Mr. Turveydrops, that I said, " Esther, you must make up your mind to abandon this subject altogether, and attend to Caddy." I accordingly did so, and we chatted all the rest of the way to Lincoln's Inn.
Caddy told me that her lover's education had been so neglected, that it was not always easy to read his notes. She said, if he were not so anxious about his spelling, and took less pains to make it clear, he would do better ; but he put so many unnecessary letters into short words, that they sometimes quite lost their English appearance. " He does it with the best intentions," observed Caddy, " but it hasn't the effect he means, poor fellow !" Caddy then went on to reason, how could he be expected to be a scholar, when he had passed his whole life in the dancing-school, and had done nothing but teach and fag, fag and teach, morning, noon, and night ! And what did it matter ? She could write letters enough for both, as she knew to her cost, and it was far better for him to be amiable than learned. " Besides, it's not as if I was an accomplished girl who had any right to give herself airs," said Caddy. " I know little enough, I am sure, thanks to Ma ! "
" There's another thing I want to tell you, now we are alone," continued Caddy, " which I should not have liked to mention unless you had seen Prince, Miss Summerson. You know what a house ours is. It's of no use my trying to learn anything that it would be useful for Prince's wife to know, in our house. We live in such a state of muddle that it's impossible, and I have only been more disheartened whenever I have tried. So, I get a little practice with—who do you think ? Poor Miss Flite ! Early in the morning, I help her to tidy her room, and clean her birds ; and I make her cup of coffee for her (of course she taught me ), and I have learnt to make it so well that Prince says it's the very best coffee he ever tasted, and would quite delight old Mr. Turveydrop, who is very particular indeed about his coffee. I can make little puddings too ; and I know how to buy neck of mutton, and tea, and sugar, and butter, and a good many housekeeping things. I am not clever at my needle, yet," said Caddy, glancing at the repairs on Peepy's frock, " but perhaps I shall improve. And since I have been engaged to Prince, and have been doing all this, I have felt better-tempered, I hope, and more forgiving to Ma. It rather put me out, at first this morning, to see you and Miss Clare looking so neat and pretty, and to feel ashamed of Peepy and myself too ; but, on the whole, I hope I am better-tempered than I was, and more forgiving to Ma."
The poor girl, trying so hard, said it from her heart, and touched mine. " Caddy, my love," I replied, " I begin to have a great affection for you, and I hope we shall become friends." " Oh, do you ?" cried Caddy ; " how happy that would make me ! " " My dear Caddy," said I, " let us be friends from this time, and let us often have a chat about these matters, and try to find the right way through them." Caddy was overjoyed. I said everything I could, in my old-fashioned way, to comfort and encourage her; and I would not have objected to old Mr. Turveydrop, that day, for any smaller consideration than a settlement on his daughter-in-law.
By this time, we were come to Mr. Krook's, whose private door stood open. There was a bill, pasted on the door-post, announcing a room to let on the second floor. It reminded Caddy to tell me as we proceeded
