Withthis，shebouncedacrosstotheoppositepavement。Theolddisgrace，whohadbeendeferentiallybowingapaceortwooffforLittleDorrithadlethisarmgoinherwonder，whenFannybegan，andwhohadbeenhustledandcursedbyimpatientpassengersforstoppingtheway，rejoinedhiscompanion，rathergiddy，andsaid，’Ihopenothing’swrongwithyourhonouredfather，Miss？Ihopethere’snothingthematterinthehonouredfamily？’
’No，no，’returnedLittleDorrit。’No，thankyou。Givemeyourarmagain，MrNandy。Weshallsoonbetherenow。’
Soshetalkedtohimasshehadtalkedbefore，andtheycametotheLodgeandfoundMrChiveryonthelock，andwentin。Now，ithappenedthattheFatheroftheMarshalseawassaunteringtowardstheLodgeatthemomentwhentheywerecomingoutofit，enteringtheprisonarminarm。Asthespectacleoftheirapproachmethisview，hedisplayedtheutmostagitationanddespondencyofmind；
and——altogetherregardlessofOldNandy，who，makinghisreverence，stoodwithhishatinhishand，ashealwaysdidinthatgraciouspresence——turnedabout，andhurriedinathisowndoorwayandupthestaircase。
Leavingtheoldunfortunate，whominanevilhourshehadtakenunderherprotection，withahurriedpromisetoreturntohimdirectly，LittleDorrithastenedafterherfather，and，onthestaircase，foundFannyfollowingher，andflouncingupwithoffendeddignity。Thethreecameintotheroomalmosttogether；
andtheFathersatdowninhischair，buriedhisfaceinhishands，andutteredagroan。
’Ofcourse，’saidFanny。’Veryproper。Poor，afflictedPa!Now，Ihopeyoubelieveme，Miss？’
’Whatisit，father？’criedLittleDorrit，bendingoverhim。’HaveImadeyouunhappy，father？NotI，Ihope!’
’Youhope，indeed!Idaresay!Oh，you’——Fannypausedforasufficientlystrongexpression——’youCommon-mindedlittleAmy!Youcompleteprison-child!’
Hestoppedtheseangryreproacheswithawaveofhishand，andsobbedout，raisinghisfaceandshakinghismelancholyheadathisyoungerdaughter，’Amy，Iknowthatyouareinnocentinintention。
Butyouhavecutmetothesoul。’
’Innocentinintention!’theimplacableFannystruckin。’Stuffinintention!Lowinintention!Loweringofthefamilyinintention!’
’Father!’criedLittleDorrit，paleandtrembling。’Iamverysorry。Prayforgiveme。Tellmehowitis，thatImaynotdoitagain!’
’Howitis，youprevaricatinglittlepieceofgoods!’criedFanny。
’Youknowhowitis。Ihavetoldyoualready，sodon’tflyinthefaceofProvidencebyattemptingtodenyit!’
’Hush!Amy，’saidthefather，passinghispocket-handkerchiefseveraltimesacrosshisface，andthengraspingitconvulsivelyinthehandthatdroppedacrosshisknee，’IhavedonewhatIcouldtokeepyouselecthere；IhavedonewhatIcouldtoretainyouapositionhere。Imayhavesucceeded；Imaynot。Youmayknowit；
youmaynot。Igivenoopinion。Ihaveenduredeverythingherebuthumiliation。ThatIhavehappilybeenspared——untilthisday。’
Herehisconvulsivegraspuncloseditself，andheputhispocket-
handkerchieftohiseyesagain。LittleDorrit，onthegroundbesidehim，withherimploringhanduponhisarm，watchedhimremorsefully。Comingoutofhisfitofgrief，heclenchedhispocket-handkerchiefoncemore。
’HumiliationIhavehappilybeenspareduntilthisday。Throughallmytroublestherehasbeenthat——Spiritinmyself，andthat——
thatsubmissiontoit，ifImayusetheterm，inthoseaboutme，whichhassparedme——ha——humiliation。Butthisday，thisminute，Ihavekeenlyfeltit。’
’Ofcourse!Howcoulditbeotherwise？’exclaimedtheirrepressibleFanny。’CareeringandprancingaboutwithaPauper!’
air-gunagain。
’But，dearfather，’criedLittleDorrit，’Idon’tjustifymyselfforhavingwoundedyourdearheart——no!HeavenknowsIdon’t!’
