WithBarnaclejunior，hesignifiedhisdesiretoconfer；andfoundthatyounggentlemansingeingthecalvesofhislegsattheparentalfire，andsupportinghisspineagainstthemantel-shelf。
Itwasacomfortableroom，handsomelyfurnishedinthehigherofficialmanner；anpresentingstatelysuggestionsoftheabsentBarnacle，inthethickcarpet，theleather-covereddesktositat，theleather-covereddesktostandat，theformidableeasy-chairandhearth-rug，theinterposedscreen，thetorn-uppapers，thedispatch-boxeswithlittlelabelsstickingoutofthem，likemedicinebottlesordeadgame，thepervadingsmellofleatherandmahogany，andageneralbamboozlingairofHownottodoit。
ThepresentBarnacle，holdingMrClennam’scardinhishand，hadayouthfulaspect，andthefluffiestlittlewhisker，perhaps，thateverwasseen。Suchadownytipwasonhiscallowchin，thatheseemedhalffledgedlikeayoungbird；andacompassionateobservermighthaveurgedthat，ifhehadnotsingedthecalvesofhislegs，hewouldhavediedofcold。Hehadasuperioreye-glassdanglingroundhisneck，butunfortunatelyhadsuchflatorbitstohiseyesandsuchlimplittleeyelidsthatitwouldn’tstickinwhenheputitup，butkepttumblingoutagainsthiswaistcoatbuttonswithaclickthatdiscomposedhimverymuch。
’Oh，Isay。Lookhere!Myfather’snotintheway，andwon’tbeinthewayto-day，’saidBarnacleJunior。’IsthisanythingthatIcando？’
Click!Eye-glassdown。BarnacleJuniorquitefrightenedandfeelingallroundhimself，butnotabletofindit。
’Youareverygood，’saidArthurClennam。’IwishhowevertoseeMrBarnacle。’
’ButIsay。Lookhere!Youhaven’tgotanyappointment，youknow，’saidBarnacleJunior。
Bythistimehehadfoundtheeye-glass，andputitupagain。
’No，’saidArthurClennam。’ThatiswhatIwishtohave。’
’ButIsay。Lookhere!Isthispublicbusiness？’askedBarnaclejunior。
Click!Eye-glassdownagain。BarnacleJuniorinthatstateofsearchafteritthatMrClennamfeltituselesstoreplyatpresent。
’Isit，’saidBarnaclejunior，takingheedofhisvisitor’sbrownface，’anythingabout——Tonnage——orthatsortofthing？’
Pausingforareply，heopenedhisrighteyewithhishand，andstuckhisglassinit，inthatinflammatorymannerthathiseyebeganwateringdreadfully。
’No，’saidArthur，’itisnothingabouttonnage。’
’Thenlookhere。Isitprivatebusiness？’
’Ireallyamnotsure。ItrelatestoaMrDorrit。’
’Lookhere，Itellyouwhat!Youhadbettercallatourhouse，ifyouaregoingthatway。Twenty-four，MewsStreet，GrosvenorSquare。Myfather’sgotaslighttouchofthegout，andiskeptathomebyit。’
ThemisguidedyoungBarnacleevidentlygoingblindonhiseye-
glassside，butashamedtomakeanyfurtheralterationinhispainfularrangements。
’Thankyou。Iwillcalltherenow。Goodmorning。’YoungBarnacleseemeddiscomfitedatthis，asnothavingatallexpectedhimtogo。
’Youarequitesure，’saidBarnaclejunior，callingafterhimwhenhegottothedoor，unwillingwhollytorelinquishthebrightbusinessideahehadconceived；’thatit’snothingaboutTonnage？’
’Quitesure。’
Withsuchassurance，andratherwonderingwhatmighthavetakenplaceifitHADbeenanythingabouttonnage，MrClennamwithdrewtopursuehisinquiries。
MewsStreet，GrosvenorSquare，wasnotabsolutelyGrosvenorSquareitself，butitwasverynearit。Itwasahideouslittlestreetofdeadwall，stables，anddunghills，withloftsovercoach-housesinhabitedbycoachmen’sfamilies，whohadapassionfordryingclothesanddecoratingtheirwindow-sillswithminiatureturnpike-
