ThegentlemanfromBengalwasstanding，disconcertedbythisincident，whenthedoorofthe92openedofitselfandBecky’slittleheadpeepedoutfullofarchnessandmischief。ShelightedonJos。”It’syou。”shesaid，comingout。”HowIhavebeenwaitingforyou！Stop！
notyet——inoneminuteyoushallcomein。”Inthatinstantsheputarouge-pot，abrandybottle，andaplateofbrokenmeatintothebed，gaveonesmoothtoherhair，andfinallyletinhervisitor。
Shehad，bywayofmorningrobe，apinkdomino，atriflefadedandsoiled，andmarkedhereandtherewithpomaturn；butherarmsshoneoutfromtheloosesleevesofthedressverywhiteandfair，anditwastiedroundherlittlewaistsoasnotilltosetoffthetrimlittlefigureofthewearer。SheledJosbythehandintohergarret。
“Comein。”shesaid。”Comeandtalktome。Sityonderonthechair“；andshegavethecivilian’shandalittlesqueezeandlaughinglyplacedhimuponit。Asforherself，sheplacedherselfonthebed——notonthebottleandplate，youmaybesure——onwhichJosmighthavereposed，hadhechosenthatseat；andsothereshesatandtalkedwithheroldadmirer。
“Howlittleyearshavechangedyou。”shesaidwithalookoftenderinterest。”Ishouldhaveknownyouanywhere。Whatacomfortitisamongststrangerstoseeoncemorethefrankhonestfaceofanoldfriend！”
Thefrankhonestface，totellthetruth，atthismomentboreanyexpressionbutoneofopennessandhonesty：itwas，onthecontrary，muchperturbedandpuzzledinlook。Joswassurveyingthequeerlittleapartmentinwhichhefoundhisoldflame。Oneofhergownshungoverthebed，anotherdependingfromahookofthedoor；
herbonnetobscuredhalfthelooking-glass，onwhich，too，laytheprettiestlittlepairofbronzeboots；aFrenchnovelwasonthetablebythebedside，withacandle，notofwax。Beckythoughtofpoppingthatintothebedtoo，butsheonlyputinthelittlepapernight-capwithwhichshehadputthecandleoutongoingtosleep。
“Ishouldhaveknownyouanywhere。”shecontinued；
“awomanneverforgetssomethings。AndyouwerethefirstmanIever——Ieversaw。”
“WasIreally？”saidJos。”Godblessmysoul，you——
youdon’tsayso。”
“WhenIcamewithyoursisterfromChiswick，Iwasscarcelymorethanachild。”Beckysaid。”Howisthat，dearlove？Oh，herhusbandwasasadwickedman，andofcourseitwasofmethatthepoordearwasjealous。
AsifIcaredabouthim，heigho！whentherewassomebody——butno——don’tletustalkofoldtimes“；andshepassedherhandkerchiefwiththetatteredlaceacrosshereyelids。
“Isnotthisastrangeplace。”shecontinued，“forawoman，whohaslivedinaverydifferentworldtoo，tobefoundin？Ihavehadsomanygriefsandwrongs，JosephSedley；IhavebeenmadetosuffersocruellythatIamalmostmademadsometimes。Ican’tstaystillinanyplace，butwanderaboutalwaysrestlessandunhappy。
Allmyfriendshavebeenfalsetome——all。Thereisnosuchthingasanhonestmanintheworld。Iwasthetruestwifethateverlived，thoughImarriedmyhusbandoutofpique，becausesomebodyelse——butnevermindthat。I
wastrue，andhetrampleduponmeanddesertedme。I
wasthefondestmother。Ihadbutonechild，onedarling，onehope，onejoy，whichIheldtomyheartwithamother’saffection，whichwasmylife，myprayer，my——myblessing；andthey——theytoreitfromme——toreitfromme“；andsheputherhandtoherheartwithapassionategestureofdespair，buryingherfaceforamomentonthebed。
Thebrandy-bottleinsideclinkedupagainsttheplatewhichheldthecoldsausage。Bothweremoved，nodoubt，bytheexhibitionofsomuchgrief。MaxandFritzwereatthedoor，listeningwithwondertoMrs。Becky’ssobsandcries。Jos，too，wasagooddealfrightenedandaffectedatseeinghisoldflameinthiscondition。Andshebegan，forthwith，totellherstory——atalesoneat，simple，andartlessthatitwasquiteevidentfromhearingherthatifevertherewasawhite-robedangelescapedfromheaventobesubjecttotheinfernalmachinationsandvillainyoffiendsherebelow，thatspotlessbeing——thatmiserableunsulliedmartyr，waspresentonthebedbeforeJos——onthebed，sittingonthebrandy-bottle。
