Charles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsOliver Twist 305doctor, standing with his back to the door, as if to keep it shut.“He is not in danger, I hope?” said the old lady.“Why, that would not be an extraordinary thing, under thecircumstances,” replied the doctor; “though I don’t think he is.Have you seen this thief?”“No,” rejoined the old lady.“Nor heard anything about him?”“No.”“I beg your pardon, ma’am,” interposed Mr. Giles; “but I wasgoing to tell you about him when Doctor Losberne came in.The fact was, that Mr. Giles had not, at first, been able to bringhis mind to the avowal, that he had only shot a boy. Suchcommendations had been bestowed upon his bravery, that hecould not, for the life of him, help postponing the explanation for afew delicious minutes; during which he had flourished, in the veryzenith of a brief reputation for undaunted courage.“Rose wished to see the man,” said Mrs. Maylie, “but I wouldn’thear of it.”“Humph!” rejoined the doctor. “There is nothing very alarmingin his appearance. Have you any objection to see him in mypresence?”“If it be necessary,” replied the old lady, “certainly not.”“Then I think it is necessary,” said the doctor; “at all events, Iam quite sure that you would deeply regret not having done so, ifyou postponed it. He is perfectly quiet and comfortable now. Allowme—Miss Rose, will you permit me? Not the slightest fear, Ipledge you my honour!”Charles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsOliver Twist 306Chapter 30Relates What Oliver’s New Visitors Thought OfHim.With many loquacious assurances that they would beagreeably surprised in the aspect of the criminal, thedoctor drew the young lady’s arm through one of his;and offering his disengaged hand to Mrs. Maylie, led them, withmuch ceremony and stateliness, upstairs.“Now,” said the doctor, in a whisper, as he softly turned thehandle of a bedroom door, “let us hear what you think of him. Hehas not been shaved very recently, but he don’t look at allferocious notwithstanding. Stop, though! Let me first see that he isin visiting order.”Stepping before them, he looked into the room. Motioning themto advance, he closed the door when they had entered; and gentlydrew back the curtains of the bed. Upon it, in lieu of the dogged,black-visaged ruffian they had expected to behold, there lay amere child, worn with pain and exhaustion and sunk into a deepsleep. His wounded arm, bound and splintered up, was crossedupon his breast; his head reclined upon the other arm, which washalf-hidden by his long hair, as it streamed over the pillow.The honest gentleman held the curtain in his hand, and lookedon for a minute or so, in silence. Whilst he was watching thepatient thus, the younger lady glided softly past, and seatingherself in a chair by the bedside, gathered Oliver’s hair from hisface. As she stooped over him, her tears fell upon his forehead.Charles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsOliver Twist 307The boy stirred, and smiled in his sleep, as though these marksof pity and compassion had awakened some pleasant dream of alove and affection he had never known. Thus, a strain of gentlemusic, or the rippling of water in a silent place, or the odour of aflower, or the mention of a familiar word, will sometimes call upsudden dim remembrances of scenes that never were, in this life;which vanish like a breath; which some brief memory of a happierexistence, long gone by, would seem to have awakened; which novoluntary exertion of the mind can ever recall.“What can this mean?” exclaimed the elder lady. “This poorchild can never have been the pupil of robbers!”“Vice,” sighed the surgeon, replacing the curtain, “takes up herabode in many temples; and who can say that a fair outside shallnot enshrine her?”“But at so early an age!” urged Rose.“My dear young lady,” rejoined the surgeon, mournfullyshaking his head; “crime, like death, is not confined to the old andwithered alone. The youngest and fairest are too often its chosenvictims.”“But, can you—oh! can you really believe that this delicate boyhas been the voluntary associate of the worst outcasts of society?”said Rose.The surgeon shook his head, in a manner which intimated thathe feared it was very possible; and observing that they mightdisturb the patient, led the way into an adjoining apartment.“But even if he has been wicked,” pursued Rose, “think howyoung he is; think that he may never have known a mother’s love,or the comfort of a home; that ill-usage and blows, or the want ofbread, may have driven him to herd with men who have forcedCharles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsOliver Twist 308him to guilt. Aunt, dear aunt, for mercy’s sake, think of this, beforeyou let them drag this sick child to a prison, which in any casemust be the grave of all his chances of amendment. Oh! as youlove me, and know that I have never felt the want of parents inyour goodness and affection, but that I might have done so, andmight have been equally helpless and unprotected with this poorchild, have pity upon him before it is too late!