“Iwillnothavethissortofthinginmyhouse。”Josagaininterposed。”IsayIwillnothaveit；andDobbin，I
beg，sir，you’llstopit。”Andhelookedround，tremblingandturningveryred，andgaveagreatpuff，andmadeforhisdoor。
“Dearfriend！”Rebeccasaidwithangelicsweetness。”dohearwhatMajorDobbinhastosayagainstme。”
“Iwillnothearit，Isay。”squeakedoutJosatthetopofhisvoice，and，gatheringuphisdressing-gown，hewasgone。
“Weareonlytwowomen。”Ameliasaid。”Youcanspeaknow，sir。”
“Thismannertowardsmeisonewhichscarcelybecomesyou，Amelia。”theMajoransweredhaughtily；“norIbelieveamIguiltyofhabitualharshnesstowomen。ItisnotapleasuretometodothedutywhichIamcometodo。”
“Prayproceedwithitquickly，ifyouplease，MajorDobbin。”saidAmelia，whowasmoreandmoreinapet。TheexpressionofDobbin’sface，asshespokeinthisimperiousmanner，wasnotpleasant。
“Icametosay——andasyoustay，Mrs。Crawley，Imustsayitinyourpresence——thatIthinkyou——yououghtnottoformamemberofthefamilyofmyfriends。A
ladywhoisseparatedfromherhusband，whotravelsnotunderherownname，whofrequentspublicgaming-
tables——“
“ItwastotheballIwent。”criedoutBecky。
“——isnotafitcompanionforMrs。Osborneandherson。”Dobbinwenton：“andImayaddthattherearepeopleherewhoknowyou，andwhoprofesstoknowthatregardingyourconductaboutwhichIdon’tevenwishtospeakbefore——beforeMrs。Osborne。”
“Yoursisaverymodestandconvenientsortofcalumny，MajorDobbin。”Rebeccasaid。”Youleavemeundertheweightofanaccusationwhich，afterall，isunsaid。
Whatisit？Isitunfaithfulnesstomyhusband？Iscornitanddefyanybodytoproveit——Idefyyou，Isay。Myhonourisasuntouchedasthatofthebitterestenemywhoevermalignedme。Isitofbeingpoor，forsaken，wretched，thatyouaccuseme？Yes，Iamguiltyofthosefaults，andpunishedforthemeveryday。Letmego，Emmy。ItisonlytosupposethatIhavenotmetyou，andIamnoworseto-daythanIwasyesterday。Itisonlytosupposethatthenightisoverandthepoorwandererisonherway。Don’tyourememberthesongweusedtosinginold，dearolddays？Ihavebeenwanderingeversincethen——apoorcastaway，scornedforbeingmiserable，andinsultedbecauseIamalone。Letmego：mystayhereinterfereswiththeplansofthisgentleman。”
“Indeeditdoes，madam。”saidtheMajor。”IfIhaveanyauthorityinthishouse——“
“Authority，none！”brokeoutAmelia“Rebecca，youstaywithme。Iwon’tdesertyoubecauseyouhavebeenpersecuted，orinsultyoubecause——becauseMajorDobbinchoosestodoso。Comeaway，dear。”Andthetwowomenmadetowardsthedoor。
Williamopenedit。Astheyweregoingout，however，hetookAmelia’shandandsaid——“Willyoustayamomentandspeaktome？”
“Hewishestospeaktoyouawayfromme。”saidBecky，lookinglikeamartyr。Ameliagrippedherhandinreply。
“UponmyhonouritisnotaboutyouthatIamgoingtospeak。”Dobbinsaid。”Comeback，Amelia。”andshecame。DobbinbowedtoMrs。Crawley，asheshutthedooruponher。Amelialookedathim，leaningagainsttheglass：herfaceandherlipswerequitewhite。
“IwasconfusedwhenIspokejustnow。”theMajorsaidafterapause，“andImisusedthewordauthority。”
“Youdid。”saidAmeliawithherteethchattering。
“AtleastIhaveclaimstobeheard。”Dobbincontinued。
“Itisgeneroustoremindmeofourobligationstoyou。”
thewomananswered。
“TheclaimsImeanarethoseleftmebyGeorge’sfather。”Williamsaid。
“Yes，andyouinsultedhismemory。Youdidyesterday。
Youknowyoudid。AndIwillneverforgiveyou。Never！”
saidAmelia。Sheshotouteachlittlesentenceinatremorofangerandemotion。
“Youdon’tmeanthat，Amelia？”Williamsaidsadly。
“Youdon’tmeanthatthesewords，utteredinahurriedmoment，aretoweighagainstawholelife’sdevotion？I
thinkthatGeorge’smemoryhasnotbeeninjuredbythewayinwhichIhavedealtwithit，andifwearecometobandyingreproaches，Iatleastmeritnonefromhiswidowandthemotherofhisson。Reflect，afterwardswhen——whenyouareatleisure，andyourconsciencewillwithdrawthisaccusation。Itdoesevennow。”Ameliahelddownherhead。