gates。Theprincipalchimney-sweepofthatfashionablequarterlivedattheblindendofMewsStreet；andthesamecornercontainedanestablishmentmuchfrequentedaboutearlymorningandtwilightforthepurchaseofwine-bottlesandkitchen-stuff。
Punch’sshowsusedtoleanagainstthedeadwallinMewsStreet，whiletheirproprietorswerediningelsewhere；andthedogsoftheneighbourhoodmadeappointmentstomeetinthesamelocality。YetthereweretwoorthreesmallairlesshousesattheentranceendofMewsStreet，whichwentatenormousrentsonaccountoftheirbeingabjecthangers-ontoafashionablesituation；andwheneveroneofthesefearfullittlecoopswastobeletwhichseldomhappened，fortheywereingreatrequest，thehouseagentadvertiseditasagentlemanlyresidenceinthemostaristocraticpartoftown，inhabitedsolelybytheeliteofthebeaumonde。
IfagentlemanlyresidencecomingstrictlywithinthisnarrowmarginhadnotbeenessentialtothebloodoftheBarnacles，thisparticularbranchwouldhavehadaprettywideselectionamong，letussay，tenthousandhouses，offeringfiftytimestheaccommodationforathirdofthemoney。Asitwas，MrBarnacle，findinghisgentlemanlyresidenceextremelyinconvenientandextremelydear，alwayslaidit，asapublicservant，atthedoorofthecountry，andadduceditasanotherinstanceofthecountry’sparsimony。
ArthurClennamcametoasqueezedhouse，witharamshacklebowedfront，littledingywindows，andalittledarkarealikeadampwaistcoat-pocket，whichhefoundtobenumbertwenty-four，MewsStreet，GrosvenorSquare。TothesenseofsmellthehousewaslikeasortofbottlefilledwithastrongdistillationofMews；andwhenthefootmanopenedthedoor，heseemedtotakethestopperout。
ThefootmanwastotheGrosvenorSquarefootmen，whatthehousewastotheGrosvenorSquarehouses。Admirableinhisway，hiswaywasabackandabyeway。Hisgorgeousnesswasnotunmixedwithdirt；
andbothincomplexionandconsistencyhehadsufferedfromtheclosenessofhispantry。Asallowflabbinesswasuponhimwhenhetookthestopperout，andpresentedthebottletoMrClennam’snose。
’BesogoodastogivethatcardtoMrTiteBarnacle，andtosaythatIhavejustnowseentheyoungerMrBarnacle，whorecommendedmetocallhere。’
ThefootmanwhohadasmanylargebuttonswiththeBarnaclecrestuponthemontheflapsofhispockets，asifhewerethefamilystrongbox，andcarriedtheplateandjewelsaboutwithhimbuttonedupponderedoverthecardalittle；thensaid，’Walkin。’
Itrequiredsomejudgmenttodoitwithoutbuttingtheinnerhall-
dooropen，andintheconsequentmentalconfusionandphysicaldarknessslippingdownthekitchenstairs。Thevisitor，however，broughthimselfupsafelyonthedoor-mat。
Stillthefootmansaid’Walkin，’sothevisitorfollowedhim。Attheinnerhall-door，anotherbottleseemedtobepresentedandanotherstoppertakenout。ThissecondvialappearedtobefilledwithconcentratedprovisionsandextractofSinkfromthepantry。
Afteraskirmishinthenarrowpassage，occasionedbythefootman’sopeningthedoorofthedismaldining-roomwithconfidence，findingsomeonetherewithconsternation，andbackingonthevisitorwithdisorder，thevisitorwasshutup，pendinghisannouncement，inaclosebackparlour。Therehehadanopportunityofrefreshinghimselfwithboththebottlesatonce，lookingoutatalowblindingwallthreefeetoff，andspeculatingonthenumberofBarnaclefamilieswithinthebillsofmortalitywholivedinsuchhutchesoftheirownfreeflunkeychoice。
