Stranica 150 [150]
108
te,
c But not fortwo, ma’am,” rejoined Mr.
Bumble in soft accents. " Eh, Mrs. Cor¬
ney?” :
Mrs. Corney drooped her head when the
beadle said this, and the beadle drooped
his to get a view of Mrs. Corney’s face.
Mrs. Corney with great propriety turned
. her head away, and released her hand. to
get at her pocket-handkerchief, but insen¬
sibly replaced it in that of Mr. Bumble.
“ The board allow you coals, don’t they,
Mrs. Corney ?” affectionately inquired the
beadle, pressing her hand.
“And candles,” replied Mrs. Corney,
slightly returning the pressure.
* Coals, candles, and house-rent free,”
said Mr. Bumble. "Oh, Mrs. Corney,
what a angel you are!"
The lady was not proof against this
_ burst of feeling. She sunk into Mr. Bum¬
ble’s arms; and that gentleman, in his
agitation, imprinted a passionate kiss upon
her chaste nose.
* Such porochial perfection!” exclaim¬
ed Mr. Bumble rapturously. “ You know
that Mr. Slout is worse to-night, my fas¬
cinator ?”
6 Yes,” replied Mrs. Corney bashfully.
“ He can’t live a week, the doctor says,”
pursued Mr. Bumble. ‘“ He is the master
of this establishment; his death will cause
a wacancy ; that wacancy must be filled
up. Oh, Mrs. Corney, what a prospect
this opens! What a opportunity for a
joining of hearts and housekeeping !”
Mrs. Corney sobbed.
“The little word?” said Mr. Bumble,
bending over the bashful beauty. " The
one little, little, little word, my blessed
Corney ?” |
“ Ye—ye—yes!” sighed out the ma¬
tron. ee
“One more,” pursued the beadle ;
“compose your darling feelings for only
one more. When is it to come off?”
Mrs. Corney twice essayed to speak,
and twice failed. At length, summoning
up courage, she threw her arms round Mr.
Bumble’s neck, and said it might be as
soon as ever he pleased, and that he was
“a irresistible duck.”
Matters being thus amicably and satis¬
factorily arranged, the contract was sol¬
emnly ratified in another tea-cup-full of
the peppermint mixture, which was ren¬
dered the more necessary by the flutter
and agitation of the lady’s spirits. While
it was being disposed of, she acquainted
Mr. Bumble with the old woman’s de¬
cease.
s Very good,” said that gentleman, sip¬
|
|
ping his peppermint. “Ill call at Sow¬
erberry’s as I go home, and tell him to
send to-morrow morning. Was it that as
frightened you, love ?”
“It wasn’t anything particular, dear,”
said the lady evasively.
“It must have been something, love,”
urged Mr. Bumble. “ Won't you tell
your own B. ?"
“‘ Not now,” rejoined the lady ; “ one of
these days,—after we’re married, dear!"
‘‘ After we "re married !” exclaimed Mr.
Bumble. “It wasn’t any impudence from
any of them male paupers as——” - .
“No, no, love!” interposed the lady
hastily.
s If I thought it was,” continued Mr.
Bumble —" if I thought any one of "Tem .
had dared to lift his wulgar eyes to that
lovely countenance——”
s They wouldn’t have dared to do it,
love,” responded the lady.
s They had better not!” said Mr. Bum¬
ble, clenching his fist. “ Let me see any
man, porochial or extra-porochial, as would
presume to do it, and I can tell him that
he wouldn’t do it a second time!”
Unembellished by any violence of ges¬
ticulation, this might have sounded as no
no very high compliment to the lady’s
charms; but, as Mr. Bumble accompanied
the threat with many warlike gestures,
she was much touched with this proof of
his devotion, and protested with great ad¬
miration that he was indeed a dove.
The dove then turned up his coat-col
lar, and put on his cocked-hat, and, hav¬
ing exchanged a long and affectionate
embrace with his future partner, once
again braved the cold wind of the night;
merely pausing for a few minutes in the
male paupers’ ward to abuse them a little,
with the view of satisfying himself that
he could fill the office of workhouse-mas¬
ter with needful acerbity. Assured of
his qualifications, Mr. Bumble left the
building with a light heart, and bright vi¬
sions of his future promotion, which served
to occupy his mind until he reached the
shop of the undertaker.
Now, Mr. and Mrs. Sowerberry havin
gone out to tea and supper, and Noa
le not being at any time disposed to
take upon himself a greater amount of
physical exertion than is necessary to a
convenient performance of the two func¬
tions of eating and drinking, the shop
was not closed, although it was past the
usual hour of shutting-up. Mr. Bumble
tapped with his cane on the counter se¬
veral times; but, attracting no attention,