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in the midst of a dead silence; ‘what he has said is true.’
‘Be so good then as declare publicly, will you,’ said Mr.
Creakle, putting his head on one side, and rolling his eyes
round the school, ‘whether it ever came to my knowledge
until this moment?’
‘I believe not directly,’ he returned.
‘Why, you know not,’ said Mr. Creakle. ‘Don’t you,
man?’
‘I apprehend you never supposed my worldly circum-
stances to be very good,’ replied the assistant. ‘You know
what my position is, and always has been, here.’
‘I apprehend, if you come to that,’ said Mr. Creakle, with
his veins swelling again bigger than ever, ‘that you’ve been
in a wrong position altogether, and mistook this for a char-
ity school. Mr. Mell, we’ll part, if you please. The sooner the
better.’
‘There is no time,’ answered Mr. Mell, rising, ‘like the
present.’
‘Sir, to you!’ said Mr. Creakle.
‘I take my leave of you, Mr. Creakle, and all of you,’ said
Mr. Mell, glancing round the room, and again patting me
gently on the shoulders. ‘James Steerforth, the best wish I
can leave you is that you may come to be ashamed of what
you have done today. At present I would prefer to see you
anything rather than a friend, to me, or to anyone in whom
I feel an interest.’
Once more he laid his hand upon my shoulder; and then
taking his flute and a few books from his desk, and leav-
ing the key in it for his successor, he went out of the school,