|
Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
||||
 |
||||
|
Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
||||
|
|
||||
632 more of majesty than the occasion seemed to require: ‘I am sure any friend of yours has, as indeed he naturally ought to have, and must have, of course, you know, a great claim upon me, and of course, it is a very great pleasure to me to be introduced to anybody you take an interest in. There can he no doubt about that; none at all; not the least in the world,’ said Mrs Nickleby. ‘At the same time I must say, Nicholas, my dear, as I used to say to your poor dear papa, when he would bring gentlemen home to dinner, and there was nothing in the house, that if he had come the day before yesterday--no, I don’t mean the day before yesterday now; I should have said, perhaps, the year before last--we should have been better able to entertain him.’ With which remarks, Mrs Nickleby turned to her daughter, and inquired, in an audible whisper, whether the gentleman was going to stop all night. ‘Because, if he is, Kate, my dear,’ said Mrs Nickleby, ‘I don’t see that it’s possible for him to sleep anywhere, and that’s the truth.’ Kate stepped gracefully forward, and without any show of annoyance or irritation, breathed a few words into her mother’s ear. ‘La, Kate, my dear,’ said Mrs Nickleby, shrinking back, ‘how you do tickle one! Of course, I understand that, my love, without your telling me; and I said the same to Nicholas, and I am very much pleased. You didn’t tell me, Nicholas, my dear,’ added Mrs Nickleby, turning round with an air of less reserve than she had before assumed, ‘what your friend’s name is.’ ‘His name, mother,’ replied Nicholas, ‘is Smike.’ The effect of this communication was by no means anticipated; but the name was no sooner pronounced, than Mrs Nickleby |