MrBarnaclewouldseehim。Wouldhewalkup-stairs？Hewould，andhedid；andinthedrawing-room，withhislegonarest，hefoundMrBarnaclehimself，theexpressimageandpresentmentofHownottodoit。
MrBarnacledatedfromabettertime，whenthecountrywasnotsoparsimoniousandtheCircumlocutionOfficewasnotsobadgered。Hewoundandwoundfoldsofwhitecravatroundhisneck，ashewoundandwoundfoldsoftapeandpaperroundtheneckofthecountry。
Hiswristbandsandcollarwereoppressive；hisvoiceandmannerwereoppressive。Hehadalargewatch-chainandbunchofseals，acoatbuttoneduptoinconvenience，awaistcoatbuttoneduptoinconvenience，anunwrinkledpairoftrousers，astiffpairofboots。Hewasaltogethersplendid，massive，overpowering，andimpracticable。HeseemedtohavebeensittingforhisportraittoSirThomasLawrenceallthedaysofhislife。
’MrClennam？’saidMrBarnacle。’Beseated。’
MrClennambecameseated。
’Youhavecalledonme，Ibelieve，’saidMrBarnacle，’attheCircumlocution——’givingittheairofawordofaboutfive-and-
twentysyllables——’Office。’
’Ihavetakenthatliberty。’
MrBarnaclesolemnlybenthisheadaswhoshouldsay，’Idonotdenythatitisaliberty；proceedtotakeanotherliberty，andletmeknowyourbusiness。’
’AllowmetoobservethatIhavebeenforsomeyearsinChina，amquiteastrangerathome，andhavenopersonalmotiveorinterestintheinquiryIamabouttomake。’
MrBarnacletappedhisfingersonthetable，and，asifhewerenowsittingforhisportraittoanewandstrangeartist，appearedtosaytohisvisitor，’Ifyouwillbegoodenoughtotakemewithmypresentloftyexpression，Ishallfeelobliged。’
’IhavefoundadebtorintheMarshalseaPrisonofthenameofDorrit，whohasbeentheremanyyears。Iwishtoinvestigatehisconfusedaffairssofarastoascertainwhetheritmaynotbepossible，afterthislapseoftime，toamelioratehisunhappycondition。ThenameofMrTiteBarnaclehasbeenmentionedtomeasrepresentingsomehighlyinfluentialinterestamonghiscreditors。AmIcorrectlyinformed？’
ItbeingoneoftheprinciplesoftheCircumlocutionOfficenever，onanyaccountwhatever，togiveastraightforwardanswer，MrBarnaclesaid，’Possibly。’
’OnbehalfoftheCrown，mayIask，orasprivateindividual？’
’TheCircumlocutionDepartment，sir，’MrBarnaclereplied，’mayhavepossiblyrecommended——possibly——Icannotsay——thatsomepublicclaimagainsttheinsolventestateofafirmorcopartnershiptowhichthispersonmayhavebelonged，shouldbeenforced。Thequestionmayhavebeen，inthecourseofofficialbusiness，referredtotheCircumlocutionDepartmentforitsconsideration。
TheDepartmentmayhaveeitheroriginated，orconfirmed，aMinutemakingthatrecommendation。’
’Iassumethistobethecase，then。’
’TheCircumlocutionDepartment，’saidMrBarnacle，’isnotresponsibleforanygentleman’sassumptions。’
’MayIinquirehowIcanobtainofficialinformationastotherealstateofthecase？’
’Itiscompetent，’saidMrBarnacle，’toanymemberofthe——
Public，’mentioningthatobscurebodywithreluctance，ashisnaturalenemy，’tomemorialisetheCircumlocutionDepartment。Suchformalitiesasarerequiredtobeobservedinsodoing，maybeknownonapplicationtotheproperbranchofthatDepartment。’
’Whichistheproperbranch？’
’Imustreferyou，’returnedMrBarnacle，ringingthebell，’totheDepartmentitselfforaformalanswertothatinquiry。’
’Excusemymentioning——’