“My dear love,” said the elder lady, as she folded the weepinggirl to her bosom, “do you think I would harm a hair of his head?”“Oh, no!” replied Rose eagerly.“No, surely,” said the old lady; “my days are drawing to theirclose; and may mercy be shown to me as I show it to others! Whatcan I do to save him, sir?”“Let me think, ma’am,” said the doctor; “let me think.”Mr. Losberne thrust his hands into his pockets, and tookseveral turns up and down the room; often stopping, andbalancing himself on his toes, and frowning frightfully. Aftervarious exclamations of “I’ve got it now,” and “no, I haven’t,” andas many renewals of the walking and frowning, he at length madea dead halt, and spoke as follows:“I think if you give me a full and unlimited commission to bullyGiles, and that little boy, Brittles, I can manage it. Giles is afaithful fellow and an old servant, I know; but you can make it upto him in a thousand ways, and reward him for being such a goodshot besides. You don’t object to that?”“Unless there is some other way of preserving the child,”replied Mrs. Maylie.“There is no other,” said the doctor. “No other, take my wordfor it.”Charles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsOliver Twist 309“Then my aunt invests you with full power,” said Rose, smilingthrough her tears; “but pray don’t be harder upon the poor fellowsthan is indispensably necessary.”“You seem to think,” retorted the doctor, “that everybody isdisposed to be hard-hearted today, except yourself, Miss Rose. Ionly hope, for the sake of the rising male sex generally, that youmay be found in as vulnerable and soft-hearted a mood by the firsteligible young fellow who appeals to your compassion; and I wish Iwere a young fellow, that I might avail myself, on the spot, of sucha favourable opportunity for doing so, as the present.”“You are as great a boy as poor Brittles himself,” returnedRose, blushing.“Well,” said the doctor, laughing heartily, “that is no verydifficult matter. But to return to this boy. The great point of ouragreement is yet to come. He will wake in an hour or so, I dare say;and although I have told that thick-headed constable-fellowdownstairs that he mustn’t be moved or spoken to, on peril of hislife, I think we may converse with him without danger. Now Imake this stipulation—that I shall examine him in your presence,and that, if, from what he says, we judge, and I can show to thesatisfaction of your cool reason, that he is a real and thorough badone (which is more than possible), he shall be left to his fate,without any further interference on my part, at all events.”“Oh, no, aunt!” entreated Rose.“Oh, yes, aunt!” said the doctor. “Is it a bargain?”“He cannot be hardened in vice,” said Rose; “it is impossible.“Very good,” retorted the doctor; “then so much the morereason for acceding to my proposition.”Finally the treaty was entered into; and the parties thereuntoCharles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsOliver Twist 310sat down to wait, with some impatience, until Oliver should awake.The patience of the two ladies was destined to undergo a longertrial than Mr. Losberne had led them to expect; for hour after hourpassed on, and still Oliver slumbered heavily. It was evening,indeed, before the kind-hearted doctor brought them theintelligence, that he was at length sufficiently restored to bespoken to. The boy was very ill, he said, and weak from the loss ofblood; but his mind was so troubled with anxiety to disclosesomething, that he deemed it better to give him the opportunity,than to insist upon his remaining quiet until next morning; whichhe should otherwise have done.The conference was a long one. Oliver told them all his simplehistory, and was often compelled to stop, by pain and want ofstrength. It was a solemn thing to hear, in the darkened room, thefeeble voice of the sick child recounting a weary catalogue of evilsand calamities which hard men had brought upon him. Oh! ifwhen we oppress and grind our fellow-creatures, we bestowed butone thought on the dark evidences of human error, which, likedense and heavy clouds, are rising, slowly it is true, but not lesssurely, to Heaven, to pour their after-vengeance on our heads; ifwe heard but one instant, in imagination, the deep testimony ofdead men’s voices, which no power can stifle, and no pride shutout; where would be the injury and injustice, the suffering misery,cruelty, and wrong, that each day’s life brings with it!Oliver’s pillow was smoothed by gentle hands that night; andloveliness and virtue watched him as he slept. He felt calm andhappy, and could have died without a murmur.The momentous interview was no sooner concluded, and Olivercomposed to rest again, than the doctor, after wiping his eyes, andCharles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsOliver Twist 311condemning them for being weak all at once, betook himselfdownstairs to open upon Mr. Giles. And finding nobody about theparlours, it occurred to him, that he could perhaps originate