'Well,' said the old gentleman, 'I suppose he's fond ofchimney-sweeping?'. Oliver Twist originated as a serial novel, but it has since been adapted into many other forms. Let it not be supposed by the enemies of 'the system,' that,during the period of his solitary incarceration, Oliver wasdenied the benefit of exercise, the pleasure of society, or theadvantages of religious consolation. 'Pull that cap off your eyes, and hold up your head, sir.'. --My heart alive! Come! But his heart was heavy, notwithstanding; and he wished, as hecrept into his narrow bed, that that were his coffin, and that hecould be lain in a calm and lasting sleep in the churchyardground, with the tall grass waving gently above his head, and thesound of the old deep bell to soothe him in his sleep. 'Oho!' Mr. Bumble was stupefied with astonishment. Theseonly chanced to be heard, indeed, or account of their being veryfrequently repeated with great emphasis. It isdifficult for a large-headed, small-eyed youth, of lumbering makeand heavy countenance, to look dignified under any circumstances;but it is more especially so, when superadded to these personalattractions are a red nose and yellow smalls. All this was very pleasant and improvingto see; and Oliver beheld it with great admiration. 'It's gin. Now,if, during this brief period, Oliver had been surrounded bycareful grandmothers, anxious aunts, experienced nurses, anddoctors of profound wisdom, he would most inevitably andindubitably have been killed in no time. At length, after a lapse of something more than an hour, Mr.Bumble, and Sowerberry, and the clerk, were seen running towardsthe grave. Never mind; send some bread--only a loaf of bread and acup of water. said the gentleman in the whitewaistcoat. There was a general start. Thegrave-digger shovelled in the earth; stamped it loosely down withhis feet: shouldered his spade; and walked off, followed by theboys, who murmured very loud complaints at the fun being over sosoon. 'I think I know what it must be to die of that! 'The jury brought it in,"Died from exposure to the cold, and want of the commonnecessaries of life," didn't they? OLIVER, BEING GOADED BY THE TAUNTS OF NOAH, ROUSES INTO ACTION,AND RATHER ASTONISHES HIM. ', 'Why, he _is_ rather small,' replied Mr. Bumble: looking at Oliveras if it were his fault that he was no bigger; 'he is small.There's no denying it. The old gentleman with the spectacles gradually dozed off, overthe little bit of parchment; and there was a short pause, afterOliver had been stationed by Mr. Bumble in front of the desk. Oliver's gone mad!Char--lotte!'. Don'tsay anything more to me about her; you'd better not!'. A minute ago, the boy had looked the quiet child, mild, dejectedcreature that harsh treatment had made him. In great families, when an advantageous place cannot be obtained,either in possession, reversion, remainder, or expectancy, forthe young man who is growing up, it is a very general custom tosend him to sea. Oliver, having taken down the shutters, and broken a pane ofglass in his effort to stagger away beneath the weight of thefirst one to a small court at the side of the house in which theywere kept during the day, was graciously assisted by Noah: whohaving consoled him with the assurance that 'he'd catch it,'condescended to help him. The surgeon had been sitting with his face turned towards thefire: giving the palms of his hands a warm and a rubalternately. With the slice of bread in his hand, and the littlebrown-cloth parish cap on his head, Oliver was then led away byMr. He had displayed the one, and vindicated the other.He relaxed. The undertaker, who had just putup the shutters of his shop, wasmaking some entries in his day-book by the light of a mostappropriate dismal candle, when Mr. Bumble entered. Omitt ed secti ons from the Proud, too, I'm afraid, sir. It was the critical moment of Oliver's fate. The success of Mr.Sowerberry's ingenious speculation, exceeded even his mostsanguine hopes. 'Oh! The atmosphere seemed tainted withthe smell of coffins. Mr.Gamfield having lingered behind, to give the donkey another blowon the head, and another wrench of the jaw, as a caution not torun away in his absence, followed the gentleman with the whitewaistcoat into the room where Oliver had first seen him. There the boy remained, with a palpitating heart, for half anhour. 'D'ye hear, Work'us?' So, they put the bier on the brink of the grave; andthe two mourners waited patiently in the damp clay, with a coldrain drizzling down, while the ragged boys whom the spectacle hadattracted into the churchyard played a noisy game athide-and-seek among the tombstones, or varied their amusements byjumping backwards and forwards over the coffin. Intent upon this innocent amusement, Noah put his feet on thetable-cloth; and pulled Oliver's hair; and twitched his ears; andexpressed his opinion that he was a 'sneak'; and furthermoreannounced his intention of coming to see him hanged, wheneverthat desirable event should take place; and entered upon varioustopics of petty annoyance, like a malicious and ill-conditionedcharity-boy as he was. 'Theold story,' he said, shaking his head: 'no wedding-ring, I see.Ah! Be this asit may, however, it was his ninth birthday; and he was keeping itin the coal-cellar with a select party of two other younggentleman, who, after participating with him in a soundthrashing, had been locked up for atrociously presuming to behungry, when Mrs. Mann, the good lady of the house, wasunexpectedly startled by the apparition of Mr. Bumble, thebeadle, striving to undo the wicket of the garden-gate. As Mr.Bumble spoke, he raised his cane to the bill above him, and gavethree distinct raps upon the words 'five pounds': which wereprinted thereon in Roman capitals of gigantic size. But, as it chanced to beimmediately under his nose, it followed, as a matter of course,that he looked all over his desk for it, without finding it; andhappening in the course of his search to look straight beforehim, his gaze encountered the pale and terrified face of OliverTwist: who, despite all the admonitory looks and pinches ofBumble, was regarding the repulsive countenance of his futuremaster, with a mingled expression of horror and fear, toopalpable to be mistaken, even by a half-blind magistrate.