the Night Watch

the Night Watch
The Nut Gatherers
The Painter's Honeymoon
the polish rider
¡¡¡¡ Footsteps began stamping up and down the bare stairs, the comers inspecting the goods, some of which were of so quaint and ancient a make as to acquire an adventitious value as art. Their door was tried once or twice, and to guard themselves against intrusion Jude wrote "Private" on a scrap of paper, and stuck it upon the panel. ¡¡¡¡ They soon found that, instead of the furniture, their own personal histories and past conduct began to be discussed to an unexpected and intolerable extent by the intending bidders. It was not till now that they really discovered what a fools' paradise of supposed unrecognition they had been living in of late. Sue silently took her companion's hand, and with eyes on each other they heard these passing remarks--the quaint and mysterious personality of Father Time being a subject which formed a large ingredient in the hints and innuendoes. At length the auction began in the room below, whence they could hear each familiar article knocked down, the highly prized ones cheaply, the unconsidered at an unexpected price. ¡¡¡¡ "People don't understand us," he sighed heavily. "I am glad we have decided to go." ¡¡¡¡ "The question is, where to?" ¡¡¡¡ "It ought to be to London. There one can live as one chooses." ¡¡¡¡ "No--not London, dear! I know it well. We should be unhappy there." ¡¡¡¡ "Why?" ¡¡¡¡ "Can't you think?"

the Night Watch

the Night Watch
The Nut Gatherers
The Painter's Honeymoon
the polish rider
¡¡¡¡"I have an excessive regard for Jane Bennet, she is really a very sweet girl, and I wish with all my heart she were well settled. But with such a father and mother, and such low connections, I am afraid there is no chance of it." ¡¡¡¡"I think I have heard you say, that their uncle is an attorney in Meryton." ¡¡¡¡"Yes; and they have another, who lives somewhere near Cheapside." ¡¡¡¡"That is capital," added her sister, and they both laughed heartily. ¡¡¡¡"If they had uncles enough to fill all Cheapside," cried Bingley, "it would not make them one jot less agreeable." ¡¡¡¡"But it must very materially lessen their chance of marrying men of any consideration in the world," replied Darcy. ¡¡¡¡To this speech Bingley made no answer; but his sisters gave it their hearty assent, and indulged their mirth for some time at the expense of their dear friend's vulgar relations. ¡¡¡¡With a renewal of tenderness, however, they repaired to her room on leaving the dining-parlour, and sat with her till summoned to coffee. She was still very poorly, and Elizabeth would not quit her at all till late in the evening, when she had the comfort of seeing her asleep, and when it appeared to her rather right than pleasant that she should go down stairs herself. On entering the drawing-room she found the whole party at loo, and was immediately invited to join them; but suspecting them to be playing high she declined it, and making her sister the excuse, said she would amuse herself for the short time she could stay below with a book. Mr. Hurst looked at her with astonishment.

the Night Watch

the Night Watch
The Kitchen Maid
The Lady of Shalott
the night watch by rembrandt
The afternoon advanced, and still she remained among the willows. She heard the rattle of taking down the palls from the forked stands; the `waow-waow!' which accompanied the getting together of the cows. But she did not go to the milking. They would see her agitation; and the dairyman, thinking the cause to be love alone, would good-naturedly tease her; and that harassment could not be borne. ¡¡¡¡Her lover must have guessed her overwrought state, and invented some excuse for her non-appearance, for no inquiries were made or calls given. At half-past six the sun settled down upon the levels, with the aspect of a great forge in the heavens, and presently a monstrous pumpkin-like moon arose on the other hand. The pollard willows, tortured out of their natural shape by incessant choppings, became spiny-haired monsters as they stood up against it. She went in, and upstairs without a light. ¡¡¡¡It was now Wednesday. Thursday came, and Angel looked thoughtfully at her from a distance, but intruded in no way upon her. The indoor milkmaids, Marian and the rest, seemed to guess that something definite was afoot, for they did not force any remarks upon her in the bedchamber. Friday passed; Saturday. To-morrow was the day. ¡¡¡¡`I shall give way - I shall say yes - I shall let myself marry him - I cannot help it!' she jealously panted, with her hot face to the pillow that night, on hearing one of the other girls sigh his name in her sleep. `I can't bear to let anybody have him but me! Yet it is a wrong to him, and may kill him when he knows! O my heart - O - O!'

