' sneered the Jew, catching the boy by the arm. 'We'll

The Jew inflicted a smart blow on Oliver's shoulders with the club; and was raising it for a second, when the

girl, rushing forward, wrested it from his hand. She flung it into the fire, with a force that brought some of the

'I won't stand by and see it done, Fagin,' cried the girl. 'You've got the boy, and what more would you

have?Let him belet him beor I shall put that mark on some of you, that will bring me to the gallows

The girl stamped her foot violently on the floor as she vented this threat; and with her lips compressed, and

her hands clenched, looked alternately at the Jew and the other robber: her face quite colourless from the

'Why, Nancy!' said the Jew, in a soothing tone; after a pause, during which he and Mr. Sikes had stared at one

another in a disconcerted manner; 'you,you're more clever than ever tonight. Ha! ha! my dear, you are

'Am I!' said the girl. 'Take care I don't overdo it. You will be the worse for it, Fagin, if I do; and so I tell you

There is something about a roused woman: especially if she add to all her other strong passions, the fierce

impulses of recklessness and despair; which few men like to provoke. The Jew saw that it would be hopeless

to affect any further mistake regarding the reality of Miss Nancy's rage; and, shrinking involuntarily back a

few paces, cast a glance, half imploring and half cowardly, at Sikes: as if to hint that he was the fittest person

Mr. Sikes, thus mutely appealed to; and possibly feeling his personal pride and influence interested in the

immediate reduction of Miss Nancy to reason; gave utterance to about a couple of score of curses and threats,

the rapid production of which reflected great credit on the fertility of his invention. As they produced no

visible effect on the object against whom they were discharged, however, he resorted to more tangible

'What do you mean by this?' said Sikes; backing the inquiry with a very common imprecation concerning the

most beautiful of human features: which, if it were heard above, only once out of every fifty thousand times

that it is uttered below, would render blindness as common a disorder as measles: 'what do you mean by it?

'Oh, yes, I know all about it,' replied the girl, laughing hysterically; and shaking her head from side to side,

'Well, then, keep quiet,' rejoined Sikes, with a growl like that he was accustomed to use when addressing his

The girl laughed again: even less composedly than before; and, darting a hasty look at Sikes, turned her face

'You're a nice one,' added Sikes, as he surveyed her with a contemptuous air, 'to take up the humane and

genteel side! A pretty subject for the child, as you call him, to make a friend of!'

'God Almighty help me, I am!' cried the girl passionately; 'and I wish I had been struck dead in the street, or

had changed places with them we passed so near tonight, before I had lent a hand in bringing him here. He's

a thief, a liar, a devil, all that's bad, from this night forth. Isn't that enough for the old wretch, without blows?'

'Come, come, Sikes,' said the Jew appealing to him in a remonstratory tone, and motioning towards the boys,

who were eagerly attentive to all that passed; 'we must have civil words; civil words, Bill.'

'Civil words!' cried the girl, whose passion was frightful to see. 'Civil words, you villain! Yes, you deserve

'em from me. I thieved for you when I was a child not half as old as this!' pointing to Oliver. 'I have been in

the same trade, and in the same service, for twelve years since. Don't you know it? Speak out! Don't you

'Well, well,' replied the Jew, with an attempt at pacification; 'and, if you have, it's your living!'

'Aye, it is!' returned the girl; not speaking, but pouring out the words in one continuous and vehement scream.

'It is my living; and the cold, wet, dirty streets are my home; and you're the wretch that drove me to them long

'I shall do you a mischief!' interposed the Jew, goaded by these reproaches; 'a mischief worse than that, if you

The girl said nothing more; but, tearing her hair and dress in a transport of passion, made such a rush at the

Jew as would probably have left signal marks of her revenge upon him, had not her wrists been seized by

Sikes at the right moment; upon which, she made a few ineffectual struggles, and fainted.

'She's all right now,' said Sikes, laying her down in a corner. 'She's uncommon strong in the arms, when she's

The Jew wiped his forehead: and smiled, as if it were a relief to have the disturbance over; but neither he, nor

Sikes, nor the dog, nor the boys, seemed to consider it in any other light than a common occurance incidental

'It's the worst of having to do with women,' said the Jew, replacing his club; 'but they're clever, and we can't

'I suppose he'd better not wear his best clothes tomorrow, Fagin, had he?' inquired Charley Bates.

'Certainly not,' replied the Jew, reciprocating the grin with which Charley put the question.

Master Bates, apparently much delighted with his commission, took the cleft stick: and led Oliver into an

adjacent kitchen, where there were two or three of the beds on which he had slept before; and here, with

many uncontrollable bursts of laughter, he produced the identical old suit of clothes which Oliver had so

much congratulated himself upon leaving off at Mr. Brownlow's; and the accidental display of which, to

Fagin, by the Jew who purchased them, had been the very first clue received, of his whereabout.

'Put off the smart ones,' said Charley, 'and I'll give 'em to Fagin to take care of. What fun it is!'

Poor Oliver unwillingly complied. Master Bates rolling up the new clothes under his arm, departed from the

The noise of Charley's laughter, and the voice of Miss Betsy, who opportunely arrived to throw water over

her friend, and perform other feminine offices for the promotion of her recovery, might have kept many

people awake under more happy circumstances than those in which Oliver was placed. But he was sick and

It is the custom on the stage, in all good murderous melodramas, to present the tragic and the comic scenes, in

as regular alternation, as the layers of red and white in a side of streaky bacon. The hero sinks upon his straw

bed, weighed down by fetters and misfortunes; in the next scene, his faithful but unconscious squire regales

the audience with a comic song. We behold, with throbbing bosoms, the heroine in the grasp of a proud and

ruthless baron: her virtue and her life alike in danger, drawing forth her dagger to preserve the one at the cost

of the other; and just as our expectations are wrought up to the highest pitch, a whistle is heard, and we are

straightway transported to the great hall of the castle; where a greyheaded seneschal sings a funny chorus

with a funnier body of vassals, who are free of all sorts of places, from church vaults to palaces, and roam

Such changes appear absurd; but they are not so unnatural as they would seem at first sight. The transitions in

real life from wellspread boards to deathbeds, and from mourningweeds to holiday garments, are not a

whit less startling; only, there, we are busy actors, instead of passive lookerson, which makes a vast

difference. The actors in the mimic life of the theatre, are blind to violent transitions and abrupt impulses of

passion or feeling, which, presented before the eyes of mere spectators, are at once condemned as outrageous

As sudden shiftings of the scene, and rapid changes of time and place, are not only sanctioned in books by

long usage, but are by many considered as the great art of authorship: an author's skill in his craft being, by

such critics, chiefly estimated with relation to the dilemmas in which he leaves his characters at the end of

every chapter: this brief introduction to the present one may perhaps be deemed unnecessary. If so, let it be

considered a delicate intimation on the part of the historian that he is going back to the town in which Oliver

Twist was born; the reader taking it for granted that there are good and substantial reasons for making the

Mr. Bumble emerged at early morning from the workhousegate, and walked with portly carriage and

commanding steps, up the High Street. He was in the full bloom and pride of beadlehood; his cocked hat and

coat were dazzling in the morning sun; he clutched his cane with the vigorous tenacity of health and power.

Mr. Bumble always carried his head high; but this morning it was higher than usual. There was an abstraction

in his eye, an elevation in his air, which might have warned an observant stranger that thoughts were passing

Mr. Bumble stopped not to converse with the small shopkeepers and others who spoke to him, deferentially,

as he passed along. He merely returned their salutations with a wave of his hand, and relaxed not in his

dignified pace, until he reached the farm where Mrs. Mann tended the infant paupers with parochial care.

'Drat that beadle!' said Mrs. Mann, hearing the wellknown shaking at the gardengate. 'If it isn't him at this

time in the morning! Lauk, Mr. Bumble, only think of its being you! Well, dear me, it IS a pleasure, this is!

The first sentence was addressed to Susan; and the exclamations of delight were uttered to Mr. Bumble: as

the good lady unlocked the gardengate: and showed him, with great attention and respect, into the house.

'Mrs. Mann,' said Mr. Bumble; not sitting upon, or dropping himself into a seat, as any common jackanapes

would: but letting himself gradually and slowly down into a chair; 'Mrs. Mann, ma'am, good morning.'

'Well, and good morning to YOU, sir,' replied Mrs. Mann, with many smiles; 'and hoping you find yourself

'Soso, Mrs. Mann,' replied the beadle. 'A porochial life is not a bed of roses, Mrs. Mann.'

'Ah, that it isn't indeed, Mr. Bumble,' rejoined the lady. And all the infant paupers might have chorussed the

'A porochial life, ma'am,' continued Mr. Bumble, striking the table with his cane, 'is a life of worrit, and

vexation, and hardihood; but all public characters, as I may say, must suffer prosecution.'

Mrs. Mann, not very well knowing what the beadle meant, raised her hands with a look of sympathy, and

Finding she had done right, Mrs. Mann sighed again: evidently to the satisfaction of the public character:

'To London, ma'am,' resumed the inflexible beadle, 'by coach. I and two paupers, Mrs. Mann! A legal action

is a coming on, about a settlement; and the board has appointed meme, Mrs. Mannto dispose to the

And I very much question,' added Mr. Bumble, drawing himself up, 'whether the Clerkinwell Sessions will

'The Clerkinwell Sessions have brought it upon themselves, ma'am,' replied Mr. Bumble; 'and if the

Clerkinwell Sessions find that they come off rather worse than they expected, the Clerkinwell Sessions have

There was so much determination and depth of purpose about the menacing manner in which Mr. Bumble

delivered himself of these words, that Mrs. Mann appeared quite awed by them. At length she said,

'You're going by coach, sir? I thought it was always usual to send them paupers in carts.'

'That's when they're ill, Mrs. Mann,' said the beadle. 'We put the sick paupers into open carts in the rainy

'The opposition coach contracts for these two; and takes them cheap,' said Mr. Bumble. 'They are both in a

very low state, and we find it would come two pound cheaper to move 'em than to bury 'emthat is, if we

can throw 'em upon another parish, which I think we shall be able to do, if they don't die upon the road to

When Mr. Bumble had laughed a little while, his eyes again encountered the cocked hat; and he became

'We are forgetting business, ma'am,' said the beadle; 'here is your porochial stipend for the month."

Mr. Bumble produced some silver money rolled up in paper, from his pocketbook; and requested a receipt:

'It's very much blotted, sir,' said the farmer of infants; 'but it's formal enough, I dare say. Thank you, Mr.

Mr. Bumble nodded, blandly, in acknowledgment of Mrs. Mann's curtsey; and inquired how the children

'Bless their dear little hearts!' said Mrs. Mann with emotion, 'they're as well as can be, the dears! Of course,

'He's a illconditioned, wicious, baddisposed porochial child that,' said Mr. Bumble angrily. 'Where is he?'

'I'll bring him to you in one minute, sir,' replied Mrs. Mann. 'Here, you Dick!'

After some calling, Dick was discovered. Having had his face put under the pump, and dried upon Mrs.

The child was pale and thin; his cheeks were sunken; and his eyes large and bright. The scanty parish dress,

the livery of his misery, hung loosely on his feeble body; and his young limbs had wasted away, like those of

Such was the little being who stood trembling beneath Mr. Bumble's glance; not daring to lift his eyes from

'What's the matter with you, porochial Dick?' inquired Mr. Bumble, with welltimed jocularity.

'I should think not,' said Mrs. Mann, who had of course laughed very much at Mr. Bumble's humour.

'Heyday!' interposed Mr. Mann, 'I suppose you're going to say that you DO want for something, now? Why,

'Stop, Mrs. Mann, stop!' said the beadle, raising his hand with a show of authority. 'Like what, sir, eh?'

'I should like,' said the child, 'to leave my dear love to poor Oliver Twist; and to let him know how often I

have sat by myself and cried to think of his wandering about in the dark nights with nobody to help him. And

I should like to tell him,' said the child pressing his small hands together, and speaking with great fervour,

'that I was glad to die when I was very young; for, perhaps, if I had lived to be a man, and had grown old, my

little sister who is in Heaven, might forget me, or be unlike me; and it would be so much happier if we were

Mr. Bumble surveyed the little speaker, from head to foot, with indescribable astonishment; and, turning to

his companion, said, 'They're all in one story, Mrs. Mann. That outdacious Oliver had demogalized them

'I couldn't have believed it, sir' said Mrs Mann, holding up her hands, and looking malignantly at Dick. 'I

'Take him away, ma'am!' said Mr. Bumble imperiously. 'This must be stated to the board, Mrs. Mann.

'I hope the gentleman will understand that it isn't my fault, sir?' said Mrs. Mann, whimpering pathetically.

'They shall understand that, ma'am; they shall be acquainted with the true state of the case,' said Mr. Bumble.

Dick was immediately taken away, and locked up in the coalcellar. Mr. Bumble shortly afterwards took

At six o'clock next morning, Mr. Bumble: having exchanged his cocked hat for a round one, and encased his

person in a blue greatcoat with a cape to it: took his place on the outside of the coach, accompanied by the

criminals whose settlement was disputed; with whom, in due course of time, he arrived in London.

He experienced no other crosses on the way, than those which originated in the perverse behaviour of the two

paupers, who persisted in shivering, and complaining of the cold, in a manner which, Mr. Bumble declared,

caused his teeth to chatter in his head, and made him feel quite uncomfortable; although he had a greatcoat

Having disposed of these evilminded persons for the night, Mr. Bumble sat himself down in the house at

which the coach stopped; and took a temperate dinner of steaks, oyster sauce, and porter. Putting a glass of

hot ginandwater on the chimneypiece, he drew his chair to the fire; and, with sundry moral reflections on

the tooprevalent sin of discontent and complaining, composed himself to read the paper.

The very first paragraph upon which Mr. Bumble's eye rested, was the following advertisement.

'Whereas a young boy, named Oliver Twist, absconded, or was enticed, on Thursday evening last, from his

home, at Pentonville; and has not since been heard of. The above reward will be paid to any person who will

give such information as will lead to the discovery of the said Oliver Twist, or tend to throw any light upon

his previous history, in which the advertiser is, for many reasons, warmly interested.'

And then followed a full description of Oliver's dress, person, appearance, and disappearance: with the name

Mr. Bumble opened his eyes; read the advertisement, slowly and carefully, three several times; and in

something more than five minutes was on his way to Pentonville: having actually, in his excitement, left the

To this inquiry the girl returned the not uncommon, but rather evasive reply of 'I don't know; where do you

Mr. Bumble no sooner uttered Oliver's name, in explanation of his errand, than Mrs. Bedwin, who had been

'Come in, come in,' said the old lady: 'I knew we should hear of him. Poor dear! I knew we should! I was

Having heard this, the worthy old lady hurried back into the parlour again; and seating herself on a sofa, burst

into tears. The girl, who was not quite so susceptible, had run upstairs meanwhile; and now returned with a

He was shown into the little back study, where sat Mr. Brownlow and his friend Mr. Grimwig, with decanters

and glasses before them. The latter gentleman at once burst into the exclamation:

Mr. Bumble sat himself down; quite confounded by the oddity of Mr. Grimwig's manner. Mr. Brownlow

moved the lamp, so as to obtain an uninterrupted view of the beadle's countenance; and said, with a little

'Of course,' observed Mr. Grimwig aside to his friend, 'I knew he was. A beadle all over!'

Mr. Brownlow gently shook his head to impose silence on his friend, and resumed:

'Well, what DO you know of him?' inquired the old gentleman. 'Speak out, my friend, if you have anything to

'You don't happen to know any good of him, do you?' said Mr. Grimwig, caustically; after an attentive

Mr. Bumble, catching at the inquiry very quickly, shook his head with portentous solemnity.

Mr. Brownlow looked apprehensively at Mr. Bumble's pursedup countenance; and requested him to

Mr. Bumble put down his hat; unbuttoned his coat; folded his arms; inclined his head in a retrospective

It would be tedious if given in the beadle's words: occupying, as it did, some twenty minutes in the telling;

but the sum and substance of it was, that Oliver was a foundling, born of low and vicious parents. That he

had, from his birth, displayed no better qualities than treachery, ingratitude, and malice. That he had

terminated his brief career in the place of his birth, by making a sanguinary and cowardly attack on an

unoffending lad, and running away in the nighttime from his master's house. In proof of his really being the

person he represented himself, Mr. Bumble laid upon the table the papers he had brought to town. Folding his

'I fear it is all too true,' said the old gentleman sorrowfully, after looking over the papers. 'This is not much

for your intelligence; but I would gladly have given you treble the money, if it had been favourable to the

It is not improbable that if Mr. Bumble had been possessed of this information at an earlier period of the

interview, he might have imparted a very different colouring to his little history. It was too late to do it now,

however; so he shook his head gravely, and, pocketing the five guineas, withdrew.

Mr. Brownlow paced the room to and fro for some minutes; evidently so much disturbed by the beadle's tale,

'Mrs. Bedwin,' said Mr. Brownlow, when the housekeeper appeared; 'that boy, Oliver, is an imposter.'

'I tell you he is,' retorted the old gentleman. 'What do you mean by can't be? We have just heard a full account

of him from his birth; and he has been a thoroughpaced little villain, all his life.'

'You old women never believe anything but quackdoctors, and lying storybooks,' growled Mr. Grimwig. 'I

knew it all along. Why didn't you take my advise in the beginning; you would if he hadn't had a fever, I

suppose, eh? He was interesting, wasn't he? Interesting! Bah!' And Mr. Grimwig poked the fire with a

'He was a dear, grateful, gentle child, sir,' retorted Mrs. Bedwin, indignantly. 'I know what children are, sir;

and have done these forty years; and people who can't say the same, shouldn't say anything about them.

This was a hard hit at Mr. Grimwig, who was a bachelor. As it extorted nothing from that gentleman but a

smile, the old lady tossed her head, and smoothed down her apron preparatory to another speech, when she

'Silence!' said the old gentleman, feigning an anger he was far from feeling. 'Never let me hear the boy's name

again. I rang to tell you that. Never. Never, on any pretence, mind! You may leave the room, Mrs. Bedwin.

Oliver's heart sank within him, when he thought of his good friends; it was well for him that he could not

About noon next day, when the Dodger and Master Bates had gone out to pursue their customary avocations,

Mr. Fagin took the opportunity of reading Oliver a long lecture on the crying sin of ingratitude; of which he

clearly demonstrated he had been guilty, to no ordinary extent, in wilfully absenting himself from the society

of his anxious friends; and, still more, in endeavouring to escape from them after so much trouble and

expense had been incurred in his recovery. Mr. Fagin laid great stress on the fact of his having taken Oliver

in, and cherished him, when, without his timely aid, he might have perished with hunger; and he related the

dismal and affecting history of a young lad whom, in his philanthropy, he had succoured under parallel

circumstances, but who, proving unworthy of his confidence and evincing a desire to communicate with the

police, had unfortunately come to be hanged at the Old Bailey one morning. Mr. Fagin did not seek to

conceal his share in the catastrophe, but lamented with tears in his eyes that the wrongheaded and

treacherous behaviour of the young person in question, had rendered it necessary that he should become the

victim of certain evidence for the crown: which, if it were not precisely true, was indispensably necessary for

the safety of him (Mr. Fagin) and a few select friends. Mr. Fagin concluded by drawing a rather disagreeable

picture of the discomforts of hanging; and, with great friendliness and politeness of manner, expressed his

anxious hopes that he might never be obliged to submit Oliver Twist to that unpleasant operation.

Little Oliver's blood ran cold, as he listened to the Jew's words, and imperfectly comprehended the dark

threats conveyed in them. That it was possible even for justice itself to confound the innocent with the guilty

when they were in accidental companionship, he knew already; and that deeplylaid plans for the destruction

of inconveniently knowing or overcommunicative persons, had been really devised and carried out by the

Jew on more occasions than one, he thought by no means unlikely, when he recollected the general nature of

the altercations between that gentleman and Mr. Sikes: which seemed to bear reference to some foregone

conspiracy of the kind. As he glanced timidly up, and met the Jew's searching look, he felt that his pale face

and trembling limbs were neither unnoticed nor unrelished by that wary old gentleman.

The Jew, smiling hideously, patted Oliver on the head, and said, that if he kept himself quiet, and applied

himself to business, he saw they would be very good friends yet. Then, taking his hat, and covering himself

And so Oliver remained all that day, and for the greater part of many subsequent days, seeing nobody,

between early morning and midnight, and left during the long hours to commune with his own thoughts.

Which, never failing to revert to his kind friends, and the opinion they must long ago have formed of him,

After the lapse of a week or so, the Jew left the roomdoor unlocked; and he was at liberty to wander about

It was a very dirty place. The rooms upstairs had great high wooden chimneypieces and large doors, with

panelled walls and cornices to the ceiling; which, although they were black with neglect and dust, were

ornamented in various ways. From all of these tokens Oliver concluded that a long time ago, before the old

Jew was born, it had belonged to better people, and had perhaps been quite gay and handsome: dismal and

Spiders had built their webs in the angles of the walls and ceilings; and sometimes, when Oliver walked

softly into a room, the mice would scamper across the floor, and run back terrified to their holes. With these

exceptions, there was neither sight nor sound of any living thing; and often, when it grew dark, and he was

tired of wandering from room to room, he would crouch in the corner of the passage by the streetdoor, to be

as near living people as he could; and would remain there, listening and counting the hours, until the Jew or

In all the rooms, the mouldering shutters were fast closed: the bars which held them were screwed tight into

the wood; the only light which was admitted, stealing its way through round holes at the top: which made the

rooms more gloomy, and filled them with strange shadows. There was a backgarret window with rusty bars

outside, which had no shutter; and out of this, Oliver often gazed with a melancholy face for hours together;

but nothing was to be descried from it but a confused and crowded mass of housetops, blackened chimneys,

and gableends. Sometimes, indeed, a grizzly head might be seen, peering over the parapetwall of a distant

house; but it was quickly withdrawn again; and as the window of Oliver's observatory was nailed down, and

dimmed with the rain and smoke of years, it was as much as he could do to make out the forms of the

different objects beyond, without making any attempt to be seen or heard,which he had as much chance of

One afternoon, the Dodger and Master Bates being engaged out that evening, the firstnamed young

gentleman took it into his head to evince some anxiety regarding the decoration of his person (to do him

justice, this was by no means an habitual weakness with him); and, with this end and aim, he

Oliver was but too glad to make himself useful; too happy to have some faces, however bad, to look upon;

too desirous to conciliate those about him when he could honestly do so; to throw any objection in the way of

this proposal. So he at once expressed his readiness; and, kneeling on the floor, while the Dodger sat upon the

table so that he could take his foot in his laps, he applied himself to a process which Mr. Dawkins designated

as 'japanning his trottercases.' The phrase, rendered into plain English, signifieth, cleaning his boots.

Whether it was the sense of freedom and independence which a rational animal may be supposed to feel

when he sits on a table in an easy attitude smoking a pipe, swinging one leg carelessly to and fro, and having

his boots cleaned all the time, without even the past trouble of having taken them off, or the prospective

misery of putting them on, to disturb his reflections; or whether it was the goodness of the tobacco that

soothed the feelings of the Dodger, or the mildness of the beer that mollified his thoughts; he was evidently

tinctured, for the nonce, with a spice of romance and enthusiasm, foreign to his general nature. He looked

down on Oliver, with a thoughtful countenance, for a brief space; and then, raising his head, and heaving a

The Dodger sighed again, and resumed his pipe: as did Charley Bates. They both smoked, for some seconds,

'I think I know that,' replied Oliver, looking up. 'It's a the; you're one, are you not?' inquired Oliver,

'I am,' replied the Doger. 'I'd scorn to be anything else.' Mr. Dawkins gave his hat a ferocious cock, after

delivering this sentiment, and looked at Master Bates, as if to denote that he would feel obliged by his saying

'I am,' repeated the Dodger. 'So's Charley. So's Fagin. So's Sikes. So's Nancy. So's Bet. So we all are, down to

'He wouldn't so much as bark in a witnessbox, for fear of committing himself; no, not if you tied him up in

'He's a rum dog. Don't he look fierce at any strange cove that laughs or sings when he's in company!' pursued

the Dodger. 'Won't he growl at all, when he hears a fiddle playing! And don't he hate other dogs as ain't of his

This was merely intended as a tribute to the animal's abilities, but it was an appropriate remark in another

sense, if Master Bates had only known it; for there are a good many ladies and gentlemen, claiming to be

outandout Christians, between whom, and Mr. Sikes' dog, there exist strong and singular points of

'Well, well,' said the Dodger, recurring to the point from which they had strayed: with that mindfulness of his

profession which influenced all his proceedings. 'This hasn't go anything to do with young Green here.'

'No more it has,' said Charley. 'Why don't you put yourself under Fagin, Oliver?'

'And so be able to retire on your property, and do the genteel: as I mean to, in the very next leapyear but

four that ever comes, and the fortysecond Tuesday in Trinityweek,' said Charley Bates.

'I don't like it,' rejoined Oliver, timidly; 'I wish they would let me go. IIwould rather go.'

Oliver knew this too well; but thinking it might be dangerous to express his feelings more openly, he only

'Go!' exclaimed the Dodger. 'Why, where's your spirit?' Don't you take any pride out of yourself? Would you

'Oh, blow that!' said Master Bates: drawing two or three silk handkerchiefs from his pocket, and tossing them

'You can leave your friends, though,' said Oliver with a half smile; 'and let them be punished for what you

'That,' rejoined the Dodger, with a wave of his pipe, 'That was all out of consideration for Fagin, 'cause the

traps know that we work together, and he might have got into trouble if we hadn't made our lucky; that was

Master Bates nodded assent, and would have spoken, but the recollection of Oliver's flight came so suddenly

upon him, that the smoke he was inhaling got entagled with a laugh, and went up into his head, and down into

his throat: and brought on a fit of coughing and stamping, about five minutes long.

'Look here!' said the Dodger, drawing forth a handful of shillings and halfpence. 'Here's a jolly life! What's

the odds where it comes from? Here, catch hold; there's plenty more where they were took from. You won't,

'It's naughty, ain't it, Oliver?' inquired Charley Bates. 'He'll come to be scragged, won't he?'

'Something in this way, old feller,' said Charly. As he said it, Master Bates caught up an end of his

neckerchief; and, holding it erect in the air, dropped his head on his shoulder, and jerked a curious sound

through his teeth; thereby indicating, by a lively pantomimic representation, that scragging and hanging were

I never did see such prime company as that 'ere boy; he'll be the death of me, I know he will.' Master Charley

'You've been brought up bad,' said the Dodger, surveying his boots with much satisfaction when Oliver had

polished them. 'Fagin will make something of you, though, or you'll be the first he ever had that turned out

unprofitable. You'd better begin at once; for you'll come to the trade long before you think of it; and you're

Master Bates backed this advice with sundry moral admonitions of his own: which, being exhausted, he and

his friend Mr. Dawkins launched into a glowing description of the numerous pleasures incidental to the life

they led, interspersed with a variety of hints to Oliver that the best thing he could do, would be to secure

Fagin's favour without more delay, by the means which they themselves had employed to gain it.

'And always put this in your pipe, Nolly,' said the Dodger, as the Jew was heard unlocking the door above, 'if

'What's the good of talking in that way?' interposed Master Bates; 'he don't know what you mean.'

'If you don't take pockethandkechers and watches,' said the Dodger, reducing his conversation to the level of

Oliver's capacity, 'some other cove will; so that the coves that lose 'em will be all the worse, and you'll be all

the worse, too, and nobody half a ha'p'orth the better, except the chaps wot gets themand you've just as

'To be sure, to be sure!' said the Jew, who had entered unseen by Oliver. 'It all lies in a nutshell my dear; in a

nutshell, take the Dodger's word for it. Ha! ha! ha! He understands the catechism of his trade.'

The old man rubbed his hands gleefully together, as he corroborated the Dodger's reasoning in these terms;

The conversation proceeded no farther at this time, for the Jew had returned home accompanied by Miss

Betsy, and a gentleman whom Oliver had never seen before, but who was accosted by the Dodger as Tom

Chitling; and who, having lingered on the stairs to exchange a few gallantries with the lady, now made his

Mr. Chitling was older in years than the Dodger: having perhaps numbered eighteen winters; but there was a

degree of deference in his deportment towards that young gentleman which seemed to indicate that he felt

himself conscious of a slight inferiority in point of genius and professional aquirements. He had small

twinkling eyes, and a pockmarked face; wore a fur cap, a dark corduroy jacket, greasy fustian trousers, and

an apron. His wardrobe was, in truth, rather out of repair; but he excused himself to the company by stating

that his 'time' was only out an hour before; and that, in consequence of having worn the regimentals for six

weeks past, he had not been able to bestow any attention on his private clothes. Mr. Chitling added, with

strong marks of irritation, that the new way of fumigating clothes up yonder was infernal unconstitutional, for

it burnt holes in them, and there was no remedy against the County. The same remark he considered to apply

to the regulation mode of cutting the hair: which he held to be decidedly unlawful. Mr. Chitling wound up his

observations by stating that he had not touched a drop of anything for fortytwo moral long hardworking

days; and that he 'wished he might be busted if he warn't as dry as a limebasket.'

'Where do you think the gentleman has come from, Oliver?' inquired the Jew, with a grin, as the other boys

'He's in luck, then,' said the young man, with a meaning look at Fagin. 'Never mind where I came from,

At this sally, the boys laughed. After some more jokes on the same subject, they exchanged a few short

After some words apart between the last comer and Fagin, they drew their chairs towards the fire; and the

Jew, telling Oliver to come and sit by him, led the conversation to the topics most calculated to interest his

hearers. These were, the great advantages of the trade, the proficiency of the Dodger, the amiability of

Charley Bates, and the liberality of the Jew himself. At length these subjects displayed signs of being

thoroughly exhausted; and Mr. Chitling did the same: for the house of correction becomes fatiguing after a

week or two. Miss Betsy accordingly withdrew; and left the party to their repose.

From this day, Oliver was seldom left alone; but was placed in almost constant communication with the two

boys, who played the old game with the Jew every day: whether for their own improvement or Oliver's, Mr.

Fagin best knew. At other times the old man would tell them stories of robberies he had committed in his

younger days: mixed up with so much that was droll and curious, that Oliver could not help laughing heartily,

In short, the wily old Jew had the boy in his toils. Having prepared his mind, by solitude and gloom, to prefer

any society to the companionship of his own sad thoughts in such a dreary place, he was now slowly

instilling into his soul the poison which he hoped would blacken it, and change its hue for ever.

It was a chill, damp, windy night, when the Jew: buttoning his greatcoat tight round his shrivelled body, and

pulling the collar up over his ears so as completely to obscure the lower part of his face: emerged from his

den. He paused on the step as the door was locked and chained behind him; and having listened while the

boys made all secure, and until their retreating footsteps were no longer audible, slunk down the street as

The house to which Oliver had been conveyed, was in the neighborhood of Whitechapel. The Jew stopped for

an instant at the corner of the street; and, glancing suspiciously round, crossed the road, and struck off in the

The mud lay thick upon the stones, and a black mist hung over the streets; the rain fell sluggishly down, and

everything felt cold and clammy to the touch. It seemed just the night when it befitted such a being as the Jew

to be abroad. As he glided stealthily along, creeping beneath the shelter of the walls and doorways, the

hideous old man seemed like some loathsome reptile, engendered in the slime and darkness through which he

He kept on his course, through many winding and narrow ways, until he reached Bethnal Green; then, turning

suddenly off to the left, he soon became involved in a maze of the mean and dirty streets which abound in

The Jew was evidently too familiar with the ground he traversed to be at all bewildered, either by the

darkness of the night, or the intricacies of the way. He hurried through several alleys and streets, and at length

turned into one, lighted only by a single lamp at the farther end. At the door of a house in this street, he

knocked; having exchanged a few muttered words with the person who opened it, he walked upstairs.

A dog growled as he touched the handle of a roomdoor; and a man's voice demanded who was there.

'Bring in your body then,' said Sikes. 'Lie down, you stupid brute! Don't you know the devil when he's got a

Apparently, the dog had been somewhat deceived by Mr. Fagin's outer garment; for as the Jew unbuttoned it,

and threw it over the back of a chair, he retired to the corner from which he had risen: wagging his tail as he

The latter recognition was uttered with just enough of embarrassment to imply a doubt of its reception; for

Mr. Fagin and his young friend had not met, since she had interfered in behalf of Oliver. All doubts upon the

subject, if he had any, were speedily removed by the young lady's behaviour. She took her feet off the fender,

pushed back her chair, and bade Fagin draw up his, without saying more about it: for it was a cold night, and

'It is cold, Nancy dear,' said the Jew, as he warmed his skinny hands over the fire. 'It seems to go right

'It must be a piercer, if it finds its way through your heart,' said Mr. Sikes. 'Give him something to drink,

Nancy. Burn my body, make haste! It's enough to turn a man ill, to see his lean old carcase shivering in that

Nancy quickly brought a bottle from a cupboard, in which there were many: which, to judge from the

diversity of their appearance, were filled with several kinds of liquids. Sikes pouring out a glass of brandy,

'Quite enough, quite, thankye, Bill,' replied the Jew, putting down the glass after just setting his lips to it.

'What! You're afraid of our getting the better of you, are you?' inquired Sikes, fixing his eyes on the Jew.

With a hoarse grunt of contempt, Mr. Sikes seized the glass, and threw the remainder of its contents into the

ashes: as a preparatory ceremony to filling it again for himself: which he did at once.

The Jew glanced round the room, as his companion tossed down the second glassful; not in curiousity, for he

had seen it often before; but in a restless and suspicious manner habitual to him. It was a meanly furnished

apartment, with nothing but the contents of the closet to induce the belief that its occupier was anything but a

working man; and with no more suspicious articles displayed to view than two or three heavy bludgeons

'About the crib at Chertsey, Bill?' said the Jew, drawing his chair forward, and speaking in a very low voice.

'Ah! you know what I mean, my dear,' said the Jew. 'He knows what I mean, Nancy; don't he?'

'No, he don't,' sneered Mr. Sikes. 'Or he won't, and that's the same thing. Speak out, and call things by their

right names; don't sit there, winking and blinking, and talking to me in hints, as if you warn't the very first

'Hush, Bill, hush!' said the Jew, who had in vain attempted to stop this burst of indignation; 'somebody will

'Let 'em hear!' said Sikes; 'I don't care.' But as Mr. Sikes DID care, on reflection, he dropped his voice as he

'There, there,' said the Jew, coaxingly. 'It was only my caution, nothing more. Now, my dear, about that crib

at Chertsey; when is it to be done, Bill, eh? When is it to be done? Such plate, my dear, such plate!' said the

Jew: rubbing his hands, and elevating his eyebrows in a rapture of anticipation.

'No, not at all,' rejoined Sikes. 'At least it can't be a putup job, as we expected.'

'Then it hasn't been properly gone about,' said the Jew, turning pale with anger. 'Don't tell me!'

'But I will tell you,' retorted Sikes. 'Who are you that's not to be told? I tell you that Toby Crackit has been

hanging about the place for a fortnight, and he can't get one of the servants in line.'

'Do you mean to tell me, Bill,' said the Jew: softening as the other grew heated: 'that neither of the two men in

'Yes, I do mean to tell you so,' replied Sikes. 'The old lady has had 'em these twenty years; and if you were to

'But do you mean to say, my dear,' remonstrated the Jew, 'that the women can't be got over?'

'Not by flash Toby Crackit?' said the Jew incredulously. 'Think what women are, Bill,'

'No; not even by flash Toby Crackit,' replied Sikes. 'He says he's worn sham whiskers, and a canary

waistcoat, the whole blessed time he's been loitering down there, and it's all of no use.'

'He should have tried mustachios and a pair of military trousers, my dear,' said the Jew.

'So he did,' rejoined Sikes, 'and they warn't of no more use than the other plant.'

The Jew looked blank at this information. After ruminating for some minutes with his chin sunk on his breast,

he raised his head and said, with a deep sigh, that if flash Toby Crackit reported aright, he feared the game

'And yet,' said the old man, dropping his hands on his knees, 'it's a sad thing, my dear, to lose so much when

A long silence ensued; during which the Jew was plunged in deep thought, with his face wrinkled into an

expression of villainy perfectly demoniacal. Sikes eyed him furtively from time to time. Nancy, apparently

fearful of irritating the housebreaker, sat with her eyes fixed upon the fire, as if she had been deaf to all that

'Fagin,' said Sikes, abruptly breaking the stillness that prevailed; 'is it worth fifty shiners extra, if it's safely

'Yes, my dear, yes,' rejoined the Jew; his eyes glistening, and every muscle in his face working, with the

'Then,' said Sikes, thrusting aside the Jew's hand, with some disdain, 'let it come off as soon as you like. Toby

and me were over the gardenwall the night afore last, sounding the panels of the door and shutters. The

crib's barred up at night like a jail; but there's one part we can crack, safe and softly.'

'Yes?' said the Jew, bending his head forward, with his eyes almost starting out of it.

'Umph!' cried Sikes, stopping short, as the girl, scarcely moving her head, looked suddenly round, and

pointed for an instant to the Jew's face. 'Never mind which part it is. You can't do it without me, I know; but

'As you like, my dear, as you like' replied the Jew. 'Is there no help wanted, but yours and Toby's?'

'None,' said Sikes. 'Cept a centrebit and a boy. The first we've both got; the second you must find us.'

'Never mind wot it is!' replied Sikes. 'I want a boy, and he musn't be a big 'un. Lord!' said Mr. Sikes,

reflectively, 'if I'd only got that young boy of Ned, the chimbleysweeper's! He kept him small on purpose,

and let him out by the job. But the father gets lagged; and then the Juvenile Delinquent Society comes, and

takes the boy away from a trade where he was arning money, teaches him to read and write, and in time

makes a 'prentice of him. And so they go on,' said Mr. Sikes, his wrath rising with the recollection of his

wrongs, 'so they go on; and, if they'd got money enough (which it's a Providence they haven't,) we shouldn't

'No more we should,' acquiesed the Jew, who had been considering during this speech, and had only caught

The Jew nodded his head towards Nancy, who was still gazing at the fire; and intimated, by a sign, that he

would have her told to leave the room. Sikes shrugged his shoulders impatiently, as if he thought the

precaution unnecessary; but complied, nevertheless, by requesting Miss Nancy to fetch him a jug of beer.

'You don't want any beer,' said Nancy, folding her arms, and retaining her seat very composedly.

'Nonsense,' rejoined the girl coolly, 'Go on, Fagin. I know what he's going to say, Bill; he needn't mind me.'

'Why, you don't mind the old girl, do you, Fagin?' he asked at length. 'You've known her long enough to trust

'_I_ should think not!' replied the young lady: drawing her chair up to the table, and putting her elbows upon

'No, no, my dear, I know you're not,' said the Jew; 'but' and again the old man paused.

'I didn't know whether she mightn't p'r'aps be out of sorts, you know, my dear, as she was the other night,'

At this confession, Miss Nancy burst into a loud laugh; and, swallowing a glass of brandy, shook her head

with an air of defiance, and burst into sundry exclamations of 'Keep the game agoing!' 'Never say die!' and

the like. These seemed to have the effect of reassuring both gentlemen; for the Jew nodded his head with a

'Ha! you're a clever one, my dear: the sharpest girl I ever saw!' said the Jew, patting her on the neck. 'It WAS

'He's the boy for you, my dear,' replied the Jew in a hoarse whisper; laying his finger on the side of his nose,

'Have him, Bill!' said Nancy. 'I would, if I was in your place. He mayn't be so much up, as any of the others;

but that's not what you want, if he's only to open a door for you. Depend upon it he's a safe one, Bill.'

'I know he is,' rejoined Fagin. 'He's been in good training these last few weeks, and it's time he began to work

'And will do everything you want, Bill, my dear,' interposed the Jew; 'he can't help himself. That is, if you

'Frighten him!' echoed Sikes. 'It'll be no sham frightening, mind you. If there's anything queer about him

when we once get into the work; in for a penny, in for a pound. You won't see him alive again, Fagin. Think

of that, before you send him. Mark my words!' said the robber, poising a crowbar, which he had drawn from

'I've thought of it all,' said the Jew with energy. 'I'veI've had my eye upon him, my dears, closeclose.

Once let him feel that he is one of us; once fill his mind with the idea that he has been a thief; and he's ours!

Ours for his life. Oho! It couldn't have come about better! The old man crossed his arms upon his breast; and,

'Perhaps I do, my dear,' said the Jew, with a shrill chuckle. 'Mine, if you like, Bill.'

'And wot,' said Sikes, scowling fiercely on his agreeable friend, 'wot makes you take so much pains about one

chalkfaced kid, when you know there are fifty boys snoozing about Common Garden every night, as you

'Because they're of no use to me, my dear,' replied the Jew, with some confusion, 'not worth the taking. Their

looks convict 'em when they get into trouble, and I lose 'em all. With this boy, properly managed, my dears, I

could do what I couldn't with twenty of them. Besides,' said the Jew, recovering his selfpossession, 'he has

us now if he could only give us legbail again; and he must be in the same boat with us. Never mind how he

came there; it's quite enough for my power over him that he was in a robbery; that's all I want. Now, how

much better this is, than being obliged to put the poor leetle boy out of the waywhich would be dangerous,

'When is it to be done?' asked Nancy, stopping some turbulent exclamation on the part of Mr. Sikes,

expressive of the disgust with which he received Fagin's affectation of humanity.

'I planned with Toby, the night arter tomorrow,' rejoined Sikes in a surly voice, 'if he heerd nothing from me

'Oh, ah, it's all planned,' rejoined Sikes, interrupting him. 'Never mind particulars. You'd better bring the boy

here tomorrow night. I shall get off the stone an hour arter daybreak. Then you hold your tongue, and keep

After some discussion, in which all three took an active part, it was decided that Nancy should repair to the

Jew's next evening when the night had set in, and bring Oliver away with her; Fagin craftily observing, that,

if he evinced any disinclination to the task, he would be more willing to accompany the girl who had so

recently interfered in his behalf, than anybody else. It was also solemnly arranged that poor Oliver should, for

the purposes of the contemplated expedition, be unreservedly consigned to the care and custody of Mr.

William Sikes; and further, that the said Sikes should deal with him as he thought fit; and should not be held

responsible by the Jew for any mischance or evil that might be necessary to visit him: it being understood

that, to render the compact in this respect binding, any representations made by Mr. Sikes on his return

should be required to be confirmed and corroborated, in all important particulars, by the testimony of flash

These preliminaries adjusted, Mr. Sikes proceeded to drink brandy at a furious rate, and to flourish the

crowbar in an alarming manner; yelling forth, at the same time, most unmusical snatches of song, mingled

with wild execrations. At length, in a fit of professional enthusiasm, he insisted upon producing his box of

housebreaking tools: which he had no sooner stumbled in with, and opened for the purpose of explaining the

nature and properties of the various implements it contained, and the peculiar beauties of their construction,

Their eyes met, and the Jew scrutinised her, narrowly. There was no flinching about the girl. She was as true

The Jew again bade her goodnight, and, bestowing a sly kick upon the prostrate form of Mr. Sikes while her

'Always the way!' muttered the Jew to himself as he turned homeward. 'The worst of these women is, that a

very little thing serves to call up some longforgotten feeling; and, the best of them is, that it never lasts. Ha!

Beguiling the time with these pleasant reflections, Mr. Fagin wended his way, through mud and mire, to his

'Is Oliver abed? I want to speak to him,' was his first remark as they descended the stairs.

The boy was lying, fast asleep, on a rude bed upon the floor; so pale with anxiety, and sadness, and the

closeness of his prison, that he looked like death; not death as it shows in shroud and coffin, but in the guise it

wears when life has just departed; when a young and gentle spirit has, but an instant, fled to Heaven, and the

gross air of the world has not had time to breathe upon the changing dust it hallowed.

When Oliver awoke in the morning, he was a good deal surprised to find that a new pair of shoes, with strong

thick soles, had been placed at his bedside; and that his old shoes had been removed. At first, he was pleased

with the discovery: hoping that it might be the forerunner of his release; but such thoughts were quickly

dispelled, on his sitting down to breakfast along with the Jew, who told him, in a tone and manner which

increased his alarm, that he was to be taken to the residence of Bill Sikes that night.

'No, no, my dear. Not to stop there,' replied the Jew. 'We shouldn't like to lose you. Don't be afraid, Oliver,

you shall come back to us again. Ha! ha! ha! We won't be so cruel as to send you away, my dear. Oh no, no!'

The old man, who was stooping over the fire toasting a piece of bread, looked round as he bantered Oliver

thus; and chuckled as if to show that he knew he would still be very glad to get away if he could.

'I suppose,' said the Jew, fixing his eyes on Oliver, 'you want to know what you're going to Bill's foreh,

Oliver coloured, involuntarily, to find that the old thief had been reading his thoughts; but boldly said, Yes,

'Bah!' said the Jew, turning away with a disappointed countenance from a close perusal of the boy's face.

The Jew seemed much vexed by Oliver's not expressing any greater curiosity on the subject; but the truth is,

that, although Oliver felt very anxious, he was too much confused by the earnest cunning of Fagin's looks,

and his own speculations, to make any further inquiries just then. He had no other opportunity: for the Jew

'You may burn a candle,' said the Jew, putting one upon the table. 'And here's a book for you to read, till they

The Jew walked to the door: looking over his shoulder at the boy as he went. Suddenly stopping, he called

Oliver looked up; the Jew, pointing to the candle, motioned him to light it. He did so; and, as he placed the

candlestick upon the table, saw that the Jew was gazing fixedly at him, with lowering and contracted brows,

'Take heed, Oliver! take heed!' said the old man, shaking his right hand before him in a warning manner. 'He's

a rough man, and thinks nothing of blood when his own is up. W hatever falls out, say nothing; and do what

he bids you. Mind!' Placing a strong emphasis on the last word, he suffered his features gradually to resolve

Oliver leaned his head upon his hand when the old man disappeared, and pondered, with a trembling heart, on

the words he had just heard. The more he thought of the Jew's admonition, the more he was at a loss to divine

He could think of no bad object to be attained by sending him to Sikes, which would not be equally well

answered by his remaining with Fagin; and after meditating for a long time, concluded that he had been

selected to perform some ordinary menial offices for the housebreaker, until another boy, better suited for his

purpose could be engaged. He was too well accustomed to suffering, and had suffered too much where he

was, to bewail the prospect of change very severely. He remained lost in thought for some minutes; and then,

with a heavy sigh, snuffed the candle, and, taking up the book which the Jew had left with him, began to read.

He turned over the leaves. Carelessly at first; but, lighting on a passage which attracted his attention, he soon

became intent upon the volume. It was a history of the lives and trials of great criminals; and the pages were

soiled and thumbed with use. Here, he read of dreadful crimes that made the blood run cold; of secret

murders that had been committed by the lonely wayside; of bodies hidden from the eye of man in deep pits

and wells: which would not keep them down, deep as they were, but had yielded them up at last, after many

years, and so maddened the murderers with the sight, that in their horror they had confessed their guilt, and

yelled for the gibbet to end their agony. Here, too, he read of men who, lying in their beds at dead of night,

had been tempted (so they said) and led on, by their own bad thoughts, to such dreadful bloodshed as it made

the flesh creep, and the limbs quail, to think of. The terrible descriptions were so real and vivid, that the

sallow pages seemed to turn red with gore; and the words upon them, to be sounded in his ears, as if they

In a paroxysm of fear, the boy closed the book, and thrust it from him. Then, falling upon his knees, he

prayed Heaven to spare him from such deeds; and rather to will that he should die at once, than be reserved

for crimes, so fearful and appaling. By degrees, he grew more calm, and besought, in a low and broken voice,

that he might be rescued from his present dangers; and that if any aid were to be raised up for a poor outcast

boy who had never known the love of friends or kindred, it might come to him now, when, desolate and

He had concluded his prayer, but still remained with his head buried in his hands, when a rustling noise

'What's that!' he cried, starting up, and catching sight of a figure standing by the door. 'Who's there?'

Oliver raised the candle above his head: and looked towards the door. It was Nancy.

Oliver saw that she was very pale, and gently inquired if she were ill. The girl threw herself into a chair, with

'Has anything happened?' asked Oliver. 'Can I help you? I will if I can. I will, indeed.'

She rocked herself to and fro; caught her throat; and, uttering a gurgling sound, gasped for breath.

The girl beat her hands upon her knees, and her feet upon the ground; and, suddenly stopping, drew her shawl

Oliver stirred the fire. Drawing her chair close to it, she sat there, for a little time, without speaking; but at

'I don't know what comes over me sometimes,' said she, affecting to busy herself in arranging her dress; 'it's

'What for?' echoed the girl, raising her eyes, and averting them again, the moment they encountered the boy's

'Have it your own way,' rejoined the girl, affecting to laugh. 'For no good, then.'

Oliver could see that he had some power over the girl's better feelings, and, for an instant, thought of

appealing to her compassion for his helpless state. But, then, the thought darted across his mind that it was

barely eleven o'clock; and that many people were still in the streets: of whom surely some might be found to

give credence to his tale. As the reflection occured to him, he stepped forward: and said, somewhat hastily,

Neither his brief consideration, nor its purport, was lost on his companion. She eyed him narrowly, while he

spoke; and cast upon him a look of intelligence which sufficiently showed that she guessed what had been

'Hush!' said the girl, stooping over him, and pointing to the door as she looked cautiously round. 'You can't

help yourself. I have tried hard for you, but all to no purpose. You are hedged round and round. If ever you

Struck by the energy of her manner, Oliver looked up in her face with great surprise. She seemed to speak the

truth; her countenance was white and agitated; and she trembled with very earnestness.

'I have saved you from being illused once, and I will again, and I do now,' continued the girl aloud; 'for

those who would have fetched you, if I had not, would have been far more rough than me. I have promised

for your being quiet and silent; if you are not, you will only do harm to yourself and me too, and perhaps be

my death. See here! I have borne all this for you already, as true as God sees me show it.'

She pointed, hastily, to some livid bruises on her neck and arms; and continued, with great rapidity:

'Remember this! And don't let me suffer more for you, just now. If I could help you, I would; but I have not

the power. They don't mean to harm you; whatever they make you do, is no fault of yours. Hush! Every word

She caught the hand which Oliver instinctively placed in hers, and, blowing out the light, drew him after her

up the stairs. The door was opened, quickly, by some one shrouded in the darkness, and was as quickly

closed, when they had passed out. A hackneycabriolet was in waiting; with the same vehemence which she

had exhibited in addressing Oliver, the girl pulled him in with her, and drew the curtains close. The driver

wanted no directions, but lashed his horse into full speed, without the delay of an instant.

The girl still held Oliver fast by the hand, and continued to pour into his ear, the warnings and assurances she

had already imparted. All was so quick and hurried, that he had scarcely time to recollect where he was, or

how he came there, when to carriage stopped at the house to which the Jew's steps had been directed on the

For one brief moment, Oliver cast a hurried glance along the empty street, and a cry for help hung upon his

lips. But the girl's voice was in his ear, beseeching him in such tones of agony to remember her, that he had

not the heart to utter it. While he hesitated, the opportunity was gone; he was already in the house, and the

'Hallo!' replied Sikes: appearing at the head of the stairs, with a candle. 'Oh! That's the time of day. Come on!'

This was a very strong expression of approbation, an uncommonly hearty welcome, from a person of Mr.

Sikes' temperament. Nancy, appearing much gratified thereby, saluted him cordially.

'Bull'seye's gone home with Tom,' observed Sikes, as he lighted them up. 'He'd have been in the way.'

'So you've got the kid,' said Sikes when they had all reached the room: closing the door as he spoke.

'I'm glad to hear it,' said Sikes, looking grimly at Oliver; 'for the sake of his young carcase: as would

otherways have suffered for it. Come here, young 'un; and let me read you a lectur', which is as well got over

Thus addressing his new pupil, Mr. Sikes pulled off Oliver's cap and threw it into a corner; and then, taking

him by the shoulder, sat himself down by the table, and stood the boy in front of him.

'Now, first: do you know wot this is?' inquired Sikes, taking up a pocketpistol which lay on the table.

'Well, then, look here,' continued Sikes. 'This is powder; that 'ere's a bullet; and this is a little bit of a old hat

Oliver murmured his comprehension of the different bodies referred to; and Mr. Sikes proceeded to load the

'Well,' said the robber, grasping Oliver's wrist, and putting the barrel so close to his temple that they touched;

at which moment the boy could not repress a start; 'if you speak a word when you're out o' doors with me,

except when I speak to you, that loading will be in your head without notice. So, if you DO make up your

Having bestowed a scowl upon the object of this warning, to increase its effect, Mr. Sikes continued.

'As near as I know, there isn't anybody as would be asking very partickler arter you, if you WAS disposed of;

so I needn't take this devilandall of trouble to explain matters to you, if it warn't for you own good. D'ye

'The short and the long of what you mean,' said Nancy: speaking very emphatically, and slightly frowning at

Oliver as if to bespeak his serious attention to her words: 'is, that if you're crossed by him in this job you have

on hand, you'll prevent his ever telling tales afterwards, by shooting him through the head, and will take your

chance of swinging for it, as you do for a great many other things in the way of business, every month of your

'That's it!' observed Mr. Sikes, approvingly; 'women can always put things in fewest words. Except when

it's blowing up; and then they lengthens it out. And now that he's thoroughly up to it, let's have some supper,

In pursuance of this request, Nancy quickly laid the cloth; disappearing for a few minutes, she presently

returned with a pot of porter and a dish of sheep's heads: which gave occasion to several pleasant witticisms

on the part of Mr. Sikes, founded upon the singular coincidence of 'jemmies' being a can name, common to

them, and also to an ingenious implement much used in his profession. Indeed, the worthy gentleman,

stimulated perhaps by the immediate prospect of being on active service, was in great spirits and good

humour; in proof whereof, it may be here remarked, that he humourously drank all the beer at a draught, and

did not utter, on a rough calculation, more than fourscore oaths during the whole progress of the meal.

Supper being endedit may be easily conceived that Oliver had no great appetite for itMr. Sikes disposed

of a couple of glasses of spirits and water, and threw himself on the bed; ordering Nancy, with many

imprecations in case of failure, to call him at five precisely. Oliver stretched himself in his clothes, by

command of the same authority, on a mattress upon the floor; and the girl, mending the fire, sat before it, in

For a long time Oliver lay awake, thinking it not impossible that Nancy might seek that opportunity of

whispering some further advice; but the girl sat brooding over the fire, without moving, save now and then to

When he awoke, the table was covered with teathings, and Sikes was thrusting various articles into the

pockets of his greatcoat, which hung over the back of a chair. Nancy was busily engaged in preparing

breakfast. It was not yet daylight; for the candle was still burning, and it was quite dark outside. A sharp rain,

'Now, then!' growled Sikes, as Oliver started up; 'halfpast five! Look sharp, or you'll get no breakfast; for it's

Oliver was not long in making his toilet; having taken some breakfast, he replied to a surly inquiry from

Nancy, scarcely looking at the boy, threw him a handkerchief to tie round his throat; Sikes gave him a large

rough cape to button over his shoulders. Thus attired, he gave his hand to the robber, who, merely pausing to

show him with a menacing gesture that he had that same pistol in a sidepocket of his greatcoat, clasped it

Oliver turned, for an instant, when they reached the door, in the hope of meeting a look from the girl. But she

had resumed her old seat in front of the fire, and sat, perfectly motionless before it.