“Itisnotthatspeechofyesterday。”hecontinued。”whichmovesyou。Thatisbutthepretext，Amelia，orI
havelovedyouandwatchedyouforfifteenyearsinvain。
HaveInotlearnedinthattimetoreadallyourfeelingsandlookintoyourthoughts？Iknowwhatyourheartiscapableof：itcanclingfaithfullytoarecollectionandcherishafancy，butitcan’tfeelsuchanattachmentasminedeservestomatewith，andsuchasIwouldhavewonfromawomanmoregenerousthanyou。No，youarenotworthyofthelovewhichIhavedevotedtoyou。
IknewallalongthattheprizeIhadsetmylifeonwasnotworththewinning；thatIwasafool，withfondfancies，too，barteringawaymyalloftruthandardouragainstyourlittlefeebleremnantoflove。Iwillbargainnomore：Iwithdraw。Ifindnofaultwithyou。Youareverygood-natured，andhavedoneyourbest，butyoucouldn’t——youcouldn’treachuptotheheightoftheattachmentwhichIboreyou，andwhichaloftiersoulthanyoursmighthavebeenproudtoshare。Good-bye，Amelia！
Ihavewatchedyourstruggle。Letitend。Wearebothwearyofit。”
AmeliastoodscaredandsilentasWilliamthussuddenlybrokethechainbywhichsheheldhimanddeclaredhisindependenceandsuperiority。Hehadplacedhimselfatherfeetsolongthatthepoorlittlewomanhadbeenaccustomedtotrampleuponhim。Shedidn’twishtomarryhim，butshewishedtokeephim。Shewishedtogivehimnothing，butthatheshouldgiveherall。Itisabargainnotunfrequentlyleviedinlove。
William’ssallyhadquitebrokenandcastherdown。
HERassaultwaslongsinceoverandbeatenback。
“AmItounderstandthen，thatyouaregoing——away，William？”shesaid。
Hegaveasadlaugh。”Iwentoncebefore。”hesaid。”andcamebackaftertwelveyears。Wewereyoungthen，Amelia。Good-bye。Ihavespentenoughofmylifeatthisplay。”
Whilsttheyhadbeentalking，thedoorintoMrs。Osborne’sroomhadopenedeversolittle；indeed，BeckyhadkeptaholdofthehandleandhadturneditontheinstantwhenDobbinquittedit，andsheheardeverywordoftheconversationthathadpassedbetweenthesetwo。
“Whatanobleheartthatmanhas。”shethought，andhowshamefullythatwomanplayswithit！”SheadmiredDobbin；sheborehimnorancourfortheparthehadtakenagainsther。Itwasanopenmoveinthegame，andplayedfairly。”Ah！”shethought，“ifIcouldhavehadsuchahusbandasthat——amanwithaheartandbrainstoo！Iwouldnothavemindedhislargefeet“；andrunningintoherroom，sheabsolutelybethoughtherselfofsomething，andwrotehimanote，beseechinghimtostopforafewdays——nottothinkofgoing——andthatshecouldservehimwithA。
Thepartingwasover。OncemorepoorWilliamwalkedtothedoorandwasgone；andthelittlewidow，theauthorofallthiswork，hadherwill，andhadwonhervictory，andwaslefttoenjoyitasshebestmight。Lettheladiesenvyhertriumph。
Attheromantichourofdinner，Mr。Georgymadehisappearanceandagainremarkedtheabsenceof“OldDob。”Themealwaseateninsilencebytheparty。Jos’sappetitenotbeingdiminished，butEmmytakingnothingatall。
Afterthemeal，Georgywaslollinginthecushionsoftheoldwindow，alargewindow，withthreesidesofglassabuttingfromthegable，andcommandingononesidethemarket-place，wheretheElephantis，hismotherbeingbusyhardby，whenheremarkedsymptomsofmovementattheMajor’shouseontheothersideofthestreet。
“Hullo！”saidhe，“there’sDob’strap——theyarebringingitoutofthecourt-yard。”The“trap“inquestionwasacarriagewhichtheMajorhadboughtforsixpoundssterling，andaboutwhichtheyusedtorallyhimagooddeal。
Emmygavealittlestart，butsaidnothing。
“Hullo！”Georgycontinued，“there’sFranciscomingoutwiththeportmanteaus，andKunz，theone-eyedpostilion，comingdownthemarketwiththreeschimmels。
Lookathisbootsandyellowjacket——ain’thearumone？Why——they’reputtingthehorsestoDob’scarriage。