Theyhadaverylong，amicable，andconfidentialtalkthere，inthecourseofwhichJosSedleywassomehowmadeawarebutinamannerthatdidnotintheleastscareoroffendhimthatBecky’shearthadfirstlearnedtobeatathisenchantingpresence；thatGeorgeOsbornehadcertainlypaidanunjustifiablecourttoHER，whichmightaccountforAmelia’sjealousyandtheirlittlerupture；butthatBeckynevergavetheleastencouragementtotheunfortunateofficer，andthatshehadneverceasedtothinkaboutJosfromtheveryfirstdayshehadseenhim，though，ofcourse，herdutiesasamarriedwomanwereparamount——dutieswhichshehadalwayspreserved，andwould，toherdyingday，oruntiltheproverbiallybadclimateinwhichColonelCrawleywaslivingshouldreleaseherfromayokewhichhiscrueltyhadrenderedodioustoher。
Joswentaway，convincedthatshewasthemostvirtuous，asshewasoneofthemostfascinatingofwomen，andrevolvinginhismindallsortsofbenevolentschemesforherwelfare。Herpersecutionsoughttobeended：
sheoughttoreturntothesocietyofwhichshewasanornament。Hewouldseewhatoughttobedone。Shemustquitthatplaceandtakeaquietlodging。Ameliamustcomeandseeherandbefriendher。Hewouldgoandsettleaboutit，andconsultwiththeMajor。Shewepttearsofheart-feltgratitudeasshepartedfromhim，andpressedhishandasthegallantstoutgentlemanstoopeddowntokisshers。
SoBeckybowedJosoutofherlittlegarretwithasmuchgraceasifitwasapalaceofwhichshedidthehonours；andthatheavygentlemanhavingdisappeareddownthestairs，MaxandFritzcameoutoftheirhole，pipeinmouth，andsheamusedherselfbymimickingJostothemasshemunchedhercoldbreadandsausageandtookdraughtsofherfavouritebrandy-and-water。
JoswalkedovertoDobbin’slodgingswithgreatsolemnityandthereimpartedtohimtheaffectinghistorywithwhichhehadjustbeenmadeacquainted，without，however，mentioningtheplaybusinessofthenightbefore。
AndthetwogentlemenwerelayingtheirheadstogetherandconsultingastothebestmeansofbeingusefultoMrs。Becky，whileshewasfinishingherinterrupteddejeuneralafourchette。
Howwasitthatshehadcometothatlittletown？
Howwasitthatshehadnofriendsandwaswanderingaboutalone？LittleboysatschoolaretaughtintheirearliestLatinbookthatthepathofAvernusisveryeasyofdescent。Letusskipovertheintervalinthehistoryofherdownwardprogress。Shewasnotworsenowthanshehadbeeninthedaysofherprosperity——onlyalittledownonherluck。
AsforMrs。Amelia，shewasawomanofsuchasoftandfoolishdispositionthatwhensheheardofanybodyunhappy，herheartstraightwaymeltedtowardsthesufferer；andasshehadneverthoughtordoneanythingmortallyguiltyherself，shehadnotthatabhorrenceforwickednesswhichdistinguishesmoralistsmuchmoreknowing。Ifshespoiledeverybodywhocamenearherwithkindnessandcompliments——ifshebeggedpardonofallherservantsfortroublingthemtoanswerthebell——ifsheapologizedtoashopboywhoshowedherapieceofsilk，ormadeacurtseytoastreet-sweeperwithacomplimentaryremarkupontheelegantstateofhiscrossing——andshewasalmostcapableofeveryoneofthesefollies——thenotionthatanoldacquaintancewasmiserablewassuretosoftenherheart；norwouldshehearofanybody’sbeingdeservedlyunhappy。Aworldundersuchlegislationasherswouldnotbeaveryorderlyplaceofabode；buttherearenotmanywomen，atleastnotoftherulers，whoareofhersort。Thislady，Ibelieve，wouldhaveabolishedallgaols，punishments，handcuffs，whippings，poverty，sickness，hunger，intheworld，andwassuchamean-spiritedcreaturethat——weareobligedtoconfessit——shecouldevenforgetamortalinjury。
WhentheMajorheardfromJosofthesentimentaladventurewhichhadjustbefallenthelatter，hewasnot，itmustbeowned，nearlyasmuchinterestedasthegentlemanfromBengal。Onthecontrary，hisexcitementwasquitethereversefromapleasurableone；hemadeuseofabriefbutimproperexpressionregardingapoorwomanindistress，saying，infact，“Thelittleminx，hasshecometolightagain？”Heneverhadhadtheslightestlikingforher，buthadheartilymistrustedherfromtheveryfirstmomentwhenhergreeneyeshadlookedat，andturnedawayfrom，hisown。
