Page 452 (1/2)

With a precursory sound of hurried breath and hurried feet, Mr Pancks

rushed into Arthur Clenna-house The Inquest was over, the

letter was public, the Bank was broken, the other model structures of

straw had taken fire and were turned to smoke

The admired piratical ship had blown up, in the midst of a vast fleet of ships of all rates,

and boats of all sizes; and on the deep was nothing but ruin; nothing

but burning hulls, bursting hbours to pieces, drowningdown everydead, and

sharks

The usual diligence and order of the Counting-house at the Works were

overthrown Unopened letters and unsorted papers lay strewn about the

desk In the y and dis-house stood idle in his usual place,

with his arms crossed on the desk, and his head bowed down upon them

Mr Pancks rushed in and saw him, and stood still In another minute, Mr

Pancks's arms were on the desk, and Mr Pancks's head was bowed down

upon them; and for some time they remained in these attitudes, idle and

silent, with the width of the little room between them Mr Pancks was

the first to lift up his head and speak

'I persuaded you to it, Mr Clennam I know it Say what you will

You can't say more to me than I say to myself You can't say more than I

deserve'

'O, Pancks, Pancks!' returned Clenna What

do I myself deserve!'

'Better luck,' said Pancks

'I,' pursued Clenna to him, 'who have ruined my

partner! Pancks, Pancks, I have ruined Doyce! The honest, self-helpful,

indefatigable old h his life;

the ainst so ood and hopeful nature; the man I have felt

so much for, and ht hiony into which the reflection wrought his

to see, that Mr Pancks took hold of himself by the hair of his head, and

tore it in desperation at the spectacle

'Reproach me!' cried Pancks 'Reproach me, sir, or I'll do myself an

injury Say,--You fool, you villain Say,--Ass, how could you do it;

Beast, what did youabusive to h hair in a most pitiless and cruel manner

'If you had never yielded to this fatal mania, Pancks,' said Clennam,

more in commiseration than retaliation, 'it would have been how much

better for you, and how rinding his teeth in reone into those accursed calculations,

and brought out your results with such aboroaned

Clennam, 'it would have been how much better for you, Pancks, and how

ain, sir!' exclaiain, and again!'

Clenna to be pacified, had said

all he wanted to say, and , 'Blind

leaders of the blind, Pancks! Blind leaders of the blind! But Doyce,

Doyce, Doyce; ht his head down on the

desk once more

Their former attitudes and their former silence were once more first

encroached upon by Pancks

'Not been to bed, sir, since it began to get about Been high and low,

on the chance of finding so any cinders froone All vanished'

'I know it,' returned Clennaroan that came out of the very

depths of his soul

'Only yesterday, Pancks,' said Arthur; 'only yesterday, Monday, I had

the fixed intention of selling, realising, andan end of it'

'I can't say as h it's

wonderful howto realise

yesterday, of all days in the three hundred and sixty-five, if it hadn't

been too late!'

His steas, usually droll in their effect, were roans: while frolected state, that he ht have been an

authentic portrait of Misfortune which could scarcely be discerned

through its want of cleaning

'Mr Clennaot over the break before

the last word, and also brought out the last word itself with great

difficulty

'Everything'

Mr Pancks took hold of his tough hair again, and gave it such a wrench

that he pulled out several prongs of it After looking at these with an

eye of wild hatred, he put the away so down his face, 'must be taken at once What wretched

amends I can make must be made I must clearfor ement I have so much abused, and I must work

out asworked out

in the rest of my days'

'Is it impossible, sir, to tide over the present?'

'Out of the question Nothing can be tided over now, Pancks The sooner

the business can pass out of e the catastrophe

before le day

by going on for that space, secretly knohat I know All last night

I thought of what I would do; what remains is to do it'

'Not entirely of yourself?' said Pancks, whose face was as da into water as fast as he disal help'

'Perhaps I had better'

'Have Rugg'

'There is not much to do He will do it as well as another'

'Shall I fetch Rugg, Mr Clennaed to you'

Mr Pancks put on his hat that one Arthur never raised his head from the desk, but

reht his friend and professional adviser, Mr Rugg, back

with hi had had such a at that present in an irrational state of mind, that he

opened his professional entleman to take

himself out of the way Mr Pancks, crushed and subhter was, sir, e began the Breach of

Pro and Bawkins, in which she was Plaintiff,' said

Mr Rugg 'He takes too strong and direct an interest in the case His

feelings are worked upon There is no getting on, in our profession,

with feelings worked upon, sir'

As he pulled off his gloves and put thereat change had come over his client

'I a, 'that you have been

allowing your own feelings to be worked upon Now, pray don't, pray

don't These losses are much to be deplored, sir, but we must look 'em

in the face' 'If the hed Mr Clennam, 'I should have cared far less'

'Indeed, sir?' said Mr Rugg, rubbing his hands with a cheerful air

'You surprise enerally found, in my

experience, that it's their own et rid of a good deal of other people's money, and

bear it very well: very well indeed'

With these co seated himself on an office-stool

at the desk and proceeded to business

'Now, Mr Clennao into the matter Let us see

the state of the case The question is sihtforward, common-sense question What can we do for

ourself? What can we do for ourself?'

'This is not the question withIt is, what can I do for my partner, how can I best

make reparation to hi persuasively, 'that you

are still allowing your feeling to be worked upon I don't like the term

"reparation," sir, except as a lever in the hands of counsel Will you

excusethat I feel it my duty to offer you the caution, that

you really ,' said Clennah hat he

had resolved upon, and surprising that gentle, in his

despondency, to have a settled deterive me

the impression that you will not be much disposed to adopt the course

I have made up my mind to take If your disapproval of it should render

you unwilling to discharge such business as it necessitates, I am sorry

for it, and must seek other aid But I will represent to you at once,

that to argue against it withhis shoulders'Good, sir Since

the business is to be done by some hands, let it be done byand Bawkins Such is my principle

inhis fixed resolution He told

Mr Rugg that his partner was a rity,

and that in all he e of his partner's character, and a respect for his feelings

He explained that his partner was then absent on an enterprise of

importance, and that it particularly behoved himself publicly to accept

the blame of what he had rashly done, and publicly to exonerate his

partner from all participation in the responsibility of it, lest the

successful conduct of that enterprise should be endangered by the