had saluted the party, and received some private family intelligence from his daughter.
"Who, indeed, pa!" replied that young lady, spitefully. "But you see 'Tilda is married at last."
"And I stond threat for a soight o' Lunnun, schoolmeasther," said John, vigorously attacking the pie.
"One of them things that young men do when they get married," returned Squeers; "and as runs through with their money like nothing at all. How much better wouldn't it be now, to save it up for the eddication of any little boys, for instance. They come on you," said Mr. Squeers in a moralizing way, "before you're aware of it; mine did upon me."
"Will 'ee pick a bit ?" said John.
"I won't myself," returned Squeers; "but if you'll just let little Wackford tuck into something fat, I'll be obliged to you. Give it him in his fingers, else the waiter charges it on, and there's lot of profit on this sort of vittles without that. If you hear the waiter coming, sir, shove it in your pocket and look out of the window, d'ye hear?"
"I'm awake, father," replied the dutiful Wackford.
"Well," said Squeers, turning to his daughter, "It's your turn to be married next. You must make haste."
"Oh, I'm in no hurry," said Miss Squeers, very sharply.
"No, Fanny?" cried her old friend with some archness.
"No, 'Tilda," replied Miss Squeers, shaking her head vehemently. "I—can wait."
"So can the young men, it seems, Fanny," observed Mrs. Browdie.
"They an't draw'd into it by me, 'Tilda," retorted Miss Squeers.
"No," returned her friend; "that's exceedingly true."
The sarcastic tone of this reply might have provoked a rather acrimonious retort from Miss Squeers, who, besides being of a constitutionally vicious temper—aggravated just now by travel and recent jolting—was somewhat irritated by old recollections and the failure of her own designs upon Mr. Browdie; and the acrimonious retort might have led to a great many other retorts, which might have led to Heaven knows what, if the subject of conversation had not been at that precise moment accidentally changed by Mr. Squeers himself.
"What do you think ?" said that gentleman; "who do you suppose we have laid hands on, Wackford and me?"
"Pa! not Mr.——?" Miss Squeers was unable to finish the sentence, but Mrs. Browdie did it for her, and added, "Nickleby?"
"No," said Squeers. "But next door to him though."
"You can't mean Smike?" cried Miss Squeers, clapping her hands.
"Yes, I can though," rejoined her father. "I've got him hard and fast."
"Wa'at!" exclaimed John Browdie, pushing away his plate. "Got thot poor—dom'd scoondrel,—where ?"
"Why, in the top back room, at my lodging," replied Squeers, "with him on one side and the key on the other."
"At thy loodgin'! Thee'st gotten him at thy loodgin? Ho! ho!
