nce and said,

'And yet you can read. And write too, I shouldn't wonder?'

'Yes, ma'am,' said the child, fearful of giving new offence by the
confession.

'Well, and what a thing that is,' returned Mrs Jarley. 'I can't!'

Nell said 'indeed' in a tone which might imply, either that she was
reasonably surprised to find the genuine and only Jarley, who was the
delight of the Nobility and Gentry and the peculiar pet of the Royal
Family, destitute of these familiar arts; or that she presumed so great
a lady could scarcely stand in need of such ordinary accomplishments.
In whatever way Mrs Jarley received the response, it did not provoke
her to further questioning, or tempt her into any more remarks at the
time, for she relapsed into a thoughtful silence, and remained in that
state so long that Nell withdrew to the other window and rejoined her
grandfather, who was now awake.

At length the lady of the caravan shook off her fit of meditation, and,
summoning the driver to come under the window at which she was seated,
held a long conversation with him in a low tone of voice, as if she
were asking his advice on an important point, and discussing the pros
and cons of some very weighty matter. This conference at length
concluded, she drew in her head again, and beckoned Nell to approach.

'And the old gentleman too,' said Mrs Jarley; 'for I want to have a
word with him. Do you want a good situation for your grand-daughter,
master? If you do, I can put her in the way of getting one. What do
you say?'

'I can't leave her,' answered the old man. 'We can't separate. What
would become of me without her?'

'I should have thought you were old enough to take care of yourself, if
you ever will be,' retorted Mrs Jarley sharply.

'But he never will be,' said the child in an earnest whisper. 'I fear
he never will be again. Pray do not speak harshly to him. We are very
thankful to you,' she added aloud; 'but neither of us could part from
the other if all the wealth of the world were halved between us.'

Mrs Jarley was a little disconcerted by this reception of her proposal,
and looked at the old man, who tenderly took Nell's hand and detained
it in his own, as if she could have very well dispensed with his
company or even his earthly existence. After an awkward pause, she
thrust her head out of the window again, and had another conference
with the driver upon some point on which they did not seem to agree
quite so read