I should think, to judge from the state of the furniture), and had satisfied every one concerned that he could do no more, poor man.  So, he had been honourably dismissed to “the office” to begin the world again.  What he did at the office, I never knew; Caddy said he was a “custom-house and general agent,” and the only thing I ever understood about that business was that when he wanted money more than usual he went to the docks to look for it, and hardly ever found it.

As soon as her papa had tranquillized his mind by becoming this shorn lamb, and they had removed to a furnished lodging in Hatton Garden (where I found the children, when I afterwards went there, cutting the horse hair out of the seats of the chairs and choking themselves with it), Caddy had brought about a meeting between him and old Mr. Turveydrop; and poor Mr. Jellyby, being very humble and meek, had deferred to Mr. Turveydrop’s deportment so submissively that they had become excellent friends.  By degrees, old Mr. Turveydrop, thus familiarized with the idea of his son’s marriage, had worked up his parental feelings to the height of contemplating that event as being near at hand and had given his gracious consent to the young couple commencing housekeeping at the academy in Newman Street when they would.

“And your papa, Caddy.  What did he say?”

“Oh!  Poor Pa,” said Caddy, “only cried and said he hoped we might get on better than he and Ma had got on.  He didn’t say so before Prince, he only said so to me.  And he said, ’My poor girl, you have not been very well taught how to make a home for your husband, but unless you mean with all your heart to strive to do it, you had better murder him than marry him—­if you really love him.’”

“And how did you reassure him, Caddy?”

“Why, it was very distressing, you know, to see poor Pa so low and hear him say such terrible things, and I couldn’t help crying myself.  But I told him that I did mean it with all my heart and that I hoped our house would be a place for him to come and find some comfort in of an evening and that I hoped and thought I could be a better daughter to him there than at home.  Then I mentioned Peepy’s coming to stay with me, and then Pa began to cry again and said the children were Indians.”

“Indians, Caddy?”

“Yes,” said Caddy, “wild Indians.  And Pa said”—­here she began to sob, poor girl, not at all like the happiest girl in the world—­ “that he was sensible the best thing that could happen to them was their being all tomahawked together.”

Ada suggested that it was comfortable to know that Mr. Jellyby did not mean these destructive sentiments.

“No, of course I know Pa wouldn’t like his family to be weltering in their blood,” said Caddy, “but he means that they are very unfortunate in being Ma’s children and that he is very unfortunate in being Ma’s husband; and I am sure that’s true, though it seems unnatural to say so.”