It was a cheerless morning when they got into the street; blowing and raining hard; and the clouds looking

dull and stormy. The night had been very wet: large pools of water had collected in the road: and the kennels

were overflowing. There was a faint glimmering of the coming day in the sky; but it rather aggrevated than

relieved the gloom of the scene: the sombre light only serving to pale that which the street lamps afforded,

without shedding any warmer or brighter tints upon the wet housetops, and dreary streets. There appeared to

be nobody stirring in that quarter of the town; the windows of the houses were all closely shut; and the streets

By the time they had turned into the Bethnal Green Road, the day had fairly begun to break. Many of the

lamps were already extinguished; a few country waggons were slowly toiling on, towards London; now and

then, a stagecoach, covered with mud, rattled briskly by: the driver bestowing, as he passed, and admonitory

lash upon the heavy waggoner who, by keeping on the wrong side of the road, had endangered his arriving at

the office, a quarter of a minute after his time. The publichouses, with gaslights burning inside, were

already open. By degrees, other shops began to be unclosed, and a few scattered people were met with. Then,

came straggling groups of labourers going to their work; then, men and women with fishbaskets on their

heads; donkeycarts laden with vegetables; chaisecarts filled with livestock or whole carcasses of meat;

milkwomen with pails; an unbroken concourse of people, trudging out with various supplies to the eastern

suburbs of the town. As they approached the City, the noise and traffic gradually increased; when they

threaded the streets between Shoreditch and Smithfield, it had swelled into a roar of sound and bustle. It was

as light as it was likely to be, till night came on again, and the busy morning of half the London population

Turning down Sun Street and Crown Street, and crossing Finsbury square, Mr. Sikes struck, by way of

Chiswell Street, into Barbican: thence into Long Lane, and so into Smithfield; from which latter place arose a

It was marketmorning. The ground was covered, nearly ankledeep, with filth and mire; a thick steam,

perpetually rising from the reeking bodies of the cattle, and mingling with the fog, which seemd to rest upon

the chimneytops, hung heavily above. All the pens in the centre of the large area, and as many temporary

pens as could be crowded into the vacant space, were filled with sheep; tied up to posts by the gutter side

were long lines of beasts and oxen, three or four deep. Countrymen, butchers, drovers, hawkers, boys,

thieves, idlers, and vagabonds of every low grade, were mingled together in a mass; the whistling of drovers,

the barking dogs, the bellowing and plunging of the oxen, the bleating of sheep, the grunting and squeaking

of pigs, the cries of hawkers, the shouts, oaths, and quarrelling on all sides; the ringing of bells and roar of

voices, that issued from every publichouse; the crowding, pushing, driving, beating, whooping and yelling;

the hideous and discordant dim that resounded from every corner of the market; and the unwashed, unshaven,

squalid, and dirty figues constantly running to and fro, and bursting in and out of the throng; rendered it a

Mr. Sikes, dragging Oliver after him, elbowed his way through the thickest of the crowd, and bestowed very

little attention on the numerous sights and sounds, which so astonished the boy. He nodded, twice or thrice, to

a passing friend; and, resisting as many invitations to take a morning dram, pressed steadily onward, until

they were clear of the turmoil, and had made their way through Hosier Lane into Holborn.

'Now, young 'un!' said Sikes, looking up at the clock of St. Andrew's Church, 'hard upon seven! you must

Mr. Sikes accompanied this speech with a jerk at his little companion's wrist; Oliver, quickening his pace into

a kind of trot between a fast walk and a run, kept up with the rapid strides of the housebreaker as well as he

They held their course at this rate, until they had passed Hyde Park corner, and were on their way to

Kensington: when Sikes relaxed his pace, until an empty cart which was at some little distance behind, came

up. Seeing 'Hounslow' written on it, he asked the driver with as much civility as he could assume, if he would

'Yes; he's my boy,' replied Sikes, looking hard at Oliver, and putting his hand abstractedly into the pocket

'Your father walks rather too quick for you, don't he, my man?' inquired the driver: seeing that Oliver was out

Thus addressing Oliver, he helped him into the cart; and the driver, pointing to a heap of sacks, told him to lie

As they passed the different milestones, Oliver wondered, more and more, where his companion meant to

take him. Kensington, Hammersmith, Chiswick, Kew Bridge, Brentford, were all passed; and yet they went

on as steadily as if they had only just begun their journey. At length, they came to a publichouse called the

Coach and Horses; a little way beyond which, another road appeared to run off. And here, the cart stopped.

Sikes dismounted with great precipitation, holding Oliver by the hand all the while; and lifting him down

directly, bestowed a furious look upon him, and rapped the sidepocket with his fist, in a significant manner.

'He's sulky,' replied Sikes, giving him a shake; 'he's sulky. A young dog! Don't mind him.'

'Not I!' rejoined the other, getting into his cart. 'It's a fine day, after all.' And he drove away.

Sikes waited until he had fairly gone; and then, telling Oliver he might look about him if he wanted, once

They turned round to the left, a short way past the publichouse; and then, taking a righthand road, walked

on for a long time: passing many large gardens and gentlemen's houses on both sides of the way, and

stopping for nothing but a little beer, until they reached a town. Here against the wall of a house, Oliver saw

written up in pretty large letters, 'Hampton.' They lingered about, in the fields, for some hours. At length they

came back into the town; and, turning into an old publichouse with a defaced signboard, ordered some

The kitchen was an old, lowroofed room; with a great beam across the middle of the ceiling, and benches,

with high backs to them, by the fire; on which were seated several rough men in smockfrocks, drinking and

smoking. They took no notice of Oliver; and very little of Sikes; and, as Sikes took very little notice of the, he

and his young comrade sat in a corner by themselves, without being much troubled by their company.

They had some cold meat for dinner, and sat so long after it, while Mr. Sikes indulged himself with three or

four pipes, that Oliver began to feel quite certain they were not going any further. Being much tired with the

walk, and getting up so early, he dozed a little at first; then, quite overpowered by fatigue and the fumes of

It was quite dark when he was awakened by a push from Sikes. Rousing himself sufficiently to sit up and

look about him, he found that worthy in close fellowship and communication with a labouring man, over a

'Yes, I am,' replied the man, who seemed a little the worseor better, as the case might befor drinking;

'and not slow about it neither. My horse hasn't got a load behind him going back, as he had coming up in the

mornin'; and he won't be long adoing of it. Here's luck to him. Ecod! he's a good 'un!'

'Could you give my boy and me a lift as far as there?' demanded Sikes, pushing the ale towards his new

'If you're going directly, I can,' replied the man, looking out of the pot. 'Are you going to Halliford?'

'Why not?' rejoined Sikes. 'You're agoing to accommodate us, and wot's to prevent my standing treat for a

The stranger reflected upon this argument, with a very profound face; having done so, he seized Sikes by the

hand: and declared he was a real good fellow. To which Mr. Sikes replied, he was joking; as, if he had been

After the exchange of a few more compliments, they bade the company goodnight, and went out; the girl

gathering up the pots and glasses as they did so, and lounging out to the door, with her hands full, to see the

The horse, whose health had been drunk in his absence, was standing outside: ready harnessed to the cart.

Oliver and Sikes got in without any further ceremony; and the man to whom he belonged, having lingered for

a minute or two 'to bear him up,' and to defy the hostler and the world to produce his equal, mounted also.

Then, the hostler was told to give the horse his head; and, his head being given him, he made a very

unpleasant use of it: tossing it into the air with great disdain, and running into the parlour windows over the

way; after performing those feats, and supporting himself for a short time on his hindlegs, he started off at

The night was very dark. A damp mist rose from the river, and the marshy ground about; and spread itself

over the dreary fields. It was piercing cold, too; all was gloomy and black. Not a word was spoken; for the

driver had grown sleepy; and Sikes was in no mood to lead him into conversation. Oliver sat huddled

together, in a corner of the cart; bewildered with alarm and apprehension; and figuring strange objects in the

gaunt trees, whose branches waved grimly to and fro, as if in some fantastic joy at the desolation of the scene.

As they passed Sunbury Church, the clock struck seven. There was a light in the ferryhouse window

opposite: which streamed across the road, and threw into more sombre shadow a dark yewtree with graves

beneath it. There was a dull sound of falling water not far off; and the leaves of the old tree stirred gently in

Sunbury was passed through, and they came again into the lonely road. Two or three miles more, and the cart

stopped. Sikes alighted, took Oliver by the hand, and they once again walked on.

They turned into no house at Shepperton, as the weary boy had expected; but still kept walking on, in mud

and darkness, through gloomy lanes and over cold open wastes, until they came within sight of the lights of a

town at no great distance. On looking intently forward, Oliver saw that the water was just below them, and

Sikes kept straight on, until they were close upon the bridge; then turned suddenly down a bank upon the left.

'The water!' thought Oliver, turning sick with fear. 'He has brought me to this lonely place to murder me!'

He was about to throw himself on the ground, and make one struggle for his young life, when he saw that

they stood before a solitary house: all ruinous and decayed. There was a window on each side of the

dilapidated entrance; and one story above; but no light was visible. The house was dark, dismantled: and the

Sikes, with Oliver's hand still in his, softly approached the low porch, and raised the latch. The door yielded

'Aha! my pal!' cried the same voice. 'A glim, Barney, a glim! Show the gentleman in, Barney; wake up first,

The speaker appeared to throw a bootjack, or some such article, at the person he addressed, to rouse him

from his slumbers: for the noise of a wooden body, falling violently, was heard; and then an indistinct

'Do you hear?' cried the same voice. 'There's Bill Sikes in the passage with nobody to do the civil to him; and

you sleeping there, as if you took laudanum with your meals, and nothing stronger. Are you any fresher now,

A pair of slipshod feet shuffled, hastily, across the bare floor of the room, as this interrogatory was put; and

there issued, from a door on the right hand; first, a feeble candle: and next, the form of the same individual

who has been heretofore described as labouring under the infirmity of speaking through his nose, and

'Bister Sikes!' exclaimed Barney, with real or counterfeit joy; 'cub id, sir; cub id.'

'Here! you get on first,' said Sikes, putting Oliver in front of him. 'Quicker! or I shall tread upon your heels.'

Muttering a curse upon his tardiness, Sikes pushed Oliver before him; and they entered a low dark room with

a smoky fire, two or three broken chairs, a table, and a very old couch: on which, with his legs much higher

than his head, a man was reposing at full length, smoking a long clay pipe. He was dressed in a smartlycut

snuffcoloured coat, with large brass buttons; an orange neckerchief; a coarse, staring, shawlpattern

waistcoat; and drab breeches. Mr. Crackit (for he it was) had no very great quantity of hair, either upon his

head or face; but what he had, was of a reddish dye, and tortured into long corkscrew curls, through which he

occasionally thrust some very dirty fingers, ornamented with large common rings. He was a trifle above the

middle size, and apparently rather weak in the legs; but this circumstance by no means detracted from his

own admiration of his topboots, which he contemplated, in their elevated situation, with lively satisfaction.

'Bill, my boy!' said this figure, turning his head towards the door, 'I'm glad to see you. I was almost afraid

Uttering this exclamation in a tone of great surprise, as his eyes rested on Oliver, Mr. Toby Crackit brought

'Fagin's, eh!' exclaimed Toby, looking at Oliver. 'Wot an inwalable boy that'll make, for the old ladies'

'Therethere's enough of that,' interposed Sikes, impatiently; and stooping over his recumbant friend, he

whispered a few words in his ear: at which Mr. Crackit laughed immensely, and honoured Oliver with a long

'Now,' said Sikes, as he resumed his seat, 'if you'll give us something to eat and drink while we're waiting,

you'll put some heart in us; or in me, at all events. Sit down by the fire, younker, and rest yourself; for you'll

Oliver looked at Sikes, in mute and timid wonder; and drawing a stool to the fire, sat with his aching head

'Here,' said Toby, as the young Jew placed some fragments of food, and a bottle upon the table, 'Success to

the crack!' He rose to honour the toast; and, carefully depositing his empty pipe in a corner, advanced to the

table, filled a glass with spirits, and drank off its contents. Mr. Sikes did the same.

'A drain for the boy,' said Toby, halffilling a wineglass. 'Down with it, innocence.'

'Down with it!' echoed Toby. 'Do you think I don't know what's good for you? Tell him to drink it, Bill.'

'He had better!' said Sikes clapping his hand upon his pocket. 'Burn my body, if he isn't more trouble than a

Frightened by the menacing gestures of the two men, Oliver hastily swallowed the contents of the glass, and

immediately fell into a violent fit of coughing: which delighted Toby Crackit and Barney, and even drew a

This done, and Sikes having satisfied his appetite (Oliver could eat nothing but a small crust of bread which

they made him swallow), the two men laid themselves down on chairs for a short nap. Oliver retained his

stool by the fire; Barney wrapped in a blanket, stretched himself on the floor: close outside the fender.

They slept, or appeared to sleep, for some time; nobody stirring but Barney, who rose once or twice to throw

coals on the fire. Oliver fell into a heavy doze: imagining himself straying along the gloomy lanes, or

wandering about the dark churchyard, or retracing some one or other of the scenes of the past day: when he

In an instant, the other two were on their legs, and all were actively engaged in busy preparation. Sikes and

his companion enveloped their necks and chins in large dark shawls, and drew on their greatcoats; Barney,

opening a cupboard, brought forth several articles, which he hastily crammed into the pockets.

'Here they are,' replied Barney, producing a pair of pistols. 'You loaded them yourself.'

'Crape, keys, centrebits, darkiesnothing forgotten?' inquired Toby: fastening a small crowbar to a loop

'All right,' rejoined his companion. 'Bring them bits of timber, Barney. That's the time of day.'

With these words, he took a thick stick from Barney's hands, who, having delivered another to Toby, busied

Oliver: who was completely stupified by the unwonted exercise, and the air, and the drink which had been

forced upon him: put his hand mechanically into that which Sikes extended for the purpose.

The man went to the door, and returned to announce that all was quiet. The two robbers issued forth with

Oliver between them. Barney, having made all fast, rolled himself up as before, and was soon asleep again.

It was now intensely dark. The fog was much heavier than it had been in the early part of the night; and the

atmosphere was so damp, that, although no rain fell, Oliver's hair and eyebrows, within a few minutes after

leaving the house, had become stiff with the halffrozen moisture that was floating about. They crossed the

bridge, and kept on towards the lights which he had seen before. They were at no great distance off; and, as

'Slap through the town,' whispered Sikes; 'there'll be nobody in the way, tonight, to see us.'

Toby acquiesced; and they hurried through the main street of the little town, which at that late hour was

wholly deserted. A dim light shone at intervals from some bedroom window; and the hoarse barking of dogs

occasionally broke the silence of the night. But there was nobody abroad. They had cleared the town, as the

Quickening their pace, they turned up a road upon the left hand. After walking about a quarter of a mile, they

stopped before a detached house surrounded by a wall: to the top of which, Toby Crackit, scarcely pausing to

Before Oliver had time to look round, Sikes had caught him under the arms; and in three or four seconds he

and Toby were lying on the grass on the other side. Sikes followed directly. And they stole cautiously

And now, for the first time, Oliver, wellnigh mad with grief and terror, saw that housebreaking and robbery,

if not murder, were the objects of the expedition. He clasped his hands together, and involuntarily uttered a

subdued exclamation of horror. A mist came before his eyes; the cold sweat stood upon his ashy face; his

'Get up!' murmured Sikes, trembling with rage, and drawing the pistol from his pocket; 'Get up, or I'll strew

'Oh! for God's sake let me go!' cried Oliver; 'let me run away and die in the fields. I will never come near

London; never, never! Oh! pray have mercy on me, and do not make me steal. For the love of all the bright

The man to whom this appeal was made, swore a dreadful oath, and had cocked the pistol, when Toby,

striking it from his grasp, placed his hand upon the boy's mouth, and dragged him to the house.

'Hush!' cried the man; 'it won't answer here. Say another word, and I'll do your business myself with a crack

on the head. That makes no noise, and is quite as certain, and more genteel. Here, Bill, wrench the shutter

open. He's game enough now, I'll engage. I've seen older hands of his age took the same way, for a minute or

Sikes, invoking terrific imprecations upon Fagin's head for sending Oliver on such an errand, plied the

crowbar vigorously, but with little noise. After some delay, and some assistance from Toby, the shutter to

It was a little lattice window, about five feet and a half above the ground, at the back of the house: which

belonged to a scullery, or small brewingplace, at the end of the passage. The aperture was so small, that the

inmates had probably not thought it worth while to defend it more securely; but it was large enough to admit

a boy of Oliver's size, nevertheless. A very brief exercise of Mr. Sike's art, sufficed to overcome the fastening

'Now listen, you young limb,' whispered Sikes, drawing a dark lantern from his pocket, and throwing the

glare full on Oliver's face; 'I'm a going to put you through there. Take this light; go softly up the steps straight

afore you, and along the little hall, to the street door; unfasten it, and let us in.'

'There's a bolt at the top, you won't be able to reach,' interposed Toby. 'Stand upon one of the hall chairs.

There are three there, Bill, with a jolly large blue unicorn and gold pitchfork on 'em: which is the old lady's

'Keep quiet, can't you?' replied Sikes, with a threatening look. 'The roomdoor is open, is it?'

'Wide,' repied Toby, after peeping in to satisfy himself. 'The game of that is, that they always leave it open

with a catch, so that the dog, who's got a bed in here, may walk up and down the passage when he feels

Although Mr. Crackit spoke in a scarcely audible whisper, and laughed without noise, Sikes imperiously

commanded him to be silent, and to get to work. Toby complied, by first producing his lantern, and placing it

on the ground; then by planting himself firmly with his head against the wall beneath the window, and his

hands upon his knees, so as to make a step of his back. This was no sooner done, than Sikes, mounting upon

him, put Oiver gently through the window with his feet first; and, without leaving hold of his collar, planted

'Take this lantern,' said Sikes, looking into the room. 'You see the stairs afore you?'

Oliver, more dead than alive, gasped out, 'Yes.' Sikes, pointing to the streetdoor with the pistolbarrel,

briefly advised him to take notice that he was within shot all the way; and that if he faltered, he would fall

'It's done in a minute,' said Sikes, in the same low whisper. 'Directly I leave go of you, do your work. Hark!'

In the short time he had had to collect his senses, the boy had firmly resolved that, whether he died in the

attempt or not, he would make one effort to dart upstairs from the hall, and alarm the family. Filled with this

Scared by the sudden breaking of the dead stillness of the place, and by a loud cry which followed it, Oliver

The cry was repeateda light appeareda vision of two terrified halfdressed men at the top of the stairs

swam before his eyesa flasha loud noisea smokea crash somewhere, but where he knew not,and

Sikes had disappeared for an instant; but he was up again, and had him by the collar before the smoke had

cleared away. He fired his own pistol after the men, who were already retreating; and dragged the boy up.

'Clasp your arm tighter,' said Sikes, as he drew him through the window. 'Give me a shawl here. They've hit

Then came the loud ringing of a bell, mingled with the noise of firearms, and the shouts of men, and the

sensation of being carried over uneven ground at a rapid pace. And then, the noises grew confused in the

distance; and a cold deadly feeling crept over the boy's heart; and he saw or heard no more.

The night was bitter cold. The snow lay on the ground, frozen into a hard thick crust, so that only the heaps

that had drifted into byways and corners were affected by the sharp wind that howled abroad: which, as if

expending increased fury on such prey as it found, caught it savagely up in clouds, and, whirling it into a

thousand misty eddies, scattered it in air. Bleak, dark, and piercing cold, it was a night for the wellhoused

and fed to draw round the bright fire and thank God they were at home; and for the homeless, starving wretch

to lay him down and die. Many hungerworn outcasts close their eyes in our bare streets, at such times, who,

let their crimes have been what they may, can hardly open them in a more bitter world.

Such was the aspect of outofdoors affairs, when Mr. Corney, the matron of the workhouse to which our

readers have been already introduced as the birthplace of Oliver Twist, sat herself down before a cheerful fire

in her own little room, and glanced, with no small degree of complacency, at a small round table: on which

stood a tray of corresponding size, furnished with all necessary materials for the most grateful meal that

matrons enjoy. In fact, Mrs. Corney was about to solace herself with a cup of tea. As she glanced from the

table to the fireplace, where the smallest of all possible kettles was singing a small song in a small voice, her

inward satisfaction evidently increased,so much so, indeed, that Mrs. Corney smiled.

'Well!' said the matron, leaning her elbow on the table, and looking reflectively at the fire; 'I'm sure we have

all on us a great deal to be grateful for! A great deal, if we did but know it. Ah!'

Mrs. Corney shook her head mournfully, as if deploring the mental blindness of those paupers who did not

know it; and thrusting a silver spoon (private property) into the inmost recesses of a twoounce tin

How slight a thing will disturb the equanimity of our frail minds! The black teapot, being very small and

easily filled, ran over while Mrs. Corney was moralising; and the water slightly scalded Mrs. Corney's hand.

'Drat the pot!' said the worthy matron, setting it down very hastily on the hob; 'a little stupid thing, that only

holds a couple of cups! What use is it of, to anybody! Except,' said Mrs. Corney, pausing, 'except to a poor

With these words, the matron dropped into her chair, and, once more resting her elbow on the table, thought

of her solitary fate. The small teapot, and the single cup, had awakened in her mind sad recollections of Mr.

Corney (who had not been dead more than fiveandtwenty years); and she was overpowered.

'I shall never get another!' said Mrs. Corney, pettishly; 'I shall never get anotherlike him.'

Whether this remark bore reference to the husband, or the teapot, is uncertain. It might have been the latter;

for Mrs. Corney looked at it as she spoke; and took it up afterwards. She had just tasted her first cup, when

'Oh, come in with you!' said Mrs. Corney, sharply. 'Some of the old women dying, I suppose. They always

die when I'm at meals. Don't stand there, letting the cold air in, don't. What's amiss now, eh?'

'At your service, ma'am,' said Mr. Bumble, who had been stopping outside to rub his shoes clean, and to

shake the snow off his coat; and who now made his appearance, bearing the cocked hat in one hand and a

The lady modestly hesitated to reply, lest there should be any impropriety in holding an interview with Mr.

Bumble, with closed doors. Mr. Bumble taking advantage of the hesitation, and being very cold himself, shut

'Hard, indeed, ma'am,' replied the beadle. 'Antiporochial weather this, ma'am. We have given away, Mrs.

Corney, we have given away a matter of twenty quartern loaves and a cheese and a half, this very blessed

'Of course not. When would they be, Mr. Bumble?' said the matron, sipping her tea.

'When, indeed, ma'am!' rejoined Mr. Bumble. 'Why here's one man that, in consideraton of his wife and large

family, has a quartern loaf and a good pound of cheese, full weight. Is he grateful, ma'am? Is he grateful? Not

a copper farthing's worth of it! What does he do, ma'am, but ask for a few coals; if it's only a pocket

handkerchief full, he says! Coals! What would he do with coals? Toast his cheese with 'em and then come

back for more. That's the way with these people, ma'am; give 'em a apron full of coals today, and they'll

The matron expressed her entire concurrence in this intelligible simile; and the beadle went on.

'I never,' said Mr. Bumble, 'see anything like the pitch it's got to. The day afore yesterday, a manyou have

been a married woman, ma'am, and I may mention it to youa man, with hardly a rag upon his back (here

Mrs. Corney looked at the floor), goes to our overseer's door when he has got company coming to dinner; and

says, he must be relieved, Mrs. Corney. As he wouldn't go away, and shocked the company very much, our

overseer sent him out a pound of potatoes and half a pint of oatmeal. "My heart!" says the ungrateful villain,

"what's the use of THIS to me? You might as well give me a pair of iron spectacles!' "Very good," says our

overseer, taking 'em away again, "you won't get anything else here." "Then I'll die in the streets!" says the

'Ha! ha! That was very good! So like Mr. Grannett, wasn't it?' interposed the matron. 'Well, Mr. Bumble?'

'Well, ma'am,' rejoined the beadle, 'he went away; and he DID die in the streets. There's a obstinate pauper

'It beats anything I could have believed,' observed the matron emphatically. 'But don't you think outofdoor

relief a very bad thing, any way, Mr. Bumble? You're a gentleman of experience, and ought to know. Come.'

'Mrs. Corney,' said the beadle, smiling as men smile who are conscious of superior information, 'outofdoor

relief, properly managed, ma'am: is the porochial safeguard. The great principle of outofdoor relief is, to

give the paupers exactly what they don't want; and then they get tired of coming.'

'Yes. Betwixt you and me, ma'am,' returned Mr. Bumble, 'that's the great principle; and that's the reason why,

if you look at any cases that get into them owdacious newspapers, you'll always observe that sick families

have been relieved with slices of cheese. That's the rule now, Mrs. Corney, all over the country. But,

however,' said the beadle, stopping to unpack his bundle, 'these are official secrets, ma'am; not to be spoken

of; except, as I may say, among the porochial officers, such as ourselves. This is the port wine, ma'am, that

the board ordered for the infirmary; real, fresh, genuine port wine; only out of the cask this forenoon; clear as

Having held the first bottle up to the light, and shaken it well to test its excellence, Mr. Bumble placed them

both on top of a chest of drawers; folded the handkerchief in which they had been wrapped; put it carefully in

'It blows, ma'am,' replied Mr. Bumble, turning up his coatcollar, 'enough to cut one's ears off.'

The matron looked, from the little kettle, to the beadle, who was moving towards the door; and as the beadle

coughed, preparatory to bidding her goodnight, bashfully inquired whetherwhether he wouldn't take a

Mr. Bumble instantaneously turned back his collar again; laid his hat and stick upon a chair; and drew

another chair up to the table. As he slowly seated himself, he looked at the lady. She fixed her eyes upon the

Mrs. Corney rose to get another cup and saucer from the closet. As she sat down, her eyes once again

encountered those of the gallant beadle; she coloured, and applied herself to the task of making his tea. Again

'Very sweet, indeed, ma'am,' replied Mr. Bumble. He fixed his eyes on Mrs. Corney as he said this; and if

The tea was made, and handed in silence. Mr. Bumble, having spread a handkerchief over his knees to

prevent the crumbs from sullying the splendour of his shorts, began to eat and drink; varying these

amusements, occasionally, by fetching a deep sigh; which, however, had no injurious effect upon his appetite,

but, on the contrary, rather seemed to facilitate his operations in the tea and toast department.

'You have a cat, ma'am, I see,' said Mr. Bumble, glancing at one who, in the centre of her family, was basking

'I am so fond of them, Mr. Bumble,you can't think,' replied the matron. 'They're SO happy, SO frolicsome,

'Very nice animals, ma'am,' replied Mr. Bumble, approvingly; 'so very domestic.'

'Oh, yes!' rejoined the matron with enthusiasm; 'so fond of their home too, that it's quite a pleasure, I'm sure.'

'Mrs. Corney, ma'am, said Mr. Bumble, slowly, and marking the time with his teaspoon, 'I mean to say this,

ma'am; that any cat, or kitten, that could live with you, ma'am, and NOT be fond of its home, must be a ass,

'It's of no use disguising facts, ma'am,' said Mr. Bumble, slowly flourishing the teaspoon with a kind of

amorous dignity which made him doubly impressive; 'I would drown it myself, with pleasure.'

'Then you're a cruel man,' said the matron vivaciously, as she held out her hand for the beadle's cup; 'and a

'Hardhearted, ma'am?' said Mr. Bumble. 'Hard?' Mr. Bumble resigned his cup without another word;

squeezed Mrs. Corney's little finger as she took it; and inflicting two openhanded slaps upon his laced

waistcoat, gave a mighty sigh, and hitched his chair a very little morsel farther from the fire.

It was a round table; and as Mrs. Corney and Mr. Bumble had been sitting opposite each other, with no great

space between them, and fronting the fire, it will be seen that Mr. Bumble, in receding from the fire, and still

keeping at the table, increased the distance between himself and Mrs. Corney; which proceeding, some

prudent readers will doubtless be disposed to admire, and to consider an act of great heroism on Mr. Bumble's

part: he being in some sort tempted by time, place, and opportunity, to give utterance to certain soft nothings,

which however well they may become the lips of the light and thoughtless, do seem immeasurably beneath

the dignity of judges of the land, members of parliament, ministers of state, lord mayors, and other great

public functionaries, but more particularly beneath the stateliness and gravity of a beadle: who (as is well

Whatever were Mr. Bumble's intentions, however (and no doubt they were of the best): it unfortunately

happened, as has been twice before remarked, that the table was a round one; consequently Mr. Bumble,

moving his chair by little and little, soon began to diminish the distance between himself and the matron; and,

continuing to travel round the outer edge of the circle, brought his chair, in time, close to that in which the

Now, if the matron had moved her chair to the right, she would have been scorched by the fire; and if to the

left, she must have fallen into Mr. Bumble's arms; so (being a discreet matron, and no doubt foreseeing these

consequences at a glance) she remained where she was, and handed Mr. Bumble another cup of tea.

'Hardhearted, Mrs. Corney?' said Mr. Bumble, stirring his tea, and looking up into the matron's face; 'are

'Dear me!' exclaimed the matron, 'what a very curious question from a single man. What can you want to

The beadle drank his tea to the last drop; finished a piece of toast; whisked the crumbs off his knees; wiped

'Mr. Bumble!' cried that discreet lady in a whisper; for the fright was so great, that she had quite lost her

voice, 'Mr. Bumble, I shall scream!' Mr. Bumble made no reply; but in a slow and dignified manner, put his

As the lady had stated her intention of screaming, of course she would have screamed at this additional

boldness, but that the exertion was rendered unnecessary by a hasty knocking at the door: which was no

sooner heard, than Mr. Bumble darted, with much agility, to the wine bottles, and began dusting them with

It is worthy of remark, as a curious physical instance of the efficacy of a sudden surprise in counteracting the

effects of extreme fear, that her voice had quite recovered all its official asperity.

'If you please, mistress,' said a withered old female pauper, hideously ugly: putting her head in at the door,

'Well, what's that to me?' angrily demanded the matron. 'I can't keep her alive, can I?'

'No, no, mistress,' replied the old woman, 'nobody can; she's far beyond the reach of help. I've seen a many

people die; little babes and great strong men; and I know when death's acoming, well enough. But she's

troubled in her mind: and when the fits are not on her,and that's not often, for she is dying very hard,she

says she has got something to tell, which you must hear. She'll never die quiet till you come, mistress.'

At this intelligence, the worthy Mrs. Corney muttered a variety of invectives against old women who couldn't

even die without purposely annoying their betters; and, muffling herself in a thick shawl which she hastily

caught up, briefly requested Mr. Bumble to stay till she came back, lest anything particular should occur.

Bidding the messenger walk fast, and not be all night hobbling up the stairs, she followed her from the room

Mr. Bumble's conduct on being left to himself, was rather inexplicable. He opened the closet, counted the

teaspoons, weighed the sugartongs, closely inspected a silver milkpot to ascertain that it was of the

genuine metal, and, having satisfied his curiosity on these points, put on his cocked hat cornerwise, and

Having gone through this very extraordinary performance, he took off the cocked hat again, and, spreading

himself before the fire with his back towards it, seemed to be mentally engaged in taking an exact inventory

It was no unfit messanger of death, who had disturbed the quiet of the matron's room. Her body was bent by

age; her limbs trembled with palsy; her face, distorted into a mumbling leer, resembled more the grotesque

Alas! How few of Nature's faces are left alone to gladden us with their beauty! The cares, and sorrows, and

hungerings, of the world, change them as they change hearts; and it is only when those passions sleep, and

have lost their hold for ever, that the troubled clouds pass off, and leave Heaven's surface clear. It is a

common thing for the countenances of the dead, even in that fixed and rigid state, to subside into the

longforgotten expression of sleeping infancy, and settle into the very look of early life; so calm, so peaceful,

do they grow again, that those who knew them in their happy childhood, kneel by the coffin's side in awe,

The old crone tottered alone the passages, and up the stairs, muttering some indistinct answers to the chidings

of her companion; being at length compelled to pause for breath, she gave the light into her hand, and

remained behind to follow as she might: while the more nimble superior made her way to the room where the

It was a bare garretroom, with a dim light burning at the farther end. There was another old woman

watching by the bed; the parish apothecary's apprentice was standing by the fire, making a toothpick out of a

'Very cold, indeed, sir,' replied the mistress, in her most civil tones, and dropping a curtsey as she spoke.

'You should get better coals out of your contractors,' said the apothecary's deputy, breaking a lump on the top

of the fire with the rusty poker; 'these are not at all the sort of thing for a cold night.'

'They're the board's choosing, sir,' returned the matron. 'The least they could do, would be to keep us pretty

'Oh!' said the young mag, turning his face towards the bed, as if he had previously quite forgotten the patient,

'If she lasts a couple of hours, I shall be surprised.' said the apothecary's apprentice, intent upon the

toothpick's point. 'It's a breakup of the system altogether. Is she dozing, old lady?'

The attendant stooped over the bed, to ascertain; and nodded in the affirmative.

'Then perhaps she'll go off in that way, if you don't make a row,' said the young man. 'Put the light on the

The attendant did as she was told: shaking her head meanwhile, to intimate that the woman would not die so

easily; having done so, she resumed her seat by the side of the other nurse, who had by this time returned.

The mistress, with an expression of impatience, wrapped herself in her shawl, and sat at the foot of the bed.

The apothecary's apprentice, having completed the manufacture of the toothpick, planted himself in front of

the fire and made good use of it for ten minutes or so: when apparently growing rather dull, he wished Mrs.

When they had sat in silence for some time, the two old women rose from the bed, and crouching over the

fire, held out their withered hands to catch the heat. The flame threw a ghastly light on their shrivelled faces,

and made their ugliness appear terrible, as, in this position, they began to converse in a low voice.

'Not a word,' replied the other. 'She plucked and tore at her arms for a little time; but I held her hands, and she

soon dropped off. She hasn't much strength in her, so I easily kept her quiet. I ain't so weak for an old woman,

'Did she drink the hot wine the doctor said she was to have?' demanded the first.

'I tried to get it down,' rejoined the other. 'But her teeth were tight set, and she clenched the mug so hard that

it was as much as I could do to get it back again. So I drank it; and it did me good!'

Looking cautiously round, to ascertain that they were not overheard, the two hags cowered nearer to the fire,

'I mind the time,' said the first speaker, 'when she would have done the same, and made rare fun of it

A many, many, beautiful corpses she laid out, as nice and neat as waxwork. My old eyes have seen

themay, and those old hands touched them too; for I have helped her, scores of times.'

Stretching forth her trembling fingers as she spoke, the old creature shook them exultingly before her face,

and fumbling in her pocket, brought out an old timediscoloured tin snuffbox, from which she shook a few

grains into the outstretched palm of her companion, and a few more into her own. While they were thus

employed, the matron, who had been impatiently watching until the dying woman should awaken from her

'Not long, mistress,' replied the second woman, looking up into her face. 'We have none of us long to wait for

'Hold your tongue, you doting idiot!' said the matron sternly. 'You, Martha, tell me; has she been in this way

'But will never be again,' added the second one; 'that is, she'll never wake again but onceand mind,

'Long or short,' said the matron, snappishly, 'she won't find me here when she does wake; take care, both of

you, how you worry me again for nothing. It's no part of my duty to see all the old women in the house die,

and I won'tthat's more. Mind that, you impudent old harridans. If you make a fool of me again, I'll soon

She was bouncing away, when a cry from the two women, who had turned towards the bed, caused her to

look round. The patient had raised herself upright, and was stretching her arms towards them.

'I'll never lie down again alive!' said the woman, struggling. 'I WILL tell her! Come here! Nearer! Let me

She clutched the matron by the arm, and forcing her into a chair by the bedside, was about to speak, when

looking round, she caught sight of the two old women bending forward in the attitude of eager listeners.

The two old crones, chiming in together, began pouring out many piteous lamentations that the poor dear was

too far gone to know her best friends; and were uttering sundry protestations that they would never leave her,

when the superior pushed them from the room, closed the door, and returned to the bedside. On being

excluded, the old ladies changed their tone, and cried through the keyhole that old Sally was drunk; which,

indeed, was not unlikely; since, in addition to a moderate dose of opium prescribed by the apothecary, she

was labouring under the effects of a final taste of ginandwater which had been privily administered, in the

'Now listen to me,' said the dying woman aloud, as if making a great effort to revive one latent spark of

energy. 'In this very roomin this very bedI once nursed a pretty young creetur', that was brought into the

house with her feet cut and bruised with walking, and all soiled with dust and blood. She gave birth to a boy,

'Ay,' murmured the sick woman, relapsing into her former drowsy state, 'what about her?what aboutI

know!' she cried, jumping fiercely up: her face flushed, and her eyes starting from her head'I robbed her,

'Stole what, for God's sake?' cried the matron, with a gesture as if she would call for help.

'IT!' replied the woman, laying her hand over the other's mouth. 'The only thing she had. She wanted clothes

to keep her warm, and food to eat; but she had kept it safe, and had it in her bosom. It was gold, I tell you!

'Gold!' echoed the matron, bending eagerly over the woman as she fell back. 'Go on, go onyestwhat of

'She charge me to keep it safe,' replied the woman with a groan, 'and trusted me as the only woman about her.

I stole it in my heart when she first showed it me hanging round her neck; and the child's death, perhaps, is on

'The boy grew so like his mother,' said the woman, rambling on, and not heeding the question, 'that I could

never forget it when I saw his face. Poor girl! poor girl! She was so young, too! Such a gentle lamb! Wait;

'No, no,' replied the matron, inclining her head to catch the words, as they came more faintly from the dying

'The mother,' said the woman, making a more violent effort than before; 'the mother, when the pains of death

first came upon her, whispered in my ear that if her baby was born alive, and thrived, the day might come

when it would not feel so much disgraced to hear its poor young mother named. "And oh, kind Heaven!" she

said, folding her thin hands together, "whether it be boy or girl, raise up some friends for it in this troubled

She was bending eagerly over the woman to hear her reply; but drew back, instinctively, as she once again

rose, slowly and stiffly, into a sitting posture; then, clutching the coverlid with both hands, muttered some

'Stone dead!' said one of the old women, hurrying in as soon as the door was opened.

The two crones, to all appearance, too busily occupied in the preparations for their dreadful duties to make

While these things were passing in the country workhouse, Mr. Fagin sat in the old denthe same from

which Oliver had been removed by the girlbrooding over a dull, smoky fire. He held a pair of bellows

upon his knee, with which he had apparently been endeavouring to rouse it into more cheerful action; but he

had fallen into deep thought; and with his arms folded on them, and his chin resting on his thumbs, fixed his

At a table behind him sat the Artful Dodger, Master Charles Bates, and Mr. Chitling: all intent upon a game

of whist; the Artful taking dummy against Master Bates and Mr. Chitling. The countenance of the

firstnamed gentleman, peculiarly intelligent at all times, acquired great additional interest from his close

observance of the game, and his attentive perusal of Mr. Chitling's hand; upon which, from time to time, as

occasion served, he bestowed a variety of earnest glances: wisely regulating his own play by the result of his

observations upon his neighbour's cards. It being a cold night, the Dodger wore his hat, as, indeed, was often

his custom within doors. He also sustained a clay pipe between his teeth, which he only removed for a brief

space when he deemed it necessary to apply for refreshment to a quart pot upon the table, which stood ready

Master Bates was also attentive to the play; but being of a more excitable nature than his accomplished

friend, it was observable that he more frequently applied himself to the ginandwater, and moreover

indulged in many jests and irrelevant remarks, all highly unbecoming a scientific rubber. Indeed, the Artful,

presuming upon their close attachment, more than once took occasion to reason gravely with his companion

upon these improprieties; all of which remonstrances, Master Bates received in extremely good part; merely

requesting his friend to be 'blowed,' or to insert his head in a sack, or replying with some other neatlyturned

witticism of a similar kind, the happy application of which, excited considerable admiration in the mind of

Mr. Chitling. It was remarkable that the latter gentleman and his partner invariably lost; and that the

circumstance, so far from angering Master Bates, appeared to afford him the highest amusement, inasmuch as

he laughed most uproariously at the end of every deal, and protested that he had never seen such a jolly game

'That's two doubles and the rub,' said Mr. Chitling, with a very long face, as he drew halfacrown from his

waistcoatpocket. 'I never see such a feller as you, Jack; you win everything. Even when we've good cards,

Either the master or the manner of this remark, which was made very ruefully, delighted Charley Bates so

much, that his consequent shout of laughter roused the Jew from his reverie, and induced him to inquire what

'Matter, Fagin!' cried Charley. 'I wish you had watched the play. Tommy Chitling hasn't won a point; and I

'Ay, ay!' said the Jew, with a grin, which sufficiently demonstrated that he was at no loss to understand the

'No more of it for me, thank 'ee, Fagin,' replied Mr. Chitling; 'I've had enough. That 'ere Dodger has such a

'Ha! ha! my dear,' replied the Jew, 'you must get up very early in the morning, to win against the Dodger.'

'Morning!' said Charley Bates; 'you must put your boots on overnight, and have a telescope at each eye, and

Mr. Dawkins received these handsome compliments with much philosophy, and offered to cut any gentleman

in company, for the first picturecard, at a shilling at a time. Nobody accepting the challenge, and his pipe

being by this time smoked out, he proceeded to amuse himself by sketching a groundplan of Newgate on the

table with the piece of chalk which had served him in lieu of counters; whistling, meantime, with peculiar

'How precious dull you are, Tommy!' said the Dodger, stopping short when there had been a long silence; and

'How should I know, my dear?' replied the Jew, looking round as he plied the bellows. 'About his losses,

maybe; or the little retirement in the country that he's just left, eh? Ha! ha! Is that it, my dear?'

'Not a bit of it,' replied the Dodger, stopping the subject of discourse as Mr. Chitling was about to reply.

'_I_ should say,' replied Master Bates, with a grin, 'that he was uncommon sweet upon Betsy. See how he's

ablushing! Oh, my eye! here's a merrygorounder! Tommy Chitling's in love! Oh, Fagin, Fagin! what a

Thoroughly overpowered with the notion of Mr. Chitling being the victim of the tender passion, Master Bates

threw himself back in his chair with such violence, that he lost his balance, and pitched over upon the floor;

where (the accident abating nothing of his merriment) he lay at full length until his laugh was over, when he

'Never mind him, my dear,' said the Jew, winking at Mr. Dawkins, and giving Master Bates a reproving tap

with the nozzle of the bellows. 'Betsy's a fine girl. Stick up to her, Tom. Stick up to her.'

'What I mean to say, Fagin,' replied Mr. Chitling, very red in the face, 'is, that that isn't anything to anybody

'No more it is,' replied the Jew; 'Charley will talk. Don't mind him, my dear; don't mind him. Betsy's a fine

'So I DO do as she bids me,' replied Mr. Chitling; 'I shouldn't have been milled, if it hadn't been for her

advice. But it turned out a good job for you; didn't it, Fagin! And what's six weeks of it? It must come, some

time or another, and why not in the winter time when you don't want to go out awalking so much; eh,

'You wouldn't mind it again, Tom, would you,' asked the Dodger, winking upon Charley and the Jew, 'if Bet

'I mean to say that I shouldn't,' replied Tom, angrily. 'There, now. Ah! Who'll say as much as that, I should

'Nobody, my dear,' replied the Jew; 'not a soul, Tom. I don't know one of 'em that would do it besides you;

'I might have got clear off, if I'd split upon her; mightn't I, Fagin?' angrily pursued the poor halfwitted dupe.

'But I didn't blab it; did I, Fagin?' demanded Tom, pouring question upon question with great volubility.

'No, no, to be sure,' replied the Jew; 'you were too stouthearted for that. A deal too stout, my dear!'

'Perhaps I was,' rejoined Tom, looking round; 'and if I was, what's to laugh at, in that; eh, Fagin?'

The Jew, perceiving that Mr. Chitling was considerably roused, hastened to assure him that nobody was

laughing; and to prove the gravity of the company, appealed to Master Bates, the principal offender. But,

unfortunately, Charley, in opening his mouth to reply that he was never more serious in his life, was unable to

prevent the escape of such a violent roar, that the abused Mr. Chitling, without any preliminary ceremonies,

rushed across the room and aimed a blow at the offender; who, being skilful in evading pursuit, ducked to

avoid it, and chose his time so well that it lighted on the chest of the merry old gentleman, and caused him to

stagger to the wall, where he stood panting for breath, while Mr. Chitling looked on in intense dismay.

'Hark!' cried the Dodger at this moment, 'I heard the tinkler.' Catching up the light, he crept softly upstairs.

The bell was rung again, with some impatience, while the party were in darkness. After a short pause, the

The Dodger nodded in the affirmative, and, shading the flame of the candle with his hand, gave Charley

Bates a private intimation, in dumb show, that he had better not be funny just then. Having performed this

friendly office, he fixed his eyes on the Jew's face, and awaited his directions.

The old man bit his yellow fingers, and meditated for some seconds; his face working with agitation the

while, as if he dreaded something, and feared to know the worst. At length he raised his head.

The Dodger pointed to the floor above, and made a gesture, as if to leave the room.

This brief direction to Charley Bates, and his recent antagonist, was softly and immediately obeyed. There

was no sound of their whereabout, when the Dodger descended the stairs, bearing the light in his hand, and

followed by a man in a coarse smockfrock; who, after casting a hurried glance round the room, pulled off a

large wrapper which had concealed the lower portion of his face, and disclosed: all haggard, unwashed, and

'How are you, Faguey?' said this worthy, nodding to the Jew. 'Pop that shawl away in my castor, Dodger, so

that I may know where to find it when I cut; that's the time of day! You'll be a fine young cracksman afore

With these words he pulled up the smockfrock; and, winding it round his middle, drew a chair to the fire,

'See there, Faguey,' he said, pointing disconsolately to his top boots; 'not a drop of Day and Martin since you

know when; not a bubble of blacking, by Jove! But don't look at me in that way, man. All in good time. I

can't talk about business till I've eat and drank; so produce the sustainance, and let's have a quiet fillout for

The Jew motioned to the Dodger to place what eatables there were, upon the table; and, seating himself

To judge from appearances, Toby was by no means in a hurry to open the conversation. At first, the Jew

contented himself with patiently watching his countenance, as if to gain from its expression some clue to the

He looked tired and worn, but there was the same complacent repose upon his features that they always wore:

and through dirt, and beard, and whisker, there still shone, unimpaired, the selfsatisfied smirk of flash Toby

Crackit. Then the Jew, in an agony of impatience, watched every morsel he put into his mouth; pacing up and

down the room, meanwhile, in irrepressible excitement. It was all of no use. Toby continued to eat with the

utmost outward indifference, until he could eat no more; then, ordering the Dodger out, he closed the door,

Mr. Crackit stopped to take a draught of spirits and water, and to declare that the gin was excellent; then

placing his feet against the low mantelpiece, so as to bring his boots to about the level of his eye, he quietly

'Mean!' cried the Jew, stamping furiously on the ground. 'Where are they? Sikes and the boy! Where are

they? Where have they been? Where are they hiding? Why have they not been here?'

'I know it,' replied the Jew, tearing a newspaper from his pocket and pointing to it. 'What more?'

'They fired and hit the boy. We cut over the fields at the back, with him between usstraight as the crow

fliesthrough hedge and ditch. They gave chase. Damme! the whole country was awake, and the dogs upon

'Bill had him on his back, and scudded like the wind. We stopped to take him between us; his head hung

down, and he was cold. They were close upon our heels; every man for himself, and each from the gallows!

We parted company, and left the youngster lying in a ditch. Alive or dead, that's all I know about him.'

The Jew stopped to hear no more; but uttering a loud yell, and twining his hands in his hair, rushed from the

The old man had gained the street corner, before he began to recover the effect of Toby Crackit's intelligence.

He had relaxed nothing of his unusual speed; but was still pressing onward, in the same wild and disordered

manner, when the sudden dashing past of a carriage: and a boisterous cry from the foot passengers, who saw

his danger: drove him back upon the pavement. Avoiding, as much as was possible, all the main streets, and

skulking only through the byways and alleys, he at length emerged on Snow Hill. Here he walked even

faster than before; nor did he linger until he had again turned into a court; when, as if conscious that he was

now in his proper element, he fell into his usual shuffling pace, and seemed to breathe more freely.

Near to the spot on which Snow Hill and Holborn Hill meet, opens, upon the right hand as you come out of

the City, a narrow and dismal alley, leading to Saffron Hill. In its filthy shops are exposed for sale huge

bunches of secondhand silk handkerchiefs, of all sizes and patterns; for here reside the traders who purchase

them from pickpockets. Hundreds of these handkerchiefs hang dangling from pegs outside the windows or

flaunting from the doorposts; and the shelves, within, are piled with them. Confined as the limits of Field

Lane are, it has its barber, its coffeeshop, its beershop, and its friedfish warehouse. It is a commercial

colony of itself: the emporium of petty larceny: visited at early morning, and settingin of dusk, by silent

merchants, who traffic in dark backparlours, and who go as strangely as they come. Here, the clothesman,

the shoevamper, and the ragmerchant, display their goods, as signboards to the petty thief; here, stores of

old iron and bones, and heaps of mildewy fragments of woollenstuff and linen, rust and rot in the grimy

It was into this place that the Jew turned. He was well known to the sallow denizens of the lane; for such of

them as were on the lookout to buy or sell, nodded, familiarly, as he passed along. He replied to their

salutations in the same way; but bestowed no closer recognition until he reached the further end of the alley;

when he stopped, to address a salesman of small stature, who had squeezed as much of his person into a

child's chair as the chair would hold, and was smoking a pipe at his warehouse door.

'Why, the sight of you, Mr. Fagin, would cure the hoptalymy!' said this respectable trader, in

'The neighbourhood was a little too hot, Lively,' said Fagin, elevating his eyebrows, and crossing his hands

'Well, I've heerd that complaint of it, once or twice before,' replied the trader; 'but it soon cools down again;

Fagin nodded in the affirmative. Pointing in the direction of Saffron Hill, he inquired whether any one was up

'Yes, there's some halfdozen of 'em gone in, that I knows. I don't think your friend's there.'

'Non istwentus, as the lawyers say,' replied the little man, shaking his head, and looking amazingly sly. 'Have

'Are you going up to the Cripples, Fagin?' cried the little man, calling after him. 'Stop! I don't mind if I have a

But as the Jew, looking back, waved his hand to intimate that he preferred being alone; and, moreover, as the

little man could not very easily disengage himself from the chair; the sign of the Cripples was, for a time,

bereft of the advantage of Mr. Lively's presence. By the time he had got upon his legs, the Jew had

disappeared; so Mr. Lively, after ineffectually standing on tiptoe, in the hope of catching sight of him, again

forced himself into the little chair, and, exchanging a shake of the head with a lady in the opposite shop, in

which doubt and mistrust were plainly mingled, resumed his pipe with a grave demeanour.

The Three Cripples, or rather the Cripples; which was the sign by which the establishment was familiarly

known to its patrons: was the publichouse in which Mr. Sikes and his dog have already figured. Merely

making a sign to a man at the bar, Fagin walked straight upstairs, and opening the door of a room, and softly

insinuating himself into the chamber, looked anxiously about: shading his eyes with his hand, as if in search

The room was illuminated by two gaslights; the glare of which was prevented by the barred shutters, and

closelydrawn curtains of faded red, from being visible outside. The ceiling was blackened, to prevent its

colour from being injured by the flaring of the lamps; and the place was so full of dense tobacco smoke, that

at first it was scarcely possible to discern anything more. By degrees, however, as some of it cleared away

through the open door, an assemblage of heads, as confused as the noises that greeted the ear, might be made

out; and as the eye grew more accustomed to the scene, the spectator gradually became aware of the presence

of a numerous company, male and female, crowded round a long table: at the upper end of which, sat a

chairman with a hammer of office in his hand; while a professional gentleman with a bluish nose, and his

face tied up for the benefit of a toothache, presided at a jingling piano in a remote corner.

As Fagin stepped softly in, the professional gentleman, running over the keys by way of prelude, occasioned

a general cry of order for a song; which having subsided, a young lady proceeded to entertain the company

with a ballad in four verses, between each of which the accompanyist played the melody all through, as loud

as he could. When this was over, the chairman gave a sentiment, after which, the professional gentleman on

the chairman's right and left volunteered a duet, and sang it, with great applause.

It was curious to observe some faces which stood out prominently from among the group. There was the

chairman himself, (the landlord of the house,) a coarse, rough, heavy built fellow, who, while the songs were

proceeding, rolled his eyes hither and thither, and, seeming to give himself up to joviality, had an eye for

everything that was done, and an ear for everything that was saidand sharp ones, too. Near him were the

singers: receiving, with professional indifference, the compliments of the company, and applying themselves,

in turn, to a dozen proffered glasses of spirits and water, tendered by their more boisterous admirers; whose

countenances, expressive of almost every vice in almost every grade, irresistibly attracted the attention, by

their very repulsiveness. Cunning, ferocity, and drunkeness in all its stages, were there, in their strongest

some with the last lingering tinge of their early freshness almost fading as you looked: others with every

mark and stamp of their sex utterly beaten out, and presenting but one loathsome blank of profligacy and

crime; some mere girls, others but young women, and none past the prime of life; formed the darkest and

Fagin, troubled by no grave emotions, looked eagerly from face to face while these proceedings were in

progress; but apparently without meeting that of which he was in search. Succeeding, at length, in catching

the eye of the man who occupied the chair, he beckoned to him slightly, and left the room, as quietly as he

'What can I do for you, Mr. Fagin?' inquired the man, as he followed him out to the landing. 'Won't you join

'None,' replied the landlord of the Cripples; for it was he. 'He won't stir till it's all safe. Depend on it, they're

on the scent down there; and that if he moved, he'd blow upon the thing at once. He's all right enough, Barney

is, else I should have heard of him. I'll pound it, that Barney's managing properly. Let him alone for that.'

'Will HE be here tonight?' asked the Jew, laying the same emphasis on the pronoun as before.

'Certain,' replied the man, drawing a gold watch from his fob; 'I expected him here before now. If you'll wait

'No, no,' said the Jew, hastily; as though, however desirous he might be to see the person in question, he was

nevertheless relieved by his absence. 'Tell him I came here to see him; and that he must come to me tonight.

'I say,' said the other, looking over the rails, and speaking in a hoarse whisper; 'what a time this would be for

'Phil has something more to do, before we can afford to part with him; so go back to the company, my dear,

The landlord reciprocated the old man's laugh; and returned to his guests. The Jew was no sooner alone, than

his countenance resumed its former expression of anxiety and thought. After a brief reflection, he called a

hackcabriolet, and bade the man drive towards Bethnal Green. He dismissed him within some quarter of a

mile of Mr. Sikes's residence, and performed the short remainder of the distance, on foot.

'Now,' muttered the Jew, as he knocked at the door, 'if there is any deep play here, I shall have it out of you,

She was in her room, the woman said. Fagin crept softly upstairs, and entered it without any previous

ceremony. The girl was alone; lying with her head upon the table, and her hair straggling over it.

'She has been drinking,' thought the Jew, cooly, 'or perhaps she is only miserable.'

The old man turned to close the door, as he made this reflection; the noise thus occasioned, roused the girl.

She eyed his crafty face narrowly, as she inquired to his recital of Toby Crackit's story. When it was

concluded, she sank into her former attitude, but spoke not a word. She pushed the candle impatiently away;

and once or twice as she feverishly changed her position, shuffled her feet upon the ground; but this was all.

During the silence, the Jew looked restlessly about the room, as if to assure himself that there were no

appearances of Sikes having covertly returned. Apparently satisfied with his inspection, he coughed twice or

thrice, and made as many efforts to open a conversation; but the girl heeded him no more than if he had been

made of stone. At length he made another attempt; and rubbing his hands together, said, in his most

The girl moaned out some half intelligible reply, that she could not tell; and seemed, from the smothered

'And the boy, too,' said the Jew, straining his eyes to catch a glimpse of her face. 'Poor leetle child! Left in a

'The child,' said the girl, suddenly looking up, 'is better where he is, than among us; and if no harm comes to

Bill from it, I hope he lies dead in the ditch and that his young bones may rot there.'

'Ay, I do,' returned the girl, meeting his gaze. 'I shall be glad to have him away from my eyes, and to know

that the worst is over. I can't bear to have him about me. The sight of him turns me against myself, and all of

'Am I?' cried the girl bitterly. 'It's no fault of yours, if I am not! You'd never have me anything else, if you had

'Change it!' exclaimed the Jew, exasperated beyond all bounds by his companion's unexpected obstinacy, and

the vexation of the night, 'I WILL change it! Listen to me, you drab. Listen to me, who with six words, can

strangle Sikes as surely as if I had his bull's throat between my fingers now. If he comes back, and leaves the

boy behind him; if he gets off free, and dead or alive, fails to restore him to me; murder him yourself if you

would have him escape Jack Ketch. And do it the moment he sets foot in this room, or mind me, it will be too

'What is it?' pursued Fagin, mad with rage. 'When the boy's worth hundreds of pounds to me, am I to lose

what chance threw me in the way of getting safely, through the whims of a drunken gang that I could whistle

away the lives of! And me bound, too, to a born devil that only wants the will, and has the power to, to'

Panting for breath, the old man stammered for a word; and in that instant checked the torrent of his wrath,

and changed his whole demeanour. A moment before, his clenched hands had grasped the air; his eyes had

dilated; and his face grown livid with passion; but now, he shrunk into a chair, and, cowering together,

trembled with the apprehension of having himself disclosed some hidden villainy. After a short silence, he

ventured to look round at his companion. He appeared somewhat reassured, on beholding her in the same

'Don't worry me now, Fagin!' replied the girl, raising her head languidly. 'If Bill has not done it this time, he

will another. He has done many a good job for you, and will do many more when he can; and when he can't

'Regarding this boy, my dear?' said the Jew, rubbing the palms of his hands nervously together.

'The boy must take his chance with the rest,' interrupted Nancy, hastily; 'and I say again, I hope he is dead,

and out of harm's way, and out of yours,that is, if Bill comes to no harm. And if Toby got clear off, Bill's

'And about what I was saying, my dear?' observed the Jew, keeping his glistening eye steadily upon her.

