Oliver Twist
TREATS OF OLIVER TWIST’S GROWTH, EDUCATION, AND BOARD
For the next eight or ten months, Oliver was the of a of and deception. He was up by hand. The and of the was reported by the to the authorities. The with of the authorities, there was no female then in “the house” who was in a to to Oliver Twist, the and of which he in need. The with humility, that there was not. Upon this, the and resolved, that Oliver should be “farmed,” or, in other words, that he should be to a branch-workhouse some three miles off, where twenty or thirty other against the poor-laws, rolled about the all day, without the of too much food or too much clothing, under the of an female, who the at and for the of sevenpence-halfpenny small week. Sevenpence-halfpenny’s week is a good diet for a child; a great may be got for sevenpence-halfpenny, to its stomach, and make it uncomfortable. The female was a woman of and experience; she what was good for children; and she had a very of what was good for herself. So, she the part of the to her own use, and the to a than was originally provided for them. Thereby in the a still; and herself a very great philosopher.
Everybody the of another who had a great about a being able to live without eating, and who it so well, that he had got his own to a a day, and would have him a very and animal on nothing at all, if he had not died, four-and-twenty hours he was to have had his of air. Unfortunately for the of the female to protecting Oliver Twist was delivered over, a result the operation of her system; for at the very moment when the child had to upon the smallest possible of the possible food, it did in eight and a cases out of ten, either that it from want and cold, or into the fire from neglect, or got half-smothered by accident; in any one of which cases, the little being was into another world, and there to the fathers it had in this.
Occasionally, when there was some more than upon a child who had been in up a bedstead, or to death when there to be a washing—though the accident was very scarce, anything to a being of in the farm—the would take it into their to ask questions, or the would their to a remonstrance. But these were by the of the surgeon, and the of the beadle; the of had always opened the and nothing (which was very indeed), and the of the wanted; which was very self-devotional. Besides, the to the farm, and always sent the the day before, to say they were going. The children were and clean to behold, when they went; and what more would the people have!
It cannot be that this of would produce any very or crop. Oliver Twist’s birthday him a thin child, in stature, and small in circumference. But nature or had a good in Oliver’s breast. It had had of room to expand, thanks to the diet of the establishment; and to this may be his having any birth-day at all. Be this as it may, however, it was his birthday; and he was it in the coal-cellar with a select party of two other gentleman, who, after with him in a thrashing, had been locked up for to be hungry, when Mrs. Mann, the good lady of the house, was by the of Mr. Bumble, the beadle, to the of the garden-gate.
“Goodness gracious! Is that you, Mr. Bumble, sir?” said Mrs. Mann, her out of the window in well-affected of joy. “(Susan, take Oliver and them two upstairs, and wash ’em directly.)—My alive! Mr. Bumble, how I am to see you, sure-ly!”
Now, Mr. Bumble was a man, and a choleric; so, of to this open-hearted in a spirit, he gave the little a shake, and then upon it a which have from no leg but a beadle’s.
“Lor, only think,” said Mrs. Mann, out,—for the three boys had been by this time,—“only think of that! That I should have that the gate was on the inside, on account of them dear children! Walk in sir; walk in, pray, Mr. Bumble, do, sir.”
Although this was with a that might have the of a church-warden, it by no means the beadle.
“Do you think this or proper conduct, Mrs. Mann,” Mr. Bumble, his cane, “to keep the officers a waiting at your garden-gate, when they come here upon with the orphans? Are you aweer, Mrs. Mann, that you are, as I may say, a delegate, and a stipendiary?”
“I’m sure Mr. Bumble, that I was only a telling one or two of the dear children as is so of you, that it was you a coming,” Mrs. Mann with great humility.
Mr. Bumble had a great idea of his powers and his importance. He had the one, and the other. He relaxed.
“Well, well, Mrs. Mann,” he in a tone; “it may be as you say; it may be. Lead the way in, Mrs. Mann, for I come on business, and have something to say.”
Mrs. Mann the into a small with a floor; a seat for him; and deposited his and on the table him. Mr. Bumble from his the which his walk had engendered, at the hat, and smiled. Yes, he smiled. Beadles are but men: and Mr. Bumble smiled.
“Now don’t you be at what I’m a going to say,” Mrs. Mann, with sweetness. “You’ve had a long walk, you know, or I wouldn’t mention it. Now, will you take a little of somethink, Mr. Bumble?”
“Not a drop. Nor a drop,” said Mr. Bumble, his right hand in a dignified, but manner.
“I think you will,” said Mrs. Mann, who had noticed the of the refusal, and the that had it. “Just a drop, with a little cold water, and a of sugar.”
Mr. Bumble coughed.
“Now, just a drop,” said Mrs. Mann persuasively.
“What is it?” the beadle.
