We listened with horror

He come in at the door,” said the old man, slowly pointing an

imaginary track along the shop, on the day he did it—the whole ‟

neighbourhood had said for months before that he would do it, of a

certainty sooner or later—he come in at the door that day, and walked

along there, and sat himself on a bench that stood there, and asked me

(you’ll judge I was a mortal sight younger then) to fetch him a pint of

wine. For,’ says he, Krook, I am much depressed; my cause is on again, ‛ ‛

and I think I’m nearer judgment than I ever was.’ I hadn’t a mind to leave

him alone; and I persuaded him to go to the tavern over the way there,

t’other side my lane (I mean Chancery Lane); and I followed and looked

in at the window, and saw him, comfortable as I thought, in the armchair by the fire, and company with him. I hadn’t hardly got back here

when I heard a shot go echoing and rattling right away into the inn. I ran

out—neighbours ran out—twenty of us cried at once, Tom Jarndyce!’” ‛

The old man stopped, looked hard at us, looked down into the

lantern, blew the light out, and shut the lantern up.

‟We were right, I needn’t tell the present hearers. Hi! To be sure, how

the neighbourhood poured into court that afternoon while the cause was

on! How my noble and learned brother, and all the rest of em, grubbed ‛

and muddled away as usual and tried to look as if they hadn’t heard a

word of the last fact in the case or as if they had—Oh, dear me!—

nothing at all to do with it if they had heard of it by any chance!”

Ada’s colour had entirely left her, and Richard was scarcely less pale.

Nor could I wonder, judging even from my emotions, and I was no party

in the suit, that to hearts so untried and fresh it was a shock to come into

the inheritance of a protracted misery, attended in the minds of many

people with such dreadful recollections. I had another uneasiness, in the

application of the painful story to the poor half-witted creature who had

brought us there; but, to my surprise, she seemed perfectly unconscious

of that and only led the way upstairs again, informing us with theHe come in at the door,” said the old man, slowly pointing an

imaginary track along the shop, on the day he did it—the whole ‟

neighbourhood had said for months before that he would do it, of a

certainty sooner or later—he come in at the door that day, and walked

along there, and sat himself on a bench that stood there, and asked me

(you’ll judge I was a mortal sight younger then) to fetch him a pint of

wine. For,’ says he, Krook, I am much depressed; my cause is on again, ‛ ‛

and I think I’m nearer judgment than I ever was.’ I hadn’t a mind to leave

him alone; and I persuaded him to go to the tavern over the way there,

t’other side my lane (I mean Chancery Lane); and I followed and looked

in at the window, and saw him, comfortable as I thought, in the armchair by the fire, and company with him. I hadn’t hardly got back here

when I heard a shot go echoing and rattling right away into the inn. I ran

out—neighbours ran out—twenty of us cried at once, Tom Jarndyce!’” ‛

The old man stopped, looked hard at us, looked down into the

lantern, blew the light out, and shut the lantern up.

‟We were right, I needn’t tell the present hearers. Hi! To be sure, how

the neighbourhood poured into court that afternoon while the cause was

on! How my noble and learned brother, and all the rest of em, grubbed ‛

and muddled away as usual and tried to look as if they hadn’t heard a

word of the last fact in the case or as if they had—Oh, dear me!—

nothing at all to do with it if they had heard of it by any chance!”

Ada’s colour had entirely left her, and Richard was scarcely less pale.

Nor could I wonder, judging even from my emotions, and I was no party

in the suit, that to hearts so untried and fresh it was a shock to come into

the inheritance of a protracted misery, attended in the minds of many

people with such dreadful recollections. I had another uneasiness, in the

application of the painful story to the poor half-witted creature who had

brought us there; but, to my surprise, she seemed perfectly unconscious

of that and only led the way upstairs again, informing us with the