the Night Watch

the Night Watch
The Kitchen Maid
The Lady of Shalott
¡¡¡¡Mr. Lorry's eyes were again attracted to his face. Taking note of the wasted air which clouded the naturally handsome features, and having the expression of prisoners' faces fresh in his mind, he was strongly reminded of that expression. ¡¡¡¡"And your duties here have drawn to an end, sir?" said Carton, turning to him. ¡¡¡¡"Yes. As I was telling you last night when ucie came in so unexpectedly, I have at length done all that I can do here. I hoped to have left them in perfect safety, and then to have quitted Paris. I have my Leave to Pass. I was ready to go." ¡¡¡¡They were both silent. ¡¡¡¡"Yours is a long life to look back upon, sir?" said Carton, wistfully. ¡¡¡¡"I am in my seventy-eighth year." ¡¡¡¡"You have been useful all your life; steadily and constantly occupied; trusted, respected, and looked up to?" ¡¡¡¡"I have been a man of business, ever since I have been a man. Indeed, I may say that I was a man of business when a boy." ¡¡¡¡"See what a place you fill at seventy-eight. How many people will miss you when you leave it empty!" ¡¡¡¡"A solitary old bachelor," answered Mr. Lorry, shaking his head. "There is nobody to weep for me." ¡¡¡¡"How can you say that? Wouldn't She weep for you? Wouldn't her child?" ¡¡¡¡"Yes, yes, thank God. I didn't quite mean what I said." ¡¡¡¡"It is a thing to thank God for; is it not?" ¡¡¡¡"Surely, surely."

the Night Watch

the Night Watch
The Jewel Casket
The Kitchen Maid
The Lady of Shalott
Ah!" returned the other, sighing: "yes! The same Sydney, with the same luck. Even then, I did exercises for other boys, and seldom did my own." ¡¡¡¡"And why not?" ¡¡¡¡"God knows. It was my way, I suppose." ¡¡¡¡He sat, with his hands in his pockets and his legs stretched out before him, looking at the fire. ¡¡¡¡"Carton," said his friend, squaring himself at him with a bullying air, as if the fire-grate had been the furnace in which sustained endeavour was forged, and the one delicate thing to be done for the old Sydney Carton of old Shrewsbury School was to shoulder him into it, "your way is, and always was, a lame way. You summon no energy and purpose. Look at me." ¡¡¡¡"Oh, botheration!" returned Sydney, with a lighter and more good-humoured laugh, "don't you be moral!" ¡¡¡¡"How have I done what I have done?" said Stryver; "how do I do what I do?" ¡¡¡¡"Partly through paying me to help you, I suppose. But it's not worth your while to apostrophise me, or the air, about it; what you want to do, you do. You were always in the front rank, and I was always behind." ¡¡¡¡"I had to get into the front rank; I was not born there, was I?" ¡¡¡¡"I was not present at the ceremony; but my opinion is you were," said Carton. At this, he laughed again, and they both laughed.

