'And such was the return to which he had looked through the weary

perspective of many years, and for which he had undergone so much

suffering! No face of welcome, no look of forgiveness, no house to

receive, no hand to help him - and this too in the old village. What was

his loneliness in the wild, thick woods, where man was never seen, to

this!

He felt that in the distant land of his bondage and infamy, he had

thought of his native place as it was when he left it; and not as it

would be when he returned. The sad reality struck coldly at his heart,

and his spirit sank within him. He had not courage to make inquiries,

or to present himself to the only person who was likely to receive him

with kindness and compassion. He walked slowly on; and shunning

the roadside like a guilty man, turned into a meadow he well

remembered; and covering his face with his hands, threw himself

upon the grass.

'He had not observed that a man was lying on the bank beside him;

his garments rustled as he turned round to steal a look at the new-

comer; and Edmunds raised his head.

'The man had moved into a sitting posture. His body was much bent,

and his face was wrinkled and yellow. His dress denoted him an

inmate of the workhouse: he had the appearance of being very old, but

it looked more the effect of dissipation or disease, than the length of

years. He was staring hard at the stranger, and though his eyes were

lustreless and heavy at first, they appeared to glow with an unnatural

and alarmed expression after they had been fixed upon him for a

short time, until they seemed to be starting from their sockets.

Edmunds gradually raised himself to his knees, and looked more and

more earnestly on the old man's face. They gazed upon each other in

silence.

The old man was ghastly pale. He shuddered and tottered to his feet.

Edmunds sprang to his. He stepped back a pace or two. Edmunds

advanced.

‘Let me hear you speak,’ said the convict, in a thick, broken voice.

‘Stand off!’ cried the old man, with a dreadful oath. The convict drew

closer to him.

‘Stand off!’ shrieked the old man. Furious with terror, he raised his

stick, and struck Edmunds a heavy blow across the face.

'‘Father - devil!’ murmured the convict between his set teeth. He

rushed wildly forward, and clenched the old man by the throat - but

he was his father; and his arm fell powerless by his side.

The Pickwick Papers