Mr Stiggins took up a fresh piece of toast, and groaned heavily.

He is a dreadful reprobate,' said Mrs. Weller.

A man of wrath!' exclaimed Mr Stiggins. He took a large semi-circular

bite out of the toast, and groaned again.

Sam felt very strongly disposed to give the reverend Mr Stiggins

something to groan for, but he repressed his inclination, and merely

asked, 'What's the old 'un up to now?'

'Up to, indeed!' said Mrs. Weller, 'Oh, he has a hard heart. Night after

night does this excellent man - don't frown, Mr Stiggins; I WILL say

you ARE an excellent man - come and sit here, for hours together, and

it has not the least effect upon him.' 'Well, that is odd,' said Sam; 'it

ud have a wery considerable effect upon me, if I wos in his place; I

know that.'

'The fact is, my young friend,' said Mr Stiggins solemnly, 'he has an

obderrate bosom. Oh, my young friend, who else could have resisted

the pleading of sixteen of our fairest sisters, and withstood their

exhortations to subscribe to our noble society for providing the infant

negroes in the West Indies with flannel waistcoats and moral pocket-

handkerchiefs?'

What's a moral pocket-ankercher?' said Sam; 'I never see one o' them

articles o' furniter.'

Those which combine amusement With instruction, my young friend,'

replied Mr Stiggins, 'blending select tales with wood-cuts.'

'Oh, I know,' said Sam; 'them as hangs up in the linen-drapers' shops,

with beggars' petitions and all that 'ere upon 'em?'

Mr Stiggins began a third round of toast, and nodded assent. 'And he

wouldn't be persuaded by the ladies, wouldn't he?' said Sam.

Sat and smoked his pipe, and said the infant negroes were - what did

he say the infant negroes were?' said Mrs. Weller.

Little humbugs,' replied Mr Stiggins, deeply affected.

Said the infant negroes were little humbugs,' repeated Mrs. Weller.

And they both groaned at the atrocious conduct of the elder Mr Weller.

A great many more iniquities of a similar nature might have been

disclosed, only the toast being all eaten, the tea having got very weak,

and Sam holding out no indications of meaning to go, Mr Stiggins

The Pickwick Papers