NotwithstandingwhatmaybecalledinthesepagesthePruneyandPrismaticnatureofthefamilybanquet，MrDorritseveraltimesfellasleepwhileitwasinprogress。Hisfitsofdozingwereassuddenastheyhadbeenovernight，andwereasshortandprofound。
Whenthefirstoftheseslumberingsseizedhim，MrsGenerallookedalmostamazed：but，oneachrecurrenceofthesymptoms，shetoldherpolitebeads，Papa，Potatoes，Poultry，Prunes，andPrism；and，bydintofgoingthroughthatinfallibleperformanceveryslowly，appearedtofinishherrosaryataboutthesametimeasMrDorritstartedfromhissleep。
HewasagainpainfullyawareofasomnolenttendencyinFrederickwhichhadnoexistenceoutofhisownimagination，andafterdinner，whenFrederickhadwithdrawn，privatelyapologisedtoMrsGeneralforthepoorman。’Themostestimableandaffectionateofbrothers，’hesaid，’but——ha，hum——brokenupaltogether。
Unhappily，decliningfast。’
’MrFrederick，sir，’quothMrsGeneral，’ishabituallyabsentanddrooping，butletushopeitisnotsobadasthat。’