'Your must say it all over again, if it's anything you want me to do,' rejoined Nancy; 'and if it is, you had

better wait till tomorrow. You put me up for a minute; but now I'm stupid again.'

Fagin put several other questions: all with the same drift of ascertaining whether the girl had profited by his

unguarded hints; but, she answered them so readily, and was withal so utterly unmoved by his searching

looks, that his original impression of her being more than a trifle in liquor, was confirmed. Nancy, indeed,

was not exempt from a failing which was very common among the Jew's female pupils; and in which, in their

tenderer years, they were rather encouraged than checked. Her disordered appearance, and a wholesale

perfume of Geneva which pervaded the apartment, afforded stong confirmatory evidence of the justice of the

Jew's supposition; and when, after indulging in the temporary display of violence above described, she

subsided, first into dullness, and afterwards into a compound of feelings: under the influence of which she

shed tears one minute, and in the next gave utterance to various exclamations of 'Never say die!' and divers

calculations as to what might be the amount of the odds so long as a lady or gentleman was happy, Mr. Fagin,

who had had considerable experience of such matters in his time, saw, with great satisfaction, that she was

Having eased his mind by this discovery; and having accomplished his twofold object of imparting to the girl

what he had, that night, heard, and of ascertaining, with his own eyes, that Sikes had not returned, Mr. Fagin

again turned his face homeward: leaving his young friend asleep, with her head upon the table.

It was within an hour of midnight. The weather being dark, and piercing cold, he had no great temptation to

loiter. The sharp wind that scoured the streets, seemed to have cleared them of passengers, as of dust and

mud, for few people were abroad, and they were to all appearance hastening fast home. It blew from the right

quarter for the Jew, however, and straight before it he went: trembling, and shivering, as every fresh gust

He had reached the corner of his own street, and was already fumbling in his pocket for the doorkey, when a

dark figure emerged from a projecting entrance which lay in deep shadow, and, crossing the road, glided up

'Yes!' interrupted the stranger. 'I have been lingering here these two hours. Where the devil have you been?'

'On your business, my dear,' replied the Jew, glancing uneasily at his companion, and slackening his pace as

'Oh, of course!' said the stranger, with a sneer. 'Well; and what's come of it?'

'Nothing bad, I hope?' said the stranger, stopping short, and turning a startled look on his companion.

The Jew shook his head, and was about to reply, when the stranger, interrupting him, motioned to the house,

before which they had by this time arrived: remarking, that he had better say what he had got to say, under

cover: for his blood was chilled with standing about so long, and the wind blew through him.

Fagin looked as if he could have willingly excused himself from taking home a visitor at that unseasonable

hour; and, indeed, muttered something about having no fire; but his companion repeating his request in a

peremptory manner, he unlocked the door, and requested him to close it softly, while he got a light.

'It's as dark as the grave,' said the man, groping forward a few steps. 'Make haste!'

'Shut the door,' whispered Fagin from the end of the passage. As he spoke, it closed with a loud noise.

'That wasn't my doing,' said the other man, feeling his way. 'The wind blew it to, or it shut of its own accord:

one or the other. Look sharp with the light, or I shall knock my brains out against something in this

Fagin stealthily descended the kitchen stairs. After a short absence, he returned with a lighted candle, and the

intelligence that Toby Crackit was asleep in the back room below, and that the boys were in the front one.

'We can say the few words we've got to say in here, my dear,' said the Jew, throwing open a door on the first

floor; 'and as there are holes in the shutters, and we never show lights to our neighbours, we'll set the candle

With those words, the Jew, stooping down, placed the candle on an upper flight of stairs, exactly opposite to

the room door. This done, he led the way into the apartment; which was destitute of all movables save a

broken armchair, and an old couch or sofa without covering, which stood behind the door. Upon this piece

of furniture, the stranger sat himself with the air of a weary man; and the Jew, drawing up the armchair

opposite, they sat face to face. It was not quite dark; the door was partially open; and the candle outside,

They conversed for some time in whispers. Though nothing of the conversation was distinguishable beyond a

few disjointed words here and there, a listener might easily have perceived that Fagin appeared to be

defending himself against some remarks of the stranger; and that the latter was in a state of considerable

irritation. They might have been talking, thus, for a quarter of an hour or more, when Monksby which

name the Jew had designated the strange man several times in the course of their colloquysaid, raising his

'I tell you again, it was badly planned. Why not have kept him here among the rest, and made a sneaking,

'Why, do you mean to say you couldn't have done it, if you had chosen?' demanded Monks, sternly. 'Haven't

you done it, with other boys, scores of times? If you had had patience for a twelvemonth, at most, couldn't

you have got him convicted, and sent safely out of the kingdom; perhaps for life?'

'But not mine,' said the Jew, submissively. 'He might have become of use to me. When there are two parties

to a bargain, it is only reasonable that the interests of both should be consulted; is it, my good friend?'

'I saw it was not easy to train him to the business,' replied the Jew; 'he was not like other boys in the same

'I had no hold upon him to make him worse,' pursued the Jew, anxiously watching the countenance of his

companion. 'His hand was not in. I had nothing to frighten him with; which we always must have in the

beginning, or we labour in vain. What could I do? Send him out with the Dodger and Charley? We had

'No, no, my dear!' renewed the Jew. 'And I don't quarrel with it now; because, if it had never happened, you

might never have clapped eyes on the boy to notice him, and so led to the discovery that it was him you were

looking for. Well! I got him back for you by means of the girl; and then SHE begins to favour him.'

'Why, we can't afford to do that just now, my dear,' replied the Jew, smiling; 'and, besides, that sort of thing is

not in our way; or, one of these days, I might be glad to have it done. I know what these girls are, Monks,

well. As soon as the boy begins to harden, she'll care no more for him, than for a block of wood. You want

him made a thief. If he is alive, I can make him one from this time; and, ifif' said the Jew, drawing

nearer to the other,'it's not likely, mind,but if the worst comes to the worst, and he is dead'

'It's no fault of mine if he is!' interposed the other man, with a look of terror, and clasping the Jew's arm with

trembling hands. 'Mind that. Fagin! I had no hand in it. Anything but his death, I told you from the first. I

won't shed blood; it's always found out, and haunts a man besides. If they shot him dead, I was not the cause;

'What!' cried the Jew, grasping the coward round the body, with both arms, as he sprung to his feet. 'Where?'

'Yonder! replied the man, glaring at the opposite wall. 'The shadow! I saw the shadow of a woman, in a cloak

The Jew released his hold, and they rushed tumultuously from the room. The candle, wasted by the draught,

was standing where it had been placed. It showed them only the empty staircase, and their own white faces.

'It's your fancy,' said the Jew, taking up the light and turning to his companion.

'I'll swear I saw it!' replied Monks, trembling. 'It was bending forward when I saw it first; and when I spoke,

The Jew glanced contemptuously at the pale face of his associate, and, telling him he could follow, if he

pleased, ascended the stairs. They looked into all the rooms; they were cold, bare, and empty. They

descended into the passage, and thence into the cellars below. The green damp hung upon the low walls; the

tracks of the snail and slug glistened in the light of the candle; but all was still as death.

'What do you think now?' said the Jew, when they had regained the passage. 'Besides ourselves, there's not a

creature in the house except Toby and the boys; and they're safe enough. See here!'

As a proof of the fact, the Jew drew forth two keys from his pocket; and explained, that when he first went

This accumulated testimony effectually staggered Mr. Monks. His protestations had gradually become less

and less vehement as they proceeded in their search without making any discovery; and, now, he gave vent to

several very grim laughs, and confessed it could only have been his excited imagination. He declined any

renewal of the conversation, however, for that night: suddenly remembering that it was past one o'clock. And

As it would be, by no means, seemly in a humble author to keep so mighty a personage as a beadle waiting,

with his back to the fire, and the skirts of his coat gathered up under his arms, until such time as it might suit

his pleasure to relieve him; and as it would still less become his station, or his gallentry to involve in the same

neglect a lady on whom that beadle had looked with an eye of tenderness and affection, and in whose ear he

had whispered sweet words, which, coming from such a quarter, might well thrill the bosom of maid or

matron of whatsoever degree; the historian whose pen traces these wordstrusting that he knows his place,

and that he entertains a becoming reverence for those upon earth to whom high and important authority is

delegatedhastens to pay them that respect which their position demands, and to treat them with all that

duteous ceremony which their exalted rank, and (by consequence) great virtues, imperatively claim at his

hands. Towards this end, indeed, he had purposed to introduce, in this place, a dissertation touching the

divine right of beadles, and elucidative of the position, that a beadle can do no wrong: which could not fail to

have been both pleasurable and profitable to the rightminded reader but which he is unfortunately

compelled, by want of time and space, to postpone to some more convenient and fitting opportunity; on the

arrival of which, he will be prepared to show, that a beadle properly constituted: that is to say, a parochial

beadle, attached to a parochail workhouse, and attending in his official capacity the parochial church: is, in

right and virtue of his office, possessed of all the excellences and best qualities of humanity; and that to none

of those excellences, can mere companies' beadles, or courtoflaw beadles, or even chapelofease beadles

(save the last, and they in a very lowly and inferior degree), lay the remotest sustainable claim.

Mr. Bumble had recounted the teaspoons, reweighed the sugartongs, made a closer inspection of the

milkpot, and ascertained to a nicety the exact condition of the furniture, down to the very horsehair seats of

the chairs; and had repeated each process full half a dozen times; before he began to think that it was time for

Mrs. Corney to return. Thinking begets thinking; as there were no sounds of Mrs. Corney's approach, it

occured to Mr. Bumble that it would be an innocent and virtuous way of spending the time, if he were further

to allay his curiousity by a cursory glance at the interior of Mrs. Corney's chest of drawers.

Having listened at the keyhole, to assure himself that nobody was approaching the chamber, Mr. Bumble,

beginning at the bottom, proceeded to make himself acquainted with the contents of the three long drawers:

which, being filled with various garments of good fashion and texture, carefully preserved between two

layers of old newspapers, speckled with dried lavender: seemed to yield him exceeding satisfaction. Arriving,

in course of time, at the righthand corner drawer (in which was the key), and beholding therein a small

padlocked box, which, being shaken, gave forth a pleasant sound, as of the chinking of coin, Mr. Bumble

returned with a stately walk to the fireplace; and, resuming his old attitude, said, with a grave and determined

air, 'I'll do it!' He followed up this remarkable declaration, by shaking his head in a waggish manner for ten

minutes, as though he were remonstrating with himself for being such a pleasant dog; and then, he took a

He was still placidly engaged in this latter survey, when Mrs. Corney, hurrying into the room, threw herself,

in a breathless state, on a chair by the fireside, and covering her eyes with one hand, placed the other over her

'Mrs. Corney,' said Mr. Bumble, stooping over the matron, 'what is this, ma'am? Has anything happened,

ma'am? Pray answer me: I'm onon' Mr. Bumble, in his alarm, could not immediately think of the word

'Put out, ma'am!' exclaimed Mr. Bumble; 'who has dared to? I know!' said Mr. Bumble, checking himself,

'Then take something, ma'am,' said Mr. Bumble soothingly. 'A little of the wine?'

'Not for the world!' replied Mrs. Corney. 'I couldn't,oh! The top shelf in the righthand corneroh!'

Uttering these words, the good lady pointed, distractedly, to the cupboard, and underwent a convulsion from

internal spasms. Mr. Bumble rushed to the closet; and, snatching a pint greenglass bottle from the shelf thus

incoherently indicated, filled a teacup with its contents, and held it to the lady's lips.

Mr. Bumble raised his eyes piously to the ceiling in thankfulness; and, bringing them down again to the brim

'Peppermint,' exclaimed Mrs. Corney, in a faint voice, smiling gently on the beadle as she spoke. 'Try it!

Mr. Bumble tasted the medicine with a doubtful look; smacked his lips; took another taste; and put the cup

'Very much so indeed, ma'am,' said the beadle. As he spoke, he drew a chair beside the matron, and tenderly

'Not weak, ma'am,' retorted Mr. Bumble, drawing his chair a little closer. 'Are you a weak creetur, Mrs.

Nothing was said on either side, for a minute or two afterwards. By the expiration of that time, Mr. Bumble

had illustrated the position by removing his left arm from the back of Mrs. Corney's chair, where it had

previously rested, to Mrs. Corney's aprongstring, round which is gradually became entwined.

'This is a very comfortable room, ma'am,' said Mr. Bumble looking round. 'Another room, and this, ma'am,

'But not for two, ma'am,' rejoined Mr. Bumble, in soft accents. 'Eh, Mrs. Corney?'

Mrs. Corney drooped her head, when the beadle said this; the beadle drooped his, to get a view of Mrs.

Corney's face. Mrs. Corney, with great propriety, turned her head away, and released her hand to get at her

'The board allows you coals, don't they, Mrs. Corney?' inquired the beadle, affectionately pressing her hand.

'Coals, candles, and houserent free,' said Mr. Bumble. 'Oh, Mrs. Corney, what an Angel you are!'

The lady was not proof against this burst of feeling. She sank into Mr. Bumble's arms; and that gentleman in

'Such porochial perfection!' exclaimed Mr. Bumble, rapturously. 'You know that Mr. Slout is worse tonight,

'He can't live a week, the doctor says,' pursued Mr. Bumble. 'He is the master of this establishment; his death

will cause a wacancy; that wacancy must be filled up. Oh, Mrs. Corney, what a prospect this opens! What a

'The little word?' said Mr. Bumble, bending over the bashful beauty. 'The one little, little, little word, my

'One more,' pursued the beadle; 'compose your darling feelings for only one more. When is it to come off?'

Mrs. Corney twice essayed to speak: and twice failed. At length summoning up courage, she threw her arms

around Mr. Bumble's neck, and said, it might be as soon as ever he pleased, and that he was 'a irresistible

Matters being thus amicably and satisfactorily arranged, the contract was solemnly ratified in another

teacupful of the peppermint mixture; which was rendered the more necessary, by the flutter and agitation of

the lady's spirits. While it was being disposed of, she acquainted Mr. Bumble with the old woman's decease.

'Very good,' said that gentleman, sipping his peppermint; 'I'll call at Sowerberry's as I go home, and tell him

'It must have been something, love,' urged Mr. Bumble. 'Won't you tell your own B.?'

'After we're married!' exclaimed Mr. Bumble. 'It wasn't any impudence from any of them male paupers as'

'If I thought it was,' continued Mr. Bumble; 'if I thought as any one of 'em had dared to lift his wulgar eyes to

'They had better not!' said Mr. Bumble, clenching his fist. 'Let me see any man, porochial or extraporochial,

as would presume to do it; and I can tell him that he wouldn't do it a second time!'

Unembellished by any violence of gesticulation, this might have seemed no very high compliment to the

lady's charms; but, as Mr. Bumble accompanied the threat with many warlike gestures, she was much

touched with this proof of his devotion, and protested, with great admiration, that he was indeed a dove.

The dove then turned up his coatcollar, and put on his cocked hat; and, having exchanged a long and

affectionate embrace with his future partner, once again braved the cold wind of the night: merely pausing,

for a few minutes, in the male paupers' ward, to abuse them a little, with the view of satisfying himself that he

could fill the office of workhousemaster with needful acerbity. Assured of his qualifications, Mr. Bumble

left the building with a light heart, and bright visions of his future promotion: which served to occupy his

Now, Mr. and Mrs. Sowerberry having gone out to tea and supper: and Noah Claypole not being at any time

disposed to take upon himself a greater amount of physical exertion than is necessary to a convenient

performance of the two functions of eating and drinking, the shop was not closed, although it was past the

usual hour of shuttingup. Mr. Bumble tapped with his cane on the counter several times; but, attracting no

attention, and beholding a light shining through the glasswindow of the little parlour at the back of the shop,

he made bold to peep in and see what was going forward; and when he saw what was going forward, he was

The cloth was laid for supper; the table was covered with bread and butter, plates and glasses; a porterpot

and a winebottle. At the upper end of the table, Mr. Noah Claypole lolled negligently in an easychair, with

his legs thrown over one of the arms: an open claspknife in one hand, and a mass of buttered bread in the

other. Close beside him stood Charlotte, opening oysters from a barrel: which Mr. Claypole condescended to

swallow, with remarkable avidity. A more than ordinary redness in the region of the young gentleman's nose,

and a kind of fixed wink in his right eye, denoted that he was in a slight degree intoxicated; these symptoms

were confirmed by the intense relish with which he took his oysters, for which nothing but a strong

appreciation of their cooling properties, in cases of internal fever, could have sufficiently accounted.

'Here's a delicious fat one, Noah, dear!' said Charlotte; 'try him, do; only this one.'

'What a delicious thing is a oyster!' remarked Mr. Claypole, after he had swallowed it. 'What a pity it is, a

'Not overmuch,' replied Charlotte. 'I like to see you eat 'em, Noah dear, better than eating 'em myself.'

'Have another,' said Charlotte. 'Here's one with such a beautiful, delicate beard!'

'I can't manage any more,' said Noah. 'I'm very sorry. Come here, Charlotte, and I'll kiss yer.'

Charlotte uttered a scream, and hid her face in her apron. Mr. Claypole, without making any further change in

his position than suffering his legs to reach the ground, gazed at the beadle in drunken terror.

'Say it again, you wile, owdacious fellow!' said Mr. Bumble. 'How dare you mention such a thing, sir? And

how dare you encourage him, you insolent minx? Kiss her!' exclaimed Mr. Bumble, in strong indignation.

'I didn't mean to do it!' said Noah, blubbering. 'She's always akissing of me, whether I like it, or not.'

'Yer are; yer know yer are!' retorted Noah. 'She's always adoin' of it, Mr. Bumble, sir; she chucks me under

'Silence!' cried Mr. Bumble, sternly. 'Take yourself downstairs, ma'am. Noah, you shut up the shop; say

another word till your master comes home, at your peril; and, when he does come home, tell him that Mr.

Bumble said he was to send a old woman's shell after breakfast tomorrow morning. Do you hear sir?

Kissing!' cried Mr. Bumble, holding up his hands. 'The sin and wickedness of the lower orders in this

porochial district is frightful! If Parliament don't take their abominable courses under consideration, this

country's ruined, and the character of the peasantry gone for ever!' With these words, the beadle strode, with a

And now that we have accompanied him so far on his road home, and have made all necessary preparations

for the old woman's funeral, let us set on foot a few inquires after young Oliver Twist, and ascertain whether

'Wolves tear your throats!' muttered Sikes, grinding his teeth. 'I wish I was among some of you; you'd howl

As Sikes growled forth this imprecation, with the most desperate ferocity that his desperate nature was

capable of, he rested the body of the wounded boy across his bended knee; and turned his head, for an instant,

There was little to be made out, in the mist and darkness; but the loud shouting of men vibrated through the

air, and the barking of the neighbouring dogs, roused by the sound of the alarm bell, resounded in every

'Stop, you whitelivered hound!' cried the robber, shouting after Toby Crackit, who, making the best use of

The repetition of the word, brought Toby to a dead standstill. For he was not quite satisfied that he was

'Bear a hand with the boy,' cried Sikes, beckoning furiously to his confederate. 'Come back!'

Toby made a show of returning; but ventured, in a low voice, broken for want of breath, to intimate

'Quicker!' cried Sikes, laying the boy in a dry ditch at his feet, and drawing a pistol from his pocket. 'Don't

At this moment the noise grew louder. Sikes, again looking round, could discern that the men who had given

chase were already climbing the gate of the field in which he stood; and that a couple of dogs were some

'It's all up, Bill!' cried Toby; 'drop the kid, and show 'em your heels.' With this parting advice, Mr. Crackit,

preferring the chance of being shot by his friend, to the certainty of being taken by his enemies, fairly turned

tail, and darted off at full speed. Sikes clenched his teeth; took one look around; threw over the prostrate form

of Oliver, the cape in which he had been hurriedly muffled; ran along the front of the hedge, as if to distract

the attention of those behind, from the spot where the boy lay; paused, for a second, before another hedge

which met it at right angles; and whirling his pistol high into the air, cleared it at a bound, and was gone.

'Ho, ho, there!' cried a tremulous voice in the rear. 'Pincher! Neptune! Come here, come here!'

The dogs, who, in common with their masters, seemed to have no particular relish for the sport in which they

were engaged, readily answered to the command. Three men, who had by this time advanced some distance

'My advice, or, leastways, I should say, my ORDERS, is,' said the fattest man of the party, 'that we 'mediately

'I am agreeable to anything which is agreeable to Mr. Giles,' said a shorter man; who was by no means of a

slim figure, and who was very pale in the face, and very polite: as frightened men frequently are.

'I shouldn't wish to appear illmannered, gentlemen,' said the third, who had called the dogs back, 'Mr. Giles

'Certainly,' replied the shorter man; 'and whatever Mr. Giles says, it isn't our place to contradict him. No, no, I

know my sitiwation! Thank my stars, I know my sitiwation.' To tell the truth, the little man DID seem to

know his situation, and to know perfectly well that it was by no means a desirable one; for his teeth chattered

Now, these four retorts arose from Mr. Giles's taunt; and Mr. Giles's taunt had arisen from his indignation at

having the responsibility of going home again, imposed upon himself under cover of a compliment. The third

'So I do,' replied the man. 'It's natural and proper to be afraid, under such circumstances. I am.'

'So am I,' said Brittles; 'only there's no call to tell a man he is, so bounceably.'

These frank admissions softened Mr. Giles, who at once owned that HE was afraid; upon which, they all

three faced about, and ran back again with the completest unanimity, until Mr. Giles (who had the shortest

wind of the party, as was encumbered with a pitchfork) most handsomely insisted on stopping, to make an

'But it's wonderful,' said Mr. Giles, when he had explained, 'what a man will do, when his blood is up. I

As the other two were impressed with a similar presentiment; and as their blood, like his, had all gone down

again; some speculation ensued upon the cause of this sudden change in their temperament.

'You may depend upon it,' said Giles, 'that that gate stopped the flow of the excitement. I felt all mine

By a remarkable coincidence, the other two had been visited with the same unpleasant sensation at that

precise moment. It was quite obvious, therefore, that it was the gate; especially as there was no doubt

regarding the time at which the change had taken place, because all three remembered that they had come in

This dialogue was held between the two men who had surprised the burglars, and a travelling tinker who had

been sleeping in an outhouse, and who had been roused, together with his two mongrel curs, to join in the

pursuit. Mr. Giles acted in the double capacity of butler and steward to the old lady of the mansion; Brittles

was a lad of allwork: who, having entered her service a mere child, was treated as a promising young boy

Encouraging each other with such converse as this; but, keeping very close together, notwithstanding, and

looking apprehensively round, whenever a fresh gust rattled through the boughs; the three men hurried back

to a tree, behind which they had left their lantern, lest its light should inform the thieves in what direction to

fire. Catching up the light, they made the best of their way home, at a good round trot; and long after their

dusky forms had ceased to be discernible, the light might have been seen twinkling and dancing in the

distance, like some exhalation of the damp and gloomy atmosphere through which it was swiftly borne.

The air grew colder, as day came slowly on; and the mist rolled along the ground like a dense cloud of

smoke. The grass was wet; the pathways, and low places, were all mire and water; the damp breath of an

unwholesome wind went languidly by, with a hollow moaning. Still, Oliver lay motionless and insensible on

Morning drew on apace. The air become more sharp and piercing, as its first dull huethe death of night,

rather than the birth of dayglimmered faintly in the sky. The objects which had looked dim and terrible in

the darkness, grew more and more defined, and gradually resolved into their familiar shapes. The rain came

down, thick and fast, and pattered noisily among the leafless bushes. But, Oliver felt it not, as it beat against

At length, a low cry of pain broke the stillness that prevailed; and uttering it, the boy awoke. His left arm,

rudely bandaged in a shawl, hung heavy and useless at his side; the bandage was saturated with blood. He

was so weak, that he could scarcely raise himself into a sitting posture; when he had done so, he looked

feebly round for help, and groaned with pain. Trembling in every joint, from cold and exhaustion, he made an

effort to stand upright; but, shuddering from head to foot, fell prostrate on the ground.

After a short return of the stupor in which he had been so long plunged, Oliver: urged by a creeping sickness

at his heart, which seemed to warn him that if he lay there, he must surely die: got upon his feet, and essayed

to walk. His head was dizzy, and he staggered to and from like a drunken man. But he kept up, nevertheless,

and, with his head drooping languidly on his breast, went stumbling onward, he knew not whither.

And now, hosts of bewildering and confused ideas came crowding on his mind. He seemed to be still walking

between Sikes and Crackit, who were angrily disputingfor the very words they said, sounded in his ears;

and when he caught his own attention, as it were, by making some violent effort to save himself from falling,

he found that he was talking to them. Then, he was alone with Sikes, plodding on as on the previous day; and

as shadowy people passed them, he felt the robber's grasp upon his wrist. Suddenly, he started back at the

report of firearms; there rose into the air, loud cries and shouts; lights gleamed before his eyes; all was noise

and tumult, as some unseen hand bore him hurriedly away. Through all these rapid visions, there ran an

undefined, uneasy conscious of pain, which wearied and tormented him incessantly.

Thus he staggered on, creeping, almost mechanically, between the bars of gates, or through hedgegaps as

they came in his way, until he reached a road. Here the rain began to fall so heavily, that it roused him.

He looked about, and saw that at no great distance there was a house, which perhaps he could reach. Pitying

his condition, they might have compassion on him; and if they did not, it would be better, he thought, to die

near human beings, than in the lonely open fields. He summoned up all his strength for one last trial, and bent

As he drew nearer to this house, a feeling come over him that he had seen it before. He remembered nothing

of its details; but the shape and aspect of the building seemed familiar to him.

That garden wall! On the grass inside, he had fallen on his knees last night, and prayed the two men's mercy.

Oliver felt such fear come over him when he recognised the place, that, for the instant, he forgot the agony of

his wound, and thought only of flight. Flight! He could scarcely stand: and if he were in full possession of all

the best powers of his slight and youthful frame, whither could he fly? He pushed against the gardengate; it

was unlocked, and swung open on its hinges. He tottered across the lawn; climbed the steps; knocked faintly

at the door; and, his whole strength failing him, sunk down against one of the pillars of the little portico.

It happened that about this time, Mr. Giles, Brittles, and the tinker, were recruiting themselves, after the

fatigues and terrors of the night, with tea and sundries, in the kitchen. Not that it was Mr. Giles's habit to

admit to too great familiarity the humbler servants: towards whom it was rather his wont to deport himself

with a lofty affability, which, while it gratified, could not fail to remind them of his superior position in

society. But, death, fires, and burglary, make all men equals; so Mr. Giles sat with his legs stretched out

before the kitchen fender, leaning his left arm on the table, while, with his right, he illustrated a

circumstantial and minute account of the robbery, to which his bearers (but especially the cook and

'It was about halfpast tow,' said Mr. Giles, 'or I wouldn't swear that it mightn't have been a little nearer three,

when I woke up, and, turning round in my bed, as it might be so, (here Mr. Giles turned round in his chair,

and pulled the corner of the tablecloth over him to imitate bedclothes,) I fancied I heerd a noise.'

At this point of the narrative the cook turned pale, and asked the housemaid to shut the door: who asked

'Heerd a noise,' continued Mr. Giles. 'I says, at first, "This is illusion"; and was composing myself off to

'More like the noise of powdering a iron bar on a nutmeggrater,' suggested Brittles.

'It was, when you HEERD it, sir,' rejoined Mr. Giles; 'but, at this time, it had a busting sound. I turned down

the clothes'; continued Giles, rolling back the tablecloth, 'sat up in bed; and listened.'

The cook and housemaid simultaneously ejaculated 'Lor!' and drew their chairs closer together.

'I heerd it now, quite apparent,' resumed Mr. Giles. '"Somebody," I says, "is forcing of a door, or window;

what's to be done? I'll call up that poor lad, Brittles, and save him from being murdered in his bed; or his

throat," I says, "may be cut from his right ear to his left, without his ever knowing it."'

Here, all eyes were turned upon Brittles, who fixed his upon the speaker, and stared at him, with his mouth

'I tossed off the clothes,' said Giles, throwing away the tablecloth, and looking very hard at the cook and

'Of SHOES, sir,' said Giles, turning upon him, and laying great emphasis on the word; 'seized the loaded

pistol that always goes upstairs with the platebasket; and walked on tiptoes to his room. "Brittles," I says,

'"We're dead men, I think, Brittles," I says,' continued Giles; '"but don't be frightened."'

'Not a bit of it,' replied Mr. Giles. 'He was as firmah! pretty near as firm as I was.'

'I should have died at once, I'm sure, if it had been me,' observed the housemaid.

'Brittles is right,' said Mr. Giles, nodding his head, approvingly; 'from a woman, nothing else was to be

expected. We, being men, took a dark lantern that was standing on Brittle's hob, and groped our way

Mr. Giles had risen from his seat, and taken two steps with his eyes shut, to accompany his description with

appropriate action, when he started violently, in common with the rest of the company, and hurried back to

'It was a knock,' said Mr. Giles, assuming perfect serenity. 'Open the door, somebody.'

'It seems a strange sort of a thing, a knock coming at such a time in the morning,' said Mr. Giles, surveying

the pale faces which surrounded him, and looking very blank himself; 'but the door must be opened. Do you

Mr. Giles, as he spoke, looked at Brittles; but that young man, being naturally modest, probably considered

himself nobody, and so held that the inquiry could not have any application to him; at all events, he tendered

no reply. Mr. Giles directed an appealing glance at the tinker; but he had suddenly fallen asleep. The women

'If Brittles would rather open the door, in the presence of witnesses,' said Mr. Giles, after a short silence, 'I am

Brittles capitualated on these terms; and the party being somewhat reassured by the discovery (made on

throwing open the shutters) that it was now broad day, took their way upstairs; with the dogs in front. The

two women, who were afraid to stay below, brought up the rear. By the advice of Mr. Giles, they all talked

very loud, to warn any evildisposed person outside, that they were strong in numbers; and by a

masterstoke of policy, originating in the brain of the same ingenious gentleman, the dogs' tails were well

These precautions having been taken, Mr. Giles held on fast by the tinker's arm (to prevent his running away,

as he pleasantly said), and gave the word of command to open the door. Brittles obeyed; the group, peeping

timourously over each other's shoulders, beheld no more formidable object than poor little Oliver Twist,

speechless and exhausted, who raised his heavy eyes, and mutely solicited their compassion.

'A boy!' exclaimed Mr. Giles, valiantly, pushing the tinker into the background. 'What's the matter with

Brittles, who had got behind the door to open it, no sooner saw Oliver, than he uttered a loud cry. Mr. Giles,

seizing the boy by one leg and one arm (fortunately not the broken limb) lugged him straight into the hall,

'Here he is!' bawled Giles, calling in a state of great excitement, up the staircase; 'here's one of the thieves,

ma'am! Here's a thief, miss! Wounded, miss! I shot him, miss; and Brittles held the light.'

'In a lantern, miss,' cried Brittles, applying one hand to the side of his mouth, so that his voice might travel

The two womenservants ran upstairs to carry the intelligence that Mr. Giles had captured a robber; and the

tinker busied himself in endeavouring to restore Oliver, lest he should die before he could be hanged. In the

midst of all this noise and commotion, there was heard a sweet female voice, which quelled it in an instant.

'I'm here, miss,' replied Mr. Giles. 'Don't be frightened, miss; I ain't much injured. He didn't make a very

'Hush!' replied the young lady; 'you frighten my aunt as much as the thieves did. Is the poor creature much

'He looks as if he was agoing, miss,' bawled Brittles, in the same manner as before. 'Wouldn't you like to

'Hush, pray; there's a good man!' rejoined the lady. 'Wait quietly only one instant, while I speak to aunt.'

With a footstep as soft and gentle as the voice, the speaker tripped away. She soon returned, with the

direction that the wounded person was to be carried, carefully, upstairs to Mr. Giles's room; and that Brittles

was to saddle the pony and betake himself instantly to Chertsey: from which place, he was to despatch, with

'But won't you take one look at him, first, miss?' asked Mr. Giles, with as much pride as if Oliver were some

bird of rare plumage, that he had skilfully brought down. 'Not one little peep, miss?'

'Not now, for the world,' replied the young lady. 'Poor fellow! Oh! treat him kindly, Giles for my sake!'

The old servant looked up at the speaker, as she turned away, with a glance as proud and admiring as if she

had been his own child. Then, bending over Oliver, he helped to carry him upstairs, with the care and

In a handsome room: though its furniture had rather the air of oldfashioned comfort, than of modern

elegance: there sat two ladies at a wellspread breakfasttable. Mr. Giles, dressed with scrupulous care in a

full suit of black, was in attendance upon them. He had taken his station some halfway between the

sideboard and the breakfasttable; and, with his body drawn up to its full height, his head thrown back, and

inclined the merest trifle on one side, his left leg advanced, and his right hand thrust into his waistcoat,

while his left hung down by his side, grasping a waiter, looked like one who laboured under a very agreeable

Of the two ladies, one was well advanced in years; but the highbacked oaken chair in which she sat, was not

more upright than she. Dressed with the utmost nicety and precision, in a quaint mixture of bygone costume,

with some slight concessions to the prevailing taste, which rather served to point the old style pleasantly than

to impair its effect, she sat, in a stately manner, with her hands folded on the table before her. Her eyes (and

age had dimmed but little of their brightness) were attentively upon her young companion.

The younger lady was in the lovely bloom and springtime of womanhood; at that age, when, if ever angels

be for God's good purposes enthroned in mortal forms, they may be, without impiety, supposed to abide in

She was not past seventeen. Cast in so slight and exquisite a mould; so mild and gentle; so pure and beautiful;

that earth seemed not her element, nor its rough creatures her fit companions. The very intelligence that shone

in her deep blue eye, and was stamped upon her noble head, seemed scarcely of her age, or of the world; and

yet the changing expression of sweetness and good humour, the thousand lights that played about the face,

and left no shadow there; above all, the smile, the cheerful, happy smile, were made for Home, and fireside

She was busily engaged in the little offices of the table. Chancing to raise her eyes as the elder lady was

regarding her, she playfully put back her hair, which was simply braided on her forehead; and threw into her

beaming look, such an expression of affection and artless loveliness, that blessed spirits might have smiled to

'And Brittles has been gone upwards of an hour, has he?' asked the old lady, after a pause.

'An hour and twelve minutes, ma'am,' replied Mr. Giles, referring to a silver watch, which he drew forth by a

'Brittles always was a slow boy, ma'am,' replied the attendant. And seeing, by the bye, that Brittles had been a

slow boy for upwards of thirty years, there appeared no great probability of his ever being a fast one.

'It is very inexcusable in him if he stops to play with any other boys,' said the young lady, smiling.

Mr. Giles was apparently considering the propriety of indulging in a respectful smile himself, when a gig

drove up to the gardengate: out of which there jumped a fat gentleman, who ran straight up to the door: and

who, getting quickly into the house by some mysterious process, burst into the room, and nearly overturned

'I never heard of such a thing!' exclaimed the fat gentleman. 'My dear Mrs. Mayliebless my soulin the

With these expressions of condolence, the fat gentleman shook hands with both ladies, and drawing up a

'You ought to be dead; positively dead with the fright,' said the fat gentleman. 'Why didn't you send? Bless

me, my man should have come in a minute; and so would I; and my assistant would have been delighted; or

anybody, I'm sure, under such circumstances. Dear, dear! So unexpected! In the silence of the night, too!'

The doctor seemed expecially troubled by the fact of the robbery having been unexpected, and attempted in

the nighttime; as if it were the established custom of gentlemen in the housebreaking way to transact

'Oh! very much so, indeed,' said Rose, interrupting him; 'but there is a poor creature upstairs, whom aunt

'Ah! to be sure,' replied the doctor, 'so there is. That was your handiwork, Giles, I understand.'

Mr. Giles, who had been feverishly putting the teacups to rights, blushed very red, and said that he had had

'Honour, eh?' said the doctor; 'well, I don't know; perhaps it's as honourable to hit a thief in a back kitchen, as

to hit your man at twelve paces. Fancy that he fired in the air, and you've fought a duel, Giles.'

Mr. Giles, who thought this light treatment of the matter an unjust attempt at diminishing his glory, answered

respectfully, that it was not for the like of him to judge about that; but he rather thought it was no joke to the

'Gad, that's true!' said the doctor. 'Where is he? Show me the way. I'll look in again, as I come down, Mrs.

Maylie. That's the little window that he got in at, eh? Well, I couldn't have believed it!'

Talking all the way, he followed Mr. Giles upstairs; and while he is going upstairs, the reader may be

informed, that Mr. Losberne, a surgeon in the neighbourhood, known through a circuit of ten miles round as

'the doctor,' had grown fat, more from goodhumour than from good living: and was as kind and hearty, and

withal as eccentric an old bachelor, as will be found in five times that space, by any explorer alive.

The doctor was absent, much longer than either he or the ladies had anticipated. A large flat box was fetched

out of the gig; and a bedroom bell was rung very often; and the servants ran up and down stairs perpetually;

from which tokens it was justly concluded that something important was going on above. At length he

returned; and in reply to an anxious inquiry after his patient; looked very mysterious, and closed the door,

'This is a very extraordinary thing, Mrs. Maylie,' said the doctor, standing with his back to the door, as if to

'Why, that would NOT be an extraordinary thing, under the circumstances,' replied the doctor; 'though I don't

'I beg your pardon, ma'am, interposed Mr. Giles; 'but I was going to tell you about him when Doctor

The fact was, that Mr. Giles had not, at first, been able to bring his mind to the avowal, that he had only shot

a boy. Such commendations had been bestowed upon his bravery, that he could not, for the life of him, help

postponing the explanation for a few delicious minutes; during which he had flourished, in the very zenith of

'Humph!' rejoined the doctor. 'There is nothing very alarming in his appearance. Have you any objection to

'Then I think it is necessary,' said the doctor; 'at all events, I am quite sure that you would deeply regret not

having done so, if you postponed it. He is perfectly quiet and comfortable now. Allow meMiss Rose, will

With many loquacious assurances that they would be agreeably surprised in the aspect of the criminal, the

doctor drew the young lady's arm through one of him; and offering his disengaged hand to Mrs. Maylie, led

'Now,' said the doctor, in a whisper, as he softly turned the handle of a bedroomdoor, 'let us hear what you

think of him. He has not been shaved very recently, but he don't look at all ferocious notwithstanding. Stop,

Stepping before them, he looked into the room. Motioning them to advance, he closed the door when they

had entered; and gently drew back the curtains of the bed. Upon it, in lieu of the dogged, blackvisaged

ruffian they had expected to behold, there lay a mere child: worn with pain and exhaustion, and sunk into a

deep sleep. His wounded arm, bound and splintered up, was crossed upon his breast; his head reclined upon

the other arm, which was half hidden by his long hair, as it streamed over the pillow.

The honest gentleman held the curtain in his hand, and looked on, for a minute or so, in silence. Whilst he

was watching the patient thus, the younger lady glided softly past, and seating herself in a chair by the

bedside, gathered Oliver's hair from his face. As she stooped over him, her tears fell upon his forehead.

The boy stirred, and smiled in his sleep, as though these marks of pity and compassion had awakened some

pleasant dream of a love and affection he had never known. Thus, a strain of gentle music, or the rippling of

water in a silent place, or the odour of a flower, or the mention of a familiar word, will sometimes call up

sudden dim remembrances of scenes that never were, in this life; which vanish like a breath; which some

brief memory of a happier existence, long gone by, would seem to have awakened; which no voluntary

'What can this mean?' exclaimed the elder lady. 'This poor child can never have been the pupil of robbers!'

'Vice,' said the surgeon, replacing the curtain, 'takes up her abode in many temples; and who can say that a

'My dear young lady,' rejoined the surgeon, mournfully shaking his head; 'crime, like death, is not confined to

the old and withered alone. The youngest and fairest are too often its chosen victims.'

'But, can youoh! can you really believe that this delicate boy has been the voluntary associate of the worst

The surgeon shook his head, in a manner which intimated that he feared it was very possible; and observing

'But even if he has been wicked,' pursued Rose, 'think how young he is; think that he may never have known

a mother's love, or the comfort of a home; that illusage and blows, or the want of bread, may have driven

him to herd with men who have forced him to guilt. Aunt, dear aunt, for mercy's sake, think of this, before

you let them drag this sick child to a prison, which in any case must be the grave of all his chances of

amendment. Oh! as you love me, and know that I have never felt the want of parents in your goodness and

affection, but that I might have done so, and might have been equally helpless and unprotected with this poor

'My dear love,' said the elder lady, as she folded the weeping girl to her bosom, 'do you think I would harm a

'No, surely,' said the old lady; 'my days are drawing to their close: and may mercy be shown to me as I show

Mr. Losberne thrust his hands into his pockets, and took several turns up and down the room; often stopping,

and balancing himself on his toes, and frowning frightfully. After various exclamations of 'I've got it now'

and 'no, I haven't,' and as many renewals of the walking and frowning, he at length made a dead halt, and

'I think if you give me a full and unlimited commission to bully Giles, and that little boy, Brittles, I can

manage it. Giles is a faithful fellow and an old servant, I know; but you can make it up to him in a thousand

ways, and reward him for being such a good shot besides. You don't object to that?'

'Then my aunt invests you with full power,' said Rose, smiling through her tears; 'but pray don't be harder

'You seem to think,' retorted the doctor, 'that everybody is disposed to be hardhearted today, except

yourself, Miss Rose. I only hope, for the sake of the rising male sex generally, that you may be found in as

vulnerable and softhearted a mood by the first eligible young fellow who appeals to your compassion; and I

wish I were a young fellow, that I might avail myself, on the spot, of such a favourable opportunity for doing

'Well,' said the doctor, laughing heartily, 'that is no very difficult matter. But to return to this boy. The great

point of our agreement is yet to come. He will wake in an hour or so, I dare say; and although I have told that

thickheaded constablefellow downstairs that he musn't be moved or spoken to, on peril of his life, I think

we may converse with him without danger. Now I make this stipulationthat I shall examine him in your

presence, and that, if, from what he says, we judge, and I can show to the satisfaction of your cool reason,

that he is a real and thorough bad one (which is more than possible), he shall be left to his fate, without any

'Very good,' retorted the doctor; 'then so much the more reason for acceding to my proposition.'

Finally the treaty was entered into; and the parties thereunto sat down to wait, with some impatience, until

The patience of the two ladies was destined to undergo a longer trial than Mr. Losberne had led them to

expect; for hour after hour passed on, and still Oliver slumbered heavily. It was evening, indeed, before the

kindhearted doctor brought them the intelligence, that he was at length sufficiently restored to be spoken to.

The boy was very ill, he said, and weak from the loss of blood; but his mind was so troubled with anxiety to

disclose something, that he deemed it better to give him the opportunity, than to insist upon his remaining

The conference was a long one. Oliver told them all his simple history, and was often compelled to stop, by

pain and want of strength. It was a solemn thing, to hear, in the darkened room, the feeble voice of the sick

child recounting a weary catalogue of evils and calamities which hard men had brought upon him. Oh! if

when we oppress and grind our fellowcreatures, we bestowed but one thought on the dark evidences of

human error, which, like dense and heavy clouds, are rising, slowly it is true, but not less surely, to Heaven,

to pour their aftervengeance on our heads; if we heard but one instant, in imagination, the deep testimony of

dead men's voices, which no power can stifle, and no pride shut out; where would be the injury and injustice,

Oliver's pillow was smoothed by gentle hands that night; and loveliness and virtue watched him as he slept.

The momentous interview was no sooner concluded, and Oliver composed to rest again, than the doctor, after

wiping his eyes, and condemning them for being weak all at once, betook himself downstairs to open upon

Mr. Giles. And finding nobody about the parlours, it occurred to him, that he could perhaps originate the

There were assembled, in that lower house of the domestic parliament, the womenservants, Mr. Brittles, Mr.

Giles, the tinker (who had received a special invitation to regale himself for the remainder of the day, in

consideration of his services), and the constable. The latter gentleman had a large staff, a large head, large

features, and large halfboots; and he looked as if he had been taking a proportionate allowance of aleas

The adventures of the previous night were still under discussion; for Mr. Giles was expatiating upon his

presence of mind, when the doctor entered; Mr. Brittles, with a mug of ale in his hand, was corroborating

'Thank you, sir, said Mr. Giles. 'Misses wished some ale to be given out, sir; and as I felt no ways inclined for

my own little room, sir, and was disposed for company, I am taking mine among 'em here.'

Brittles headed a low murmur, by which the ladies and gentlemen generally were understood to express the

gratification they derived from Mr. Giles's condescension. Mr. Giles looked round with a patronising air, as

much as to say that so long as they behaved properly, he would never desert them.

'Soso'; returned the doctor. 'I am afraid you have got yourself into a scrape there, Mr. Giles.'

'I hope you don't mean to say, sir,' said Mr. Giles, trembling, 'that he's going to die. If I thought it, I should

never be happy again. I wouldn't cut a boy off: no, not even Brittles here; not for all the plate in the county,

'That's not the point,' said the doctor, mysteriously. 'Mr. Giles, are you a Protestant?'

'Lord bless me, sir!' replied Brittles, starting violently; 'I'm the same as Mr. Giles, sir.'

'Then tell me this,' said the doctor, 'both of you, both of you! Are you going to take upon yourselves to swear,

that that boy upstairs is the boy that was put through the little window last night? Out with it! Come! We are

The doctor, who was universally considered one of the besttempered creatures on earth, made this demand

in such a dreadful tone of anger, that Giles and Brittles, who were considerably muddled by ale and

'Pay attention to the reply, constable, will you?' said the doctor, shaking his forefinger with great solemnity of

manner, and tapping the bridge of his nose with it, to bespeak the exercise of that worthy's utmost acuteness.

The constable looked as wise as he could, and took up his staff of office: which had been recling indolently in

'That's what it is, sir,' replied the constable, coughing with great violence; for he had finished his ale in a

'Here's the house broken into,' said the doctor, 'and a couple of men catch one moment's glimpse of a boy, in

the midst of gunpowder smoke, and in all the distraction of alarm and darkness. Here's a boy comes to that

very same house, next morning, and because he happens to have his arm tied up, these men lay violent hands

upon himby doing which, they place his life in great dangerand swear he is the thief. Now, the question

is, whether these men are justified by the fact; if not, in what situation do they place themselves?'

The constable nodded profoundly. He said, if that wasn't law, he would be glad to know what was.

'I ask you again,' thundered the doctor, 'are you, on your solemn oaths, able to identify that boy?'

Brittles looked doubtfully at Mr. Giles; Mr. Giles looked doubtfully at Brittles; the constable put his hand

behind his ear, to catch the reply; the two women and the tinker leaned forward to listen; the doctor glanced

keenly round; when a ring was heard at the gate, and at the same moment, the sound of wheels.

'The Bow Street officers, sir,' replied Brittles, taking up a candle; 'me and Mr. Giles sent for 'em this

'Yes,' replied Brittles; 'I sent a message up by the coachman, and I only wonder they weren't here before, sir.'

'You did, did you? Then confound yourslow coaches down here; that's all,' said the doctor, walking away.

'Who's that?' inquired Brittles, opening the door a little way, with the chain up, and peeping out, shading the

'Open the door,' replied a man outside; 'it's the officers from Bow Street, as was sent to today.'

Much comforted by this assurance, Brittles opened the door to its full width, and confronted a portly man in a

greatcoat; who walked in, without saying anything more, and wiped his shoes on the mat, as coolly as if he

'Just send somebody out to relieve my mate, will you, young man?' said the officer; 'he's in the gig,

aminding the prad. Have you got a coach 'us here, that you could put it up in, for five or ten minutes?'

Brittles replying in the affirmative, and pointing out the building, the portly man stepped back to the

gardengate, and helped his companion to put up the gig: while Brittles lighted them, in a state of great

admiration. This done, they returned to the house, and, being shown into a parlour, took off their greatcoats

The man who had knocked at the door, was a stout personage of middle height, aged about fifty: with shiny

black hair, cropped pretty close; halfwhiskers, a round face, and sharp eyes. The other was a redheaded,

bony man, in topboots; with a rather illfavoured countenance, and a turnedup sinisterlooking nose.

'Tell your governor that Blathers and Duff is here, will you?' said the stouter man, smoothing down his hair,

and laying a pair of handcuffs on the table. 'Oh! Goodevening, master. Can I have a word or two with you in

This was addressed to Mr. Losberne, who now made his appearance; that gentleman, motioning Brittles to

'This is the lady of the house,' said Mr. Losberne, motioning towards Mrs. Maylie.

Mr. Blathers made a bow. Being desired to sit down, he put his hat on the floor, and taking a chair, motioned

to Duff to do the same. The latter gentleman, who did not appear quite so much accustomed to good society,

or quite so much at his ease in itone of the twoseated himself, after undergoing several muscular

affections of the limbs, and the head of his stick into his mouth, with some embarrassment.

'Now, with regard to this here robbery, master,' said Blathers. 'What are the circumstances?'

Mr. Losberne, who appeared desirous of gaining time, recounted them at great length, and with much

circumlocution. Messrs. Blathers and Duff looked very knowing meanwhile, and occasionally exchanged a

'I can't say, for certain, till I see the work, of course,' said Blathers; 'but my opinion at once is,I don't mind

'And, translating the word yokel for the benefit of the ladies, I apprehend your meaning to be, that this

'Now, what is this, about this here boy that the servants are atalking on?' said Blathers.

'Nothing at all,' replied the doctor. 'One of the frightened servants chose to take it into his head, that he had

something to do with this attempt to break into the house; but it's nonsense: sheer absurdity.'

'What he says is quite correct,' observed Blathers, nodding his head in a confirmatory way, and playing

carelessly with the handcuffs, as if they were a pair of castanets. 'Who is the boy?

What account does he give of himself? Where did he come from? He didn't drop out of the clouds, did he,

'Of course not,' replied the doctor, with a nervous glance at the two ladies. 'I know his whole history: but we

can talk about that presently. You would like, first, to see the place where the thieves made their attempt, I

'Certainly,' rejoined Mr. Blathers. 'We had better inspect the premises first, and examine the servants

Lights were then procured; and Messrs. Blathers and Duff, attended by the native constable, Brittles, Giles,

and everybody else in short, went into the little room at the end of the passage and looked out at the window;

and afterwards went round by way of the lawn, and looked in at the window; and after that, had a candle

handed out to inspect the shutter with; and after that, a lantern to trace the footsteps with; and after that, a

pitchfork to poke the bushes with. This done, amidst the breathless interest of all beholders, they came in

again; and Mr. Giles and Brittles were put through a melodramatic representation of their share in the

previous night's adventures: which they performed some six times over: contradiction each other, in not more

than one important respect, the first time, and in not more than a dozen the last. This consummation being

arrived at, Blathers and Duff cleared the room, and held a long council together, compared with which, for

secrecy and solemnity, a consultation of great doctors on the knottiest point in medicine, would be mere

Meanwhile, the doctor walked up and down the next room in a very uneasy state; and Mrs. Maylie and Rose

'Upon my word,' he said, making a halt, after a great number of very rapid turns, 'I hardly know what to do.'

'Surely,' said Rose, 'the poor child's story, faithfully repeated to these men, will be sufficient to exonerate

'I doubt it, my dear young lady,' said the doctor, shaking his head. 'I don't think it would exonerate him, either

with them, or with legal functionaries of a higher grade. What is he, after all, they would say? A runaway.

Judged by mere worldly considerations and probabilities, his story is a very doubtful one.'

'_I_ believe it, strange as it is; and perhaps I may be an old fool for doing so,' rejoined the doctor; 'but I don't

'Because, my pretty crossexaminer,' replied the doctor: 'because, viewed with their eyes, there are many

ugly points about it; he can only prove the parts that look ill, and none of those that look well. Confound the

fellows, they WILL have the way and the wherefore, and will take nothing for granted. On his own showing,

you see, he has been the companion of thieves for some time past; he has been carried to a policeofficer, on

a charge of picking a gentleman's pocket; he has been taken away, forcibly, from that gentleman's house, to a

place which he cannot describe or point out, and of the situation of which he has not the remotest idea. He is

brought down to Chertsey, by men who seem to have taken a violent fancy to him, whether he will or no; and

is put through a window to rob a house; and then, just at the very moment when he is going to alarm the

inmates, and so do the very thing that would set him all to rights, there rushes into the way, a blundering dog

of a halfbred butler, and shoots him! As if on purpose to prevent his doing any good for himself! Don't you

'I see it, of course,' replied Rose, smiling at the doctor's impetuosity; 'but still I do not see anything in it, to

'No,' replied the doctor; 'of course not! Bless the bright eyes of your sex! They never see, whether for good or

bad, more than one side of any question; and that is, always, the one which first presents itself to them.'

Having given vent to this result of experience, the doctor put his hands into his pockets, and walked up and

'The more I think of it,' said the doctor, 'the more I see that it will occasion endless trouble and difficulty if

we put these men in possession of the boy's real story. I am certain it will not be believed; and even if they

can do nothing to him in the end, still the dragging it forward, and giving publicity to all the doubts that will

be cast upon it, must interfere, materially, with your benevolent plan of rescuing him from misery.'

'Oh! what is to be done?' cried Rose. 'Dear, dear! whyddid they send for these people?'

'Why, indeed!' exclaimed Mrs. Maylie. 'I would not have had them here, for the world.'

'All I know is,' said Mr. Losberne, at last: sitting down with a kind of desperate calmness, 'that we must try

and carry it off with a bold face. The object is a good one, and that must be our excuse. The boy has strong

symptoms of fever upon him, and is in no condition to be talked to any more; that's one comfort. We must

'Well, master,' said Blathers, entering the room followed by his colleague, and making the door fast, before he

'We call it a putup robbery, ladies,' said Blathers, turning to them, as if he pitied their ignorance, but had a

'Wery likely not, ma'am,' replied Blathers; 'but they might have been in it, for all that.'

'We find it was a town hand,' said Blathers, continuing his report; 'for the style of work is firstrate.'

'There was two of 'em in it,' continued Blathers; 'and they had a boy with 'em; that's plain from the size of the

window. That's all to be said at present. We'll see this lad that you've got upstairs at once, if you please.'

'Perhaps they will take something to drink first, Mrs. Maylie?' said the doctor: his face brightening, as if some

'Oh! to be sure!' exclaimed Rose, eagerly. 'You shall have it immediately, if you will.'

'Why, thank you, miss!' said Blathers, drawing his coatsleeve across his mouth; 'it's dry work, this sort of

duty. Anythink that's handy, miss; don't put yourself out of the way, on our accounts.'

'What shall it be?' asked the doctor, following the young lady to the sideboard.

'A little drop of spirits, master, if it's all the same,' replied Blathers. 'It's a cold ride from London, ma'am; and

This interesting communication was addressed to Mrs. Maylie, who received it very graciously. While it was

'Ah!' said Mr. Blathers: not holding his wineglass by the stem, but grasping the bottom between the thumb

and forefinger of his left hand: and placing it in front of his chest; 'I have seen a good many pieces of

'That crack down in the back lane at Edmonton, Blathers,' said Mr. Duff, assisting his colleague's memory.

'That was something in this way, warn't it?' rejoined Mr. Blathers; 'that was done by Conkey Chickweed, that

'You always gave that to him' replied Duff. 'It was the Family Pet, I tell you. Conkey hadn't any more to do

'Get out!' retorted Mr. Blathers; 'I know better. Do you mind that time when Conkey was robbed of his

'What was that?' inquired Rose: anxious to encourage any symptoms of goodhumour in the unwelcome

'It was a robbery, miss, that hardly anybody would have been down upon,' said Blathers. 'This here Conkey

'Of course the lady knows that, don't she?' demanded Mr. Blathers. 'Always interrupting, you are, partner!

This here Conkey Chickweed, miss, kept a publichouse over Battlebridge way, and he had a cellar, where a

good many young lords went to see cockfighting, and badgerdrawing, and that; and a wery intellectural

manner the sports was conducted in, for I've seen 'em off'en. He warn't one of the family, at that time; and

one night he was robbed of three hundred and twentyseven guineas in a canvas bag, that was stole out of his

bedrrom in the dead of night, by a tall man with a black patch over his eye, who had concealed himself under

the bed, and after committing the robbery, jumped slap out of window: which was only a story high.

He was wery quick about it. But Conkey was quick, too; for he fired a blunderbuss arter him, and roused the

neighbourhood. They set up a hueandcry, directly, and when they came to look about 'em, found that

Conkey had hit the robber; for there was traces of blood, all the way to some palings a good distance off; and

there they lost 'em. However, he had made off with the blunt; and, consequently, the name of Mr. Chickweed,

licensed witler, appeared in the Gazette among the other bankrupts; and all manner of benefits and

subscriptions, and I don't know what all, was got up for the poor man, who was in a wery low state of mind

about his loss, and went up and down the streets, for three or four days, a pulling his hair off in such a

desperate manner that many people was afraid he might be going to make away with himself. One day he

came up to the office, all in a hurry, and had a private interview with the magistrate, who, after a deal of talk,

rings the bell, and orders Jem Spyers in (Jem was a active officer), and tells him to go and assist Mr.

