Mr。Dombeymovedhishead，asifinasarcasticacknowledgmentoftheattention，andresumed。Butnotwithsomuchself-possessionasbefore；forEdith\'sindifferencetohimandhiscensure，chafedandgalledhimlikeastiffeningwound。
`Mrs。Dombey，\'saidhe，`itmaynotbeinconsistentwithmydaughter\'simprovementtoknowhowverymuchtobelamented，andhownecessarytobecorrected，astubborndispositionis，especiallywhenitisindulgedin——unthankfullyindulgedin，Iwilladd——afterthegratificationofambitionandinterest。Bothofwhich，Ibelieve，hadsomeshareininducingyoutooccupyyourpresentstationatthisboard。\'
`No！Iwouldnotrise，andgoaway，andsaveyoutheutteranceofoneword，\'sherepeated，exactlyasbefore，`iftheroomwereburning。\'
`Itmaybenaturalenough，Mrs。Dombey，\'hepursued，`thatyoushouldbeuneasyinthepresenceofanyauditorsofthesedisagreeabletruths；thoughwhy\'——hecouldnothidehisrealfeelingshere，orkeephiseyesfromglancinggloomilyatFlorence——`whyanyonecangivethemgreaterforceandpointthanmyself，whomtheysonearlyconcern，Idonotpretendtounderstand。Itmaybenaturalenoughthatyoushouldobjecttohear，inanybody\'spresence，thatthereisarebelliousprinciplewithinyouwhichyoucannotcurbtoosoon；whichyoumustcurb，Mrs。Dombey；andwhich，Iregrettosay，Iremembertohaveseenmanifested——withsomedoubtanddispleasure，onmorethanoneoccasionbeforeourmarriage-towardsyourdeceasedmother。Butyouhavetheremedyinyourownhands。Ibynomeansforgot，whenIbegan，thatmydaughterwaspresent，Mrs。Dombey。
Ibegyouwillnotforget，to-morrow，thatthereareseveralpersonspresent；andthat，withsomeregardtoappearances，youwillreceiveyourcompanyinabecomingmanner。\'