the Night Watch

the Night Watch
The Nut Gatherers
The Painter's Honeymoon
the polish rider
¡¡¡¡"Ten o'clock, sir," said the man at the tavern, whom he had charged to wake him- "ten o'clock, sir." ¡¡¡¡"What's the matter?" ¡¡¡¡"Ten o'clock, sir." ¡¡¡¡"What do you mean? Ten o'clock at night?" ¡¡¡¡"Yes, sir. Your honour told me to call you." ¡¡¡¡"Oh! I remember. Very well, very well." ¡¡¡¡After a few dull efforts to get to sleep again, which the man dexterously combated by stirring the fire continuously for five minutes, he got up, tossed his hat on, and walked out. He turned into the Temple, and, having revived himself by twice pacing the pavements of King's Bench-walk and Paper-buildings, turned into the Stryver chambers. ¡¡¡¡The Stryver clerk, who never assisted at these conferences, had gone home, and the Stryver principal opened the door. He had his slippers on, and a loose bed-gown, and his throat was bare for his greater ease. He had that rather wild, strained, seared marking about the eyes, which may be observed in all free livers of his class, from the portrait of Jeffries downward, and which can be traced, under various disguises of Art, through the portraits of every Drinking Age. ¡¡¡¡"You are a little late, Memory," said Stryver. ¡¡¡¡"About the usual time; it may be a quarter of an hour later

the Night Watch

the Night Watch
The Nut Gatherers
The Painter's Honeymoon
　　 "Upon my soul," he added, "I believe it is nothing more; and so I often tell my mother, when she is grieving about it. 'My dear madam,' I always say to her, 'you must make yourself easy. The evil is now irremediable, and it has been entirely your own doing. Why would you be persuaded by my uncle, Sir Robert, against your own judgment, to place Edward under private tuition, at the most critical time of his life? If you had only sent him to Westminster as well as myself, instead of sending him to Mr. Pratt's, all this would have been prevented.' This is the way in which I always consider the matter, and my mother is perfectly convinced of her error." 　　 Elinor would not oppose his opinion, because, whatever might be her general estimation of the advantage of a public school, she could not think of Edward's abode in Mr. Pratt's family, with any satisfaction. 　　 "You reside in Devonshire, I think," was his next observation, "in a cottage near Dawlish?" 　　 Elinor set him right as to its situation; and it seemed rather surprising to him, that anybody could live in Devonshire, without living near Dawlish. He bestowed his hearty approbation, however, on their species of house.

the Night Watch

the Night Watch
The Nut Gatherers
The Painter's Honeymoon
the polish rider
ELINOR saw, with great uneasiness the low spirits of her friend. His visit afforded her but a very partial satisfaction, while his own enjoyment in it appeared so imperfect. It was evident that he was unhappy; she wished it were equally evident that he still distinguished her by the same affection which once she had felt no doubt of inspiring; but hitherto the continuance of his preference seemed very uncertain; and the reservedness of his manner towards her contradicted one moment what a more animated look had intimated the preceding one. 　　 He joined her and Marianne in the breakfast-room the next morning before the others were down; and Marianne, who was always eager to promote their happiness as far as she could, soon left them to themselves. But before she was half way up stairs she heard the parlour door open, and, turning round, was astonished to see Edward himself come out. 　　 "I am going into the village to see my horses," said be, "as you are not yet ready for breakfast; I shall be back again presently."

the Night Watch

the Night Watch
The Nut Gatherers
The Painter's Honeymoon
the polish rider
"Now don't be such a silly boy!" ¡¡¡¡ "He has said something about it, I expect." ¡¡¡¡ "If he had, what would it matter? An old man like him!" ¡¡¡¡ "Oh, come, Sue; he's not so very old. And I know what I saw him doing ¡¡¡¡ "Not kissing me--that I'm certain!" ¡¡¡¡ "No. But putting his arm round your waist." ¡¡¡¡ "Ah--I remember. But I didn't know he was going to." ¡¡¡¡ "You are wriggling out if it, Sue, and it isn't quite kind!" ¡¡¡¡ Her ever-sensitive lip began to quiver, and her eye to blink, at something this reproof was deciding her to say. ¡¡¡¡ "I know you'll be angry if I tell you everything, and that's why I don't want to!" ¡¡¡¡ "Very well, then, dear," he said soothingly. "I have no real right to ask you, and I don't wish to know."