第97章

’IsaidIwashurt。SoIam。SoI——ha——amdeterminedtobe，whateverisadvancedtothecontrary。Iamhurtthatmydaughter，seatedinthe——hum——lapoffortune，shouldmopeandretireandproclaimherselfunequaltoherdestiny。Iamhurtthatsheshould——ha——systematicallyreproducewhattherestofusblotout；andseem——hum——Ihadalmostsaidpositivelyanxious——toannouncetowealthyanddistinguishedsocietythatshewasbornandbredin——hahum——aplacethatImyselfdeclinetoname。Butthereisnoinconsistency——ha——nottheleast，inmyfeelinghurt，andyetcomplainingprincipallyforyoursake，Amy。Ido；Isayagain，I

do。ItisforyoursakethatIwishyou，undertheauspicesofMrsGeneral，toforma——hum——asurface。ItisforyoursakethatI

wishyoutohavea——ha——trulyrefinedmind，and(inthestrikingwordsofMrsGeneral)tobeignorantofeverythingthatisnotperfectlyproper，placid，andpleasant。’

Hehadbeenrunningdownbyjerks，duringhislastspeech，likeasortofill-adjustedalarum。Thetouchwasstilluponhisarm。Hefellsilent；andafterlookingabouttheceilingagainforalittlewhile，lookeddownather。Herheaddrooped，andhecouldnotseeherface；buthertouchwastenderandquiet，andintheexpressionofherdejectedfiguretherewasnoblame——nothingbutlove。Hebegantowhimper，justashehaddonethatnightintheprisonwhensheafterwardssatathisbedsidetillmorning；exclaimedthathewasapoorruinandapoorwretchinthemidstofhiswealth；andclaspedherinhisarms。’Hush，hush，myowndear!Kissme!’wasallshesaidtohim。Histearsweresoondried，muchsoonerthanontheformeroccasion；andhewaspresentlyafterwardsveryhighwithhisvalet，asawayofrightinghimselfforhavingshedany。

Withoneremarkableexception，toberecordedinitsplace，thiswastheonlytime，inhislifeoffreedomandfortune，whenhespoketohisdaughterAmyoftheolddays。

But，now，thebreakfasthourarrived；andwithitMissFannyfromherapartment，andMrEdwardfromhisapartment。Boththeseyoungpersonsofdistinctionweresomethingtheworseforlatehours。AstoMissFanny，shehadbecomethevictimofaninsatiatemaniaforwhatshecalled’goingintosociety；’andwouldhavegoneintoithead-foremostfiftytimesbetweensunsetandsunrise，ifsomanyopportunitieshadbeenatherdisposal。AstoMrEdward，he，too，hadalargeacquaintance，andwasgenerallyengaged(forthemostpart，indiceingcircles，orothersofakindrednature)，duringthegreaterpartofeverynight。Forthisgentleman，whenhisfortuneschanged，hadstoodatthegreatadvantageofbeingalreadypreparedforthehighestassociates，andhavinglittletolearn：somuchwasheindebtedtothehappyaccidentswhichhadmadehimacquaintedwithhorse-dealingandbilliard-marking。

Atbreakfast，MrFrederickDorritlikewiseappeared。Astheoldgentlemaninhabitedthehigheststoryofthepalace，wherehemighthavepractisedpistol-shootingwithoutmuchchanceofdiscoverybytheotherinmates，hisyoungerniecehadtakencouragetoproposetherestorationtohimofhisclarionet，whichMrDorrithadorderedtobeconfiscated，butwhichshehadventuredtopreserve。

NotwithstandingsomeobjectionsfromMissFanny，thatitwasalowinstrument，andthatshedetestedthesoundofit，theconcessionhadbeenmade。Butitwasthendiscoveredthathehadhadenoughofit，andneverplayedit，nowthatitwasnolongerhismeansofgettingbread。Hehadinsensiblyacquiredanewhabitofshufflingintothepicture-galleries，alwayswithhistwistedpaperofsnuffinhishand(muchtotheindignationofMissFanny，whohadproposedthepurchaseofagoldboxforhimthatthefamilymightnotbediscredited，whichhehadabsolutelyrefusedtocarrywhenitwasbought)；andofpassinghoursandhoursbeforetheportraitsofrenownedVenetians。Itwasnevermadeoutwhathisdazedeyessawinthem；whetherhehadanintere