“Yes, deary,” said Mrs. Boffin, laying aside her shawl. “I’m not nervous any more. I’m not a bit troubled now. I’d go anywhere about the house the same as ever. But⁠—”

“Eh!” said Mr. Boffin.

“But I’ve only to shut my eyes.”

“And what then?”

“Why then,” said Mrs. Boffin, speaking with her eyes closed, and her left hand thoughtfully touching her brow, “then, there they are! The old man’s face, and it gets younger. The two children’s faces, and they get older. A face that I don’t know. And then all the faces!”