| 98 | 99 | 100 | 101 | 102 |
| 1 | 198 | 396 | 594 | 792 |
|
'
Good-looking, too!' whispered Emily Wardle.
Oh, decidedly,' observed the spinster aunt.
'
Mr Tupman thought of the widow at Rochester, and his mind was
troubled. The succeeding half-hour's conversation was not of a nature
to calm his perturbed spirit. The new visitor was very talkative, and
the number of his anecdotes was only to be exceeded by the extent of
his politeness. Mr Tupman felt that as Jingle's popularity increased,
he (Tupman) retired further into the shade. His laughter was forced -
his merriment feigned; and when at last he laid his aching temples
between the sheets, he thought, with horrid delight, on the
satisfaction it would afford him to have Jingle's head at that moment
between the feather bed and the mattress.
The indefatigable stranger rose betimes next morning, and, although
his companions remained in bed overpowered with the dissipation of
the previous night, exerted himself most successfully to promote the
hilarity of the breakfast-table. So successful were his efforts, that even
the deaf old lady insisted on having one or two of his best jokes
retailed through the trumpet; and even she condescended to observe
to the spinster aunt, that 'He' (meaning Jingle) 'was an impudent
young fellow:' a sentiment in which all her relations then and there
present thoroughly coincided.
It was the old lady's habit on the fine summer mornings to repair to
the arbour in which Mr Tupman had already signalised himself, in
form and manner following: first, the fat boy fetched from a peg
behind the old lady's bedroom door, a close black satin bonnet, a
warm cotton shawl, and a thick stick with a capacious handle; and
the old lady, having put on the bonnet and shawl at her leisure, would
lean one hand on the stick and the other on the fat boy's shoulder,
and walk leisurely to the arbour, where the fat boy would leave her to
enjoy the fresh air for the space of half an hour; at the expiration of
which time he would return and reconduct her to the house.
The old lady was very precise and very particular; and as this
ceremony had been observed for three successive summers without
the slightest deviation from the accustomed form, she was not a little
surprised on this particular morning to see the fat boy, instead of
leaving the arbour, walk a few paces out of it, look carefully round
him in every direction, and return towards her with great stealth and
an air of the most profound mystery.
The old lady was timorous - most old ladies are - and her first
impression was that the bloated lad was about to do her some
grievous bodily harm with the view of possessing himself of her loose
coin. She would have cried for assistance, but age and infirmity had
Page
Quick Jump
|