and that he entertains a becoming reverence for those upon
earth to whom high and important authority is delegated - hastens to pay them
that respect which their position demands, and to treat them with all that
duteous ceremony which their exalted rank, and (by consequence) great virtues,
imperatively claim at his hands. Towards this end, indeed, he had purposed to
introduce, in this place, a dissertation touching the divine right of beadles,
and elucidative of the position, that a beadle can do no wrong: which could not
fail to have been both pleasurable and profitable to the right-minded reader,
but which he is unfortunately compelled, by want of time and space, to postpone
to some more convenient and fitting opportunity; on the arrival of which, he
will be prepared to show, that a beadle properly constituted: that is to say, a
parochial beadle, attached to a parochial workhouse, and attending in his
official capacity the parochial church: is, in right and virtue of his office,
possessed of all the excellences and best qualities of humanity; and that to
none of those excellences, can mere companies' beadles, or court-of-law beadles,
or even chapel-of-ease beadles (save the last, and they in a very lowly and
inferior degree), lay the remotest sustainable claim.
    Mr. Bumble had re-counted the tea-spoons, re-weighed the sugar-tongs, made a
closer inspection of the milk-pot, and ascertained to a nicety the exact
condition of the furniture, down to the very horse-hair seats of the chairs; and
had repeated each process full half-a-dozen times; before he began to think that
it was time for Mrs. Corney to return. Thinking begets thinking; as there were
no sounds of Mrs. Corney's approach, it occurred to Mr. Bumble that it would be
an innocent and virtuous way of spending the time, if he were further to allay
his curiosity by a cursory glance at the interior of Mrs. Corney's chest of
drawers.
    Having listened at the keyhole, to assure himself that nobody was
approaching the chamber, Mr. Bumble, beginning at the bottom, proceeded to make
himself acquainted with the contents of the three long drawers: which, being
filled with various garments of good fashion and texture, carefully preserved
between two layers of old newspapers, speckled with dried lavender: seemed to
yield him exceeding satisfaction. Arriving, in course of time, at the right-hand
corner drawer (in which was the key), and beholding therein