“Why, it’s what I’m to keep a little of in the house, to put into the infants’ Daffy, when they ain’t well, Mr. Bumble,” Mrs. Mann as she opened a cupboard, and took a bottle and glass. “It’s gin. I’ll not you, Mr. B. It’s gin.”
“Do you give the children Daffy, Mrs. Mann?” Bumble, with his the of mixing.
“Ah, ’em, that I do, dear as it is,” the nurse. “I couldn’t see ’em my very eyes, you know sir.”
“No”; said Mr. Bumble approvingly; “no, you not. You are a woman, Mrs. Mann.” (Here she set the glass.) “I shall take a early opportunity of it to the board, Mrs. Mann.” (He it him.) “You as a mother, Mrs. Mann.” (He the gin-and-water.) “I—I drink your health with cheerfulness, Mrs. Mann”; and he of it.
“And now about business,” said the beadle, taking out a pocket-book. “The child that was half-baptized Oliver Twist, is nine year old to-day.”
“Bless him!” Mrs. Mann, her left with the of her apron.
“And a offered of ten pound, which was to twenty pound. Notwithstanding the most superlative, and, I may say, supernat’ral on the part of this parish,” said Bumble, “we have been able to who is his father, or what was his mother’s settlement, name, or condition.”
Mrs. Mann her hands in astonishment; but added, after a moment’s reflection, “How comes he to have any name at all, then?”
The himself up with great pride, and said, “I it.”
“You, Mr. Bumble!”
“I, Mrs. Mann. We name our in order. The last was a S,—Swubble, I named him. This was a T,—Twist, I named him. The next one comes will be Unwin, and the next Vilkins. I have got names to the end of the alphabet, and all the way through it again, when we come to Z.”
“Why, you’re a character, sir!” said Mrs. Mann.
“Well, well,” said the beadle, with the compliment; “perhaps I may be. Perhaps I may be, Mrs. Mann.” He the gin-and-water, and added, “Oliver being now too old to here, the have to have him into the house. I have come out myself to take him there. So let me see him at once.”
“I’ll him directly,” said Mrs. Mann, the room for that purpose. Oliver, having had by this time as much of the of which his and hands, removed, as be off in one washing, was into the room by his protectress.
“Make a to the gentleman, Oliver,” said Mrs. Mann.
Oliver a bow, which was the on the chair, and the on the table.
“Will you go along with me, Oliver?” said Mr. Bumble, in a voice.
Oliver was about to say that he would go along with with great readiness, when, upward, he of Mrs. Mann, who had got the beadle’s chair, and was her at him with a countenance. He took the hint at once, for the had been too often upon his not to be upon his recollection.
“Will she go with me?” Oliver.
“No, she can’t,” Mr. Bumble. “But she’ll come and see you sometimes.”
This was no very great to the child. Young as he was, however, he had to make a of great at going away. It was no very difficult for the boy to call into his eyes. Hunger and ill-usage are great if you want to cry; and Oliver very naturally indeed. Mrs. Mann gave him a thousand embraces, and what Oliver wanted a great more, a piece of and butter, less he should too when he got to the workhouse. With the slice of in his hand, and the little brown-cloth cap on his head, Oliver was then away by Mr. Bumble from the home where one word or look had the of his years. And yet he into an of grief, as the cottage-gate closed after him. Wretched as were the little in he was behind, they were the only friends he had known; and a of his in the great wide world, into the child’s for the time.
Mr. Bumble walked on with long strides; little Oliver, his gold-laced cuff, him, at the end of every of a mile they were “nearly there.” To these Mr. Bumble returned very and replies; for the temporary which gin-and-water in some had by this time evaporated; and he was once again a beadle.
Oliver had not been the of the a of an hour, and had the of a second slice of bread, when Mr. Bumble, who had him over to the of an old woman, returned; and, telling him it was a night, him that the had said he was to appear it forthwith.
Not having a very of what a live was, Oliver was by this intelligence, and was not he ought to laugh or cry. He had no time to think about the matter, however; for Mr. Bumble gave him a on the head, with his cane, to wake him up: and another on the to make him lively: and him to follow, him into a large white-washed room, where eight or ten were a table. At the top of the table, seated in an arm-chair higher than the rest, was a particularly with a very round, red face.
“Bow to the board,” said Bumble. Oliver away two or three that were in his eyes; and no but the table, to that.
“What’s your name, boy?” said the in the high chair.
Oliver was at the of so many gentlemen, which him tremble: and the gave him another behind, which him cry. These two him answer in a very low and voice; a in a white said he was a fool. Which was a way of his spirits, and him at his ease.
“Boy,” said the in the high chair, “listen to me. You know you’re an orphan, I suppose?”
“What’s that, sir?” Oliver.
“The boy is a fool—I he was,” said the in the white waistcoat.
“Hush!” said the who had spoken first. “You know you’ve got no father or mother, and that you were up by the parish, don’t you?”
“Yes, sir,” Oliver, bitterly.