Chickweed in apprehending the man as robbed his house. "I see him, Spyers," said Chickweed, "pass my

house yesterday morning," "Why didn't you up, and collar him!" says Spyers. "I was so struck all of a heap,

that you might have fractured my skull with a toothpick," says the poor man; "but we're sure to have him; for

between ten and eleven o'clock at night he passed again." Spyers no sooner heard this, than he put some clean

linen and a comb, in his pocket, in case he should have to stop a day or two; and away he goes, and sets

himself down at one of the publichouse windows behind the little red curtain, with his hat on, all ready to

bolt out, at a moment's notice. He was smoking his pipe here, late at night, when all of a sudden Chickweed

roars out, "Here he is! Stop thief! Murder!" Jem Spyers dashes out; and there he sees Chickweed, atearing

down the street full cry. Away goes Spyers; on goes Chickweed; round turns the people; everybody roars out,

"Thieves!" and Chickweed himself keeps on shouting, all the time, like mad. Spyers loses sight of him a

minute as he turns a corner; shoots round; sees a little crowd; dives in; "Which is the man?" "Dme!" says

Chickweed, "I've lost him again!" It was a remarkable occurrence, but he warn't to be seen nowhere, so they

went back to the publichouse. Next morning, Spyers took his old place, and looked out, from behind the

curtain, for a tall man with a black patch over his eye, till his own two eyes ached again. At last, he couldn't

help shutting 'em, to ease 'em a minute; and the very moment he did so, he hears Chickweed aroaring out,

"Here he is!" Off he starts once more, with Chickweed halfway down the street ahead of him; and after

twice as long a run as the yesterday's one, the man's lost again! This was done, once or twice more, till

onehalf the neighbours gave out that Mr. Chickweed had been robbed by the devil, who was playing tricks

with him arterwards; and the other half, that poor Mr. Chickweed had gone mad with grief.'

'What did Jem Spyers say?' inquired the doctor; who had returned to the room shortly after the

'Jem Spyers,' resumed the officer, 'for a long time said nothing at all, and listened to everything without

seeming to, which showed he understood his business. But, one morning, he walked into the bar, and taking

out his snuffbox, says "Chickweed, I've found out who done this here robbery." "Have you?" said

Chickweed. "Oh, my dear Spyers, only let me have wengeance, and I shall die contented! Oh, my dear

Spyers, where is the villain!" "Come!" said Spyers, offering him a pinch of snuff, "none of that gammon!

You did it yourself." So he had; and a good bit of money he had made by it, too; and nobody would never

have found it out, if he hadn't been so precious anxious to keep up appearances!' said Mr. Blathers, putting

'Very curious, indeed,' observed the doctor. 'Now, if you please, you can walk upstairs.'

'If YOU please, sir,' returned Mr. Blathers. Closely following Mr. Losberne, the two officers ascended to

Oliver had been dozing; but looked worse, and was more feverish than he had appeared yet. Being assisted by

the doctor, he managed to sit up in bed for a minute or so; and looked at the strangers without at all

understanding what was going forwardin fact, without seeming to recollect where he was, or what had

'This,' said Mr. Losberne, speaking softly, but with great vehemence notwithstanding, 'this is the lad, who,

being accidently wounded by a springgun in some boyish trespass on Mr. Whatd' yecallhim's grounds,

at the back here, comes to the house for assistance this morning, and is immediately laid hold of and

maltreated, by that ingenious gentleman with the candle in his hand: who has placed his life in considerable

Messrs. Blathers and Duff looked at Mr. Giles, as he was thus recommended to their notice. The bewildered

butler gazed from them towards Oliver, and from Oliver towards Mr. Losberne, with a most ludicrous

'You don't mean to deny that, I suppose?' said the doctor, laying Oliver gently down again.

'It was all done for thefor the best, sir,' answered Giles. 'I am sure I thought it was the boy, or I wouldn't

'I don't know; I really don't know,' said Giles, with a rueful countenance. 'I couldn't swear to him.'

'I don't know what to think,' replied poor Giles. 'I don't think it is the boy; indeed, I'm almost certain that it

'What a precious muddleheaded chap you are!' said Duff, addressing Mr. Giles, with supreme contempt.

Mr. Losberne had been feeling the patient's pulse during this short dialogue; but he now rose from the chair

by the bedside, and remarked, that if the officers had any doubts upon the subject, they would perhaps like to

Acting upon this suggestion, they adjourned to a neighbouring apartment, where Mr. Brittles, being called in,

involved himself and his respected superior in such a wonderful maze of fresh contradictions and

impossibilities, as tended to throw no particular light on anything, but the fact of his own strong

mystification; except, indeed, his declarations that he shouldn't know the real boy, if he were put before him

that instant; that he had only taken Oliver to be he, because Mr. Giles had said he was; and that Mr. Giles

had, five minutes previously, admitted in the kitchen, that he begain to be very much afraid he had been a

Among other ingenious surmises, the question was then raised, whether Mr. Giles had really hit anybody; and

upon examination of the fellow pistol to that which he had fired, it turned out to have no more destructive

loading than gunpowder and brown paper: a discovery which made a considerable impression on everybody

but the doctor, who had drawn the ball about ten minutes before. Upon no one, however, did it make a greater

impression than on Mr. Giles himself; who, after labouring, for some hours, under the fear of having mortally

wounded a fellowcreature, eagerly caught at this new idea, and favoured it to the utmost. Finally, the

officers, without troubling themselves very much about Oliver, left the Chertsey constable in the house, and

took up their rest for that night in the town; promising to return the next morning.

With the next morning, there came a rumour, that two men and a boy were in the cage at Kingston, who had

been apprehended over night under suspicious circumstances; and to Kingston Messrs. Blathers and Duff

journeyed accordingly. The suspicious circumstances, however, resolving themselves, on investigation, into

the one fact, that they had been discovered sleeping under a haystack; which, although a great crime, is only

punishable by imprisonment, and is, in the merciful eye of the English law, and its comprehensive love of all

the King's subjects, held to be no satisfactory proof, in the absence of all other evidence, that the sleeper, or

sleepers, have committed burglary accompanied with violence, and have therefore rendered themselves liable

to the punishment of death; Messrs. Blathers and Duff came back again, as wise as they went.

In short, after some more examination, and a great deal more conversation, a neighbouring magistrate was

readily induced to take the joint bail of Mrs. Maylie and Mr. Losberne for Oliver's appearance if he should

ever be called upon; and Blathers and Duff, being rewarded with a couple of guineas, returned to town with

divided opinions on the subject of their expedition: the latter gentleman on a mature consideration of all the

circumstances, inclining to the belief that the burglarious attempt had originated with the Family Pet; and the

former being equally disposed to concede the full merit of it to the great Mr. Conkey Chickweed.

Meanwhile, Oliver gradually throve and prospered under the united care of Mrs. Maylie, Rose, and the

kindhearted Mr. Losberne. If fervent prayers, gushing from hearts overcharged with gratitude, be heard in

heavenand if they be not, what prayers are!the blessings which the orphan child called down upon them,

Oliver's ailings were neither slight nor few. In addition to the pain and delay attendant on a broken limb, his

exposure to the wet and cold had brought on fever and ague: which hung about him for many weeks, and

reduced him sadly. But, at length, he began, by slow degrees, to get better, and to be able to say sometimes,

in a few tearful words, how deeply he felt the goodness of the two sweet ladies, and how ardently he hoped

that when he grew strong and well again, he could do something to show his gratitude; only something,

which would let them see the love and duty with which his breast was full; something, however slight, which

would prove to them that their gentle kindness had not been cast away; but that the poor boy whom their

charity had rescued from misery, or death, was eager to serve them with his whole heart and soul.

'Poor fellow!' said Rose, when Oliver had been one day feebly endeavouring to utter the words of

thankfulness that rose to his pale lips; 'you shall have many opportunities of serving us, if you will. We are

going into the country, and my aunt intends that you shall accompany us. The quiet place, the pure air, and all

the pleasure and beauties of spring, will restore you in a few days. We will employ you in a hundred ways,

'The trouble!' cried Oliver. 'Oh! dear lady, if I could but work for you; if I could only give you pleasure by

watering your flowers, or watching your birds, or running up and down the whole day long, to make you

'You shall give nothing at all,' said Miss Maylie, smiling; 'for, as I told you before, we shall employ you in a

hundred ways; and if you only take half the trouble to please us, that you promise now, you will make me

'You will make me happier than I can tell you,' replied the young lady. 'To think that my dear good aunt

should have been the means of rescuing any one from such sad misery as you have described to us, would be

an unspeakable pleasure to me; but to know that the object of her goodness and compassion was sincerely

grateful and attached, in consequence, would delight me, more than you can well imagine. Do you understand

'Oh yes, ma'am, yes!' replied Oliver eagerly; 'but I was thinking that I am ungrateful now.'

'To the kind gentleman, and the dear old nurse, who took so much care of me before,' rejoined Oliver. 'If they

'I am sure they would,' rejoined Oliver's benefactress; 'and Mr. Losberne has already been kind enough to

promise that when you are well enough to bear the journey, he will carry you to see them.'

'Has he, ma'am?' cried Oliver, his face brightening with pleasure. 'I don't know what I shall do for joy when I

In a short time Oliver was sufficiently recovered to undergo the fatigue of this expedition. One morning he

and Mr. Losberne set out, accordingly, in a little carriage which belonged to Mrs. Maylie. When they came to

'What's the matter with the boy?' cried the doctor, as usual, all in a bustle. 'Do you see anythinghear

'Yes; well, what of it? Stop coachman. Pull up here,' cried the doctor. 'What of the house, my man; eh?'

But, before the coachman could dismount from his box, he had tumbled out of the coach, by some means or

other; and, running down to the deserted tenement, began kicking at the door like a madman.

'Halloa?' said a little ugly humpbacked man: opening the door so suddenly, that the doctor, from the very

impetus of his last kick, nearly fell forward into the passage. 'What's the matter here?'

'Matter!' exclaimed the other, collaring him, without a moment's reflection. 'A good deal. Robbery is the

'There'll be Murder the matter, too,' replied the humpbacked man, coolly, 'if you don't take your hands off.

'Where'sconfound the fellow, what's his rascally nameSikes; that's it. Where's Sikes, you thief?'

The humpbacked man stared, as if in excess of amazement and indignation; then, twisting himself,

dexterously, from the doctor's grasp, growled forth a volley of horrid oaths, and retired into the house. Before

he could shut the door, however, the doctor had passed into the parlour, without a word of parley.

He looked anxiously round; not an article of furniture; not a vestige of anything, animate or inanimate; not

'Now!' said the humpbacked man, who had watched him keenly, 'what do you mean by coming into my

house, in this violent way? Do you want to rob me, or to murder me? Which is it?'

'Did you ever know a man come out to do either, in a chariot and a pair, you ridiculous old vampire?' said the

'What do you want, then?' demanded the hunchback. 'Will you take yourself off, before I do you a mischief?

'As soon as I think proper,' said Mr. Losberne, looking into the other parlour; which, like the first, bore no

resemblance whatever to Oliver's account of it. 'I shall find you out, some day, my friend.'

'Will you?' sneered the illfavoured cripple. 'If you ever want me, I'm here. I haven't lived here mad and all

alone, for fiveandtwenty years, to be scared by you. You shall pay for this; you shall pay for this.' And so

saying, the misshapen little demon set up a yell, and danced upon the ground, as if wild with rage.

'Stupid enough, this,' muttered the doctor to himself; 'the boy must have made a mistake. Here! Put that in

your pocket, and shut yourself up again.' With these words he flung the hunchback a piece of money, and

The man followed to the chariot door, uttering the wildest imprecations and curses all the way; but as Mr.

Losberne turned to speak to the driver, he looked into the carriage, and eyed Oliver for an instant with a

glance so sharp and fierce and at the same time so furious and vindictive, that, waking or sleeping, he could

not forget it for months afterwards. He continued to utter the most fearful imprecations, until the driver had

resumed his seat; and when they were once more on their way, they could see him some distance behind:

beating his feet upon the ground, and tearing his hair, in transports of real or pretended rage.

'I am an ass!' said the doctor, after a long silence. 'Did you know that before, Oliver?'

'An ass,' said the doctor again, after a further silence of some minutes. 'Even if it had been the right place, and

the right fellows had been there, what could I have done, singlehanded? And if I had had assistance, I see no

good that I should have done, except leading to my own exposure, and an unavoidable statement of the

manner in which I have hushed up this business. That would have served me right, though. I am always

involving myself in some scrape or other, by acting on impulse. It might have done me good.'

Now, the fact was that the excellent doctor had never acted upon anything but impulse all through his life,

and if was no bad compliment to the nature of the impulses which governed him, that so far from being

involved in any peculiar troubles or misfortunes, he had the warmest respect and esteem of all who knew

him. If the truth must be told, he was a little out of temper, for a minute or two, at being disappointed in

procuring corroborative evidence of Oliver's story on the very first occasion on which he had a chance of

obtaining any. He soon came round again, however; and finding that Oliver's replies to his questions, were

still as straightforward and consistent, and still delivered with as much apparent sincerity and truth, as they

had ever been, he made up his mind to attach full credence to them, from that time forth.

As Oliver knew the name of the street in which Mr. Brownlow resided, they were enabled to drive straight

thither. When the coach turned into it, his heart beat so violently, that he could scarcely draw his breath.

'That! That!' replied Oliver, pointing eagerly out of the window. 'The white house. Oh! make haste! Pray

'Come, come!' said the good doctor, patting him on the shoulder. 'You will see them directly, and they will be

'Oh! I hope so!' cried Oliver. 'They were so good to me; so very, very good to me.'

The coach rolled on. It stopped. No; that was the wrong house; the next door. It went on a few paces, and

stopped again. Oliver looked up at the windows, with tears of happy expectation coursing down his face.

'Knock at the next door,' cried Mr. Losberne, taking Oliver's arm in his. 'What has become of Mr. Brownlow,

The servant did not know; but would go and inquire. She presently returned, and said, that Mr. Brownlow had

sold off his goods, and gone to the West Indies, six weeks before. Oliver clasped his hands, and sank feebly

'Yes, sir'; replied the servant. 'The old gentleman, the housekeeper, and a gentleman who was a friend of Mr.

'Then turn towards home again,' said Mr. Losberne to the driver; 'and don't stop to bait the horses, till you get

'The bookstall keeper, sir?' said Oliver. 'I know the way there. See him, pray, sir! Do see him!'

'My poor boy, this is disappointment enough for one day,' said the doctor. 'Quite enough for both of us. If we

go to the bookstall keeper's, we shall certainly find that he is dead, or has set his house on fire, or run away.

No; home again straight!' And in obedience to the doctor's impulse, home they went.

This bitter disappointment caused Oliver much sorrow and grief, even in the midst of his happiness; for he

had pleased himself, many times during his illness, with thinking of all that Mr. Brownlow and Mrs. Bedwin

would say to him: and what delight it would be to tell them how many long days and nights he had passed in

reflecting on what they had done for him, and in bewailing his cruel separation from them. The hope of

eventually clearing himself with them, too, and explaining how he had been forced away, had buoyed him up,

and sustained him, under many of his recent trials; and now, the idea that they should have gone so far, and

carried with them the belief that the was an impostor and a robbera belief which might remain

The circumstance occasioned no alteration, however, in the behaviour of his benefactors. After another

fortnight, when the fine warm weather had fairly begun, and every tree and flower was putting forth its young

leaves and rich blossoms, they made preparations for quitting the house at Chertsey, for some months.

Sending the plate, which had so excited Fagin's cupidity, to the banker's; and leaving Giles and another

servant in care of the house, they departed to a cottage at some distance in the country, and took Oliver with

Who can describe the pleasure and delight, the peace of mind and soft tranquillity, the sickly boy felt in the

balmy air, and among the green hills and rich woods, of an inland village! Who can tell how scenes of peace

and quietude sink into the minds of painworn dwellers in close and noisy places, and carry their own

freshness, deep into their jaded hearts! Men who have lived in crowded, pentup streets, through lives of toil,

and who have never wished for change; men, to whom custom has indeed been second nature, and who have

come almost to love each brick and stone that formed the narrow boundaries of their daily walks; even they,

with the hand of death upon them, have been known to yearn at last for one short glimpse of Nature's face;

and, carried far from the scenes of their old pains and pleasures, have seemed to pass at once into a new state

of being. Crawling forth, from day to day, to some green sunny spot, they have had such memories wakened

up within them by the sight of the sky, and hill and plain, and glistening water, that a foretaste of heaven

itself has soothed their quick decline, and they have sunk into their tombs, as peacefully as the sun whose

setting they watched from their lonely chamber window but a few hours before, faded from their dim and

feeble sight! The memories which peaceful country scenes call up, are not of this world, nor of its thoughts

and hopes. Their gentle influence may teach us how to weave fresh garlands for the graves of those we loved:

may purify our thoughts, and bear down before it old enmity and hatred; but beneath all this, there lingers, in

the least reflective mind, a vague and halfformed consciousness of having held such feelings long before, in

some remote and distant time, which calls up solemn thoughts of distant times to come, and bends down

It was a lovely spot to which they repaired. Oliver, whose days had been spent among squalid crowds, and in

the midst of noise and brawling, seemed to enter on a new existence there. The rose and honeysuckle clung to

the cottage walls; the ivy crept round the trunks of the trees; and the gardenflowers perfumed the air with

delicious odours. Hard by, was a little churchyard; not crowded with tall unsightly gravestones, but full of

humble mounds, covered with fresh turf and moss: beneath which, the old people of the village lay at rest.

Oliver often wandered here; and, thinking of the wretched grave in which his mother lay, would sometimes

sit him down and sob unseen; but, when he raised his eyes to the deep sky overhead, he would cease to think

It was a happy time. The days were peaceful and serene; the nights brought with them neither fear nor care;

no languishing in a wretched prison, or associating with wretched men; nothing but pleasant and happy

thoughts. Every morning he went to a whiteheaded old gentleman, who lived near the little church: who

taught him to read better, and to write: and who spoke so kindly, and took such pains, that Oliver could never

try enough to please him. Then, he would walk with Mrs. Maylie and Rose, and hear them talk of books; or

perhaps sit near them, in some shady place, and listen whilst the young lady read: which he could have done,

until it grew too dark to see the letters. Then, he had his own lesson for the next day to prepare; and at this, he

would work hard, in a little room which looked into the garden, till evening came slowly on, when the ladies

would walk out again, and he with them: listening with such pleasure to all they said: and so happy if they

wanted a flower that he could climb to reach, or had forgotten anything he could run to fetch: that he could

never be quick enought about it. When it became quite dark, and they returned home, the young lady would

sit down to the piano, and play some pleasant air, or sing, in a low and gentle voice, some old song which it

pleased her aunt to hear. There would be no candles lighted at such times as these; and Oliver would sit by

And when Sunday came, how differently the day was spent, from any way in which he had ever spent it yet!

and how happily too; like all the other days in that most happy time! There was the little church, in the

morning, with the green leaves fluttering at the windows: the birds singing without: and the sweetsmelling

air stealing in at the low porch, and filling the homely building with its fragrance. The poor people were so

neat and clean, and knelt so reverently in prayer, that it seemed a pleasure, not a tedious duty, their

assembling there together; and though the singing might be rude, it was real, and sounded more musical (to

Oliver's ears at least) than any he had ever heard in church before. Then, there were the walks as usual, and

many calls at the clean houses of the labouring men; and at night, Oliver read a chapter or two from the Bible,

which he had been studying all the week, and in the performance of which duty he felt more proud and

In the morning, Oliver would be afoot by six o'clock, roaming the fields, and plundering the hedges, far and

wide, for nosegays of wild flowers, with which he would return laden, home; and which it took great care and

consideration to arrange, to the best advantage, for the embellishment of the breakfasttable. There was fresh

groundsel, too, for Miss Maylie's birds, with which Oliver, who had been studying the subject under the able

tuition of the village clerk, would decorate the cages, in the most approved taste. When the birds were made

all spruce and smart for the day, there was usually some little commission of charity to execute in the village;

or, failing that, there was rare cricketplaying, sometimes, on the green; or, failing that, there was always

something to do in the garden, or about the plants, to which Oliver (who had studied this science also, under

the same master, who was a gardener by trade,) applied himself with hearty goodwill, until Miss Rose made

her appearance: when there were a thousand commendations to be bestowed on all he had done.

So three months glided away; three months which, in the life of the most blessed and favoured of mortals,

might have been unmingled happiness, and which, in Oliver's were true felicity. With the purest and most

amiable generousity on one side; and the truest, warmest, soulfelt gratitude on the other; it is no wonder

that, by the end of that short time, Oliver Twist had become completely domesticated with the old lady and

her niece, and that the fervent attachment of his young and sensitive heart, was repaid by their pride in, and

Spring flew swiftly by, and summer came. If the village had been beautiful at first it was now in the full glow

and luxuriance of its richness. The great trees, which had looked shrunken and bare in the earlier months, had

now burst into strong life and health; and stretching forth their green arms over the thirsty ground, converted

open and naked spots into choice nooks, where was a deep and pleasant shade from which to look upon the

wide prospect, steeped in sunshine, which lay stretched beyond. The earth had donned her mantle of brightest

green; and shed her richest perfumes abroad. It was the prime and vigour of the year; all things were glad and

Still, the same quiet life went on at the little cottage, and the same cheerful serenity prevailed among its

inmates. Oliver had long since grown stout and healthy; but health or sickness made no difference in his

warm feelings of a great many people. He was still the same gentle, attached, affectionate creature that he had

been when pain and suffering had wasted his strength, and when he was dependent for every slight attention,

One beautiful night, when they had taken a longer walk than was customary with them: for the day had been

unusually warm, and there was a brilliant moon, and a light wind had sprung up, which was unusually

refreshing. Rose had been in high spirits, too, and they had walked on, in merry conversation, until they had

far exceeded their ordinary bounds. Mrs. Maylie being fatigued, they returned more slowly home. The young

lady merely throwing off her simple bonnet, sat down to the piano as usual. After running abstractedly over

the keys for a few minutes, she fell into a low and very solemn air; and as she played it, they heard a sound as

Rose made no reply, but played a little quicker, as though the words had roused her from some painful

'Rose, my love!' cried Mrs. Maylie, rising hastily, and bending over her. 'What is this? In tears! My dear

'Nothing, aunt; nothing,' replied the young lady. 'I don't know what it is; I can't describe it; but I feel'

'No, no! Oh, not ill!' replied Rose: shuddering as though some deadly chillness were passing over her, while

Oliver hastened to comply with her request. The young lady, making an effort to recover her cheerfulness,

strove to play some livelier tune; but her fingers dropped powerless over the keys. Covering her face with her

hands, she sank upon a sofa, and gave vent to the tears which she was now unable to repress.

'My child!' said the elderly lady, folding her arms about her, 'I never saw you so before.'

'I would not alarm you if I could avoid it,' rejoined Rose; 'but indeed I have tried very hard, and cannot help

She was, indeed; for, when candles were brought, they saw that in the very short time which had elapsed

since their return home, the hue of her countenance had changed to a marble whiteness. Its expression had

lost nothing of its beauty; but it was changed; and there was an anxious haggard look about the gentle face,

which it had never worn before. Another minute, and it was suffused with a crimson flush: and a heavy

wildness came over the soft blue eye. Again this disappeared, like the shadow thrown by a passing cloud; and

Oliver, who watched the old lady anxiously, observed that she was alarmed by these appearances; and so in

truth, was he; but seeing that she affected to make light of them, he endeavoured to do the same, and they so

far succeeded, that when Rose was persuaded by her aunt to retire for the night, she was in better spirits; and

appeared even in better health: assuring them that she felt certain she should rise in the morning, quite well.

'I hope,' said Oliver, when Mrs. Maylie returned, 'that nothing is the matter? She don't look well tonight,

The old lady motioned to him not to speak; and sitting herself down in a dark corner of the room, remained

'I hope not, Oliver. I have been very happy with her for some years: too happy, perhaps. It may be time that I

'The heavy blow,' said the old lady, 'of losing the dear girl who has so long been my comfort and happiness.'

'She is very ill now,' rejoined Mrs. Maylies; 'and will be worse, I am sure. My dear, dear Rose! Oh, what shall

She gave way to such great grief, that Oliver, suppressing his own emotion, ventured to remonstrate with her;

and to beg, earnestly, that, for the sake of the dear young lady herself, she would be more calm.

'And consider, ma'am,' said Oliver, as the tears forced themselves into his eyes, despite of his efforts to the

'Oh! consider how young and good she is, and what pleasure and comfort she gives to all about her. I am

surecertainquite certainthat, for your sake, who are so good yourself; and for her own; and for the

sake of all she makes so happy; she will not die. Heaven will never let her die so young.'

'Hush!' said Mrs. Maylie, laying her hand on Oliver's head. 'You think like a child, poor boy. But you teach

me my duty, notwithstanding. I had forgotten it for a moment, Oliver, but I hope I may be pardoned, for I am

old, and have seen enough of illness and death to know the agony of separation from the objects of our love. I

have seen enough, too, to know that it is not always the youngest and best who are spared to those that love

them; but this should give us comfort in our sorrow; for Heaven is just; and such things teach us,

impressively, that there is a brighter world than this; and that the passage to it is speedy. God's will be done! I

Oliver was surprised to see that as Mrs. Maylie said these words, she checked her lamentations as though by

one effort; and drawing herself up as she spoke, became composed and firm. He was still more astonished to

find that this firmness lasted; and that, under all the care and watching which ensued, Mrs. Maylie was every

ready and collected: performing all the duties which had devolved upon her, steadily, and, to all external

appearances, even cheerfully. But he was young, and did not know what strong minds are capable of, under

trying circumstances. How should he, when their possessors so seldom know themselves?

An anxious night ensued. When morning came, Mrs. Maylie's predictions were but too well verified. Rose

'We must be active, Oliver, and not give way to useless grief,' said Mrs. Maylie, laying her finger on her lip,

as she looked steadily into his face; 'this letter must be sent, with all possible expedition, to Mr. Losberne. It

must be carried to the markettown: which is not more than four miles off, by the footpath across the field:

and thence dispatched, by an express on horseback, straight to Chertsey. The people at the inn will undertake

'Here is another letter,' said Mrs. Maylie, pausing to reflect; 'but whether to send it now, or wait until I see

how Rose goes on, I scarcely know. I would not forward it, unless I feared the worst.'

'Is it for Chertsey, too, ma'am?' inquired Oliver; impatient to execute his commission, and holding out his

'No,' replied the old lady, giving it to him mechanically. Oliver glanced at it, and saw that it was directed to

Harry Maylie, Esquire, at some great lord's house in the country; where, he could not make out.

'I think not,' replied Mrs. Maylie, taking it back. 'I will wait until tomorrow.'

With these words, she gave Oliver her purse, and he started off, without more delay, at the greatest speed he

Swiftly he ran across the fields, and down the little lanes which sometimes divided them: now almost hidden

by the high corn on either side, and now emerging on an open field, where the mowers and haymakers were

busy at their work: nor did he stop once, save now and then, for a few seconds, to recover breath, until he

came, in a great heat, and covered with dust, on the little marketplace of the markettown.

Here he paused, and looked about for the inn. There were a white bank, and a red brewery, and a yellow

townhall; and in one corner there was a large house, with all the wood about it painted green: before which

was the sign of 'The George.' To this he hastened, as soon as it caught his eye.

He spoke to a postboy who was dozing under the gateway; and who, after hearing what he wanted, referred

him to the ostler; who after hearing all he had to say again, referred him to the landlord; who was a tall

gentleman in a blue neckcloth, a white hat, drab breeches, and boots with tops to match, leaning against a

This gentleman walked with much deliberation into the bar to make out the bill: which took a long time

making out: and after it was ready, and paid, a horse had to be saddled, and a man to be dressed, which took

up ten good minutes more. Meanwhile Oliver was in such a desperate state of impatience and anxiety, that he

felt as if he could have jumped upon the horse himself, and galloped away, full tear, to the next stage. At

length, all was ready; and the little parcel having been handed up, with many injunctions and entreaties for its

speedy delivery, the man set spurs to his horse, and rattling over the uneven paving of the marketplace, was

As it was something to feel certain that assistance was sent for, and that no time had been lost, Oliver hurried

up the innyard, with a somewhat lighter heart. He was turning out of the gateway when he accidently

stumbled against a tall man wrapped in a cloak, who was at that moment coming out of the inn door.

'Hah!' cried the man, fixing his eyes on Oliver, and suddenly recoiling. 'What the devil's this?'

'I beg your pardon, sir,' said Oliver; 'I was in a great hurry to get home, and didn't see you were coming.'

'Death!' muttered the man to himself, glaring at the boy with his large dark eyes. 'Who would have thought it!

'I am sorry,' stammered Oliver, confused by the strange man's wild look. 'I hope I have not hurt you!'

'Rot you!' murmured the man, in a horrible passion; between his clenched teeth; 'if I had only had the courage

to say the word, I might have been free of you in a night. Curses on your head, and black death on your heart,

The man shook his fist, as he uttered these words incoherently. He advanced towards Oliver, as if with the

intention of aiming a blow at him, but fell violently on the ground: writhing and foaming, in a fit.

Oliver gazed, for a moment, at the struggles of the madman (for such he supposed him to be); and then darted

into the house for help. Having seen him safely carried into the hotel, he turned his face homewards, running

as fast as he could, to make up for lost time: and recalling with a great deal of astonishment and some fear,

for when he reached the cottage, there was enough to occupy his mind, and to drive all considerations of self

Rose Maylie had rapidly grown worse; before midnight she was delirious. A medical practitioner, who

resided on the spot, was in constant attendance upon her; and after first seeing the patient, he had taken Mrs.

Maylie aside, and pronounced her disorder to be one of a most alarming nature. 'In fact,' he said, 'it would be

How often did Oliver start from his bed that night, and stealing out, with noiseless footstep, to the staircase,

listen for the slightest sound from the sick chamber! How often did a tremble shake his frame, and cold drops

of terror start upon his brow, when a sudden trampling of feet caused him to fear that something too dreadful

to think of, had even then occurred! And what had been the fervency of all the prayers he had ever muttered,

compared with those he poured forth, now, in the agony and passion of his supplication for the life and health

Oh! the suspense, the fearful, acute suspense, of standing idly by while the life of one we dearly love, is

trembling in the balance! Oh! the racking thoughts that crowd upon the mind, and make the heart beat

violently, and the breath come thick, by the force of the images they conjure up before it; the DESPERATE

ANXIETY TO BE DOING SOMETHING to relieve the pain, or lessen the danger, which we have no power

to alleviate; the sinking of soul and spirit, which the sad remembrance of our helplessness produces; what

tortures can equal these; what reflections or endeavours can, in the full tide and fever of the time, allay them!

Morning came; and the little cottage was lonely and still. People spoke in whispers; anxious faces appeared at

the gate, from time to time; women and children went away in tears. All the livelong day, and for hours after

it had grown dark, Oliver paced softly up and down the garden, raising his eyes every instant to the sick

chamber, and shuddering to see the darkened window, looking as if death lay stretched inside. Late that night,

Mr. Losberne arrived. 'It is hard,' said the good doctor, turning away as he spoke; 'so young; so much

Another morning. The sun shone brightly; as brightly as if it looked upon no misery or care; and, with every

leaf and flower in full bloom about her; with life, and health, and sounds and sights of joy, surrounding her

on every side: the fair young creature lay, wasting fast. Oliver crept away to the old churchyard, and sitting

There was such peace and beauty in the scene; so much of brightness and mirth in the sunny landscape; such

blithesome music in the songs of the summer birds; such freedom in the rapid flight of the rook, careering

overhead; so much of life and joyousness in all; that, when the boy raised his aching eyes, and looked about,

the thought instinctively occurred to him, that this was not a time for death; that Rose could surely never die

when humbler things were all so glad and gay; that graves were for cold and cheerless winter: not for sunlight

and fragrance. He almost thought that shrouds were for the old and shrunken; and that they never wrapped the

A knell from the church bell broke harshly on these youthful thoughts. Another! Again! It was tolling for the

funeral service. A group of humble mourners entered the gate: wearing white favours; for the corpse was

young. They stood uncovered by a grave; and there was a mothera mother onceamong the weeping

Oliver turned homeward, thinking on the many kindnesses he had received from the young lady, and wishing

that the time could come again, that he might never cease showing her how grateful and attached he was. He

had no cause for selfreproach on the score of neglect, or want of thought, for he had been devoted to her

service; and yet a hundred little occasions rose up before him, on which he fancied he might have been more

zealous, and more earnest, and wished he had been. We need be careful how we deal with those about us,

when every death carries to some small circle of survivors, thoughts of so much omitted, and so little

doneof so many things forgotten, and so many more which might have been repaired! There is no remorse

so deep as that which is unavailing; if we would be spared its tortures, let us remember this, in time.

When he reached home Mrs. Maylie was sitting in the little parlour. Oliver's heart sand at sight of her; for she

had never left the bedside of her niece; and he trembled to think what change could have driven her away. He

learnt that she had fallen into a deep sleep, from which she would waken, either to recovery and life, or to bid

They sat, listening, and afraid to speak, for hours. The untasted meal was removed, with looks which showed

that their thoughts were elsewhere, they watched the sun as he sank lower and lower, and, at length, cast over

sky and earth those brilliant hues which herald his departure. Their quick ears caught the sound of an

approaching footstep. They both involuntarily darted to the door, as Mr. Losberne entered.

'What of Rose?' cried the old lady. 'Tell me at once! I can bear it; anything but suspense! Oh!, tell me! in the

'You must compose yourself,' said the doctor supporting her. 'Be calm, my dear ma'am, pray.'

'No!' cried the doctor, passionately. 'As He is good and merciful, she will live to bless us all, for years to

The lady fell upon her knees, and tried to fold her hands together; but the energy which had supported her so

long, fled up to Heaven with her first thanksgiving; and she sank into the friendly arms which were extended

It was almost too much happiness to bear. Oliver felt stunned and stupefied by the unexpected intelligence;

he could not weep, or speak, or rest. He had scarcely the power of understanding anything that had passed,

until, after a long ramble in the quiet evening air, a burst of tears came to his relief, and he seemed to awaken,

all at once, to a full sense of the joyful change that had occurred, and the almost insupportable load of

The night was fast closing in, when he returned homeward: laden with flowers which he had culled, with

peculiar care, for the adornment of the sick chamber. As he walked briskly along the road, he heard behind

him, the noise of some vehicle, approaching at a furious pace. Looking round, he saw that it was a

postchaise, driven at great speed; and as the horses were galloping, and the road was narrow, he stood

As it dashed on, Oliver caught a glimpse of a man in a white nitecap, whose face seemed familiar to him,

although his view was so brief that he could not identify the person. In another second or two, the nightcap

was thrust out of the chaisewindow, and a stentorian voice bellowed to the driver to stop: which he did, as

soon as he could pull up his horses. Then, the nightcap once again appeared: and the same voice called Oliver

Giles popped out his nightcap again, preparatory to making some reply, when he was suddenly pulled back

by a young gentleman who occupied the other corner of the chaise, and who eagerly demanded what was the

'Quite, sir,' replied Oliver. 'The change took place only a few hours ago; and Mr. Losberne says, that all

The gentleman said not another word, but, opening the chaisedoor, leaped out, and taking Oliver hurriedly

'You are quite certain? There is no possibility of any mistake on your part, my boy, is there?' demanded the

gentleman in a tremulous voice. 'Do not deceive me, by awakening hopes that are not to be fulfilled.'

'I would not for the world, sir,' replied Oliver. 'Indeed you may believe me. Mr. Losberne's words were, that

The tears stood in Oliver's eyes as he recalled the scene which was the beginning of so much happiness; and

the gentleman turned his face away, and remained silent, for some minutes. Oliver thought he heard him sob,

more than once; but he feared to interrupt him by any fresh remarkfor he could well guess what his

All this time, Mr. Giles, with the white nightcap on, had been sitting on the steps of the chaise, supporting an

elbow on each knee, and wiping his eyes with a blue cotton pockethandkerchief dotted with white spots.

That the honest fellow had not been feigning emotion, was abundently demonstrated by the very red eyes

with which he regarded the young gentleman, when he turned round and addressed him.

'I think you had better go on to my mother's in the chaise, Giles,' said he. 'I would rather walk slowly on, so as

'I beg your pardon, Mr. Harry,' said Giles: giving a final polish to his ruffled countenance with the

handkerchief; 'but if you would leave the postboy to say that, I should be very much obliged to you. It

wouldn't be proper for the maids to see me in this state, sir; I should never have any more authority with them

'Well,' rejoined Harry Maylie, smiling, 'you can do as you like. Let him go on with the luggage, if you wish it,

and do you follow with us. Only first exchange that nightcap for some more appropriate covering, or we shall

Mr. Giles, reminded of his unbecoming costume, snatched off and pocketed his nightcap; and substituted a

hat, of grave and sober shape, which he took out of the chaise. This done, the postboy drove off; Giles, Mr.

As they walked along, Oliver glanced from time to time with much interest and curiosity at the new comer.

He seemed about fiveandtwenty years of age, and was of the middle height; his countenance was frank and

handsome; and his demeanor easy and prepossessing. Notwithstanding the difference between youth and age,

he bore so strong a likeness to the old lady, that Oliver would have had no great difficulty in imagining their

Mrs. Maylie was anxiously waiting to receive her son when he reached the cottage. The meeting did not take

'I did,' replied Mrs. Maylie; 'but, on reflection, I determined to keep back the letter until I had heard Mr.

'But why,' said the young man, 'why run the chance of that occurring which so nearly happened? If Rose

hadI cannot utter that word nowif this illness had terminated differently, how could you ever have

'If that HAD been the case, Harry,' said Mrs. Maylie, 'I fear your happiness would have been effectually

blighted, and that your arrival here, a day sooner or a day later, would have been of very, very little import.'

'And who can wonder if it be so, mother?' rejoined the young man; 'or why should I say, IF?It isit

'I know that she deserves the best and purest love the heart of man can offer,' said Mrs. Maylie; 'I know that

the devotion and affection of her nature require no ordinary return, but one that shall be deep and lasting. If I

did not feel this, and know, besides, that a changed behaviour in one she loved would break her heart, I

should not feel my task so difficult of performance, or have to encounter so many struggles in my own

'This is unkind, mother,' said Harry. 'Do you still suppose that I am a boy ignorant of my own mind, and

'I think, my dear son,' returned Mrs. Maylie, laying her hand upon his shoulder, 'that youth has many

generous impulses which do not last; and that among them are some, which, being gratified, become only the

more fleeting. Above all, I think' said the lady, fixing her eyes on her son's face, 'that if an enthusiastic,

ardent, and ambitious man marry a wife on whose name there is a stain, which, though it originate in no fault

of hers, may be visited by cold and sordid people upon her, and upon his children also: and, in exact

proportion to his success in the world, be cast in his teeth, and made the subject of sneers against him: he

may, no matter how generous and good his nature, one day repent of the connection he formed in early life.

'Mother,' said the young man, impatiently, 'he would be a selfish brute, unworthy alike of the name of man

'And ever will!' said the young man. 'The mental agony I have suffered, during the last two days, wrings from

me the avowal to you of a passion which, as you well know, is not one of yesterday, nor one I have lightly

formed. On Rose, sweet, gentle girl! my heart is set, as firmly as ever heart of man was set on woman. I have

no thought, no view, no hope in life, beyond her; and if you oppose me in this great stake, you take my peace

and happiness in your hands, and cast them to the wind. Mother, think better of this, and of me, and do not

'Harry,' said Mrs. Maylie, 'it is because I think so much of warm and sensitive hearts, that I would spare them

'Let it rest with Rose, then,' interposed Harry. 'You will not press these overstrained opinions of yours, so far,

'I HAVE considered!' was the impatient reply; 'Mother, I have considered, years and years. I have considered,

ever since I have been capable of serious reflection. My feelings remain unchanged, as they ever will; and

why should I suffer the pain of a delay in giving them vent, which can be productive of no earthly good? No!

'There is something in your manner, which would almost imply that she will hear me coldly, mother,' said the

'No, indeed,' replied his mother; 'you have, or I mistake, too strong a hold on her affections already. What I

would say,' resumed the old lady, stopping her son as he was about to speak, 'is this. Before you stake your all

on this chance; before you suffer yourself to be carried to the highest point of hope; reflect for a few

moments, my dear child, on Rose's history, and consider what effect the knowledge of her doubtful birth may

have on her decision: devoted as she is to us, with all the intensity of her noble mind, and with that perfect

sacrifice of self which, in all matters, great or trifling, has always been her characteristic.'

'That I leave you to discover,' replied Mrs. Maylie. 'I must go back to her. God bless you!'

'And say how anxious I have been, and how much I have suffered, and how I long to see her. You will not

'No,' said the old lady; 'I will tell her all.' And pressing her son's hand, affectionately, she hastened from the

Mr. Losberne and Oliver had remained at another end of the apartment while this hurried conversation was

proceeding. The former now held out his hand to Harry Maylie; and hearty salutations were exchanged

between them. The doctor then communicated, in reply to multifarious questions from his young friend, a

precise account of his patient's situation; which was quite as consolatory and full of promise, as Oliver's

statement had encouraged him to hope; and to the whole of which, Mr. Giles, who affected to be busy about

'Have you shot anything particular, lately, Giles?' inquired the doctor, when he had concluded.

'Well,' said the doctor, 'I am sorry to hear it, because you do that sort of thing admirably. Pray, how is

'The boy is very well, sir,' said Mr. Giles, recovering his usual tone of patronage; 'and sends his respectful

'That's well,' said the doctor. 'Seeing you here, reminds me, Mr. Giles, that on the day before that on which I

was called away so hurriedly, I executed, at the request of your good mistress, a small commission in your

Mr. Giles walked into the corner with much importance, and some wonder, and was honoured with a short

whispering conference with the doctor, on the termination of which, he made a great many bows, and retired

with steps of unusual stateliness. The subject matter of this conference was not disclosed in the parlour, but

the kitchen was speedily enlightened concerning it; for Mr. Giles walked straight thither, and having called

for a mug of ale, announced, with an air of majesty, which was highly effective, that it had pleased his

mistress, in consideration of his gallant behaviour on the occasion of that attempted robbery, to depost, in the

local savingsbank, the sum of fiveandtwenty pounds, for his sole use and benefit. At this, the two

womenservants lifted up their hands and eyes, and supposed that Mr. Giles, pulling out his shirtfrill,

replied, 'No, no'; and that if they observed that he was at all haughty to his inferiors, he would thank them to

tell him so. And then he made a great many other remarks, no less illustrative of his humility, which were

received with equal favour and applause, and were, withal, as original and as much to the purpose, as the

Above stairs, the remainder of the evening passed cheerfully away; for the doctor was in high spirits; and

however fatigued or thoughtful Harry Maylie might have been at first, he was not proof against the worthy

gentleman's good humour, which displayed itself in a great variety of sallies and professional recollections,

and an abundance of small jokes, which struck Oliver as being the drollest things he had ever heard, and

caused him to laugh proportionately; to the evident satisfaction of the doctor, who laughed immoderately at

himself, and made Harry laugh almost as heartily, by the very force of sympathy. So, they were as pleasant a

party as, under the circumstances, they could well have been; and it was late before they retired, with light

and thankful hearts, to take that rest of which, after the doubt and suspense they had recently undergone, they

Oliver rose next morning, in better heart, and went about his usual occupations, with more hope and pleasure

than he had known for many days. The birds were once more hung out, to sing, in their old places; and the

sweetest wild flowers that could be found, were once more gathered to gladden Rose with their beauty. The

melancholy which had seemed to the sad eyes of the anxious boy to hang, for days past, over every object,

beautiful as all were, was dispelled by magic. The dew seemed to sparkle more brightly on the green leaves;

the air to rustle among them with a sweeter music; and the sky itself to look more blue and bright. Such is the

influence which the condition of our own thoughts, exercise, even over the appearance of external objects.

Men who look on nature, and their fellowmen, and cry that all is dark and gloomy, are in the right; but the

sombre colours are reflections from their own jaundiced eyes and hearts. The real hues are delicate, and need

It is worthy of remark, and Oliver did not fail to note it at the time, that his morning expeditions were no

longer made alone. Harry Maylie, after the very first morning when he met Oliver coming laden home, was

seized with such a passion for flowers, and displayed such a taste in their arrangement, as left his young

companion far behind. If Oliver were behindhand in these respects, he knew where the best were to be found;

and morning after morning they scoured the country together, and brought home the fairest that blossomed.

The window of the young lady's chamber was opened now; for she loved to feel the rich summer air stream

in, and revive her with its freshness; but there always stood in water, just inside the lattice, one particular

little bunch, which was made up with great care, every morning. Oliver could not help noticing that the

withered flowers were never thrown away, although the little vase was regularly replenished; nor, could he

help observing, that whenever the doctor came into the garden, he invariably cast his eyes up to that

particular corner, and nodded his head most expressively, as he set forth on his morning's walk. Pending these

Nor did Oliver's time hang heavy on his hands, although the young lady had not yet left her chamber, and

there were no evening walks, save now and then, for a short distance, with Mrs. Maylie.

He applied himself, with redoubled assiduity, to the instructions of the whiteheaded old gentleman, and

laboured so hard that his quick progress surprised even himself. It was while he was engaged in this pursuit,

The little room in which he was accustomed to sit, when busy at his books, was on the groundfloor, at the

back of the house. It was quite a cottageroom, with a latticewindow: around which were clusters of

jessamine and honeysuckle, that crept over the casement, and filled the place with their delicious perfume. It

looked into a garden, whence a wicketgate opened into a small paddock; all beyond, was fine meadowland

and wood. There was no other dwelling near, in that direction; and the prospect it commanded was very

One beautiful evening, when the first shades of twilight were beginning to settle upon the earth, Oliver sat at

this window, intent upon his books. He had been poring over them for some time; and, as the day had been

uncommonly sultry, and he had exerted himself a great deal, it it no disparagement to the authors, whoever

There is a kind of sleep that steals upon us sometimes, which, while it holds the body prisoner, does not free

the mind from a sense of things about it, and enable it to ramble at its pleasure. So far as an overpowering

heaviness, a prostration of strength, and an utter inability to control our thoughts or power of motion, can be

called sleep, this is it; and yet, we have a consciousness of all that is going on about us, and, if we dream at

such a time, words which are really spoken, or sounds which really exist at the moment, accommodate

themselves with surprising readiness to our visions, until reality and imagination become so strangely

blended that it is afterwards almost matter of impossibility to separate the two. Nor is this, the most striking

phenomenon indcidental to such a state. It is an undoubted fact, that although our senses of touch and sight be

for the time dead, yet our sleeping thoughts, and the visionary scenes that pass before us, will be influenced

and materially influenced, by the MERE SILENT PRESENCE of some external object; which may not have

been near us when we closed our eyes: and of whose vicinity we have had no waking consciousness.

Oliver knew, perfectly well, that he was in his own little room; that his books were lying on the table before

him; that the sweet air was stirring among the creeping plants outside. And yet he was asleep. Suddenly, the

scene changed; the air became close and confined; and he thought, with a glow of terror, that he was in the

Jew's house again. There sat the hideous old man, in his accustomed corner, pointing at him, and whispering

'Hush, my dear!' he thought he heard the Jew say; 'it is he, sure enough. Come away.'

'He!' the other man seemed to answer; 'could I mistake him, think you? If a crowd of ghosts were to put

themselves into his exact shape, and he stood amongst them, there is something that would tell me how to

point him out. If you buried him fifty feet deep, and took me across his grave, I fancy I should know, if there

The man seemed to say this, with such dreadful hatred, that Oliver awoke with the fear, and started up.

Good Heaven! what was that, which sent the blood tingling to his heart, and deprived him of his voice, and of

power to move! Therethereat the windowclose before himso close, that he could have almost

touched him before he started back: with his eyes peering into the room, and meeting his: there stood the

Jew! And beside him, white with rage or fear, or both, were the scowling features of the man who had

It was but an instant, a glance, a flash, before his eyes; and they were gone. But they had recognised him, and

he them; and their look was as firmly impressed upon his memory, as if it had been deeply carved in stone,

and set before him from his birth. He stood transfixed for a moment; then, leaping from the window into the

When the inmates of the house, attracted by Oliver's cries, hurried to the spot from which they proceeded,

they found him, pale and agitated, pointing in the direction of the meadows behind the house, and scarcely

Mr. Giles was at a loss to comprehend what this outcry meant; but Harry Maylie, whose perceptions were

something quicker, and who had heard Oliver's history from his mother, understood it at once.

'What direction did he take?' he asked, catching up a heavy stick which was standing in a corner.

'That,' replied Oliver, pointing out the course the man had taken; 'I missed them in an instant.'

'Then, they are in the ditch!' said Harry. 'Follow! And keep as near me, as you can.' So saying, he sprang over

the hedge, and darted off with a speed which rendered it matter of exceeding difficulty for the others to keep

Giles followed as well as he could; and Oliver followed too; and in the course of a minute or two, Mr.

Losberne, who had been out walking, and just then returned, tumbled over the hedge after them, and picking

himself up with more agility than he could have been supposed to possess, struck into the same course at no

contemptible speed, shouting all the while, most prodigiously, to know what was the matter.

On they all went; nor stopped they once to breathe, until the leader, striking off into an angle of the field

indicated by Oliver, began to search, narrowly, the ditch and hedge adjoining; which afforded time for the

remainder of the party to come up; and for Oliver to communicate to Mr. Losberne the circumstances that had

The search was all in vain. There were not even the traces of recent footsteps, to be seen. They stood now, on

the summit of a little hill, commanding the open fields in every direction for three or four miles. There was

the village in the hollow on the left; but, in order to gain that, after pursuing the track Oliver had pointed out,

the men must have made a circuit of open ground, which it was impossible they could have accomplished in

so short a time. A thick wood skirted the meadowland in another direction; but they could not have gained

'Oh no, indeed, sir,' replied Oliver, shuddering at the very recollection of the old wretch's countenance; 'I saw

'The very same man I told you of, who came so suddenly upon me at the inn,' said Oliver. 'We had our eyes

'As I am that the men were at the window,' replied Oliver, pointing down, as he spoke, to the hedge which

divided the cottagegarden from the meadow. 'The tall man leaped over, just there; and the Jew, running a

The two gentlemen watched Oliver's earnest face, as he spoke, and looking from him to each other, seemed to

fell satisfied of the accuracy of what he said. Still, in no direction were there any appearances of the

trampling of men in hurried flight. The grass was long; but it was trodden down nowhere, save where their

own feet had crushed it. The sides and brinks of the ditches were of damp clay; but in no one place could they

discern the print of men's shoes, or the slightest mark which would indicate that any feet had pressed the

'Strange?' echoed the doctor. 'Blathers and Duff, themselves, could make nothing of it.'

Notwithstanding the evidently useless nature of their search, they did not desist until the coming on of night

rendered its further prosecution hopeless; and even then, they gave it up with reluctance. Giles was

dispatched to the different alehouses in the village, furnished with the best description Oliver could give of

the appearance and dress of the strangers. Of these, the Jew was, at all events, sufficiently remarkable to be

remembered, supposing he had been seen drinking, or loitering about; but Giles returned without any

On the next day, fresh search was made, and the inquiries renewed; but with no better success. On the day

following, Oliver and Mr. Maylie repaired to the markettown, in the hope of seeing or hearing something of

the men there; but this effort was equally fruitless. After a few days, the affair began to be forgotten, as most

affairs are, when wonder, having no fresh food to support it, dies away of itself.

Meanwhile, Rose was rapidly recovering. She had left her room: was able to go out; and mixing once more

But, although this happy change had a visible effect on the little circle; and although cheerful voices and

merry laughter were once more heard in the cottage; there was at times, an unwonted restraint upon some

there: even upon Rose herself: which Oliver could not fail to remark. Mrs. Maylie and her son were often

closeted together for a long time; and more than once Rose appeared with traces of tears upon her face. After

Mr. Losberne had fixed a day for his departure to Chertsey, these symptoms increased; and it became evident

that something was in progress which affected the peace of the young lady, and of somebody else besides.

At length, one morning, when Rose was alone in the breakfastparlour, Harry Maylie entered; and, with

'A fewa very fewwill suffice, Rose,' said the young man, drawing his chair towards her. 'What I shall

have to say, has already presented itself to your mind; the most cherished hopes of my heart are not unknown

Rose had been very pale from the moment of his entrance; but that might have been the effect of her recent

illness. She merely bowed; and bending over some plants that stood near, waited in silence for him to

'You should, indeed,' replied Rose. 'Forgive me for saying so, but I wish you had.'

'I was brought here, by the most dreadful and agonising of all apprehensions,' said the young man; 'the fear of

losing the one dear being on whom my every wish and hope are fixed. You had been dying; trembling

between earth and heaven. We know that when the young, the beautiful, and good, are visited with sickness,

their pure spirits insensibly turn towards their bright home of lasting rest; we know, Heaven help us! that the

There were tears in the eyes of the gentle girl, as these words were spoken; and when one fell upon the flower

over which she bent, and glistened brightly in its cup, making it more beautiful, it seemed as though the

outpouring of her fresh young heart, claimed kindred naturally, with the loveliest things in nature.

'A creature,' continued the young man, passionately, 'a creature as fair and innocent of guile as one of God's

own angels, fluttered between life and death. Oh! who could hope, when the distant world to which she was

akin, half opened to her view, that she would return to the sorrow and calamity of this! Rose, Rose, to know

that you were passing away like some soft shadow, which a light from above, casts upon the earth; to have no

hope that you would be spared to those who linger here; hardly to know a reason why you should be; to feel

that you belonged to that bright sphere whither so many of the fairest and the best have winged their early

flight; and yet to pray, amid all these consolations, that you might be restored to those who loved youthese

were distractions almost too great to bear. They were mine, by day and night; and with them, came such a

rushing torrent of fears, and apprehensions, and selfish regrets, lest you should die, and never know how

devotedly I loved you, as almost bore down sense and reason in its course. You recovered. Day by day, and

almost hour by hour, some drop of health came back, and mingling with the spent and feeble stream of life

which circulated languidly within you, swelled it again to a high and rushing tide. I have watched you change

almost from death, to life, with eyes that turned blind with their eagerness and deep affection. Do not tell me

'I did not mean that,' said Rose, weeping; 'I only wish you had left here, that you might have turned to high

'There is no pursuit more worthy of me: more worthy of the highest nature that exists: than the struggle to win

such a heart as yours,' said the young man, taking her hand. 'Rose, my own dear Rose! For yearsfor

yearsI have loved you; hoping to win my way to fame, and then come proudly home and tell you it had

been pursued only for you to share; thinking, in my daydreams, how I would remind you, in that happy

moment, of the many silent tokens I had given of a boy's attachment, and claim your hand, as in redemption

of some old mute contract that had been sealed between us! That time has not arrived; but here, with not fame

won, and no young vision realised, I offer you the heart so long your own, and stake my all upon the words

'Your behaviour has ever been kind and noble.' said Rose, mastering the emotions by which she was agitated.

'It is,' replied Rose, 'that you must endeavour to forget me; not as your old and dearlyattached companion,

for that would wound me deeply; but, as the object of your love. Look into the world; think how many hearts

you would be proud to gain, are there. Confide some other passion to me, if you will; I will be the truest,

There was a pause, during which, Rose, who had covered her face with one hand, gave free vent to her tears.

'And your reasons, Rose,' he said, at length, in a low voice; 'your reasons for this decision?'

'You have a right to know them,' rejoined Rose. 'You can say nothing to alter my resolution. It is a duty that I

'Yes, Harry. I owe it to myself, that I, a friendless, portionless, girl, with a blight upon my name, should not

give your friends reason to suspect that I had sordidly yielded to your first passion, and fastened myself, a

clog, on all your hopes and projects. I owe it to you and yours, to prevent you from opposing, in the warmth

'Then you return my love?' said Harry. 'Say but that, dear Rose; say but that; and soften the bitterness of this

'If I could have done so, without doing heavy wrong to him I loved,' rejoined Rose, 'I could have'

'Have received this declaration very differently?' said Harry. 'Do not conceal that from me, at least, Rose.'

'I could,' said Rose. 'Stay!' she added, disengaging her hand, 'why should we prolong this painful interview?

