“Now, sir,” said the little man, as he carefully closed the door, “is there no way of accommodating this matter⁠—step this way, sir, for a moment⁠—into this window, Sir, where we can be alone⁠—there, sir, there, pray sit down, sir. Now, my dear Sir, between you and I, we know very well, my dear Sir, that you have run off with this lady for the sake of her money. Don’t frown, Sir, don’t frown; I say, between you and I, we know it. We are both men of the world, and we know very well that our friends here, are not⁠—eh?”

Mr. Jingle’s face gradually relaxed; and something distantly resembling a wink quivered for an instant in his left eye.

“Very good, very good,” said the little man, observing the impression he had made. “Now, the fact is, that beyond a few hundreds, the lady has little or nothing till the death of her mother⁠—fine old lady, my dear Sir.”