第78章

’Such，yousee，MrClennam，’saidtheFather，’aretheincongruitiesofmypositionhere。Butapublicduty!Noman，I

amsure，wouldmorereadilyrecogniseapublicdutythanyourself。’

Clennambesoughthimnottodelayamoment。

’Amy，mydear，ifyoucanpersuadeMrClennamtostaylonger，Icanleavethehonoursofourpoorapologyforanestablishmentwithconfidenceinyourhands，andperhapsyoumaydosomethingtowardserasingfromMrClennam’smindthe——ha——untowardandunpleasantcircumstancewhichhasoccurredsincetea-time。’

Clennamassuredhimthatithadmadenoimpressiononhismind，andthereforerequirednoerasure。

’Mydearsir，’saidtheFather，witharemovalofhisblackcapandagraspofClennam’shand，combiningtoexpressthesafereceiptofhisnoteandenclosurethatafternoon，’Heaveneverblessyou!’

So，atlast，Clennam’spurposeinremainingwasattained，andhecouldspeaktoLittleDorritwithnobodyby。Maggycountedasnobody，andshewasby。

MoreFortune-TellingMaggysatatherworkinhergreatwhitecapwithitsquantityofopaquefrillinghidingwhatprofileshehad(shehadnonetospare)，andherserviceableeyebroughttobearuponheroccupation，onthewindowsideoftheroom。Whatwithherflappingcap，andwhatwithherunserviceableeye，shewasquitepartitionedofffromherLittleMother，whoseseatwasoppositethewindow。

ThetreadandshuffleoffeetonthepavementoftheyardhadmuchdiminishedsincethetakingoftheChair，thetideofCollegianshavingsetstronglyinthedirectionofHarmony。Somefewwhohadnomusicintheirsouls，ornomoneyintheirpockets，dawdledabout；andtheoldspectacleofthevisitor-wifeandthedepressedunseasonedprisonerstilllingeredincorners，asbrokencobwebsandsuchunsightlydiscomfortsdraggleincornersofotherplaces。

ItwasthequietesttimetheCollegeknew，savingthenighthourswhentheCollegianstookthebenefitoftheactofsleep。TheoccasionalrattleofapplauseuponthetablesoftheSnuggery，denotedthesuccessfulterminationofamorselofHarmony；ortheresponsiveacceptance，bytheunitedchildren，ofsometoastorsentimentofferedtothembytheirFather。Occasionally，avocalstrainmoresonorousthanthegeneralityinformedthelistenerthatsomeboastfulbasswasinbluewater，orinthehuntingfield，orwiththereindeer，oronthemountain，oramongtheheather；buttheMarshaloftheMarshalseaknewbetter，andhadgothimhardandfast。

AsArthurClennammovedtositdownbythesideofLittleDorrit，shetrembledsothatshehadmuchadotoholdherneedle。Clennamgentlyputhishanduponherwork，andsaid，’DearLittleDorrit，letmelayitdown。’

Sheyieldedittohim，andheputitaside。Herhandswerethennervouslyclaspingtogether，buthetookoneofthem。

’HowseldomIhaveseenyoulately，LittleDorrit!’

’Ihavebeenbusy，sir。’

’ButIheardonlyto-day，’saidClennam，’bymereaccident，ofyourhavingbeenwiththosegoodpeopleclosebyme。Whynotcometome，then？’

’I——Idon’tknow。Orrather，Ithoughtyoumightbebusytoo。Yougenerallyarenow，areyounot？’

Hesawhertremblinglittleformandherdowncastface，andtheeyesthatdroopedthemomenttheywereraisedtohis——hesawthemalmostwithasmuchconcernastenderness。

’Mychild，yourmannerissochanged!’

Thetre