Most painful to me, and yet productive of lasting happiness, notwithstanding; for it WILL be happiness to

know that I once held the high place in your regard which I now occupy, and every triumph you achieve in

life will animate me with new fortitude and firmness. Farewell, Harry! As we have met today, we meet no

more; but in other relations than those in which this conversation have placed us, we may be long and happily

entwined; and may every blessing that the prayers of a true and earnest heart can call down from the source

'Another word, Rose,' said Harry. 'Your reason in your own words. From your own lips, let me hear it!'

'The prospect before you,' answered Rose, firmly, 'is a brilliant one. All the honours to which great talents

and powerful connections can help men in public life, are in store for you. But those connections are proud;

and I will neither mingle with such as may hold in scorn the mother who gave me life; nor bring disgrace or

failure on the son of her who has so well supplied that mother's place. In a word,' said the young lady, turning

away, as her temporary firmness forsook her, 'there is a stain upon my name, which the world visits on

innocent heads. I will carry it into no blood but my own; and the reproach shall rest alone on me.'

'One word more, Rose. Dearest Rose! one more!' cried Harry, throwing himself before her. 'If I had been

lessless fortunate, the world would call itif some obscure and peaceful life had been my destinyif I

had been poor, sick, helplesswould you have turned from me then? Or has my probable advancement to

'Do not press me to reply,' answered Rose. 'The question does not arise, and never will. It is unfair, almost

'If your answer be what I almost dare to hope it is,' retorted Harry, 'it will shed a gleam of happiness upon my

lonely way, and light the path before me. It is not an idle thing to do so much, by the utterance of a few brief

words, for one who loves you beyond all else. Oh, Rose: in the name of my ardent and enduring attachment;

in the name of all I have suffered for you, and all you doom me to undergo; answer me this one question!'

'Then, if your lot had been differently cast,' rejoined Rose; 'if you had been even a little, but not so far, above

me; if I could have been a help and comfort to you in any humble scene of peace and retirement, and not a

blot and drawback in ambitious and distinguished crowds; I should have been spared this trial. I have every

reason to be happy, very happy, now; but then, Harry, I own I should have been happier.'

Busy recollections of old hopes, cherished as a girl, long ago, crowded into the mind of Rose, while making

this avowal; but they brought tears with them, as old hopes will when they come back withered; and they

'I cannot help this weakness, and it makes my purpose stronger,' said Rose, extending her hand. 'I must leave

'I ask one promise,' said Harry. 'Once, and only once more,say within a year, but it may be much

'Not to press me to alter my right determination,' replied Rose, with a melancholy smile; 'it will be useless.'

'No,' said Harry; 'to hear you repeat it, if you willfinally repeat it! I will lay at your feet, whatever of

station of fortune I may possess; and if you still adhere to your present resolution, will not seek, by word or

'Then let it be so,' rejoined Rose; 'it is but one pang the more, and by that time I may be enabled to bear it

She extended her hand again. But the young man caught her to his bosom; and imprinting one kiss on her

'And so you are resolved to be my travelling companion this morning; eh?' said the doctor, as Harry Maylie

joined him and Oliver at the breakfasttable. 'Why, you are not in the same mind or intention two halfhours

'You will tell me a different tale one of these days,' said Harry, colouring without any perceptible reason.

'I hope I may have good cause to do so,' replied Mr. Losberne; 'though I confess I don't think I shall. But

yesterday morning you had made up your mind, in a great hurry, to stay here, and to accompany your mother,

like a dutiful son, to the seaside. Before noon, you announce that you are going to do me the honour of

accompanying me as far as I go, on your road to London. And at night, you urge me, with great mystery, to

start before the ladies are stirring; the consequence of which is, that young Oliver here is pinned down to his

breakfast when he ought to be ranging the meadows after botanical phenomena of all kinds. Too bad, isn't it,

'I should have been very sorry not to have been at home when you and Mr. Maylie went away, sir,' rejoined

'That's a fine fellow,' said the doctor; 'you shall come and see me when you return. But, to speak seriously,

Harry; has any communication from the great nobs produced this sudden anxiety on your part to be gone?'

'The great nobs,' replied Harry, 'under which designation, I presume, you include my most stately uncle, have

not communicated with me at all, since I have been here; nor, at this time of the year, is it likely that anything

'Well,' said the doctor, 'you are a queer fellow. But of course they will get you into parliament at the election

before Christmas, and these sudden shiftings and changes are no bad preparation for political life. There's

something in that. Good training is always desirable, whether the race be for place, cup, or sweepstakes.'

Harry Maylie looked as if he could have followed up this short dialogue by one or two remarks that would

have staggered the doctor not a little; but he contented himself with saying, 'We shall see,' and pursued the

subject no farther. The postchaise drove up to the door shortly afterwards; and Giles coming in for the

Oliver walked into the windowrecess to which Mr. Maylie beckoned him; much surprised at the mixture of

'I shall not be at home again, perhaps for some time; I wish you would write to mesay once a fortnight:

'Oh! certainly, sir; I shall be proud to do it,' exclaimed Oliver, greatly delighted with the commission.

'I should like to know howhow my mother and Miss Maylie are,' said the young man; 'and you can fill up a

sheet by telling me what walks you take, and what you talk about, and whether shethey, I meanseem

'I would rather you did not mention it to them,' said Harry, hurrying over his words; 'because it might make

my mother anxious to write to me oftener, and it is a trouble and worry to her. Let is be a secret between you

Oliver, quite elated and honoured by a sense of his importance, faithfully promised to be secret and explicit in

his communications. Mr. Maylie took leave of him, with many assurances of his regard and protection.

The doctor was in the chaise; Giles (who, it had been arranged, should be left behind) held the door open in

his hand; and the womenservants were in the garden, looking on. Harry cast one slight glance at the latticed

'Drive on!' he cried, 'hard, fast, full gallop! Nothing short of flying will keep pace with me, today.'

'Halloa!' cried the doctor, letting down the front glass in a great hurry, and shouting to the postillion;

Jingling and clattering, till distance rendered its noise inaudible, and its rapid progress only perceptible to the

eye, the vehicle wound its way along the road, almost hidden in a cloud of dust: now wholly disappearing,

and now becoming visible again, as intervening objects, or the intricacies of the way, permitted. It was not

And there was one lookeron, who remained with eyes fixed upon the spot where the carriage had

disappeared, long after it was many miles away; for, behind the white curtain which had shrouded her from

'He seems in high spirits and happy,' she said, at length. 'I feared for a time he might be otherwise. I was

Tears are signs of gladness as well as grief; but those which coursed down Rose's face, as she sat pensively at

the window, still gazing in the same direction, seemed to tell more of sorrow than of joy.

Mr. Bumble sat in the workhouse parlour, with his eyes moodily fixed on the cheerless grate, whence, as it

was summer time, no brighter gleam proceeded, than the reflection of certain sickly rays of the sun, which

were sent back from its cold and shining surface. A paper flycage dangled from the ceiling, to which he

occasionally raised his eyes in gloomy thought; and, as the heedless insects hovered round the gaudy

network, Mr. Bumble would heave a deep sigh, while a more gloomy shadow overspread his countenance.

Mr. Bumble was meditating; it might be that the insects brought to mind, some painful passage in his own

Nor was Mr. Bumble's gloom the only thing calculated to awaken a pleasing melancholy in the bosom of a

spectator. There were not wanting other appearances, and those closely connected with his own person,

which announced that a great change had taken place in the position of his affairs. The laced coat, and the

cocked hat; where were they? He still wore kneebreeches, and dark cotton stockings on his nether limbs; but

they were not THE breeches. The coat was wideskirted; and in that respect like THE coat, but, oh how

different! The mighty cocked hat was replaced by a modest round one. Mr. Bumble was no longer a beadle.

There are some promotions in life, which, independent of the more substantial rewards they offer, require

peculiar value and dignity from the coats and waistcoats connected with them. A fieldmarshal has his

uniform; a bishop his silk apron; a counsellor his silk gown; a beadle his cocked hat. Strip the bishop of his

apron, or the beadle of his hat and lace; what are they? Men. Mere men. Dignity, and even holiness too,

Mr. Bumle had married Mrs. Corney, and was master of the workhouse. Another beadle had come into

power. On him the cocked hat, goldlaced coat, and staff, had all three descended.

'And tomorrow two months it was done!' said Mr. Bumble, with a sigh. 'It seems a age.'

Mr. Bumble might have meant that he had concentrated a whole existence of happiness into the short space of

'I sold myself,' said Mr. Bumble, pursuing the same train of relection, 'for six teaspoons, a pair of

sugartongs, and a milkpot; with a small quantity of secondhand furniture, and twenty pound in money. I

'Cheap!' cried a shrill voice in Mr. Bumble's ear: 'you would have been dear at any price; and dear enough I

Mr. Bumble turned, and encountered the face of his interesting consort, who, imperfectly comprehending the

few words she had overheard of his complaint, had hazarded the foregoing remark at a venture.

'Have the goodness to look at me,' said Mr. Bumble, fixing his eyes upon her. (If she stands such a eye as

that,' said Mr. Bumble to himself, 'she can stand anything. It is a eye I never knew to fail with paupers. If it

Whether an exceedingly small expansion of eye be sufficient to quell paupers, who, being lightly fed, are in

no very high condition; or whether the late Mrs. Corney was particularly proof against eagle glances; are

matters of opinion. The matter of fact, is, that the matron was in no way overpowered by Mr. Bumble's scowl,

but, on the contrary, treated it with great disdain, and even raised a laugh threreat, which sounded as though it

On hearing this most unexpected sound, Mr. Bumble looked, first incredulous, and afterwards amazed. He

then relapsed into his former state; nor did he rouse himself until his attention was again awakened by the

'I am going to sit here, as long as I think proper, ma'am,' rejoined Mr. Bumble; 'and although I was NOT

snoring, I shall snore, gape, sneeze, laugh, or cry, as the humour strikes me; such being my prerogative.'

'I said the word, ma'am,' said Mr. Bumble. 'The prerogative of a man is to command.'

'And what's the prerogative of a woman, in the name of Goodness?' cried the relict of Mr. Corney deceased.

'To obey, ma'am,' thundered Mr. Bumble. 'Your late unfortunate husband should have taught it you; and then,

Mrs. Bumble, seeing at a glance, that the decisive moment had now arrived, and that a blow struck for the

mastership on one side or other, must necessarily be final and conclusive, no sooner heard this allusion to the

dead and gone, than she dropped into a chair, and with a loud scream that Mr. Bumble was a hardhearted

But, tears were not the things to find their way to Mr. Bumble's soul; his heart was waterproof. Like washable

beaver hats that improve with rain, his nerves were rendered stouter and more vigorous, by showers of tears,

which, being tokens of weakness, and so far tacit admissions of his own power, please and exalted him. He

eyed his good lady with looks of great satisfaction, and begged, in an encouraging manner, that she should

cry her hardest: the exercise being looked upon, by the faculty, as stronly conducive to health.

'It opens the lungs, washes the countenance, exercises the eyes, and softens down the temper,' said Mr.

As he discharged himself of this pleasantry, Mr. Bumble took his hat from a peg, and putting it on, rather

rakishly, on one side, as a man might, who felt he had asserted his superiority in a becoming manner, thrust

his hands into his pockets, and sauntered towards the door, with much ease and waggishness depicted in his

Now, Mrs. Corney that was, had tried the tears, because they were less troublesome than a manual assault;

but, she was quite prepared to make trial of the latter mode of proceeding, as Mr. Bumble was not long in

The first proof he experienced of the fact, was conveyed in a hollow sound, immediately succeeded by the

sudden flying off of his hat to the opposite end of the room. This preliminary proceeding laying bare his head,

the expert lady, clasping him tightly round the throat with one hand, inflicted a shower of blows (dealt with

singular vigour and dexterity) upon it with the other. This done, she created a little variety by scratching his

face, and tearing his hair; and, having, by this time, inflicted as much punishment as she deemed necessary

for the offence, she pushed him over a chair, which was luckily well situated for the purpose: and defied him

'Get up!' said Mrs. Bumble, in a voice of command. 'And take yourself away from here, unless you want me

Mr. Bumble rose with a very rueful countenance: wondering much what something desperate might be.

'Certainly, my dear, certainly,' rejoined Mr. Bumble, making a quicker motion towards the door. 'I didn't

At this instant, Mrs. Bumble stepped hastily forward to replace the carpet, which had been kicked up in the

scuffle. Mr. Bumble immediately darted out of the room, without bestowing another thought on his

unfinished sentence: leaving the late Mrs. Corney in full possession of the field.

Mr. Bumble was fairly taken by surprise, and fairly beaten. He had a decided propensity for bullying: derived

no inconsiderable pleasure from the exercise of petty cruelty; and, consequently, was (it is needless to say) a

coward. This is by no means a disparagement to his character; for many official personages, who are held in

high respect and admiration, are the victims of similar infirmities. The remark is made, indeed, rather in his

favour than otherwise, and with a view of impressing the reader with a just sense of his qualifications for

But, the measure of his degradation was not yet full. After making a tour of the house, and thinking, for the

first time, that the poorlaws really were too hard on people; and that men who ran away from their wives,

leaving them chargeable to the parish, ought, in justice to be visited with no punishment at all, but rather

rewarded as meritorious individuals who had suffered much; Mr. Bumble came to a room where some of the

female paupers were usually employed in washing the parish linen: when the sound of voices in conversation,

'Hem!' said Mr. Bumble, summoning up all his native dignity. 'These women at least shall continue to respect

the prerogative. Hallo! hallo there! What do you mean by this noise, you hussies?'

With these words, Mr. Bumble opened the door, and walked in with a very fierce and angry manner: which

was at once exchanged for a most humiliated and cowering air, as his eyes unexpectedly rested on the form of

'I thought they were talking rather too much to be doing their work properly, my dear,' replied Mr. Bumble:

glancing distractedly at a couple of old women at the washtub, who were comparing notes of admiration at

'YOU thought they were talking too much?' said Mrs. Bumble. 'What business is it of yours?'

'It's very true, you're matron here, my dear,' submitted Mr. Bumble; 'but I thought you mightn't be in the way

'I'll tell you what, Mr. Bumble,' returned his lady. 'We don't want any of your interference. You're a great deal

too fond of poking your nose into things that don't concern you, making everybody in the house laugh, the

moment your back is turned, and making yourself look like a fool every hour in the day. Be off; come!'

Mr. Bumble, seeing with excruciating feelings, the delight of the two old paupers, who were tittering together

most rapturously, hesitated for an instant. Mrs. Bumble, whose patience brooked no delay, caught up a bowl

of soapsuds, and motioning him towards the door, ordered him instantly to depart, on pain of receiving the

What could Mr. Bumble do? He looked dejectedly round, and slunk away; and, as he reached the door, the

titterings of the paupers broke into a shrill chuckle of irrepressible delight. It wanted but this. He was

degraded in their eyes; he had lost caste and station before the very paupers; he had fallen from all the height

'All in two months!' said Mr. Bumble, filled with dismal thoughts. 'Two months! No more than two months

ago, I was not only my own master, but everybody else's, so far as the porochial workhouse was concerned,

It was too much. Mr. Bumble boxed the ears of the boy who opened the gate for him (for he had reached the

He walked up one street, and down another, until exercise had abated the first passion of his grief; and then

the revulsion of feeling made him thirsty. He passed a great many publichouses; but, at length paused before

one in a byway, whose parlour, as he gathered from a hasty peep over the blinds, was deserted, save by one

solitary customer. It began to rain, heavily, at the moment. This determined him. Mr. Bumble stepped in; and

ordering something to drink, as he passed the bar, entered the apartment into which he had looked from the

The man who was seated there, was tall and dark, and wore a large cloak. He had the air of a stranger; and

seemed, by a certain haggardness in his look, as well as by the dusty soils on his dress, to have travelled some

distance. He eyed Bumble askance, as he entered, but scarcely deigned to nod his head in acknowledgment of

Mr. Bumble had quite dignity enough for two; supposing even that the stranger had been more familiar: so he

drank his ginandwater in silence, and read the paper with great show of pomp and circumstance.

It so happened, however: as it will happen very often, when men fall into company under such circumstances:

that Mr. Bumble felt, every now and then, a powerful inducement, which he could not resist, to steal a look at

the stranger: and that whenever he did so, he withdrew his eyes, in some confusion, to find that the stranger

was at that moment stealing a look at him. Mr. Bumble's awkwardness was enhanced by the very remarkable

expression of the stranger's eye, which was keen and bright, but shadowed by a scowl of distrust and

suspicion, unlike anything he had ever observed before, and repulsive to behold.

When they had encountered each other's glance several times in this way, the stranger, in a harsh, deep voice,

'Not that I am aware of, unless you're Mr. ' Here Mr. Bumble stopped short; for he was curious to know the

'I see you were not,' said the stranger; and expression of quiet sarcasm playing about his mouth; 'or you have

Another silence succeeded this short dialogue: which was again broken by the stranger.

'I have seen you before, I think?' said he. 'You were differently dressed at that time, and I only passed you in

the street, but I should know you again. You were beadle here, once; were you not?'

'Just so,' rejoined the other, nodding his head. 'It was in that character I saw you. What are you now?'

'Master of the workhouse,' rejoined Mr. Bumble, slowly and impressively, to check any undue familiarity the

'You have the same eye to your own interest, that you always had, I doubt not?' resumed the stranger, looking

keenly into Mr. Bumble's eyes, as he raised them in astonishment at the question.

'I suppose, a married man,' replied Mr. Bumble, shading his eyes with his hand, and surveying the stranger,

from head to foot, in evident perplexity, 'is not more averse to turning an honest penny when he can, than a

single one. Porochial officers are not so well paid that they can afford to refuse any little extra fee, when it

The stranger smiled, and nodded his head again: as much to say, he had not mistaken his man; then rang the

'Fill this glass again,' he said, handing Mr. Bumble's empty tumbler to the landlord. 'Let it be strong and hot.

The host smiled, disappeared, and shortly afterwards returned with a steaming jorum: of which, the first gulp

'Now listen to me,' said the stranger, after closing the door and window. 'I came down to this place, today, to

find you out; and, by one of those chances which the devil throws in the way of his friends sometimes, you

walked into the very room I was sitting in, while you were uppermost in my mind. I want some information

from you. I don't ask you to give it for mothing, slight as it is. Put up that, to begin with.'

As he spoke, he pushed a couple of sovereigns across the table to his companion, carefully, as though

unwilling that the chinking of money should be heard without. When Mr. Bumble had scrupulously examined

the coins, to see that they were genuine, and had put them up, with much satisfaction, in his

'And the place, the crazy hole, wherever it was, in which miserable drabs brought forth the life and health so

often denied to themselvesgave birth to puling children for the parish to rear; and hid their shame, rot 'em

'The lyingin room, I suppose?' said Mr. Bumble, not quite following the stranger's excited description.

'A murrain on the young devils!' cried the stranger; 'I speak of one; a meeklooking, palefaced boy, who

was apprenticed down here, to a coffinmakerI wish he had made his coffin, and screwed his body in

'Why, you mean Oliver! Young Twist!' said Mr. Bumble; 'I remember him, of course. There wasn't a

'It's not of him I want to hear; I've heard enough of him,' said the stranger, stopping Mr. Bumble in the outset

of a tirade on the subject of poor Oliver's vices. 'It's of a woman; the hag that nursed his mother. Where is

'Where is she?' said Mr. Bumble, whom the ginandwater had rendered facetious. 'It would be hard to tell.

There's no midwifery there, whichever place she's gone to; so I suppose she's out of employment, anyway.'

The man looked fixedly at him when he had given this information, and although he did not withdraw his

eyes for some time afterwards, his gaze gradually became vacant and abstracted, and he seemed lost in

thought. For some time, he appeared doubtful whether he ought to be relieved or disappointed by the

intelligence; but at length he breathed more freely; and withdrawing his eyes, observed that it was no great

But Mr. Bumble was cunning enough; and he at once saw that an opportunity was opened, for the lucrative

disposal of some secret in the possession of his better half. He well remembered the night of old Sally's death,

which the occurrences of that day had given him good reason to recollect, as the occasion on which he had

proposed to Mrs. Corney; and although that lady had never confided to him the disclosure of which she had

been the solitary witness, he had heard enough to know that it related to something that had occurred in the

old woman's attendance, as workhouse nurse, upon the young mother of Oliver Twist. Hastily calling this

circumstance to mind, he informed the stranger, with an air of mystery, that one woman had been closeted

with the old harridan shortly before she died; and that she could, as he had reason to believe, throw some

'How can I find her?' said the stranger, thrown off his guard; and plainly showing that all his fears (whatever

'At nine in the evening,' said the stranger, producing a scrap of paper, and writing down upon it, an obscure

address by the waterside, in characters that betrayed his agitation; 'at nine in the evening, bring her to me

With these words, he led the way to the door, after stopping to pay for the liquor that had been drunk. Shortly

remarking that their roads were different, he departed, without more ceremony than an emphatic repetition of

On glancing at the address, the parochial functionary observed that it contained no name. The stranger had

'What do you want?' cried the man. turning quickly round, as Bumble touched him on the arm. 'Following

'Only to ask a question,' said the other, pointing to the scrap of paper. 'What name am I to ask for?'

It was a dull, close, overcast summer evening. The clouds, which had been threatening all day, spread out in a

dense and sluggish mass of vapour, already yielded large drops of rain, and seemed to presage a violent

thunderstorm, when Mr. and Mrs. Bumble, turning out of the main street of the town, directed their course

towards a scattered little colony of ruinous houses, distant from it some mile and ahalf, or thereabouts, and

They were both wrapped in old and shabby outer garments, which might, perhaps, serve the double purpose

of protecting their persons from the rain, and sheltering them from observation. The husband carried a

lantern, from which, however, no light yet shone; and trudged on, a few paces in front, as thoughthe way

being dirtyto give his wife the benefit of treading in his heavy footprints. They went on, in profound

silence; every now and then, Mr. Bumble relaxed his pace, and turned his head as if to make sure that his

helpmate was following; then, discovering that she was close at his heels, he mended his rate of walking, and

proceeded, at a considerable increase of speed, towards their place of destination.

This was far from being a place of doubtful character; for it had long been known as the residence of none but

low ruffians, who, under various pretences of living by their labour, subsisted chiefly on plunder and crime. It

was a collection of mere hovels: some, hastily built with loose bricks: others, of old wormeaten

shiptimber: jumbled together without any attempt at order or arrangement, and planted, for the most part,

within a few feet of the river's bank. A few leaky boats drawn up on the mud, and made fast to the dwarf wall

which skirted it: and here and there an oar or coil of rope: appeared, at first, to indicate that the inhabitants of

these miserable cottages pursued some avocation on the river; but a glance at the shattered and useless

condition of the articles thus displayed, would have led a passerby, without much difficulty, to the

conjecture that they were disposed there, rather for the preservation of appearances, than with any view to

In the heart of this cluster of huts; and skirting the river, which its upper stories overhung; stood a large

building, formerly used as a manufactory of some kind. It had, in its day, probably furnished employment to

the inhabitants of the surrounding tenements. But it had long since gone to ruin. The rat, the worm, and the

action of the damp, had weakened and rotted the piles on which it stood; and a considerable portion of the

building had already sunk down into the water; while the remainder, tottering and bending over the dark

stream, seemed to wait a favourable opportunity of following its old companion, and involving itself in the

It was before this ruinous building that the worthy couple paused, as the first peal of distant thunder

'The place should be somewhere here,' said Bumble, consulting a scrap of paper he held in his hand.

Following the sound, Mr. Bumble raised his head and descried a man looking out of a door, breasthigh, on

'Stand still, a minute,' cried the voice; 'I'll be with you directly.' With which the head disappeared, and the

'Then, mind what I told you,' said the matron: 'and be careful to say as little as you can, or you'll betray us at

Mr. Bumble, who had eyed the building with very rueful looks, was apparently about to express some doubts

relative to the advisability of proceeding any further with the enterprise just then, when he was prevented by

the appearance of Monks: w ho opened a small door, near which they stood, and beckoned them inwards.

'Come in!' he cried impatiently, stamping his foot upon the ground. 'Don't keep me here!'

The woman, who had hesitated at first, walked boldly in, without any other invitation. Mr. Bumble, who was

ashamed or afraid to lag behind, followed: obviously very ill at ease and with scarcely any of that remarkable

'What the devil made you stand lingering there, in the wet?' said Monks, turning round, and addressing

'Wewe were only cooling ourselves,' stammered Bumble, looking apprehensively about him.

'Cooling yourselves!' retorted Monks. 'Not all the rain that ever fell, or ever will fall, will put as much of

hell's fire out, as a man can carry about with him. You won't cool yourself so easily; don't think it!'

With this agreeable speech, Monks turned short upon the matron, and bent his gaze upon her, till even she,

who was not easily cowed, was fain to withdraw her eyes, and turn them them towards the ground.

'You think women never can keep secrets, I suppose?' said the matron, interposing, and returning, as she

'The loss of their own good name,' replied Monks. 'So, by the same rule, if a woman's a party to a secret that

might hang or transport her, I'm not afraid of her telling it to anybody; not I! Do you understand, mistress?'

Bestowing something halfway between a smile and a frown upon his two companions, and again beckoning

them to follow him, the man hastened across the apartment, which was of considerable extent, but low in the

roof. He was preparing to ascend a steep staircase, or rather ladder, leading to another floor of warehouses

above: when a bright flash of lightning streamed down the aperture, and a peal of thunder followed, which

'Hear it!' he cried, shrinking back. 'Hear it! Rolling and crashing on as if it echoed through a thousand caverns

He remained silent for a few moments; and then, removing his hands suddenly from his face, showed, to the

unspeakable discomposure of Mr. Bumble, that it was much distorted and discoloured.

'These fits come over me, now and then,' said Monks, observing his alarm; 'and thunder sometimes brings

Thus speaking, he led the way up the ladder; and hastily closing the windowshutter of the room into which

it led, lowered a lantern which hung at the end of a rope and pulley passed through one of the heavy beams in

the ceiling: and which cast a dim light upon an old table and three chairs that were placed beneath it.

'Now,' said Monks, when they had all three seated themselves, 'the sooner we come to our business, the better

The question was addressed to Bumble; but his wife anticipated the reply, by intimating that she was

'He is right in saying that you were with this hag the night she died; and that she told you something'

'About the mother of the boy you named,' replied the matron interrupting him. 'Yes.'

'That's the second,' observed the woman with much deliberation. 'The first is, what may the communication

'Nobody better than you, I am persuaded,' answered Mrs. Bumble: who did not want for spirit, as her

'Humph!' said Monks significantly, and with a look of eager inquiry; 'there may be money's worth to get, eh?'

'Something that was taken from her,' said Monks. 'Something that she wore. Something that'

'You had better bid,' interrupted Mrs. Bumble. 'I have heard enough, already, to assure me that you are the

Mr. Bumble, who had not yet been admitted by his better half into any greater share of the secret than he had

originally possessed, listened to this dialogue with outstretched neck and distended eyes: which he directed

towards his wife and Monks, by turns, in undisguised astonishment; increased, if possible, when the latter

'It may be nothing; it may be twenty pounds,' replied Monks. 'Speak out, and let me know which.'

'Add five pounds to the sum you have named; give me fiveandtwenty pounds in gold,' said the woman;

'I spoke as plainly as I could,' replied Mrs. Bumble. 'It's not a large sum, either.'

'Not a large sum for a paltry secret, that may be nothing when it's told!' cried Monks impatiently; 'and which

'Such matters keep well, and, like good wine, often double their value in course of time,' answered the

matron, still preserving the resolute indifference she had assumed. 'As to lying dead, there are those who will

lie dead for twelve thousand years to come, or twelve million, for anything you or I know, who will tell

'You can easily take it away again,' replied the matron. 'I am but a woman; alone here; and unprotected.'

'Not alone, my dear, nor unprotected, neither,' submitted Mr. Bumble, in a voice tremulous with fear: '_I_ am

here, my dear. And besides,' said Mr. Bumble, his teeth chattering as he spoke, 'Mr. Monks is too much of a

gentleman to attempt any violence on porochial persons. Mr. Monks is aware that I am not a young man, my

dear, and also that I am a little run to seed, as I may say; bu he has heerd: I say I have no doubt Mr. Monks

has heerd, my dear: that I am a very determined officer, with very uncommon strength, if I'm once roused. I

As Mr. Bumble spoke, he made a melancholy feint of grasping his lantern with fierce determination; and

plainly showed, by the alarmed expression of every feature, that he DID want a little rousing, and not a little,

prior to making any very warlike demonstration: unless, indeed, against paupers, or other person or persons

'You are a fool,' said Mrs. Bumble, in reply; 'and had better hold your tongue.'

'He had better have cut it out, before he came, if he can't speak in a lower tone,' said Monks, grimly. 'So! He's

'I thought as much, when you came in,' rejoined Monks, marking the angry glance which the lady darted at

her spouse as she spoke. 'So much the better; I have less hesitation in dealing with two people, when I find

He thrust his hand into a sidepocket; and producing a canvas bag, told out twentyfive sovereigns on the

'Now,' he said, 'gather them up; and when this cursed peal of thunder, which I feel is coming up to break over

The thunder, which seemed in fact much nearer, and to shiver and break almost over their heads, having

subsided, Monks, raising his face from the table, bent forward to listen to what the woman should say. The

faces of the three nearly touched, as the two men leant over the small table in their eagerness to hear, and the

woman also leant forward to render her whisper audible. The sickly rays of the suspended lantern falling

directly upon them, aggravated the paleness and anxiety of their countenances: which, encircled by the

'When this woman, that we called old Sally, died,' the matron began, 'she and I were alone.'

'Was there no one by?' asked Monks, in the same hollow whisper; 'No sick wretch or idiot in some other bed?

'Not a soul,' replied the woman; 'we were alone. _I_ stood alone beside the body when death came over it.'

'She spoke of a young creature,' resumed the matron, 'who had brought a child into the world some years

before; not merely in the same room, but in the same bed, in which she then lay dying.'

'Ay?' said Monks, with quivering lip, and glancing over his shoulder, 'Blood! How things come about!'

'The child was the one you named to him last night,' said the matron, nodding carelessly towards her husband;

'In death,' replied the woman, with something like a shudder. 'She stole from the corpse, when it had hardly

turned to one, that which the dead mother had prayed her, with her last breath, to keep for the infant's sake.'

'She sold it,' cried Monks, with desperate eagerness; 'did she sell it? Where? When? To whom? How long

'As she told me, with great difficulty, that she had done this,' said the matron, 'she fell back and died.'

'Without saying more?' cried Monks, in a voice which, from its very suppression, seemed only the more

furious. 'It's a lie! I'll not be played with. She said more. I'll tear the life out of you both, but I'll know what it

'She didn't utter another word,' said the woman, to all appearance unmoved (as Mr. Bumble was very far from

being) by the strange man's violence; 'but she clutched my gown, violently, with one hand, which was partly

closed; and when I saw that she was dead, and so removed the hand by force, I found it clasped a scrap of

'In good time I'll tell you.' said the woman. 'I judge that she had kept the trinket, for some time, in the hope of

turning it to better account; and then had pawned it; and had saved or scraped together money to pay the

pawnbroker's interest year by year, and prevent its running out; so that if anything came of it, it could still be

redeemed. Nothing had come of it; and, as I tell you, she died with the scrap of paper, all worn and tattered,

in her hand. The time was out in two days; I thought something might one day come of it too; and so

'THERE,' replied the woman. And, as if glad to be relieved of it, she hastily threw upon the table a small kid

bag scarcely large enough for a French watch, which Monks pouncing upon, tore open with trembling hands.

It contained a little gold locket: in which were two locks of hair, and a plain gold weddingring.

'There is a blank left for the surname; and then follows the date; which is within a year before the child was

'And this is all?' said Monks, after a close and eager scrutiny of the contents of the little packet.

Mr. Bumble drew a long breath, as if he were glad to find that the story was over, and no mention made of

taking the fiveandtwenty pounds back again; and now he took courage to wipe the perspiration which had

been trickling over his nose, unchecked, during the whole of the previous dialogue.

'I know nothing of the story, beyond what I can guess at,' said his wife addressing Monks, after a short

silence; 'and I want to know nothing; for it's safer not. But I may ask you two questions, may I?'

'You may ask,' said Monks, with some show of surprise; 'but whether I answer or not is another question.'

'Never,' rejoined Monks; 'nor against me either. See here! But don't move a step forward, or your life is not

With these words, he suddenly wheeled the table aside, and pulling an iron ring in the boarding, threw back a

large trapdoor which opened close at Mr. Bumble's feet, and caused that gentleman to retire several paces

'Look down,' said Monks, lowering the lantern into the gulf. 'Don't fear me. I could have let you down,

Thus encouraged, the matron drew near to the brink; and even Mr. Bumble himself, impelled by curiousity,

ventured to do the same. The turbid water, swollen by the heavy rain, was rushing rapidly on below; and all

other sounds were lost in the noise of its plashing and eddying against the green and slimy piles. There had

once been a watermill beneath; the tide foaming and chafing round the few rotten stakes, and fragments of

machinery that yet remained, seemed to dart onward, with a new impulse, when freed from the obstacles

'If you flung a man's body down there, where would it be tomorrow morning?' said Monks, swinging the

'Twelve miles down the river, and cut to pieces besides,' replied Bumble, recoiling at the thought.

Monks drew the little packet from his breast, where he had hurriedly thrust it; and tying it to a leaden weight,

which had formed a part of some pulley, and was lying on the floor, dropped it into the stream. It fell straight,

and true as a die; clove the water with a scarcely audible splash; and was gone.

'There!' said Monks, closing the trapdoor, which fell heavily back into its former position. 'If the sea ever

gives up its dead, as books say it will, it will keep its gold and silver to itself, and that trash among it. We

'You'll keep a quiet tongue in your head, will you?' said Monks, with a threatening look. 'I am not afraid of

'You may depend upon me, young man,' answered Mr. Bumble, bowing himself gradually towards the ladder,

with excessive politeness. 'On everybody's account, young man; on my own, you know, Mr. Monks.'

'I am glad, for your sake, to hear it,' remarked Monks. 'Light your lantern! And get away from here as fast as

It was fortunate that the conversation terminated at this point, or Mr. Bumble, who had bowed himself to

within six inches of the ladder, would infallibly have pitched headlong into the room below. He lighted his

lantern from that which Monks had detached from the rope, and now carried in his hand; and making no

effort to prolong the discourse, descended in silence, followed by his wife. Monks brought up the rear, after

pausing on the steps to satisfy himself that there were no other sounds to be heard than the beating of the rain

They traversed the lower room, slowly, and with caution; for Monks started at every shadow; and Mr.

Bumble, holding his lantern a foot above the ground, walked not only with remarkable care, but with a

marvellously light step for a gentleman of his figure: looking nervously about him for hidden trapdoors. The

gate at which they had entered, was softly unfastened and opened by Monks; merely exchanging a nod with

their mysterious acquaintance, the married couple emerged into the wet and darkness outside.

They were no sooner gone, than Monks, who appeared to entertain an invincible repugnance to being left

alone, called to a boy who had been hidden somewhere below. Bidding him go first, and bear the light, he

On the evening following that upon which the three worthies mentioned in the last chapter, disposed of their

little matter of business as therein narrated, Mr. William Sikes, awakening from a nap, drowsily growled

The room in which Mr. Sikes propounded this question, was not one of those he had tenanted, previous to the

Chertsey expedition, although it was in the same quarter of the town, and was situated at no great distance

from his former lodgings. It was not, in appearance, so desirable a habitation as his old quarters: being a

mean and badlyfurnished apartment, of very limited size; lighted only by one small window in the shelving

roof, and abutting on a close and dirty lane. Nor were there wanting other indications of the good gentleman's

having gone down in the world of late: for a great scarcity of furniture, and total absence of comfort, together

with the disappearance of all such small moveables as spare clothes and linen, bespoke a state of extreme

poverty; while the meagre and attenuated condition of Mr. Sikes himself would have fully confirmed these

The housebreaker was lying on the bed, wrapped in his white greatcoat, by way of dressinggown, and

displaying a set of features in no degree improved by the cadaverous hue of illness, and the addition of a

soiled nightcap, and a stiff, black beard of a week's growth. The dog sat at the bedside: now eyeing his master

with a wistful look, and now pricking his ears, and uttering a low growl as some noise in the street, or in the

lower part of the house, attracted his attention. Seated by the window, busily engaged in patching an old

waistcoat which formed a portion of the robber's ordinary dress, was a female: so pale and reduced with

watching and privation, that there would have been considerable difficulty in recognising her as the same

Nancy who has already figured in this tale, but for the voice in which she replied to Mr. Sikes's question.

'As weak as water,' replied Mr. Sikes, with an imprecation on his eyes and limbs. 'Here; lend us a hand, and

Illness had not improved Mr. Sikes's temper; for, as the girl raised him up and led him to a chair, he muttered

'Whining are you?' said Sikes. 'Come! Don't stand snivelling there. If you can't do anything better than that,

'I hear you,' replied the girl, turning her face aside, and forcing a laugh. 'What fancy have you got in your

'Oh! you've thought better of it, have you?' growled Sikes, marking the tear which trembled in her eye. 'All

'Why, you don't mean to say, you'd be hard upon me tonight, Bill,' said the girl, laying her hand upon his

'Such a number of nights,' said the girl, with a touch of woman's tenderness, which communicated something

like sweetness of tone, even to her voice: 'such a number of nights as I've been patient with you, nursing and

caring for you, as if you had been a child: and this the first that I've seen you like yourself; you wouldn't have

served me as you did just now, if you'd thought of that, would you? Come, come; say you wouldn't.'

'Well, then,' rejoined Mr. Sikes, 'I wouldn't. Why, damme, now, the girls's whining again!'

'It's nothing,' said the girl, throwing herself into a chair. 'Don't you seem to mind me. It'll soon be over.'

'What'll be over?' demanded Mr. Sikes in a savage voice. 'What foolery are you up to, now, again? Get up and

At any other time, this remonstrance, and the tone in which it was delivered, would have had the desired

effect; but the girl being really weak and exhausted, dropped her head over the back of the chair, and fainted,

before Mr. Sikes could get out a few of the appropriate oaths with which, on similar occasions, he was

accustomed to garnish his threats. Not knowing, very well, what to do, in this uncommon emergency; for

Miss Nancy's hysterics were usually of that violent kind which the patient fights and struggles out of, without

much assistance; Mr. Sikes tried a little blasphemy: and finding that mode of treatment wholly ineffectual,

'Lend a hand to the girl, can't you?' replied Sikes impatiently. 'Don't stand chattering and grinning at me!'

With an exclamation of surprise, Fagin hastened to the girl's assistance, while Mr. John Dawkins (otherwise

the Artful Dodger), who had followed his venerable friend into the room, hastily deposited on the floor a

bundle with which he was laden; and snatching a bottle from the grasp of Master Charles Bates who came

close at his heels, uncorked it in a twinkling with his teeth, and poured a portion of its contents down the

'Give her a whiff of fresh air with the bellows, Charley,' said Mr. Dawkins; 'and you slap her hands, Fagin,

These united restoratives, administered with great energy: especially that department consigned to Master

Bates, who appeared to consider his share in the proceedings, a piece of unexampled pleasantry: were not

long in producing the desired effect. The girl gradually recovered her senses; and, staggering to a chair by the

bedside, hid her face upon the pillow: leaving Mr. Sikes to confront the new comers, in some astonishment at

'No evil wind at all, my dear, for evil winds blow nobody any good; and I've brought something good with

me, that you'll be glad to see. Dodger, my dear, open the bundle; and give Bill the little trifles that we spent

In compliance with Mr. Fagin's request, the Artful untied this bundle, which was of large size, and formed of

an old tablecloth; and handed the articles it contained, one by one, to Charley Bates: who placed them on

'Sitch a rabbit pie, Bill,' exclaimed that young gentleman, disclosing to view a huge pasty; 'sitch delicate

creeturs, with sitch tender limbs, Bill, that the wery bones melt in your mouth, and there's no occasion to pick

'em; half a pound of seven and sixpenny green, so precious strong that if you mix it with biling water, it'll go

nigh to blow the lid of the teapot off; a pound and a half of moist sugar that the niggers didn't work at all at,

afore they got it up to sitch a pitch of goodness,oh no! Two halfquartern brans; pound of best fresh; piece

of double Glo'ster; and, to wind up all, some of the richest sort you ever lushed!'

Uttering this last panegyrie, Master Bates produced, from one of his extensive pockets, a fullsized

winebottle, carefully corked; while Mr. Dawkins, at the same instant, poured out a wineglassful of raw

spirits from the bottle he carried: which the invalid tossed down his throat without a moment's hesitation.

'Ah!' said Fagin, rubbing his hands with great satisfaction. 'You'll do, Bill; you'll do now.'

'Do!' exclaimed Mr. Sikes; 'I might have been done for, twenty times over, afore you'd have done anything to

help me. What do you mean by leaving a man in this state, three weeks and more, you falsehearted

'Only hear him, boys!' said Fagin, shrugging his shoulders. 'And us come to bring him all these beautiful

'The things is well enough in their way,' observed Mr. Sikes: a little soothed as he glanced over the table; 'but

what have you got to say for yourself, why you should leave me here, down in the mouth, health, blunt, and

everything else; and take no more notice of me, all this mortal time, than if I was that 'ere dog.Drive him

'I never see such a jolly dog as that,' cried Master Bates, doing as he was desired. 'Smelling the grub like a old

lady a going to market! He'd make his fortun' on the stage that dog would, and rewive the drayma besides.'

still growling angrily. 'What have you got to say for yourself, you withered old fence, eh?'

'I was away from London, a week and more, my dear, on a plant,' replied the Jew.

'And what about the other fortnight?' demanded Sikes. 'What about the other fortnight that you've left me

'I couldn't help it, Bill. I can't go into a long explanation before company; but I couldn't help it, upon my

'Upon your what?' growled Sikes, with excessive disgust. 'Here! Cut me off a piece of that pie, one of you

'Don't be out of temper, my dear,' urged Fagin, submissively. 'I have never forgot you, Bill; never once.'

'No! I'll pound it that you han't,' replied Sikes, with a bitter grin. 'You've been scheming and plotting away,

every hour that I have laid shivering and burning here; and Bill was to do this; and Bill was to do that; and

Bill was to do it all, dirt cheap, as soon as he got well: and was quite poor enough for your work. If it hadn't

'There now, Bill,' remonstrated Fagin, eagerly catching at the word. 'If it hadn't been for the girl! Who but

'He says true enough there!' said Nancy, coming hastily forward. 'Let him be; let him be.'

Nancy's appearance gave a new turn to the conversation; for the boys, receiving a sly wink from the wary old

Jew, began to ply her with liquor: of which, however, she took very sparingly; while Fagin, assuming an

unusual flow of spirits, gradually brought Mr. Sikes into a better temper, by affecting to regard his threats as

a little pleasant banter; and, moreover, by laughing very heartily at one or two rough jokes, which, after

'It's all very well,' said Mr. Sikes; 'but I must have some blunt from you tonight.'

'Then you've got lots at home,' retorted Sikes; 'and I must have some from there.'

'I don't know how much you've got, and I dare say you hardly know yourself, as it would take a pretty long

'You won't do nothing of the kind,' rejoined Mr. Sikes. 'The Artful's a deal too artful, and would forget to

come, or lose his way, or get dodged by traps and so be perwented, or anything for an excuse, if you put him

up to it. Nancy shall go to the ken and fetch it, to make all sure; and I'll lie down and have a snooze while

After a great deal of haggling and squabbling, Fagin beat down the amount of the required advance from five

pounds to three pounds four and sixpence: protesting with many solemn asseverations that that would only

leave him eighteenpence to keep house with; Mr. Sikes sullenly remarking that if he couldn't get any more

he must accompany him home; with the Dodger and Master Bates put the eatables in the cupboard. The Jew

then, taking leave of his affectionate friend, returned homeward, attended by Nancy and the boys: Mr. Sikes,

meanwhile, flinging himself on the bed, and composing himself to sleep away the time until the young lady's

In due course, they arrived at Fagin's abode, where they found Toby Crackit and Mr. Chitling intent upon

their fifteenth game at cribbage, which it is scarcely necessary to say the latter gentleman lost, and with it, his

fifteenth and last sixpence: much to the amusement of his young friends. Mr. Crackit, apparently somewhat

ashamed at being found relaxing himself with a gentleman so much his inferior in station and mental

'Not a living leg,' answered Mr. Crackit, pulling up his collar; 'it's been as dull as swipes. You ought to stand

something handsome, Fagin, to recompense me for keeping house so long. Damme, I'm as flat as a juryman;

and should have gone to sleep, as fast as Newgate, if I hadn't had the good natur' to amuse this youngster.

With these and other ejaculations of the same kind, Mr. Toby Crackit swept up his winnings, and crammed

them into his waistcoat pocket with a haughty air, as though such small pieces of silver were wholly beneath

the consideration of a man of his figure; this done, he swaggered out of the room, with so much elegance and

gentility, that Mr. Chitling, bestowing numerous admiring glances on his legs and boots till they were out of

sight, assured the company that he considered his acquaintance cheap at fifteen sixpences an interview, and

'Wot a rum chap you are, Tom!' said Master Bates, highly amused by this declaration.

'A very clever fellow, my dear,' said Fagin, patting him on the shoulder, and winking to his other pupils.

'And it is a creditable thing to have his acquaintance; an't it, Fagin?' pursued Tom.

'Very much so, indeed, my dear. They're only jealous, Tom, because he won't give it to them.'

'Ah!' cried Tom, triumphantly, 'that's where it is! He has cleaned me out. But I can go and earn some more,

'To be sure you can, and the sooner you go the better, Tom; so make up your loss at once, and don't lose any

Charley! It's time you were on the lay. Come! It's near ten, and nothing done yet.'

In obedience to this hint, the boys, nodding to Nancy, took up their hats, and left the room; the Dodger and

his vivacious friend indulging, as they went, in many witticisms at the expense of Mr. Chitling; in whose

conduct, it is but justice to say, there was nothing very conspicuous or peculiar: inasmuch as there are a great

number of spirited young bloods upon town, who pay a much higher price than Mr. Chitling for being seen in

good society: and a great number of fine gentlemen (composing the good society aforesaid) who established

'Now,' said Fagin, when they had left the room, 'I'll go and get you that cash, Nancy. This is only the key of a

little cupboard where I keep a few odd things the boys get, my dear. I never lock up my money, for I've got

none to lock up, my dearha! ha! ha!none to lock up. It's a poor trade, Nancy, and no thanks; but I'm

fond of seeing the young people about me; and I bear it all, I bear it all. Hush!' he said, hastily concealing the

The girl, who was sitting at the table with her arms folded, appeared in no way interested in the arrival: or to

care whether the person, whoever he was, came or went: until the murmur of a man's voice reached her ears.

The instant she caught the sound, she tore off her bonnet and shawl, with the rapidity of lightning, and thrust

them under the table. The Jew, turning round immediately afterwards, she muttered a complaint of the heat:

in a tone of languor that contrasted, very remarkably, with the extreme haste and violence of this action:

which, however, had been unobserved by Fagin, who had his back towards her at the time.

'Bah!' he whispered, as though nettled by the interruption; 'it's the man I expected before; he's coming

downstairs. Not a word about the money while he's here, Nance. He won't stop long. Not ten minutes, my

Laying his skinny forefinger upon his lip, the Jew carried a candle to the door, as a man's step was heard

upon the stairs without. He reached it, at the same moment as the visitor, who, coming hastily into the room,

'Only one of my young people,' said Fagin, observing that Monks drew back, on beholding a stranger. 'Don't

The girl drew closer to the table, and glancing at Monks with an air of careless levity, withdrew her eyes; but

as he turned towards Fagin, she stole another look; so keen and searching, and full of purpose, that if there

had been any bystander to observe the change, he could hardly have believed the two looks to have proceeded

'Andandgood?' asked Fagin, hesitating as though he feared to vex the other man by being too sanguine.

'Not bad, any way,' replied Monks with a smile. 'I have been prompt enough this time. Let me have a word

The girl drew closer to the table, and made no offer to leave the room, although she could see that Monks was

pointing to her. The Jew: perhaps fearing she might say something aloud about the money, if he endeavoured

'Not that infernal hole we were in before,' she could hear the man say as they went upstairs. Fagin laughed;

and making some reply which did not reach her, seemed, by the creaking of the boards, to lead his companion

Before the sound of their footsteps had ceased to echo through the house, the girl had slipped off her shoes;

and drawing her gown loosely over her head, and muffling her arms in it, stood at the door, listening with

breathless interest. The moment the noise ceased, she glided from the room; ascended the stairs with

The room remained deserted for a quarter of an hour or more; the girl glided back with the same unearthly

tread; and, immediately afterwards, the two men were heard descending. Monks went at once into the street;

and the Jew crawled upstairs again for the money. When he returned, the girl was adjusting her shawl and

'Why, Nance!,' exclaimed the Jew, starting back as he put down the candle, 'how pale you are!'

'Pale!' echoed the girl, shading her eyes with her hands, as if to look steadily at him.

'Nothing that I know of, except sitting in this close place for I don't know how long and all,' replied the girl

With a sigh for every piece of money, Fagin told the amount into her hand. They parted without more

When the girl got into the open street, she sat down upon a doorstep; and seemed, for a few moments, wholly

bewildered and unable to pursue her way. Suddenly she arose; and hurrying on, in a direction quite opposite

to that in which Sikes was awaiting her returned, quickened her pace, until it gradually resolved into a violent

run. After completely exhausting herself, she stopped to take breath: and, as if suddenly recollecting herself,

and deploring her inability to do something she was bent upon, wrung her hands, and burst into tears.

It might be that her tears relieved her, or that she felt the full hopelessness of her condition; but she turned

back; and hurrying with nearly as great rapidity in the contrary direction; partly to recover lost time, and

partly to keep pace with the violent current of her own thoughts: soon reached the dwelling where she had left

If she betrayed any agitation, when she presented herself to Mr. Sikes, he did not observe it; for merely

inquiring if she had brought the money, and receiving a reply in the affirmative, he uttered a growl of

satisfaction, and replacing his head upon the pillow, resumed the slumbers which her arrival had interrupted.

It was fortunate for her that the possession of money occasioned him so much employment next day in the

way of eating and drinking; and withal had so beneficial an effect in smoothing down the asperities of his

temper; that he had neither time nor inclination to be very critical upon her behaviour and deportment. That

she had all the abstracted and nervous manner of one who is on the eve of some bold and hazardous step,

which it has required no common struggle to resolve upon, would have been obvious to the lynxeyed Fagin,

who would most probably have taken the alarm at once; but Mr. Sikes lacking the niceties of discrimination,

and being troubled with no more subtle misgivings than those which resolve themselves into a dogged

roughness of behaviour towards everybody; and being, furthermore, in an unusually amiable condition, as has

been already observed; saw nothing unusual in her demeanor, and indeed, troubled himself so little about her,

that, had her agitation been far more perceptible than it was, it would have been very unlikely to have

As that day closed in, the girl's excitement increased; and, when night came on, and she sat by, watching until

the housebreaker should drink himself asleep, there was an unusual paleness in her cheek, and a fire in her

Mr. Sikes being weak from the fever, was lying in bed, taking hot water with his gin to render it less

inflammatory; and had pushed his glass towards Nancy to be replenished for the third or fourth time, when

'Why, burn my body!' said the man, raising himself on his hands as he stared the girl in the face. 'You look

'What foolery is this?' demanded Sikes, grasping her by the arm, and shaking her roughly. 'What is it? What

'Of many things, Bill,' replied the girl, shivering, and as she did so, pressing her hands upon her eyes. 'But,

The tone of forced gaiety in which the last words were spoken, seemd to produce a deeper impression on

'I tell you wot it is,' said Sikes; 'if you haven't caught the fever, and got it comin' on, now, there's something

more than usual in the wind, and something dangerous too. You're not agoing to. No, damme! you

'There ain't,' said Sikes, fixing his eyes upon her, and muttering the words to himself; 'there ain't a

stauncherhearted gal going, or I'd have cut her throat three months ago. She's got the fever coming on; that's

Fortifying himself with this assurance, Sikes drained the glass to the bottom, and then, with many grumbling

oaths, called for his physic. The girl jumped up, with great alacrity; poured it quickly out, but with her back

'Now,' said the robber, 'come and sit aside of me, and put on your own face; or I'll alter it so, that you won't

The girl obeyed. Sikes, locking her hand in his, fell back upon the pillow: turning his eyes upon her face.

They closed; opened again; closed once more; again opened. He shifted his position restlessly; and, after

dozing again, and again, for two or three minutes, and as often springing up with a look of terror, and gazing

vacantly about him, was suddenly stricken, as it were, while in the very attitude of rising, into a deep and

heavy sleep. The grasp of his hand relaxed; the upraised arm fell languidly by his side; and he lay like one in

'The laudanum has taken effect at last,' murmured the girl, as she rose from the bedside. 'I may be too late,

She hastily dressed herself in her bonnet and shawl: looking fearfully round, from time to time, as if, despite

the sleeping draught, she expected every moment to feel the pressure of Sikes's heavy hand upon her

shoulder; then, stooping softly over the bed, she kissed the robber's lips; and then opening and closing the

A watchman was crying halfpast nine, down a dark passage through which she had to pass, in gaining the

'It'll strike the hour in another quarter,' said the man: raising his lantern to her face.

'And I cannot get there in less than an hour or more,' muttered Nancy: brushing swiftly past him, and gliding

Many of the shops were already closing in the back lanes and avenues through which she tracked her way, in

making from Spitalfields towards the WestEnd of London. The clock struck ten, increasing her impatience.

She tore along the narrow pavement: elbowing the passengers from side to side; and darting almost under the

horses' heads, crossed crowded streets, where clusters of persons were eagerly watching their opportunity to

'The woman is mad!' said the people, turning to look after her as she rushed away.

When she reached the more wealthy quarter of the town, the streets were comparatively deserted; and here

her headlong progress excited a still greater curiosity in the stragglers whom she hurried past. Some

quickened their pace behind, as though to see whither she was hastening at such an unusual rate; and a few

made head upon her, and looked back, surprised at her undiminished speed; but they fell off one by one; and

It was a family hotel in a quiet but handsome street near Hyde Park. As the brilliant light of the lamp which

burnt before its door, guided her to the spot, the clock struck eleven. She had loitered for a few paces as

though irresolute, and making up her mind to advance; but the sound determined her, and she stepped into the

hall. The porter's seat was vacant. She looked round with an air of incertitude, and advanced towards the

'Now, young woman!' said a smartlydressed female, looking out from a door behind her, 'who do you want

The young woman, who had by this time, noted her appearance, replied only by a look of virtuous disdain;

'Come!' said the man, pushing her towards the door. 'None of this. Take yourself off.'

'I shall be carried out if I go!' said the girl violently; 'and I can make that a job that two of you won't like to

do. Isn't there anybody here,' she said, looking round, 'that will see a simple message carried for a poor

This appeal produced an effect on a goodtemperedfaced mancook, who with some of the other servants

'What's the good?' replied the man. 'You don't suppose the young lady will see such as her; do you?'

This allusion to Nancy's doubtful character, raised a vast quantity of chaste wrath in the bosoms of four

housemaids, who remarked, with great fervour, that the creature was a disgrace to her sex; and strongly

'Do what you like with me,' said the girl, turning to the men again; 'but do what I ask you first, and I ask you

The softhearted cook added his intercession, and the result was that the man who had first appeared

'That a young woman earnestly asks to speak to Miss Maylie alone,' said Nancy; 'and that if the lady will only

hear the first word she has to say, she will know whether to hear her business, or to have her turned out of

The man ran upstairs. Nancy remained, pale and almost breathless, listening with quivering lip to the very

audible expressions of scorn, of which the chaste housemaids were very prolific; and of which they became

still more so, when the man returned, and said the young woman was to walk upstairs.

The third contented herself with wondering 'what ladies was made of'; and the fourth took the first in a

Regardless of all this: for she had weightier matters at heart: Nancy followed the man, with trembling limbs,

to a small antechamber, lighted by a lamp from the ceiling. Here he left her, and retired.

The girl's life had been squandered in the streets, and among the most noisome of the stews and dens of

London, but there was something of the woman's original nature left in her still; and when she heard a light

step approaching the door opposite to that by which she had entered, and thought of the wide contrast which

the small room would in another moment contain, she felt burdened with the sense of her own deep shame,

and shrunk as though she could scarcely bear the presence of her with whom she had sought this interview.

