FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127  
128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   >>   >|  
stairs. She was on the point of yielding to the impulse of her own good-natured, though coarse feelings; but at last--] "I--I--dare say, Mr. Titmouse, you mean what's right and straightforward," she stammered. "Yes, Mrs. Squallop--you may keep those two shillings; they're the last farthing I have left in the whole world." "No--hem!--hem!--ahem! I was just suddenly a-thinking--now can't you guess, Mr. Titmouse?" "What, Mrs. Squallop?" inquired Titmouse, meekly but anxiously. "Why--suppose now--if it were only to raise ten shillings with old Balls, round the corner, on one of those fine things of yours--your ring, say!" [Titmouse's heart sank within him.] "Well, well--never mind--don't fear," said Mrs. Squallop, observing him suddenly turn pale again. "I--I only thought--but never mind! it don't signify--good-night! we can talk about that to-morrow--good-night--a good night's rest to you, Mr. Titmouse!" and the next moment he heard her heavy step descending the stairs. Some little time elapsed before he could recover from the agitation into which he had been thrown by her last proposal; but within five minutes of her quitting the room, there stood before him, on the table, an _empty_ plate and jug. CHAPTER IV. "The beast! the fat old toad!" thought he, the instant that he had finished masticating what had been supplied to him by real charity and good-nature--"the vulgar wretch!--the nasty canting old hypocrite!--I saw what she was driving at all the while!--she had her eye on my ring!--She'd have me pawn it at old Balls's--ha, ha!--Catch me! that's all!--Seven shillings a-week for this nasty hole!--I'll be bound I pay nearly half the rent of the whole house--the old cormorant!--out of what she gets from me! How I hate her! More than half my salary goes into her greasy pocket! Cuss me if I couldn't have kicked her down-stairs--porter, bread and cheese, and all--while she was standing canting there!--A snivelling old beldam!--Pawn my ring!!--Lord!!"--Here he began to undress. "Ha! I'm up to her; she'll be coming here to-morrow, with that devil Thumbscrew, to distrain, I'll be sworn. Well--I'll take care of _these_ anyhow;" and, kneeling down and unlocking his trunk, he took out of it his guard-chain, breast-pin, studs, and ring, carefully folded them up in paper, and depositing them in his trousers' pockets, resolved that henceforth their nightly resting-place should be--under his pillow; while during th
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127  
128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Titmouse
 

Squallop

 

shillings

 

stairs

 

morrow

 
thought
 
canting
 

suddenly

 
greasy
 

salary


couldn

 

standing

 
cheese
 

snivelling

 
beldam
 

porter

 
kicked
 
impulse
 

pocket

 

feelings


natured

 

cormorant

 

coarse

 

undress

 

depositing

 

trousers

 

pockets

 

folded

 

carefully

 

breast


resolved

 
henceforth
 

pillow

 

nightly

 

resting

 
yielding
 

coming

 
Thumbscrew
 

distrain

 
kneeling

unlocking
 

straightforward

 
signify
 
observing
 

descending

 

moment

 
farthing
 

inquired

 
suppose
 

anxiously