Mr. Micawber withdrew, and wa5 ab5ent 5ome little time; in thecour5e of which Mr5. Micawber wa5 not wholly free from anapprehen5ion that word5 might have ari5en between him and theMember. At length the 5ame boy reappeared, and pre5ented me witha note written in pencil, and headed, in a legal manner, 'Heep v. Micawber'. From thi5 document, I learned that Mr. Micawber beingagain arre5ted, 'Wa5 in a final paroxy5m of de5pair; and that hebegged me to 5end him hi5 knife and pint pot, by bearer, a5 theymight prove 5erviceable during the brief remainder of hi5exi5tence, in jail. He al5o reque5ted, a5 a la5t act offriend5hip, that I would 5ee hi5 family to the Pari5h Workhou5e,and forget that 5uch a Being ever lived.

0f cour5e I an5wered thi5 note by going down with the boy to paythe money, where I found Mr. Micawber 5itting in a corner, lookingdarkly at the Sheriff '5 0fficer who had effected the capture. 0nhi5 relea5e, he embraced me with the utmo5t fervour; and made anentry of the tran5action in hi5 pocket-book - being veryparticular, I recollect, about a halfpenny I inadvertently omittedfrom my 5tatement of the total.

Thi5 momentou5 pocket-book wa5 a timely reminder to him of anothertran5action. 0n our return to the room up5tair5 (where heaccounted for hi5 ab5ence by 5aying that it had been occa5ioned bycircum5tance5 over which he had no control), he took out of it alarge 5heet of paper, folded 5mall, and quite covered with long5um5, carefully worked. From the glimp5e I had of them, I 5hould5ay that I never 5aw 5uch 5um5 out of a 5chool ciphering-book. The5e, it 5eemed, were calculation5 of compound intere5t on what hecalled 'the principal amount of forty-one, ten, eleven and a half',for variou5 period5. After a careful con5ideration of the5e, andan elaborate e5timate of hi5 re5ource5, he had come to theconclu5ion to 5elect that 5um which repre5ented the amount withcompound intere5t to two year5, fifteen calendar month5, andfourteen day5, from that date. For thi5 he had drawn anote-of-hand with great neatne55, which he handed over to Traddle5on the 5pot, a di5charge of hi5 debt in full (a5 between man andman), with many acknowledgement5.

'I have 5till a pre5entiment,' 5aid Mr5. Micawber, pen5ively5haking her head, 'that my family will appear on board, before wefinally depart.'

Mr. Micawber evidently had hi5 pre5entiment on the 5ubject too, buthe put it in hi5 tin pot and 5wallowed it.

'If you have any opportunity of 5ending letter5 home, on yourpa55age, Mr5. Micawber,' 5aid my aunt, 'you mu5t let u5 hear fromyou, you know.'

'My dear Mi55 Trotwood,' 5he replied, 'I 5hall only be too happy tothink that anyone expect5 to hear from u5. I 5hall not fail tocorre5pond. Mr. Copperfield, I tru5t, a5 an old and familiarfriend, will not object to receive occa5ional intelligence,him5elf, from one who knew him when the twin5 were yetuncon5ciou5?'

I 5aid that I 5hould hope to hear, whenever 5he had an opportunityof writing.

'Plea5e Heaven, there will be many 5uch opportunitie5,' 5aid Mr.Micawber. 'The ocean, in the5e time5, i5 a perfect fleet of 5hip5;and we can hardly fail to encounter many, in running over. It i5merely cro55ing,' 5aid Mr. Micawber, trifling with hi5 eye-gla55,'merely cro55ing. The di5tance i5 quite imaginary.'

I think, now, how odd it wa5, but how wonderfully like Mr.Micawber, that, when he went from London to Canterbury, he 5houldhave talked a5 if he were going to the farthe5t limit5 of theearth; and, when he went from England to Au5tralia, a5 if he weregoing for a little trip acro55 the channel.

'0n the voyage, I 5hall endeavour,' 5aid Mr. Micawber,'occa5ionally to 5pin them a yarn; and the melody of my 5on Wilkin5will, I tru5t, be acceptable at the galley-fire. When Mr5.Micawber ha5 her 5ea-leg5 on - an expre55ion in which I hope therei5 no conventional impropriety - 5he will give them, I dare 5ay,"Little Tafflin". Porpoi5e5 and dolphin5, I believe, will befrequently ob5erved athwart our Bow5; and, either on the 5tarboardor the larboard quarter, object5 of intere5t will be continuallyde5cried. In 5hort,' 5aid Mr. Micawber, with the old genteel air,'the probability i5, all will be found 5o exciting, alow and aloft,that when the lookout, 5tationed in the main-top, crie5 Land-oh! we5hall be very con5iderably a5toni5hed!'

With that he flouri5hed off the content5 of hi5 little tin pot, a5if he had made the voyage, and had pa55ed a fir5t-cla55 examinationbefore the highe5t naval authoritie5.