But struggling with these better feelings was pride,the vice of the lowest and most debased creatures no

less than of the high and selfassured. The miserable companion of thieves and ruffians, the fallen outcast of

low haunts, the associate of the scourings of the jails and hulks, living within the shadow of the gallows

itself,even this degraded being felt too proud to betray a feeble gleam of the womanly feeling which she

thought a weakness, but which alone connected her with that humanity, of which her wasting life had

She raised her eyes sufficiently to observe that the figure which presented itself was that of a slight and

beautiful girl; then, bending them on the ground, she tossed her head with affected carelessness as she said:

'It's a hard matter to get to see you, lady. If I had taken offence, and gone away, as many would have done,

'I am very sorry if any one has behaved harshly to you,' replied Rose. 'Do not think of that. Tell me why you

The kind tone of this answer, the sweet voice, the gentle manner, the absence of any accent of haughtiness or

'Oh, lady, lady!' she said, clasping her hands passionately before her face, 'if there was more like you, there

'Sit down,' said Rose, earnestly. 'If you are in poverty or affliction I shall be truly glad to relieve you if I

'Let me stand, lady,' said the girl, still weeping, 'and do not speak to me so kindly till you know me better. It

'Yes,' said Rose, recoiling a few steps, as if to be nearer assistance in case she should require it. 'Why?'

'Because,' said the girl, 'I am about to put my life and the lives of others in your hands. I am the girl that

dragged little Oliver back to old Fagin's on the night he went out from the house in Pentonville.'

'I, lady!' replied the girl. 'I am the infamous creature you have heard of, that lives among the thieves, and that

never from the first moment I can recollect my eyes and senses opening on London streets have known any

better life, or kinder words than they have given me, so help me God! Do not mind shrinking openly from

me, lady. I am younger than you would think, to look at me, but I am well used to it. The poorest women fall

'What dreadful things are these!' said Rose, involuntarily falling from her strange companion.

'Thank Heaven upon your knees, dear lady,' cried the girl, 'that you had friends to care for and keep you in

your childhood, and that you were never in the midst of cold and hunger, and riot and drunkenness,

andandsomething worse than allas I have been from my cradle. I may use the word, for the alley and

'Heaven bless you for your goodness!' rejoined the girl. 'If you knew what I am sometimes, you would pity

me, indeed. But I have stolen away from those who would surely murder me, if they knew I had been here, to

'He knows you,' replied the girl; 'and knew you were here, for it was by hearing him tell the place that I found

'Then he goes by some other amongst us,' rejoined the girl, 'which I more than thought before. Some time

ago, and soon after Oliver was put into your house on the night of the robbery, Isuspecting this

manlistened to a conversation held between him and Fagin in the dark. I found out, from what I heard, that

'That Monks,' pursued the girl, 'had seen him accidently with two of our boys on the day we first lost him,

and had known him directly to be the same child that he was watching for, though I couldn't make out why. A

bargain was struck with Fagin, that if Oliver was got back he should have a certain sum; and he was to have

more for making him a thief, which this Monks wanted for some purpose of his own.

'He caught sight of my shadow on the wall as I listened, in the hope of finding out,' said the girl; 'and there

are not many people besides me that could have got out of their way in time to escape discovery. But I did;

'I'll tell you, lady. Last night he came again. Again they went upstairs, and I, wrapping myself up so that my

shadow would not betray me, again listened at the door. The first words I heard Monks say were these: "So

the only proofs of the boy's identity lie at the bottom of the river, and the old hag that received them from the

mother is rotting in her coffin." They laughed, and talked of his success in doing this; and Monks, talking on

about the boy, and getting very wild, said that though he had got the young devil's money safely know, he'd

rather have had it the other way; for, what a game it would have been to have brought down the boast of the

father's will, by driving him through every jail in town, and then hauling him up for some capital felony

which Fagin could easily manage, after having made a good profit of him besides.'

'The truth, lady, though it comes from my lips,' replied the girl. 'Then, he said, with oaths common enough in

my ears, but strange to yours, that if he could gratify his hatred by taking the boy's life without bringing his

own neck in danger, he would; but, as he couldn't, he'd be upon the watch to meet him at every turn in life;

and if he took advantage of his birth and history, he might harm him yet. "In short, Fagin," he says, "Jew as

you are, you never laid such snares as I'll contrive for my young brother, Oliver."'

'Those were his words,' said Nancy, glancing uneasily round, as she had scarcely ceased to do, since she

began to speak, for a vision of Sikes haunted her perpetually. 'And more. When he spoke of you and the other

lady, and said it seemed contrived by Heaven, or the devil, against him, that Oliver should come into your

hands, he laughed, and said there was some comfort in that too, for how many thousands and hundreds of

thousands of pounds would you not give, if you had them, to know who your twolegged spaniel was.'

'You do not mean,' said Rose, turning very pale, 'to tell me that this was said in earnest?'

'He spoke in hard and angry earnest, if a man ever did,' replied the girl, shaking her head. 'He is an earnest

man when his hatred is up. I know many who do worse things; but I'd rather listen to them all a dozen times,

than to that Monks once. It is growing late, and I have to reach home without suspicion of having been on

'But what can I do?' said Rose. 'To what use can I turn this communication without you? Back! Why do you

wish to return to companions you paint in such terrible colors? If you repeat this information to a gentleman

whom I can summon in an instant from the next room, you can be consigned to some place of safety without

'I wish to go back,' said the girl. 'I must go back, becausehow can I tell such things to an innocent lady like

you?because among the men I have told you of, there is one: the most desperate among them all; that I

'Your having interfered in this dear boy's behalf before,' said Rose; 'your coming here, at so great a risk, to

tell me what you have heard; your manner, which convinces me of the truth of what you say; your evident

contrition, and sense of shame; all lead me to believe that you might yet be reclaimed. Oh!' said the earnest

girl, folding her hands as the tears coursed down her face, 'do not turn a deaf ear to the entreaties of one of

your own sex; the firstthe first, I do believe, who ever appealed to you in the voice of pity and compassion.

'Lady,' cried the girl, sinking on her knees, 'dear, sweet, angel lady, you ARE the first that ever blessed me

with such words as these, and if I had heard them years ago, they might have turned me from a life of sin and

'It is,' cried the girl, writhing in agony of her mind; 'I cannot leave him now! I could not be his death.'

'Nothing could save him,' cried the girl. 'If I told others what I have told you, and led to their being taken, he

'Is it possible,' cried Rose, 'that for such a man as this, you can resign every future hope, and the certainty of

'I don't know what it is,' answered the girl; 'I only know that it is so, and not with me alone, but with hundreds

of others as bad and wretched as myself. I must go back. Whether it is God's wrath for the wrong I have done,

I do not know; but I am drawn back to him through every suffering and ill usage; and I should be, I believe, if

'You should, lady, and I know you will,' rejoined the girl, rising. 'You will not stop my going because I have

trusted in your goodness, and forced no promise from you, as I might have done.'

'Of what use, then, is the communication you have made?' said Rose. 'This mystery must be investigated, or

'You must have some kind gentleman about you that will hear it as a secret, and advise you what to do,'

'But where can I find you again when it is necessary?' asked Rose. 'I do not seek to know where these

dreadful people live, but where will you be walking or passing at any settled period from this time?'

'Will you promise me that you will have my secret strictly kept, and come alone, or with the only other

person that knows it; and that I shall not be watched or followed?' asked the girl.

'Every Sunday night, from eleven until the clock strikes twelve,' said the girl without hesitation, 'I will walk

'Stay another moment,' interposed Rose, as the girl moved hurriedly towards the door. 'Think once again on

your own condition, and the opportunity you have of escaping from it. You have a claim on me: not only as

the voluntary bearer of this intelligence, but as a woman lost almost beyond redemption. Will you return to

this gang of robbers, and to this man, when a word can save you? What fascination is it that can take you

back, and make you cling to wickedness and misery? Oh! is there no chord in your heart that I can touch! Is

'When ladies as young, and good, and beautiful as you are,' replied the girl steadily, 'give away your hearts,

love will carry you all lengthseven such as you, who have home, friends, other admirers, everything, to fill

them. When such as I, who have no certain roof but the coffinlid, and no friend in sickness or death but the

hospital nurse, set our rotten hearts on any man, and let him fill the place that has been a blank through all our

wretched lives, who can hope to cure us? Pity us, ladypity us for having only one feeling of the woman

left, and for having that turned, by a heavy judgment, from a comfort and a pride, into a new means of

'You will,' said Rose, after a pause, 'take some money from me, which may enable you to live without

'Do not close your heart against all my efforts to help you,' said Rose, stepping gently forward. 'I wish to

'You would serve me best, lady,' replied the girl, wringing her hands, 'if you could take my life at once; for I

have felt more grief to think of what I am, tonight, than I ever did before, and it would be something not to

die in the hell in which I have lived. God bless you, sweet lady, and send as much happiness on your head as

Thus speaking, and sobbing aloud, the unhappy creature turned away; while Rose Maylie, overpowered by

this extraordinary interview, which had more the semblance of a rapid dream than an actual occurance, sank

While she felt the most eager and burning desire to penetrate the mystery in which Oliver's history was

enveloped, she could not but hold sacred the confidence which the miserable woman with whom she had just

conversed, had reposed in her, as a young and guileless girl. Her words and manner had touched Rose

Maylie's heart; and, mingled with her love for her young charge, and scarcely less intense in its truth and

They purposed remaining in London only three days, prior to departing for some weeks to a distant part of

the coast. It was now midnight of the first day. What course of action could she determine upon, which could

be adopted in eightandforty hours? Or how could she postpone the journey without exciting suspicion?

Mr. Losberne was with them, and would be for the next two days; but Rose was too well acquainted with the

excellent gentleman's impetuosity, and foresaw too clearly the wrath with which, in the first explosion of his

indignation, he would regard the instrument of Oliver's recapture, to trust him with the secret, when her

representations in the girl's behalf could be seconded by no experienced person. These were all reasons for

the greatest caution and most circumspect behaviour in communicating it to Mrs. Maylie, whose first impulse

would infallibly be to hold a conference with the worthy doctor on the subject. As to resorting to any legal

adviser, even if she had known how to do so, it was scarcely to be thought of, for the same reason. Once the

thought occurred to her of seeking assistance from Harry; but this awakened the recollection of their last

parting, and it seemed unworthy of her to call him back, whenthe tears rose to her eyes as she pursued this

train of reflectionhe might have by this time learnt to forget her, and to be happier away.

Disturbed by these different reflections; inclining now to one course and then to another, and again recoiling

from all, as each successive consideration presented itself to her mind; Rose passed a sleepless and anxious

night. After more communing with herself next day, she arrived at the desperate conclusion of consulting

'If it be painful to him,' she thought, 'to come back here, how painful it will be to me! But perhaps he will not

come; he may write, or he may come himself, and studiously abstain from meeting mehe did when he went

away. I hardly thought he would; but it was better for us both.' And here Rose dropped the pen, and turned

away, as though the very paper which was to be her messenger should not see her weep.

She had taken up the same pen, and laid it down again fifty times, and had considered and reconsidered the

first line of her letter without writing the first word, when Oliver, who had been walking in the streets, with

Mr. Giles for a bodyguard, entered the room in such breathless haste and violent agitation, as seemed to

'I hardly know how; I feel as if I should be choked,' replied the boy. 'Oh dear! To think that I should see him

'I never thought you had told us anything but the truth,' said Rose, soothing him. 'But what is this?of whom

'I have seen the gentleman,' replied Oliver, scarcely able to articulate, 'the gentleman who was so good to

'Getting out of a coach,' replied Oliver, shedding tears of delight, 'and going into a house. I didn't speak to

himI couldn't speak to him, for he didn't see me, and I trembled so, that I was not able to go up to him. But

Giles asked, for me, whether he lived there, and they said he did. Look here,' said Oliver, opening a scrap of

paper, 'here it is; here's where he livesI'm going there directly! Oh, dear me, dear me! What shall I do when

With her attention not a little distracted by these and a great many other incoherent exclamations of joy, Rose

read the address, which was Craven Street, in the Strand. She very soon determined upon turning the

'Quick!' she said. 'Tell them to fetch a hackneycoach, and be ready to go with me. I will take you there

directly, without a minute's loss of time. I will only tell my aunt that we are going out for an hour, and be

Oliver needed no prompting to despatch, and in little more than five minutes they were on their way to

Craven Street. When they arrived there, Rose left Oliver in the coach, under pretence of preparing the old

gentleman to receive him; and sending up her card by the servant, requested to see Mr. Brownlow on very

pressing business. The servant soon returned, to beg that she would walk upstairs; and following him into an

upper room, Miss Maylie was presented to an elderly gentleman of benevolent appearance, in a bottlegreen

coat. At no great distance from whom, was seated another old gentleman, in nankeen breeches and gaiters;

who did not look particularly benevolent, and who was sitting with his hands clasped on the top of a thick

'Dear me,' said the gentleman, in the bottlegreen coat, hastily rising with great politeness, 'I beg your

pardon, young ladyI imagined it was some importunate person whoI beg you will excuse me. Be seated,

'Mr. Brownlow, I believe, sir?' said Rose, glancing from the other gentleman to the one who had spoken.

'That is my name,' said the old gentleman. 'This is my friend, Mr. Grimwig. Grimwig, will you leave us for a

'I believe,' interposed Miss Maylie, 'that at this period of our interview, I need not give that gentleman the

trouble of going away. If I am correctly informed, he is cognizant of the business on which I wish to speak to

Mr. Brownlow inclined his head. Mr. Grimwig, who had made one very stiff bow, and risen from his chair,

'I shall surprise you very much, I have no doubt,' said Rose, naturally embarrassed; 'but you once showed

great benevolence and goodness to a very dear young friend of mine, and I am sure you will take an interest

The words no sooner escaped her lips, than Mr. Grimwig, who had been affecting to dip into a large book that

lay on the table, upset it with a great crash, and falling back in his chair, discharged from his features every

expression but one of unmitigated wonder, and indulged in a prolonged and vacant stare; then, as if ashamed

of having betrayed so much emotion, he jerked himself, as it were, by a convulsion into his former attitude,

and looking out straight before him emitted a long deep whistle, which seemed, at last, not to be discharged

Mr. Browlow was no less surprised, although his astonishment was not expressed in the same eccentric

'Do me the favour, my dear young lady, to leave entirely out of the question that goodness and benevolence

of which you speak, and of which nobody else knows anything; and if you have it in your power to produce

any evidence which will alter the unfavourable opinion I was once induced to entertain of that poor child, in

'A bad one! I'll eat my head if he is not a bad one,' growled Mr. Grimwig, speaking by some ventriloquial

'He is a child of a noble nature and a warm heart,' said Rose, colouring; 'and that Power which has thought fit

to try him beyond his years, has planted in his breast affections and feelings which would do honour to many

'And, as the devil's in it if this Oliver is not twelve years old at least, I don't see the application of that

'Do not heed my friend, Miss Maylie,' said Mr. Brownlow; 'he does not mean what he says.'

'And he'd uncommonly like to see any man offer to do it,' responded Mr. Grimwig, knocking his stick upon

Having gone thus far, the two old gentlemen severally took snuff, and afterwards shook hands, according to

'Now, Miss Maylie,' said Mr. Brownlow, 'to return to the subject in which your humanity is so much

interested. Will you let me know what intelligence you have of this poor child: allowing me to promise that I

exhausted every means in my power of discovering him, and that since I have been absent from this country,

my first impression that he had imposed upon me, and had been persuaded by his former associates to rob

Rose, who had had time to collect her thoughts, at once related, in a few natural words, all that had befallen

Oliver since he left Mr. Brownlow's house; reserving Nancy's information for that gentleman's private ear,

and concluding with the assurance that his only sorrow, for some months past, had been not being able to

'Thank God!' said the old gentleman. 'This is great happiness to me, great happiness. But you have not told

me where he is now, Miss Maylie. You must pardon my finding fault with you,but why not have brought

'At this door!' cried the old gentleman. With which he hurried out of the room, down the stairs, up the

When the roomdoor closed behind him, Mr. Grimwig lifted up his head, and converting one of the hind legs

of his chair into a pivot, described three distinct circles with the assistance of his stick and the table; stitting

in it all the time. After performing this evolution, he rose and limped as fast as he could up and down the

room at least a dozen times, and then stopping suddenly before Rose, kissed her without the slightest preface.

'Hush!' he said, as the young lady rose in some alarm at this unusual proceeding. 'Don't be afraid. I'm old

In fact, as he threw himself at one dexterous dive into his former seat, Mr. Brownlow returned, accompanied

by Oliver, whom Mr. Grimwig received very graciously; and if the gratification of that moment had been the

only reward for all her anxiety and care in Oliver's behalf, Rose Maylie would have been well repaid.

'There is somebody else who should not be forgotten, by the bye,' said Mr. Brownlow, ringing the bell. 'Send

The old housekeeper answered the summons with all dispatch; and dropping a curtsey at the door, waited for

'Well, that I do, sir,' replied the old lady. 'People's eyes, at my time of life, don't improve with age, sir.'

'I could have told you that,' rejoined Mr. Brownlow; 'but put on your glasses, and see if you can't find out

The old lady began to rummage in her pocket for her spectacles. But Oliver's patience was not proof against

'God be good to me!' cried the old lady, embracing him; 'it is my innocent boy!'

'He would come backI knew he would,' said the old lady, holding him in her arms. 'How well he looks, and

how like a gentleman's son he is dressed again! Where have you been, this long, long while? Ah! the same

sweet face, but not so pale; the same soft eye, but not so sad. I have never forgotten them or his quiet smile,

but have seen them every day, side by side with those of my own dear children, dead and gone since I was a

lightsome young creature.' Running on thus, and now holding Oliver from her to mark how he had grown,

now clasping him to her and passing her fingers fondly through his hair, the good soul laughed and wept

Leaving her and Oliver to compare notes at leisure, Mr. Brownlow led the way into another room; and there,

heard from Rose a full narration of her interview with Nancy, which occasioned him no little surprise and

perplexity. Rose also explained her reasons for not confiding in her friend Mr. Losberne in the first instance.

The old gentleman considered that she had acted prudently, and readily undertook to hold solemn conference

with the worthy doctor himself. To afford him an early opportunity for the execution of this design, it was

arranged that he should call at the hotel at eight o'clock that evening, and that in the meantime Mrs. Maylie

should be cautiously informed of all that had occurred. These preliminaries adjusted, Rose and Oliver

Rose had by no means overrated the measure of the good doctor's wrath. Nancy's history was no sooner

unfolded to him, than he poured forth a shower of mingled threats and execrations; threatened to make her the

first victim of the combined ingenuity of Messrs. Blathers and Duff; and actually put on his hat preparatory to

sallying forth to obtain the assistance of those worthies. And, doubtless, he would, in this first outbreak, have

carried the intention into effect without a moment's consideration of the consequences, if he had not been

restrained, in part, by corresponding violence on the side of Mr. Brownlow, who was himself of an irascible

temperament, and party by such arguments and representations as seemed best calculated to dissuade him

'Then what the devil is to be done?' said the impetuous doctor, when they had rejoined the two ladies. 'Are we

to pass a vote of thanks to all these vagabonds, male and female, and beg them to accept a hundred pounds, or

so, apiece, as a trifling mark of our esteem, and some slight acknowledgment of their kindness to Oliver?'

'Not exactly that,' rejoined Mr. Brownlow, laughing; 'but we must proceed gently and with great care.'

'Never mind where,' interposed Mr. Brownlow. 'But reflect whether sending them anywhere is likely to attain

'Simply, the discovery of Oliver's parentage, and regaining for him the inheritance of which, if this story be

'Ah!' said Mr. Losberne, cooling himself with his pockethandkerchief; 'I almost forgot that.'

'You see,' pursued Mr. Brownlow; 'placing this poor girl entirely out of the question, and supposing it were

possible to bring these scoundrels to justice without compromising her safety, what good should we bring

'Hanging a few of them at least, in all probability,' suggested the doctor, 'and transporting the rest.'

'Very good,' replied Mr. Brownlow, smiling; 'but no doubt they will bring that about for themselves in the

fulness of time, and if we step in to forestall them, it seems to me that we shall be performing a very Quixotic

act, in direct opposition to our own interestor at least to Oliver's, which is the same thing.'

'Thus. It is quite clear that we shall have extreme difficulty in getting to the bottom of this mystery, unless we

can bring this man, Monks, upon his knees. That can only be done by stratagem, and by catching him when

he is not surrounded by these people. For, suppose he were apprehended, we have no proof against him. He is

not even (so far as we know, or as the facts appear to us) concerned with the gang in any of their robberies. If

he were not discharged, it is very unlikely that he could receive any further punishment than being committed

to prison as a rogue and vagabond; and of course ever afterwards his mouth would be so obstinately closed

'Then,' said the doctor impetuously, 'I put it to you again, whether you think it reasonable that this promise to

the girl should be considered binding; a promise made with the best and kindest intentions, but really'

'Do not discuss the point, my dear young lady, pray,' said Mr. Brownlow, interrupting Rose as she was about

to speak. 'The promise shall be kept. I don't think it will, in the slightest degree, interfere with our

proceedings. But, before we can resolve upon any precise course of action, it will be necessary to see the girl;

to ascertain from her whether she will point out this Monks, on the understanding that he is to be dealt with

by us, and not by the law; or, if she will not, or cannot do that, to procure from her such an account of his

haunts and description of his person, as will enable us to identify him. She cannot be seen until next Sunday

night; this is Tuesday. I would suggest that in the meantime, we remain perfectly quiet, and keep these

Although Mr. Loseberne received with many wry faces a proposal involving a delay of five whole days, he

was fain to admit that no better course occurred to him just then; and as both Rose and Mrs. Maylie sided

very strongly with Mr. Brownlow, that gentleman's proposition was carried unanimously.

'I should like,' he said, 'to call in the aid of my friend Grimwig. He is a strange creature, but a shrewd one,

and might prove of material assistance to us; I should say that he was bred a lawyer, and quitted the Bar in

disgust because he had only one brief and a motion of course, in twenty years, though whether that is

'I have no objection to your calling in your friend if I may call in mine,' said the doctor.

'That lady's son, and this young lady'svery old friend,' said the doctor, motioning towards Mrs. Maylie, and

Rose blushed deeply, but she did not make any audible objection to this motion (possibly she felt in a

hopeless minority); and Harry Maylie and Mr. Grimwig were accordingly added to the committee.

'We stay in town, of course,' said Mrs. Maylie, 'while there remains the slightest prospect of prosecuting this

inquiry with a chance of success. I will spare neither trouble nor expense in behalf of the object in which we

are all so deeply interested, and I am content to remain here, if it be for twelve months, so long as you assure

'Good!' rejoined Mr. Brownlow. 'And as I see on the faces about me, a disposition to inquire how it happened

that I was not in the way to corroborate Oliver's tale, and had so suddenly left the kingdom, let me stipulate

that I shall be asked no questions until such time as I may deem it expedient to forestall them by telling my

own story. Believe me, I make this request with good reason, for I might otherwise excite hopes destined

never to be realised, and only increase difficulties and disappointments already quite numerous enough.

Come! Supper has been announced, and young Oliver, who is all alone in the next room, will have begun to

think, by this time, that we have wearied of his company, and entered into some dark conspiracy to thrust him

With these words, the old gentleman gave his hand to Mrs. Maylie, and escorted her into the supperroom.

Mr. Losberne followed, leading Rose; and the council was, for the present, effectually broken up.

Upon the night when Nancy, having lulled Mr. Sikes to sleep, hurried on her selfimposed mission to Rose

Maylie, there advanced towards London, by the Great North Road, two persons, upon whom it is expedient

They were a man and woman; or perhaps they would be better described as a male and female: for the former

was one of those longlimbed, knockkneed, shambling, bony people, to whom it is difficult to assign any

precise age,looking as they do, when they are yet boys, like undergrown men, and when they are almost

men, like overgrown boys. The woman was young, but of a robust and hardy make, as she need have been to

bear the weight of the heavy bundle which was strapped to her back. Her companion was not encumbered

with much luggage, as there merely dangled from a stick which he carried over his shoulder, a small parcel

wrapped in a common handkerchief, and apparently light enough. This circumstance, added to the length of

his legs, which were of unusual extent, enabled him with much ease to keep some halfdozen paces in

advance of his companion, to whom he occasionally turned with an impatient jerk of the head: as if

Thus, they had toiled along the dusty road, taking little heed of any object within sight, save when they

stepped aside to allow a wider passage for the mailcoaches which were whirling out of town, until they

passed through Highgate archway; when the foremost traveller stopped and called impatiently to his

'It's a heavy load, I can tell you,' said the female, coming up, almost breathless with fatigue.

'Heavy! What are yer talking about? What are yer made for?' rejoined the male traveller, changing his own

little bundle as he spoke, to the other shoulder. 'Oh, there yer are, resting again!

Well, if yer ain't enough to tire anybody's patience out, I don't know what is!'

'Is it much farther?' asked the woman, resting herself against a bank, and looking up with the perspiration

'Much farther! Yer as good as there,' said the longlegged tramper, pointing out before him. 'Look there!

'Never mind whether they're two mile off, or twenty,' said Noah Claypole; for he it was; 'but get up and come

As Noah's red nose grew redder with anger, and as he crossed the road while speaking, as if fully prepared to

put his threat into execution, the woman rose without any further remark, and trudged onward by his side.

'Where do you mean to stop for the night, Noah?' she asked, after they had walked a few hundred yards.

'How should I know?' replied Noah, whose temper had been considerably impaired by walking.

'When I tell yer that I don't mean to do a thing, that's enough, without any why or because either,' replied Mr.

'A pretty thing it would be, wouldn't it to go and stop at the very first publichouse outside the town, so that

Sowerberry, if he come up after us, might poke in his old nose, and have us taken back in a cart with

handcuffs on,' said Mr. Claypole in a jeering tone. 'No! I shall go and lose myself among the narrowest streets

I can find, and not stop till we come to the very outofthewayest house I can set eyes on. 'Cod, yer may

thanks yer stars I've got a head; for if we hadn't gone, at first, the wrong road a purpose, and come back

across country, yer'd have been locked up hard and fast a week ago, my lady. And serve yer right for being a

'I know I ain't as cunning as you are,' replied Charlotte; 'but don't put all the blame on me, and say I should

'No; you trusted in me, and let me carry it like a dear, and so you are,' said the lady, chucking him under the

This was indeed the case; but as it was not Mr. Claypole's habit to repose a blind and foolish confidence in

anybody, it should be observed, in justice to that gentleman, that he had trusted Charlotte to this extent, in

order that, if they were pursued, the money might be found on her: which would leave him an opportunity of

asserting his innocence of any theft, and would greatly facilitate his chances of escape. Of course, he entered

at this juncture, into no explanation of his motives, and they walked on very lovingly together.

In pursuance of this cautious plan, Mr. Claypole went on, without halting, until he arrived at the Angel at

Islington, where he wisely judged, from the crowd of passengers and numbers of vehicles, that London began

in earnest. Just pausing to observe which appeared the most crowded streets, and consequently the most to be

avoided, he crossed into Saint John's Road, and was soon deep in the obscurity of the intricate and dirty ways,

which, lying between Gray's Inn Lane and Smithfield, render that part of the town one of the lowest and

Through these streets, Noah Claypole walked, dragging Charlotte after him; now stepping into the kennel to

embrace at a glance the whole external character of some small publichouse; now jogging on again, as some

fancied appearance induced him to believe it too public for his purpose. At length, he stopped in front of one,

more humble in appearance and more dirty than any he had yet seen; and, having crossed over and surveyed

it from the opposite pavement, graciously announced his intention of putting up there, for the night.

'So give us the bundle,' said Noah, unstrapping it from the woman's shoulders, and slinging it over his own;

'and don't yer speak, except when yer spoke to. What's the name of the housethrthree what?'

'Three Cripples,' repeated Noah, 'and a very good sign too. Now, then! Keep close at my heels, and come

along.' With these injunctions, he pushed the rattling door with his shoulder, and entered the house, followed

There was nobody in the bar but a young Jew, who, with his two elbows on the counter, was reading a dirty

If Noah had been attired in his charityboy's dress, there might have been some reason for the Jew opening

his eyes so wide; but as he had discarded the coat and badge, and wore a short smockfrock over his leathers,

there seemed no particular reason for his appearance exciting so much attention in a publichouse.

'A gentleman we met on the road, coming up from the country, recommended us here,' said Noah, nudging

Charlotte, perhaps to call her attention to this most ingenious device for attracting respect, and perhaps to

'I'b dot certaid you cad,' said Barney, who was the attendant sprite; 'but I'll idquire.'

'Show us the tap, and give us a bit of cold meat and a drop of beer while yer inquiring, will yer?' said Noah.

Barney complied by ushering them into a small backroom, and setting the required viands before them;

having done which, he informed the travellers that they could be lodged that night, and left the amiable

Now, this backroom was immediately behind the bar, and some steps lower, so that any person connected

with the house, undrawing a small curtain which concealed a single pane of glass fixed in the wall of the

lastnamed apartment, about five feet from its flooring, could not only look down upon any guests in the

backroom without any great hazard of being observed (the glass being in a dark angle of the wall, between

which and a large upright beam the observer had to thrust himself), but could, by applying his ear to the

partition, ascertain with tolerable distinctness, their subject of conversation. The landlord of the house had not

withdrawn his eye from this place of espial for five minutes, and Barney had only just returned from making

the communication above related, when Fagin, in the course of his evening's business, came into the bar to

'Ah! Ad rub uds too,' added Barney. 'Frob the cuttry, but subthig in your way, or I'b bistaked.'

Mounting a stool, he cautiously applied his eye to the pane of glass, from which secret post he could see Mr.

Claypole taking cold beef from the dish, and porter from the pot, and administering homoepathic doses of

'Aha!' he whispered, looking round to Barney, 'I like that fellow's looks. He'd be of use to us; he knows how

to train the girl already. Don't make as much noise as a mouse, my dear, and let me hear 'em talklet me

He again applied his eye to the glass, and turning his ear to the partition, listened attentively: with a subtle

'So I mean to be a gentleman,' said Mr. Claypole, kicking out his legs, and continuing a conversation, the

commencement of which Fagin had arrived too late to hear. 'No more jolly old coffins, Charlotte, but a

'I should like that well enough, dear,' replied Charlotte; 'but tills ain't to be emptied every day, and people to

'Tills be blowed!' said Mr. Claypole; 'there's more things besides tills to be emptied.'

'Pockets, women's ridicules, houses, mailcoaches, banks!' said Mr. Claypole, rising with the porter.

'I shall look out to get into company with them as can,' replied Noah. 'They'll be able to make us useful some

way or another. Why, you yourself are worth fifty women; I never see such a precious sly and deceitful

'Lor, how nice it is to hear yer say so!' exclaimed Charlotte, imprinting a kiss upon his ugly face.

'There, that'll do: don't yer be too affectionate, in case I'm cross with yer,' said Noah, disengaging himself

with great gravity. 'I should like to be the captain of some band, and have the whopping of 'em, and follering

'em about, unbeknown to themselves. That would suit me, if there was good profit; and if we could only get

in with some gentleman of this sort, I say it would be cheap at that twentypound note you've

After expressing this opinion, Mr. Claypole looked into the porterpot with an aspect of deep wisdom; and

having well shaken its contents, nodded condescendingly to Charlotte, and took a draught, wherewith he

appeared greatly refreshed. He was meditating another, when the sudden opening of the door, and the

The stranger was Mr. Fagin. And very amiable he looked, and a very low bow he made, as he advanced, and

setting himself down at the nearest table, ordered something to drink of the grinning Barney.

'A pleasant night, sir, but cool for the time of year,' said Fagin, rubbing his hands. 'From the country, I see,

'We have not so much dust as that in London,' replied Fagin, pointing from Noah's shoes to those of his

'Why, one need be sharp in this town, my dear,' replied the Jew, sinking his voice to a confidential whisper;

Fagin followed up this remark by striking the side of his nose with his right forefinger,a gesture which

Noah attempted to imitate, though not with complete success, in consequence of his own nose not being large

enough for the purpose. However, Mr. Fagin seemed to interpret the endeavour as expressing a perfect

coincidence with his opinion, and put about the liquor which Barney reappeared with, in a very friendly

'Dear!' said Fagin. 'A man need be always emptying a till, or a pocket, or a woman's reticule, or a house, or a

Mr. Claypole no sooner heard this extract from his own remarks than he fell back in his chair, and looked

from the Jew to Charlotte with a countenance of ashy palences and excessive terror.

'Don't mind me, my dear,' said Fagin, drawing his chair closer. 'Ha! ha! it was lucky it was only me that heard

'I didn't take it,' stammered Noah, no longer stretching out his legs like an independent gentleman, but coiling

them up as well as he could under his chair; 'it was all her doing; yer've got it now, Charlotte, yer know yer

'No matter who's got it, or who did it, my dear,' replied Fagin, glancing, nevertheless, with a hawk's eye at the

'In that way of business,' rejoined Fagin; 'and so are the people of the house. You've hit the right nail upon the

head, and are as safe here as you could be. There is not a safer place in all this town than is the Cripples; that

is, when I like to make it so. And I have taken a fancy to you and the young woman; so I've said the word,

Noah Claypole's mind might have been at ease after this assurance, but his body certainly was not; for he

shuffled and writhed about, into various uncouth positions: eyeing his new friend meanwhile with mingled

'I'll tell you more,' said Fagin, after he had reassured the girl, by dint of friendly nods and muttered

encouragements. 'I have got a friend that I think can gratify your darling wish, and put you in the right way,

where you can take whatever department of the business you think will suit you best at first, and be taught all

'What advantage would it be to me to be anything else?' inquired Fagin, shrugging his shoulders. 'Here! Let

'There's no occasion to trouble ourselves to move,' said Noah, getting his legs by gradual degrees abroad

again. 'She'll take the luggage upstairs the while. Charlotte, see to them bundles.'

This mandate, which had been delivered with great majesty, was obeyed without the slightest demur; and

Charlotte made the best of her way off with the packages while Noah held the door open and watched her out.

'She's kept tolerably well under, ain't she?' he asked as he resumed his seat: in the tone of a keeper who had

'Quite perfect,' rejoined Fagin, clapping him on the shoulder. 'You're a genius, my dear.'

'Why, I suppose if I wasn't, I shouldn't be here,' replied Noah. 'But, I say, she'll be back if yer lose time.'

'Now, what do you think?' said Fagin. 'If you was to like my friend, could you do better than join him?'

'Is he in a good way of business; that's where it is!' responded Noah, winking one of his little eyes.

'The top of the tree; employs a power of hands; has the very best society in the profession.'

'Not a countryman among 'em; and I don't think he'd take you, even on my recommendation, if he didn't run

'It couldn't possibly be done without,' replied Fagin, in a most decided manner.

'Not when it's in a note you can't get rid of,' retorted Fagin. 'Number and date taken, I suppose? Payment

stopped at the Bank? Ah! It's not worth much to him. It'll have to go abroad, and he couldn't sell it for a great

'Live like a gentlemanboard and lodging, pipes and spirits freehalf of all you earn, and half of all the

Whether Noah Claypole, whose rapacity was none of the least comprehensive, would have acceded even to

these glowing terms, had he been a perfectly free agent, is very doubtful; but as he recollected that, in the

event of his refusal, it was in the power of his new acquaintance to give him up to justice immediately (and

more unlikely things had come to pass), he gradually relented, and said he thought that would suit him.

'But, yer see,' observed Noah, 'as she will be able to do a good deal, I should like to take something very

'Ah! something of that sort,' replied Noah. 'What do you think would suit me now? Something not too trying

'I heard you talk of something in the spy way upon the others, my dear,' said Fagin. 'My friend wants

'Why, I did mention that, and I shouldn't mind turning my hand to it sometimes,' rejoined Mr. Claypole

'That's true!' observed the Jew, ruminating or pretending to ruminate. 'No, it might not.'

'What do you think, then?' asked Noah, anxiously regarding him. 'Something in the sneaking way, where it

'What do you think of the old ladies?' asked Fagin. 'There's a good deal of money made in snatching their

'Don't they holler out a good deal, and scratch sometimes?' asked Noah, shaking his head. 'I don't think that

'The kinchins, my dear,' said Fagin, 'is the young children that's sent on errands by their mothers, with

sixpences and shillings; and the lay is just to take their money awaythey've always got it ready in their

hands,then knock 'em into the kennel, and walk off very slow, as if there were nothing else the matter but a

'To be sure it is,' replied Fagin; 'and you can have a few good beats chalked out in Camden Town, and Battle

Bridge, and neighborhoods like that, where they're always going errands; and you can upset as many kinchins

With this, Fagin poked Mr. Claypole in the side, and they joined in a burst of laughter both long and loud.

'Well, that's all right!' said Noah, when he had recovered himself, and Charlotte had returned. 'What time

'Will ten do?' asked Fagin, adding, as Mr. Claypole nodded assent, 'What name shall I tell my good friend.'

'Mr. Bolter,' replied Noah, who had prepared himself for such emergency. 'Mr. Morris Bolter. This is Mrs.

'Mrs. Bolter's humble servant,' said Fagin, bowing with grotesque politeness. 'I hope I shall know her better

'She calls me Noah, as a sort of fond way of talking,' said Mr. Morris Bolter, late Claypole, turning to Fagin.

'Oh yes, I understandperfectly,' replied Fagin, telling the truth for once. 'Goodnight! Goodnight!'

With many adieus and good wishes, Mr. Fagin went his way. Noah Claypole, bespeaking his good lady's

attention, proceeded to enlighten her relative to the arrangement he had made, with all that haughtiness and

air of superiority, becoming, not only a member of the sterner sex, but a gentleman who appreciated the

dignity of a special appointment on the kinchin lay, in London and its vicinity.

'And so it was you that was your own friend, was it?' asked Mr. Claypole, otherwise Bolter, when, by virtue

of the compact entered into between them, he had removed next day to Fagin's house. ''Cod, I thought as

'Every man's his own friend, my dear,' replied Fagin, with his most insinuating grin. 'He hasn't as good a one

'Except sometimes,' replied Morris Bolter, assuming the air of a man of the world. 'Some people are nobody's

'Don't believe that,' said Fagin. 'When a man's his own enemy, it's only because he's too much his own friend;

not because he's careful for everybody but himself. Pooh! pooh! There ain't such a thing in nature.'

'That stands to reason. Some conjurers say that number three is the magic number, and some say number

'In a little community like ours, my dear,' said Fagin, who felt it necessary to qualify this position, 'we have a

general number one, without considering me too as the same, and all the other young people.'

'You see,' pursued Fagin, affecting to disregard this interruption, 'we are so mixed up together, and identified

in our interests, that it must be so. For instance, it's your object to take care of number onemeaning

'Well! You can't take care of yourself, number one, without taking care of me, number one.'

'Number two, you mean,' said Mr. Bolter, who was largely endowed with the quality of selfishness.

'No, I don't!' retorted Fagin. 'I'm of the same importance to you, as you are to yourself.'

'I say,' interrupted Mr. Bolter, 'yer a very nice man, and I'm very fond of yer; but we ain't quite so thick

'Only think,' said Fagin, shrugging his shoulders, and stretching out his hands; 'only consider. You've done

what's a very pretty thing, and what I love you for doing; but what at the same time would put the cravat

round your throat, that's so very easily tied and so very difficult to unloosein plain English, the halter!'

Mr. Bolter put his hand to his neckerchief, as if he felt it inconveniently tight; and murmured an assent,

'The gallows,' continued Fagin, 'the gallows, my dear, is an ugly fingerpost, which points out a very short

and sharp turning that has stopped many a bold fellow's career on the broad highway. To keep in the easy

'Of course it is,' replied Mr. Bolter. 'What do yer talk about such things for?'

'Only to show you my meaning clearly,' said the Jew, raising his eyebrows. 'To be able to do that, you depend

upon me. To keep my little business all snug, I depend upon you. The first is your number one, the second

my number one. The more you value your number one, the more careful you must be of mine; so we come at

last to what I told you at firstthat a regard for number one holds us all together, and must do so, unless we

'That's true,' rejoined Mr. Bolter, thoughtfully. 'Oh! yer a cunning old codger!'

Mr. Fagin saw, with delight, that this tribute to his powers was no mere compliment, but that he had really

impressed his recruit with a sense of his wily genius, which it was most important that he should entertain in

the outset of their acquaintance. To strengthen an impression so desirable and useful, he followed up the blow

by acquainting him, in some detail, with the magnitude and extent of his operations; blending truth and

fiction together, as best served his purpose; and bringing both to bear, with so much art, that Mr. Bolter's

respect visibly increased, and became tempered, at the same time, with a degree of wholesome fear, which it

'It's this mutual trust we have in each other that consoles me under heavy losses,' said Fagin. 'My best hand

'No,' replied Fagin, 'not very. He was charged with attempting to pick a pocket, and they found a silver

snuffbox on him,his own, my dear, his own, for he took snuff himself, and was very fond of it. They

remanded him till today, for they thought they knew the owner. Ah! he was worth fifty boxes, and I'd give

the price of as many to have him back. You should have known the Dodger, my dear; you should have known

'I'm doubtful about it,' replied Fagin, with a sigh. 'If they don't get any fresh evidence, it'll only be a summary

conviction, and we shall have him back again after six weeks or so; but, if they do, it's a case of lagging. They

know what a clever lad he is; he'll be a lifer. They'll make the Artful nothing less than a lifer.'

'What do you mean by lagging and a lifer?' demanded Mr. Bolter. 'What's the good of talking in that way to

Fagin was about to translate these mysterious expressions into the vulgar tongue; and, being interpreted, Mr.

Bolter would have been informed that they represented that combination of words, 'transportation for life,'

when the dialogue was cut short by the entry of Master Bates, with his hands in his breechespockets, and his

'It's all up, Fagin,' said Charley, when he and his new companion had been made known to each other.

'They've found the gentleman as owns the box; two or three more's a coming to 'dentify him; and the Artful's

booked for a passage out,' replied Master Bates. 'I must have a full suit of mourning, Fagin, and a hatband, to

wisit him in, afore he sets out upon his travels. To think of Jack Dawkinslummy Jackthe Dodgerthe

Artful Dodgergoing abroad for a common twopennyhalfpenny sneezebox! I never thought he'd a done it

under a gold watch, chain, and seals, at the lowest. Oh, why didn't he rob some rich old gentleman of all his

walables, and go out as a gentleman, and not like a common prig, without no honour nor glory!'

With this expression of feeling for his unfortunate friend, Master Bates sat himself on the nearest chair with

'What do you talk about his having neither honour nor glory for!' exclaimed Fagin, darting an angry look at

his pupil. 'Wasn't he always the topsawyer among you all! Is there one of you that could touch him or come

'Not one,' replied Master Bates, in a voice rendered husky by regret; 'not one.'

'Then what do you talk of?' replied Fagin angrily; 'what are you blubbering for?'

''Cause it isn't on the record, is it?' said Charley, chafed into perfect defiance of his venerable friend by the

current of his regrets; ''cause it can't come out in the 'dictment; 'cause nobody will never know half of what he

was. How will he stand in the Newgate Calendar? P'raps not be there at all. Oh, my eye, my eye, wot a blow

'Ha! ha!' cried Fagin, extending his right hand, and turning to Mr. Bolter in a fit of chuckling which shook

him as though he had the palsy; 'see what a pride they take in their profession, my dear. Ain't it beautiful?'

Mr. Bolter nodded assent, and Fagin, after contemplating the grief of Charley Bates for some seconds with

evident satisfaction, stepped up to that young gentleman and patted him on the shoulder.

'Never mind, Charley,' said Fagin soothingly; 'it'll come out, it'll be sure to come out. They'll all know what a

clever fellow he was; he'll show it himself, and not disgrace his old pals and teachers. Think how young he is

'He shall have all he wants,' continued the Jew. 'He shall be kept in the Stone Jug, Charley, like a gentleman.

Like a gentleman! With his beer every day, and money in his pocket to pitch and toss with, if he can't spend

'Ay, that he shall,' replied Fagin, 'and we'll have a bigwig, Charley: one that's got the greatest gift of the gab:

to carry on his defence; and he shall make a speech for himself too, if he likes; and we'll read it all in the

papers"Artful Dodgershrieks of laughterhere the court was convulsed"eh, Charley, eh?'

'Ha! ha! laughed Master Bates, 'what a lark that would be, wouldn't it, Fagin? I say, how the Artful would

'So do I,' cried Charley Bates. 'Ha! ha! ha! so do I. I see it all afore me, upon my soul I do, Fagin. What a

game! What a regular game! All the bigwigs trying to look solemn, and Jack Dawkins addressing of 'em as

intimate and comfortable as if he was the judge's own son making a speech arter dinnerha! ha! ha!'

In fact, Mr. Fagin had so well humoured his young friend's eccentric disposition, that Master Bates, who had

at first been disposed to consider the imprisoned Dodger rather in the light of a victim, now looked upon him

as the chief actor in a scene of most uncommon and exquisite humour, and felt quite impatient for the arrival

of the time when his old companion should have so favourable an opportunity of displaying his abilities.

'We must know how he gets on today, by some handy means or other,' said Fagin. 'Let me think.'

'Not for the world,' replied Fagin. 'Are you mad, my dear, stark mad, that you'd walk into the very place

'Then why don't you send this new cove?' asked Master Bates, laying his hand on Noah's arm. 'Nobody

'Oh, I dare say about that, yer know,' observed Noah, backing towards the door, and shaking his head with a

kind of sober alarm. 'No, nonone of that. It's not in my department, that ain't.'

'Wot department has he got, Fagin?' inquired Master Bates, surveying Noah's lank form with much disgust.

'The cutting away when there's anything wrong, and the eating all the wittles when there's everything right; is

'Never mind,' retorted Mr. Bolter; 'and don't yer take liberties with yer superiors, little boy, or yer'll find

Master Bates laughed so vehemently at this magnificent threat, that it was some time before Fagin could

interpose, and represent to Mr. Bolter that he incurred no possible danger in visiting the policeoffice; that,

inasmuch as no account of the little affair in which he had engaged, nor any description of his person, had yet

been forwarded to the metropolis, it was very probable that he was not even suspected of having resorted to it

for shelter; and that, if he were properly disguised, it would be as safe a spot for him to visit as any in

London, inasmuch as it would be, of all places, the very last, to which he could be supposed likely to resort of

Persuaded, in part, by these representations, but overborne in a much greater degree by his fear of Fagin, Mr.

Bolter at length consented, with a very bad grace, to undertake the expedition. By Fagin's directions, he

immediately substituted for his own attire, a waggoner's frock, velveteen breeches, and leather leggings: all of

which articles the Jew had at hand. He was likewise furnished with a felt hat well garnished with turnpike

tickets; and a carter's whip. Thus equipped, he was to saunter into the office, as some country fellow from

Covent Garden market might be supposed to do for the gratification of his curiousity; and as he was as

awkward, ungainly, and rawboned a fellow as need be, Mr. Fagin had no fear but that he would look the

These arrangements completed, he was informed of the necessary signs and tokens by which to recognise the

Artful Dodger, and was conveyed by Master Bates through dark and winding ways to within a very short

distance of Bow Street. Having described the precise situation of the office, and accompanied it with copious

directions how he was to walk straight up the passage, and when he got into the side, and pull off his hat as he

went into the room, Charley Bates bade him hurry on alone, and promised to bide his return on the spot of

Noah Claypole, or Morris Bolter as the reader pleases, punctually followed the directions he had received,

whichMaster Bates being pretty well acquainted with the localitywere so exact that he was enabled to

gain the magisterial presence without asking any question, or meeting with any interruption by the way.

He found himself jostled among a crowd of people, chiefly women, who were huddled together in a dirty

frowsy room, at the upper end of which was a raised platform railed off from the rest, with a dock for the

prisoners on the left hand against the wall, a box for the witnesses in the middle, and a desk for the

magistrates on the right; the awful locality last named, being screened off by a partition which concealed the

bench from the common gaze, and left the vulgar to imagine (if they could) the full majesty of justice.

There were only a couple of women in the dock, who were nodding to their admiring friends, while the clerk

read some depositions to a couple of policemen and a man in plain clothes who leant over the table. A jailer

stood reclining against the dockrail, tapping his nose listlessly with a large key, except when he repressed an

undue tendency to conversation among the idlers, by proclaiming silence; or looked sternly up to bid some

woman 'Take that baby out,' when the gravity of justice was disturbed by feeble cries, halfsmothered in the

mother's shawl, from some meagre infant. The room smelt close and unwholesome; the walls were

dirtdiscoloured; and the ceiling blackened. There was an old smoky bust over the mantelshelf, and a dusty

clock above the dockthe only thing present, that seemed to go on as it ought; for depravity, or poverty, or

an habitual acquaintance with both, had left a taint on all the animate matter, hardly less unpleasant than the

Noah looked eagerly about him for the Dodger; but although there were several women who would have

done very well for that distinguished character's mother or sister, and more than one man who might be

supposed to bear a strong resemblance to his father, nobody at all answering the description given him of Mr.

Dawkins was to be seen. He waited in a state of much suspense and uncertainty until the women, being

committed for trial, went flaunting out; and then was quickly relieved by the appearance of another prisoner

It was indeed Mr. Dawkins, who, shuffling into the office with the big coat sleeves tucked up as usual, his left

hand in his pocket, and his hat in his right hand, preceded the jailer, with a rolling gait altogether

indescribable, and, taking his place in the dock, requested in an audible voice to know what he was placed in

'You'll get your privileges soon enough,' retorted the jailer, 'and pepper with 'em.'

'We'll see wot the Secretary of State for the Home Affairs has got to say to the beaks, if I don't,' replied Mr.

Dawkins. 'Now then! Wot is this here business? I shall thank the madg'strates to dispose of this here little

affair, and not to keep me while they read the paper, for I've got an appointment with a genelman in the City,

and as I am a man of my word and wery punctual in business matters, he'll go away if I ain't there to my time,

and then pr'aps ther won't be an action for damage against them as kep me away. Oh no, certainly not!'

At this point, the Dodger, with a show of being very particular with a view to proceedings to be had

thereafter, desired the jailer to communicate 'the names of them two files as was on the bench.' Which so

tickled the spectators, that they laughed almost as heartily as Master Bates could have done if he had heard

'He ought to have been, a many times,' replied the jailer. 'He has been pretty well everywhere else. _I_ know

'Oh! you know me, do you?' cried the Artful, making a note of the statement. 'Wery good. That's a case of

'Ah! that's right,' added the Dodger. 'Where are they? I should like to see 'em.'

This wish was immediately gratified, for a policeman stepped forward who had seen the prisoner attempt the

pocket of an unknown gentleman in a crowd, and indeed take a handkerchief therefrom, which, being a very

old one, he deliberately put back again, after trying in on his own countenance. For this reason, he took the

Dodger into custody as soon as he could get near him, and the said Dodger, being searched, had upon his

person a silver snuffbox, with the owner's name engraved upon the lid. This gentleman had been discovered

on reference to the Court Guide, and being then and there present, swore that the snuffbox was his, and that

he had missed it on the previous day, the moment he had disengaged himself from the crowd before referred

to. He had also remarked a young gentleman in the throng, particularly active in making his way about, and

'I wouldn't abase myself by descending to hold no conversation with him' replied the Dodger.

'Do you hear his worship ask if you've anything to say?' inquired the jailer, nudging the silent Dodger with

'I beg your pardon,' said the Dodger, looking up with an air of abstraction. 'Did you redress yourself to me,

'I never see such an outandout young wagabond, your worship,' observed the officer with a grin. 'Do you

'No,' replied the Dodger, 'not here, for this ain't the shop for justice: besides which, my attorney is

abreakfasting this morning with the Wice President of the House of Commons; but I shall have something

to say elsewhere, and so will he, and so will a wery numerous and 'spectable circle of acquaintance as'll make

them beaks wish they'd never been born, or that they'd got their footmen to hang 'em up to their own

'Oh ah! I'll come on,' replied the Dodger, brushing his hat with the palm of his hand. 'Ah! (to the Bench) it's

no use your looking frightened; I won't show you no mercy, not a ha'porth of it. YOU'LL pay for this, my

fine fellers. I wouldn't be you for something! I wouldn't go free, now, if you was to fall down on your knees

With these last words, the Dodger suffered himself to be led off by the collar; threatening, till he got into the

yard, to make a parliamentary business of it; and then grinning in the officer's face, with great glee and

Having seen him locked up by himself in a little cell, Noah made the best of his way back to where he had

left Master Bates. After waiting here some time, he was joined by that young gentleman, who had prudently

abstained from showing himself until he had looked carefully abroad from a snug retreat, and ascertained that

The two hastened back together, to bear to Mr. Fagin the animating news that the Dodger was doing full

Adept as she was, in all the arts of cunning and dissimulation, the girl Nancy could not wholly conceal the

effect which the knowledge of the step she had taken, wrought upon her mind. She remembered that both the

crafty Jew and the brutal Sikes had confided to her schemes, which had been hidden from all others: in the

full confidence that she was trustworthy and beyond the reach of their suspicion. Vile as those schemes were,

desperate as were their originators, and bitter as were her feelings towards Fagin, who had led her, step by

step, deeper and deeper down into an abyss of crime and misery, whence was no escape; still, there were

times when, even towards him, she felt some relenting, lest her disclosure should bring him within the iron

grasp he had so long eluded, and he should fall at lastrichly as he merited such a fateby her hand.

But, these were the mere wanderings of a mind unwholly to detach itself from old companions and

associations, though enabled to fix itself steadily on one object, and resolved not to be turned aside by any

consideration. Her fears for Sikes would have been more powerful inducements to recoil while there was yet

time; but she had stipulated that her secret should be rigidly kept, she had dropped no clue which could lead

to his discovery, she had refused, even for his sake, a refuge from all the guilt and wretchedness that

Though all her mental struggles terminated in this conclusion, they forced themselves upon her, again and

again, and left their traces too. She grew pale and thin, even within a few days. At times, she took no heed of

what was passing before her, or no part in conversations where once, she would have been the loudest. At

other times, she laughed without merriment, and was noisy without a moment afterwardsshe sat silent and

dejected, brooding with her head upon her hands, while the very effort by which she roused herself, told,

more forcibly than even these indications, that she was ill at ease, and that her thoughts were occupied with

matters very different and distant from those in the course of discussion by her companions.

It was Sunday night, and the bell of the nearest church struck the hour. Sikes and the Jew were talking, but

they paused to listen. The girl looked up from the low seat on which she crouched, and listened too. Eleven.

'An hour this side of midnight,' said Sikes, raising the blind to look out and returning to his seat. 'Dark and

'Ah!' replied Fagin. 'What a pity, Bill, my dear, that there's none quite ready to be done.'

'You're right for once,' replied Sikes gruffly. 'It is a pity, for I'm in the humour too.'

'We must make up for lost time when we've got things into a good train. That's all I know,' said Sikes.

'That's the way to talk, my dear,' replied Fagin, venturing to pat him on the shoulder. 'It does me good to hear

'Ha! ha! ha!' laughed Fagin, as if he were relieved by even this concession. 'You're like yourself tonight,

'I don't feel like myself when you lay that withered old claw on my shoulder, so take it away,' said Sikes,

'It make you nervous, Bill,reminds you of being nabbed, does it?' said Fagin, determined not to be

'Reminds me of being nabbed by the devil,' returned Sikes. 'There never was another man with such a face as

yours, unless it was your father, and I suppose HE is singeing his grizzled red beard by this time, unless you

came straight from the old 'un without any father at all betwixt you; which I shouldn't wonder at, a bit.'

Fagin offered no reply to this compliment: but, pulling Sikes by the sleeve, pointed his finger towards Nancy,

who had taken advantage of the foregoing conversation to put on her bonnet, and was now leaving the room.

'Then I do,' said Sikes, more in the spirit of obstinacy than because he had any real objection to the girl going

'I'm not well. I told you that before,' rejoined the girl. 'I want a breath of air.'

'Then you won't have it,' replied Sikes. With which assurance he rose, locked the door, took the key out, and

pulling her bonnet from her head, flung it up to the top of an old press. 'There,' said the robber. 'Now stop

'It's not such a matter as a bonnet would keep me,' said the girl turning very pale. 'What do you mean, Bill?

'Know what I'mOh!' cried Sikes, turning to Fagin, 'she's out of her senses, you know, or she daren't talk to

'You'll drive me on the something desperate,' muttered the girl placing both hands upon her breast, as though

to keep down by force some violent outbreak. 'Let me go, will you,this minutethis instant.'

'Tell him to let me go, Fagin. He had better. It'll be better for him. Do you hear me?' cried Nancy stamping

'Hear you!' repeated Sikes turning round in his chair to confront her. 'Aye! And if I hear you for half a minute

longer, the dog shall have such a grip on your throat as'll tear some of that screaming voice out. Wot has

'Let me go,' said the girl with great earnestness; then sitting herself down on the floor, before the door, she

said, 'Bill, let me go; you don't know what you are doing. You don't, indeed. For only one hourdodo!'

