Bleak House

they would have made midsummer sunshine dim--I wassufficiently forewarned of the discomfort within doors at thatearly hour and suf

aid, "and then it's achance if breakfast's r

dear," said I, "and would much prefer togo out.""If you're sure you would," returned Miss Jellyby, "I'll get mythings on."Ada said she would go too, and was soon astir. I made a proposalto Peepy, in default of being able to do anything better for him,that he should let me wash him and afterwards lay him down on mybed again. To this he submitted with the best grace

oon quite in a glow. We foundMiss Jellyby trying to warm herself at the fire in the writing-room, which Pr

eft ready for breakfast. Crumbs, dust,and waste-paper were all over the house. Some pewter pots and amilk-can hung on the area railings; the door stood open; a

anddown Thavies Inn to warm his feet. He was agreeably surprised

ion that Miss Jellyby had relapsed into her sulky manner andthat I rea

you wish to g

, my dear,"

," said Miss Jellyby,

omewhere at an

walked me o

are-but if he was to come to our housewith his great, shining, lumpy forehead night

upon it. "Your duty as a child--""Oh! Don't talk of duty as a child, Miss Summerson; where's Ma'sduty as a parent? All made over to the public

we are both shocked, and there'san en

sounding nonsense,and Ma's management!"I could not but understand her to refer to Mr. Quale, the younggentleman who had appeared after dinner yesterday. I was saved thedisagreeable necessity of pursuing the subject by Richard and Adacoming up at a round pace, laughing and asking us if we meant torun a race. Thus interrupted, Miss Jellyby became silent andwalked moodi

he cheerful voice of R

here'sthe old lady again!"Truly, there she was, immediately in front of us, curtsying, andsmiling, and saying with her yesterd

the day,"said the old lady mincingly. "The business of the day requires agreat deal of thought. Chancery justice is so

ng was remarkably quick. She

my documents. Have I the pleasure ofaddressing another of the youthful parties in Jarndyc

sness of yesterday,good-naturedly explained th

oln's Inn. I call it my garden. It is quite a bowerin the summer-time. Where the birds sing melodiously. I pass thegreater part of the long

ill be a good omen for me. Youth, and hope,and beauty are very seldom there. It is a long, long time since Ihad a visit from either."She had taken my hand, and leading me and Miss Jellyby away,beckoned Richard and Ada to come too. I did not know how to excusemyself and looked to Richar

sacks of oldrags. In another was the inscription BONES BOUGHT. In another,KITCHEN-STUFF BOUGHT. In another, OLD IRON BOUGHT. In another,WASTE-PAPER BOUGHT. In another, LADIES' AND GENTLEMEN'S WARDROBESBOUGHT. Everything seemed to be bought and nothing to be soldthere. In all parts of the window were quantities of dirtybottles--blacking bottles, medicine bottles, ginger-beer and soda-water bottles, pickle bottles, wine bottles, ink bottles; I amreminded by mentioning the latter that the shop had in severallittle particulars the air of being in a legal neighbourhood and ofbeing, as it were, a dirty hange

beenhundreds huddled together as old iron, had once belonged to doorsof rooms or strong chests in lawyers' offices. The litter of ragstumbled partly into and partly out of a one-legged wooden scale,hanging without any counterpoise from a beam, might hav

acles and a hairy cap was carryingabout in the shop. Turning towards the door, he now caught sightof us. He was short, cadaverous, and withered, with his head sunksideways between his shoulders and the breath issuing in visibles

ed for time. But she was not to be so easily left. Shebecame so fantastically and pressingly earnest in her entreatiesthat we would walk up and see her apartment for an instant, and wasso bent, in her harmless way, on leading me in, as part of the goodomen she desired, that I (whatever the others might do) saw nothingfor it but to

op iscalled the Court of Chancery. He is a very eccentric person. Heis very odd. Oh, I assure you he is very odd!"She shook her head a great many times and tapped her forehead withhe

us with the lantern,"that they call me the

Chancellor and my shopChancery?""I don't know

ld man, stopping and tu

and fine as this. What colour, and whattexture!""That'll do, my good friend!" said Richar

o, startled and blushing, was so remarkablybeautiful that she seemed to fix the wandering attention of thelittle old lady herself. But as Ada interpos

e aliking for rust and must and cobwebs. And all's fish that comes tomy net. And I can't abear to part with anything I once lay hold of(or so my neighbours think, but what do THEY know?) or to alteranything, or to have any sweeping, nor scouring, nor cleaning, norrepairing going on about me. That's the way I've got the i

