Chapter LIII

Comprising The Final Exit Of Mr Jingle And Job Trotter, With A

Great Morning Of Business In Gray's Inn Square - Concluding With

A Double Knock At Mr Perker's Door

When Arabella, after some gentle preparation and many assurances

that there was not the least occasion for being low-spirited, was at

length made acquainted by Mr Pickwick with the unsatisfactory result

of his visit to Birmingham, she burst into tears, and sobbing aloud,

lamented in moving terms that she should have been the unhappy

cause of any estrangement between a father and his son.

My dear girl,' said Mr Pickwick kindly, 'it is no fault of yours. It was

impossible to foresee that the old gentleman would be so strongly

prepossessed against his son's marriage, you know. I am sure,' added

Mr Pickwick, glancing at her pretty face, 'he can have very little idea of

the pleasure he denies himself.'

'Oh, my dear Mr Pickwick,' said Arabella, 'what shall we do, if he

continues to be angry with us?'

Why, wait patiently, my dear, until he thinks better of it,' replied Mr

Pickwick cheerfully.

But, dear Mr Pickwick, what is to become of Nathaniel if his father

withdraws his assistance?' urged Arabella.

'In that case, my love,' rejoined Mr Pickwick, 'I will venture to

prophesy that he will find some other friend who will not be backward

in helping him to start in the world.'

The significance of this reply was not so well disguised by Mr Pickwick

but that Arabella understood it. So, throwing her arms round his

neck, and kissing him affectionately, she sobbed louder than before.

'Come, come,' said Mr Pickwick taking her hand, 'we will wait here a

few days longer, and see whether he writes or takes any other notice

of your husband's communication. If not, I have thought of half a

dozen plans, any one of which would make you happy at once. There,

my dear, there!'

With these words, Mr Pickwick gently pressed Arabella's hand, and

bade her dry her eyes, and not distress her husband. Upon which,

Arabella, who was one of the best little creatures alive, put her

handkerchief in her reticule, and by the time Mr Winkle joined them,

exhibited in full lustre the same beaming smiles and sparkling eyes

that had originally captivated him.

The Pickwick Papers