on. But that is past--long past.
Between the Major and me there is now a yawning chasm, and I will not
feign to give encouragement, Louisa, where I cannot give my heart. My
affections,' said Miss Tox--'but, Louisa, this is madness!' and departed
from the room.

All this Mrs Chick communicated to her brother before dinner: and it
by no means indisposed Mr Dombey to receive the Major with unwonted
cordiality. The Major, for his part, was in a state of plethoric
satisfaction that knew no bounds: and he coughed, and choked, and
chuckled, and gasped, and swelled, until the waiters seemed positively
afraid of him.

'Your family monopolises Joe's light, Sir,' said the Major, when he had
saluted Miss Tox. 'Joe lives in darkness. Princess's Place is changed
into Kamschatka in the winter time. There is no ray of sun, Sir, for
Joey B., now.'

'Miss Tox is good enough to take a great deal of interest in Paul,
Major,' returned Mr Dombey on behalf of that blushing virgin.

'Damme Sir,' said the Major, 'I'm jealous of my little friend. I'm
pining away Sir. The Bagstock breed is degenerating in the forsaken
person of old Joe.' And the Major, becoming bluer and bluer and puffing
his cheeks further and further over the stiff ridge of his tight cravat,
stared at Miss Tox, until his eyes seemed as if he were at that moment
being overdone before the slow fire at the military college.

Notwithstanding the palpitation of the heart which these allusions
occasioned her, they were anything but disagreeable to Miss Tox, as they
enabled her to be extremely interesting, and to manifest an occasional
incoherence and distraction which she was not at all unwilling to
display. The Major gave her abundant opportunities of exhibiting this
emotion: being profuse in his complaints, at dinner, of her desertion of
him and Princess's Place: and as he appeared to derive great enjoyment
from making them, they all got on very well.

None the worse on account of the Major taking charge of the whole
conversation, and showing as great an appetite in that respect as in
regard of the various dainties on the table, among which he may
be almost said to have wallowed: greatly to the aggravation of his
inflammatory tendencies. Mr Dombey's habitual silence and reserve
yielding readily to this usurpation, the Major felt that he was coming
out and shining: and in the flow of spirits thus engendered, rang
such an infinite number of new changes on his own name that he