第112章

Letushopeshewaswronginherjudgement。PoorEmmy’sdaysofhappinesshadbeenveryfewinthathumblecot。AgloomyFatehadoppressedherthere。Sheneverlikedtocomebacktothehouseaftershehadleftit，ortofacethelandladywhohadtyrannizedoverherwhenill-humouredandunpaid，orwhenpleasedhadtreatedherwithacoarsefamiliarityscarcelylessodious。

HerservilityandfulsomecomplimentswhenEmmywasinprosperitywerenotmoretothatlady’sliking。Shecastaboutnotesofadmirationalloverthenewhouse，extollingeveryarticleoffurnitureorornament；shefingeredMrs。Osborne’sdressesandcalculatedtheirprice。

Nothingcouldbetoogoodforthatsweetlady，shevowedandprotested。Butinthevulgarsycophantwhonowpaidcourttoher，Emmyalwaysrememberedthecoarsetyrantwhohadmadehermiserablemanyatime，towhomshehadbeenforcedtoputuppetitionsfortime，whentherentwasoverdue；whocriedoutatherextravaganceifsheboughtdelicaciesforherailingmotherorfather；whohadseenherhumbleandtrampleduponher。

Nobodyeverheardofthesegriefs，whichhadbeenpartofourpoorlittlewoman’slotinlife。Shekeptthemsecretfromherfather，whoseimprovidencewasthecauseofmuchofhermisery。Shehadtobearalltheblameofhismisdoings，andindeedwassoutterlygentleandhumbleastobemadebynatureforavictim。

Ihopesheisnottosuffermuchmoreofthathardusage。And，asinallgriefsthereissaidtobesomeconsolation，ImaymentionthatpoorMary，whenleftatherfriend’sdepartureinahystericalcondition，wasplacedunderthemedicaltreatmentoftheyoungfellowfromthesurgery，underwhosecaresheralliedafterashortperiod。Emmy，whenshewentawayfromBrompton，endowedMarywitheveryarticleoffurniturethatthehousecontained，onlytakingawayherpictures(thetwopicturesoverthebed)andherpiano——thatlittleoldpianowhichhadnowpassedintoaplaintivejinglingoldage，butwhichshelovedforreasonsofherown。Shewasachildwhenfirstsheplayedonit，andherparentsgaveither。Ithadbeengiventoheragainsince，asthereadermayremember，whenherfather’shousewasgonetoruinandtheinstrumentwasrecoveredoutofthewreck。

MajorDobbinwasexceedinglypleasedwhen，ashewassuperintendingthearrangementsofJos’snewhouse——whichtheMajorinsistedshouldbeveryhandsomeandcomfortable——thecartarrivedfromBrompton，bringingthetrunksandbandboxesoftheemigrantsfromthatvillage，andwiththemtheoldpiano。Ameliawouldhaveitupinhersitting-room，aneatlittleapartmentonthesecondfloor，adjoiningherfather’schamber，andwheretheoldgentlemansatcommonlyofevenings。

Whenthemenappearedthenbearingthisoldmusic-

box，andAmeliagaveordersthatitshouldbeplacedinthechamberaforesaid，Dobbinwasquiteelated。”I’mgladyou’vekeptit。”hesaidinaverysentimentalmanner。”Iwasafraidyoudidn’tcareaboutit。”

“IvalueitmorethananythingIhaveintheworld。”

saidAmelia。

“Doyou，Amelia？”criedtheMajor。Thefactwas，ashehadboughtithimself，thoughheneversaidanythingaboutit，itneverenteredintohisheadtosupposethatEmmyshouldthinkanybodyelsewasthepurchaser，andasamatterofcoursehefanciedthatsheknewthegiftcamefromhim。”Doyou，Amelia？”hesaid；andthequestion，thegreatquestionofall，wastremblingonhislips，whenEmmyreplied——

“CanIdootherwise？——didnothegiveitme？”

“Ididnotknow。”saidpooroldDob，andhiscountenancefell。

Emmydidnotnotethecircumstanceatthetime，nortakeimmediateheedoftheverydismalexpressionwhichhonestDobbin’scountenanceassumed，butshethoughtofitafterwards。Andthenitstruckher，withinexpressiblepainandmortificationtoo，thatitwasWilliamwhowasthegiverofthepiano，andnotGeorge，asshehadfancied。ItwasnotGeorge’sgift；theonlyonewhichshehadreceivedfromherlover，asshethought——thethingshehadcherishedbeyondallothers——herdearestrelicandprize。ShehadspokentoitaboutGeorge；playedhisfavouriteairsuponit；satforlongeveninghours，touching，tothebestofhersimpleart，melancholyharmoniesonthekeys，andweepingovertheminsilence。

ItwasnotGeorge’srelic。Itwasvaluelessnow。ThenexttimethatoldSedleyaskedhertoplay，shesaiditwasshockinglyoutoftune，thatshehadaheadache，thatshecouldn’tplay。

Then，accordingtohercustom，sherebukedherselfforherpettishn