Great Expectations

"Oh!" said she to Joe. "You are the husband of the sister of this boy?"

I could hardly have imagined dear old Joe looking so unlike himself or

so like some extraordinary bird; standing as he did speechless, with his

tuft of feathers ruffled, and his mouth open as if he wanted a worm.

"You are the husband," repeated Miss Havisham, "of the sister of this

boy?"

It was very aggravating; but, throughout the interview, Joe persisted in

addressing Me instead of Miss Havisham.

"Which I meantersay, Pip," Joe now observed in a manner that was at

once expressive of forcible argumentation, strict confidence, and great

politeness, "as I hup and married your sister, and I were at the time

what you might call (if you was anyways inclined) a single man."

"Well!" said Miss Havisham. "And you have reared the boy, with the

intention of taking him for your apprentice; is that so, Mr. Gargery?"

"You know, Pip," replied Joe, "as you and me were ever friends, and it

were looked for'ard to betwixt us, as being calc'lated to lead to

larks. Not but what, Pip, if you had ever made objections to the

business,--such as its being open to black and sut, or such-like,--not

but what they would have been attended to, don't you see?"

"Has the boy," said Miss Havisham, "ever made any objection? Does he

like the trade?"

"Which it is well beknown to yourself, Pip," returned Joe, strengthening

his former mixture of argumentation, confidence, and politeness, "that

it were the wish of your own hart." (I saw the idea suddenly break upon

him that he would adapt his epitaph to the occasion, before he went on

to say) "And there weren't no objection on your part, and Pip it were

the great wish of your hart!"

It was quite in vain for me to endeavor to make him sensible that he

ought to speak to Miss Havisham. The more I made faces and gestures

to him to do it, the more confidential, argumentative, and polite, he

persisted in being to Me.

"Have you brought his indentures with you?" asked Miss Havisham.

"Well, Pip, you know," replied Joe, as if that were a little

unreasonable, "you yourself see me put 'em in my 'at, and therefore you

know as they are here." With which he took them out, and gave them, not

to Miss Havisham, but to me. I am afraid I was ashamed of the dear good

fellow,--I know I was ashamed of him,--when I saw that Estella stood

at the back of Miss Havisham's chair, and that her eyes laughed

mischievously. I took the indentures out of his hand and gave them to

Miss Havisham.