“Thatlittledevilbringsmischiefwherevershegoes。”
theMajorsaiddisrespectfully。”Whoknowswhatsortoflifeshehasbeenleading？Andwhatbusinesshasshehereabroadandalone？Don’ttellmeaboutpersecutorsandenemies；anhonestwomanalwayshasfriendsandneverisseparatedfromherfamily。Whyhassheleftherhusband？Hemayhavebeendisreputableandwicked，asyousay。Healwayswas。IremembertheconfoundedblacklegandthewayinwhichheusedtocheatandhoodwinkpoorGeorge。Wasn’tthereascandalabouttheirseparation？IthinkIheardsomething。”criedoutMajorDobbin，whodidnotcaremuchaboutgossip，andwhomJostriedinvaintoconvincethatMrs。Beckywasinallrespectsamostinjuredandvirtuousfemale。
“Well，well；let’saskMrs。George。”saidthatarch-
diplomatistofaMajor。”Onlyletusgoandconsulther。
Isupposeyouwillallowthatsheisagoodjudgeatanyrate，andknowswhatisrightinsuchmatters。”
“Hm！Emmyisverywell。”saidJos，whodidnothappentobeinlovewithhissister。
“Verywell？ByGad，sir，she’sthefinestladyIevermetinmylife。”bouncedouttheMajor。”Isayatonce，letusgoandaskherifthiswomanoughttobevisitedornot——Iwillbecontentwithherverdict。”Nowthisodious，artfulrogueofaMajorwasthinkinginhisownmindthathewassureofhiscase。Emmy，heremembered，wasatonetimecruellyanddeservedlyjealousofRebecca，nevermentionedhernamebutwithashrinkingandterror——ajealouswomanneverforgives，thoughtDobbin：andsothepairwentacrossthestreettoMrs。
George’shouse，whereshewascontentedlywarblingatamusiclessonwithMadameStrumpff。
Whenthatladytookherleave，Josopenedthebusinesswithhisusualpompofwords。”Amelia，mydear。”
saidhe，“Ihavejusthadthemostextraordinary——yes——
Godblessmysoul！themostextraordinaryadventure——
anoldfriend——yes，amostinterestingoldfriendofyours，andImaysayinoldtimes，hasjustarrivedhere，andIshouldlikeyoutoseeher。”
“Her！”saidAmelia，“whoisit？MajorDobbin，ifyoupleasenottobreakmyscissors。”TheMajorwastwirlingthemroundbythelittlechainfromwhichtheysometimeshungtotheirlady’swaist，andwastherebyendangeringhisowneye。
ItisawomanwhomIdislikeverymuch。”saidtheMajor，doggedly，“andwhomyouhavenocausetolove。”
“ItisRebecca，I’msureitisRebecca。”Ameliasaid，blushingandbeingverymuchagitated。
“Youareright；youalwaysare。”Dobbinanswered。
Brussels，Waterloo，old，oldtimes，griefs，pangs，remembrances，rushedbackintoAmelia’sgentleheartandcausedacruelagitationthere。
“Don’tletmeseeher。”Emmycontinued。”Icouldn’tseeher。”
“Itoldyouso。”DobbinsaidtoJos。
“Sheisveryunhappy，and——andthatsortofthing。”
Josurged。”Sheisverypoorandunprotected，andhasbeenill——exceedinglyill——andthatscoundrelofahusbandhasdesertedher。”
“Ah！”saidAmelia“Shehasn’tafriendintheworld。”Joswenton，notundexterously，“andshesaidshethoughtshemighttrustinyou。She’ssomiserable，Emmy。Shehasbeenalmostmadwithgrief。Herstoryquiteaffectedme——’ponmywordandhonour，itdid——neverwassuchacruelpersecutionbornesoangelically，Imaysay。Herfamilyhasbeenmostcrueltoher。”
“Poorcreature！”Ameliasaid。
“Andifshecangetnofriend，shesaysshethinksshe’lldie。”Josproceededinalowtremulousvoice。”Godblessmysoul！doyouknowthatshetriedtokillherself？Shecarrieslaudanumwithher——Isawthebottleinherroom——suchamiserablelittleroom——atathird-ratehouse，theElephant，upintheroofatthetopofall。Iwentthere。”
ThisdidnotseemtoaffectEmmy。Sheevensmiledalittle。PerhapsshefiguredJostoherselfpantingupthestair。
“She’sbesideherselfwithgrief。”heresumed。”Theagoniesthatwomanhasenduredarequitefrightfultohearof。Shehadalittleboy，ofthesameageasGeorgy。”
“Yes，yes，IthinkIremember。”Emmyremarked。
“Well？”