WithBarnaclejunior，hesignifiedhisdesiretoconfer；andfoundthatyounggentlemansingeingthecalvesofhislegsattheparentalfire，andsupportinghisspineagainstthemantel-shelf。
　　Itwasacomfortableroom，handsomelyfurnishedinthehigherofficialmanner；anpresentingstatelysuggestionsoftheabsentBarnacle，inthethickcarpet，theleather-covereddesktositat，theleather-covereddesktostandat，theformidableeasy-chairandhearth-rug，theinterposedscreen，thetorn-uppapers，thedispatch-boxeswithlittlelabelsstickingoutofthem，likemedicinebottlesordeadgame，thepervadingsmellofleatherandmahogany，andageneralbamboozlingairofHownottodoit。
　　ThepresentBarnacle，holdingMrClennam’scardinhishand，hadayouthfulaspect，andthefluffiestlittlewhisker，perhaps，thateverwasseen。Suchadownytipwasonhiscallowchin，thatheseemedhalffledgedlikeayoungbird；andacompassionateobservermighthaveurgedthat，ifhehadnotsingedthecalvesofhislegs，hewouldhavediedofcold。Hehadasuperioreye-glassdanglingroundhisneck，butunfortunatelyhadsuchflatorbitstohiseyesandsuchlimplittleeyelidsthatitwouldn’tstickinwhenheputitup，butkepttumblingoutagainsthiswaistcoatbuttonswithaclickthatdiscomposedhimverymuch。
　　’Oh，Isay。Lookhere!Myfather’snotintheway，andwon’tbeinthewayto-day，’saidBarnacleJunior。’IsthisanythingthatIcando？’
　　Click!Eye-glassdown。BarnacleJuniorquitefrightenedandfeelingallroundhimself，butnotabletofindit。
　　’Youareverygood，’saidArthurClennam。’IwishhowevertoseeMrBarnacle。’
　　’ButIsay。Lookhere!Youhaven’tgotanyappointment，youknow，’saidBarnacleJunior。
　　Bythistimehehadfoundtheeye-glass，andputitupagain。
　　’No，’saidArthurClennam。’ThatiswhatIwishtohave。’
　　’ButIsay。Lookhere!Isthispublicbusiness？’askedBarnaclejunior。
　　Click!Eye-glassdownagain。BarnacleJuniorinthatstateofsearchafteritthatMrClennamfeltituselesstoreplyatpresent。
　　’Isit，’saidBarnaclejunior，takingheedofhisvisitor’sbrownface，’anythingabout——Tonnage——orthatsortofthing？’
　　Pausingforareply，heopenedhisrighteyewithhishand，andstuckhisglassinit，inthatinflammatorymannerthathiseyebeganwateringdreadfully。
　　’No，’saidArthur，’itisnothingabouttonnage。’
　　’Thenlookhere。Isitprivatebusiness？’
　　’Ireallyamnotsure。ItrelatestoaMrDorrit。’
　　’Lookhere，Itellyouwhat!Youhadbettercallatourhouse，ifyouaregoingthatway。Twenty-four，MewsStreet，GrosvenorSquare。Myfather’sgotaslighttouchofthegout，andiskeptathomebyit。’
　　ThemisguidedyoungBarnacleevidentlygoingblindonhiseye-
　　glassside，butashamedtomakeanyfurtheralterationinhispainfularrangements。
　　’Thankyou。Iwillcalltherenow。Goodmorning。’YoungBarnacleseemeddiscomfitedatthis，asnothavingatallexpectedhimtogo。
　　’Youarequitesure，’saidBarnaclejunior，callingafterhimwhenhegottothedoor，unwillingwhollytorelinquishthebrightbusinessideahehadconceived；’thatit’snothingaboutTonnage？’
　　’Quitesure。’
　　Withsuchassurance，andratherwonderingwhatmighthavetakenplaceifitHADbeenanythingabouttonnage，MrClennamwithdrewtopursuehisinquiries。
　　MewsStreet，GrosvenorSquare，wasnotabsolutelyGrosvenorSquareitself，butitwasverynearit。Itwasahideouslittlestreetofdeadwall，stables，anddunghills，withloftsovercoach-housesinhabitedbycoachmen’sfamilies，whohadapassionfordryingclothesanddecoratingtheirwindow-sillswithminiatureturnpike-
