hasis on the irrelative pronoun.
Dolly repeated her request.
'Ho, gracious me!' cried Miggs, with hysterical derision. 'Ho, gracious
me! Yes, to be sure I will. Ho yes! I am a abject slave, and a
toiling, moiling, constant-working, always-being-found-fault-with,
never-giving-satisfactions, nor-having-no-time-to-clean-oneself,
potter's wessel--an't I, miss! Ho yes! My situations is lowly, and my
capacities is limited, and my duties is to humble myself afore the
base degenerating daughters of their blessed mothers as is--fit to
keep companies with holy saints but is born to persecutions from
wicked relations--and to demean myself before them as is no better than
Infidels--an't it, miss! Ho yes! My only becoming occupations is to help
young flaunting pagins to brush and comb and titiwate theirselves into
whitening and suppulchres, and leave the young men to think that there
an't a bit of padding in it nor no pinching ins nor fillings out nor
pomatums nor deceits nor earthly wanities--an't it, miss! Yes, to be
sure it is--ho yes!'
Having delivered these ironical passages with a most wonderful
volubility, and with a shrillness perfectly deafening (especially when
she jerked out the interjections), Miss Miggs, from mere habit, and not
because weeping was at all appropriate to the occasion, which was one of
triumph, concluded by bursting into a flood of tears, and calling in an
impassioned manner on the name of Simmuns.
What Emma Haredale and Dolly would have done, or how long Miss Miggs,
now that she had hoisted her true colours, would have gone on waving
them before their astonished senses, it is impossible to tell. Nor is
it necessary to speculate on these matters, for a startling interruption
occurred at that moment, which took their whole attention by storm.
This was a violent knocking at the door of the house, and then its
sudden bursting open; which was immediately succeeded by a scuffle in
the room without, and the clash of weapons. Transported with the hope
that rescue had at length arrived, Emma and Dolly shrieked aloud for
help; nor were their shrieks unanswered; for after a hurried interval, a
man, bearing in one hand a drawn sword, and in the other a taper, rushed
into the chamber where they were confined.
It was some check upon their transport to find in this person an entire
stranger, but they appealed to him, nevertheless, and besought him, in
impassioned language, to restore them to their friends.
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