第33章

Besides，iftheyAREpoor，youcan’thelpit。You’dbepooryourselfifyoudidn’tgetyourrents。’

’Trueenough，’saidArthur。

’You’renotgoingtokeepopenhouseforallthepoorofLondon，’

pursuedPancks。’You’renotgoingtolodge’emfornothing。

You’renotgoingtoopenyourgateswideandlet’emcomefree。

Notifyouknowit，youain’t。’

MrCasbyshookhishead，inPlacidandbenignantgenerality。

’Ifamantakesaroomofyouathalf-a-crownaweek，andwhentheweekcomesroundhasn’tgotthehalf-crown，yousaytothatman，Whyhaveyougottheroom，then？Ifyouhaven’tgottheonething，whyhaveyougottheother？Whathaveyoubeenanddonewithyourmoney？Whatdoyoumeanbyit？Whatareyouupto？That’swhatYOUsaytoamanofthatsort；andifyoudidn’tsayit，moreshameforyou!’MrPancksheremadeasingularandstartlingnoise，producedbyastrongblowingeffortintheregionofthenose，unattendedbyanyresultbutthatacousticone。

’Youhavesomeextentofsuchpropertyabouttheeastandnorth-

easthere，Ibelieve？’saidClennam，doubtfulwhichofthetwotoaddress。

’Oh，prettywell，’saidPancks。’You’renotparticulartoeastornorth-east，anypointofthecompasswilldoforyou。Whatyouwantisagoodinvestmentandaquickreturn。Youtakeitwhereyoucanfindit。Youain’tniceastosituation——notyou。’

TherewasafourthandmostoriginalfigureinthePatriarchaltent，whoalsoappearedbeforedinner。Thiswasanamazinglittleoldwoman，withafacelikeastaringwoodendolltoocheapforexpression，andastiffyellowwigperchedunevenlyonthetopofherhead，asifthechildwhoownedthedollhaddrivenatackthroughitanywhere，sothatitonlygotfastenedon。Anotherremarkablethinginthislittleoldwomanwas，thatthesamechildseemedtohavedamagedherfaceintwoorthreeplaceswithsomebluntinstrumentinthenatureofaspoon；hercountenance，andparticularlythetipofhernose，presentingthephenomenaofseveraldints，generallyansweringtothebowlofthatarticle。A

furtherremarkablethinginthislittleoldwomanwas，thatshehadnonamebutMrF。’sAunt。

Shebrokeuponthevisitor’sviewunderthefollowingcircumstances：Florasaidwhenthefirstdishwasbeingputonthetable，perhapsMrClennammightnothaveheardthatMrF。hadleftheralegacy？ClennaminreturnimpliedhishopethatMrF。hadendowedthewifewhomheadored，withthegreaterpartofhisworldlysubstance，ifnotwithall。Florasaid，ohyes，shedidn’tmeanthat，MrF。hadmadeabeautifulwill，buthehadleftherasaseparatelegacy，hisAunt。Shethenwentoutoftheroomtofetchthelegacy，and，onherreturn，rathertriumphantlypresented’MrF。’sAunt。’

ThemajorcharacteristicsdiscoverablebythestrangerinMrF。’sAunt，wereextremeseverityandgrimtaciturnity；sometimesinterruptedbyapropensitytoofferremarksinadeepwarningvoice，which，beingtotallyuncalledforbyanythingsaidbyanybody，andtraceabletonoassociationofideas，confoundedandterrifiedtheMind。MrF。’sAuntmayhavethrownintheseobservationsonsomesystemofherown，anditmayhavebeeningenious，orevensubtle：butthekeytoitwaswanted。

Theneatly-servedandwell-cookeddinner(foreverythingaboutthePatriarchalhouseholdpromotedquietdigestion)beganwithsomesoup，somefriedsoles，abutter-boatofshrimpsauce，andadishofpotatoes。Theconversationstillturnedonthereceiptofrents。MrF。’sAunt，afterregardingthecompanyfortenminuteswithamalevolentgaze，deliveredthefollowingfearfulremark：

’WhenwelivedatHenley，Barnes’sganderwasstolebytinkers。’

MrPanckscourageouslynoddedhisheadandsaid，’All