Newman Noggs

“ Nodel, the lion, represents the regal element of Germany; Isengrin, the wolf, represents the baronial element; and Reynard, the fox, the Church element (1498) .
Noel (Eusebe) , schoolmaster of Bout du Monde. “His clothes are old and worn, [104] and his manner vacant.”—E. Stirling, The Gold Mine, or Miller of Grenoble, act i. sc. 2 (1854) .
Noggs (Newman) , Ralph Nickleby’s clerk. A tall man of middle age, with two goggle eyes (one of which was fixed) , a rubicund nose, a cadavarous face, and a suit of clothes decidedly the worse for wear. ”

“ For an hour the Baroness Pulvermacher growled hoarsely of the glories of the house of Meiningen-Schwerin, and of the grovelling respect due to her distinguished pupil from the rest of the world. For another hour she growled with undiminished hoarseness of etiquette. For an hour she growled of the arts of reading and writing, in which branches of polite learning Princess Wilhelmina was about as far advanced as a bricklayer's daughter at the age of seven. The Lady Noggs, in spite of the reproaches of the baroness, yawned and yawned. She was bored to extinction. ”

“ She met no one but Mr. Borrodaile. At the sight of her excessive innocence his eyes grew alert; then he saw the hat in her hand, and a look of understanding filled his face. The innocence and the hat in conjunction meant truancy. He opened his mouth to turn her from her purpose by a timely rebuke, then shut it quickly. The prospect of a pleasant hour or two in the woods with Miss Caldecott, hunting for her vanished charge, opened before his mental vision. He passed the Lady Noggs without a word. ”

“ A marriage with a penniless girl like herself meant the ruin of a career which promised to be so brilliant.
She had been under the impression that she regarded him merely as the pleasantest and most entertaining of her friends. The thrill came as a most unpleasant warning that her deeper feelings might be very much more concerned in the matter than she supposed. At once she resolved not to return to Stonorill for at least a fortnight; and she began also to consider the resignation of her post of governess to the Lady Noggs. ”

“ His action gave the countess time; she got her breath, and looked sorrowfully at the Lady Noggs: she said, "Oh, what a cruel child, to give me such a fright!"
"What fright?" said the Lady Noggs, puzzled.
"It's really monstrous that you should play such a trick, Felicia!" cried the Prime Minister angrily.
"Stealing jewels, even for a joke, is a bit thick," said a young admirer of the countess.
"Stealing!" cried the Lady Noggs hotly. "I didn't steal them! They weren't stolen at all! She hid them herself in the White Pool, at the bottom of the garden. ”

“ In a somewhat halting and uneasy fashion the Prime Minister said, "I have an invitation for you, Felicia. The Princess of Meiningen-Schwerin has written to ask you to go to live with her little daughter at Catford Palace."
"Me!" cried the Lady Noggs with the liveliest disgust. "Me go and live with a princess! I won't do anything so horrid! I'm sure she's a stuffy old thing!" ”

“ I could get it out if I had the instruments; but I haven't, and I know of none nearer than London. There every hospital has them."
"Then he must go to London!" cried the Lady Noggs.
"It can't be done. I've just worked it out. The pin must be extracted inside of four hours to save him. If we could have caught the Northern Star at Micklefield we could have got him to a hospital in plenty of time. But it's due at Micklefield in twenty minutes; and it's fifteen miles away. No: there's no hope for the poor little soul." ”

“ The Lady Noggs was no longer bored; she played for a long time with her treasure-trove, decking herself with the ornaments and wishing that she had a mirror to see the effect. So long did she play that the countess, after forcing open her empty jewel-case with a screw-driver, and locking her bedroom door, was coming down to dinner with the other guests, when she reached the castle. She went up to her room by a back staircase, hoping to reach it unobserved, but Miss Caldecott was expecting her, caught her, scolded her severely, and sent her to bed at once without any supper. ”

“ The Lady Noggs looked at the baroness with utter contempt, and murmured under her breath: "Sneak!"
"You were rude?" said Mr. Borrodaile.
"I only said I was glad to come away, because they were dishonourable people, and eat like pigs. And they are—they read a letter of mine to you, uncle; and then she tore it up. And they do eat like pigs," said the Lady Noggs firmly.
"Dear, dear! This is very tiresome!" said the Prime Minister. "How many times am I to tell you, Felicia, not to call your elders—But there, it is useless talking to you. ”

