Page 97 - bleak-house

John Jarndyce”
I had perhaps less reason to be surprised than either of
my companions, having never yet enjoyed an opportunity of
thanking one who had been my benefactor and sole earthly
dependence through so many years. I had not considered
how I could thank him, my gratitude lying too deep in my
heart for that; but I now began to consider how I could meet
him without thanking him, and felt it would be very diffi-
cult indeed.
The notes revived in Richard and Ada a general impres-
sion that they both had, without quite knowing how they
came by it, that their cousin Jarndyce could never bear ac-
knowledgments for any kindness he performed and that
sooner than receive any he would resort to the most singu-
lar expedients and evasions or would even run away. Ada
dimly remembered to have heard her mother tell, when she
was a very little child, that he had once done her an act of
uncommon generosity and that on her going to his house
to thank him, he happened to see her through a window
coming to the door, and immediately escaped by the back
gate, and was not heard of for three months. This discourse
led to a great deal more on the same theme, and indeed it
lasted us all day, and we talked of scarcely anything else. If
we did by any chance diverge into another subject, we soon
returned to this, and wondered what the house would be
like, and when we should get there, and whether we should
see Mr. Jarndyce as soon as we arrived or after a delay, and
what he would say to us, and what we should say to him. All
of which we wondered about, over and over again.

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