arguments of her liege lord), had acquired such a lively conviction
of the hazard of saying anything under any circumstances, that she had
remained all this time in a corner guarding herself from approach with
that symbolical instrument of hers; so that, when a word or two had
been addressed to her by Flora, or even by the bottle-green patriarch
himself, she had warded off conversation with the toasting-fork like a
dumb woman.

After several abortive attempts to get Affery to look at him while
she cleared the table and washed the tea-service, Arthur thought of an
expedient which Flora might originate. To whom he therefore whispered,
'Could you say you would like to go through the house?'

Now, poor Flora, being always in fluctuating expectation of the time
when Clennam would renew his boyhood and be madly in love with her
again, received the whisper with the utmost delight; not only as
rendered precious by its mysterious character, but as preparing the
way for a tender interview in which he would declare the state of his
affections. She immediately began to work out the hint.

'Ah dear me the poor old room,' said Flora, glancing round, 'looks just
as ever Mrs Clennam I am touched to see except for being smokier which
was to be expected with time and which we must all expect and reconcile
ourselves to being whether we like it or not as I am sure I have had to
do myself if not exactly smokier dreadfully stouter which is the same or
worse, to think of the days when papa used to bring me here the least of
girls a perfect mass of chilblains to be stuck upon a chair with my feet
on the rails and stare at Arthur--pray excuse me--Mr Clennam--the
least of boys in the frightfullest of frills and jackets ere yet Mr
F. appeared a misty shadow on the horizon paying attentions like the
well-known spectre of some place in Germany beginning with a B is a
moral lesson inculcating that all the paths in life are similar to the
paths down in the North of England where they get the coals and make the
iron and things gravelled with ashes!'

Having paid the tribute of a sigh to the instability of human existence,
Flora hurried on with her purpose.

'Not that at any time,' she proceeded, 'its worst enemy could have said
it was a cheerful house for that it was never made to be but always
highly impressive, fond memory recalls an occasion in youth ere yet the
judgment was mature when Arthur--confirmed habit--Mr Clennam--took
me down into a