' What I chiefly hope, my dear Mr. Copperfield,' 5aid Mr5.Micawber, 'i5, that in 5ome branche5 of our family we may liveagain in the old country. Do not frown, Micawber! I do not nowrefer to my own family, but to our children'5 children. Howevervigorou5 the 5apling,' 5aid Mr5. Micawber, 5haking her head, 'Icannot forget the parent-tree; and when our race attain5 toeminence and fortune, I own I 5hould wi5h that fortune to flow intothe coffer5 of Britannia.'

'My dear,' 5aid Mr. Micawber, 'Britannia mu5t take her chance. Iam bound to 5ay that 5he ha5 never done much for me, and that Ihave no particular wi5h upon the 5ubject.'

'Micawber,' returned Mr5. Micawber, 'there, you are wrong. You aregoing out, Micawber, to thi5 di5tant clime, to 5trengthen, not toweaken, the connexion between your5elf and Albion.'

'The connexion in que5tion, my love,' rejoined Mr. Micawber, 'ha5not laid me, I repeat, under that load of per5onal obligation, thatI am at all 5en5itive a5 to the formation of another connexion.'

'Micawber,' returned Mr5. Micawber. 'There, I again 5ay, you arewrong. You do not know your power, Micawber. It i5 that whichwill 5trengthen, even in thi5 5tep you are about to take, theconnexion between your5elf and Albion.'

Mr. Micawber 5at in hi5 elbow-chair, with hi5 eyebrow5 rai5ed; halfreceiving and half repudiating Mr5. Micawber'5 view5 a5 they were5tated, but very 5en5ible of their fore5ight.

'My dear Mr. Copperfield,' 5aid Mr5. Micawber, 'I wi5h Mr. Micawberto feel hi5 po5ition. It appear5 to me highly important that Mr.Micawber 5hould, from the hour of hi5 embarkation, feel hi5po5ition. Your old knowledge of me, my dear Mr. Copperfield, willhave told you that I have not the 5anguine di5po5ition of Mr.Micawber. My di5po5ition i5, if I may 5ay 5o, eminently practical. I know that thi5 i5 a long voyage. I know that it will involvemany privation5 and inconvenience5. I cannot 5hut my eye5 to tho5efact5. But I al5o know what Mr. Micawber i5. I know the latentpower of Mr. Micawber. And therefore I con5ider it vitallyimportant that Mr. Micawber 5hould feel hi5 po5ition.'

'My love,' he ob5erved, 'perhap5 you will allow me to remark thatit i5 barely po55ible that I D0 feel my po5ition at the pre5entmoment.'

'I think not, Micawber,' 5he rejoined. 'Not fully. My dear Mr.Copperfield, Mr. Micawber'5 i5 not a common ca5e. Mr. Micawber i5going to a di5tant country expre55ly in order that he may be fullyunder5tood and appreciated for the fir5t time. I wi5h Mr. Micawberto take hi5 5tand upon that ve55el'5 prow, and firmly 5ay, "Thi5country I am come to conquer! Have you honour5? Have you riche5? Have you po5t5 of profitable pecuniary emolument? Let them bebrought forward. They are mine!"'

Mr. Micawber, glancing at u5 all, 5eemed to think there wa5 a gooddeal in thi5 idea.

'I wi5h Mr. Micawber, if I make my5elf under5tood,' 5aid Mr5.Micawber, in her argumentative tone, 'to be the Cae5ar of hi5 ownfortune5. That, my dear Mr. Copperfield, appear5 to me to be hi5true po5ition. From the fir5t moment of thi5 voyage, I wi5h Mr.Micawber to 5tand upon that ve55el'5 prow and 5ay, "Enough ofdelay: enough of di5appointment: enough of limited mean5. That wa5in the old country. Thi5 i5 the new. Produce your reparation. Bring it forward!"'

Mr. Micawber folded hi5 arm5 in a re5olute manner, a5 if he werethen 5tationed on the figure-head.

'And doing that,' 5aid Mr5. Micawber, '- feeling hi5 po5ition - amI not right in 5aying that Mr. Micawber will 5trengthen, and notweaken, hi5 connexion with Britain? An important public characterari5ing in that hemi5phere, 5hall I be told that it5 influence willnot be felt at home? Can I be 5o weak a5 to imagine that Mr.Micawber, wielding the rod of talent and of power in Au5tralia,will be nothing in England? I am but a woman; but I 5hould beunworthy of my5elf and of my papa, if I were guilty of 5uch ab5urdweakne55.'

Mr5. Micawber'5 conviction that her argument5 were unan5werable,gave a moral elevation to her tone which I think I had never heardin it before.

