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reputation. I must retain nothing for myself. I must resign to our

creditors the power of management I have so much abused, and I must work

out as much of my fault--or crime--as is susceptible of being worked out

in the rest of my days.'

'Is it impossible, sir, to tide over the present?'

'Out of the question. Nothing can be tided over now, Pancks. The sooner

the business can pass out of my hands, the better for it. There are

engagements to be met, this week, which would bring the catastrophe

before many days were over, even if I would postpone it for a single day

by going on for that space, secretly knowing what I know. All last night

I thought of what I would do; what remains is to do it.'

'Not entirely of yourself?' said Pancks, whose face was as damp as if

his steam were turning into water as fast as he dismally blew it off.

'Have some legal help.'

'Perhaps I had better.'

'Have Rugg.'

'There is not much to do. He will do it as well as another.'

'Shall I fetch Rugg, Mr Clennam?'

'If you could spare the time, I should be much obliged to you.'

Mr Pancks put on his hat that moment, and steamed away to Pentonville.

While he was gone Arthur never raised his head from the desk, but

remained in that one position.

Mr Pancks brought his friend and professional adviser, Mr Rugg, back

with him. Mr Rugg had had such ample experience, on the road, of Mr

Pancks's being at that present in an irrational state of mind, that he

opened his professional mediation by requesting that gentleman to take

himself out of the way. Mr Pancks, crushed and submissive, obeyed.

'He is not unlike what my daughter was, sir, when we began the Breach of

Promise action of Rugg and Bawkins, in which she was Plaintiff,' said

Mr Rugg. 'He takes too strong and direct an interest in the case. His

feelings are worked upon. There is no getting on, in our profession,

with feelings worked upon, sir.'

As he pulled off his gloves and put them in his hat, he saw, in a side

glance or two, that a great change had come over his client.

'I am sorry to perceive, sir,' said Mr Rugg, 'that you have been

allowing your own feelings to be worked upon. Now, pray don't, pray

don't. These losses are much to be deplored, sir, but we must look 'em

in the face.' 'If the money I have sacrificed had been all my own, Mr

Rugg,' sighed Mr Clennam, 'I should have cared far less.'

'Indeed, sir?' said Mr Rugg, rubbing his hands with a cheerful air.

'You surprise me. That's singular, sir. I have generally found, in my

experience, that it's their own money people are most particular about.

I have seen people get rid of a good deal of other people's money, and

bear it very well: very well indeed.'

With these comforting remarks, Mr Rugg seated himself on an office-stool

at the desk and proceeded to business.

'Now, Mr Clennam, by your leave, let us go into the matter. Let us see

the state of the case. The question is simple. The question is the

usual plain, straightforward, common-sense question. What can we do for

ourself? What can we do for ourself?'

'This is not the question with me, Mr Rugg,' said Arthur. 'You mistake

it in the beginning. It is, what can I do for my partner, how can I best

make reparation to him?'

'I am afraid, sir, do you know,' argued Mr Rugg persuasively, 'that you

are still allowing your feeling to be worked upon. I don't like the term

"reparation," sir, except as a lever in the hands of counsel. Will you

excuse my saying that I feel it my duty to offer you the caution, that

you really must not allow your feelings to be worked upon?'

'Mr Rugg,' said Clennam, nerving himself to go through with what he

had resolved upon, and surprising that gentleman by appearing, in his

despondency, to have a settled determination of purpose; 'you give me

the impression that you will not be much disposed to adopt the course

I have made up my mind to take. If your disapproval of it should render

you unwilling to discharge such business as it necessitates, I am sorry

for it, and must seek other aid. But I will represent to you at once,

that to argue against it with me is useless.'

'Good, sir,' answered Mr Rugg, shrugging his shoulders.'Good, sir. Since

the business is to be done by some hands, let it be done by mine. Such

was my principle in the case of Rugg and Bawkins. Such is my principle

in most cases.'