Ishegoinganywhere？”
“Yes。”saidEmmy，“heisgoingonajourney。”
“Goingonajourney；andwhenishecomingback？”
“Heis——notcomingback。”answeredEmmy。
“Notcomingback！”criedoutGeorgy，jumpingup。
“Stayhere，sir。”roaredoutJos。”Stay，Georgy。”saidhismotherwithaverysadface。Theboystopped，kickedabouttheroom，jumpedupanddownfromthewindow-
seatwithhisknees，andshowedeverysymptomofuneasinessandcuriosity。
Thehorseswereputto。Thebaggagewasstrappedon。Franciscameoutwithhismaster’ssword，cane，andumbrellatieduptogether，andlaidtheminthewell，andhisdeskandoldtincocked-hatcase，whichheplacedundertheseat。Francisbroughtoutthestainedoldbluecloaklinedwithredcamlet，whichhadwrappedtheownerupanytimethesefifteenyears，andhadmanchenSturmerlebt，asafavouritesongofthosedayssaid。IthadbeennewforthecampaignofWaterlooandhadcoveredGeorgeandWilliamafterthenightofQuatreBras。
OldBurcke，thelandlordofthelodgings，cameout，thenFrancis，withmorepackages——finalpackages——thenMajorWilliam——Burckewantedtokisshim。TheMajorwasadoredbyallpeoplewithwhomhehadtodo。Itwaswithdifficultyhecouldescapefromthisdemonstrationofattachment。
“ByJove，Iwillgo！”screamedoutGeorge。”Givehimthis。”saidBecky，quiteinterested，andputapaperintotheboy’shand。Hehadrusheddownthestairsandflungacrossthestreetinaminute——theyellowpostilionwascrackinghiswhipgently。
Williamhadgotintothecarriage，releasedfromtheembracesofhislandlord。Georgeboundedinafterwards，andflunghisarmsroundtheMajor’sneckastheysawfromthewindow，andbeganaskinghimmultipliedquestions。Thenhefeltinhiswaistcoatpocketandgavehimanote。Williamseizedatitrathereagerly，heopenedittrembling，butinstantlyhiscountenancechanged，andhetorethepaperintwoanddroppeditoutofthecarriage。HekissedGeorgyonthehead，andtheboygotout，doublinghisfistsintohiseyes，andwiththeaidofFrancis。Helingeredwithhishandonthepanel。Fort，Schwager！Theyellowpostilioncrackedhiswhipprodigiously，upsprangFrancistothebox，awaywenttheschimmels，andDobbinwithhisheadonhisbreast。HeneverlookedupastheypassedunderAmelia’swindow，andGeorgy，leftaloneinthestreet，burstoutcryinginthefaceofallthecrowd。
Emmy’smaidheardhimhowlingagainduringthenightandbroughthimsomepreservedapricotstoconsolehim。Shemingledherlamentationswithhis。Allthepoor，allthehumble，allhonestfolks，allgoodmenwhoknewhim，lovedthatkind-heartedandsimplegentleman。
AsforEmmy，hadshenotdoneherduty？ShehadherpictureofGeorgeforaconsolation。
WhichContainsBirths，Marriages，andDeathsWhateverBecky’sprivateplanmightbebywhichDobbin’struelovewastobecrownedwithsuccess，thelittlewomanthoughtthatthesecretmightkeep，andindeed，beingbynomeanssomuchinterestedaboutanybody’swelfareasaboutherown，shehadagreatnumberofthingspertainingtoherselftoconsider，andwhichconcernedheragreatdealmorethanMajorDobbin’shappinessinthislife。
Shefoundherselfsuddenlyandunexpectedlyinsnugcomfortablequarters，surroundedbyfriends，kindness，andgood-naturedsimplepeoplesuchasshehadnotmetwithformanyalongday；and，wandererasshewasbyforceandinclination，thereweremomentswhenrestwaspleasanttoher。AsthemosthardenedArabthatevercareeredacrossthedesertoverthehumpofadromedarylikestoreposesometimesunderthedate-
treesbythewater，ortocomeintothecities，walkintothebazaars，refreshhimselfinthebaths，andsayhisprayersinthemosques，beforehegoesoutagainmarauding，soJos’stentsandpilauwerepleasanttothislittleIshmaelite。Shepicketedhersteed，hungupherweapons，andwarmedherselfcomfortablybyhisfire。Thehaltinthatroving，restlesslifewasinexpressiblysoothingandpleasanttoher。