“ She swept down the room, and was making an excellent exit, when she spoiled everything by turning on the Lady Noggs as she passed and crying, "Oh, you wicked and abominable child!"
The Lady Noggs had at last grasped in all its fulness the nefarious attempt of the countess, and she was indeed angry. "I'm not!" she cried fiercely. "You're a wicked woman! ”

“ How brave you Englishwomen are! Stoics, true stoics!" And she set about being interesting, with sudden shudders and starts of alarm, for the rest of the evening.
Every one began to suggest theories of how the mouse came to be in the napkin: at least not every one; those who knew the Lady Noggs put forward no theories, and the Prime Minister was frowning.
The next morning the Lady Noggs was summoned to his study before breakfast, and found him frowning still.
"Good-morning, Felicia," he said sternly. "Did you put that mouse in the Countess Karskovitch's napkin last night?" ”

“ The vagueness of the suggestion of lack of symmetry made it the more discomfiting. But the Lady Noggs had no intention of being more explicit, for that would have shown a lack of politeness; and she had, in truth, nothing against the nose, which was to the eye much as other rustic noses. She had, so to speak, shot an arrow in the air, by way of a just punishment for unfounded distrust, and her mind moved to other matters. But when she had climbed over the gate at the end of the wood, she turned and with painful thoughtfulness said, "I'm very sorry for you, Morton." ”

“ The baby seemed no worse for the hasty journey: the little choking cough and moan came no oftener. They sat down a few feet from the line, panting; and William began to knot the handkerchiefs together for the flag. Mrs. Cotteril snatched them out of his tremblingy clumsy fingers, and made it herself very quickly. Then, shading her eyes, they started down the line for the train. The minutes dragged.
Presently the Lady Noggs said, "I think I'd better go to London with Liza and the baby, William. I know all about cabs, and I can see they don't lose time." ”

“ At last he said, "Begging your ladyship's pardon, but if so be as you wouldn't say nothing about that rabbit, I should take it kindly."
"I shan't say anything about the rabbit, because I never tell tales," said the Lady Noggs proudly.
"Thank you, your ladyship," said William with a grunt of relief.
"You've no business to poach, William," said the Lady Noggs, still aggressively virtuous. "It's very wrong. One of these days you'll get caught and go to prison. Why don't you do honest work?"
"Honest work?" cried William Cotteril, suddenly purple with the bursting forth of a grievance. ”

“ The Lady Noggs respected his brooding. She devoted herself to her breakfast in silence, only breaking it to say, "Uncle, you are eating a cold chop; those in the dish are hotter," or "Uncle, you're drinking cold coffee; you'd better pour it away and take fresh."
The Prime Minister followed her suggestions dreamily. When they had done, and were going out of the room, he awoke and said: "You won't forget to apologize to Mr. Borrodaile?" ”

“ When she had done the duke said with natural heat, "Look here, Noggs; you've no business to go to such places—no business at all! It must stop! It's not only the Hooligans, but such places are hot-beds of disease. You might catch any fever there!"
I didn't want to go!" cried the Lady Noggs. But Billy and uncle, and both those two stupid politicians said that Sue was wrong—that children weren't really treated like that—and I had to go and see for myself. And Sue was quite right, just as I thought. You belong to the House of Lords; why don't you see after the poor children?" ”

“ Mr. Borrodaile took advantage of the diversion to withdraw with swift discreetness to Violet's side. Mr. Beresford Caldecott found himself being shaken warmly by the hand by a little girl and a small boy, who regarded him with admiring, almost reverential eyes.
"We've got a nice, long afternoon before us," said the Lady Noggs. "You'll be able to tell us lots about Arizona, and shooting people in saloons." ”

“ It would be awfully handy to have a car each," said Tinker. "We could do a lot more with two cars than with one."
"Couldn't we?" said Elsie. And their eyes seemed to light up with splendid visions of a yet further discomfited Humanity.
The Lady Noggs regarded them with admiring respect; but in a moment Tinker returned to the present earth, and said, "What we've got to do now is to get Noggs to the Pavilion on the hill without anybody seeing her." ”