Clennam then proceeded to state to Mr Rugg his fixed resolution. He told

Mr Rugg that his partner was a man of great simplicity and integrity,

and that in all he meant to do, he was guided above all things by a

knowledge of his partner's character, and a respect for his feelings.

He explained that his partner was then absent on an enterprise of

importance, and that it particularly behoved himself publicly to accept

the blame of what he had rashly done, and publicly to exonerate his

partner from all participation in the responsibility of it, lest the

successful conduct of that enterprise should be endangered by the

slightest suspicion wrongly attaching to his partner's honour and credit

in another country. He told Mr Rugg that to clear his partner morally,

to the fullest extent, and publicly and unreservedly to declare that

he, Arthur Clennam, of that Firm, had of his own sole act, and even

expressly against his partner's caution, embarked its resources in the

swindles that had lately perished, was the only real atonement within

his power; was a better atonement to the particular man than it would be

to many men; and was therefore the atonement he had first to make. With

this view, his intention was to print a declaration to the foregoing

effect, which he had already drawn up; and, besides circulating it

among all who had dealings with the House, to advertise it in the public

papers. Concurrently with this measure (the description of which cost Mr

Rugg innumerable wry faces and great uneasiness in his limbs), he would

address a letter to all the creditors, exonerating his partner in a

solemn manner, informing them of the stoppage of the House until their

pleasure could be known and his partner communicated with, and humbly

submitting himself to their direction. If, through their consideration

for his partner's innocence, the affairs could ever be got into such

train as that the business could be profitably resumed, and its present

downfall overcome, then his own share in it should revert to his

partner, as the only reparation he could make to him in money value for

the distress and loss he had unhappily brought upon him, and he himself,

at as mall a salary as he could live upon, would ask to be allowed to

serve the business as a faithful clerk.

Though Mr Rugg saw plainly there was no preventing this from being done,

still the wryness of his face and the uneasiness of his limbs so sorely

required the propitiation of a Protest, that he made one.

'I offer no objection, sir,' said he, 'I argue no point with you. I will

carry out your views, sir; but, under protest.' Mr Rugg then stated,

not without prolixity, the heads of his protest. These were, in effect,

because the whole town, or he might say the whole country, was in the

first madness of the late discovery, and the resentment against the

victims would be very strong: those who had not been deluded being

certain to wax exceedingly wroth with them for not having been as wise

as they were: and those who had been deluded being certain to find

excuses and reasons for themselves, of which they were equally certain

to see that other sufferers were wholly devoid: not to mention the great

probability of every individual sufferer persuading himself, to his

violent indignation, that but for the example of all the other sufferers

he never would have put himself in the way of suffering. Because such a

declaration as Clennam's, made at such a time, would certainly draw down

upon him a storm of animosity, rendering it impossible to calculate on

forbearance in the creditors, or on unanimity among them; and exposing

him a solitary target to a straggling cross-fire, which might bring him

down from half-a-dozen quarters at once.

To all this Clennam merely replied that, granting the whole protest,

nothing in it lessened the force, or could lessen the force, of the

voluntary and public exoneration of his partner. He therefore, once

and for all, requested Mr Rugg's immediate aid in getting the business

despatched. Upon that, Mr Rugg fell to work; and Arthur, retaining no

property to himself but his clothes and books, and a little loose

money, placed his small private banker's-account with the papers of the

business.

The disclosure was made, and the storm raged fearfully. Thousands of

people were wildly staring about for somebody alive to heap reproaches

on; and this notable case, courting publicity, set the living somebody

so much wanted, on a scaffold. When people who had nothing to do with

the case were so sensible of its flagrancy, people who lost money by it

could scarcely be expected to deal mildly with it. Letters of reproach

and invective showered in from the creditors; and Mr Rugg, who sat upon

the high stool every day and read them all, informed his client within a

week that he feared there were writs out.

'I must take the consequences of what I have done,' said Clennam. 'The

writs will find me here.'

