FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   205   206   207   208   209   210   211   212   213   214   215   216   217   218   219   220   221   222   223   224   225   226   227   228   229  
230   231   232   233   234   235   236   237   238   239   240   241   242   243   244   245   246   247   248   249   250   251   252   253   254   >>   >|  
e,' returned Little Dorrit, 'I know I can then quite trust you not to forget to-day, and not to say any more to me. You are so generous that I know I can trust to you for that; and I do and I always will. I am going to show you, at once, that I fully trust you. I like this place where we are speaking better than any place I know;' her slight colour had faded, but her lover thought he saw it coming back just then; 'and I may be often here. I know it is only necessary for me to tell you so, to be quite sure that you will never come here again in search of me. And I am--quite sure!' She might rely upon it, said Young John. He was a miserable wretch, but her word was more than a law for him. 'And good-bye, John,' said Little Dorrit. 'And I hope you will have a good wife one day, and be a happy man. I am sure you will deserve to be happy, and you will be, John.' As she held out her hand to him with these words, the heart that was under the waistcoat of sprigs--mere slop-work, if the truth must be known--swelled to the size of the heart of a gentleman; and the poor common little fellow, having no room to hold it, burst into tears. 'Oh, don't cry,' said Little Dorrit piteously. 'Don't, don't! Good-bye, John. God bless you!' 'Good-bye, Miss Amy. Good-bye!' And so he left her: first observing that she sat down on the corner of a seat, and not only rested her little hand upon the rough wall, but laid her face against it too, as if her head were heavy, and her mind were sad. It was an affecting illustration of the fallacy of human projects, to behold her lover, with the great hat pulled over his eyes, the velvet collar turned up as if it rained, the plum-coloured coat buttoned to conceal the silken waistcoat of golden sprigs, and the little direction-post pointing inexorably home, creeping along by the worst back-streets, and composing, as he went, the following new inscription for a tombstone in St George's Churchyard: 'Here lie the mortal remains Of JOHN CHIVERY, Never anything worth mentioning, Who died about the end of the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six, Of a broken heart, Requesting with his last breath that the word AMY might be inscribed over his ashes, which was accordingly directed to be done, By his afflicted Parents.' CHAPTER 19. The Father of the Marshalsea in two or three Relations The brothers William and Frederick Dorrit, walking up and down the College-yard--of course on t
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   205   206   207   208   209   210   211   212   213   214   215   216   217   218   219   220   221   222   223   224   225   226   227   228   229  
230   231   232   233   234   235   236   237   238   239   240   241   242   243   244   245   246   247   248   249   250   251   252   253   254   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Dorrit

 

Little

 
waistcoat
 
sprigs
 

creeping

 
inscription
 

composing

 
streets
 
buttoned
 

behold


pulled
 
projects
 

affecting

 

illustration

 
fallacy
 

velvet

 
collar
 

silken

 

conceal

 

golden


direction

 

pointing

 

tombstone

 

rained

 

turned

 

coloured

 

inexorably

 

directed

 
College
 

breath


inscribed

 
afflicted
 

Parents

 

Relations

 

brothers

 

walking

 

William

 

CHAPTER

 

Father

 

Marshalsea


Requesting

 

broken

 

remains

 

CHIVERY

 

Frederick

 
mortal
 
George
 

Churchyard

 

mentioning

 

thousand