e top; at the brass thimble on her finger; at herself, whom
I thought lovely. I felt so sleepy that I knew if I lost sight of
anything, for a moment, I was gone.

"Peggotty," says I, suddenly, "were you ever married?"

"Lord, Master Davy!" replied Peggotty. "What's put marriage in your
head?"

She answered with such a start that it quite awoke me. And then she
stopped in her work and looked at me, with her needle drawn out to its
thread's length.

"But _were_ you ever married, Peggotty?" says I. "You are a very
handsome woman, ain't you?"

"Me handsome, Davy!" said Peggotty. "Lawk, no, my dear! But what put
marriage in your head?"

"I don't know! You mustn't marry more than one person at a time, may
you, Peggotty?"

"Certainly not," says Peggotty, with the promptest decision.

"But if you marry a person, and the person dies, why then you may marry
another person, mayn't you, Peggotty?"

"You MAY," says Peggotty, "if you choose, my dear. That's a matter of
opinion."

"But what is your opinion, Peggotty?" said I.

I asked her and looked curiously at her, because she looked so curiously
at me.

"My opinion is," said Peggotty, taking her eyes from me, after waiting a
little, and going on with her work, "that I never was married myself,
Master Davy, and that I don't expect to be. That's all I know about the
subject."

"You ain't cross, I suppose, Peggotty, are you?" said I, after sitting
quiet for a minute.

I really thought she was, she had been so short with me; but I was quite
mistaken; for she laid aside her work (which was a stocking of her own)
and opening her arms wide, took my curly head within them, and gave it a
good squeeze. I know it was a good squeeze, because, being very plump,
whenever she made any little exertion after she was dressed, some of the
buttons on the back of her flew off. And I recollect two bursting to the
opposite side of the parlor while she was hugging me.

One day Peggotty asked me if I would like to go with her on a visit to
her brother at Yarmouth.

"Is your brother an agreeable man, Peggotty?" I inquired.

"Oh, what an agreeable man he is!" cried Peggotty. "Then there's the
sea, and the boats and ships, and the fishermen, and the beach. And 'Am
to play with."

Ham was her nephew. I was quite anxious to go when I heard of all these
delights; but my mother, what would she do all alone? Peggotty told me
my mother was going to pay a visit to some friends, and would be