at an earlier period. I was not always the wreck you at present behold.’

‘I hope Mrs. Micawber and your family are well, sir,’ said my aunt.

Mr. Micawber inclined his head. ‘They are as well, ma’am,’ he desperately observed after a pause, ‘as Aliens and Outcasts can ever hope to be.’

‘Lord bless you, sir!’ exclaimed my aunt, in her abrupt way.

‘What are you talking about?’

‘The subsistence of my family, ma’am,’ returned Mr. Micawber, ‘trembles in the balance. My employer — ’

Here Mr. Micawber provokingly left off; and began to peel the lemons