No,' said Mr Pecksniff, answering their looks,
'I am sorry to say, she is not. It is merely an hysterical affection;
nothing more, I am not uneasy. Mr Pinch! Thomas!' exclaimed Pecksniff,
in his kindest accents. 'Pray come in. I shall make no stranger of you.
Thomas is a friend of mine, of rather long-standing, Mr Chuzzlewit, you
must know.'
'Thank you, sir,' said Tom. 'You introduce me very kindly, and speak of
me in terms of which I am very proud.'
'Old Thomas!' cried his master, pleasantly 'God bless you!'
Tom reported that the young ladies would appear directly, and that
the best refreshments which the house afforded were even then in
preparation, under their joint superintendence. While he was speaking,
the old man looked at him intently, though with less harshness than was
common to him; nor did the mutual embarrassment of Tom and the
young lady, to whatever cause he attributed it, seem to escape his
observation.
'Pecksniff,' he said after a pause, rising and taking him aside towards
the window, 'I was much shocked on hearing of my brother's death. We
had been strangers for many years.
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