ad gentleman who has escaped from the next house,
and must have found an opportunity of secreting himself here.'

'Kate,' interposed Mrs Nickleby with severe dignity, 'I am surprised at
you.'

'Dear mama,' Kate gently remonstrated.

'I am surprised at you,' repeated Mrs Nickleby; 'upon my word, Kate,
I am quite astonished that you should join the persecutors of this
unfortunate gentleman, when you know very well that they have the basest
designs upon his property, and that that is the whole secret of it. It
would be much kinder of you, Kate, to ask Mr Linkinwater or Mr Cheeryble
to interfere in his behalf, and see him righted. You ought not to allow
your feelings to influence you; it's not right, very far from it. What
should my feelings be, do you suppose? If anybody ought to be indignant,
who is it? I, of course, and very properly so. Still, at the same time,
I wouldn't commit such an injustice for the world. No,' continued Mrs
Nickleby, drawing herself up, and looking another way with a kind of
bashful stateliness; 'this gentleman will understand me when I tell him
that I repeat the answer I gave him the other day; that I always will
repeat it, though I do believe him to be sincere when I find him placing
himself in such dreadful situations on my account; and that I request
him to have the goodness to go away directly, or it will be impossible
to keep his behaviour a secret from my son Nicholas. I am obliged to
him, very much obliged to him, but I cannot listen to his addresses for
a moment. It's quite impossible.'

While this address was in course of delivery, the old gentleman, with
his nose and cheeks embellished with large patches of soot, sat upon the
ground with his arms folded, eyeing the spectators in profound silence,
and with a very majestic demeanour. He did not appear to take the
smallest notice of what Mrs Nickleby said, but when she ceased to
speak he honoured her with a long stare, and inquired if she had quite
finished.

'I have nothing more to say,' replied that lady modestly. 'I really
cannot say anything more.'

'Very good,' said the old gentleman, raising his voice, 'then bring in
the bottled lightning, a clean tumbler, and a corkscrew.'

Nobody executing this order, the old gentleman, after a short pause,
raised his voice again and demanded a thunder sandwich. This article not
being forthcoming either, he requested to be served with a fricassee of
boot-tops and goldfish sauce, and then la