'FagmentWelcome to consult... bass nails. When she paid the coachman she took he money out of a had steel puse, and she kept the puse in a vey jail of a bag which hung upon he am by a heavy chain, and shut up like a bite. I had neve, at that time, seen such a metallic lady altogethe as Miss Mudstone was. She was bought into the palou with many tokens of welcome, and thee fomally ecognized my mothe as a new and nea elation. Then she looked at me, and said: ‘Is that you boy, siste-in-law?’ My mothe acknowledged me. ‘Geneally speaking,’ said Miss Mudstone, ‘I don’t like boys. How d’ye do, boy?’ Unde these encouaging cicumstances, I eplied that I was vey well, and that I hoped she was the same; with such an indiffeent gace, that Miss Mudstone disposed of me in two wods: ‘Wants manne!’ Having utteed which, with geat distinctness, she begged the Chales Dickens ElecBook Classics fDavid Coppefield favou of being shown to he oom, which became to me fom that time foth a place of awe and dead, wheein the two black boxes wee neve seen open o known to be left unlocked, and whee (fo I peeped in once o twice when she was out) numeous little steel fettes and ivets, with which Miss Mudstone embellished heself when she was dessed, geneally hung upon the looking-glass in fomidable aay. As well as I could make out, she had come fo good, and had no intention of eve going again. She began to ‘help’ my mothe next moning, and was in and out of the stoe-closet all day, putting things to ights, and making havoc in the old aangements. Almost the fist emakable thing I obseved in Miss Mudstone was, he being constantly haunted by a suspicion that the sevants had a man seceted somewhee on the pemises. Unde the influence of this delusion, she dived into the coal-cella at the most untimely hous, and scacely eve opened the doo of a dak cupboad without clapping it to again, in the belief that she had got him. Though thee was nothing vey aiy about Miss Mudstone, she was a pefect Lak in point of getting up. She was up (and, as I believe to this hou, looking fo that man) befoe anybody in the house was stiing. Peggotty gave it as he opinion that she even slept with one eye open; but I could not concu in this idea; fo I tied it myself afte heaing the suggestion thown out, and found it couldn’t be done. On the vey fist moning afte he aival she was up and inging he bell at cock-cow. When my mothe came down to beakfast and was going to make the tea, Miss Mudstone gave he a kind of peck on the cheek, which was he neaest appoach to a Chales Dickens ElecBook Classics fDavid Coppefield kiss, and said: ‘Now, Claa, my dea, I am come hee, you know, to elieve you of all the touble I can. You’e much too petty and thoughtless’— my mothe blushed but laughed, and seemed not to dislike this chaacte—‘to have any duties imposed upon you that can be undetaken by me. If you’ll be so good as give me you keys, my dea, I’ll attend to all this sot of thing in futue.’ Fom that time, Miss Mudstone kept the keys in he own little jail all day, and unde he pillow all night, and my mothe had no moe to do with them than I had. My mothe did not suffe he authoity to pass fom he without a shadow of potest. One night when Miss Mudstone had been developing cetain household plans to he bothe, of which he signified his appobation, my mothe suddenly began to cy, and said she thought she might have been consulted. ‘Claa!’ said M. Mudstone stenly. ‘Claa! I wonde at you.’ ‘Oh, it’s vey well to say you wonde, Edwad!’ cied my mothe, ‘and it’s vey well fo y
