gs of the day, he found that the more advanced pupils who
were in the large text and the letter M, had been set the copy 'Merdle,
Millions.'

'And how are you getting on, Mrs Plornish,' said Pancks, 'since we're
mentioning millions?'

'Very steady, indeed, sir,' returned Mrs Plornish. 'Father, dear, would
you go into the shop and tidy the window a little bit before tea, your
taste being so beautiful?'

John Edward Nandy trotted away, much gratified, to comply with his
daughter's request. Mrs Plornish, who was always in mortal terror
of mentioning pecuniary affairs before the old gentleman, lest any
disclosure she made might rouse his spirit and induce him to run away to
the workhouse, was thus left free to be confidential with Mr Pancks.

'It's quite true that the business is very steady indeed,' said Mrs
Plornish, lowering her voice; 'and has a excellent connection. The only
thing that stands in its way, sir, is the Credit.'

This drawback, rather severely felt by most people who engaged in
commercial transactions with the inhabitants of Bleeding Heart Yard,
was a large stumbling-block in Mrs Plornish's trade. When Mr Dorrit had
established her in the business, the Bleeding Hearts had shown an amount
of emotion and a determination to support her in it, that did honour to
human nature. Recognising her claim upon their generous feelings as one
who had long been a member of their community, they pledged themselves,
with great feeling, to deal with Mrs Plornish, come what would and
bestow their patronage on no other establishment. Influenced by these
noble sentiments, they had even gone out of their way to purchase little
luxuries in the grocery and butter line to which they were unaccustomed;
saying to one another, that if they did stretch a point, was it not for
a neighbour and a friend, and for whom ought a point to be stretched if
not for such? So stimulated, the business was extremely brisk, and the
articles in stock went off with the greatest celerity. In short, if the
Bleeding Hearts had but paid, the undertaking would have been a complete
success; whereas, by reason of their exclusively confining themselves to
owing, the profits actually realised had not yet begun to appear in the
books.

Mr Pancks was making a very porcupine of himself by sticking his hair
up in the contemplation of this state of accounts, when old Mr Nandy,
re-entering the cottage with an air of mystery, entreated them to come
and look at