Sheclaspedherhandsinquiteanagonyofdistress。’Idonothingbutbegandprayyoutobecomfortedandoverlookit。ButifIhadnotknownthatyouwerekindtotheoldmanyourself，andtookmuchnoticeofhim，andwerealwaysgladtoseehim，Iwouldnothavecomeherewithhim，father，Iwouldnot，indeed。WhatIhavebeensounhappyastodo，Ihavedoneinmistake。Iwouldnotwilfullybringateartoyoureyes，dearlove!’saidLittleDorrit，herheartwell-nighbroken，’foranythingtheworldcouldgiveme，oranythingitcouldtakeaway。’
Fanny，withapartlyangryandpartlyrepentantsob，begantocryherself，andtosay——asthisyoungladyalwayssaidwhenshewashalfinpassionandhalfoutofit，halfspitefulwithherselfandhalfspitefulwitheverybodyelse——thatshewishedsheweredead。
TheFatheroftheMarshalseainthemeantimetookhisyoungerdaughtertohisbreast，andpattedherhead。
’There，there!Saynomore，Amy，saynomore，mychild。IwillforgetitassoonasIcan。I，’withhystericalcheerfulness，’I——
shallsoonbeabletodismissit。Itisperfectlytrue，mydear，thatIamalwaysgladtoseemyoldpensioner——assuch，assuch——
andthatIdo——ha——extendasmuchprotectionandkindnesstothe——
hum——thebruisedreed——ItrustImaysocallhimwithoutimpropriety——asinmycircumstances，Ican。Itisquitetruethatthisisthecase，mydearchild。Atthesametime，Ipreserveindoingthis，ifImay——ha——ifImayusetheexpression——Spirit。
BecomingSpirit。Andtherearesomethingswhichare，’hestoppedtosob，’irreconcilablewiththat，andwoundthat——wounditdeeply。
ItisnotthatIhaveseenmygoodAmyattentive，and——ha——
condescendingtomyoldpensioner——itisnotthatthathurtsme。
Itis，ifIamtoclosethepainfulsubjectbybeingexplicit，thatIhaveseenmychild，myownchild，myowndaughter，comingintothisCollegeoutofthepublicstreets——smiling!smiling!——arminarmwith——OmyGod，alivery!’
Thisreferencetothecoatofnocutandnotime，theunfortunategentlemangaspedforth，inascarcelyaudiblevoice，andwithhisclenchedpocket-handkerchiefraisedintheair。Hisexcitedfeelingsmighthavefoundsomefurtherpainfulutterance，butforaknockatthedoor，whichhadbeenalreadytwicerepeated，andtowhichFannystillwishingherselfdead，andindeednowgoingsofarastoadd，buriedcried’Comein!’
’Ah，YoungJohn!’saidtheFather，inanalteredandcalmedvoice。
’Whatisit，YoungJohn？’
’Aletterforyou，sir，beingleftintheLodgejustthisminute，andamessagewithit，Ithought，happeningtobetheremyself，sir，Iwouldbringittoyourroom。’Thespeaker’sattentionwasmuchdistractedbythepiteousspectacleofLittleDorritatherfather’sfeet，withherheadturnedaway。
’Indeed，John？Thankyou。’
’TheletterisfromMrClennam，sir——it’stheanswer——andthemessagewas，sir，thatMrClennamalsosenthiscompliments，andwordthathewoulddohimselfthepleasureofcallingthisafternoon，hopingtoseeyou，andlikewise，’attentionmoredistractedthanbefore，’MissAmy。’
’Oh!’AstheFatherglancedintothelettertherewasabank-noteinit，hereddenedalittle，andpattedAmyontheheadafresh。
’Thankyou，YoungJohn。Quiteright。Muchobligedtoyouforyourattention。Noonewaiting？’
’No，sir，noonewaiting。’
’Thankyou，John。Howisyourmother，YoungJohn？’
’Thankyou，sir，she’snotquiteaswellaswecouldwish——infact，wenoneofusare，exceptfather——butshe’sprettywell，sir。’
’Saywesentourremembrances，willyou？Saykindremembrances，ifyouplease，YoungJohn。’
’Thankyou，sir，Iwill。’AndMrChiveryjuniorwenthisway，havingspontaneouslycomposedonthespotanentirelynewepitaphforhimself，totheeffectthatHerelaythebodyofJohnChivery，Who，Havingatsuchadate，Beheldtheidolofhislife，Ingriefandtears，Andfeelingunabletobeartheharrowingspectacle，Immediatelyrepairedtotheabodeofhisinconsolableparents，Andterminatedhisexistencebyhisownrashact。
