 good-natured face, simple manner, and hair on end, he
dismissed it as he replied, with a jerk of his whole body, but especially his
throat:
    »I am sorry for that, Mr. Traddles. You would have admired him as much as we
all do. His little failings would only have endeared him to you the more. But if
you would like to hear my fellow-partner eloquently spoken of, I should refer
you to Copperfield. The family is a subject he's very strong upon, if you never
heard him.«
    I was prevented from disclaiming the compliment (if I should have done so,
in any case), by the entrance of Agnes, now ushered in by Mr. Micawber. She was
not quite so self-possessed as usual, I thought; and had evidently undergone
anxiety and fatigue. But her earnest cordiality, and her quiet beauty, shone
with the gentler lustre for it.
    I saw Uriah watch her while she greeted us; and he reminded me of an ugly
and rebellious genie watching a good spirit. In the meanwhile, some slight sign
passed between Mr. Micawber and Traddles; and Traddles, unobserved except by me,
went out.
    »Don't wait, Micawber,« said Uriah.
    Mr. Micawber, with his hand upon the ruler in his breast, stood erect before
the door, most unmistakably contemplating one of his fellow-men, and that man
his employer.
    »What are you waiting for?« said Uriah. »Micawber! did you hear me tell you
not to wait?«
    »Yes!« replied the immovable Mr. Micawber.
    »Then why do you wait?« said Uriah.
    »Because I - in short choose,« replied Mr. Micawber, with a burst.
    Uriah's cheeks lost colour, and an unwholesome paleness, still faintly
tinged by his pervading red, overspread them. He looked at Mr. Micawber
attentively, with his whole face breathing short and quick in every feature.
    »You are a dissipated fellow, as all the world knows,« he said, with an
effort at a smile, »and I am afraid you'll oblige me to get rid of you. Go
along! I'll talk to you presently.«
    »If there is a scoundrel on this earth,« said Mr. Micawber, suddenly
breaking out again with the utmost vehemence, »with whom I have already talked
too much, that scoundrel's name is - HEEP!«
    Uriah fell back, as if he had been struck or stung