On the very next morning, as he was turning in Bleeding Heart Yard by

Mrs Plornish's corner, Mrs Plornish stood at the door waiting for him,

and mysteriously besought him to step into Happy Cottage. There he found

Mr Rugg.

'I thought I'd wait for you here. I wouldn't go on to the Counting-house

this morning if I was you, sir.'

'Why not, Mr Rugg?'

'There are as many as five out, to my knowledge.'

'It cannot be too soon over,' said Clennam. 'Let them take me at once.'

'Yes, but,' said Mr Rugg, getting between him and the door, 'hear

reason, hear reason. They'll take you soon enough, Mr Clennam, I don't

doubt; but, hear reason. It almost always happens, in these cases,

that some insignificant matter pushes itself in front and makes much

of itself. Now, I find there's a little one out--a mere Palace Court

jurisdiction--and I have reason to believe that a caption may be made

upon that. I wouldn't be taken upon that.'

'Why not?' asked Clennam.

'I'd be taken on a full-grown one, sir,' said Mr Rugg. 'It's as well to

keep up appearances. As your professional adviser, I should prefer your

being taken on a writ from one of the Superior Courts, if you have no

objection to do me that favour. It looks better.'

'Mr Rugg,' said Arthur, in his dejection, 'my only wish is, that it

should be over. I will go on, and take my chance.'

'Another word of reason, sir!' cried Mr Rugg. 'Now, this is reason.

The other may be taste; but this is reason. If you should be taken on a

little one, sir, you would go to the Marshalsea. Now, you know what the

Marshalsea is. Very close. Excessively confined. Whereas in the King's

Bench--' Mr Rugg waved his right hand freely, as expressing abundance of

space. 'I would rather,' said Clennam, 'be taken to the Marshalsea than

to any other prison.'

'Do you say so indeed, sir?' returned Mr Rugg. 'Then this is taste, too,

and we may be walking.'

He was a little offended at first, but he soon overlooked it. They

walked through the Yard to the other end. The Bleeding Hearts were more

interested in Arthur since his reverses than formerly; now regarding him

as one who was true to the place and had taken up his freedom. Many of

them came out to look after him, and to observe to one another, with

great unctuousness, that he was 'pulled down by it.' Mrs Plornish

and her father stood at the top of the steps at their own end, much

depressed and shaking their heads.

There was nobody visibly in waiting when Arthur and Mr Rugg arrived

at the Counting-house. But an elderly member of the Jewish persuasion,

preserved in rum, followed them close, and looked in at the glass before

Mr Rugg had opened one of the day's letters.

'Oh!' said Mr Rugg, looking up. 'How do you do? Step in--Mr Clennam, I

think this is the gentleman I was mentioning.'

This gentleman explained the object of his visit to be 'a tyfling madder

ob bithznithz,' and executed his legal function.

'Shall I accompany you, Mr Clennam?' asked Mr Rugg politely, rubbing his

hands.

'I would rather go alone, thank you. Be so good as send me my clothes.'

Mr Rugg in a light airy way replied in the affirmative, and shook hands

with him. He and his attendant then went down-stairs, got into the first

conveyance they found, and drove to the old gates.

'Where I little thought, Heaven forgive me,' said Clennam to himself,

'that I should ever enter thus!'

Mr Chivery was on the Lock, and Young John was in the Lodge: either

newly released from it, or waiting to take his own spell of duty. Both

were more astonished on seeing who the prisoner was, than one might have

thought turnkeys would have been. The elder Mr Chivery shook hands with

him in a shame-faced kind of way, and said, 'I don't call to mind,

sir, as I was ever less glad to see you.' The younger Mr Chivery, more

distant, did not shake hands with him at all; he stood looking at him

in a state of indecision so observable that it even came within the

observation of Clennam with his heavy eyes and heavy heart. Presently

afterwards, Young John disappeared into the jail.

As Clennam knew enough of the place to know that he was required to

remain in the Lodge a certain time, he took a seat in a corner, and