第43章

’Aye，aye？’saidMeagles。’ABarnacleishe？Weknowsomethingofthatfamily，eh，Dan？ByGeorge，theyareatthetopofthetree，though!Letmesee。WhatrelationwillthisyoungfellowbetoLordDecimusnow？HisLordshipmarried，inseventeenninety-seven，LadyJemimaBilberry，whowastheseconddaughterbythethirdmarriage——no!ThereIamwrong!ThatwasLadySeraphina——LadyJemimawasthefirstdaughterbythesecondmarriageofthefifteenthEarlofStiltstalkingwiththeHonourableClementinaToozellem。Verywell。Nowthisyoungfellow’sfathermarriedaStiltstalkingandhisfathermarriedhiscousinwhowasaBarnacle。

ThefatherofthatfatherwhomarriedaBarnacle，marriedaJoddleby——Iamgettingalittletoofarback，Gowan；IwanttomakeoutwhatrelationthisyoungfellowistoLordDecimus。’

’That’seasilystated。HisfatherisnephewtoLordDecimus。’

’Nephew——to——Lord——Decimus，’MrMeaglesluxuriouslyrepeatedwithhiseyesshut，thathemighthavenothingtodistracthimfromthefullflavourofthegenealogicaltree。’ByGeorge，youareright，Gowan。Soheis。’

’Consequently，LordDecimusishisgreatuncle。’

’Butstopabit!’saidMrMeagles，openinghiseyeswithafreshdiscovery。’Thenonthemother’sside，LadyStiltstalkingishisgreataunt。’

’Ofcoursesheis。’

’Aye，aye，aye？’saidMrMeagleswithmuchinterest。’Indeed，indeed？Weshallbegladtoseehim。We’llentertainhimaswellaswecan，inourhumbleway；andweshallnotstarvehim，Ihope，atallevents。’

Inthebeginningofthisdialogue，ClennamhadexpectedsomegreatharmlessoutburstfromMrMeagles，likethatwhichhadmadehimburstoutoftheCircumlocutionOffice，holdingDoycebythecollar。Buthisgoodfriendhadaweaknesswhichnoneofusneedgointothenextstreettofind，andwhichnoamountofCircumlocutionexperiencecouldlongsubdueinhim。ClennamlookedatDoyce；butDoyceknewallaboutitbeforehand，andlookedathisplate，andmadenosign，andsaidnoword。

’Iammuchobligedtoyou，’saidGowan，toconcludethesubject。

’Clarenceisagreatass，butheisoneofthedearestandbestfellowsthateverlived!’

Itappeared，beforethebreakfastwasover，thateverybodywhomthisGowanknewwaseithermoreorlessofanass，ormoreorlessofaknave；butwas，notwithstanding，themostlovable，themostengaging，thesimplest，truest，kindest，dearest，bestfellowthateverlived。Theprocessbywhichthisunvaryingresultwasattained，whateverthepremises，mighthavebeenstatedbyMrHenryGowanthus：’Iclaimtobealwaysbook-keeping，withapeculiarnicety，ineveryman’scase，andpostingupacarefullittleaccountofGoodandEvilwithhim。Idothissoconscientiously，thatIamhappytotellyouIfindthemostworthlessofmentobethedearestoldfellowtoo：andaminaconditiontomakethegratifyingreport，thatthereismuchlessdifferencethanyouareinclinedtosupposebetweenanhonestmanandascoundrel。’Theeffectofthischeeringdiscoveryhappenedtobe，thatwhileheseemedtobescrupulouslyfindinggoodinmostmen，hedidinrealityloweritwhereitwas，andsetitupwhereitwasnot；butthatwasitsonlydisagreeableordangerousfeature。

Itscarcelyseemed，however，toaffordMrMeaglesasmuchsatisfactionastheBarnaclegenealogyhaddone。ThecloudthatClennamhadneverseenuponhisfacebeforethatmorning，frequentlyovercastitagain；andtherewasthesameshadowofuneasyobservationofhimonthecomelyfaceofhiswife。MorethanonceortwicewhenPetcaressedthedog，itappearedtoClennamthatherfatherwasunhappyinseeingherdoit；and，inoneparticularinstancewhenGowanstoodontheothersideofthedog，andbenthisheadatthesametime，ArthurfanciedthathesawtearsrisetoMrMeagles’seyesashehurriedoutoftheroom。Itwaseitherthefacttoo，orhefanciedfurther，thatPetherselfwasnotinsensibletotheselittleincidents；thatshetried，withamoredelicateaffectionthanusual，toexpresstohergoodfatherhowmuchshelovedhim；thatitwasonthisaccountthatshefellbehindtherest，bothastheywenttochurchandastheyreturnedfromit，andtookhisarm。Hecouldnothaveswornbutthatashewalkedaloneinthegardenafterwards，hehad