ain.

But nothing could change Mr. Peggotty's love for little Em'ly. He
determined to start out and search throughout the world for her; and,
meantime, Ham and Mrs. Gummidge were to stay there in the old home, to
keep it looking just the same, with a lighted candle in the window every
night, so that if little Em'ly by any chance came back it would be
bright and warm to welcome her. Mr. Peggotty's parting words to David
were:

"I'm a-going to seek her far and wide. If any hurt should come to me,
remember that the last word I left for her was, 'My unchanged love is
with my darling child, and I forgive her.'"

III

DAVID AND HIS CHILD-WIFE

Though Agnes always held a large place in his heart, David was very
impressionable. In the next few years he thought himself in love a good
many times, but when finally he met Dora Spenlow, the daughter of one of
the members of the law firm with which he was studying, he knew that all
his other love-affairs had been only fancies. Dora was blue-eyed, with
cheeks like a pink sea-shell, and looked like a fairy. David fell head
over ears in love with her the first time he ever saw her. He lost his
appetite, and took to wearing tight gloves and shoes too small for him,
and he used to put on his best clothes and walk around her house in the
moonlight and do other extravagant things.

They found a good deal of trouble in their love-making, for Dora was
under the care of none other than the terrible sister of Mr. Murdstone,
who had made David so miserable in his childhood, but he and Dora used
to meet sometimes, and they sent each other letters through one of
Dora's girl friends. David, perhaps, would not have done this if he had
thought he would have a fair chance to win Dora; but with his old enemy,
Miss Murdstone, against him, he was afraid to tell her father of his
love. But one day he told it to Dora, and she promised to marry him.

Good luck, however, never comes without a bit of bad luck. Soon after
this David came home to his rooms one night to find his aunt, Miss Betsy
Trotwood, there, with her trunk and Mr. Dick, kites and all. She told
David she had no other place to go; that she had lost all of her money
and was quite ruined.

This was misfortune indeed, for it seemed to put his hope of marrying
Dora a great deal further away; but David faced the situation bravely
and began at once to look for something to do outside of the law office
to earn money enough to support them