第78章

While he was putting up the other cast and coming down from the chair, the thought crossed my mind that all his personal jewellery was derived from like sources. As he had shown no diffidence on the subject, I ventured on the liberty of asking him the question, when he stood before me, dusting his hands.

`Oh yes,' he returned, `these are all gifts of that kind. One brings another, you see; that's the way of it. I always take 'em. They're curiosities.

And they're property. They may not be worth much, but, after all, they're property and portable. It don't signify to you with your brilliant look-out, but as to myself, my guidingstar always is, "Get hold of portable property".'

When I had rendered homage to this light, he went on to say, in a friendly manner:

`If at any odd time when you have nothing better to do, you wouldn't mind coming over to see me at Walworth, I could offer you a bed, and Ishould consider it an honour. I have not much to show you; but such two or three curiosities as I have got, you might like to look over; and Iam fond of a bit of garden and a summer-house.'

I said I should be delighted to accept his hospitality.

`Thankee,' said he; `then we'll consider that it's to come off, when convenient to you. Have you dined with Mr Jaggers yet?'

`Not yet.'

`Well,' said Wemmick, `he'll give you wine, and good wine. I'll give you punch, and not bad punch. and now I'll tell you something. When you go to dine with Mr Jaggers, look at his housekeeper.'

`Shall I see something very uncommon?'

`Well,' said Wemmick, `you'll see a wild beast tamed. Not so very uncommon, you'll tell me. I reply, that depends on the original wildness of the beast, and the amount of taming. It won't lower your opinion of Mr Jaggers's powers.

Keep your eye on it.'

I told him I would do so, with all the interest and curiosity that his preparation awakened. As I was taking my departure, he asked me if I would like to devote five minutes to seeing Mr Jaggers `at it?'

For several reasons, and not least because I didn't clearly know what Mr Jaggers would be found to be `at,' I replied in the affirmative. We dived into the City, and came up in a crowded policecourt, where a blood-relation (in the murderous sense) of the deceased with the fanciful taste in brooches, was standing at the bar, uncomfortably chewing something; while my guardian had a woman under examination or cross-examination - I don't know which - and was striking her, and the bench, and everybody present, with awe.

If anybody, of whatsoever degree, said a word that he didn't approve of, he instantly required to have it `taken down.' If anybody wouldn't make an admission, he said, `I'll have it out of you!' and if anybody made an admission, he said, `Now I have got you!' the magistrates shivered under a single bite of his finger. Thieves and thieftakers hung in dread rapture on his words, and shrank when a hair of his eyebrows turned in their direction.

Which side he was on, I couldn't make out, for he seemed to me to be grinding the whole place in a mill; I only know that when I stole out on tiptoe, he was not on the side of the bench; for, he was making the legs of the old gentleman who presided, quite convulsive under the table, by his denunciations of his conduct as the representative of British law and justice in that chair that day.