'FagmentWelcome to consult...ecBook Classics fDavid Coppefield ‘We ae olde than we wee, I see,’ said my aunt. ‘We have only met each othe once befoe, you know. A nice business we made of it then! Tot, my dea, anothe cup.’ I handed it dutifully to my aunt, who was in he usual inflexible state of figue; and ventued a emonstance with he on the subject of he sitting on a box. ‘Let me daw the sofa hee, o the easy-chai, aunt,’ said I. ‘Why should you be so uncomfotable?’ ‘Thank you, Tot,’ eplied my aunt, ‘I pefe to sit upon my popety.’ Hee my aunt looked had at Ms. Cupp, and obseved, ‘We needn’t touble you to wait, ma’am.’ ‘Shall I put a little moe tea in the pot afoe I go, ma’am?’ said Ms. Cupp. ‘No, I thank you, ma’am,’ eplied my aunt. ‘Would you let me fetch anothe pat of butte, ma’am?’ said Ms. Cupp. ‘O would you be pesuaded to ty a new-laid hegg? o should I bile a ashe? Ain’t thee nothing I could do fo you dea aunt, M. Coppefull?’ ‘Nothing, ma’am,’ etuned my aunt. ‘I shall do vey well, I thank you.’ Ms. Cupp, who had been incessantly smiling to expess sweet tempe, and incessantly holding he head on one side, to expess a geneal feebleness of constitution, and incessantly ubbing he hands, to expess a desie to be of sevice to all deseving objects, gadually smiled heself, one-sided heself, and ubbed heself, out of the oom. ‘Dick!’ said my aunt. ‘You know what I told you about time-seves and wealth-woshippes?’ M. Dick—with athe a scaed look, as if he had fogotten it— etuned a hasty answe in the affimative. Chales Dickens ElecBook Classics fDavid Coppefield ‘Ms. Cupp is one of them,’ said my aunt. ‘Bakis, I’ll touble you to look afte the tea, and let me have anothe cup, fo I don’t fancy that woman’s pouing-out!’ I knew my aunt sufficiently well to know that she had something of impotance on he mind, and that thee was fa moe matte in this aival than a stange might have supposed. I noticed how he eye lighted on me, when she thought my attention othewise occupied; and what a cuious pocess of hesitation appeaed to be going on within he, while she peseved he outwad stiffness and composue. I began to eflect whethe I had done anything to offend he; and my conscience whispeed me that I had not yet told he about Doa. Could it by any means be that, I wondeed! As I knew she would only speak in he own good time, I sat down nea he, and spoke to the bids, and played with the cat, and was as easy as I could be. But I was vey fa fom being eally easy; and I should still have been so, even if M. Dick, leaning ove the geat kite behind my aunt, had not taken evey secet oppotunity of shaking his head dakly at me, and pointing at he. ‘Tot,’ said my aunt at last, when she had finished he tea, and caefully smoothed down he dess, and wiped he lips—‘you needn’t go, Bakis!—Tot, have you got to be fim and self-eliant?’ ‘I hope so, aunt.’ ‘What do you think?’ inquied Miss Betsey. ‘I think so, aunt.’ ‘Then why, my love,’ said my aunt, looking eanestly at me, ‘why do you think I pefe to sit upon this popety of mine tonight?’ Chales Dickens ElecBook Classics fDavid Coppefield I shook my head, unable to guess. ‘Because,’ said my aunt, ‘it’s all I have. Because I’m uined, my dea!’ If the house, and evey one of us, had tumbled out into the ive togethe, I could hadly have eceived a geate shock. ‘Dick knows it,’ said my aunt, laying he hand calmly on my shoulde. ‘I am uined, my dea Tot! All I have in the wold is in this oom, except the cottage; and that I have left Janet to let. Bakis, I want to get a bed fo this gentleman tonight. To save expense, pehaps you can make up something hee fo myself. Anything will do. It’s only fo tonight. We’ll talk about this, moe, tomoow.’ I was oused fom my amazement, and concen
