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little woman. You see, the foreign female—which you men-
tioned her name just now, with quite a native sound I am
sure—caught up the word Snagsby that night, being un-
common quick, and made inquiry, and got the direction
and come at dinner-time. Now Guster, our young woman,
is timid and has fits, and she, taking fright at the foreign-
er’s looks—which are fierce—and at a grinding manner that
she has of speaking—which is calculated to alarm a weak
mind—gave way to it, instead of bearing up against it, and
tumbled down the kitchen stairs out of one into another,
such fits as I do sometimes think are never gone into, or
come out of, in any house but ours. Consequently there was
by good fortune ample occupation for my little woman, and
only me to answer the shop. When she DID say that Mr.
Tulkinghorn, being always denied to her by his employer
(which I had no doubt at the time was a foreign mode of
viewing a clerk), she would do herself the pleasure of contin-
ually calling at my place until she was let in here. Since then
she has been, as I began by saying, hovering, hovering, sir’—
Mr. Snagsby repeats the word with pathetic emphasis—‘in
the court. The effects of which movement it is impossible to
calculate. I shouldn’t wonder if it might have already giv-
en rise to the painfullest mistakes even in the neighbours’
minds, not mentioning (if such a thing was possible) my lit-
tle woman. Whereas, goodness knows,’ says Mr. Snagsby,
shaking his head, ‘I never had an idea of a foreign female,
except as being formerly connected with a bunch of brooms
and a baby, or at the present time with a tambourine and
earrings. I never had, I do assure you, sir!’

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