he spoke of the delights of the atmosphere of Mr Brass's office in a

literal sense, he had certainly a peculiar taste, as it was of a close and

earthy kind, and, besides being frequently impregnated with strong

whiffs of the second-hand wearing apparel exposed for sale in Duke's

Place and Houndsditch, had a decided flavour of rats and mice, and a

taint of mouldiness. Perhaps some doubts of its pure delight

presented themselves to Mr Swiveller, as he gave vent to one or two

short abrupt sniffs, and looked incredulously at the grinning dwarf.

Mr Swiveller,' said Quilp, 'being pretty well accustomed to the

agricultural pursuits of sowing wild oats, Miss Sally, prudently

considers that half a loaf is better than no bread. To be out of harm's

way he prudently thinks is something too, and therefore he accepts

your brother's offer. Brass, Mr Swiveller is yours.'

I am very glad, Sir,' said Mr Brass, 'very glad indeed. Mr Swiveller,

Sir, is fortunate enough to have your friendship. You may be very

proud, Sir, to have the friendship of Mr Quilp.'

Dick murmured something about never wanting a friend or a bottle to

give him, and also gasped forth his favourite allusion to the wing of

friendship and its never moulting a feather; but his faculties appeared

to be absorbed in the contemplation of Miss Sally Brass, at whom he

stared with blank and rueful looks, which delighted the watchful

dwarf beyond measure. As to the divine Miss Sally herself, she rubbed

her hands as men of business do, and took a few turns up and down

the office with her pen behind her ear.

'I suppose,' said the dwarf, turning briskly to his legal friend, 'that Mr

Swiveller enters upon his duties at once? It's Monday morning.'

'At once, if you please, Sir, by all means,' returned Brass.

Miss Sally will teach him law, the delightful study of the law,' said

Quilp; 'she'll be his guide, his friend, his companion, his Blackstone,

his Coke upon Littleton, his Young Lawyer's Best Companion.'

'He is exceedingly eloquent,' said Brass, like a man abstracted, and

looking at the roofs of the opposite houses, with his hands in his

pockets; 'he has an extraordinary flow of language. Beautiful, really.'

'With Miss Sally,' Quilp went on, 'and the beautiful fictions of the law,

his days will pass like minutes. Those charming creations of the poet,

John Doe and Richard Roe, when they first dawn upon him, will open

a new world for the enlargement of his mind and the improvement of

his heart.'

The Old Curiosity Shop