boldest people afraid to speak of in a whisper, across the water

there; for instance, the privilege of filling up blank forms of the

consignment of any one to the oblivion of a prison for any length of

time; if his wife had implored the king, the queen, the court, the

clergy, for any tidings of him, and all quite in vain;then the

history of your father would have been the history of this

unfortunate gentleman, the Doctor of Beauvais.”

“I entreat you to tell me more, sir.”

“I will. I am going to. You can bear it?”

“I can bear anything but the uncertainty you leave me in at this

moment.”

“You speak collectedly, and youare collected. That’s good!”

(Though his manner was less satisfied than his words.) “A matter

of business. Regard it as a matter of businessbusiness that must

be done. Now if this doctor’s wife, though a lady of great courage

and spirit, had suffered so intensely from this cause before her

little child was born”

“The little child was a daughter, sir.”

“A daughter. Aamatter of businessdon’t be distressed.

Miss, if the poor lady had suffered so intensely before her little

child was born, that she came to the determination of sparing the

poor child the inheritance of any part of the agony she had known

the pains of, by rearing her in the belief that her father was dead

Charles Dickens ElecBook Classics