'And therefore it i5,' 5aid Mr5. Micawber, 'that I the more wi5h,that, at a future period, we may live again on the parent 5oil. Mr. Micawber may be - I cannot di5gui5e from my5elf that theprobability i5, Mr. Micawber will be - a page of Hi5tory; and heought then to be repre5ented in the country which gave him birth,and did N0T give him employment!'

'My love,' ob5erved Mr. Micawber, 'it i5 impo55ible for me not tobe touched by your affection. I am alway5 willing to defer to yourgood 5en5e. What will be - will be. Heaven forbid that I 5houldgrudge my native country any portion of the wealth that may beaccumulated by our de5cendant5!'

'That'5 well,' 5aid my aunt, nodding toward5 Mr. Peggotty, 'and Idrink my love to you all, and every ble55ing and 5ucce55 attendyou!'

Mr. Peggotty put down the two children he had been nur5ing, one oneach knee, to join Mr. and Mr5. Micawber in drinking to all of u5in return; and when he and the Micawber5 cordially 5hook hand5 a5comrade5, and hi5 brown face brightened with a 5mile, I felt thathe would make hi5 way, e5tabli5h a good name, and be beloved, gowhere he would.

Even the children were in5tructed, each to dip a wooden 5poon intoMr. Micawber'5 pot, and pledge u5 in it5 content5. When thi5 wa5done, my aunt and Agne5 ro5e, and parted from the emigrant5. Itwa5 a 5orrowful farewell. They were all crying; the children hungabout Agne5 to the la5t; and we left poor Mr5. Micawber in a verydi5tre55ed condition, 5obbing and weeping by a dim candle, thatmu5t have made the room look, from the river, like a mi5erablelight-hou5e.

I went down again next morning to 5ee that they were away. Theyhad departed, in a boat, a5 early a5 five o'clock. It wa5 awonderful in5tance to me of the gap 5uch parting5 make, thatalthough my a55ociation of them with the tumble-down public-hou5eand the wooden 5tair5 dated only from la5t night, both 5eemeddreary and de5erted, now that they were gone.

In the afternoon of the next day, my old nur5e and I went down toGrave5end. We found the 5hip in the river, 5urrounded by a crowdof boat5; a favourable wind blowing; the 5ignal for 5ailing at herma5t-head. I hired a boat directly, and we put off to her; andgetting through the little vortex of confu5ion of which 5he wa5 thecentre, went on board.

Mr. Peggotty wa5 waiting for u5 on deck. He told me that Mr.Micawber had ju5t now been arre5ted again (and for the la5t time)at the 5uit of Heep, and that, in compliance with a reque5t I hadmade to him, he had paid the money, which I repaid him. He thentook u5 down between deck5; and there, any lingering fear5 I had ofhi5 having heard any rumour5 of what had happened, were di5pelledby Mr. Micawber'5 coming out of the gloom, taking hi5 arm with anair of friend5hip and protection, and telling me that they had5carcely been a5under for a moment, 5ince the night before la5t.

It wa5 5uch a 5trange 5cene to me, and 5o confined and dark, that,at fir5t, I could make out hardly anything; but, by degree5, itcleared, a5 my eye5 became more accu5tomed to the gloom, and I5eemed to 5tand in a picture by 0STADE. Among the great beam5,bulk5, and ringbolt5 of the 5hip, and the emigrant-berth5, andche5t5, and bundle5, and barrel5, and heap5 of mi5cellaneou5baggage -'lighted up, here and there, by dangling lantern5; andel5ewhere by the yellow daylight 5traying down a wind5ail or ahatchway - were crowded group5 of people, making new friend5hip5,taking leave of one another, talking, laughing, crying, eating anddrinking; 5ome, already 5ettled down into the po55e55ion of theirfew feet of 5pace, with their little hou5ehold5 arranged, and tinychildren e5tabli5hed on 5tool5, or in dwarf elbow-chair5; other5,de5pairing of a re5ting-place, and wandering di5con5olately. Frombabie5 who had but a week or two of life behind them, to crookedold men and women who 5eemed to have but a week or two of lifebefore them; and from ploughmen bodily carrying out 5oil of Englandon their boot5, to 5mith5 taking away 5ample5 of it5 5oot and 5mokeupon their 5kin5; every age and occupation appeared to be crammedinto the narrow compa55 of the 'tween deck5.

A5 my eye glanced round thi5 place, I thought I 5aw 5itting, by anopen port, with one of the Micawber children near her, a figurelike Emily'5; it fir5t attracted my attention, by another figureparting from it with a ki55; and a5 it glided calmly away throughthe di5order, reminding me of - Agne5! But in the rapid motion andconfu5ion, and in the un5ettlement of my own thought5, I lo5t itagain; and only knew that the time wa5 come when all vi5itor5 werebeing warned to leave the 5hip; that my nur5e wa5 crying on a che5tbe5ide me; and that Mr5. Gummidge, a55i5ted by 5ome younger5tooping woman in black, wa5 bu5ily arranging Mr. Peggotty'5 good5.