Little Dorrit Vol.1 f.020 recto

11
Chapter II.

Baby Practical People Quarantine Quarantine Fellow Travellers.

“[???] No more of [???] yesterday’s howling, over yonder, to-day, is? there [?? ??????] Sir; is there?”

“[No. No ???? The ????? is? quiet? ???? ????] I have heard none.”

“Then you may be sure there is none. When these [fellows? howl?] people howl Sir, they howl to
be heard.” But a lot of howling people [???]

“Most people do, I [??????? ????? [????????] suppose ?????????????] suppose [?[???]?[???]?].”

“Ah! but these people are always howling. Never happy otherwise.”

“Do you mean the Marseilles people?”

“No [???] I mean the whole French people. As to Marseilles They’re always at it. As to Marseilles,
there's no doubt about that [???????????????] we know what Marseilles is. It [????????????????] sent the
most insurrectionary tune into the world, that was ever composed. It couldn’t exist without [? ?? ??? ??? ???] It couldn’t exist without
allonging and marshonging to [??????????????????]
[??] something or other—victory or death, or blazes or something.”

The speaker with [??? ????] a whimsical good [?????????] humour upon him all the time, looked over the parapet-wall with the greatest [??????????????????] disparagement of
Marseilles; and taking up a [???????] [?????? hands in his pockets ????????????] [his hands in his pocket ???????????????????] [???][???] determined [???] position
[???] by putting his hands in his pockets and [???] rattling his money at it, apostrophised it with a short laugh of
[???] disdain.

“Allonging and marshonging indeed! [???]

It would be [???] more [???] creditable to you, I think, to let [?????] other people allong and marshong about their lawful business, instead of [???] shutting
'em up in quarantine!”

“Tiresome enough,” said the other. “But we shall be out to-day.”

“Out to-day [???]!” repeated the first. “It’s almost an aggravation of the enormity,
[???????????] [???????] that we shall be out to-day. Out! What have we ever been in for?”

“For no very good [???????????] strong reason, I must [????????] say. [??????] But, as we [???] come from the
East, and as the East is the [?????] country of the plague—”

“The plague Sir!” repeated the other. “That’s [???] my grievance. I [???] have
had the plague [??????????] [???????] continually, ever since I have been here. I am like a sane [???] man [???? ??????]
shut up in a madhouse; I can’t bear stand the suspicion of it the thing. I came here as well as ever I was in my
life, but to suspect me of the plague is to give me the plague. And I have had it [???? ??? ??? of f????s] —and [???] I have got it [???].”

“You bear it very well Mr Meagles ” said [???????????????] the second speaker, [???] smiling.

“Now No. If [????] a bit of it [?????????] If you knew the real state of the case, that’s the last observation
you would think of making. I have been waking up night after night, and saying, now I have got it,
now [?? ???] it has developed itself, now I am all [??? ????] in for it, now [?????] these fellows
are making out their case [?at last? ?????????????] for [?thse?] their [?confounded?] precautions. Why, [?????????????????] [? ????] I’d as soon
[???????????????????????] have a spit put ?????? through me [???], and be stuck upon a card [???????????] in a collection of
beetles [??????????????], as lead the life I have been leading here.”

“Well, Mr Meagles, say no more about it [???] now it’s over,” [???] [???] urged a [?cheery?] ???? cheerful [?female?] feminine voice.

“Over!” repeated Mr Meagles, who [????] appeared (though without any ill-nature) to be in a that peculiarly [??????????????????] state of mind in which
the last word [said?] spoken by anybody else is a new injury. “Over! and why should I say no more
about it because it’s over!”