u scratch. Hi! Tear, m

le of rags with hertigerish claws, with a

y practicethough, says you!"He had by this time led us across the shop, and now opened a doorin the back part of it, leading to the house-entry. As he stoodwith his hand upon the lock, the little old lady graciouslyobserved to him before passing

e. The great suit, Kroo

causes before your noble and learned brother, the otherChancellor!""Yes," said the old man abstractedly. "Sure! YOUR name now willbe--""Richard Carstone.""Carstone," he repeated, slowly checking off that name upon hisforefinger; and each of the others

man, coming slowly o

stless habit ofstrolling about when the cause was on, or expected, talking to thelittle shopkeepers and telling 'em to keep out of Chancery,whatever they did. 'For,' says he, 'it's being ground to bits in aslow mill; it's being roas

al sight younger then) tofetch him a pint of wine. 'For,' says he, 'Krook, I am muchdepressed; my cause is on again, and I think I'm nearer judgmentthan I ever was.' I hadn't a mind to leave him alone; and Ipersuaded him to go to the tavern over the way there, t'other sidemy lane (I mean Chancery Lane); and I followed and looked in at thewindow, and saw him,

d misery, attendedin the minds of many people with such dreadful recollections. Ihad another uneasiness, in the application of the painful story tothe poor half-witted creature who had brought us there; but, to mysurprise, she seemed perfectly unconscious of that and only led theway upstairs again, informing us with the toleration of a superiorcreature for the infirmities of a common mortal that her landlordwas "a little M, you know!"She lived at the top of the house, in a pretty large room, fromwhich she had a glimpse of Lincoln's Inn Hall. This seemed to havebeen her principal inducement, originally, for taking up herresidence there. She could look at

thegreatest suavity, "by this visit from the wards in Jarndyce

, for I sleep but little and think much. Thatis, of course, unavoidable, being in Chancery. I am sorry I cannotoffer chocolate. I expect a judgment shortly and shall then placemy establishment on a superior footing.

rtain of the long, low garret windowand called our attention to a number of bird-cages hanging there,so

gh. Their lives, poor silly things,are so short in comparison with Chancery proceedings that, one byone, the whole collection has died over and over again. I doubt,do you know, whether one of these, though they are all y

vails, I may not one day be found lying starkand senseless here, as I have found so many birds!"Richard, answering what he saw in Ada's compassionate e

or(you'll think this curious) I find my mind confused by the idea

day of such goodomen, they shall sing as much as they like. In honour of youth," asmile and curtsy, "hope," a smile

oomwas close, and would have been the better for it--"because the

e. I half believe, sometimes, that she is nocat, but the wolf of the old saying. It is so very difficult tokeep her from the door."Some neighbouring bells, reminding the poor soul that it was half-past nine, did more for us in the way of bringing our visit to anend than we could

athe WILL mention it the first thing this morning"She stopped to tell us in a whisper as we were going down that thewhole house was filled with strange lumber which her landlord hadbought piecem

law-writer. The children in the lanes here say he has sold himse

n there,and repeating "Hush!" went before us on tiptoe as though ev

s of waste-paper in a kind of well in the floor. He seemedto be working hard, with the perspiration standing on his forehead,and had

me,and chalked the letter J upon the wall--in a very curious manner,beginning with the end of the letter and shaping it backward.

t?" he asked me w

pital letter thistime), and said, "What's that?"I told him. He then rubbed that out and turned the letter "r," andasked me the same question. He went on quickly unt

that spell?

, he then produced singly, and rubbed out singly, theletters forming the word

write."He looked so disagreeable and his cat looked so wickedly at me, asif I were a blood-relation of the birds upstairs, that I was

o gaveus her blessing with great ceremony and renewed her assurance ofyesterday in reference to her intention of settling estates on Adaand me. Before we finally turned out of those lanes, we lo

doubt and discord all our lives. It seems very strange, as theremust be right somewhere, that an honest judge in real earnest hasnot been able to find out through all these years where it is.""Ah, cousin!" said Richard. "Strange, indeed! All this wasteful,wanton chess-playing IS very strange. To see that composed courtyesterday jogging on so serenely and to think of the wretchednessof the pieces on the board gave me the headache and the heartac

arm a squeeze and me

d we made the rest of th

nce of having changed her dress. She wasgreatly occupied during breakfast, for the morning's post brought aheavy correspondence relative to Borrioboola-Gha, which wouldoccasion her (she said) to pass a busy day. The children tumbledabout, and notched memoranda of their accidents

remembrances toher good friend Mr. Jarndyce; Caddy left her desk to see us depart,kissed me in the passage, and stood biting her pen and sobbing onthe steps; Peepy, I am happy to say, was asleep and spared the painof separation (I was not witho