“What are you for?” the in the white waistcoat. And to be sure it was very extraordinary. What the boy be for?
“I you say your prayers every night,” said another in a voice; “and pray for the people who you, and take of you—like a Christian.”
“Yes, sir,” the boy. The who spoke last was right. It would have been very like a Christian, and a good Christian too, if Oliver had prayed for the people who and took of him. But he hadn’t, nobody had him.
“Well! You have come here to be educated, and a useful trade,” said the red-faced in the high chair.
“So you’ll to to-morrow at six o’clock,” added the one in the white waistcoat.
For the of these in the one of oakum, Oliver low by the direction of the beadle, and was then away to a large ward; where, on a rough, hard bed, he himself to sleep. What a of the laws of England! They let the go to sleep!
Poor Oliver! He little thought, as he sleeping in happy of all around him, that the had that very day at a which would the most material over all his fortunes. But they had. And this was it:
The members of this were very sage, deep, men; and when they came to turn their attention to the workhouse, they out at once, what ordinary would have discovered—the people liked it! It was a regular place of public for the classes; a where there was nothing to pay; a public breakfast, dinner, tea, and supper all the year round; a and elysium, where it was all play and no work. “Oho!” said the board, looking very knowing; “we are the to set this to rights; we’ll stop it all, in no time.” So, they the rule, that all people should have the (for they would nobody, not they), of being by a in the house, or by a quick one out of it. With this view, they with the water-works to on an unlimited supply of water; and with a corn-factor to supply small of oatmeal; and three of thin a day, with an twice a week, and a roll of Sundays. They a great many other wise and regulations, having to the ladies, which it is not necessary to repeat; to married people, in of the great of a in Doctors’ Commons; and, of a man to support his family, as they had done, took his family away from him, and him a bachelor! There is no saying how many for relief, under these last two heads, might have started up in all of society, if it had not been with the workhouse; but the were long-headed men, and had provided for this difficulty. The was from the and the gruel; and that people.
For the six months after Oliver Twist was removed, the was in full operation. It was at first, in of the in the undertaker’s bill, and the of taking in the of all the paupers, which on their wasted, forms, after a week or two’s gruel. But the number of got thin as well as the paupers; and the were in ecstasies.
The room in which the boys were fed, was a large hall, with a copper at one end: out of which the master, in an for the purpose, and by one or two women, the at mealtimes. Of this each boy had one porringer, and no more—except on occasions of great public rejoicing, when he had two and a of besides.
The wanted washing. The boys them with their till they again; and when they had performed this operation (which took very long, the being nearly as large as the bowls), they would at the copper, with such eyes, as if they have the very of which it was composed; themselves, meanwhile, in their most assiduously, with the view of up any of that might have been thereon. Boys have excellent appetites. Oliver Twist and his the of slow for three months: at last they got so and wild with hunger, that one boy, who was tall for his age, and hadn’t been used to that of thing (for his father had a small cook-shop), to his companions, that unless he had another of diem, he was he might some night to eat the boy who slept next him, who to be a of age. He had a wild, eye; and they him. A was held; were who should walk up to the master after supper that evening, and ask for more; and it to Oliver Twist.
The arrived; the boys took their places. The master, in his cook’s uniform, himself at the copper; his themselves him; the was out; and a long was said over the commons. The disappeared; the boys each other, and at Oliver; while his next neighbors him. Child as he was, he was with hunger, and with misery. He rose from the table; and to the master, and spoon in hand, said: at his own temerity:
“Please, sir, I want some more.”
The master was a fat, healthy man; but he very pale. He in on the small for some seconds, and then for support to the copper. The were with wonder; the boys with fear.
“What!” said the master at length, in a voice.
“Please, sir,” Oliver, “I want some more.”
The master a at Oliver’s with the ladle; him in his arm; and for the beadle.
The were in conclave, when Mr. Bumble into the room in great excitement, and the in the high chair, said,
“Mr. Limbkins, I your pardon, sir! Oliver Twist has asked for more!”
There was a start. Horror was on every countenance.
“For more!” said Mr. Limbkins. “Compose yourself, Bumble, and answer me distinctly. Do I that he asked for more, after he had the supper by the dietary?”
“He did, sir,” Bumble.
“That boy will be hung,” said the in the white waistcoat. “I know that boy will be hung.”
Nobody the gentleman’s opinion. An took place. Oliver was ordered into confinement; and a bill was next on the of the gate, a of five to who would take Oliver Twist off the hands of the parish. In other words, five and Oliver Twist were offered to any man or woman who wanted an to any trade, business, or calling.
“I was more of anything in my life,” said the in the white waistcoat, as he at the gate and read the bill next morning: “I was more of anything in my life, than I am that that boy will come to be hung.”
As I purpose to in the the white was right or not, I should the of this (supposing it to any at all), if I to hint just yet, the life of Oliver Twist had this or no.