’There，there，Amy!’saidtheFather，whenYoungJohnhadclosedthedoor，’letussaynomoreaboutit。’Thelastfewminuteshadimprovedhisspiritsremarkably，andhewasquitelightsome。
’Whereismyoldpensionerallthiswhile？Wemustnotleavehimbyhimselfanylonger，orhewillbegintosupposeheisnotwelcome，andthatwouldpainme。Willyoufetchhim，mychild，orshallI？’
’Ifyouwouldn’tmind，father，’saidLittleDorrit，tryingtobringhersobbingtoaclose。
’CertainlyIwillgo，mydear。Iforgot；youreyesareratherred。
There!Cheerup，Amy。Don’tbeuneasyaboutme。Iamquitemyselfagain，mylove，quitemyself。Gotoyourroom，Amy，andmakeyourselflookcomfortableandpleasanttoreceiveMrClennam。’
’Iwouldratherstayinmyownroom，Father，’returnedLittleDorrit，findingitmoredifficultthanbeforetoregainhercomposure。’IwouldfarrathernotseeMrClennam。’
’Oh，fie，fie，mydear，that’sfolly。MrClennamisaverygentlemanlyman——verygentlemanly。Alittlereservedattimes；butIwillsayextremelygentlemanly。Icouldn’tthinkofyournotbeingheretoreceiveMrClennam，mydear，especiallythisafternoon。Sogoandfreshenyourselfup，Amy；goandfreshenyourselfup，likeagoodgirl。’
Thusdirected，LittleDorritdutifullyroseandobeyed：onlypausingforamomentasshewentoutoftheroom，togivehersisterakissofreconciliation。Uponwhich，thatyounglady，feelingmuchharassedinhermind，andhavingforthetimewornoutthewishwithwhichshegenerallyrelievedit，conceivedandexecutedthebrilliantideaofwishingOldNandydead，ratherthanthatheshouldcomebotheringtherelikeadisgusting，tiresome，wickedwretch，andmakingmischiefbetweentwosisters。
TheFatheroftheMarshalsea，evenhummingatune，andwearinghisblackvelvetcapalittleononeside，somuchimprovedwerehisspirits，wentdownintotheyard，andfoundhisoldpensionerstandingtherehatinhandjustwithinthegate，ashehadstoodallthistime。’Come，Nandy!’saidhe，withgreatsuavity。’Comeup-stairs，Nandy；youknowtheway；whydon’tyoucomeup-stairs？’
Hewentthelength，onthisoccasion，ofgivinghimhishandandsaying，’Howareyou，Nandy？Areyouprettywell？’Towhichthatvocalistreturned，’Ithankyou，honouredsir，Iamallthebetterforseeingyourhonour。’Astheywentalongtheyard，theFatheroftheMarshalseapresentedhimtoaCollegianofrecentdate。’Anoldacquaintanceofmine，sir，anoldpensioner。’Andthensaid，’Becovered，mygoodNandy；putyourhaton，’withgreatconsideration。
Hispatronagedidnotstophere；forhechargedMaggytogettheteaready，andinstructedhertobuycertaintea-cakes，freshbutter，eggs，coldham，andshrimps：topurchasewhichcollationhegaveherabank-notefortenpounds，layingstrictinjunctionsonhertobecarefulofthechange。Thesepreparationswereinanadvancedstageofprogress，andhisdaughterAmyhadcomebackwithherwork，whenClennampresentedhimself；whomhemostgraciouslyreceived，andbesoughttojointheirmeal。
’Amy，mylove，youknowMrClennamevenbetterthanIhavethehappinessofdoing。Fanny，mydear，youareacquaintedwithMrClennam。’Fannyacknowledgedhimhaughtily；thepositionshetacitlytookupinallsuchcasesbeingthattherewasavastconspiracytoinsultthefamilybynotunderstandingit，orsufficientlydeferringtoit，andherewasoneoftheconspirators。
’This，MrClennam，youmustknow，isanoldpensionerofmine，OldNandy，averyfaithfuloldman。’Healwaysspokeofhimasanobjectofgreatantiquity，buthewastwoorthreeyearsyoungerthanhimself。’Letmesee。YouknowPlornish，Ithink？IthinkmydaughterAmyhasmentionedtomethatyouknowpoorPlornish？’