　　gates。Theprincipalchimney-sweepofthatfashionablequarterlivedattheblindendofMewsStreet；andthesamecornercontainedanestablishmentmuchfrequentedaboutearlymorningandtwilightforthepurchaseofwine-bottlesandkitchen-stuff。
　　Punch’sshowsusedtoleanagainstthedeadwallinMewsStreet，whiletheirproprietorswerediningelsewhere；andthedogsoftheneighbourhoodmadeappointmentstomeetinthesamelocality。YetthereweretwoorthreesmallairlesshousesattheentranceendofMewsStreet，whichwentatenormousrentsonaccountoftheirbeingabjecthangers-ontoafashionablesituation；andwheneveroneofthesefearfullittlecoopswastobeletwhichseldomhappened，fortheywereingreatrequest，thehouseagentadvertiseditasagentlemanlyresidenceinthemostaristocraticpartoftown，inhabitedsolelybytheeliteofthebeaumonde。
　　IfagentlemanlyresidencecomingstrictlywithinthisnarrowmarginhadnotbeenessentialtothebloodoftheBarnacles，thisparticularbranchwouldhavehadaprettywideselectionamong，letussay，tenthousandhouses，offeringfiftytimestheaccommodationforathirdofthemoney。Asitwas，MrBarnacle，findinghisgentlemanlyresidenceextremelyinconvenientandextremelydear，alwayslaidit，asapublicservant，atthedoorofthecountry，andadduceditasanotherinstanceofthecountry’sparsimony。
　　ArthurClennamcametoasqueezedhouse，witharamshacklebowedfront，littledingywindows，andalittledarkarealikeadampwaistcoat-pocket，whichhefoundtobenumbertwenty-four，MewsStreet，GrosvenorSquare。TothesenseofsmellthehousewaslikeasortofbottlefilledwithastrongdistillationofMews；andwhenthefootmanopenedthedoor，heseemedtotakethestopperout。
　　ThefootmanwastotheGrosvenorSquarefootmen，whatthehousewastotheGrosvenorSquarehouses。Admirableinhisway，hiswaywasabackandabyeway。Hisgorgeousnesswasnotunmixedwithdirt；
　　andbothincomplexionandconsistencyhehadsufferedfromtheclosenessofhispantry。Asallowflabbinesswasuponhimwhenhetookthestopperout，andpresentedthebottletoMrClennam’snose。
　　’BesogoodastogivethatcardtoMrTiteBarnacle，andtosaythatIhavejustnowseentheyoungerMrBarnacle，whorecommendedmetocallhere。’
　　ThefootmanwhohadasmanylargebuttonswiththeBarnaclecrestuponthemontheflapsofhispockets，asifhewerethefamilystrongbox，andcarriedtheplateandjewelsaboutwithhimbuttonedupponderedoverthecardalittle；thensaid，’Walkin。’
　　Itrequiredsomejudgmenttodoitwithoutbuttingtheinnerhall-
　　dooropen，andintheconsequentmentalconfusionandphysicaldarknessslippingdownthekitchenstairs。Thevisitor，however，broughthimselfupsafelyonthedoor-mat。
　　Stillthefootmansaid’Walkin，’sothevisitorfollowedhim。Attheinnerhall-door，anotherbottleseemedtobepresentedandanotherstoppertakenout。ThissecondvialappearedtobefilledwithconcentratedprovisionsandextractofSinkfromthepantry。
　　Afteraskirmishinthenarrowpassage，occasionedbythefootman’sopeningthedoorofthedismaldining-roomwithconfidence，findingsomeonetherewithconsternation，andbackingonthevisitorwithdisorder，thevisitorwasshutup，pendinghisannouncement，inaclosebackparlour。Therehehadanopportunityofrefreshinghimselfwithboththebottlesatonce，lookingoutatalowblindingwallthreefeetoff，andspeculatingonthenumberofBarnaclefamilieswithinthebillsofmortalitywholivedinsuchhutchesoftheirownfreeflunkeychoice。
