out their fathers and mothers, and
brothers and sisters; they liked to drag them up before her face. There
was Mrs Tickit, only yesterday, when her little grandchild was with her,
had been amused by the child's trying to call her (Tattycoram) by the
wretched name we gave her; and had laughed at the name. Why, who didn't;
and who were we that we should have a right to name her like a dog or a
cat? But she didn't care. She would take no more benefits from us; she
would fling us her name back again, and she would go. She would leave
us that minute, nobody should stop her, and we should never hear of her
again.'

Mr Meagles had recited all this with such a vivid remembrance of his
original, that he was almost as flushed and hot by this time as he
described her to have been.

'Ah, well!' he said, wiping his face. 'It was of no use trying reason
then, with that vehement panting creature (Heaven knows what her
mother's story must have been); so I quietly told her that she should
not go at that late hour of night, and I gave her MY hand and took her
to her room, and locked the house doors. But she was gone this morning.'
'And you know no more of her?'

'No more,' returned Mr Meagles. 'I have been hunting about all day. She
must have gone very early and very silently. I have found no trace of
her down about us.'

'Stay! You want,' said Clennam, after a moment's reflection, 'to see
her? I assume that?'

'Yes, assuredly; I want to give her another chance; Mother and Pet
want to give her another chance; come! You yourself,' said Mr Meagles,
persuasively, as if the provocation to be angry were not his own at all,
'want to give the poor passionate girl another chance, I know, Clennam.'

'It would be strange and hard indeed if I did not,' said Clennam, 'when
you are all so forgiving. What I was going to ask you was, have you
thought of that Miss Wade?'

'I have. I did not think of her until I had pervaded the whole of our
neighbourhood, and I don't know that I should have done so then but
for finding Mother and Pet, when I went home, full of the idea that
Tattycoram must have gone to her. Then, of course, I recalled what she
said that day at dinner when you were first with US.'

'Have you any idea where Miss Wade is to be found?'

'To tell you the truth,' returned Mr Meagles, 'it's because I have an
addled jumble of a notion on that subject that you found me waiting
here. There is one of those odd impressions in my house, w