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"Pecksniff and his daughters, and Pinch, are admirable quite first-rate painting, such as no one but yourself can execute. Chuffey is admirable. I never read a finer piece of writing." And, when Dickens asks him to dinner, he replies: "I accept your obliging invitation conditionally.

But that high-minded woman being sensitively alive to any invasion of her professional province, and imagining that Mr Chuffey had given utterance to some prediction on the subject of sons, which ought to have emanated in the first instance from herself as the only lawful authority, or which should at least have been on no account proclaimed without her sanction and concurrence, was not so easily appeased.

But raly, sir, when Mr Chuffey comes to ask who's lyin' dead upstairs, and 'Who's lying dead upstairs! repeated Jonas, standing aghast. Mrs Gamp nodded, made as if she were swallowing, and went on.

The good woman had no reference to any female in the world in promising this speedy advent of the person for whom Mr Chuffey inquired, but merely threw it out as a means of pacifying the old man. It had its effect, for he permitted her to lead him away; and they quitted the room together. Jonas looked out of the window again.

'I grow deafer every day, Chuff, said Anthony, with as much softness of manner, or, to describe it more correctly, with as little hardness as he was capable of expressing. 'No, no, cried Chuffey. 'No, you don't. What if you did? I've been deaf this twenty year. 'I grow blinder, too, said the old man, shaking his head. 'That's a good sign! cried Chuffey. 'Ha! ha! The best sign in the world!

Therefore he stammered out that no doubt it was, in fairness and decency, Mr Chuffey's turn to expire; and that from all he had heard of Mr Chuffey, and the little he had the pleasure of knowing of that gentleman, personally, he felt convinced in his own mind that he would see the propriety of expiring with as little delay as possible. 'Come here! said the old man, beckoning him to draw nearer.

With which extraordinary speech for in the case of Chuffey this was a burst of eloquence without a parallel the poor old shadow drew through his palsied arm his master's hand, and held it there, with his own folded upon it, as if he would defend him.

'Ah, Mr Pinch! said Miss Pecksniff. 'It all comes of this unfortunate marriage. If my sister had not been so precipitate, and had not united herself to a Wretch, there would have been no Mr Chuffey in the house. 'Hush! cried Tom. 'She'll hear you.

Mr Jonas was so very much amazed by these proceedings that he could do nothing but stare at the two old men, until Chuffey had fallen into his usual state, and Anthony had sunk into a doze; when he gave some vent to his emotions by going close up to the former personage, and making as though he would, in vulgar parlance, 'punch his head.

The bitter and indignant sarcasm which Mrs Gamp conveyed into these taunts was altogether lost on the unconscious Chuffey, who appeared to be as little cognizant of their delivery as of his having given Mrs Gamp offence.