“ Mr. Beresford Caldecott freed his hand violently, and plunged into the thickest part of the throng. He went through it something after the manner of a snow-plough, and people stared after him, and asked who he was.
The three children looked at one another blankly. "It looks as if he didn't want to tell us about it," said the Lady Noggs.
"It does," said Tinker.
"Those brave men are so modest. All the books say so," said Elsie.
"I think it's grumpiness," said the Lady Noggs. "I know Violet is ever so frightened of him. " ”

“ Sue stuffed her old frock and boots and hat under a bush; and then they began to talk, or rather the Lady Noggs began again her intimate and searching questions into the matter of Druggers' Rents and the life of the inhabitants of Poplar.
As they talked, the pride of wealth now and again got the better of Sue's manners. A blank silence would follow a question from the Lady Noggs, and she would find her protégé absorbed in the ecstatic contemplation of a boot, or a stocking, or a portion of her frock. ”

“ The Lady Noggs turned her eyes away from the baby; she could not bear the sight. They wandered round the room, and rested on the red handkerchief knotted round William's throat. In moments of painful emotion the mind will seize on some trivial object and busy itself with it to get away from the pain. So the mind of the Lady Noggs seized on the red handkerchief, started a relieving train of thought and jumped by a natural association, seeing that she had just been talking of the express, to the red flag of the railway signal man. ”

“ The money must be replaced!"
"Then it just shan't be!" said the Lady Noggs, filled with wrath at the unjust aspersion on her protege. "I collected the money and I'll spend it how I like—on charity! And I won't collect any more for the heathen! I'll get a box for sick children!"
"This is worse and worse!" stuttered Mr. Cringle. "Our—our first duty is to the heathen."
The Lady Noggs gave Villikins a cut, and, as he dashed off, she cried: "It can't be! The heathen haven't got pins in their throat—so there!" ”

“ She kicked idly at a tuft of grass with a boot several sizes too large for her and split across the toe.
The Lady Noggs, ignorant of the social hierarchy and of the vast gap between the classes in which the child in the crimson frock and the little red-haired girl respectively moved, was indignant at the unkindly firmness with which the superior five had vindicated their claim to a higher social standing. She leaned through the hedge and said, "Little girl, would you like to come into the wood? It's ever so much nicer than those silly fields." ”

“ She stopped before him and said, with a very serious air, "I've been talking to Sue."
"Who is Sue?" said Mr. Borrodaile warily.
"She's one of those little girls from London staying in the village."
"Does she belong to Poplar?" said Mr. Borrodaile with a sudden air of enlightenment.
The Lady Noggs ignored the question, and said gravely: "She's been telling me dreadful things—about poor children. She says they're always being knocked about, and always hungry. And they haven't any warm clothes in winter; and they're cold even in bed because they haven't blankets, only sacks. ”

“ The Lady Noggs understood that it was a question, though she did not recognize the form. "Yes, they are, really," she said. "You change."
"Blimy!" said Sue, and she set about the operation with a bewildered air, dazed by this sudden possession of wealth beyond the dreams of ostentation. She fingered each article with awed respect; turned it this way and that, with trembling hands; then stripped off her old clothes with feverish haste. The frock fitted her very well, though, since her body was mostly skin and bone, it was a little large. ”

“ I've talked to lots of cabin-boys—lots. And if you're not going to get a desert island out of it, what's the good of it?" said Tinker.
"Then the books aren't true," said the Lady Noggs in a sorrowful voice.
"I fancy they were true enough, some of them. But they're all about things that happened years and years ago. The sea's getting crowded, I think," said Tinker.
"Well, then, what is one to do, when people behave badly?" said the Lady Noggs with some indignation.
Tinker shrugged his shoulders. "You can't do anything," he said. "You just have to sit tight." ”

“ If this strange gentleman should be saying anything improper to his daughter M. Nioche would entreat him huskily, as a particular favour, to forbear; but he would admit at the same time that he was very presumptuous to ask for particular favours.
"Monsieur has bought my picture," said Mademoiselle Noémie. "When it's finished you'll carry it to him in a cab."
"In a cab!" cried M. Nioche; and he stared, in a bewildered way, as if he had seen the sun rising at midnight.
"Are you the young lady's father?" said Newman. "I think she said you speak English." ”