theproceedings with better effect in the kitchen; so into the kitchenhe went.There were assembled, in that lower house of the domesticparliament, the women-servants, Mr. Brittles, Mr. Giles, the tinker(who had received a special invitation to regale himself for theremainder of the day, in consideration of his services), and theconstable. The latter gentleman had a large staff, a large head,large features, and large half-boots; and he looked as if he hadbeen taking a proportionate allowance of ale—as indeed he had.The adventures of the previous night were still underdiscussion; for Mr. Giles was expatiating upon his presence ofmind, when the doctor entered; Mr. Brittles, with a mug of ale inhis hand, was corroborating everything, before his superior said it.“Sit still!” said the doctor, waving his hand.“Thank you, sir,” said Mr. Giles. “Missis wished some ale to begiven out, sir; and as I felt no ways inclined for my own little room,sir, and was disposed for company, I am taking mine among ’emhere.”Brittles headed a low murmur, by which the ladies andgentlemen generally were understood to express the gratificationthey derived from Mr. Giles’s condescension. Mr. Giles lookedround with a patronising air, as much as to say that so long as theybehaved properly, he would never desert them.“How is the patient tonight, sir?” asked Giles.“So-so;” returned the doctor. “I am afraid you have got yourselfinto a scrape there, Mr. Giles.”Charles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsOliver Twist 312“I hope you don’t mean to say, sir,” said Mr. Giles, trembling,“that he’s going to die. If I thought it, I should never be happyagain. I wouldn’t cut a boy off—no, not even Brittles here—not forall the plate in the county, sir.”“That’s not the point,” said the doctor mysteriously. “Mr. Giles,are you a Protestant?”“Yes, sir, I hope so,” faltered Mr. Giles, who had turned verypale.“And what are you, boy?” said the doctor, turning sharply uponBrittles.“Lord bless me, sir!” replied Brittles, starting violently; “I’m—the same as Mr. Giles, sir.”“Then tell me this,” said the doctor, “both of you—both of you!Are you going to take upon yourselves to swear that that boyupstairs is the boy that was put through the little window lastnight? Out with it! Come! We are prepared for you!”The doctor, who was universally considered one of the best-tempered creatures on earth, made this demand in such adreadful tone of anger, that Giles and Brittles, who wereconsiderably muddled by ale and excitement, stared at each otherin a state of stupefaction.“Pay attention to the reply, constable, will you?” said thedoctor, shaking his forefinger with great solemnity of manner, andtapping the bridge of his nose with it, to bespeak the exercise ofthat worthy’s utmost acuteness. “Something may come of thisbefore long.”The constable looked as wise as he could, and took up his staffof office, which had been reclining indolently in the chimney-corner.Charles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsOliver Twist 313“It’s a simple question of identity, you will observe,” said thedoctor.“That’s what it is, sir,” replied the constable, coughing with agreat violence; for he had finished his ale in a hurry, and some of ithad gone the wrong way.“Here’s a house broken into,” said the doctor, “and a couple ofmen catch one moment’s glimpse of a boy, in the midst ofgunpowder-smoke, and in all the distraction of alarm anddarkness. Here’s a boy comes to that very same house, nextmorning, and because he happens to have his arm tied up, thesemen lay violent hands upon him—by doing which, they place hislife in great danger—and swear he is the thief. Now, the questionis, whether these men are justified by the fact; if not, in whatsituation do they place themselves?”The constable nodded profoundly. He said, if that wasn’t law,he would be glad to know what was.“I ask you again,” thundered the doctor, “are you, on yoursolemn oaths, able to identify that boy?”Brittles looked doubtfully at Mr. Giles; Mr. Giles lookeddoubtfully at Brittles; the constable put his hand behind his ear, tocatch the reply; the two women and the tinker leaned forward tolisten; the doctor glanced keenly around; when a ring was heard atthe gate, and at the same moment, the sound of wheels.“It’s the runners!” cried Brittles, to all appearance muchrelieved.“The what?” exclaimed the doctor, aghast in his turn.“The Bow Street officers, sir,” replied Brittles, taking up acandle; “me and Mr. Giles sent for ’em this morning.”“What?” cried the doctor.Charles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsOliver Twist 314“Yes,” replied Brittles; “I sent a message up by the coachman,and I only wonder they weren’t here before, sir.”“You did, did you? Then confound your slow coaches downhere; that’s all,” said the doctor, walking away.Charles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsOliver Twist 315Chapter 31Involves A Critical Position.“W ho’s that?” inquired Brittles, opening the door alittle way, with the chain up, and peeping out,