me!' and bade him go on.

'I say, though there is not that tie between us, do not, I entreat,
assail me with unnecessary taunts, or misinterpret what I say, or would
say. I was only going to suggest to you that it would be a mistake to
suppose that it is only you, who have been selected here, above all
others, for advancement, confidence and distinction (selected, in the
beginning, I know, for your great ability and trustfulness), and who
communicate more freely with Mr Dombey than anyone, and stand, it may
be said, on equal terms with him, and have been favoured and enriched by
him--that it would be a mistake to suppose that it is only you who are
tender of his welfare and reputation. There is no one in the House,
from yourself down to the lowest, I sincerely believe, who does not
participate in that feeling.'

'You lie!' said the Manager, red with sudden anger. 'You're a hypocrite,
John Carker, and you lie.'

'James!' cried the other, flushing in his turn. 'What do you mean by
these insulting words? Why do you so basely use them to me, unprovoked?'

'I tell you,' said the Manager, 'that your hypocrisy and meekness--that
all the hypocrisy and meekness of this place--is not worth that to me,'
snapping his thumb and finger, 'and that I see through it as if it were
air! There is not a man employed here, standing between myself and the
lowest in place (of whom you are very considerate, and with reason,
for he is not far off), who wouldn't be glad at heart to see his master
humbled: who does not hate him, secretly: who does not wish him evil
rather than good: and who would not turn upon him, if he had the power
and boldness. The nearer to his favour, the nearer to his insolence; the
closer to him, the farther from him. That's the creed here!'

'I don't know,' said his brother, whose roused feelings had soon yielded
to surprise, 'who may have abused your ear with such representations;
or why you have chosen to try me, rather than another. But that you
have been trying me, and tampering with me, I am now sure. You have a
different manner and a different aspect from any that I ever saw m you.
I will only say to you, once more, you are deceived.'

'I know I am,' said the Manager. 'I have told you so.'

'Not by me,' returned his brother. 'By your informant, if you have one.
If not, by your own thoughts and suspicions.'

'I have no suspicions,' said the Manager. 'Mine are certainties. You
pusillanimous, abject, cringing