　　MrBarnaclewouldseehim。Wouldhewalkup-stairs？Hewould，andhedid；andinthedrawing-room，withhislegonarest，hefoundMrBarnaclehimself，theexpressimageandpresentmentofHownottodoit。
　　MrBarnacledatedfromabettertime，whenthecountrywasnotsoparsimoniousandtheCircumlocutionOfficewasnotsobadgered。Hewoundandwoundfoldsofwhitecravatroundhisneck，ashewoundandwoundfoldsoftapeandpaperroundtheneckofthecountry。
　　Hiswristbandsandcollarwereoppressive；hisvoiceandmannerwereoppressive。Hehadalargewatch-chainandbunchofseals，acoatbuttoneduptoinconvenience，awaistcoatbuttoneduptoinconvenience，anunwrinkledpairoftrousers，astiffpairofboots。Hewasaltogethersplendid，massive，overpowering，andimpracticable。HeseemedtohavebeensittingforhisportraittoSirThomasLawrenceallthedaysofhislife。
　　’MrClennam？’saidMrBarnacle。’Beseated。’
　　MrClennambecameseated。
　　’Youhavecalledonme，Ibelieve，’saidMrBarnacle，’attheCircumlocution——’givingittheairofawordofaboutfive-and-
　　twentysyllables——’Office。’
　　’Ihavetakenthatliberty。’
　　MrBarnaclesolemnlybenthisheadaswhoshouldsay，’Idonotdenythatitisaliberty；proceedtotakeanotherliberty，andletmeknowyourbusiness。’
　　’AllowmetoobservethatIhavebeenforsomeyearsinChina，amquiteastrangerathome，andhavenopersonalmotiveorinterestintheinquiryIamabouttomake。’
　　MrBarnacletappedhisfingersonthetable，and，asifhewerenowsittingforhisportraittoanewandstrangeartist，appearedtosaytohisvisitor，’Ifyouwillbegoodenoughtotakemewithmypresentloftyexpression，Ishallfeelobliged。’
　　’IhavefoundadebtorintheMarshalseaPrisonofthenameofDorrit，whohasbeentheremanyyears。Iwishtoinvestigatehisconfusedaffairssofarastoascertainwhetheritmaynotbepossible，afterthislapseoftime，toamelioratehisunhappycondition。ThenameofMrTiteBarnaclehasbeenmentionedtomeasrepresentingsomehighlyinfluentialinterestamonghiscreditors。AmIcorrectlyinformed？’
　　ItbeingoneoftheprinciplesoftheCircumlocutionOfficenever，onanyaccountwhatever，togiveastraightforwardanswer，MrBarnaclesaid，’Possibly。’
　　’OnbehalfoftheCrown，mayIask，orasprivateindividual？’
　　’TheCircumlocutionDepartment，sir，’MrBarnaclereplied，’mayhavepossiblyrecommended——possibly——Icannotsay——thatsomepublicclaimagainsttheinsolventestateofafirmorcopartnershiptowhichthispersonmayhavebelonged，shouldbeenforced。Thequestionmayhavebeen，inthecourseofofficialbusiness，referredtotheCircumlocutionDepartmentforitsconsideration。
　　TheDepartmentmayhaveeitheroriginated，orconfirmed，aMinutemakingthatrecommendation。’
　　’Iassumethistobethecase，then。’
　　’TheCircumlocutionDepartment，’saidMrBarnacle，’isnotresponsibleforanygentleman’sassumptions。’
　　’MayIinquirehowIcanobtainofficialinformationastotherealstateofthecase？’
　　’Itiscompetent，’saidMrBarnacle，’toanymemberofthe——
　　Public，’mentioningthatobscurebodywithreluctance，ashisnaturalenemy，’tomemorialisetheCircumlocutionDepartment。Suchformalitiesasarerequiredtobeobservedinsodoing，maybeknownonapplicationtotheproperbranchofthatDepartment。’
　　’Whichistheproperbranch？’
　　’Imustreferyou，’returnedMrBarnacle，ringingthebell，’totheDepartmentitselfforaformalanswertothatinquiry。’
　　’Excusemymentioning——’