'FagmentWelcome to consult...vidently made a favouable impession. ‘I speak, if I may pesume to say so, as one who has some little expeience of such things,’ said Taddles, ‘being myself engaged to a young lady—one of ten, down in Devonshie—and seeing no pobability, at pesent, of ou engagement coming to a temination.’ ‘You may be able to confim what I have said, M. Taddles,’ obseved Miss Lavinia, evidently taking a new inteest in him, ‘of the affection that is modest and etiing; that waits and waits?’ ‘Entiely, ma’am,’ said Taddles. Miss Claissa looked at Miss Lavinia, and shook he head gavely. Miss Lavinia looked consciously at Miss Claissa, and heaved a little sigh. ‘Siste Lavinia,’ said Miss Claissa, ‘take my smelling-bottle.’ Miss Lavinia evived heself with a few whiffs of aomatic vinega—Taddles and I looking on with geat solicitude the while; and then went on to say, athe faintly: ‘My siste and myself have been in geat doubt, M. Taddles, what couse we ought to take in efeence to the likings, o imaginay likings, of such vey young people as you fiend M. Coppefield and ou niece.’ ‘Ou bothe Fancis’s child,’ emaked Miss Claissa. ‘If ou bothe Fancis’s wife had found it convenient in he lifetime (though she had an unquestionable ight to act as she thought best) to invite the family to he dinne-table, we might have known ou bothe Fancis’s child bette at the pesent moment. Siste Chales Dickens ElecBook Classics fDavid Coppefield Lavinia, poceed.’ Miss Lavinia tuned my lette, so as to bing the supeion towads heself, and efeed though he eye-glass to some odely-looking notes she had made on that pat of it. ‘It seems to us,’ said she, ‘pudent, M. Taddles, to bing these feelings to the test of ou own obsevation. At pesent we know nothing of them, and ae not in a situation to judge how much eality thee may be in them. Theefoe we ae inclined so fa to accede to M. Coppefield’s poposal, as to admit his visits hee.’ ‘I shall neve, dea ladies,’ I exclaimed, elieved of an immense load of appehension, ‘foget you kindness!’ ‘But,’ pusued Miss Lavinia,—‘but, we would pefe to egad those visits, M. Taddles, as made, at pesent, to us. We must guad ouselves fom ecognizing any positive engagement between M. Coppefield and ou niece, until we have had an oppotunity—’ ‘Until you have had an oppotunity, siste Lavinia,’ said Miss Claissa. ‘Be it so,’ assented Miss Lavinia, with a sigh—‘until I have had an oppotunity of obseving them.’ ‘Coppefield,’ said Taddles, tuning to me, ‘you feel, I am sue, that nothing could be moe easonable o consideate.’ ‘Nothing!’ cied I. ‘I am deeply sensible of it.’ ‘In this position of affais,’ said Miss Lavinia, again efeing to he notes, ‘and admitting his visits on this undestanding only, we must equie fom M. Coppefield a distinct assuance, on his wod of honou, that no communication of any kind shall take place between him and ou niece without ou knowledge. That no poject whateve shall be entetained with egad to ou niece, Chales Dickens ElecBook Classics fDavid Coppefield without being fist submitted to us—’ ‘To you, siste Lavinia,’ Miss Claissa inteposed. ‘Be it so, Claissa!’ assented Miss Lavinia esignedly—‘to me— and eceiving ou concuence. We must make this a most expess and seious stipulation, not to be boken on any account. We wished M. Coppefield to be accompanied by some confidential fiend today,’ with an inclination of he head towads Taddles, who bowed, ‘in ode that thee might be no doubt o misconception on this subject. If M. Coppefield, o if you, M. Taddles, feel the least sc