'Cut my limbs off one by one!' cried Sikes, seizing her roughly by the arm, 'If I don't think the gal's stark

'Not till you let me gonot till you let me goNevernever!' screamed the girl. Sikes looked on, for a

minute, watching his opportunity, and suddenly pinioning her hands dragged her, struggling and wrestling

with him by the way, into a small room adjoining, where he sat himself on a bench, and thrusting her into a

chair, held her down by force. She struggled and implored by turns until twelve o'clock had struck, and then,

wearied and exhausted, ceased to contest the point any further. With a caution, backed by many oaths, to

make no more efforts to go out that night, Sikes left her to recover at leisure and rejoined Fagin.

'Whew!' said the housebreaker wiping the perspiration from his face. 'Wot a precious strange gal that is!'

'Wot did she take it into her head to go out tonight for, do you think?' asked Sikes. 'Come; you should know

'Well, I suppose it is,' growled Sikes. 'I thought I had tamed her, but she's as bad as ever.'

'Worse,' said Fagin thoughtfully. 'I never knew her like this, for such a little cause.'

'Nor I,' said Sikes. 'I think she's got a touch of that fever in her blood yet, and it won't come outeh?'

'I'll let her a little blood, without troubling the doctor, if she's took that way again,' said Sikes.

'She was hanging about me all day, and night too, when I was stretched on my back; and you, like a

blackhearted wolf as you are, kept yourself aloof,' said Sikes. 'We was poor too, all the time, and I think, one

way or other, it's worried and fretted her; and that being shut up here so long has made her restlesseh?'

As he uttered these words, the girl herself appeared and resumed her former seat. Her eyes were swollen and

red; she rocked herself to and fro; tossed her head; and, after a little time, burst out laughing.

'Why, now she's on the other tack!' exclaimed Sikes, turning a look of excessive surprise on his companion.

Fagin nodded to him to take no further notice just then; and, in a few minutes, the girl subsided into her

accustomed demeanour. Whispering Sikes that there was no fear of her relapsing, Fagin took up his hat and

bade him goodnight. He paused when he reached the roomdoor, and looking round, asked if somebody

'Light him down,' said Sikes, who was filling his pipe. 'It's a pity he should break his neck himself, and

Nancy followed the old man downstairs, with a candle. When they reached the passage, he laid his finger on

'The reason of all this,' replied Fagin. 'If HE'he pointed with his skinny forefinger up the stairs'is so

'Well?' said the girl, as Fagin paused, with his mouth almost touching her ear, and his eyes looking into hers.

'No matter just now. We'll talk of this again. You have a friend in me, Nance; a staunch friend. I have the

means at hand, quiet and close. If you want revenge on those that treat you like a doglike a dog! worse

than his dog, for he humours him sometimescome to me. I say, come to me. He is the mere hound of a day,

'I know you well,' replied the girls, without manifesting the least emotion. 'Goodnight.'

She shrank back, as Fagin offered to lay his hand on hers, but said goodnight again, in a steady voice, and,

answering his parting look with a nod of intelligence, closed the door between them.

Fagin walked towards his home, intent upon the thoughts that were working within his brain. He had

conceived the ideanot from what had just passed though that had tended to confirm him, but slowly and by

degreesthat Nancy, wearied of the housebreaker's brutality, had conceived an attachment for some new

friend. Her altered manner, her repeated absences from home alone, her comparative indifference to the

interests of the gang for which she had once been so zealous, and, added to these, her desperate impatience to

leave home that night at a particular hour, all favoured the supposition, and rendered it, to him at least, almost

matter of certainty. The object of this new liking was not among his myrmidons. He would be a valuable

acquisition with such an assistant as Nancy, and must (thus Fagin argued) be secured without delay.

There was another, and a darker object, to be gained. Sikes knew too much, and his ruffian taunts had not

galled Fagin the less, because the wounds were hidden. The girl must know, well, that if she shook him off,

she could never be safe from his fury, and that it would be surely wreakedto the maiming of limbs, or

'With a little persuasion,' thought Fagin, 'what more likely than that she would consent to poison him?

Women have done such things, and worse, to secure the same object before now. There would be the

dangerous villain: the man I hate: gone; another secured in his place; and my influence over the girl, with a

These things passed through the mind of Fagin, during the short time he sat alone, in the housebreaker's

room; and with them uppermost in his thoughts, he had taken the opportunity afterwards afforded him, of

sounding the girl in the broken hints he threw out at parting. There was no expression of surprise, no

assumption of an inability to understand his meaning. The girl clearly comprehended it. Her glance at parting

But perhaps she would recoil from a plot to take the life of Sikes, and that was one of the chief ends to be

attained. 'How,' thought Fagin, as he crept homeward, 'can I increase my influence with her? what new power

Such brains are fertile in expedients. If, without extracting a confession from herself, he laid a watch,

discovered the object of her altered regard, and threatened to reveal the whole history to Sikes (of whom she

stood in no common fear) unless she entered into his designs, could he not secure her compliance?

'I can,' said Fagin, almost aloud. 'She durst not refuse me then. Not for her life, not for her life! I have it all.

He cast back a dark look, and a threatening motion of the hand, towards the spot where he had left the bolder

villian; and went on his way: busying his bony hands in the folds of his tattered garment, which he wrenched

tightly in his grasp, as though there were a hated enemy crushed with every motion of his fingers.

The old man was up, betimes, next morning, and waited impatiently for the appearance of his new associate,

who after a delay that seemed interminable, at length presented himself, and commenced a voracious assault

'Bolter,' said Fagin, drawing up a chair and seating himself opposite Morris Bolter.

'Well, here I am,' returned Noah. 'What's the matter? Don't yer ask me to do anything till I have done eating.

'You can talk as you eat, can't you?' said Fagin, cursing his dear young friend's greediness from the very

'Oh yes, I can talk. I get on better when I talk,' said Noah, cutting a monstrous slice of bread. 'Where's

'Out,' said Fagin. 'I sent her out this morning with the other young woman, because I wanted us to be alone.'

'Oh!' said Noah. 'I wish yer'd ordered her to make some buttered toast first. Well. Talk away. Yer won't

There seemed, indeed, no great fear of anything interrupting him, as he had evidently sat down with a

'You did well yesterday, my dear,' said Fagin. 'Beautiful! Six shillings and ninepence halfpenny on the very

'No, no, my dear. The pintpots were great strokes of genius: but the milkcan was a perfect masterpiece.'

'Pretty well, I think, for a beginner,' remarked Mr. Bolter complacently. 'The pots I took off airy railings, and

the milkcan was standing by itself outside a publichouse. I thought it might get rusty with the rain, or catch

Fagin affected to laugh very heartily; and Mr. Bolter having had his laugh out, took a series of large bites,

which finished his first hunk of bread and butter, and assisted himself to a second.

'I want you, Bolter,' said Fagin, leaning over the table, 'to do a piece of work for me, my dear, that needs great

'I say,' rejoined Bolter, 'don't yer go shoving me into danger, or sending me any more o' yer policeoffices.

'That's not the smallest danger in itnot the very smallest,' said the Jew; 'it's only to dodge a woman.'

'I can do that pretty well, I know,' said Bolter. 'I was a regular cunning sneak when I was at school. What am I

'Not to do anything, but to tell me where she goes, who she sees, and, if possible, what she says; to remember

the street, if it is a street, or the house, if it is a house; and to bring me back all the information you can.'

'What'll yer give me?' asked Noah, setting down his cup, and looking his employer, eagerly, in the face.

'If you do it well, a pound, my dear. One pound,' said Fagin, wishing to interest him in the scent as much as

possible. 'And that's what I never gave yet, for any job of work where there wasn't valuable consideration to

'She had found out some new friends, my dear, and I must know who they are,' replied Fagin.

'I see,' said Noah. 'Just to have the pleasure of knowing them, if they're respectable people, eh? Ha! ha! ha!

'Of course, of course,' replied Noah. 'Where is she? Where am I to wait for her? Where am I to go?'

'All that, my dear, you shall hear from me. I'll point her out at the proper time,' said Fagin. 'You keep ready,

That night, and the next, and the next again, the spy sat booted and equipped in his carter's dress: ready to

turn out at a word from Fagin. Six nights passedsix long weary nightsand on each, Fagin came home

with a disappointed face, and briefly intimated that it was not yet time. On the seventh, he returned earlier,

'She goes abroad tonight,' said Fagin, 'and on the right errand, I'm sure; for she has been alone all day, and

the man she is afraid of will not be back much before daybreak. Come with me. Quick!'

Noah started up without saying a word; for the Jew was in a state of such intense excitement that it infected

him. They left the house stealthily, and hurrying through a labyrinth of streets, arrived at length before a

publichouse, which Noah recognised as the same in which he had slept, on the night of his arrival in

It was past eleven o'clock, and the door was closed. It opened softly on its hinges as Fagin gave a low whistle.

Scarcely venturing to whisper, but substituting dumb show for words, Fagin, and the young Jew who had

admitted them, pointed out the pane of glass to Noah, and signed to him to climb up and observe the person

'I can't see her face well,' whispered Noah. 'She is looking down, and the candle is behind her.

'Stay there,' whispered Fagin. He signed to Barney, who withdrew. In an instant, the lad entered the room

adjoining, and, under pretence of snuffing the candle, moved it in the required position, and, speaking to the

He hastily descended, as the roomdoor opened, and the girl came out. Fagin drew him behind a small

partition which was curtained off, and they held their breaths as she passed within a few feet of their place of

'To the left,' whispered the lad; 'take the left had, and keep od the other side.'

He did so; and, by the light of the lamps, saw the girl's retreating figure, already at some distance before him.

He advanced as near as he considered prudent, and kept on the opposite side of the street, the better to

observe her motions. She looked nervously round, twice or thrice, and once stopped to let two men who were

following close behind her, pass on. She seemed to gather courage as she advanced, and to walk with a

steadier and firmer step. The spy preserved the same relative distance between them, and followed: with his

The church clocks chimed three quarters past eleven, as two figures emerged on London Bridge. One, which

advanced with a swift and rapid step, was that of a woman who looked eagerly about her as though in quest

of some expected object; the other figure was that of a man, who slunk along in the deepest shadow he could

find, and, at some distance, accommodated his pace to hers: stopping when she stopped: and as she moved

again, creeping stealthily on: but never allowing himself, in the ardour of his pursuit, to gain upon her

footsteps. Thus, they crossed the bridge, from the Middlesex to the Surrey shore, when the woman,

apparently disappointed in her anxious scrutiny of the footpassengers, turned back. The movement was

sudden; but he who watched her, was not thrown off his guard by it; for, shrinking into one of the recesses

which surmount the piers of the bridge, and leaning over the parapet the better to conceal his figure, he

suffered her to pass on the opposite pavement. When she was about the same distance in advance as she had

been before, he slipped quietly down, and followed her again. At nearly the centre of the bridge, she stopped.

It was a very dark night. The day had been unfavourable, and at that hour and place there were few people

stirring. Such as there were, hurried quickly past: very possibly without seeing, but certainly without

noticing, either the woman, or the man who kept her in view. Their appearance was not calculated to attract

the importunate regards of such of London's destitute population, as chanced to take their way over the bridge

that night in search of some cold arch or doorless hovel wherein to lay their heads; they stood there in silence:

A mist hung over the river, deepening the red glare of the fires that burnt upon the small craft moored off the

different wharfs, and rendering darker and more indistinct the murky buildings on the banks. The old

smokestained storehouses on either side, rose heavy and dull from the dense mass of roofs and gables, and

frowned sternly upon water too black to reflect even their lumbering shapes. The tower of old Saint Saviour's

Church, and the spire of Saint Magnus, so long the giantwarders of the ancient bridge, were visible in the

gloom; but the forest of shipping below bridge, and the thickly scattered spires of churches above, were

The girl had taken a few restless turns to and froclosely watched meanwhile by her hidden

observerwhen the heavy bell of St. Paul's tolled for the death of another day. Midnight had come upon the

crowded city. The palace, the nightcellar, the jail, the madhouse: the chambers of birth and death, of health

and sickness, the rigid face of the corpse and the calm sleep of the child: midnight was upon them all.

The hour had not struck two minutes, when a young lady, accompanied by a greyhaired gentleman, alighted

from a hackneycarriage within a short distance of the bridge, and, having dismissed the vehicle, walked

straight towards it. They had scarcely set foot upon its pavement, when the girl started, and immediately

They walked onward, looking about them with the air of persons who entertained some very slight

expectation which had little chance of being realised, when they were suddenly joined by this new associate.

They halted with an exclamation of surprise, but suppressed it immediately; for a man in the garments of a

'Not here,' said Nancy hurriedly, 'I am afraid to speak to you here. Come awayout of the public

As she uttered these words, and indicated, with her hand, the direction in which she wished them to proceed,

the countryman looked round, and roughly asking what they took up the whole pavement for, passed on.

The steps to which the girl had pointed, were those which, on the Surrey bank, and on the same side of the

bridge as Saint Saviour's Church, form a landingstairs from the river. To this spot, the man bearing the

appearance of a countryman, hastened unobserved; and after a moment's survey of the place, he began to

These stairs are a part of the bridge; they consist of three flights. Just below the end of the second, going

down, the stone wall on the left terminates in an ornamental pilaster facing towards the Thames. At this point

the lower steps widen: so that a person turning that angle of the wall, is necessarily unseen by any others on

the stairs who chance to be above him, if only a step. The countryman looked hastily round, when he reached

this point; and as there seemed no better place of concealment, and, the tide being out, there was plenty of

room, he slipped aside, with his back to the pilaster, and there waited: pretty certain that they would come no

lower, and that even if he could not hear what was said, he could follow them again, with safety.

So tardily stole the time in this lonely place, and so eager was the spy to penetrate the motives of an interview

so different from what he had been led to expect, that he more than once gave the matter up for lost, and

persuaded himself, either that they had stopped far above, or had resorted to some entirely different spot to

hold their mysterious conversation. He was on the point of emerging from his hidingplace, and regaining the

road above, when he heard the sound of footsteps, and directly afterwards of voices almost close at his ear.

He drew himself straight upright against the wall, and, scarcely breathing, listened attentively.

'This is far enough,' said a voice, which was evidently that of the gentleman. 'I will not suffer the young lady

to go any farther. Many people would have distrusted you too much to have come even so far, but you see I

'Why, for what,' said the gentleman in a kinder tone, 'for what purpose can you have brought us to this strange

place? Why not have let me speak to you, above there, where it is light, and there is something stirring,

'I told you before,' replied Nancy, 'that I was afraid to speak to you there. I don't know why it is,' said the girl,

shuddering, 'but I have such a fear and dread upon me tonight that I can hardly stand.'

'I scarcely know of what,' replied the girl. 'I wish I did. Horrible thoughts of death, and shrouds with blood

upon them, and a fear that has made me burn as if I was on fire, have been upon me all day. I was reading a

'No imagination,' replied the girl in a hoarse voice. 'I'll swear I saw "coffin" written in every page of the book

in large black letters,aye, and they carried one close to me, in the streets tonight.'

'There is nothing unusual in that,' said the gentleman. 'They have passed me often.'

There was something so uncommon in her manner, that the flesh of the concealed listener crept as he heard

the girl utter these words, and the blood chilled within him. He had never experienced a greater relief than in

hearing the sweet voice of the young lady as she begged her to be calm, and not allow herself to become the

'Speak to her kindly,' said the young lady to her companion. 'Poor creature! She seems to need it.'

'Your haughty religious people would have held their heads up to see me as I am tonight, and preached of

flames and vengeance,' cried the girl. 'Oh, dear lady, why ar'n't those who claim to be God's own folks as

gentle and as kind to us poor wretches as you, who, having youth, and beauty, and all that they have lost,

'Ah!' said the gentleman. 'A Turk turns his face, after washing it well, to the East, when he says his prayers;

these good people, after giving their faces such a rub against the World as to take the smiles off, turn with no

less regularity, to the darkest side of Heaven. Between the Mussulman and the Pharisee, commend me to the

These words appeared to be addressed to the young lady, and were perhaps uttered with the view of

afffording Nancy time to recover herself. The gentleman, shortly afterwards, addressed himself to her.

'You were not suspected of holding any communication with anybody on the subject which has brought us

'No,' replied the girl, shaking her head. 'It's not very easy for me to leave him unless he knows why; I couldn't

'This young lady,' the gentleman began, 'has communicated to me, and to some other friends who can be

safely trusted, what you told her nearly a fortnight since. I confess to you that I had doubts, at first, whether

'I repeat that I firmly believe it. To prove to you that I am disposed to trust you, I tell you without reserve,

that we propose to extort the secret, whatever it may be, from the fear of this man Monks. But ifif' said

the gentleman, 'he cannot be secured, or, if secured, cannot be acted upon as we wish, you must deliver up the

'I will not do it! I will never do it!' replied the girl. 'Devil that he is, and worse than devil as he has been to

'For one reason,' rejoined the girl firmly, 'for one reason, that the lady knows and will stand by me in, I know

she will, for I have her promise: and for this other reason, besides, that, bad life as he has led, I have led a bad

life too; there are many of us who have kept the same courses together, and I'll not turn upon them, who

'Then,' said the gentleman, quickly, as if this had been the point he had been aiming to attain; 'put Monks into

'I promise you that in that case, if the truth is forced from him, there the matter will rest; there must be

circumstances in Oliver's little history which it would be painful to drag before the public eye, and if the truth

'Then,' pursued the gentleman, 'this Fagin shall not be brought to justice without your consent. In such a case

'Monks would never learn how you knew what you do?' said the girl, after a short pause.

'Never,' replied the gentleman. 'The intelligence should be brought to bear upon him, that he could never even

'I have been a liar, and among liars from a little child,' said the girl after another interval of silence, 'but I will

After receving an assurance from both, that she might safely do so, she proceeded in a voice so low that it

was often difficult for the listener to discover even the purport of what she said, to describe, by name and

situation, the publichouse whence she had been followed that night. From the manner in which she

occasionally paused, it appeared as if the gentleman were making some hasty notes of the information she

communicated. When she had thoroughly explained the localities of the place, the best position from which

to watch it without exciting observation, and the night and hour on which Monks was most in the habit of

frequenting it, she seemed to consider for a few moments, for the purpose of recalling his features and

'He is tall,' said the girl, 'and a strongly made man, but not stout; he has a lurking walk; and as he walks,

constantly looks over his shoulder, first on one side, and then on the other. Don't forget that, for his eyes are

sunk in his head so much deeper than any other man's, that you might almost tell him by that alone. His face

is dark, like his hair and eyes; and, although he can't be more than six or eight and twenty, withered and

haggard. His lips are often discoloured and disfigured with the marks of teeth; for he has desperate fits, and

sometimes even bites his hands and covers them with woundswhy did you start?' said the girl, stopping

The gentleman replied, in a hurried manner, that he was not conscious of having done so, and begged her to

'Part of this,' said the girl, 'I have drawn out from other people at the house I tell you of, for I have only seen

him twice, and both times he was covered up in a large cloak. I think that's all I can give you to know him by.

Stay though,' she added. 'Upon his throat: so high that you can see a part of it below his neckerchief when he

The young lady uttered a cry of surprise, and for a few moments they were so still that the listener could

'I think I do,' said the gentleman, breaking silence. 'I should by your description. We shall see. Many people

As he expressed himself to this effect, with assumed carelessness, he took a step or two nearer the concealed

spy, as the latter could tell from the distinctness with which he heard him mutter, 'It must be he!'

'Now,' he said, returning: so it seemed by the sound: to the spot where he had stood before, 'you have given

us most valuable assistance, young woman, and I wish you to be the better for it. What can I do to serve you?'

'You will not persist in saying that,' rejoined the gentleman, with a voice and emphasis of kindness that might

'Nothing, sir,' rejoined the girl, weeping. 'You can do nothing to help me. I am past all hope, indeed.'

'You put yourself beyond its pale,' said the gentleman. 'The past has been a dreary waste with you, of

youthful energies misspent, and such priceless treasures lavished, as the Creator bestows but once and never

grants again, but, for the future, you may hope. I do not say that it is in our power to offer you peace of heart

and mind, for that must come as you seek it; but a quiet asylum, either in England, or, if you fear to remain

here, in some foreign country, it is not only within the compass of our ability but our most anxious wish to

secure you. Before the dawn of morning, before this river wakes to the first glimpse of daylight, you shall

be placed as entirely beyond the reach of your former associates, and leave as utter an absence of all trace

behind you, as if you were to disappear from the earth this moment. Come! I would not have you go back to

exchange one word with any old companion, or take one look at any old haunt, or breathe the very air which

is pestilence and death to you. Quit them all, while there is time and opportunity!'

'No sir, I do not,' replied the girl, after a short struggle. 'I am chained to my old life. I loathe and hate it now,

but I cannot leave it. I must have gone too far to turn back,and yet I don't know, for if you had spoken to

me so, some time ago, I should have laughed it off. But,' she said, looking hastily round, 'this fear comes over

'Home, lady,' rejoined the girl. 'To such a home as I have raised for myself with the work of my whole life.

Let us part. I shall be watched or seen. Go! Go! If I have done you any service all I ask is, that you leave me,

'It is useless,' said the gentleman, with a sigh. 'We compromise her safety, perhaps, by staying here. We may

'What!' repeated the girl. 'Look before you, lady. Look at that dark water. How many times do you read of

such as I who spring into the tide, and leave no living thing, to care for, or bewail them. It may be years

'It will never reach your ears, dear lady, and God forbid such horrors should!' replied the girl. 'Goodnight,

'This purse,' cried the young lady. 'Take it for my sake, that you may have some resource in an hour of need

'No!' replied the girl. 'I have not done this for money. Let me have that to think of. And yetgive me

something that you have worn: I should like to have somethingno, no, not a ringyour gloves or

handkerchiefanything that I can keep, as having belonged to you, sweet lady. There. Bless you! God bless

The violent agitation of the girl, and the apprehension of some discovery which would subject her to

illusage and violence, seemed to determine the gentleman to leave her, as she requested.

The two figures of the young lady and her companion soon afterwards appeared upon the bridge. They

'Hark!' cried the young lady, listening. 'Did she call! I thought I heard her voice.'

'No, my love,' replied Mr. Brownlow, looking sadly back. 'She has not moved, and will not till we are gone.'

Rose Maylie lingered, but the old gentleman drew her arm through his, and led her, with gentle force, away.

As they disappeared, the girl sunk down nearly at her full length upon one of the stone stairs, and vented the

After a time she arose, and with feeble and tottering steps ascended the street. The astonished listener

remained motionless on his post for some minutes afterwards, and having ascertained, with many cautious

glances round him, that he was again alone, crept slowly from his hidingplace, and returned, stealthily and

Peeping out, more than once, when he reached the top, to make sure that he was unobserved, Noah Claypole

darted away at his utmost speed, and made for the Jew's house as fast as his legs would carry him.

It was nearly two hours before daybreak; that time which in the autumn of the year, may be truly called the

dead of night; when the streets are silent and deserted; when even sounds appear to slumber, and profligacy

and riot have staggered home to dream; it was at this still and silent hour, that Fagin sat watching in his old

lair, with face so distorted and pale, and eyes so red and bloodshot, that he looked less like a man, than like

He sat crouching over a cold hearth, wrapped in an old torn coverlet, with his face turned towards a wasting

candle that stood upon a table by his side. His right hand was raised to his lips, and as, absorbed in thought,

he hit his long black nails, he disclosed among his toothless gums a few such fangs as should have been a

Stretched upon a mattress on the floor, lay Noah Claypole, fast asleep. Towards him the old man sometimes

directed his eyes for an instant, and then brought them back again to the candle; which with a longburnt

wick drooping almost double, and hot grease falling down in clots upon the table, plainly showed that his

Indeed they were. Mortification at the overthrow of his notable scheme; hatred of the girl who had dared to

palter with strangers; and utter distrust of the sincerity of her refusal to yield him up; bitter disappointment at

the loss of his revenge on Sikes; the fear of detection, and ruin, and death; and a fierce and deadly rage

kindled by all; these were the passionate considerations which, following close upon each other with rapid

and ceaseless whirl, shot through the brain of Fagin, as every evil thought and blackest purpose lay working

He sat without changing his attitude in the least, or appearing to tkae the smallest heed of time, until his quick

The bell rang gently as he spoke. He crept upstairs to the door, and presently returned accompanied by a man

muffled to the chin, who carried a bundle under one arm. Sitting down and throwing back his outer coat, the

'There!' he said, laying the bundle on the table. 'Take care of that, and do the most you can with it. It's been

Fagin laid his hand upon the bundle, and locking it in the cupboard, sat down again without speaking. But he

did not take his eyes off the robber, for an instant, during this action; and now that they sat over against each

other, face to face, he looked fixedly at him, with his lips quivering so violently, and his face so altered by the

emotions which had mastered him, that the housebreaker involuntarily drew back his chair, and surveyed him

Fagin raised his right hand, and shook his trembling forefinger in the air; but his passion was so great, that the

'Damme!' said Sikes, feeling in his breast with a look of alarm. 'He's gone mad. I must look to myself here.'

'No, no,' rejoined Fagin, finding his voice. 'It's notyou're not the person, Bill. I've nono fault to find with

'Oh, you haven't, haven't you?' said Sikes, looking sternly at him, and ostentatiously passing a pistol into a

more convenient pocket. 'That's luckyfor one of us. Which one that is, don't matter.'

'I've got that to tell you, Bill,' said Fagin, drawing his chair nearer, 'will make you worse than me.'

'Aye?' returned the robber with an incredulous air. 'Tell away! Look sharp, or Nance will think I'm lost.'

'Lost!' cried Fagin. 'She has pretty well settled that, in her own mind, already.'

Sikes looked with an aspect of great perplexity into the Jew's face, and reading no satisfactory explanation of

the riddle there, clenched his coat collar in his huge hand and shook him soundly.

'Speak, will you!' he said; 'or if you don't, it shall be for want of breath. Open your mouth and say wot you've

Sikes turned round to where Noah was sleeping, as if he had not previously observed him. 'Well!' he said,

'Suppose that lad,' pursued Fagin, 'was to peachto blow upon us allfirst seeking out the right folks for

the purpose, and then having a meeting with 'em in the street to paint our likenesses, describe every mark that

they might know us by, and the crib where we might be most easily taken. Suppose he was to do all this, and

besides to blow upon a plant we've all been in, more or lessof his own fancy; not grabbed, trapped, tried,

earwigged by the parson and brought to it on bread and water,but of his own fancy; to please his own taste;

stealing out at nights to find those most interested against us, and peaching to them. Do you hear me?' cried

'What then!' replied Sikes; with a tremendous oath. 'If he was left alive till I came, I'd grind his skull under

'What if I did it!' cried Fagin almost in a yell. 'I, that knows so much, and could hang so many besides

'I don't know,' replied Sikes, clenching his teeth and turning white at the mere suggestion. 'I'd do something in

the jail that 'ud get me put in irons; and if I was tried along with you, I'd fall upon you with them in the open

court, and beat your brains out afore the people. I should have such strength,' muttered the robber, poising his

brawny arm, 'that I could smash your head as if a loaded waggon had gone over it.'

'I don't care who,' replied Sikes impatiently. 'Whoever it was, I'd serve them the same.'

Fagin looked hard at the robber; and, motioning him to be silent, stooped over the bed upon the floor, and

shook the sleeper to rouse him. Sikes leant forward in his chair: looking on with his hands upon his knees, as

'Bolter, Bolter! Poor lad!' said Fagin, looking up with an expression of devilish anticipation, and speaking

slowly and with marked emphasis. 'He's tiredtired with watching for her so long,watching for her, Bill.'

Fagin made no answer, but bending over the sleeper again, hauled him into a sitting posture. When his

assumed name had been repeated several times, Noah rubbed his eyes, and, giving a heavy yawn, looked

'Tell me that againonce again, just for him to hear,' said the Jew, pointing to Sikes as he spoke.

'That aboutNANCY,' said Fagin, clutching Sikes by the wrist, as if to prevent his leaving the house before

'A gentleman and a lady that she had gone to of her own accord before, who asked her to give up all her pals,

and Monks first, which she didand to describe him, which she didand to tell her what house it was that

we meet at, and go to, which she didand where it could be best watched from, which she didand what

time the people went there, which she did. She did all this. She told it all every word without a threat, without

'Again. Tell it again!' cried Fagin, tightening his grasp on Sikes, and brandishing his other hand aloft, as the

'They asked her,' said Noah, who, as he grew more wakeful, seemed to have a dawning perception who Sikes

was, 'they asked her why she didn't come, last Sunday, as she promised. She said she couldn't.'

'Because she was forcibly kept at home by Bill, the man she had told them of before,' replied Noah.

'What more of him?' cried Fagin. 'What more of the man she had told them of before? Tell him that, tell him

'Why, that she couldn't very easily get out of doors unless he knew where she was going to,' said Noah; 'and

so the first time she went to see the lady, sheha! ha! ha! it made me laugh when she said it, that it didshe

Flinging the old man from him, he rushed from the room, and darted, wildly and furiously, up the stairs.

The word would not have been exchanged, but that the housebreaker was unable to open the door: on which

'Let me out,' said Sikes. 'Don't speak to me; it's not safe. Let me out, I say!'

'Hear me speak a word,' rejoined Fagin, laying his hand upon the lock. 'You won't be'

The day was breaking, and there was light enough for the men to see each other's faces. They exchanged one

brief glance; there was a fire in the eyes of both, which could not be mistaken.

'I mean,' said Fagin, showing that he felt all disguise was now useless, 'not too violent for safety. Be crafty,

Sikes made no reply; but, pulling open the door, of which Fagin had turned the lock, dashed into the silent

Without one pause, or moment's consideration; without once turning his head to the right or left, or raising his

eyes to the sky, or lowering them to the ground, but looking straight before him with savage resolution: his

teeth so tightly compressed that the strained jaw seemed starting through his skin; the robber held on his

headlong course, nor muttered a word, nor relaxed a muscle, until he reached his own door. He opened it,

softly, with a key; strode lightly up the stairs; and entering his own room, doublelocked the door, and lifting

The girl was lying, halfdressed, upon it. He had roused her from her sleep, for she raised herself with a

There was a candle burning, but the man hastily drew it from the candlestick, and hurled it under the grate.

Seeing the faint light of early day without, the girl rose to undraw the curtain.

'Let it be,' said Sikes, thrusting his hand before her. 'There's enough light for wot I've got to do.'

'Bill,' said the girl, in the low voice of alarm, 'why do you look like that at me!'

The robber sat regarding her, for a few seconds, with dilated nostrils and heaving breast; and then, grasping

her by the head and throat, dragged her into the middle of the room, and looking once towards the door,

'Bill, Bill!' gasped the girl, wrestling with the strength of mortal fear,'II won't scream or crynot

'You know, you she devil!' returned the robber, suppressing his breath. 'You were watched tonight; every

'Then spare my life for the love of Heaven, as I spared yours,' rejoined the girl, clinging to him. 'Bill, dear

Bill, you cannot have the heart to kill me. Oh! think of all I have given up, only this one night, for you. You

SHALL have time to think, and save yourself this crime; I will not loose my hold, you cannot throw me off.

Bill, Bill, for dear God's sake, for your own, for mine, stop before you spill my blood! I have been true to

The man struggled violently, to release his arms; but those of the girl were clasped round his, and tear her as

'Bill,' cried the girl, striving to lay her head upon his breast, 'the gentleman and that dear lady, told me

tonight of a home in some foreign country where I could end my days in solitude and peace. Let me see

them again, and beg them, on my knees, to show the same mercy and goodness to you; and let us both leave

this dreadful place, and far apart lead better lives, and forget how we have lived, except in prayers, and never

see each other more. It is never too late to repent. They told me soI feel it nowbut we must have

The housebreaker freed one arm, and grasped his pistol. The certainty of immediate detection if he fired,

flashed across his mind even in the midst of his fury; and he beat it twice with all the force he could summon,

She staggered and fell: nearly blinded with the blood that rained down from a deep gash in her forehead; but

raising herself, with difficulty, on her knees, drew from her bosom a white handkerchiefRose Maylie's

ownand holding it up, in her folded hands, as high towards Heaven as her feeble strength would allow,

It was a ghastly figure to look upon. The murderer staggering backward to the wall, and shutting out the sight

Of all bad deeds that, under cover of the darkness, had been committed with wide London's bounds since

night hung over it, that was the worst. Of all the horrors that rose with an ill scent upon the morning air, that

The sunthe bright sun, that brings back, not light alone, but new life, and hope, and freshness to

manburst upon the crowded city in clear and radiant glory. Through costlycoloured glass and

papermended window, through cathedral dome and rotten crevice, it shed its equal ray. It lighted up the

room where the murdered woman lay. It did. He tried to shut it out, but it would stream in. If the sight had

been a ghastly one in the dull morning, what was it, now, in all that brilliant light!

He had not moved; he had been afraid to stir. There had been a moan and motion of the hand; and, with terror

added to rage, he had struck and struck again. Once he threw a rug over it; but it was worse to fancy the eyes,

and imagine them moving towards him, than to see them glaring upward, as if watching the reflection of the

pool of gore that quivered and danced in the sunlight on the ceiling. He had plucked it off again. And there

He struck a light, kindled a fire, and thrust the club into it. There was hair upon the end, which blazed and

shrunk into a light cinder, and, caught by the air, whirled up the chimney. Even that frightened him, sturdy as

he was; but he held the weapon till it broke, and then piled it on the coals to burn away, and smoulder into

ashes. He washed himself, and rubbed his clothes; there were spots that would not be removed, but he cut the

pieces out, and burnt them. How those stains were dispersed about the room! The very feet of the dog were

All this time he had, never once, turned his back upon the corpse; no, not for a moment. Such preparations

completed, he moved, backward, towards the door: dragging the dog with him, lest he should soil his feet

anew and carry out new evidence of the crime into the streets. He shut the door softly, locked it, took the key,

He crossed over, and glanced up at the window, to be sure that nothing was visible from the outside. There

was the curtain still drawn, which she would have opened to admit the light she never saw again. It lay nearly

The glance was instantaneous. It was a relief to have got free of the room. He whistled on the dog, and

He went through Islington; strode up the hill at Highgate on which stands the stone in honour of Whittington;

turned down to Highgate Hill, unsteady of purpose, and uncertain where to go; struck off to the right again,

almost as soon as he began to descend it; and taking the footpath across the fields, skirted Caen Wood, and

so came on Hampstead Heath. Traversing the hollow by the Vale of Heath, he mounted the opposite bank,

and crossing the road which joins the villages of Hampstead and Highgate, made along the remaining portion

of the heath to the fields at North End, in one of which he laid himself down under a hedge, and slept.

Soon he was up again, and away,not far into the country, but back towards London by the

highroadthen back againthen over another part of the same ground as he already traversedthen

wandering up and down in fields, and lying on ditches' brinks to rest, and starting up to make for some other

Where could he go, that was near and not too public, to get some meat and drink? Hendon. That was a good

place, not far off, and out of most people's way. Thither he directed his steps,running sometimes, and

sometimes, with a strange perversity, loitering at a snail's pace, or stopping altogether and idly breaking the

hedges with a stick. But when he got there, all the people he metthe very children at the doorsseemed to

view him with suspicion. Back he turned again, without the courage to purchase bit or drop, though he had

tasted no food for many hours; and once more he lingered on the Heath, uncertain where to go.

He wandered over miles and miles of ground, and still came back to the old place. Morning and noon had

passed, and the day was on the wane, and still he rambled to and fro, and up and down, and round and round,

and still lingered about the same spot. At last he got away, and shaped his course for Hatfield.

It was nine o'clock at night, when the man, quite tired out, and the dog, limping and lame from the

unaccustomed exercise, turned down the hill by the church of the quiet village, and plodding along the little

street, crept into a small publichouse, whose scanty light had guided them to the spot. There was a fire in the

They made room for the stranger, but he sat down in the furthest corner, and ate and drank alone, or rather

The conversation of the men assembled here, turned upon the neighboring land, and farmers; and when those

topics were exhausted, upon the age of some old man who had been buried on the previous Sunday; the

young men present considering him very old, and the old men present declaring him to have been quite

youngnot older, one whitehaired grandfather said, than he waswith ten or fifteen year of life in him at

There was nothing to attract attention, or excite alarm in this. The robber, after paying his reckoning, sat

silent and unnoticed in his corner, and had almost dropped asleep, when he was half wakened by the noisy

This was an antic fellow, half pedlar and half mountebank, who travelled about the country on foot to vend

hones, stops, razors, washballs, harnesspaste, medicine for dogs and horses, cheap perfumery, cosmetics,

and suchlike wares, which he carried in a case slung to his back. His entrance was the signal for various

homely jokes with the countrymen, which slackened not until he had made his supper, and opened his box of

'And what be that stoof? Good to eat, Harry?' asked a grinning countryman, pointing to some

'This,' said the fellow, producing one, 'this is the infallible and invaluable composition for removing all sorts

of stain, rust, dirt, mildew, spick, speck, spot, or spatter, from silk, satin, linen, cambrick, cloth, crape, stuff,

carpet, merino, muslin, bombazeen, or woollen stuff. Winestains, fruitstains, beerstains, waterstains,

paintstains, pitchstains, any stains, all come out at one rub with the infallible and invaluable composition.

If a lady stains her honour, she has only need to swallow one cake and she's cured at oncefor it's poison. If

a gentleman wants to prove this, he has only need to bolt one little square, and he has put it beyond

questionfor it's quite as satisfactory as a pistolbullet, and a great deal nastier in the flavour, consequently

the more credit in taking it. One penny a square. With all these virtues, one penny a square!'

There were two buyers directly, and more of the listeners plainly hesitated. The vendor observing this,

'It's all bought up as fast as it can be made,' said the fellow. 'There are fourteen watermills, six

steamengines, and a galvanic battery, always aworking upon it, and they can't make it fast enough, though

the men work so hard that they die off, and the widows is pensioned directly, with twenty pound ayear for

each of the children, and a premium of fifty for twins. One penny a square! Two halfpence is all the same,

and four farthings is received with joy. One penny a square! Winestains, fruitstains, beerstains,

waterstains, paintstains, pitchstains, mudstains, bloodstains! Here is a stain upon the hat of a

gentleman in company, that I'll take clean out, before he can order me a pint of ale.'

'I'll take it clean out, sir,' replied the man, winking to the company, 'before you can come across the room to

get it. Gentlemen all, observe the dark stain upon this gentleman's hat, no wider than a shilling, but thicker

than a halfcrown. Whether it is a winestain, fruitstain, beerstain, waterstain, paintstain, pitchstain,

The man got no further, for Sikes with a hideous imprecation overthrew the table, and tearing the hat from

With the same perversity of feeling and irresolution that had fastened upon him, despite himself, all day, the

murderer, finding that he was not followed, and that they most probably considered him some drunken sullen

fellow, turned back up the town, and getting out of the glare of the lamps of a stagecoach that was standing

in the street, was walking past, when he recognised the mail from London, and saw that it was standing at the

little postoffice. He almost knew what was to come; but he crossed over, and listened.

The guard was standing at the door, waiting for the letterbag. A man, dressed like a gamekeeper, came up

'That's for your people,' said the guard. 'Now, look alive in there, will you. Damn that 'ere bag, it warn't ready

'Anything new up in town, Ben?' asked the gamekeeper, drawing back to the windowshutters, the better to

'No, nothing that I knows on,' replied the man, pulling on his gloves. 'Corn's up a little. I heerd talk of a

'Oh, that's quite true,' said a gentleman inside, who was looking out of the window. 'And a dreadful murder it

'Coming,' growled the guard. 'Ah, and so's the young 'ooman of property that's going to take a fancy to me,

Sikes remained standing in the street, apparently unmoved by what he had just heard, and agitated by no

stronger feeling than a doubt where to go. At length he went back again, and took the road which leads from

He went on doggedly; but as he left the town behind him, and plunged into the solitude and darkness of the

road, he felt a dread and awe creeping upon him which shook him to the core. Every object before him,

substance or shadow, still or moving, took the semblance of some fearful thing; but these fears were nothing

compared to the sense that haunted him of that morning's ghastly figure following at his heels. He could trace

its shadow in the gloom, supply the smallest item of the outline, and note how stiff and solemn it seemed to

stalk along. He could hear its garments rustling in the leaves, and every breath of wind came laden with that

last low cry. If he stopped it did the same. If he ran, it followednot running too: that would have been a

relief: but like a corpse endowed with the mere machinery of life, and borne on one slow melancholy wind

At times, he turned, with desperate determination, resolved to beat this phantom off, though it should look

him dead; but the hair rose on his head, and his blood stood still, for it had turned with him and was behind

him then. He had kept it before him that morning, but it was behind nowalways. He leaned his back

against a bank, and felt that it stood above him, visibly out against the cold nightsky. He threw himself upon

the roadon his back upon the road. At his head it stood, silent, erect, and stilla living gravestone, with

Let no man talk of murderers escaping justice, and hint that Providence must sleep. There were twenty score

There was a shed in a field he passed, that offered shelter for the night. Before the door, were three tall poplar

trees, which made it very dark within; and the wind moaned through them with a dismal wail. He COULD

NOT walk on, till daylight came again; and here he stretched himself close to the wallto undergo new

For now, a vision came before him, as constant and more terrible than that from which he had escaped. Those

widely staring eyes, so lustreless and so glassy, that he had better borne to see them than think upon them,

appeared in the midst of the darkness: light in themselves, but giving light to nothing. There were but two,

but they were everywhere. If he shut out the sight, there came the room with every wellknown

objectsome, indeed, that he would have forgotten, if he had gone over its contents from memoryeach in

its accustomed place. The body was in ITS place, and its eyes were as he saw them when he stole away. He

got up, and rushed into the field without. The figure was behind him. He reentered the shed, and shrunk

And here he remained in such terror as none but he can know, trembling in every limb, and the cold sweat

starting from every pore, when suddenly there arose upon the nightwind the noise of distant shouting, and

the roar of voices mingled in alarm and wonder. Any sound of men in that lonely place, even though it

conveyed a real cause of alarm, was something to him. He regained his strength and energy at the prospect of

The broad sky seemed on fire. Rising into the air with showers of sparks, and rolling one above the other,

were sheets of flame, lighting the atmosphere for miles round, and driving clouds of smoke in the direction

where he stood. The shouts grew louder as new voices swelled the roar, and he could hear the cry of Fire!

mingled with the ringing of an alarmbell, the fall of heavy bodies, and the crackling of flames as they

twined round some new obstacle, and shot aloft as though refreshed by food. The noise increased as he

looked. There were people theremen and womenlight, bustle. It was like new life to him. He darted

onwardstraight, headlongdashing through brier and brake, and leaping gate and fence as madly as his

He came upon the spot. There were halfdressed figures tearing to and fro, some endeavouring to drag the

frightened horses from the stables, others driving the cattle from the yard and outhouses, and others coming

laden from the burning pile, amidst a shower of falling sparks, and the tumbling down of redhot beams. The

apertures, where doors and windows stood an hour ago, disclosed a mass of raging fire; walls rocked and

crumbled into the burning well; the molten lead and iron poured down, white hot, upon the ground. Women

and children shrieked, and men encouraged each other with noisy shouts and cheers. The clanking of the

enginepumps, and the spirting and hissing of the water as it fell upon the blazing wood, added to the

tremendous roar. He shouted, too, till he was hoarse; and flying from memory and himself, plunged into the

thickest of the throng. Hither and thither he dived that night: now working at the pumps, and now hurrying

through the smoke and flame, but never ceasing to engage himself wherever noise and men were thickest. Up

and down the ladders, upon the roofs of buildings, over floors that quaked and trembled with his weight,

under the lee of falling bricks and stones, in every part of that great fire was he; but he bore a charmed life,

and had neither scratch nor bruise, nor weariness nor thought, till morning dawned again, and only smoke and

This mad excitement over, there returned, with tenfold force, the dreadful consciousness of his crime. He

looked suspiciously about him, for the men were conversing in groups, and he feared to be the subject of their

talk. The dog obeyed the significant beck of his finger, and they drew off, stealthily, together. He passed near

an engine where some men were seated, and they called to him to share in their refreshment. He took some

bread and meat; and as he drank a draught of beer, heard the firemen, who were from London, talking about

the murder. 'He has gone to Birmingham, they say,' said one: 'but they'll have him yet, for the scouts are out,

He hurried off, and walked till he almost dropped upon the ground; then lay down in a lane, and had a long,

but broken and uneasy sleep. He wandered on again, irresolute and undecided, and oppressed with the fear of

'There's somebody to speak to there, at all event,' he thought. 'A good hidingplace, too. They'll never expect

to nab me there, after this country scent. Why can't I lie by for a week or so, and, forcing blunt from Fagin,

He acted upon this impluse without delay, and choosing the least frequented roads began his journey back,

resolved to lie concealed within a short distance of the metropolis, and, entering it at dusk by a circuitous

route, to proceed straight to that part of it which he had fixed on for his destination.

The dog, though. If any description of him were out, it would not be forgotten that the dog was missing, and

had probably gone with him. This might lead to his apprehension as he passed along the streets. He resolved

to drown him, and walked on, looking about for a pond: picking up a heavy stone and tying it to his

The animal looked up into his master's face while these preparations were making; whether his instinct

apprehended something of their purpose, or the robber's sidelong look at him was sterner than ordinary, he

skulked a little farther in the rear than usual, and cowered as he came more slowly along. When his master

halted at the brink of a pool, and looked round to call him, he stopped outright.

The animal came up from the very force of habit; but as Sikes stooped to attach the handkerchief to his throat,

The dog wagged his tail, but moved not. Sikes made a running noose and called him again.

The dog advanced, retreated, paused an instant, and scoured away at his hardest speed.

The man whistled again and again, and sat down and waited in the expectation that he would return. But no

The twilight was beginning to close in, when Mr. Brownlow alighted from a hackneycoach at his own door,

and knocked softly. The door being opened, a sturdy man got out of the coach and stationed himself on one

side of the steps, while another man, who had been seated on the box, dismounted too, and stood upon the

other side. At a sign from Mr. Brownlow, they helped out a third man, and taking him between them, hurried

They walked in the same manner up the stairs without speaking, and Mr. Brownlow, preceding them, led the

way into a backroom. At the door of this apartment, Monks, who had ascended with evident reluctance,

'He knows the alternative,' said Mr. Browlow. 'If he hesitates or moves a finger but as you bid him, drag him

into the street, call for the aid of the police, and impeach him as a felon in my name.'

'How dare you urge me to it, young man?' replied Mr. Brownlow, confronting him with a steady look. 'Are

you mad enough to leave this house? Unhand him. There, sir. You are free to go, and we to follow. But I

warn you, by all I hold most solemn and most sacred, that instant will have you apprehended on a charge of

fraud and robbery. I am resolute and immoveable. If you are determined to be the same, your blood be upon

'By what authority am I kidnapped in the street, and brought here by these dogs?' asked Monks, looking from

'By mine,' replied Mr. Brownlow. 'Those persons are indemnified by me. If you complain of being deprived

of your libertyyou had power and opportunity to retrieve it as you came along, but you deemed it advisable

to remain quietI say again, throw yourself for protection on the law. I will appeal to the law too; but when

you have gone too far to recede, do not sue to me for leniency, when the power will have passed into other

hands; and do not say I plunged you down the gulf into which you rushed, yourself.'

'You will decide quickly,' said Mr. Brownlow, with perfect firmness and composure. 'If you wish me to prefer

my charges publicly, and consign you to a punishment the extent of which, although I can, with a shudder,

foresee, I cannot control, once more, I say, for you know the way. If not, and you appeal to my forbearance,

and the mercy of those you have deeply injured, seat yourself, without a word, in that chair. It has waited for

'You will be prompt,' said Mr. Brownlow. 'A word from me, and the alternative has gone for ever.'

'I have not the inclination to parley,' said Mr. Brownlow, 'and, as I advocate the dearest interests of others, I

Monks looked at the old gentleman, with an anxious eye; but, reading in his countenance nothing but severity

and determination, walked into the room, and, shrugging his shoulders, sat down.

'Lock the door on the outside,' said Mr. Brownlow to the attendants, 'and come when I ring.'

'This is pretty treatment, sir,' said Monks, throwing down his hat and cloak, 'from my father's oldest friend.'

'It is because I was your father's oldest friend, young man,' returned Mr. Brownlow; 'it is because the hopes

and wishes of young and happy years were bound up with him, and that fair creature of his blood and kindred

who rejoined her God in youth, and left me here a solitary, lonely man: it is because he knelt with me beside

his only sisters' deathbed when he was yet a boy, on the morning that wouldbut Heaven willed

otherwisehave made her my young wife; it is because my seared heart clung to him, from that time forth,

through all his trials and errors, till he died; it is because old recollections and associations filled my heart,

and even the sight of you brings with it old thoughts of him; it is because of all these things that I am moved

to treat you gently nowyes, Edward Leeford, even nowand blush for your unworthiness who bear the

'What has the name to do with it?' asked the other, after contemplating, half in silence, and half in dogged

'Nothing,' replied Mr. Brownlow, 'nothing to you. But it was HERS, and even at this distance of time brings

back to me, an old man, the glow and thrill which I once felt, only to hear it repeated by a stranger. I am very

'This is all mighty fine,' said Monks (to retain his assumed designation) after a long silence, during which he

had jerked himself in sullen defiance to and fro, and Mr. Brownlow had sat, shading his face with his hand.

'You have a brother,' said Mr. Brownlow, rousing himself: 'a brother, the whisper of whose name in your ear

when I came behind you in the street, was, in itself, almost enough to make you accompany me hither, in

'I have no brother,' replied Monks. 'You know I was an only child. Why do you talk to me of brothers? You

'Attend to what I do know, and you may not,' said Mr. Brownlow. 'I shall interest you by and by. I know that

of the wretched marriage, into which family pride, and the most sordid and narrowest of all ambition, forced

your unhappy father when a mere boy, you were the sole and most unnatural issue.'

'I don't care for hard names,' interrupted Monks with a jeering laugh. 'You know the fact, and that's enough

'But I also know,' pursued the old gentleman, 'the misery, the slow torture, the protracted anguish of that

illassorted union. I know how listlessly and wearily each of that wretched pair dragged on their heavy chain

through a world that was poisoned to them both. I know how cold formalities were succeeded by open taunts;

how indifference gave place to dislike, dislike to hate, and hate to loathing, until at last they wrenched the

clanking bond asunder, and retiring a wide space apart, carried each a galling fragment, of which nothing but

death could break the rivets, to hide it in new society beneath the gayest looks they could assume. Your

mother succeeded; she forgot it soon. But it rusted and cankered at your father's heart for years.'

'When they had been separated for some time,' returned Mr. Brownlow, 'and your mother, wholly given up to

continental frivolities, had utterly forgotten the young husband ten good years her junior, who, with prospects

blighted, lingered on at home, he fell among new friends. This circumstance, at least, you know already.'

'Not I,' said Monks, turning away his eyes and beating his foot upon the ground, as a man who is determined

'Your manner, no less than your actions, assures me that you have never forgotten it, or ceased to think of it

with bitterness,' returned Mr. Brownlow. 'I speak of fifteen years ago, when you were not more than eleven

years old, and your father but oneandthirtyfor he was, I repeat, a boy, when HIS father ordered him to

marry. Must I go back to events which cast a shade upon the memory of your parent, or will you spare it, and

'These new friends, then,' said Mr. Brownlow, 'were a naval officer retired from active service, whose wife

had died some halfayear before, and left him with two childrenthere had been more, but, of all their

family, happily but two survived. They were both daughters; one a beautiful creature of nineteen, and the

'They resided,' said Mr. Brownlow, without seeming to hear the interruption, 'in a part of the country to which

your father in his wandering had repaired, and where he had taken up his abode. Acquaintance, intimacy,

friendship, fast followed on each other. Your father was gifted as few men are. He had his sister's soul and

person. As the old officer knew him more and more, he grew to love him. I would that it had ended there. His

The old gentleman paused; Monks was biting his lips, with his eyes fixed upon the floor; seeing this, he

'The end of a year found him contracted, solemnly contracted, to that daughter; the object of the first, true,

'It is a true tale of grief and trial, and sorrow, young man,' returned Mr. Brownlow, 'and such tales usually are;

if it were one of unmixed joy and happiness, it would be very brief. At length one of those rich relations to

strengthen whose interest and importance your father had been sacrificed, as others are oftenit is no

uncommon casedied, and to repair the misery he had been instrumental in occasioning, left him his

panacea for all griefsMoney. It was necessary that he should immediately repair to Rome, whither this man

had sped for health, and where he had died, leaving his affairs in great confusion. He went; was seized with

mortal illness there; was followed, the moment the intelligence reached Paris, by your mother who carried

you with her; he died the day after her arrival, leaving no willNO WILLso that the whole property fell

At this part of the recital Monks held his breath, and listened with a face of intense eagerness, though his eyes

were not directed towards the speaker. As Mr. Brownlow paused, he changed his position with the air of one

'Before he went abroad, and as he passed through London on his way,' said Mr. Brownlow, slowly, and fixing

'I never heard of that,' interrupted MOnks in a tone intended to appear incredulous, but savouring more of

'He came to me, and left with me, among some other things, a picturea portrait painted by himselfa

likeness of this poor girlwhich he did not wish to leave behind, and could not carry forward on his hasty

journey. He was worn by anxiety and remorse almost to a shadow; talked in a wild, distracted way, of ruin

and dishonour worked by himself; confided to me his intention to convert his whole property, at any loss, into

money, and, having settled on his wife and you a portion of his recent acquisition, to fly the countryI

guessed too well he would not fly aloneand never see it more. Even from me, his old and early friend,

whose strong attachment had taken root in the earth that covered one most dear to botheven from me he

withheld any more particular confession, promising to write and tell me all, and after that to see me once

again, for the last time on earth. Alas! THAT was the last time. I had no letter, and I never saw him more.'

'I went,' said Mr. Brownlow, after a short pause, 'I went, when all was over, to the scene of hisI will use the

term the world would freely use, for worldly harshness or favour are now alike to himof his guilty love,

resolved that if my fears were realised that erring child should find one heart and home to shelter and

compassionate her. The family had left that part a week before; they had called in such trifling debts as were

outstanding, discharged them, and left the place by night. Why, or whithter, none can tell.'

Monks drew his breath yet more freely, and looked round with a smile of triumph.

'When your brother,' said Mr. Brownlow, drawing nearer to the other's chair, 'When your brother: a feeble,

ragged, neglected child: was cast in my way by a stronger hand than chance, and rescued by me from a life of

'By me,' said Mr. Brownlow. 'I told you I should interest you before long. I say by meI see that your

cunning associate suppressed my name, although for ought he knew, it would be quite strange to your ears.

When he was rescued by me, then, and lay recovering from sickness in my house, his strong resemblance to

this picture I have spoken of, struck me with astonishment. Even when I first saw him in all his dirt and

misery, there was a lingering expression in his face that came upon me like a glimpse of some old friend

flashing on one in a vivid dream. I need not tell you he was snared away before I knew his history'

'Denial to me is vain,' replied Mr. Brownlow. 'I shall show you that I know more than that.'

'Youyoucan't prove anything against me,' stammered Monks. 'I defy you to do it!'

'We shall see,' returned the old gentleman with a searching glance. 'I lost the boy, and no efforts of mine

could recover him. Your mother being dead, I knew that you alone could solve the mystery if anybody could,

and as when I had last heard of you you were on your own estate in the West Indieswhither, as you well

know, you retired upon your mother's death to escape the consequences of vicious courses hereI made the

voyage. You had left it, months before, and were supposed to be in London, but no one could tell where. I

returned. Your agents had no clue to your residence. You came and went, they said, as strangely as you had

ever done: sometimes for days together and sometimes not for months: keeping to all appearance the same

low haunts and mingling with the same infamous herd who had been your associates when a fierce

ungovernable boy. I wearied them with new applications. I paced the streets by night and day, but until two

'And now you do see me,' said Monks, rising boldly, 'what then? Fraud and robbery are highsounding

wordsjustified, you think, by a fancied resemblance in some young imp to an idle daub of a dead man's

Brother! You don't even know that a child was born of this maudlin pair; you don't even know that.'

