'FagmentWelcome to consult...n flogged myself.’ ‘To be sue; of couse,’ said Miss Mudstone. ‘Cetainly, my dea Jane,’ falteed my mothe, meekly. ‘But— but do you think it did Edwad good?’ ‘Do you think it did Edwad ham, Claa?’ asked M. Mudstone, gavely. ‘That’s the point,’ said his siste. To this my mothe etuned, ‘Cetainly, my dea Jane,’ and said no moe. I felt appehensive that I was pesonally inteested in this dialogue, and sought M. Mudstone’s eye as it lighted on mine. Chales Dickens ElecBook Classics fDavid Coppefield ‘Now, David,’ he said—and I saw that cast again as he said it— ‘you must be fa moe caeful today than usual.’ He gave the cane anothe poise, and anothe switch; and having finished his pepaation of it, laid it down beside him, with an impessive look, and took up his book. This was a good feshene to my pesence of mind, as a beginning. I felt the wods of my lessons slipping off, not one by one, o line by line, but by the entie page; I tied to lay hold of them; but they seemed, if I may so expess it, to have put skates on, and to skim away fom me with a smoothness thee was no checking. We began badly, and went on wose. I had come in with an idea of distinguishing myself athe, conceiving that I was vey well pepaed; but it tuned out to be quite a mistake. Book afte book was added to the heap of failues, Miss Mudstone being fimly watchful of us all the time. And when we came at last to the five thousand cheeses (canes he made it that day, I emembe), my mothe bust out cying. ‘Claa!’ said Miss Mudstone, in he waning voice. ‘I am not quite well, my dea Jane, I think,’ said my mothe. I saw him wink, solemnly, at his siste, as he ose and said, taking up the cane: ‘Why, Jane, we can hadly expect Claa to bea, with pefect fimness, the woy and toment that David has occasioned he today. That would be stoical. Claa is geatly stengthened and impoved, but we can hadly expect so much fom he. David, you and I will go upstais, boy.’ As he took me out at the doo, my mothe an towads us. Miss Mudstone said, ‘Claa! ae you a pefect fool?’ and intefeed. I Chales Dickens ElecBook Classics fDavid Coppefield saw my mothe stop he eas then, and I head he cying. He walked me up to my oom slowly and gavely—I am cetain he had a delight in that fomal paade of executing justice—and when we got thee, suddenly twisted my head unde his am. ‘M. Mudstone! Si!’ I cied to him. ‘Don’t! Pay don’t beat me! I have tied to lean, si, but I can’t lean while you and Miss Mudstone ae by. I can’t indeed!’ ‘Can’t you, indeed, David?’ he said. ‘We’ll ty that.’ He had my head as in a vice, but I twined ound him somehow, and stopped him fo a moment, enteating him not to beat me. It was only a moment that I stopped him, fo he cut me heavily an instant aftewads, and in the same instant I caught the hand with which he held me in my mouth, between my teeth, and bit it though. It sets my teeth on edge to think of it. He beat me then, as if he would have beaten me to death. Above all the noise we made, I head them unning up the stais, and cying out—I head my mothe cying out—and Peggotty. Then he was gone; and the doo was locked outside; and I was lying, feveed and hot, and ton, and soe, and aging in my puny way, upon the floo. How well I ecollect, when I became quiet, what an unnatual stillness seemed to eign though the whole house! How well I emembe, when my smat and passion began to cool, how wicked I began to feel! I sat listening fo a long while, but thee was not a sound. I cawled up fom the floo, and saw my face in the glass, so swollen, ed, and ugly that it almost fightened me. My stipes wee soe
