ough uttered in a very loud key, were addressed to
nothing but empty air. The recital of his wrongs, however, seemed to
have the effect of making Newman Noggs desperate; for he flattened his
old hat upon his head, and drawing on the everlasting gloves, declared
with great vehemence, that come what might, he would go to dinner that
very minute.

Carrying this resolution into instant effect, he had advanced as far as
the passage, when the sound of the latch-key in the street door caused
him to make a precipitate retreat into his own office again.

'Here he is,' growled Newman, 'and somebody with him. Now it'll be "Stop
till this gentleman's gone." But I won't. That's flat.'

So saying, Newman slipped into a tall empty closet which opened with two
half doors, and shut himself up; intending to slip out directly Ralph
was safe inside his own room.

'Noggs!' cried Ralph, 'where is that fellow, Noggs?'

But not a word said Newman.

'The dog has gone to his dinner, though I told him not,' muttered Ralph,
looking into the office, and pulling out his watch. 'Humph!' You had
better come in here, Gride. My man's out, and the sun is hot upon my
room. This is cool and in the shade, if you don't mind roughing it.'

'Not at all, Mr Nickleby, oh not at all! All places are alike to me,
sir. Ah! very nice indeed. Oh! very nice!'

The parson who made this reply was a little old man, of about seventy or
seventy-five years of age, of a very lean figure, much bent and slightly
twisted. He wore a grey coat with a very narrow collar, an old-fashioned
waistcoat of ribbed black silk, and such scanty trousers as displayed
his shrunken spindle-shanks in their full ugliness. The only articles of
display or ornament in his dress were a steel watch-chain to which
were attached some large gold seals; and a black ribbon into which, in
compliance with an old fashion scarcely ever observed in these days,
his grey hair was gathered behind. His nose and chin were sharp and
prominent, his jaws had fallen inwards from loss of teeth, his face
was shrivelled and yellow, save where the cheeks were streaked with
the colour of a dry winter apple; and where his beard had been, there
lingered yet a few grey tufts which seemed, like the ragged eyebrows, to
denote the badness of the soil from which they sprung. The whole air and
attitude of the form was one of stealthy cat-like obsequiousness;
the whole expression of the face was concentrated in a wrinkled lee