'I DID NOT,' replied Mr. Brownlow, rising too; 'but within the last fortnight I have learnt it all. You have a

brother; you know it, and him. There was a will, which your mother destroyed, leaving the secret and the gain

to you at her own death. It contained a reference to some child likely to be the result of this sad connection,

which child was born, and accidentally encountered by you, when your suspicions were first awakened by his

resemblance to your father. You repaired to the place of his birth. There existed proofsproofs long

suppressedof his birth and parentage. Those proofs were destroyed by you, and now, in your own words to

your accomplice the Jew, "THE ONLY PROOFS OF THE BOY'S IDENTITY LIE AT THE BOTTOM OF

Unworthy son, coward, liar,you, who hold your councils with thieves and murderers in dark rooms at

night,you, whose plots and wiles have brought a violent death upon the head of one worth millions such as

you,you, who from your cradle were gall and bitterness to your own father's heart, and in whom all evil

passions, vice, and profligacy, festered, till they found a vent in a hideous disease which had made your face

'Every word!' cried the gentleman, 'every word that has passed between you and this detested villain, is

known to me. Shadows on the wall have caught your whispers, and brought them to my ear; the sight of the

persecuted child has turned vice itself, and given it the courage and almost the attributes of virtue. Murder has

'No, no,' interposed Monks. 'II knew nothing of that; I was going to inquire the truth of the story when you

'It was the partial disclosure of your secrets,' replied Mr. Brownlow. 'Will you disclose the whole?'

'Set your hand to a statement of truth and facts, and repeat it before witnesses?'

'Remain quietly here, until such a document is drawn up, and proceed with me to such a place as I may deem

'You must do more than that,' said Mr. Brownlow. 'Make restitution to an innocent and unoffending child, for

such he is, although the offspring of a guilty and most miserable love. You have not forgotten the provisions

of the will. Carry them into execution so far as your brother is concerned, and then go where you please. In

While Monks was pacing up and down, meditating with dark and evil looks on this proposal and the

possibilities of evading it: torn by his fears on the one hand and his hatred on the other: the door was

hurriedly unlocked, and a gentleman (Mr. Losberne) entered the room in violent agitation.

'Yes, yes,' replied the other. 'His dog has been seen lurking about some old haunt, and there seems little doubt

hat his master either is, or will be, there, under cover of the darkness. Spies are hovering about in every

direction. I have spoken to the men who are charged with his capture, and they tell me he cannot escape. A

'I will give fifty more,' said Mr. Brownlow, 'and proclaim it with my own lips upon the spot, if I can reach it.

'Harry? As soon as he had seen your friend here, safe in a coach with you, he hurried off to where he heard

this,' replied the doctor, 'and mounting his horse sallied forth to join the first party at some place in the

'When I last heard, he had not been taken, but he will be, or is, by this time. They're sure of him.'

'All that I could hope to do, and even more. Coupling the poor girl's intelligence with my previous

knowledge, and the result of our good friend's inquiries on the spot, I left him no loophole of escape, and laid

bare the whole villainy which by these lights became plain as day. Write and appoint the evening after

tomorrow, at seven, for the meeting. We shall be down there, a few hours before, but shall require rest:

especially the young lady, who MAY have greater need of firmness than either you or I can quite foresee just

now. But my blood boils to avenge this poor murdered creature. Which way have they taken?'

'Drive straight to the office and you will be in time,' replied Mr. Losberne. 'I will remain here.'

The two gentlemen hastily separated; each in a fever of excitement wholly uncontrollable.

Near to that part of the Thames on which the church at Rotherhithe abuts, where the buildings on the banks

are dirtiest and the vessels on the river blackest with the dust of colliers and the smoke of closebuilt

lowroofed houses, there exists the filthiest, the strangest, the most extraordinary of the many localities that

are hidden in London, wholly unknown, even by name, to the great mass of its inhabitants.

To reach this place, the visitor has to penetrate through a maze of close, narrow, and muddy streets, thronged

by the rougest and poorest of waterside people, and devoted to the traffic they may be supposed to occasion.

The cheapest and least delicate provisions are heaped in the shops; the coarsest and commonest articles of

wearing apparel dangle at the salesman's door, and stream from the houseparapet and windows. Jostling

with unemployed labourers of the lowest class, ballastheavers, coalwhippers, brazen women, ragged

children, and the raff and refuse of the river, he makes his way with difficulty along, assailed by offensive

sights and smells from the narrow alleys which branch off on the right and left, and deafened by the clash of

ponderous waggons that bear great piles of merchandise from the stacks of warehouses that rise from every

corner. Arriving, at length, in streets remoter and lessfrequented than those through which he has passed, he

walks beneath tottering housefronts projecting over the pavement, dismantled walls that seem to totter as he

passes, chimneys half crushed half hesitating to fall, windows guarded by rusty iron bars that time and dirt

In such a neighborhood, beyond Dockhead in the Borough of Southwark, stands Jacob's Island, surrounded

by a muddy ditch, six or eight feet deep and fifteen or twenty wide when the tide is in, once called Mill Pond,

but known in the days of this story as Folly Ditch. It is a creek or inlet from the Thames, and can always be

filled at high water by opening the sluices at the Lead Mills from which it took its old name. At such times, a

stranger, looking from one of the wooden bridges thrown across it at Mill Lane, will see the inhabitants of the

houses on either side lowering from their back doors and windows, buckets, pails, domestic utensils of all

kinds, in which to haul the water up; and when his eye is turned from these operations to the houses

themselves, his utmost astonishment will be excited by the scene before him. Crazy wooden galleries

common to the backs of half a dozen houses, with holes from which to look upon the slime beneath;

windows, broken and patched, with poles thrust out, on which to dry the linen that is never there; rooms so

small, so filthy, so confined, that the air would seem too tainted even for the dirt and squalor which they

shelter; wooden chambers thrusting themselves out above the mud, and threatening to fall into itas some

have done; dirtbesmeared walls and decaying foundations; every repulsive lineament of poverty, every

loathsome indication of filth, rot, and garbage; all these ornament the banks of Folly Ditch.

In Jacob's Island, the warehouses are roofless and empty; the walls are crumbling down; the windows are

windows no more; the doors are falling into the streets; the chimneys are blackened, but they yield no smoke.

Thirty or forty years ago, before losses and chancery suits came upon it, it was a thriving place; but now it is

a desolate island indeed. The houses have no owners; they are broken open, and entered upon by those who

have the courage; and there they live, and there they die. They must have powerful motives for a secret

residence, or be reduced to a destitute condition indeed, who seek a refuge in Jacob's Island.

In an upper room of one of these housesa detached house of fair size, ruinous in other respects, but

strongly defended at door and window: of which house the back commanded the ditch in manner already

describedthere were assembled three men, who, regarding each other every now and then with looks

expressive of perplexity and expectation, sat for some time in profound and gloomy silence. One of these was

Toby Crackit, another Mr. Chitling, and the third a robber of fifty years, whose nose had been almost beaten

in, in some old scuffle, and whose face bore a frightful scar which might probably be traced to the same

'I wish,' said Toby turning to Mr. Chitling, 'that you had picked out some other crig when the two old ones

'Well, I thought you'd have been a little more glad to see me than this,' replied Mr. Chitling, with a

'Why, look'e, young gentleman,' said Toby, 'when a man keeps himself so very exclusive as I have done,

and by that means has a snug house over his head with nobody a prying and smelling about it, it's rather a

startling thing to have the honour of a wisit from a young gentleman (however respectable and pleasant a

'Especially, when the exclusive young man has got a friend stopping with him, that's arrived sooner than was

expected from foreign parts, and is too modest to want to be presented to the Judges on his return,' added Mr.

There was a short silence, after which Toby Crackit, seeming to abandon as hopeless any further effort to

'Just at dinnertimetwo o'clock this afternoon. Charley and I made our lucky up the washus chimney, and

Bolter got into the empty waterbutt, head downwards; but his legs were so precious long that they stuck out

'Poor Bet! She went to see the Body, to speak to who it was,' replied Chitling, his countenance falling more

and more, 'and went off mad, screaming and raving, and beating her head against the boards; so they put a

'He hung about, not to come over here afore dark, but he'll be here soon,' replied Chitling. 'There's nowhere

else to go to now, for the people at the Cripples are all in custody, and the bar of the kenI went up there

'This is a smash,' observed Toby, biting his lips. 'There's more than one will go with this.'

'The sessions are on,' said Kags: 'if they get the inquest over, and Bolter turns King's evidence: as of course

he will, from what he's said already: they can prove Fagin an accessory before the fact, and get the trial on on

'You should have heard the people groan,' said Chitling; 'the officers fought like devils, or they'd have torn

him away. He was down once, but they made a ring round him, and fought their way along. You should have

seen how he looked about him, all muddy and bleeding, and clung to them as if they were his dearest friends.

I can see 'em now, not able to stand upright with the pressing of the mob, and draggin him along amongst

'em; I can see the people jumping up, one behind another, and snarling with their teeth and making at him; I

can see the blood upon his hair and beard, and hear the cries with which the women worked themselves into

the centre of the crowd at the street corner, and swore they'd tear his heart out!'

The horrorstricken witness of this scene pressed his hands upon his ears, and with his eyes closed got up and

While he was thus engaged, and the two men sat by in silence with their eyes fixed upon the floor, a pattering

noise was heard upon the stairs, and Sikes's dog bounded into the room. They ran to the window, downstairs,

and into the street. The dog had jumped in at an open window; he made no attempt to follow them, nor was

'What's the meaning of this?' said Toby when they had returned. 'He can't be coming here. IIhope not.'

'If he was coming here, he'd have come with the dog,' said Kags, stooping down to examine the animal, who

lay panting on the floor. 'Here! Give us some water for him; he has run himself faint.'

'He's drunk it all up, every drop,' said Chitling after watching the dog some time in silence. 'Covered with

'Where can he have come from!' exclaimed Toby. 'He's been to the other kens of course, and finding them

filled with strangers come on here, where he's been many a time and often. But where can he have come from

'He'(none of them called the murderer by his old name)'He can't have made away with himself. What do

'If he had,' said Kags, 'the dog 'ud want to lead us away to where he did it. No. I think he's got out of the

country, and left the dog behind. He must have given him the slip somehow, or he wouldn't be so easy.'

This solution, appearing the most probable one, was adopted as the right; the dog, creeping under a chair,

It being now dark, the shutter was closed, and a candle lighted and placed upon the table. The terrible events

of the last two days had made a deep impression on all three, increased by the danger and uncertainty of their

own position. They drew their chairs closer together, starting at every sound. They spoke little, and that in

whispers, and were as silent and awestricken as if the remains of the murdered woman lay in the next room.

They had sat thus, some time, when suddenly was heard a hurried knocking at the door below.

'Young Bates,' said Kags, looking angrily round, to check the fear he felt himself.

Crackit went to the window, and shaking all over, drew in his head. There was no need to tell them who it

was; his pale face was enough. The dog too was on the alert in an instant, and ran whining to the door.

'Don't leave us in the dark,' said Kags, taking down a candle from the chimneypiece, and lighting it, with

such a trembling hand that the knocking was twice repeated before he had finished.

Crackit went down to the door, and returned followed by a man with the lower part of his face buried in a

handkerchief, and another tied over his head under his hat. He drew them slowly off. Blanched face, sunken

eyes, hollow cheeks, beard of three days' growth, wasted flesh, short thick breath; it was the very ghost of

He laid his hand upon a chair which stood in the middle of the room, but shuddering as he was about to drop

into it, and seeming to glance over his shoulder, dragged it back close to the wallas close as it would

Not a word had been exchanged. He looked from one to another in silence. If an eye were furtively raised and

met his, it was instantly averted. When his hollow voice broke silence, they all three started. They seemed

'You that keep this house,' said Sikes, turning his face to Crackit, 'do you mean to sell me, or to let me lie here

'You may stop here, if you think it safe,' returned the person addressed, after some hesitation.

Sikes carried his eyes slowly up the wall behind him: rather trying to turn his head than actually doing it: and

'Why isn't it!' he retorted with the same glance behind him. 'Wot do they keep such ugly things above the

Crackit intimated, by a motion of his hand as he left the room, that there was nothing to fear; and directly

came back with Charley Bates behind him. Sikes sat opposite the door, so that the moment the boy entered

'Toby,' said the boy falling back, as Sikes turned his eyes towards him, 'why didn't you tell me this,

There had been something so tremendous in the shrinking off of the three, that the wretched man was willing

to propitiate even this lad. Accordingly he nodded, and made as though he would shake hands with him.

'Don't come nearer me,' answered the boy, still retreating, and looking, with horror in his eyes, upon the

The man stopped halfway, and they looked at each other; but Sikes's eyes sunk gradually to the ground.

'Witness you three,' cried the boy shaking his clenched fist, and becoming more and more excited as he

spoke. 'Witness you threeI'm not afraid of himif they come here after him, I'll give him up; I will. I tell

you out at once. He may kill me for it if he likes, or if he dares, but if I am here I'll give him up. I'd give him

up if he was to be boiled alive. Murder! Help! If there's the pluck of a man among you three, you'll help me.

Pouring out these cries, and accompanying them with violent gesticulation, the boy actually threw himself,

singlehanded, upon the strong man, and in the intensity of his energy and the suddenness of his surprise,

The three spectators seemed quite stupefied. They offered no interference, and the boy and man rolled on the

ground together; the former, heedless of the blows that showered upon him, wrenching his hands tighter and

tighter in the garments about the murderer's breast, and never ceasing to call for help with all his might.

The contest, however, was too unequal to last long. Sikes had him down, and his knee was on his throat,

when Crackit pulled him back with a look of alarm, and pointed to the window. There were lights gleaming

below, voices in loud and earnest conversation, the tramp of hurried footstepsendless they seemed in

numbercrossing the nearest wooden bridge. One man on horseback seemed to be among the crowd; for

there was the noise of hoofs rattling on the uneven pavement. The gleam of lights increased; the footsteps

came more thickly and noisily on. Then, came a loud knocking at the door, and then a hoarse murmur from

'In the King's name,' cried the voices without; and the hoarse cry arose again, but louder.

'Break down the door!' screamed the boy. 'I tell you they'll never open it. Run straight to the room where the

Strokes, thick and heavy, rattled upon the door and lower windowshutters as he ceased to speak, and a loud

huzzah burst from the crowd; giving the listener, for the first time, some adequate idea of its immense extent.

'Open the door of some place where I can lock this screeching Hellbabe,' cried Sikes fiercely; running to and

fro, and dragging the boy, now, as easily as if he were an empty sack. 'That door. Quick!' He flung him in,

'Doublelocked and chained,' replied Crackit, who, with the other two men, still remained quite helpless and

'Damn you!' cried the desperate ruffian, throwing up the sash and menacing the crowd. 'Do your worst! I'll

Of all the terrific yells that ever fell on mortal ears, none could exceed the cry of the infuriated throng. Some

shouted to those who were nearest to set the house on fire; others roared to the officers to shoot him dead.

Among them all, none showed such fury as the man on horseback, who, throwing himself out of the saddle,

and bursting through the crowd as if he were parting water, cried, beneath the window, in a voice that rose

The nearest voices took up the cry, and hundreds echoed it. Some called for ladders, some for

sledgehammers; some ran with torches to and fro as if to seek them, and still came back and roared again;

some spent their breath in impotent curses and execrations; some pressed forward with the ecstasy of

madmen, and thus impeded the progress of those below; some among the boldest attempted to climb up by

the waterspout and crevices in the wall; and all waved to and fro, in the darkness beneath, like a field of

corn moved by an angry wind: and joined from time to time in one loud furious roar.

'The tide,' cried the murderer, as he staggered back into the room, and shut the faces out, 'the tide was in as I

came up. Give me a rope, a long rope. They're all in front. I may drop into the Folly Ditch, and clear off that

The panicstricken men pointed to where such articles were kept; the murderer, hastily selecting the longest

All the window in the rear of the house had been long ago bricked up, except one small trap in the room

where the boy was locked, and that was too small even for the passage of his body. But, from this aperture, he

had never ceased to call on those without, to guard the back; and thus, when the murderer emerged at last on

the housetop by the door in the roof, a loud shout proclaimed the fact to those in front, who immediately

He planted a board, which he had carried up with him for the purpose, so firmly against the door that it must

be matter of great difficulty to open it from the inside; and creeping over the tiles, looked over the low

The crowd had been hushed during these few moments, watching his motions and doubtful of his purpose,

but the instant they perceived it and knew it was defeated, they raised a cry of triumphant execration to which

all their previous shouting had been whispers. Again and again it rose. Those who were at too great a distance

to know its meaning, took up the sound; it echoed and reechoed; it seemed as though the whole city had

On pressed the people from the fronton, on, on, in a strong struggling current of angry faces, with here and

there a glaring torch to lighten them up, and show them out in all their wrath and passion. The houses on the

opposite side of the ditch had been entered by the mob; sashes were thrown up, or torn bodily out; there were

tiers and tiers of faces in every window; cluster upon cluster of people clinging to every housetop. Each

little bridge (and there were three in sight) bent beneath the weight of the crowd upon it. Still the current

poured on to find some nook or hole from which to vent their shouts, and only for an instant see the wretch.

'I will give fifty pounds,' cried an old gentleman from the same quarter, 'to the man who takes him alive. I

There was another roar. At this moment the word was passed among the crowd that the door was forced at

last, and that he who had first called for the ladder had mounted into the room. The stream abruptly turned, as

this intelligence ran from mouth to mouth; and the people at the windows, seeing those upon the bridges

pouring back, quitted their stations, and running into the street, joined the concourse that now thronged

pellmell to the spot they had left: each man crushing and striving with his neighbor, and all panting with

impatience to get near the door, and look upon the criminal as the officers brought him out. The cries and

shrieks of those who were pressed almost to suffocation, or trampled down and trodden under foot in the

confusion, were dreadful; the narrow ways were completely blocked up; and at this time, between the rush of

some to regain the space in front of the house, and the unavailing struggles of others to extricate themselves

from the mass, the immediate attention was distracted from the murderer, although the universal eagerness

The man had shrunk down, thoroughly quelled by the ferocity of the crowd, and the impossibility of escape;

but seeing this sudden change with no less rapidity than it had occurred, he sprang upon his feet, determined

to make one last effort for his life by dropping into the ditch, and, at the risk of being stifled, endeavouring to

Roused into new strength and energy, and stimulated by the noise within the house which announced that an

entrance had really been effected, he set his foot against the stack of chimneys, fastened one end of the rope

tightly and firmly round it, and with the other made a strong running noose by the aid of his hands and teeth

almost in a second. He could let himself down by the cord to within a less distance of the ground than his

At the very instant when he brought the loop over his head previous to slipping it beneath his armpits, and

when the old gentleman beforementioned (who had clung so tight to the railing of the bridge as to resist the

force of the crowd, and retain his position) earnestly warned those about him that the man was about to lower

himself downat that very instant the murderer, looking behind him on the roof, threw his arms above his

Staggering as if struck by lightning, he lost his balance and tumbled over the parapet. The noose was on his

neck. It ran up with his weight, tight as a bowstring, and swift as the arrow it speeds. He fell for

fiveandthirty feet. There was a sudden jerk, a terrific convulsion of the limbs; and there he hung, with the

The old chimney quivered with the shock, but stood it bravely. The murderer swung lifeless against the wall;

and the boy, thrusting aside the dangling body which obscured his view, called to the people to come and take

A dog, which had lain concealed till now, ran backwards and forwards on the parapet with a dismal howl, and

collecting himself for a spring, jumped for the dead man's shoulders. Missing his aim, he fell into the ditch,

turning completely over as he went; and striking his head against a stone, dashed out his brains.

The events narrated in the last chapter were yet but two days old, when Oliver found himself, at three o'clock

in the afternoon, in a travellingcarriage rolling fast towards his native town. Mrs. Maylie, and Rose, and

Mrs. Bedwin, and the good doctor were with him: and Mr. Brownlow followed in a postchaise,

They had not talked much upon the way; for Oliver was in a flutter of agitation and uncertainty which

deprived him of the power of collecting his thoughts, and almost of speech, and appeared to have scarcely

less effect on his companions, who shared it, in at least an equal degree. He and the two ladies had been very

carefully made acquainted by Mr. Brownlow with the nature of the admissions which had been forced from

Monks; and although they knew that the object of their present journey was to complete the work which had

been so well begun, still the whole matter was enveloped in enough of doubt and mystery to leave them in

The same kind friend had, with Mr. Losberne's assistance, cautiously stopped all channels of communication

through which they could receive intelligence of the dreadful occurrences that so recently taken place. 'It was

quite true,' he said, 'that they must know them before long, but it might be at a better time than the present,

and it could not be at a worse.' So, they travelled on in silence: each busied with reflections on the object

which had brought them together: and no one disposed to give utterance to the thoughts which crowded upon

But if Oliver, under these influences, had remained silent while they journeyed towards his birthplace by a

road he had never seen, how the whole current of his recollections ran back to old times, and what a crowd of

emotions were wakened up in his breast, when they turned into that which he had traversed on foot: a poor

houseless, wandering boy, without a friend to help him, or a roof to shelter his head.

'See there, there!' cried Oliver, eagerly clasping the hand of Rose, and pointing out at the carriage window;

'that's the stile I came over; there are the hedges I crept behind, for fear any one should overtake me and force

me back! Yonder is the path across the fields, leading to the old house where I was a little child! Oh Dick,

'You will see him soon,' replied Rose, gently taking his folded hands between her own. 'You shall tell him

how happy you are, and how rich you have grown, and that in all your happiness you have none so great as

'Yes, yes,' said Oliver, 'and we'llwe'll take him away from here, and have him clothed and taught, and send

Rose nodded 'yes,' for the boy was smiling through such happy tears that she could not speak.

'You will be kind and good to him, for you are to every one,' said Oliver. 'It will make you cry, I know, to

hear what he can tell; but never mind, never mind, it will be all over, and you will smile againI know that

tooto think how changed he is; you did the same with me. He said "God bless you" to me when I ran

away,' cried the boy with a burst of affectionate emotion; 'and I will say "God bless you" now, and show him

As they approached the town, and at length drove through its narrow streets, it became matter of no small

difficulty to restrain the boy within reasonable bounds. There was Sowerberry's the undertaker's just as it

used to be, only smaller and less imposing in appearance than he remembered itthere were all the

wellknown shops and houses, with almost every one of which he had some slight incident connectedthere

was Gamfield's cart, the very cart he used to have, standing at the old publichouse doorthere was the

workhouse, the dreary prison of his youthful days, with its dismal windows frowning on the streetthere

was the same lean porter standing at the gate, at sight of whom Oliver involuntarily shrunk back, and then

laughed at himself for being so foolish, then cried, then laughed againthere were scores of faces at the

doors and windows that he knew quite wellthere was nearly everything as if he had left it but yesterday,

But it was pure, earnest, joyful reality. They drove straight to the door of the chief hotel (which Oliver used to

stare up at, with awe, and think a mighty palace, but which had somehow fallen off in grandeur and size); and

here was Mr. Grimwig all ready to receive them, kissing the young lady, and the old one too, when they got

out of the coach, as if he were the grandfather of the whole party, all smiles and kindness, and not offering to

eat his headno, not once; not even when he contradicted a very old postboy about the nearest road to

London, and maintained he knew it best, though he had only come that way once, and that time fast asleep.

There was dinner prepared, and there were bedrooms ready, and everything was arranged as if by magic.

Notwithstanding all this, when the hurry of the first halfhour was over, the same silence and constraint

prevailed that had marked their journey down. Mr. Brownlow did not join them at dinner, but remained in a

separate room. The two other gentlemen hurried in and out with anxious faces, and, during the short intervals

when they were present, conversed apart. Once, Mrs. Maylie was called away, and after being absent for

nearly an hour, returned with eyes swollen with weeping. All these things made Rose and Oliver, who were

not in any new secrets, nervous and uncomfortable. They sat wondering, in silence; or, if they exchanged a

few words, spoke in whispers, as if they were afraid to hear the sound of their own voices.

At length, when nine o'clock had come, and they began to think they were to hear no more that night, Mr.

Losberne and Mr. Grimwig entered the room, followed by Mr. Brownlow and a man whom Oliver almost

shrieked with surprise to see; for they told him it was his brother, and it was the same man he had met at the

markettown, and seen looking in with Fagin at the window of his little room. Monks cast a look of hate,

which, even then, he could not dissemble, at the astonished boy, and sat down near the door. Mr. Brownlow,

who had papers in his hand, walked to a table near which Rose and Oliver were seated.

'This is a painful task,' said he, 'but these declarations, which have been signed in London before many

gentlemen, must be substance repeated here. I would have spared you the degradation, but we must hear them

'Go on,' said the person addressed, turning away his face. 'Quick. I have almost done enough, I think. Don't

'This child,' said Mr. Brownlow, drawing Oliver to him, and laying his hand upon his head, 'is your

halfbrother; the illegitimate son of your father, my dear friend Edwin Leeford, by poor young Agnes

'Yes,' said Monks, scowling at the trembling boy: the beating of whose heart he might have heard. 'That is the

'The term you use,' said Mr. Brownlow, sternly, 'is a reproach to those long since passed beyong the feeble

censure of the world. It reflects disgrace on no one living, except you who use it. Let that pass. He was born

'In the workhouse of this town,' was the sullen reply. 'You have the story there.' He pointed impatiently to the

'I must have it here, too,' said Mr. Brownlow, looking round upon the listeners.

'Listen then! You!' returned Monks. 'His father being taken ill at Rome, was joined by his wife, my mother,

from whom he had been long separated, who went from Paris and took me with herto look after his

property, for what I know, for she had no great affection for him, nor he for her. He knew nothing of us, for

his senses were gone, and he slumbered on till next day, when he died. Among the papers in his desk, were

two, dated on the night his illness first came on, directed to yourself'; he addressed himself to Mr. Brownlow;

'and enclosed in a few short lines to you, with an intimation on the cover of the package that it was not to be

forwarded till after he was dead. One of these papers was a letter to this girl Agnes; the other a will.'

'The letter?A sheet of paper crossed and crossed again, with a penitent confession, and prayers to God to

help her. He had palmed a tale on the girl that some secret mysteryto be explained one dayprevented his

marrying her just then; and so she had gone on, trusting patiently to him, until she trusted too far, and lost

what none could ever give her back. She was, at that time, within a few months of her confinement. He told

her all he had meant to do, to hide her shame, if he had lived, and prayed her, if he died, not to curse him

memory, or think the consequences of their sin would be visited on her or their young child; for all the guilt

was his. He reminded her of the day he had given her the little locket and the ring with her christian name

engraved upon it, and a blank left for that which he hoped one day to have bestowed upon herprayed her

yet to keep it, and wear it next her heart, as she had done beforeand then ran on, wildly, in the same words,

'The will,' said Mr. Brownlow, speaking for him, 'was in the same spirit as the letter. He talked of miseries

which his wife had brought upon him; of the rebellious disposition, vice, malice, and premature bad passions

of you his only son, who had been trained to hate him; and left you, and your mother, each an annuity of eight

hundred pounds. The bulk of his property he divided into two equal portionsone for Agnes Fleming, and

the other for their child, it it should be born alive, and ever come of age. If it were a girl, it was to inherit the

money unconditionally; but if a boy, only on the stipulation that in his minority he should never have stained

his name with any public act of dishonour, meanness, cowardice, or wrong. He did this, he said, to mark his

confidence in the other, and his convictiononly strengthened by approaching deaththat the child would

share her gentle heart, and noble nature. If he were disappointed in this expectation, then the money was to

come to you: for then, and not till then, when both children were equal, would he recognise your prior claim

upon his purse, who had none upon his heart, but had, from an infant, repulsed him with coldness and

'My mother,' said Monks, in a louder tone, 'did what a woman should have done. She burnt this will. The

letter never reached its destination; but that, and other proofs, she kept, in case they ever tried to lie away the

blot. The girl's father had the truth from her with every aggravation that her violent hateI love her for it

nowcould add. Goaded by shame and dishonour he fled with his children into a remote corner of Wales,

changing his very name that his friends might never know of his retreat; and here, no great while afterwards,

he was found dead in his bed. The girl had left her home, in secret, some weeks before; he had searched for

her, on foot, in every town and village near; it was on the night when he returned home, assured that she had

There was a short silence here, until Mr. Brownlow took up the thread of the narrative.

'Years after this,' he said, 'this man'sEdward Leeford'smother came to me. He had left her, when only

eighteen; robbed her of jewels and money; gambled, squandered, forged, and fled to London: where for two

years he had associated with the lowest outcasts. She was sinking under a painful and incurable disease, and

wished to recover him before she died. Inquiries were set on foot, and strict searches made. They were

unavailing for a long time, but ultimately successful; and he went back with her to France.

'There she died,' said Monks, 'after a lingering illness; and, on her deathbed, she bequeathed these secrets to

me, together with her unquenchable and deadly hatred of all whom they involvedthough she need not have

left me that, for I had inherited it long before. She would not believe that the girl had destroyed herself, and

the child too, but was filled with the impression that a male child had been born, and was alive. I swore to

her, if ever it crossed my path, to hunt it down; never to let it rest; to pursue it with the bitterest and most

unrelenting animosity; to vent upon it the hatred that I deeply felt, and to spit upon the empty vaunt of that

insulting will by draggin it, if I could, to the very gallowsfoot. She was right.

He came in my way at last. I began well; and, but for babbling drabs, I would have finished as I began!'

As the villain folded his arms tight together, and muttered curses on himself in the impotence of baffled

malice, Mr. Brownlow turned to the terrified group beside him, and explained that the Jew, who had been his

old accomplice and confidant, had a large reward for keeping Oliver ensnared: of which some part was to be

given up, in the event of his being rescued: and that a dispute on this head had led to their visit to the country

'I bought them from the man and woman I told you of, who stole them from the nurse, who stole them from

the corpse,' answered Monks without raising his eyes. 'You know what became of them.'

Mr. Brownlow merely nodded to Mr. Grimwig, who disappearing with great alacrity, shortly returned,

'Do my hi's deceive me!' cried Mr. Bumble, with illfeigned enthusiasm, 'or is that little Oliver? Oh

'Isn't natur, natur, Mrs. Bumble?' remonstrated the workhouse master. 'Can't I be supposed to feel_I_ as

brought him up porochiallywhen I see him asetting here among ladies and gentlemen of the very affablest

description! I always loved that boy as if he'd been mymymy own grandfather,' said Mr. Bumble,

halting for an appropriate comparison. 'Master Oliver, my dear, you remember the blessed gentleman in the

white waistcoat? Ah! he went to heaven last week, in a oak coffin with plated handles, Oliver.'

'I will do my endeavours, sir,' replied Mr. Bumble. 'How do you do, sir? I hope you are very well.'

This salutation was addressed to Mr. Brownlow, who had stepped up to within a short distance of the

'Certainly not,' replied the matron. 'Why are we brought here to answer to such nonsense as this?'

Again Mr. Brownlow nodded to Mr. Grimwig; and again that gentleman limped away with extraordinary

readiness. But not again did he return with a stout man and wife; for this time, he led in two palsied women,

'You shut the door the night old Sally died,' said the foremost one, raising her shrivelled hand, 'but you

'No, no,' said the other, looking round her and wagging her toothless jaws. 'No, no, no.'

'We heard her try to tell you what she'd done, and saw you take a paper from her hand, and watched you too,

'Yes,' added the second, 'and it was a "locket and gold ring." We found out that, and saw it given you. We

'And we know more than that,' resumed the first, 'for she told us often, long ago, that the young mother had

told her that, feeling she should never get over it, she was on her way, at the time that she was taken ill, to die

'Would you like to see the pawnbroker himself?' asked Mr. Grimwig with a motion towards the door.

'No,' replied the woman; 'if heshe pointed to Monks'has been coward enough to confess, as I see he had,

and you have sounded all these hags till you have found the right ones, I have nothing more to say. I DID sell

'Nothing,' replied Mr. Brownlow, 'except that it remains for us to take care that neither of you is employed in

'I hope,' said Mr. Bumble, looking about him with great ruefulness, as Mr. Grimwig disappeared with the two

old women: 'I hope that this unfortunate little circumstance will not deprive me of my porochial office?'

'Indeed it will,' replied Mr. Brownlow. 'You may make up your mind to that, and think yourself well off

'It was all Mrs. Bumble. She WOULD do it,' urged Mr. Bumble; first looking round to ascertain that his

'That is no excuse,' replied Mr. Brownlow. 'You were present on the occasion of the destruction of these

trinkets, and indeed are the more guilty of the two, in the eye of the law; for the law supposes that your wife

'If the law supposes that,' said Mr. Bumble, squeezing his hat emphatically in both hands, 'the law is a assa

idiot. If that's the eye of the law, the law is a bachelor; and the worst I wish the law is, that his eye may be

Laying great stress on the repetition of these two words, Mr. Bumble fixed his hat on very tight, and putting

'Young lady,' said Mr. Brownlow, turning to Rose, 'give me your hand. Do not tremble. You need not fear to

'If they haveI do not know how they can, but if they haveany reference to me,' said Rose, 'pray let me

'Nay,' returned the old gentlman, drawing her arm through his; 'you have more fortitude than this, I am sure.

'The father of the unhappy Agnes had TWO daughters,' said Mr. Brownlow. 'What was the fate of the

'The child,' replied Monks, 'when her father died in a strange place, in a strange name, without a letter, book,

or scrap of paper that yielded the faintest clue by which his friends or relatives could be tracedthe child

'You couldn't find the spot to which these people had repaired,' said Monks, 'but where friendship fails, hatred

will often force a way. My mother found it, after a year of cunning searchay, and found the child.'

'No. The people were poor and began to sickenat least the man didof their fine humanity; so she left it

with them, giving them a small present of money which would not last long, and promised more, which she

never meant to send. She didn't quite rely, however, on their discontent and poverty for the child's

unhappiness, but told the history of the sister's shame, with such alterations as suited her; bade them take

good heed of the child, for she came of bad blood;; and told them she was illegitimate, and sure to go wrong

at one time or other. The circumstances countenanced all this; the people believed it; and there the child

dragged on an existence, miserable enough even to satisfy us, until a widow lady, residing, then, at Chester,

saw the girl by chance, pitied her, and took her home. There was some cursed spell, I think, against us; for in

spite of all our efforts she remained there and was happy. I lost sight of her, two or three years ago, and saw

'But not the less my niece,' cried Mrs. Maylie, folding the fainting girl in her arms; 'not the less my dearest

child. I would not lose her now, for all the treasures of the world. My sweet companion, my own dear girl!'

'The only friend I ever had,' cried Rose, clinging to her. 'The kindest, best of friends. My heart will burst. I

'You have borne more, and have been, through all, the best and gentlest creature that ever shed happiness on

every one she knew,' said Mrs. Maylie, embracing her tenderly. 'Come, come, my love, remember who this is

'Not aunt,' cried Oliver, throwing his arms about her neck; 'I'll never call her auntsister, my own dear sister,

that something taught my heart to love so dearly from the first! Rose, dear, darling Rose!'

Let the tears which fell, and the broken words which were exchanged in the long close embrace between the

orphans, be sacred. A father, sister, and mother, were gained, and lost, in that one moment. Joy and grief were

mingled in the cup; but there were no bitter tears: for even grief itself arose so softened, and clothed in such

sweet and tender recollections, that it became a solemn pleasure, and lost all character of pain.

They were a long, long time alone. A soft tap at the door, at length announced that some one was without.

'I know it all,' he said, taking a seat beside the lovely girl. 'Dear Rose, I know it all.'

'I am not here by accident,' he added after a lengthened silence; 'nor have I heard all this tonight, for I knew

it yesterdayonly yesterday. Do you guess that I have come to remind you of a promise?'

'All. You gave me leave, at any time within a year, to renew the subject of our last discourse.'

'Not to press you to alter your determination,' pursued the young man, 'but to hear you repeat it, if you would.

I was to lay whatever of station or fortune I might possess at your feet, and if you still adhered to your former

'The same reasons which influenced me then, will influence me know,' said Rose firmly. 'If I ever owed a

strict and rigid duty to her, whose goodness saved me from a life of indigence and suffering, when should I

ever feel it, as I should tonight? It is a struggle,' said Rose, 'but one I am proud to make; it is a pang, but one

'The disclosure of tonight,' replied Rose softly, 'leaves me in the same position, with reference to you, as

'Oh Harry, Harry,' said the young lady, bursting into tears; 'I wish I could, and spare myself this pain.'

'Then why inflict it on yourself?' said Harry, taking her hand. 'Think, dear Rose, think what you have heard

'And what have I heard! What have I heard!' cried Rose. 'That a sense of his deep disgrace so worked upon

my own father that he shunned allthere, we have said enough, Harry, we have said enough.'

'Not yet, not yet,' said the young man, detaining her as she rose. 'My hopes, my wishes, prospects, feeling:

every thought in life except my love for you: have undergone a change. I offer you, now, no distinction

among a bustling crowd; no mingling with a world of malice and detraction, where the blood is called into

honest cheeks by aught but real disgrace and shame; but a homea heart and homeyes, dearest Rose, and

'I mean but thisthat when I left you last, I left you with a firm determination to level all fancied barriers

between yourself and me; resolved that if my world could not be yours, I would make yours mine; that no

pride of birth should curl the lip at you, for I would turn from it. This I have done. Those who have shrunk

from me because of this, have shrunk from you, and proved you so far right. Such power and patronage: such

relatives of influence and rank: as smiled upon me then, look coldly now; but there are smiling fields and

waving trees in England's richest county; and by one village churchmine, Rose, my own!there stands a

rustic dwelling which you can make me prouder of, than all the hopes I have renounced, measured a

'It's a trying thing waiting supper for lovers,' said Mr. Grimwig, waking up, and pulling his

Truth to tell, the supper had been waiting a most unreasonable time. Neither Mrs. Maylie, nor Harry, nor

'I had serious thoughts of eating my head tonight,' said Mr. Grimwig, 'for I began to think I should get

nothing else. I'll take the liberty, if you'll allow me, of saluting the bride that is to be.'

Mr. Grimwig lost no time in carrying this notice into effect upon the blushing girl; and the example, being

contagious, was followed both by the doctor and Mr. Brownlow: some people affirm that Harry Maylie had

been observed to set it, orginally, in a dark room adjoining; but the best authorities consider this downright

'Oliver, my child,' said Mrs. Maylie, 'where have you been, and why do you look so sad? There are tears

It is a world of disappointment: often to the hopes we most cherish, and hopes that do our nature the greatest

The court was paved, from floor to roof, with human faces. Inquisitive and eager eyes peered from every inch

of space. From the rail before the dock, away into the sharpest angle of the smallest corner in the galleries, all

looks were fixed upon one manFagin. Before him and behind: above, below, on the right and on the left:

He stood there, in all this glare of living light, with one hand resting on the wooden slab before him, the other

held to his ear, and his head thrust forward to enable him to catch with greater distinctness every word that

fell from the presiding judge, who was delivering his charge to the jury. At times, he turned his eyes sharply

upon them to observe the effect of the slightest featherweight in his favour; and when the points against him

were stated with terrible distinctness, looked towards his counsel, in mute appeal that he would, even then,

urge something in his behalf. Beyond these manifestations of anxiety, he stirred not hand or foot. He had

scarcely moved since the trial began; and now that the judge ceased to speak, he still remained in the same

strained attitude of close attention, with his gaze ben on him, as though he listened still.

A slight bustle in the court, recalled him to himself. Looking round, he saw that the juryman had turned

together, to consider their verdict. As his eyes wandered to the gallery, he could see the people rising above

each other to see his face: some hastily applying their glasses to their eyes: and others whispering their

neighbours with looks expressive of abhorrence. A few there were, who seemed unmindful of him, and

looked only to the jury, in impatient wonder how they could delay. But in no one facenot even among the

women, of whom there were many therecould he read the faintest sympathy with himself, or any feeling

As he saw all this in one bewildered glance, the deathlike stillness came again, and looking back he saw that

He looked, wistfully, into their faces, one by one when they passed out, as though to see which way the

greater number leant; but that was fruitless. The jailed touched him on the shoulder. He followed

mechanically to the end of the dock, and sat down on a chair. The man pointed it out, or he would not have

He looked up into the gallery again. Some of the people were eating, and some fanning themselves with

handkerchiefs; for the crowded place was very hot. There was one young man sketching his face in a little

notebook. He wondered whether it was like, and looked on when the artist broke his pencilpoint, and made

In the same way, when he turned his eyes towards the judge, his mind began to busy itself with the fashion of

his dress, and what it cost, and how he put it on. There was an old fat gentleman on the bench, too, who had

gone out, some half an hour before, and now come back. He wondered within himself whether this man had

been to get his dinner, what he had had, and where he had had it; and pursued this train of careless thought

Not that, all this time, his mind was, for an instant, free from one oppressive overwhelming sense of the grave

that opened at his feet; it was ever present to him, but in a vague and general way, and he could not fix his

thoughts upon it. Thus, even while he trembled, and turned burning hot at the idea of speedy death, he fell to

counting the iron spikes before him, and wondering how the head of one had been broken off, and whether

they would mend it, or leave it as it was. Then, he thought of all the horrors of the gallows and the

scaffoldand stopped to watch a man sprinkling the floor to cool itand then went on to think again.

At length there was a cry of silence, and a breathless look from all towards the door. The jury returned, and

passed him close. He could glean nothing from their faces; they might as well have been of stone. Perfect

The building rang with a tremendous shout, and another, and another, and then it echoed loud groans, that

gathered strength as they swelled out, like angry thunder. It was a peal of joy from the populace outside,

The noise subsided, and he was asked if he had anything to say why sentence of death should not be passed

upon him. He had resumed his listening attitude, and looked intently at his questioner while the demand was

made; but it was twice repeated before he seemed to hear it, and then he only muttered that he was an old

The judge assumed the black cap, and the prisoner still stood with the same air and gesture. A woman in the

gallery, uttered some exclamation, called forth by this dread solemnity; he looked hastily up as if angry at the

interruption, and bent forward yet more attentively. The address was solemn and impressive; the sentence

fearful to hear. But he stood, like a marble figure, without the motion of a nerve. His haggard face was still

thrust forward, his underjaw hanging down, and his eyes staring out before him, when the jailer put his hand

upon his arm, and beckoned him away. He gazed stupidly about him for an instant, and obeyed.

They led him through a paved room under the court, where some prisoners were waiting till their turns came,

and others were talking to their friends, who crowded round a grate which looked into the open yard. There

was nobody there to speak to HIM; but, as he passed, the prisoners fell back to render him more visible to the

people who were clinging to the bars: and they assailed him with opprobrious names, and screeched and

hissed. He shook his fist, and would have spat upon them; but his conductors hurried him on, through a

Here, he was searched, that he might not have about him the means of anticipating the law; this ceremony

He sat down on a stone bench opposite the door, which served for seat and bedstead; and casting his

bloodshot eyes upon the ground, tried to collect his thoughts. After awhile, he began to remember a few

disjointed fragments of what the judge had said: though it had seemed to him, at the time, that he could not

hear a word. These gradually fell into their proper places, and by degrees suggested more: so that in a little

time he had the whole, almost as it was delivered. To be hanged by the neck, till he was deadthat was the

As it came on very dark, he began to think of all the men he had known who had died upon the scaffold;

some of them through his means. They rose up, in such quick succession, that he could hardly count them. He

had seen some of them die,and had joked too, because they died with prayers upon their lips. With what a

rattling noise the drop went down; and how suddenly they changed, from strong and vigorous men to

Some of them might have inhabited that very cellsat upon that very spot. It was very dark; why didn't they

bring a light? The cell had been built for many years. Scores of men must have passed their last hours there. It

was like sitting in a vault strewn with dead bodiesthe cap, the noose, the pinioned arms, the faces that he

At length, when his hands were raw with beating against the heavy door and walls, two men appeared: one

bearing a candle, which he thrust into an iron candlestick fixed against the wall: the other dragging in a

mattress on which to pass the night; for the prisoner was to be left alone no more.

Then came the nightdark, dismal, silent night. Other watchers are glad to hear this churchclock strike, for

they tell of life and coming day. To him they brought despair. The boom of every iron bell came laden with

the one, deep, hollow soundDeath. What availed the noise and bustle of cheerful morning, which

penetrated even there, to him? It was another form of knell, with mockery added to the warning.

The day passed off. Day? There was no day; it was gone as soon as comeand night came on again; night so

long, and yet so short; long in its dreadful silence, and short in its fleeting hours. At one time he raved and

blasphemed; and at another howled and tore his hair. Venerable men of his own persuasion had come to pray

beside him, but he had driven them away with curses. They renewed their charitable efforts, and he beat them

Saturday night. He had only one night more to live. And as he thought of this, the day brokeSunday.

It was not until the night of this last awful day, that a withering sense of his helpless, desperate state came in

its full intensity upon his blighted soul; not that he had ever held any defined or positive hope of mercy, but

that he had never been able to consider more than the dim probability of dying so soon. He had spoken little

to either of the two men, who relieved each other in their attendance upon him; and they, for their parts, made

no effort to rouse his attention. He had sat there, awake, but dreaming. Now, he started up, every minute, and

with gasping mouth and burning skin, hurried to and fro, in such a paroxysm of fear and wrath that even

theyused to such sightsrecoiled from him with horror. He grew so terrible, at last, in all the tortures of

his evil conscience, that one man could not bear to sit there, eyeing him alone; and so the two kept watch

He cowered down upon his stone bed, and thought of the past. He had been wounded with some missiles

from the crowd on the day of his capture, and his head was bandaged with a linen cloth. His red hair hung

down upon his bloodless face; his beard was torn, and twisted into knots; his eyes shone with a terrible light;

his unwashed flesh crackled with the fever that burnt him up. Eightninethen. If it was not a trick to

frighten him, and those were the real hours treading on each other's heels, where would he be, when they

came round again! Eleven! Another struck, before the voice of the previous hour had ceased to vibrate. At

Those dreadful walls of Newgate, which have hidden so much misery and such unspeakable anguish, not

only from the eyes, but, too often, and too long, from the thoughts, of men, never held so dread a spectacle as

that. The few who lingered as they passed, and wondered what the man was doing who was to be hanged

From early in the evening until nearly midnight, little groups of two and three presented themselves at the

lodgegate, and inquired, with anxious faces, whether any reprieve had been received. These being answered

in the negative, communicated the welcome intelligence to clusters in the street, who pointed out to one

another the door from which he must come out, and showed where the scaffold would be built, and, walking

with unwilling steps away, turned back to conjure up the scene. By degrees they fell off, one by one; and, for

The space before the prison was cleared, and a few strong barriers, painted black, had been already thrown

across the road to break the pressure of the expected crowd, when Mr. Brownlow and Oliver appeared at the

wicket, and presented an order of admission to the prisoner, signed by one of the sheriffs. They were

'Is the young gentleman to come too, sir?' said the man whose duty it was to conduct them. 'It's not a sight for

'It is not indeed, my friend,' rejoined Mr. Brownlow; 'but my business with this man is intimately connected

with him; and as this child has seen him in the full career of his success and villainy, I think it as welleven

These few words had been said apart, so as to be inaudible to Oliver. The man touched his hat; and glancing

at Oliver with some curiousity, opened another gate, opposite to that by which they had entered, and led them

'This,' said the man, stopping in a gloomy passage where a couple of workmen were making some

preparations in profound silence'this is the place he passes through. If you step this way, you can see the

He led them into a stone kitchen, fitted with coppers for dressing the prison food, and pointed to a door.

There was an open grating above it, throught which came the sound of men's voices, mingled with the noise

of hammering, and the throwing down of boards. There were putting up the scaffold.

From this place, they passed through several strong gates, opened by other turnkeys from the inner side; and,

having entered an open yard, ascended a flight of narrow steps, and came into a passage with a row of strong

doors on the left hand. Motioning them to remain where they were, the turnkey knocked at one of these with

his bunch of keys. The two attendants, after a little whispering, came out into the passage, stretching

themselves as if glad of the temporary relief, and motioned the visitors to follow the jailer into the cell. They

The condemned criminal was seated on his bed, rocking himself from side to side, with a countenance more

like that of a snared beast than the face of a man. His mind was evidently wandering to his old life, for he

continued to mutter, without appearing conscious of their presence otherwise than as a part of his vision.

'Good boy, Charleywell done' he mumbled. 'Oliver, too, ha! ha! ha! Oliver tooquite the gentleman

The jailer took the disengaged hand of Oliver; and, whispering him not to be alarmed, looked on without

'Take him away to bed!' cried Fagin. 'Do you hear me, some of you? He has been thethesomehow the

cause of all this. It's worth the money to bring him up to itBolter's throat, Bill; never mind the

'That's me!' cried the Jew, falling instantly, into the attitude of listening he had assumed upon his trial. 'An old

'Here,' said the turnkey, laying his hand upon his breast to keep him down. 'Here's somebody wants to see

'I shan't be one long,' he replied, looking up with a face retaining no human expression but rage and terror.

As he spoke he caught sight of Oliver and Mr. Brownlow. Shrinking to the furthest corner of the seat, he

'Steady,' said the turnkey, still holding him down. 'Now, sir, tell him what you want. Quick, if you please, for

'You have some papers,' said Mr. Brownlow advancing, 'which were placed in your hands, for better security,

'For the love of God,' said Mr. Brownlow solemnly, 'do not say that now, upon the very verge of death; but

tell me where they are. You know that Sikes is dead; that Monks has confessed; that there is no hope of any

'I am not afraid,' said Oliver in a low voice, as he relinquished Mr. Brownlow's hand.

'The papers,' said Fagin, drawing Oliver towards him, 'are in a canvas bag, in a hole a little way up the

chimney in the top frontroom. I want to talk to you, my dear. I want to talk to you.'

'Yes, yes,' returned Oliver. 'Let me say a prayer. Do! Let me say one prayer. Say only one, upon your knees,

'Outside, outside,' replied Fagin, pushing the boy before him towards the door, and looking vacantly over his

head. 'Say I've gone to sleepthey'll believe you. You can get me out, if you take me so. Now then, now

'That's right, that's right,' said Fagin. 'That'll help us on. This door first. If I shake and tremble, as we pass the

'No other question,' replied Mr. Brownlow. 'If I hoped we could recall him to a sense of his position'

'Nothing will do that, sir,' replied the man, shaking his head. 'You had better leave him.'

The men laid hands upon him, and disengaging Oliver from his grasp, held him back. He struggled with the

power of desperation, for an instant; and then sent up cry upon cry that penetrated even those massive walls,

It was some time before they left the prison. Oliver nearly swooned after this frightful scene, and was so

Day was dawning when they again emerged. A great multitude had already assembled; the windows were

filled with people, smoking and playing cards to beguile the time; the crowd were pushing, quarrelling,

joking. Everything told of life and animation, but one dark cluster of objects in the centre of allthe black

The fortunes of those who have figured in this tale are nearly closed. The little that remains to their historian

Before three months had passed, Rose Fleming and Harry Maylie were married in the village church which

was henceforth to be the scene of the young clergyman's labours; on the same day they entered into

Mrs. Maylie took up her abode with her son and daughterinlaw, to enjoy, during the tranquil remainder of

her days, the greatest felicity that age and worth can knowthe contemplation of the happiness of those on

whom the warmest affections and tenderest cares of a wellspent life, have been unceasingly bestowed.

It appeared, on full and careful investigation, that if the wreck of property remaining in the custody of Monks

(which had never prospered either in his hands or in those of his mother) were equally divided between

himself and Oliver, it would yield, to each, little more than three thousand pounds. By the provisions of his

father's will, Oliver would have been entitled to the whole; but Mr. Brownlow, unwilling to deprive the elder

son of the opportunity of retrieving his former vices and pursuing an honest career, proposed this mode of

Monks, still bearing that assumed name, retired with his portion to a distant part of the New World; where,

having quickly squandered it, he once more fell into his old courses, and, after undergoing a long

confinement for some fresh act of fraud and knavery, at length sunk under an attack of his old disorder, and

died in prison. As far from home, died the chief remaining members of his friend Fagin's gang.

Mr. Brownlow adopted Oliver as his son. Removing with him and the old housekeeper to within a mile of the

parsonagehouse, where his dear friends resided, he gratified the only remaining wish of Oliver's warm and

earnest heart, and thus linked together a little society, whose condition approached as nearly to one of perfect

Soon after the marriage of the young people, the worthy doctor returned to Chertsey, where, bereft of the

presence of his old friends, he would have been discontented if his temperament had admitted of such a

feeling; and would have turned quite peevish if he had known how. For two or three months, he contented

himself with hinting that he feared the air began to disagree with him; then, finding that the place really no

longer was, to him, what it had been, he settled his business on his assistant, took a bachelor's cottage outside

the village of which his young friend was pastor, and instantaneously recovered. Here he took to gardening,

planting, fishing, carpentering, and various other pursuits of a similar kind: all undertaken with his

characteristic impetuosity. In each and all he has since become famous throughout the neighborhood, as a

Before his removal, he had managed to contract a strong friendship for Mr. Grimwig, which that eccentric

gentleman cordially reciprocated. He is accordingly visited by Mr. Grimwig a great many times in the course

of the year. On all such occasions, Mr. Grimwig plants, fishes, and carpenters, with great ardour; doing

everything in a very singular and unprecedented manner, but always maintaining with his favourite

asseveration, that his mode is the right one. On Sundays, he never fails to criticise the sermon to the young

clergyman's face: always informing Mr. Losberne, in strict confidence afterwards, that he considers it an

excellent performance, but deems it as well not to say so. It is a standing and very favourite joke, for Mr.

Brownlow to rally him on his old prophecy concerning Oliver, and to remind him of the night on which they

sat with the watch between them, waiting his return; but Mr. Grimwig contends that he was right in the main,

and, in proof thereof, remarks that Oliver did not come back after all; which always calls forth a laugh on his

Mr. Noah Claypole: receiving a free pardon from the Crown in consequence of being admitted approver

against Fagin: and considering his profession not altogether as safe a one as he could wish: was, for some

little time, at a loss for the means of a livelihood, not burdened with too much work. After some

consideration, he went into business as an Informer, in which calling he realises a genteel subsistence. His

plan is, to walk out once a week during church time attended by Charlotte in respectable attire. The lady

faints away at the doors of charitable publicans, and the gentleman being accommodated with threepenny

worth of brandy to restore her, lays an information next day, and pockets half the penalty. Sometimes Mr.

Mr. and Mrs. Bumble, deprived of their situations, were gradually reduced to great indigence and misery, and

finally became paupers in that very same workhouse in which they had once lorded it over others. Mr.

Bumble has been heard to say, that in this reverse and degradation, he has not even spirits to be thankful for

As to Mr. Giles and Brittles, they still remain in their old posts, although the former is bald, and the

lastnamed boy quite grey. They sleep at the parsonage, but divide their attentions so equally among its

inmates, and Oliver and Mr. Brownlow, and Mr. Losberne, that to this day the villagers have never been able

Master Charles Bates, appalled by Sikes's crime, fell into a train of reflection whether an honest life was not,

after all, the best. Arriving at the conclusion that it certainly was, he turned his back upon the scenes of the

past, resolved to amend it in some new sphere of action. He struggled hard, and suffered much, for some

time; but, having a contented disposition, and a good purpose, succeeded in the end; and, from being a

farmer's drudge, and a carrier's lad, he is now the merriest young grazier in all Northamptonshire.

And now, the hand that traces these words, falters, as it approaches the conclusion of its task; and would

I would fain linger yet with a few of those among whom I have so long moved, and share their happiness by

endeavouring to depict it. I would show Rose Maylie in all the bloom and grace of early womanhood,

shedding on her secluded path in life soft and gentle light, that fell on all who trod it with her, and shone into

their hearts. I would paint her the life and joy of the fireside circle and the lively summer group; I would

follow her through the sultry fields at noon, and hear the low tones of her sweet voice in the moonlit evening

walk; I would watch her in all her goodness and charity abroad, and the smiling untiring discharge of

domestic duties at home; I would paint her and her dead sister's child happy in their love for one another, and

passing whole hours together in picturing the friends whom they had so sadly lost; I would summon before

me, once again, those joyous little faces that clustered round her knee, and listen to their merry prattle; I

would recall the tones of that clear laugh, and conjure up the sympathising tear that glistened in the soft blue

eye. These, and a thousand looks and smiles, and turns fo thought and speechI would fain recall them

How Mr. Brownlow went on, from day to day, filling the mind of his adopted child with stores of knowledge,

and becoming attached to him, more and more, as his nature developed itself, and showed the thriving seeds

of all he wished him to becomehow he traced in him new traits of his early friend, that awakened in his

own bosom old remembrances, melancholy and yet sweet and soothinghow the two orphans, tried by

adversity, remembered its lessons in mercy to others, and mutual love, and fervent thanks to Him who had

protected and preserved themthese are all matters which need not to be told. I have said that they were

truly happy; and without strong affection and humanity of heart, and gratitude to that Being whose code is

Mercy, and whose great attribute is Benevolence to all things that breathe, happiness can never be attained.

Within the altar of the old village church there stands a white marble tablet, which bears as yet but one word:

'AGNES.' There is no coffin in that tomb; and may it be many, many years, before another name is placed

above it! But, if the spirits of the Dead ever come back to earth, to visit spots hallowed by the lovethe love

beyond the graveof those whom they knew in life, I believe that the shade of Agnes sometimes hovers

round that solemn nook. I believe it none the less because that nook is in a Church, and she was weak and