'THE Merdle,' said Edward Dorrit, Esquire.
'They are known to him. Mrs Gowan--I mean the dowager, my polite friend's mother--is intimate
with Mrs Merdle, and I know these two to be on their visiting list.' 'If so, a more undeniable guarantee could not be given,' said Mrs
General to Mr Dorrit, raising her gloves and bowing her head, as if she
were doing homage to some visible graven image. 'I beg to ask my son, from motives of--ah--curiosity,' Mr Dorrit
observed, with a decided change in his manner, 'how he becomes possessed
of this--hum--timely information?'
'It's not a long story, sir,' returned Edward Dorrit, Esquire, 'and you
shall have it out of hand. To begin with, Mrs Merdle is the lady you had
the parley with at what's-his-name place.' 'Martigny,' interposed Miss Fanny with an air of infinite languor. 'Martigny,' assented her brother, with a slight nod and a slight wink;
in acknowledgment of which, Miss Fanny looked surprised, and laughed and
reddened. 'How can that be, Edward?' said Mr Dorrit. 'You informed me that the
name of the gentleman with whom you conferred was--ha--Sparkler. Indeed,
you showed me his card. Hum. Sparkler.'
'No doubt of it, father; but it doesn't follow that his mother's name
must be the same. Mrs Merdle was married before, and he is her son. She
is in Rome now; where probably we shall know more of her, as you decide
to winter there. Sparkler is just come here. I passed last evening in
company with Sparkler. Sparkler is a very good fellow on the
whole, though rather a bore on one subject, in consequence of being
tremendously smitten with a certain young lady.' Here Edward Dorrit,
Esquire, eyed Miss Fanny through his glass across the table. 'We
happened last night to compare notes about our travels, and I had the
information I have given you from Sparkler himself.' Here he ceased;
continuing to eye Miss Fanny through his glass, with a face much
twisted, and not ornamentally so, in part by the action of keeping his
glass in his eye, and in part by the great subtlety of his smile.
'Under these circumstances,' said Mr Dorrit, 'I believe I express the
sentiments of--ha--Mrs General, no less than my own, when I say
that there is no objection, but--ha hum--quite the contrary--to your
gratifying your desire, Amy. I trust I may--ha--hail--this desire,' said
Mr Dorrit, in an encouraging and forgiving manner, 'as an auspicious
omen. It is quite right to know these people. It is a very proper
thing. Mr Merdle's is a name of--ha--world-wide repute. Mr Merdle's
undertakings are immense. They bring him in such vast sums of money that
they are regarded as--hum--national benefits. Mr Merdle is the man of
this time. The name of Merdle is the name of the age. Pray do everything
on my behalf that is civil to Mr and Mrs Gowan, for we will--ha--we will
certainly notice them.'