"Great Expectations"
by Charles Dickens

  Previous Page   Next Page   Speaker On

     But Joe had got the idea of a present in his head and must harp upon it. "Or even," said he, "if you was helped to knocking her up a new chain for the front door,--or say a gross or two of shark-headed screws for general use,--or some light fancy article, such as a toasting-fork when she took her muffins,--or a gridiron when she took a sprat or such like--"

     "I don't mean any present at all, Joe," I interposed.

 

     "Well," said Joe, still harping on it as though I had particularly pressed it, "if I was yourself, Pip, I wouldn't. No, I would not. For what's a door-chain when she's got one always up? And shark-headers is open to misrepresentations. And if it was a toasting-fork, you'd go into brass and do yourself no credit. And the oncommonest workman can't show himself oncommon in a gridiron,--for a gridiron IS a gridiron," said Joe, steadfastly impressing it upon me, as if he were endeavouring to rouse me from a fixed delusion, "and you may haim at what you like, but a gridiron it will come out, either by your leave or again your leave, and you can't help yourself--"

 
Text provided by Project Gutenberg.
Audio by Librivox.org, performed by Mark F. Smith, no rights reserved.
Flash mp3 player by Jeroen Wijering. (cc) some rights reserved.
Web page presentation by LoudLit.org.