The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-03-26
Charles Dickens
Little Paul.

Little Paul.
-HERB was once in London n
buainess house known as
u .Dombey & Son" 1t had
YEMMENI borne that name for genera
(XsasESeJ 5tions, though at the time this
story begins Mr.. Dombey, the head OF
the house, had no son. He was a Frner-
chant. hard, cold and selfish. who
thought the earth was made only for
Ills firm to trade In. He had one little
birth had he loved or petted her because
of his disappointment that she was not a
4 boy. ri 8S + .E
i When at last a son was born to him
It wakened something at the bottom Of
his cool and heavy heart that he had
never known before He scarcely
grieved for his wife. who died when the
baby was born. but gave all his thought ti L
to the child, whom he named Paul
and began at once to long for the time
when he should become old enough to
be a real member Of tho firm In which
all the fathers interest centered--Do m-.
hey & Son He hired the best nurse
5 he could find, and, when he was rot at
his office. would sit and watch the baby
Paul hour after hour, laying plans for
his future. So selfishy was his soul
~
noticed poor lonely little Florence, whose
\ warm heart was starving for affection.
{s Little Pauls knurse, was very fond of
4 him and OF, his sister, too; but she had
children of her own also, and one day,
instead iof walking up and down with,
Florence and the baby near the Dombey
house, she took the children to another
n part OF the city to visit her own home.
as This was wrong thing to do and re-
ha dyentl1fSa for
Florence. On their way home mad bull
broke away from his keepers and charged
85g through tho crowded street. There was
V 4 X great screaming and confusion and people
ran In every direction. Florence among
s the rest. She ran for a long way, and
S!3t hen she stopped her nurse was nowhere
70 be seen. Terrified to find herself lost
Il In the great city. she began to cry.
The next thing she knew, a very ugly
old woman, with red-rim1ned eyes and
ii mouth that mumbled al the while,
sS grasped her by the wrist hnd dragged
her through the shabby doorway of a
dirty t5house into back room heaped
with rags. 4E ss
want that pretty frock, z said she
u and that little bonnet and your petticoat.
Come !! Take them off!
Florence, drcadfully frightened, obeyed.
Il The old woman took her shoes. too, and
made her put on some filthy ragged
clothing from the heaps on the floor
B Then she let her no, making her promise
& that she would not ask any one to show
her the way home u
The poor child could think OF moth
Il ing else but to find her fathers office at
"Dombey & Son" and for two hours she
walk ed. asking everybody she met. She
might not have found 1t ut all. but at a
d wharf swhere. she wandered. there hap
pened to be b young clek Of sd ombey
& Son." and the minute, he was pointed
out to her she felt such trust in his
q bright and open face that she caught his
4 hand and sobbed out all her story.
This lads name was Walter Gay. He
4 lived with his uncle honest old Solomon
ellis a maker Of ships Instruments, who
kept a little shop with the wooden figure
OF a midshipman tist outsde. Very few
= customers ever saaMs into the shop, and,
indeed. hardly any one else, for "Old
Sol" as the neighbors called him. has
forly2 one intimate friend.
This friend was a retired seaman named
Captain Cutie, who always dressed In
blue. as II he were bird and those were
his feathers. He had hook instead of a
hand attached to his right wrist. and a
shirt collar SO large that 1t looked like n
* small sail, and wherever he went he car
ried In his left hand a thick stick that
was covered all over Clll1e his nose) with
knobs. Captain Cutie used to talk al
ways as II he were at sea. He would say
STEADY and Delay, there and called
t"Old Sol" "Shipmatc," as though the
little shop In which he spent his even-l
u nings was a ship. He had a deep, rum
bling voice. IN which he would sing
Lovely Peg the only song he knew, and
which he never but once got through to
the last line.
But In spite OF his queer ways and
: toll In TN,,ff1 Ia
est heart in the world. He thought old
Solomon ellis the greatest man alive, and
was as fond as possible OF 'Walr," as
he called him. And, indeed, Walter was
a handsome boy, and as good as he was
handsome
Walter soothed F1orence's tears and
took her. ragged clothes and all. straight
home to Solomon Gillss shop. where his
uncle gave her a warm supper, while
Walter ran TO the Dombey house with
the news that she was found and to
bring back n dress for her TO wear.
So Fvorences adventure turned out
very well IN one way, since through It
she first met Walter but 1t turned out
badly in another way. for Mr., Donbey
was angry that any ono should have
seen a daughter of his In such r. plight
and. nnJusuy enough. treasured this an
nv ger against Walter. Florence however
never forgot her rescGer after that day
and as for Walter. he fell quite In love
with her.
Florence loved her little brother very
dearly. but Paul. In tho constant com
partnership Of his father. grew up without
boys or play. His face was old and
w!stful. and he had an old-fashioned way
of sitting brooding In his little armchair
beside his father looking into tho fire.
He ,.sed to ask strange, wise questions.
and the only time he seemed chilalike
at all was when he vas with Florence.
lie was never strong and well like her,
but he grew tired easily. and used to
say that Ills bones achsd,
AR. Dombey al length grew anxious
about Faul's health. and sent him with
Florence TO Brighton. a town OH the sea
coast, 70 the house OF Mrs Ptpchin,
u stooped old lady with a mottled face,
Il a hooked nose and hard gray eye.
In