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The Centenary edition of the works of Charles Dickens
The Centenary edition of the works of Charles Dickens Author:Charles Dickens Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: AN INVITATION TO OAK LODGE. 31 "Is that all?" thought the disappointed Teresa. "What a fuss about nothiug!" "It will give me the greatest pleasure, sir, to... more » see you to dinner at Oak Lodge, Camber well, on Sunday next at five o'clock, if you have no better engagement,'" said Mr. Malderton, at the conclusion of the evening, as he and his sons were standing in conversation with Mr. Horatio Sparking. Horatio bowed his acknowledgments, and accepted the flattering invitation. "I must confess,1" continued the father, offering his snuffbox to his new acquaintance, " that I don't enjoy these assemblies half so much as the comfort—I had almost said the luxury—of Oak Lodge. They have no great charms for an elderly man." " And after all, sir, what is man ?" said the metaphysical Sparkins. " I say, what is man ? " " Ah! very true," said Mr. Malderton; " very true." " We know that we live and breathe," continued Horatio; " that we have wants and wishes, desires and appetites " "Certainly," said Mr. Frederick Malderton, looking profound. "I say, we know that we exist," repeated Horatio, raising his voice, " but there we stop; there, is an end to our knowledge ; there, is the summit of our attainments; there, is the termination of our ends. What more do we know ?" " Nothing," replied Mr. Frederick—than whom no one was more capable of answering for himself in that particular. Tom was about to hazard something, but, fortunately for his reputation, he caught his father's angry eye, and slunk off like a puppy convicted of petty larceny. "Upon my word," said Mr. Malderton the elder, as they were returning home in the fly, "that Mr. Sparkins is a wonderful young man. Such surprising knowledge! such extraordinary information! and such a splendid mode of expressing himself...« less