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Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
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Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
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683 of course I had several times seen him sitting among the scarlet- beans in his little arbour, or working at his little hot-beds. I used to think he stared rather, but I didn’t take any particular notice of that, as we were newcomers, and he might be curious to see what we were like. But when he began to throw his cucumbers over our wall--’ ‘To throw his cucumbers over our wall!’ repeated Nicholas, in great astonishment. ‘Yes, Nicholas, my dear,’ replied Mrs Nickleby in a very serious tone; ‘his cucumbers over our wall. And vegetable marrows likewise.’ ‘Confound his impudence!’ said Nicholas, firing immediately. ‘What does he mean by that?’ ‘I don’t think he means it impertinently at all,’ replied Mrs Nickleby. ‘What!’ said Nicholas, ‘cucumbers and vegetable marrows flying at the heads of the family as they walk in their own garden, and not meant impertinently! Why, mother--’ Nicholas stopped short; for there was an indescribable expression of placid triumph, mingled with a modest confusion, lingering between the borders of Mrs Nickleby’s nightcap, which arrested his attention suddenly. ‘He must be a very weak, and foolish, and inconsiderate man,’ said Mrs Nickleby; ‘blamable indeed--at least I suppose other people would consider him so; of course I can’t be expected to express any opinion on that point, especially after always defending your poor dear papa when other people blamed him for making proposals to me; and to be sure there can be no doubt that he has taken a very singular way of showing it. Still at the same |
